English Listening Lesson: ENVIRONMENT

(upbeat music)

- Okay, listen with me, listen together,

let's do the listening together.

We are gonna have a look at two people.

Jack and Sarah are talking about

renewable energy.

Okay, the question is, as you listen, the question is,

how many energy sources do they mention?

So listen carefully and try and count.

Now, I've deliberately made this listening very difficult.

So Jack and Sarah are inside a

cafe, bar, cafeteria, coffee bar, cafe.

I got confused.

French and English Cafe coffee bar,

and they are, so, there's lots of background noise.

And I kept it in

because I think it's a good idea to practice listening

to real situations like in a coffee bar

where you've got people talking next to you

and you kind of, you can't hear perfectly.

Usually my listening activities are very, very clear, right?

When you listen to me, I try to speak very clearly.

But this activity, there's noise, there's background noise,

which means you have to focus really carefully.

Okay, good.

It's a challenge.

So remember the question is,

how many energy sources do they mention?

Just give me a thumbs up if you are ready to listen.

Okay, good.

We've got the thumbs up.

We're ready.

Okay, here we go.

And let's do it.

- [Jack] Hey Sarah, I read this thing about

renewable energy yesterday.

Honestly, I don't get why people are so obsessed with it.

- [Sarah] Are you serious, Jack?

It's cleaner.

Better for the environment, and it's the only way forward.

How can you not see that?

- [Jack] Sure, it sounds nice in theory,

but do you know how much it costs to set up solar panels?

Regular people just can't afford that.

- [Sarah] Okay, yeah, it's pricey at first,

but it pays off over time.

And there are programs

and subsidies to make it easier for people to switch.

- [Jack] Oh yeah, and what about when the sun isn't shining

or the wind isn't blowing?

How do you get your clean energy then?

- [Sarah] Have you ever heard of batteries?

You know, nowadays we can store the energy,

plus you can use renewables alongside other

sources when needed.

It's not rocket science.

- [Jack] So basically we're still using coal and gas.

Doesn't that defeat the whole point?

- [Sarah] It's better than doing nothing, Jack.

At least it's a step in the right direction.

- [Jack] A step that destroys the environment in other ways.

Have you seen those wind farms?

They ruin landscapes, mess up wildlife and kill birds.

- [Sarah] Oh, please, you are telling me wind turbines

are worse than burning coal?

Be serious.

- [Jack] I'm just saying they're not as eco-friendly

as people like to think.

You can't just ignore the downsides.

- [Sarah] And you can't keep making excuses

for not changing.

Fossil fuels are wrecking the planet,

and we're running out of time.

- [Jack] I'm not making excuses, I'm being realistic.

Renewable energy has its flaws

and people need to stop pretending it's perfect.

- [Sarah] No one's saying it's perfect, Jack,

but doing nothing is a million times worse.

What's your solution then?

Just keep burning coal forever?

- [Jack] No, but we need proper solutions,

not just trendy ideas that sound good on paper.

- [Sarah] Trendy ideas?

Wow, Jack, maybe you should start thinking about the future

instead of staying stuck in the past.

- [Jack] And maybe you should stop acting like

renewables are some kind of magic fix.

- [Sarah] Whatever, Jack, you do you.

I'll stick with progress.

- [Jack] Fine.

Just don't expect me to jump on the bandwagon.

- [Sarah] Trust me, I wasn't counting on it.

- All right, Jack and Sarah,

not quite agreeing on their ideas.

So the question was,

how many energy sources do they mention?

Just put the number down in the chat

Azer Baijan says I lost count,

Mashid one, two.

Okay, you've got four there.

Four.

Nora says one, two, three, four.

Six, four, six, five, four, two here.

Jack is Australian.

That's why, Florence eight.

Wow.

Mitch, the answer here, I'm just gonna go straight up

and give you the answer.

The answer was actually five. Okay.

So they did mention solar panels, which you got coal,

burning coal.

They mentioned gas, they mentioned the wind farms

or wind turbines, the same thing really.

And they mentioned mentioned fossil fuels.

Now, fossil fuels, I count as number five

because fossil fuels is more than just coal and gas.

I mean, coal and gas are fossil fuels,

but there are other fossil fuels, petroleum,

oil, et cetera.

So I count that as a fifth one, right?

Five.

So those are the different energy sources.

Five of them.

Now we are going to listen again.

And this time as we listen again, I want you

to two to do fill in the boxes.

So you're gonna hear different colocations.

Listen to the conversation again.

Fill the box with the colocation you hear.

So what I mean is the

missing word, right?

So this is the colocation.

Fill the boxes with the missing

word you hear.

Yeah, so I mean, all of these are basically colocations,

but you just want to identify the missing word, one word,

the missing one word.

Okay, so I'll play it again and try

and identify the missing word.

Okay, Anna says, where are you from?

Me, I am from Manchester in England,

in the north of England.

Okay, right.

Here we go.

Let's do it one more time.

Well at least.

But let's play.

- [Jack] Hey Sarah, I read this thing about

renewable energy yesterday.

Honestly, I don't get why people are so obsessed with it.

- [Sarah] Are you serious, Jack?

It's cleaner.

Better for the environment, and it's the only way forward.

How can you not see that?

- [Jack] Sure, it sounds nice in theory,

but do you know how much it costs to set up solar panels?

Regular people just can't afford that.

- [Sarah] Okay, yeah, it's pricey at first,

but it pays off over time.

And there are programs

and subsidies to make it easier for people to switch.

- [Jack] Oh yeah, and what about when the sun isn't shining

or the wind isn't blowing?

How do you get your clean energy then?

- [Sarah] Have you ever heard of batteries?

You know, nowadays we can store the energy,

plus you can use renewables alongside other

sources when needed.

It's not rocket science.

- [Jack] So basically we're still using coal and gas.

Doesn't that defeat the whole point?

- [Sarah] It's better than doing nothing, Jack.

At least it's a step in the right direction.

- [Jack] A step that destroys the environment in other ways.

Have you seen those wind farms?

They ruin landscapes, mess up wildlife and kill birds.

- [Sarah] Oh, please, you are telling me wind turbines

are worse than burning coal?

Be serious.

- [Jack] I'm just saying they're not as eco-friendly

as people like to think.

You can't just ignore the downsides.

- [Sarah] And you can't keep making excuses

for not changing.

Fossil fuels are wrecking the planet,

and we're running out of time.

- [Jack] I'm not making excuses, I'm being realistic.

Renewable energy has its flaws

and people need to stop pretending it's perfect.

- [Sarah] No one's saying it's perfect, Jack,

but doing nothing is a million times worse.

What's your solution then?

Just keep burning coal forever?

- [Jack] No, but we need proper solutions,

not just trendy ideas that sound good on paper.

- [Sarah] Trendy ideas?

Wow, Jack, maybe you should start thinking about the future

instead of staying stuck in the past.

- [Jack] And maybe you should stop acting like

renewables are some kind of magic fix.

- [Sarah] Whatever, Jack, you do you.

I'll stick with progress.

- [Jack] Fine.

Just don't expect me to jump on the bandwagon.

- [Sarah] Trust me, I wasn't counting on it.

- Poor old Sarah.

I think Jack's quite funny, right?

Excellent.

Good, really, really good.

I'm gonna go back to where you had the I your

original ideas.

So number two, a lot of you got

it pays off.

It pays off for number one.

A lot of you got way, way, way

number three.

A lot of you got point,

point, point,

point, yep.

And point, number four,

up, up, up.

A lot of you got up.

Number five, I think most of you got

wrecking or rocking.

Very interesting.

Wrecking or rocking?

Wrecking.

Wrecking.

Wrecking.

Okay, and number six, we've got fix.

Fix, magic.

Fix.

I'm gonna play it again.

And as I play it, I'll write in the answers

so you can see them as it happens.

Okay, let's do it.

- [Jack] Hey Sarah, I read this thing about

renewable energy yesterday.

Honestly, I don't get why people are so obsessed with it.

- [Sarah] Are you serious, Jack?

It's cleaner.

Better for the environment, and it's the only way forward.

How can you not see that?

- [Jack] Sure, it sounds nice in theory,

but do you know how much it costs to set up solar panels?

Regular people just can't afford that.

- [Sarah] Okay, yeah, it's pricey at first,

but it pays off over time.

And there are programs

and subsidies to make it easier for people to switch.

- [Jack] Oh yeah, and what about when the sun isn't shining

or the wind isn't blowing?

How do you get your clean energy then?

- [Sarah] Have you ever heard of batteries?

You know, nowadays we can store the energy,

plus you can use renewables alongside other

sources when needed.

It's not rocket science.

- [Jack] So basically we're still using coal and gas.

Doesn't that defeat the whole point?

- [Sarah] It's better than doing nothing, Jack.

At least it's a step in the right direction.

- [Jack] A step that destroys the environment in other ways.

Have you seen those wind farms?

They ruin landscapes, mess up wildlife and kill birds.

- [Sarah] Oh, please, you are telling me wind turbines

are worse than burning coal?

Be serious.

- [Jack] I'm just saying they're not as eco-friendly

as people like to think.

You can't just ignore the downsides.

- [Sarah] And you can't keep making excuses

for not changing.

Fossil fuels are wrecking the planet,

and we're running out of time.

- [Jack] I'm not making excuses, I'm being realistic.

Renewable energy has its flaws

and people need to stop pretending it's perfect.

- [Sarah] No one's saying it's perfect, Jack,

but doing nothing is a million times worse.

What's your solution then?

Just keep burning coal forever?

- [Jack] No, but we need proper solutions,

not just trendy ideas that sound good on paper.

- [Sarah] Trendy ideas?

Wow, Jack, maybe you should start thinking about the future

instead of staying stuck in the past.

- [Jack] And maybe you should stop acting like

renewables are some kind of magic fix.

- [Sarah] Whatever, Jack, you do you.

I'll stick with progress.

- [Jack] Fine.

Just don't expect me to jump on the bandwagon.

- [Sarah] Trust me, I wasn't counting on it.

- Great, I wonder if Jack

and Sarah will be going for coffee tomorrow.

Maybe not.

Okay, well done, brilliant.

You've got it.

So the only way forward it pays off to pay off.

Meaning that it compensates, it's worth it.

Defeat the whole point means it.

You know, it goes against the whole idea.

Mess up to destroy if you like.

Wrecking to destroy as well

and fix a magic solution.

Yep.

So solution.

Maybe I can just add this in to make it a bit clearer.

Destroying, destroy,

defeat the whole point basically means a waste of time.

You are doing something that destroys

what you've done already.

Waste of time.

It pays off.

So the idea here is compensates.

Compensates the only way forward.

It's the only, the only way.

It's the only path.

But it's more abstract.

It's the only way forward.

The only path forward.

The only route forward.

But in an abstract way, right?

Okay.

Excellent.

Good.

So there were all the answers.

What we'll do a final time is we'll listen

to the whole thing.

What I'm gonna do this time is you can listen

and read at the same time.

I'm gonna take off the background noise.

That might just help you focus a bit more

and you'll see the difference,

how much easier it is when you have no background noise

and also when you are reading.

And then if there's any words we don't know,

keywords, I'll point those out.

Let's do it. Let's have a look and listen the final time.

- [Jack] Hey Sarah, I read this thing about

renewable energy yesterday.

Honestly, I don't get why people are so obsessed with it.

- [Sarah] Are you serious, Jack?

It's cleaner.

Better for the environment, and it's the only way forward.

How can you not see that?

- [Jack] Sure, it sounds nice in theory,

but do you know how much it costs to set up solar panels?

Regular people just can't afford that.

- [Sarah] Okay, yeah, it's pricey at first,

but it pays off over time.

And there are programs

and subsidies to make it easier for people to switch.

- [Jack] Oh yeah, and what about when the sun isn't shining

or the wind isn't blowing?

How do you get your clean energy then?

- [Sarah] Have you ever heard of batteries?

You know, nowadays we can store the energy,

plus you can use renewables alongside other

sources when needed.

It's not rocket science.

- [Jack] So basically we're still using coal and gas.

Doesn't that defeat the whole point?

- [Sarah] It's better than doing nothing, Jack.

At least it's a step in the right direction.

- [Jack] A step that destroys the environment in other ways.

Have you seen those wind farms?

They ruin landscapes, mess up wildlife and kill birds.

- [Sarah] Oh, please, you are telling me wind turbines

are worse than burning coal?

Be serious.

- [Jack] I'm just saying they're not as eco-friendly

as people like to think.

You can't just ignore the downsides.

- [Sarah] And you can't keep making excuses

for not changing.

Fossil fuels are wrecking the planet,

and we're running out of time.

- [Jack] I'm not making excuses, I'm being realistic.

Renewable energy has its flaws

and people need to stop pretending it's perfect.

- [Sarah] No one's saying it's perfect, Jack,

but doing nothing is a million times worse.

What's your solution then?

Just keep burning coal forever?

- [Jack] No, but we need proper solutions,

not just trendy ideas that sound good on paper.

- [Sarah] Trendy ideas?

Wow, Jack, maybe you should start thinking about the future

instead of staying stuck in the past.

- [Jack] And maybe you should stop acting like

renewables are some kind of magic fix.

- [Sarah] Whatever, Jack, you do you.

I'll stick with progress.

- [Jack] Fine.

Just don't expect me to jump on the bandwagon.

- [Sarah] Trust me, I wasn't counting on it.

- Okay, good.

Okay, you have to leave.

No problem.

Good to see you.

Take care.

Wrecking and rocking.

You confused.

Yeah, they sound similar, right?

Wrecking, rocking.

Defeat the point.

Good question.

Yeah, what does that mean exactly?

Doesn't that defeat the point?

So I'm trying to think of the best way to explain that

to defeat the point.

The point is the, the idea that you have.

So to defeat the point is to kind of destroy.

Destroy the idea.

Let me see if I can give an example.

So for, I mean, I'm trying to think, but an example.

So imagine, Hmm.

Well in their case they're saying we are gonna use

wind energy and coal.

We can use both.

And Jack says, but if you're still using coal,

the idea, the whole idea of

improving the environment is destroyed

'cause you're still using coal.

You are destroying the first idea, defeating the point.

Destroying, whoops.

You are kind of destroying the first idea.

You're defeating the point.

I hope that makes sense.

Let me know if not

to mess up and to wreck to destroy.

Good.

Exactly.

I thought she was gonna say it's not a magic bullet.

Yes.

Right, a magic fix is a magic bullet.

It's a very similar idea.

So that fix, a magic fix is a solution.

A magic solution.

You can also say a magic bullet.

A silver bullet.

A silver bullet, a magic bullet.

Wait a minute, this is where I need to double check.

A silver bullet is a quick solution.

Do we say magic bullet?

Yeah, a medicine or remedy with specific.

Ah, okay, a very specific solution to a problem.

Magic bullet, silver bullet.

So both of those, a magic bullet.

No bullet or a silver bullet

after last week's black horse.

Do you remember the black horse and the dark horse?

I just want to make sure we've got it right.

Okay, great.

Milda thank you for that, that's great.

Magic bullet, silver bullet.

Have you ever heard, what does she say?

Have you ever heard of, ever heard of?

Yeah, but so

the have you can drop in spoken conversation.

We often drop the auxiliary.

Right, instead of saying, do you want,

you say you want, you want to go.

Have you ever heard of, ever heard of,

we often drop the the have.

Rocket science means that it's not that hard.

Exactly.

Yes.

It's not rocket science that's a very good expression.

Actually, let's put it in.

Where was it?

Was it at the, it's not rocket science, yes.

It's not rocket science usually used in the negative.

Exactly.

Saying it's not, it's not too difficult.

It's not very difficult.

Excellent.

Good.

Okay.

This is very helpful.

I thank you so much.

Okay, Pierre, you're very welcome.

Great, bandwagon, I'm gonna explain later, Lilian,

I'll explain later the bandwagon.

Yeah, also same question, okay, I'll explain that later

because that's coming up in a moment.

Make free cost lectures.

Okay.

Well you have YouTube.

You have 400 plus videos on YouTube, my friend.

Okay, a magic pill rather.

You could also say a magic pill.

Yes, magic bullet, magic pill.

Dark sheep.

Black sheep.

That one Alexander is black Sheep of the family.

Dark horse, black sheep.

Right, okay, where am I?

Let me check in listening activity, I'm gonna move on.

(upbeat music)