Beth and Neil have a real conversation in easy English about greed – wanting to have more than we need. Learn to talk about moreish food... and having eyes bigger than your belly. greedy wanting more of something than you need too much/too many more than is necessary or appropriate enough the correct amount; the amount you need and not more your eyes are bigger than your belly you have taken more food than you can eat moreish so tasty that you want more and more of it Neil Hello and welcome to Real Easy English. In this podcast, we have real conversations in easy English to help you learn. I'm Neil. Beth And I'm Beth. You can watch this podcast with subtitles over on our website. Go to bbclearningenglish.com. Neil Hello Beth. How are you? Beth I am very good, thank you, Neil. How are you? Neil I'm very well, thanks. What are we talking about in our podcast today? Beth Today, we are talking about being greedy. Now, if you are greedy, then you want or have more of something than you actually need. For example, sometimes if I go to a restaurant, I order loads of food and then I can't eat it all. But I order a lot because I'm greedy. Neil OK. Beth So, Neil, do you find that? Neil I do find that, yes. And also, I think it's a bad mistake to go shopping when you're hungry. Beth Food shopping? Neil Yeah. Beth Definitely. I completely agree, because you see all of the food that you want to eat. Neil ...at that moment, yes. So, I think if you go shopping when you're hungry, then you shop like a greedy person. Beth That's true. That's true. What about when you go to a buffet? That's when you have lots of different dishes and you can just add food to your plate. I think it's very easy to be greedy. Neil It is, yes, because there's so much choice that you can easily eat too much. And if you eat too much, you don't feel very good afterwards. Beth No, but when you're hungry and you see that food, you just want it. Neil And we have an expression for that, Beth. Beth Do we? What is it? Neil Your eyes are bigger than your belly. Beth Yes, that is a very good expression. So, it means your eyes – you see everything and you want it – but your eyes are bigger than your belly, which means your stomach. So, you can't eat it all even if your eyes want you to eat all that food. Neil So, Beth, you talked about buffets and feeling greedy when you have all of that choice. Are you often greedy? Beth I don't go to buffets very often so no, although I really like biscuits and I think that if I open a pack of biscuits and I have one, it's not enough. If I have two – not enough. And I keep eating them, and I'm a bit greedy with biscuits. Neil Mmm. I usually know when to stop eating sweet things, like biscuits and cakes, because I feel sick quite quickly, but savoury things I can just munch on all day. Beth What like? Neil Things like crisps. Beth Ah, yeah. Neil I can't stop eating crisps. They're very moreish. Beth They are moreish – it just means you want more and more of them. But then you can have definitely too many crisps and feel full. And often when we're talking about being greedy, it's seen as a negative thing. So, you have kids. How do you teach your kids to not be greedy? Neil Good question, because I think being greedy, for kids, is a natural thing. Beth Yeah. Neil If they see something they like, they want to eat all of it. But you need to tell them no – just have one or two, otherwise, you're going to feel sick. Beth That's true, yeah. And it's also... Being greedy is not just about food. You could be greedy with money. Or I remember being a child going into a toy shop and I wanted all the toys, even though I had enough already. But then I was greedy. I wanted all of them. My mum said, "No, you have enough. Maybe you can have one." Neil Time now to recap the vocabulary we've heard in this podcast, starting with greedy. If you are greedy, you want more of something than you need. So, for example, you keep eating food even though you are already full – you are greedy. Beth Too much or too many means more of something than you need or is acceptable. For example, I think it's easy to eat too many biscuits. Neil If you have enough of something, you have the right amount, the amount you need and not more. So, for example, Beth, your mother told you, "You have enough toys". Beth And the expression your eyes are bigger than your belly means that you see a lot and want to eat it, but then you can't because you've taken too much. You've been greedy. Neil And we heard moreish. If something is moreish, you want more and more and more of it, like me with crisps. Beth That's it for this episode of Real Easy English. Why not try the free worksheet on our website to practise what you've learnt in this podcast? Go to bbclearningenglish.com. Neil We'll be back next week with another real conversation in easy English. Thanks for joining us and goodbye. Beth Goodbye.

Beth and Neil have a real conversation in easy English about relaxing – stopping work and chilling out. Take your mind off your busy day by learning to talk about resting and switching off. Beth Hello and welcome to Real Easy English. In this podcast, we have real conversations in easy English to help you learn. I'm Beth. Neil And I'm Neil. Don't forget – you can watch a video version of this podcast and read the subtitles to help you understand on our website at bbclearningenglish.com. Beth Hi, Neil. How are you? Neil I'm very well, Beth. How are you? Beth I'm good. I'm feeling relaxed. Are you? Neil I am feeling relaxed. Beth Well, that's good, because today we are talking about relaxing. If you relax, then you do less activity and you are calm and happy. Neil Sounds great! Shall we start? Beth I think we should. So, Neil, what sort of things do you find relaxing? Neil Well, I find doing something really different to the thing I was doing before, like work, relaxing. So, if I have been working, sometimes I like to cook to relax, or maybe play my guitar, or even go for a run – do some exercise. I find that relaxing. Beth Hmm. Yeah, I also think that cooking can be relaxing but, to be honest, I only really relax in the kitchen if I also have some music on, or a podcast. And if I'm in the kitch en on my own, then I can just do whatever I want to. Neil So, Beth, it sounds like listening to music in the kitchen helps you switch off. Now, switch off means stop thinking about the thing you were doing before that maybe causes you stress. Beth Yeah, if you switch off, you definitely relax. And I do find music, listening to music, relaxing. It definitely helps me switch off because whatever I'm doing, whether it's cooking or even something boring, like doing the washing up or folding laundry, if I have music on, then I just focus on the music, maybe sing along or just listening, and that really takes my mind off everything else. Neil What do you do to rest? Rest means, kind of, do nothing in order to recover from being busy. Beth To rest, I really enjoy having a bath and reading a book in the bath. That really helps me to relax and rest. What about you? Neil I'm not very good at resting. Beth Oh. Neil Because I think I get bored and sad. So, for me to relax, it's better to do something active. Beth Yeah. Neil And then I feel more relaxed and like I've had a rest. Beth Yeah, sometimes I feel guilty when I rest because I think: Oh, I shouldn't be doing this – I need to do this, this and this. And I find it a bit hard, but I think relaxing and taking a break is very important because we need it to make ourselves feel better generally, don't we? Neil Absolutely. Beth OK. Let's recap the language we used during the conversation, starting with relax. If you relax, you do less activity, and you are calm and happy. And we can also describe an activity as relaxing, and that means it makes you feel calm and happy. Neil We also heard switch off, which means to stop thinking about stressful things. Beth We also heard rest, which means stop doing things so that you can relax. For example, when I want to rest, I have a bath and read a book. Neil And we heard take your mind off something, which means stop thinking about one thing and start thinking about another. For example, I like to watch football. It takes my mind off the stressful day at work. Beth That's it for this episode of Real Easy English. Why not test what you've learnt with the worksheet over on our website, bbclearningenglish.com? Neil We'll be back next week with another real conversation in easy English. Goodbye for now. Beth Goodbye!

Beth and Neil have a real conversation in easy English about driving – the highs and lows of using a car. Learn to talk about reversing, parking... and singing in the car! commute travel to work, using a car, a train, a bus or any form of transport speeding driving faster that you are legally allowed to go park move your car into a space where you can leave it for a while reverse drive backwards Neil Welcome to Real Easy English, our easy podcast where we have real conversations in easy English. I'm Neil. Beth And I'm Beth. You can watch a video version of this podcast over on our website and you'll find a free worksheet there as well. Go to bbclearningenglish.com. Neil Hi Beth, how are you? Beth I'm good, thank you, although I was late to work this morning. Neil Oh no! Beth The traffic was bad. Neil Ah, we're talking about driving today. Beth We are. And sometimes I drive to work. And I did today but I should have got the train because... yeah, like I say, the traffic was bad. Neil So, clearly you can drive. Do you like driving? Beth It depends. If I am commuting – so coming to work – by car, I don't enjoy it, usually because of the traffic. But if I have a long journey, like if I go to see a friend and I'm in the car for three hours, I actually really enjoy it because I listen to music, podcasts, maybe an audiobook, and I can relax and just drive along the motorway listening to something I like. What about you? You drive, don't you? Neil I drive, yeah. Not that often because I live in London and I can use public transport. Beth That's one of the benefits of living in London, definitely. Do you enjoy driving? Neil It's OK. It's not a big love of mine. But, like you said, sometimes it's quite nice if you're somewhere, maybe in the countryside, on your own, you can listen to loud music and sing. Beth Yeah! Yeah, singing in the car is good fun. Are you good at driving? Or do you think people would say you're good at driving? Neil I don't know. I think I'm OK. I've never had an accident – touch wood! Beth Oh, that's good! That's good. I haven't had an accident but I did get caught speeding once and I... That means I was going too fast. And I had to go on a Speed Awareness Course and I haven't sped since. Neil Speeding! Beth, that's dangerous! Beth I was going a few miles an hour over the speed limit. Neil Hmm. Beth So, is there anything that you don't like about driving, Neil? Neil Yeah, I don't really like parking because, in a busy city especially, it can be difficult to find somewhere to park. And also, when you do find somewhere to park, the space can be really small and then you have to try to get your car into this little space. Beth Yeah. Neil Often with other people waiting for you to do it. Beth Yeah, I don't like doing that, when you're on a road and there's cars behind you. Outside of my house, we have to reverse into a parking space. So, reversing – going backwards – for parking, I'm OK with now. I didn't used to like it but now it's fine because I have to do it whenever I drive. Neil Beth, did you find it difficult or easy to learn how to drive? Beth Hmm, good question. I found it not easy, not difficult. I remember thinking, "Everyone I know can drive so I know that I'm also going to be able to drive." And that helped me. But the driving on a road was fine and even changing gears, that kind of thing, was OK. But I found parking, when I was learning how to park, and we have to... or we had to reversearound a corner – those kinds of manoeuvres, they call them, I found difficult. But I did pass my test first time. Neil Ah. Beth What about you? Did you find it easy to learn to drive? Neil I think it was quite easy. I passed first time, like you did, but I remember the man who took the test was very critical of me at the end and even angry. And I was scared – I thought I must have failed the test. And then he said, "Congratulations. You passed." I think he just wanted to let me know that driving is dangerous and you shouldn't just relax now because you've passed, and that you will continue to learn after your test. Beth Definitely. Neil Let's recap the vocabulary we've learned in this podcast, starting with to commute, which means to travel to work, either in a car, a train, a bus, some form of transport. Beth We also had speeding. If you speed, you're going faster than you are allowed to – faster than the speed limit. Neil We heard to park, which means to move your car into a space where you can leave it for a while. And the noun of that is parking. Beth When you reverse a car, you drive it backwards. And when you are parking, you often need to reverse. Neil That's it for this episode of Real Easy English. Why not test what you've learned with the free worksheet on our website, bbclearningenglish.com? Beth And we'll be back next week with another conversation in easy English. See you soon. Neil Goodbye.

Beth and Neil have a real conversation in easy English about snacks – the small bites of food they have between meals. Learn to talk about fruit, nuts, crisps and chocolate bars! snack small thing that we eat between meals snack on eat a little bit of something over a period of time junk food food that is bad for our health guilty pleasure something we enjoy even though we know it's bad for us Beth Hello and welcome to Real Easy English. In this podcast, we have real conversations in easy English to help you learn. I'm Beth. Neil And I'm Neil. Why not watch a video version of this podcast on our website so that you can read the subtitles as you listen? That's at bbclearningenglish.com. Beth Hello, Neil. How are you? Neil I'm very well. How are you, Beth? Beth I'm very good, thank you. I am quite hungry, though. Neil Yeah, it's nearly lunch. And before we came in here, I had a little snack. Beth Oh, what did you have? Neil I had an apple. Beth That's very healthy. And interestingly, today we are talking about snacks. They are the small things that we eat between meals. I could really do with a snack because it's not quite lunchtime. So, you had an apple before we started this podcast – do you have snacks often? Neil I do have snacks often. I like snacks. But snacks can be healthy or unhealthy. So, I had an apple – that makes me sound very good. I do like to have an apple for a snack, but I also like unhealthy snacks too. Beth Do you have some unhealthy snacks with you today at work? Neil I think I have a chocolate bar. Beth Ooh! Neil And maybe some crisps. Beth No other fruit? Neil I do – I have an orange. Beth Oh, you've got loads of snacks! Neil I always bring a box of snacks to work. Beth Yeah, I do the same. I have some rice cakes with me today. And I also have a little oat bar, and the oat bar – in my head, I like to think it's healthy, like a healthy snack, but it's probably full of sugar. Neil Mmm. When you're not at work, do you have a favourite kind of snack when you're just hanging around at home? Beth This will make me sound very healthy, but I really like eating frozen fruit. So, for example, in my freezer, I have frozen mango, frozen grapes, frozen pineapple, frozen berries. And I like to put them in a glass, and I give them a wash, and then I just eat the frozen fruit. And it's a very... It's a good snack after dinner, if I'm still a bit hungry but I shouldn't have something a bit naughty – so, then I have some fruit. That's a good snack. So, if you're at home, what kind of snacks do you have? Neil Well, it depends. I like to have a snack when I'm... If I'm preparing a meal, sometimes I like to have a nibble of maybe crisps, or nuts, olives – that kind of thing. Beth Nice. You don't snack on the food you're making while you're making it? Neil No, I just taste the food that I'm making. Beth OK. Neil So, by the time it's ready, often I'm full. Beth That's very silly! So, you have healthy and unhealthy snacks. Generally, is it good to snack, do you think? Neil I think, actually, it's not very good to snack. I think your stomach needs a rest – needs a break between meals. So, eating all the time is not very good for you, I think. Beth Mmm. It's quite easy as well to snack on junk food because a lot of the snacks out there – if you go to the supermarket and you see snacks, they might look healthy but they're not. They are junk food. They're really bad for you. Like the oat bars that I have – the oats are good but, like I said, the rest of the ingredients are definitely not healthy. Neil Do you have a guilty pleasure for a snack? Beth It used to be biscuits. Biscuits were my guilty pleasure. I would try not to eat them but I would anyway. But I don't really eat biscuits anymore. I'm not sure I have a guilty pleasurenow. Do you? Neil I think eating biscuits late in the evening is a bad habit and a guilty pleasure, because if you're watching a film or something on TV, it's quite nice to have biscuits with your tea or something. Beth That's true. OK. Let's recap the language we heard during the conversation. We had snack – and a snack is a small thing that you eat between meals. Neil We also use snack on something – that's a phrasal verb, and it means to eat a little bit of something over a period of time. So, for example, I snack on peanuts while I'm cooking. Beth Some snacks are junk food – that is food that is bad for us. Neil If a food is a guilty pleasure, we enjoy it even though we know it's bad for us. Beth That's it for this episode of Real Easy English. You can learn more phrasal verbs for eating with Georgie's series Phrasal Verbs with Georgie. Find it on our website: bbclearningenglish.com. Neil And you can also find a free worksheet on our website to practise what you've heard in this podcast. Thanks for joining us and goodbye. Beth Goodbye.

Phil and Beth talk about what makes them scared. Learn to talk about your fears with this conversation in easy English. afraid/frightened/scared (of something) a feeling of fear terrified (of something) a feeling of a lot of fear phobia a very big fear of something freak out lose emotional control Phil Hello and welcome to Real Easy English. In this podcast, we have real conversations in easy English to help you learn. I'm Phil. Beth And I'm Beth. You can find a video of this podcast and a free worksheet on our website. Go to bbclearningenglish.com Phil Hi, Beth. Beth Hello, Phil. How are you? Phil I'm good, I'm good. You? Beth Yes, I'm very well, thank you. Phil OK, well, today we're going to talk about fears and we're going to talk about the things that make you scared. Beth OK, let's get started. Phil OK. Beth, what are you afraid of? Beth What am I afraid of? I'm afraid of spiders. I really hate spiders. I'm really scared ofspiders. It's OK if they're small. Maybe, no, yeah, I was going to say medium-sized is OK - they're not. Anything like medium, large, long legs. Uh, no, I don't like spiders. Phil What do you do if you see a spider? Beth Make weird noises, go "Ah! Help! There's a spider." What are you afraid of? Phil Um, this is a strange one, because it doesn't really happen to me very much. But I'm scared of being in really small spaces. You know, people who work under floors and do things like that. I'd, I'd be too worried about getting stuck. Beth Yeah, I completely understand that fear. Phil, do you have any phobias? A phobia is a really bad, extreme fear of something. Phil I don't think I do, really. I don't think there's, like, one thing that I am absolutely terrified ofand can't see. I think just sometimes there are situations that are scary because, you know, maybe they could be dangerous or worrying, but I don't think there's one thing that I see and go "Ah!" Beth Yeah. I have a friend and she has a phobia of bananas. I know it sounds silly. She is terrified of bananas. If she sees a banana, she will cry and scream, and it's very dramatic. And that is a proper phobia. When you see something and you break down, you completely freak out. That's a phobia. So, I don't think I have any phobias either. Like, I don't like spiders and I am scared of them, but they don't make me freak out and panic. Phil So, Beth, is there anything that you were afraid of when you were younger, but you're not afraid of now? Beth Actually, yes. So when I was young and even a teenager, I was scared of looking out at the sea. So if I was, I was always good at swimming, so swimming wasn't the problem. But looking out to the ocean and seeing the horizon – that's the end of the ocean – really scared me and I just couldn't look at it. And I had that for quite a long time. And I don't really know why, because I don't know what I was scared of. It was almost so big that it scared me. Phil Mmm, I've got a watery one. Um, I remember when I was learning to swim and the teacher taking me to the deep end of the swimming pool, so it was about two metres deep nearly, and I wasn't very tall then. Um, and I had to jump in and I was absolutely terrified. But now I can swim, so I'm not scared of water in that way. Beth Do you often jump in pools these days? Phil Um, now and then when I get the chance. I don't go swimming very often, but when I do, I can jump in and it's fine. Let's recap the vocabulary that we used in this conversation. We used a lot of words to describe the feeling of fear so we can be afraid, frightened, or scared of something which all mean something makes us feel fear. Beth And we also had terrified of. If you are terrified of something, you are really, really scared of it. Phil We heard the word phobia, which describes a very bad fear of something. Beth Yes. For example, my friend has a phobia of bananas. She cries when she sees them because she's so scared. And we also had freak out. If you freak out, then you panic because you're so, so scared of something. Phil That's it for this episode of Real Easy English. Test yourself with the worksheet on our website, bbclearningenglish.com. Beth And we'll be back next week with another conversation in easy English. Goodbye for now. Phil Bye.

Beth and Phil have a real conversation in easy English about saving money. Learn to talk about budgets, deals and offers. budget a set amount of money you plan to spend shop around look in several places for the best price before buying something offer/deal special low price for something on offer has a special, cheaper price Beth Hello and welcome to Real Easy English. In this podcast, we have real conversations in easy English to help you learn. I'm Beth. Phil And I'm Phil. Remember, you can watch this podcast with subtitles to help you on our website, bbclearningenglish.com. Beth Hello, Phil, how are you doing? Phil Hi, Beth. I'm great. What about you? Beth I'm good. Although I spent a lot of money this weekend. And interestingly, today we are talking about saving money. Now, on the podcast we have talked about money before, but today we are going to be talking about how to save money, not spend it as much. Phil That could be very useful, I'm sure. Beth OK. Let's start. Phil OK. Beth, are you good at saving money? Beth Yes. I think I'm quite good at saving money. Although I do really enjoy going out and enjoying myself, so I'm quite happy to go out with friends and spend some money. But I don't think I waste money. I don't spend it on, on things that I don't need. What about you? Are you good at saving? Phil I think I'm similar. I'm quite careful with money, so I don't spend lots of money on new clothes and things like that. There are some things I'll spend money on, but it's always within what I can afford. And if I have to spend a lot of money, I tend to think about it a lot beforehand. I find it quite hard. So, yeah, I'm quite careful with money, and that makes it easy to save money. Beth Yeah. Is there anything that you're saving for at the moment? Phil Yes. We've got a big holiday coming up. I'm going to Argentina for Christmas with the family. But that's very expensive. So, yeah, we're putting money towards that. Beth OK. Yeah. I'm also saving for a holiday at the moment, So we've decided we have a budget. So that means a specific amount of money that we're going to spend, and we're saving up that amount, and we're hopefully not going to spend any more than that. Phil Are you good at sticking to a budget? Beth Yeah, I think I am good at sticking to a budget. I make sure that I try to spend less and save more. So one thing I do with holidays, but also with any big thing that I'm buying, is I shop around. So I go to different websites or different shops and make sure that I'm getting the best thing for the best price. Because as you know, you might find the same thing on one website for £100 more than something else. So I think shopping around is a good way to save money. Have you got any tips on saving money? Phil Well, I definitely do that. I definitely shop around. Especially if it's something big. I'll look at where I can get it cheaper. The other thing I do, I do my food shopping every week online, and I go to the website and the first thing I look at is I look at the offers. I look to see if there's anything that we always buy that I can get cheaper. And I try to again, more or less stick to a budget. So maybe buy different things in different weeks. If something's a bit expensive, I don't buy it very often, maybe once a month rather than every week. Beth Yeah, I think those offers are really good. When you see something that's buy one, get one free or 50p off. I think that's always a good way to save money. But sometimes you see an offer and you think, 'I really need this thing'. And actually, maybe you don't need it. You just see the offer and think, ‘I can save money’. And actually you end up spending more money. Phil Yeah. It can be hard to resist a good deal, can't it? Beth That's true. Phil When you see one of them, maybe the offer doesn't save you money. Beth That's true. Yeah. OK, let's recap the vocabulary we heard during the conversation. We had budget. Abudget is a plan for how much you want to spend. Phil If you shop around for something, you look in several places to try and find the cheapest price. Beth We also heard offer, which is a special lower price for something, and we can also describe something as being on offer. Phil We also had deal which is similar to offer. If a shop has a deal on, then they lower the price to encourage you to buy something. Beth That's it for this episode of Real Easy English. Why not test what you've learnt on our website where we have a worksheet: bbclearningenglish.com. Phil We'll be back next week with another real easy English conversation. See you then. Beth Goodbye. Phil Bye.

Neil and Beth have a real conversation in easy English about what makes them happy. Learn to talk about things that make you happy. positive a positive person is hopeful and confident. They think about the good parts of a situation negative a negative person is someone who doesn't expect good things and thinks bad things are going to happen cheer up start to feel happier. You can also cheer a person up - that means you do something to make them feel happier grumpy in a bad mood, maybe just for a short period of time take time out stop doing the thing that makes you grumpy and try to relax or do something different Beth Hello and welcome to Real Easy English. In this podcast we have real conversations in easy English to help you learn. I'm Beth. Neil And I'm Neil. If you want to watch a video version of this podcast, you can find it on our website, bbclearningenglish.com. There's also a free worksheet there. Beth Hello, Neil. Neil Hi, Beth. Beth How are you? Are you feeling happy today? Neil I'm feeling really happy today. How about you? Beth I'm good, I'm good. I'm also happy. And today we're talking about happiness. We will talk about the things that make us happy and what to do if we're feeling sad and want to be happy. Neil Well, let's get started. Beth So, Neil, what makes you happy? Neil Oh, that's a good question. Recording Real Easy English. Beth Yay! Neil But also, being with my friends and family makes me happy. Beth Why? Neil I like those people, and I like to be with people I like and that makes me happy. Beth I think that is fair enough. I would say the same - being with people. I'm happy enough on my own, but I'm definitely happier when I'm around people I like. Neil Me too. Yeah. Are you generally a positive person, do you think, or are you negative? Beth I think I'm generally positive. I like to smile and laugh. And I like to think positively. So even if something is a bit negative, I try to see the positive side in it. So, I can be negative, but I think generally I'm positive and happy. Neil Yeah. Even happy people are sometimes sad. What do you do if you're sad to make you happier? Beth I have a happy playlist full of songs that make me happy. So I might put on some songs, do some singing, do some dancing and that will make me happy. What about you? What makes you happy if you're feeling a bit sad? Neil I think it's important to try to change the situation if you're sad. So I might do some exercise, go out for a walk, maybe try to have a conversation with a friend, just to change the way I feel. Beth Yeah. They're good ideas. Are you generally a positive person or a negative person? Neil Yeah. Positive, I think generally. But sometimes I'm a bit grumpy. Beth We're all a bit grumpy sometimes. Neil Yeah. Do you think it's important to be happy all the time? Beth All the time? No, I don't think so. I think you should just feel your emotions. I think if you're feeling sad, that's OK. Have a cry or do whatever you need to do and feel your emotions. Because if you try to cover them and just act happy and you're not, I don't think it's going to help your situation. Neil I think I agree. I don't think anyone's happy all the time. So, Beth, you like singing and dancing to your special playlist. Is there anything else you do that will cheer you up? Beth What else cheers me up? What else makes me happy, if I'm feeling sad? I think, like you said, some exercise, so I might go out for a walk, and ideally, have a chat with a friend. That's basically what you said. But I do think that's a good idea. And sometimes fresh air and being outside in nature is what you need, especially if you're angry, or grumpy, or annoyed. You need to take time out, step away from the situation, and just relax, and maybe be outside, and then you'll feel happy again. Neil Yeah, I think that would cheer me up too. Beth Let's recap the vocabulary we heard during the conversation. A positive person is hopeful and confident. They think about the good parts of a situation. Neil And a negative person is the opposite of that. They don't expect good things, and they think bad things are going to happen. Beth If you cheer up, then you start to feel happier and you can also cheer a person up. That means that you do something to make them feel happier. Neil Yes, and you might need to cheer up someone who is grumpy. If you're grumpy, you're in a bad mood, maybe just for a short period of time. Beth And if you take time out, you stop doing the thing that makes you grumpy and try to relax or do something different. Neil That's it for this episode of Real Easy English. Try the worksheet on our website, bbclearningenglish.com. Beth And we'll be back next week with another conversation in easy English. See you then. Neil Goodbye.

Neil and Beth have a real conversation in easy English about the people they've lived with. Learn to talk about who you live with and what they are like. housemate/flatmate someone you live with who isn't part of your family, such as a friend or stranger rent pay money every month to live somewhere that you don't own landlord the person who owns the property you rent easy-going describes someone who is relaxed and doesn't get easily upset about things Neil Hello and welcome to Real Easy English. In this podcast, we have real conversations in easy English to help you learn. I'm Neil. Beth And I'm Beth. You can find a video version of this podcast and a free worksheet to help you learn on our website, bbclearningenglish.com. Neil Hi Beth. How are you? Beth I'm good, Neil. How are you? Neil Very well, thank you. What are we talking about today? Beth Today we are talking about housemates. Neil Housemates, the people that you share a house with who aren't your family. Maybe they're your friends, or even strangers who just need somewhere to live. Beth Exactly. And it's quite common in the UK to live with housemates when you're younger. Have you ever lived with housemates? Neil Yes, of course. I had house or flatmates when I was a student and then after I was a student in my first jobs and before I got married. Beth That's exactly the same as me. So when I went to university, I moved in with five people, and we all had a separate room and a separate bathroom. But yeah, they were my flatmates for my first year of university. But in my second year, then I moved into a house and we all shared a bathroom, and they were my housemates because we were in a house. Neil Did you enjoy having housemates? Beth I think it really depends on the people that you live with. I have had some bad housemates. Bad because they weren't tidy, didn't clean. There were dishes in the kitchen that were dirty and not cleaned for a long time. But I've also had some really nice housemates as well. Do you enjoy living with housemates, or did you enjoy living with housemates? Neil I think, as you said, it really depends on the person, so you mentioned people being messy and that kind of thing. Also, noisy people are difficult. But some of my best friends now have been my housemates in the past. So I think you can really get to know people very well, and you can also meet some people who you never want to see again in your life. Beth That's true. So, Neil, what do you think is the best kind of personality, the best kind of person to live with? Neil They have to be easy-going. Beth What does that mean? Neil Somebody who is easy-going is relaxed, and they don't get too upset or angry over little things. And they're quite easy to live with, snd there's the clue – easy-going. Beth I think something else important about living with other people or renting somewhere, so paying monthly, is having a good landlord. It's very important. Neil So who is a landlord? What is a landlord? Beth So the landlord is, or landlady, is the person that owns the house or flat that you're in and you pay them rent. So you pay them a monthly amount. But you might live there for a year or two years or three years, but you don't own the place. It's the landlord that owns the place. Neil Yeah, and a good landlord can make a big difference. Beth Neil, are you easy to live with? Should we be flatmates? Neil I don't know, but I think I have made some good friends when I've been a housemate. So they think that I was a good housemate. Beth OK. Neil How about you? Beth Yeah, I think I'm easy to live with, but I like to sing a lot, so maybe people would tell me to be quiet. Although no one's ever told me to be quiet, but maybe they wanted me to and just didn't say. Neil Let's recap the vocabulary we've heard in this podcast, starting with housemate. A housemate is someone you live with who probably isn't part of your family. We also hear flatmate. Beth And we had easy-going which means relaxed and not easily upset. Neil Flatmates or housemates often rent a property, and that means they don't own it – they pay money to the person who does own it. Beth And the person who owns the house or flat is the landlord. That's who you pay every month and they own the property. Neil That's it for this episode of Real Easy English. To test what you've learnt, there's a worksheet on our website, bbclearningenglish.com. Beth And we'll be back next week with another easy English conversation. Bye for now. Neil Goodbye.

Georgie and Beth have a real conversation in easy English about work and meetings. Learn to talk about whether meetings are useful and how many meetings you have. brainstorm gather together to discuss ideas speak up express your opinion using your voice in-person or face-fo-face (meeting) a meeting where everyone is in the same physical place remote (meeting) a meeting that happens on a call, often a video call Georgie Hello and welcome to Real Easy English. In this podcast, we have real conversations in easy English to help you learn. I'm Georgie. Beth And I'm Beth. You can find a video of this podcast and a worksheet to help you learn on our website, bbclearningenglish.com. Georgie Hi Beth, how are you today? Beth I'm good, thank you. I am very busy. I have a lot of meetings. How are you? Georgie I'm OK, thank you, Beth, I don't have many meetings today. But today we are talking about meetings, in particular work meetings where you talk to colleagues and discuss ideas or make decisions. Beth That's right. Georgie OK. Shall we get started? Beth Yes. Georgie So, Beth, you have a lot of meetings today. Do you generally have a lot of meetings at work? It really depends on what I'm working on. So if I have a project where I need to meet a lot of people, then I might have quite a few meetings. And that's why I'm busy now. But generally, we have a lot of, a few meetings together as a team. But I don't think we have loads of meetings. Georgie Compared to other jobs, I don't think we have many meetings. Most of our work is producing things and editing and writing. But you're right. When there are lots of big projects that we need to talk to other people on the project, we have more meetings. But yeah, like you, it really depends. So, when do you think meetings are useful? Beth I think when you need to brainstorm. So, brainstorm is when you have lots of new ideas and you need to talk about them together. I think then meetings are really useful because you hear lots of new ideas, and when you're in a room with other people, if, for example, I have an idea and you say, that's good, and we can also do this and we can all work together, and I think those kind of meetings are really useful. Georgie Yeah, I think that way of doing it is also more efficient. So sometimes it's better to just have one hour, come up with ideas and decide on the ideas. Beth Yeah, definitely. Do you tend to speak up in meetings? So, that means do you ask questions and feel confident to speak? Georgie I think, if the meeting has lots of people, I find it a bit more stressful to speak up because I get a bit nervous to speak in front of lots of people. But if it's a meeting with just our team, for example, you guys I like and trust. I, I don't mind speaking up that much. Beth And sometimes we have meetings in person. Sometimes you have meetings on a call. So a video call. Do you prefer meeting in person or having calls? Georgie I think I prefer meetings in person because you can, you can kind of see the facial expressions and body language more easily, I think. And it's easier to know when a person wants to speak, these kinds of things. Beth Yeah. No, I agree with what you're saying. A lot of the meetings that I have had recently have been with people in different time zones in different countries. So definitely then a call is better because it's the, the best way to speak without having to go to different countries. But I agree, I think it's nice to be able to see body language better in a face-to-facemeeting. But meetings on calls now are so normal that there's not loads of difference. Georgie It is also really nice to be able to take calls in your own house. So, working from home can be really nice because you can have your snacks and drinks nearby. So yeah, they both have their pros and cons. Beth That's true. Georgie OK, let's recap the language we heard during the conversation, starting with brainstorm, which is when you get together with a group of people to come up with ideas. Beth If you speak up in a meeting, you express your opinion using your voice. Georgie In an in-person meeting, everyone is in the same physical place. We can also call this a face-to-face meeting. Beth And we also talked about having a call. This could be a phone call or a video call. And we can also describe this as a remote meeting. Georgie That's it for this episode of Real Easy English. Why not test what you've learned using the worksheet on our website, bbclearningenglish.com. Beth And we'll be back next week with another conversation in easy English. See you then. Georgie Goodbye.

Georgie and Beth have a real conversation in easy English about being messy or tidy. Learn to talk about mess and cleaning. mess something that is dirty or untidy messy describes a place that is untidy or dirty, or a person that doesn't clean things and makes a mess tidy describes a place that is clean, or a person that cleans things and doesn't make a mess to-do list a list of tasks or jobs you need to do Beth Hello and welcome to Real Easy English. In this podcast, we have real conversations in easy English to help you learn. I'm Beth. Georgie And I'm Georgie. You can find a video version of this podcast and a worksheet to help you learn on our website, bbclearningenglish.com. Beth Hello, Georgie. How are you today? Georgie I'm very well, thank you, Beth. How are you? Beth I'm very good, very good. Today we are talking about mess. Now, mess is when something is untidy. I left my house in a bit of a mess this morning. Georgie Oh dear, Beth. That's not very good. Beth I slept in a bit too long. My kitchen is a mess. There are pans on the side. I don't want to think about it really. Georgie Beth, that sounds disgusting. Are you a messy person in general? Beth I like things to be clean, but if there is a bit of mess, I'm OK with it. But I try to sort out the mess as soon as I can. But you know how sometimes you cook dinner, for example, and then I don't do the washing up immediately because I want to eat my food hot. So I will eat, relax for a bit, and then I will clean the kitchen. Georgie Do you have like a rule in your house for the length of time you can leave the washing up? Like, does it have to be that evening or can it be the next day? Beth I like it to be that evening, but it's not always that evening, which I don't like. What about you in your house? Is it tidy? Is it messy? Georgie It's usually quite tidy because I live with two other people. So we all try to be considerate with the shared spaces. So, yeah. And my room, I try to tidy every few days. So, yeah. Beth That sounds quite tidy. Georgie Beth, do you have a favourite job to do around the house? Or a least favourite job? Beth I have a least favourite job and that is washing up. I hate washing the dishes, but we have a dishwasher so I use the dishwasher. But there are some things, like some pans that I should wash up. So I sometimes do them, but my husband does them quite a lot. Georgie Is there any way that you make washing up a more enjoyable activity? Beth There is. I put music on, I put a song on, and I make sure I've finished by the end of the song, and it just makes me happy because I can just sing along and not focus on hating washing up. And it's not even that bad. Georgie I quite like tidying my room because I find it quite satisfying, because you, you end up with a good result at the end. You have a tidy space to relax in and spend time in. That's actually on my to-do list at the moment. Later I'm going to go home and tidy my room. Beth, do you have anything on your to-do list? Beth I do need to hoover, so hoovering is on my to-do list. A to-do list is a list of jobs that you need to do. So I do need to hoover. But I'm not sure if I'll do it today. I might do it tomorrow. OK, let's recap the vocabulary we heard during the conversation, starting with mess. A mess is when something is untidy or dirty. For example, this morning I left my kitchen in a bit of a mess. Georgie We also used the adjective messy to describe a dirty or untidy place. We can also describe a person as messy, which means that they don't clean things and they often make a mess. Beth The opposite of messy is tidy. So a place, like your bedroom, or Georgie's bedroom, can be tidy, and you can also be described as a tidy person. That's if you usually clean things and don't make a mess. Georgie And a to-do list is a list of jobs you need to do – sometimes jobs around the house, like cleaning. Beth That's it for this episode of Real Easy English. If you've enjoyed this episode about messand want to learn more vocabulary for cleaning, Georgie has made a video – Phrasal verbs for housework. Find it on our website, bbclearningenglish.com. Georgie And don't forget to try the worksheet on our website to test what you've learned. We'll be back next week with another conversation in easy English. See you then. Beth Bye!

Beth and Georgie have a real conversation in easy English about being honest and lying. Learn to talk about your secrets. secret a piece of information that you don't tell other people keep a secret not share a piece of information with other people (an) open book refers to someone who is honest and doesn't keep secrets lie say something that isn't true on purpose liar someone who lies a lot Beth Hello and welcome to Real Easy English. In this podcast, we have real conversations in easy English to help you learn. I'm Beth. Georgie And I'm Georgie. You can find a video version of this podcast and a worksheet to help you learn all on our website, bbclearningenglish.com. Beth Hi, Georgie. Georgie Hello, Beth. Beth How is your week going? Georgie It's going well. It's quite a busy one, isn't it? Beth It is. It's only Wednesday. Georgie Yeah. Beth It feels like Friday, but today we're talking about secrets. Georgie Secrets? Beth A secret is a piece of information that you don't tell other people. Georgie Beth, does that mean you're going to tell me all of your secrets? Beth No. Not now. Maybe later. Georgie Oo, OK. Beth So, Georgie, are you good at keeping secrets? Georgie No, I'm definitely not good at keeping secrets. I'm a bit of an open book, which means the opposite of someone who is good at keeping secrets. You're very honest and share things, maybe too much. What about you? Beth OK. I am probably the same as you. I think I'm not good at keeping secrets, but if it's a really important secret and I've been told, please don't tell anyone, then I won't tell anyone. Georgie Yes. So, Beth, what is the biggest secret you've had to keep? Beth I flew abroad to surprise my boyfriend at the time, his dad. And we had to keep it a secret. And we even called him in the morning on a video call and pretended we were at home, and we were actually in a different country. Georgie Oh my gosh. Beth So that was a big secret. Georgie So it went well. Was he surprised? Beth It did. He was very surprised. We were very pleased that we kept it a secret. We did well. Georgie Well done, well done. I've had to keep a big secret. Last year, my friend told me that she was going to propose to her girlfriend. But she told me I had to keep it a secret. And it's really, it was really difficult because we have a group of friends, and I really wanted to tell them, but I couldn't. And I managed to keep it a secret, so I was very proud of myself. Beth That's good. Well done. That reminds me, I had a big secret, too. My friend told me, don't tell anyone and don't tell your mum. And I told my mum by accident. Georgie Oh, no. Can you reveal the secret to us? Beth Oh, yeah. She was pregnant. She's now had the baby. Georgie OK. Beth But she said, yeah, I'm pregnant. But it's really early, so please don't tell anyone. Don't even tell your mum. And then I spoke to my mum a few weeks later and said, you don't know, she's pregnant. And then I realised, oh, no, I wasn't supposed to tell you. Georgie But that was kind of an accident. Beth It was definitely an accident. Georgie Yeah. Beth But I felt really bad. Georgie Well, now she's had the baby. It's OK. It's not a surprise anymore. Beth Sorry! Georgie Beth, do you think secrets are a good or a bad thing? Beth I think it really depends on the secret. There are good secrets, like proposing or having a baby. And then I guess a bad secret really is a lie. If you have to lie, then that's not good. Georgie Yeah, I agree. It's, it's not, yeah, it's not good to lie. And I think that's a reason why I'm not very good at keeping secrets. Because I'm a really bad liar. You can see it in my face if I'm holding, holding in a secret. Beth Yeah. I think sometimes you can look at someone's face and know what they're thinking. I'm definitely like that. If I'm annoyed or angry or something, you can tell from my face. Georgie Well that's good because I'll always know that you're being honest and not keeping any secrets from me. Beth Let's recap the vocabulary we heard during the conversation. We had a secret, which is a piece of information that you can't tell other people. And we also have the phrase keep a secret, which means to not share that piece of information. Georgie If someone is an open book, they don't have secrets and they're honest about their life. Beth And if you lie, you say something that's not true. It's usually seen as negative, but sometimes you have to lie if you want to keep a secret. Georgie And we call someone who lies a lot a liar. Beth And that's it for this episode of Real Easy English. Test what you've learned with the free worksheet on our website, bbclearningenglish.com Georgie We'll be back next week with another conversation in easy English. Goodbye. Beth Bye.

Beth and Georgie have a real conversation in easy English about art and making things. Learn to talk about your hobbies and ideas. creative describes someone who likes art and making things, or has lots of ideas sewing making things from fabric, for example clothes or blankets ceramics (or pottery) making things like mugs and plates from a material called clay take up start doing something, for example a hobby, for the first time Georgie Hello and welcome to Real Easy English. In this podcast, we have real conversations in easy English to help you learn. I'm Georgie. Beth And I'm Beth. You can watch a video version of this podcast and find a worksheet to help you learn on our website, bbclearningenglish.com. Georgie Hello Beth, how are you today? Beth I'm very well, thank you. How are you? Georgie Yes, I'm fine, thank you. Today we're talking all about being creative. If you are a creative person, you enjoy things like art or making things and you have lots of ideas. Beth OK, so let's get started. Are you a creative person? Georgie Well, we have quite a creative job, don't we? We are always coming up with ideas for new series. Editing videos is quite a creative thing. I think I'm creative. What about you? Beth Yeah, I think especially when you talk about what we do for work. We invent new ideas and write scripts, and that is quite inventive. But what about outside of work? Georgie That's what I was going to say. Yes. Outside of work. I don't have any hobbies that are creative, but when I was at school, I used to do photography as a class, and that was quite creative. You have to have a good eye when you, when you do photography. But nowadays I don't do much, actually, sometimes I like colouring in with those colouring books. I enjoy that, but I also think you're not really creating much. You're just choosing the colours. Beth Yeah, you almost need to draw the picture and then colour it in yourself. Georgie Yeah, maybe I'll do that. Maybe I'll try that. What about you? Outside of work? Beth I think I was probably more creative when I was younger. Although, one of my friends at the moment is pregnant, so I have been making a blanket for her baby. It's a patchwork quilt, so that means there's different squares of fabric, and I've been cutting them out andsewing them together with my sewing machine. Georgie Wow. What, what colours are in your patchwork quilt? Beth Well, they're, they're kind of blues and whites and orange-y. Because she doesn't know if it's going to be a boy or a girl. And they're all a little bit patterned, so, yeah. So I've been making that so recently, I have been creative. Georgie Nice. And, Beth, are there any creative things, hobbies you'd like to try? Beth Actually, I know someone who does ceramics, so they make pots and mugs and plates and he does classes. So, I'd quite like to take up ceramics or something like that, just to give it a try. Georgie That's a really good idea, because then you can have new things to have in your kitchen, things that you can actually use. Beth Exactly. Yeah. And again, it's something I did as a child for fun, but I wouldn't really think about doing it now. But if I, like, took it up as a hobby, then it's something creative to do. Georgie Yeah. Nice to do with your hands. Beth What about you? Georgie I, I don't have any ideas at the moment, but I would like to spend my free time doing something creative because I think it's quite therapeutic. It's a good way to take your mind off the stresses of life. So, yeah, no ideas yet. But watch this space. OK, let's recap the language we heard during the conversation, starting with creative, which describes someone who likes art or has lots of ideas. Beth We also had sewing, which is when you make things from material like clothes or blankets. Georgie We also had ceramics, which is also called pottery, which is when you make things like bowls and plates out of a material called clay. Beth And if you take up a hobby, you start doing it for the first time. Georgie And that's it for this episode of Real Easy English. Remember, you can test what you've learnt using the worksheet on our website, bbclearningenglish.com. Beth And next time we'll be talking about secrets. See you then. Georgie Bye.

Neil and Beth have a real conversation in easy English about their lunches. Learn to talk about things you like to eat for lunch Use prefer to talk about something you like more than something else. - I prefer sandwiches to soup for lunch. - I prefer eating away from my desk to having a working lunch. - I prefer to buy lunch rather than to bring in leftovers. Would rather can also be used to talk about something you like more than something else. - I would rather go to a cafe for lunch. - I would rather eat something healthy for lunch. skip not have or do working lunch a lunch that you have while you are working leftovers where you don't finish a meal so you eat what is left the next day Beth Hello and welcome to Real Easy English, the podcast where we have real conversations in easy English to help you learn. I'm Beth. Neil And I'm Neil. There is a video version of this podcast on our website, where you can also find a worksheet and transcript to help you learn. It's at bbclearningenglish.com. Beth Hi, Neil, how are you? Neil I'm hungry. Beth Me too. I'm starving. Neil Well, that's good, because we're talking about lunch today. Beth We're recording this just before lunch, so it's no wonder that we're both very hungry. Neil You might be able to hear our tummies rumble because we're hungry. Beth OK. So, shall we begin? Neil Yes. Let's do it. Beth What have you got for lunch today? Neil Today for my lunch, I have chicken with potatoes and vegetables in a harissa paste. Beth Oh, that sounds really nice. Neil Yeah, it's leftovers actually, which I have heated up and brought in in a little flask. Beth What are leftovers? Neil Good question. Leftovers. That's food from a meal that you've already had that you didn't finish, and you can heat it up and eat it again. Beth Yes. I also have leftovers for my lunch today. So, yesterday I made a pasta for lunch with vegetables in it and I have that. Neil So, Beth, what do you usually have for lunch? Is it usually leftovers or something else? Beth It's usually leftovers when I come into work because it's easier, and then I don't need to buy lunch. But if I go out and buy food, then I would usually go for something like sushi or ramen. What about you? What do you usually have for lunch? Neil Yeah. Sometimes I have leftovers that I bring in. Sometimes, I buy a sandwich, for example. Beth What's your favourite kind of sandwich? Neil If I have a sandwich, if I buy a sandwich for lunch, I like to get things like smoked salmon. Nice. With pickles maybe, yeah. Beth There's a really good baguette I like actually that has smoked salmon and egg mayonnaise in it. Oh, it's so nice. Neil Stop it. Beth Sorry. Neil I'm so hungry. Beth Me too. Neil, do you ever skip lunch? Neil No. No way. I would be in a horrible mood if I skipped lunch. Beth I don't understand how anyone can skip any meal. I need to eat all my meals. Neil Yeah. Otherwise, you get hangry. Beth Exactly. 'Hangry' is hungry and angry. I'm on the… I'm almost getting hangry now. What's your favourite meal? Is it lunch? Breakfast? Dinner? Neil I think the evening meal is probably my favourite because we sit at the table and chat and it's the biggest, nicest meal of the day and you don't really have to do anything after so you can relax. Beth Yeah that's good. I really like brunch which is that sort of in between breakfast and lunch, maybe 10:00. And I might have eggs and bacon and hash browns and avocado, a big meal full of lots of good food, like a brunch. Neil Do you ever have a working lunch? Beth I do occasionally if I'm working from home because I can carry on working and eat quickly. And then in my actual lunch break, I might have a nice long walk or something like that, but when I'm in the office, I don't want to eat at my desk. Neil No. Me neither. I don't really like working lunches. I would rather eat my lunch without working. Beth Yeah, I'd prefer the same, really. Let's recap the language we heard during the conversation. We had 'skip', which means not have or do. For example, I never skip lunch. Neil We heard 'working lunch', which is when you eat your lunch while you're working. Beth We also had 'leftovers', which is when you don't finish a meal, so you have more of it at a different time, like the next day. Neil And we talked about which meals and food we prefer. If you prefer something, you like it better than something else. Beth Yes. And another phrase we can use to say this is 'would rather'. For example, I'd ratherhave sushi than a sandwich for lunch. Neil That's it for this episode of Real Easy English. Test what you've learned with a worksheet on our website, bbclearningenglish.com. Beth And make sure you join us again for another easy English conversation. We'll be back next week. See you soon. Neil Goodbye.

Neil and Georgie have a real conversation in easy English about the jobs they wanted to do when they were younger. Learn to talk about the jobs you would like to do. When I was younger, I wanted to be a pop star. If I could do any job, I would be a nature photographer. Having good work colleagues is important to me. Georgie Hello and welcome to Real Easy English, the podcast where we have real conversations in easy English to help you learn. I'm Georgie. Neil And I'm Neil. To watch a video version of this podcast and download a free worksheet, go to our website - bbclearningenglish.com. Georgie Hi, Neil, how are you? Are you happy to be at work today? Neil Of course. I'm always happy to be at work. Georgie Great. Well, today we are talking about dream jobs. Obviously, this job is amazing, but we're going to talk about some different jobs we'd like to do. Neil Sounds good. Shall we start? Georgie Yes. Neil So, Georgie, when you were a child, what did you want to do when you grew up? What was your dream job? Georgie Well, when I was really little, about five or six. I remember telling people that I wanted to be a princess. When I realised that wasn't going to be possible for me, my next dream was to be a pop star, because my friends and I used to write songs and perform in front of our parents, and I thought that would be really fun. Yeah. What about you? Neil Well, I'm kind of similar. I think, actually, when I was, when I was a child, I thought that being a professional sportsman would be fantastic. Either a footballer or a cricketer. Georgie What went wrong? Neil I'm not good enough. I learned that lesson. But also, I wanted, when I got a little bit older, sort of teenage, and started playing guitar, I thought, yeah, maybe a rock star would be the thing for me. Georgie So, Neil, obviously you are not a rock star. But how or when did you decide to become an English teacher instead? Neil Well, when I finished university, I wanted to travel more than anything else. And I wanted to live in foreign countries, not just go on holiday. And I thought a good way to do that would be to become an English teacher. Georgie Yeah, I have a similar story. It was the same thing for me. I just wanted to live abroad. Neil Georgie, what is important to you about your job now? Georgie Well, many of us spend a lot of our lives working. So for me, it's really important to enjoy the day. We work nine to five. It's a lot of hours in the day. It's really important to me to have a nice team that you can have fun with. It's also really important for me to feel like I'm giving something good or doing a good job. What about you? Neil Yeah. I think it's important to feel that you're doing something useful. So hopefully our conversations like this are useful for people because they can learn something, and I like that. Georgie Yeah. Me too. So, Neil, if you didn't have to worry about money or anything else, what would your dream job be? I think I know the answer already. Neil Yeah, well, you said earlier that I didn't become a rock star, but there is still a future. And, you know, if I didn't have to work, I could just follow my dream. How about you? Georgie I think if I didn't do this job, I would like to be a travel photographer or someone that makes documentaries. I really love those nature documentaries, and it would be very fun to be involved in those. Neil Yes, that sounds like it would be amazing. Georgie OK, let's recap the language we heard during the conversation. We can describe something like a job as important to us. For example, I said that a nice team at work is important to me. Neil We talked about our dream jobs when we were children using the structure when I was younger, I wanted to be... So, for example, when I was younger, I wanted to be a footballer. Georgie And we talked about our dream jobs now using conditionals. So for example, if I could do any job, I would be a travel photographer. Neil And when we're talking about jobs, we can do them, or we can be them. For example, I teach English, or I am an English teacher. Georgie And that's it for this episode of Real Easy English. If you like our programmes, why not sign up to our email newsletter? You can get suggestions for other English lessons you might enjoy. There's a link in the notes for this programme. Neil Next time we'll talk about lunch. Join us again. Georgie Bye.

Neil and Georgie have a real conversation in easy English about what they'll do this summer. Learn to talk about summer activities. what are you up to? what are you doing? barbecue an outdoor grill to cook food on, or the food you cook on the barbecue picnic when you eat outside, usually sitting on the ground DIY tasks around the house such as painting or building furniture, short for 'do it yourself' mow the lawn cut the grass using a machine called a lawn mower Neil Hi Georgie, you're looking very summery today. Georgie Yes, well, that is because I'm going on my summer holiday tomorrow. Neil Well, that's exciting and very useful because we're talking about summer plans today. It's summer in the UK at the moment, which is a time when people are often busy. So, Georgie, you're going on holiday. Tell me more about that. Georgie So I'm at an age now where lots of my friends are getting married, so I have a few weddings this year. But something that's quite traditional before a wedding is for the bride or the groom to have, like, a celebration. This could be a party. Or more recently, it's become quite common to have a weekend away with a lot of their friends. So that's what I'm doing this weekend. And that's what's called a hen party for a woman or a stag party for a man in the UK. I think in the US it's different. Neil A bachelor party. Georgie Yes. What about you, Neil? What are you up to this summer? Neil Well, we're not going away. We're staying in the UK, but that's OK for me because the weather is actually nice in the summer here usually. So we might do some day trips, go to the beach, maybe a bit of camping with the kids and then go on our proper holiday in October. Georgie That sounds nice. So if you're not going on holiday, do you have any goals, like things you want to complete or get done during the summer? Neil Well, I have a garden and it always needs things doing to it, but actually the only thing I really do is mow the lawn, cut the grass using that machine called a lawn mower. I seem to do that a lot in the summer. How about you, Georgie? Have you got any goals or plans, things you want to do over the summer? Georgie So I don't have a garden at my flat, but we do have a roof terrace and at the moment it looks pretty disgusting. It's not in a very good state. So my housemates and I want to clean that up a little bit. And we're also planning to buy some outdoor furniture, maybe even a barbecue. Neil Wow, that sounds good. Do you like DIY. When you have to build and make things? Georgie It's not my favourite thing, to be honest. I think I'm a bit too lazy for it. But if there's a, you know, a goal and something nice that we'll have at the end, then I'll do it. Why not? Neil I love to barbecue in the summer. Georgie Do you? Neil Yeah. Georgie What do you like to put on the barbecue? Neil Well, all kinds of things. So people often think about burgers and sausages. But I like to do some other things. Quite a lot of fish. I like to grill fish on the barbecue. Georgie You're making me hungry. It's nearly lunchtime. Neil Yeah. And something that you can't do in the UK in the winter, which you can do in the summer, which I love, is stay out late in the evening because it's light. Right now it's light until almost 10 o'clock at night. So I like barbecuing in the summer. Georgie, is there anything that you do or like doing in the summer that you can't do other times of year? Georgie Good question. Yes. I really like going on picnics with friends, and I actually did that last week with some friends. So you just buy lots of small snacks from the shop, or you can cook stuff, I guess, and bring it. You find a park and then sit and eat with friends, maybe play some music. Neil Let's recap the vocabulary we heard in this conversation. Starting with the question what are you up to? Which means what are you doing? What are you up to tomorrow, Georgie? Georgie I am going to the airport tomorrow. We've also had DIY, which is short for do it yourself. And it means tasks around the house, like painting or building furniture. For example, I'm going to do some DIY on my roof terrace this summer. Neil We've heard barbecue. Now a barbecue is an outdoor grill for cooking on, but it's also the name of the meal that you cook on the barbecue, or the event or party that you have with barbecued food. Georgie A picnic is when you take food to an outdoor space, like a park or the beach. You usually sit on a blanket and eat on the ground. Neil And we heard mow the lawn. And that means cutting the grass with a lawn mower. Georgie And that's it for this episode of Real Easy English. Now test the vocabulary you've learnt using the worksheet on our website. Find it in the links below this episode or visit bbclearningenglish.com. Neil And next time we'll be talking about dream jobs. Join us again. Georgie Goodbye.