📕 Part 1: Tiredness

Rory, what kinds of things make you tired?

Well, I think a lack of sleep and food in combination with sort of time-consuming tedious or intensive tasks is quite tiring. So it's not common these days, thankfully.

What do you do when you feel tired?

I think it depends on where I am and what I'm doing, and maybe the level of fatigue. If I'm at home, and it's during the day, then I can stretch, have an energy drink and switch tasks and then refocus on what I was originally doing. If it's a night, then it's generally a sign it's time for bed.

Who do you usually talk to when you feel mentally tired?

Well, it's a similar process to when I'm physically tired, I have to evaluate what I'm doing. Sometimes it's just a case of, I don't know switching things up. Though other times it's a sign the task is actually pointless, at least in its present form, and I need to do something more engaging to liven things up a bit.

Do you like to talk to strangers when you feel mentally tired?

I'll be honest, and say I'm not terribly thrilled to speak to anyone when my brain is wiped out. I mean, is anybody? I'm not an extrovert who can sort of extract energy from my interactions with people under those circumstances?

Do you want to talk to strangers when you feel tired?

Oh, I think I have to refer back to my previous answer on that subject. Sometimes it's best to just politely inform them that you're tired and need some space, and most people understand a reasonable request like that, don't they?

Are you often tired?

Um, no. Like I say it's not such a big problem these days, thankfully.

How many cans of energy drinks do you consume when you get tired?

It depends on the time of day, like if we're talking during the day we are not generally tired but I just like drinking energy drinks, then two or three. And then if it's at night, then not at all because you want to sleep.

How many liters? Two or three liters, right, of energy drinks?

No, no, it's not. If it's... Let's say it's like an average of 250 milliliters per con. It's like less than a liter per day. -

Yeah, dear listener, it's not an IELTS question. I just know that Rory is fond of energy drinks. And I kind of you know?

No.

I'll ask this question. How many litres of energy drinks do you consume a day?

Perfectly normal IELTS question?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, like... But they do have some psychological questions, right. So when you feel mentally tired, do you usually talk to strangers? Do you talk to, who do you talk to? Do you talk to yourself? Right? How often?

Although it's important to point out those last two questions are quite similar. So if you get a question, you're like, Well, I think I just answered that question, then you can just say like, I'll just refer you back to my previous answer, and maybe give a bit more information.

Yes. Why are you asking me this?

Well, you can't say why are you asking me this, because like, that's their job. They're the examiner.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Doesn't matter how stupid or silly the question is. Just give the answer. You know, dear listener, yeah, some questions are quite silly. But just give the examiner something. It's English that matters. Okay? Right. So tiredness, tiredness is from being tired.

It is.

We can also use an adjective. Tiring.

Yes. On the subject of...

Something can be tiring.

On the subject of being tired if you get bored of saying tired, if you get tired of saying tired, then you could say fatigue, which just means the same thing.

Whoo. I usually feel fatigue or I'm fatigued.

Yes.

I get fatigued. Okay, cool. Dull tasks are usually tiring. My job is tiring. Listening to this podcast is not tiring. What you say, liven things up, right? You said Rory. You liven things up when you listen to this podcast.

Yes, the phrasal verb, and if you like phrasal verbs, and you might like our "Podcourse".

Of course. Yes, check out our phrasal verbs course to liven things up. Yeah, also we can say a lack of sleep. It's interesting with this lack thing. Do you use an article or you don't? Can you say I think lack of sleep makes me tired or I think a lack of sleep makes me tired.

Well, it's a good question, actually.

But what seems natural to you, both?

Well, both, but the situations will differ. So if you're speaking generally then just say like lack of sleep causes problems. But if you're talking about yourself or a specific person or situation, then a lack of sleep, and then the more you talk about it, then the lack of sleep.

Tedious. When we think about being tired, we can use the word tedious tasks. The same as boring, dull tasks. Oh, it's so tedious. Yeah. To prepare for this IELTS exam. Oh, tedious. Or this reading texts, some reading texts are tedious.

It's not tedious, it's fun. Might be fun. Yeah. Yeah. When you talk about what you do when you feel tired, so you can just say I usually stretch. So you stretch your body, have an energy drink, or a drink. Switch tasks, so switch. Switch like change tasks.

Yeah.

You also said switching things up.

Yes. Which is just the same thing. It's like the process of changing tasks.

You need to do something more energizing. Yay.

Which is just another way of saying it gives you energy.

Like, do you sometimes switch on some music?

Yeah. Well, switching on music isn't energizing, but listening to it might be.

But do you like not just listen to music, do you sometimes switch on some music and then dance to it?

No, because I can't dance.

Yes, you can. I saw you dancing. I know you can do the moves.

Badly, so...

No, it was fine. Rory was fine, really.

No, I was not.

Once we went out and we went to a club. Yes, I know, dear listener. Now it's coming out, the truth. We went to a club. I have a photo. I don't have a video of Rory dancing. I should have made some videos.

This is for the best I think.

: Yeah, we were in the middle of the dance floor and Rory was dancing. Yeah, to music. Mm hmm. Yep. Not even drunk. Were you tipsy though?

Let's move on.

Yeah, all right. Okay. Mentally tired is when you are tired in your head, not in your body.

Yes.

And Rory, you said that I'm not terribly thrilled to speak to anyone, especially strangers.

Yes. So if you're not terribly thrilled, it just means you don't want to do something. But instead of saying I don't want to do this, you just say I'm not terribly thrilled at the idea.

Yeah. Oh, IELTS writing? Oh, I'm not terribly thrilled to write 10 essays a day, you know?

Is anybody?

No, maybe some people are keen on writing 10 essays a day. I don't know. I haven't met them.

Who?

Maybe they in Scotland. And then you said something like, my brain is wiped out.

Yes. So if you're wiped out then it's just another way of saying that you're really tired. So like I'm completely wiped out. I'm really tired.

Does it mean the same as worn out.

Um, they're remarkably similar. Worn out is more subtle than wiped out. Wiped out is like just tired, like really tired.

So we can also say that I am exhausted. I'm completely exhausted. I'm worn out. Or I'm wiped out. Oh, one more. Knackered. Can you say knackered?

Yes, knackered is good.

Yeah, but that's British, that's British English. Knackered starts with "kn", knackered. Oh, yesterday I was completely knackered. Would your Scottish friends say something like that? Knackered?

Absolutely. Yes.

And a nice one, Rory said, I'm not an extrovert who can extract energy from my interactions with people. So we extract energy from people.

Well, that's what extroverts do, isn't it? Like they extract energy from their interactions with people.

Hmm. I don't know. Whenever you get tired, you just go out and then extract energy from everybody. Like a vampire and then like yay. I've sucked all the energy out of them. And then you do your evil laugh. Like this.

Is that your evil laugh?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Rory, who do you extract energy from these days? Your family, your friends, Vanya, our producer?

I extract energy from the drinks that I'm drinking.

Cool.

However, I think we've extracted enough grammar and vocabulary from this particular task. So, hopefully we haven't tired you out.

Which is another phrasal verb. Check out our phrasal verbs course. The link is in the description. Go there now, go, go, go. Oh, Rory, at the very beginning of the podcast, you said that sleeping well staves off the tiredness. Yeah, we need clarification on that one.

Yes, on the subject of phrasal verbs stave off is a phrasal verb. And it just means to prevent something from happening or to deal with something as it happens to you. So you stave off tiredness by getting a good night's sleep. You stave off a cold by eating well and not exposing yourself to cold situations.

So we stave off illnesses, tiredness, anything else?

Boredom. We've talked about boredom before.

IELTS Speaking for Success helps you to stave off your boredom. Thank you very much for listening. We hope that you stay happy and not at all tired, especially with our episodes, and premium podcast and phrasal verbs course and everything we do. Bye-bye!

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