📙 Part 2 - Describe a beautiful sky you enjoyed seeing

This episode's vocabulary

Skyline (noun) – the outline of a city seen against the sky. → I’ve really liked the New York City skyline.

Timeless (adj) – not affected by the passage of time; classic. → It’s got this sort of timeless quality.

Skyscraper (noun) – a very tall modern building. → The addition and removal of things like skyscrapers…

Reflect (verb) – to bounce back light, heat, or sound. → The water reflects the colour of the sky.

Sparkling (adj) – shining brightly with flashes of light. → That creates a shining or sparkling effect.

Claustrophobic (adj) – feeling trapped or confined in a small space. → I found it a little overwhelming and claustrophobic.

Overwhelming (adj) – very intense or difficult to handle. → I actually found it a little overwhelming.

Aircraft (noun) – any machine that can fly, such as a plane or helicopter. → The sky was full of planes and other aircraft.

Angle (noun) – a particular way of viewing something. → Enjoy it from different angles.

Mainland (noun) – the main landmass of a country or continent, not including islands. → The river between it and the mainland.

Panoramic (adj) – giving a wide view of an area. → The rooftop offered a panoramic view of the skyline.

Iconic (adj) – widely recognized and well-established. → The Empire State Building is an iconic part of New York.

Urban (adj) – related to a city or town. → Urban landscapes can be both chaotic and beautiful.

Horizon (noun) – the line where the earth or sea seems to meet the sky. → The sun dipped below the horizon.

Vibrant (adj) – full of life, energy, or color. → New York has a vibrant skyline, especially at night.

Questions and Answers

Maria: You should say where you saw it, who you saw it with, what you saw, and how you felt about it.

Rory: Uh, well, I've really liked the New York City skyline, and the skies above it whenever I've been to visit. It's got this sort of timeless quality, despite having changed over the course of the years as different buildings have gone up and come down. I've seen it with different people, from my parents when we went there to visit relatives, to some friends that I lived with briefly, and even by myself, just on a short break alone. These trips were all over the course of the last three decades, so obviously in that time, like I say, it's changed a lot. I was there in the summer, so the sky was always clear, and full of planes and other aircraft, which makes sense since New York is a major city. Some big differences are the addition and removal of things, like skyscrapers, due to everything that's happened there as time passed, like I mentioned.

Despite the changes, though, it's always beautiful. For example, the water, first of all, reflects the colour of the sky, and since it's always blue at that time of year, that's really nice. And then it also reflects light off the water, onto the glass of the buildings, and the water itself that surrounds the city as well, and that creates a shining or sparkling effect. You'd think that would make it hard to see, but I think it's quite nice to sit back and enjoy it from different angles, whether that's in the city itself, or the other bank of the river between it and the mainland, and I suppose that describes how I feel about it quite nicely. There's something about seeing a city skyline which I find really engaging and energising.

It wasn't like that at first. I actually found it a little overwhelming and claustrophobic when I was a bit closer up, but I got used to it. I'm glad that I had the chance to see it for myself, even though it's a popular sight on television and at the cinema, it's always better to see it in real life. And hopefully I'll have the chance again soon!

Discussion

Maria: Right, dear listener, first of all, you should make up a story about a beautiful sky that you enjoy seeing. And here, seeing is a very strange verb, Rory, you kind of see the sky, like we look at the sky, right?

Rory: Well, yeah, but you also see it with your eyes, so it sounds weird, but that's what we've got to work with.

Maria: The story should be in the past, so I saw the sky, I enjoyed the sky. But you can start it off with some present perfect, like I've been to New York, or once I've visited London. And then you can use the past tense, like I saw, I enjoyed, the sky was blue. You can say skyline, so the New York skyline, which means the New York sky. Or do we say skies?

Rory: Well, it's where the skyline is. Where the buildings stand out from the rest of the sky. So every city has its own unique skyline, yeah.

Maria: But can I say, like, I enjoyed beautiful skies?

Rory: Oh, well, the skies here, if it's in a specific place.

Maria: I enjoyed the beautiful skies. Yeah, I enjoyed the beautiful sky or the beautiful skies, also possible. So you say that I enjoyed a beautiful sky when I was in New York, or when I was in London, or when I was in the countryside at night. So with my friends or alone, you can say, yeah, I saw it alone. It was in the summer or it was in winter. So the sky was clear, no clouds. And you can talk about the sky at night or during the day, or perhaps there were some clouds. Actually, clouds make the sky really beautiful, you know, like fluffy white clouds, very nice. So the sky was clear and full of planes, like I saw many planes or other aircrafts, like helicopters, hot air balloons. If you were by the water, you could say that the light reflected off the water, and I really enjoyed the water and the sky.

Rory: The water reflects the colour of the sky, so it's still something connected to the sky.

Maria: And the light created this shining effect. So you could see the sky in the water, and it's shining, the sun is shining brightly. It was quite nice to sit back and enjoy the beautiful sky.

Rory: Well, maybe not just the sky, but also the view of the people as well. I quite like people watching.

Maria: You can say that I find watching the sky really engaging and energising. Energising, it gives you energy, it, I don't know, relaxes you. And engaging, it's exciting to look at the sky, to see how clouds move, how the sky changes. Or for example, if you enjoy looking at the stars, I really enjoy looking at the sky at night, because it's really engaging and energising. And Rory, what exactly did you find claustrophobic?

Rory: Just too many buildings, especially up close, it makes you feel very small.

Maria: Yeah, because Rory was talking about New York and the skyline and lots of buildings, skyscrapers, lots of glass. And when you're standing there, looking at this city skyline, you could feel a bit claustrophobic. And it could be overwhelming. So it could be a bit too much. Rory, what if our listener chooses to talk about the night sky? What can they say?

Rory: Oh, wow. Well, they'd still need to talk about where it is. So again, mentioning the location, why you were there is very important. But then, for this night sky specifically, well, we need to describe the colour. So, depending on the time of year, some skies can be totally black. Other night skies can be a little lighter because sometimes the sun sets later. And then we talk about what's in the sky. So you might be able to see the clouds or you might not be able to, or it's a cloudless night, or maybe the moon is out. So we can talk about the position of the moon and the stars, too. And the planets. You can see the planets in some parts of the world.

Maria: Yeah, different constellations. And what equipment do you use to look at different stars?

Rory: Your eyes. No, a telescope. It could be a telescope or binoculars. I don't know how many people do that these days.

Maria: And dear listener, please listen to our episodes about stars and the sky. Speaking part one episodes, they will help you with vocabulary and grammar for this particular cue card, this topic, a beautiful sky. And you have to choose if you're going to be talking about a night sky, about stars, then different vocabulary or about the sky during the day. Or like Rory, you can talk about a city skyline. So buildings, skyscrapers, water, and how the light reflects off the water, and also the sky. So three different options. Rory, what helped you organise your answer?

Rory: Going to New York so many times, really. I followed the cue card. I could have said a bit more about where, to be honest. I could have said where New York is, although I think most people are aware of that. And then I moved on to say who I've seen it with. I didn't introduce that part, but I said I've seen it. So seen this sky, the skyline, and then talked about who that was with. And because I'd been there different times, I mentioned different groups of people as well. I also didn't introduce the next point as well. I said these trips were over the course of decades. So it was just describing where I'd been before. So that's another connecting phrase as well, or a way to connect this. Then I moved into it in more detail. So the sky was clear. It's full of planes. The skyscrapers are visible or not. They've been taken down. And then saying that it's beautiful and it's nice to sit back and enjoy it. And then I came to the end. And this is maybe the one part where I did introduce it a bit more formally, because I said that describes how I feel about it quite nicely. But that's just referring back to what I said before again. So things like this and that and these are very important to do that. And then I went into my feelings about it in a bit more detail. I said about how I felt about it now, but also at first, just to highlight the difference between those two things. And then I finished by saying, hopefully, I'll see it again. So I talked about the past, but I can also make a reference to the future as well. I liked it so much. I want to see it again.

Maria: Thank you very much for listening. We'll get back to you in our speaking part three about astronomy and space exploration.

Rory: Ooh, fancy.

Maria: Bye.

Rory: Bye.

Make sure to subscribe to our social media to see some of the “behind the scenes” stuff:

Our Instagram: bit.ly/instagramswi

Our Telegram: bit.ly/telegramswi