📙 Part 2: Describe a bicycle, motorcycle, or car trip that you would like to go on

This episode's vocabulary

Quite fancy (verb phrase) – to like or want to have or do something. → Example: I quite fancy taking a trip up north in the car.

Head up there (phrasal verb) – to go or travel to a place, especially one that is to the north. → Example: I think it would be pretty interesting to head up there.

Outdoorsy (adjective) – enjoying outdoor activities like walking in the country, camping, etc. → Example: Maybe one of the more outdoorsy ones would be the best.

Slumming it (verb phrase) – to spend time in conditions that are much less comfortable than normal. → Example: Someone who doesn't mind slumming it in a cheaper hotel.

Rugged (adjective) – (of a landscape) wild and not flat or smooth. → Example: Given how rugged I think it can get up there.

Go about things (phrasal verb) – to deal with something in a particular way. → Example: People there have a very different lifestyle to how we go about things.

In touch with nature (idiom) – having a good understanding and experience of the natural world. → Example: It's probably a bit more relaxed and in touch with nature.

Smooth sailing (idiom) – easy progress without any problems or difficulties. → Example: I doubt it would be all smooth sailing.

Volatile (adjective) – likely to change suddenly and unexpectedly. → Example: The climate is a bit more volatile.

Best bet (noun phrase) – the action that is most likely to be successful. → Example: I think the best bet would be the summer time.

Get rained on (passive phrase) – to have rain fall on you. → Example: We'd be less likely to get rained on.

Efficient route (collocation) – the quickest and most direct way to get somewhere. → Example: I just think it's the most efficient route.

Take ages (idiom) – to take a very long time. → Example: It looked like it would take ages to get there on the train.

Cut up about it (phrasal verb) – to be very upset or distressed about something. → Example: I doubt I'll be too cut up about it.

Flight of fancy (idiom) – an idea that shows a lot of imagination but is not practical. → Example: It's just a flight of fancy.

Questions and Answers

Maria: Describe a bicycle, motorcycle, or car trip that you would like to go on. You should say who you'd like to go with, where you'd like to go, when you'd like to go, and explain why you'd like to go on such a trip.

Rory: I quite fancy taking a trip up north in the car, actually. I've not really seen that much of that particular part of my country, and so I think it would be pretty interesting to head up there and find out exactly what it's like. When it comes to who I go with, frankly, I'd take off there with just about anyone of my friends. Though, given how rugged I think it can get up there, maybe one of the more outdoorsy ones would be the best. Like one of the ones who likes camping, or maybe someone who doesn't mind slumming it in a cheaper hotel or even in the car, come to think of it. In terms of exactly where I'd want to go, I think it would be interesting to see what it's like around this town called Wick. It's one of the most northerly towns in the country, and I imagine people there have a very different lifestyle to how those of us live in the larger cities and how we go about things. It's probably a bit more relaxed and in touch with nature since there's less development and more land, I suppose, and space to move and relax. That being said, I doubt it would be all smooth sailing as the climate is a bit more volatile, just the place being more exposed and what not. So with regards to when I'd go, bearing all that in mind, with the climate, I think the best bet would be the summer time. We'd be more likely to get at least a little bit of sun and calmer weather and just less likely to get rained on. I suppose that's the tourist season as well. So things are likely to be open, if a little crowded. As for why I'd like to go by car, I just think it's the most efficient route, to be honest with you. I think I looked up how to get there once and it looked like it would take ages to get there on the train or the bus, and it's next to impossible to get there by bike. So car is pretty much my only hope. That said, if I don't get the chance to go there, I doubt I'll be too cut up about it. It's just a flight of fancy.

Discussion

Maria: Yay, thank you Rory for your story. So dear listener, you should describe a trip, a bicycle trip. So you go somewhere by bicycle. Yeah, traveling to another country by bicycle, or maybe traveling in your own country, in the countryside, by bicycle. Motorcycle by, by bike, right, or by car. And, it's about the future. So, not the past, you'd like to go on this trip. Right? So you use future. Or you use different structures, maybe I will, I want to do something. I think it would be interesting to do do do do do. Right? So we're talking about the future. Right. And usually, you say I'd like, I want, maybe one day I will, right? Future structures. A trip, dear listener. So, I'd like to go on a trip. Right? Oh, I'm going to tell you about a car trip that I'd like to take. Rory, we usually take a trip, right?

Rory: Yeah, or go on a trip.

Maria: Go on a trip up north, right? In the north. Or go on a trip to Rome. Or just, visit Rome. Go on a car trip to... Or I'd like to travel by bicycle to Germany, for example. You can start it off with, I quite fancy taking a trip up north in the car. Take a trip somewhere in the car. You can say, I'd like to go to blah, blah, blah by car. Fancy here means I enjoy. So I would like to do it. Fancy doing something, dear listener. But here, Rory, you can also say I would fancy, I'd fancy going somewhere.

Rory: Yeah. I'd fancy taking a trip.

Maria: Yeah, I'd fancy. I would fancy. I would like. Where do you fancy going?

Rory: Tibet.

Maria: China and Africa.

Rory: Where in Africa? That's a big place.

Maria: Ooh, somewhere I can see zebras and lions and stuff. Something exotic, like maybe Zimbabwe. So, dear listener, first of all, you should choose, would you like to go by bicycle, by bike, motorcycle, or by car. I think the easiest option would be to stick to a car trip. Going somewhere by car. And you can say, I've never been, I've never been to Rome. I've never seen Rome, so I'd like to travel to Rome by car. Again, any place, dear listener, right? But you should be able to describe this place. And Rory talked about the north of his country, Scotland. And he says, I've not really seen much of the north. So I think it would be pretty interesting to head up there. To go there or to head up there. A nice synonym. Yeah, I'd like to head up north. So to the north of my country. And I'd like to find out what it's like in Rome.

Rory: And of course, to find out is a good phrasal verb.

Maria: Yeah, it is. And head up also is a phrasal verb. But we are talking about a trip that you can take by car. So if you have an ocean, or if you want to go to an island, can you go there by car, by bicycle? When you change the topic, you use the following phrase. When it comes to who I'd like to go with, yeah? When it comes to... Speaking about who I'd like to go there with... So when it comes to who I'd go with, I'd go with my, yeah, with my family. And Rory says, I'd go there with anyone of my friends. And Rory, you've used another phrasal verb. Take off.

Rory: Yes. We take off in a car. I don't mean like in a plane. I mean like you go somewhere. And if you're going north, you're going upwards. So you take off up there. If you're going south, you take off down there.

Maria: Yeah, that's interesting. So, if it gets rugged. What does it mean?

Rory: Oh, rugged, what usually it describes the terrain or an area, and that just means that it's not very developed. It's perhaps not very safe. It's very open. There's not much shelter.

Maria: And you can say that, I'd take a friend of mine who enjoys camping, so who enjoys sleeping in a tent, and who doesn't mind getting dirty, who doesn't mind staying in a cheap hotel, or who doesn't mind sleeping in the car, for example. And then you can say, okay, I'm going to take my brother, my sister, and then explain why. Why would you take them? Because they are, I don't know, happy, friendly, they can help me out in any situation. Or they have a lot of money, so they are ready to pay for me. Yay. In terms of where exactly I'd want to go... Again, you see, I would want to go. The future. So we're changing the topic. In terms of where exactly I'd want to go, I think it would be interesting to see... Again, future structures. I think it would be interesting to see blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And here you can mention some names. Like Rory told us about some Wick, some towns, right? You can mention some museums, to see the museum of blah, blah, blah, blah. Right? Or the statue of, some parks, I don't know what you want to see.

Rory: And when we talk about where places are, Wick is in the north. So it's the most northerly town. However, it might be in the south, so it's a southerly town. Or in the east or the west. It's a town to the west, a town to the east. You could say westerly or easterly, I suppose.

Maria: With regards to when I'd go. Again, we are changing the topic. With regards to, dear listener, use it only like this. With regards to something. So with regards to when I'd go, I would go... I think the best bet would be the summer time. Again, would be, right? Will be. Would be. And here, I think the best bet would be... bet here in this context it means the best time would be the summer time, or the winter time. And then Rory uses a future structure. Be more likely to. So we would be more likely to get a lot of the sun, right? So probably we will get. We would be more likely to get. Probably we will get, right? Likely to is a good structure. You can use it in essays, in speaking part three, in speaking part two. So a nice one. Please write it down. So we'd be more likely to get the sun and to get calmer weather. And you can say we'd be less likely to get rained on. So you can say, yeah, probably we won't see rain, or if you want a band nine answer, we'd be less likely to get rained on. So to get rain on your head. Yeah, a passive structure. That's the tourist season, or maybe that's not the tourist season. You may want to go there outside the tourist season.

Rory: In the off-season.

Maria: Off-season, yeah.

Rory: Yeah. I think you have the high season and the low season as well for tourist numbers.

Maria: High season. Right. Yeah, exactly. High season, low season. Off season. Not where most people go them. Also, you can say, so it will be less crowded or more crowded. So how many people will be there?

Rory: A lot, or a few.

Maria: I'd like to go by car because it's the most efficient route. Route like path. It's the most efficient way to go there, the most efficient path. I looked up how to get there. So when you research how to get there, you can say I looked up how to get there. And everybody says it's better to go there by car, not by train. So I looked it up. I found out that the best route is to go there by car. It would take ages on the train. Again, it would take in the future. It would take a lot of time on the train or by bus, or by bicycle, right, or on foot, right? And then we can finish off with an if sentence, a conditional. A real conditional, the first conditional here. If I don't get the chance to go there. So let's imagine that I won't go on this trip. If I don't get the chance to go there, so if it doesn't happen. I'll be fine. I'll go somewhere else. Yeah. So if I don't get the chance to do this, I'll, blah, blah, blah, right? What does it mean? It's just a flight of fancy.

Rory: Oh, I'm just fantasizing about it. I'm not investing a great deal of time and, sorry. Oh, it just means I'm just fantasizing about it. I'm not investing a great deal of time and thought into it. I'm not taking it seriously.

Maria: Yeah. So it's just a flight of fancy. So I won't be disappointed if I don't get the chance to do it. Right, dear listener. Thank you very much for listening. Hopefully you choose your trip wisely. And we'll get back to you in our new episode, speaking part three. All right? Bye.