📙 Part 2: Describe a good decision you've made recently

This episode’s vocabulary

To rabbit on (phrasal verb) - to continue talking about something that is not interesting to the person you are talking to.

Worth a try phrase) - deserving of an attempt.

Continuous (adj.) - without a pause or interruption.

To go by smth (phrasal verb) - to base an opinion, decision, or judgment on something.

Phenomenon (noun) - something that exists and can be seen, felt, tasted, etc., especially something unusual or interesting.

Newbie gains (noun) - refers to the rapid increase in muscle mass that occurs when people with little to no previous weightlifting experience start lifting weights.

To fork out (phrasal verb) - to pay a large amount of money, especially unwillingly.

Intangible (adj.) - impossible to touch, to describe exactly, or to give an exact value.

To get your money's worth (noun) - to receive good value for something you have paid for.

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Questions and Answers

Maria: Rory is going to describe a good decision he's made recently. He will say what it was, when he made it, what the result was, and he'll explain how he felt about it. I'm going to give him one minutes, so he can think about what he's going to say. He can take notes if he wishes. Rory, could you start speaking now, please?

Rory: Yeah, I've decided that I'm going to speak about hiring a personal trainer, though I'm aware that that might not be news to some people, since I rabbit on about it a lot. But actually, I'm really pleased that I made that decision, and I think it's worth talking about, to be honest with you. So I decided to get one in September this year, actually. It was after my friend recommended I try one. She seemed very happy with the one that she had, and you could see the difference in how she looked and even how she started to behave, I think. Healthy people seem to be much happier. So I thought it might be worth a try. Well, like I say, I made the decision in September, but I didn't actually start the training sessions until the start of October this year. And it's been about a month now since I started. And I'm having a great time, I think. Well, not. I think I know I'm having a great time. There's not really a final result when you make a decision like this, because there's always something to improve. And health and general fitness is, kind of, like a continuous process. But I could still see some differences after a month, and it seems the others can as well, or at least going by comments people make. That's one of the reasons that I like living in Russia. So yeah, although, I think this phenomenon is called something like "newbie gains". So it won't last forever and I should probably be psychologically prepared for that. At first it felt strange forking out so much money for something that seems so intangible. But even after such a short time, I feel like I definitely got my money's worth in the end. It's really improved my confidence and my strength and my overall health. So I'd definitely say that it was an important decision and a good one and I would encourage other people to do so if they have the means. I think it's one of these things that we could all afford to spend a bit more time and money on, frankly.

Maria: Have you talked to your friends about this decision?

Rory: Yeah! Too much and they're probably bored to death by now.