📙 Part 2: Describe a historical period you would like to know more about

This episode's vocabulary

In passing - if something is said in passing, it is said while talking about something else and is not the main subject of a conversation.

Postbellum (adj.) - relating to the time after a war, especially the American Civil War.

Antebellum (adj.) - relating to the time before a war, especially the American Civil War.

Tension (noun) - a feeling of fear or anger between two groups of people who do not trust each other.

The Confederacy (noun) - the group of southern states in the American Civil War that fought to leave the United States and keep slavery.

To smuggle (verb) - to take things or people to or from a place secretly and often illegally.

Cursory (noun) - quick and probably not detailed.

To inflame (verb) - to cause or increase very strong feelings such as anger or excitement.

To ameliorate (verb) - to make a bad or unpleasant situation better.

Pivotal (adj.) - central and important.

Abolition (noun) - the act of ending an activity or custom officially.

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Questions and Answers

M: Rory, are you all ready?

R: I am ready.

M: Off you go.

R: It's funny, because I've talked about this before. Although it was just in the passing. I mentioned, I would like to know more about the post and antebellum periods in American history. That's the period just before and just after the Civil War. I suppose of the two I'd like to know more about the antebellum, because that's the one I know the least about. I know it's a period defined by rising tensions between the two blocks of states, the North and the South, and the formation of the Confederacy, and the underground railroad that smuggled escaped slaves north, and the wider fight against slavery. But the key details completely escape me. I've only read about them in a very cursory fashion. So they're really easy to overlook, and probably even easier to forget, now that I think about it. I mean, I have no idea who the President was before Abraham Lincoln, or any of the decisions by the federal and state governments that inflame the tensions or even tried to ameliorate them. Similarly, how the Confederacy was born. I mean, it must be quite difficult to construct or form a government while you're still part of another one, they would have had to do that in secret, I would imagine. It's all fascinating, mostly because there's a huge gap in my knowledge that almost demands to be filled. But also because it's the background to a pivotal moment, or I suppose pivotal series of moments in history. The abolition of slavery wasn't just an American phenomenon. It was a global struggle for people from Britain to Russia, and very few people have any idea how we got there. And I'd really like to be one of those few in order to make it one fewer. I suppose if it weren't for that period in history, who knows how things would have turned out? I mean, I can't imagine what it would be like if we still had slaves in America today and all of the other countries that banned slavery. It would be a completely alien experience.

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Discussion

M: What a story! Rory story! Yeah, what a topic as well. Yeah? Describe a historical period. Dear listener, you should now make a choice. What historical period? Yeah, I know, if you've done like history much, well, yeah, it's a tough one for you.

R: You better start.

M: Yes. start liking history because of the IELTS test. So make a choice. And if you have nothing to say about any historical period, go online, research, take notes and then like to make your story. Sorry about that. Or you can copy Rory's answer. So, Rory, you talked about the past and...period in American history.

R: The antebellum period. The pre-war period. No, or the pre-Civil War period.

M: Why didn't you say pre-Civil War period? Why did you have to say this...

R: Because that's the name of it. I don't make up these rules.

M: How do you pronounce it?

R: Antebellum. Before the war. Or before the belligerence, I suppose is the best way to put it.

M: A specific name for this specific historical period in American history. Rory is Scottish. But he's into American history for some reason.

R: Well, it's more interesting. They made us learn about farms for Scottish history. Is it any wonder that I've been totally put off?

M: It was a period defined by rising tensions between different states, right? So it was a period when blah, blah, blah. Rising tensions. When tensions rise...

R: They get worse.

M: Yeah, yeah.

R: Well, or they become more inflamed. I'm not really sure. It was so bad for everybody.

M: And then Rory gave us specific words like the North and the South in the United States, the formation of this Confederacy. Well, again, depending on the historical period you're talking about, dear listener. The words will be different, yeah? Rory talked about slaves and slavery. But at school when he studied this period, the key details completely escaped Rory. So the key details completely escaped me. So they were lost for me. That's why I'd like to know more about this particular period. And also you can say, I've only read about this period in a book, or I've... Present Perfect, yeah? I've only read about it, or I've only heard about this period. What did you mean by in a very cursory fashion?

R: It just means that I looked at it for a really short time, and then moved on.

M: So the details are easy to overlook. Overlook, like, I didn't go in depth. I didn't study them well, so they escaped me, or some interesting details were easy to overlook. And then Rory told us that it's all fascinating. Fascinating like really exciting. And it's a huge gap in knowledge. So Rory has a gap in his knowledge about this historical period, like a gap, like some empty space. And you can say, oh, I feel I have this huge gap in my knowledge, and it demands to be filled.

R: Yeah. So usually you fill a gap with something. Fill in gaps in knowledge, with knowledge.

M: So why are you interested or why do you want to learn more about this period? Well, because there's a gap in my knowledge, and I need to fill it in with knowledge. And this was a pivotal moment in history. That's a nice adjective. Pivotal. Yes? Pivotal?

R: It's like, the moment in history, a turning point in history.

M: Like a turning point in history. When they decided not to have slaves anymore. So the abolition of slavery. Slavery was abolished, so it was banned. So no more slavery. That's it. So the abolition, abolition of slavery. Slavery was abolished. And it was a global struggle for people all over the world. From Britain to Russia, so it's a global struggle. You can also choose something like big, dear listener, yeah? I mean, history. Even if you don't want to learn about it, just choose a period that you can talk about, that's easy to talk about. Choose something like important. Yeah, you can choose to talk about the abolition of slavery in the United States, for example, or in your country.

R: And of course, we round off with if it weren't for that period in history, who knows how things would've turned out. A nice conditional sentence.

M: Why did you say if it weren't? I think it should be if it hadn't been.

R: I don't know. Does it make a difference?

M: I think so. Because like, this period was in the past, right? So we can't kind of use mixed conditional. If it hadn't been, because it was in the past. And we're talking about a hypothetical past. Like...

R: Well, we're talking about how things would turn out in the future, though. Who knows how things would have turned out now? Or how things would look now. You don't agree?

M: No.

R: It's like connecting the past to the future. If it weren't for the Civil War, who knows how things would have turned out? We might still have slaves in America today.

M: Okay.

R: But we don't thank heavens. So that's good.

M: How things would have turned out. So things just happened. Right? So turn out, happen. That's a nice phrasal verb. So without the abolition of slavery, we have no idea how things would have turned out. The third conditional. What helped you to organize this answer?

R: Just exactly what was on the card again. So I had to say when and what I'm interested in, and what I know, and why I would like to know more. So I just went through all of those points one at a time. However, it's important to point out that I picked some really topic-specific vocabulary for my period of history, but there are some things that you could use to talk about yours. For example, here, I used the word period, historical period, and then talking about the one I know least about, and again, you've got to talk about something you don't know much about. So that's quite good for that. And then we talk about the key details completely escaped me. And I've only read about them in a very cursory fashion. So, explaining how it is that you have no idea or a very poorly formed idea of how these things are, and then continuing with that, I have no idea who and then whatever people are in charge. I talked about how the Confederacy was born, but countries are born in general. So you could use that expression how a country is born or how a government is formed, how a government is constructed. And then talking about a gap in your knowledge on a pivotal moment in history. Most historical periods are called that because they're pivotal moments in history. Not all periods in history are parts of global struggles. But they could be global phenomenons. For example, the industrial revolution is a global phenomenon because it affected countries from Germany to Japan. And then, of course, we round off with a nice conditional sentence. If it weren't or if it hadn't been for that period in history. Who knows how things would have turned out?

M: Lovely. How are you, dear listener? Are you okay? Sorry if this is not up your street, but yeah, history it is. Sorry about that. And we'll get back to you in our next episode about history. Okay? Bye!

R: Bye!

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