📙 Part 2: Describe a natural talent you want to improve

This episode's vocabulary

Flexibility (noun) – The ability to bend or move easily. → My general flexibility helps me in yoga.

Joints (noun) – Places where two bones meet. → I can move the joints of my body in various ways.

Hypermobile (adjective) – Having unusually flexible joints. → I wouldn’t say I was hypermobile.

Poses (noun) – Positions in yoga or exercise. → I can hold yoga poses longer than some friends.

Lower Extremities (noun phrase) – Legs and hips. → I want to improve my lower extremities' flexibility.

Hip Flexors (noun) – Muscles that allow you to lift your legs. → Yoga classes target hip flexors.

Adduction (noun) – Movement toward the body’s midline. → Exercises for adduction strengthen the inner thighs.

Abduction (noun) – Movement away from the body’s midline. → Abduction exercises helpthe hips and legs.

Conscious (adjective) – Aware of something. → I’ve been conscious of my flexibility for two years.

Limits (noun) – The maximum capability of something. → Accepting my body’s limits is important in yoga.

Mobility (noun) – Ability to move freely. → Improving mobility helps prevent injuries.

Strength (noun) – Physical power or endurance. → Strength complements flexibility in yoga.

Balance (noun) – The ability to maintain stability. → Balance is key in holding challenging poses.

Stretching (noun/verb) – Extending muscles to improve flexibility. → Daily stretching improves overall range of motion.

Core Muscles (noun phrase) – Muscles in the abdomen and back. → Strong core muscles support flexibility in yoga.

Questions and Answers

Maria: You should say what it is, when you discovered it, how you want to improve it, and explain how you feel about it.

Rory: Well I don't think I'm gifted at anything in particular, to be honest. But if I have to talk about one thing, it might be my general flexibility, I suppose. By that I mean being able to move the joints of my body in various ways. I wouldn't say I was hypermobile or something like that, but generally speaking, I'm more flexible than my friends. It became apparent when I started doing yoga, and I was more easily able to get into poses than a lot of other people, and hold them for longer. Some of my pals are quite stiff by comparison, and struggle to move in different ways. But for me it's not such a problem.

It's been the case for at least two years now, or at least I've been conscious of it since then. I'm sure it's been true for longer than that, I just wasn't aware of it because, well, I hadn't started doing yoga at that point. Of course, it's certainly not the case with all of my joints, and I'd really like to get better at anything involving my lower extremities, to be honest. So anything connected to my legs, like my knees and my hips. I still have issues in those areas, probably because I haven't practised enough. So I suppose I would do more around those specific areas, and there are a load of classes involving things like hip flexors and muscles for adduction and abduction. So it's not like the opportunities don't exist. While it would obviously be great to become better at it, if it doesn't come to pass then I doubt I'll be too caught up about it. An important part to developing in yoga is accepting where your own body's limits are, and I have so many other things going on in my life that it's not particularly necessary. Plus, being a bit less flexible hasn't stopped me from having an amazing life so far, so I doubt it will in the future as well.

Maria: And what do your friends think about it?

Rory: We haven't really spoken about it that much, to be honest. It's not something that comes up in conversation.

Discussion

So, dear listener, a creative person you admire, so what does admire mean? It's like adore.

Rory: Yeah, or you think they're cool, or you like them. You think they've done something positive, or made a difference in the world.

Maria: And here you can choose to talk about an artist. An artist meaning like a painter, Van Gogh, for example, Picasso, a musician, an architect, someone who is connected to art. If you don't have such a person, you have to find them, okay? So it's up to you. And learn about their life, write out 3-5 words, and off you go. Rory chose to talk about Elon Musk. Well, he is quite creative, but I'd say he's a... What do you call Elon Musk?

Rory: An entrepreneur? An entrepreneur, a businessman.

Maria: Entrepreneur, yeah, like a businessperson, according to Wikipedia. But again, why not? He's quite creative. Actually, that's an interesting choice, Rory, because I would choose Van Gogh.

Rory: Well, we were talking about him in the Part 1 episode.

Maria: Yeah, that's true. So, you see, okay, it's possible. But Rory is actually risking it, because the examiner might kind of think like, hmm, is he creative? Is he connected to art in some way?

Rory: Well, does a creative person have to be an artistic person?

Maria: Yeah, exactly.

Rory: We are creative on the podcast. We create new ways to develop grammar and vocabulary.

Maria: Yeah, so you can pick somebody from art or, again, you know, make a choice. But you should know about this person, and you should be able to talk about them. Rory, can I talk about a writer here?

Rory: You could, yeah. Writing is art. And well, even if it's nonfiction, it could also be very nicely done, which requires some creativity.

Maria: Yeah. And you start talking. You don't read out the card. You just say, I'd like to talk about Van Gogh. I'd like to talk about Picasso. And then the founder of ta-ta-ta, or a famous painter, a famous architect. Novel companies, new companies. Novel is a very nice synonym to new. Like a new approach. You can say a novel approach.

Rory: A unique approach. A unique take. A novel take. Take is just meaning understanding here.

Maria: And here Rory explains, like, which needed a lot of creativity. So, we are talking about a creative person, and we are using a noun. Creativity. So, he founded these novel companies that needed a lot of creativity. To get off the ground. So, to get off the ground. To start them going. To make them work.

Rory: I made a fun joke, though.

Maria: Yeah, because Elon Musk deals with, you know...

Rory: Rockets. And then I had to say, to get off the ground. Quite literally. Like, literally. Like, in real life. The rockets are going off the ground. There you go. A joke in part two. The examiner will love that.

Maria: So, get something off the ground is an idiom. So, if a plan or activity gets off the ground, you get it off the ground. It starts, or it succeeds. So, for example, a lot of money is needed to get this project off the ground. So, you have an idea for a company, or a business, or a project, or something. And you say, like, yeah, I need to get it off the ground. I need people. I need money. I need creativity to get it off the ground. To make it successful.

Rory: Maybe you need a miracle.

Maria: I need a miracle to get it off the ground. We change the topic when it comes to who he is. So, that's the first bullet point in our card. Who he is. When it comes to who he is. He's an American… How do you pronounce it? Entrepreneur.

Rory: Entrepreneur. How do you not know that word? I thought you would be very good with that word.

Maria: I know the word. I just struggle to pronounce it.

Rory: How? It's so easy. Entrepreneur.

Maria: Entrepreneur. Oh, look at the spelling, Rory.

Rory: French.

Maria: It's outrageous. Entrepreneur.

Rory: It's French, yes.

Maria: Entrepreneur.

Rory: Entrepreneur, je ne sais quoi.

Maria: Vous parlez français, non? Vous parlez français, excusez-moi.

Rory: Yes, you do. You do now.

Maria: Croissant. Entrepreneur, dear listener. Entrepreneur. If you can't be bothered pronouncing this word, just say a businessman. A business person.

Rory: No.

Maria: But entrepreneur is a nice one. An entrepreneur is a person who starts their own business. Especially when this involves a new opportunity. Creativity, you know, it's like, yay. Like Elon Musk is a famous entrepreneur. He's originally from South Africa. Oh, really? Oh, okay.

Rory: I think so. I think he was born there and became an American citizen, perhaps.

Maria: Oh, yeah, in South Africa. Yeah, you're correct. He's of British and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry.

Rory: My god.

Maria: Oh, yeah, and he has a very interesting mother, a model. And she's into diet and stuff.

Rory: Nice.

Maria: And she was raised in South Africa, yeah, okay.

Rory: I see, okay. Well, there you have it.

Maria: Right, so...

Rory: But the other thing is, if you don't know, then you can always speculate and say, I don't know, but I think he is from there. Or at least I think he is from there. And the way you say it, so he's from South Africa. Or at least I think he is from there. It will be good for your pronunciation, but also it means that you can show how to handle things when you're not sure about them.

Maria: He's quite inventive when it comes to his work. So, again, we're paraphrasing creative, inventive. He invents stuff. Like, very good at thinking of new, original ideas. He's very inventive. We change the topic, again, using the phrase with regards to how I know him. So, we used when it comes to, who he is, ta-ta-ta. With regards to how I know him. Or with regards to who he is, ta-ta-ta. So, he's in the news all the time. Yeah, so he's in the spotlight.

Rory: The media spotlight.

Maria: In terms of his greatest achievements. Again, a new phrase to change the topic. And this is the last task. Like, what his or her greatest achievement is. In terms of his greatest achievements, blah-blah-blah-blah. And we say that so far his greatest achievement has been the Tesla. An electric vehicle. An electric, dear listener, not electrical, not electricity, but an electric car. An electric vehicle. Vehicle, like a car. Why did you say the Tesla? Why not Tesla?

Rory: Well, Tesla, if I say that, it's the company. But the Tesla is the car as well, or the type of car.

Maria: He is also responsible for the development of, ta-ta-ta, a starlink, right? Which is a satellite constellation.

Rory: That just means a group of satellites. It's a fancy word for a group of satellites.

Maria: And another synonym for achievements is accomplishments. So, he has achieved a lot, or he has accomplished a lot. Achievements, accomplishments. Nice one. Like, one of his greatest accomplishments was the invention of tu-tu-tu. Like, an accomplishment is something successful. And his accomplishments, his achievements benefit a lot of people all over the world. So, people get a lot of useful things out of his accomplishments. Numerous jobs, for example, opportunities.

Rory: At least I think so. I think these are quite big companies. If you're launching rockets, then they're probably very big.

Maria: He's an original thinker. Another synonym for creative, original thinker.

Rory: Or inventive.

Maria: He has original ideas. Inventive, yeah. And Rory says, So, he's not alone. He has a lot of people helping him out. How many children does he have?

Rory: Oh, it's a lot. I think it's like seven or six or something. It's a lot.

Maria: A lot of children. Yeah, now Elon Musk is 54 years old. It's just like, wow, young, active. At least 14 children. What?

Rory: Wow, 14.

Maria: 14. At least, it says. According to Wikipedia.

Rory: I don't know if that's connected to being creative, though. I think that's just another aspect of personality.

Maria: 14 kids, at least. Officially. So, yeah. You see? A productive person.

Rory: A reproductive person.

Maria: And you can wrap it up with a conditional. The second conditional. We're imagining. So, if we didn't have Elon Musk, the world would be a little quieter. Our life would not be as fun without him. Lovely.

Rory: I think we've drawn attention to just about everything. So, who would your creative person be? Maria already said Van Gogh. I said Elon Musk. But who would you choose?

Maria: Thank you very much for listening. And we'll get back to you in our next episode. Okay? Bye!

Rory: Bye!

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