📙 Part 2: Describe a person who solved a problem in a smart way

This episode's vocabulary

stand out (phrasal verb) – to be very noticeable or better than other similar things or people. → Among all the candidates, her confidence really made her stand out.

handyman (noun) – a person skilled at a wide range of repairs, typically for a home. → We called a local handyman to fix the leaky faucet and the broken shelf.

fall to pieces (idiom) – to break into many pieces; to start having serious problems. → After the main investor pulled out, the entire project began to fall to pieces.

acting up (phrasal verb) – (of a machine) to fail to function properly. → My car has been acting up all week; I think I need to take it to the mechanic.

the blasted thing (expression) – a way of showing you are annoyed with an object. → I can't get the blasted thing to work, no matter how many times I restart it.

at a loss for words (idiom) – unable to speak because you are so surprised, shocked, or upset. → When she saw the surprise party, she was at a complete loss for words.

come round (phrasal verb) – to visit someone in their home. → Why don't you come round for dinner on Friday?

smooth out (phrasal verb) – to make a surface flat and even. → He used sandpaper to smooth out the rough edges of the wooden table.

go smoothly (collocation) – to happen without any problems or difficulties. → We were worried about the presentation, but in the end, everything went smoothly.

know your way around (something) (idiom) – to be familiar with a place or a particular subject/piece of equipment. → He really knows his way around a computer, so he fixed the software issue in minutes.

fix things up (phrasal verb) – to repair or arrange something. → My dad is great at fixing things up around the house.

in a tight spot (idiom) – in a difficult situation. → Losing my wallet on vacation left me in a pretty tight spot.

Questions and Answers

Maria: Describe a person who solved a problem in a smart way. You should say who this person is, what the problem was, why he or she solved it, and explain why you think he or she did it in a smart way.

Rory: Well, there are a lot of people like this in my life, but the one who stands out the most right now is my dad after he helped fix a door in my apartment. When it comes to who he is, well, he's my dad, so the connection should be fairly obvious. But to tell you a bit more about him, he's become a sort of local handyman in his neighborhood and goes around helping people when things, well, fall to pieces, basically. He's been doing that for a while now, and he's always been up hand with tools, so it made sense for him to come and help out when my house was acting up.

With regard to what the problem actually was, it was a bit annoying, actually. I had paid someone to paint a door in my apartment, and they'd layered on the paint so thick that it had actually made it impossible to close the blasted thing. Now, normally, this wouldn't have been a problem, but this was the bathroom door, so it did compromise the whole privacy element of this somewhat. I was at a complete loss for words when I found this out. I didn't think anyone could be so stupid. But there I was with a bathroom with no functioning door. So in terms of how dad solved it, after he came round to have a look, he suggested using a sander, which is a kind of tool that's usually used for smoothing out wood surfaces, and that would reduce the amount of paint on the door. So once the layers had been reduced, the door would fit the frame again. Surprisingly enough, it actually went pretty smoothly, and soon enough, the door was back to normal again. And I think everybody living here was quite happy with that arrangement because no one wants a door, a doorless bathroom.

To explain why I think he did it in a smart way, I'd never have considered doing something like that. I don't really know my way around a toolshed, so something novel like that wouldn't have easily occurred to me. So I'm pleased that he was there to fix things up. Otherwise, I'd have been in a pretty tight spot.

Discussion

Maria: So dear listener, the topic asks you to describe a person who solved a problem in a smart way. Rory told us about his dad who fixed his door. You can talk about your friend who solved a problem, maybe with your computer, maybe with money, maybe something at university, okay? So what, what kind of problem can we have?

Rory: Oh, all kinds of problems. Problems with technology.

Maria: Yeah, a problem with technology, a problem at home. Or you can steal Rory's story, like my friend fixed the door, all right? A problem in your life, maybe a psychological problem, I was depressed and my friend fixed me.

Rory: Maybe you don't want to share that with the examiner. Probably a technology problem. Maybe something went wrong with your phone, or maybe you broke something. Oh, actually, that's a good one. If you break a plate, and someone puts it back together.

Maria: Yeah. You break something, and somebody puts it back together, but the task asks you to say who solved the problem in a smart way. Here, dear listener, just don't invent anything strange, you can tell your normal story and say, oh, I think it was very smart. It was wise, my friend is very intelligent, and he did it like this, I think it was very smart. So just pick any problem. But the one that you can talk about. Don't choose a difficult topic that you can't really explain. All right?

So Rory started off like this. There are a whole load of people like this in my life. A whole load of means lots of, a lot of people. So there are a lot of people like this in my life, who solve problem. Or there are a load of people who solve problems in smart ways. But the one who stands out the most is my dad. And one person who stands out the most is my friend, my mother. So my dad who helped me fix a door in my apartment.

Rory: So I've been trying to do this more with the part two speaking tasks, using the word stand out or picking out what stands out just so that we have an idiom or a phrasal verb to describe things at the very beginning of part two to impress the examiner.

Maria: Yeah. Then you change the topic. When it comes to who he is, well, he's my friend. I've known him for years. He's my dad. All right? So it's obvious, the connection is obvious. To tell you more about him, he is this, he's that. He is a handyman in his neighborhood. So he fixes things. A handyman is a person who is good at fixing things or whose job is to fix things. If something breaks down in your house, you call a handyman. It's one word. So a man who is skilled at repairing different things. So when things fall to pieces, he fixes them. He's good at fixing things when they fall to pieces. He's been doing this for years. So when you talk about this person, you can say, he's been doing this, I've known this person for a long time. Then we change the topic again. With regard to what the problem was, now it's past because I had a problem in the past. So with regard to what the problem was, it was annoying. It was annoying, it was unpleasant, it was a problem with somebody.

Rory: Or maybe it wasn't so serious, you could say it wasn't that serious, but still, it's a good way to fix something.

Maria: And then you describe the problem. Could be psychological, could be something broke down, could be something with your phone, technology, yes, something fell to pieces. A problem with my IELTS essay.

Rory: It's a good point. If you're one of my students, you could talk about how I helped you with your IELTS essay. Or actually, talk about how Maria and I helped you prepare for speaking Part 2.

Maria: Oh, yeah. I had a problem with my speaking, I couldn't speak English, but I was speaking for success podcast helped me out in a smart way. Yeah, dear listener, I see, you can talk about our podcast. Educate the examiner. So, I paid someone to paint a door.

So Rory has a door which needed to be painted.

Rory: And it was painted.

Maria: Yeah.

Rory: Too much.

Maria: Yeah, it was painted but, yeah, too much paint. So Rory couldn't close the door. And here Rory calls the door the blasted thing. It's this horrible thing, the blasted thing, a door. This was the bathroom door. So I needed to close the door. Because I wanted privacy. And Rory has a flatmate. So obviously, he needs this door to be closed.

Rory: Well, I think for any bathroom, you need privacy, whether you live by yourself or not.

Maria: I was at a complete loss for words. So imagine you paid someone to paint the door, and then it won't close. You just can't close the door because there's too much paint and you're what? I'm at a loss for words. I can't even find words to explain how angry I am. So that's a nice phrase. I'm at a loss for words. I've lost all my words. Actually, you can say I'm lost for words.

Rory: Lost for words. I was lost for words. I was at a loss for words. Anytime something so stupid happens, you cannot speak to talk about it, or something so shocking happens.

Maria: I didn't think that someone could be so stupid. So you can say, oh, I didn't think that I could be so stupid to break this plate, or table, or to break my friend's life. But that was with my bathroom door. And then dad helped me to solve it. And again, we are changing the subject. In terms of how my dad solved it. With regards to, when it comes to how my dad solved it or in terms of how my dad solved it, he suggested using something. That's a nice phrase. He suggested doing something. He just says, oh, let's do this. He suggested doing something. And Rory, what was this sander? What?

Rory: Oh, a sander is a special kind of tool which makes wood smoother and not rough.

Maria: Ooh, an electrical machine that you use to make the surface smooth. Sander. Just Google it dear listener. Yeah. So he suggested doing this and that. He suggested smoothing out the surface of the door. Yeah, to reduce the amount of paint on the door. Yeah. Surprisingly, it went pretty smoothly. Surprisingly, my dad did it in a smart way, very fast, and the door was back to normal. So something was back to normal again. Everything ended up well. Yeah. I think he did it in a smart way. He was intelligent to do it very fast because this and that. I wouldn't have been able to do it myself. So I'm pleased that he was there to fix things up. So he fixed up my door. He helped me to fix things up.

Rory: The reason I don't or I can't fix it myself was because I don't know my way around a toolshed, which is a way of saying I don't know anything about tools to fix this kind of problem. But you could say I don't know my way around a computer, so I couldn't fix it myself. Or I don't know my way around electronics, so I can't fix my phone myself. So not knowing your way around something can be used to describe this idea for anything.

Maria: Yeah, I don't know my way around computers, around smartphones. And another idiom, which is C2, band nine, is to be in a tight spot. I was in a tight spot. I was in a difficult situation. So I had a problem. I was in a tight spot. Or I was in a tight corner. Okay? Rory, could you give us an example sentence about a problem?

Rory: Oh, well, one day I smashed my phone screen so I couldn't read it and I was in a bit of a tight spot.

Maria: Yeah. A bit of a difficult situation.

Once I lost my smartphone and I was in a tight spot. Because I had to block my cards and buy a new one. So yeah. Right, dear listener, do you know the problem? Do you know the person? If not, steal Rory's story about the door, seriously.

Rory: Just think about a time somebody helped you. Maybe it was the time when your computer broke down and you needed to take it to a repair shop. I think that's pretty standard for a problem.

Maria: Yeah, for example, the internet, right? There was no internet in my apartment, but then my friend fixed it. He installed, but yeah, here, you have to use the special words, he installed the internet, he changed my software, he downloaded new programs, you see. So that's the thing. And the vocabulary will depend on the problem. That's why steal Rory's story about the door. We gave you all the words you need to say, so you don't need to make up anything new.

Rory: Or maybe you're really unfortunate and you've had this happen to you many times. Also possible.

Maria: Thank you very much for listening. Sending lots of love and hugs. Okay? We'll see you in our next episode. Okay? Bye bye. Bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye.