This episode’s vocabulary
Stands out
phrasal verb — to be much more important or noticeable than other similar things or people. → Of all the candidates, she stands out as the most qualified.
Documentarian
noun — a person who makes documentaries. → The documentarian spent years filming the lives of penguins in Antarctica.
Draw attention to
phrase — to make someone notice something. → He uses his documentaries to draw attention to various endangered species.
Awareness raising
noun — the process of increasing people's knowledge and understanding of a particular issue. → The campaign focused on awareness raising about the dangers of plastic pollution.
Go a long way towards
idiom — to be very helpful in achieving something. → That kind of awareness raising goes a long way towards encouraging people to look after the planet.
Flora and fauna
noun phrase — the plants and animals of a particular region. → We must protect the local flora and fauna.
Underscore
verb — to emphasize the importance of something. → He spoke at conferences to underscore the points being made in his documentaries.
A mixed bag
idiom — a group of things or people of very different types or of very different quality. → The reviews for the new movie are a mixed bag; some critics loved it, others hated it.
Limiting factor
noun phrase — something that controls what you can do by keeping you within particular limits. → A lack of funds is the main limiting factor for the project.
Take action
phrase — to do something to deal with a problem or situation. → I'm happy someone is taking action to encourage others to make an effort.
Make an effort
phrase — to try to do something. → It's important to make an effort to recycle your household waste.
Stressing someone out
phrasal verb — to make someone feel very worried or nervous. → I hope his work isn't stressing him out too much.
Advocate
noun — a person who publicly supports a particular cause or policy. → She is a leading young climate advocate.
Eco-friendly
adjective — not harmful to the environment. → Billie Eilish is known for her eco-friendly concert tours.
Questions and answers
Describe a person you know who is doing something to protect the environment. You should say who this person is, what this person is doing to protect the environment, how easy or difficult it is for him or her to do this, and explain how you feel about what this person is doing to protect the environment. Rory, give us your story.
Well, there are a lot of people like this that I know, but the one who stands out the most right now is probably David Attenborough, who is a famous documentarian and writer from the UK. When it comes to who exactly he is, aside from what I mentioned already, he's been a presenter of numerous programs on the BBC and I think other channels actually, for decades now. Actually, I think he must be about 100 years old. I also suspect he's been honored by a lot of people and organizations, including the Queen and the King. With regards to what he's been doing to protect the environment, well, he certainly uses his documentaries to draw attention to various endangered species and the habitats they live in. And that kind of awareness raising goes a long way towards encouraging people to look after the planet and the local flora and fauna more generally. I'm not 100% sure, but I think he's also been speaking out at various climate change conferences and on panels to try and underscore the points being made in his documentaries. In terms of how difficult it is for him to do stuff like this, well, it's probably a mixed bag. I mean, on the one hand, people with platforms like that can very easily catch people's eyes and get attention for things. But, on the other hand, he's a really old man, and regardless of how much money you have, age is very much a limiting factor. As for how I feel about what he's been getting up to to protect the environment, I suppose as someone who lives on the same planet and would like it to be in a reasonable condition, I'm happy someone is taking action to try and encourage others to make an effort. I just hope it's not stressing him and his family out too much.
And what do your friends think of this person?
We haven't really talked too much about him to be honest. I suspect they probably respect him though. He's a very well-respected figure in where I'm from anyway.