📙 Part 2: Describe a photo that makes you happy

This episode's vocabulary

Shot (noun) - a photograph.

Amateur (adj.) - taking part in an activity for pleasure, not as a job.

To set up (phrasal verb) - to prepare something for use, especially by putting the different parts of it together.

To capture (verb) - to record or take a picture of something using a camera.

To memorialize (verb) - to make people remember a person or event, or to show that you remember them.

To come out (phrasal verb) - if a photo or part of a photo comes out, the picture can be seen clearly.

Presence (noun) - the fact that someone or something is in a place.

Questions and Answers

M: Rory, are you ready?

R: Yes, I am.

M: Give us your story.

R: Well, I really love my desktop photograph, which I've kept the same for the last eight years almost. Despite changing computers about four times in that period. It's a shot of myself and my old colleague Katie standing on the beach. It's a place called Tutuala, which is a community and I think the name of the same region or district in East Timor. You might not have heard of it. But it's a former Indonesian colony that gained independence at the turn of the century. Anyway, it shows the two of us standing watching the sunrise at dawn, and you can see the first rays of sunlight striking the clouds over Jacko Island. It's absolutely beautiful. And I remembered we woke up, actually naturally at a ridiculous hour to watch the sunrise. But we didn't realize that our other colleague Nick, who was an amateur photographer, and still is, to the best of my knowledge, was setting up his camera in the background to capture the moment. It's probably not one I'd have wanted memorialized, since I'd been living in the jungle for months at that point and my hair was massively out of control. But it came out rather well, actually. Being my desktop for two, it's something I see just about every day, whether I'm in the office or using my personal computer. Actually, I think I'd like to change it to my phone background too, to be honest. I absolutely love it. It's a reminder of how far I've been and how far I might still have to go, which is very motivating. Or it would be if I'd stop taking it for granted, like I have been of late. I think I need to live in the moment a bit more when it comes to seeing and appreciating it. That's with all the pictures in and off my life. If I didn't have this photo to talk about, I'd have had no idea what I would speak about, to be honest. It's been a constant presence in my life almost since I began teaching, and I don't think I would be without it for a moment.

M: And what about your friends? Do they like this photo?

R: The ones that have seen it really liked it.

M: Thank you, Rory, for your story!

Discussion

M: Dear listener, a nice topic, a photo that makes you happy. Yeah? But you should make sure that you choose a photo you can talk about, okay? If there's something difficult there, in the photo., and we say in the picture, in the photo, right So make sure you choose like an easy one that you can speak about. And Rory started off with I really love my desktop photograph. So desktop? A picture that Rory has in his computer. Right, Rory?

R: Well, it's not just in my computer, it's on my computer.

M: Right. It's on your computer. So you open your computer and you see this photo.

R: Yes, it's the first thing that I see.

M: Photograph or photo, or picture. And then I've kept the same photo on my desktop for eight years. And then it's a shot of myself. So it's a picture of myself and my colleagues. Or it's a shot of myself and my friends standing on the beach, or standing on the bridge, or in the forest. So wherever you're standing, and when you describe a photo, we use the present. So in this photo, I'm swimming, or in this photo, I'm jumping with a parachute. Going crazy. Like this. Or it's a picture of me and my parents standing on the beach, for example.

R: Why do we use the -ing to describe the photo?

M: Because it's kind of it's now. When we talk about pictures, we talk about right now.

R: In the moment or in that moment.

M: In that moment. Yeah. Or if you talk about the past, so it's a picture of me swimming in the ocean. When I was in Cuba, I was swimming with sharks. Yeah? About past events, you use the past.

R: Oh, my God, were you?

M: Well, I've been to Cuba but I didn't swim with sharks. I just swam in nice blue waters.

R: Shark-free.

M: And if you're using some specific names, you can say you might not have heard of it. So if you're using a specific name for some technology, or, I don't know, country, city, you can say you might not have heard of it, but it's blah, blah, blah. Okay? So, because the examiner doesn't know everything. Right? So if you feel you're speaking about something very specific, you might not have heard of it. So it's possible that you haven't heard of this, especially if you talk about your work, for example, and something very specific, a specific product. Like maybe you've heard about it, or you might not have heard of it. And then you explain what it is. A very nice transition to a different topic is anyway, like what the photo shows. Anyway, it shows the two of us standing watching the sunrise at dawn. Beautiful. So sunrise? When the sun rises. Dawn? Well, is when the sun rises. 6 am. 5 am in the morning. So the photo, the picture shows me and my parents standing in front of the museum watching something, for example. It's absolutely beautiful. And then you can tell the story. What was before that photo was taken? So I remembered we woke up, blah, blah, blah. Like we did something. And to catch that sunrise, Rory woke up at a ridiculous hour. Okay? So like 5 am in the morning.

R: I think it was about 5 a.m. in the morning. It was the start of my 5 am in the morning journey.

M: Oh... So he woke up at a crazy hour, at a ridiculous hour to watch the sunrise. And my colleague Nick was an amateur photographer. He wasn't a professional photographer, but he was an amateur. Like, I'm an amateur tennis player. I'm not professional, but I just play tennis, just for fun. So he set up his camera. Yeah? So he had a proper camera. Not his iPhone 2000.

R: Yeah, it was like... Oh, God, I think it was a Nikon camera. I'm not sure. But it was really good either way.

M: Yeah. So he set up his camera in the background to capture the moment. So when you...

R: Take a picture, you capture the moment.

M: Capture the moment, capture emotions. Kind of like having that moment in the photo. And, dear listener, we say he took the photo. He took that picture. Picture of me and my parents, okay? And also in the picture. Just remember, I took this photo, I took this selfie. And in this photo, you see me with Rory. Can you imagine, dear listener? You just meet Rory and you take a selfie with Rory and you talk about it in the exam. Or me. You just meet me. Or both of us. You meet Rory and me together and take a selfie. We would like to take a selfie with you, dear listener. Yeah. That would be awesome. Rory, what about you? Say something.

R: I would like that. If somebody came up to me and did that. That'd be quite cool.

M: Would you feel famous?

R: I don't think I would feel famous. I would feel very flattered if that happened. That's something that's quite, well, kind, isn't it? When someone takes that kind of interest in you.

M: And then Rory talked about his hair. Yes, hair. He had been living in the jungle for months, had been living. We are talking about the past. He started living in the past. So he had been living in the jungle at that moment. Or by the moment the photo was taken for months, and his hair was massively out of control. Okay? But the photo came out rather well. So the photo came out or you came out rather well?

R: No, the photo came out rather well, or turned out rather well. So the final product looked pretty good.

M: Yeah, you see? So our photo came out rather well. Or our picture turned out rather well. And then it's my desktop photo. Or it's my phone background photo. So you can say like where you have it. Or maybe how do I say like if I printed it off? So it's like I framed it. It's hardcopy, it's an actual photo.

R: I don't know what you would call that. It's an actual photo. I think that's the closest that we could get to it, to be honest.

M: Or like I had it developed. Or I just printed it off. You print off a photo. Do we do this these days?

R: You can. You have your photos developed and printed. It's not as common as it used to be but it is still something that gets done.

M: Yes, so you can say that I framed it. I put it in a frame and it's on my wall or it's on my table standing there. Or it's just my phone or desktop photo. I absolutely love it. Or it's a reminder of how happy I was. I felt very happy at that moment. Happy or ecstatic. Or you can say I was over the moon, super happy. And this is very motivating you can say. And you can say that it's been a constant presence in my life. So it's present in my life. Present? To be present. And a noun is presence. So constant? Like all the time. So this photo has been a constant presence in my life.

R: with the since. Since I began teaching. For the whole, like, a package of perfect aspect stuff. Ooh, and I don't think I'd be without it for a moment. So that just means that I would rather have it in my life. I need it in my life, and I wouldn't want it to not be in my life.

M: Yeah. Right. What other adjectives can we use to describe this photo? So this photo makes me happy. What adjectives about the photo itself, about our feelings can we use?

R: Oh, it makes me feel nostalgic.

M: Nostalgic. Yeah.

R: That's good, especially for talking about the past.

M: It makes me feel happy. But also it makes me feel nostalgic. Like I remember the past. And just this feeling of nostalgia.

R: We need to end on something positive because this feeling of nostalgia is like sad feelings for the past. And, and it's almost the end of the episode.

M: It was the happiest moment I've ever had in my life. And then you start crying. And then the examiner just like, oh, hush, hush. It's okay. It's okay. Poor you.

R: If you start crying in the exam, then you get a reprieve. I'm just saying.

M: And then you go and complain that the examiner just put you into depression. Deer listener, how's that?

R: Wow. That's a heck of a strategy for your exam.

M: Yeah, you write to Cambridge. And, you know, the questions of yours are really depressing. And they are, what, they put me in a negative mental state. Huh? You see?

R: People have done that. They optimized the question so that they are not supposed to do that. But it does happen sometimes.

M: Yeah, that's why you should talk about a photo that makes you happy, dear listener.

R: Yes. That would be a good thing. Have a happy mindset.

M: Yeah, you can just go to Rory's Instagram, take a photo, with Rory, look at it. And just like feel how happy it makes you. Or with us together.

R: There was a wonderful picture of all of us together. Well, there are several pictures of all of us together. Oh, when will that be again?

M: Oh, yeah, just go to Instagram at @successwithielts and choose a photo that you like, oh, there's a nice photo with a cat. But I'm sure you have lots of photos. Just be careful, choose a photo you can talk about, dear listener. Or if you don't know the names of the things that are in the picture, Google them, know the names, know the vocabulary and then talk about it. Okay? Because it's going to be specific. Sweet! Thank you very much! We'll get back to you in speaking part three, where we talk about photos in general! Bye!

R: Bye!

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