📙 Part 2: Describe a science subject you are interested in

You should say: what subject it is, how you became interested in it. when / where you learn about it, and explain why you are interested in this area.

This episode's vocabulary

Physiology (noun) - (the scientific study of) the way in which the bodies of living things work.

Hooked (adj.) - strongly attracted to something or someone.

Fiction (noun) - literature in the form of prose that describes imaginary events and people.

Nonfiction (noun) - writing that is about real events and facts, rather than stories that have been invented.

Well-informed (adj.) - having extensive knowledge especially of current topics and events.

Discerning (adj.) - showing good judgment, especially about style and quality.

Misinformation (noun) - wrong information, or the fact that people are misinformed.

To plough through something (phrasal verb) - to go through a substance or an area of something with difficulty.

To pique (verb) - to excite or cause interest.

Confluence (noun) - a situation in which two things join or come together.

Questions and Answers

R: I've actually taken a real interest in physiology lately. That's the study of how living systems like the human body work. Usually, it's only doctors or other medical professionals that deal with things like this, but I saw a few books being recommended on Instagram last year, and this influencer was going on about how they could be really helpful to read for understanding how the body works. So I picked them up, and I've been hooked on it ever since, actually. I always think it's a good idea to read about different things, and so I try and balance my fiction and nonfiction reading. So this came quite naturally to me. It was also helped along by the fact that I've been doing a lot of yoga and other kinds of exercise of late. So I thought it would be useful to help build up my knowledge in that area to, well, just to support my understanding of how things can or should work. I suppose it's also nice to just know things as well. Actually, now I think about it, I remember reading about how knowing facts is a great foundation for skill building, so it also makes sense from that perspective. Anyway, when it comes to the where and when of it all, I usually get some input when I go to my yoga classes. The teachers there are reasonably well-informed and do a good job of explaining how different things work and move. I also get a lot from videos online. There's this genre of content on YouTube that gets called science-based fitness, or bro science, if you aren't a great fan of it. And I pick up a lot from there. I think I have to be a bit more discerning with the online content because of all the misinformation these days. Lastly, like I said, I bought a few books on the matter as well, and I've been ploughing through them in a bid to understand a bit more about how things should go together. I'm not sure what piqued my interest in particular. I suppose it's the confluence of things. Everyone wants to be healthier these days, and I'm quite into exercise and fitness, and I love knowing and learning about things, so it all just came together quite nicely. If I hadn't made the effort to earn about it, I think I'd be a lot worse off.

M: And what about your friends? Do they enjoy this subject?

R: We've discussed it briefly, but I don't know if they enjoy it a great deal.

Discussion

M: Hey, thank you, Rory, for your story! Right, dear listener, a science subject. So if you're not into science, well, welcome to my club. You should steal Rory's answer or, well, choose a science subject that you are like, more or less interested in and lie, or choose a subject that you just like it's easy for you to talk about. And science subject, we mean like biology, chemistry, what else, astronomy, mathematics. Geometry, right?

R: Geology. Anything, really. Any -ology.

M: Rory told us about physiology. Whoa, so cool. And physiology is the scientific study of the way in which the bodies of living things work. So how our body works. And bodies in general, Rory? It's about like animals and people? Like any bodies.

R: Well, you have, I suppose, you have physiology in general, and you have like human physiology, which would be about people. So I mean things I read about were mostly about human physiology, although it's interesting, because a lot of the stuff connected to medicines and things is also based on how medicines interact with rodents, because we use rats in scientific testing. So that also... It's also like studying animal biology as well, or animal physiology.

M: So you can start off with I've actually taken a real interest in ta, ta, ta. So I have taken a real interest in maths, mathematics or astronomy, or I've become really interested in blah, blah, blah. And then Rory explains what it is. Because Rory thinks that the examiner is stupid and he doesn't know what physiology is. So he goes like, oh, you know, examiner, it's this, the study of how living systems like the human body work. I'm gonna tell you about biology and biology, you know, it's a science. Well, you can do it. Why not? If you pick a strange subject. I saw a few books being recommended on Instagram. So Rory saw some books on Instagram. So people recommended some books on physiology. And we say books on biology, books on robotics. And some people recommended these books, so he took a real interest in them. Or you can say that I saw it from an influencer. Okay? This person who is super popular, a blogger. And you can say that these books are really helpful for understanding how the body works, or you can say like this science is helpful to understand how the world works, like physics or mathematics, or how, I don't know, how our universe works. So I picked them up, I chose them. I chose the books on physiology, or I picked this subject, I chose this subject. And I've been hooked on it ever since. So you become interested in this subject. You become like, you know, addicted. Like, oh, I want to learn more. So I've been hooked on this subject ever since. Also, Present Perfect. Or I've become hooked on this subject, or I've...

R: Been interested in it ever since.

M: Yeah, or I got hooked on the subject, right?

R: Or I got really into it.

M: I got really into it. I try and balance my fiction and nonfiction reading, because when you read books on different science subjects, it's nonfiction. And when I read a novel by Dickens, it's fiction. So a nice phrase is, I try and balance my fiction and non-fiction reading.

R: Although ironically, I am now reading two non-fiction books. I don't know how that happened.

M: You can also say that I've been doing yoga, or I've been doing maths tasks, for example. Present Perfect Continuous. Or I've been watching the stars, and I got hooked on astrology, astronomy, astronomy. Astronomy is the science, right?

R: Yes. And astrology is, well, I suppose a belief system is the best way to think about it. We can't say that. Some people are really attached to astrology.

M: No, no, no, I'm joking, I'm joking. So I wanted to build my knowledge in that area. Okay? So build my knowledge to get more knowledge in that subject or in that area. And this knowledge supports my understanding of how things work. So if you read, I don't know, books on physics, this knowledge supports my understanding of how things work in the real world, or how our life works. A very good structure is when you say, I remember reading about something. So I remember and then -ing. I remember seeing something, I remember watching this film on biology. Or I remember reading about... At school, for example. So you read about it in the past, and now you remember it. When you turn to the next topic, you can say, anyway, when it comes to... For example, the card tells you to say when and where you learned about it, about this subject. So you say anyway, when it comes to where and when...

R: Or when it comes to the where and when of it all.

M: Right. Or I can say that anyway, when it comes to where and when I learned about this subject, it was 10 years ago at university. Yeah? Is it okay?

R: Yes.

M: Just like a simple version, dear listener, for you. Or band nine version is when it comes to the where and when of it all. So of this interest, of my story. I got some input on biology when I was at school. So input? When you hear some lectures, when you listen to, I don't know, some videos. So you get input or you read articles on this area. The teachers were well-informed. So they were knowledgeable, and they did a great job. Also, you can say, like, I get a lot from videos online. I get a lot from YouTube, from IELTS Speaking for Success podcast, and also from scientific articles, dear listener. So also this genre of content. You can paraphrase it, like this area, this subject or this genre of content. So it's nonfiction, it's scientific. So this genre of content on YouTube. So we have science-based videos or science-based fitness advice. Rory told us about physiology, so it's pretty much like a science-based fitness advice. Or... What is this like Bro Science? Bro?

R: Yeah. Well, the content on YouTube gets called both of these things, so people who are big fans call it science-based fitness, and other people call it Bro Science.

M: Wow. Bro science.

R: Yeah. There's like a whole, I suppose, category of content creators that do things around this. So they look at scientific studies and talk about them in their episodes, if they have a podcast, where they talk about them in their videos.

M: Dictionary.com says it's slang. Bro Science. About bodybuilding. Oh, which is not backed by science. So kind of bro. You know, like bro, hey, dude.

R: Well, they also... I think they also get a lot of negative commentary. Because some people have a very simplistic approach to how you should, I suppose, go about being fit. But you know, as long as you're not believing absolutely everything and you're being careful with what you watch and see, then it's not so bad, which is why it's important to be discerning.

M: Right. Discerning. A formal word, which means that you show good judgment. Especially about style and quality. For example, a discerning customer. So when you buy things, you kind of, you are sensible, you choose things very carefully, not just getting everything that you see. Right? And Rory has become more discerning with the online content. So Rory doesn't believe everything they tell him. Okay, a very good approach with YouTube videos. Well done, Rory. Band nine.

R: Thank you. Yay!

M: A band nine critical thinker. So you can say that I've become more discerning with this online content because of all the misinformation these days. So we have a lot of misinformation. People tell you things and like they are not true. All right? Not facts. So yeah, lots of misinformation.

R: But they could be open to misinterpretation, I think. Some people say things, but they haven't quite understood what they said or what they've read.

M: So you can say that I've bought some books on robotics, on biology. Even if you didn't buy any books, dear listener, just tell the examiner that you bought books. And you can say I bought a few books, or I've bought a few books on the matter, on this area, on this subject, and I've been ploughing through them, there you go. You plough through books, a super phrasal verb, which means...

R: Well, to read them at quite a speed. So to read something very fast and in-depth.

M: Yeah. Plough through something. When you finish reading, eating, dealing with something with difficulty. It also means like it's difficult. So you, you have bought some books on biology, and they are quite difficult. So I've been plowing through these books. Okay? Or I had to write 10 essays, IELTS essays. Ooh, it's a difficult job. So I've been plowing through the essays. Or my dissertation or my course paper. I'm not sure what piqued my interest. French word

R: Is it?

M: Pique. Not, peak like a peak of a mountain, but it's spelled p, i, q, u, e, dear listener.

R: It's very complicated spelling. That's why we know it's French.

M: Yeah. And pique. Well, is it pique or pique?

R: Well, I say piqued.

M: With a long e?

R: Yeah. You could say piqued my interest as well, to be honest with you. I don't think it makes a difference, because it's going to be clear from the phrase that you're talking about something that made you curious or interested in something.

M: Because as a verb you say it like, it piqued my interest. Excited or caused interest. For example, robotics piqued my interest in school. Super band nine. So I'm into exercise and I'm into this area of science.

R: Let's have a little quiz about some of the vocabulary and grammar. So, Maria, are you ready?

M: I'm ready.

R: Okay. An easy one to begin with. What was the word that I used to describe a science subject that studies or focuses on higher systems in the human body work?

M: Physiology.

R: Yes, well, human physiology, but you could say that, yes. And then what's a phrasal verb to mean that you have a deep and ongoing interest in something. It can be similar to addiction.

M: I have been hooked on something.

R: Ooh, yes, well done. And then what was the phrase that I used to introduce the part where I talked about where and when I learned something?

M: When it comes to the where and when of it all, I...

R: Perfect. For our next one, this is used to describe reading things very quickly and in a great amount.

M: I plow through books on physiology.

R: Fantastic. And for our very last one, this is a word that is used to describe when we use our critical thinking to determine what is true and what is not.

M: This word is conferences of things?

R: No, confidence is when things come together, you should be saying discerning. If you are discerning with your content, you are using your critical thinking, you are processing the information. You're not just accepting it.

M: Yeah, I'm a discerning student. Hey! Thank you very much for listening. Choose your science subject, dear listener. And we'll see you in our next episode! Okay? Bye!

R: About science in general. Bye!

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