📙 Part 2: Describe a special cake you received from others

This episode's vocabulary

Special (adjective) – different from normal; meaningful. → It was a special gift from my friend.

Mercifully (adverb) – luckily or thankfully. → Mercifully, the weather stayed dry for the picnic.

Strict (adjective) – following rules very carefully. → She is strict about her sleeping schedule.

Relieved (adjective) – feeling happy that something unpleasant is over. → I was relieved when the test ended.

Calories (noun) – units of energy in food. → Cakes usually have a lot of calories.

Fanfare (noun) – a lot of excitement or celebration. → The event opened without any fanfare.

Candles (noun) – wax sticks you light with fire, often used on cakes. → We put candles on the birthday cake.

Flame (noun) – the visible, hot part of a fire. → The flame from the candle was very bright.

Icing (noun) – sweet topping on cakes. → The cake had chocolate icing on top.

Sponge cake (noun) – a light and soft type of cake. → She baked a sponge cake for dessert.

Supermarket (noun) – a large store that sells food and other goods. → I bought some snacks from the supermarket.

Loved ones (noun) – people you care deeply about. → He spent the holidays with his loved ones.

Fire hazard (noun) – something that can easily start a fire. → Too many candles on a cake can be a fire hazard.

Got out of hand (phrase) – became uncontrollable. → The situation got out of hand quickly.

Daunting (adjective) – scary or overwhelming. → The idea of speaking in public is daunting for some people.

Questions and Answers

Rory: I suppose the last time I got anything like a special cake was actually on my last birthday. It fell on a weekend last year, mercifully, so I didn't have work or anything like that. I could just fall out of bed, see my friends and family, and not pay attention to things like my diet or exercise, which I'm usually pretty strict with. So, when my parents brought out this cake at their place, I wasn't just quite happy to see it, I was relieved that I didn't have to worry about the extra calories or anything like that. You don't have to care about these things on your birthday, at least in my opinion.

I don't think there was any great fanfare about it, to be honest, aside from just lighting the candles and blowing them out before cutting it up to offer to people. Although there were many candles and there was lots of flame as a result. So, I think it's important to keep that in mind if I'm ever going to have something similar in the future. Of course, it was unique in that this was my birthday, and clearly my birthday cake, and it had my face on it, and “Happy birthday, Rory” written on the icing. Aside from that, I think it was just a regular sponge cake baked at one of the local supermarkets, or at least it had been bought from there.

While it was nice to have a cake, I still think the most important thing was being with my loved ones on that special day. If we hadn't had one, it still would have been a great day. And possibly less of a fire hazard now that I think about it. Like I said, the flames on the candles got a little bit out of hand at one point, with there being 35 of them. So, if we ever decide to do that again, I will be making 100% sure that there's just one candle. In addition to being less fire conducive, it's also less daunting to think about all those candles for all of those years of my life.

Maria: And did your friends enjoy the cake?

Rory: The friends who were at my birthday party did. You and Vanya were not there, because you are rude.