📙 Part 2: Describe a time when you overcame difficulties in doing something and succeeded

This episode's vocabulary

To accomplish (verb) - to finish something successfully or to achieve something.

To sandwich someone/something between someone/something (phrasal verb) - if you are sandwiched between two people or things, you are in a small space between them.

Ultimately (adverb) - finally, after a series of things have happened.

To give up (phrasal verb) - to stop doing something before you have finished it, usually because it is too difficult.

Slog (noun) - a period of difficult or tiring effort.

To get on with something (phrasal verb) - to start or continue doing something, especially work.

Companion (noun) - a person you spend a lot of time with often because you are friends or because you are travelling together.

Summit (noun) - the highest point of a mountain.

To rest up (phrasal verb) - to relax in order to have strength for something.

Leg (noun) - a particular stage of a journey, competition, or activity.

Immense (adj.) - extremely large in size or degree.

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Questions and Answers

M: Rory, are you ready, Rory, ready?

R: I am ready to succeed.

M: Hey!

R: I suppose there have been many difficult tasks I've had to accomplish. But one of the hardest that definitely sticks out in my mind was climbing over a mountain in East Timor. That's a small country sandwiched between Indonesia and Australia. While I ultimately succeeded in the end, there were certainly moments when I could definitely have given up. It was a very long slog through the jungle and rough terrain, and I wasn't terribly happy about the whole experience, to be honest with you. However, there wasn't much choice but to do it and reach our destination since we'd been dropped at the foot of the site by a bus. And that bus was not coming back that way for hours and hours. So I thought I might as well just get on with it. In addition to not having any choice about it, or at least not any meaningful choice. I also had two travelling companions who wouldn't let me give up and they kept me motivated. I was also able to stop for regular cigarette breaks, which definitely helped as well since I smoked quite a lot back then. And I didn't afterwards. So probably having done this, I've now decided that I didn't need to smoke, or I decided at that time anyway. It took ages but we finally crossed the summit and made our way down to a place called Tutuala, which, well, it used to host a rebel stronghold during the Indonesian occupation. But at that time, or at least at the time that we were there, it had a hotel. And I think it probably still does, we needed to get there to rest up and then move on to the next leg of our journey, which was a trip to a place called Jaco Island. That's a marine reserve, which is located in the far east of the country. And that's the whole reason that we were there. Despite all that I had to go through to get there, I still felt an immense sense of accomplishment that I actually did it. And I did it in my lucky trainers, which while they weren't exactly designed for this adventure, they still lasted for years, or they had lasted for years, and they still lasted for years after that. I was really sad when they finally fell apart because it always reminded me of what I went through in them, even though it should be a difficult experience to forget. If I hadn't done it, God knows what would have happened instead. But I know I'd have felt a little disappointed in myself that I hadn't made the effort. That's for sure.

M: And what about your friends? Did they enjoy climbing this mountain?

R: I think they definitely enjoyed it a lot more than I did!

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Discussion

M: So, the task is to describe a time when you overcame difficulties. So we have difficulties. And what do we do? We overcome difficulties. So we kind of deal with difficulties. Yeah? And Rory told us about this mountain in Timor. Timor.

R: Timor-Leste. Or East Timor.

M: Yeah. And you can start that, I suppose there have been many difficult tasks I've had to accomplish. So I've had or I've accomplished, right? So Present Perfect. But one of the hardest tasks was definitely climbing over a mountain. Hey. Or you can say that one of the most difficult tasks that sticks out in my mind was blah, blah, blah. Yeah? So when something sticks out in your mind, you kind of you remember it vividly. And then I enjoyed how you used the word sandwiched. So East Timor is a small country sandwiched... Like sandwich. Yeah? Sandwiched between Indonesia and Australia. Nice.

R: And always sandwiched between. Is it a phrasal verb?

M: No, I think it's kind of like a verb and the preposition.

R: It's a nice collocation though. But you could say that for pretty much any country like... Oh, pick a random example. Germany. It's a country that's sandwiched between Poland and France.

M: Nice. I succeeded in the end. So we're talking about something that kind of you succeeded in. And the verb is to succeed in something. So I, ultimately, succeeded in the end. So ultimately is a good synonym for finally at the very end of this adventure. But there were moments when I could have given up. And here is a nice structure. I could have given up, so I could have given up, but I didn't. That's why this is present perfect, right? It was so difficult. And I could have given up but I kept going. Yeah? And then Rory described this adventure. Yeah? It was a very long slog through the jungle. So what did you mean by a slog through the jungle?

R: A slog is just a very long process. That's very difficult. So imagine me a long time ago, less healthy, less fit, walking through the jungle in trainers, it was not a pleasant process. So it's a slog.

M: I wasn't terribly happy about the whole experience. Yeah? Because it was like, super difficult, but I thought I might as well get on with it. So to get on with it? To continue doing it. Right? So I kind of I soldiered on, I continued. I thought I might as well get on with it. And why didn't you have any choice? So you just said like, there wasn't much choice, but to do it. So why? Why like, there was a choice just like to stop and go back? No?

R: Well, yeah. But then I would have had to sit and wait at the foot of this mountain until the bus showed up. And it was a very unreliable bus service. They had no fixed schedule.

M: And did you go there with a group?

R: There were three of us.

M: Three of us. And you didn't have a guide, right?

R: No. It was, really, it was the stupidest. Actually, no, it wasn't the stupidest thing we did when we were there. Because we went swimming, when we were, I think it was after we came back. And our guides were standing on the beach waving at us and we were in the water waving back. And then they kept waving. So we thought, oh, maybe they found something and they want to show us it. So we swam over. And we were saying, Oh, why were you waving? Is there something happening? They went yes. You're swimming in crocodile-infested water.

M: Swimming with crocodiles. Hey!

R: We went swimming with crocodiles and we didn't even know it. It was amazing. We could have died, seriously. It was just insane. It's a crazy country. They sell barrels of wine, like five-liter barrels of wine in petrol stations on the roadside. And there's no law saying that you cannot drink and drive. So, and you cannot smoke and drive. So people just, it's a miracle that more people do not die, to be honest with you.

M: Wow, impressive.

R: But I would say that of all the countries I've been to apart from Russia, Timor-Leste was definitely my favourite. And I would love to go back one day if I can.

M: So you can say that I had two or three companions. So two or three people who did it with me. And these people kept me motivated. So they wouldn't let me give up. And we say wouldn't, not want because the story is in the past. It took ages. So it took a long time. And we finally crossed over the summit. The summit? The top of the mountain. So we crossed over, you know, crossed over the summit. Hey! So we needed to get there. So kind of like to be them. So to get there and then move on to the next leg of the journey. Leg of the journey, Rory.

R: Yeah. So the next leg of the journey is just like the next part of the journey.

M: And again, we're using a contrast. Like despite all that I had to go through to get there. I still felt a sense of accomplishment. Yeah? A sense of accomplishment, a sense of achievement. You accomplished it. You did it. Yeah? And you can say like, despite all the difficulties, I felt great. I felt over the moon. Like super happy, right? And the phrasal verb here is to go through. I did go through a lot of difficult moments. Yeah? I did it in my lucky trainers. Yeah, Rory had his lucky trainers. Nike trainers or Adidas?

R: No. They were Skechers.

M: Skechers. Wow.

R: They were like the most beaten-up pair of shoes in the universe. I think, I think I still have them because I had three pairs of the same kind and I only have one left now. And they're just falling to pieces. They have holes and tears and rips in them. But I love them so much.

M: Yeah, I used to have like Nike trainers. It's the same. So finally they fell apart. Yes, the trainers fell apart because Rory had been wearing them forever. And then finally, we use the third conditional. If I hadn't done it, God knows what would have happened instead. Yeah? But I did it. And nothing bad has happened instead. So this is the third conditional. If I hadn't done it, or if I hadn't succeeded, I would have been unhappy, or I would have done something different. Yeah? So a very nice strategy is to use the third conditional and to imagine what would have happened to you, if you hadn't done it.

R: Yeah, always say something like, towards the end, if I hadn't, blah, blah, blah, then who knows what would have happened? Because it's just an easy way to show that you can use these complex sentences.

M: Yeah, who knows what would have happened? Would've happened, okay? Would have happened. But we don't say have. Would've happened. Dear listener, could you repeat after me? Would've happened. Rory, could you say it again?

R: Would've happened.

M: Super. What helped you to organize your answer?

R: Well, I did a weird thing this time. I covered all of the bases in the first few seconds, to be honest. And then went on to talk about other things connected to it. Because it was difficult, but it was a fun adventure. So I talked about, well, what did I have to say? I had to talk about what the task was and how I overcame it, and whether I got help and explain whether I succeeded. So I started off by talking about the task, and then saying I ultimately succeeded in the end. And then I had help from the people I was travelling with. And how I overcame it was just by keeping going, basically. And then after that, I moved on into more details about these various things. So this is a bit more of an unusual one, because I focused a lot on the details after answering the main points. But if it's an exciting and interesting story, and you want to share it, then why not do it that way? And if you find that you've still got a little bit of extra time, you can do two things, circle back and add more detail, or add in the space. Talking about if you hadn't done it, what would have happened or what might have happened.

M: Yeah. Nice. Yeah. I remember one time when I went to the mountains in Peru, in South America, and I walked to Machu Picchu. You know Machu Picchu? You can just go there by train and then take a bus but we decided to walk there. So for five days, we just walked there and then we just climbed up to this Wynapicchu, if I'm mistaken. That is the name of it. So yeah, I totally understand that this, you know, climbing a mountain... I hated everything. I kind of like I was going up for the third hour and kind of no way. No. Why have I agreed? Like, oh, I hate it so much. Oh, my gosh, it's up and up and up and down and then up again. Oh, so difficult. And I wasn't carrying a backpack. My backpack was like light. I said that I'm not carrying like any heavy stuff.

R: But you did that. And then you hated it. And then you went to climb a volcano in the middle of Russia?

M: In Kamchatka.

R: Yeah.

M: Yeah. But volcano was, you know, just two hours up. It's just nothing, but yeah, in the middle of it I was kind of moaning like, come on, come on. Yeah. But it's just, it's usual moan. But Machu Picchu was for five days. And we camped, you know. And there is nothing, there are no hotels, there's no infrastructure. Just a tent and nature. So yeah, I was like... But then I was so happy. This like I felt this sense of achievement. I have done it. And now I have only these pleasant memories. But I do remember that that was really difficult. So dear listener, what about you? What would you like to talk about?

R: Maybe it's preparing for your IELTS exam?

M: Oh, yeah, taking the test, you know, like, maybe you took the test. And then you got like a six, or a seven, or above. Preparing for the test. It's preparation. You succeeded in your preparation, or maybe some exam at school. Or your driving test, for example. Or, I don't know, maybe you prepared a party and you succeeded and everybody was happy. Think about it. Okay? But if you do decide to talk about a mountain, feel free to steal some of the vocabulary we've just given you. Okay? Hugs and kisses! Bye!

R: Bye!

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