📙 Part 2: Describe an activity that made you feel tired

This episode's vocabulary

Rambling (adj.) - too long and confused.

Knackering (adj.) - making you feel very tired.

Inlet (noun) - a narrow strip of water that goes from a sea or lake into the land or between islands.

Badge (noun) - a small piece of metal or plastic with words or a picture on it, that you carry with you or fasten to your clothing or something else, in order to show who you are, that you are a member of a group, etc.

On offer (phrase) - available to be bought or used.

To soldier on (phrasal verb) - to continue doing something although it is difficult.

To moan (verb) - to make a long, low sound of pain, suffering, or another strong emotion.

Cramp (noun) - a sudden painful tightening in a muscle, often after a lot of exercise, that limits movement.

Dehydrated (adj.) - not having the normal amount of water in your body so that you feel ill or weak.

Questions and Answers

R: Oh God, this is a while back. But when I was at Scout camp well over 20 years ago, I remember we went on this long rambling walk through the countryside that seemed to go on forever. And that was quite knackering. If memory serves, I think we were in a place called Lunan Bay. That's an inlet in Scotland, which predictably has a castle, and we were camping there for the weekend as part of one of our Cub Scout badges. Those are like challenges, you have to complete a certain number of things and then they give you a badge. And so spending the night at this camp was one of the challenges you had to do. Anyway, one of the activities for this camp was a walk along the beach and back through the countryside. I managed to walk there, like along the beach to the end fine, but it must have been miles and I wasn't the most physically fit of kids. So it was pretty rough on my legs and feet going back. As for the reason I took parts, I pretty much had no choice. There was a great range of activities on offer, so I just had to cope as best I could. I think I did pretty well and just kept soldiering on. But being a young person, I'm sure I probably moaned more than a little bit. And now I think about it. I'm sure there are some rules about forced marches of children. But this was the late 90s. So things were a little more relaxed then. I remember towards the end, my legs were stiff to the point of cramping up and I was really dehydrated. To make matters worse, I was bored half to death. So I'm sure I started just making up stories in my head to pass the time. You can only really appreciate endless Scottish countryside for so long before that happens. To be honest, I could have done without this experience. And I think I'd much rather have done something else like sitting on my PlayStation all weekend at home. However, I suppose it built some character, even if it was an aspect of my character that I didn't want to build.

M: And what about your friends? Did they enjoy the experience?

R: I didn't have friends with me at that time. It was just people in my troop.

M: So what about people in your troop then? Did they enjoy it?

R: I don't think they were particularly thrilled either, to be honest. It wasn't very well organized.

Discussion

M: So, dear listener, describe an activity that made you feel tired. Like you did something and then you got tired. And here you do need synonyms for "to be tired" or "to feel tired". Rory used "I was knackered. Okay? Knackered is informal, it's British English, not American English. So I was knackered, it's spelt with... I was knackered. I was tired. Oh, I was really knackered, I was really tired. But Rory actually said it was knackering.

R: It was.

M: It was really tiring. Okay, what other synonyms can we use? I felt tired. I was tired.

R: I was exhausted. I was spent. I was dying.

M: So, dear listener, you should choose an activity that made you feel tired. It could be any activity. For example, cooking made you tired, preparing for IELTS exhausted you. Okay? Listening to this episode made you feel tired. Okay, dear listener? Watching YouTube videos made you feel tired. Anything could make you feel tired. Even like going to the restaurant. Eating the best pasta in the world made me feel tired. I was exhausted after this dinner. Rory started off with this was a while back. So this was some time ago. It was a while back, some time ago. And Rory was at a scout camp.

R: Yes.

M: So it was like 30 years ago.

R: It wasn't 30 years ago. It was about 20 years ago. I would have been...

M: 35? 20 years ago?

R: If it was 20 years ago, I would have been 14. I think I was still in scouts then. I wasn't a big fan towards the end.

M: So back at school. So you see, dear listener? Rory told us about an activity he did back at school. So since then, he hasn't done anything tiring.

R: I can't think of anything else.

M: Really? Wow. But you go to the gym.

R: Yeah, I know. But the gym is not really that tiring.

M: Wow. Interesting.

R: If you go at the right time of day then it's fine. Also, maybe I'm slightly lazier at the gym than I should be.

M: So, this tiring activity happened when Rory was at school. So I remember we went on this long walk. We went on a rambling walk.

R: No purpose behind it. It was literally just walk. It was so unbelievably boring. And I just, I still, this is why I remember it, it was that bad.

M: So it was like a long walk in the Scottish countryside, dear listener. Can you imagine Scottish countryside with this... Sheep and lamb and castles and ghosts, and Scottish bagpipe music and kilts. Scottish people wearing kilts without their underwear. So Rory, little Rory took a rambling walk through the countryside. And that was knackering. It was tiring. And then we continue, if my memory serves. If memory serves. So you don't say if my memory serves me right.

R: Ah, well, serves you right means you get what you deserve. So it would sound a bit strange in this context.

M: Yeah. So if my memory serves, it means if I remember correctly? Or what?

R: Yeah, if my memory is working.

M: So we were there. So we were in a place called blah, blah, blah that's somewhere in Scotland, which has a castle. So then you describe the place. We were camping there for the weekend. Oh, so you went camping? So you stayed there over the night?

R: Yes.

M: Ah, so it wasn't just a walk? You went there, and you came back? So you were camping?

R: Yes.

M: So with a tent and stuff, you know? Wow.

R: Pretty much. I can't really, I don't really remember what other reasons we might have for doing that. Either way, it was a silly thing to do. We shouldn't have done it.

M: We had to spend the night at a camp. Okay? So there were different tents, people made fire, cooked food on the fire. One of the activities for this camp was a walk along the beach and back through the countryside. So this exhausting walk. I managed the walk fine, but I got really tired.

R: Well, I managed the walk to the beach fine. I didn't really manage the walk back. That was horrendous.

M: I wasn't the most physically fit of the kids.

R: I was lazy and fat.

M: Yeah, Rory was lazy and fat. Rory, how fat were you?

R: So I think I weighed something like, maybe even 90 kilograms as a child.

M: 90 kilograms? How old were you?

R: Probably not that much. But it was a lot. I was a very fat child. And then I wasn't, which was good.

M: Wow. So he wasn't the most physical feet of kids. And he had to walk.

R: Yes.

M: Along the beach and back. So he had to take this long walk. And imagine like, if a person is really fat, it's difficult. Yeah? Did you have a backpack or something? Did you have to carry things with you?

R: I don't think so. I think it was just a walk. But that's not really a great excuse, is it? Because you should ideally not to be lazy.

M: So the walk was pretty rough on my legs. So it was pretty difficult for my legs. You can say the walk was pretty rough, difficult on my legs and feet going back. So when I was going back, it got rough on my legs and feet. Or my knees. Knees? You know, your part of the body. Knees. You have a leg. Like two legs, two knees. Feet, two feet, dear listener. Do you have two feet? Good. Good for you. So usually kind of like knees. Your knees start hurting. And we use the Past Continuous. I was going back and I felt pain in my knees or in my feet. So when I was going there, when I was swimming or when I was cooking, I got tired. When I was watching TV, sleeping on my sofa. I got really tired. I got tired on my holiday. Then why I took part in it. And here you can kind of focus on this subject. As for the reason why I took part in it, I pretty much had no choice because it was at school. I had to do it. I had no choice. So I had to cope with this as best as I could. I did pretty well. You can say I did pretty well.

R: If you do something pretty well. It means you were fine with it.

M: And I kept soldiering on.

R: Yes. Soldiering on. I'm pretty sure it's a phrasal verb and if not, it should be.

M: Yeah.

R: And it just means to keep going despite the difficult circumstances.

M: Yeah. So soldier on, keep going. It's difficult. You're tired, but you keep going. So I soldiered on, or I kept soldiering on. So I continued this walk. And of course, I moaned a little bit. I moaned - I started like... It's difficult, I'm tired, I want to eat, I want to have some rest. You see? So moan. So Rory, our little fat Rory moaned a little bit. Why you felt tired.

R: Yes. Well, other than being made to walk for a million years. I think that was it. because I just said my legs were stiff. And they were cramping up and I was dehydrated. So if they're krumping, that's when you work a muscle too much, or it doesn't get enough oxygen, and it starts to hurt. And if you're really dehydrated, then you don't have enough water.

M: What about your legs were stiff? Stiff legs.

R: Also difficult to move.

M: Yeah. I was bored to death.

R: Well, bored half to death.

M: I was bored half to death. So Rory was really bored. Yeah. And so it wasn't interesting for him. So he, it was physically difficult. So he got tired, because it was physically difficult and also he was bored to death. I'm sure I started making up stories in my head, to pass the time. Yeah? Because I was bored. Ooh, yeah, I also remember, like, when I was going up a mountain in Peru, we were walking to Machu Picchu for five freaking days.

R: Wow.

M: And we climbed many mountains. And one of them was particularly difficult. So I was making up poems in my head. So Rory started making up stories. And to finish off with, you can say, to be honest, I could have done without this experience. So it would have been better not to have it. So I could have done without this experience. It's about the past. That's why we use have done. Present Perfect here.

R: I think most people could do without that kind of experience.

M: Yeah. Pretty dreadful, yeah? Right, Rory, what helped you organize this answer?

R: The task, although I did give a little bit of background because I had to explain why it was so... Like how long ago it was. And it gave me a good chance because I was able to use my pronunciation to describe things like well over 20 years ago, and then long, rambling walk. So you get the feeling conveyed through how it's said. But yes, and then I moved into where we were, and why. And then moved into again, as for the reason why I took part in it. So paraphrasing the prompt slightly. And then rounding off with I didn't end with my usual conditional really. It was more about I didn't like this experience at all. And of course, if it's a very tiring experience, then you probably wouldn't like the experience, would you?

M: Sweet. Dear listener, make sure you choose an activity, which made you feel tired. But an activity should be something you can describe, something that you can talk about. Okay? So if we talk about cooking, then you should know some words about cooking. Obviously, yeah? But I think a walk that you had to do at school is a nice choice. Or at university, you can kind of imagine. Or just like last week, I had to take a walk because of my friends, you see? So they took me to the forest. And then you can use all this vocabulary that Rory used. You see? So it could be as easy as this. Last week, I went on a walk and it was knackering. Thank you so much for listening! And we'll get back to you in our speaking part three episode about tiredness and energy. So this feeling of being tired. Tiredness. Bye!

R: Bye!

M: Bye!

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