📙 Part 2: Describe an interesting traditional story

This episode's vocabulary

Fable (noun) – a short story with a moral lesson, often featuring animals. → Aesop's fables have been teaching valuable life lessons for thousands of years.

Challenge (verb) – to invite someone to compete or prove themselves. → My colleague challenged me to finish the project ahead of schedule.

Way far ahead (adverb phrase) – at a considerable distance in front. → She was way far ahead in the marathon before the final kilometer.

Afford to (phrasal verb) – to have enough resources (time, money) to do something. → I can't afford to waste any more time on this task.

Steadily (adverb) – in a consistent, regular, and continuous manner. → The company has been growing steadily over the past five years.

At one's own pace (phrase) – at a speed that is comfortable for oneself. → Online courses allow students to learn at their own pace.

Embarrassed (adjective) – feeling ashamed, self-conscious, or uncomfortable. → I was embarrassed when I realized I'd made such an obvious mistake.

Overconfident (adjective) – having excessive confidence in one's abilities. → Being overconfident before an exam can lead to poor preparation.

Hubris (noun) – excessive pride or dangerous overconfidence. → His hubris prevented him from listening to advice from more experienced colleagues.

Stand out (phrasal verb) – to be particularly noticeable or memorable. → Her presentation really stood out among all the others.

Perseverance (noun) – continued effort despite difficulties or delays. → Success requires perseverance and dedication, not just talent.

Underestimate (verb) – to judge something as less important or capable than it actually is. → Never underestimate the importance of preparation for interviews.

Complacent (adjective) – self-satisfied and unaware of potential dangers. → Students sometimes become complacent after initial success and stop working hard.

Determination (noun) – firmness of purpose and resolve. → Her determination to succeed helped her overcome many obstacles.

Life lesson (noun phrase) – an experience that teaches valuable wisdom. → Failing that exam taught me an important life lesson about time management.

Questions and Answers

Maria: You should say what the story is about, when, how you knew it, who told you the story, and explain how you felt when you first heard it.

Rory: I'd like to talk about a story called The Tortoise and the Hare. You may have actually heard about it. It's one of, well, I think it's one of Aesop's fables. A fable is just like a story with a moral meaning. And so this particular story is about, as you can imagine, a tortoise and a hare. And the short version is one day a tortoise and a hare are together, and the hare challenges the tortoise to a race, or the other way around. I don't really remember, but the point is there's a race between these two animals.

And obviously, the hare, a creature like a rabbit, is much faster than the tortoise in real life. So the hare goes way far ahead towards the finish line. And just before the finish line, the hare decides, oh, I have so much time I can afford to rest and just wait for the tortoise to come. And the tortoise is just going slowly and steadily along. And then the hare gets bored of waiting and falls asleep. And actually, what happens is the tortoise just keeps going at its own pace and wins the race. And the hare wakes up and sees the tortoise has crossed the finish line. And so is very embarrassed because obviously this is a big contrast to what you would expect to happen.

My parents told me this story, I'm fairly sure, and I think people have it read to them at primary school. So I've probably heard it multiple times from different people. But the whole idea behind it is that people, even with great talent, should not be overconfident and fall into this sort of trap of hubris because you might ultimately end up embarrassing yourself. Whereas someone who's focused and goes at a steady pace is more likely to succeed in the end. And I think that's quite a good moral for everybody to keep in mind as they go. And that's why it stands out so much in my head. And I feel quite pleased that I've heard this story because it's something I apply in my own life.

Maria: And what about your friends? Do they like the story?

Rory: I haven't asked them if they like it. I imagine they've heard it, though.

Discussion

Maria: So, dear listener, the task is a traditional story. So I imagine that it's something from, I don't know, your country, your culture, because I think every country has its own tales, myths, legends. It's like, you know, Cinderella, the three little pigs.

Well, everybody's kind of heard of these stories, I think.

Maria: And kind of traditional fairy tales. We read them when we're children, right? Maybe we listen to them at school, your parents tell you. Think about what you can talk about, or you can steal Rory's story and use it. Otherwise, you do need a story that you can, you know, talk about. And Rory told us about the tortoise. Tortoise. Tortoise and the hare.

Rory: The tortoise and the hare. And it's one of, how do you pronounce his name? I think it's one of Aesop's fables. It looks like Aesop. It could be Aesop or Aesop. It doesn't matter how it's pronounced.

Maria: Fables. And Aesop was a writer long ago and he wrote fables. What's a fable, Rory?

Rory: It's a story with a moral meaning to it. So in this case, it's to not be overconfident.

Maria: Yeah. So a fable is a short story that tells a general truth about something. Yeah, the fable of the tortoise and the hare, right? We can also talk about a fairytale. Fairytale is quite similar. It's a traditional story written for children that usually involves imaginary creatures and magic, right? So the tortoise and the hare. The hare is this animal. So you can Google a hare. Not hair on your head. No. Hare. Yeah. Like a rabbit.

Rory: I think tortoise should be quite easy. It's like a turtle with legs. A hare, on the other hand, is something that's like a rabbit. I don't actually know the difference between these things. Hold on. Hare versus rabbit. What is it? Hares are bigger and have longer ears and legs, and they are born with fur and open eyes. Unlike rabbits, which are smaller, they are born blind and hairless, and they live in burrows. Hares are solitary and they live above ground. Oh my gosh. Okay, there is a big difference between these two things.

Maria: So when you've chosen the story, you need to kind of explain what it's about in just one paragraph. So, pretty much maybe a minute or even 40 seconds to tell the gist of the story, the main idea. You don't have time to retell the whole story. And that's a common problem because when students usually talk about a movie, a book, a story, they start like, oh, it's about, and then bam, finished. You don't have time. 40 seconds, all right? Or like a maximum of a minute to tell the gist, the main idea of the story.

Rory: I mean, I took quite a long time to talk about it.

Maria: No, but actually you were fine.

Rory: Really? Oh, okay.

Maria: Yeah, yeah, it was fine. So you start off with, I'm going to tell you about the tortoise and the hare. Or I'm going to tell you about a story called blah, blah, blah, Cinderella. It's a fable or it's a fairy tale. It's a traditional story that everybody knows in my country. The examiner may not know about it, right, if it's super traditional, but you can pick something universal like Cinderella, right, or Three Little Pigs. Any other story that everyone knows about, like all over the world? Do we have any international traditional stories?

Rory: Is there not like, oh, I'm just thinking of Aesop's fables again. Is there not one about a crow that puts stones into a vase and it gets water out of the vase this way? I don't know what the moral of that story is. It's about finding novel solutions to problems.

Maria: No, I don't know the story. So it's not universal. Yeah, for example, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, dear listener, have you ever heard of Little Red Riding Hood? A girl, a wolf, grandmother who was eaten.

Rory: It's a pretty bloody story, though. And the little girl takes the axe and slices open the wolf and rescues her grandmother. It is messed up.

Maria: Yeah, so Grimm's Brothers' fairy tales are considered universal. Also, the Arabian Nights from the Middle East.

Rory: Oh, Arabian Nights is good. Or what was it? The Thousand and One Nights, or something like that.

Maria: Yeah, exactly.

Rory: That's also a really violent story, though, like lots of murder and killing happening.

Maria: Well, says who, Rory? British stories for children are bloody.

Rory: Really? Come on, which ones?

Maria: She ate this and she ate this and she's dead, of course, because she's eaten so much.

Rory: Oh, the lady who swallowed a fly. Yeah, that is messed up. Sorry, I shouldn't be laughing at that, but that is quite funny.

Maria: And this is a story, and this is a story, dear listener, for British children. So I think it's like it was written by a British person, like a book for children about a lady who ate a woman. She ate a house. She ate fish and this and that. And the last page, dear listener, I'm not joking.

Rory: Silly lady.

Maria: Well, there is a moral, there is a moral to this, right? Like, don't overeat and don't eat what can't be eaten.

Rory: I'm not sure if that's the moral. I think it's just a fun, fun nursery rhyme.

Maria: Yeah, it's all rhymes like blah, blah, blah. She's eaten that. She's dead. Oh, my God. Yeah. So the moral of the story is event experience is the message that you understand from the story. So, how you should behave or how you should not behave. Right. And usuall,y fables, fairy tales, they have a moral. The moral of a story, the moral of your experience, for example, is how to behave or how not to behave. And here Rory tells us that it's a fable with a moral meaning. So there is a moral to the story. And then Rory retold the story briefly. So, finish line. When you run a race, you have a finish line. When you cross the line, you win. So remember all the marathons, running competitions, there is a finish line. Do you sometimes call it a finishing line?

Rory: I don't call it a finishing line. I imagine people could and it would be okay.

Maria: And the tortoise was going at its own pace. Pace, meaning speed. So it went at its own pace. And the moral could be that go at your own pace, and you'll be successful. So go at a steady pace.

Rory: Don't be overconfident.

Maria: Yeah. Don't be overconfident like the hare. I'm too cool. I'm too fast.

Rory: Well, what now?

Maria: I'm too cool for school. And this is how the hare speaks, you know, oh, I'm too cool. Alice Presley. Rory, what would be the tortoise's voice? The hare is like this, you know…

Rory: Slow, slow, and steady.

Maria: And then the hare was embarrassed, embarrassed, oops, the tortoise won. What an idiot I've been. Embarrassed, feeling ashamed. My parents told me this story or my friends told me the story or I heard it on the radio. I don't know. I watched the film. I read the book. I heard it multiple times. And usually if it's a traditional story, we read it, listen to it, listen to our friends telling the story or family. So we usually read it multiple times. So many times or I heard it multiple times, many times. The idea behind the story, right? So the moral of the story. The idea behind it is not to be overconfident, overconfident, well, super sure of yourself. We can fall into the trap of something.

Rory: But that just means that we can think something that's not actually true about the situation.

Maria: Actually, it's an idiom, to fall into the trap of doing something to make a bad decision. For example, don't fall into the trap of buying a house that's more expensive than you can afford. So don't fall into the trap of doing something. And here in the context of this story, don't fall into the trap of thinking that you can win everything.

Rory: Or don't fall into the trap that you can just use your talent and it's fine. You don't need to try.

Maria: And you can say that I like the story. It stands out in my head. So it's memorable to me. I always remember, you know, the message behind the story. So it stands out because it has a powerful message, right? It stands out in my head because of its powerful message. I apply it in my own life. So it's something I apply in my own life. About the moral meaning of the story, kind of, I use it in my own life. I try not to be overconfident. So I keep it in mind. And you can say that when I first heard it, I was surprised. I was excited. I was pleased. I was happy to receive this lesson.

Rory: Well, I don't think I was given a choice. I think it was just, you are going to listen to the story.

Maria: Thank you very much for listening. And we'll get back to you in our next episode. Bye!

Rory: Bye!

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