📙 Part 2: Describe an object that you think is beautiful

This episode's vocabulary

Rail bridge (noun) – a bridge designed for trains. → The rail bridge connects towns on opposite sides of the river.

Span (verb) – to stretch across an area of space. → The bridge spans the river for nearly two kilometres.

Bank (noun) – the land alongside a river. → We had a picnic on the riverbank.

Capital city (noun) – the most important city in a country, usually where the government is. → Paris is the capital city of France.

Symbol (noun) – something that represents a country, idea, or concept. → The maple leaf is a symbol of Canada.

Section (noun) – a part of something larger. → This section of the building is closed for renovation.

Anti-rust paint (noun) – paint that prevents metal from rusting. → The bridge is coated with anti-rust paint.

Garish (adjective) – too bright or showy in an unattractive way. → The walls were painted in garish neon colours.

Feat of engineering (phrase) – an impressive achievement in building or design. → The skyscraper is a remarkable feat of engineering.

Postcard (noun) – a card with a picture sent from a place, often by tourists. → I sent my friend a postcard from Rome.

Juxtaposition (noun) – the contrast of two different things placed next to each other. → The artist used the juxtaposition of light and dark.

Suspension bridge (noun) – a type of bridge supported by cables. → The Golden Gate is a famous suspension bridge.

Bygone era (noun) – a period of time in the past. → The castle reminds people of a bygone era.

Landmark (noun) – a well-known building or structure that is easily recognised. → The Eiffel Tower is a famous landmark in Paris.

Architecture (noun) – the style or design of buildings and structures. → Gothic architecture is admired worldwide.

Iconic (adjective) – widely recognised and admired as a symbol. → Big Ben is an iconic sight in London.

Heritage (noun) – cultural traditions, monuments, or buildings passed down from the past. → The temple is part of the country’s heritage.

Picturesque (adjective) – visually attractive, like a painting. → The village was small and picturesque

Flamboyant (adjective) – very showy, colourful, or dramatic. → He wore a flamboyant red jacket.

Scenery (noun) – the natural or built landscape that you can see. → The mountain scenery was breathtaking

Questions and Answers

Maria: You should say what it is, where you saw it, what it looks like, and explain why you think it's beautiful.

Rory: Well, actually, I'm going to talk about the Forth Rail Bridge today. That's a bridge in Scotland. It spans the gulf between both banks of the River Forth, which is close to our capital city in Edinburgh.

I know it's a bit strange to pick a bridge, but it's not an ordinary bridge. Not only is it a rail bridge, it's actually a sort of symbol for our country because it's got a very unusual shape. It's got, I think, three or four sections that are shaped like hexagons, and they're bright red as well because of the anti-rust paint on them. So you would think that that makes it stand out and look a bit garish, but actually, I think it looks amazing. It's a real feat of engineering. And obviously, I'm not the only one who thinks so, because it's become a kind of symbol that's associated with Scotland and Scottish engineering. You see it on postcards all over the place.

I don't remember when I first saw it, but I definitely see it every time I go over the road bridge on the other side, which is a great juxtaposition because you've got this sort of old kind of 19th century style of flamboyant engineering on one side, and then on the other side, you've got this more modern, very boring looking suspension bridge by comparison. And of course, whenever I take the train to Edinburgh, I see it from the inside there as well.

When it comes to why I think it's beautiful, like I say, it's sort of a reminder of this kind of bygone era when people made things like even bridges looked beautiful, and they would put a lot of effort into the design to make them stand out and make them look good. In addition to the fact that I think it's actually quite a unique design anyway. So if this thing didn't exist, I think Scotland would be a lot worse off as a result. We would lack a key national symbol. And I think that's kind of important to have.

Maria: And what about your friends? Do they like it?

Oh, we definitely commented on it when we were younger, but now it's just kind of part of the scenery. But it's still a beautiful part.

Discussion

Maria: Yay! Thank you, Rory, for your story. So what's the name of the bridge so people can Google and admire it? It's called the Forth Rail Bridge. Forth Rail Bridge. Forth, like fourth, like four?

Rory: Like a number. But it's actually the name of the river. It's nothing to do with the number of things.

Maria: Yeah, dear listener, so you go to Google Images and you type F-O-R-T-H. So, Forth Rail Bridge. Oh, and the river Forth. The Forth Bridge. Yeah, it sounds like the first, the second, the third, the fourth, but the spelling is different. Oh, very nice. Yeah, really unique, guys. You need to look at it, okay? It's like red, and the design is truly spectacular. Whoa. Wow. Wow, it's pretty impressive, huh?

Rory: Most people would pick a small thing, but this is, yeah, it's huge as well.

Maria: It's impressive. Yeah, and also, like, if you look at the forthbridges.org, okay? You'll take a look at the photograph with little houses, little nice cottages, you know, like Scottish style, and then this bridge, you know, like a huge rollercoaster or something.

Rory: That's what it looks like. It does look like a rollercoaster. It does not feel like one. I should point out.

Maria: Yeah, you see, so Rory chose to talk about a bridge, so it's okay. It could be called an object, all right? Well, it's a piece of infrastructure, right? It's also a road, right, but yeah, an object, why not? You can also talk about, well, a beautiful object, actually any object, dear listener, because maybe like, okay, my pen is beautiful to me. My pencil, my table, I don't know, something that is easy for you to describe, seriously, something that you admire. It could be an everyday object or it could be a painting, I don't know, a piece of jewellery, maybe something from your house decorations, right? A chair or a building, okay? But make sure that you can describe it. If you pick, I don't know, a painting or a piece of furniture and you can't say anything about it, then it's a problem because we talk about the material, design, how it's made, so some specific words. And when Rory described it, so like what it looks like, yeah, so this task in the cue card requires some description. So Rory told us about its shape, so it has unusual shape, and what shapes do we usually have?

Rory: Oh, triangles, squares, but this is a hexagon or it's got hexagonal shapes, at least I think so.

Maria: Diamond, and how do we say it, like it has a diamond shape or it's a diamond, it's diamond in shape?

Rory: Oh, right, okay, well, you could say it has a diamond shape, or it's got the shape of a diamond.

Maria: Or I say it's triangular, yeah, or it's a circle.

Rory: Well, it's circular.

Maria: Circular, okay, okay, or it's a square, for example.

Rory: Well, yes, but that would not be very interesting, so don't pick something that's shaped like a square.

Maria: Yeah, like look at your object, at its shape, and Google the word that you need. Then colour, it's bright red, so what colour, or, it's turquoise. You can change the colour and choose any colour you want, and it's much better to use something interesting, like, ooh, what interesting colours do you have?

Rory: Oh my gosh, bright red, fluorescent yellow.

Maria: Ooh, fluorescent yellow, see? Even if the object is green, just say, oh, it's fluorescent yellow, it's bright yellow.

Rory: Well, if it's green, don't say it's bright yellow, say it could be fluorescent green as well, I suppose.

Maria: Yeah, but you can say any colour, right, just, you know, to sound cool, or kind of like, it's spring green, you know, navy blue. And this object stands out, because it's beautiful, it's unique, it's unusual, so it stands out. Or, for example, it stands out because of its unique design. So stand out, it's noticeable, it's visible. And you can use inversion here. Inversion is like a question, so we say, not only is it beautiful, but it's also old, or antique, or ancient.

Rory: Or a symbol of the country.

Maria: So not only is it beautiful, but it's also a symbol of the country. So it's kind of like a question, like, is it beautiful? It's also a symbol, right? So we take two sentences, it's beautiful, it's a symbol of the country. And then we kind of make a question, not only is it beautiful, but it's also a symbol of the country. Rory, could you give me an inversion about, for example, your, a decoration at home that you think is beautiful, a painting or something?

Rory: Well, I have a nice painting in my living room, which is of the waterfront in Dundee. So not only is it of that, but it's also done in black and white. So the contrasting colours bring out the features better.

Maria: So not only is it about Dundee, not only is it expensive, but it's also one of a kind. It's also really unique. And Rory called it a real feat of engineering. So a feat is something difficult, needing a lot of skill, strength, and courage to achieve. For example, the Eiffel Tower is a remarkable feat of engineering. Oh, and that's a collocation, a feat of engineering. When it comes to why I think it's beautiful, I guess it's unique. It's made of organic materials. I like the shape of it.

Rory: God, I hope the bridge is not made of organic materials. Otherwise, lots of people are in trouble.

Maria: People put a lot of effort into its design. So people tried hard, people put a lot of effort into the design. And it has a unique design. You can also name the material, right? Maybe it's made of wood, glass, or plastic. But if it's made of wood, then you can mention some specific wood. Again, choose something interesting. So maybe it's made of walnut, it's made of oak, or pine.

Rory: I just had this image in my head of something made of nuts.

Maria: Maple wood. Yeah, you need to go to Google Images because we can't explain this. What is it? Maple. Yeah, walnut, for example. You know, nuts. Yeah, and for example, this mahogany. What's mahogany?

Rory: Mahogany is just a really... I think it's an expensive kind of wood. I think it's because it's particularly dense, so it's long-lasting.

Maria: Yeah, so you can remember this word, mahogany. A dark red-brown wood used to make furniture. So, for example, I have a mahogany desk. This beautiful, you know, red-brown desk, oh la la. So don't just say, you know, oh, it's made of wood. Mmm, mahogany. And you can Google mahogany, for example, what, a table? Mahogany table and go to Google Images. Look at that beauty, nice. And you can finish off with if it didn't exist. So the second conditional, we are imagining that we don't have it. So if it didn't exist, I would be... Or if it didn't exist, I'd buy something like this, right? Rory, what do you think our listener can talk about? Like, when we think of beautiful objects, like what objects do we usually think about?

Rory: It could be anything, a piece of jewellery, for example, like an earring or a ring, or it could be something that they have in their home, like a kind of artwork. For me, I'm very boring, so I had to go further outside. But you could also describe something like a statue, for example.

Maria: Yeah, a statue, a piece of furniture, a monument, for example, if you wish. Yeah, but we do need specific vocabulary for description. So you Google the object, or a painting you want to describe, or a piece of jewellery, or maybe clothes. Oh, shoes, a bag.

Rory: Oh, Maria would have many things to talk about for this.

Maria: Yes, it could be like a photograph, household objects, or everyday objects. A candle you made yourself, like a bottle of perfume. But we need specific vocabulary for this. So I recommend preparing for this topic. Write down maybe like six, five words, specific words, shape, colour, material, design. Thank you very much for listening. We'll get back to you in speaking part three, where we talk about beauty and beautiful things. Bye!

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