📙 Part 2: Describe something you cannot live without (not a computer or a phone)

This episode's vocabulary

Diary planner (noun) - something such as a book or computer program showing the days, weeks, and months of the year, in which you can put the dates of events, meetings, etc.

Milestone (noun) - an important event in the development or history of something or in someone's life.

To keep track (idiom)- to make certain that you know what is happening or has happened to someone or something.

To doodle (verb) - to draw pictures or patterns while thinking about something else or when you are bored.

To brainstorm (verb) - (of a group of people) to suggest a lot of ideas for a future activity very quickly before considering some of them more carefully.

Unsuited (adj.) - not right for someone or something, usually in character.

To modify (verb) - to change something such as a plan, opinion, law, or way of behaviour slightly, usually to improve it or make it more acceptable.

Sentimental (adj.) - giving too much importance to emotions, especially love or sadness.

Someone wouldn't be caught dead - someone dislikes something very much.

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Questions and Answers

M: Rory is going to describe something he can't live without. And it mustn't be a computer or phone. Yeah, I know, I know. He's gonna say what it is, what he does with it, how it helps him in his life. And he's gonna explain why he can't live without it. Rory, are you all ready?

R: Yes.

M: Okay, shoot. Fire away.

R: Well, I think I would definitely struggle to get by without my diary planner. It's like a notebook with all of my tasks and dates to complete them by with all of the key milestones in between. I use it to keep track of everything for work and university. So everything's just in the one place. I'm speaking like, it's one thing, actually. But really, it's one of a series of diary planners I've used over the years since I became a teacher, actually. I find it useful, like I said, to have everything in one place from the dates of recordings to plans for different classes, to just having a place to doodle and brainstorm ideas, at least for the year that it's for. Obviously, you can't keep using the same one over and over again, because you just run out of space. I could move it online with that in mind. And people keep telling me to do that. But I prefer something paper-based. And it's less easy to lose or accidentally delete, or if there are some technical problems, then that might prevent me from being able to, well, to use it, if I was ever abroad, or something like that. My most recent one was actually a thank you gift from a camp that I worked with in Russia, though, in many ways, it's unsuited for the job, because I really ideally need a page for every day, and this one barely has half of that. So I've had to extensively modify it. Nevertheless, I wouldn't be without it. Since it's got all of that useful information stored in one handy place. And there's some sentimental value to boot. I also get some like sort of cheeky Russian practice, because it's all in Russian too, like, for example, the months and even the section where all of my details are. And then towards the end, there's sort of alphabetically ordered sections for people's names and addresses. So I wouldn't be caught dead without it.

M: And would you buy a new one if you lost it?

R: Well, I think I pretty much have to.

M: Thank you very for your answer!

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