📙 Part 2: Describe something you had to share with others

This episode's vocabulary

Suburb (noun) - an area on the edge of a large town or city where people who work in the town or city often live.

Flatmate (noun) - a person who shares an apartment with another person.

Respectively (adverb) - in a way that relates or belongs to each of the separate people or things you have just mentioned.

To rub along (phrasal verb) - if two people rub along, they work or live together in a satisfactory way.

Wildly (adverb) - in an uncontrolled or extreme way.

Hovel (noun) - a small home that is dirty and in bad condition.

To work out (phrasal verb) - to happen or develop in a particular way.

To look back (phrasal verb) - to think about something that happened in the past.

Nostalgia (noun) - a feeling of pleasure and also slight sadness when you think about things that happened in the past.

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Questions and Answers

M: Are you ready Rory?

R: Yes, I am.

M: Fire away.

R: Well, I've got to tell you about my last flat in Moscow, which was the best apartment I have ever lived in. I shared it with two of my colleagues, because the company we worked for couldn't afford to give us our own accommodation. But I still loved it. To be more exact about the place itself, it was in Strogino, which is a suburb in Moscow. And I will always remember it because it was flat 33 on the 12th floor. And both of these are multiples of my favourite number, which is three. With that in mind, it seemed super lucky. And it was. It had a decent kitchen, and a big room with a balcony and a great view of Moscow. Plus the nearest metro station was only about 10 minutes walk away, so it was perfect. To describe my flatmates in greater detail, I shared it with two other teachers, Kristen and Grant, who were American and from New Zealand respectively. We didn't move in at the same time. And we didn't move in the same social circles either. But we got on well and managed to rub along really nicely. This is despite the fact that there was one bathroom and we all had wildly different schedules and personalities. But it was so great just being together with people who are reasonable and quite accommodating and welcoming. In more depth about the reasons behind the flat sharing. We were all working for the same company, but in different schools around Moscow, so they needed us in one convenient location. And this was the best bet for that. I'd stayed in some absolute hovels in my time in Russia, and this was a brilliant compromise. Flat sharing was a common practice in the company that we worked in. And in this case, we were no exception. It could have gone so badly, but it worked out brilliantly. To say more on my personal feelings, I loved every second in that place. And I often look back on it with a sense of nostalgia. I can still remember standing in the hallway one spring morning thinking this is the best it's going to get and it very nearly was.

M: Oh, and would you like to come back there?

R: I would love to go back to that apartment. Yes.

M: Thank you, Rory, for your sharing!

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Discussion

M: Ooh, an interesting answer, dear listener. So you would imagine that describe something you had to share with others. It's like a story. Or you shared some information, for example, but Rory told us about a flat. What else do we usually share with other people? Maybe knowledge? Maybe a story? A flat. We share clothes, perhaps, make-up, right? So you should make a choice and choose something that is easy for you to talk about. So Rory started talking about his flat. Yeah? My last flat in Moscow, his last flat, like he changed a couple of flats. And he said that it was the best apartment. So, Rory, you used a flat and the best apartment. So that's the same thing, right? A flat, an apartment. So there's no difference?

R: Yeah, an apartment is an Americanism really. But they mean the same thing.

M: Yeah. And that was the best apartment. I shared it with two of my colleagues, right? So you say, okay, I shared it with my friends. We worked together. We couldn't afford. So we didn't have the money to buy something or to rent another flat. So we could afford our own accommodation. That's why we shared a flat. And then it was a suburb in Moscow. So somewhere out there far away from the centre.

R: That doesn't really describe it very well though, does it? Because most of the countries are far away from the centre of the city. So it's between the countryside, and between the city centre and there was the suburb.

M: And then some description like it had a decent kitchen. It had a big room with a balcony. It had a great view of Moscow. And Rory referred to the people who lived together with him as flatmates. So they were Rory's flatmates. They shared a flat.

R: Flatmates - you share a flat. Workmates - you share work, workspace, a company, perhaps.

M: And you did use some nice phrasal verbs. We got on well with each other. So we got on well, we had good relationships. Like we were good friends. And we managed to rub along very nicely. To rub along very nicely with other people. So what did you mean by this?

R: To rub along - to get along, to have a nice time with.

M: Yeah, a very specific phrasal verb when you describe a person or maybe a fashionable person in some other speaking part two topics. These ones are nice. So we got on very well, we managed to rub along very nicely. I liked how you said, wildly, wildly different schedules. So we had super different schedules, wildly different schedules and personalities.

R: We are wildly... Like, do you remember Kristen and Grant?

M: Yeah.

R: They're like very, very different to me. And different to each other as well, not in a bad way just in like, you would never mistake them for different people.

M: And then Rory gave some more details. The reasons behind the flat sharing. We were working for the same company, for the same school. It was a convenient location. And then you said flat sharing was common practice in the company.

R: Yeah, people did it, you had to do it. Like to rent an apartment in Moscow by yourself is very expensive. Or it was, I don't know what it's like now, but I thought it was expensive.

M: And then you talked about your feelings. I loved every second in that place. And then I often look back on it. I look back on it, like I remember it with a sense of nostalgia. That's a nice word. When we kind of feel sad about the past. And it's positive, right? Usually.

R: Well, yeah, it's a positive feeling. It's wishing things could be more like the past. I was speaking to somebody about this today. So yes, there were only good memories from that apartment. I really, really loved it.

M: So a nice phrasal verb to use, I often look back on it with a sense of nostalgia. So this, you know, like, some kind of like sad and at the same time, pleasant thoughts. Oh, I wish I could come back to this. Rory, what helped you organize your answer?

R: The task, really. I'm getting really lazy with this, but at least the phrases are changing. So I gave a little bit of a preface there. So I said exactly what I was going to talk about. Although, I didn't say I am going to describe a time or describe a place that I had to share with someone, or something I had to share with people. I said, I've got to tell you about and then the thing. And then I explained what it was with a relative clause, which was the best apartment I've lived in, and also the last one. And then to be exact about the place itself. So I said to be more exact about the place itself. So this was in launching into describing what the thing was that I shared. And then it said, who you had to share it with. So I said, I didn't say I had to share it with, I said to describe my flatmates in greater detail, and then I had to talk about why I had to share it with others. So in more depth about the reasons behind the flat sharing. So that's quite a good expression, the reasons behind something, it's better than saying I had to do this because. No, you say the reasons why were... And that draws special emphasis to that part that you're going to talk about. And then I was asked to talk about or explain how I felt about it. And then I said, to say more about my personal feelings, and then I launched into detail and gave an example of standing there in the hallway thinking it was wonderful.

M: Yes, sweet. So dear listener, you should think what exactly you're going to be talking about, right? A place something like clothes, or some like information, once I shared a story, or once I shared my knowledge about how to cook. Right? So once I shared a recipe, maybe you make great lasagna or pasta, and once you shared this recipe with somebody. Right? And depending on the topic, the vocabulary is going to be different. Yeah? But again, you have the words, which help you organize your story. Okay? And feelings. So how you felt about it, usually when we share something with others, we feel positive, yeah? Rory, what else can our listeners say about like, how I felt about it. So I shared my knowledge, I shared myself with others. So I felt, I felt great, I felt a sense of achievement. I felt I was on cloud nine, I was so happy.

R: Or we could go in the middle and say I had mixed feelings about the whole experience.

M: Yeah, if kind of it wasn't positive, it wasn't negative. Like, I wasn't sure about this.

R: Because sometimes you cannot have a positive experience. Sometimes you can have flatmates from hell.

M: Yeah, or you share something with others and they don't like it. They kind of respond in a negative way, for example. Yeah? But it's much better to choose something positive, yeah? You don't want to freak out your examiner. So make the examiner cry from your sad story. Yeah?

R: Please try and have a positive story.

M: Yeah, yeah. So just to be on the safe side, something positive. Okay? Super. Thank you very much for listening! And we'll get back to you in our next episode speaking part three, where we're going to be talking about stories in general. And sharing. Bye!

R: Bye!

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