📘 Part 3: Adventures

This episode's vocabulary

Vicariously (adverb) - in a vicarious way (= experienced through the activities of other people, rather than by doing something yourself).

Conservatively (adverb) - in a way that is not fashionable or modern.

Adventurous (adj.) - willing to try new or difficult things.

Disposition (noun) - a natural tendency to do something, or to have or develop something.

To be prone to something/do something - likely to show a particular characteristic, usually a negative one, or to be affected by something bad, such as damage or an illness.

Helicopter parenting (noun) - a way of taking care of a child that involves a parent being very closely involved with their child's life, especially their education, and trying to control it too much.

Risk-averse (adj.) - unwilling to take risks or wanting to avoid risks as much as possible.

To dive in/dive into something (phrasal verb) - to start doing something suddenly and energetically, often without stopping to think.

To go off (phrasal verb) - to leave a place and go somewhere else.

Workload (noun) - the amount of work to be done, especially by a particular person or machine in a period of time.

Commitment (noun) - a promise or firm decision to do something.

Motion (noun) - the act or process of moving, or a particular action or movement.

Solo (adj.) - alone; without other people.

Resourcefulness (noun) - the ability to make decisions and act on your own.

To wind up (phrasal verb) - to find yourself in an unexpected and usually unpleasant situation, especially as a result of what you do.

Spectrum (noun) - a range of different positions, opinions, etc. between two extreme points.

Stability (noun) - a situation in which something is not likely to move or change.

To gallivant (verb) - to visit or go to a lot of different places, enjoying yourself and not worrying about other things you should be doing.

Bold (adj.) - not frightened of danger.

To spice upsomething (phrasal verb) - if you spice up something you add excitement or interest to it.

Monotonous (adj.) - not changing and therefore boring.

Grievously (adverb) - to a very severe or serious degree.

Questions and Answers

M: Who likes to read adventure books?

R: People who are interested in adventures, no? In more detail, probably there are two kinds of people, people who can't afford to have real adventures. And people who would rather live vicariously through fictional people.

M: What kinds of people dislike adventures?

R: Well, people who aren't interested in adventures? Sorry, I'm not taking these questions seriously. Okay. Probably people who... Maybe they're just not interested in this kind of risk-taking behaviour and they're more conservatively minded. I think that's fairly safe to say that that would be how most people who aren't adventurous would describe themselves.

M: And why do they prefer being conservatively minded and not adventurous?

R: I don't think it's an act of preference. I think that's just a natural disposition that some people have, some people are more prone to taking risks than others. There was an interesting theory a while back, that there's a bacteria that exists in some people, but not in others and it influences your life choices. So perhaps they don't have this bacteria.

M: Why are some children addicted to adventure games?

R: Well, especially nowadays, they're a decent simulation of real-life experiences. And I guess, there's lots more helicopter parenting now. So they might not actually get the chance to have real-life adventures due to this. So it's just another way for them to engage in this adventurous behaviour without the risk.

M: Why do some people prefer to read adventure books, rather than take an adventure?

R: Well, risk-averse people might be more willing to dive into a book than dive into a canyon, I suppose. And there's less time to go off on adventures now. Because people's workloads are... Well, they were increasing, I don't know what it's like now. But last I checked, that was the case. And they have more commitments. As you get older, your commitments tend to grow, you can't really go off on a random adventure, if you have a family to take care of, can you?

M: Do you think adventures are important in life?

R: Well, depends entirely on the sort of person that you want to be. I mean, if you are the kind of person that values having lots of interesting stories to tell, about strange places that you've been to and strange activities that you've done, then that is something that will be important. But if you're not, and you prefer to be at home, where it's safe and calm and comfortable, and just everything going normally, then it will not be something that's important for you.

M: What do you think are the benefits of going on an adventure?

R: Well, it's an adventure. So you have lots of unique life experiences and stories to tell the grandkids if you survive your adventure to have grandchildren.

M: Anything else?

R: No. No-no, there are other things, of course. It's something to look back on, regardless of the kind of life that you've lived. When you're older, and kind of gone through the motions of everything that you're supposed to do in life, you can look back and think, oh, wow, it was very interesting. Good. And feel the sense of satisfaction.

M: Is it better to go on an adventure alone or with a group?

R: Well, I mean, if you're flying solo, then there's more, or there are more opportunities for self-development and chance to develop your resourcefulness as an individual. Although if you're a part of a group, then you could build connections with new people and strengthen existing bonds. So again, it really depends on what you want to achieve and the kind of person that you are.

M: Are there any risks associated with going on an adventure?

R: Well, lots of risks. It might, you know, adventures are sold as being interesting, but they might actually turn out to be quite boring. And of course, you could wind up with life-threatening injuries, if they end up being extremely interesting. Or you could also wind up dead, which is also not a good thing. So yeah, there's lots of risks that... But those are the three big ones. And they're sort of at the extreme ends of the spectrum. Boredom or death or injury.

M: Do you think that people should take more risks in their lives and go on adventurous trips?

R: Well, society depends on a certain level of stability in order to function. So if we all went gallivanting off into the sunset civilization would probably collapse. However, people could still be bolder, even just to spice things up a little bit. No one likes it when things are monotonous all the time, do they?

M: Do you think that experiencing adventures broadens people's horizons?

R: If they don't wind up dead or grievously injured then yes. You have the chance to meet interesting people and have experiences that lot's of other people would never have. And of course, you network with people along the way, so that also presents opportunities that you would not normally have. So I think so, yes.

M: Thank you, Rory, for your adventurous answers!