📘 Part 3: Cafes

This episode's vocabulary

Stereotype (noun) - stereotype a set idea that people have about what someone or something is like, especially an idea that is wrong.

Turn sb. off (phrasal verb) - to stop someone feeling interested or excited.

Overpriced (adj.) - too expensive.

Crowding (noun) - a large group of people who have come together.

To romanticize (verb) - to talk about something in a way that makes it sound better than it really is, or to believe that something is better than it really is.

Distraction (noun) - something that prevents someone from giving their attention to something else.

Ambience (noun) - the character of a place or the quality it seems to have.

Skeptical (adj.) - doubting that something is true or useful.

To speculate (verb) - to guess possible answers to a question when you do not have enough information to be certain.

Kick (noun) - a strong feeling of excitement and pleasure.

To animate (verb) - to cause someone or something to be more active or full of life.

Fix (noun) - an amount of an illegal drug, or of another substance that has an effect on someone.

Caffeinated (adj.) - containing caffeine.

Sit-down meal (noun) - a sit-down meal is served to people who are sitting at a table.

Numerous (adj.) - many.

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Questions and Answers

M: Are you ready? Rory?

R: I am ready.

M: Yay. Do people in your country like to drink coffee?

R: Well, I think most people do everywhere, don't they? I would say British people have earned this sort of stereotype as tea drinkers as opposed to Americans who prefer coffee. But I think there's a pretty good balance. Someone told me once that depends on the time of day actually.

M: What kind of people would like to go to a cafe?

R: It's probably easier to imagine who might be turned off by a cafe, to be honest. Um, I think most people think they're great, as long as they don't mind the noise of other people and the slightly overpriced products.

M: And why do some people dislike cafes?

R: Well, like I say, the noise or the crowding is probably the worst issue.

M: Why do young people like studying in a cafe instead of at home?

R: Well, they probably don't, to be honest. I think many people have a romanticized notion of cafes as a place where people get serious work done. But let's face it, there's a lot of noise, there are many distractions. I can't see people getting a lot done there unless it's a business meeting, which students generally don't participate in. But let's imagine they do. There are opportunities to chat, share ideas, and enjoy the ambience if it's a well-decorated place with a good atmosphere. I'm still quite skeptical about that, though.

M: Do old people like to drink coffee?

R: I have no idea. Um, but if I were to speculate, I'd say they do. It's probably a reminder of times past when they drank coffee in their youth. And it can add a kick to get the conversation animated. I suppose that's true with most people, though. Who doesn't benefit from getting their caffeine fix?

M: Who goes to cafes more often, older people or young people?

R: That's a good question. Um, on the one hand, young people are, well, they're more sociable, so they probably have more cause to go to a coffee. But older people tend to have more money, so they're able to spend it more there. I think they both like to go for different reasons and to different extents.

M: What are the differences between a cafe and a restaurant?

R: Well, I suppose a cafe is about coffee or some sort of caffeinated product. While a restaurant is more about sit-down meals, usually with big groups of people, although it doesn't have to be. So the cafe is more about drinking and restaurants is more about food. And also a cafe is more about smaller products, whereas the restaurant is about larger products.

M: And which ones are more popular cafes or restaurants? So more people go to cafe or to a restaurant?

R: That's a good question. I don't even know how you would begin to measure that. But I'd probably say cafes because, well, they're cheaper. And so... And they're more numerous as well.

M: All right, thank you, Rory, for your answers!

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