📘 Part 3: Countryside

This episode's vocabulary

The rat race (noun) - a way of life in modern society, in which people compete with each other for power and money.

To decompress (verb) - to reduce in pressure or return to the original lower pressure, or to cause something to do this.

Ideal (noun) - a principle or a way of behaving that is of a very high standard.

Diverse (adj.) - including many different types of people or things.

Smattering (noun) - a very small amount or number.

Conversely (adverb) - in an opposite way.

Demographic (adj.) - relating to demography (= the study of populations and the different groups that make them up).

Trait (noun) - a particular characteristic that can produce a particular type of behaviour.

Trail (noun) - a path through a countryside, mountain, or forest area, often made or used for a particular purpose.

Landscape (noun) - a large area of land, especially in relation to its appearance.

Appeal (noun) - the quality in someone or something that makes him, her, or it attractive or interesting.

Questions and Answers

M: Is there anything special about villages in your country?

R: Not that I'm aware of. Although, they could be made up of materials or in particular styles that are unique to the area. Something like sandstone, for example.

M: Why do people want to go to the countryside?

R: For starters, it's a nice escape from the rat race in cities. So they might go to decompress before returning to that. Another thing that comes to mind is having some sort of romantic ideal of like the peaceful countryside in general that draws them there, not just to visit, but to live. Whether that's true or not is another matter entirely, but those are some of the reasons.

M: What do people usually do when they visit a village?

R: Well, your guess is as good as mine. Villages are pretty diverse in terms of what they offer. I mean, if it's just a smattering of houses, then there's possibly not much to do but sit and read a book or something like that. Conversely, there may be local tourist attractions like waterfalls or hiking routes or even festivals that people can enjoy. But that's not always certain, and some places are just really quiet and they like being that way.

M: Will more people live in villages in the future?

R: Well, the sort of demographic trend has always been increasing migration from the countryside to the city, since that's where the work and opportunities are, and that doesn't show much sign of slowing down or reversing. So I'd say no.

M: What are the advantages and disadvantages of living in the countryside?

R: We covered a few already, but the main ones are probably things like having more space and supposedly, cleaner or healthier living, since the downsides of towns and cities are rarely present in such cases.

M: What kind of people would like to stay in the countryside?

R: I mean, well, people who want to enjoy the advantages and don't mind too much about the downsides. It's hard to think of specific personality traits, but I imagine people who don't like change and value their own space would rather spend their time there than people who don't share those kinds of traits.

M: Do people in your country like to go hiking?

R: Well, there certainly seems to be a big demand for it, and this makes sense, since we've lots of mountains and mountain trails. But despite being in Northern Europe, the scenery and landscapes are still quite diverse, so it's easy to understand the appeal from that perspective, too.

M: Thank you, Rory, for your answers!

Discussion

M: So places in the countryside, we say we go to the countryside so outside the city, dear listener. And we can say that, like the buildings in villages in my countries are made of special materials, like white stone or some sandstone, or they tend to be traditional, they tend to be, I don't know, small, or they tend to have funny names, for example.

R: Yeah, that's a hard one to answer, to be honest. Because how often do you think about the special things to do with villages in your country? So you can always just say something like, I have no idea, but then follow up with a possibility. Because who knows for certain?

M: No, but usually, villages... For example, they have small houses, cottages, quaint cottages, okay? They don't have any high-rise buildings. So this is something that is special about villages.

R: Oh, that's a good point.

M: You can also say bungalows, or like low-level structures. They tend to be traditional, small, and, I don't know, maybe they are poorly maintained, so half buildings are destroyed. Yeah, very few people live there, for example. Or there is no electricity in some of the villages in my country, there's no internet.

R: So we can talk about what they have as well as what they don't have. And that could be special.

M: And another synonym is special or unique. So the villages are unique because blah, blah, blah. For starters is a nice one, when you say like to begin with, like, the first point is that, for starters, people want to escape from the rat race in the cities. So the rat race that we have in the cities is this competition, the rat race. A way of life in modern society in which people compete with each other for power and money. Money and power. And to get out of the rat race, we go to the countryside. We move to the countryside. And we go there to decompress. Is another word for saying like to relax. To decompress, to reduce our pressure. Decompress, to relax.

R: To chill out.

M: People go to the countryside to decompress. And another point is that, or another thing that comes to mind. So we started like, for starters... Another thing that comes to mind is having certain romantic moments. To enjoy romantic moments in peaceful countryside.

R: But you could also have a romantic ideal in your head, which means you think that the countryside is this positive place where only good things happen and nothing bad can happen there. But of course, in real life, living in the countryside is quite hard.

M: The villages are diverse. Diverse means they include many different types of people or things. We usually say that something is culturally diverse. So like different cultures. Or somebody has diverse views on this point. And villages are pretty diverse in terms of what they offer. So villages can offer people different things. For example, people can sit and read a book, or people may visit local tourist attractions. So local sites. For example, waterfalls, hiking routes or festivals. So there are some nature sites, like waterfalls, mountains, lakes, and also some festivals which might happen in the countryside, in some villages, like music festivals, for example. Or some other festivals. And don't forget to say people can visit some quaint cottages, old churches, ancient ruins.

R: Well, unless you already said that.

M: Yeah, yeah. Just say it once, dear listener, quaint cottages, that's it, we say it only once. Today, people are moving to the villages, or people are moving to the countryside. It could be a trend. So if you say it as a trend, yeah, these days, a lot of people are moving out of cities to the countryside. So Rory says no, like people will stay in cities where there are many work opportunities. And the trend has always been migration from the countryside to the cities, not vice versa. We talk about benefits and drawbacks of living in the countryside. Make sure you paraphrase the examiner's words. If the examiner asks you about advantages and disadvantages, say benefits and drawbacks, or pluses and minuses, pros and cons. Or you can also say like on the flip side, meaning the drawbacks. Like on the flip side... It's bad. So having more space and cleaner air is one of the advantages.

R: Well, supposedly.

M: Yeah, supposedly. Maybe cleaner.

R: It's not always like that.

M: Yeah. And the downsides of living in the countryside is what?

R: Well, I mean, there are probably as many downsides as there are upsides. You're pretty isolated in general and specifically from things like advanced medical care, more diverse services, more choice, and of course, you might not do well being that close to so few people for such a prolonged period as well.

M: Yeah, you can say that one of the downsides is that your house could be far away from the city, and it takes a lot of time to commute to work, like, to go to the city. It's hard to think of specific personality traits. Personality traits? Like these character traits. Like who would stay in the countryside? Like who? Like, I live in the countryside now, okay.

R: I don't really get that question. Are there?

M: I've moved from the city.

R: The countryside's as diverse a place as the city.

M: Like self-sufficient people, okay? Who can afford a house in the countryside.

R: Free spirits.

M: Free Spirits.

R: But you get free spirits... You get free spirits in the city too. I mean, I'm quite a free-spirited person, but like, you know, I live in a town, and I'm quite happy to live there now. So I don't think this is something that's exclusive to a particular location. Maria is now looking for a study on the psychoanalysis of people who live in the countryside.

M: And you can say it like, it's hard to think of specific personality traits or character traits. But I imagine people who don't like change believe in the countryside. People who value their own space, like my space, my house. And who would rather spend some time alone, for example. But again, not the case, because in the countryside, you can have a community, neighbours, you know? So it depends. People in the countryside usually go hiking. So there are hiking routes, like up the mountains, around the lakes.

R: There are mountain trails.

M: Ooh, mountain trails.

R: That's just like a path in the mountains, though.

M: Yeah, and there is a big demand for it. So a big demand for going hiking, maybe, in your country.

R: Maybe. Yeah, I don't know. I don't like going hiking. I like to be at home.

M: Okay. So the scenery is nice. The scenery, the nature, landscapes, like beautiful views are nice. Landscapes are diverse. So there are different landscapes, and it's easy to understand the appeal of living in the countryside. So the appeal is a nice one.

R: The thing that people like about it.

M: Yeah, like, I understand the appeal of living in the countryside. I understand the beauty of living in the countryside. Like what makes it attractive or interesting? And also, you can say living in the countryside is appealing for some people. So these people like it. They are attracted to living in the in the countryside.

R: Like a banana. Appealing.

M: Ha-ha-ha.

R: Sorry.

M: You peel a banana. It's a joke.

R: Peel is a verb, which is a kind of vocabulary which can only mean it's time for my vocabulary, time or grammar. And indeed, we are going to focus on grammar, or ways to use grammar to convey certain kinds of meaning. So I prepare a lot of candidates for IELTS, and one thing I noticed was they really struggle when they're not sure about the answer, because they often think that the examiner is testing their knowledge. So they must always be sure about what they're saying. But actually, there are things we can do to show that we are not sure. So Maria's job now is to look at my answers and tell me what I said when I was not sure about something. What phrases or what grammar structures did I use? So Maria the first question was, is there anything special about villages in your country? And I... This is not my specialist area. So what grammar structure did I use to signal that I was not sure about this?

M: Not that I'm aware of...

R: Well, that's the phrase. But what about the grammar structure.

M: Ah, they could be, like could be.

R: Yes. So modal verb could, then I was asked, why do people want to go to the countryside? However, what did I say to show that I was not so sure?

M: Might go.

R: Yes. Then you asked me, what do people usually do when they visit a village? Now, there were a couple of things I said to signal that I was really not sure about this answer. But what was one of them?

M: Your guess is as good as mine.

R: Yes. So another way of saying you have no idea, but always make sure you follow up. Don't just say your guess is as good as mine, and then nothing. You need to say something afterwards. Another grammar structure that got used, instead of maybe I said there might be. Then Maria asked me if more people will live in villages in the future. So again, how did I signal that I wasn't 100% sure about this? This is a hard one.

M: I'd say no?

R: That's part of it, yeah. I said it doesn't show much sign of slowing down. So instead of being 100% confident with present simple I added in much. So like, maybe there are some signs that I don't know about, but I'm not sure, so I'm just gonna say it doesn't show much sign of this. And then we hedge our answer. Then I was asked about the disadvantages and advantages of the countryside.

M: Probably.

R: Yes. So maybe, probably, possibly, all good ways of signaling that you're not 100% sure. And then I was asked about the kind of people who would like to stay in the countryside. So again, I'm not a psychologist, I don't study people in the countryside.

M: Yeah, it's hard to think of specific personality traits, but I imagine that...

R: So it's hard to think of something, but I imagine. And then our very last one. Do people in your country like to go hiking? Again, I do not study this, this is not my specialist area. But what grammar or what phrase did I use to signal a possibility?

M: There certainly seems to be a big demand for it.

R: Yes, so seems to be is quite good as well. So all of these things are things that people naturally use in conversations. You're not expected to be an expert in every single subject ever. Nobody is, but you are being tested on how well you handle the unfamiliar situation, and you can do that by just admitting your ignorance and then having a guess at what could be or what might be the case. So remember your modal verbs, they're also good for your essay to stop you from generalizing.

M: Yeah. Thank you very much for listening, and we'll get back to you in our next episode. Okay? Bye!

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