📘 Part 3: Getting Up Early

This episode's vocabulary

Trait (n) – a particular quality in your personality. → His sense of humour is one of his best traits.

Have a lie-in (phrasal verb) – to stay in bed later than usual in the morning. → I always have a lie-in on a Sunday.

Work shifts (collocation) – to work for a particular period of time during the day or night. → Doctors and nurses often have to work shifts.

Make an early start (collocation) – to begin something early, especially a journey. → We'll have to make an early start if we want to avoid the traffic.

By and large (idiom) – in general. → By and large, the new system has been a great success.

Ahead of schedule (idiom) – earlier than planned or expected. → We finished the project two weeks ahead of schedule.

Get settled in (phrasal verb) – to begin to feel comfortable in a new place or situation. → Once we've got settled in, we'll have you over for dinner.

Punctual (adj) – arriving, doing something, or happening at the expected, correct time; not late. → He's the sort of man who's always punctual.

Pull an all-nighter (idiom) – to stay awake all night to study or work. → I had to pull an all-nighter to finish my essay.

Get carried away with (phrasal verb) – to become so excited or involved in something that you lose control of your feelings or actions. → I got a bit carried away with the shopping and spent too much money.

Show up (phrasal verb) – to arrive somewhere in order to join a group of people, especially late or unexpectedly. → I invited him for eight o'clock, but he didn't show up until 9:30.

Throw a spanner in the works (idiom) – to do something that suddenly stops a plan from succeeding. → The sudden rainstorm threw a spanner in the works of our outdoor picnic plans.

Questions and Answers

Maria: Do you know anyone who likes to get up early?

Rory: Other than myself, not really, unfortunately. I think it's a very unusual trait in people, but obviously they've found ways of managing their days that work for them. So,

Maria: Can you explain further?

Rory: Yeah, just these days it seems the vast majority of people get up later in the day than me. And why shouldn't they? I probably have different hobbies or habits that require me to get up and they don't have them. So why not have a lie in?

Maria: Why do people get up early?

Rory: Lots of reasons, but I think the big ones are mostly connected to work or being productive in some way. For example, they might work shifts or with people in different time zones and have to make an early start. It could even be something simple, like working in a service industry, which needs to be up and running so that the people who work more regular hours have something that's ready for them to use.

Maria: And what evidence do you have for that?

Rory: That's just simple observation, really. Also, if you have lots of people doing an activity at a certain time, it seems logical to have things ready for them to make any process go more smoothly.

Maria: What kinds of occasions require people to arrive early?

Rory: Well, again, the list is pretty extensive. By and large, even if workplaces have set hours, it's considered good form to arrive at least a little ahead of schedule, just to make a good impression. And if you show up early, then there's more of a chance to get settled in, regardless of what people are doing, you might even be able to leave early, too.

Maria: Has that always been true?

Rory: I think so. Though, obviously there are times and places where being punctual hasn't been as valued and still isn't, but generally people seem to favor that kind of behavior, if they can.

Maria: Why do some people like to stay up late?

Rory: Well, they might have gotten a bit carried away with whatever they're doing and gone past their usual bedtime. That happens if you're having a good time doing whatever it is you're doing. Failing that, it's also possible they just don't need to be up early, like people who work with those from different time zones or people who work later in the day, usually.

Maria: Do you think that can change in the future?

Rory: Oh, absolutely. Especially if it's shift work, that rarely lasts forever. And people change their habits for all kinds of reasons. They might see that they get more done if they get up earlier, for example, and so they embrace that habit instead.

Maria: Is it good to arrive early in any situation?

Rory: Well, maybe not in any situation, but the vast majority of them probably benefit from an early arrival. I suppose the exceptions might be extreme things like if it's something like a surprise party and you're the person who it's being thrown for, some kind of phased operation where a spanner could be thrown into the works if people or things show up before the groundwork is laid. But that's not often the case, though, is it?

Maria: Do you think that will also be true in the future?

Rory: I short of some radical change in how people live, it certainly seems to keep going on like that. I can't even imagine anything that might derail things in such a way.

Discussion

Maria: Right, listener, you can go online and research the topic of getting up early. Like benefits, drawbacks, so that that's a nice reading. Also useful for your essays. Okay? A very unusual trait. Trait, like character trait, like part of your character.

Rory: Or your personality.

Maria: Personality. Yeah. And it's C2.

Rory: Is it?

Maria: Ta-ta-ta ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta, band nine moment. From the get go, dear listener, bam, just Rory gives you a C2 word, band nine. Trait. A particular characteristic that can produce a particular type of behavior. For example, arrogance is his personality character trait.

Rory: Being well organized.

Maria: Yeah, being well organized is his character trait. Yeah, or his sense of humor is one of his traits. So a good sense of humor is one of his traits, so one of his characteristics. And you can say, well, yeah, I don't know anyone or blah blah blah. I think it's a very unusual trait in people. It's a very unusual character trait. Yeah, kind of if you enjoy getting up at freaking 6:00 a.m. Yeah, that's unusual.

Rory: If you're a productive person.

Maria: Yeah, I know only Rory who enjoys doing that. Begrudge people. Ooh la la.

Rory: But that just means that you hold it against them.

Maria: For example?

Rory: Well, if people are noisy, you might begrudge them that. You don't like it and you wish they didn't do it. But if we talk about getting up early, that only affects me. So why should I expect other people to do the same thing as me when it doesn't affect me?

Maria: Yeah. Begrudge. Begrudge. That's an interesting word, verb. Begrudge. Grudge, begrudge. To feel unhappy because someone has something that you think they do not deserve.

Rory: Like lying in. But everybody deserves a lie in.

Maria: I enjoy getting up early. I don't begrudge other people when they get up late. Most people enjoy getting up later in the day. And it's nice to have a lie in. So a lie in means that you stay in bed later than usual. Like have a lie in. Stay in bed later than usual in the morning. So on the weekend, I usually have a lie in. Or many people enjoy a nice lie in on the weekend.

Rory: Including me.

Maria: What? On the weekend you have a lie in? Really?

Rory: Sometimes.

Maria: Oh, wow. Like till 7:00 a.m., right?

Rory: I think I just turn off my alarm and see what happens with my body clock, to be honest.

Maria: Ooh. Ooh. Nice. Okay. What time did you get up last weekend?

Rory: I honestly can't remember. What time, what, what was last weekend? What did I even do last weekend?

Maria: Oh, okay, fine. Right. Okay.

Rory: Oh, okay. So last weekend I did actually have to be up early because I went to the gym at 7:00 in the morning. But usually it's a lot later than that.

Maria: Oh, God. You see, he's crazy. He's seriously crazy.

Rory: Well, I had a friend that wanted to go. It's not my fault.

Maria: Oh, oh, quite nice. You're a good friend. 7:00 a.m. on the weekend to go to the gym.

Rory: Dragging them to places.

Maria: So, listener, the major reasons are connected to work or family or work. But usually people get up early because of work and more work. Because they want to be productive, right?

Rory: Yeah.

Maria: So they want to get things done. People might work shifts. Work shifts is a nice phrase, which means like people work night shifts, right? Or for example, like a day shift. A shift is, what is a shift?

Rory: It's like a fixed period of hours that people have to work. So you might work a night shift, that would be from maybe 9:00 in the morning until 6:00 in the, or sorry, 9:00 in the evening until 6:00 in the morning.

Maria: Yeah, usually kind of a night shift, a day shift. Doctors usually work shifts. So they work from 9 to 9. Like or from midnight till 6:00 a.m., like a night shift. Bus drivers also, right? And people might work shifts, but work shifts, not work in shifts. No, no, no. Work shifts. So people might work shifts or people might be in different time zones, so they make an early start. So people get up early or people make an early start or they have to make an early start. Have to, they don't want, but they have to do it because of their work. Yeah, they might work in hospitals, in some industries.

Rory: Maybe not as teachers. I briefly thought about doing shifts as a teacher, but that's crazy and I would much rather have a normal day.

Maria: No, but teachers usually get up early because school starts like freaking 8:00 a.m. 9:00 a.m.

Rory: Yeah, that's crazy, isn't it?

Maria: Yeah, some schools they start like freaking 7:30 or 8:00.

Rory: What's the need for this?

Maria: I don't know. It's crazy. Oh, because you are more productive in the morning, so school starts 7:30.

Rory: Not everybody is more productive in the morning. That's crazy to apply that to just everybody. I am, but I'm not everybody. Like other people can do what they want.

Maria: Children should be, 6:00 a.m. every day.

Rory: And how many children do you have again?

Maria: Yeah. Off you go, out of the house. Mama's got wine to enjoy. People should arrive early.

Rory: Wait, you missed the answer to the previous question, Maria, good grief. This is important. It's a survival skill for IELTS. If the examiner asks you what evidence you have and you just say, just simple observation, really. So that means just by looking at people.

Maria: People should arrive early. You say by and large, like, in general.

Rory: In general.

Maria: Yeah, in general, by and large. Workplaces have set hours. So set hours, the hours are fixed. So you start at nine, you finish at five. Set hours. And it's better to arrive ahead of schedule. A little ahead of schedule. So before you start working, for example, you just you arrive at 8:50, not at 9:00. You start at 9:00, you arrive a little ahead of schedule, schedule timetable. So you arrive like 8:50 to make a good impression.

Rory: Yeah, to make people think positive things about you, if you make a good impression.

Maria: You get settled in. You get organized, and then you start your work. So you arrive before to get settled in. To organize your stuff, to get tea, coffee, go to the bathroom. And people should be punctual. So they should arrive on time. And we say on time. Arrive on time.

Rory: Not arrive in time.

Maria: No, you can say arrive in time, in time for something.

Rory: Yeah, but if you arrive in time, it's like just in time. But if you arrive on time, it's like on schedule.

Maria: Yeah.

Rory: Early.

Maria: Sometimes people run late. So if they're late, they run late. It's not a good idea to run late, to be late. Many people stay up late, so they go to bed after midnight. Another good phrase is pull an all nighter.

Rory: Yeah, I think it was one of the first idioms we ever talked about on the podcast all those years ago.

Maria: It's nice to paraphrase the examiner's words. So the examiner asks, why do people stay up late? You say, oh, many people pull an all nighter because... Pull an all nighter. Stay up all night. And actually, it does mean stay up all night. So you kind of don't go to sleep because of work or study. Usually people pull an all nighter to study for an exam. And you can say, oh, some people pull an all nighter to study for an exam. Or to get ready for a presentation at work. So people stay up late. People get carried away with series, with Tik Tok, with Instagram. So get carried away with.

Rory: But that just means they overly focus on something because they're having so much fun. Maybe you get carried away with playing video games. God knows I do.

Maria: Yeah, kind of you start doing it and then you forget yourself, you forget everything and you end up doing it for five hours, six hours and it's morning. Hello. So people get carried away with whatever they are doing. And it's past their bedtime. Right, 5:00 a.m. in the morning. Oops. Accident. Many people benefit from an early arrival. So it's beneficial, it's good to arrive earlier. But not in any situation, if and then you can give examples like if it's a surprise party or if you are cooking something and then people arrive earlier and you're not ready. If it's a date, for example, at home, and you are just in the shower.

Rory: Yes, that's probably not the best of times.

Maria: Yeah. It's like in the movies, like Bridget Jones, for example, she's getting her dinner ready, she's cooking, and the guy arrives one hour and a half earlier. So, yeah. And people could show up earlier, right? So they arrive early or they show up before the date time. They show up. So it's not a good idea to show up early in every situation. When you talk about the future, you should use likely to. It's likely to change, it's unlikely to change. So probably it will change. It's likely to change. Or probably it won't change, it's unlikely to change in the future. So people are likely to get up earlier in the future. Or they are unlikely to get up earlier in the future. Right, listener, have we motivated you to get up early?

Rory: They're probably thinking of going back to bed after all the vocabulary we threw at them.

Maria: Yeah. Go to bed. Sleep well, it's important. Sleep is important. Yeah, you can just switch on our podcast.

Rory: You missed an idiom, maybe. Did you talk about throw a spanner in the works?

Maria: No, because it's crazy.

Rory: No, it's not. If you throw a spanner in the works, then you mess up someone's plan or you mess up a plan.

Maria: For example?

Rory: Not being properly organized could throw a spanner in the works.

Maria: Rory, you've started using those idioms, you know, it's just crazy. Yeah, it's an idiom, there is so put or throw a spanner in the works. To do something that prevents a plan or activity from succeeding. So something threw a spanner in the works. So if a person arrives earlier, shows up earlier, this could put or throw a spanner in the works, and kind of ruin a plan. Rory, could you give us another example?

Rory: Talking about idioms threw a spanner in Maria's plan to end the episode.

Maria: There we go. Right, listener. Thank you very much for listening. We'll get back to you in our next episode. Bye.

Rory: Bye.