📘 Part 3: History

This episode's vocabulary

Grasp (noun) - understanding.

Sustainability (noun) - the quality of being able to continue over a period of time.

To pick up (phrasal verb) - to learn interesting or useful information from someone or something.

To appeal (verb) - to interest or attract someone.

Port of call (noun) - the first place where one stops to visit, accomplish something, or begin a process.

To depict (verb) - to represent or show something in a picture or story.

Nuance (noun) - a very slight difference in appearance, meaning, sound, etc.

To regulate (verb) - to control something, especially by making it work in a particular way.

Preservation (noun) - the act of keeping something the same or of preventing it from being damaged.

Lax (adj.) - without much care, attention, or control.

Interactivity (noun) - the involvement of users in the exchange of information with computers and the degree to which this happens.

To immerse yourself in something - to become completely involved in something.

Reservoir (noun) - a place for storing liquid, especially a natural or artificial lake providing water for a city or other area.

To elaborate (verb) - to add more information to or explain something that you have said.

Integrated (adj.) - with two or more things combined in order to become more effective.

Augmented reality (noun) - images produced by a computer and used together with a view of the real world.

Commodity (noun) - a substance or product that can be traded, bought, or sold.

To commodify (verb) - to treat or consider something as a commodity (= a product that can be bought and sold).

Funding (noun) - money given by a government or organization for an event or activity.

Upkeep (noun) - the cost or process of keeping something, such as a building, in good condition.

Entry fee (noun) - money paid to join an organization, go into a place, or take part in something.

Continuity (noun) - the fact of something continuing for a long period of time without being changed or stopped.

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Questions and Answers

M: Should everyone know history?

R: I suppose the grasp of the basic facts and generally agreed course of history is key to the sustainability of any society. If we can't agree where we came from, or how we got there, then what's the point on doing anything together?

M: In what ways can people learn history?

R: They could pick up a book. And if that doesn't appeal, there are videos and websites. And well, they're even games that teach elements of history, like the Oregon Trail, for example.

M: How can children learn history?

R: I suppose their parents are generally the first port of call for any information on that front, since they spend the most time with them. And there are loads of picture books that depict parts of history as well. Teachers usually come in later and add a lot more nuance to things.

M: Is it hard to protect historical buildings?

R: I couldn't say for certain, since it's not my area of expertise. At a guess, I would say it depends on how old the buildings are and what the laws are that regulate their preservation. If it's a 1000-year-old temple in a country with very lax laws, the chances are, it will be hard to keep the thing in good condition.

M: How can technology make learning history more interesting?

R: Well, by adding a certain level of interactivity and novelty that draws people in and immerses them in the environment that they're studying to a certain extent. That would be quite useful for getting people, well, interested for lack of a better term.

M: And will this happen in the future?

R: I would say so given that we're integrating technology with everything these days.

M: Are history museums useful?

R: As reservoirs of knowledge, culture and artefacts, they're quite useful, since you need places to store these things. As learning experiences that will depend on the quality of the establishment and the interest of the visitors.

M: How do museums teach people history?

R: They focus on a specific aspect, or they usually do and elaborate on it in detail that's just not possible through reading or viewing things about it. If we take the Natural History Museum in London, for example, it recreates environments and experiences to show people what things looked like from the inside out and demonstrate why they're important.

M: Will museums be replaced by technology?

R: Well, as technology becomes more integrated with human life, it will probably transform aspects of museum experiences from occasional special events to more general and readily accessible things. You could take video tours or virtual or augmented reality tours from the comfort of your own home. That would be quite fun.

M: Should museums be free?

R: Oh, shouldn't everything? That would make everybody very happy. Seriously, though, since we live in a fairly capitalist society where everything is commodified in some way or another, I don't that's possible or desirable. Nothing is free and you would need to find the funding for the upkeep and paying the staff somehow. I think a small entry fee with some outside funding is reasonably acceptable.

M: Should people remember their family's history?

R: If it's worth preserving, then yes. It gives you a sense of continuity and purpose and history, in addition to something to talk about at parties. For example, you could talk about a famous relative, or what a current relative and the person you're talking to have in common. It's useful to know.

M: Thank you, Rory, for your answers! They are part of our history now.

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Discussion

M: Everyone should know history, or everyone should have a grasp of the basic facts. To have a grasp of the basic historical facts.

R: Yes, but that just means that you should know the simple parts of whatever period we're talking about.

M: People can learn history by picking up a book. Picking up a book? Like you take a book and read it.

R: Yeah, not that difficult to do.

M: If reading doesn't appeal to people, so if people don't like reading, there are videos, websites, games, apps, museums, where people can learn things about history. And also children. So parents are the first port of call for any information.

R: I like that expression. They're just the first people that you go to.

M: Yeah, so the first people you go to for knowledge. So parents are generally the first port of call for any information. And then there are loads of picture books for children about history. Loads of means lots of, many picture books. And these books depict parts of history. So they show parts of history or they depict different historical moments. Careful, we say historical moments, historical buildings. Yeah? But we do have this historic. And Rory, tell us so what's the difference between historic and historical. Off you go, you have two minutes.

R: Historical is just like something that's part of history. Whereas historic is like, it's similar. But it also means important as well. So a historic moment, an important moment in history. Like, well, I talked about the abolition of... Well, I talked about part of the abolition of slavery, which was a historic moment, because, you know, it's one of the first times that countries began to challenge this idea that you could own people, which is definitely something that you would think is quite important.

M: So parents are the first port of call for any knowledge. And then teachers come in later, and they add a lot more nuance to things.

R: Yes. But that just means they add more detail to help build up a more, a greater and fuller picture.

M: How do you pronounce this word?

R: Nuance.

M: Nuance. So add nuance to something. We preserve or protect historical buildings. And there should be some laws that regulate their preservation. So we preserve buildings, and their preservation or protection. And then you can give examples, Rory gave us an example of an old temple, like Buddhist temple, for example. But if laws are very lax in a country.

R: That just means they're not very strong or not enforced well.

M: Yeah, like not very strong laws on historical buildings. If this is the situation, then historical buildings may not be preserved, they may be in poor condition, they may not be in good condition, okay? And then museums technology, history and technology, and you should talk about interactive technology. So there is a certain level of interactivity and novelty. Novelty - new things. So novelty draws people in. Novelty attracts people. New things attract people. And technology helps to immerse people in the environment, like put them in the environment. For example, if you study, I don't know, ancient Egyptian history, technology can immerse you into the environment with pyramid and Egyptian mummies, and Tutankhamuns. And all that jazz. Rory, are you into pyramids, and Tutankhamuns, and mummies?

R: I used to be. We learned about it in school, but I only know the basics, I don't know much in terms of the detail.

M: That's okay. History museums are reservoirs of knowledge, culture and artefacts. Historical artefacts, yeah? Are they historical or historic artefacts?

R: Historical artefacts.

M: Right. Reservoirs? Like a reservoir of water.

R: Which was one of the first ever episode we recorded.

M: Hey! And history museums are places to store things. So we keep a lot of artefacts there. We store them. You can give an example of a specific museum. For example, Rory said, if we take the Natural History Museum, it's the Natural History Museum and usually, museums are used with the. Okay/ So the Tretyakov picture gallery. The Louvre. So museums recreate environments and experiences to show people what things looked like. Right? So a museum recreates environments. And then this question, will museums be replaced by technology? Will teachers be replaced by technology? Will robots replace everything? And Rory told us, technology becomes more integrated with human life? So we integrate technology into our life and also in museums we have a lot of technology, right? So they're interactive. Usually, you can touch things, you can maybe have VR glasses, virtual reality things. What did you mean by saying augmented reality tours?

R: Well, augmented reality is just when you add to the reality that's already there. So for example, Pokemon Go is augmented reality, because as you're walking around, you go to places and your phone creates reality, based on the place where you are. You could probably do the same thing in your home to be honest, you could wander around your home, and it would turn certain things into museum pieces, and you could click on them and find out more about them.

M: So you can say you could take video tours, virtual tours, or augmented reality tours from the comfort of your own home. And then a classic question, Should museums be free? Should university education be free? You know, that's typical IELTS. You know, that's... Museums be free. And then Rory goes, shouldn't everything be free, you know?

R: Just make it all free.

M: That would make everyone very happy. So everything for free. He-hey!

R: Yeah... That's not likely, though, is it?

M: And then Rory says like nothing is free, like, come on, dear listener, nothing is free these days. Then he talked about funding. So a museum usually needs to find the funding to kind of maintain the building, to pay the staff somehow, right? And a small entry fee. We call it the money you pay to enter a museum. Is called a fee. Entry fee. A small entry fee is okay. You know, to help the museum. And also you can say like national museums, like major national museums could be free. In London, for example, the British Museum is free. The National Gallery is free. The Tate is free. It's amazing.

R: I think the Natural History Museum is also free, to be honest with you.

M: Oh, really? Okay. In Moscow, nothing is free. Oh, yeah, we have Lenin, Lenin's mausoleum. This is one place which is free.

R: Yes. But the queues are always horrendous.

M: Well, it depends.

R: No, they're always bad.

M: Yeah, the queues are horrible. So, yeah, in Moscow national museums are... You have to pay, but in London...

R: No.

M: And then people's families' history. That's an interesting question. And Rory says it's worth preserving. So yes, we do need to preserve it. It's worth saving. It's worth remembering. It's worth preserving people's families' history. And you can talk about a family tree. Traditions. And it gives us a sense of continuity. Could you comment on this one? Continuity.

R: Well, the continuity is just progression through time. It's not like you've just come from nothing. You've come from something. You're carrying something on.

M: And you can talk about a famous relative. Yeah, like everybody has famous relatives. One of my great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather's several centuries ago.

R: Is that true? Do you have a great great great grandfather centuries ago that did something?

M: No, I don't think so.

R: That's sad. Oh, well.

M: Do you? No.

R: Maybe I am loosely related to Admiral Duncan who fought the Dutch at the Battle of Camperdown, but there's no way to prove that and I don't really care.

M: Oo-la-la. Shall I call you sir Rory Duncan Fergus?

R: No, no, no, just plain old Rory is fine. Besides, you can't base every aspect of your personality on people who are... Like who died hundreds of years ago. That doesn't work.

M: Yeah. So, dear listener, please, make sure you tell the examiner yes, remember your family's history. Even if you don't know anything about it, learn about it and remember it. Yeah, learn things about your current relatives. Your... What do you call relatives like, who lived a long time ago? Like what... Far away distant, distant relatives?

R: No, no, distant would be like, well, I suppose distant could be. Distant in time. Yeah, go with distant.

M: Distant relatives, you know, people you don't really know. But they were your relatives. Thank you so much for listening! Yeah, history is with us again. And if you do remember us talking about history. Well, there we have it again with these questions. And part two and part three. Okay, dear listener? We're sending love and hugs. Thank you for being our superduper premium listener! And we'll get back to you in our next super episode. Okay? Bye!

R: Bye!

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