📘 Part 3: Leisure time

This episode's vocabulary

Miserable (adj.) - very unhappy.

Day off (noun) - a day when you do not work.

Fast-paced (adj.) - happening very quickly.

Laid-back (adj.) - relaxed in manner and character; not usually worried about other people's behaviour or things that need to be done.

Mutually (adverb) - felt or done by two or more people or groups in the same way.

To tailor (verb) - to adjust something to suit a particular need or situation.

Niche (adj.) - interesting to, aimed at, or affecting only a small number of people.

To cater to someone/something (phrasal verb) - to satisfy a need or to provide what is wanted or needed by a particular person or group.

Kill two birds with one stone (idiom) - to succeed in achieving two things in a single action.

To invade (verb) - to enter an area of activity in a forceful and noticeable way.

Mod cons (plural noun) - the machines and devices, such as washing machines and fridges, that make the ordinary jobs in a home easier.

Automation (noun) - the use of machines and computers that can operate without needing human control.

To conceive (verb) - to imagine something.

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Questions and Answers

M: Hello, dear premium listener. Welcome back into the premium content. Speaking part three, and we're going to be talking about leisure time. Let's talk about leisure time. Do people like to spend their leisure time in your country?

R: Well, I would hope so, since that's supposed to be the time you spend having fun. I certainly haven't seen anyone looking too miserable on their days off.

M: Do you think only old people have time for leisure?

R: I think they usually have plenty of time for it since they usually aren't working and they're collecting their pensions. But they aren't the only group by far. Young people have a lot of free time. And even working adults can always find ways to get the most out of the time they have. I suppose it's about planning out what you have to be the most economical with it.

M: What leisure activities do old and young people prefer?

R: Well, I'm not well versed in the statistics, but if I were to guess, based on what I've read and seen, young people prefer a more digital and fast-paced entertainment like video games or sports, while older people prefer more laid-back activities like bowling or reading. I doubt those things are mutually exclusive, though. I can see a lot of grannies enjoying video games if they got the chance to get into it.

M: And how does technology affect the way people spend their leisure time?

R: I suppose they have access to a greater variety of media, whether it's in terms of genre or format, assuming they aren't enjoying it more since it's tailored to their tastes, they probably feel like they have less time since, well, it's supposed to fly when you're having fun, isn't it?

M: And do you think this effect is positive or negative, the effect of technology on our leisure time?

R: Well, it will depend on what angle you're looking at it from. I mean, it's great that people have more variety so that their more niche interests can be catered to. On the other hand, that probably makes them more demanding for more stuff, and maybe that's not sustainable in the long run.

M: Should leisure activities entertain and educate people?

R: Well, it would be great if we could kill two birds with one stone like that, wouldn't it? I'm not sure why that's something we should aim for with everything, though. Is that just for the sake of efficiency? Now that I think about it, it doesn't seem possible in some cases, since learning requires a certain level of application of knowledge and not all knowledge application can be fun. Sometimes you just have to sit down and learn things.

M: Do people have more leisure time now than in the past?

R: Well, it seems like yes is the obvious answer, but I wonder if either the opposite is the case or if things haven't changed much at all. Our work invades our lives through our mobile phones and we still have stress to manage. So despite all the mod cons, maybe very little has changed taking that into consideration.

M: And what about the future? Will people have more leisure time?

R: Well, apparently there's supposed to be an increasing level of automation. So by that logic, people will be spending less time on work or at least work as it's currently conceived. So I can definitely see them having more leisure time, if they're able to afford it.

M: Sweet. Thank you, Rory, for your lovely Rory answers!

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Discussion

M: Yeah, the first question is a bit strange. It should be like how? How do people like to spend their leisure time?

R: I think that's what they meant the question to be. But the one I got was, do people like to spend leisure time in your country? Y.

M: Yeah.

R: No, I hate leisure time. I'm only happy when I'm working myself to death.

M: Do like to spend free time? Just just do like to have it, right? No, I hate. But actually, there are people who dislike having free time.

R: Yes. They're freaks.

M: They just don't know what to do with it. They're like workaholics and if you kind of slave away every day and then you have like, you know, a week of free time and then you go like, now what do I do with my life, you know?

R: If you don't know what to do with your leisure time, then give it to me. I will enjoy it for you.

M: Yes, dear listener, if you have some time to spare, just send it to Rory. Okay? So how do people in your country like to spend their leisure time? Leisure time, free time. What else can we say?

R: Days off.

M: Days off, yeah.

R: Time off.

M: Time off. Not holidays. Because holidays are kind of special occasions. For example, the 1st of January, the 8th of March, they are holidays. So here we're talking about like free time. And then Rory says, like, I certainly haven't seen anyone looking too miserable on their days off. Kind of, yeah, I hate spending my leisure time, miserable. And then the questions could be about the differences between the old and the young. So then Rory mentioned working pensioners. Yeah? What did you say? Working pensions?

R: They aren't working, but they're collecting their pension. So if you're a pensioner, if you're older than you collect a pension, some people say get pension, but collect a pension is much more advanced in terms of collocation, in terms of being a collocation.

M: So they're not literally in the street, collect. You know, money, but they get paid these pensions, so collect pensions. Right? Nice. But those working adults. Yeah, you said, working adults. Right? Because if, for example, your grandma is a pensioner. But if she works, so she's a working adult. Right? Or a working pensioner?

R: No. You can't be a working pensioner.

M: No? Pensioner.

R: You'd just be a person who is working. An older person who's working.

M: What leisure activities do old and young people prefer? And Rory goes, I'm not well versed in the statistics.

R: Which is another way of saying I'm not an expert. But if I were to guess.

M: Rory is paraphrasing his Rory strategy. So it used to be, I'm not an expert on leisure activities, but if I were to guess, I'd say that young people prefer video games, like older people prefer laid-back activities like bowling and reading. But he goes like this. He's paraphrasing, I'm not well versed in the statistics. It means that I'm not an expert. Right? So the same?

R: Well, not exactly the same, but close enough.

M: And then Rory mentioned digital and fast-paced entertainment for young people like video games, sports, and then while older people... So the contrast. Right? So young people prefer video games, while older people prefer more laid-back activities. So calmer activities, right? So no, so fast-paced like bowling. Bowling, you know, and reading. And then Rory says, a lot of grannies. Grannies - grandmothers. Grannies.

R: But we missed one because I said I can see a lot of grannies. But like when I talk about seeing, I don't mean seeing like with my eyes, I mean in my mind's eye. It's another way of saying I can imagine or I can like predict.

M: Yeah. Or we can see, especially after the lockdown, I can see a lot of older people enjoying video games and actually I read some article and there they said that, yes, after the pandemic, many elderly people got into video games and they really like started playing during that time.

R: Good for them.

M: So video games are on the... You know, they are thriving now. They found a new audience. So the elderly people. Then the technology, of course, the technology. And we do remember that in every piece of technology, what do we have?

R: Rare earth minerals.

M: Rare earth. Yes, rare earth minerals. So we can call it rare earth minerals. REM. Rare earth minerals. I'm just making it up, dear listener, okay? Just so you remember that when you play a video game, there are REMs in there, rare earth minerals. So we have access to a greater variety of media. Media, pretty much what? The internet, social media, magazines, cinemas, everything. And then we can talk about different media which are tailored to our needs, right? So young people need this, older people need this, and it's tailored to our needs. Time is supposed to fly when you're having fun. Is it true? Yes, it is. So time flies, we say, right? And when you are having fun, time is supposed to fly. Leisure activities. Free time activities should entertain and educate people. And then Rory uses an idiom, dear listener. Yes, like a true idiom. We haven't had this for a while. Like a true idiom. What did he say? It would be great if we could kill two birds with one stone. Yes, I think it's kind of... Yeah, it's been a very long time. Usually, it's kind of idiomatic language, phrasal verbs, collocations. And now it's a true idiom. Hey!

R: But I didn't say if we could kill two birds, Maria, listen to the idiom. Behold my magnificent idiom. And now I have a band nine, yes. I don't need to answer the question.

M: Yeah. Yeah, so if you use an idiom, so please do not stress it and don't look at the examiner like... Did you hear it, dear examiner?

R: Behold the idiom.

M: No, don't do this. Yeah, behold the idiom. Before using the idiom, like, it would be great, now, dear examiner, I'm going to use it, I'm going to use it. Are you ready, are you ready? We could kill two birds with one stone.

R: Yes!

M: No, no. Rory, could you read this sentence again for us and sound natural and just don't stress the idiom. Okay, go ahead.

R: It would be great if we could kill two birds with one stone like that, wouldn't it?

M: Yeah. You see, just like this, right? So do not stress the idiom. To kill two birds with one stone - if you do one thing, and then you kind of kill two things with one stone. What are the mod cons?

R: Oh, modern conveniences.

M: Modern conveniences. Modern conveniences, these words are too long. That's why we just say mod cons. So despite all the mod cons, maybe little has changed, right? Our work invades our lives through our mobile phones.

R: It does. Like you can't get away from your phone.

M: No, no, you can't.

R: Thank you very much for listening! We hope our answers were as convenient as the modern conveniences!

M: Our mod con answers. And remember about the REMs. Rare earth minerals. Bye!

R: Bye!

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