📘 Part 3: Museums and collections

This episode's vocabulary

Sentimental (adjective) – relating to or prompted by feelings of tenderness, sadness, or nostalgia. → The old letters have great sentimental importance to our family.

Antique (noun/adjective) – a valuable old object; belonging to ancient times. → My grandmother collects antique furniture from the Victorian era.

Worth a great deal (phrase) – having significant value, usually monetary. → The painting turned out to be worth a great deal at auction.

Symbolic value (phrase) – importance that represents or stands for something meaningful. → The flag has symbolic value for the entire nation.

Inherit (verb) – to receive money, property, or possessions from someone who has died. → She inherited her mother's jewelry collection when she passed away.

Precious metals (phrase) – valuable metals such as gold, silver, or platinum. → The bracelet was made from precious metals and gemstones.

Engagement ring (noun) – a ring given when asking someone to marry you. → He proposed with his grandmother's engagement ring.

Close to hand (idiom) – easily accessible or nearby. → Keep important documents close to hand in case you need them.

Evolution (noun) – the gradual development or change of something over time. → The museum shows the evolution of transportation through the centuries.

By and large (idiom) – generally speaking; on the whole. → By and large, the students performed well on the examination.

Conceptually (adverb) – in terms of concepts or ideas rather than physical reality. → Conceptually, the two theories are quite similar.

Sophistication (noun) – the quality of being complex, advanced, or refined. → The sophistication of modern technology continues to amaze people.

Keep hold of (phrasal verb) – to continue to possess or retain something. → I decided to keep hold of my childhood books for my own children.

Discerning (adjective) – showing good judgment and understanding; selective. → She has a discerning taste when it comes to art collecting.

Fade (verb) – to gradually disappear or become less intense. → The painful memories began to fade with time.

Heritage (noun) – traditions, achievements, and beliefs that are part of a country or family's history. → Preserving our cultural heritage is important for future generations.

Legacy (noun) – something handed down from the past; an inheritance. → The charity work became part of her lasting legacy.

Treasure (verb/noun) – to value highly; a valuable or precious possession. → We treasure the memories captured in these old photographs.

Artifact (noun) – an object made by humans, typically of cultural or historical interest. → The museum displays ancient artifacts from Roman civilization.

Custodian (noun) – a person who has responsibility for taking care of something. → As custodians of these heirlooms, we must preserve them carefully.

You can download the full-size image at the bottom of the transcript.

Questions and Answers

Why do people keep old things?

Rory: I suppose generally there are two main reasons. It's either the money value or the sentimental one. Lots of antiques are worth a great deal, having been around for so long and assuming they're in a good condition. And of course, there's the obvious symbolic value of something that's been in the family for generations.

What kind of old things do people in your country like to keep?

Rory: In general, it seems to be furniture and jewellery like old rings and necklaces made with various precious metals. Lots of people, well, lots of people keep and inherit their parents' engagement rings, for example. I'm not sure about the reasons why, but those are the ones you tend to hear about.

What can people learn from a museum?

Rory: I often find myself wondering that, honestly, especially in the age of the Internet, when information is just there for free and close to hand. Generally speaking, they might find out things that they wouldn't have otherwise looked for. For example, the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford has this coin display and it demonstrates the evolution of money over human history. Most people wouldn't have learned anything about that if they hadn't seen it. I certainly wouldn't. It's not really something you think about, is it?

What can people see in a museum?

Rory: It's probably easier to talk about what they don't see, really, but by and large it's a collection of things, usually old things related to a particular theme or area. So anything in the collection that relates to that will be there.

What are the differences between the things that people keep today and the things that people kept in the past?

Rory: I'm not sure. I mean, well, conceptually, they still get access to the things with monetary or sentimental value and the forms these things take haven't changed much. Maybe the sophistication of the depictions of materials they're made from has evolved with time, but largely they seem more similar than different.

What are the differences between the things old people keep and those young people keep?

Rory: Well, largely they will probably be a difference in the age of the things they want to keep hold of, since older people have been around longer, so you'll have older things. I imagine young people will have more stuff that's just random bits and pieces since they pick things up all over the place and are less discerning. Older people might have thrown more things out over the years as the sentimental value faded, so they might have a smaller collection too.

Discussion

Maria: Year, dear listener, think old things, like vintage…

Rory: Ancient things, things from the past.

Maria: We keep old things. Usually for the monetary value, like paintings, diamonds, jewellery, and the sentimental value. So pretty much money and emotions. Lot’s of antiques. Antiques - like, old thins - are worth a great deal. So antique items (things) cost a lot. Antique things are worth a great deal. And things that have been around for a long time usually cost a lot of money. And another value - sentimental value, symbolic value of something that has been in the family for generations. People usually keep furniture, jewellery, old rings, necklaces, jewellery made with various precious metals, like gold or silver. And jewellery with precious stones like diamonds, emeralds. So, you can learn the names of some special stones. Emerald. A nice stone. Bright green. A valuable stone. For example, emerald necklaces. And lots of people inherit these things from their relatives, from their grandparents, for example. Lots of people inherit their parents' engagement rings. Usually, they are rings with diamonds, like antique rings, old rings. Then some questions could be about museums. You know, like, oh, what about museums?

Rory: That's where we keep old things.

Maria: Yeah, yeah, it's the same, you know, like, where do we keep things in a museum? And if you don't know the answer, you can say, like, oh, I find myself wondering that.

Rory: I often find myself wondering that.

Maria: But I'm thinking about it. Like, why? Like, what can people learn from a museum? Especially in the age of the Internet. Yeah, like, what can you learn in a museum? Generally speaking, people might find out things that they usually don't see. Find out, like, learn about things. And then you can give an example of a specific museum. Rory told us about the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. But you can say, for example, in the Louvre. For example, in the British Museum. For example, in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Just pick your favourite museum and talk about it.

Rory: Pick a museum, any one, there's hundreds of them.

Maria: No, but, like, the most famous museum. What's the most famous museum, Rory, do you know?

Rory: I don't know. Probably the Natural History Museum.

Maria: No, the British Museum is more popular. Oh, the Vatican, there we go.

Rory: Is it? Oh my god, is the Vatican counting as a museum?

Maria: Oh yeah, the museum of the Vatican, yeah. So, the Louvre, okay. Vatican Museum. National Museum of China.

Rory: Well, I mean, it makes sense that it would be popular there because China has a billion people. So I imagine millions of people go there.

Maria: How do you say the Louvre?

Rory: I don't know, it's a French word. The Louvre.

Maria: The Louvre.

Rory: That's what they say in America.

Maria: We are cracking jokes, dear listener, so the Louvre. And this museum has a coin display, or a display of paintings or portraits that shows the evolution of money over human history. I love the Louvre and I enjoy their collection of Egyptian mummies. That was quite impressive.

Rory: They have a collection of Egyptian mummies?

Maria: No, but they do have several halls dedicated to Egypt. And there are mummies, there are lots of exhibits from ancient Egypt.

Rory: That's crazy. Do the Egyptians know about this?

Maria: A good question. People usually see different exhibits in a museum. Exhibits like items, things, objects. So they go to an exhibition and see different exhibits. A collection of things. A collection of coins, of paintings, of mummies from Egypt. A collection of ancient things. Ancient means very old. Or a collection of antique things. Or antiques. Antique furniture or vintage clothes, for example. You can say that these things seem more or less the same. What people keep today and what people kept in the past seem the same. Or they are very similar.

Rory: It's just old things, basically.

Maria: Materials have evolved with time. So now we might use different materials. Less durable materials or eco-friendly materials. Jewellery paintings, furniture, gold, diamonds. That's the same old stuff. What do people keep?

Rory: What do people keep?

Maria: Memories.

Rory: Things that remind them of anything.

Maria: Clothes, furniture, books. Books, for example. Some rare books. Icons. Do we call them icons? Religious paintings.

Rory: Anything that's got value, people will keep. Otherwise, they wouldn't keep it. That just makes sense.

Maria: Some people keep coins. Vinyl records, for example. Vintage toys. Comic books.

Rory: Some comic books are very valuable these days.

Maria: Yeah, comic books. Antique furniture. Antique tools. Also, vintage clothes are pretty expensive. Cars, dear listener. Some people collect and keep cars. So the things have stayed the same, we can say.

Rory: I think it's always been things that had some kind of value.

Maria: People keep hold of different things. Old people keep hold of everything. They might tend to hoard things. If I hoard things, I collect items in large amounts. I don't throw anything out. I hoard things. All my house is full of plastic bags, clothes, boxes, flowers, and everything. Some older people might tend to hoard things. Which is not good. Young people might keep some random stuff, some random bits and pieces. You know, like jewellery, makeup, keys, souvenirs.

Rory: Pens. It could be anything that reminds them of something.

Maria: Chewing gum, photos, bags, shoes. Other people's bags and shoes. So random bits and pieces. They pick them up all over the place.

Rory: Which makes sense. They're young people. There shouldn't be any sort of principle behind things.

Maria: Yep. We think that it's much better to collect memories, happy moments, rather than things. Because in the material world, dear listener, everything you know will disappear. But you have yourself. You have your memories, your happiness. What an end to this podcast. Right, dear listener? Thank you so much for listening. Sending love, and hugs, and lots of valuable items. Diamonds, gold, and money. Bye.

Rory: Bye.

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