📘 Part 3: Physical activities and energy

This episode's vocabulary

Effort (noun) - physical or mental activity needed to achieve something.

To bring something to the table (idiom) - to provide something that will be a benefit.

Simplistic (adj.) - making something complicated seem simple by ignoring important parts of it.

Capable (adj.) - able to do things effectively and skilfully, and to achieve results.

Versatile (adj.) - able to change easily from one activity to another or able to be used for many different purposes.

Readily (adverb) - quickly, immediately, willingly, or without any problem.

Fine motor skills (plural noun) - activities in which you use the small muscles in your hands and wrists to make precise movements.

Pattern (noun) - a particular way in which something is done, is organized, or happens.

Diagnostics (plural noun) - methods or systems for discovering the cause of a problem, illness, etc.

Productive (adj.) - having positive results.

Theoretically (adverb) - in a way that obeys some rules but is not likely.

Repetitive (adj.) - involving doing or saying the same thing several times, especially in a way that is boring.

Questions and Answers

M: Rory, do you think people need more energy nowadays?

R: I mean, can you ever have enough of it? There never seems enough time in the day and the fuel to get everything done that needs doing. Admittedly, though, that might be a sign we all need to slow down and learn to manage our time better, rather than pack more into our lives.

M: What kinds of jobs require more physical energy?

R: Well, I suppose anything to do with manual labour, like construction work. You have to move around a lot in such roles. So it makes sense that you need more energy. Personal trainers and anything connected to exercise would also likely require a great deal of effort just to keep up with multiple sessions with clients too.

M: Should jobs that require physical work be more highly paid?

R: Well, people in those jobs might certainly make that case, but I don't think that's how the job market works. You get paid in relation to how much value you bring to the table, and value is determined by all kinds of factors, not just the physical labour you do. If it was just that, that seems a bit simplistic.

M: Will physical workers receive higher salaries in the future?

R: Well, the rate of inflation is going up, so we will probably all have higher salaries in the future regardless of what we do. However, just because the number goes up does not mean the value goes up.

M: And why not?

R: Because inflation is a reflection of the numbers that go up, so you could be paid more, but if the value of goods also increases, then just having a bigger salary doesn't necessarily mean that the work you do has more value or that you've earned more value for yourself.

M: Could machines replace all human workers in the future?

R: Well, the potential is certainly there as they become ever more capable and versatile. However, there are still lots of jobs that people can do more readily and, actually, with better results. I mean, even something like breaking an egg and cooking effectively is something machines struggle with, since they have, well, just poor fine motor skills compared to humans. So it could happen, but I think that's a long way off yet.

M: And what jobs are going to be replaced by robots?

R: Well, ultimately, it's easy to imagine all of them being replaced as the technology improves and machines become more capable. Actually, I was reading a book recently that talked about jobs requiring a lot of knowledge and pattern recognition, like diagnostics, being easier to replace than those requiring some emotional or physical skill. So it looks like these knowledge-based jobs will be the first to go, though they might not be the last.

M: And what are the benefits of replacing human workers with robots?

R: Well, on the face of it, it seems like they would be cheaper and potentially more productive. A robot theoretically doesn't need to sleep. So I think those are the most obvious ones. However, I have a feeling that the actual situation, once you get them, is a lot more complex than just those benefits, and I think they might not actually have those benefits consistently.

M: And why are so many processes controlled by robots instead of people?

R: Well, it's easier. If we talk about, well, if it's like a repetitive pattern, for example. If you're a human being, even though the pattern is repetitive, you might make mistakes. So even something as simple as screwing lids onto toothpaste tubes, people could make mistakes in that, whereas with machines, that's extremely unlikely, because the parts always slot into same places all the time. So there's one example.

M: Thank you, Rory, for your answers!

Discussion

M: Right, dear listener. So we started off with energetic people and energy, and ended up with robots? Well, yes, that's the thing. The first questions could be connected to speaking part two. And then the examiner asks more kind of broad questions, more general questions about, I don't know, not connected to the topic at all. We can't have enough of energy, which means, like, it's never enough. And the good idea is to ask a question. Well, can you ever have enough of it? Energy? Can you ever have enough of energy? No.

R: That's a good response to any question where the examiner asks, do we need more or do we have enough of something? Can you ever have enough? That need seems almost endless.

M: Yeah. Do we need more free time?

R: I should stress at this point. It just seems like that. Yes, it just seems like that, though. I think we could all afford to relax and calm down a bit, but it seems like people are stressing out more and more.

M: Energy or fuel. We need the fuel to get everything done.

R: I couldn't think of another word for fuel there.

M: Yeah, but it's fuel. Yeah, like, energy, fuel.

R: Sorry, I couldn't think of another word for energy.

M: Yeah. Like, we get energy, fuel from food, from water, from sport. We all need to slow down. Slow down? Like calm down, slow down.

R: Relax.

M: And manage our time more effectively. Then we talk about jobs that could be replaced by robots, physical jobs which require physical energy. And like which jobs? Jobs which are done with manual labour. So when we talk about this physical energy, we talk about manual labour. For example, in construction, people do things by hand. So construction involves manual labor.

R: I mean, it involves machines as well, now I think about it, but there's definitely a lot more moving around than, I don't know... Working from home as an office worker.

M: So people who work in construction usually need more energy, personal trainers who work in the gym and anything connected to exercise. So you call them like, personal trainers, personal coaches?

R: I suppose so. I couldn't think of another way to, um, describe that, unless they were like yoga teachers or something. But that's kind of the same thing.

M: Yeah. So we say like builders. And we can say that, um, these are physically demanding jobs, so they demand more energy. Also miners, people who mine different things, professional athletes, dear listener.

R: Ooh, people that work on oil rigs as well, actually. I never thought about that. I just watched a movie about oil rigs the other day, so I that's why it's come to my head now.

M: Yeah, oil rigs is this structure that pumps oil in the middle of the ocean. Oil rigs. Firefighters, dear listener, have to perform physically demanding activities. Dancers, mechanics, carpenters. Carpenters work with wooden items.

R: Teachers. Teachers need more physical energy because we are always so active. Although, I remember you telling me a story once that you got in trouble for moving around classrooms too much.

M: Well, yeah...

R: Did someone not tell you that once?

M: Well, in some schools you are not allowed to move furniture.

R: Really?

M: Yeah. It depends on the school. Sometimes there are smaller classrooms and you just, you can't move furniture, or they tell you just to leave everything as it is.

R: Oh, wow, okay.

M: Jobs that require more physical work should be more highly paid. So for example, firefighters should be more highly paid. Firefighters are paid well, so they should get more money. Firefighters should be more highly paid. So should get higher salaries, or should get more money. So you get paid in relation to how much value you bring to the table.

R: Oh, there's a lot there, I just realized. If you bring something to the table, that's what you bring to a situation that needs you, or you think needs you, or what you can offer that might even be a better way of describing it.

M: Yeah. And like, how much value, how much useful things you can offer to your employer. And your value is determined, depends on different factors, not just physical labor. So Rory disagrees. He thinks it's not about physical labor, but it's about the value that employees, workers bring to the table.

R: Yeah, that's unfortunate, though, because, of course, it would be great if everybody could be paid more money in order to get more things. But the sad thing is, if you get paid more, that devalues the currency. If everybody gets a huge pay rise, it actually means that your purchasing power or your ability to buy things doesn't increase. I should... I'm reading a book about economics right now. This is, this is why I'm talking about this in this way. I think the almost obvious answer is that, of course, everyone should be paid more because woo-hoo, more money. But life is not that easy or simple. That's why I say it all seems a bit simplistic, just to pay people who require or who are required to do physical work more money. It's not that easy.

M: An educated native speaker, dear listener. And then you can say that, well, because of inflation, everybody is likely to have higher salaries in the future, regardless of what they do. Regardless of is a very good phrase. So it doesn't matter what people do, everybody will have higher salaries. So everybody will be more highly paid regardless of what they do. Then we talk about machines. Machines? Robots. Maybe artificial intelligence. And human workers. So we can talk about robots versus human workers. Or people.

R: So they have the potential to do something. So if you have potential, it just means that it's possible that you can do or achieve something. It doesn't mean that you've done it yet.

M: Yeah, and machines have become more capable, so more able to do different things and more versatile. Versatile? We mean they can do different kinds of things.

R: More jobs, or different jobs. Yeah.

M: Yeah. Actually, versatile is C-2, band nine.

R: Is it?

M: Yeah. If a robot is versatile, or if a person is versatile, they're able to change easily from one activity to another, and are able to be used for many different purposes. For example, he is a versatile young actor. So he can do different roles.

R: How is that C2? That's not a difficult concept. It's not a difficult word to say. And it's certainly not an unusual word. How is that C2?

M: It's c2. Rory, relax. According to Cambridge. If Cambridge tells you it's C2, it's C2. That's it. You don't argue with Cambridge, Rory.

R: No. You must argue because that seems so easy.

M: No.

R: Okay, maybe not everything C2 has to be difficult then.

M: Well, you are an educated native speaker who reads a book on economics, okay? But our listener is not reading a book on economics. So...

R: How do you know that? They could be very clever people, they could be very versatile people, apparently.

M: Yeah. Sometimes machines still struggle with certain tasks, and we can say that some machines have poorer fine motor skills. So motor skills? What are they?

R: Oh, well, motor skills are your ability to move. Gross motor skills are how you move large body parts in big ways, and fine motor skills are how you move small body parts in small ways. That's a very gross oversimplification. So being able to move your arms and legs is a gross motor skill. Being able to move your fingers in order to write with a pen is a fine motor skill. You might have fine motor skills for your limbs, like your arms, but most people associate it with the smaller limbs or digits and the smaller movements. I'm also reading a book about the human body.

M: Some jobs could be replaced by robots, dear listener, or by machines. So here we use the verb to be replaced by something. And again, we can say that robots have become more capable. So Present Perfect. Machines have become more capable and able.

R: Ever more capable, to emphasize.

M: And now machines are able to do diagnostics, for example.

R: That was one of the things I was reading about. They were talking about how it's easier for machines to recognize certain patterns of illness in people, which could make them more adept or better at diagnosing illnesses than doctors. So it's easier to replace a doctor than a nurse was the argument that's being made. I imagine there are many doctors listening now, thinking, oh, my God, no. But do not worry, doctors, there will be a place for you in the new machine economy.

M: So Google tells us that receptionists at hotels could be replaced by robots, taxi drivers, even lawyers. Like pretty much everybody. Journalists. So artificial intelligence, you know, writing articles.

R: Yeah, although we need to... This all sounds very gloomy. It's important to bear in mind that there are still things human beings can do that machines cannot. They can move around better, and they can relate to other human beings a lot better in their own contexts. So there's still a great deal to be said for being a human being. Hooray.

M: Yeah. And another synonym is to take over. So machines could take over human jobs, or artificial intelligence, AI could take over some human jobs.

R: Are you worried about that?

M: No, no. Some work will become automated. Like automation. Automation is the thing, and they say like jobs with minimal need for emotional intelligence. So if we don't deal with emotional intelligence, like psychologists, for example, so a robot could be involved, but if we deal with empathy, creativity, emotional intelligence, then people should do it.

R: Maybe. Because, also there's evidence to suggest that machines are also better at relating to people than people are.

M: Really?

R: Yeah.

M: Nonsense.

R: But like I say, that is very preliminary evidence, and not all human-machine relationships have been positive so far. So let's not panic again. I think one of the most crazy examples, or the craziest example, was about two years ago, three years ago, some guy tried to assassinate the Queen of England, and he was spurred to do that because of his relationship with his machine partner. That was part of it. So obviously that's not a good thing. And a real human being would probably not encourage someone to do that as brazenly as this machine did. But I don't think that person was very well.

M: Clearly.

R: Yeah.

M: Right, dear listener, so if you want some examples of jobs which could be replaced by machines, say, receptionists at hotels, truck drivers, taxi drivers. Okay? And also manufacturing workers, like workers who work at a factory. Security guards as well.

R: But not teachers. If you would like a teacher, then please sign up to our classes. The link is in the description. We're not obsolete just yet. Oh, but is it that time, Maria? Is it time for our quiz?

M: Oh, yes. Go ahead.

R: Hey!

M: Rory's vocabulary show.

R: Let's go back to the beginning. The first question was, do you think people have more energy nowadays, and I used an adverb or an adverb collocation to talk about the alternative or an alternative way of thinking.

M: Admittedly though.

R: Yes, admittedly though. So we can give one answer and then to talk about the other answer, we can say admittedly, though, and then talk about something that is the opposite or an alternative opinion, too. Then the next question was, what kind of jobs require more physical energy? And I mentioned a specific phrase that's used to describe a situation or a time when you need lots of energy.

M: Require a great deal of effort.

R: Hooray! Yes. Then we talked about whether jobs that require physical work should be paid more highly. And I used a word to describe when a theory or an idea is not very complex, not very sophisticated.

M: That seems a bit simplistic.

R: Hey, yes. But the word simplistic is not simple. Then we talked about whether workers should receive higher salaries in the future or whether they will receive them, and I used a word to describe what happens when something increases. I used several words, actually, but there's one that's band nine, and it's used to apply to money in particular.

M: The rate of inflation is going up.

R: Yes, keep an eye on the rate of inflation, because I think it's going up everywhere. Then we asked if machines could replace all human workers in the future. And I used a special set of collocations, or a special collocation to describe when we make small movements with our body parts.

M: Fine motor skills.

R: Then we looked into what jobs will be replaced by robots, or if they're going to be replaced by robots. And I mentioned a specific skill that involves seeing things that happen regularly. This is a collocation. Come on, Maria, what do we call something that happens regularly?

M: A pattern.

R: Yes. So pattern recognition is when we can recognize these regularities or regular occurrences. Ooh, that's the end of the quiz for today. How well did you do?

M: Band 15 out of 9. Thank you very much for listening, and we'll get back to you in our next episode! Okay? Bye!

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