📘 Part 3: Public facilities

This episode's vocabulary

Accessible (adj.) - able to be entered or used by everyone, including people who use a wheelchair, people who are blind, etc.

Publicly (adverb) - by the government.

To fund (verb) - to provide the money to pay for an event, activity, or organization.

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.

Reliable (adj.) - someone or something that is reliable can be trusted or believed because he, she, or it works or behaves well in the way you expect.

To maintain (verb) - to keep a road, machine, building, etc. in good condition.

Overuse (noun) - the fact that something is used too often or too much.

To instil (verb) - to put a feeling, idea, or principle gradually into someone's mind, so that it has a strong influence on the way that person thinks or behaves.

Enclosed (adj.) - surrounded by walls, objects, or structures.

To fall to pieces (idiom) - if a relationship, organization, or system falls or goes to pieces, it fails.

Generalization (noun) - a written or spoken statement in which you say or write that something is true all of the time when it is only true some of the time.

Greenery (noun) - green plants or branches, especially when cut and used as decoration.

Urban (adj.) - of or in a city or town.

Sprawl (noun) - (especially of a city) to cover a large area of land with buildings, especially gradually over a period of time.

To boost (verb) - to increase or improve something.

Scenery (noun) - the general appearance of the natural environment, especially when it is beautiful.

To host (verb) - to provide the space and other things necessary for a special event.

Binary (adj.) - relating to or consisting of two things, in which everything is either one thing or the other.

Questions and Answers

M: What are the benefits of public facilities?

R: Well, generally, they're pretty accessible in terms of location and membership. And if they're publicly funded, then there's some minimum standard of care involved usually.

M: Why are public transport methods popular, such as the subway?

R: Well, lots of reasons, I suppose. It's cheap, direct, and, usually, easy to access because it's got to cater to a lot of people at one time. In most countries, it's rather reliable too.

M: Why are some public transport methods unpopular?

R: Well, probably for as many reasons as the ones I gave the last time. I mean, they could be poorly maintained, unreliable and not work properly due to a combination of poor investment and overuse. And just a general lack of care and respect if, people haven't had that instilled in them. I mean, would you want to spend any length of time in an enclosed space that's literally falling to pieces around you?

M: What kind of transport do young people and old people prefer?

R: Oh, wow, I think that depends a lot on the context and the culture. I mean, for example, in my country, the young value a sense of independence, so they like having their own cars and bikes, whereas older people like the sense of community, so they're more likely to use public transport. I mean, that's a very broad set of generalizations, I should say.

M: Is it important to have parks in the city?

R: I mean, it's good to have them anywhere, really. People need places so they can be in the open and surrounded by greenery to help them come down and reconnect to nature. Or plus they look nice compared to just endless buildings or urban sprawl.

M: What benefits can a park bring?

R: Oh, lots. People can relax there. Hold community events with more ease in the sunshine. It can also boost the value of an area if it has this kind of access since it tends to raise the quality of the scenery.

M: Do we need big or small parks in the city?

R: I mean, why not both? Small parks would be good for local communities, but larger parks can host big attractions and events with greater ease. So I'm not sure it's such a binary choice, to be honest.

M: Do young people like to go to parks?

R: I would certainly say so. Yes. You see them hanging out there all the time in my country. And that's what they're there for. They can play different ball sports and games or just lie down and relax. And it costs them absolutely nothing, which is important if you're a young person.

M: Hey, thank you, Rory, for your answers!

R: That's okay.