📘 Part 3: Rivers and lakes

This episode's vocabulary

Shallow (adj.) - having only a short distance from the top to the bottom.

To paddle (verb) - to walk with no shoes or socks on through water that is not very deep, often at the edge of a beach, etc.

Stock (noun) - a supply of something for use or sale.

To facilitate (verb) -to make something possible or easier

Ultimately (adverb) - used to emphasize the most important fact in a situation.

Dam (noun) - a wall built across a river that stops the river's flow and collects the water, especially to make a reservoir (= an artificial lake) that provides water for an area.

To dam (verb) - to build a dam across a river in order to store water.

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

Bend (noun) - a curved part of something.

Rapids (plural noun) - a dangerous part of a river that flows very fast because it is steep and sometimes narrow.

Canal (noun) - a long, thin stretch of water that is artificially made either for boats to travel along or for taking water from one area to another.

En masse (adverb) - if a group of people do something en masse, they do it together and at the same time.

To sabotage (verb) - to intentionally prevent the success of a plan or action.

To survey (verb) - to look at or examine all of something, especially carefully.

Inflation (noun) - a continuous increase in the level or amount of something.

Cruise ship (noun) - a large ship like a hotel, that people travel on for pleasure.

Hold your own - to maintain your position or condition despite difficulties.

Instantaneous (adj.) - happening immediately, without any delay.

Watered-down (adj.) - a watered-down idea or opinion has been made less extreme than it originally was, usually so that people are more likely to accept it.

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Questions and Answers

M: So Rory, are you ready to get your hands wet?

R: Let's get the vocabulary flowing.

M: Oh, did you get the joke? Things wet. Vocabulary flowing, flowing like a river? Okay, Rory, do you think rivers and lakes attract tourists?

R: On their own? Probably not. But with development or added infrastructure, then they could do a lot of good for the tourist industry. For example, no one would go to Loch Ness without the stories or mystery around it. And the services which cater to the people who visit there.

M: And what activities do people usually do when they spend some leisure time at a beach or by a river?

R: Well, I suppose the most obvious ones are anything involving boats, because that's how you gain access to deeper waters. But if we talk about the shallower side of things, then it can go paddling or even swimming, I suppose.

M: How can rivers and lakes benefit local people?

R: Well, there's so many ways. They could be food source via the fishing industry. Well, assuming the stocks don't collapse. And you can transport goods on them or develop a variety of services to facilitate that. Ultimately, you could dam them and create reservoirs and power sources as well.

M: Are rivers and lakes suitable for transport?

R: Well, assuming they're relatively straight and stable, then yes. If you have too many bends, or even some rapids in a river, or they're too shallow, then that might prevent them from being used in this way. That's why there are so many canals in England since the rivers were unsuitable due to these reasons.

M: What are the advantages and disadvantages of transporting goods by water?

R: Well, you can do it en masse. So that means that just moving huge amounts of goods places is relatively easy. In addition to carrying things en masse, so you have an economy of scale, it's probably more environmentally friendly than transporting it by air. And if not, then certainly more economical. On the other hand, it might be damaging to the local ecology. And certainly, it makes it easy to sabotage in this way. Because if you just blow up or disable lake or not a lake, a canal, then it's really difficult to transport anything across it until it's repaired.

M: How do rivers and lakes affect local tourism?

R: Well, if they burst their banks and flood the place, then they will definitely drive people away from the area. Alternatively, if they contribute to the natural beauty of an area or play host to some species of animals and plants that are particularly fascinating, or even an industry like rafting or fishing, then it could draw people in. They can have different effects really.

M: Is traveling by water as popular now as it was in the past?

R: I don't even know how you would begin to measure that because, of course, the population's increased. So more people are doing things with water. But on the other hand, how do you measure some thing's popularity? You would have to survey people's attitudes over time. And I don't know what the point would be in doing that. I mean, it's just a fact that you need to use water transport.

M: And do you think that cruise ships will be popular or more popular in the future?

R: Well, I think more people will use them. But that doesn't necessarily mean that they've increased in popularity, like I said, the population of human beings is increasing all the time. So there might just be this natural inflation in numbers. And I don't really know how you would measure the idea of them being popular in the first place, because I'm not really sure that we have any established source of the like for the popularity of cruise ships. Anyway, sorry about that.

M: Are places near water more suitable for children are for old people?

R: Well, older people are more likely to be able to swim. And younger people, especially children are not, so it's probably less dangerous for older people who can hold their own in the water. But that's just based on their ability to swim. I suppose there are other factors in play, but water and swimming are the most easily associated, aren't they?

M: And is there much water transportation in your country?

R: Well, I would say so certainly, because it It's part of an island. And so the only way we can get things delivered from other countries is via the water.

M: And will it be even more popular in the future?

R: I don't think it's a case of popularity, because popularity means people like doing something whereas it's necessary. Like it's not something that country can survive, or at least prosper without. So as the economy expands, so too will the demand. It's not about what people like, it's about what people have to do, unless some sort of new method of instantaneous transportation on mass was invented. But that seems unlikely.

M: And do you think that human activity is posing a threat to the oceans of the world?

R: That will depend entirely on the kind of activity. So people going swimming probably doesn't pose that great of a danger to local species, assuming that they aren't destroying coral reefs and things like that. However, as the number of ships on the sea increases, probably the amount of garbage in the water will also increase. And that could damage well, wildlife and the habitats that support the local wildlife in those areas.

M: Thank you very for your watery answers!

R: I hope there was a flood of information to draw on.

M: Oh, dear listener, did you get that? A flood of information, like flood, when there is too much water. So a flood of information. Do you say watery answers? Not informative, but you just like bla, bla, bla, bla, bla.

R: What, you mean, watered-down?

M: Watered down? Yeah?

R: I certainly hope my answers haven't been watered down!

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