📘 Part 3: Transportation and facilities

This episode's vocabulary

Funding (noun) - money given by a government or organization for an event or activity.

Infrastructure (noun) - the basic systems and services, such as transport and power supplies, that a country or organization uses in order to work effectively.

Emphasis (noun) - the particular importance or attention that is given to something.

Sustainability (noun) - the quality of being able to continue over a period of time.

Efficiency (noun) - the quality of achieving the largest amount of useful work using as little energy, fuel, effort, etc. as possible

Dilapidated (adj.) - old and in poor condition.

To integrate (verb) - combine two or more things in order to become more effective.

Contactless (adj.) - relating to the use of wireless technology to make a payment using a credit card or debit card, or a mobile phone.

User-friendly (adj.) - easy for people to use/work.

To cut a long story short (idiom) - used when you are explaining what happened in a few words, without giving all the details.

Community centre (noun) - a place where people who live in an area can meet each other and play sports, take courses, etc.

Disproportionately (adverb) - in a way that is too large or too small in relation to something else.

Nature trail (noun) - a path through an area of the countryside that is intended to attract the walker's attention to interesting plants, animals, and other features.

Housing (noun) - buildings that people live in, or the providing of places for people to live.

Health care (noun) - the services provided by a country or an organization that involve caring for people's health and treating people who are ill.

Establishment (noun) - an establishment is a particular place of business.

Broad (adj.) - very wide.

Urbanization (noun) - the process by which more and more people leave the countryside to live in cities.

Demand (noun) - a strong request.

Urban renewal (noun) - the improvement and sometimes replacement of buildings in a city, especially of whole neighbourhoods of housing.

Streaming service (noun) - a service that sends video, music, etc., over the internet so that people can watch or listen to it immediately rather than having to download it, or rather than having to watch or listen at a particular time when something is broadcast.

Mode (noun) - a way of doing something.

Questions and Answers

M: What can be improved in public transport services?

R: They could definitely benefit from increased funding and investment in infrastructure. As well as a greater emphasis on sustainability and efficiency. For example, a lot of the buses are quite dilapidated. They could also do with improved accessibility for people with disabilities and integrating technologies, such as contactless payment systems. That could help make public transport more user-friendly.

M: And how is the subway system developing in your country?

R: Cutting a long story short, it isn't really. There's a limited system in Glasgow and that's about it. I don't think it's changed much over the years. Though, I don't know a great deal about it. If we expand to focus on the UK, they're developing and improving the London Underground all the time with new stations and lines opening at a decent pace. But in my specific country, in the UK, not much is happening.

M: What leisure facilities can be used by people of all ages?

R: Places such as parks, community centres and swimming pools could be enjoyed by people of any age, I think. Other options might include libraries, museums and sports facilities. As long as they offer a range of activities suitable for the different age groups.

M: Are there many leisure facilities in your area?

R: Well, probably disproportionately so, actually, for a village of a thousand people. There's a swimming pool, a gym, community centre. We even have a climbing wall. It's even integrated into the surroundings. Since there are nature trails and walks that you can go on if you count trails and paths as facilities, which I do.

M: And what kinds of facilities make a city a better place to live in?

R: It's important to have access to high-quality public transportation and green spaces and cultural institutions. Like libraries and museums. More generally, providing affordable housing, accessible health care and educational establishments could probably help too, since people will want to get at all kinds of these things.

M: Do you think there's more construction in cities now compared to the past?

R: It's difficult to make a broad comparison without specific data, but urbanization and population growth seem to have led to an increased demand for construction. Certainly in many cities, as they will require more housing and supporting infrastructure for the number of people. You also need to consider urban renewal and infrastructure projects that might also contribute to greater levels of construction activity.

M: And do people in your country still go to the cinema?

R: It certainly seems that way. They keep producing films for it, so there must be some demand. Though, I'd say it's probably decreased as people use more streaming services these days and there are many exclusive releases on there.

M: How do people travel to work?

R: In a variety of ways, driving, public transport, biking, even walking. The most common mode of transportation often depends on factors such as your location and how available public transport is and the nature of your job. I mean, for example, if you work in a village and online, like I do, then you probably won't need to travel to work beyond walking from one part of the house to the other.

M: Thank you, Rory, for your answers!

Discussion

M: Oh, such a ridiculous question. How do people travel to work? By car, using their feet.

R: On a hoverboard, on an anti-gravity spaceship.

M: On a horse? Horseback.

R: I guess if you're a cowboy. I should have said that.

M: Oh, these IELTS questions... So facilities. Facilities, we can also say amenities, okay, dear listener? Facilities in cities, amenities in cities. So like, we talk about facilities such as restaurants, cafes, roads, shopping malls, museums. Transport services could be improved from increased funding. So transport services could benefit from increased funding. So more money. And transport services could benefit from investment in infrastructure.

R: It's funny because the word investment, it's always investment in. So there's like two "ins" there and it's one of the only structures I know where this pattern repeats. Investment in.

M: A lot of buses are a bit dilapidated.

R: Yeah, they're just old, falling apart, in poor condition.

M: Can I say that transport services are dilapidated?

R: No. It's usually the physical manifestations of them that are dilapidated. A building.

M: Can I say roads are dilapidated? Bridges are dilapidated?

R: Yeah, The infrastructure is dilapidated.

M: Right. So in poor condition, it's half broken. It's like... Tired already, you know? Transport services could also do with improved accessibility for people with disabilities. So, you see, could do with, they need something, right? So transport services could do with more money, they could do with improved accessibility. So for the disabled or for people with disabilities. And also it would be nice if they could integrate technology into transport services. So transport services could do with integrated technology, integrating technology. Such as... It's nice to give an example. Contactless payment systems.

R: Yes, although in defence of the transport system in my country, I think all the systems are contactless now, all the payment systems anyway.

M: So contactless you just pay with a card? Or you pay just with your eyes? You look at the device and then... It scans your eyeball and then like...

R: Don't think they're that advanced just yet.

M: No? Not yet? So, and public transport could be made more user-friendly.

R: Yes.

M: Subway system. You can say metro system or subway system. In London, they call it the tube.

R: Or the underground.

M: The underground, London underground. And here Rory tells us, cutting a long story short. Oh, gosh, isn't it a little bit old-fashioned?

R: I think to... To cut a long story short, but cutting a long story short shows flexibility.

M: Yeah, you see, so to cut a long story short is an idiom. But if I change the idiom. But, dear listener, you should be very careful with this, okay? Because it could go wrong. So cutting a long story short, it isn't really developing in my country. So this is a good one.

R: That's terrible, isn't it? But that's just life.

M: So subway system, underground system is not developing in Scotland. And for example, in Glasgow, what a beautiful place Glasgow is, there is a limited system in Glasgow and it hasn't changed much over the years or it has changed a lot over the years.

R: Or it has changed and nobody noticed.

M: You can say that a lot of new metro stations have been built, right? Or it has been expanded. So we can use expand. So more stations have been added, it has been developed, it has been improved, new stations and lines. Also, we talk about subway lines or metro lines have been opened up. Moscow Metro is the best metro in the world.

R: It is. I love Moscow metro.

M: Leisure facilities. And Rory gave us examples such as parks, community centres. Like libraries could be community centres, swimming pools can be enjoyed by people of all ages. So a really nice strategy to use a passive voice structure. So blah, blah, blah, can be enjoyed by people, by all people, by people of all ages. And other options include libraries, museums, sports facilities, as long as they offer a range of activities. So as long as, if they offer a range of activities, different activities. And then these places could be suitable for different age groups.

R: But please note the use of the word might to avoid overgeneralising. Which I discovered recently, like, because I was looking at the criteria and one of them was it doesn't overgeneralise. I was like how do you avoid overgeneralising? And then somebody said, oh, modal verbs, because that talks about, well, modality, which is things that are possible or certain or different ways of discussing a willingness to do something, levels of willingness. So yeah, modal verbs are the solution to this problem. So not just saying they include libraries, because not everybody likes going to a library just to read, for example, they've got to have these things. So they might include these things.

M: Leisure facilities in Rory's area. We're talking about the middle of nowhere, in Scotland.

R: Apparently.

M: Unfortunately, Rory doesn't have a lot of amenities, facilities in the middle of nowhere. There's a swimming pool. Wow. There's a gym, even.

R: Yes. You'll notice that I opened with perhaps disproportionately so, meaning... Or probably disproportionately so. Meaning there are many leisure facilities, probably more than we need.

M: Mhm. So for a village of 1000 people. So Rory lives in the place, together with 900 people. Oh my gosh. This is like two houses in Moscow. The whole village. And in this village, there's a swimming pool and there's a gym, there's community centre. Do you have the internet? Do you have McDonald's? Do you have like shops or banks?

R: We have the internet and we've got shops. We don't have a bank.

M: Do you have taxis or you have horses?

R: There are taxis.

M: Taxis. Wow...

R: Yeah.

M: Okay. And it's integrated into the surroundings. So all the facilities are integrated into the surroundings. So there are nature trails and walks. So it's not just like a super modern park. A park is integrated into the surroundings, so it's kind of like it's suitable for the surroundings of a tiny village in the middle of nowhere. It's important to have access to high-quality public transportation. So to have access to transportation, to have access to green spaces. We paraphrase parks and gardens. And cultural institutions like libraries, museums, galleries. So an example, yeah? So it's important to have access to cultural institutions like museums. And then you can also mention affordable housing. So affordable, you can afford it. It's not really expensive. Also, you talked about accessible healthcare. Healthcare, you mean all the hospitals, clinics?

R: Yeah. Anything designed to... Well, help maintain and improve your health.

M: And you see, dear listener, here Rory generalises. So in a good way. He says like more generally, and then Rory uses like more abstract words, which contain a lot of small words. For example, affordable housing. Like flats, apartments, different kinds of accommodation, accessible health care, hospitals, clinics, health centres, educational establishments. So Rory doesn't say universities, but a broader concept is used. Educational establishments. Like universities, institutions, schools, language centres. You see? Like really broad concepts which is cool to use. In the previous answer, Rory told us about particular facilities like libraries, swimming pools, parks. But here in a broader sense.

R: Oh, on the subject of which there's a phrase there. To get at to these kinds of things. So if you want to get at something, it means you want to access it. So this whole thing has just been about access, really.

M: So people might want to get at affordable housing, so people might want to access. To have access to affordable housing. Urbanisation and population growth. Areas are becoming more urban, yeah? More city-like.

R: Well, that just means cities are growing.

M: And the population is growing, cities are growing.

R: I keep reading about urbanisation and population growth at the moment, so that's why I keep using these words.

M: And we use the present perfect here because the question is about now compared to the past. So population growth, urbanisation has led to an increased demand for construction. Or Rory avoids generalising. So Rory says urbanisation seems to have led to. So perhaps it has led to something, seems to have led, to have lead in the past, connected to the present situation, yeah? To an increased demand for construction.

R: I also avoided generalising by saying it's difficult to make a broad comparison without specific data, but really you should probably just use mortal verbs to be honest. It's easier to remember.

M: And cities require more housing and more supporting infrastructure. So as more houses pop up, we need to build infrastructure to support these people, to support the house. Urban renewal. What is urban renewal?

R: Well, some parts of town get quite run down. Which just means they're in poor condition. So urban renewal projects redevelop them and, well, ideally help them become nicer places to live.

M: Yeah, some places are run down, in poor condition. They are dilapidated. Do people still go to the cinema? Really? People still go to the cinema?

R: That was a bit of a random question.

M: Yeah, but I think the examiner might ask you like, do people still go to restaurants? Do many people go to restaurants? Do they go out? So about like using the facilities, yeah? And the cinema, like a typical question. Do they go to the cinema or do they stay at home? Is it in or out? Yeah? So inside or outside. So Rory says that, well, it certainly seems that way, yeah, it seems so, yeah, people seem to be going to the cinema. Why not? There must be some demand for it. Because films are being produced, films are being made now, yeah? Passive voice. So somebody is making the films and there must be some demand for it.

R: And I said, they keep making. So they is not the people going to the cinema. They is the general term for the people in control again.

M: People use more streaming services such as the N-word. Netflix.

R: Netflix.

M: Keep in touch, okay, Netflix? If you're listening. So people use more streaming services instead of going to the cinema and maybe the demand for cinemas has decreased in certain countries, perhaps. But there are many exclusive releases on there. On streaming services, yeah? You mean.

R: Yeah. On there, online.

M: And the most ridiculous question. The Oscar for the most ridiculous stupid question goes to how do people travel to work. Oh, and Rory nicely says in a variety of ways.

R: And Rory doesn't laugh at the examiner.

M: Rory takes it all in, seriously. Driving, public transportation, biking, so you can go to work by bike. You can commute to work. Commute to work means just go to work. Or people can walk. And the most common mode of transportation, so we say means of transport or mode of transportation is another synonym. And the most common mode of transportation depends on factors such as people's location, how available public transportation is, the nature of your job. So maybe if I need to look smart and I need smart clothes, I'm perhaps going by bicycle could not be really convenient, yeah? Because I'm going to be all sweaty and dirty. But if there is a changing room and a shower in the office, so why not?

R: Have you ever had an office with a shower in it?

M: No.

R: That's sad.

M: But I imagine maybe in London they have such places. Because in London many people travel by bicycle to work.

R: Nice. Oh, wait, no. Not nice. Because one of them crashed... One of them crashed into me once and I wasn't very happy.

M: And then if you work in a village or if you work online, then you won't need to travel to work. So for some people travelling to work is, you know, is left behind. You travel from the kitchen to your office at home or from the kitchen you travel to your bedroom where you work online. Or from your bed you can travel to your desk.

R: Yeah. I do that. It's great.

M: Thank you, dear listener, for your attention, for listening, for being with us and bye!

R: Bye!

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