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This episode’s vocabulary
Miserable (adj.) — extremely unhappy or uncomfortable.
Low season (phrase) — the period in the year when the fewest people visit a place and when the prices are at their lowest level.
To batter (verb) — To hit heavily and repeatedly with violent blows.
Therapeutic (adj.) — an activity that is therapeutic makes you feel better or calmer.
Snow-capped (adj.) — snow-capped mountains have snow on the top.
Livestock (noun) — animals such as cows, sheep, and pigs that are kept on farms.
Heavy snow (noun) — a large amount of snow.
Brief (adj.) — lasting only for a short time.
Toss up (phrasal verb) — a situation in which any of two or more outcomes or options is equally possible or equally attractive.
Baking hot (adj.) — as hot as if in an oven.
Icicles (noun) — a long thin piece of ice that hangs down from somewhere.
We have also added these words to a “Quizlet” set for you to study and revise in your free time: bit.ly/quizlets03e07
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Questions and Answers
Maria: Rory Which season do you like the most?
Rory: I think I like summer the most, to be honest. The temperature is rising and there’s the nice positive emotional impact of the sun. Yeah, it’s definitely the best season in my opinion.
Maria: What’s the least favorite season in your country?
Rory: Oh, that’s a good question. I don’t think a lot of people like winter but just because it’s really cold and dark and miserable. It definitely has negative emotional impact on people. So I’d say that winter is probably the most low season in Scotland, at least.
Maria: You know I think it’s the same in Russia. I think it’s the same everywhere but would you say that’s winter in Scotland is the same as the winters in Russia.
Rory: Oh God no, winter in Russia is like winter in Scotland on steroids.
Maria: What’s the weather like in your hometown?
Rory: Well, apparently my hometown is the sunniest in Scotland. We get something like a 100 days of sunshine every year. I think this is because it’s sheltered by the hills behind the town, and then we have a nice sea breeze coming from the coast that helps keep the skies clear.
Maria: Do you prefer dry or wet weather?
Rory: Well, I think it depends on what you mean, because I prefer to be out in dry weather. I think most people do. Although I really like being inside so I can listen to the rain battering down. It’s relaxing and almost therapeutic.
Maria: What’s the best season for travelling in your country?
Rory: That’s a good question. I suppose because we’ve got quite a well-developed infrastructure for most of the country, you could travel anywhere anytime really and it won’t be so bad. So in winter you can see the snow-capped peaks of the mountains, and in spring you get to see young livestock running around, and then in the summer you get to see the sunny beaches, and then in the fall you can enjoy the different patterns of falling leaves. So to be honest there’s not really a best season to travel. I think it really depends on what you’re into.
Maria: Rory how do people in your country deal with bad weather?
Rory: It’s kind of funny. There is this weird distinction between Scottish people and English people. I’m not sure if it’s real but it’s kind of like a joke the two countries have. So Scottish people always go out even when it snows heavily. Like, we very rarely have snow days to stop people from going to school, for example, but it always seems like, if there is ever a little bit of snow in England, people always seem to panic and close everything. I think it’s probably connected to infrastructure problems that they have in the south, but that’s kind of like a joke that comes up sometimes when we talk about how people deal with bad weather.
Maria: It’s interesting because in Russia in winter when it snows everyone is so shocked like ooooh there’s snow like it’s it’s been snowing heavily. Oh my God. We’ve never had this before so it’s kind of…
Rory: It’s the same in England. Again it’s like oh no, we didn’t know that snow happened in winter. Although you could say the same for some parts of Scotland that we’re sometimes not very well prepared for this either, even though you know it’s going to happen.
Maria: Yeah, but Rory, how do you manage winters in Moscow? How? What do you do?
Rory: I go back home to Scotland.
Maria: No, I know you’re staying here.
Rory: No, I go back to Scotland for like a brief holiday, but I do spend most of the winter in Moscow. To be honest, it’s not really that difficult. You just buy a warm jacket and make sure you don’t fall on any of the ice and that’s fine.
Maria: What’s the hottest and the coldest place you’ve ever been to?
Rory: I think for the hottest place it’s a toss up between Ghana and East Timor. I went there a few years ago, to both countries. It was just before I came to Russia, actually. So in both of these countries it was like a really baking 40 degrees centigrade, and that was in the midday sun. So that’s like really really hot. And the coldest… this is probably not much of a surprise to our Russian listeners, is in Russia. About three years ago there was a winter storm and it was like minus 27 degrees, when we were camping in the Russian countryside. Of course that didn’t stop us from going to thebanya (Russian sauna) and having a party, but it was still like the coldest it’s ever been, at least in my experience.
Maria: You were camping outside in minus 23?
Rory: Yeah, we went to the camp.
Maria: Ah right not in a tent or something…
Rory: No no not in a tent. We were kind of camping, we just had a house instead of a tent. Does that not count?
Maria: Ok ok, that counts.
Rory: We were glamping! Glamorous camping.
Maria: Minus 27. Yeah. I’ve been to Murmansk. And it was pretty much minus 35. When your eyelashes freeze and your nose is kind of… it turns to ice and you can’t open your eyes because it’s all like icicles on your eyelashes. It’s fun. You should try it out. Yes you should go to Murmansk, Rory. In winter.
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Please read through these words one more time and make sure you can explain to yourself in English what they mean: miserable, low season, to batter, therapeutic, snow-capped, livestock, heavy snow, brief, toss up, baking hot, icicles.
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