Introduction
Beth and Georgie have a real conversation in easy English about the countryside and why they like it. Learn to talk about the natural world and different activities you can do there.
Vocabulary
river
a flow of water from the land to the sea
mountain
a raised part of the Earth’s surface that is much bigger than a hill
hike
a long, sometimes difficult, walk in the countryside
wild swimming
swimming in nature, for example in a river or lake
Transcript
Beth
Hello and welcome to Real Easy English, the podcast where we have real conversations in easy English to help you learn. I’m Beth.
Georgie
And I’m Georgie. You can read along with this podcast and find a worksheet to help you learn on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.
Beth
Hi Georgie, how are things?
Georgie
Things are good, thank you, Beth. How are you?
Beth
I’m very good, thank you. I’ve been enjoying the fresh air outside on my lunch break.
Georgie
Me too.
Beth
And today we’re talking about nature. We’ll talk about the natural world and what we like about it.
Georgie
Sounds good. Let’s get started.
So, Beth, you said you went for a walk in your lunch break. But we’re in the centre of the city here. Do you like walking in the city, or do you prefer to find nature?
Beth
Well, I have to walk in the city when I’m here, but ideally, definitely, I would rather be in the countryside with the fresh air, some sheep, some cows, some mountains.
Georgie
Me too. I’m from the countryside and where I’m from, I live in the middle of a national park. There are lots of hills, lots of trees. There’s a park near my house with two lakes as well. And lots of deer as well. What about where you’re from?
Beth
Well, I am from Cumbria. And Cumbria also has another big national park, the Lake District. So, yeah, I grew up surrounded by a lot of mountains and a lot of lakes. And we really lived in the middle of nowhere. So, yeah, lots of lots of wildlife around and rivers, lakes, streams.
Georgie
That sounds so beautiful. What do you like most about nature?
Beth
I really like having a good walk and especially reaching the top of a hill where you can then just look out and see how far you’ve come and see all the fields around you. It gives me a great sense of satisfaction.
Georgie
So, Beth, you said you grew up near mountains. You’re very lucky. I didn’t have any mountains where I’m from. Do you like going for hikes in the mountains?
Beth
I really do, but it depends on how big the mountains are, to be honest. It can be very dangerous. I mean, it’s good to get some exercise, but I don’t like doing too much hiking.
Georgie
Yeah, I’m the same.
Beth
Georgie, are there any other ways that you like to enjoy nature?
Georgie
Well, I’ve only done it a couple of times, but I quite enjoy wild swimming, which is where you go swimming in a wild place like a lake, a river or the sea. One time in January in England, which is a very cold time of year, I went swimming in the sea only for about five minutes, and then I ran out.
Beth
It must have been so cold.
Georgie
It was freezing, but my dog came swimming with me.
Beth
That’s nice.
Georgie
It was really cute.
Beth
Okay, let’s recap some of the language we heard during the conversation.
Georgie
We had river, which is a flow of water from the land to the sea.
Beth
We had mountain, which is a raised part of the Earth’s surface, and it’s much larger than a hill.
Georgie
We had hike, a long walk, especially in the countryside.
Beth
And wild swimming, swimming in nature, like in a lake or a river.
Georgie
And that’s it for this episode of Real Easy English. To test what you’ve learned, try the worksheet on our website. You can find a link in the notes for this episode.
Beth
And next week we’ll talk about relationships.
Georgie
Ooh. See you then.
Beth
Bye.