6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2009
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Kate: Hello and welcome to this week's 6 Minute English. Joining me today for
the first time is Neil! Hi Neil.
Well, Leonardo da Vinci wrote his in mirror writing and Anne Frank's has
been read by millions throughout the world. We are of course talking
about …. diaries. So Neil - do you have or have you ever kept a diary or any
sort?
Neil: Answers…
Kate: Well, throughout history many people have kept diaries and these days some
still handwrite in a private notebook while others blog on the Internet for all
to see. In fact recently there have been an increasing number of diaries being
published - the public seem to love reading them. Why do think this is?
Neil: answers
Kate: Before we go any further, here's my question for this week: one of the
world's most famous diaries was written by Anne Frank, the thirteen year
old Jewish girl who chronicled her life while in hiding in Amsterdam during
the German occupation in World War II. How many people worldwide do
you think have read her diary since it was published in 1947?
Is it:
a) 10 million
b) 17 million
c) 31 million
Neil: answers
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2009
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Kate: Good answer - we'll check if you were correct at the end of the programme.
But first of all, could you tell me what is it do you think that makes people
want to keep a diary?
Neil: answers
Kate: Our speaker today is Gyles Brandreth – before we listen to what he has to
say, let's go over some of the vocabulary: reassure
Neil: reassure means to comfort someone and stop them from worrying about
something in particular
Kate: and the verb to rush?
Neil: To rush means to go past very quickly.
Kate: And finally the expression to pin down
Neil: This means to focus on something - if you pin something down, you
concentrate on one thing in particular and you are able see it clearly.
Kate: Thanks, so let's listen. Why does Gyles like keeping a diary?
Extract 1
It's like sort of looking in the mirror to reassure yourself that you're there. And it does make
things seem more real. If you don’t write a diary it all just rushes past you and so I
record things to sort of pin them down…
Neil: He said writing a diary makes things seem more real to him and he says that
if he doesn't write things down life just rushes by him. He likes to record
things and pin them down.
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2009
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Kate: So if he enjoys writing his diaries so much, what does he think of re-reading
them years later?
Extract 2
I've been keeping a daily diary since I was 11 years of age but before now, I've not looked
back on it and it's actually been quite a difficult experience, you know, seeing the …you
know, the missed opportunities - so it's been quite traumatic.
Kate: He said that re-reading them was a difficult and traumatic experience.
Traumatic means that something causes emotion shock and is upsetting.
Neil: I think he also mentioned missed opportunities. This is a phrase we use to
talk about situations in the past when we had the possibility of doing
something but we never did it. There is often a feeling of regret when people
talk about missed opportunities. (Neil gives and example)
Kate: In our last extract we're going to hear some more about what Gyles thinks
about diaries. You're going to hear the expression time capsule. This is a type
of container which is filled with objects considered to be typical of the present
period in history and then buried so it can be dug up and studied at some point
in the future. Let's listen:
Extract 3
It is a kind of time capsule and in a sense the best diaries I think are ones that give
you that domestic detail and not necessarily also about the great events of history.
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2009
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Neil: He said that a diary is a type of time capsule – which I suppose it is. It's like a
hidden container filled with interesting information from the past which we
can study at a future date. And I like what he said about it being the small
domestic details that make the most interesting diaries. The word domestic is
related to the home so I suppose he's talking about the daily chores we do
around the house, like making dinner, shopping, chatting to the neighbours etc.
All the things that might not seem that exciting now, but he thinks it is these
details that people enjoy reading about many years later.
Neil and Kate: We're nearly out of time today so let's go over some of the vocabulary we've
come across today. First of all the verb reassure, rush, to pin something
down, traumatic, missed opportunities, domestic detail and time capsule.
Kate: Finally to the question I asked you earlier. I asked you how many people
worldwide have read this The Diary of Anne Frank?
Neil: And I said 31 million.
Kate: And you were correct! Congratulations. Anne Frank's diary has sold more
than 31 million copies and has been published in approximately 67
languages. That's all we've got time for. Thanks Neil - until next time.
Goodbye.
