Dan: Hello and welcome to this week’s 6 Minute English. I’m Dan Walker Smith
and today I’m joined by Kate.
Now in today’s programme and in next week’s programme we’re talking about
tree climbing. So I want to ask you Kate when was the last time you climbed a
tree?
Kate: Ooh I think it was quite a few years ago now actually; probably when I was a
child, around 10 years old. We used to live in the countryside and I remember
climbing a tree in the garden with my brother. But it’s been a long long time; I
haven’t climbed a tree for years.
Dan: Exactly, climbing trees is usually an activity that’s associated with childhood.
But these days it’s also a growing sport for adults as well. And there are
professional tree climbers, and competitions and tree climbing centres across
the world.
So this week's question for you Kate is: In what year was the first ever
International Tree Climbing Championship held? Was it:
a) 1964
b) 1971
c) 1976
Kate: Well I’m going to guess that this is quite a recent sport. So I’m going to go for
the latest date, which is c) 1976.
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Dan: OK, well we’ll see if you’re right at the end of the programme. Now the
benefits of climbing are well-documented; it’s great exercise in the open air,
and gives you a sense of attachment to the natural environment.
Let’s listen to the professional tree climber James Aldred, as he explains how
he developed his love for climbing. Where did he live as a child, and how did
it help him decide to start climbing trees?
Extract 1
Well I’ve been into climbing from a very early age. And I was never into rocks or
mountaineering; it was always trees. I grew up in a forest, and if I was going to climb
anything, by default it was always going to be trees.
Kate: OK, so James grew up in a forest. To grow up is to change from being a child
to being an adult. So, because he spent his early years surrounded by trees, by
default, he learnt to climb them. The phrase by default here means that there
were no alternative choices or competitors, so trees were the natural things to
climb.
Dan: And what did he mean there Kate when he said he’d ‘been into’ climbing from
an early age?
Kate: Well, to be into something is a slang way of saying you’re interested in
something or that you’re a fan of it. For example, you could be into football or
into watching tennis.
Dan: OK well, let’s have a listen to James again as he describes his first experience
of climbing a tree. He says he was terrified, which means he was extremely
frightened or scared. And he also uses the word scampered – he says that his
friends ‘scampered like squirrels’ up the tree. What does he mean here Kate?
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Kate: Well, to scamper means to run with quick short steps. It’s a term that’s usually
used to describe animals. So when James says his friends scampered like
squirrels he means they were moving quickly, like the furry-tailed little
animals that live in trees.
Dan: So have a listen to the next extract; how long did James stay on the lower
branches of the tree?
Extract 2:
I was absolutely terrified the first time I climbed this tree. And the two friends I was
with, they just scampered up like squirrels, went right to the top, and left me on the
lowest branches for about two hours, absolutely terrified.
Kate: Well James said that he stayed in the lowest branches for around two hours. A
tree’s branches are the woody arms that grow from the trunk. And the trunk
is the name of the central part of the tree.
Dan: Now before we listen to the final extract, I just want to talk about the different
parts of a tree. You mentioned there the trunk and the branches, and I want to
know what the other parts of a tree are?
Kate: Well the parts below the ground are called the roots, which keep the tree in
place and absorb water and nutrients. Above the roots you have the trunk, as
we said, and at the end of the branches you have leaves. A leaf is the flat green
part of a plant.
You also have bark, which is the outer covering of a tree. And the thick sweet
liquid you find inside the trunk is called sap or resin.
Dan: OK, let’s have a listen to the final extract for today. This is tree expert Tony
Russell, describing the fragrance of a tree, that is the smell or the aroma. He
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uses some quite complicated words here Kate, so could you please explain
some of them?
Kate: Of course.
Dan: What does he mean by the foliage and cones, for example?
Kate: Well foliage is the term for the leaves or the green parts of a plant. And the
cones here are the hard woody fruits of a pine tree.
Dan: Also listen out for the word resinous, which he uses to describe the aroma
from the tree; what particular part of the tree does this refer to?
Extract 3
It has this great fragrance to it as well, which comes off the bark, but it also comes off
the foliage and off the cones. And on a really warm day you get this tremendous
fragrance which is sort of resinous.
Kate: By resinous, he means it smells like resin or sap.
Dan: OK Kate, well we’re almost out of time for this week, so let’s go over some of
the vocabulary we’ve come across today:
to grow up
to choose something by default
to be into something
to scamper
trunk
branch
roots
leaf
bark
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sap or resin
foliage
cones
Kate: Wow, that’s a lot of words we’ve had this week, but all very useful when
talking about trees.
Dan: Exactly, and we’re coming back to this topic next week for the second part of
our tree climbing programme.
Kate: Oh good, I can’t wait.
Dan: Exactly. And there’s just time as well for today's question. I asked you Kate; in
what year was the first ever International Tree Climbing Championship?
Kate: And I went for the latest date, which was 1976.
Dan: Exactly, 1976. It was set up by the Californian businessman Dick Alvarez to
make sure that people in his tree surgery business had the skills to prepare
them for tough climbs. The competition grew, until it’s now a worldwide
event.
Kate: Gosh that’s very interesting. I had no idea people took this sport so seriously.
Dan: Well it’s a growing sport, and I think it’s one which is becoming more popular
as the years go by.
But we’ll hear more about it next week. For this week, from all of us here at
BBC Learning English, thanks for listening, and goodbye!
Kate: Goodbye!
