Dr Ahmadian

More examples:

Industrious: "The industrious student finished all his homework by evening."

Exhausted: "After the long journey, she felt completely exhausted."

Probably: "It will probably rain later, so take an umbrella."

Reputation: "He has a reputation for always being on time."

Kicking Back: "They are kicking back at the beach this weekend."

For the Good of the Group: "He worked overtime for the good of the group project."

To Step In: "The manager had to step in to resolve the issue."

New words:

kick back: stop doing things and relax completely هیچ کاری انجام ندی
{این اصطلاح غیر رسمی است}

industrious: hard-working پر تلاش

collecting kids from school: بچه ها رو از مدرسه آوردن

به کلمه collect دقت بفرمایید

colony: group of certain animals, birds or insects that live together کلونی

switch off:‌stop worrying or thinking about something, and relax بیخیال شدن و کاری انجام ندادن

Exhausted: really tired

Probably: maybe

Reputation: being well known for something شهرت به دلیلی خاص

Lounging about: بدون انجام کاری دراز کشیدن

Reveal the correct answer: to say which answer is correct

Nest: لانه

Motionless: بی حرکت

When disaster or disease strikes: وقتی مریضی یا واقعه بدی اتفاق می افتند

To step in: وارد میدان شدن ، ورود کردن

Tiny: بسیار کوچک

Listening Transcript

Beth
Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I’m Beth.
Neil
And I’m Neil. Phew! I've spent all day in meetings, then shopping, then collecting the kids from school - I'm exhausted, Beth! What have you been doing today?
Beth
Oh, not much, just sitting around doing nothing…relaxing and kicking back.
Neil
Lucky you! Don’t you have work to do?
Beth
It may not look like it, Neil, but I’m actually as busy as a bee! If you’ve seen nature documentaries about worker bees flying from flower to flower, you probably think animals are always on the move. But the surprising truth is, away from the cameras, most animals spend most of the time doing absolutely nothing at all.
Neil
In the natural world where finding food and shelter is hard work, why have some animals evolved to do nothing? And if it’s good enough for animals, would being lazy work for humans too? That’s what we will be discussing in this programme, and as usual, we’ll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well.
Beth
Of course, some animals have a reputation for lounging about – lions, for example, can sleep up to twenty hours a day! But what is the slowest moving animal on Earth? Is it:
a)    the giant tortoise
b)    the three-toed sloth or
c)    the koala? 
Neil
Well, I think it’s the three-toed sloth.
Beth
OK, Neil. I’ll reveal the correct answer at the end of the programme. Now it’s no surprise that lazy lions love relaxing, but even animals with reputations for being busy spend time doing nothing. Look carefully into an ant's nest and you’ll see around half of them just sitting there motionless.
Neil
We think ants are industrious, or hard-working. Groups of ants, called colonies, seem tiny, perfect societies where everyone works hard for the good of the group.
Beth
Then why are so many of them inactive? One possible answer is that they’re reserve ants, ready to step in if disease or disaster strike. But could it simply be that they don’t work because they don’t need to. Would you get out of bed on Monday morning if you didn’t have to?
Neil
Maybe the ants can teach us a thing or two about relaxing. But wouldn't it get boring just sitting around all day?
Instead of fearing boredom we can open up to its benefits by switching off - stopping worrying or thinking about something and relaxing. Slowing down helps too - something we can definitely learn from our animal cousins.
Beth
I think now’s a good time to reveal the answer to my question, since we have nothing else to do.
Neil
You asked me to name the world’s slowest animal and I guessed it was the three-toed sloth. Was I right?
Beth
That was the correct answer! OK, let's recap the vocabulary that we've learned from this programme starting with the phrase kicking back – stop doing things and relax completely.
Neil
The adjective industrious means hard-working. 
Beth
A colony is the name given to a group of certain animals including ants and some seabirds.
Neil
And finally, to switch off means to stop worrying or thinking about something and relax.

Pre-listening questions:

1- Have you ever spent a whole day doing nothing? What was this experience like for you? Did you find it relaxing or boring?
2- In your opinion, could periods of doing nothing be useful for creative individuals such as musicians? How might taking breaks or engaging in periods of inactivity influence the creative process?

بریم سراغ یه درس دیگه؟ 🫶🙂

مثال های بیشتر

1. Horrible (very unpleasant, very bad):
The food at that restaurant was horrible.

2. I was on my feet for the whole day:
As a nurse, I'm often on my feet for the whole day; it's a physically demanding job.

3. Burn out (to become very tired and unable to continue working at a high level):
Without regular breaks, employees can quickly burn out from too much stress.

4. Enthusiasm (lots of interest and eagerness):
He showed great enthusiasm in learning to play the piano.

5. To carry out (to perform or conduct a task):
The team carried out extensive research to understand the market trends.

6. At a fast pace (quickly, with rapid progress or change):
The city life moves at a fast pace, and it can be hard for many people.

7. Breathing down your neck (to watch someone closely):
I find it hard to work when my manager is always breathing down my neck.

8. Flexible (able to adapt or be adapted to change):
Her job is flexible; she can choose to work from home or the office.

9. Demanding (requiring a lot of time, attention, or effort):
The new project is demanding.k

New words:

Horrible: very unpleasant, very bad

Awful: very bad

I was on my feet: I had to stand up ایستاده بودم

Exhausting: very tiring بشدت خسته کننده

To discuss: بحث کردن

Burn out: از انرژی تخلیه شدن

Enthusiasm: lots of interest علاقه شدید

Carry out: do انجام دادن

At a fast pace: moving or happening very quickly


Breathing down your neck:
اصطلاح به معنی مواظب کسی بودن مثلا رییس یا کارفرامایی تمام حرکات کارمندانش رو زیر نظر داره

Flexible: able to change or be changed منعطف

Demanding: really hard

Listening transcript:

Neil
Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I’m Neil.
Beth
And I’m Beth.
Neil
Beth, have you ever had a horrible boss, not been paid enough, or simply got tired of doing the same old boring job?
Beth
I love presenting Six Minute English – of course, but some of my previous jobs have been pretty awful, Neil. When I waitressed in cafes I was on my feet ten hours a day – it was exhausting!
Neil
Most people have had bad work experiences at one time or another - maybe a job that was boring, badly paid, or just working too much and getting burned out – lacking energy or enthusiasm because of working too hard.
Beth
But does work have to be like this? Since most of our waking day is spent at work, how can we make sure our job doesn’t make us unhappy? That's what we'll be discussing in this programme, and, as usual, will be learning some useful new vocabulary as well.
Neil
Sounds good, Beth, but first I have a question for you. The worst job I ever had was the summer I spent working as a portable toilet cleaner at music festivals, but according to a recent survey by Forbes magazine, what was voted the worst job in the UK? Was it:
a)     a call centre worker?
b)     a bartender?       or,
c)     a traffic warden?
Beth
I think the answer might be a call centre worker.
Neil
OK, Beth, I'll reveal the answer later in the programme. Now, it's interesting that survey was carried out in the UK, because being unhappy at work could be related to the British working culture which emphasizes working at a fast pace.
Beth
Compared to some European countries, British workers have to meet more targets and deadlines - a time or date by which a particular job must be finished.
Neil
The pressure to work quickly means you might have your boss breathing down your neck, an idiom meaning that someone is watching you very closely and checking everything you do… Not a nice feeling to have at work!
Beth
That’s right. A good job is about more than pay and conditions, it's one that uses your talents, and gives you some choice over how and when you work. In 2022, Britain's biggest employer, the National Health Service or NHS, lost more than 15,000 nurses, many quitting because of the long and inflexible working hours.
Neil
Another sector with long working hours is the construction industry. Low paid, dirty and physically demanding, construction workers also risk high levels of work-related injury.
Neil
Maybe more flexible working would help some of the jobs I mentioned earlier in my question, Beth - according to a recent Forbes magazine survey, what was voted the worst job in the UK?
Beth
I guessed it was a job I've done myself - working in a call centre.
Neil
And that was… the correct answer, although I think my summer job cleaning toilets was even worse! Right, let's recap the vocabulary we've learned from this programme starting with burnout – lack of energy or enthusiasm because of working too hard.
Beth
A deadline is the time by which a particular job must be done.
Neil
If someone is breathing down your neck, they’re watching you very closely and checking everything you do.
Neil
Work-life balance is the amount of time spend doing your job, compared with the amount of time you spend doing things you enjoy.
Beth
And finally, a win-win is a situation or result that is good for everyone. Once again our six minutes are up. Join us again next time, but for now - get back to work! Goodbye!
Neil
Bye!

مناسب سطح متوسط به بالا

Part 1: Pre-listening questions

Think about these questions before listening to the podcast.

1. Have you ever had a job that you didn't like? What made it unpleasant for you?
2. In your opinion, what makes a job enjoyable? Can you list three important factors?
3. How important is work-life balance to you? Do you think you currently have a good balance between work and personal life?