IELTS Speaking for Success - 🛜The internet (Part 1) + Transcript

Episode Date: August 12, 2025

Get our premium episode archive: https://www.patreon.com/ieltssfs How often do you go online? When did you start using the Internet? What would you do without the Internet? Do you think you spend too much time online? Tune in and have a great day! - Book a class with Rory here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://successwithielts.com/rory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Our course on Phrasal Verbs: https://successwithielts.com/podcourses Transcript: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://successwithielts.com/s12e19 Find an IELTS Speaking Partner: https://links.successwithielts.com/ieltspartner Our social media: https://linktr.ee/successwithielts © 2025 Podcourses Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you're flying Emirates business class, sipping your favorite cocktail at our onboard lounge, you'll see that your vacation isn't really over until your flight is over. Fly Emirates, fly better. Hello, lovely, I'm Maria. And my name is Rory. I'm the host of the AIL Speaking for Success podcast, the official Band 9 podcast. We've started in this podcast to give you Ben 9 grammar and super vocation. for your high-iled score. Which score?

Your bad nine score! Ah, here we are back on the internet. What a coincidence! Because we're going to be talking about the internet today! The internet! Yeah, the internet is like our air, like water for us today, because like, how much time can you live without the internet, Roy? Two minutes? Five? Well, I couldn't do anything without the internet because I run everything from the internet, on there so I would have to get a sensible job offline and I don't want to do that.

So it's like it's crazy, huh? Like we spend like two minutes without the internet and that's it, we're done. We're kind of, uh, we start panicking. So it's the internet is like air we breathe. It's like water we drink. No, but without water you can go like what, half a day maybe, a day. But without air, Oh, who needs air if you don't have the internet?

Do you know what's the record? That's right. You clicked this link thinking, I'm going to hear about the internet, but instead we're going to find out about human long capacity. Let's talk about the internet. Let's talk about the internet. How often do you go online? Oh God, constantly, I'd say I do all my work there,

and I like doing things on social media, which is a, well, that's a completely online affair. Yeah, it's pretty much, like, all the time for me. When did you start using the internet? That's a good question. Like, maybe back in 2000 or so. It was kind of taking off as a thing that normal people used just as I went into high school. So that seems like the right time. What would you do without the internet?

Life would be radically different to how it is now. I met all my friends through online activities, and my business and work or run from there. So it's impossible to say, really, beyond saying that things would be different. I can't even imagine how different it might be. Do you think you spend too much time online? Maybe a little bit, to be honest, but only slightly.

Sometimes I'd rather just stay on various social networks than meet people face to face, especially if my social battery is very low. I wouldn't say it's addicted to it or anything like that, though. I can still leave my phone at home when I do yoga or something like that, and it doesn't cause me any great deal of personal distress or anxiety. As you know, we now release all of our premium content for free, and it's available for one month.

After one month, it goes into our super secret archive. To sign up for the archive, click the link in the description below. See you soon. So, dear listener, here is some shorthy. shocking statistics from 2004. So apparently, on average, people spend... Too much time on the internet is probably going to be the answer. On average, people spend six hours every day online. It's crazy. It's really... Six hours online, every day. Oh my God. Wow. And we say like, I go online every day. I use the

internet. The listener, please say the internet. It's kind of like the internet, the monster, the. And we say, on the internet. The listener, you should repeat it five times. On the internet, on the internet, on the internet, on the internet, on the internet, Rory, where do you usually go? It's on the internet. It's on. On, on, on social media, on a social network, everything, on a website. It's always on, on, on, on, on, on. Because it's online, it's online. You see online, online on the internet. The internet. I go online.

On. On Instagram. On telegram. I do all my work online. All the time. Every minute I'm online. I'm online now. Look, dear examiner, and you kind of like show them your smartphone.

You can't show your smartphone in the exam. No, yeah, you can't use your smartphone. Yeah, unfortunately. And Rory, do you know, like, when did the internet appear? Well, it depends on how you define the internet. the internet because it's been a thing for decades and it was a thing before it was a commercial enterprise because the technology behind it was developed by I think it's the United States Defense Department and that was in the 70s and 80s maybe in the 60s actually um so it's a long time

but i think the internet as we know it now is like the 90s and early 2000s the official birthday of the internet is considered to be be on the 1st of January, 1983, de listener. 1983. Wow. But according to some sources, the Internet got its start in the United States in the late 1960s. So even earlier. Yep, there we go.

And Britannica says that the Internet appeared in the United States in the 1970s, but became available for the general public in 1990s. So, the listener, you know, different information here. So you can say that the internet became available in the 1990s, and when did you start using the internet? So maybe in 2000, right? And Rory also said, like, okay, maybe back in 2000 or so, I don't remember. And you can kind of use your background knowledge.

Well, you know, like the internet appeared in 1990s, so maybe I started using it back in 2000. And, Rory, could you tell me, like, do you say, we say like 1990s, like 1980s, but do we say 2000s? Well, we say the 1980s and the 1990s. If it's the time period, if it's an adjective, then it would be a 1990s mobile phone, for example. That's describing the kind of fun. For the 2000s, most people just say the 2000s, there was a brief movement to try and get it called the naughties because of the old zeros.

But I don't think that's what most native speakers say. I have never heard it called that in a serious context. It's always been as a joke. So if I want to say it happened in 2005, 2008, I can say it happened in 2000s. It happened. in the 2000s. Okay, interesting. I started using it just as I went into high school, or when I went to secondary school, I used it, or when I went to university, I used it, or I started using the

internet when I went to university. What would you do without the internet? Seriously, die. And you can kind of say, like, oh, I die, you know, I wouldn't be able to survive. Like, I have no idea. Well, you could say I'd be lost without it, which means I wouldn't know what to do. I'd be lost without it. I would be lost without it. Life would be radically different to how it is now. And because I met all my friends through online activities, my business is online, my leisure is online, my life is online. My life would be over.

Disaster. And also, you can say that if I don't have the internet, or if I don't have access to the internet for an hour, it's already difficult, because I can't do anything, literally. I do spend too much time online, but I'm not addicted, you can say, or I'm addicted. I wouldn't say I was addicted. I wouldn't say I am addicted. Addicted is kind of like you need the internet all the time. And seriously, every day we do need the internet, so we are kind of addicted. it. And you can say that, to be honest with you, yes, I spend too much time online.

Maybe a little bit too much. Not like a lot. I'd rather stay on social networks. So I choose to stay on social networks than meet people face to face. If my social battery is low. So your social battery, Rory, kind of your... Your social battery is when, well, the social battery is a concept. that describes how much energy you have for engaging with other people. So if you have a full social battery, then you're ready to talk to other people. But if the social battery is low, then it's not so great. Yeah, and you can say that once in a while I can leave my phone at home,

and I do yoga, or I do sports without you... You do yoga without your phone? What? Yeah. You leave your phone at home? Rory. Uh-huh. I go for a walk and leave my phone at home.

Oh, la la. Wow, well done you. And now, Rory, you have to choose two activities to do online. And dear listener, also listen to my choices, my options, and choose one or two activities that you'd like to do online. Something extraordinary, something stupid and fun. And I'm reading restless.com. Okay, 21 fun things to do online. So, Rory, what would you like to do?

You have to choose one or two. Track sharks, dolphins or turtles. So they have a tracker, and you can track dolphins and sharks online. You can see where these animals are. Number two. Explore life cams around the world. So you kind of check out what other people are doing by watching live cameras around the world.

Number three, explore the stars online. Oh. Yeah. So you can explore the universe and learn about the stars. Or you can see how your favorite websites have evolved. Like what Google was 20 years ago and how it has changed. Or you can watch Tornado life. So there are people who chase tornadoes.

You know, tornadoes are this thing. So you can kind of trace tornadoes. A tornado is a spinning wind formation. Yeah, spinning. That's what I said. It's wee, wee, weo, wheeo. People are listening to this. They can't see you twirling your finger around in the air.

Yeah, but they understand the sound like, wee, wee, weo, is this thing. Or the best. the best one. Do nothing for two minutes. So you go online and you do nothing for two minutes. So this website encourages you to sit back, relax and do nothing for two minutes. Wow. And you can do it online. Wow. Do nothing for two minutes. Okay, I'm just going there. This is my choice, people. Do nothing online for two minutes. Wow. Rory, so what's your choice? Trekking dolphins and sharks? What is my choice? I don't know. It depends on what exploring the stars looks like.

If it's a 3-D or a three-dimensional thing, then that might be quite good fun. Okay. But if it's not, then probably the tornado watching, that could be quite fun. As long as no one gets hurt, that's the key thing. Yeah, or you can track animals. It's O-C-E-A-R-C-H.org. Ooh, and you can just track dolphins. just you can see where sharks, turtles and dolphins are online in different parts of the world.

Wow, it's kind of like, how's it possible? Like, the sharks have trackers inside them? Yeah, they'll have radio tracking equipment installed in their fins. That's usually how it's done. Yeah, I've seen it on before. Okay, I see a shark close to Chile in South America. Oh, it's quite fun actually. Let's just do our own little episode for Maria

as she tracks various animals around the world. Whoa. Oh, dear listen, it's quite fun. I'm just looking at a blue shark somewhere in South America. It's just swimming. But actually it doesn't move. So I don't see it's moving. I just see it that it's there.

It could be that the data hasn't been updated yet. So, de listener, you see where I'm driving at? Instead of saying that, yeah, I usually use my social media. you say like, oh yeah. I track sharks. Sometimes I use the internet too much, you know, like for example, for tracking sharks. And then the examines are like, what? And you say, oh yeah, yeah, you know this website?

And you can like track sharks and dolphins and turtles. And then I kind of explore the universe. So I look at the stars. So you become interesting for the examiner. And the examiner likes you and kind of is interested in what you have to say. And they give you benign. this is our manipulative strategy it's maria's manipulative strategy

no but it's it's kind of it's interesting because most people what do they say social media read some posts boring yes most people are normal yeah and you and you dear listener track sharks online or you do nothing for 10 minutes come dot com

yeah cam dot com if you want to sponsor this podcast So just feel free, you know, to get in touch. Thank you very much for listening. And we'll get back to you in our new episode. Bye. Bye. At Capital One, we're more than just a credit card company. We're people just like you who believe in the power of yes.

Yes to new opportunities. Yes to second chances. Yes to a fresh start. That's why we've helped over four million Canadians. get access to a credit card because at Capital One, we say yes, so you don't have to hear another no. What will you do with your yes?

Get the yes you've been waiting for at Capital One.ca.ca slash yes. Terms and conditions apply. How often do you go online? Oh God, constantly, I'd say I do all my work there and I like doing things on social media, which is a, well, that's a completely online affair. Yeah, it's pretty much, like, all the time for me.

When did you start using the internet? That's a good question. Like maybe back in 2000 or so? It was kind of taking off as a thing that normal people used just as I went into high school. So that seems like the right time. What would you do without the internet? Life would be radically different to how it is now. I met all my friends through online activities and my business and work or run from there.

So it's impossible to say really beyond saying that things. would be different. I can't even imagine how different it might be. Do you think you spend too much time online? Maybe a little bit, to be honest, but only slightly. Sometimes I'd rather just stay on various social networks than meet people face to face, especially if my social battery is very low. I wouldn't say it's addicted to it or anything like that, though. I can still leave my phone at home when I do yoga or something like that, and it doesn't cause me any great deal of personal distress or anxiety.