IELTS Speaking for Success - ⛅ Weather 2.0 + Transcript (S06E20)

Episode Date: November 15, 2021

What's the weather usually like in your hometown? Do you like the weather in your hometown? What's your favorite weather? What do you do in hot weather? Tune in and have a great day! - Get exclusive episodes on IELTS Speaking parts 1, 2, and 3: https://linktr.ee/sfspremium Our course on Phrasal Verbs: https://successwithielts.com/podcourses Transcript: https://successwithielts.com/s06e20 Find an IELTS Speaking Partner: https://links.successwithielts.com/ieltspartner Our social media: https://linktr.ee/successwithielts © 2021 Success with IELTS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello, lovely, I'm Maria. And my name is Rory, and we are the host of the IEL Speaking for Success podcast. The podcast that aims to help you improve your speaking skills, as well as your listening skills along the way. We've started this podcast to give you gorgeous grammar and fabulous vocabulary for your high IOT score. Which score, Rory? It's a band nine score, Maria. Yay! Dear Listen, could you please share our podcast with your friends, classmates, family members,

So if your grandma will find it useful, could you please send our podcast to your grandma? Send on the link, tell them how useful our podcast is. We're going to really appreciate if you do. It's super useful. By the way, we have a premium speaking podcast that's more than 190 episodes on IOT speaking parts, one, two, and three, with complete transcripts for each episode, included the discussion part, modal answers and vocabulary that you will be able to use in your own exam. And of course, lots of jokes and good mood.

This week, in part two, Rory describes a family member that made him feel proud. And in speaking part three, we discuss rewards, children, parents. Do check it out. The link is in the description. Rory, it's bucketing down here in Moscow. Yeah, it's pretty bad here as well. It's almost like it's raining cats and dogs. Shall we talk about cats and dogs or the weather? I think we should talk about the weather.

Let's talk about the weather. What's the weather usually like in your hometown? Well, right now it's pretty dreary, I'd say. We're moving from, well, we're moving from what, summer, into autumn. We're actually in the midst of autumn now. So the climate is getting progressively colder and damper as the days go by. What's your favorite weather? I think that depends on the circumstances, doesn't it?

If I'm inside and the heating is on and there's like torrential rain outside, then I get quite a cozy feeling and obviously I'd want to stay indoors. On the other hand, obviously if it's scorching outside, then I'd rather be out there getting a tan and sunbathing. Do you like the weather in your hometown? Usually. Actually, we're supposed to be the sunniest city in Scotland, which sounds like something of an oxymoron, doesn't it? We clearly do get our fair share of cloudless.

days, but usually in the summer. Right now, it's not at its best. Do you like wet weather? Well, like I said, only if I'm indoors, I got caught in a cloudburst the other day and it looked well, and I looked like a drowned rat, as did everyone else around me. That was not entertaining in the slightest. Do you prefer wet, hot or dry weather? I definitely have a preference for hot weather. You can be outside, get vitamin D from the sun, which is good for your skin on your bone. and it's just a better look all around. This is, of course, only of the humidity is low, because otherwise I think, well, I can,

and I think other people do feel lethargic and ill. What do you do in hot weather? Well, assuming it's not a school day, I go out with my friends for walks along the beach or sit on the decking and soak up the sun while reading. I'm short of a heat wave, though. That's unlikely at the moment, but if that happened, then it would be like stay indoors and vegetate.

Rory, thank you so much for your answers. Do you know that there's a technical term for a sunny, warm day, which follows two rainy days? Is it nice? No, it's called Monday. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. It's a joke. Yeah, dear listener, I know that it's quite silly, but hopefully you just smiled and tolerated. horrid jokes.

So, we've talked about the weather before. So, dear listener, feel free to go and listen to the other episode about the weather. But the weather is a current topic in the IOT speaking exam, and it's going to be there well until January 2022 when they're going to add new topics. And maybe the weather will stay. We don't know. So, Rory, you said that it's pretty dreary. dreary weather

Yeah, dreary, it's grey, it's dark, it's wet, it's not nice, it's dreary Yeah, so instead of saying bad weather, you can say dreary weather Or you can also say grim, can you say grim? Well, yeah, you could say it's pretty grim outside Or gloomy, or nasty, yeah, really good examples But can you say it's a dreary weather with an article, it's a dreary weather. No, you have to say it's dreary weather, or the weather is dreary. Weather is uncountable, but it's not something that you can have an article with. Exactly, exactly. We do say

I have a good time, a good time, but we say it's dreary weather. Or you can say it's pretty dreary. You also said damp, cold and damp. Colder and damper. Yeah, you said the climate is getting progressively colder and dampa. DEMPA? But that's just another way of saying it's getting worse or it's not getting better. So if something is happening progressively, it's sort of like it's increasing over time. It doesn't mean it's getting better. Usually people hear the word progress and they're like, woohoo progress.

But no, if something is happening progressively, it just means it's expanding over time. And damper is like wet, but it's a negative. negative words, like damp weather. Well, when we talk about weather, it's usually quite negative, but you can have a damp cloth. You put a damp compress on a wound, but we're not talking about injuries right now. We're talking about the weather. So damp just means there's a lot of moisture, not just like rain in the air, but moisture on the surfaces of things, for example.

Yeah, for example, it was a damp morning. So kind of wet, but not pleasant or comfortable. So a bit negative. Then you mentioned torrential rain, if there is torrential rain outside. Yes, but torrential rain is just like, well, if you think about the word torrent, it means a lot of water coming down in one direction. So torrential rain is a lot of rain coming down very, very quickly. So imagine monsoon in India, for example.

When it's like a shower. It's like a shower. Okay. Mm-hmm. But not a shower that you usually have a shower, right? Just shower like a rain. In Thailand, they have horizontal rain. So if you're from Thailand, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

Horizontal rain when, you know, it's sunny outside, then this like rain. Yeah. Happens horizontally. Also, we mentioned, I said at the very beginning of the episode, it's bucketing down. Yes. So that means, well, it's torrential rain. That means there's lots of it.

And you said, raining cats and dogs. Yes. I think we've talked about it before, but like, do people usually say that? Like, do you friends in Scotland? No, it's a cliche. People only say it if it's ironic, but I wanted to get it in because we were arguing about which coincidence to have at the start of the podcast. And I thought raining cats and dogs was a good one.

But you said no, because it wasn't realistic and it's a cliche. But I was right. You're always right, Rory. Scottish right. Okay, but to be more natural, you can use its bucketing down. Or usually it buckets down where I live, for example. So if there is torrential rain, Rory gets quite a cozy, feeling. What if you live in a place without terrible weather though? Are there alternatives that we could use?

You can say I really enjoy dry weather and it hardly ever rains or there is hardly ever any torrential rain. There is minimal precipitation. Oh, precipitation. It's like water falling from the sky. Is it? Yeah. No. Precipitation. It's like all the rain that falls. It's not just rain, though. It's to do with water in general. Anyway, talk about precipitation. It's a great word. Precipitation, water that falls from the clouds towards the ground, especially as rain or snow. Hail and sleet are types of precipitation.

Yeah, it's not just about the rain then. It's about everything. Yeah, but it's like a specialized word, but it's like a very high level, really specific. So if you can pronounce it, do you listen to come on, precipitation. Precipitation. There's very little precipitation where I live. And then you can say it's scorching. It's very hot. It's scorching outside.

Yes. And if it's extra, well, scorching is just a really high temperature. But if you have a very high temperature for a prolonged period of time, then it will be a heat wave. Oh, yes. People die in heat waves. I didn't realize that until a few years ago. Oh. Apparently it's very common.

Well, people die if it's freezing cold, if it's scorching, if it's a heat wave. But as someone who is from Scotland, which is not exactly known for its scorching weather, I don't really experience this. You said that we do get our fair share of cloudless days. So there's a couple of things here. To get your fair share of something is, well, to get what you do. deserve, basically. Or if you get more than your fair share of something, you get more than you think you deserve. Cloudless days are days without clouds. But instead of saying days without clouds,

we say cloudless days, cloudless skies, it's a cloudless evening. Are you having a cloudless day, Maria? Not this. It's been a bit crazy. We had snow plus rain together and the sun at the same time for about 10 minutes, then blue sky, then grey sky. So it's like an Irish weather. It's like Irish weather. Yeah, there's something interesting going on there. Yeah, but in Scotland, it's, well, you don't have summer in Scotland. Only maybe two days of summer? One day of summer, very? No, we have summer. Thank you very much. Three days of summer? No, five? Really? No, do you know? the word summer in Scotland.

I think it doesn't exist. Ha, ha ha. No, we have summer. We had like 30 degrees. Well, not the other day, obviously, but we had 30 degrees Celsius in July, in August. How dare you. Our weather is absolutely quality in the summer.

Right now it's not really nice. It's dreary. Dreary and grim. Yeah, and then Rory told us a story. Rory told us a story. as a story when he got caught in a cloud burst and looked like a drowned rat. Yes.

Do you have any pictures? No, thank God. So a cloud burst is when all of the water in a cloud comes down. So it's like a shower, like a literal shower, not as in a small bit of rain. It's like pouring down. And if you look like a drowned rat,

then you're very, very wet. it's an it's a simile oh oh a simile that's it's a kind of idiomatic speech where you compare yourself to something and you say it's like like a drowned rat yes oh god yeah can you imagine

a Rory looking like a drowned red all wet and cold oh poor Rory on small oh dear listen do you want to hug hug Rory and again give him your warmth.

You can also say I got soaked through. Yes, that's also something that you could say instead of I looked like a drowned rat if you wanted to keep coming back to this idea. Rory definitely prefers hot weather. So he can get out and get vitamin D from the sun together with the vitamin C

by the sea. I don't have a joke for you. And, um... Stop. Get a tan. Get a tan. Rory, do Scottish people, are they able to get tanned? Most Scottish people can't.

I think I'm the only one of the few Scottish people that can actually tan. Oh, yeah. Naturally, that is. And when you go tanning, you get vitamin D. And if you do not have sunny weather, or if you do have sunny weather, but there's lots of, like, the humidity is high, so there's lots of moisture in the air. then you can feel lethargic, which is like saying you feel tired. It's like a medical word for being tired. Yeah.

So when the weather is grey, it's grim, you say, yeah, I usually feel lethargic. Lethargic. Like having little energy feeling unwilling or unable to do anything. I'm like, oh, I was feeling tired and lethargic. So usually in autumn, people tend to feel lethargic. Do you, dear listener, do you feel lethargic when it's all gloomy and miserable and nasty? If you do feel lethargic, you should go to a sunny place and soak up the sun. Yeah, I love this expression.

I enjoy warm weather. I enjoy sunny days to soak up the sun. You can also soak up the atmosphere. You can go with a soak up. It's a phrasal verb. It is a phrasal verb, and if you like phrasal verbs, then you should check out our phrasel verbs course.

Successwithiots.com forward slash podcourses. Did I get it right? I think so. Never mind. Just look up. Google podcourses, honestly. Do you know, it's interesting, actually. Because people send me messages every day saying they can't find things. And I always just think, because I take forever to reply to messages,

if you aren't sure about where something is, Please Google it first because it's usually the top search result and it will save you waiting for an answer from Maria or myself or anyone else who's working with us. Yeah, you can also go to SuccesswithIOS.com and you have all the information there, the links, and also there are the links to this episode, so just do check them out. And on our phrase of verbs course, we have more than, well,

we have 15 lessons on different phrases of verbs. So yeah, that's really useful for your words. you're speaking. I think Rory, we can wake you up in the middle of the night and ask you, Rory, a phrase of up course. And then you just tell us about the phrase of up course. I can tell you everything you want to know about that course. But you'd find out more permanent information on the website. And it's all laid out nicely by the people who do our website. Anyway, we've gone off on a tangent and we need to get back to talking about the weather. So, we've got a list of words.

that we could have used, but I didn't. However, they're all good for a bad nine score. Let's talk about how to talk about good weather. You can say I enjoy excellent weather. Ideal? The weather is usually lovely. Ideal weather. My ideal kind of weather, yeah.

If you don't want to sound so happy about your weather, you could say it's appalling weather, the weather is dreadful, it's a gloomy day, it's a grim day, the weather is miserable or it's nasty. Oh, dreary. Dreary weather. Yeah, also you mentioned humidity. Right?

Humidity. The weather can also be humid. Or muggy, if the weather is muggy. It's usually muggy. Yeah. Although, what does that mean? When the weather is muggy, it is unpleasantly warm and the air contains a lot of water. So it's similar to...

Does it contain a lot of water? Water? Water. Water. Water. Contains a lot of water. You've got any water, mate. Yeah, so it's like a sticky, humid, like, it's unpleasant, so muggy.

Oh, it's a bit muggy here. And if it's unpleasant, it could be unpleasant because it's unpredictable, so you don't know what to wear. Yeah, you can say the weather is usually unpredictable here. Unpredictable weather can be changed. It can be very harsh, very bad. It can also be severe, severe winds. Yeah. Oh, we have harsh winters.

You have harsh winters in Russia. Oh, yeah, we do. But we have mild winters in Scotland. However, because we live next to the sea, it's changeable. Yeah, mild climate, mild winters. If we stick with this idea of winter, though, winter can be frosty. when you have this like thin layer of ice over everything. It can also, on a subject of ice, it can be icy,

or it can be wintery, wintery weather. Wintery like also cold, right? Winter, winter weather. Also, you can say, the question could be what do you usually do in hot weather, right? And how can you use this expression, whatever the weather? Yes, so whatever the weather, just, means regardless or the weather is irrelevant in the situation, you will always be doing something.

So whatever the weather, he swims every day. Or he swims every day, whatever the weather. You can move the position of the phrase. When you want to know what the weather will be like, what do you watch or listen to? The weather forecast. Yeah. Don't say the weather report. Weather forecast.

Forecasting. Forecast. Forecast. Yeah. Do you believe the weather forecasts, Rory? In this country, absolutely no, but we live where I live, we have what's called a microclimate. And that means that it's actually its own weather system and its own climate. So while the weather forecast will be right in general for the whole country, because we live in this microclimate, weather forecast can be completely unreliable. But what's not reliable is the fact that we are at the end of the episode.

What else can you do in all weathers? or whatever the weather. You could listen to our podcasts. We have more than one. This is the free one. But if you are interested in speaking parts two and three, or if you're interested in writing, or if you're interested in improving your phrasal verbs,

we have everything you need. Tell us more. Yeah, we do have a writing podcast now. In three episodes, we are talking about the essays. In our premium episodes, we discuss graphs. Yeah, I know. Oh, cool. We give you all the structure, the words, what to do, strategies.

So do check them out. The link in the description. Have fun. And as for the weather, we could all take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism. This is my ending word for this episode. Thank you very much for listening. Bye.

Bye. What's the weather usually like in your hometown? Well, right now it's pretty dreary, I'd say. we're moving from, well, we're moving from, what, summer, into autumn. We're actually in the midst of autumn now. So the climate is getting progressively colder and dampers. The days go by. What's your favourite weather?

I think that depends on the circumstances, doesn't it? If I'm inside and the heating is on and there's like torrential rain outside, then I get quite a cozy feeling and obviously I'd want to stay indoors. On the other hand, obviously if it's scorching outside, then I'd rather be out there getting a tan and sunbathing. Do you like the weather in your hometown? Usually. Actually, we're supposed to be the sunniest city in Scotland,

which sounds like something of an oxymoron, doesn't it? We clearly do get our fair share of cloudless days, but usually in the summer. Right now, it's not at its best. Do you like wet weather? Well, like I said, only if I'm indoors, I got caught in a cloudburst the other day, and it looked, well, an eye looked like a drowned rat,

as did everyone else around me. That was not entertaining in this light. Do you prefer wet, hot or dry weather? I definitely have a preference for hot weather. You can be outside, get vitamin D from the sun, which is good for your skin and your bones, and it's just a better look all around. This is, of course, only of the humidity as low, because otherwise I think, well, I can, and I think other people do feel lethargic and ill.

What do you do in hot weather? Well, assuming it's not a school day, I go out with my friends for what. along the beach or sit on the decking and soak up the sun while reading. Short of a heat wave though, that's unlikely at the moment. But if that happened, then it would be like stay indoors and vegetate.