100311 - 6 min English - Tree climbing Part 2

BBC Learning English 6 Minute English Tree climbing: Part 2 NB: This is not an accurate word-for-word transcript

Dan:

Hello and welcome to this week’s 6 Minute English. I’m Dan Walker Smith and today, for the second part of our tree climbing programme, I’m joined by Kate.

OK Kate, well last week we were talking about tree climbing, and we covered some interesting vocabulary, including the parts of the tree. So could you quickly remind us of some of those?

Kate:

Of course. The trunk is the main body of the tree, the branches are the tree’s ‘arms’, and the leaves are the flat green parts at the end of the branches.

Dan:

Later on in the show we’re going to be talking about the world’s tallest tree, but this week's question for you Kate is: where would you find the world’s oldest tree? Is it:

a) in Australia b) in Tanzania c) in Sweden

Kate:

Ooh, that’s a really difficult question. I have no idea, but I’m going to guess, and go for a) Australia.

Dan:

We’ll see if you’re right at the end of the programme. Now let’s hear about the world’s tallest tree. Here’s tree expert Tony Russell to tell us all about it. Have a listen to the extract; how tall is the tree?

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Extract 1 The biggest giant redwood is in California and it’s one called the General Sherman tree. And it is an astonishing size. In height it’s about 275 feet tall. Its circumference at ground level is over 100 feet; with a diameter across of 36 feet. Astonishing thing.

Dan:

So the tree is around 275 feet tall. As Tony said, it’s an astonishing size. What does astonishing mean here Kate?

Kate:

Well astonishing can mean both surprising and amazing. If something’s astonishing, it’s basically so incredible that you almost can’t believe it.

Dan:

And as well as the height, Tony described the circumference and the diameter of the tree. Now what do these words mean Kate?

Kate:

They’re both words that relate to the tree’s size; circumference is the distance around a circle or a round shape, and diameter would be the distance across a circle, so in this case, across the width of the tree.

Dan:

Can you imagine being at the top of that Kate?

Kate:

Oh, I don’t think I’d want to be actually. I’m not very good with heights.

Dan:

Well some people spend practically their whole lives climbing up trees. Last week, for example, we heard from the professional tree climber James Aldred. He was talking about how he started climbing. So let’s hear him again as he goes up a tree. We join him just as he’s preparing to camp for the night, just above the forest canopy. What does he mean there Kate?

Kate:

OK, well to camp means to sleep outdoors, usually in a tent or under some sort of temporary shelter. And the canopy here is the upper layer. So in this case it’s the forest’s ‘roof’. But it really means anything that spreads out above you.

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Dan:

Let’s have a listen to James as he prepares to camp. Can you tell me what he’s going to sleep in instead of a bed?

Extract 2 So this is where I’m going to camp for the night. The sun is just about to dip beneath the canopy level. I’m just above the canopy, the surrounding canopy. So if I rig my hammock here I should catch the last rays of sun.

Kate:

Right, so James is setting up a hammock to sleep in. A hammock is a swinging bed made of cloth or rope.

Dan:

Let’s have a listen to the final extract. Here’s James at the top of the tree. He says it’s a hell of a view from up there. Can you explain this Kate?

Kate:

Well, saying it’s a hell of a view is an informal way of saying that the view is incredible. The phrase ‘hell of a’ emphasises any quality you’re talking about, whether it’s good or bad. And here it’s pretty obvious that James thinks the view is amazing.

Dan:

OK well let’s have a listen to the extract; how does he describe the area around him?

Extract 3 It is a hell of a view from here; just looking out over endless forest. I can hear cars; I can hear traffic, but I can’t see them. For all intents and purposes, I’m in the middle of wilderness.

Dan:

So he says that for all intents and purposes he’s in the middle of wilderness. Kate, what’s he saying here?

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Kate:

OK, wilderness means an area of land that’s never been developed by man. It’s still wild, so it’s called the wilderness.

Dan:

And when he says for all intents and purposes?

Kate:

This phrase, for all intents and purposes, means ‘in a practical sense’. So James isn’t actually in the wilderness, but because he can’t see any cars or buildings, for all intents and purposes, it appears like he is.

Dan:

Well, we’re almost out of time, so let’s go over some of the vocabulary we’ve come across today:

astonishing circumference diameter to camp canopy hammock hell of a… for all intents and purposes wilderness

Dan:

And today’s question was Kate: in which country would you find the world’s oldest living tree?

Kate:

And I took a complete guess and said Australia.

Dan:

I was quite surprised by this; the answer is in fact Sweden.

Kate:

Wow! That is surprising!

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Dan:

You wouldn’t expect it to be in Sweden. It doesn’t strike me as the kind of place to have that sort of wilderness about it.

The tree itself is a Norway spruce called Old Tjikko. And apparently it’s 9,550 years old!

Kate:

Wow! That’s so old!

Dan:

That’s almost 5,000 years older than the second oldest recorded tree, which can be found in California. But Kate, could you tell us about the largest tree in the world?

Kate:

Well, the largest tree by volume, including all its trunk, branches, and leaves, is called El Tule, and can be found in Mexico. It has a circumference of 119 feet, so it’s 36 metres around the base. And its diameter is 38 feet, which is almost 12 metres across.

Dan:

I’ve actually been to that tree, and it is massive, absolutely huge.

Kate:

Oh I can hardly even imagine it.

Dan:

It’s odd, because it’s not very tall; it just goes on and on. It’s the size of a house basically; it’s absolutely massive.

Kate:

Wow!

Dan:

But I’m afraid that’s all we have time for here this week, so thanks very much for listening, and goodbye!

Kate:

6 Minute English

Goodbye!

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