Hello and welcome to The English Like a Native Podcast, the listening resource that's designed for intermediate to advanced level English learners. This particular series, Your English Five a Day, is specifically designed to increase your vocabulary by introducing five pieces of vocabulary every day of the week from Monday to Friday. My name is Anna and you are listening to Week 9, Day 3. We kick off today's list with a noun and it is the status quo, the status quo. You may have heard of a band called Status Quo. We spell it S T A T U S, status. Quo, Q U O. Status quo. The status quo is the present situation. So, how things are right now. The status quo. Here's an example sentence."Some people always want to maintain the status quo, they can't deal with or accept change." Now, status quo is often used to refer to things like social, political, or religious situations. So, for example, if your political system is quite stuck, nothing ever manages to change, evolve, you know, even though you know, that change is necessary and everyone keeps talking about change being necessary, in some cases the status quo holds. It seems impossible to change the status quo. The current state of affairs just continues on and on and on. Alright, moving to our next word, we have symbolise. This is a verb, symbolise, to symbolise. How do we spell this? S Y M B O L I S E, symbolise. To symbolise something is to represent it. So, for example, if my son were to make something out of Lego and tell me,"Mum, this pile of Lego, carefully constructed, symbolises our family." And I say,"Oh, darling, that's lovely. Which pile of Lego symbolises me?""Oh, that big fat one there.""Thank you, darling." So, to symbolise is to represent. Here's an example sentence."The lighting of the Olympic torch symbolises peace and friendship among the nations of the world." Next on our list is an adjective and it is significant, significant. We spell this S I G N I F I C A N T, sig-nif-fi-cant. Significant. If something is described as significant, then it is noticeable or important. Here's an example sentence."Your diet is definitely working, I've noticed a significant change in your blood pressure readings." I recently, talking about diets, I recently made a significant change to my eating habits. I've talked about this regularly, so I'm sure if you're a long-term listener then you've heard me talk about this before, but I made some significant changes. Mostly getting rid of ultra processed foods, eating more whole foods and introducing things like seeds and nuts, which I definitely didn't consume that much before, especially nuts. And now actually I'm looking at a little jar of pistachio shells because I just had a little snack on pistachios before recording this podcast episode. Pistachios are very, very good for me, apparently. So here we go, let me move on to the next phrase on our list. It's an idiom actually, and it is hold fast. To hold fast. I spell this H O L D hold. Fast, F A S T. To hold fast means to firmly stay, remain in the same position, so you don't move or you keep the same opinion. Okay, so we normally use this metaphorically to talk about opinions. So, if I am of the opinion that pistachios are really good for me, and you and many other people try to tell me otherwise, and you provide me with evidence, and you give me lots of materials to read and listen to, to back up your argument, but I still don't change my mind, then I am holding fast. I'm keeping my opinion. I'm not changing. I won't move. I won't budge. Here's an example sentence:"Marco always held fast to his principles, he just wouldn't look at things from another person's point of view." Very good. Last on our list for today is the phrase a done deal, a done deal. Done deal is spelled D O N E, done. Deal, D E A L. Done deal. If something is a done deal, then it's something that has been formally arranged and agreed, and it's now certain to happen. So, if I have decided to buy a second-hand car, and I've filled out all the paperwork, and I've given the money for the deposit, and I've arrived at the house and everything that needs to be done has been done. I've informed the authorities, the DVLA knows about this change of ownership, and then I grab the keys for the car. You could say this is a done deal. This car is definitely going to belong to me. Everything that needed to be organised has been organised. This car is now mine. It's a done deal. Here's an example sentence:"We hope to reach an agreement soon, but it's very far from being a done deal, there's still the matter of cost to talk about." Alright, so that's our five for today. Let's just have a recap. We started with the noun status quo, meaning the present situation, how things are right now. Then we moved on to the verb to symbolise, which means to represent something. Then we had the adjective significant, meaning noticeable or important. Then we had the idiom to hold fast, which means to keep your opinion or to stay in the same place. And then we had the phrase a done deal, which is a plan that's been arranged and agreed and is certain to happen. Let's now work our pronunciation muscles. So, if you are alone, please repeat after me. The status quo. The status quo. Symbolise. Symbolise. Significant. Significant. Hold fast. Hold fast. A done deal. A done deal. Great. Let's bring those all together in a little story. Mark, a builder, and Tony, a carpenter, had been working together for months on a project to build a new community centre in Ashton-under-Lyne. They both believed that the centre would symbolise the spirit of the town and help bring people together. They had faced many challenges and obstacles, particularly when getting planning permission for the project. One member of the council seemed particularly attached to the status quo and didn't like to agree on anything that would bring change and progress, but Mark and Tony, as always, managed to win him over in the end. They made a great team, with a good rapport and trust, and most importantly, they respected each other's skills and expertise. The project was nearing completion, and they only had to finalise the details of the grand opening. Mark and Tony arranged to meet at Mark's office to discuss it. They both wanted to wrap things up as soon as possible so they could focus on completing the centre, giving it some finishing touches. They reviewed the plans carefully and negotiated on a few things like what wine to offer and which DJ to hire. They both held fast to their positions, but they also tried to be reasonable and fair. They knew that this event was significant for them, and the residents of Ashton-under-Lyne, and they did not want to jeopardise their relationship. They reached a compromise on the final points, and shook hands. They congratulated each other on the successful collaboration. It was a done deal. Both men smiled and agreed to meet again at the site later that day for a celebratory drink. Mark and Tony both felt satisfied and proud of their work. This project had changed the status quo of the town planning office, and they had created something valuable and meaningful for the community." And that brings us to the end of today's episode. I hope you found today useful. If you did, please do take a moment to leave a rating or review. Until next time, take very good care and goodbye.