Hello and welcome to The English Like A Native Podcast. I'm your host, Anna and today you're listening to Week 28, Day 4 of Your English Five a Day. Hopefully, you've been with me for a while and you know what's going on, but if you're new here, then let me tell you that this series, Your English Five a Day is all about increasing your active vocabulary by focusing on five items every day of the working week from Monday to Friday. On Saturday, you get a long episode and Sunday is a bonus episode for Plus Members. Plus Members get additional bonuses. If you'd like to know more about that, I'll leave details in the show notes. Let's start today's episode with a noun, and it is Intrigue. Intrigue. We spell this I N T R I G U E. Intrigue. Intrigue is a feeling or intense curiosity or fascination. So if I see a box on my kitchen table that has a big ribbon around it, and I don't know where the box has come from or what's inside it, and then the box starts to move, I will be intensely curious as to what's inside. I want to know what's inside, why it's on my table, who put it there. And so it would be very hard for me not to go over and start investigating. When was the last time you felt intrigue? Here's an example,"The mystery novel's intricate plot and unexpected twists left me filled with intrigue." Next on the list is the idiom follow in one's footsteps. Follow, F O L L O W. In one's footsteps. F O O T S T E P S. To follow in one's footsteps is to imitate or do the same as someone else. So you follow in their actions, you follow in their behaviours, and this is typically following someone in your family. So for example, if my mother was a seamstress, And I decide to be a seamstress, then people will say, Oh, she's following in her mother's footsteps. Or, if a father is a pianist, a concert pianist, highly skilled on the piano, he may want his children to follow in his footsteps. He might want them to imitate him, his life, his choices, his career path. Here's an example,"After her father's successful career as a doctor, Sandra decided to follow in his footsteps and become a physician herself." Next on the list is the verb deter, deter. We spell this D E T E R, deter. To deter someone is to discourage them or prevent them from doing something. For example, if you have a problem with cats using your front garden as a toilet, you may bring in a device that emits a high pitched sound in order to deter them from toileting in your front garden. I actually have this in a neighbour's garden, not my neighbour as such, but a few houses away from my house, there is a garden, which has this little device that makes high pitched frequencies like, beep beep beep beep. But it's on a motion sensor. So as it senses motion, it starts to emit this high pitched sound. I can only just hear it, but for cats and small animals, it's very loud and it's off-putting. They don't like it and so they won't go anywhere near the garden because every time they do, they set off this device and it's horrible for them. So it deters them from using that garden as a toilet. Here's another example,"The increased police presence in the neighbourhood is meant to deter crime. I'm not sure it's working though. There were 3 burglaries down our street last weekend alone." Next on the list is the adjective toned, toned. We spell this T O N E D. Toned. If you are described as toned, then it's describing you as being physically quite muscular. So you have defined muscle. So we can see your six pack potentially. It doesn't mean that you're really, really muscly. It just means there's not a huge layer of fat. So we can actually see muscle definition. So the outline of your six pack, maybe. Here's an example,"Going to the gym regularly has definitely helped me become slim and toned. I can now fit back into my favourite summer dresses!" Next on the list is the adjective invigorated, invigorated. We spell this I N V I G O R A T E D invigorated. If you were to describe yourself as invigorated, then it means you feel refreshed and energised. I often feel invigorated when I go to a hotel. It doesn't happen very often, but if I have to stay overnight in a hotel away from my children, as much as I miss the little darlings, it's lovely to get a good night's sleep. Or if I do a spa day, which again, it happens very rarely. Like once every two years it'll happen as a treat for a birthday or something. You spend the day relaxing and in the sauna, having a swim, having a sleep, maybe having a massage. You'll come back and feel invigorated from that restful period. Here's an example sentence,"After a long hike in the mountains, I felt invigorated by the cool breeze and stunning views." What makes you feel invigorated? Okay, that's our five. Let's do a quick recap. We started with the noun intrigue, intrigue, which is the intense feeling of fascination or curiosity. Then we had the idiom to follow in one's footsteps, which is to copy someone's actions or behaviours or model someone's career. usually a family member. Then we had the verb deter, which is to discourage or prevent someone from doing something. We had the adjective toned, which describes defined muscle mass on your body. So there's little fat and we can see the outline of the muscles. It's different from being muscular. Muscular is big muscle. Toned is, you know, normal size muscle but little fat so you can actually see the muscle definition. Finally, we had the adjective invigorated, which is when you feel energised and refreshed. So, let's now do this for pronunciation. Please repeat after me. Intrigue. Intrigue. Follow in one's footsteps, follow in one's footsteps. Deter, deter. Toned, toned. Invigorated, invigorated. Fantastic. Let me now test your memory. My father is a chef and he hopes that I will go to cookery school so I can be a chef just like him. What idiom would I use to describe this copying of his career and choices? Follow in his footsteps. Yes, he wants me to follow in his footsteps. But I'm not quite sure that I want to follow in his footsteps. In fact, his desperation for me to follow in his footsteps actually discourages me from doing it because he's so passionate and so pushy that I just don't feel like I want to do it. He's discouraging me. What verb would I use to describe him discouraging me? He is deterring me. Because he is just pushing me too hard. So his eagerness for me to follow in his footsteps actually deters me. He doesn't realise this, but that's what happens. What I would prefer to work on is a career within some sort of physical education, maybe become a PT, a physical trainer. Because I'm actually very physical. I go to the gym a lot and I'm not really muscly, but I have good muscle definition. What adjective could I use to describe my body saying that I have good muscle definition? I'm very... toned. Yes, I'm very toned and every time I go to the gym and I have a good workout, I just feel refreshed and energised. What adjective could I use here to describe feeling refreshed and energised? I feel invigorated. Yes, the gym makes me feel invigorated and I'm already toned, so I think a life working in the gym would suit me. And I certainly have a strong fascination with how the body works and how to help people when they've had an injury, how to help them recover through exercise. What noun could I use to describe having an intense curiosity or fascination with something? Intrigue. I'm filled with intrigue when it comes to using physical exercise to help people to recover. So yes, there we go. My father wants me to become a chef and follow in his footsteps, but his eagerness for me to do so has deterred me. In fact, being a toned individual who is always invigorated by going to the gym, I think I want to have a career within some sort of physical therapy or training. And actually I have a lot of intrigue when it comes to how you can use exercise to recover from injury. So there's our five for today. Let's bring them all together in pre-planned context during today's story time. I was chatting with a friend, Maria, over coffee the other day, and she was telling me all about her newfound hobby. Maria, like myself, is a middle-aged woman who has always been known for her bubbly personality and infectious laugh. She was telling me how over the years, she has let herself go and has gained a significant amount of weight. Her once slim and toned figure became hidden under layers of fat, especially around her stomach. Maria has always been self-conscious about her body, but it had reached a point where she couldn't ignore it anymore. She was determined to get back to her fit self and lose her'mummy tummy'. She went on to say that one day, while scrolling through her social media feed, she came across a post about different styles of walking for fitness. Intrigued, Maria started reading more about it and soon realised that walking was not just a leisurely activity but could also be a great workout. She immediately decided to give it a try. The next morning, she put on her workout clothes and headed out for a walk. She started with a brisk walk, increasing her pace with every step. She could feel her heart rate increasing and her body warming up. As she walked, she focused on her breathing, taking deep breaths in and out. She felt alive and invigorated. After a few minutes, she switched to power walking, swinging her arms and picking up her pace. She could feel her muscles working and her body getting warmer. She then tried interval walking, alternating between periods of fast walking and slow walking. This not only challenged her body but also kept her mind engaged. After an hour of different styles of walking, Maria returned home, drenched in sweat but feeling accomplished. She continued this routine every day, adding new styles and increasing her distance. Slowly but surely, she started shedding the extra weight and her'mummy tummy' began to disappear. I was so impressed with Maria's determination to get back to being fit and not let her age deter her. She has not only lost weight but also gained more confidence and energy. She has definitely given me the inspiration to follow in her footsteps. I think I'll take a brisk walk to the cafe today. I'm sure one croissant won't hurt, after all, I need carbs for the energy, don't I? And that brings us to the end of today's episode. I do hope you found it useful. Until tomorrow, take very good care and goodbye.