Hello and welcome to the English Like a Native Podcast. My name is Anna and you're listening to Week 40, Day 4 of Your English Five a Day. The series that is laser-focused on increasing your active vocabulary and improving your English listening. So stick with me as we enter into today's list. We start with the adjective idyllic, idyllic. We spell this I D Y L L I C. Idyllic, idyllic. Idyllic. If something is described as idyllic, then it's a place or it's an experience that is extremely pleasant. It's beautiful, it's peaceful. I always think of the word ideal when I hear the word idyllic. It's something that is perfect to you. A place or an experience that is just wonderful. Here's an example sentence,"She had an idyllic childhood in the countryside." Do you think back on your childhood as an idyllic experience? I certainly do. I mean, I had a very unconventional childhood. There were many things that could have been better. It was quite an unsettling time for me being a child. But I have many memories of it being idyllic. I think children make the most of any situation. They find fun and play in many tricky and difficult times. And although our situation wasn't ideal, my memories are mostly idyllic. Let's move on to the next word. This is a noun and it is hospitality. Hospitality. We spell this H O S P I T A L I T Y. Hospitality, hospitality. Hospitality is welcoming people, welcoming guests, in a very warm and friendly way. So, having open arms and treating them with kindness and respect. So, it's about welcoming people. Here's an example sentence,"The hotel's warm hospitality made us feel right at home during our holiday in Thailand." Now, hospitality in itself describes something that is positive, but some hospitality leaves a lot to be desired. Meaning, some hospitality is not quite up to scratch. It's not quite as good as it could be. I used two additional phrases there: not up to scratch, leaves a lot to be desired. There are two bonus phrases for you. Sometimes hospitality needs work. Sometimes people need to improve their hospitality. But often hospitality describes a positive experience. Have you had a great experience recently in a hotel or in a restaurant or on a resort where the hospitality has been fantastic? Next on the list is the adjective eerie, eerie. This has an unusual spelling. It starts with a double E. Let me spell it out for you E E R I E. Eerie. Eerie. Now, even though it's a double E, we have this diphthong sound, don't we?/ˈɪə/,/ˈɪə/. So with a double E you might think it's/ˈiːri/,/ˈiːri/ but it's not. It's an unusual spelling, we say/ˈɪə/, like the ears on the side of your head that you use. The thing that I'm talking into right now, eerie/ˈɪəri/, eerie, eerie. If something is described as eerie, then it's a little bit frightening. It's a bit strange and mysterious. Eerie. Eerie. Okay, so, here's an example sentence,"The eerie silence made her realise that something was terribly wrong." Have you watched a scary film recently? Was it eerie? Most horror films have some sort of eerie music to make you shudder, to make you experience goosebumps for the hairs on the back of your neck to stand up."Ooh, so eerie." Have you ever looked out of your window late at night and just seen a figure standing, staring at your house on the street and you're like,"Who is that person? That's so eerie. Oh!" We have it all the time on our street because lots of people seem to come to our street to catch taxis it's very odd. Anyway, enough about my eerie street. Let's move on to the next item, an idiom this time to put your finger on something. To put your finger on something. Put, P U T. Your, Y O U R. Finger, I'm wiggling my finger, you can't see it, but never mind. Finger, F I N G E R. On, O N, something. If you are able to put your finger on something, then it means that you can discover the exact reason why something is the way it is, especially when something is wrong. So actually, we tend to use this in the negative. So, to put your finger on something is to discover the exact reason why something is the way it is, but we use it in the negative often. So we normally say,"We can't put our finger on something." So we can't discover the reason why something is what it is. And I always think about something feeling wrong. You know, when you walk into a situation that you've been in many times, whether it's at the gym or walking into your dining room in the morning. And everyone's doing their morning routine, whatever that may be. Sometimes, you'll walk in and it just feels wrong, something feels off, something's different, it's not normal, but you're not sure why it's different. In this case, you would say,"I just can't put my finger on it." Something's wrong and I just can't put my finger on it. I can't understand or work out what's different or what's wrong or why it feels different. I might say to you,"I'm feeling really down. I'm feeling really blue." And you'd say,"Anna, that's not like you. What's going on?""I don't know, actually. I just felt really depressed for the last few days and I can't put my finger on why. It's just the way I feel." So there we go. Here's another example,"Something's not right with my car, I can sense something is wrong but I can't put my finger on it." Okay, next on the list is an adjective and it is zealous, zealous. We spell this Z E A L O U S. Zealous, zealous, zealous. If someone is described as zealous, then they're doing something in a very enthusiastic way, especially used when someone is supporting something or making sure that people obey the rules. I don't know about you, but when I was at school, at high school, we had people called prefects. So these were students who were quite good students. They followed the rules. They did their work, they were always arriving in class on time and they went above and beyond to please the teachers. And so they were made into prefects. These prefects would stand in the hallways and ensure that people were getting to their classes. They would be the ones that would collect up the homework and hand that to the teacher. They were basically like the minions of the teacher, the teacher's assistants, making sure that all the students did as they were told. And some of these students were a little zealous. They would work really hard and do it in a very enthusiastic way to ensure that everyone followed those rules. Some, maybe we could say, were overzealous. They went too far. The power that they had went to their heads. Do you know anyone who is overzealous? Oh, I'm going off track. We should stick simply with zealous, not overzealous. It's slightly different. Just with zealous, to do something in an enthusiastic way. Here's an example,"The new teacher was zealous about inspiring her students." Alright, that's our five. Let's do a quick recap. We started with the adjective idyllic, idyllic, describing a place or an experience that is extremely pleasant, peaceful or beautiful. Then we went on to the noun hospitality, hospitality, which is about welcoming guests and treating them with kindness and respect. We had the adjective eerie, eerie, which describes something frightening, strange or mysterious. Then we had the idiom put your finger on something. Often we use this in the negative because it means to discover the exact reason why something is the way it is. So, if you can't put your finger on it, you can't discover the reason. Then, we finished with the adjective zealous, meaning to do something in a very enthusiastic way. So, let's do this now for pronunciation. Please, listen very carefully and repeat after me. Idyllic. Idyllic. Hospitality. Hospitality. Eerie. Eerie. Put your finger on something. Put your finger on something. Zealous. Zealous. Wonderful. Now if I am trying to work out what's wrong with my son, who's been very moody. And I'm not quite sure why he is moody. I don't know what the reason is. He's just not being himself. He says he's fine, but I can tell that he's not. He's my son. I know my son. What idiom could I use to say that I can't discover the exact reason why he is this way? I can't put my finger on it. Yes. Fantastic. And if something is a little bit strange and mysterious and a bit frightening, what adjective could I use? It's eerie. Yes. You might see an eerie house as you walk down an unfamiliar street, a house that's all dark with broken windows and cobwebs might make you feel a little bit nervous. And then next to that house may be the most beautiful place that's got a garden full of flowers and butterflies fluttering around and it's just gorgeous. It's absolutely wonderful. It's peaceful. What adjective could you use to describe this? Idyllic. Yes. A beautiful, peaceful place could be described as idyllic. Now, if you walk into that idyllic house and receive a wonderful welcome, and you're treated with kindness and respect, what have you just experienced? What noun could we use to describe this experience of being welcomed and treated with kindness and respect? Hospitality. Yes, you were experiencing the warm hospitality of the people who lived in that idyllic house, the house that's next to the eerie-looking house. So if I decide to support the owners of this house in raising money to make the eerie house look as idyllic as this house and I do it in a very enthusiastic way. I support in a very enthusiastic way. What adjective could you use to describe the way, in which I am supporting? Zealous. I'm quite zealous in my support. Fantastic. Let's listen out for these items once again in today's storytime. Devon was excited to spend the weekend in an idyllic village. Work had been hectic and he wanted to get out of the city. He threw some things into a rucksack and then set off in his car. He arrived outside the B&B he planned to stay at for two nights. The hospitality of the hosts was legendary, according to the online reviews he'd read. Before he could knock at the door, it opened, and his hosts Sandra and John welcomed him, giving him a big hug."You must be Devon. It's so lovely to meet you. Would you like a cup of tea?" asked Sandra."Nice to meet you too. And yes, I'd love a cup.""Make yourself comfortable in the sitting room and I'll bring it through. John will take your luggage upstairs in the meantime," she replied. Before Devon had time to protest, John was already on his way upstairs with his small rucksack. Wow, he thought, these people are zealous about hospitality! As warm as his welcome was though, there was something eerie about this place. He couldn't put his finger on exactly what was wrong. He put it out of his mind and focused on enjoying his stay. The next morning, Devon arrived in the dining room, looking forward to a full English breakfast. Sandra and John were already up, all smiles and service like yesterday. They brought him a delicious full English breakfast and a cup of tea. A bit later, Sandra came over again and asked,"More tea?" Then she froze and repeated"more tea" over and over. Something was badly wrong. All of a sudden, a spark came out of her head. That's what's wrong with this place. Sandra is a robot! John must be one too. Devon ran for the door. But as he got to his car, he realised that his keys were still inside. Now before we wrap up this episode, I want to share an experience with you. I'm 7 years old and I'm lying in bed, fast asleep, on the third floor of my little house. I lived in a terraced house that had three storeys. And being on the top floor made me a bit nervous because I was a long way away from my mum, who would be down in the front room watching television or doing whatever adults do after children go to bed. And I wake up from a terrible dream, feeling a little panicked. I look around the room. It's quite dark and I'm scanning the room to find anything that might be a threat. There's a huge double-breasted wardrobe, a huge piece of furniture. And on top of the wardrobe, I can see a shape that seems completely unfamiliar to me. I don't know what this is sitting on top of my wardrobe. My overactive imagination tells me that this is the head of a witch, a witch with laser eyes. I freeze in panic. I suddenly realise I need the toilet. The toilet is down on the first floor, so if I were to try and get out and escape the room to go to the toilet or even to find my mum, I can't because the witch with the laser eyes sitting on top of my wardrobe will zap me with her eyes, with her laser beams. I genuinely thought this was real. Even at seven years old, I thought this was real. I start screaming for my mum. My mum, of course, comes flying into the room in a state of panic hearing my terrified screams. She throws on the light. And suddenly in an illuminated room, I see that the witch on top of the wardrobe is not a witch at all, but a pile of towels. I had been so scared of a pile of towels. The reason I'm telling you this is that pile of towels represents all of the useless fears that we all hold. Every day, we will battle something that is a fear we've imagined, the fear of judgement, the fear of doing something that gets the attention of people, the fear of making a mistake. And we allow that fear to stop us from taking action. I wouldn't get up out of bed because of a pile of towels. You may not speak up in a group meeting because you're frightened of making a mistake, or you're worried about what people might think of you. You may not have that really important conversation you need to have with your boss, in order to get the work that you want to get, because you're frightened about what they think of you. Whatever it is, there are imagined fears. And I want you to just try to highlight those fears, realise that those fears are your fears, not realities. Anyway, I'll talk more about fears and conquering fears in another episode. Thank you so much today for lending me your eardrums. I hope you'll come back again tomorrow. Until then, take very good care and goodbye.