Hello and welcome to The English Like a Native Podcast. My name is Anna and you're listening to Week 47, Day 3 of Your English Five a Day. This is a series for intermediate to advanced-level English learners, helping you to expand your active vocabulary and improve your English listening skills. So, enjoy having your eardrums tickled for the next 15 or so minutes. Let's begin. We start with the noun breathing room, breathing room. Two words. Breathing. B R E A T H I N G, breathing, breathing. Room, R O O M. Breathing room. Breathing room describes a short period of time where you can rest before you start doing something else, or before you begin doing that thing again. For example, you might be a teacher. Maybe you're teaching five-year-olds, and as rewarding as it can be, it's also quite exhausting. Teaching can be draining anyway, in some respects, because you're giving so much of your energy to your students. But when you teach younger children, it's a new type of exhausting. You have to really give so much energy in order to keep their attention. And you're also managing their behaviour as well as trying to help them to learn and to enjoy the class. They also have maybe some physical challenges as well, like they need to go to the bathroom. Maybe they had an accident. They are suddenly extremely hungry and that's the most important thing in the world. So, if you are teaching five-year-olds, there might come a point in the day where you just need a little bit of breathing room. Maybe you've had a particularly challenging morning. Perhaps it's the start of term and there are lots of new children in class and they're all really struggling with the change and so they're all quite emotional. So you're having to work hard to look after all these kids and you're just exhausted. So, for five minutes, you might need to disappear into the cupboard and have a little breathing room. Here's another example,"Her savings gave her some breathing room while she searched for a new job." Yes, now this is one reason why having some money put aside is very useful. If your income suddenly stops unexpectedly, then having an extra pot of money put aside gives you a safety net. It's a bit of security. You can use that money to pay your ongoing bills while you look for a new job. You don't have to panic in the way you would if you didn't have that money. So, this gives you some breathing room. It gives you a short time to relax while you look for the right job. You have some breathing room. Okay, next on the list is the verb default, default. Now we normally say to default on something. Default, D E F A U L T. To default on something. This means that you fail to fulfil your required obligation. This normally means that you haven't completed the payments that you agreed to pay as part of a payment plan. So let's imagine you've borrowed some money from the bank. You have a loan of a thousand pounds, and you say that you'll repay this loan paying back a hundred pounds every month for the next ten months until the loan has been paid off. If you pay three months,£100,£200,£300, but then on month four, there's not enough money in your bank account for that payment to go through, then you've just defaulted on your loan or on your repayments. So then there will be consequences. There's normally a fee to pay or services may stop depending on what your actual agreement is. So, to default on something is to fail to do what you agreed to do, usually to do with a loan. So, here's an example sentence,"If you do not make your loan repayments, you may default on your agreement." Next on the list is the phrasal verb tuck in. Now, we had this the other day when referring to food. Today, it's referring to clothing. You might need to tuck something in. Tuck, T U C K. In, I N. So if I tell you to tuck in your shirt, or tuck in your blouse. And I'm saying that you should put that garment usually into your waistband of your trousers or your skirt or your shorts. For example, when my son puts his uniform on, I encourage him to tuck in his T-shirt. At the moment he doesn't wear a shirt because he's only five, so they have little polo shirts that they wear for school. But I want him to look smart and so I encourage him to tuck in the lower part of his T-shirt, the part that hangs around his waist. I encourage him to tuck that into the waistband of his shorts and he can tuck it in all by himself these days. OK, so here's an example sentence,"Before heading to the office, she made sure to tuck in her blouse to maintain a professional appearance throughout the day." Okay, next on the list is the phrasal verb stick by something, stick by something, stick by. Stick, S T I C K. By, B Y. To stick by something is to do what you've promised to do or what you've decided to do. For example, I have promised to continue this series, Your English Five a Day, for as long as I possibly can. And I intend to stick by my promise. I'm going to stick by it because that's what is right. That's what should be done. You promised to do something, you should work your hardest to deliver on that promise. So I'm going to stick by my original promise of doing this for as long as humanly possible. OK, here's another example of stick by,"Though the project faced numerous challenges, she decided to stick by her original plan and see it through to the end." Last on the list today is the noun wheels, or in full, set of wheels. A set of wheels. We spell this set, S E T. Of, O F. Wheels, W H E E L S. A set of wheels describes a car, especially a new, expensive or a desirable one. A car that you're really proud of, basically, you would refer to as your wheels or your set of wheels. So I might say,"Hey, guess what guys? I've got a new set of wheels. I'm so excited." Okay. Here's another example,"Everyone admired his new set of wheels as he as he drove by." Have you got a car that you're proud of? Do you enjoy showing off your wheels to your friends or passers-by on the street? I haven't owned a car for a very long time. I share a car now with my partner and it's a very safe and sturdy family car. The last car that I owned was a Fiat Panda. I was really happy with my new set of wheels when I first bought it. It was a brand-new Fiat Panda when I bought it. There was a special scheme that the government brought out, allowing you to exchange very old cars for a certain amount of money off a new car. It was their way of trying to encourage the scrapping of old, highly polluting cars. So I decided to go along and make use of the scheme, get some money towards a new car. And I got a financed deal on a Fiat Panda. Unfortunately, I completely destroyed the car. I had a little accident and messed the car up. But I did drive it around for about 15 years. It was a lovely set of wheels when I first bought it, albeit small and not very fancy, but it was my car. It was my set of wheels that I was super happy with. And then by the time I sold it, I think I only got a couple of hundred pounds for it in the end. But by the time I sold it, it was definitely a rust bucket. It was a mess. It was an absolute mess. Anyway, hopefully, you drive a lovely set of wheels. So, let's do a quick recap of today's items. We started with the noun breathing room, which is to have that short time where you can rest or relax without having to worry about doing something before you start again. Then we had the verb to default on something, which is to fail to fulfil your obligation, usually when talking about repaying something. Then we have the phrasal verb to tuck in your clothing, which is to fold the bottom of your shirt, T-shirt or blouse into the waistband of your trousers, skirt or shorts. Then we had the phrasal verb stick by something, which is to do what you've promised or what you've decided to do, to actually commit to it. Then we had the noun,"Ooh, a set of wheels. Look at my set of wheels," which is another way of saying car. Fantastic. Alright, so let's do this for pronunciation purposes. Please repeat after me. Breathing room. Breathing room. Default on. Default on. Tuck in. Tuck in. Stick by something. Stick by something. Set of wheels. Set of wheels. Well done. Now, I want you to cast your mind back and answer these questions. If I am walking around and my shirt is looking quite messy, and I'm generally looking quite messy, not very smart, what will you tell me to do with the bottom of my shirt? What should I do with it? I need to fold it into the waistband of my skirt. What's the phrasal verb? Tuck in. Yes."Tuck in your shirt, Anna. Come on.""Oh, so sorry. I'll do that now. I'll smarten up." Okay. And if I want to have a bit of a rest, some short time where I don't have to do something before I start again, what am I going to be asking for? I need some what? Breathing room. Very good. I need some breathing room. Now I've taken out a loan and I'm making my repayments every month, but then one month I don't make my repayment. Naughty, naughty. What have I done? I've defaulted on my repayments. Yes. Very bad. And then I am reassuring you that I'm going to do what I promised to do. What phrasal verb could I use here? I am going to do what I promised to do. Stick by. Yes, I'm going to stick by my promise. Very good. Finally, I've just got a new car. How else could I refer to my new car? My new set of wheels. Yes. Very good. Okay. Listen out for today's items once again during storytime. Mary sat at her kitchen table, staring at a pile of unpaid bills. She had been having financial problems for months, and now she faced a difficult reality. She was about to default on her car loan. She needed the car to get to work to pay her bills! The thought of losing it made her feel sick. Despite the challenges, Mary was determined to stick by her commitment to paying off her loan. She had dreamed of having her own set of wheels for years, and she wasn't ready to give up. She decided to meet with her bank manager to try and negotiate a solution. The night before the meeting, Mary prepared her best outfit. She wanted to make a good impression. In the morning, she carefully tucked in her crisp white shirt, making sure she looked neat and professional. At the bank, Mary felt stressed. She desperately hoped to negotiate some breathing room in her payment schedule so she could keep her car."Ms. Thompson?" a voice called. Mary stood up, making sure her shirt was tucked in one last time before following the bank manager into his office."I understand you've defaulted on your recent loan payments," he began, his tone serious but not unkind. Mary nodded, her voice steady as she replied,"Yes, I've had some financial difficulties. But I'm committed to paying it back. I'm here to discuss options and show that I'm willing to do whatever it takes." As she talked, Mary presented her case clearly, explaining her situation. To her relief, the bank manager seemed receptive."I appreciate your honesty and determination, Miss Thompson," he said."Let's see if we can find a way to give you some breathing room to pay back the loan." As they worked on a new payment plan for her loan, Mary felt hopeful. It wouldn't be easy, but with this new arrangement, she might just be able to keep her dream of car ownership alive. She left the bank feeling relieved and proud that she had stuck by her commitment, even when things got tough. And that brings us to the end of today's episode. I do hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please take a moment to leave a like if you're watching on YouTube, or a rating or review if you're streaming from any other platform. Until tomorrow, take very good care, and goodbye.