Hello and welcome to The English Like a Native Podcast. My name is Anna and you're listening to Week 50, Day 2 of Your English Five a Day. This is the series that gives you a healthy daily dose of English vocabulary. So, let's start with a verb, and it is to row, to row. We spell this R O W, row/raʊ/. Now this verb to row means to argue normally very loudly. So, to row. Here is an example sentence,"The two neighbours rowed over the property line between them, the noise disturbed the whole street." I'm not the type of person to row with someone. I hate conflict and I'm actually quite level-headed. I'm good at controlling my emotions most of the time, and I can tend to see the other person's point of view and reason with them talk in a reasonable way when I disagree with someone, but I have to admit I am only human. So, sometimes my emotions get the better of me and I let rip. I allow my emotions to take control and I start shouting whatever it is that I'm feeling and that has led to rows. Next on the list is the idiom keep your cool, keep your cool. Three words: keep, K E E P; your, Y O U R; cool, C O O L. Keep your cool. To keep your cool means to remain calm. To remain calm. It can be difficult to keep your cool if you are incredibly overwhelmed and stressed and something is really bugging you. Eventually, you snap and you can no longer keep your cool. But it's important to try to, especially in the workplace. Here is an example sentence,"It can be very difficult to keep your cool when a rude and upset customer approaches you." Oh, I know that feeling so well. I used to work as a customer service advisor, so I was on the customer service desk at a DIY store. Actually, I've done a number of customer service roles. I did one in a call centre. Where people literally only call to complain. And so, every single phone call, every single interaction for your entire workday is with angry people who blame you for everything that's gone wrong. Even though it's got nothing to do with you, you're just there to try and help them. And that was difficult. I'm quite a sunny, positive person, but that was hard. That was really tough. But of course, I kept my cool. I was very professional. Next on the list is the phrasal verb wind up. And this is separable. So, you wind someone up. You wound me up. I won't wind him up anymore. Wind someone up. Wind we spell W I N D. Wind. So, to wind someone up is to annoy or upset that person. Or to tell them something that's not true in order to make a joke. So, for example, if I'm feeling a bit mischievous and I want to upset someone, but in a playful way, or maybe it's my brother, maybe I'm an evil big sister and I want to upset my brother because that's what big sisters sometimes do. And I tell him that mum has said that I could have an ice cream, but he can't. And this is not true, of course, but I say it to him because I want him to be upset. What an evil big sister I am. Or you might be in a group of friends and maybe one of the friends hates karaoke, absolutely hates doing karaoke, and you tell them that for their big birthday party that you're organising, that you've booked the party in a karaoke bar. And you do this just to upset them for a joke. And then you say,"I'm only joking. I'm just winding you up." So, the friend might say,"Are you winding me up? That can't be true! You know, I hate karaoke." So, have you ever wound someone up or have you ever been wound up by somebody? Did you forgive them in the end? Next on the list is the adjective hard-and-fast, hard-and-fast. Hard-and-fast. This is normally coupled with rules. So, hard-and-fast rules. We spell it H A R D, hyphen. And, A N D, hyphen. Fast, F A S T. Hard-and-fast. This means that it's definite and not to be changed, avoided or ignored. So, you mustn't ignore this thing. Like I said, this is normally paired with rules. So, hard-and-fast rules are rules that cannot be changed. They cannot be avoided, and they must not be ignored. Here's an example,"There are no hard-and-fast rules when it comes to creative writing; it's all about expressing yourself." Last on the list today is the idiom have your fair share of something. To have your fair share of something. Sometimes the fair might be dropped out and you'd simply have, have your share of something. And we spell this have, H A V E. Your, Y O U R. Fair, F A I R. Share, S H A R E, of something. So, to have your fair share of something is to have a lot or more than enough of something bad. So, interesting phrase. It sounds like a positive phrase, but it's not. So, for example, I might say,"I've had my fair share of bad luck." On a day when I have a flat tyre when I'm late for work, and then when I finally get to work, I get told that I'm being made redundant. And then on my way out of work, my very expensive bag breaks and all my things spill out. And I try to gather everything back together and carry on, only to realise later that my credit card was left. And then someone takes my credit card and spends loads of money on it. I might come home and say,"Oh, my goodness, I've really had my fair share of bad luck today. I need something good to happen because this is just awful." So, to have your fair share of something, to have more than enough of something bad. And here's another example,"Between a divorce, illness and loss, she certainly had her fair share of tragedies." Okay, that's our five. So, now it's time to do a quick recap. We started with the verb row, which means to argue loudly. Then we had the idiom to keep your cool, which is to remain calm. We had the phrasal verb, wind someone up, which is to annoy or upset someone or tell them something that's not true in order to make a joke. Most of the time, it's not funny. Then we had the adjective, hard-and-fast, which is something that's definite and not to be changed, avoided or ignored. Then we had the idiom, have your fair share of something. Which means you have a lot or more than enough of something bad. So, let's now do this for pronunciation purposes. Please repeat after me. Row. Row. Keep your cool. Keep your cool. Wind someone up. Wind someone up. Hard-and-fast. Hard-and-fast. Have your fair share of something. Have your fair share of something. Very good. Okay. Can you remember the idiom that means to remain calm? Keep your cool. Very good. And what would I call rules that are definite and not to be changed? What adjective would I use? Hard-and-fast rules. Yes, very good. If I've had more than enough of something bad, what idiom can I use? I've had my fair share of bad luck. Yes. If I have a huge argument that's very loud, what verb could I use to describe this arguing? Rowing, we're rowing, we're having a big row, we are rowing, that's what we're doing. What phrasal verb would I use to describe annoying someone as a joke? Winding them up, yes, brilliant. And now I want you to listen out for these items once again in today's storytime. Michael had had his fair share of arguments with his neighbour Terry, but today, he prepared himself to row about a trickier, more personal issue. As he approached Terry's front door, his wife's words echoed in his mind:"Keep your cool, no matter what!" Terry opened the door and assumed his neighbour was there to complain about the overgrown hedge. Instead, Michael started to attack Terry over the latest problem the noise his kids were making, especially when they played outside. But Terry counterattacked, complaining about the noise Michael made when he did home improvements. As they rowed, Michael noticed Terry's face reddening, his gestures becoming more animated. He could hear the strain in Terry's voice And feel the intensity of his neighbour's stare. Terry had always known how to wind Michael up, and today was no exception."Getting frustrated, Michael?" Terry asked between accusations. Michael did his best to keep his cool. He knew there were no hard-and-fast rules for neighbourly disputes but losing his temper would only make things worse. Instead, he tried to be constructive and suggest ways to solve the noise issue on both sides. The neighbours were reaching the possibility of a resolution. Michael had less and less patience, but he refused to give in to anger. Terry continued to wind him up, but Michael just didn't want to row. He wanted to find a solution. With a final burst of diplomacy, Michael proposed a compromise. They reached an agreement just as both were nearing their breaking points, shaking hands as the tension dissipated. As Michael caught his breath, he felt a sense of relief. Terry looked tired but relieved too. Although they rowed often, they usually managed to settle their disputes so they could coexist in peace. 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.