Hello and welcome to The English Like a Native Podcast. My name is Anna and you're listening to Week 51, Day 1 of Your English Five a Day. This is the series that gives you a healthy daily dose of English vocabulary so that you can improve your English listening skills and expand your active vocabulary. So without further ado, let's start today's episode with the noun format, format. We spell this F O R M A T. Format. Format is the arrangement or the layout of something. So, for example, I might talk about the format of a workshop. What's the format? Well, in this particular workshop, it starts with an opening speech, then we'll move into a physical workshop where we get into small groups, and I do some exercises. Then I'll send you off into breakout rooms where you'll do some focused work. Then we'll break for lunch. After that, you'll come together for another presentation. That's the format. Or you might need to know the typical format of a CV. Something you'd need if you were applying for a job,"What kind of format should I use for my CV?""Well, for your CV, you need to make sure your name and personal details go in this area. And that would be followed by this, that, and the other, your relative experience and your history, et cetera, et cetera." Here's another example,"The legal documents for the criminal case need to follow a specific format to be accepted by the judge." Next on the list is another noun and it is essay, essay. We spell this E S S A Y. An essay is a short piece of writing on a particular subject, usually one done by students as part of their work for a course. Oh, when I hear that word, I get shudders down my spine. I wasn't a fan of writing essays at school, especially if it was on a subject that I didn't really enjoy. I think the worst thing was when you had to write an essay for an exam. So you were under pressure to churn out a lot of writing. And in a specific format to be accepted as a good essay and earn you some decent marks. I didn't like doing that. How do you feel about writing essays? Here's another example,"Students are using artificial intelligence to write their essays these days." Yes, that's a can of worms, isn't it? Artificial intelligence, writing people's essays, doing their coursework. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I think that's a topic to cover another time. Okay, next on the list is the adjective upbeat, upbeat. We spell this U P B E A T. Upbeat. Upbeat. If you are described as being upbeat, then you're very positive and enthusiastic and whatever's described as upbeat makes you feel good about the future. So for example, you could describe a song as being quite upbeat because it's positive and it fills you with enthusiasm,"Oh, I like an upbeat song in the morning." I really do actually. Or a person could be quite upbeat. You say,"Hey, Derek, what happened to you yesterday? You're very upbeat today. What's happened? Because you're normally quite downtrodden and miserable. So what's happened?" Here's another example sentence,"Despite the challenges, Sarah maintained an upbeat attitude throughout the project." Next on the list is the idiom come hell or high water. Come hell or high water. Come, C O M E. Hell, H E L L. Or, O R. High, H I G H. Water, W A T E R. Come hell or high water means to overcome any obstacle or difficulty in order to achieve a goal. So it signifies a determined attitude to persist and succeed regardless of the challenges that may arise. For example, if you are absolutely determined to get a project finished on time, even though you know that it's going to be incredibly difficult because there are many things that have delayed this project. And it's looking quite unlikely that you'll make the deadline. If you are determined to make it happen, you'll stay up all through the night if you have to, then you could use this phrase. You could say, I will meet that deadline, come hell or high water. I will do it. So it's like promising that you will achieve something no matter what happens. Here's another example,"We promise to deliver your parcel on time, come hell or high water." Alright, last on the list is the phrasal verb hand something in. To hand something in. Hand, H A N D. Something, and that could be anything. In, I N. Hand in. If you hand something in, it means you give something to someone, usually in a position of authority. So it may be that you're giving something to your boss. You're handing in your work. You might be handing in your notice. Oh dear. That would be telling your boss that you are going to leave your job to hand in your notice. Or you might have to hand in your documents at the police station. If they want to see some important documents that tell them exactly who you are, some identification perhaps, or a visa, then you would have to hand in your documents at the police station. Or maybe you found something. Maybe you found a big bag full of wads of cash,"Oh my goodness, there's a million pounds in this bag, what should I do with it?""Well, take it to the police station and hand it in. Don't be tempted to stash it in your wardrobe. Go and hand it in. It's probably money that's being stolen from somewhere, hand it in." Here's another example,"You need to complete this form and then hand it in to my colleague at the front desk." Okay, so that's our five. Let's do a quick recap. We started with the noun format, which describes the arrangement or the layout of something. We had the noun essay, that short piece of writing on a particular subject normally done by students as part of their coursework or exam. Then we had the adjective upbeat, which means positive and enthusiastic. We had the idiom, come hell or high water, which means that you will overcome any obstacle in order to achieve a goal. And we had the phrasal verb, hand in, which is separable. So we can separate it and say, hand something in, whatever it may be, hand my work in, hand my documents in, hand the money in. Alright, let's now do this for pronunciation purposes, so please repeat after me. Format. Format. Essay. Essay. Upbeat. Upbeat. Come hell or high water. Come hell or high water. Hand something in. Hand something in. Fantastic. What's the idiom that I use if I say that I'm going to overcome any obstacle in order to deliver my promise? To achieve my goal? Come hell or high water, I will do it. Absolutely. And if I'm feeling very positive and enthusiastic, what adjective could you use to describe my mood? Upbeat, of course. If I have to create a short piece of writing for my coursework and it's on a particular subject, what is this piece of writing called? An essay. Yes. And the essay has to follow a specific layout. It has to come in a specific order. What noun could I use to talk about this layout or this arrangement of the essay? The format. Yes, you have to follow a specific format when writing your essay. Now, if I finish the essay, on time. I've not finished. I still have to give it to my teacher and then I'm done. What's the phrasal verb I'd use here? Hand in. I need to hand in my essay or I need to hand my essay in. Fantastic. Listen out for these items once again in today's storytime. I love writing. So you can imagine how thrilled I was when I heard about my city's essay-writing competition. The topic was"My Dream City," and I had plenty of ideas. I spent weeks crafting my essay, choosing every word with care. On submission day, I confidently handed in my essay. I was sure it would win first prize. My writing was creative and upbeat, describing a city full of parks, libraries and community centres. A week later though, I got a disappointing email. My essay had been rejected. The reason? I didn't follow the correct format. The competition required a specific layout, font size, and word count. I had missed these details in my excitement. How stupid of me! At first, I felt devastated. But then, my determination took over."I'll get my essay accepted, come hell or high water," I thought. I decided to appeal to the judges, emphasising that my content was what truly mattered. I wrote a passionate letter to the competition organisers. My letter explained how much effort I put into my essay and how meaningful the topic was to me. I argued that the ideas in my writing were more important than the format. Days passed with no response, but I tried to stay upbeat. I visited the competition office and spoke to one of the judges in person. I read parts of my essay aloud, showing how good the content was. The judge listened patiently. He appreciated my enthusiasm, but explained that rules were important too. However, impressed by my determination, he offered a compromise. I could reformat my essay according to the rules and hand it in for feedback, but not for the competition. I was a little annoyed that the judge stuck to the rules. But I decided to agree to his compromise. And this experience taught me an important lesson: both content and format matter in writing. And on the subject of content, remember that all the content from the Five a Day series is captured in the database. So make sure that you get your access to the database so you're not missing out on any of the excellent content. Until tomorrow, take very good care and goodbye.