BBC 6 Minute English | LIFTS | English CC | Daily Listening

source: Daily Listening    2016年9月28日
0:05 I'd like to start by asking how did you get up here to the studio - on to the sixth floor
0:09 - this morning?
0:10 Well, by lift, of course.
0:11 I thought so.
0:12 That’s what we’re going to talk about in this programme - lifts.
0:16 Or elevators, as Americans call them.
0:18 Lifts?
0:19 That's not very exciting, is it?
0:21 What’s there to say about lifts, Rob?
0:24 I mean they take you up and down and that’s it really.
0:27 Well, you're in for a surprise, Neil – but first let's see if you can answer this question:
0:32 Which country has the most lifts?
0:35 Is it... a) The USA?
0:36 b) Italy? or c) China?
0:40 Well, it seems obvious to me because of the massive expansion in its construction industry,
0:47 I'm going to say China.
0:48 Okay.
0:49 Well, we'll find out if you're right or wrong later on.
0:53 But now, let's elevate – or raise – your knowledge about lifts.
0:58 This invention has had quite an effect on which floor people choose to live on.
1:03 Well, I suppose before the days of lifts rich people lived on the ground floor and poorer
1:09 people lived on the top floors and had to use the stairs.
1:13 Now though it's the other way round – and that, in turn, has given rise to penthouses
1:19 with their fantastic views.
1:21 And the history of lifts goes back a long way.
1:24 It was mathematician Archimedes who invented the first lift in 236 BC.
1:30 In the Middle Ages there were examples of lifts being used for military purposes.
1:35 Then they helped to move agricultural products around.
1:39 They really came into their own – or became very useful - in the Industrial Revolution.
1:44 And there was a wide range of methods used to drive them, too – pulleys, water and
1:50 steam power, electricity and so on.
1:53 Today, tall blocks of flats couldn't exist without them.
1:57 And you're right, Rob, there's more to lifts than meets the eye.
2:00 There certainly is.
2:02 But have you noticed how nobody says anything in a lift?
2:06 Have you ever felt uneasy in a lift, Neil?
2:08 Actually yes, I have.
2:09 Just this morning I was standing next to the big boss and neither of us knew what to say
2:16 to each other.
2:17 Yes, it's a strange one, isn't it?
2:19 Well, let's listen to Jason Whale, sales manager at Elevators Ltd, talking about this subject.
2:25 He thinks he may have found a solution to the problem.
2:29 He uses a word that describes the state of feeling strange or uneasy.
2:33 Can you tell me what it is?
2:36 It's a very anxious experience the time you spend in a lift.
2:39 I think everyone behaves very differently and awkwardly in a lift.
2:43 If you have things around you, you take away that awkwardness.
2:47 We all look at our phones sometimes or look down at the floor.
2:50 Well, surely it's better to look at advertisements on the walls…
2:55 He said awkwardness, which describes the state of feeling strange or uneasy.
3:00 He suggests that advertisements in lifts could improve our experience of being in one.
3:06 I suppose that could mean moving, digital ads.
3:10 It could, but before we consider that further, let's delve into lifts a little more.
3:16 Of course there's always the danger of getting stuck in one – but thankfully that's rare
3:20 and usually you can dial an emergency number and be rescued.
3:24 And did you know that most lifts mark the 13th floor as 12A or something similar because
3:30 13 is considered an unlucky number?
3:34 By the way, have you heard of the elevator pitch?
3:37 Yes, I have Neil.
3:38 It's something we can do when we're stuck in a lift with someone.
3:41 Yes - people say that if you have an idea or product to sell you should be able to sell
3:47 it – or pitch it – to someone quickly.
3:50 So in other words, in the time it takes for an elevator – or lift - to reach the top
3:55 of a building.
3:56 It's a good idea if the lift doesn't break down!
3:59 Let's get back to the thought that digital advertising can make travelling by lift a
4:03 more pleasant experience.
4:06 Let's hear from Jason Whale again.
4:07 He uses a word that means "thinner".
4:10 Can you spot it?
4:11 I think, with all things, as technology becomes both slimmer and also cheaper as well, it
4:17 becomes much more attractive to people who purchase lifts and therefore there are so
4:23 many different ways to enhance a lift with light boxes, with moving images, with television
4:28 screens, it becomes quite exciting for us, and hopefully a little bit more interesting
4:33 for the people who use lifts every day.
4:36 He said slimmer which means thinner.
4:38 And he said enhance, which means improve.
4:41 Well, he could be on to something.
4:43 Looking at moving advertisements must be better than listening to Muzak– that's non-stop,
4:48 pre-recorded – usually boring - music.
4:50 Oh, that's terrible!
4:51 I hate Muzak!
4:53 OK.
4:54 So Neil, do you remember the question I asked you at the beginning of the programme?
4:57 I asked you which country has the most lifts?
5:00 Is it... a) The USA?
5:02 b) Italy? or c) China?
5:04 And I said c) of course.
5:06 It must be, it has to be China!
5:08 Really?
5:09 You sound so sure... but in fact you're wrong.
5:11 The answer is actually Italy.
5:12 Does that surprise you?
5:14 Yeah.
5:15 It astonishes me to be honest.
5:16 All these old buildings that have got lifts in…
5:18 I wonder why.
5:19 Well, before we go, it's time to remind ourselves of some of the vocabulary that we've heard
5:23 today.
5:24 Neil.
5:25 came into their own elevators
5:31 elevate blocks of flats
5:34 there's more to lifts than meets the eye awkwardness
5:40 delve into largely
5:43 slimmer enhance
5:48 Muzak Thanks, Neil.