Objective Proficiency p 71. Living in the City. Extra Listening

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The subject for today is 1____________. Like the sound phones make when you get a text messages. We call that sound a 2__________.

Living in the city is too noisy. All the cars 3________________ and 4____________ their 5____________, music 6______________ in shops, machines 7____________ and 8___________… even at night you can still hear the fridge 9______________, and the 10___________ of the traffic outside. If only I heard no sound except the 11___________ of the wind in the trees.Catherine knows how Oliver 12__________ because London is the 13__________.
If Rob had 14_______________, they'd be 15____________ their music. 

A repeated short, high sound, is the sound that a 16_______________ makes.
A deep sound that goes up and down can remind you of the 17______________ on 18__________.

KEY
1. onomatopoeia /ˌɒnəˌmætəˈpiːə/ the fact of words containing sounds similar to the noises they describe. Onomatopoeic /ˌɒnəˌmætəˈpiːɪk/ (adj) E.g. Bang and pop are onomatopoeic words.



2. beep



3. zooming around 
to zoom -to move very quickly, making a zooming sound. E.g. The motorbike zoomed down the road. 



4. honking  
to honk - Don't honk at me! I'm driving safely!
a honk - a short, loud sound – like a car horn makes. E.g. I heard a honk, then a car came around the corner. 




5. horns 



6. blaring 
to blare - to make a loud, unpleasant sound' – like music that's much too loud. E.g. I can't sleep because of the music blaring next door.



7. buzzing 

to buzz - There was a mosquito buzzing around the room.
a buzz - a low, continuing sound, like machines and insects make. E.g. There was a buzz of conversation in the audience.



8. bleeping
to bleep - E.g. My phone bleeps whenever I get a text message
a bleep - a short, high sound, which electronic devices make. E.g. That bleep means that my battery is dying. 




9. humming
to hum - I can hear something humming in the kitchen. Did you leave the dishwasher on?
a hum - a low, continuous sound. E.g. There's a problem with my TV. It's making a loud hum.

 


10. rumble
a rumble - We saw the lightning, then we heard the rumble of thunder in the distance.
to rumble - to make a long deep sound or series of sounds. E.g. The train rumbled down the track.



11. rustle
a rustle - is a soft, dry, moving sound like the sound of the wind. E.g. There was a rustle in the bushes, then the fox appeared.
to rustle - He rustled the pages of the newspaper.



12. feels



13. same



14. teenage kids



15. blaring



16. heart monitor



17. wheels of a truck



18.  rough ground


Summary
Poor Oliver hates the city. There are too many cars zooming around and honking their horns, music blaring in shops, machines buzzing and bleeping… even at night.
These are example of onomatopoeia: words that sound like the thing they describe.
There are lots of onomatopoeic words in English and they are fun to learn. Join Rob and Catherine as they help you understand what Oliver is complaining about.

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Transcript

Rob Hi! I'm Rob…
Catherine...and I'm Catherine. Hello! Welcome to 6 Minute Vocabulary.
RobOur subject for today is onomatopoeia. That means, words that sound like the thing they mean. And Catherine and I will be trying to demonstrate some of these words today.
CatherineYes, like that sound most people's phones make when you get a text messages. We call that sound a beep.
RobBeep!
CatherineThat's it Rob, yeah. That's onomatopoeia: the word sounds like the thing it means. Beep!
RobBeep beep! Yes, have I got a message? Hold on. Right, OK. There are lots of examples of onomatopoeia in the English language, and we'll take a look at some of them on today's show.
CatherineSo let's start with a clip of Oliver. And he's talking about living in the city.
RobWhile you listen, try to answer this question: How does Oliver feel about city life?
INSERTOliverIt's too noisy for me! All the cars zooming around and honking their horns, music blaring in shops, machines buzzing and bleeping… even at night, it isn't quiet, you can still hear the fridge humming, and the rumble of the traffic outside. Then I wish I was far away from the city, sleeping in a tent, with no sound except the rustle of the wind in the trees.
STING
CatherineSo that's Oliver. And we asked you how he feels about city life.
RobAnd Oliver said it's too noisy for him.
CatherineI know how he feels – London: same. Anyway, here's another question: what words did Oliver use to talk about the sounds of the city in the daytime? Listen again.
INSERT 1 CLIP 1All the cars zooming around and honking their horns, music blaring in shops, machines buzzing and bleeping.
RobLots of lovely vocabulary there! Oliver talked about cars zooming around. Zoom, spelt z - o – o – m - is a verb, which means 'to move very quickly, making a zooming sound'.
CatherineZoom, zoom.
RobWatch out!
CatherineThen he mentioned the cars honking their horns. A honk – spelt h – o – n – k - is a short, loud sound – like a car horn makes. Honk honk!
RobOK, next, Oliver talked about music blaring. The verb to blare: that's b – l – a – r – e, means 'to make a loud, unpleasant sound' – like music that's much too loud. Blaring!!!
CatherineYou got teenage kids Rob?
RobNot yet, no.
CatherineThey'll be blaring their music soon enough. OK, and Oliver also mentioned machines bleeping and buzzing. Now a bleep…
RobBleep bleep.
CatherineThat's one  b – l – double e – p - is a short, high sound, which electronic devices make. Something like this: Bleep, bleep, bleep. That sounds like a heart monitor.
RobVery good.
CatherineAnd a buzz - that's b – u – z – z - is a low, continuing sound, like machines and insects make.
RobYes. Buzzzzzzzzzzz….
CatherineThat's it Rob.
RobLike that, yes?
CatherineWell done. Perfect.
RobIs there a bee in here? Now, the sounds of the city don't stop, even at night. Here's Oliver.
INSERT 1 CLIP 2… you can still hear the fridge humming, and the rumble of the traffic outside.
CatherineSo he can hear the fridge humming. The word hum – h – u – m - describes a low, continuous sound. And a hum [HUMMMMMMMM] is different from a buzz [BUZZZZZZZZ]! Can we listen to your hum and your buzz, Rob?
RobOK, why not? Here we go. [HUMMM] and [BUZZZ].
CatherineIs that your fridge and your bee?
RobThat's right, yes, in that order.
CatherineOliver also spoke about the rumble of the traffic out in the street. Now, a rumble – r – u – m – b – l – e - is a bit like a buzz, but there's a difference – a buzz [BUZZZZZZZZZ] continues without changing, but a rumble goes up and down, like the wheels of a truck on rough ground going rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble.
RobRumble. You carry on rumbling.
CatherineOK.
RobFinally, Oliver spoke about the sound of the wind in the trees. Listen out for the word he used.
INSERT 1 CLIP 3Then I wish I was far away from the city, sleeping in a tent, with no sound except the rustle of the wind in the trees.
RobRustle describes the sound of the wind, A rustle is a soft, dry, moving sound. It's spelt r – u – s – t – l – e. And in pronunciation, the t is silent, so it's rustle. Rustle, rustle, rustle…
CatherineQuite a nice sound really.
RobThank you.
CatherineYeah.
IDENTYou're listening to BBC Learning English.
CatherineAnd our subject today is onomatopoeia – words that sound like the thing they describe.  And it's time for a quiz! Question one. Rob, what sound does a car horn make?
RobEasy, it's a honk! Question two: what sound does a fridge make?
CatherineAnd it's hum. And the last question: what sound does the wind make in the trees?
RobThe correct answer is rustle. And that's the end of today's quiz. Well done to you at home if you got them all right.
CatherineAnd before we go, here's an idea to help you remember new vocabulary: choose one of your favourite songs in your first language, and write some new words for it, in English.
RobYes, and then, practise singing your song! It will help you to remember the new words.
CatherineThere's more about this at bbclearningenglish.com. Join us again for more 6 Minute Vocabulary.
BothBye!