Sample

A: What’s something you’re afraid of?                                                         

B: Nothing really. When I was a kid, I was scared of bugs, like  spiders and roaches?

A: Oh yeah. Me too. But some things still make me nervous.

B: Really? Like what?

A: Going to the dentist.

B: Yeah, that freaks me out, too.

Reference:

l  Scary things: the dark / big dogs /  roller-coasters / speaking in public / having a job interview / watching  scary movies alone

l  Expressions  for describing you’re scared

freak me out / make me nervous /  terrify me / really scares me

Language  Note

The phrases used to talk about fear - freaks me out, makes me  nervous, terrifies me, really scares me - are mostly synonyms with some small  differences in meanings. The term makes me nervous is one way to say that  you’re afraid without calling it a fear. It has a less intense feeling than  the other phrases. Both terrifies someone and really scares someone are  phrases that indicate intense fear.

Supplemental Information:

Action sports, Adventure  sports or Extreme sports are activities perceived  as involving a high 

degree of risk. These activities often involve  speed, height, a high level of physical exertion, and 

highly specialized gear.

The definition  of an extreme sport is not exact and the origin of the terms is unclear, but  it gained 

popularity in the 1990s when it was picked up by marketing companies  to promote the X Games and when  the Extreme Sports Channel and  the Extreme Sports Company launched. More recently, the 

commonly used  definition from research is "a competitive (comparison or  self-evaluative) activity 

within which the participant is subjected to  natural or unusual physical and mental challenges such as speed, height,  depth or natural forces and where fast and accurate cognitive perceptual  processing 

may be required for a successful outcome" by Dr. Rhonda Cohen  (2012).

While use of  the term "extreme sport" has spread everywhere to describe a  multitude of different 

activities, exactly which sports are considered  'extreme' is debatable. There are, however, several 

characteristics common to  most extreme sports.While they are not the  exclusive domain of youth, 

extreme sports tend to have a younger-than-average  target demographic. Extreme sports are also 

rarely sanctioned by schools for  their physical education curriculum.Extreme sports tend to be more 

solitary than many of the  popular traditional sports.

Activities  categorized by media as extreme sports differ from traditional sports due to the  higher 

number of inherently uncontrollable variables. These environmental  variables are frequently weather 

and terrain related, including wind, snow,  water and mountains. Because these natural phenomena 

cannot be controlled,  they inevitably affect the outcome of the given activity or event.

Supplemental Information:

In the interview in the audio, Junger speaks in a  style that’s typical and natural of native speakers who are thinking and  speaking at the same time. We “hear his thoughts”, which means students will  have to listen carefully to get his final answer. In his first response, he  first says the danger is not as 

bad as people imagine, but then explains that  it’s bad enough to have an effect on the person 

experiencing it. So he is  saying that it actually is scary. In his second response, he starts to talk  about his hometown and then he interjects with a comment that he doesn’t know  which word he 

wants to use. Again, he is thinking while he is speaking. He  uses the phrase “in that direction”, 

by which he is referring to wanting to  do risky work. In the third response, Junger repeats his

 point a few times  about fear feeling good at times. In this case, he is probably repeating  himself to emphasize his point, but also because he is thinking and speaking  at the same time. Point out to 

students that we don’t always think or speak  in a logical manner, and this interview is a good 

example of this.

Reference:

Talking about things that  scare you:

I’m scared of / afraid of  dogs / the dark / going to the dentist / speaking in public.

During her presentation,  she freaked out and started talking too fast.

Going to the dentist freaks  me out.

Spiders creep him out.

Making and responding to  suggestions:

Every time I give a  presentation, I get nervous.

Try memorizing your speech.  / try to memorize your speech. / try not to worry.

I’m not sure if that will  work.

Good idea. I’ll give it a  try.

Supplemental Information:

Tarantulas  comprise a group of large and often hairy arachnids belonging to the  theraphosidae family of spiders, of which about 900 species have been  identified. In this video, spider expert Rick 

West visits French Guiana in  South America to find the goliath tarantula. He wants to teach people about  this misunderstood creature.

Language  Note

Rick West says that tarantulas have been maligned,  which means they have been presented in a negative way. He gives the example  that in movies they creep out of the shadows and go for the jugular. In this  case, creep out means to slowly move, such as slowly move out of the shadows.  To go for the jugular means to attack in a vicious way. The jugular refers to  the jugular vein in the neck. When he shows the female goliath, he calls her  a monster. In this case, he is only referring to her large size.

Reference:

Possible Reasons

Suggestions

• pressure

• preparation

• environment

• expectation

• Calm down

• Thorough preparation

• Communication skills

Supplemental Information:

Listening for examples

Examples  are often used to help explain unfamiliar or difficult concepts, making them  easier for the listener to understand and remember. So listening for examples  is a frequently-used important listening skill. The most common way of giving  examples is by using signal words and expressions such as for example, for  instance, like, and such as, as in the following examples:

I  have been to many countries. For example, I have been to Russia, Canada,  Mexico, and Spain.

He’s  a greedy boy. Yesterday, for instance, he ate all our biscuits!

Many  people, like my family, call me Jim.

I  like sports, such as football, basketball and swimming.

You  may also use the following way to give examples:

By  way of illustration, ...

A  classic / well-known example of this is ...

X  is a good example / illustration of ...

X  illustrates this point / shows this point clearly.

This  can be illustrated briefly by...

The  evidence of X can be clearly seen in the case of ...

Another  example of what is meant by X is ...

Using  hyponyms is also one way of giving examples. In the field of linguistics, a  hyponym is a word or phrase whose semantic field in that of another word, for  example, cat and dog are hyponyms of animals; banana and pear are hyponyms of  fruit.

Exercises

Read the  table. Then listen to the conversation and complete the table.

companies

Ideas  to motivate staff

Internet Companies

Yahoo

There’s  1)____ to work for the employees. There’s also 2)____ and a hairdresser at  

the office. And one day a month the staff 3)____ together.

Google

4)____ is  free. And after sitting at your desk for hours, you can have 5)____ massage  in the office. Another nice little bonus - you can 6)____ to work.

Other companies

One  company

It  takes its employees on 7)____ every 

year.

Starbucks

Employees  get 8)_____, of course, but they can also 9)____ to work.

A  phone company

It  has 10)____ for the staff on the last Friday of every month - with 11)_____.

An  insurance company

It keeps  fish in a little river next to the office. The employees 12)____ after work  and 

they take home 13_____ that they catch.