Feifei: Hi Neil. Good weekend?
Do anything nice?
Neil: Hi Feifei! Actually, I stayed in and
watched TV.
Feifei: Football?
Neil: No, I watched this marvellous
programme from Norway.
Feifei: Oh, one of those police dramas?
They’re great!
Neil: Actually, believe it or not, the entire
film was just the view from the front of a
train, all the way from one city to another.
It was seven hours long.
Feifei: Seven hours?! And that’s all that
happened? No people? No police? No nothing?
Neil: Just the view from the train. It was
such a relaxing journey. They call it 'slow TV'.
Feifei: Ahh, yes. I’ve heard of that. Wasn’t
there one on a boat too? Isn’t it a bit boring?
Neil: Well, it’s not for everyone. But my life
is so busy, I just like to slow down now
and again.
Feifei: I’m still not convinced. Anyway,
let’s hear some more examples about this
slow TV. It’s our phrase today on
The English We Speak.
Michala's company specialises in making
slow TV. She says business is great right now!
I recently discovered slow TV. My friends
think it’s really dull, but I find it helps
clear my head after a stressful day.
A: What are you watching? It looks just
like a fireplace with a big piece of wood
burning.
B: It is! Isn’t slow TV fantastic? It takes
about four hours for the wood to burn
completely.
Feifei: You're listening to The English We
Speak from BBC Learning English. The
expression we're looking at in this
programme is 'slow TV'.
So Neil, is this what you’ll be doing with
you free time from now on? Watching
slow TV?
Neil: No, I’ve got an even better idea for
this weekend. You know that oak tree I
planted?
Feifei: Err, yes.
Neil: I’m going to film it. And make my
very own slow TV! Then you can watch
my tree grow, any time you like.
Feifei: Honestly, Neil. I don’t think so.
Neil: Maybe this will be the next big thing
in slow TV. I could call it… slow tree-V. Get it?
Feifei: I think what you need is to take a
long, slow walk outside. Then you can
admire all the trees you like!
Neil: Just you wait, Feifei! This will be the
slowest TV ever – oak trees take around
30 years to grow.
Feifei: Good luck, Neil. See you in 30
years. I’ll stick to police dramas in the
meantime.
Neil and Feifei: Bye.