Rob: Hello I'm Rob and welcome to 6 Minute English -
the show that brings you an interesting
topic and authentic listening practice...
Neil: ...and don't forget vocabulary to help you
improve your language skills. I'm Neil by the way
and today we're off on an adventure.
Rob: But not a very big adventure Neil -
it's just a mini or microadventure -
but if you have wanderlust - a strong desire to travel -
I think it may appeal.
Neil: It will appeal to you Rob
because you love to travel - haven't you circumnavigated
the globe - I mean go all the way round the world?
Rob: Almost Neil - but today's mini-adventure
doesn't involve travelling too far from home.
We'll explore the topic more in a moment
but not before we've set today's quiz question.
So Neil do you know how far it is around the world
measured at the equator - in other worlds
the circumference? It is approximately...
a) 30,000 km, b) 40,000 km, or c) 50,000 km
Neil: Well, I haven't walked it but I know
it's a long way - so I'll go for c) 50,000 km.
Rob: Right, I shall keep you in suspense and tell you
the answer at the end of the programme.
Now, our topic for discussion today won't be travelling
so far - it's about a new trend for small adventures.
Neil: What you mean are shorter breaks, closer to home.
They're less expensive of course
but also instil a sense of adventure -
that's the feeling of doing a new, exciting and
sometimes dangerous activity.
Rob: Well, adventurer, Alastair Humphreys
has coined the phrase 'microadventures'
to describe this. 'To coin' here means to use a word
or phrase that no one has used before.
Neil: Now he's someone who goes on big trips
and expeditions to the four corners of the globe
and writing books about his adventures.
But he wanted to prove
you don't have to go far to find adventure.
Rob: Let's hear from him now -
speaking on BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme
- about what he did.
How did he describe his first microadventure?
Alastair Humphreys: I'd been doing big adventures
for years and I had this hunch that
you didn't need to go to the ends of the world
to have some sort of adventure.
You didn't nee to be in beautiful Patagonia to have this
spirit of adventure. So I decided to try and prove
my theory by doing the most boring, ugly adventure
I could think of. And I came up with the idea
of walking a lap of the M25 in the snow
in January. And time and again as I walked round
the M25 I just kept thinking to myself
this experience is exactly the same as the four
years I spent cycling round the world.
Smaller, of course, a bit silly but definetely felt like
an adventure And that's when I really started to come up
with the idea of microadventures.
Neil: So a microadventure is a boring,
ugly adventure?
Rob: No Neil. It may not be glamourous
but it is an adventure. He walked around the London
orbital motorway - called the M25 - to prove his hunch
that you don't need to go far to to find adventure.
A hunch is an idea you have based on feelings
but there's no proof.
Neil: Well his hunch was right.
But walking alongside a motorway
isn't my idea of adventure.
Rob: It doesn't have to be Neil. Just getting out
on your bike and exploring somewhere in your locality
that you haven't visited before is an adventure.
And how about camping?
Neil: Ah yes, I do like to camp out -
that's a phrasal verb to mean sleep outside in a tent.
You can be so close to nature
and breathe in the fresh air.
Rob: Ah yes and you don't need to go far
for a camping adventure - and being out a night
really adds to the sense of adventure.
That's what Alastair Humphreys believes...
Alastair Humphreys: We humans are so boring
these days - we so rarely spend time out
in the darkness to see the stars
and to see how the world feels different by night.
I get a little bit nervous still - I still imagine ghosts -
but that's part of the charm of making a little frisson
of adventure. And then in the morning the sun
comes up, the birds sing, jump in a river,
back on the bus, back to your desk for 9.00.
Rob: Seeing how the world feels at night is a nice idea.
Getting a bit nervous - anxious
maybe - is part of the pleasure or enjoyment -
what Alastair calls 'charm'.
Neil: I agree - and he used another word 'frisson'
meaning a sudden, strong feeling of excitement, or fear.
Rob: My biggest fear would be returning to my desk
for 9.00! But Alastair is right,
there is an adventure to be had on your doorstep -
that means close to where you live.
Neil: But only a small adventure Rob!
Unlike an adventure round
the circumference of the Earth.
Rob: Yes that was my question earlier:
how far it is around the world measured at
the equator - in other worlds the circumference?
It is approximately... a) 30,000 km, b) 40,000 km,
or c) 50,000 km
Neil: I said c) 50,000 km.
Rob: Sorry Neil - too far.
The Earth's circumference has been calculated to be
40,075km.
To travel that distance would be a major adventure.
Neil: OK, I think we should remind ourselves
of the some of the words and phrases
we've discussed today - starting with wanderlust
- a strong desire to travel.
"Rob has wanderlust, he's never at home!"
Rob: That's because I have a sense of adventure.
That's the feeling of doing a new, exciting
and sometimes dangerous activity.
"Neil has no sense of adventure because he likes his
holidays to be planned out with no surprises!"
Neil: That's a little unfair Rob -
I just like to be 'holiday happy' - that's a term
I've just coined, which means used a word
or phrase that no one has used before.
You can also say 'to coin a phrase' after using
an expression that is well known
and possibly used too much.
Rob: Next we heard hunch - that's an idea
you have based on feelings but there's no proof.
"I have a hunch Neil wants to go to the pub -
he's packing his bag!"
Neil: Your hunch is correct Rob.
But not before we recap our next word
charm - that's part of the pleasure
or enjoyment of something.
"Part of the charm of going to the seaside
is eating ice cream and walking down the pier."
Rob: And finally we heard on your doorstep
- which means close to where you live.
"There's a pub right on your doorstep,
so why don't you make the most of it!"
Neil: I intend to Rob but first let me to remind you
that you can learn English with
us at bbclearningenglish.com.
That's it for today's 6 Minute English.
We hope you enjoyed it.
Bye for now.
Rob: Bye.