hello and welcome to News Review I'm Neil and this is my temporary studio
while we are on the coronavirus lockdown but I am joined by Kathryn on the other
side of London hi Kathryn hello everybody
what story have you got for us today well today is a cycling story it turns
out that during the coronavirus lockdown a lot more of us are taking to two
wheels okay well let's find out some more from
this BBC news report the fear of catching coronavirus on public transport
is leading to a boom in cycle to work schemes which allow new bicycles to be
bought tax-free bike shops have reported a surge in sales so in the UK a lot of
people are avoiding public transport and one way they're doing this is to cycle
and cycle to work schemes have reported a massive uptake and psycho shops are
busier than ever okay cycling to work schemes what are
they well the cycle to work scheme is where your employer kind of helps you to
buy a bicycle and you don't have to pay any tax
so the bicycle becomes a lot cheaper so lots of people buying bikes and getting
out old bikes and getting them repaired you've been looking around the various
news websites and you've picked out three really great expressions what have
you got yes we have boom time golden age and at the crossroads boom time golden
age and at the crossroads so your first headline please yes and we're going to
start here in the UK with the BBC the headline is coronavirus boom time for
bikes as virus changes lifestyles okay so boom time a period in which
there is a large increase in demand for something yes
it's a two-word expression the first word boom bwm and the second word time t
I am a boom time now new what noise does an explosion make ah it
makes a boom it goes boom yes boom is a lovely onomatopoeic word that describes
the word the sound of an explosion or a very very very loud noise now as we know
explosions make things move all over the place and
we often use them to describe rapid expansion rapid growth so if some people
a lot of people start doing a particular activity all around about the same time
we can describe this as a boom now we often use the word boom in economic
terms or business terms if people buy a lot of a particular product we describe
that activity as a boom we can also talk about boom time when a lot of people do
as the same thing it's a boom time in this case it's boom time for bicycles
it's boom time for cycling it's boom time for cycle manufacturers and notice
the preposition there is for it is boom time for this activity so in that usage
we saw boom as a noun but it's also used as a verb isn't it yes something can
boom now we often that use the set phrase business is booming to describe
any business that's doing really well yeah so the cycle business is booming at
the moment often used in the continuous form something is booming now I've also
heard an expression boom or bust what's that all about yes boom or bust
and we use this expression boom or bust to describe the experience of taking a
risk with a new idea or a new venture it means that you're either going to be
very very successful it'll be a boom or it's going to be a complete disaster
which is described as burst so boom or bust describes a risk
um you did a kind of boom or bust activity recently didn't you kneel with
your wonderful video series English for cats remember yeah I I had a feeling
that it would be very very successful but I also had a bit of a doubt that it
would be a terrible crushing failure and so the decision to go with this series
was in fact boom or bust and unfortunately everybody hated it so it
turned out to be bust I could have told you that dad Fran Smith could have saved
you the trouble I just don't understand it
try another one French for dogs French for dogs is coming up I can tell you
great ok let's have a summary of that word please
your next headline then please Catherine yes we're now going still in the UK to
cycling weekly the headline is Prime Minister Boris Johnson says this should
be a new golden age for cycling so golden age a period in which a
particular activity is popular or successful yes so two words again golden
gol de n and the second word age AG e so golden age now this is slightly
confusing for me because I know what golden means it's an adjective which
describes things that are gold that material or color so what's the
connection yes the precious metal gold the
adjective form is golden it can be golden gol te and if something is golden
it's literally made of gold or it's golden color but we're using this in a
more figurative sense so if something is golden it means that it's valuable it's
successful it's important everybody loves it everybody wants it so golden
here describes success and popularity and age a GE is a period of time so
together the expression golden age means a period of great success and great
popularity now with the headline Boris Johnson is saying but it's Prime
Minister Boris Johnson is saying that there will be lots of popularity and
success with cycling it will be a golden age he's saying but you can use it not
just for transport for any phase in any really sphere of life it can be business
it can be politics it can be your own personal life where a Golden Age is
successful period in your life now I know that you really love old films
Catherine we often hear about the Golden Age of Hollywood yes you can talk about
the Golden Age of Hollywood and that was in their 1950s when they made lots of
movies with big production values lots of dancing singing they were very very
glamorous lots of movie stars this is described as the Golden Age of Hollywood
and you can really talk about any success period being the Golden Age of
something for example the two day the early 21st century can be described as
the Golden Age of social media when lots of companies were having a lot of
success with it yeah okay do we hear any other precious metals used in this way
well we have a lot of expressions with silver but their word silver as an
adjective often describes older people in fact you can talk about a silver
surfer being an older person who uses the internet for example okay let's now
have a summary of that expression Golden Age
if you would like to watch another program and learn an expression
connected to cycling we have the perfect thing for you don't we Catherine yes we
do click the link in the description to find out what the English phrase like
riding a bike means and how to use it ok let's now have a look at the final
headline please let's do that and we're going to the telegraph in the UK the
headline reads at the crossroads why coronavirus could turn Britain into a
cycling nation at the crossroads at a point when an important decision needs
to be made yes three word expression this time at 80 the tha crossroads C R o
SS ro ad s at the crossroads now Mia you know what a crossroads is don't you yeah
crossroads is when you've got one road going like that and you've got another
road crossing it yes so two roads going in different directions that meet and
cross each other so you haven't least four different options for directions of
trouble when you reach it crossroads don't you you do yes so are we talking
now about figurative changes of direction well we are yes if it's not to
do with transport even though this story is about transport and that's probably
why they've used this expression you can be at a crossroads meaning you have a
decision to make about what's going to happen next now this could be a big
decision in your life it usually is a big decision something like shall I get
married or which university shall I go to or maybe you want to change your job
so it's when you're at a point in your life when you've got a big decision to
make I'm sure you've been at the crossroads a few times in your life here
I guess we all have yes deciding whether or not to have children as you as you
said or deciding to change your career I worked as a journalist before for
example I decided to change my career that was I was at the crossroads when I
made that decision yeah and there's a fixed phrase at the crossroads
crossroads is always plural in this phrase it's not just about personal
decisions it can be about bigger big business decisions a company can be at
the crossroads deciding whether it's going to branch out into a new area or
whether it's going to close some online stores or how it's going to kind of
develop next big decisions when a big decision is facing you you are at the
crossroads we often hear about the climate being at a crossroads at the
moment yes we could say this planet is at the crossroads what happens to it
next depends on human activity yeah so it's future direction is in the process
of being decided I suppose it's up to us okay
well let's have a summary of that final expression
time now then just for a summary of our vocabulary
yes we had boon time a period in which there is a large increase in demand for
something we had golden age a period in which a particular activity is popular
or successful and we had at the crossroads at a point where an important
decision needs to be made I bet you would love to test yourself on that
vocabulary which you can do by checking out our website BBC learning english.com
stay safe and join us next time bye