Please watch the video below. Remember: Don’t write anything. Just watch and listen. By the end of the lesson you will understand everything!

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Greg: Anyway, the point about this is that New Zealand in the southern area that we went to had a very kind of prehistoric feel to it. It was really interesting because the first time we saw the kiwis was in a…in an exhibit, and it gave me the feeling of being in a different era, like almost prehistoric. It was a really interesting animal, and something you just never see.

Mark: Yeah.

Greg: So, this is a picture of a moa. (extinct bird from New Zealand) No…Sorry. This a picture of a statue of a moa, and not an actual moa. These are extinct, but they were around as recently as when Man went to New Zealand.

Mark: Wow.

Greg: And these were very, very large flightless birds. They’re twelve feet tall.

Mark: Wow.

Greg: And, if you look at the next picture, this is taken from the picture from a stamp. It’s probably a better rendering of what they looked like. These are very dinosaur-ish or prehistoric looking.

Mark: Absolutely.

Greg: And….But, they were around not that long ago, you know. So when I show the next picture, which is a bus tour, you’ll get the real feeling for the prehistoric feeling that I got after seeing the kiwis, knowing that these moa were common in this area and then just the way that the forest looked. It really almost had like a Jurassic era feeling.

Mark: Yeah. Now, when you say that they got eradicated when Man arrived to the island, but do you have any idea even what millennium we’re talking?

Greg: I could be totally wrong, of course, but I think within the last two to three hundred years there were moa.

Mark: Wow, ok. That’s incredible.

Greg: And one note about New Zealanders, the people. They refer to themselves as kiwis.

Mark: So, we’re on a bus. I’m assuming you guys took a bus tour.

Greg: Yeah, we took a bus tour. It was about eight hours and it was a very, very good experience because in eight hours you get to see a lot of a country. So we kind of just drove though the wilderness, drove through a lot of different types of terrain in New Zealand, and got to see a lot. And this is what gave me the real prehistoric feel, like….because you’re just imagining, you know…You have these lush areas areas with a lot of green plants with rivers and this and that, you just imagine a kiwi or a moa jumping out in front of the bus, you know?

Mark: Right. I’m on the next picture of the ferns.

Greg: Right.

Mark: Give me a sense of scale of these guys.

Greg: Just normal ferns, I think. Not, not too big. Nothing above the knees or anything like that.

Mark: We definitely associate ferns as well with, you know, Land of the Lost (the name of a television show that had dinosaurs).

Greg: Right. Exactly. Land of the Lost, Jurassic park, all of that so.

Mark: I’m on another one (picture) now where it seems to be looking down a deep ravine? If that’s the word for this. I’m wondering where the photographer is standing, because it’s almost as if they’re floating over the ravine. Was there a bridge?

Greg: Yeah, there was, actually. We went on a bridge that walked over a bunch of this stuff.

Mark: I see. Getting back to the bus tour, I’m kind of curious: How was the language for you? I mean, I know they speak English. But what was like the, what was the accent like?

Greg: Language was interesting. There were…. Two things happened with language. I was at a place, and I asked a person what time the place opened or closed, I forget which. But, anyway, I asked, I asked him. He was a native New Zealander. And he answered, and I had no idea what he said. And then I said, “Excuse me?” You know like, “Hmm? I didn’t catch that?” And he quickly adjusted his speech to an accent that I could understand, and so I thought that was interesting. His…His native English speech was not something that I could understand at all, but he was also aware of the fact and he quickly adjusted to something I could. So that was interesting.

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1.

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to be around (during some period of time) = to exist
NOTE: This is usually used in the form of “been around” or “were around.”

Remember, in these four groups of sentences below, a native speaker will usually use the 2nd version. So, “been around” is the advanced phrase we want to learn.

Sharks have existed for millions of years.
Sharks have been around for millions of years.

Humans have existed for a million years or so.
Humans have been around for a million years or so.

Cell phones have existed for fifty years.
Cell phones have been around for fifty years.

Moa are extinct, but they existed as recently as when Man went to New Zealand.
Moa are extinct, but they were around as recently as when Man went to New Zealand.

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2.

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we’re talking (Often: “we talking”) = it is
NOTE: As a question, the meaning usually becomes “Is it?”

How much money is it?
How much money are we talking?

Is it $200? $300?
We talking $200? $300?

Is it the flu or just a cold?
Are we talking the flu or just a cold?

Do you have an idea what millennium it is?
Do you have an idea what millennium we’re talking?

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3.

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sense of scale = feeling for the size

Hold a ruler up for a feeling of the size.
Hold a ruler up for a sense of scale.

She stood by the door to give the photo a feeling of the size.
She stood by the door to give the photo a sense of scale.

This picture has no feeling of the size.
This picture has no sense of scale.

Give me a feeling of the size of these guys.
Give me a sense of scale of these guys.

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4.

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to get back to = to return to the topic of

Sorry about that interruption. So…returning to the topic of our plans…
Sorry about that interruption. So…getting back to our plans…

So, returning to the topic my story…
So, getting back to my story…

Returning to the topic the discussion…
Getting back to the discussion…

Returning to the topic of the bus tour, tell me….
Getting back to the bus tour, tell me….

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5.

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to catch something (spoken) = to understand or hear

He spoke so quietly I couldn’t hear what he said.
He spoke so quietly I couldn’t catch what he said.

Did you hear his joke?
Did you catch his joke?

I didn’t hear her instructions.
I didn’t catch her instructions.

I didn’t understand that. Could you repeat what you said?
I didn’t catch that. Could you repeat what you said?

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6.

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at all = not even a little bit

I don’t like mushrooms not even a little bit.
I don’t like mushrooms at all.

She doesn’t like sports not even a little bit.
She doesn’t like sports at all.

He doesn’t have any free time not even a little bit.
He doesn’t have any free time at all.

His English was not something that I could understand not even a little bit.
His English was not something that I could understand at all.

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Easy: Sharks have existed for millions of years.

Advanced: Sharks have ____ _____ for millions of years.

Easy: How much money is it?
Advanced: How much money ___ __ _______ ?

Easy: Hold a ruler up for a feeling of the size.

Advanced: Hold a ruler up for a _____ __ _____ .

Easy: Sorry about that interruption. So…returning to the topic of our plans…

Advanced: Sorry about that interruption. So…_______ ____ __ our plans…

Easy: He spoke so quietly I couldn’t hear what he said.

Advanced: He spoke so quietly I couldn’t _____ what he said.

Easy: I don’t like mushrooms not even a little bit.

Advanced: I don’t like mushrooms __ ___ .