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  • English from BBC learning english hello I'm Catherine welcome to 6 minute

  • English where we engage in some lively debate and discuss six stimulating items

  • of vocabulary and let's start here's your cup of coffee Rob ah thanks but

  • what took you so long Catherine oh sorry Rob I bumped into someone I

  • knew in the cafe and we stopped for a chat

  • okay well that fits well with today's show where we're talking about cafes or

  • coffee houses did you know Catherine that coffee houses were originally a

  • meeting place for lively debate and intellectual discussion really I didn't

  • know that Rob and a debate by the way means a discussion that a lot of people

  • take part in so how long ago was this debate in society well the first coffee

  • house was set up in Oxford in 1650 but they quickly became popular and soon

  • they were all over London - you paid a penny to get in and this included access

  • to newspapers and stimulating conversation if something is stimulating

  • it encourages ideas and enthusiasm and I expect the coffee held without a bit did

  • it no it certainly helps me first thing in the morning which brings me on to

  • today's question Rob how many cups of coffee do we consume in coffee shops or

  • stores in the UK every year consumed by the way is another word for eat or drink

  • so is the answer A 2.3 million B 23 million or C 23 billion mmm oh I don't

  • mean oh but it's got to be a lot so I'm gonna go for C 23 billion that sounds

  • like a lot of coffee but I buy several cups a week and I expect you do -

  • Catherine I do indeed but I have to say while I was getting our coffees earlier

  • there was nobody as in the cafe talking except me my friend

  • everybody else was sitting on their own tapping away on their laptops let's

  • listen now to Douglas Fraser BBC Scotland's business and economy editor

  • describing the vibe or atmosphere in a typical 21st century cafe

  • ten or so in the morning the cafe has five people at tables with their backs

  • to the wall each staring into a screen plugged in ears plugged the flow of

  • bytes through this coffee shops free Wi-Fi is transporting these customers to

  • diverse destinations far from the person beside them collaborative working

  • research grant application a potential blockbuster novel and inevitably someone

  • distracted by kitten pictures on social media so the spirit of those 17th

  • century coffee houses had disappeared then no more lively debate and

  • intellectual discussion seems so Rob as Douglas Frazer says many people sit

  • alone plugged into their laptops and they're all doing different things

  • working writing messing about on social media and I think the cafe owners should

  • turn off the free Wi-Fi and force these cafe squatters to move on I don't think

  • people should be allowed to sit all day using the internet hogging tables and

  • not talking to anybody especially when some of them don't even buy coffee

  • that's a bit extreme Rob cafe owners need customers and they encourage people

  • to stay by having comfy sofas and newspapers to read and the free Wi-Fi a

  • squatter by the way is someone who lives in an empty building without paying rent

  • and if you hog something you use most or all of it in a selfish way I suppose

  • you're right Katherine now how about telling us the answer to today's

  • question then okay so I asked how many cups of coffee do we consume in cafes or

  • stores in the UK every year is it A 2.3 million B 23 million or C 23

  • billion like hooch in a cafe using their free Wi-Fi to search the answer but I

  • had a guess and I say 23 billion well you didn't need that free Wi-Fi Rob

  • because you were absolutely right ah 23 billion coffees per year works out on

  • average at forty five cups per adult in the UK okay I think it's time we look

  • back at the words we learned today our first word is debate a discussion that a

  • lot of people take part in For example, I took part in a number of stimulating

  • debates at school number two if something is stimulating it encourages

  • new ideas and enthusiasm for example it's hard to have a stimulating

  • conversation with someone who's looking at their phone all the time

  • that's very true let me just slide my phone in my pocket our next word is

  • consume another word for eating or drinking but it can also mean to use for

  • example my car consumes a lot of petrol or how do I calculate my car's fuel

  • consumption so consumption there is the noun number four is vibe which means the

  • mood or atmosphere in a place for example Oxford is a city but it has a

  • small-town vibe well I'm getting bad vibes from our next word which is

  • squatter that's someone who lives in an empty building without paying rent the

  • building is called a squat so for example I lived in a squat for two years

  • really you squatted in a squat Rob no no no it's just an example I am NOT a

  • squatter oh so you've never squatted it's no I now look we're wasting time here we

  • need to move on to our final word hog if you hog something you use all or most of

  • it in a selfish way for example Rob you've hugged the only comfy chair

  • that's so selfish I admit it Katherine I'm a chair hog that's the noun okay

  • well before we head off for another cup of coffee please remember to check out

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  • six minutes English from BBC learning english

English from BBC learning english hello I'm Catherine welcome to 6 minute

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