I'm Neil and joining me today is Dan who is

looking very jolly.

Dan: Of course I'm looking jolly – meaning

happy and smiley; it's my favourite time of

the year.

Neil: Ah yes, all that food, all those presents,

all that fun.

Dan: Forget the food and fun – Christmas

is all about the presents!

Neil: I'm not sure that's quite the spirit

– the real meaning of something.

Dan: Well, Neil, I was actually talking about

giving presents, not getting them.

Neil: Ah sorry, Dan, I misjudged you. As you

enjoy giving presents so much, I'm very pleased

to have you with me in this 6 Minute English

– Our topic… What makes the perfect Santa?

We'll have 6 items of vocabulary for you and,

of course, our quiz question. Ready?

Dan: Hit me.

Neil: OK, here we go. How many Santas

are there in the world?

a) 1,500, b) 15,000

c) 15 million

Dan: Well, I know there are a lot but 15 million

must be wrong; 1,500 seems too few, so I'll

go for 15,000.

Neil: We'll see if you're right at the end

of the programme. Dan, you seem like a strong

candidate for a job as Santa.

Ever considered it?

Dan: I'd love to! A candidate is a person competing

for a job.

Neil: And what do you think is a key part

of being Santa – or Father Christmas as

we also call him in the UK?

Dan: As you said: being jolly…

Neil: That's right. Let's listen to James Lovell,

who runs a Santa school at his company Ministry

of Fun in London. What does he say

is the key?

James Lovell : A perfect 'ho ho ho!'

is a key part of being a Father Christmas.

It's a ho ho ho! And it needs to just reinforce

the fact that you are the jolliest person

on the planet. So I like to reach down into

my tummy, tap it and with a big smile on my

face go ho ho hoooo!

Neil: The perfect ho ho ho! You need that

to reinforce the fact you are the jolliest

person in the world.

Dan: To reinforce means to make something

stronger. Ho ho ho!

Neil: Wow, Dan! You're very convincing. Are

you sure you've never done this before?

Dan: I haven't but I want to. It feels good!

Ho ho ho!

Neil: It could be the ideal career move for

you, Dan. But I bet it's not all fun.

Dan: Hmm, maybe not. I think there would be a

lot of pressure to perform. Pressure is the

feeling of worry you can get when you are

expected to deal with a difficult situation.

Neil: Yes, think of all the children you have

to impress. Pressure indeed. Let's hear from

James Lovell again, who runs a Santa school

in London.

James Lovell : Portraying Father Christmas

is not an easy job because when you're dressed

as Father Christmas, you have a huge responsibility

to recreate the magic of the real Santa in

every way. You need to look good, you need

to have lots to say and you need to be incredibly

jolly and you need to have magical eyes.

Dan: So it seems I was right: portraying Father

Christmas is not an easy job. Portraying meaning

playing the part of – like an actor does.

Neil: He says there's a huge responsibility

to recreate the magic of the real Santa. To

recreate means to make something exist again.

Dan: All those kids expecting that magical

moment – and it's all down to you as Santa!

Hmm I'm beginning to have second thoughts

about this career change…

Neil: Could you handle the pressure?

Dan: I'm not sure I could! Portraying Father

Christmas might be a challenge too far – despite

my ho ho ho!

Neil: Now it's time to find out the answer

to our quiz question. I asked how many Santas

there are in the world?

a) 1,500, b) 15,000

c) 15 million

Dan: I said b) 15,000

Neil: And you were… wrong! I'm afraid it

was a trick question – there is, of course,

only one Santa!

Dan: Ahhh that's not fair!

Neil: Sorry! Shall we have a recap of the

vocabulary?

Dan: Yes please – that would make me

jolly again.

Neil: Jolly, meaning happy and smiley. What

makes you jolly, Dan?

Dan: Christmas of course! Now Neil, I have

to say, cheating me out of that quiz question

was really not in the spirit of 6 Minute English.

We are always nice to each other.

Neil: Ah yes, you're probably right. Spirit

here has the sense of something's real meaning.

The spirit of 6 Minute English is friendly

educational fun – not cheating your colleagues!

Dan: Glad we've got that straight. Our next

word is candidate. Until you made me think

about how hard it is to be a good Santa, I

thought I'd be a strong candidate for the

job.

Neil: A candidate is a person competing for

a job. Next we had reinforce.

Dan: Reinforce means to make something stronger.

Repeating the vocabulary in 6 Minute English

reinforces your ability to remember it!

Neil: That's right – and it puts you under

less pressure when you're speaking English

if you have a good range of vocabulary.

Dan: Pressure is the feeling of worry you

can get when you are expected to deal with

a difficult situation – like pretending

to be Santa! Yes there's a lot of pressure

involved in portraying someone else.

Neil: Portraying, meaning playing the part

of someone – like an actor does. It can

be very difficult to get it right.

Dan: Yep, it's a real skill to be able to

recreate the look and character of another

person. Recreate meaning to make something

exist again.

Neil: Well we'll try our best to recreate

a positive learning experience for you all

next time on 6 Minute English. Until then

don't forget to check out our YouTube, Facebook,

Twitter and Instagram pages. And a happy New Year to

all of our listeners. Goodbye!

Dan: Goodbye! Ho ho ho!