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  • 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.

Rob: Hello I'm Rob and welcome to 6 Minute English -

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