Spotlight – September 2019

54 Spotlight 9/2019 EVERYDAY ENGLISH

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EVERYDAY ENGLISH

A day at the loch

DAGMAR TAYLOR presents four dialogues about

spending time at a Scottish lake. Read them and try

the exercises.

MEDIUM AUDIO PLUS

1. A breath of fresh air
   Stuart and his girlfriend, Marie, are on holiday in Scotland. They’re spending
   the day at Loch Lomond.


2. On the boat
   Stuart and Marie are on the cruise boat, listening to the captain’s announce-
   ment.

Marie: I love Loch Lomond! I came

here on holiday with my

family when I was about four,

I think. I don’t remember

much.

Stuart: The air smells so fresh! Have

you got the tickets for the

boat?

Marie: I thought you had them.

Didn’t you put them in your

pocket?

Stuart: Oh, aye. So I did. Looks like

there are quite a few passen-

gers today.

Marie: How long is the cruise?

Stuart: I think it’s about 45 minutes,

and then you can stay on the

island as long as you want.

Well, until the last boat goes

back to Luss, at half past three.

Marie: Great! That’s enough time to

go for a hike and have a picnic.

We might even see an otter or

two.

Captain: Ahead of us, you can see

Inchcailloch — Isle of the

Cowled Woman. The island

is thought to get its name

from Saint Kentigerna, who

came to Scotland from Ire-

land to preach. She died in

AD 734 and was buried on

the island. The burial ground

is in the north of the island

and is where some of Rob

Roy’s ancestors lie buried.

Marie: It’s really interesting, isn’t it?

Stuart: Totally. It makes me want to

read up on Scottish history.

Marie: Don’t worry — it’ll pass.

I’m going to get a cup of tea

from the bar. Do you want

anything?

Stuart: I’ll have a cup of tea, please.

And I wouldn’t mind some

shortbread if they’ve got

some.

Marie: OK. Back in a bit.

Tips

⋅ Loch Lomond is a freshwater loch^

about 25 kilometres north-west of

Glasgow. With a surface area of 71

square kilometres, it’s Great Britain’s

largest lake.

⋅ In British English, you can^ go on

holiday (N. Am.: on vacation) or “be

on holiday”, but you can’t say “make

holiday”.

⋅ Aye is another word for “yes”. It’s used

particularly in Scotland and the north

of England.

⋅ You can say so I did when someone

reminds you that you did something.

⋅ If you go for a hike, you go for a long

walk in the countryside.

Tips

⋅ If something or someone is ahead of

you, it is further forward in space or

time than you.

⋅ Rob Roy (1671–1734) was a Scottish

outlaw who became a folk hero.

⋅ When you read up on something,

you read a lot about a particular

subject.

⋅ When someone says it’ll pass,^ they

mean that something, especially a

phase or a feeling, won’t last long.

⋅ I wouldn’t mind... is used to say

politely that you would very much

like something.

ancestor [(ÄnsestE]

, Vorfahr(in)

burial ground

[(beriEl graUnd]

, Grabstätte

cowled [kaUld]

, mit einem Kapuzen­

umhang bekleidet

cruise [kru:z]

, Schiffsfahrt

freshwater loch

[(freS)wO:tE lQx]

, Süßwassersee

Inchcailloch

[IntS(kaIlQx]

, (wegen Aussprache)

outlaw [(aUtlO:]

, Geächtete(r)

preach [pri:tS]

, predigen

shortbread [(SO:tbred]

, Kekse aus Butterteig

surface area

[(s§:fIs )eEriE]

, Fläche