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Episode 9: Diving

Episode 9: Diving
This story is about diving on the Great Barrier Reef. We'll look at a couple of phrasal verbs, tell you what humungous means and show you some ways to make conversation.

Transcript

Good morning - Tony. Tony, Akki. Akki, pleased to meet you. Akki if you just want to go and see Erin, she's gonna grab your first name, get all your details, get yourself on board. Alright.

Morning. Hi, good morning.

This story is about diving on the Great Barrier Reef. We'll look at a couple of phrasal verbs, tell you what humungous means and show you some ways to make conversation.

So you're the skipper of the boat.

Yes, yes, I'm, the skipper.

That's nice. So could you tell me where we're going today?

We're gonna go out to Opal Reef.

Opal reef.

Yep, which is out on the edge of the Continental Shelf.

It takes about an hour and half, big green fish up there, big Maori Wrasse up there.

That's great.

The skipper of a boat is the captain or person in charge. Notice how Akki makes conversation by asking something he knows is easy to answer:

So you're the skipper of the boat.

Yes, yes, I'm, the skipper.

So what does he say next?

That's nice. So could you tell me where we're going today?

He says 'that's nice'. He could also have said 'that's good' or 'oh yeah'. Only then does he ask a question:

So could you tell me where we're going today?

The question is not direct – he doesn't simply ask 'where are we going?' Instead he asks 'so could you tell me where we're going' because it's more polite. So where are they going?

We're gonna go out to Opal Reef.

Opal reef.

Yep, which is out on the edge of the Continental Shelf.

It takes about an hour and half, big green fish up there, big Maori Wrasse up there.

That's great.

Again, Akki uses an encouraging and positive phrase - 'that's great'. Now listen to some phrasal verbs that mean stopping and go:

Now the site we're pulling up to is called SNO. It stands for South North Opal. As you can see we're just turning the back of the boat around so all the coral will be right out the back there for you, so all you have to do is head off down the back of the boat, jump in the water. The coral will be right there.

Pulling up is stopping:

Now the site we're pulling up to is called SNO.

Head off means to start a journey or, as here, just go:

As you can see we're just turning the back of the boat around so all the coral will be right out the back there for you, so all you have to do is head off down the back of the boat, jump in the water.

Now, what does Akki do when he dives in?

Well, you know, when I go dive, you know, hold my breath and go under the water and swim with fish I can see the coral and fish and just swim with them, just soothe me.

He holds his breath - he doesn't breathe.

Now listen to Akki making conversation again:

So, Jo you work for Calypso.

Yeah.

How long have you been working?

I've been working for about two and a half years now.

Again, Akki asks questions that are easy to answer. But he's not sure of Jo's status. Listen to how he asks about it:

Oh, nice. So you are dive master or..?

He uses a rising inflection at the end to show that it's a question – so you are dive master or - and leaves it to Jo to complete the sentence:

Oh, nice. So you are dive master or..?

I'm a dive instructor.

Oh, instructor. Wow that's top, up there.

[laughs] Yep.

Oh, that's great.

We'll finish with a word that means very big – humungous:

Woohoo. That was great. The coral was like a flower, it's different colours of a garden. It's beautiful. And did you see the big, big fish. That thing is humungous, like this. I'm going down again.

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