IELTS Preparation Series 1, Episode 8: Crocodile Tourism

(Bấm vào đây để xem/nghe bài kế tiếp)

Xem lời thoại bên dưới:

0:14

Hello. Welcome again to Study English, IELTS preparation. I'm Margot Politis.

0:20

Today we'll look at some words that cause a lot of confusion - the relative pronouns

0:26

'that', 'which' and 'who', and then we'll do some pronunciation practice.

0:30

But first, let's listen to some people talk about a very dangerous tourist attraction

0:36

from Australia's Northern Territory.

0:41

People have always been fascinated with death. Most of the mysteries that you see on television,

0:46

the films that you see, involve murder in one kind or another. Crocodiles are one of

0:50

the last remaining dinosaurs and the idea of a crocodile coming out of the water and

0:54

grabbing somebody is absolutely riveting.

0:58

I read about the death of the German tourist who was taken by a crocodile. It didn't put

1:04

me off coming to the Northern Territory, quite the opposite in fact.

1:07

I think the NT is famous for its crocodiles and probably quite famous for its crocodile

1:13

attacks and that tourists who come here would like to be, or feel as though they were, involved

1:18

in that danger.

1:19

Tourists want to have a story to take home and if they can say that they were in the

1:26

Northern Territory where the German tourist was taken by the croc, then it adds to their

1:31

own adventure.

1:33

So he thinks people may actually be attracted to the Northern Territory because of the dangerous

1:38

crocodiles.

1:40

But now we're going to leave the crocodiles, and talk about something else that can be

1:44

dangerous - the relative pronouns 'who', 'which' and 'that'.

1:49

Listen for some relative pronouns here.

1:54

People have always been fascinated with death. Most of the mysteries that you see on TV,

1:58

the films that you see, involve murder of one kind or another.

2:02

I read about the death of the German tourist who was taken by a crocodile.

2:08

Most of the mysteries 'that' you see on TV involve murders.

2:14

I read about the death of the tourist 'who' was taken by a crocodile.

2:19

Relative pronouns are used to introduce relative clauses.

2:23

They give more information about a subject.

2:27

The subject here is 'mysteries'.

2:30

The 'that clause' gives us more information about the subject - 'the mysteries that you

2:36

see on TV'.

2:37

'The tourist' is the subject. The 'who clause' gives more information - 'the tourist who

2:44

was taken by a crocodile'.

2:45

But how do you choose between 'who', 'which' or 'that'?

2:51

Well the relative pronoun 'who' is only used with people.

2:56

'Which' is only used with things.

3:00

'That' is usually only used with things as well. Sometimes, in informal language, it

3:06

can refer to people.

3:08

But when you're learning English, it's probably best to avoid using 'that' for people.

3:14

The most difficult thing with these relative pronouns is working out the difference between

3:19

'which' and 'that'.

3:22

As a general rule, we use 'which' when the clause does not affect the meaning of the

3:28

sentence.

3:29

A 'which' clause just gives us extra information.

3:32

It can be left out of a sentence, and the sentence still has the same meaning.

3:39

When 'which' is used in this type of clause, we put commas around it.

3:45

'The hat, which is on the bed, is new.'

3:52

Here, the clause 'which is on the bed', just gives us additional information.

3:59

We can take it out, and the sentence still makes sense.

4:03

There is only one hat, it's the hat on the bed. We take out the which clause, and the

4:10

important information is still there:

4:13

The hat is new.

4:16

OK, now let's look at 'that'.

4:20

We use 'that' for clauses that are a crucial part of the sentence. They are actually part

4:25

of the definition of the subject.

4:29

The hat that is on the bed is new.

4:31

Notice 'that' clauses do not use commas, because they are a crucial part of the sentence.

4:38

There are a number of hats that this sentence could be referring to. But the sentence is

4:44

specifically talking about the hat on the bed, so we use 'that'.

4:48

The 'that' clause cannot be taken out of the sentence.

4:53

The hat is new.

4:54

It doesn't make sense here, because it doesn't tell us which hat is being discussed.

5:00

It will take some practice to get used to when to use 'who', 'which' and 'that'.

5:06

To sum up, we use 'that' to define the subject.

5:11

We use 'which', in a clause with commas, to add extra information.

5:18

You will notice 'which' often being used in place of 'that', especially in spoken language.

5:24

While not strictly correct, it is very common.

5:28

The word 'who' is a bit simpler. It's only used when the subject is a person, and can

5:34

be used in both of these types of clauses.

5:41

OK. Now we're going to do some pronunciation practice.

5:46

Students learning English often complain that native speakers speak too fast.

5:51

Well, it's true. English speakers do run their words together, so it's often very difficult

5:57

to hear when one word ends and another begins.

6:01

To make your spoken English sound natural, it's important for you to do this too.

6:07

You need to learn to link words ending in a 'final consonant' sound to words with an

6:12

'initial vowel' sound.

6:14

Let's look at some words linked with 'of'.

6:19

People have always been fascinated with death. Most of the mysteries that you see on television,

6:23

the films that you see, involve murder in one kind or another. Crocodiles are one of

6:28

the last remaining dinosaurs, and the idea of a crocodile coming out of the water and

6:32

grabbing somebody is absolutely riveting.

6:35

I read about the death of the German tourist who was taken by a crocodile. It didn't put

6:42

me off coming to the Northern Territory, quite the opposite.

6:45

He uses the phrases:

6:47

most of

6:49

one of

6:51

out of

6:53

death of

6:55

But in sentences, these phrases will usually become linked together:

7:01

most of, most of

7:04

one of, one of

7:07

out of, out of

7:11

death of, death of

7:12

Notice that 'of' in these phrases is unstressed.

7:19

Practice these ones:

7:22

many of, many of

7:26

most of, most of

7:30

one of, one of

7:34

several of, several of

7:36

Listen to the differences when I read these sentences in a natural, conversational way.

7:45

One of my best friends lives here. One of my best friends lives here.

7:53

Many of the trees have died. Many of the trees have died.

8:00

I enjoy most of her songs. I enjoy most of her songs.

8:08

People have always been fascinated with death. Crocodiles are one of the last remaining dinosaurs

8:13

and the idea of a crocodile coming out of the water and grabbing somebody is absolutely

8:18

riveting.

8:20

He says people have always been fascinated with death.

8:25

People 'have always'.

8:26

Notice how in conversation, we link the final consonant sound 'v', with the initial vowel

8:34

sound 'aw':

8:36

have always

8:37

crocodiles are, crocodiles are

8:43

is absolutely, is absolutely

8:47

Ok, now let's try these sentences:

8:52

She is always studying hard. She is always studying hard.

8:59

They aren't scared by crocodiles. They aren't scared by crocodiles.

9:06

So make sure you practice words in phrases and sentences. That way you'll get used to

9:12

linking your words, and your spoken English will sound more natural.

9:17

And don't forget to listen to native speakers as much as you can, and try to copy them,

9:23

even if they do speak fast!

9:25

And that's all for today. I'll see you next time on Study English. Bye bye.

#II21Ieltsprepseries1