This episode is brought to you by Shopify. Forget the frustration of picking commerce platforms when you switch your business to Shopify. The global commerce platform that supercharges your selling, wherever you sell. With Shopify, you'll harness the same intuitive features, trusted apps, and powerful analytics used by the world's leading brands. Sign up today for your $1 per month trial period at Shopify.com/tech, all lowercase. That's Shopify.com/tech. [Music] Hello, hello dear listener, and welcome into speaking part two. Describe something you own that you want to replace. You should say what it is, where it is, how you got it, and explain why you want to replace it. Okay, replace means you want to change it into something else or into the same object. Okay, Rory, hello, hello, give us your story. [Music] Well, I really do love it. I think I'll have to get a new smartphone soon. I've had it for ages, and it's a bit afraid at the edges. Quite literally, actually, in addition to metaphorically, it's a Samsung S10, and it comes everywhere with me since I needed it for work and studying and entertainment. I use it to make recordings and read articles and watch or listen to videos. I even have a few workout plans on there as well, so it covers everything. It was originally a gift from a former partner who worked for Samsung. So I got it for free, which is just as well, since I think they were pretty expensive at the time it was given to me, and that was Christmas 2019. So that's almost four and a half years ago now, maybe five years ago. I remember it vividly since it was just before the pandemic, and without the new phone and my new laptop, which I got at the time, I would have been sunk during everything that followed because my old phone wasn't working so well, and my old laptop was falling to pieces, too. So it was almost perfectly timed for the switchover to online work, exclusively online work. Since then, like I said, it's been everywhere with me, and I've been able to do all kinds of things with it. To be honest, maybe it's come to a few too many places because the screen is slightly cracked, and I'm fairly certain the battery must be knackered at this point, since it doesn't hold the charge very well compared to what it used to. And really, why should it after so many years? I think I could get another year out of it if I had to, but I have a birthday coming up, and what better time to ask for a new phone that will work a little bit better. I still feel a bit bad about it, though. Even though it's just a honk of plastic and metal, that thing and I have been through a lot together, and I will miss it when I get something better eventually. Hopefully the adjustment period will be easy after so long using the same thing. Aww, and will you get a new one soon? Well, my birthday's in two months, so that seems quite sad. This episode is brought to you by Experian. Are you paying for subscriptions you don't use, but can't find the time or energy to cancel them? Experian could cancel unwanted subscriptions for you, saving you an average of $270 per year, and plenty of time. Download the Experian app. Results will vary, not all subscriptions are eligible, savings are not guaranteed, paid membership with connected payment account required. Right there listener, so the task is something you own, something should be an object that you want to replace. And really replace means to have a new object or to have a different object. It's kind of you talked about your phone, so you'll get a new phone, so you will replace an old phone. Yeah. What else can our learners talk about here? I think most people replace their phones, but other people could talk about other electronic objects, which are regularly replaced like watches, smart watches too, or computers, perhaps an appliance in the house. Yeah, like a kettle, a fridge, a TV, I want to replace an old TV, right, something I don't know, maybe an old mattress, okay, and all the pieces of furniture. Can they talk about clothes, like my winter jacket? Yes, if it's falling apart, it's been a while since winter. Yes, dear listener, so make your choice, but I think the easiest thing to talk about is our smartphones. Yeah, all laptops. Rory started it with "while I really love it". Really do love it, which is using do for emphasis. Yeah, like I do love my old phone, but I'll have to get a new one, okay? I've had it for rages. Present perfect, I have had it for rages, it's a bit afraid at the edges. What does it mean to be afraid at the edges? Afraid at the edges is usually used to refer to clothes, which are falling apart, and they've been worn so much that you can almost start to see through them. But the idea of afraid at the edges means that something is not in as good a condition as it used to be, which my phone is certainly in that condition. Could you use it about a laptop? Could you give us a sentence? Yeah, sure, my laptop is a bit afraid at the edges. It's usually about clothes, but it can be used to describe any kind of thing that's falling to pieces. Can I say my winter jacket is a bit afraid at the edges, so I'll have to get a new one? Yes. And Rory's phone is a Samsung S10. A and Rory has had it for four years, dear listener, all along time. Almost five, no. Almost five years, wow, and the phone is still alive, well, half dead. It comes everywhere with me. Okay, so Rory does all his work studying entertainment using his phone listener. He also uses it to make recordings, read articles. Wow, so all his life happens inside this phone. It was originally a gift. Yeah, that's how I got it. And I got it for free. That's very nice. It was pretty expensive at the time, given to me, so it was given to me, like five years ago. I remember it vividly. If you remember something vividly, you remember it very well in colors. And this was before the pandemic. Rory got a new phone and then he started working online. How convenient, Rory? Well done you. Perfect timing. No, it was so convenient. Otherwise, it would have been a disaster. And we can say that without this new phone, I would have been sunk during the pandemic. Sunk? In this context, I would, I don't know, I would have had difficulties. Serious difficulties? Like, think, we usually use it about ships. The Titanic sank. But you can also be sunk in terms of your efforts. For example. Well, if something doesn't work out, for example, I tried to... Yeah, well, if I hadn't had the computer, my efforts would have been sunk in terms of adapting to online learning. Since 2019, this phone has been everywhere with me. I've been able to do all kinds of things with this phone. So again, present perfect listener. I've been using it for over five years. I've been able to do all the work with this. So you can use the same expressions if you're talking about your laptop. Even if you don't have to replace it, talk about your laptop, okay, or your smartphone. To be honest, it's come to too many places. So your phone has visited many places with you, yes, Rory. It has been through difficult times. It's been through a lot. And the screen is slightly cracked. Okay, so Rory dropped it a couple of times, right, Rory? Yes, I dropped it twice. And both of those times, it's cracked a little bit. The battery must be naked. What does it mean to be naked? It's just, it's done. It's finished or it's been destroyed. In this case, the battery is just about finished. It doesn't hold a charge. It's effectively as it used to. Yeah, if you say like, "Oh, I was naked at the end of the working day," I was very tired. Informal, British English, but here the battery must be naked, so half dead. The battery doesn't hold a charge. So you charge your phone, but it just doesn't charge well. Yeah? I could get another one soon. And I have a birthday coming up, and I'm going to ask him my family to give me a new smartphone. Yeah. Yeah. And then it's so cute, Rory tells us that he feels bad about it because they've been together for a long time, Rory and his phone. And kind of, you know, they are family. They are family. Yeah, they've been through difficult times. It's just a hunk of plastic and metal. A hunk of, it's like a piece of. Yeah. Or a lump of something. But it's, well, Rory has grown attached to this smartphone during this five years, five happy years. We've been through a lot together, have been through a lot together, and I will miss it. Oh, this is so cute. And then people, we know that when you buy a new phone, it's this period of adjustment. Right? So you'll have to adjust to a new device. So hopefully, the adjustment period will be easy. How Rory changes from an old phone to a new one. And you're going to get a Samsung, right? You're not going to get like Apple or something. I don't know, I'm torn on this, I'm either getting a Samsung or I'm getting a Fairphone. I can't decide which one. Which one? Fearphone? A Fearphone. Yeah, they're a little bit more expensive, but they're the materials to make it are ethically sourced. Ooh, okay. But you're going to ask your family to get you one, right? For my birthday, yes, I'm thinking about it. Nice. So they can all Japan and like get you a new one. Well, yes. What helped you organize this answer? Almost everything that was in the task. I did add a little bit of an introduction just to say, I do love this thing, but it's time for it to go. I think most people like their phone and they don't want to get rid of it, but they reach the end of being able to use it successfully. This is the end you know. Speaking of the end, I also added something where I was talking about hopefully the adjustment period will be easier after using the same thing for so long. So this is about a possible side effect of replacing it, but it's all connected to the idea of replacing a product. Love them. So, dear listener, talk about your smartphone or your laptop. Okay. Excellent. Thank you very much for listening and we'll get back to you in our new episode about consumer habits. Oh, gosh, the consumerism. Bye-bye. Bye. Subscribe something you own that you want to replace. You should say what it is, where it is, how you got it and explain why you want to replace it. Well, I really do love it. I think I'll have to get a new smartphone soon. I've had it for ages and it's a bit afraid at the edges. Quite literally, actually, in addition to metaphorically. It's a Samsung S10 and it comes everywhere with me since I needed it for work and studying and entertainment. I use it to make recordings and read articles and watch or listen to videos. I even have a few workout plans on there as well, so it covers everything. It was originally a gift from a former partner who worked for Samsung. So I got it for free, which is just as well since I think they were pretty expensive at the time it was given to me. And that was Christmas 2019. So that's almost four and a half years ago now, maybe five years ago. I remember it vividly since it was just before the pandemic. And without the new phone and my new laptop, which I got at the time, I would have been sunk during everything that followed because my old phone wasn't working so well. And my old laptop was falling to pieces too. So it was almost perfectly timed for the switchover to online work exclusively online work. Since then, like I said, it's been everywhere with me and I've been able to do all kinds of things with it. To be honest, maybe it's come to a few too many places because the screen is slightly cracked and I'm fairly certain the battery must be knackered at this point since it doesn't hold the charge very well compared to what it used to. And really, why should it after so many years? I think I could get another year out of it if I had to, but I have a birthday coming up. And what better time to ask for a new phone that will work a little bit better. I still feel a bit bad about it though. Even though it's just a hunk of plastic and metal, that thing and I have been through a lot together and I will miss it when I get something better eventually. Hopefully the adjustment period will be easy after so long using the same thing. Aww, and will you get a new one soon? Well, my birthday is in two months, so that seems quite good. [Music]
