[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The food crops we have today have been bred for generations from older varieties to maximize yield.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But in the process important and useful traits have been lost, which scientists are now rediscovering using new gene technologies. Researchers investigating ancient varieties of rice have found genes of confirmed disease resistance.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They believe that by analyzing the genes of more plants, they'll be able to build up a live breed of properties with which plant breeders can create new varieties suit to local circumstances.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] At the end of the glaciers beneath the main peak of a mountain area in southwestern China,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The surface of the rocks here is an eye-catching bright red.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This is the heart of the Hengduan Mountains, a mountainous region in southwestern China.


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[Assistant] 145 snowy peaks over 5000 meters above sea level are clustered here, forming an amazing group of mountains.


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[Assistant] The highest peak, Gungah Mountain, is 7,556 meters above sea level.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It is the highest point in the mountainous area of southwest China.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The Hylor Go glacier in the east has a huge icy waterfall measuring 1,100 meters wide with a drop of more than 1,000 meters.


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[Assistant] The strong thawing effect leads to frequent massive icy avalanches.


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[Assistant] Giant glaciers descend all the way into dense forests.


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[Assistant] It is the lowest maritime glacier in Asia.


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[Assistant] Bright red rocks can be seen almost everywhere in the valley at the end of the glacier.


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[Assistant] Scientists have found that the red blood colour on the stone is not from a mineral.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But a rare parasite. A rare lichen complex.


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[Assistant] Whenever the temperature and humidity are right, they spread across the rock surface, dyeing the rocks bright red.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Taken away from the mountains, however, they quickly change colour and dye.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Even if they are left in peace, their lifespan is only four to five years. And then they will regenerate and begin coloring the rocks bright red again.


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[Assistant] Why they came into being has baffled many great minds.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Our company has decided to cut down our workloads, so from now on we leave at 3pm every Friday.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yes of course, I need your student ID please.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It says here that you are a business major and that you're in your second year. Is this information correct?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Sure, that's not a problem. Do you have a list of courses you want to take this semester?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeaah, that's perfect. What about the subjects for your minor?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yes, of course. I need your student ID please.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Okay, Susan. It says here that you are a business major and that you're in your second year. Is this information correct?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Sure, that's not a problem. Do you have a list of courses you want to take this semester?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeaah, that's perfect. What about the subjects for your minor?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Wow, you're going to be busy this semester. Okay, here you go.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You're registered now, you have to make your first tuition payment before classes start.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yes of course, I need your student ID please.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It says here that you are a business major and that you're in your second year. Is this information correct?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Sure, that's not a problem. Do you have the list of courses you want to take this semester?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, that's perfect. What about the subjects for your minor?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The Singing Sands Mountain is located in Dunhuang in Western China.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Nestling between the tall sand dunes, there is a little miracle.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The formation and continuous existence of the crescent spring are all related to its topography.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And overflows through a porous geological layer to form the crescent spring.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Although it's extremely dry here, with the annual evaporation being more than 60 times that of the annual precipitation,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The stable water source ensures a sustainable water supply to the spring.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Whenever there's a sandstorm, it forms an upward spiral airflow between the surrounding sand mountains.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Sending the sand at the foot back to the top of the sand mountain.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The ancient Silk Road once passed by the Crescent Spring.


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[Assistant] Not even. Check it out. Now that's a fresh ride.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] John believes that Elvis Presley is still alive. He's got a 10 years hold on reality.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We now face a great challenge, the overcoming of which lead us all to untold riches and success.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The ambitious plan to reduce poverty, the start of which was launched last Tuesday in New York, will require a huge investment of taxpayers' dollars.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Honey, the kids are getting a little out of hand. Can you do something?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The party last night got out of hand. The neighbors called the police.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's right, today is the finale, the final episode, episode 10. This is where it all ends, so what do you think is gonna happen?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There was a lot of controversy around it because, you know, I wanted to know if people wanted a happy ending, a sad ending, unexpected. I guess everyone wants a happy ending, right?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Alright, so, uh, they got married. Ahem. Well, you got married.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Not only did you get married, but you got married Bollywood style with like music and everything nice.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Alright, so apart from this happy ending and this happy finale that we had, uh, we did look at a lot of great words and phrases, so why don't we start now with Language Takeaway.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Right, they're expecting. So if Gulam and Nisha are expecting, what does that mean exactly?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So, they are expecting a baby. Or they're expecting. And they were talking about, well, Stephen, he was supposed to get married in India, and his brother said a very interesting word. He said, well, these girls are still, this girl is still pining over you.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Right. You want them. So you're pining over this person. Now can you pine over an object?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And you know what I read recently is that people can get addicted to painting.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, after a breakup, maybe you can pine after a person, not because you miss them or you want to, but you kind of grow accustomed to it and you become addicted to this pain that's kind of pleasurable.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, hopefully none of our listeners are pining over anyone or get to experience that, huh?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeaah, you have to get over it, and that's what his brother says, hey, get over it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And also, it kind of means that you have to forget or let that person go, you know, like, get over it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Right. So it's an adjective, and basically means that you have no correction of some sort.


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[Assistant] Okay, cool. So five great words in language takeaway today. And well, before we move on and listen to the dialogue again, why don't we take a look at Fluency Builder?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] My pride and joy. So it's usually a person that's your pride and joy? It could be a thing too. It could be a thing.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So how do you, I would answer this by saying, uh, well not much or, uh, I just bought a new house. So basically you're asking for news from a person. Yes.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Alright, and usually after somebody asks you what's new with you, you say something and then you usually would follow up and ask that person as well, right? What's new and what's new with you?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Perfect, alright, what's new with you? Uh, what else? Now, he was supposed to get married, right?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So basically what he's saying is that he couldn't complete or maybe finish something that he started, right?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Right, I couldn't get married. You see that a lot when maybe in movies two people are supposed to get married, they're at the altar, and all of a sudden the bride says, I can't, or she goes away crying.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, it's not literal, it's basically saying girls are very interested in you, girls are so interested in you that they'll be chasing you almost.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And it doesn't only work with girls, right? I can say there'll be boys throwing themselves at you.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Right. So, but it's only basically in a loving way, right? It can't be anything else, like somebody's chasing you for other reasons.


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[Assistant] Alright, well, interesting phrases on Fluency Builder today. I think it's time for us to listen to this dialogue for one last time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It was interesting, we went a lot of different ways.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Right, maybe we can do, uhm, something scary like a thriller or horror.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Maybe we can do a comedy, something maybe like friends, I don't know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, it could be. Alright, so listeners, why don't you give us your input? We need your feedback. Tell us what series you would like next. What type of series? Maybe, like we said, drama, sci-fi, action. What would you like?


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[Assistant] Among the numerous lakes on the north of the Yangtze River, Taihu Lake is the largest.


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[Assistant] Yuan Tuo Jiu is a peninsula extending into Taihu Lake.


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[Assistant] It is named after a giant stone that emerges from the lake.


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[Assistant] And looks for all the world like a turtle, with its head held high.


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[Assistant] It is the best time to enjoy the beautiful cherry blossoms.


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[Assistant] Pink clouds of cherry blossoms cover the trees, complemented by the rippling water and flurries of falling cherry flowers.


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[Assistant] The history of cherry planting in Yuan Tuo Jiu can be traced back to the 1930s.


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[Assistant] The cherry blossoms on either side of the Chuncheon Bridge were planted at that time. In March 1988,


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[Assistant] has therefore become a cherry viewing resort in China.


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[Assistant] Attracting countless tourists to enjoy the beautiful cherry blossoms here every year.


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[Assistant] He's been a leader in his field for 25 years and his preeminence has never been questioned.


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[Assistant] NATO promises to wipe out the scourge of terrorism.


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[Assistant] Apparently that was something humans had created by our way of living.


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[Assistant] As soon as you turn on the TV, everything would be about that. Headlines, radio, newspapers. You would never read or hear about anything else. As if there was a world war going on. But no one ever talked about it. If burning fossil fuels was so bad that it threatened our very existence, how could we just continue like before?


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[Assistant] Why were there no restrictions? Why wasn't it made illegal?


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[Assistant] So when I was 11, I became ill. I fell into depression. I stopped talking and I stopped eating.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But the climate crisis has already been solved. We already have all the facts and solutions. All we have to do is to wake up and change.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Excuse me sir, this is the express checkout lane for people who have 15 items or fewer. It looks like you have more than 15 items there.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Your total is $78.33. Here's your receipt. Have a nice day.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Excuse me sir, this is the express checkout lane for people that have 15 items or fewer.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It looks like you have more than 15 items there.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Please place your items on the belt and push your shopping cart through. Do you prefer paper or plastic?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Do you have a club card or will it be cash?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Excuse me sir, this is the express checkout lane for people who have 15 items or fewer. It looks like you have more than 15 items there.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Your total is $78.33. Here's your receipt. Have a nice day.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] My driver's license expires in a month, so I have to get it renewed.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Emily had a really bad week. I think you should cut her some slack.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, I don't want to be ripped like you. I just want a good physique with weights and cardio.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I just started my training today. I'm not really sure where to begin.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I just want a good physique with weights and cardio.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, I don't want to be ripped like you, I just want a good physique with weights and cardio.


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[Assistant] Come on guys, stop being such cowards. It's a mystery and an adventure.


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[Assistant] That laugh came from this room. Let's go and check it out.


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[Assistant] The gem-like pure blue is the most outstanding feature of this mountain lake.


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[Assistant] The secret to this spectacle can be found in the lake water, which is rich in minerals.


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[Assistant] Warm, moist air streams from the Atlantic Ocean reach here from thousands of miles away.


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[Assistant] Blocked by mountains and uplifted by terrain, they get trapped.


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[Assistant] It's become known as the Atlantic's last teardrop.


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[Assistant] In fact, it's the dozens of glaciers around the Sirem Lake that are the real creators of the beautiful scenery.


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[Assistant] Rivers formed by melting water provide a continuous source of fresh water, helping to form a large wetland by the lake.


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[Assistant] Too easy! That song is Kingslayer by the Finnish power metal group Nightwish. You are


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[Assistant] Ancient sculptures blown to pieces by a British air raid on Berlin in 1943 have been reassembled and put on public display.


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[Assistant] Archaeologists spent nine years painstakingly piecing together nearly 30,000 shards of basalt to reconstruct the giant figures of sphinxes, gods and lions. News item 68.


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[Assistant] An official report in the United States says the American banking crisis that rocked the global economy three years ago was caused by the failure of regulators and excessive risk taking on the part of the financial industry.


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[Assistant] Investigating panels said the crisis was avoidable and resulted directly from human action and inaction.


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[Assistant] The panel divided along party lines with Republican members producing their own separate reports.


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[Assistant] Under That Rock, written by D.G. Chelsea. Illustrated by Rebecca Stuff.


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[Assistant] Focus question. What might you find under a rock?


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[Assistant] Look under that rock. What will you find?


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[Assistant] You may find many small surprises.


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[Assistant] Connections. Writing. What have you found under a rock?


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[Assistant] Draw a picture and write a sentence about it. Science.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Compare two animals that the boy found under the rock.


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[Assistant] A government report said the drug known as Mediator should have been banned as early as 1999 when it began to emerge that it could cause heart disease.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Several other European countries and the United States then withdrew it, but it remained on sale in France for another 10 years. The health minister, Javier Bertrand, said it was now his duty to rebuild the regulatory system to protect the public.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Wikipedia is now available in 270 languages, covers 17 million topics, and is read by hundreds of millions of people around the world.


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[Assistant] But the man behind the site, Jimmy Wales, says he expects its future growth to come from emerging nations like India and Brazil.


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[Assistant] With claws longer than a Velociraptor and nearly two meters tall, the cassowary rules this forest.


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[Assistant] But in this forest, most of the fruit is too big for the chicks.


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[Assistant] There is food to be gathered throughout their territory. But it's not easy to find.


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[Assistant] Out of sight and without his father's protection, he's vulnerable.


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[Assistant] Australia's prehistoric forests are still full of predators.


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[Assistant] Australia was once part of the vast supercontinent of Gondwanaland. Covered in forest and full of life. Dinosaurs dominated. Mammals had only just appeared.


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[Assistant] Then Australia began to break away.


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[Assistant] None could now leave this giant island, and very few could get here, unless they could fly.


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[Assistant] As you move inland, the forest thins, the air cools and the land, as it gets higher, changes dramatically.


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[Assistant] To survive here, you must be able to tolerate really harsh conditions.


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[Assistant] Mammals that rear their young, usually in a pouch on the mother's belly.


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[Assistant] And the young up here certainly need such shelter.


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[Assistant] No kangaroos can survive for long higher than this.


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[Assistant] She weighs as much as a big dog and has the legs of a small one. Not ideal for deep snow.


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[Assistant] Fragments of bark hardly count even as a snack. And she's hungry.


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[Assistant] But it's several kilometres away, across a frozen river.


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[Assistant] Wombats might not be fast, but then they don't need to be up here. They can survive on next to nothing.


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[Assistant] Snowy peaks are hardly typical of Australia.


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[Assistant] But the great dividing range is a remnant of what were once some of the longest mountain chains on earth.


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[Assistant] But then these sister continents broke apart.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Antarctica, drifting southwards, became locked in ice. Australia drifted northwards towards the equator, and became hotter and drier.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Woodlands developed, and in places where rainfall was low, open grasslands.


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[Assistant] These are also eastern grey cankeroos, and this is their true home. Here they are well fed and powerful.


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[Assistant] And on these open plains, you need speed. Because where there are large herds, there will be predators.


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[Assistant] Descendants of rules that were brought here over 4,000 years ago by human visitors from Asia.


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[Assistant] Across these open, flat plains, the dingoes are just not fast enough.


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[Assistant] But what makes the white female their leader is her stamina and particularly her intelligence.


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[Assistant] She's run 30 kilometres today, but still she doesn't give up.


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[Assistant] The white dingo has more than one reason to be so relentless.


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[Assistant] With so much effort for just one meal, the open plains are tough places on which to raise young.


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[Assistant] But nonetheless, she's a stealthy and ferocious hunter. She searches for prey among the grass stems.


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[Assistant] It's a male Jotus, looking for a mate.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Waving his arms makes his intentions clear. He's a friend, not food.


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[Assistant] Time to try his best move. The double paddle. That surely will do the trick.


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[Assistant] And he's tamed her. She stays still for just long enough.


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[Assistant] And then he retreats quickly before she has second thoughts.


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[Assistant] Over thousands of years, the grasslands of the centre dried and lakes and rivers turned to dust.


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[Assistant] Australia today is the driest inhabited continent on earth.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] From space, the continent is seen to be stained red by iron oxide, rust from its disintegrating rocks.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Sacred to the first people to arrive here 60,000 years ago.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Few plants, few animals, and almost no permanent water.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Australia has more species of them than any other continent. The parenti, two metres long, is the biggest here. And he's thirsty.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It only rains here once or twice a year. And when there isn't any rain, forensics get their water from eating lizards.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And thorny devils. All are on the menu.


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[Assistant] It's only the size of a mouse, but even so it must eat hundreds of ants every day to get what it needs.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He's found a tiny puddle only a few millimeters deep, and he dips his toe into it.


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[Assistant] There is one species that has truly conquered the Australian desert.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They sometimes travel 500 kilometres in a single day to find it. Australia's hardiest animal.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Flying in a flock keeps the budgies safe, but they're still desperate to drink.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] As soon as a particularly brave one takes the plunge, they all do.


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[Assistant] It eventually entered warm, tropical seas.


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[Assistant] And here, in the crystal clear sunlit water, just a meter or two beneath the surface, life proliferated.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Australia is not only fringed by rich reefs, but girdled with islands, some big, some small.


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[Assistant] Off the south coast lies by far the biggest of them. Tasmania.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The carcass of a wallaby has been washed ashore.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They still rely on their mother's milk, but they're feeling peckish.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There must be something solid they could find for themselves while they're waiting for a drink.


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[Assistant] Found in only a few places such as this remote islet off the coast of Tasmania.


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[Assistant] It was engraved on stone 60,000 years ago.


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[Assistant] Together, they decimated Australia's unique wildlife.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This was one of the continent's biggest animal predators, a marsupial wolf or thylacine.


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[Assistant] The change to their world brought by humanity.


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[Assistant] Which of its unique species will survive the coming decades now depends on us.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If they lose them, it could take days to find them again.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Today they continue to be shot, poisoned and trapped, which explains why they avoid the crew. So Dan suggests a new approach.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Only a handful of wild dingo dens have ever been filmed, so the team set up a stakeout.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That filming them from start to finish is impossible. Time for the final crew members.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Finally able to keep up, the team filmed these dingoes hunting kangaroos for the first time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That cat has just sat on the ridge and the full moon has just risen right behind it. It's almost cheesy.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] News item 81. A German man has admitted to smuggling hundreds of live tarantula spiders to the United States through the mail. Prosecutors in Los Angeles said Sven Koppler was caught after he posted tarantulas from Germany to federal agents posing as buyers.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Scientists in the United States have warned that new varieties of grape need to be developed to secure the future of winemaking. Nearly all types of grape in use today belong to one species, meaning that they are vulnerable to the same diseases.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Researchers from Cornell University in the US have analyzed the genomes of more than 1,000 individual vine plants. They've identified bits of DNA that are linked to various traits, including acidity, sugar content, and disease resistance.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Writing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they say that using this information should make it far easier to create new grape varieties that are resistant to disease. If we are lucky, they might even result in better tasting wines.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This is Portugal, as it's never been seen before.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] From above, we'll reveal continental Europe's western frontier.


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[Assistant] Where ancient traditions collide with the modern world to create a landscape of contrasts and surprises.


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[Assistant] In this series, we'll take an aerial tour across Europe, seeing its sights from a brand new perspective.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Filmed from above over the course of a single year as the landscape transforms through the changing seasons. We will uncover the culture, history and engineering.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Portugal is mainland Europe's westernmost country. It borders Spain to the east and the fierce Atlantic Ocean to the west.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's a land of contrasts. The dry south is a paradise for tourists who soak up the sun-drenched beaches of the Algarve.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Every year Lisbon's streets hold a special surprise for the people who live here. As row after row of purple jacaranda flowers burst into colour.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In spring, the country gears up for its annual influx of visitors.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In an average year, Portugal's tourist industry contributes around 20% to the country's GDP and employs around 1 in 10 of the population, ahead of traditional industries like wine, marble and cork.


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[Assistant] Springtime draws vast crowds to the Shrine of Fatima, for one of the world's largest Catholic pilgrimages.


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[Assistant] Of the 19th century Dom Louise I Bridge.


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[Assistant] 60 kilometers outside the city, a brand new megastructure is being built that's set to become an equally big draw.


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[Assistant] In the region of Oroka, rugged peaks give rise to mighty rivers.


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[Assistant] Where the Piver River cuts a deep gorge through the hills.


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[Assistant] The lines are wooden walkways, known as the Passa di Sos d'Upaiva.


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[Assistant] And provide a path along this steep and beautiful valley.


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[Assistant] But the newest and most ambitious stretch of the Five Mile Route calls for more than wooden planks and posts.


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[Assistant] This is the construction site for the world's longest suspension footbridge. The 516 Oroka Bridge.


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[Assistant] When complete, a see-through walkway will provide an adrenaline boosting view into the valley below.


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[Assistant] The project's scientific consultant is Antonio Tadeo.


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[Assistant] Building the Oroka Bridge is a monumental engineering challenge.


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[Assistant] It must stretch 516 metres across the gorge.


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[Assistant] The team run suspension cables between the towers.


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[Assistant] And use overhead lines to winch 127 4 meter long decks of metal grill into position.


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[Assistant] Suspended from an overhead cable 175 meters above the valley floor.


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[Assistant] Piece by piece, the workers carefully slot each metal grill into place.


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[Assistant] After hundreds of hours of work, the bridge is complete.


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[Assistant] Its spectacular design is a masterpiece of minimalist engineering. Slung like a few threads of spiderweb across the gorge.


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[Assistant] But before it can open. Scientific Consultant Antonio


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[Assistant] Has to run a series of tests to make sure it's safe.


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[Assistant] He starts by installing a series of high-tech detectors to measure the motion of the bridge.


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[Assistant] Then he assembles a daredevil team of volunteers to push the new bridge to its limits.


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[Assistant] The 516 Arroka Bridge was designed to thrill.


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[Assistant] But if Antonio's tests show too much movement...


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[Assistant] His team will need to readjust the entire length of cabling.


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[Assistant] But to the engineering team's relief, the bridge passes the rigorous testing.


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[Assistant] For Antonio, it's a chance to reflect with pride in their achievement and marvel at the simple beauty of this engineering wonder.


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[Assistant] Of its 10.3 million inhabitants, over 60% live by coastal areas. Many can be found in the nation's capital, Lisbon.


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[Assistant] This ancient city is located at the mouth of the Tagus River and may have been a strategic port for over 3,200 years.


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[Assistant] The city's historic centre sits on the north bank of the Tagus River.


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[Assistant] And here, our aerial cameras reveal something unusual.


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[Assistant] All through the city centre, intricate patterns swirl across the sidewalks and squares.


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[Assistant] They turned the whole city into a giant work of art.


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[Assistant] These are the Calçada Artística Portuguesa, mosaic pavements intricately built up out of millions of hand-cut pieces of stone.


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[Assistant] Isabelle Massiel is in charge of keeping these world famous pavements in top condition.


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[Assistant] The Kalsteros team place a pre-made mold of the design on a foundation layer of sand and stone dust.


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[Assistant] Then they take limestone and basalt cubes and lay them around the template. Next, they fill in the pattern


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[Assistant] Each stone is cut by hand and no two stones are the same. Locking them tightly is a highly skilled job.


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[Assistant] Lisbon's passion for tiled pavement started in the 1840s with the magnificent Russio Square.


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[Assistant] A vast perception-bending sea of undulating waves.


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[Assistant] The decorative pavements were so popular, they were used in many of Lisbon's new prestigious paving projects. Including Camoinch Square and the Monument of the Discoveries.


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[Assistant] After several hours of grueling work, the cow's stay rush are finally finished.


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[Assistant] They sweep a layer of water and sand over the newly laid stones to fill in the gaps.


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[Assistant] Thanks to their painstaking efforts, this pattern just needs a burst of rain to make it good as new.


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[Assistant] The seasonal change across most of the country is subtle. The Algarve fills with tourists.


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[Assistant] The Alentejo region in Portugal's south makes up almost 30% of the entire country. Olive groves and quiet hilltop villages dot the pastoral landscape.


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[Assistant] And vast plains of golden wheat make this region the breadbasket of Portugal.


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[Assistant] And there's one summer crop here that's not only part of the DNA of the region, but the entire nation too.


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[Assistant] Alan Tejo appears baked dry in the summer heat.


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[Assistant] But a strange pattern covers much of the landscape. Patches of green in a sea of gold.


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[Assistant] These are Sobreirox, Portuguese oak trees.


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[Assistant] Francisco Almeida-Garret is a fifth generation cork grower.


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[Assistant] His family have been custodians of these majestic forests since the 1600s.


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[Assistant] It's late summer and Francisco has selected these 90 year old trees for this year's harvest.


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[Assistant] When done correctly, this process does not harm the tree.


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[Assistant] The workers use a specially designed half-moon axe to slice into the bark.


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[Assistant] Being careful not to harm the main trunk of the tree inside. They then lever the outer layer of cork off.


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[Assistant] The bigger the plank, the more it is worth. So they keep as much as possible in one piece. Finally, they ship the freshly harvested wood for processing.


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[Assistant] Here, at Corticera Amorim's processing yard, they collect cork oak from all over the country.


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[Assistant] If you have any in your home, there's a good chance it was processed here in this factory.


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[Assistant] For the company's forestry CEO, Paolo Americo di Oliveira, that's a huge responsibility.


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[Assistant] The workers dry the piles of cork in the open air for around a year.


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[Assistant] Then they cook the planks in vast tanks of boiling water to sterilize them.


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[Assistant] Best of all, because it is harvested without harming the tree, cork is a fully sustainable industry.


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[Assistant] Portugal looks set to keep supplying the world with this versatile wonder material for decades to come.


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[Assistant] Portugal's cork producers work hand in hand with its famous wine industry.


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[Assistant] The country produces over 650 million litres every year.


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[Assistant] Including a type of wine that's uniquely Portuguese.


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[Assistant] There are 14 major wine producing regions across Portugal. From above, one stands out. The Douro region in the north of the country.


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[Assistant] The Douro region is filled with strange interlocking patterns of loops and swirls, like a fingerprint pressed onto the landscape.


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[Assistant] Swooping lower reveals the swirls are actually steep terraces that cling to the sides of near vertical valleys and follow the path of the river below.


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[Assistant] David Guimarães is a sixth generation Portuguese winemaker. He oversees several wineries in the region, including the Quinta da Roeda.


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[Assistant] As summer draws to a close and the plump grapes droop heavy on the vine, it's harvest time in the Douro Valley.


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[Assistant] But winemakers here face a unique problem that most mass market vineyards don't have.


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[Assistant] The Douro Valley's steep-sided terraces leave no space for tractors. So all the grapes must be gathered by hand.


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[Assistant] David's small team can't pick an entire vineyard of grapes all at once.


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[Assistant] So The Harvest is a delicate game of timing and priorities, masterminded by David himself.


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[Assistant] Every day, David inspects the vines and decides where to send his team on the following day.


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[Assistant] If he overlooks ripe vines, their grapes can quickly spoil. So nothing here is decided on a whim.


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[Assistant] After hours of back-breaking work, the pickers have harvested 340 kilograms of perfectly ripe grapes. Vine by vine, crate by crate. David and his team bring this delicate harvest home.


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[Assistant] As the harvest comes to an end, a chill in the valley air signals the beginning of an incredible transformation. The leaves on the vines start to turn, painting the hillsides red. And in Lisbon, the lush trees of the South George Castle lose their thick foliage, and the summer tourists begin their exodus.


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[Assistant] Lisbon's ancient buildings can be read like a history book.


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[Assistant] The distinctive passageway of the Sao Jorge Castle reveal its 11th century Moorish roots.


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[Assistant] The tall arches of the Carmo Convent hint at its Gothic period construction.


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[Assistant] Ties it to the 16th century age of discovery. But there's one building in the hills that surround Lisbon that appears to break all the rules.


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[Assistant] The cool hilltops of Sintra have been a place of residence for Portugal's aristocracy for centuries.


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[Assistant] That shines brightly in a palette of vivid colors.


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[Assistant] Seen from above, it appears like a fairy tale dream.


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[Assistant] Domes, spires, and battlements all clash in a maelstrom of block colors and historical styles.


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[Assistant] This spectacular building holds a special place in the heart of palace director Antonio Nunes Pereira.


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[Assistant] Penner Palace looks like the work of centuries of rebuilds and redesigns by different architects.


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[Assistant] But this eclectic mix of styles was built in one go. And for a very good reason.


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[Assistant] In 1836, Queen Maria II of Portugal married a German prince named Ferdinand.


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[Assistant] Ferdinand needed to win over his new subjects, so he built Penner Palace as a love letter to the history of his adopted country.


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[Assistant] From above, the pieces of Ferdinand's gesture become clear.


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[Assistant] Neo-Gothic and Neo-Manueline towers echo the castles of great Portuguese kings past.


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[Assistant] While neo-Islamic domes reflect centuries of Moorish occupation.


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[Assistant] The walls are covered with neo-Indian and maritime motifs from the age of discovery.


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[Assistant] Ferdinand's grand statement showing his love of this country paid off. The Portuguese took him to their heart. And the royal family loved it too.


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[Assistant] And thanks to the work of Antonio and his team, its wonders remain preserved for the next generation to enjoy.


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[Assistant] Portugal's long history is built into its landscape.


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[Assistant] Ancient ruins like the Roman temple at Evra. The Islamic fortress, the castle of the Moors.


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[Assistant] And Christian Stronghold, the Castle of Guimarães.


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[Assistant] Revealed that this was a religious battleground in medieval times.


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[Assistant] But there's one historic ruin here that stands alone.


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[Assistant] Because its origin remains a complete mystery.


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[Assistant] A giant octagon with regular straight sides that encloses 38 hectares of land.


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[Assistant] The Octagon is known as the Cava de Viriato. It's an artificial hill.


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[Assistant] Seven meters high and over two kilometers long.


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[Assistant] Earthen ramparts are typical of ancient fortifications.


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[Assistant] And many believe this to be the ruins of a Roman military base. But archaeologist Caterina Tenta has a different theory.


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[Assistant] The caver seems far too big to be a military fort. But if it wasn't built for war, what else could it be?


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[Assistant] Katarina believes it's possible the site's eight-sided shape could hold a religious significance.


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[Assistant] Katerina believes the Kava could have been an ancient Christian city, with a medieval temple at its heart. But she needs evidence to prove her hunch.


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[Assistant] Today she's using drones to look for telltale shadows in the ground.


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[Assistant] In late antiquity, octagons were built into the structure of some Christian churches.


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[Assistant] And Katerina believes the people who built the cover took that idea to its limit, framing an entire city with the holy number. Katerina examines the images on her laptop as the drone sweeps over the octagon and builds a 3D model of the site. From above,


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[Assistant] The team analyze minuscule irregularities in the terrain.


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[Assistant] That may have been caused by the foundations of an ancient temple.


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[Assistant] She identifies a plot of land at the northwest of the octagon that stands out to her expert eye.


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[Assistant] That could be hiding the foundations of a medieval church.


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[Assistant] The team will only know for certain after further excavation but with this breakthrough


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[Assistant] Catarina is one step closer to solving one of Portugal's most enduring historical mysteries.


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[Assistant] The Portuguese consume more fish per capita than any other European nation.


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[Assistant] And the country's 800km coastline remains its lifeblood.


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[Assistant] Wind and swell sweep across the Atlantic unhindered, creating powerful waves. 100 kilometers north of Lisbon,


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[Assistant] The Peniche Peninsula takes the full brunt of the mighty ocean.


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[Assistant] UC and his team are installing a 25 meter wide electrical generator that will work by turning Panish's powerful swell into green energy.


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[Assistant] It's built to produce in total about the same energy as a 1.5 hectare solar farm.


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[Assistant] This machine is the first of a new design optimized for harsh conditions.


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[Assistant] It's taken weeks to assemble the generator on a dock site nearby. Now they have to tow it out to sea and sink it beneath the waves.


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[Assistant] When in operation, the massive concrete base will sit on the sea floor.


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[Assistant] An enormous paddle will swing backwards and forwards with the motion of the waves. This turns a generator.


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[Assistant] A team board the machine and connect an underwater cable to the national grid.


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[Assistant] As night falls, they slowly sink it to the ocean floor.


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[Assistant] The next morning, the machine is in place and working. It's a huge relief for UC and the team.


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[Assistant] UC wants to know if this machine is tough enough to survive Panish's punishing surf for years on end.


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[Assistant] So twelve months later, our aerial cameras return to watch his team pull it up and check it for damage.


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[Assistant] Divers descend 15 meters to the sea floor and connect air hoses to the machine's base.


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[Assistant] UC and his team hope to install hundreds of these wave energy devices up and down Portugal's Atlantic coast.


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[Assistant] During the winter months, most of Portugal's rugged coastline faces the full might of the Atlantic Ocean.


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[Assistant] There's one place where the winter waves rise far higher than any other. Thanks to a weird quirk of geography.


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[Assistant] When conditions are right, monster waves as tall as a seven-story building pound the cliffs below the town.


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[Assistant] The secret to this record-breaking swell lies hidden on the seabed.


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[Assistant] Nazaré's monster waves are created by a huge underwater canyon.


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[Assistant] Almost three times deeper than America's Grand Canyon.


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[Assistant] It funnels big ocean swells towards the town's north beach. Here they combine with the ordinary swell, making waves dramatically higher than before.


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[Assistant] Local jet ski legend Sergio Cosme spends his winters in Nazaré, helping surfers tackle the biggest waves.


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[Assistant] Sergio looks after a close-knit group of top surfers like Joana Andrade and Nick Von Rupp.


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[Assistant] Sergio's first challenge is to tow teammate Nick Von Rupp.


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[Assistant] On to the face of the wave, matching the wave's speed exactly.


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[Assistant] It's a tense moment that requires split-second timing and long experience of local swells and currents.


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[Assistant] Our aerial cameras track Nick, flying down a wave more than five times his own height.


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[Assistant] Sergio has to judge whether he has time to pick Nick up or leave him to face the next wave.


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[Assistant] Leaving the surfers in the breakwater can be a life or death decision.


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[Assistant] And the team turn around to head back for another run.


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[Assistant] After an exhausting six-hour session, the team finally head home. For Sergio, it's a moment to reflect.


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[Assistant] Inland from Portugal's famous coastline. The winter landscape starts to warm.


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[Assistant] And it heralds the arrival of one of the country's earliest agricultural blooms.


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[Assistant] Alentejo is Portugal's southern heartland.


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[Assistant] Much of the landscape is a parched sun-beaten expanse.


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[Assistant] But a patch of blue carves through the countryside.


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[Assistant] This is the Arcava Reservoir that irrigates the surrounding landscape.


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[Assistant] This climate and water supply make it the perfect place for one very special plant to thrive.


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[Assistant] From above, row after row of identical trees thread through the landscape.


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[Assistant] These are Alan Tejo's famous almond orchards. Miguel Chavez is an almond producer.


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[Assistant] And the end of winter brings the first flowering buds on his almond trees.


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[Assistant] For the almond blossoms to produce nuts, they must first be pollinated.


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[Assistant] So each year Miguel works with specialist traveling beekeepers who bring their hives to the farm.


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[Assistant] The truck is loaded with around 50 hives. That's a total of roughly 1 million honeybees.


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[Assistant] Just enough to ensure that each and every almond flower gets pollinated and produces a nut.


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[Assistant] The travelling beekeepers distribute the hives throughout the orchard.


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[Assistant] Two weeks later, it is the moment Miguel has been waiting for. An amazing natural event.


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[Assistant] The can only be truly appreciated from our unique aerial perspective.


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[Assistant] Line upon line of almond trees erupt, in a vast blanket of white, stretching towards the horizon.


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[Assistant] The bees can fly from flower to flower in search of food. And in doing so, fertilize the plants, ensuring each bud will bear a nut.


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[Assistant] Thanks to the life-giving almond nectar, the bees have a boost of energy just in time for the arrival of spring and for their next assignment somewhere else in the Portuguese countryside.


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[Assistant] With a rich and varied history that is written into the landscape.


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[Assistant] Here, age-old traditions collide with modern artistic flair in a wondrous spectacle.


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[Assistant] All About Foxes Written by Anthony Curran Focus Question


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[Assistant] What makes foxes interesting animals?


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[Assistant] They have thin legs and bushy tails.


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[Assistant] Their fur can be different colors.


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[Assistant] They have short fur in summer.


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[Assistant] Foxes have fur. They have long fur in winter.


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[Assistant] Foxes have fur. They lose their old fur each spring.


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[Assistant] Foxes are hunters. They hunt small animals.


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[Assistant] Foxes are hunters. They hunt mostly at night.


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[Assistant] Connections Writing and Art Why do foxes have long hair in winter and short hair in summer? Draw a picture and write about it. Science and Art


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[Assistant] Draw a picture of the fox and label at least five different body parts.


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[Assistant] It's hard to watch it disintegrate week in week out with so many games. It's probably one of my hardest challenges that I've faced in Crow Park since I've worked here.


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[Assistant] said the Tang monk. Don't you have anyone with you? asked the woman. You can't go there alone.


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[Assistant] Your companion will come back, said the woman.


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[Assistant] Hello Wukong, she said. How is the journey going? I see you're wearing the headband.


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[Assistant] Guan Yin smiled. You need that headband, Wukong. You are too violent and cruel. Wukong rolled his eyes.


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[Assistant] Did you tell the dragon that you're traveling with the Tang monk? Asked Guan Yin.


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[Assistant] When I met him, he was being punished for setting fire to his father's palace.


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[Assistant] The Chilean mountains still store 80% of the water in this land, continuously nourishing about 5 million people and 700,000 hectares of cultivated land.


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[Assistant] Written by Nigel Pepperhouse Focus Question


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[Assistant] Reindeer sometimes pull sleds.


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[Assistant] Reindeer sometimes weigh a lot.


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[Assistant] Reindeer sometimes travel many miles.


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[Assistant] Share your ideas with a partner.


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[Assistant] Go to the Peach Garden now and pick plenty of ripe peaches.


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[Assistant] We're sorry to wake you, sir.


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[Assistant] I'm sorry to tell you this, said the Queen. But there won't be a Peach Festival. Why not? asked Guan Yin.


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[Assistant] Just one peach would make someone live forever. He ate every peach in the garden.


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[Assistant] I'll put him in the large pot I use for making potions. Maybe we can burn him up slowly.


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[Assistant] Your majesty, Wukong is causing trouble all over heaven.


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[Assistant] I took the lid off the pot because I thought he was burned up. But the fire didn't hurt him at all.


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[Assistant] He said you would travel past our abbey someday. Please, come in.


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[Assistant] Our master is the great immortal, said the first priest. He is very wise and powerful.


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[Assistant] Our master is visiting friends in heaven right now.


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[Assistant] If he wasn't powerful, he wouldn't be able to do that.


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[Assistant] It's fruit takes ten thousand years to become ripe.


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[Assistant] According to legend, one bite of the fruit will make you live forever.


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[Assistant] It's not a baby, said one priest. It's a ginseng fruit. It only looks like a baby to you because you're immortal.


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[Assistant] Let's think a little bit about what the Big Bang Theory suggests, and then based on the theory, what we should be observing today. So the Big Bang starts with all of the mass and space in the universe, an infinitely, an infinitely dense


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[Assistant] But immediately after the big bang, so this occurred 13.7 billion years ago. 13.7 billion years ago.


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[Assistant] Immediately after, this little, tiny, infinitely small singularity begins to expand. And so for the first 100,000 years, it's still pretty dense. So let me just show this right now. So then it starts to expand. So maybe it gets to this.


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[Assistant] And I do not, I do not know if, if the entire universe is infinite or finite, whether it's, uh, uh, kind of, uh, uh, uh, whether it's a four-dimensional sphere, whether it goes infinitely in every direction, or whether it's, it's just slightly curved here and there, and maybe flat everywhere else, I won't go into all of that.


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[Assistant] But then it starts to expand a little bit from the singularity, but it's still, it's still extremely dense.


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[Assistant] It's still extremely dense. So dense that atoms can't even form. So you just have the basic fundamental building blocks of atoms. They're just all flying around. Electrons and protons. They're just flying around in just this ultra-hot


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[Assistant] And then if we fast forward a little bit more, now this is a point that we think we understand well, but this number, I actually looked at some old physics books and this number has changed in really the last 15-20 years, so maybe it'll change more.


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[Assistant] And, and, uh, sparse enough that it can cool down a little bit. You don't have as much bumping around. It's still a hot place, but now there's kind of, it cools down enough that electrons can be captured by protons, and you could actually have the first, the first hydrogen atoms can begin to form.


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[Assistant] The first hydrogen atoms begin to form. They actually condense in


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We estimate this temperature to be around 3,000 Kelvin. So we've cooled the 3,000 Kelvin, but this is still a temperature that you would not want to hang out in. It's still extremely, extremely hot.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Now why is this moment important? The first atoms forming.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So let's think about what's happening here. You have all of this bumping and interactions and if because of a bump or some energy release or because of the heat temperature, if a photon is released, it'll be immediately absorbed by something else. If something gets, if some energy gets released, it'll immediately be absorbed by something else because the universe is so dense, especially with charged particles.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Here, all of a sudden, it's not that dense. So over here, things that were being emitted could not travel long distances. They would immediately bump into something else.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] While you go over here and the universe is starting to look like the universe we recognize.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] All of a sudden, if one of these really hot, and it's still nowhere near as hot as this universe over here, but if one of these hot atoms emits a photon, and they would because they are at 3000 Kelvin, if they emit a photon, all of a sudden there's actually space


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So for the first time in the history of the universe, 380,000 years after the Big Bang,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You now have photons, you now have electromagnetic radiation.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You now have information that can travel over long, long distances.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So given that this happened, it's still roughly 13.7 billion years ago. 380,000 years is not a lot when you talk about 13.7. It still wouldn't even really change the dial, because we're talking about the hundreds of thousands. 7 is 700 million years, so this is actually a very small number.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But given that this was the first time that information could travel, that photons could travel through space without most of them having to bump into something, especially something that's probably charged. The other interesting thing is that these atoms it formed are now neutral. What could we expect to see today?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Let's think about it. These left, these photons were emitted 13.7 billion years ago. And they were emitted from every point in the universe.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The universe was a pretty uniform place at that time. Very minor irregularities, but you could see, because it was this white-hot thing just began to condense, it hadn't formed a lot of the structures that we now associate with the universe. It was just kind of a fairly uniform spread of, at that time, reasonably hot hydrogen atoms.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So this is every point in the universe. So let's think about what's going on here. Let me draw another diagram. Let's say that, so we're talking about this point in the universe right over here.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The universe is at even 380,000 years after the Big Bang, still much, much, much, much smaller than the universe today. But let's say that, let's say that this is, let's say that this is


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] At that exact same time that we're emitting, that we're emitting this radiation. That, that we're emitting this radiation.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And there were actually every point in the universe was emitting this radiation. The point in the universe where we are now is emitting this radiation. And some of that radiation, so the points that were closer to us, the points that were closer to us,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It was emitting that radiation, but it got to us much sooner. It got to us much sooner. It got to us billions of years ago. But there were some points that were far enough that that radiation must be getting to us right now. Or another way to think about it is that radiation has taken 13.7 billion years to reach us. So let me draw


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So if I were to draw the visible universe today, and you know from the video about the size, so it's not going to be a scale. It would have to be far, far larger than the circle I drew here. But let's say that this is the visible universe. Let's say that this is the visible universe today.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We should be receiving, and we're in the center of it, because we can only look at the same, roughly the same distance in every direction. We're not the center of the universe, I want to be clear. We're the center of the observable universe, because we can only observe the same distance in all directions. Now,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We should be, there should, you know, we're receiving some light from a hundred thousand light years away and then we're looking a hundred thousand years in the past. We should be receiving some light, maybe a million light years.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's just getting to us after traveling for a billion years. And so we're actually looking at those objects a billion years ago, because that's when they emitted the light. So the same way, we can look at objects that emitted their light 13.7 billion years ago, right at the beginning, right at this stage over here, right after 380,000 years after the Big Bang.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so since that light is only just reaching us, we will see it, we will see it as it was.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] 13.7 billion years ago. So we should see this type of radiation. Now, the other thing to remember, the universe was expanding when this was emitted, the universe was expanding. The universe was expanding at a very


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's all relative, what's the fast rate and all of that, but it was expanding. And we learned on the video in redshift that when the source of the light is moving away from you, or the source of the electromagnetic radiation is moving away from you, the radiation itself gets redshifted.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So even though this is at a relatively high frequency, this was kind of, you can almost imagine it was kind of red hot gas, it was at 3000 Kelvin.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Because it was moving away from us, these things, and we learned in the video on the actual, uh, the actual size of the observable universe, even though these electromagnetic waves are taking 13.7 billion years to reach us, in that time,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This point in space, the point in space that emitted those electromagnetic waves are about 46 billion years, uh, light years away. So that's our best estimate. So this is still, is still stretching away.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So theory, if you believe all of this, that this was about 3000 Kelvin, and it gets redshifted, theory would have it that we should see not


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Not something, uh, analogous to radio wave, not something analogous to electromagnetic waves being released from a 3000 degree, uh, temperature atom. We should see something redshift into, redshifted into the radio spectrum. So we should be observing, we should be observing


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And the reason why we're observing radio waves and not something of a higher frequency is because it got redshifted. It got redshifted down into a lower frequency. And remember, we should be seeing it from every point in the universe where the photons have been traveling for 13.7 billion years.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We should see it all around us. This would, this is almost, this is almost a necessity for us to really believe in the current Big Bang Theory. And it turns out that we did observe this. And I want to make this, this is very unintuitive because you look at any other point in the universe.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's non-uniform. Every other point in the universe, you have stars and galaxies. These aren't atoms anymore. These are stars and


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so there's some points in the universe where you see a lot of radiation and there's other points in the universe where you see nothing. It's just black. But if this is correct, if this really did happen, we should be able to observe uniform radio waves from every direction around us.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] More than 360, we're going in three dimensions. Any direction you point an antenna, a radio antenna, you should be receiving these radio waves that were much higher frequency when they were emitted. They'd been redshifted then, but they were emitted 13.7 billion years ago.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Radiation. And it's this in combination


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So it's this data that we're getting, this observation, in combination with the fact that the further we look out, uh, to galaxies and clusters of galaxies,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They all seem to be moving away from us. They're all redshifted and they get redshifted more and more the further we look out. So this and everything being redshifted away from us are the best two points of evidence for the actual Big Bang. So hopefully you found that reasonably interesting.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What do you mean? I bought this computer just three years ago.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Okay, I know where this is going. How much will it cost


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I just wanna know if it's good, and if I'll be able to play solitaire without the computer crashing or freezing all the time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Okay, I know where this is going. How much will it cost me to


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I just want to know if it's good, and if I'll be able to play solitaire without the computer crashing or freezing all the time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Times are ever changing and we must prepare ourselves better every day.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What do you mean? I bought this computer just three years ago.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I have no idea what you are talking about. I just want to know if it's good, and if I'll be able to play solitaire without the computer crashing or freezing all the time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Hello everyone and welcome back to another edition here at EnglishPod. My name is Marco.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Right. So it's a very debatable topic. People want to protect animals, mistreatment of animals. And this is what we're gonna talk about today. Protecting animals and giving them rights. Do you think animals have rights?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So why don't we listen to our dialogue as two people discuss animal rights and let's get their opinions on things.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Alright, we're back and both of them have good points, right? In favor and against and as you said, they also talk about human rights which is also a very important topic. But before we discuss this topic, why don't we take a look at the language that was used now in Language Takeaway. Language Takeaway.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Alright, so in language takeaway, our first word today is vulnerable.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Right, so you're, you're vulnerable. Now, uh, this isn't only used for animals, right? It can be like an army is vulnerable if they don't have strong defenses on the, on the border or something.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Okay, very good, so vulnerable. And they also talked about transgressions against human rights.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Very good. So that's a good way of putting it, to cross the line, to kind of go beyond where you should. Alright, so transgressions. And now another very serious problem in the world is poaching. That's one of the things that they said they should control. Poaching.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Okay, so that's the main difference. Hunting is usually for sport, you hunt either for food or for sport, right? Legal hunting. But poaching is usually you want to sell, like you said, the fur or the skins or something.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Exactly. Alright, so poaching. And then they talked about synthetic products. So what is, what is a synthetic product?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] These are all the words that we have for language takeaway today, so why don't we move on now to a couple of very interesting phrases that we saw in the dialogue. Now, Influency Builder.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Okay, so animals are at the mercy of human beings.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So basically it means that the animals, in this case, don't have control of what's going on. So human beings are the ones that control everything. So if I decide to kill them, then they are at my mercy, at my will, at my whim.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Exactly, uhm, at the mercy of someone. And then, uh, they were talking and debating this thing and, and an interesting comparison came up. You can't compare apples and oranges.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Alright, and uhm, and towards the end, the person said that, uh, you're doing your part. You're doing your part.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So, for example, what, so what would be an example of a person doing their part towards society?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Okay, so like another example would be recycling, that's doing your part. Exactly. Or in this case, the person bought only synthetic, uh, products, nothing made from nature.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Alright, very good. So, very interesting phrases. Uhm, why don't we listen to our dialogue for the last time and then we'll be right back.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Alright, so a debatable topic, animals and animal rights. Uhm, what do you think?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, yeaah, of course, and I think even though protection of animals is a very important topic and you don't want the mistreatment of these little creatures that are very vulnerable to us because we're smarter than them in the end.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But I think also it has to do a lot with superstitions sometimes and kind of mystical and magical things. For example, people killing rhinos because they believe that the rhino horn has a...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] People almost don't know any better. They just, they truly believe that these things actually work or that they will help them. So they don't consider the, the, like in the dialogue said, the imbalance that they create in the environment or the consequences.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Exactly, and that's what we want to know now. What do you think, uhm, about these topics? Because in the end, the environment, animals, eh, they're all connected. If you wipe out all the foxes in, in, in a forest, then you're gonna have, like, eh, eh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To better understand how in the past the lakes were used, how the ships were built.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] When you see the entire boat magically appeared, uh, it's, it's a very nice feeling.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'll bet that head priest wants to keep our robe. He's planning to kill us!


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He tried to set the building you were in on fire


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The rest of the building's burned. I used my magic for that too.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I used a spell that protected only your building and the robe. The spell made the fire spread everywhere else though.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Just bring us the robe so we can continue our journey to the west.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Wukong tapped his chin. A monster or demon might have stolen it. Are there any monsters or demons living near here?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I am Sun Wukong, King of the Fruit and Flower Mountain, said the monkey.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I caused lots of trouble in heaven 500 years ago. The Jade Emperor's entire army couldn't defeat me.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Then a bear spirit called the Black Wind King stole the robe.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I've told the Tang Monk many times not to do dumb things. But still, he-


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm inside you, said Wukong. I changed myself into a pill to trick you. Now I'm going to practice some of my fighting skills.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I got the robe, Bodhisattva, said the monkey. What should we do with the bear?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's a good idea, said Wukong. The robe is a gift from Buddha. We must be careful.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Let's stop arguing and figure out how to escape.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm sure he's playing in a field of flowers right now. Meanwhile, we're trapped here. I don't think he would leave us.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You get to see the season change. That happens very quickly out here, because it changes from winter to spring to summer in a day. So when it snows during winter, it can disappear almost as fast as it arrived.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] When we reach the western paradise, I will be forgiven.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And my name is Catherine, so Marco, what are we talking about today?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There's a good word for this in English, someone who's almost too afraid all the time, someone who is overly cautious. We call this person paranoid.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Sicko is also the name of a movie that was a documentary famous in America by Michael Moore, actually. But uh, sicko in this context means someone who is a bit weird in a bad way.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Or inappropriate, people who have inappropriate humor who make jokes about not so nice things.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, they're sick, but in this case, sickos are people who maybe like to hurt other people, people who are a little bit crazy, people who are not


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, we've got two words being put together here, tella and market, so, uh, tella, like


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Telephone. Telephone. Over communication. So they're not in person. They're people who call you up and market things. They try to sell you stuff.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So these are telemarketers, these are people who call you trying to sell things to you.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Exactly, but the big difference here with solicitors and telemarketers is that solicitors actually go to your house. They knock on your door.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's right. So door to door salesmen, they go from door to door trying to sell things. But in this case, a solicitor is someone who comes to your house to try to get you to do something, to buy something.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's right, we heard this a little bit earlier in the dialogue, and a peeping Tom is again a negative thing to say about someone. A peeping Tom, well the word peep means to look, but kind of like, yea it's a quick look. So peeping Tom is a person who spies on other people.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Alright, so this is a, this is a common mom phrase. You often hear mothers say this when they're sending their kids off to school or whatever. They say, don't talk to strangers, and the kid says, well, why not?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Exactly, you never know what's going to happen, so it's better to be cautious than not. And that's what this uhm, this person's saying. He's saying, well, security, it's important, you can never be too safe, you never know what might happen.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Our next phrase is about this peeping tom, this person that they caught. They caught him red-handed. We caught you red-handed. Or he's been caught red-handed. So what does that mean?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, this is a very colorful phrase, and I don't just mean that because we're calling him red-handed, but uhm, to catch red-handed means to catch someone while they're doing something wrong. So if I see you...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This is another great phrase. You can imagine a child who sees the cookies in a very special jar on the counter in the kitchen. And uhm, mom says don't eat the cookies. Well the child goes into the kitchen and sees the cookies and opens the jar and puts his hand in the jar and then mom comes and says caught you. That's the boy.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Alright, this is a great one. This is often said in spy movies, I think. So we say, you're on a need-to-know basis. That means that if you really need to know something, then I will tell you. But if not, I won't.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Schizophrenia is a disease and a lot of people have it and it's not too uncommon, but a popular slang word to say someone's crazy is schizo.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Paranoid Schizophrenics, so not only did he kind of, uh, have


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so he was, he was, uhm, he was irrationally afraid of everything going on around him and it made him very unsafe because he could hurt himself or hurt other people.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, we hope to see you there, and until next time, English potties. Alright, bye-bye.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This tree was older than heaven and earth. The monkey must be very powerful.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I am the great immortal. You destroyed my ginseng tree.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Hello everyone and welcome back to EnglishPod, my name is Marco.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This is an elementary lesson and we're gonna be touching one of these, uh, medical topics. Today we're gonna talk about chickenpox.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Right. So chickenpox is a illness that you get usually as a child. And what happens is you start getting these little red dots all over your body. Like little mosquito bites.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Exactly, and what makes you very uncomfortable when you get chicken pox, as you said, it's these little red dots, they itch, just like mosquito bites, but you can scratch because if you do,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Then you get, your skin gets, uh, like marked, right? You have like stains. Forever. Forever, like scars. So it's best not to scratch. And uh, that's what we're gonna talk about today. Somebody has the chicken pox. So let's listen to our dialogue for the first time and then we'll be right back.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Okay, so itchy would be the adjective, right?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To the noun, an itch. So if you have an itch, you feel itchy.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Alright, so he feels itchy, and he also felt a little bit lightheaded.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Right. So, you usually feel a little bit weak. You don't really feel very well. Your head is lightheaded. The complete opposite of having a headache, right? Exactly. Okay. And, uh, well then the girl got scared and she said, get away! You are contagious!


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Alright, so why don't we take a look at a couple of different examples using this word contagious.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] A rash. Exactly. So why do you want to avoid people who have a rash?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Exactly. So, as you said, it happens for different reasons. Sometimes you maybe have bad seafood in your skin and you have, you start to have rashes all over your body.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Mhm, and then you get a big rash. And our last word for today is a little bit dramatic. He called, she called him a biohazard.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Right. Or that's dangerous towards a living person, right? Or organism. For example, you don't want to be near an area that has a lot of radiation. It's a biohazard.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Exactly, and usually it's, there's a symbol, a very clear symbol that kind of looks like a triangle, and it's red, and uh, even in movies it's appeared, right? I think in that movie. Yellow? It's red or yellow? Yeah, sometimes both.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Alright, so biohazard. I think we've taken a look at a lot of words, uh, so why don't we listen to this dialogue again. Let's slow it down a little bit, see if we can understand a little bit more.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Alright, we're back, so now why don't we take a look at Fluency Builder and start taking a look at all these phrases.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Right? And I think this is a very useful phrase. It's very, uh, natural to say. So why don't we listen to a couple of other examples.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Alright, so coming down with, coming down with the flu, coming down with a cough, etc. Alright, what's our next phrase?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Okay, so while you are cooking dinner, I am doing something else. I'm cleaning the table.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In the mean time. Very good. So it's a filler you say.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So you're connecting two different actions, two different ideas. Exactly. Very good. In the meantime, and what about our last phrase?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So for example, if you come over to my house and you break a glass and I start freaking out and yelling at you because you broke my glass.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Exactly, alright. So uhm, blowing things out of proportion. Let's not do that, but let's listen to our dialogue for the last time and then we'll be back.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Right. And, well, why does the little boy say that he's going to go take a oatmeal bath?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, so that's the thing, right? You can only get it once. So once you get it, you don't have a problem.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Right, and if you ever had any other common childhood, uh, illnesses like the mumps or the measles, right, you can also tell us about that. So we'll see you guys there and until next time. Bye everyone. Bye.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Journey to the West, Chapter 34, Tricked by the Princess.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The Tang Monk was tied up in a room. He heard his companions yelling at the monster.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Clang! The Tang monk heard the sound of weapons clashing.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm a prisoner here, said the woman. That monster kidnapped me 13 years ago and won't let me leave. Will you help me?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Bajie and Wujing were still fighting the monster when the princess ran outside.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Right away, the monsters stopped fighting and turned to the princess.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Princess Hundred Flowers pretended to cry. The monster held up his hands.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] A moment later, the Tang Monk came out.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Later that day, the travelers reached the palace of the precious Image Kingdom. The Queen was reading the letter from her daughter. Tears were in her eyes. Our poor daughter, said the Queen. She's been a prisoner all this time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The king stood up, his eyes blazing with anger.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He called to his general, who was standing nearby.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He shouted. The monster ran outside.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Bajie and Wujing attacked. The monster blocked their weapons. They fought for over an hour.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Finally, Bajie, tired from fighting, turned and ran. Wu Jing was furious.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He dragged Wu Jing into the pagoda and locked him in a room.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The Changtang River is located in Zhejiang on the southeastern coast of China and flows into the East China Sea.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The waters of Hangzhou Bay and the Changtang River meet on the horizon, forming a thin white line.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The fusion of ocean and river dramatically tumble back towards the land.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The seawall contains the force of 7 tons per square meter.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The waves can reach a maximum of nine meters, about three stories high and even taller than four of China's famous basketball player Yao Ming.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] People jumped into the powerful waves as early as the Southern Song Dynasty of China more than 800 years ago.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The people of the time called them the tide players. It looks so much like today's surfing, minus the surfboard.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Today, the Changtang River attracts thousands of people from far and wide for the annual tidal surfing competition.


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[Assistant] Journey to the West. Chapter 38. Bajie tries to sleep.


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[Assistant] The air grew warm, flowers bloomed, and birds swooped from tree to tree.


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[Assistant] The road Wukong and the others were traveling began to go up a mountain Wukong stopped the group


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[Assistant] Dragging his feet, he headed up the mountain road. Wukong turned to the Tang monk in Wujing.


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[Assistant] The monkey turned invisible and followed Bajie up the road.


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[Assistant] He laid down behind it and fell fast asleep.


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[Assistant] The monkey turned himself into a woodpecker and pecked the log. Tap tap tap. Tap tap tap.


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[Assistant] Bajie rolled over and mumbled. Wukong pecked again. Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap.


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[Assistant] Wukong landed on Bajie's head. Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap.


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[Assistant] Said Wu Jing. The Tang monk frowned.


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[Assistant] He shouted. He swung his rake. The fox trotted away. A robin flew past Bajay's head.


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[Assistant] As he waved the rake at the bird, Bajay tripped and fell.


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[Assistant] When he didn't see or hear Wukong, he continued walking.


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[Assistant] Every time Bajie saw an animal, he waved his rake and yelled.


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[Assistant] The road became very steep. The pig soon came to a cave in front of the cave was a demon.


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[Assistant] Populous Euphratica is the only tree species to be found in the desert of North China. In Edgina in the west of Inner Mongolia, there's a Populous Euphratica


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[Assistant] As the oldest tree in this popular Sufratica forest, it's been guarding this place for more than 800 years.


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[Assistant] The locals call it the sacred tree.


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[Assistant] Dinosaurs died out about 65 million years ago.


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[Assistant] Then a new species, peered along the ancient Mediterranean Sea. That's the Populous Euphratica.


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[Assistant] Where there is water, the populous Euphratica grows.


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[Assistant] As long as the groundwater is at least four meters below, populous eupratica can live comfortably.


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[Assistant] Because the course of the desert rivers change frequently, Populous Euphratica has left its mark across the desert.


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[Assistant] An adult populous euphratica can discharge tens of kilograms of salt and alkali every year.


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[Assistant] So the ecological environment of Ejina is protected.


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[Assistant] To the south of the populous Euphratica forest in Aegina,


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[Assistant] Lai's Badaing Jaran, the third largest desert in China.


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[Assistant] Without this 260 square kilometer populous Euphratica forest,


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[Assistant] The Badain-Jaran desert, already 49,200 square kilometers in size, would spread northward, squeezing the living space of humans.


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[Assistant] These populous Euphratica trees form a golden natural barrier, guarding the ecology of Aegina year after year for another 800 years.


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[Assistant] And my name is Katherine. So as usual, we've got a great dialogue for you today. And before we get going, I should mention what the topic is. So Marco, take it away.


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[Assistant] And you practically live together because you're with each other for 8, 9, 10 hours every day.


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[Assistant] By the way, would you mind not slurping your coffee every time you have a cup?