Audio
Time: 3 min 58 sec
Level: intermediate
Vocabulary: To help learners fully understand the audio
and transcript, most vocabulary that might be unknown for this lesson’s level is
provided. Vocab in bold
is more useful for learners at the lesson’s target level. Try to choose 8
to 10 new words to learn from the story (in general, it’s best to try to learn
no more than 8-10 new words a day).
Definitions
are written with the help of various sources including Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary
Vegetarian:
a
person who does not eat meat.
Hippie: a
usually young person who rejects established social customs (such as by
dressing in an unusual way or living in a commune) and who opposes violence and
war; especially: a young person of this kind in the 1960s and 1970s.
Log: a long,
heavy section of a tree that has fallen or been cut down.
Cabin: a
small, simple house made of wood.
Mere: used to
say that something or someone is small, unimportant, etc.
Cruelty: someone
who hurt others and do not feel sorry about it; causing or helping to cause
suffering.
Hypocritical: a
person who claims or pretends to have certain beliefs about what is right but
who behaves in a way that disagrees with those beliefs.
Environment: the
conditions that surround someone or something: the conditions and influences
that affect the growth, health, progress, etc., of someone or something; in
this case, natural world.
Emissions: the act
of producing or sending out something (such as energy or gas) from a source.
To convince: to
cause (someone) to believe that something is true.
To stall: to
avoid doing something or to delay someone in a deliberate way because you need
more time, do not want to do something, etc.
To pitch: things
that are said by someone (such as a salesman) in order to make someone want to
buy, do, or accept something.
Binary: relating
to or consisting of two things or parts.
To swap: to replace
(something) with something else.
Sustainable: involving
methods that do not completely use up or destroy natural resources.
Harvest: the
amount of a natural product gathered in a single season.
To end up: to
reach or come to a place, condition, or situation that was not planned or
expected.
Intake: the
amount of something (such as food or drink) that is taken into your body.
Pocketbook: the
amount of money that someone has available to spend: someone's ability to pay
for things.
Discussion
questions:
1. What do you think about the idea of being a “weekday
vegetarian”?
2. What were some of the reasons the speaker gave about
becoming a weekday veg?
3. Are there many vegetarians where you live?
4. What are the pros and cons of being a vegetarian?
5. What do you think is the best diet for the health of people
and the planet?
