The Environment: Game Zero 1

The Environment: Game Zero (Part 1)

Introduction

Jack: Hello my name’s Jack

Rowan: My name’s Rowan

Rich: and I’m Rich and welcome to this week’s Premier Skills English podcast.

Jack: In the Premier Skills English podcast, we talk about football and help you with your English. 

Rowan: Don’t forget you can find the transcript for all our podcasts on the Premier Skills English website.

Rich: This week we are returning to our series of podcasts connected to the environment.

Jack: We will be talking about a football match called Game Zero. This is a Premier League match played between Tottenham and Chelsea and it’s quite a special match.

Rowan: It’s special because it is the world’s first major football match to be carbon neutral or carbon zero. Its aim is to not have any negative environmental impact on our planet.

Rich: In our roleplays this week, Rowan gets three tickets for Game Zero and we have to decide how we get to the match and what we do when we are there while thinking about how our actions affect our planet.

Jack: This week’s podcast comes in three parts. After each part, we have a task for you to do which will give you a chance to talk about the topic and the language connected to the environment which we will introduce.

Rowan: On the Premier Skills English website, you’ll be able to find all these podcasts and the transcripts and extra activities that go with them. 
 
Rich: So if you are listening to us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or any other podcast platform,  check out our website!

Jack: And don’t forget to listen to the end of the podcast because we have a new football phrase for you to guess!

SOCIAL

Jack: Before we start this week’s roleplay we’d just like to thank everyone for all their comments on the Premier Skills  English website. It’s great to know that you’re enjoying the podcasts and all of the free learning materials we have on the site.

Rich: We’d like to give a shout-out to some of our listeners and tell everyone what they’ve been saying.

Rowan: The first person I’d like to say a big hello to is Priscila who sent us big hugs all the way from Brazil. Priscila wrote her first comment on the website this week and told us that she really enjoys listening to the podcasts. Thanks for listening, Priscila and we send big hugs back to you!

Jack: I’d like to say hi to Amirreza_goal7 from Iran who has been telling us about some of the extreme weather in his country and how the environment has been changing. Thanks for your comments Amirreza!

Rich: Finally I’d like to say thanks to AdlRhmn from Egypt, HSN from Turkey and Douglas from Brazil for their comments and tips about evaluating what they read online.

Rowan: This was the task about fake news which was the topic of last week’s podcast. You can find this podcast and task in the podcast section on the Premier Skills English website.

Jack: OK, I think it’s time to reveal last week’s football phrase and see who got the right answer.

Last Week’s football Phrase

Rich: Right, our football phrase. If you’ve not listened to the podcast before, every week we set our listeners a challenge. We explain a football phrase or word and you have to guess what it is.

Jack: Last week’s football phrase was one game at a time. This phrase is a very common cliche and is often used in interviews by managers after winning a match. The journalist asks if the team are going to do well this season, or win the league or cup and the manager says something like ‘we can’t look that far ahead … we just need to take one game at a time and see where that takes us. The cliche is used by managers because they don’t want their team to get too confident and lose concentration in matches that, in theory, should be easy.

Rowan: Thanks for all your answers and guesses last week. The first listener with the correct answer was AbdlRhmn from Egypt. Well done Abdlrhmn!

Rich: Congratulations also go to Tiago Delazari from Brazil, HSN and Mobeckham from Turkey, Emmanuel from France, Mycpro from Hong Kong, and Gerardo94 from Cuba.

Jack: Later on, at the end of the podcast, we’ll have this week’s football phrase for you.

Introduction to Roleplay

Rich: As we said earlier, in this week’s podcast we’re talking about the environment and the world's first net-zero carbon football match - the Premier League match between Tottenham and Chelsea.

Jack: You are about to hear this week’s first roleplay. The three of us are in a cafe and Rowan has a surprise for us. 

Rich: While you listen we want you to answer a question: The question is: Who will travel to the match together?

Roleplay

Rich: Hey Rowan. Would you like a drink?

Rowan: Just some tap water would be good.

Jack: You said you had some news.

Rowan: I do. Hold on. Here we go. One for you Jack and another for you Rich.

Rich: Tickets. Tottenham v Chelsea this weekend. Brilliant.

Jack: Mmm … Chelsea? Tottenham? I’m not sure who I’ll be cheering on.

Rich: Premier League tickets, Jack. Free Premier League tickets!

Jack: Yes, sorry - that’s brilliant. Thanks, Rowan. How did you get them?

Rowan: I got them through my football club - you know the one I coach. They want us to support the match this week. It’s going to be the world's first net-zero carbon football match.

Rich: Ah, yes. I’ve read about it. It’s being called Game Zero. It’s being supported by COP26, the United Nations Conference on Climate Change. 

Rowan: Yes, it’s going to be in Glasgow in November. It’s big news and the Premier League are getting behind this idea, too.

Jack: So, what is game zero? And what can we do?

Rowan: Well, the idea is to inspire football fans to make simple changes that will help reduce their carbon footprint. The clubs are getting behind it and the players.

Rich: What are they doing? 

Rowan: It’s all about carbon use really and how we can use less of it - there are all kinds of things happening. The players will arrive on coaches using biofuel which is a type of renewable diesel that comes from food waste. 

Jack: I’m looking at an article about it now - the players will be using reusable drink cartons and there'll be no plastic bottles in the stadium.

Rich: And what are they asking fans to do? Or more importantly, what are we going to do?

Rowan: Tottenham and Chelsea want their fans to make more climate-friendly choices so they’re encouraging everyone to come by bike or on public transport and eat plant-based food at the stadium. 

Jack: So, we’re getting the Tube to the match?

Rowan: No way! We’re getting on our bikes. There’ll be loads of bike parks at the stadium so we can ride there easily.

Jack: Sounds good to me. It’s only a 20-minute bike ride from my house.

Rich: Is it? I thought it was longer - but yes, I tell you what - me and Rowan will go together as her house is on the way and then we’ll meet you at the stadium.

Language Focus

Rowan: Before the roleplay, we asked you a question. The question was: Who will travel to the match together?

Jack: Well, the answer was Rich and Rowan. They decide to cycle together and I need to go on my own because I live in another part of the city.

Rich: Let’s look at some of the language we used connected to the environment and game zero - the match between Tottenham and Chelsea.

Rowan: I think the word we should look at first is carbon because we’ll use this to speak about lots of other words and phrases we look at this week.

Jack: When we’re talking about carbon in connection to the environment or climate change, even though this is not technically correct, we’re basically talking about carbon dioxide which is the most important gas released into the atmosphere due to human activity.

Rich: One of the objectives of game zero, the match we are going to in the roleplay, is to reduce the quantity of carbon that is used or released into the atmosphere.

Rowan: We often talk about carbon emissions. Carbon emissions are again talking about the substances and gases that are produced and released into the air and that damage the environment. 

Jack: We also spoke about our carbon footprint. Our carbon footprint is the measurement of how much carbon dioxide we produce.

Rich: An individual person has a carbon footprint or a company has a carbon footprint. Some people’s carbon footprints are bigger than others.

Rowan: The idea of game zero is for football clubs and fans to reduce their carbon footprints and to raise awareness of climate change.

Jack: Another useful phrase that I’m seeing more and more when reading about carbon emissions and carbon footprints is net-zero. 

Rich: The match between Tottenham and Chelsea is the world's first net-zero carbon football match.

Rowan: We use net-zero to describe an event or action that produces carbon emissions but has no negative impact on the climate because these actions have been balanced by actions that protect the environment.

Jack: So we can reduce carbon emissions by using bikes and eating plant-based food but we can also do things like planting trees to compensate for the emissions we produce. 

Rich: Another word I’d like to look at is renewable. We spoke about the players arriving on a bus that uses renewable diesel. It’s common to hear collocations such as renewable fuels or renewable energies when talking about the environment.

Rowan: If energy or fuel is renewable it means that it can be used without it running out. Biodiesel is renewable because it is made from plants and we can keep growing more plants, not like fossil fuels which will run out. We often use the term renewable energies when talking about energy from wind, the sea and the sun.

Jack: The next word I want to look at is climate-friendly. I suppose it’s similar to environmentally-friendly or eco-friendly but again it’s a word that I have seen more often in the last few years.

Rich: If something is climate-friendly it is not going to harm the planet and damage the atmosphere which in turn can change the weather and make it more extreme.

Rowan: OK, I think that is enough language for now. You can look at this vocabulary in more detail on the Premier Skills English website. You’ll also find free activities,  the transcript and a quiz to help you understand.

TASK

Jack: Right, it’s time for your task. In the roleplay you just heard, Rowan gave us tickets for Game Zero - a climate-friendly Premier League match between Tottenham and Chelsea.

Rich: The idea of this match is to inspire football fans to make simple changes that will help reduce their carbon footprint. 

Rowan: Your task is to tell us about the next football match, concert or big event that you are going to go to.

Jack: Tell us what the event is, where it is and how you are going to get there.

Rich: Then tell us three things you could do to make your carbon footprint smaller when going to this event and while you are there. 

Rowan: Write all your answers in the comments section on the Premier Skills English website.

Football Phrase 

Rich: OK, it’s time for our football phrase. If you’ve not listened to the podcast before, every week we set our listeners a challenge. We explain a football phrase or word and you have to guess what it is.

Jack: When you know the answer, go to the podcast page on the Premier Skills English website or the review section on Apple Podcasts and write the word or phrase in the comments. If you’re correct we’ll announce your name on next week’s podcast. So what is this week’s football phrase, Rich?

Rich:  This week’s football phrase is just a word and it’s a *****. Generally, this word is used to describe two of the same thing and comes from shooting – a ***** of pistols means two pistols, a ***** of birds are two birds that have been shot for food. In football, you can score a ***** - two goals in one match. Last weekend, Cristiano Ronaldo and Odsonne Edouard both got a ***** for their clubs.

Jack: If you have a football phrase that you would like us to use in the podcast, just get in touch and let us know.

Rich: Before we finish we just wanted to say that we hope you found this lesson useful and we hope all of you stay fit and healthy.

Rowan: Bye for now and enjoy your football.