BBC Learning English
6 Minute English
Cycling for food
Callum: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English, I'm Callum Robertson and with me
today is Rosie, hello Rosie.
Rosie: Hello Callum
Callum: Now today we're going to be talking about two of my favourite pastimes
Rosie: And what are they?
Callum: Well cycling and eating. We're going to be looking at the language of story
about a new scheme in Denmark which features a strong connection between
those two activities.
Before we start though, as always, a question for you Rosie. A very difficult
one I think. It's about cycling in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. There
are many many cyclists there, it's a very cycle-friendly city. According to the
Copenhagen government's statistics how many kilometres are cycled in total,
every day by people living and working in Copenhagen?
a: 1.2 million km
b: 1.6 million km
c: 2.1 million km
I can give you a clue if you like.
Rosie: Yes please!
Callum: The clue is - the population of Copenhagen is about 1.6 million
Rosie: Right, well I know that cycling is very popular in Copenhagen and I'm sure if
people cycle, they're going to cycle more than 1km a day. So I'm going to go
for 2.1 million km
Callum: Ok, c: 2.1 milion km. We'll find out if you're right at the end of the programme.
So what is the connection between Denmark, cycling and food? Well a hotel in
Copenhagen has started offering guests a free meal if they make electricity for
the hotel by cycling. Do you like that idea Rosie?
Rosie: I think that's brilliant. I might have to go to this hotel! How far do you have to
cycle to get a meal then?
Callum: That's a very good question. And we're going to find the answer by listening to
part of a report by the BBC's Sean Fanning. How long does someone need to
cycle to get a main course?
Sean Fanning
Guests will have to produce at least ten watt hours of electricity, roughly fifteen minutes of
cycling for someone of average fitness, to qualify for a main course.
Callum: So Rosie, how long will it take to earn a meal?
Rosie: About 15 minutes, apparently/
Callum: That doesn't sound too bad does it, it's not long to be cycling to get a free meal.
Rosie: No, not long at all.
Callum: Why do you think the hotel's doing this?
Rosie: I think they might be doing it as a publicity stunt or a gimmick.
Callum: That's a good expression, a publicity stunt or a gimmick. Could you explain a
little bit more about what you mean by those terms?
Rosie: I suppose I mean that they're trying to get noticed by the media, because they'll
be written about or be on TV or the radio, and then they'll get free advertising.
Callum: Well indeed, we're talking about them, aren't we?
Rosie: Exactly, yea.
Callum: So, it is a new hotel so it does sound like a special opening offer. 15 minutes,
you're not going to make a lot of electricity in that time, I would've thought.
Let's listen to some more of the report to find out why the hotel is doing this. In
this section we hear that the hotel agrees that not much energy will be produced.
But we do hear what the point is, what the reason is. Listen out for that. Here's
Sean Fallon again.
Sean Fallon
The hotel management concedes that each cyclist will only produce enough to power a couple
of light bulbs, but says the point is to encourage guests to think about their consumption of
energy.
Callum: So the guests will only make enough electricity for a couple of light bulbs, so
what is the point?
Rosie: According to the report the point is "to encourage guests to think about their
consumption of energy" – which means to make them think about how much
energy they use. It sounds more like an environmental message really.
Callum: Yea, it does. I wonder if that would work. If I were sitting on that bicycle
pedalling away I don't know if I would be thinking about how much energy I
use. I think I'd be thinking about what I was going to have.
But to be fair this hotel does want to be green and environmentally-friendly.
Apparently the outside of the hotel is also covered in solar panels. So they
make energy from the sun.
Denmark itself is a very environmentally-aware country. As we'll hear now in
the last part of today's report Sean Fallon talks about another form of
renewable energy used in Denmark. Listen out for this information – what
other form of renewable energy does Sean mention and how much of
Denmark's energy does it provide.
Sean Fallon
The idea of getting guests to cycle to generate electricity chimes with heightened awareness
of green issues in Denmark, which boasts one of the most cycle-friendly capital cities and
heavy investment in renewable energy, including wind farms which generate a fifth of the
country's electricity.
Callum: Well Rosie, what other renewable energy source does he mention and how
much of Denmark's energy does it provide?
Rosie: He mentions wind power which provides a fifth of their energy or 20%.
Callum: Right, now that seems to be quite a lot. A very high percentage of energy
provided there by wind power.
Well, it's nearly the end of the programme, just time to answer the question
from the beginning. According to the Copenhagen government's statistics how
many kilometres are cycled in total, every day by people living and working in
Copenhagen?
a: 1.2 million km
b: 1.6 million km
c: 2.1 million km
Rosie, you said …
Rosie: I said c: 2.1 million km
Callum: Well the correct answer is actually 1.2 million km. Although the population is
1.6 million they don't all cycle every day.
Well that's all from us today, do join us next time for another 6 Minute English.
Goodbye.
Rosie: Goodbye
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