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The future of shopping

Learn language related to...

consumerism

Need-to-know language...

charged - requested an amount of money to be paid

stock shelves - put items on display

unmanned - without people

mainstream - things or ideas regarded as normal

digitalisation - putting things into a digital format

Answer this...

How many adults in Hummelsta have tried automated shopping?

Transcript

It's cold, it's gloomy, and if you run out of milk, it's a fifteen-minute drive to the supermarket. But this wooden container offers a lifeline. You use an app to open the doors. Your phone scans whatever you need. And the bill's charged to your bank card.

Critics argue it's a less sociable shopping experience. But during the pandemic, that's a bonus.

A manager stocks the shelves here once a week, but with no other staff to pay, it's saved the firm's founders a lot of money.

Daniel Lundh - Cofounder, Lifvs
We've definitely seen a great interest from other countries as we've been expanding our own chain here in Sweden. Interest from England, Spain, Portugal, Germany. So, we'll definitely expand outside Sweden in the near future.

Cities are the next target for the business - and they're not alone. Amazon's testing unmanned stores in the US, and here in Sweden's tech-savvy capital, a major supermarket chain is also trialling the concept.

Many of the entrepreneurs here think unmanned stores will soon be mainstream.

Cecilia Johansson - Entrepreneur
The challenge is, of course, the older generation that have a habit of going to store and meet the person, but I also think that we have seen quick, rapid growth of digitalisation due to the COVID situation. So we are changing the behaviour of the consumers.

But so far, there are no plans to take staff away from Sweden's biggest supermarkets, where retail bosses say customers want advice and inspiration, not just something to snack on. Back in Hummelsta, nine out of ten adults have already tried the unmanned store, and anyone struggling with technology is offered help - so it's easy to pick up that carton of milk or perhaps something to sweeten the taste of Sweden's dark, bitter winter.

Did you get it?

How many adults in Hummelsta have tried automated shopping?

Nine out of ten adults in Hummelsta have already tried the unmanned store.

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BBC Learning English - Lingohack / The future of shopping

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Learn language related to consumerism: charged, stock shelves, unmanned, mainstream, digitalisation

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E-scooter rental trials

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e-scooters
Need-to-know language...
joyriders - people who ride transport dangerously and quickly for pleasure

threat - something dangerous

congestion - too much traffic meaning movement is difficult

network - group of interconnected things or people

legalised - to be made legal
Answer this...
How many towns in the UK are already part of the government's e-scooter rental trials?

Transcript

Joyriders on rental e-scooters put themselves in danger - but they also put others at risk. They're a threat to pedestrians and to other road users - and the scooters themselves get in the way. Elaine Maries knows the risks. She's partially sighted and relies on Inca (her guide dog) to help guide her around town.

Elaine Maries - Pedestrian
I heard some screaming, and then the next thing I knew, I'd actually been hit by somebody that had come round the corner, gone straight into me - I then lost my balance, ended up falling on Inca, bruised my elbow and my knee - which then meant, you know, you just don't go out.

The Department for Transport told the BBC the incident is a matter for the police. 31 towns are already part of the government's e-scooter rental trials, with six London boroughs getting e-scooter rental schemes today.

The aim is to learn more about the risks and benefits of e-scooters, says the Department for Transport. It believes they can help reduce congestion and pollution, but wants to make them safer and to find ways to reduce bad behaviour.

Justin Rowlatt - BBC Reporter
So the government believes these things can encourage us all to leave our cars at home. The idea is they kind of extend the transport network, by giving us another way to get around. And the operators of the London scheme say many of the issues people have with e-scooters can be addressed.

Alan Clarke - Director of Policy, Lime
We're using designated parking areas, so when you finish your ride, you go to lock the scooter on your app, you go to press 'end ride' - if you're outside of a parking zone, what we'll do is actually show you within our app where the nearest appropriate parking location is and how you can get there.

Some environmental campaigners are saying now private e-scooters should be legalised too.

Hirra Khan Adeogun - Climate charity, Possible
The research shows that private e-scooters are what really get people out of their cars. Because they own them, they're not leaving them around.

So, if you hate e-scooters, be warned - the chances are you will be seeing more of them in our towns and cities in the years to come.

Did you get it?

How many towns in the UK are already part of the government's e-scooter rental trials?

31 towns are already part of the government's e-scooter rental trials.

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BBC Learning English - Lingohack / E-scooter rental trials

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Learn language related to e-scooters: joyriders, threat, congestion, network, legalised

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Future-proofing Stonehenge

Learn language related to...

construction

Need-to-know language...

scaffolding - temporary structure used outside buildings during repairs

protective headgear - item. such as a hard hat, used to avoid injury to the head in risky situations

lintels - horizontal bars placed across the top of a door or window

mortar - mixture of sand, water and other materials used to join bricks or stones

pillar - vertical column that supports part of a building

Answer this...

When was the last time there was conservation work on Stonehenge?

Transcript

Metal scaffolding may be an incongruous sight next to the ancient structure, and it will be taken down every evening over the next few weeks - such is the determination to keep Stonehenge open and looking as normal as possible.

This conservation work is in itself historic. The last time something of this scale was undertaken was more than 60 years ago, when the ladders were wooden, you could smoke a pipe while working and protective headgear was a woolly hat.

Much has changed over the decades, but the problems remain.

Heather Sebire, English Heritage
One of the lintels, for example, was stitched together in the 1950s. So, we're going to be doing some repair work to that because at the time they used a mortar that was very hard, and we're going to replace that with lime mortar.

Repairing, restoring, conserving. There are subtle differences, and at this World Heritage site - everything is tightly controlled. After all, they are working in the footsteps of giants.

John Maguire, BBC reporter
Now they may not have used phrases like 'structural engineer' or 'architect' four and a half thousand years ago, but they were very clever people. On top of each pillar there's a tenon joint - it's that bit of rock that you can see sticking up. They would go inside this mortise hole, so the lintels would have sat on top of the pillars. We think this one was never actually placed on top of the pillar. We don't know why. As with so much in Stonehenge, it remains a mystery.

With our changing climate, English Heritage is aware that the stones will face different weather patterns. So, the hope is to future-proof the work for at least the next sixty, seventy, maybe a hundred years.

Did you get it?

When was the last time there was conservation work on Stonehenge?

Large scale conservation work was last done more than 60 years ago.

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BBC Learning English - Lingohack / Future-proofing Stonehenge

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Learn language related to construction: scaffolding, protective headgear, lintels, mortar, pillar

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Climate change: Islands at risk

Learn language related to...

Climate change

Need-to-know language...

front line - position where a difficult or important thing is happening

unpredictable - likely to change unexpectedly; difficult to prepare for

challenge - difficult situation

vulnerable - at risk of being hurt or damaged (by something)

mitigate - reduce the negative impact

Answer this...

What kind of weather are these islands exposed to?

Transcript

On the edge of the Atlantic, islands which in parts seem as much water as they are land. Experts say the Uists [in the UK] are on the front line of climate change... and some of those who call this home are already adapting to their shifting landscape.

Donald MacPhee, Crofter
We seem to be getting a lot more rain - very... very unpredictable, whereas back in my father's days you could guarantee that you'd have plenty of dry weather in August, September. But now it's very unpredictable.

And that's not the only challenge facing these islands, which are so exposed to wet and stormy weather.

Professor Stewart Angus, Coastal Ecologist, NatureScot
A lot of the land actually lies below the level of the sea from much of the tidal cycle. Secondly, you have rising sea levels. Thirdly, you have rising rainfall in winter. And you have the difficulty in a very low-lying environment of getting rid of that water.

The airport here provides a lifeline service to islanders. A million pounds has been spent on the latest work to protect the runway, which ends just metres from the shore.

Lorna Gordon, BBC Scotland Correspondent
This low-lying watery landscape is vulnerable to changes in our climate - with predictions that the sea level here could rise by as much as half a metre over the next few decades.

At the islands' arts centre, a visual reminder of what the long-term effects could be.

Andy Mackinnon, Taigh Chearsabhagh Arts Centre
So, the line represents a nominal level that the sea will rise to. I hope that it does make people think about what we're doing.

And from the children here, out taking care of their local beach, messages in English and Gaelic of their hopes and fears are being sent to the climate summit in Glasgow.

"Stop sea levels rising. We could be under the water soon."

These small islands, hoping for big commitments from world leaders to mitigate the worst that climate change might bring.

Did you get it?

What kind of weather are these islands exposed to?

These islands are exposed to wet and stormy weather.

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BBC Learning English - Lingohack / Climate change: Islands at risk

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Climate change: Islands at risk Climate change front line - position where a difficult or important thing is happening unpredictable - likely to change unexpectedly; difficult to prepare for challenge - difficult situation vulnerable - at risk of being hurt or damaged (by something) mitigate - reduce the negative impact What kind of weather are these islands exposed to?

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Three men in a boat - Three men in a boat by Jerome K-Jerome

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Three men in a boat - Three men in a boat by Jerome K-Jerome

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Three men in a boat - Three men in a boat by Jerome K-Jerome

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Three men in a boat - Three men in a boat by Jerome K-Jerome

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Three men in a boat - Three men in a boat by Jerome K-Jerome

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Three men in a boat - Three men in a boat by Jerome K-Jerome

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Three men in a boat - Three men in a boat by Jerome K-Jerome

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Three men in a boat - Three men in a boat by Jerome K-Jerome

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Three men in a boat - Three men in a boat by Jerome K-Jerome

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Three men in a boat - Three men in a boat by Jerome K-Jerome

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The Christmas the lights went out.