Hopes and highlights

BBC Learning EnglishPeople and PlacesHopes and highlightsJackie: Hello, welcome to BBC Learning English dot com withme JackieDalton and I’d like to wish you Happy New Year as 2008 isupon us. In this programme, we’re going to be talkingabout highlights and hopes. Highlights of 2007 and hopesfor 2008. If you don’t know what a ‘highlight’ is, tryand guess by listening to this student in London talkingabout his highlights of last year.
　　ClipI suppose one of my highlights, anyway, was gettingaccepted to study HumanRights, here at LSE.
　　Jackie: He said one of his highlights for 2007 was gettingaccepted to studyHuman Rights at LSE - the London School of Economics 1. A‘highlight’ means one of the best things that happens orthat you experience during a certain period of time. Forexample, for me, the highlight of today has been getting alovely email from a BBC Learning English listening wishingme a Happy New Year. It was‘highlight’ it was the nicest moment of the day. And forthe student we heard earlier one of the best things thathappened to him last year was that he was offered at placeat university – for him, it was a highlightof 2007. Listen to him again… he’ll go on to tell usabout his hope for2008. What is it?
　　ClipI suppose one of my highlights anyway was getting acceptedto study Human Rights, here at LSE and my hope for 2008would be to get a job that is both meaningful in terms ofenjoyment and in terms of the contribution that I can maketo other people.
　　Jackie: Did you get the answer? He said his hope for 2008was to get a job that was meaningful. ‘Meaningful’ isthis context 3 means useful and good. He talked aboutcontributing to others, in other words, doingsomething that would be useful and help other people.
　　Listen again.
　　ClipMy hope for 2008 would be to get a job that is bothmeaningful in terms of enjoyment 2 and in terms of thecontribution that I can make to other people.
　　Jackie: So what about the highlights and hopes of the teamhere at BBC Learning English? Here’s a taste. Elena, ourbroadcast assistant, is going to start by telling us abouther hope of which means managing to do something she’salways wanted to do: achieving an ambition. What is Elena’
　　s ambition?
　　ElenaHello my name’s Elena and next year I really hope that I’
　　ll get to achieve one of my ambitions, which is to go onthe Trans-Siberian Railway.
　　Jackie: Elena’s ambition is to travel on the Trans-Siberian Railway, which would mean taking the train acrossRussia to the Far East. If she achieves her ambition, we’
　　ll make sure she tells us how the journey was!
　　Elena…next year I really hope that I’ll get to achieve one ofmy ambitions, which is to go on the Trans-Siberian Railway.
　　Jackie: What about our next member of the Learning Englishteam. What was his highlight?
　　CallumHello, my name’s Callum Robertson and I’m one of the teamhere at BBC Learning English. My highlight of 2007 wasundoubtedly getting engaged and so something that I’m verymuch looking forward to is getting marriedJackie: Callum was very clear about what his highlight of2007 was. He said it was ‘undoubtedly 4’ getting engaged.
　　Undoubtedly, which means it’s definitely true.
　　CallumMy highlight of 2007 was undoubtedly getting engaged.
　　Jackie: And of course, in 2008 getting married is what he’
　　s really looking forward to…’looking forward to’ he isreally excited about it.
　　Callum… something that I’m very much looking forward to isgetting married.
　　Jackie: Well, William is one step ahead of him… listen towhat his highlight of the year was.
　　WilliamMy name’s William Kremer, I’m a producer – I work withJackie at bbclearningenglish.com and the highlight for mefor 2007 must be when I got married– I got married in July and so that was a very, very niceday… a very happy occasion.
　　Jackie: William is already married – he got married inJuly. And he described it as ‘a very happy occasion’
　　which means an event that he enjoyed very much.
　　William…that was a very, very nice day… a very happy occasion.
　　Jackie: A very happy occasion indeed… I was there, and itwas wonderful!
　　Now, here’s a quick recap of some the expressions we’velooked at.
　　highlights meaningfulto achieve your ambition undoubtedlylooking forward to a happy occasionWell to end I’d like to tell you about one hope that allof us here atBBC Learning English share, and that’s that you have avery Happy2008. Goodbye!