Estate Agents

NB: This is not a word for word transcript 1

Yvonne: Hello, I'm Yvonne Archer 2 and this is 6 Minute English. Today, I've been

joined by Alice. Hi Alice!

Alice: Hi Yvonne!

Yvonne: Now Alice, everyone seems to have something to say about estate agents or as

they’re known in the United States, real-estate agents - the people who help

others to buy or sell houses or flats. But what would you say about the

language they use?

Alice: Oh, it can be very descriptive and often, they make things sound better than

they really are.

Yvonne: Hmm – I have to agree with you on that one. Well, estate agents do seem to

have a language all of their own. For example, if they describe a house as

'characterful' – what would you think they meant by that, Alice?

Alice: Well, 'characterful' – so full of character, perhaps old, unusual and maybe that

there are quite a few things that need fixing.

Yvonne: Mm-hmm, definitely! But before we go any further, let’s have today’s question.

There are lots of old houses in London Alice, but do you know anything about

the smallest house?

Alice: The smallest house? I don't.

Yvonne: Well, the smallest house was built 1805 in central London and it's said that it

was used by people who were watching out for body snatchers – people who

stole bodies from the nearby cemetery 3 for medical examinations. Anyway, can

you guess how wide that house is, Alice?

a) 2.4 metres

b) 5.6 metres or

c) 1 metre

Alice: Oh, I think I'll go for 2.4 metres. I can't imagine anything smaller.

Yvonne: No - but I will tell you what the correct answer is later on. So, we’ve already

heard some language used by real-estate agents, but what about some of the

other things they write in advertisements. In 1968 it became illegal - against

the law – to advertise a house or a flat in a way that might discriminate 4 against

different groups of people or encourage discrimination. Listen to this example:

Insert 1:

Beautiful 3 bedroom house, close to temples.

Yvonne: Alice, why might that language be seen as discriminatory?

Alice: Well, it said ‘close to temples’. So maybe that might describe the perfect house

for people of a certain religion. But it could also seem like the sellers and the

estate agent won’t sell the house to people of any other religion.

Yvonne: Mmm… so using the words ‘close to temples’ could be used to exclude or

discriminate against people of other religions, or encourage discrimination

against them.

Alice: Hmmm, it's complicated. So estate agents have to be very careful about the

language they use to stay within the law.

Yvonne: Now one of the most interesting uses of language in estate agent adverts 5 are

the synonyms 6; finding words which mean the same thing. So, for example,

how many ways can you say the word ‘small’ without putting people off?

Here’s Paul Bonnett, an estate agent, who’s said that for the past 30 years, the

vocabulary estate agents use hasn’t changed much.

Insert 2: Paul Bonnett

You’ve got the compact, you've got the bijou, you've got the delightful 8, you've got

attractive (charming), you've got panoramic…

Yvonne: So there, we heard words that lots of estate agents use. Alice – can you explain

them for us, please?

Alice: Yes – we heard ‘compact’, which means that it’s quite small, but everything

that’s needed can still fit into it. We heard ‘bijou’ – that's more elegant. It

means that the apartment, the flat, is small and elegant.

Yvonne: Mm… and what about ‘panoramic’?

Alice: Well, that means there's a good view of the area. So you can see all around you

from the flat.

Yvonne: Now, Paul Bonnet 7 wanted the adverts from his real-estate agency to stand out

from all the others – to be more noticeable so that they’d attract more

customers. They decided 9 to make their descriptions more poetic 10 – like poetry.

Alice: And of course, while factual descriptions appeal to or satisfy our heads – our

intellect – poetry appeals to our hearts – how we feel.

Yvonne: It does, so here’s a factual description for a flat:

Insert 3:

Two bedroom, first floor balcony flat with some superb sea views towards the Palace

Pier 11.

Yvonne: Okay, we know there are two bedrooms, but did the description include

anything that appeals to your emotions, Alice?

Alice: Well, not really. I mean 'superb sea views' sounds quite nice, but nothing too

attractive.

Yvonne: No, so let’s hear a more poetic description of the same flat by the poet, Paul

Lyle. He's helping 12 Paul Bonnet write his adverts:

Insert 4: Paul Lyle

The room fills your eyes with air and space. The first thing you see is the sea meeting the

sky. The windows lead out onto the terrace, taking you above and beyond with room to

breathe.

Yvonne: Would you be interested in viewing that flat, Alice?

Alice: It sounds lovely! Filling your eye with air and space.

Yvonne: So adverts that appeal to our emotions but are also accurate and fair seem to

work quite well for us, don't they Alice?

Alice: They do.

Yvonne: Now earlier, I asked you how wide the smallest house in London is and what

you said was…

Alice: I think I went for 2.4 metres.

Yvonne: Oh, it’s actually 1.05 metres wide – really narrow.

Alice: So – compact and bijou!

Yvonne: Well, that’s all for today's "6 Minute English". Join us again.

Both: Bye!

Vocabulary and definitions

estate agents people who sell properties including flats and houses

characterful a word used by estate agents to suggest a building is full of

character, perhaps old or unusual

illegal not allowed by the law, against the law

discriminatory unfair; treating some people worse than others

synonyms words that mean the same thing or have a similar meaning

compact small, with just enough space to fit what is needed

bijou small and elegant (in French this means ‘jewel’)

panoramic a good view of the surrounding area

poetic like poetry

intellect idea of what is makes sense

 

点击收听单词发音  






1
transcript

  
 


n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书


参考例句：





A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。












2
archer

  
 


n.射手，弓箭手


参考例句：





The archer strung his bow and aimed an arrow at the target.弓箭手拉紧弓弦将箭瞄准靶子。
The archer's shot was a perfect bull's-eye.射手的那一箭正中靶心。












3
cemetery

  
 


n.坟墓，墓地，坟场


参考例句：





He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。












4
discriminate

  
 


v.区别，辨别，区分；有区别地对待


参考例句：





You must learn to discriminate between facts and opinions.你必须学会把事实和看法区分出来。
They can discriminate hundreds of colours.他们能分辨上百种颜色。












5
adverts

  
 


advertisements 广告，做广告


参考例句：





the adverts on television 电视广告
The adverts are not very informative. 这些广告并没有包含太多有用信息。












6
synonyms

  
 


同义词( synonym的名词复数 )


参考例句：





If you want to grasp English, you must carefully discriminate synonyms. 如果你想掌握好英语，你必须仔细区分同义词。
Study the idioms and synonyms l wrote down before your test. 学考试前我给你写的习惯用语和同义字。












7
bonnet

  
 


n.无边女帽；童帽


参考例句：





The baby's bonnet keeps the sun out of her eyes.婴孩的帽子遮住阳光，使之不刺眼。
She wore a faded black bonnet garnished with faded artificial flowers.她戴着一顶褪了色的黑色无边帽，帽上缀着褪了色的假花。












8
delightful

  
 


adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的


参考例句：





We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。












9
decided

  
 


adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的


参考例句：





This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。












10
poetic

  
 


adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的


参考例句：





His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought.他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。
His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages.他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。












11
pier

  
 


n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱


参考例句：





The pier of the bridge has been so badly damaged that experts worry it is unable to bear weight.这座桥的桥桩破损厉害，专家担心它已不能负重。
The ship was making towards the pier.船正驶向码头。












12
helping

  
 


n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的


参考例句：





The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。