Episode 195
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Hi, everybody! I am Georgiana, your English teacher and founder of SpeakEnglishPodcast.com. My mission is to help you speak English fluently.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Today I would like to share with you five fun facts about Santa Claus. And with a fun mini-story, I will help you improve your English fluency. You just have to answer some simple questions, as if we had an informal English conversation.
There are so many things I love about Christmas. I love baking Christmas cookies, watching Christmas movies, buying presents, and decorating the tree. And let's not forget about Father Christmas, Santa Claus.
I hope you're having a great Christmas this year.
1. Is Santa Claus real?
Yes, of course. Santa Claus is real. The real name of Santa Claus was Saint Nicholas, but he was also known as Kris Kringle. Saint Nicholas was born in modern-day Turkey. After donating all his inherited wealth, he became famous for helping the poor and sick. Over the years, he became popular for his deeds and became known as the protector of children. In many countries, on December 6, people still celebrate Saint Nicholas Day. And this day was considered a lucky day to make large purchases or for marriage purposes.
2. Why is Father Christmas known as Santa Claus?
St. Nicholas became known as Santa Claus after his Dutch nickname, Sintar Klaas. In the 18th century, a New York Historical Society member distributed woodcuts of St. Nicholas at the society's annual meeting. On the other hand, Washington Irving, the author of the book The History of New York, further popularized the tales of Sintar Klaas by referring to St. Nicholas as the patron saint of New York in his book.
3. How old is Santa?
Santa Claus' origins go back to a monk named St. Nicholas, born between 260 and 280 AD in a village called Patara, part of modern-day Turkey. So in 2021, Santa Claus is about 1750 years old. That’s amazing! 🙂
4. Who created the image of Santa Claus?
One of the first artists to define the modern image of Santa Claus was Thomas Nast. This 19th century American cartoonist immortalized Santa Claus with an illustration for the January 3, 1863 issue of Harper's Weekly. Santa was dressed in an American flag and riding in a sleigh pulled by reindeer in this drawing.
5. Is it true that Santa traditionally wears red because of Coca‑Cola?
Many believe that Santa Claus wears red because of Coca-Cola. Although there is no doubt that the soft drink company has influenced the representation of Santa Claus, the fact is that Saint Nicholas appeared in many illustrations and written descriptions wearing a scarlet coat.
Well, I hope you enjoyed learning these 5 fun facts about Santa Claus. Now let’s continue with a mini-story.
Now, let’s practice.
Want more speaking practice? Continue with a complete audio course.
IMPROVE YOUR SPEAKING
Mini-Story: Speaking Practice
Answer the questions aloud with short and quick responses. Repeat the Mini-Story several times to improve your speaking and listening.
What's a mini-story?
A mini-story is very simple. I give you information using phrases, and then I ask you questions.
After each question, there will be some seconds of silence: it's your turn to answer the question!
Just try to give an easy and short answer. Not a complex one.
After your answer, I'll give you the correct answer.
And just like that, I'll tell a story with questions and answers.
Are you ready?
Like every year at Christmas, Santa Claus was getting ready to hand out presents.
When did Santa Claus hand out presents? Every week?
No. No. Every year. Santa hand out presents every year at Christmas. He delivered presents every year.
What did Santa deliver? Presents or charcoal?
Presents. Santa Claus delivered presents for Christmas.
Who was ready to hand out presents? Robin Hood?
No. No. Santa. Santa Claus was ready to hand out presents. Not Robin Hood.
The reindeer wanted to take a break on Christmas, so they suggested using drones instead.
Did the reindeer want to go on holiday to Hawaii?
We don’t really know that. Perhaps. What we know is that the reindeer wanted to take a break on Christmas.
Did the reindeer want to break something?
No. No. The reindeer wanted to take a break. They didn’t want to work on Christmas.
What did the reindeer suggest? That Santa Claus didn’t hand out presents?
No. No. Reindeer suggested using drones instead.
Clones?
No. No. Not clones. Drones. Santa had to use drones that year.
Santa agreed to the idea and attached several drones to his magic sleigh.
Did Santa disagree with the idea of using drones?
No. No. Santa agreed to the idea.
Did he think it was a good or bad idea?
A good idea. Santa thought it was a good idea.
What did Santa Claus attach to the sleigh? Horses?
No. No. Not horses. Santa attached to the magic sleigh several drones.
The drones were going great until they ran out of battery power.
Do drones have unlimited power?
No. No. Drones have limited power.
Were the drones going great?
Yes. They were going great.
Santa Claus had to recharge the drones at charging stations to continue delivering presents.
Did Santa have to recharge the drones?
Yes. Santa had to recharge the drones because they ran out of battery power.
Where did Santa recharge the drones? At petrol stations?
No. No. Not at petrol stations. He recharged the drones at charging stations.
Why did he recharge the drones?
He had to recharge the drones because he needed to continue delivering presents.
Finally, Santa delivered all the presents but decided to use reindeer again the following Christmas.
Thanks for listening, and I’ll see you in the next episode.
Review
Vocabulary
Review the most useful words and expressions before listening again.
Saint Nicholas
the historical figure associated with Santa Claus.
inherited wealth
money or property received from family.
nickname
an informal name used instead of a full name.
woodcut
an image printed from a carved wooden block.
cartoonist
an artist who creates cartoons or illustrations.
sleigh
a vehicle that slides over snow.
reindeer
a northern deer traditionally linked with Santa.
scarlet coat
a bright red coat.
Want more speaking practice? Continue with a complete audio course.
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