Sam
Hello This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English I'm Sam…
Rob
And I'm Rob
Sam
?So we're well into 2020 now – how are your New Year's resolutions going, Rob
Rob
Ah resolutions – you mean promises people make to themselves to stop or start
doing something – I promised to start running, and to stop eating biscuits and to
give up alcohol for a month But I failed on all of them!
Sam
Oh dear
Rob
Yes, I lasted a few days and then I started to crumble
Sam
Yeah Well, you're not alone Many people try to kick bad habits and get healthy
when a new year begins Their intentions – their plans to do something – are
good
Rob
Yes, giving up drinking is particularly good to do, if only for the health benefits
Sam
Well, we'll be talking more about that as soon as I've set up today's question
According to historians, which people were thought to be the first group to make
New Year's resolutions? Was it the…
a) Romans
b) Native Americans
c) Babylonians
Rob
I haven't got a clue, so I'm going to guess a) the Romans
Sam
OK, Rob, I'll let you know if that was a good guess at the end of the programme
Now let's talk more about giving things up for New Year and, specifically, giving
up alcohol
Rob
It's a time often called 'Dry January' – dry refers to not drinking alcohol, it's not
about the weather! And the beginning of the year seems like a good time to start
doing something to improve your health
Sam
But it's easy to give in to temptation – isn't it, Rob?
Rob
Oh yes And it's tough to give up drinking in the first place, as Millie Gooch,
founder of The Sober Girl Society knows She spoke to BBC Radio 4's You and
Yours programme and explained why it was hard to quit in the first place…
Millie Gooch, founder of The Sober Girl Society
I think it's the peer pressure and, you know, it's so expected of us, it's so
ingrained in us Alcohol is everywhere and it's not just alcohol itself, it's alcohol
merchandise, so, you know, you've got Christmas jumpers that have been say
'Prosecco-ho-ho-ho' and you can't buy a birthday card without saying 'let the fun
be-gin' It's just absolutely everywhere, it's so hard to avoid
Sam
So that's Millie, who's right when she says that, in the UK at least, we sometimes
drink because we give in to peer pressure That's the influence a group of similar
people have on you to behave like them
Rob
We want to be part of the group so we copy what they do – and we are expected
to do so because, as Millie said, drinking alcohol is ingrained in us – well in some
cultures anyway
Sam
And when an attitude is ingrained it means it's been that way for a long time - it's
difficult to change And although it may be harmful, we see jokes about drinking
through things like merchandise – a word for goods we buy and sell
Rob
And Millie goes on to say we can buy jumpers that joke about the Italian
sparkling wine called Prosecco – which say 'Prosecco-ho-ho-ho!' And birthday
cards have the message 'let the fun be-gin' – a play on the word 'begin'
Sam
With all this social pressure, it's hard not to give in – and that's even worse when
you're trying to fulfil your resolution not to drink
Rob
For Millie, enough was enough when drinking started to have a negative effect
and she had to do something about it Let's hear from her again…
Millie Gooch, founder of The Sober Girl Society
I started realising that alcohol was really affecting my mental health, so I was
getting that really bad hangover anxiety – that like, hangover fear and dread –
and I kind of noticed that was permeating everyday life I was a binge drinker
rather than like an everyday drinker… So I just decided that it wasn't suiting my
life anymore and I wanted to give it up
Rob
So Millie there described the negative effects of a hangover – that's the sick and
tired feeling you get after drinking too much alcohol She also said she felt
anxiety And this feeling was permeating her everyday life When something
permeates it spreads through something and influences every part of it
Sam
So, drinking was affecting her everyday life, and it didn't help that she was a
binge drinker When you binge you do something occasionally but to extreme
Rob
Well, Millie managed to quit drinking and hasn't touched a drop since There are
many benefits to remaining sober – that means not being drunk And one of
them is hearing the answer to today's question!
Sam
Earlier I asked you: According to historians, which people were thought to be the
first group to make New Year's resolutions? Was it the…
a) Romans
b) Native Americans
c) Babylonians
?And Rob, what did you say
Rob
I had a wild guess and said it was the Romans
Sam
Sorry, Rob, you are wrong Many historians think it was the Babylonians who
made the first ever New Year's resolutions, about 4,000 years ago According to
the historycom website, at New Year – which they celebrated in mid-March -
Babylonians made promises to the gods to pay their debts and return any objects
they had borrowed
Rob
I wonder if they managed to keep their resolutions for longer than I did…
Anyway, let's keep one of our regular promises - to recap the vocabulary we've
discussed today Starting with resolution…
Sam
…which in the context of a New Year's resolution, is a promise to yourself to stop
or start doing something
Rob
Peer pressure is the influence a group of similar people have on you to behave
like them
Sam
Ingrained describes an attitude or idea that has been done in a certain way for a
long time and is difficult to change And merchandise is a word for goods we buy
and sell
Rob
We also mentioned a hangover – that's the sick, tired and sometimes anxious
feeling you get after drinking too much alcohol And permeating describes
spreading through something and influencing every part of it Like the
vocabulary in this programme, Sam!
Sam
Thanks, Rob - and that's all for now
Rob
Bye bye!
VOCABULARY
resolution
a promise to yourself to stop or start doing something
peer pressure
influence a group of similar people have on you to behave like them
ingrained
an attitude or idea that's been done in a certain way for a long time and is
difficult to change
merchandise
goods we buy and sell
hangover
sick, tired and sometimes anxious feeling you get after drinking too much alcohol
permeating
spreading through something and influencing every part of it
