bucket_lists.mp3
bucket_lists.pdf
6 Minute English
Are bucket lists always a
?good thing
This is not a word-for-word transcript
Neil
Hello This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English I’m Neil
Sam
And I’m Sam
Neil
Have you always wanted to learn to dance the tango, do a magic trick, or
skydive? If so, perhaps you need a bucket list – a list of all the things you want to
do before you die – that’s the topic of our programme
Sam
Bucket lists have been called ‘the greatest hits of your life’ and have helped
some people overcome anxiety and fear of following their dreams
Neil
But they’ve also been accused of limiting the imagination by encouraging people
to follow someone else’s idea of the perfect life
Sam
?So, what would be on your bucket list, Neil? Are you a skydiving kind of person
Neil
Not really! Bungee-jumping maybe - as long as someone checked the elastic
?rope! How about you
Sam
One thing I’ve always wanted to do is swim with dolphins
Neil
Well, you’re not alone there, Sam, because swimming with dolphins is one of the
most commonly included personal goals on bucket lists But which of the
following things do you think tops the list? That’s my quiz question for today Is
:it
a) swimming with dolphins
b) getting a tattoo, or
c) seeing the northern lights
Sam
I’ll go for a) swimming with dolphins – one, because it’s something I really want
to do and two, because I’ve heard so many stories about how it improves your
mental health
Neil
Well, that was certainly true in the case of blogger Annette White She listed
hundreds of things she wanted to accomplish - from learning Spanish to hanging
out with penguins in Antarctica - as a way of improving her psychological
wellbeing Here she is talking to Claudia Hammond for BBC Radio 4’s
:programme All in the Mind
Claudia Hammond, presenter
You said that you started all this to try to help you overcome your anxiety – has it
done that?
Annette White, blogger
It definitely has and I feel that the reason is because that promise to live my
bucket list really continuously pushes the comfort zone to its limits and beyond
it So every time I can have a chance to step out of my comfort zone, a little piece
of that fear of the unknown is removed and replaced with a little piece of
empowerment, and by continuously doing that, the size of my fear bubble has
gotten smaller
Sam
Annette feels that choosing adventurous goals for her bucket list helps her step
outside her comfort zone – the situations where she feels safe and comfortable
but where her ability and determination are not really being tested
Neil
Moving out of her comfort zone has helped Annette replace her feelings of fear
with feelings of empowerment – the process of becoming stronger and more
confident, especially in controlling her life
Sam
Well, that all sounds pretty good to me But not everyone is convinced that
bucket lists can really help people like Annette in the long run Here’s clinical
:psychologist Linda Blair to explain why
Linda Blair, clinical psychologist
I’m not really in favour of bucket lists There are a couple of reasons Most of all,
you’re kind of fooling yourself with a bucket list We fear death, more than I
think we fear anything else in our existence, because we can’t predict it, and
because we don’t know what it’s like because nobody comes back and tells us
And when you create a bucket list – something to do before you ‘kick the
bucket’, the idea that you’re giving yourself is that you can somehow control
when and what death is going to be all about We only make sense of our lives at
the end of it A bucket list takes you away from the chance to be spontaneous
and I think it’s so delicious to be able to say, ‘that’s an opportunity? – oh, I’ll do
that!’
Neil
Linda thinks some people use bucket lists as a coping strategy to try to control
something uncontrollable – death In this way they are fooling - or deceiving -
themselves - trying to make themselves believe something they know is not
really true
Sam
And by having a checklist of adventures to tick off before they die, people might
lose the chance to be spontaneous – to act in a natural and impulsive way
without planning
Neil
Linda also uses an unusual expression which gave ‘bucket list’ its name in the
first place A bucket list is all the things you want to do before you ‘kick the
bucket’ – an informal way of saying, ‘die’
Sam
‘Kick the bucket’ is an old English expression that was even used by
Shakespeare It refers to kicking the bucket away from under the feet of a
hanging man, leaving him to drop to his death
Neil
Well, anyway, I hope I don’t kick the bucket before I’ve had a chance to tell you
the correct answer to today’s quiz Remember, I asked you which personal goal
?was most often included in bucket lists
Sam
I said, a) swimming with dolphins
Neil
But the actual answer was c) seeing the northern lights
Sam
Well, maybe we could combine the two in a single trip…
Neil
And then get a tattoo! That would be spontaneous!
Sam
Today, we’ve been discussing bucket lists – lists of all the things you want to do
before you ‘kick the bucket’ – an informal way of saying ‘die’
Neil
Bucket lists can be a great way to feel empowered – stronger and more in
control of your life, because they take you out of your comfort zone –
comfortable situations which are safe but not challenging
Sam
But others think you’re fooling – or deceiving yourself – if you think bucket lists
can really help you control your life In fact, they might even make you less
spontaneous – less able to act in natural, sudden and impulsive ways
Neil
That’s all from us for now Why not go and make some plans for all the things
?you’d like to do in your life
Sam
And start having adventures before we see you next time here at 6 Minute
English from BBC Learning English
Neil
Bye
Sam
Goodbye
VOCABULARY
bucket list
list of all the things you want to do before you die
comfort zone
situation where you feel safe and comfortable and where your ability is not being
tested
empowerment
process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling your
life
fooling yourself
trying to make yourself believe something that you know is not really true;
deceiving yourself
‘kick the bucket’
an informal way to say, ‘die’
spontaneous
doing something in a natural, impulsive or sudden way based without any
planning or premeditationa
