gsl english — A True Story Of Inspiring Determination British English Listening Practice

Transcript کامل قسمت

Hello there everyone and welcome back to the GSL English podcast.

My name is Gideon and this is a podcast for all learners of English to practice and improve in a relaxed and natural way.

And in this episode, we are talking about determination.

We are going to look at what determination really is.

and why it's important, particularly when that comes to improving and learning English, but also many different areas of life in different things that we want to achieve.

Determination is really essential.

So we're going to look into that by means of a truly inspiring real story.

OK, so the title of the story is The Farmer.

who outran the impossible.

And it is honestly an incredible story.

So we're going to read through it together.

We've got loads of vocabulary to go through.

So you will definitely come away with some new words and expressions that you can start using.

But the idea of this, going through this story, analysing it together, is to see how can we apply it

what we learn from what we're going to read to our process of learning English.

And also when it comes to our mindset, how do we mentally approach improvement?

So as well as, of course, improving our English, reading skills, listening skills and learning vocabulary and expressions,

Just going to look at where our head is when it comes to learning and improving our English.

So I'm looking forward to sharing this story with you.

I think you're going to enjoy it.

And if you are new here, please don't forget to subscribe.

Introduce yourself in the comment.

Always love to meet new listeners and viewers.

I love to know where you're doing so from.

So, yeah, if you can let me know your name, where you're listening or watching from.

I always appreciate it.

But yeah, I hope you've had a good week.

I hope you've achieved everything you wanted to, as always.

And if it has been a stressful one, if it has been a bit of a busy week, then hopefully with this time together now, we can just relax and enjoy the English language together.

So we're not going to have much chit chat.

We're going to get straight into it today because the format is

is going to be that we read the story in its entirety.

So you can just listen and read along if the screen, if you were watching this.

And then afterwards, we're going to take it paragraph by paragraph, analyse what's going on and the vocabulary.

And then we're going to see what we can take from this story and how it applies to our learning of English.

But

Before we get into it, you know what I'm going to say.

Grab a cup of tea, grab a cup of coffee, just relax and unwind if you are able to do so.

As always, of course, I love the thought of you improving your English, but also...

It makes me happy to know that you use this opportunity or this podcast to just unwind, chill out and relax a little bit, which a few of you have said in comments and different messages recently.

So that makes me really happy.

So if you are able to do so.

I recommend it.

If you're listening in England, grab a blanket, get on the sofa, make yourself a nice cup of hot chocolate, coffee, tea.

Yeah.

If you're watching this on the commute on Monday, a day later, I hope you're having a good commute.

But if you can stop off at a coffee shop for the next half hour or so, why not?

Treat yourself.

You deserve it.

OK, here we go.

The farmer who outran the impossible.

A true story of determination.

So just before we read it, this is a great opportunity for you to read along with me, of course, on the screen.

But if you feel so inclined, shadow read with me.

So you can either do that through repetition, pause and repeat, or just read at exactly the same time as me, or just listen and enjoy.

Here we go.

In the world of endurance sports, legends are often sculpted from youthful strength, specialised training and years of disciplined preparation.

But in 1983, one quiet Australian potato farmer rewrote that definition entirely, armed with nothing but grit, humility and an unwavering belief in his own endurance.

This is the remarkable story of Cliff Young, a man who showed the world that determination can triumph over expectation, expertise and even age.

The Sydney to Melbourne ultramarathon was known as one of the most gruelling athletic challenges on earth.

A punishing 544 mile 875 kilometre run stretching across rugged Australian terrain.

Only elite athletes, seasoned ultrarunners with top tier equipment dared to enter.

So when 61 year old Cliff Young showed up at the starting line wearing thick work boots and loose overalls, spectators assumed he was lost.

Reporters tried to clarify his presence.

Cliff simply smiled and explained that he was there to run.

He told them how, as a child, he would spend days chasing cattle across his family's vast farmland.

Sometimes storms would hit, and the only way to round up the livestock was to keep running, sometimes for two or three days without rest.

He believed the ultramarathon was the same kind of challenge, just longer.

The crowd laughed.

But Cliff didn't.

He wasn't there for approval.

He was there to try.

When the race began, Cliff quickly fell behind.

His running style, a slow, unusual shuffle, looked awkward compared to the powerful strides of his competitors.

Many assumed he would withdraw within hours.

But as night fell, something surprising happened.

While other athletes stopped to sleep, as was standard practice, Cliff kept moving.

He didn't know runners were supposed to take rest for several hours each night.

So he didn't.

He shuffled steadily through the darkness, quiet and alone on the open road.

By morning, he had passed several runners.

By the second night, he had moved into a competitive position.

By the third night, he was leading the race.

No fancy training, no advanced nutrition strategy, no rest, just persistence.

Against every prediction, Cliff Young won the ultramarathon in five days, 15 hours and four minutes, shattering the existing race record by nearly two full days.

Athletes, reporters and spectators were stunned.

How had a 61 year old man with no professional background outrun the best endurance runners in the world?

Cliff gave a simple answer.

I just kept going.

His unusual shuffle, lights, economical and surprisingly efficient became known as the young shuffle, a technique now used by ultra marathoners to conserve energy over extreme distances.

When organisers awarded Cliff the prize money, he refused to keep it.

He believed that every runner who endured the race deserved recognition.

So he split the winnings among the other competitors, taking nothing for himself.

It wasn't glory he sought.

It wasn't money.

It was the challenge and the quiet satisfaction of proving to himself that he could endure.

Cliff Young's story isn't just about winning a race.

It's about defying expectations, about showing that determination doesn't always look impressive at first glance.

Sometimes it looks like a pair of muddy boots, a slow shuffle and a man who never learned the limits other people accepted.

His legacy reminds us that...

You don't need the perfect circumstances to begin.

You don't need to fit the mould to excel.

You don't need to be the fastest, just the one who refuses to quit.

Cliff Young didn't win because he was the strongest or the swiftest.

He won because he believed in going forward when everyone else stopped.

And sometimes that alone is enough to change the world.

What an incredible story, don't you think?

So as I say, we're going to break that down now.

We're going to take it paragraph by paragraph.

But at this point, before we analyse it, you know, think to yourself, what stood out to you about Cliff's example?

What stood out to you about human nature, perhaps about others judging him, about him not really caring, doing it for himself?

You know, think to yourself at this point in English, what matters to you about this story?

And just as a little apology, just in case you could hear it, my tummy was rumbling whilst I was reading that.

I did just have a massive lunch, so maybe that's got to do something to do with it.

I keep doing that, having a massive lunch before I start recording the podcast on a Friday.

And it doesn't really help.

But yeah, my tummy was going crazy.

Or my belly, I should say.

I'm an adult, not a tummy.

So if you could hear it through the microphone, I do apologise.

It was very loud.

So here we go.

Let's break it down again.

So you started off by talking about in the world of endurance sports.

And when we talk about endurance, it's the ability to keep going for a long time.

So applying that to endurance sports, we're talking about sports that go on for a long period of time, like a marathon or in this case, an ultramarathon.

No, endurance is a great quality to have.

So it talks about legends, you know, they're often created from youthful strength, specialised training and years of disciplined preparation.

When we talk about being disciplined, we're talking about being controlled, following strict habits.

Discipline is needed when it comes to practice.

learning anything really, studying anything.

If we want to progress, if we want to achieve, we have to be disciplined.

That control, that self-discipline that says I will stick to my routine and I won't stop.

And for many athletes, particularly in this sphere that we're talking about, discipline is essential.

And then, OK, it says that one Australian potato farmer rewrote the definition entirely armed with nothing but grit.

When we talk about somebody having grit, it's a courage.

It's a boldness.

It's an inner strength.

It's not always pretty on the outside.

It's not always great to look at.

But inside, you know, they've got grit.

If someone's got grit, they're not going to give up easily.

They've got that inner strength.

As well as that, he had humility, the quality of being modest, not showing off.

And it is not a weakness to be humble.

The quality of humility is not a weakness.

And it also said that he had unwavering belief in his own endurance.

If we have unwavering belief in something, it's never going to weaken.

It's steady.

Nothing's going to shake it.

So he had unwavering.

He had solid belief.

In his endurance, remember that endurance, the ability to keep going.

So this is the remarkable story of Cliff Young.

When we talk about something being remarkable, it's very unusual in an impressive way.

His determination to defeat, to overcome, to beat expectation, expertise and even age.

Great, great example, isn't it?

So we started off with an unlikely competitor.

So we're talking about the Sydney to Melbourne ultramarathon.

I don't think I could run it.

My goodness, 544 miles.

And it talks about being one of the most gruelling athletic challenges on Earth.

When it talks about it being gruelling, it's ridiculously difficult, extremely difficult.

It's exhausting.

You know, we're not just talking about a marathon.

We're talking about an ultramarathon.

I don't think I could run a half marathon, let alone ultra marathon 544 miles.

It's punishing.

Very hard, demanding.

If we go to the gym, we might perform a workout that is punishing on our body.

You know, it's demanding.

It takes a lot of effort.

And the next day we feel it.

Across rugged terrain, rough, uneven terrain.

So we get the idea here that this is not just an ultra marathon on pavements.

You know, this is an ultra marathon across different terrains, different surfaces.

And generally speaking, it was for elite athletes, highly trained, well-equipped runners.

Elite, the best, the most skilled.

This was an ultimate event for professional athletes.

So when you've got this 61-year-old, Cliff Young, arrived wearing work boots.

Imagine them being a bit worn, a bit dirty.

Baggy overalls.

Many assumed he wandered, walked in without intending to.

He was there by mistake.

It was an accident.

You know, this Cliff Young shouldn't be there.

So a journalist approached him and they said, what are you doing here?

You know, you must be at the wrong place.

So what did he do?

He simply smiled and explained, no, I'm here to run the race.

So he gave his example.

Of course, he was raised on his childhood, the family farm.

And he would spend days chasing cattle on foot.

But when the storms hit, he sometimes ran continuously without stopping for two or three days because he had to round his cattle up, lived on a farm, you know, work on a farm is nonstop.

So for him, he was thinking, well, this ultramarathon seems similar, just a little bit longer.

But I think the sad thing here is that the crowds laughed kindly.

Yeah, OK, Cliff, very funny.

But what's interesting, Cliff didn't laugh with them.

And he wasn't looking for attention.

He just wanted the chance to try.

And here we get a real insight, don't we, into Cliff's character.

He wasn't doing this for attention, for fame.

Oh, look at me.

Look, I've turned up in work boots and overalls.

No, this was just him being purely him and doing this for himself.

So when the race first began, Cliff immediately fell behind.

If we fall behind in something, we are slower than others.

So he started this race, immediately fell to the back.

And he had this running style which was different to usual.

It was a slow, unusual shuffle.

And when we talk about shuffle, it's kind of a slow, sliding way of moving.

You know, it looked almost comical, funny, strange looking because you're next to these powerful, the powerful strides.

A stride is a long step of younger athletes that had been training full of muscle, you know.

So many said, oh, he's going to quit within hours.

He can't keep going with that stride.

He's going to give up.

Not a chance.

This wasn't the standard runner.

It wasn't what everyone expected, was it?

But as now it fell, so he starts the race doing his weird little Cliff Young shuffle.

Something happened.

The professional athlete stopped to sleep, but Cliff continued and he didn't realize that resting six hours per night was standard.

It's what you did as ultra marathon runners.

It's what everyone expected you to do.

So he simply just didn't stop.

He didn't know that was an option.

What's interesting is by the next morning, he had passed or overtaken several runners.

By the second night, he was in a strong position, so maybe in the top half of the table.

And by the third night, he was leading the race.

This man did not stop.

And this wasn't because any complex training.

It wasn't because of any advanced gear that he had, gear meaning equipment, no rest.

This was simply because of his persistence.

That continuing despite difficulty.

So against every prediction, a prediction, if we predict that something is going to happen, we say, oh, this is what's going to happen next.

And the predictions were against Cliff, weren't they?

says that actually he won the ultra marathon.

That is incredible.

He says smashing the existing rest cord by nearly two full days.

If we smash something, we absolutely knock it out of the park.

He smashed it.

It's a great expression we used here.

Perhaps you're at work and you've got a work colleague and they give a presentation.

They do a really good job.

They get down and say, oh, you smashed it.

Did a great job.

Well, here he smashed the record, shattered them.

So everyone there, the spectators, the reporters and even the fellow runners, they were astonished.

Unbelievably surprised.

I always think if you were one of these other ultra marathon runners that spent years training and trying, not going to lie, you'd be a little bit frustrated, wouldn't you?

How is this 61 year old man with no formal, official or professional training?

outrun the world's best endurance athletes, going to be a little bit peeved, aren't you?

And especially by his answer.

I just kept going, basically saying, why did you sleep six hours a night?

Just keep going.

So we had this unusual technique, his way of doing something.

And it later kind of become famous and it was known as the young shuffle.

And people even do it today.

You know, you sometimes see people speed walking in that weird way.

It's the young shuffle.

He's the guy that came up with it and it's proved to be energy efficient.

So it uses little energy, but gets you somewhere at a faster pace than just standard walking.

And has actually now become popular among ultra marathoners worldwide.

Isn't that interesting?

Something that people at first judged, said, oh, what are you doing?

Rubbish.

Stop it.

Now they're doing it themselves.

But this is the lovely bit.

So the race officials, a race official is the people in charge of the event and the race.

They said, here you go, Cliff, here's your prize money.

But he politely refused, said no.

He had this kind of thought process that, you know, every runner deserved something.

Isn't that incredible?

Even after all of that judgment, you know, he'd know that people were laughing.

He would know that people were questioning what he's doing.

But even after all that, he still said, no, this should be divided, split evenly among the other competitors.

And not only that, not only did he split the prize money amongst the other competitors, he kept nothing for himself.

So he didn't take any of the money for himself and he didn't care about fame or financial reward.

He wasn't doing this for that.

What he cared about was fairness.

He cared about treating everyone equally because they all share the struggle of the race.

In essence, he didn't really care about winning.

It's quite interesting, isn't it?

You know, as it goes on to say here that this isn't about winning a race.

Cliff didn't go thinking he was going to win the race.

It just happened that way.

So what can we learn from this?

Well, it goes on to say that it shows that determination does not always look fast.

It's not always powerful.

It's not always outwardly visible.

And in this case, it looks like an old pair of boots, a quiet shuffle and a person who never accepted the limits others believed in.

Yeah.

Absolutely incredible, really.

Just, you know, what does his life teach us that you don't need perfect circumstances to begin?

Perfect circumstances are perfect health, time, money.

There are no such thing as perfect circumstances, are there?

Life is always changing.

You don't need to match the stereotype to succeed.

A stereotype is a fixed idea of what

a type of person someone should be.

So, for example, in this instance, everyone had a stereotype of what they imagined an ultra marathon runner to look like.

Cliff was not that.

But this teaches us you don't have to match the stereotypes to succeed.

Going to apply that to English in a moment.

And it says Cliffwind didn't win because he looked like a champion, a winner, an impressive one at that.

He won simply because he kept moving forward when everyone else stopped.

That is the simplicity of his victory.

I just find it really fascinating.

What do you take from that story?

There's so many different aspects that we can apply.

I learned a lot from Cliff here.

You know, sometimes we have, I think particularly from our standpoint as humans, we have stereotypes of who fits the mould, particularly in this instance, an ultramarathon should look, should be a certain way.

Cliff wasn't that, but he still won.

Quite inspiring for us, isn't it?

If we want to do something and we don't fit the stereotype.

We don't have to.

It doesn't really matter.

And I like the point, you don't always need to be the fastest.

You just got to keep on going.

And that is where determination comes in.

So how can we apply this to English?

Why are we looking at this?

Well, what I've done is how many have I prepared?

I think I can't remember.

I've prepared different points that we can take from Cliff's story and apply it to us learning English or really learning, approving, achieving or succeeding at anything.

So the first point is to start even if you don't feel ready, like Cliff showing up in work boots.

Cliff didn't look like a runner.

He didn't have the right clothes or the perfect preparation.

But he showed up anyway.

And I often I would love to ask Cliff, you know, did you have doubts beforehand?

So before you turned up to the race, were you thinking to yourself, should I do this?

Shouldn't I do this?

I wonder if he had those thoughts.

I kind of like to imagine that he did.

He didn't look like a runner, didn't have all the gear, but he showed up anyway.

So how come this applies to English?

Well, you don't need perfect grammar, a big vocabulary.

You don't need fancy textbooks to get started.

Start speaking, start reading, start practicing, even if it feels messy or you don't feel like you fit the mold.

You don't have to be perfect to begin.

You just have to begin.

Cliff would not have run that race if he hadn't showed up anyway.

Now, of course, if you're listening to this podcast, your English is at more of an advanced level.

Well, what's the next step for you?

Show up, begin it, start it, even if you don't feel ready.

Why not?

What do you have to lose?

Second lesson we can learn from Cliff is go at your own pace.

We think of Cliff's slow shuffle.

Cliff's running style looked very strange and it was strange.

It was slow.

It was unusual.

But all that matters is that it worked for him, didn't it?

This running style worked for Cliff.

So for English learners, your progress may be slower or the way you run.

And yeah, the pace at which you approach learning English may be different from others, but that is OK. Set your own pace.

Go with your own pace as long as it is working.

Of course, if it's not working, if it's too slow, we need to adjust it.

If it's too fast, we need to adjust it.

For example, learning five words a day.

It doesn't matter if someone else is learning 10 words a day.

You're learning five words and that's what works for you.

Reading one paragraph instead of one chapter.

Someone else says, I read a chapter, but you enjoyed reading your paragraph.

That's all that matters.

Speak for two minutes, not 20.

If someone says, oh, I spoke for 20 minutes in English and you only spoke for two.

That's fine.

That's your pace.

This is your process for learning English.

Your own rhythm is enough.

Just keep moving.

Don't be ashamed of your pace if it's working, just like Cliff.

Thirdly, keep going when others stop, like Cliff running through the nights.

All the other runners stopped to sleep because that's what athletes did.

Everyone said, oh, you got to sleep.

So they stopped.

Cliff didn't know that.

He kept running.

So for English learners, many people stop studying really when they get busy, when they get tired, when they get discouraged or they can't study as much as they used to.

And perhaps that's you now.

Maybe you think, oh,

When I was younger, I studied English so much.

I don't have the time to study that much anymore, so I don't studied at all.

Well, just keep going.

If you continue just a little each day, you will move ahead.

Ten minutes of English on difficult days where you just don't want it.

Listen while you cook.

Review vocabulary on the bet, on the bus.

Consistency beats intensity.

And if we go back to Cliff's example, at the beginning, he fell behind.

He wasn't as intense as the other runners.

But what kept him going?

What helped him win the race?

That just consistent pace that works for him.

A little bit every day is more powerful than a lot all at once in a while.

Fourth point, don't worry about what others think.

This is so important when learning English.

Like Cliff, ignore the laughter.

People laughed at Cliff when he turned up.

They didn't believe him.

He didn't let that stop him.

He goes, yeah, you're laughing at me.

That's OK.

So if we're learning English or speaking a second language, we might worry about sounding funny, making mistakes, being judged or speaking with an accent.

Well, don't worry about what others think.

Cliff didn't.

And I know this is a big thing that a lot of people try to say, oh, I've still got a bit of an accent.

And that worries a lot.

Ask yourself, if that is you, is it that much of a bigger deal?

Do you really honestly want to lose that part of your identity?

For example, if you are French, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, and you speak English with that accent.

It's part of who you are.

Do you really want to lose that?

Maybe you do.

Then go for it.

But it shows a bit of your personality, your identity, who you are.

And as long as you can communicate freely, that's great.

Of course, there is a big difference between pronunciation and accent.

We always keep on working on pronunciation and accent reduction, maybe.

We don't want to lose it.

And with mistakes, it's proof you're learning.

Cliff ignored the crowd.

We can ignore the fear.

Focus on improvement, not on judgment, what everyone else thinks.

Use your life experiences as strength.

Like Cliff, we think about using his farm work.

Cliff wasn't a trained runner, but he used his experience chasing cattle to succeed.

He relied on that experience.

What experience do you have?

Use your background.

Use what you've already got, the foundation that you have built throughout life.

to help you better your English.

If you love music, if you're a musician, learn English with songs.

If you love games, video games, board games, play them in English.

If you love writing, if you love reading, keep a journal.

Start writing.

If you love stories, read short stories, write a short story.

Your interests are your superpower when it comes to learning English.

Use what you already know, your life experience.

Use that as your superpower to really speed up your progress in English.

Cliff did that.

A cattle farmer, he won an ultramarathon.

Use what you already enjoy to grow your English naturally.

And don't be ashamed about that and don't feel like you have to fit others stereotype of what they like.

Track your progress like Cliff watching the miles shrink.

Cliff didn't think about that whole 544 miles at once, did he?

He focused on the distance he had already covered and the next small step.

So for you, track your progress.

New vocabulary, what have you learned?

Pages read, minutes spent listening, mistakes corrected, conversations had, podcasts listened to, comments on the GSL English podcast.

Track it.

See how far you've come.

And of course, be absolutely proud of it.

Oh, just had a little notification once again.

The battery on my camera is low.

I always forget to charge it, guys.

I think we've got enough to keep going.

We're not too far now.

I think we've got enough.

So if it does just quickly, randomly cut out, you know why.

But don't be, you know, see how far you've come.

Let your progress be your motivation.

Seven, stay humble and kind.

Cliff, like Cliff sharing his prize money.

Cliff didn't win for money or fame.

He shared his prize with other runners.

So we want to be humble and kind to ourselves.

So for English learners, be kind to yourself.

Be patient.

Celebrate small victories.

Everyone's learning.

Help others.

You know, if you hear someone doing really well in English, don't think, oh, I wish that was me.

Oh, they're so good at English.

Think, well done.

Tell them, well done.

Ask them for help.

That takes humility, doesn't it?

A humble attitude keeps your motivation strong, steady and authentic.

Believe you can improve.

Like Cliff, he believed he could finish.

Cliff believed he could run the race.

Despite all of the doubts, despite all the laughter and that belief really is what carried him to the finish line.

So if you're learning English, believe that you can speak confidently.

You can understand native speakers.

You can become fluent with practice.

Now, that mindset, that positive mindset of I can.

Is essential to progress.

Belief is that engine of determination.

Yeah, keep going.

So finally, become the Cliff Young of English learning.

Learning English is like an ultramarathon.

Let's be honest.

It's long.

It's challenging.

It requires steady progress.

It rewards those who keep going.

So we can be like Cliff.

Start anyway.

Move at your own pace.

Don't quit.

Keep going, even when it's hard and let your determination carry you farther than you expected.

Determination really is essential when it comes to learning English, to improving anything, to being who we want to be, to achieving what we want to achieve.

If we're not determined, we're not going to get there.

But sometimes we've got to think, what is my determination?

What's your determination with English?

Is it to speak more fluently?

Is it to improve your vocabulary?

Is it to improve your listening skills, your reading, to write, to get a job in English?

Set your determination and just keep going.

Keep going.

And the thing that really stands out to me with Cliff is that he just didn't stop, did he?

He was just consistent, didn't really focus too much on what was going around him.

He just ran his own race and just kept that belief that he could most definitely do it.

So I wanted to share that story with you.

I thought it was just a really encouraging one.

I liked it.

It made me think about a few things.

Being positive, believing in yourself, I guess.

So, yeah, very good.

As always, thank you so much for watching.

If you did get to this point in the podcast, please write determination in the comments.

Please, please, please give it a like.

It really does help me out when you like, when you subscribe, when you interact with these episodes in any way.

It really helps me to keep going and hopefully just create better content for you in the future.

So thank you so much for watching.

As always, you're all legends.

You're all amazing.

And I'll see you all next week.

Have a good one, guys.