Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English!  I'm Neil and I'm Catherine. Catherine,  

I'm going to start this program with a quick test  just for you! Oh, I love tests! Complete this  

phrase - wake up and smell the ... Coffee! Coffee,  Neil, it's coffee! I have to say that I love  

coffee, it's great. Yeah, okay, so do you drink  much? Well, just a couple of cups, you know. Uh,  

every day? No, no, every hour! I love  coffee, don't you like coffee, Neil?  

I do. Maybe not as much as you! What's the  best thing about it? Oh, it's the smell,  

it's got to be the smell. You know when  you open the packet, it's great, isn't it?  

Uh, yes, but it never quite tastes as good as  it smells, does it? Well, no. It's always a bit  

disappointing. I live in hope. Another cup, I  think it'll be better. I might change brands,  

actually, try a different one. Yeah, okay. You've  had quite a lot of coffee today, haven't you? Oh,  

just the usual six cups. Well, our topic is  the smell of coffee and coffee is also the  

subject of today's question: the world's biggest  producer of coffee is.... Brazil, Brazil. Yes,  

yes, but that's not the question. The question is:  Brazil is the biggest coffee producer - which is  

the second largest coffee producing country? Is  it a) Colombia, b) Vietnam or c) Ethiopia? Right,  

so it's not Brazil but I bet it's another South  American country so I'm gonna go for Colombia.  

Colombia is that right? Okay, we'll have the  answer later in the program by which time maybe  

the caffeine will have left your body, Catherine.  Tim Hayward is a coffee shop owner. He appeared  

in the BBC radio 4 program, the Kitchen Cabinet.  How important does he say the smell of coffee is?  

Absolutely vital, it's the key thing and you  when you walk into the coffee shop in the  

morning and that smell hits you, you're getting  physiological responses. So, how important is it?  

I'm feeling a bit calmer now. Tim Hayward says  the smell of coffee is vital. That means it's  

very important, it's perhaps the most important  thing. And he backs this up by saying that it's  

the key thing. Something that's key is essential,  it's really important. And, he says that when you  

experience the smell, when the smell hits you,  you get a physiological response. This phrase  

means your body has a reaction to the smell of  coffee - perhaps your mouth begins to water in  

anticipation. Catherine, when you get a coffee  do you normally have it there or take it away?  

Well, I usually take it away, although if  I'm feeling really in need of a coffee hit,  

I might have one there and then get another one to  take with me. Can you describe the container that  

you're given when you have a coffee to go? Yes,  it's in a tall paper cup with a lid and the lid  

has a hole in it so that I can drink that lovely  coffee. Don't you think that's a problem? I mean,  

we know how important the smell is, so what's the  effect of the lid on that experience? The effect  

of the lid? Yeah, well, here's Tim Hayward again,  talking about coffee being served with lids. What  

baffles me is how many of the large coffee chains  actually sell a product in a cup that removes the  

smell. So, you walk into the coffee shop, you  get the smell but when you actually take the  

drink out, you're drinking it from something  that's designed to deliver the hot liquid  

directly past your tongue but stop any smell  coming up to your nose. That's just weird. So,  

what is it he's describing there? I see, yes,  he's talking about the big coffee chains.  

A chain is a company that has lots of its stores  in towns and cities, sometimes around the world.  

I think we can all think of a few well-known  coffee chains, and he says that by putting a  

lid on takeaway cups, you're actually blocking  the smell. That smell that is really important  

to the coffee experience. Yes, and he says he  finds that weird, which is a way of saying he  

finds it unusual - thinks it's strange, odd. So  much so, that he says it baffles him. If you are  

baffled by something you find it confusing.  You can't really understand it. Here's Tim  

Hayward again. What baffles me is how many of  the large coffee chains actually sell a product  

in a cup that removes the smell. So, you walk  into the coffee shop, you get the smell but when  

you actually take the drink out you're drinking  it from something that's designed to deliver the  

hot liquid directly past your tongue but stop  any smell coming up to your nose. That's just  

weird. That was coffee shop owner Tim Hayward.  Right, before we have another cup of this week's  

vocabulary, let's get the answer to the question.  After Brazil, which country produces most coffee?  

Is it a) Colombia, b) Vietnam or c) Ethiopia?  Catherine, you said... I said it was a) Colombia.  

Ah, sorry, no extra coffee for you today. The  answer is Vietnam. And now on to the vocabulary  

we looked at. Take it away, Catherine. So, the  first word was vital, which is an adjective that  

means very important. And another word with a very  similar meaning was key, meaning essential. Next,  

we had the phrase, physiological responses.  Physiological refers to what our bodies do  

and a response is a reaction. So, a physiological  response is a reaction your body has to something,  

like the smell of coffee. Something that baffles  you confuses you. You don't understand it. You  

might find something that baffles you to be  weird. This adjective means unusual or strange.  

And finally, a chain is a group of shops  from the same company with the same name.  

Well, that is the end of our program. For more  from us check out Instagram, Facebook, Twitter,  

Youtube and our app and, of course, the website  bbclearningenglish.com. See you soon, goodbye.  

Bye! Fancy a coffee? I think you've had too much!  6 Minute English from bbclearningenglish.com  

Welcome to 6 Minute English where we introduce  a refreshing topic and six related items of  

vocabulary. I'm Rob and I'm Neil and today  we're talking about water. There's nothing  

more refreshing than an ice cold bottle of  water straight out of the vending machine.

Hmm, okay, refreshing in this context means  making you feel cool again after being hot  

so has that cooled you down, Neil? Yes, I feel  very refreshed now, thanks. Can I ask you though  

why didn't you just get a glass of water from the  kitchen tap? That water is cool and refreshing  

too, and it's free! Well, I like this brand of  bottled water better. It's enriched with salts and  

minerals that are very beneficial to your health.  Enriched means improving the quality of something  

by adding to it. Enriched, honestly, Neil! It  tastes better, Rob and I'm not the only one who  

thinks so. For the first time in the UK, bottled  water is more popular than cola. In fact, can you  

tell me how many litres of bottled water was sold  in the UK in 2016? Was it a) 2.9 billion, litres  

b) 29 million litres or c 2.9 million litres? Um,  right. well, I'm going to say 29 million litres.  

OK, we'll find out later if you got that right or  wrong. But seriously, Rob, don't you think it's a  

good thing that people are choosing to buy bottled  water at the supermarket rather than fizzy drinks?  

Yes, of course, but as I said to you earlier,  why don't people just drink tap water?  

Let's listen to Natalie Fee, founder of City to  Sea, which campaigns again plastic pollution. And,  

of course, bottled water causes a huge  amount of that. Here's Natalie now talking  

about how drinks manufacturers have persuaded  people that bottled water is better for them.

They manufactured the demand for bottled water  and they spent millions of pounds on adverts,  

sort of scaring us off of tap water. The bottled  water companies set out to make us believe  

that tap water wasn't healthy and yet tap water  is way more regulated than bottled water is  

and in taste tests tap water  comes up trump most times.

If you manufacture something you make  it in large amounts in a factory.  

But here Natalie says the drinks companies  manufactured the demand for bottled water, which  

means they made adverts to persuade people that  tap water wasn't healthy and bottled water was. 

To scare people off - what does that mean,  Rob? Well, if you scare somebody off you  

make them go away by frightening them. S,o some  advertisers may have suggested, for example,  

that tap water was unsafe to drink, whereas  bottled water was safer and tasted better too.  

You're catching on! However, Natalie Fee claims  that tap water is more regulated than bottled  

water is. Regulated means controlled. Natalie  also says that in taste tests, tap water comes  

up trumps. What does she mean by that? Well, a  taste test is where you ask people to try several  

very similar products without knowing which one  is which and then you grade them according to  

which you like the best. And if something comes up  trumps, it means it produces a good result, often  

unexpectedly. So tap water comes up trump's, eh?  Yep. Perhaps we should try a taste test now, Neil?  

It would be interesting to see if your enriched  bottled water comes up trumps or not. I tell you  

what, let's leave that until later and hear the  answer to today's quiz question instead. Okay,  

I asked you: how many litres of bottled water  were sold in the UK in 2016? Was it a) 2.9 billion  

litres, b) 29 million litres or c) 2.9 million  litres? Yeah, and I said 29 million litres. And  

the answer is... 2.9 billion litres. Wow! You can  buy many different brands of bottled water with a  

range of price tags. At the top end, there's  water from a 4,00 year-old Norwegian iceberg.  

How much does that cost? Around £80 a bottle.  Oh, as cheap as that - I'll pop out and get some  

later. Okay, let's review the words we learned  today. The first one was refreshing, which means  

making you feel cool again after being hot. I  enjoyed a refreshing cup of tea. Hmm, well we  

British like to say that, don't we? Though I don't  understand how a hot drink can be refreshing. OK,  

number two - enriched, which means improving the  quality of something by adding to it. For example,  

did you know that many types of breakfast cereal  are enriched with vitamins and minerals, Neil?  

No, I didn't, Rob. You learn something new  every day. Number three is manufacture - to  

make something in large amounts in a factory.  This company manufactures wellington boots I'm  

a wellington boot manufacturer - that has a nice  ring to it. Anyway, when you scare someone off  

you make them go away by frightening them. The dog  barked fiercely and scared off the two burglars.  

Down, Rob, down number. Five - regulated or  controlled. For example, the sale of tobacco is  

tightly regulated by the government. And finally  - if something comes up trumps it produces a  

good result, often unexpectedly. My lottery ticket  came up trumps again, I can't believe it! You're a  

lucky man, Neil. Okay, it's time to do that taste  test now. If you have an opinion on bottled water  

or anything else, please tell us about it on our  Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or Youtube pages.

Okay, this one definitely tastes  better. And how about this one?  

Yeah, definitely - that's the tap water,  Neil. No, no, no - I refuse to believe it!  

6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Neil  and I'm Rob. Now, Rob, you like your food, don't  

you? Oh yes. Yum, yum - food one of my favorite  things. And what do you think of street food? Oh,  

I love street food - there are some great places  in London where you can find delicious foods  

from all over the world cooked in front  of you in market stalls on the street.  

It's quite new though, isn't it? Not really a  British tradition. I guess not but it seems to  

be much more popular these days. Well, our topic  today is street food but before we tuck into that,  

here is today's question: recently, archaeologists  in Jordan discovered what they believe is the  

oldest remains of bread. How old is this bread? Is  it a) 18,000 years old, b) 14,000 years old or c)  

5,500 years old? What do you think? I don't know  but what I do know is i wouldn't really want to  

try sandwich made from that bread - might be a  bit moldy. Yes, uh, anyway ii'm gonna have a guess  

then ii'll go for c) 5500 years old. Right, we  will find out the answer later in the programme.  

Mark Laurie is from the nationwide caterers  association. He's an expert in the business of  

street food in the UK. He appeared on BBC Radio  4's, The Food Programme and was asked how the  

business of street food has changed in recent  years. In his answer, he talks about the areas  

where there is most growth in street food. What  are those areas? It's been phenomenal the growth,  

uh, in street foods, it's really taken off,  it's really become quite mainstream - part  

of the cultural fabric of the country,  really, or so it's beginning to be. Uh,  

certainly in the bigger cities and increasingly  in the sort of provinces, if you like.  

So where does he say the popularity of street  food is growing? He says that it's in the bigger  

cities and also in the provinces. The provinces  is a word which means the parts of a country  

outside of the cities, so essentially he's saying  it's getting more popular everywhere. Exactly! In  

fact, he says the growth is phenomenal. This means  he thinks the growth is spectacular - really big.  

Yes, he says that it's really taken off. Taken  off is one of those phrasal verbs that can be  

used in many different ways. In this sense,  when something takes off it means it becomes  

successful and popular. You know, street food  isn't really something you associate with Britain.  

Perhaps it's the climate or British food, so  street food is something that we're now getting  

used to and enjoying more. In fact, Mark says that  it's now becoming mainstream. This means it's no  

longer something that is seen as being unusual or  different - it's becoming an accepted part of the  

everyday eating experience. Well, let's listen  again to Mark Laurie talking about the growth of  

street food in the UK. It's been phenomenal, the  growth in street foods - it's really taken off,  

it's really become quite mainstream - part of the  cultural fabric of the country, really, or so it's  

beginning to be. Certainly in the in the bigger  cities and increasingly in the sort of provinces,  

if you like. Mark Laurie goes on to talk about  why street food has become popular. What kind of  

food does he say it's not like? Yeah, it's just  really captured the imagination of the public.  

It's honest food, it's authentic food and  it's people that you can trust making it.  

It's not some microwave food or whatever  that you might get in your local pub.  

So, street food is many things but what isn't  it? Well, he says that it's not like food you  

might get in some pubs. That food, he says,  may be some microwave food - which is food  

prepared in a microwave oven. You know I  quite like a microwave meal now and then,