Friendliness on the tube

BBC Learning¹ English
London Life

Friendliness² on the tube

Yvonne: I'm Yvonne Archer³ and this is London Life from

bbclearningenglish.com.

Hello! In today's programme, we're talking about

friendliness on London's tubes. Is there any?

As you probably know, the tube is also known as 'the

underground' because the trains run on tracks which are

mainly under the ground or streets. There's usually nothing

to see out of the windows unless we've stopped in a station

and many people read books or newspapers – but talking is

not the done thing!

Now sadly, this lack of friendliness on the tube is

something that tourists to London notice very quickly. So

why aren't people friendlier towards each other? What

reasons do these three American tourists give?

Vox

A. There's not really any reason to talk to anyone. B. I

think it's because it's too loud.
C. It just doesn't feel like the right thing to do.

Yvonne: The first tourist said that passengers don’t have

any real 'reason' to talk to each other – so talking isn't

necessary. And perhaps you agree… after all, we live in a

noisy world so, should we be pleased that we don't have to

listen to other people's voices on the tube?

Vox

A. There's not really any reason to talk to anyone.

 
Yvonne: Our second tourist gave us a more practical reason

which actually makes sense to me. Do you remember what she

said?

Vox

B. I think it's because it's too loud.

Yvonne: Tube trains are so noisy inside that perhaps

passengers don't bother to talk to each other because it's

difficult for them to hear what's being said. I know that's

true for me some of the time. Now let's hear from our third

tourist who talked
more about how people feel when they're on the tube.

Vox

C. It just doesn't feel like the right thing to do.

Yvonne: We heard there how talking on the tube doesn't feel

like 'the right thing to do' – so he would feel

uncomfortable if he talked to strangers on the tube. As we

know, most people like to fit in and behave like the other

people around them - so if Londoners aren't talking to each

other on the tube, why should tourists? And this Englishman⁴

agrees – he'd never talk to strangers on the tube and
doesn't believe that others should either…

Vox

Never, I mean I wouldn't have no reason to – we're

English. It doesn't work that way – it doesn't work that

way here; I think they need to know that.

Yvonne: Oh dear – luckily not all English people feel that

way!

Now as a Londoner, when I'm on a busy tube train, a little

smile, a quiet 'good morning' or even a short, polite

comment from another passenger on how full the tube is can

really help to brighten⁵ my day – perhaps because it's so

unexpected⁶. So how are those 'friendly' people seen on the

tube? Listen out for
 
the noun⁷ this London based traveller uses as she tries to

answer the question: Why aren't we more friendly on the

tube?

Vox

I don't know. I suppose there's nothing to say to other

people on the tube and then you come across like a weirdo

if you start talking to anybody about anything.

Yvonne: Did you catch the noun she used there? Yes, it was

'a weirdo' – which is a rather rude way to describe

someone who we find strange, odd⁹ or different from most

other people. In her opinion, if we start talking to other

tube passengers, we could 'come across like' – give the

impression that - we're
'weirdos'.

Vox

I don't know. I suppose there's nothing to say to other

people on the tube and then you come across like a weirdo

if you start talking to anybody about anything.

Yvonne: But there's one man who decided¹⁰ to risk 'coming

across as a weirdo' on the tube when he tried to share his

sweets. Steve called BBC Radio London's Breakfast show and

explained to Jono and Jo – the show's presenters¹¹ – what

happened as a result. Was it good or bad? During his phone

call, Steve uses the phrase 'absolutely packed' to describe

the tube he was on. Try to work out what he means by that…

Steve

Yeah, I once got on a tube and it was absolutely packed.

And I had a packet of Opal Fruits on me and I turned around

to everybody and said "Oh, anybody fancy¹² an Opal Fruit?"

And then I sang the jingle¹³ "Opal Fruits, made to make your

mouth water".
(Jo: Oh, I'd fall in love with you if you did that!) The

whole tube went completely quiet.
 
Yvonne: Poor Steve! His tube was 'absolutely packed' so it

was extremely full of passengers but they greeted his offer

with total silence – as he put it, they went
'completely quiet' – so they probably thought that Steve

was a weirdo. Luckily, one passenger did accept a sweet

from Steve but after that, Steve was so embarrassed that he

decided to get off the tube – even though it wasn't his

stop!?

So, was Steve wrong to try to be friendly on the tube? Hmmm

– I wonder about his singing. Perhaps that was a little

bit weird⁸!

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 friendliness   

n.友谊，亲切，亲密

参考例句：

• Behind the mask of friendliness,I know he really dislikes me.在友善的面具后面，我知道他其实并不喜欢我。
• His manner was a blend of friendliness and respect.他的态度友善且毕恭毕敬。

3 archer   

n.射手，弓箭手

参考例句：

• The archer strung his bow and aimed an arrow at the target.弓箭手拉紧弓弦将箭瞄准靶子。
• The archer's shot was a perfect bull's-eye.射手的那一箭正中靶心。

4 Englishman   

n.(pl.Englishmen)英国人；英国男人

参考例句：

• I was astonished that he was not an Englishman.我很惊讶,他竟不是英国人。
• She stared thoughtfully at the Englishman across the table.她若有所思地盯着桌子对面的那个英国人。

5 brighten   

vt.使发亮，使开颜；vi.发光，发亮，生色

参考例句：

• Brighten the kitchen by painting it yellow.给厨房涂上黄色，使它发亮。
• She has brighten up my whole life.她给我的整个生活带来快乐。

6 unexpected   

adj.想不到的，意外的

参考例句：

• I always keep some good wine in for unexpected guests.我总保存些好酒，用来招待不速之客。
• His promotion was unexpected.他的升迁出人意料。

7 noun   

n.名词

参考例句：

• What kind of noun is this?这是哪类名词？
• This word is a collective noun.这个词是个集体名词。

8 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

9 odd   

adj.奇特的；临时的；奇数的；n.[pl.]机会

参考例句：

• She looks a bit odd.I wonder what has happened to her.她的神色有些异样，不知出了什么事。
• He's an odd character and no mistake!他的确是个怪人！

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 presenters   

n.节目主持人，演播员( presenter的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Each week presenters would put the case for their favourite candidate. 每个星期主持人推出他们最喜欢的候选人。 来自互联网
• Karaoke was set up to allowed presenters to sing on the stage. 宴会设有歌唱舞台，可让出席者大演唱功。 来自互联网

12 fancy   

n.想像力，幻想；喜好，爱；adj.想像的，时髦的，华丽装饰的，奢侈的；技巧的；vt.想象，自认为，喜好

参考例句：

• He seemed to have taken quite a fancy to her.他似乎相当喜欢她。
• I have a fancy that it's going to rain.我想大概要下雨。

13 jingle   

n.叮当声，韵律简单的诗句；v.使叮当作响，叮当响，押韵

参考例句：

• The key fell on the ground with a jingle.钥匙叮当落地。
• The knives and forks set up their regular jingle.刀叉发出常有的叮当声。