0:07 Hello. This is 6 Minute
0:08 English from BBC Learning English.
0:11 I’m Neil. And I’m Sam.
0:13 English has many proverbs
0:14 – short and well-known phrases
0:17 giving a piece of useful
0:18 advice, or common sense.
0:20 For example, the proverb,
0:22 “Actions speak louder than words”
0:24 means that what people do is
0:26 more important than what they say.
0:28 And the proverb, “Don’t
0:30 judge a book by its cover”
0:32 advises people not to form
0:34 opinions about people based
0:36 on how they look.
0:38 Proverbs are found in
0:39 many cultures and languages,
0:41 and are often passed down through
0:42 the generations to teach
0:44 children lessons in life.
0:46 One famous English proverb is:
0:48 “An apple a day keeps
0:49 the doctor away”.
0:51 In other words, eating fresh
0:53 fruit is good for you.
0:55 But is
0:56 it really true?
0:57 Can eating
0:58 an apple a day actually
0:59 have significant health
1:00 benefits?
1:01 That’s the question
1:03 we’ll be discussing in
1:04 this programme, and as usual,
1:06 we’ll be learning some
1:07 new vocabulary as well.
1:09 But before that I have
1:10 a question for you, Sam.
1:12 Most proverbs come from
1:13 a place’s history, and
1:15 England has a long history
1:16 of growing apples.
1:18 Over the
1:19 centuries, hundreds of different
1:20 apple varieties have been grown
1:22 in orchards up and
1:23 down the country, some
1:25 with quite unusual names.
1:27 So, which of the following
1:29 is the name of a real type
1:31 of English apple?
1:32 Is it:
1:33 a) a Taylor’s gold?
1:35 b) a Golden pippin?
1:37 or c) a Black Worcester?
1:39 I don’t know but
1:40 I think it’s b) a Golden pippin.
1:42 OK, Sam.
1:43 I’ll reveal
1:44 the answer later in
1:45 the programme.
1:46 But whatever
1:47 the name of the apple,
1:48 new scientific research
1:50 is showing that there really
1:51 are health benefits to
1:53 eating apples, especially
1:55 with the skins on.
1:57 Apple skins are full
1:58 of good stuff: fibre, vitamins,
2:01 and especially flavonoids -
2:04 a chemical compound known
2:05 to reduce blood pressure and
2:07 improve brain and heart health.
2:09 No wonder then, that when Dr Michael Mosley,
2:12 presenter of BBC Radio 4 programme,
2:15 Just One Thing, wanted
2:17 a snack to eat,
2:18 he reached for an apple.
2:22 It's early afternoon
2:23 and I'm a bit peckish,
2:24 so I'm about to grab
2:25 a delicious snack that
2:27 could improve my blood flow,
2:29 boost my brain, and
2:30 trim my waistline.
2:32 This is not some exotic
2:37 superfood.
2:38 In fact, it's an apple.
2:41 Dr Mosley wanted something
2:42 to eat because he was peckish -
2:44 a little bit hungry.
2:46 He wanted something healthy,
2:48 but chose an apple instead
2:49 of exotic superfoods like blueberries
2:52 or a banana smoothie.
2:54 If you call something exotic,
2:55 you mean it’s unusual and exciting,
2:58 often because it comes from an unfamiliar place.
3:01 Instead, he ate the least exotic
3:04 fruit I can imagine -
3:06 the humble apple.
3:08 But Dr Mosely thinks apples
3:09 do have health benefits,
3:11 and he lists them:
3:13 apples improve blood flow,
3:15 boost the brain,
3:16 and trim the waistline –
3:18 a phrase which means to keep
3:20 a healthy body weight
3:21 with no extra fat.
3:23 Yes, one reason apples are
3:25 so good for us is that
3:26 the skin is packed with
3:28 flavonoids which help people
3:30 lose weight, and have even
3:32 been linked to a longer life.
3:33 But that’s not all.
3:35 It’s the fact that there are so
3:37 many different ways of cooking
3:38 and eating apples which makes
3:40 them one of the nation’s favourite foods.
3:43 Here’s Dr Mosley again explaining
3:45 how he likes to eat his apples
3:47 to Just One Thing on BBC Sounds.
3:50 What I love about apples is
3:52 they are so versatile.
3:54 I've been snacking on them,
3:56 grating them into my porridge,
3:58 and having them sliced with
3:59 full fat yoghurt as a dessert.
4:02 But baked apples are one
4:03 of my favourite ways to consume them.
4:05 It seems an apple a day really
4:06 does keep the doctor away,
4:08 and also keep your heart,
4:09 gut and even your waistline
4:11 in good shape.
4:14 Dr Mosley eats apples in porridge,
4:16 sliced with yogurt, and even
4:18 baked in the oven.
4:20 He describes them as versatile
4:22 – things which can be used for
4:24 many different purposes,
4:26 or in many different ways.
4:28 What’s more, cooking or baking apples
4:31 doesn’t damage those healthy flavonoids,
4:34 so even the occasional apple crumble
4:36 with custard can be good for you!
4:39 Apple crumble and custard!
4:40 I’m not so sure that’s a way
4:42 to get in good shape –
4:44 a phrase meaning ‘healthy’
4:46 or ‘in good condition’.
4:47 But, Neil, it seems the
4:49 old proverb is true –
4:51 according to the science,
4:52 an apple a day really does
4:54 keep the doctor away!
4:55 Right, it’s time to reveal
4:57 the answer to your question.
4:59 Yes, I asked you about the
5:00 strange sounding names given
5:02 to some varieties of English apple.
5:05 And I said that a ‘Golden pippin’
5:07 was the name of a real apple.
5:09 So, was I right?
5:10 Yes, you were!
5:11 Golden pippin apples
5:12 were first grown in Arundel,
5:14 near the south coast of England,
5:16 while the other two - Black Worcester
5:18 and Taylor’s gold – are actually
5:20 types of English pear.
5:21 Right, let’s recap the vocabulary
5:24 we’ve learned from this programme,
5:25 starting with proverb –
5:27 a short sentence or expression
5:29 giving some well-known, traditional advice.
5:31 If you’re feeling peckish,
5:33 you’re slightly hungry.
5:34 The adjective exotic describes
5:36 something which is unusual and exciting,
5:39 often because it comes
5:40 from a far away place.
5:42 The phrase trim the waistline
5:44 means to keep your body weight
5:45 healthy with no extra fat around
5:48 your waistline – the area of your
5:50 body above the hips.
5:52 Something which is versatile
5:54 can be used for many purposes,
5:56 or in many different ways.
5:58 And finally, if someone
5:59 is in good shape, they’re in
6:00 a good state of health.
6:02 Once again, our six minutes
6:04 are up.
6:05 Bye for now!
6:05 Bye!
