while we are on the coronavirus lockdown but I am joined by Kathryn on the other

side of London hi Kathryn hello everybody

what story have you got for us today well today is a cycling story it turns

out that during the coronavirus lockdown a lot more of us are taking to two

wheels okay well let's find out some more from

this BBC news report the fear of catching coronavirus on public transport

is leading to a boom in cycle to work schemes which allow new bicycles to be

bought tax-free bike shops have reported a surge in sales so in the UK a lot of

people are avoiding public transport and one way they're doing this is to cycle

and cycle to work schemes have reported a massive uptake and psycho shops are

busier than ever okay cycling to work schemes what are

they well the cycle to work scheme is where your employer kind of helps you to

buy a bicycle and you don't have to pay any tax

so the bicycle becomes a lot cheaper so lots of people buying bikes and getting

out old bikes and getting them repaired you've been looking around the various

news websites and you've picked out three really great expressions what have

you got yes we have boom time golden age and at the crossroads boom time golden

age and at the crossroads so your first headline please yes and we're going to

start here in the UK with the BBC the headline is coronavirus boom time for

bikes as virus changes lifestyles okay so boom time a period in which

there is a large increase in demand for something yes

it's a two-word expression the first word boom bwm and the second word time t

I am a boom time now new what noise does an explosion make ah it

makes a boom it goes boom yes boom is a lovely onomatopoeic word that describes

the word the sound of an explosion or a very very very loud noise now as we know

explosions make things move all over the place and

we often use them to describe rapid expansion rapid growth so if some people

a lot of people start doing a particular activity all around about the same time

we can describe this as a boom now we often use the word boom in economic

terms or business terms if people buy a lot of a particular product we describe

that activity as a boom we can also talk about boom time when a lot of people do

as the same thing it's a boom time in this case it's boom time for bicycles

it's boom time for cycling it's boom time for cycle manufacturers and notice

the preposition there is for it is boom time for this activity so in that usage

we saw boom as a noun but it's also used as a verb isn't it yes something can

boom now we often that use the set phrase business is booming to describe

any business that's doing really well yeah so the cycle business is booming at

the moment often used in the continuous form something is booming now I've also

heard an expression boom or bust what's that all about yes boom or bust

and we use this expression boom or bust to describe the experience of taking a

risk with a new idea or a new venture it means that you're either going to be

very very successful it'll be a boom or it's going to be a complete disaster

which is described as burst so boom or bust describes a risk

um you did a kind of boom or bust activity recently didn't you kneel with

your wonderful video series English for cats remember yeah I I had a feeling

that it would be very very successful but I also had a bit of a doubt that it

would be a terrible crushing failure and so the decision to go with this series

was in fact boom or bust and unfortunately everybody hated it so it

turned out to be bust I could have told you that dad Fran Smith could have saved

you the trouble I just don't understand it

try another one French for dogs French for dogs is coming up I can tell you

great ok let's have a summary of that word please

your next headline then please Catherine yes we're now going still in the UK to

cycling weekly the headline is Prime Minister Boris Johnson says this should

be a new golden age for cycling so golden age a period in which a

particular activity is popular or successful yes so two words again golden

gol de n and the second word age AG e so golden age now this is slightly

confusing for me because I know what golden means it's an adjective which

describes things that are gold that material or color so what's the

connection yes the precious metal gold the

adjective form is golden it can be golden gol te and if something is golden

it's literally made of gold or it's golden color but we're using this in a

more figurative sense so if something is golden it means that it's valuable it's

successful it's important everybody loves it everybody wants it so golden

here describes success and popularity and age a GE is a period of time so

together the expression golden age means a period of great success and great

popularity now with the headline Boris Johnson is saying but it's Prime

Minister Boris Johnson is saying that there will be lots of popularity and

success with cycling it will be a golden age he's saying but you can use it not

just for transport for any phase in any really sphere of life it can be business

it can be politics it can be your own personal life where a Golden Age is

successful period in your life now I know that you really love old films

Catherine we often hear about the Golden Age of Hollywood yes you can talk about

the Golden Age of Hollywood and that was in their 1950s when they made lots of

movies with big production values lots of dancing singing they were very very

glamorous lots of movie stars this is described as the Golden Age of Hollywood

and you can really talk about any success period being the Golden Age of

something for example the two day the early 21st century can be described as

the Golden Age of social media when lots of companies were having a lot of

success with it yeah okay do we hear any other precious metals used in this way

well we have a lot of expressions with silver but their word silver as an

adjective often describes older people in fact you can talk about a silver

surfer being an older person who uses the internet for example okay let's now

have a summary of that expression Golden Age

if you would like to watch another program and learn an expression

connected to cycling we have the perfect thing for you don't we Catherine yes we

do click the link in the description to find out what the English phrase like

riding a bike means and how to use it ok let's now have a look at the final

headline please let's do that and we're going to the telegraph in the UK the

headline reads at the crossroads why coronavirus could turn Britain into a

cycling nation at the crossroads at a point when an important decision needs

to be made yes three word expression this time at 80 the tha crossroads C R o

SS ro ad s at the crossroads now Mia you know what a crossroads is don't you yeah

crossroads is when you've got one road going like that and you've got another

road crossing it yes so two roads going in different directions that meet and

cross each other so you haven't least four different options for directions of

trouble when you reach it crossroads don't you you do yes so are we talking

now about figurative changes of direction well we are yes if it's not to

do with transport even though this story is about transport and that's probably

why they've used this expression you can be at a crossroads meaning you have a

decision to make about what's going to happen next now this could be a big

decision in your life it usually is a big decision something like shall I get

married or which university shall I go to or maybe you want to change your job

so it's when you're at a point in your life when you've got a big decision to

make I'm sure you've been at the crossroads a few times in your life here

I guess we all have yes deciding whether or not to have children as you as you

said or deciding to change your career I worked as a journalist before for

example I decided to change my career that was I was at the crossroads when I

made that decision yeah and there's a fixed phrase at the crossroads

crossroads is always plural in this phrase it's not just about personal

decisions it can be about bigger big business decisions a company can be at

the crossroads deciding whether it's going to branch out into a new area or

whether it's going to close some online stores or how it's going to kind of

develop next big decisions when a big decision is facing you you are at the

crossroads we often hear about the climate being at a crossroads at the

moment yes we could say this planet is at the crossroads what happens to it

next depends on human activity yeah so it's future direction is in the process

of being decided I suppose it's up to us okay

well let's have a summary of that final expression

time now then just for a summary of our vocabulary

yes we had boon time a period in which there is a large increase in demand for

something we had golden age a period in which a particular activity is popular

or successful and we had at the crossroads at a point where an important

decision needs to be made I bet you would love to test yourself on that

vocabulary which you can do by checking out our website BBC learning english.com

stay safe and join us next time bye