Respect for the Countryside – answers to exercise A
What you didn’t hear
Messages 4, 5, 7 and 10 were not conveyed here. Numbers 2 & 12 were implied by the dog talking about sheep running around scared and birds nesting on the ground. The fact that a bird was seen walking around firstly with a paper bag and then with a disposable cup on its head sends out a visual message rather than a verbal one that you should not drop or leave litter when you visit the countryside (message 4).
Accents
You hear several different accents here – the sheepdog speaks in a general London / South East / Estuarian accent sometimes called Estuary English – a type of English spoken in south-east England which is a mixture of standard English and London English.
The seagulls speak in a Lancashire accent, similar to Yorkshire. The pronunciation of words ‘path‘ and ‘painful‘ are typical of both these accents.
The horse has a North-East accent. If you thought this was Geordie, that’s close, but it’s too narrow for this regional accent, as a North-Eastern accent could include Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Durham, whereas Geordie only covers Newcastle upon Tyne.
Vocabulary
foul – formal verb – to ruin or damage something by making it dirty
to worry (of an animal) = to chase, frighten and maybe also bite
willy-nilly – adv – 1) without direction or planning, haphazardly eg He’s not done the job properly – he’s just put the cards out willy-nilly i.e. anywhere, in any order, at random, not as planned or discussed. "you can’t just walk in here willy-nilly – i.e. without warning / thinking, whenever you feel like it or it suits you 2) whether you like it or not – eg She’s coming, willy-nilly i.e. whether you like it or not.
Do you like the sheep that keeps showing off? To show off – phrasal verb – to behave in a way which is intended to attract attention or admiration, and which other people often find annoying. Eg He’s always showing off in front of his friends.