The Basics
Here, you’ll find a conversation and interesting facts related to it — at the A2 level of English.
A conversation in easy English
A conversation with Scott Warden
Here, we present interesting lives from around the Englishspeaking world. This time, we talk to Scott Warden, a plumber.
What do you do in your job?
I install and repair showers, baths, toilets, sinks, water heating systems, radiators, pipes: anything to do with water in the home.
People say that plumbers earn more than doctors. Is that true?
I don’t know. It’s a good job. If you work hard and are willing to work evenings and weekends, you can earn a lot. Emergency call-outs are expensive, but they can save the customer thousands of pounds in the long term. If you have water cascading down your walls, it’s important to get it fixed as soon as possible.
How did you become a plumber?
My dad was a plumber. It’s a family business. These days, he spends half the year in Spain, so I’m here doing the work while he’s lying by the pool.
What’s the worst thing about being a plumber?
The blocked toilet, for sure. You don’t want to know the details.
Do you have a tip for our readers?
Yes. Two tips, actually. Don’t put cooking fat down the kitchen sink. And don’t use massive amounts of toilet paper.
Show and tell
Now, find out more about something we use every day: toilet paper.
At the start of the coronavirus lockdown, there was panic-buying of toilet paper. People felt they couldn’t live without it. So, what did we do before it was invented?
Early humans used leaves and grass. The Vikings used wool. The ancient Romans used a sponge on a stick, with saltwater or vinegar. Richer Romans cleaned themselves with wool and rose - water. The Mayans used maize cobs. The ancient Greeks used shells. People in Islamic cultures have traditionally used their left hand with a little water.
The Chinese are the ones who invented toilet paper — in the sixth century!
Older people today may remember the rough toilet paper of the early 20th century, or even old newspaper in hard times.
Our modern soft paper was invented in the 1940s — and now, it seems, we can’t live without it, even for a few weeks.