If asked, I would say I am an atheist. 

My mother's family is Jewish, but I wasn't raised in a religious home, and religion has never been a part of my life. That's not to say that I've completely rejected religion: I studied it at school and have done my own exploration. However, nothing of that sort has ever resonated with me, and in fact I've found myself becoming quite sceptical of anything religious or spiritual. I am very black and white about things: I believe in what I see and what can be proven by science, and I am not convinced that there is anything else, a higher power or otherwise.

To be "black and white" 🦓

When we say that someone is "black and white" we mean that they have a very clear view of what is right and what is wrong in the world.

Typically, if you're described as being "very black and white" you tend to base your views on logic.

Susie is very black and white about everything. She doesn't let her emotions get in the way of making decisions.

Если бы меня спросили, я бы сказал, что я атеист. Семья моей матери еврейка, но я не росла в религиозном доме, и религия никогда не была частью моей жизни. Это не означает, что я полностью отверг религию: я изучал ее в школе и проводил собственные исследования. Тем не менее, ничего подобного никогда не было резонирующим со мной, и на самом деле я обнаружил, что становлюсь весьма скептически к чему-либо религиозному или духовному. Я очень черно-белый в вещах: я верю в то, что я вижу и что может быть доказано наукой, и я не убежден, что есть что-то еще, высшая сила или что-то еще.

2.

I don't know whether I would say I am a religious person, but I would say I am spiritual if that makes sense. I believe in a higher power, but I don't belong to any organised religion. I'd say that Buddhist beliefs and Eastern philosophy resonate with me most, and I'm interested in astrology. I don't like to label myself or tie myself down to any belief system. I do a lot of yoga and I try and meditate because these things centre me.

I live in an area with a strong Muslim community, and so many of my neighbours are quite devout in their practices. It's interesting to talk about their beliefs with them, even if we don't share exactly the same faith. My spirituality is very important to me, but at the same time I have lots of agnostic and atheist people in my life, so it's not something I'm evangelical about.

Не знаю, могу ли я сказать, что я религиозный человек, но я бы сказал, что я духовный, если это имеет смысл. Я верю в высшие силы, но я не принадлежу ни к какой религии. Я бы сказал, что буддийские верования и восточная философия резонируют со мной больше всего, и меня интересует астрология. Я не люблю вешать на себя ярлыки или привязывать себя к какой-либо системе убеждений. Я много занимаюсь йогой и пытаюсь медитировать, потому что эти вещи в центре меня.

Я живу в районе с сильной мусульманской общиной, и многие мои соседи весьма набожны в своей практике. Интересно говорить с ними об их убеждениях, даже если мы не разделяем одну и ту же веру. Моя духовность очень важна для меня, но в то же время в моей жизни много агностиков и атеистов, так что это не то, что я евангелист.

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Gender neutrality ♂️ ♀️ ⚧️

Since Sofia doesn't know the gender of Noah's partner, she asks for more information in a gender neutral way: What are they like?

When someone refers to their "partner" we shouldn't assume предположить the gender of the person they're talking about. The speaker might reveal предположить the gender later in the conversation, but it's also possible that they won't.

When we don't know someone's gender we can use the gender neutral pronouns they, them and their.

Some people also choose to be referred to as "they" instead of "he" or "she".

masculine	feminine	neutral
he	she	they
him	her	them

Emphasising how we feel about someone 🤩 🙄

As an advanced learner you can play around more with sentence structure to emphasise specific things.

Did you notice the structures Noah uses to talk about what he likes about George? He uses two different techniques called fronting and inversion for emphasis.

Compare what Noah says (right column) with the more common sentence structure (left column):

	common sentence	sentence with emphasis
fronting	George is such a conscientious person and I like that about him.	What I like about George is that he's such a conscientious person.
inversion	I have never met someone so generous.	Never have I met someone so generous!

to put someone off

оттолкнуть

Sofia tells us that Iker's behaviour "put her off". This is a useful phrasal verb to know when you want to describe things which make something or someone seem unattractive.

Here are some examples:

I went on a date with someone yesterday. It was going great until I discovered they smoked and that put me off pursuing a relationship with them.

I wanted to adopt a pet, but after looking after my neighbour's dog for a week I was put off - it's a lot more hard work than I realised!

The job sounds good on paper, but what puts me off is the company culture - it feels very outdated.

Don't get me wrong!

Пойми меня правильно!

This is a very common and useful expression in both work and social contexts, and it can be used for a couple of different reasons.

1. We might say it when we want to be sure that someone doesn't misunderstand or misinterpret something. This is how Sofia uses the phrase.

2.Sometimes we might need to tell someone something that might be uncomfortable to hear or cause offence and using this phrase can soften the message.

Here are some examples:

We've decided to offer the position to an external candidate. Don't get me wrong, it was a difficult decision and we value how hard you have worked this year, but the other person has more management experience.

I want to break up with you. Don't get me wrong, you haven't treated me badly and it's not that I've met someone else or anything - I just feel we're better off as friends.