1
00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:13,560
In the blazing heat hundreds of these
flying foxes have perished, dropping
from trees, unable to withstand the
heat wave. Volunteers in Cairns have
established a pop up hospital to care
for the survivors.

2
00:00:13,620 --> 00:00:24,420
It's just ridiculous. To try and
quantify them, it's kind of
impossible. There's reports of
hundreds and hundreds. I've just been
here today. We've already had about
40 deaths.

3
00:00:24,780 --> 00:00:33,930
The bats' distressing situation is
also causing a major health concern
for humans at risk of contracting the
potentially fatal Lyssa virus.

4
00:00:34,380 --> 00:00:48,156
We've seen a lot of bat bites over
the last 24 hours. We normally see 30
to 40 bites or scratches in a year.
Over the last 24 hours we've seen 7.

5
00:00:55,170 --> 00:01:18,680
G'day, guys, and welcome to Aussie
English. My objective here is to
teach you guys the English spoken
Down Under. So, whether you want to
speed like a fair dinkum Aussie or
you just want to understand what the
flippin' hell we're on about when
we're having a yarn, you've come to
the right place. So, sit back, grab a
cup, and enjoy Aussie English.

6
00:01:26,540 --> 00:01:33,230
G'day, guys. How's it going? Welcome
to this episode of Aussie English. I
hope you guys are going well.

7
00:01:33,740 --> 00:01:49,132
Man, it's a hot day. It is a hot day.
And so, I actually have the window
open in the office here, 'cause
there's no wind. It's one of those
really calm hot days where the heat
is kind of overbearing because
there's no wind to sort of cool you
down. Anyway.

8
00:01:49,700 --> 00:02:01,705
So, if there's a bit of background
noise, sorry about that. Hopefully,
you can hear some birds and not too
many kids screaming or cars driving
past, although, that may happen in
the near future as school has just
finished for kids. Anyway, guys.

9
00:02:04,220 --> 00:02:11,750
Welcome to the Aussie English
podcast, the number podcast for
anyone and everyone wanting to learn
Australian English.

10
00:02:11,780 --> 00:02:23,210
So, this week, it's my birthday, it
is my... or will have been my
birthday by the time this episode
comes out. But at the moment, it's
Wednesday and my birthday is
tomorrow, and I'm turning 32.

11
00:02:23,750 --> 00:02:50,858
So, for this week for you guys I
wanted to give you a chance to
celebrate my birthday with me, and if
any of you guys haven't signed up to
the Aussie English Classroom, you can
do so this week for free. So, the
trial for one week, your seven day
trial, is absolutely free. You can
sign up, enter your details, you will
have access to everything. If you
want to unsubscribe before the end of
the seven days so that you don't pay
the next fee for the next month, you
can do that too.

12
00:02:51,020 --> 00:03:08,072
But I want to give you guys a chance
to get in there see what it's about.
You'll get access to my 60 plus
courses in there for pronunciation,
vocab, learning expressions, how to
speak like an Australian, everything
like that. And also now, Aussie
English Classroom members under the
new system will have access to the
Premium Podcast as well. Okay.

13
00:03:12,920 --> 00:03:23,750
So, you can sign up for one week. Go
to www.AussieEnglish.com.au and you
will get access to the Aussie English
Classroom as well as the Premium
Podcast. Anyway, guys.

14
00:03:23,990 --> 00:03:38,660
That aside, the intro scene there was
about bats in Cairns, and notice
there, I don't pronounce it "Cairns"
with the R. We pronounce that as
"Cairns", the city in Queensland,
right. Cairns, Cairns.

15
00:03:39,020 --> 00:03:50,920
So, there was a heatwave there last
year that killed a whole bunch of
bats and people went out there having
to try and protect them and save them
because, you know, you don't want a
whole lot of dead native animals all
over the place. Anyway.

16
00:03:50,930 --> 00:04:00,605
You'll see how this ties in with the
expression episode today in the
Aussie English fact. So, we'll wait
until we get there and we'll talk
more about bats.

17
00:04:01,310 --> 00:04:06,972
To kick it off, though, to begin
with, let's start with a joke and the
joke today is:.

18
00:04:07,730 --> 00:04:09,739
What did the triangles say to the
circle?

19
00:04:10,558 --> 00:04:19,730
So, what did the triangle, you know,
the shape with three points, ...the
triangle say to the circle? A shape
with no points.

20
00:04:20,519 --> 00:04:22,690
You're "pointless".

21
00:04:24,510 --> 00:04:32,750
Do you get it? What did the triangles
say to the circle? Your pointless.
Meaning... There's two meanings here,
right, it's a double entendre, it's a
pun.

22
00:04:33,230 --> 00:04:40,360
You could say that 'you're pointless'
meaning that you have no points,
because the triangle has three
points. The circle has no points.
You're pointless.

23
00:04:40,670 --> 00:04:51,890
But if you say to someone 'you're
pointless', as well, it can mean that
you have no meaning. There is no
purpose to you. There is no point to
you, right. You are pointless. So, I
hope you get that guys.

24
00:04:53,120 --> 00:05:17,360
I wanted to do a shape joke, because
today the expression is 'bent out of
shape'. So. you might here 'get bent
out of shape' or 'become bent out of
shape', and it can be 'bent out of
shape at someone', 'bent out of shape
about something', or 'bent out of
shape over something'. You can kind
of use about or over. It doesn't
really matter in that case.

25
00:05:18,260 --> 00:05:23,420
So, before I define the expression,
let me find the words in the
expression 'bent out of shape'.

26
00:05:23,810 --> 00:05:51,160
So, if you 'bend something', you bend
it, it is that you shape or force it
into a curve or angled shape, right.
So, if I had a piece of wire that was
long and straight and I turned it
into the shape of a U, to do that I
have to bend it. I might bend it with
my hands. I might bend it over my
knee. I might step on one end and use
my hand to bend it up. But when I
change the shape of, when I deform
it, I'm bending it. Okay.

27
00:05:52,210 --> 00:06:20,990
'Out of shape'. Now this can have two
meanings. Obviously, if you are 'out
of shape', you are not in shape.
These are kinds of two opposites.
'Out of shape' and 'in shape'. And it
can mean... if you are out of shape,
you're deformed,, and if you're in
shape you're in the right shape,
right. So, imagine that you have a
circle and you sit on it and it gets
squished, it gets out of shape,
because now it turns into an oval and
it's no longer a circle. Right?

28
00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:51,020
But you might also hear 'out of
shape' and 'in shape' to talk about
people's fitness. So, for instance at
the moment, I have gained a bit of
weight since I have been to Canberra
and then moved back to Ocean Grove,
and I have lost my fitness, so I've
become 'out of shape'. So, now, I
want to get into shape, I want to
lose a little bit of weight, but I
also want to get fit. I want to get
back into shape, you know, how my
body should be. 'To get into shape',
'to get out of shape'.

29
00:06:51,890 --> 00:07:11,210
So, the expression definition, guys,
'bent out of shape', 'to get bent out
of shape', 'to become bent out of
shape', this means to get or become
very angry, really agitated,
incredibly upset, or it can be that
you've taken offence to something
that someone said, right, which
usually means you become angry,
agitated, or upset.

30
00:07:11,660 --> 00:07:31,490
So, apparently this originates from
the early 1900s, I believe, when
'bent' used to be used to talk about
someone who was influenced by drugs.
So, if you drank some alcohol or you
did some kind of drug like cannabis
or heroin or something, because you
start to sort of lose your senses,
you know, you're not straight, you're
bent.

31
00:07:31,820 --> 00:07:58,010
And then later it became 'bent out of
shape' to talk about people on drugs
or under the influence of drugs. And
then the expression kind of morphed
to mean that someone has changed from
their normal sort of personality or,
you know, happy nature and they've
become angry, upset, or agitated, so
they've bent out of shape, they've
changed from being sort of pleasant
and happy to being angry and
agitated.

32
00:07:58,460 --> 00:08:17,000
So, as usual, let's go through three
examples of how I would use this
expression in day to day life, and
we'll start with one where imagine
you're driving along the Princes
Highway, which is a highway near me
where I live. It goes from Geelong
all the way out to Melbourne and, you
know, beyond, beyond both of those
cities.

33
00:08:17,420 --> 00:08:33,720
So, imagine you're driving along the
Princes Highway and one day someone
cuts you off accidentally. So,
they're trying to change lanes and
you try to change lanes at the same
time. The person cuts you off. They
get in front of you. They bump into
your car. It's not serious, but they
cause a bit of damage.

34
00:08:33,740 --> 00:08:44,090
So, you both pull over to the side of
the road. You get out of the car.
You're a little bit shaken. You're a
little bit pissed off, but you're no
worse for wear, right. You're not
injured. You're okay.

35
00:08:44,540 --> 00:09:07,370
The other guy gets all upset and he
blames you for the accident. He's
saying "You came out of nowhere. It
was your fault. You slammed into my
car.!". If he gets upset, if he gets
angry, he's getting bent out of
shape, he's becoming bent out of
shape, meaning he's getting
frustrated, he's becoming irritated,
agitated, upset. He's becoming bent
out of shape.

36
00:09:07,640 --> 00:09:24,090
And if you want to rile them up a
little bit, you know, I don't
recommend it, but if you wanted to
make him offended or annoyed, you
might say to him directly, "Hey, mate
don't get bent out of shape. Calm
down, take it easy, and let's
exchange details to get insurance
information and we'll get them to
deal with it.".

37
00:09:25,020 --> 00:09:42,210
Example number two. So, imagine
you're a woman zookeeper. So, you're
a woman who is in charge of the big
cats or the tigers, or the lions,
cheetahs, jaguars, panthers, whatever
big cat it is at Melbourne Zoo or
maybe the Open Range Zoo, Werribee
zoo, near Melbourne.

38
00:09:42,810 --> 00:09:57,660
So, one day you show up to work and
the bear keeper ran out of food and
he's come into your room, wherever
you are that you work that you have
all your food stored, and he's nicked
your food, he's stolen the food that
you had for your cats.

39
00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:17,020
So, as a result, you now have to go
down to the local abattoir where they
kill and butcher things like cows and
sheep, you know, livestock, and you
have to organise the food for the big
cats. You've got to buy it. You have
to tell them what you want. And it's
going to take you an extra hour or
two out of your day, you know, and
put you behind schedule.

40
00:10:18,210 --> 00:10:35,790
So, when you finally get that work
done, you return to the zoo with,
say, a wheelbarrow full of meat, you
head over and feed your animals, and
afterwards you see the bear keeper as
he walks past and you might say to
him, you know, once you're angry and
upset, "What the hell were you doing?
Why do you steal my food? You know
that was my food.".

41
00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:49,250
And so, you might get a little bit
bent out of shape. You might lose
your cool. You might give him a piece
of your mind. You might get angry at
him. You might get a little bent out
of shape at that guy for stealing
your meat.

42
00:10:49,920 --> 00:11:05,430
Example number three. Imagine you are
a surfer. You love hitting the beach
on a hot day with your boardies or
maybe a wettie if the water's a
little bit cold. You have your
favourite surfboard under your arm,
you run into the water and catch a
few waves for the day.

43
00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:27,280
So, one day you take a mate down who
is not very confident. He doesn't
feel comfortable in the water. So, he
hates deep water, he hates big surf,
he gets nervous when the swells
really big, and he freaks out when it
comes to sharks. But he's decided
today he's going to bite the bullet,
he's going to suck it up, and he's
decided to go for a surf with you,
because the weather is just too good.

44
00:11:27,780 --> 00:12:01,793
So, you get out there, you know, you
paddle out behind the breaking waves
and you get ready to catch a few
waves. He starts to loosen up a
little. He starts to get into the
swing of things, to relax, to become
comfortable, and he catches a few
waves, he's having fun. And then all
of a sudden, he spots a shadow under
the water. All of a sudden, he sees a
fin break the surface of the water,
pops up, maybe 50 metres away from
him and he totally loses the plot. He
starts screaming and trying to paddle
frantically in to shore in a state
that is as much anger as it is fear.

45
00:12:02,730 --> 00:12:12,334
So, the next wave to come through
lets you see, oh, the creature's just
a dolphin. It's just cruised in
because it also wants to partake in a
bit of surfing because the day is
such an awesome day.

46
00:12:12,754 --> 00:12:27,700
So, you might scream out team mate,
"Dude, don't worry! It's just a
dolphin! No need to get bent out of
shape. No need to get upset. No need
to get angry, freak out. No need to
get bent out of shape, it's just a
dolphin, mate.".

47
00:12:28,410 --> 00:12:40,317
So, there you go, guys. Hopefully,
now you understand the expression 'to
get bent out of shape', 'to become
bent out of shape'. It means to
become angry, to get frustrated,
agitated, or upset, or it can mean to
take offence at something. Okay.

48
00:12:43,312 --> 00:12:52,830
So, as usual, guys, let's go through
a little listen and repeat exercise.
This is your chance to practice your
pronunciation. So, listen and repeat
after me.

49
00:12:53,470 --> 00:12:54,470
Don't

50
00:12:58,680 --> 00:12:59,005
Don't get

51
00:12:59,006 --> 00:13:00,006
Don't get bent

52
00:13:02,370 --> 00:13:04,070
Don't get bent out

53
00:13:07,010 --> 00:13:08,830
Don't get bent out of

54
00:13:12,130 --> 00:13:14,001
Don't get bent out of shape x 5

55
00:13:43,550 --> 00:14:03,980
Now, there's some really interesting
stuff going on there that I've just
noticed regarding pronunciation. So,
did you guys hear any example of me
saying the T there? When I say,
"Don't get bent out of shape", do you
hear a hard T? Or do you hear no Ts,
maybe a T-flap. "Don't get bent out
of shape".

56
00:14:04,490 --> 00:14:23,930
That's it. So, because the T is
actually at the end of every single
one of those words, "don't get bent
out...", it's either being muted or
unreleased, where we don't need to
pronounce it because there's a
consonant after that word, or it's
turning into the T-flap where there
are vowels on either side of it.

57
00:14:24,230 --> 00:14:39,375
So, if you want to learn more about
that, jump into the Aussie English
Classroom. Remember, it's seven days
for free for you to try it. And I've
got lessons teaching you how to learn
those more subtle aspects of
Australian pronunciation. Okay, so go
check it out and don't get bent out
of shape.

58
00:14:40,010 --> 00:14:41,840
Let's finish. I forgot to do a last
little bit.

59
00:14:42,740 --> 00:14:44,640
I became bent out of shape.

60
00:14:48,690 --> 00:14:50,111
You became bent out of shape.

61
00:14:50,547 --> 00:14:57,330
He became bent out of shape.

62
00:15:01,570 --> 00:15:03,930
She became bent out of shape.

63
00:15:08,180 --> 00:15:10,450
We became bent out of shape.

64
00:15:14,610 --> 00:15:16,692
They became bent out of shape.

65
00:15:21,010 --> 00:15:23,170
It became bent out of shape.

66
00:15:28,020 --> 00:15:38,340
Good job, guys. Now, it isn't
obligatory, you don't have to avoid
saying those T or using the T-flap.
You can pronounce them. "It became
bent out of shape".

67
00:15:38,790 --> 00:15:50,305
However, if you want to sound more
like a native speaker, practice the
way that I say things. Try and focus
on how I leave unreleased or I use
the T-flap. It takes time, but you'll
sound a lot more natural when you're
speaking English.

68
00:15:51,930 --> 00:16:03,535
And if you want to see my video on
the silent T in English, just search
"silent T Aussie English" on YouTube
and you can check it out. There'll be
a link in the transcript to that
video. Anyway.

69
00:16:03,630 --> 00:16:14,871
So, the Aussie fact for the day. So,
I was thinking, I was sitting here,
and I'm like, "What am I going to
talk about?" You know, 'bent out of
shape'. How can I tie in something
Australian with this expression?
'Bent out of shape'.

70
00:16:14,872 --> 00:16:38,430
So, I was thinking 'bent', okay,
'bent out of shape', 'bent', the word
'bend', you know, 'to bend
something', 'bent'. Then I thought
'bent-wing bat', which is a type of
bat in Australia. And then, I
thought, "Wow, okay, bats. Yes, bats
we haven't talked about on the
podcast yet". And they're sort of a
common feature in Australia. You see
them everywhere. So I thought, today,
we'll talk about Australian bats.

71
00:16:39,120 --> 00:16:56,040
So, bats are the only mammals capable
of sustained flight and are believed
to have first flapped their way all
the way to Australian shores through
Southeast Asia some 23 to 34 million
years ago during the Oligocene.

72
00:16:56,370 --> 00:17:22,200
Since their arrival, or perhaps
series of arrivals, they've
diversified into 77 species that now
call Australia home. Australian bats
have since become an important part
of the Australian ecosystem as they
act as important pollinators of
native plants, they disperse seeds
over wide areas, and they also vacuum
up insects by the millions on a
nightly basis.

73
00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:28,890
So, there are two types of bats in
Australia. You've got your micro bats
and you've got your mega bats.

74
00:17:29,580 --> 00:17:39,821
As the name suggests, microbats are
relatively small. Right? 'Micro',
'microscopic', 'microbat', small bat,
and they've got a wing span of up to
25 centimeters and feed primarily on
insects such as mosquitoes.

75
00:17:48,071 --> 00:18:09,000
They use echo location to navigate in
complete darkness as well as to track
down their unsuspecting prey victims
whilst flying at night. That said,
they still have eyes and they can
still see. So, that expression 'blind
as a bat', meaning you can't see, is
actually somewhat biologically
inaccurate.

76
00:18:09,630 --> 00:18:20,940
Some species of microbats spend their
days deep within caves, whilst others
rest below tree bark or in man-made
structures like houses and buildings,
before coming out at night to hunt.

77
00:18:21,630 --> 00:18:37,604
The other type of bat is the megabat.
Megabats, or fruit bats or flying
foxes as they're also known, because
of the diet that they eat or the fact
that they look like foxes, on the
other hand, they have a wing span of
up to a metre, right, maybe a little
bit less than a full grown adult, you
know, with their arms spread out.

78
00:18:43,122 --> 00:19:01,530
So, unlike their micro cousins, they
don't use echo location, they don't
have echo location as an ability, nor
do they feed on insects. Instead,
they opt for a vegetarian lifestyle
eating things like fruit, blossoms,
and nectar. Right? Fruitbats.

79
00:19:02,460 --> 00:19:16,470
Due to their lack of eco location,
they have a really well-developed
eyes and a strong sense of smell
which enables them to locate food in
the dark. They live in large social
groups in trees called 'camps' or
'colonies'.

80
00:19:16,710 --> 00:19:26,063
Now are bats dangerous? In and of
themselves, bats aren't really
dangerous. You know, you might get
scratched or bitten if you were to
come into contact with a bat.

81
00:19:26,204 --> 00:19:36,660
However, they do harbour many
dangerous parasites and diseases
which have proven lethal to humans in
the past. Three examples include:.

82
00:19:36,750 --> 00:19:57,510
Paralysis ticks. One of the 70 or so
ticks species in Australia, which can
inject a potent neurotoxin into its
host, whether it be an unfortunate
bat, horse, dog, cat, or human. And
there have been at least 20 deaths
from these ticks in the past. And
every year 500 dogs are killed by
them.

83
00:19:58,530 --> 00:20:19,320
Australian Bat Lyssa virus is number
two. This is a virus that belongs to
the group of viruses that includes
rabies, although, we don't have
rabies in Australia. However, Lyssa
virus is carried by bats in Australia
and anyone working with bats or
likely to come into contact with them
usually has the vaccination for this
virus.

84
00:20:19,350 --> 00:20:28,055
I remember my mum getting three of
these vaccinations when I was a kid,
because she was a biologist working
with bats, and it was like a bright
pink fluid that they were injecting.

85
00:20:28,056 --> 00:20:46,200
So, the virus can be spread through
bites and scratches from bats, and
the early symptoms are flu-like,
including headaches, fevers, and
fatigue. The illness progresses
rapidly leading to paralysis,
delirium, convulsions, and death,
usually within a week or two.

86
00:20:46,530 --> 00:21:03,630
Although, the vaccine will prevent
death if you receive it before or
shortly after a bite or scratch from
a bat, by the time symptoms arise,
it's usually too late to be cured and
you are certain to die,
unfortunately, and there have been
three human deaths since 1996 in
Australia.

87
00:21:04,020 --> 00:21:23,440
The last one is the Hendra virus.
Now, the Hendra virus is a virus that
infects large fruit bats or flying
foxes. Sometimes the virus can spread
from flying foxes to horses, which
can then pass on, in turn, to human
beings. Usually, they're trainers,
the trainers of horses, or the vets.

88
00:21:23,940 --> 00:21:33,266
The virus was only discovered
following an outbreak in 1994 in a
large racing stable in the suburb of
Hendra in Brisbane, hence the name.

89
00:21:33,358 --> 00:21:57,480
Symptoms usually arise within the
first three weeks after infection,
including fever, cough, sore throat,
headache, tiredness, all are common
initial symptoms, and it leads to
meningitis or encephalitus
(inflammation of the brain), which
can develop causing headaches, high
fevers, drowsiness, and sometimes
convulsions and coma. And the Hendra
virus infection can thus be fatal.

90
00:21:57,810 --> 00:22:13,800
Since 1994, 81 horses have died from
the infection and four human beings
have lost their lives to it. The most
recent occurring in 2009. There is no
cure to the virus. You just have to
get treatment in hospital until it
passes or it gets the best of you.

91
00:22:14,670 --> 00:22:17,760
So bat die offs, culls, and their
danger to humans.

92
00:22:17,790 --> 00:22:35,880
Because of the health risks that bats
can pose to humans, and pets as well,
and the fact that flying foxes tend
to live in large numbers and within
close proximity to humans, bat culls
are often carried out when numbers
reach plague proportions, when
there's way too many bats.

93
00:22:36,180 --> 00:22:45,450
So, hundreds of thousands of bats can
be killed by councils around
Australia when they become a serious
danger or are causing damage to trees
in botanical gardens.

94
00:22:46,110 --> 00:23:06,960
When they're not being killed by
humans, they can suffer mass die offs
because of extreme weather events in
Australia such as heat waves. For
instance, and as in that video at the
start of this episode, in 2018 the
heatwave in Sydney killed 100,000
bats in a weekend, a single weekend.

95
00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:19,020
This is because they can't sweat.
They can't really regulate their body
temperature without flapping their
wings or just finding shade. So, if
the temperatures rise too much and
for too long, bats can die.

96
00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:38,940
So, what should you do if you see a
bat? Don't touch it. Okay? Seriously.
Don't touch bats, unless you've been
vaccinated. Call your local wildlife
hotline if you find one that's in
distress or in need of help. You can
usually find those via a quick Google
search.

97
00:23:39,190 --> 00:23:58,170
And if for whatever reason you must
handle the bad or move the bat, cover
the bat with a towel or clothing and
make sure you avoid skin contact with
the bat. If you're scratched or
you're bitten or even come into skin
to skin contact with the bat, see a
doctor immediately. Seriously. See a
doctor.

98
00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:07,620
Anyway, guys. I hope you enjoy this
episode today. It's been a bit of a
long one but there's loads of facts
in there. I hope you guys like bats
too. I hope they don't freak you out.

99
00:24:07,950 --> 00:24:23,100
Make sure that you check out the
Aussie English Classroom, guys.
Remember, for this week, because it's
my birthday, you will get access for
free, if you haven't signed up for
your first seven days. You'll be able
to access all the courses, all the
podcasts, get in there and give it a
go and see if it's for you.

100
00:24:23,550 --> 00:24:25,621
Other than that, thanks so much for
joining me and I'll chat to you soon!
See ya!

101
00:24:31,420 --> 00:25:11,080
G'day, mate! Thanks for listening to
this episode of the Aussie English
Podcast. If you wish to support the
podcast and help me keep bringing new
content, you can do so via my Patreon
page. Remember, it's my mission here
at Aussie English not only to help
you understand Australian English,
but to speak it like a native. If
that's your goal, make sure you
enroll in the Aussie English
Classroom, guys, where you'll get all
the bonus content for today's episode
designed to improve your English even
faster. Have a ripper of a day and
I'll see you in class.