6 Minutes Vocabulary from BBC LearningEnglish.com

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute Vocabulary with me Callum and me Finn.

Today we're talking about large numbers, particularly how we say and describe them in English.

Here's Anita, who's giving a talk to a tour group visiting Russia.

Listen out for the answer to this question.

How many metres high is Mount Elbrus?

Russia is a land of superlatives.

At over 6,500,000 square miles, it's the largest country in the world.

And the total area of cultivated land has been estimated as a six-figure number, perhaps 500,000 square miles.

Its mountain ranges contain Mount Albrus, which at 5,642 metres, is the highest

point in both Russia and Europe. Of its rivers, which are in the hundreds of thousands,

the river Volga, the longest river in Europe, is the most well known. And what about the people?

Well, here's an interesting fact. The number of languages spoken in Russia is in triple figures.

Yes, over 100.

You're listening to BBC Learning English.

So that was Anita and we asked

how many metres high is Mount Elbrus?

And the answer is 5,642 metres high,

which is a good example of our topic today.

When saying a large number, we always begin with the biggest number first,

so thousands, then hundreds, then tens.

Tens means numbers with two digits in them, like 42.

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