English Audio Request

Drone: A remote-controlled pilotless aircraft.

To inch closer: To move by small steps or increments towards a goal or position; “As Europe inches closer to recession, the ECB is asking for more reforms.”

Messenger pigeon: (also ‘carrier’ or ‘homing’ pigeon): A type of pigeon that is trained to carry messages.

Scroll: A traditional roll of paper used for writing a document; “The ancient scrolls were written in a language that we could not understand.”

To pour money into something: To give a lot of financial or monetary support to a project or idea.

To be loaded: To be extremely rich or wealthy; “Bill Gates is loaded, but he also donates billions of dollars to charity every year.”

To unveil: To reveal, show, or disclose for the first time; “The tech world was very excited for the Apple Watch to be unveiled.”

Tech titan: An extremely important technology company or developer (e.g. Apple, Samsung, Google, etc.).

To have skin in the game: To have a personal investment (usually financial) in an organization or activity, and therefore an interest in its success.

UAV (Unmanned aerial vehicle): Commonly known as a drone; an aircraft without a human pilot aboard.

Clout: Having influence or power, especially in politics or business; “Sasha doesn’t have the clout to make big decisions, but the CEO values his opinions.”

Handful: A quantity that fills the hands, a small number or amount; “The HR team will be interviewing a handful of candidates for the sales position this afternoon.”

To embark on: To start or begin, usually a journey or adventure; “When Janos embarked on his journey as a musician he had no idea he would be so successful.”

To be poised: Prepared, ready, or in the right position; “The teacher’s association is poised to continue their attack on government school tests.”

To take off: To be important, popular, or successful; “We’ve worked hard to build up our user base, and hopefully our e-commerce business will really take off next year.”

Far-reaching: Having important and significant effects or implications; “Replacing the entire management team will have far-reaching consequences for our company.”

To come a long way (from): To make a lot of progress or improvement; “Although the change have been small, over the years the iPhone has come a long way from its original design.”

Growing number (of): Increasing amount; “A growing number of university graduates are leaving Europe to look for opportunities abroad.”

To pop up: To suddenly appear or become important; “It seems a new discount clothing shop pops up every month in our city.”

Citrus: A category of fruit including oranges, grapefruit, and lemons/limes.

To monitor: To observe or keep track of something; “Medical students have started using Google Glass to monitor their patient’s vital signs.”

Conservationist: a person who promotes preservation and careful management of natural resources and of the environment; “Dr. Jane Goodall is a conservationist who is famous for her work with chimpanzees.”

To keep tabs (on): To observe carefully; “Our purchasing department has asked us to keep tabs on expenditures.”

Endangered species: A plant or animal species present in such small numbers that it is at risk of becoming extinct.

Poacher: A person who hunts or catches game or fish illegally.

Hostage: A person who is taken or held as security until a demand, usually financial, is met.

Guarantee: a formal assurance (typically in writing) that certain conditions will be fulfilled, especially that a product will be repaired or replaced if not of a specified quality.

Radius: a straight line from the center to the outside edge (circumference) of a circle or sphere.

Distribution center: A centrally located warehouse that organizes and monitors the delivery of goods or products.

Reserved: Without the tendency to take big risks, slow to show emotion or opinion; “Meg may seem reserved, but she’s one of the most aggressive negotiators we have.”

To come out of one’s shell: To become more friendly or sociable; “Natalia has really come out of her shell since being promoted to the director of the institute.”

Mindshare: Consumer awareness of a product or brand.

(To be) Alongside: Close to the side of, next to; “Our university works alongside a number of charities to raise money for the homeless.”

To go to great lengths: To make a big or considerable effort to reach a goal or objective; “I’ve gone to great lengths to get you this job because I’m confident you’ll be a fantastic supervisor.”

To shine a light (on): To make something clearer or easier to understand by giving more details or a simpler explanation.

Moonshot project: A difficult or ambitious project; “Colonizing Mars has always been a moonshot project, but it may happen sooner than you think.”

Shortage: A lack or insufficient amount of something; “Due to a shortage of time, we haven’t been able to complete your order.”

Hurdle to overcome: An obstacle or difficulty that must be surpassed; “In life, there are always hurdles to overcome. How you respond determines your success.”

To tap into: To establish a connection with or have access to; “We may need to tap into our emergency funds if we want to replace the equipment that we lost in the fire.”

Fiscal boost: Monetary gain or increase derived from increased economic activity.

Warmly welcome: To happily receive people or information/news; “News that our marketing firm was merging with a new startup was warmly welcomed by the entire staff.”

Fact sheet: a presentation of data in a format which emphasizes key points concisely.

To point out: To indicate or specify; “As I pointed out in my previous interview, I have more than 10 years of experience and can speak 3 languages.”

Autonomous machine: A tool or piece of equipment that is not controlled by others or by outside forces.

Boost: Increase or rise in the value or level of something; “Because of his hard work over the past year, Karen was given a big boost to her salary.”

(To be) Another thing entirely: Something else completely; “Translating a restaurant menu, but reading a legal contract in another language is another thing entirely.”

Legal and regulatory obstacle: Laws or regulations that block one’s way or makes an activity more difficult.

To legislate: To make or enact laws; “Even though the teachers were on strike, the provincial government legislated teachers back to the classroom.”

To get ahead of something: To act early or before something occurs; “In order for us to get ahead of our competition, we need to focus on innovating the best products possible!”

Legitimate (concerns): Genuine, valid, or reasonable; “Our clients have a legitimate complaint with their vacation package; the hotel they stayed at was absolutely unsuitable to stay at.”

AI (Artificial Intelligence): Computer systems able to perform tasks such as visual perception, speech recognition, and decision-making.

Autonomous technology: See ‘Autonomous machine’.

Natural disaster: A natural event such as a flood, earthquake, or hurricane that causes great damage or loss of life.

Vaccine: Medicine to prevent or cure someone against a disease or illness; “A growing number of parents prevent their children from getting vaccines for diseases like measles and smallpox.”

Urban planning: the branch of architecture dealing with the design and organization of urban space and activities.

Catastrophe: A sudden and widespread disaster; “If we can’t get our email system repaired by the end of the day it’s going to be a complete catastrophe.”

Adjuster: Someone who investigates insurance claims and recommends an effective settlement; “A good claims adjuster doesn’t become too emotionally involved in their cases.”

Evaluate: To judge the value or condition of someone or something in a careful and thoughtful way; “After a 6-month training period, we’ll evaluate your performance and discuss which areas we need to improve.”

Flash forward: To transition to a later event or time.

Insured: Someone who has, or is covered by, a type of insurance.

To handle: To manage or control a situation or problem; “Our company handles the international relocation needs of both individuals and businesses.”

Claim: An official request for something, such as money, that is owed to you; “You can submit your insurance claim to our HR department and they’ll process it for you within 21 days.” Breakneck speed: To do something extremely or dangerously fast.

Volume: Amount or total; “The volume of Amazon’s deliveries increases by nearly 300% during the Christmas season.”

To have (all) the makings of: To have the clear ability for becoming something; “I’ve always thought that our boss had the makings of a fantastic CEO.”

Consumerism: The actions of people who spend a lot of money on goods and services.

Junk pile: An accumulation of old and discarded products.

Template: Something that serves as a model for others to copy; “If you’re using a template for your CV, you should always remember to personalize it to the job you’re applying for.”

Backscratcher: An tool/implement with a long handle, used for scratching one's back.

Armada: A large group of moving things; “An armada of container ships crossed the ocean to deliver goods from Southeast Asia.”

Robot: A mechanical device that is capable of performing a variety of complex tasks by being programmed in advance; “Hollywood likes to depict robots that have somehow taken over the world, but I don’t think it will ever happen.”