2017 October (Written) Flashcards
You’re at work. Someone walks by your desk, looking lost. You want to find out why they’re there, so you ask this.
Can I help you?
Can I help you?
You can ask “Can I help you?” if you want to offer someone help.
But this is also the phrase that employees of a store or business use to greet customers or visitors. When a visitor seems lost or confused, the employee asks:
│ Can I help you?
Sometimes “Can I help you?” can be pretty negative. It can mean “You’re not one of us.” You can use it when someone is in a place that they don’t belong in. For example, if there’s a man that you’ve never seen before walking back and forth in front of your house, you can open your door and ask them:
│ Excuse me, sir. Can I help you?
You and a friend are discussing you New Year’s resolutions with each other, a few days after New Year’s Day. You’ve gained weight in the past few years, so you want to lose weight this year. You make this declaration to your friend.
I want to try to shed a few pounds and get back in shape.
I want to try to (do something)
Use this as a casual way to express a goal that you have:
│ I want to try to find a new job in the next few months or so.
You use this phrase for a goal or plan that you’ve thought up, but that you haven’t started acting on yet.
shed (a number of) pounds
The phrase “shed pounds” is a slightly more interesting way to explain losing weight.
To “shed” something means to lose it little by little. For example, pets shed their hair around your house. And snakes shed their old skin as they grow larger. Also, you “shed” things that you want to get rid of or that you don’t need any more.
“Pounds” are the unit of measurement that we use in America to weigh people. One kilogram equals 2.2 pounds. When you say you want to “shed some pounds:, it means that you want to lose weight and become lighter. People often use “pounds” t talk about their weight, even when they’re not measuring themselves or talking about how much they weigh. For example:
│ I’ve been packing on the pounds lately.
This means that you’ve been getting fatter.
│ Doesn’t it look like he’s put on a few pounds?
This means “Don’t you think he looks fatter than he used to be?
get in shape
If you’re “in shape”, it means that you’re thin, muscular, and athletic. To “get” in shape means to become stronger and thinner.
In the example at top, the speaker says that he wants to “get back in shape”. That means that he used to be athletic, but now he’s “out of shape”. He wants to be “in shape” again.
You’re on a first date with a guy. You’re talking about yourselves. You tell him the name of the town that you’re fro like this.
It’s a quiet little suburban community about 30 minutes outside the city.
a quiet little (place)
Describe a small town or neighborhood this way:
│ We found a quiet little street with some cute bookstores and cafés.
│ I come from a quiet little town in the mountains east of Los Angeles.
a suburban commnunity People live in three kinds of area: · urban areas (cities) · suburban areas (the areas around cities) · rural areas (small towns and farmland)
A “suburban community” is a town that’s close to a city (usually a 30 minute to 1 hour drive) but is small and quiet. A lot of people in the suburbs live in individual houses instead of apartment buildings. They drive from place to place instead of using public transportation.
(a time) outside (somewhere)
Use this phrase to describe where a place is, in relation to a city:
│ It’s 30 minutes outside of Chicago.
The time (“30 minutes”) represents how long it takes to drive or travel there.
Sometimes people say “outside of ___” and sometimes just “outside ___”. This is just based on the sound. If you’re not sure, choose “outside of”.
You’re having a video chat on your computer with a friend in another country. When you ask her a question, it takes her a few seconds to answer. You think that’s because the message isn’t reaching her immediately. You make this assessment of the situation.
There seems to be a bit of a lag.
There seems to be (something)
You can say “There seems to be ___” when you notice something but you’re not completely sure that you have identified it correctly. For example, if you are on a city street and notice that there are tons of people all walking toward somewhere, and many of them are wearing green shirts, you can say:
│ There seems to be a parade going on.
You say “there seems to be a parade” because you’re not sure that it’s really a parade. There might be some other event happening, like a concert or a baseball game, instead.
a bit of a (something)
The phrase “a bit (adjective)” is similar in meaning to “a little”:
│ It’s a bit cold out.
The meaning of “a bit of a ___” is the same, but you use it before a noun instead of an adjective.
│ I know that it’s a bit of a risk, but I really think we can pull it off.
a lag
A “lag” is the period of time that you have to wait for between two things that are supposed to happen at the same time.
For example, when you speak with someone, you usually hear their words immediately as they are saying them. But when you’re video chatting with them, it can take a few seconds for the signal to travel to you. So there’s “a lag”.
Another example of “a lag” is when you’re using a computer that’s really slow. If you push a button, but it takes a few seconds before anything happens, you can say:
│ There’s an annoying lag on this computer.
You’re probably familiar with the term “jet lag”. Jet lag is a feeling of tiredness that you get when you travel to another time zone. You can think of it as “a lag” between the actual time in the new location and the time that your body thinks it is.
You use fluorescent light bulbs in your house to save electricity, You’re explaining why you use them to acquaintance who says he doesn’t know why people use them.
They’re more energy efficient than conventional bulbs because they generate a lot less heat.
(something) is energy efficient
An “energy efficient” machine doesn’t use much electricity. It’s built to save energy. Newer light bulbs, air conditioners, televisions, etc. are usually more “energy efficient” than old ones.
The word “efficient” can also be used in these compounds:
│ a fuel-efficient vehicle
│ a time-efficient method
If you’re wondering why “fuel-efficient” and “time-efficient” are hyphenated, it’s because they appear before a noun. Look at this example:
│ Their new cars are more fuel efficient.
conventional bulbs
The round light bulbs that most people use are technically called “incandescent bulbs”. However, you can also call the “conventional bulbs”. The word “conventional” means that they’re the kind that are most commonly used. Some other “conventional” things include:
│ conventional medicine (medicine done by trained doctors in clinics or hospitals)
│ conventional weapons (missiles, bullets, jets, etc.; not nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons)
│ conventional methods (of doing something)
(something) generates heat
The word “generate” means to make or create something. For example:
· Light bulbs generate light and heat.
· A political speech might generate controversy.
· A change in the government’s policies might generate new jobs.
The word “generate” sounds kind of technical, so it’s a good choice for talking about something technical or scientific.
│ The sun generates 400 trillion watts of energy every second!
│ Photosynthesis generates ATP and oxygen as a byproduct.
You company recently laid off 15% of the employees. You’re running a meeting with your staff to talk about how to deal with the layoffs. After starting the meeting, you begin by saying this.
As you’re all aware, we’ve been forced to make significant cutbacks.
As you’re aware, (sentence)
“As you’re aware, …” is a way to introduce a topic that your listeners or readers already know about:
│ As you’re well aware, all requests for tech support are to go through me.
“As you’re aware,” is a formal phrase. A more casual version is “As you know.”
(someone) has been forced to (do something)
Being “forced” to do something means that something made you do it.
For example, when a manager says that employees have been laid off:
│ As you’re all aware, we’ve been forced to make significant cutbacks.
… it sound as if the company didn’t want to lay off those people, but had to do it for some reason that they couldn’t control.
Most of the time, people use “forced to ___” to talk about things that someone had to do:
│ Residents were forced to evacuate.
│ Child soldiers in these countries have been forced to witness and carry out extreme acts of violence.
│ The native people were forced to convert to Christianity.
But sometimes people use this expression when they don’t want to take responsibility for something that they’ve done.
make cutbacks
To “make cutbacks” means to reduce the expenses of a business or government.
│ If we can’t increase our revenues, we’re going to have to start making cutbacks.
In business, “making cutbacks” usually means laying off employees.
significant cutbacks
“significant cutbacks” mean that more than just a few people were fired. If 1% of the employees of a company were laid off, you’d call it “minor” cutbacks. If 40% of employees got laid off, you’d call it “major” cutbacks. But something between maybe 5%-15% would probably count as “significant” cutbacks.
“Significant” is not only used with cutbacks, of course. It’s used to talk about all kinds of numbers and percentages:
│ A significant number of the people we asked had never even heard of Twitter.
│ There’s been a significant drop in the number of complaints since the new system was put in place.
As you’re (well) aware, (sentence)
This expression introduces something that your reader or listener already knows, but you want to remind them of.
“As you’re aware,” is a formal phrase. A more casual version is “As you know,”:
│ As you know, you’re supposed to go through me for any help you need with tech issues.
You can add “well” to talk about something that your audience knows well already:
│ As you’re well aware, we don’t allow smoking in the building.
You can use this phrase when you’re annoyed by someone who keeps making the same mistakes, or just to be helpful.
You haven’t seen your friend Matt for a few months. You’re not sure why he hasn’t been in touch. Now you’re having a conversation with another friend of your who also knows Matt. You remember that you wanted to ask about him, so you ask this.
I’ve been meaning to ask you: do you know what’s up with Matt?
I’ve been meaning to ask you: (question)
Sometimes you have a question that you want to ask someone, but you don’t ask it for a long time. That may be because you’re nervous, or because you keep forgetting to ask it. The phrase “I’ve been meaning to ask you…” introduces a question such as this.
What’s up with (someone)?
Ask this question to find out recent information about a person. You can ask this in a positive way:
│ What’s up with Minsuh these days?
But it’s more commonly used to ask about someone who seems angry, sad, afraid, or is acting strangely.
│ A: What’s up with Celena?
│ B: What do you mean?
│ A: She’s been acting strange lately.
You’re riding the subway in New York City. The train conductor makes an announcement because the train isn’t stopping at its usual stops. She says this.
There is no local Brooklyn-bound service between 34th Street and Canal.
a (somewhere)-bound local train
A “local” train is one that stops at every station that’s listed.
The opposite of a “local” train is an “express” train, which skips some stops in order to take passengers to far-away areas more quickly.
The phrase “___-bound” describes where the train is going to.
You can use “local train” and “___-bound separately:
│ I need to take the local train.
│ Is this the local?
│ Which one is the New Jersey-bound train?
Train announcers announce both in the same sentence:
│ New York-bound local train, now boarding on track three.
There is no service between (somewhere) and (somewhere)
When a train line is not running as usual, you will see signs or hear announcements saying that “There is no service between ___ and ___.” This means that the train doesn’t stop between those two places.
Another example of “no service” is on a telephone that doesn’t work. If you try to call someone but nothing happens, you can say:
│ There’s no service.
34th Street and Canal
When people name two streets one after another, they often don’t say “street” after the second one:
│ It’s on the corner of 15th Street and Lexington.
You can actually skip the word “Street” on the first one too in casual English:
│ It’s on the corner of 15th and Lexington.
You’re talking to your friend, who lives in another city. She asks about your baby, who she hasn’t seen for several months. The baby talks now, so you say this.
She’s talking up a storm these days.
these days
“These days” means “recently”. But “recently” is used to talk about things that have happened over the last few weeks or months. “These days” is a longer time period, usually from the last 6 months to the last 20-30 years. You use “these days” to talk about major changes in your life or in society.
│ I don’t watch much TV these days.
│ Kids these days don’t even remember what life was like before mobile phones and the Internet.
│ It’s getting harder and harder to earn a living as a photographer these days.
(someone) is talking up a storm.
This is a casual expression that means to talk a lot.
You can use it to talk about young children who start talking a lot once they reach a certain age. Here are some other expressions that use “___ up a storm”:
│ Mom would always be in the kitchen, cooking up a storm while we played in the yard.
│ You should have seen him at the wedding. He was dancing up a storm!
You and a friend are in the countryside. You want to hike to the top of a small mountain, but your friend isn’t sure if he wants to do it. You say this to convince him to hike up there with you.
It’s not that long of a hike.
not that (adjective) of a (something)
Use “not that ___ of a ___” when you want to:
· describe what something is not (“long”)
· tell what category it’s in (“a hike”)
For example:
│ She’s not that good of a singer.
│ This isn’t that old of a building.
│ It really isn’t that big of a deal.
Of course, you could also say:
│ It’s not a very long hike.
│ She’s not a very good singer.
But these versions put more emphasis on the description (“long”, “good”), while “not that ___ of a ___” puts a little more emphasis on the category.
a hike
“Hiking” means walking over rough ground, like in the mountains, in a desert, through a forest, etc. People usually hike for fun.
“A hike” means one complete session of hiking. This can last for a few minutes or for several days:
│ We did a ten-day hike along the Appalachian trail last summer. It was gorgeous.
You’re telling a friend about your brothers and sisters. one of them is a musician, another one is a housewife in the suburbs, and you work in a large corporation. You’re explaining why you’re all so different.
We’ve all taken very different paths in life.
(someone) takes a path (in life)
English speakers commonly use the word “path” to talk about someone’s life.
A “path” is a little trail or walking area. If you go for a walk in the forest, you’ll probably try to follow a path.
Your “path” in life means the decisions that you’ve made and the things that you’ve experienced. Here are some examples that you’ll frequently hear:
│ I’m worried that he’s going down the wrong path.
│ Kids these days are expected to pick a career path when they’re still in high school.
│ He’s got to choose his own path.
│ We’ve taken different paths.
Saying that two people have “taken different paths” means that they have different styles of life and might not be very close to each other any more.
You went to see a doctor. Afterwards, you paid for the visit and got a receipt. You read this sentence on the receipt.
Please retain this receipt for your records.
retain (something)
“Retain” is a formal word which means “keep”. Here are some examples of sentences in which you can use “retain”:
│ Many nursing mothers retain much of the weight that they gained during pregnancy.
│ Tests like these just measure your ability to acquire and retain knowledge. They’re not a true test of a person’s skill or expertise.
Here are some of the most common things that are “retained”:
│ (someone) retains power
│ (a company) retains employees
│ (something) retains heat
│ (something) retains moisture
│ (something) retains ownership of (something)
a receipt
A “receipt” is a piece of paper (or maybe an electronic document) which shows how much someone has paid for something. You get one of these when you buy something.
A common practice at stores in the United States is to allow customers to return items to the store that they don’t want, if they bring the receipt to prove that they bought the items at that store.
for your records
Your “records” are a collection of important information.
Here are some things that people sometimes keep in their personal records: · medical records · bank statement · birth certificates · school transcripts · receipts for business expenses
Some important documents like tax forms come with several copies. One of the copies may be labeled “For Your Records”.
A friend has invited you on a skiing trip. It sounds like fun, but it seems expensive and you don’t have much money. You say this.
I’d love to go, but i don’t know if i’d be able to manage it financially.
I’d love to (do something), but (sentence)
This is a friendly, polite way to say “no” to someone’s invitation:
│ A: Would you care to join us for drinks?
│ B: I’d love to, but I can’t.
│ I’d love to stay, but I have a lot of work to do.
I don’t know if (sentence)
This is a polite and roundabout way to say “no” (or “maybe not”) to something:
│ I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it.
│ I don’t know if he’s the best candidate for this position.
manage (something) financially
This means to have enough money for something.
To “manage” to do something means to succeed, even though it’s difficult:
│ I’ve managed to do OK.
│ How’d you manage to pull that off?
Your “finances” are the amount of money that you have. So managing something financially means having enough money (barely) to afford something. English speakers usually use this phrase in the negative form:
│ We can’t manage it financially.
You’re doing a video chat on your computer with a friend in another country. The video isn’t very smooth. It plays for a few seconds, then stops for a few, then plays again. You asked your friend if the video looked OK on her computer, and she said it did. You say this in response.
The video’s pretty choppy on my end.
the video’s (adjective)
This means “The video is ___” People often replace “(something) is” with “(something)’s”. For example:
│ Your car’s over here.
This can be a little confusing sometimes because it looks and sounds the same as the possessive form:
│ Your car’s windshield is cracked.
(something) is choppy
“Choppy” means “not smooth”. The most common use of the word “choppy” is to describe water that has a low of waves:
│ The water started getting choppy, so the rescue effort had to be suspended.
When you’re talking about computer video, a “choppy” video is one that doesn’t move smoothly. Instead, it stops in some parts to wait for the signal to catch up. You can use it in the same way for audio recordings or telephone conversations:
│ I don’t get very good reception here, so excuse me in advance if our conversation gets a little choppy.
my end (of a conversation) On a telephone or video chat conversation, you call the location of each person on the conversation an "end". It might help to imagine a string that connects each of the people on the call. So each person is at one "end" of the string.
You can use “my end”, “your end”, “this end”, and “that end” to talk about things that are happening in each location. For example:
│ I hear some kind of strange beeping noise. Can you hear that on your end?
│ It’s eight o’clock here. What time is it on your end?
Today your daughter made a really funny mistake on her science homework. You wanted to laugh about it, but you didn’t want to upset her so you stopped yourself from laughing. Now you’re telling your husband about it and you offer him this explanation.
I didn’t want to make her feel self-conscious.
make someone feel (an emotion)
The phrase “make (someone) feel ___” is most often used with emotions like these:
│ I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.
│ Does that make you feel unwelcome?
These are all emotions that involves sticking out from a group of people.
“Make (someone) feel ___” doesn’t work as well with emotions like “angry” or “sad”. Instead, it’s normal to say:
│ Doesn’t that make you angry?
feel self-conscious
To “feel self-conscious” means to worry a lot about what other people think of you. In the example above, if the speaker had laughed at her daughter, her daughter would have felt self-conscious about her mistake.
As another example, imagine that you’re at a party where you don’t know many people, and you’re dressed up a lot more formally than the other people there. You can describe your feeling as:
│ I felt extremely self-conscious the whole night.
