What Can New York Do with Its Empty Office Buildings?

Question 1

Vacancy

Answer 1

noun
A place that is available to be used / rented
* There are several vacancies in our new office building.
* Vacancy rates in New York have skyrocketed.

Question 2

Eye-watering

Answer 2

adjective
Extremely surprising because being high in amount
* I took an eye-watering pay cut when moving overseas.
* The cost of moving to a new office was an eye-watering €500,000!

Question 3

Looming

Answer 3

adjective
Something that appears large and potentially threatening
* The city’s looming high-rises cast a big shadow over the park.
* These looming skyscrapers create an impressive effect at sunset.

Question 4

Sink under the weight
(of something)

Answer 4

idiom
To be overwhelmed by a heavy load
* She felt like she was sinking under the weight of all her tasks and responsibilities.
* They were sinking under the weight of their debts.

Question 5

Refinance a loan

Answer 5

verbal phrase
To replace a loan with a new one, usually to save money
* By refinancing her loan, she was able to lower her monthly payments significantly.
* They decided to refinance their loan to take advantage of lower interest rates.

Question 6

Default on a loan

Answer 6

verbal phrase
To fail to repay a loan, typically by missing scheduled payments
* He defaulted on his car loan after losing his job and it was repossessed.
* Defaulting on your loan will lead to a bad credit score.

Question 7

Find a new lease on life

Answer 7

idiom
To find a renewed sense of enthusiasm or purpose
* She found a new lease on life after recovering from her illness.
* Moving to the countryside gave him a new lease on life.

Question 8

Leave something as is

Answer 8

verbal phrase
Meaning to not change anything, keeping something in its current state or condition
* Please leave the document as is, there is no need to change anything.
* She decided to leave the current software version as is.

Question 9

Skyscraper

Answer 9

noun
A very tall building with many floors, used for offices or residences, usually over 150 meters tall
* The Manhattan skyline is dominated by its many impressive skyscrapers.
* New skyscrapers are going up in London.

Question 10

Wake up to something

Answer 10

verbal phrase
To become aware of something
* He woke up to the realization that he should change his career path.
* They finally woke up to the possibilities of their business.

Question 11

A revenue stream

Answer 11

noun
A source of income for a business
* Our overseas businesses have provided a much-needed additional revenue stream.
* Advertising is a significant revenue stream for us.

Question 12

A lease

Answer 12

noun
A legal agreement where one party rents property to another in exchange for regular payments
* We signed a ten-year lease for our new office headquarters.
* The terms of the lease is pretty strict.

Question 13

A conversion wave

Answer 13

noun
A notable increase in the transition of one practice or technology to another
* Following the pandemic we saw a conversion wave towards remote work in many industries.
* There has been a significant conversion wave to electric vehicles in Japan.

Question 14

Office cubicle

Answer 14

noun
A small, separated workspace in an office
* We decided to get rid of all these cubicles and transition to an open-desk system.
* Office cubicles tend to isolate workers from one another.

Question 15

Amenity room

Answer 15

noun
A shared space within a residential building designed for the use and enjoyment of residents
* Our building includes amenity rooms such as a gym and a BBQ area.
* They are planning on adding some amenity rooms to their original plan.