Session 1
to sign up
(here) to join a course or organisation
fibs
lies about things that aren't important
hot dog
a sausage in a bread bun
software
programmes you use on your computer to do different tasks
daughter-in-law
your son's wife
6 Minute Vocabulary
Compound nouns are nouns that are made up of a combination of two (or sometimes more) nouns or a combination of a noun and a prepositional phrase. Some examples of these are:
- popcorn
- keyboard
- hot dog
- ice cream
- daughter-in-law
- father-in-law
There are three ways that compound nouns can be written: with the two nouns making up the compound noun placed together without a space between them, with the two nouns separated by a space, and with the words connected by hyphens (a hyphen is this punctuation mark - )
There are no rules for the first two ways of writing compound nouns (with or without a space between the two nouns), so it is a good idea to check in a good dictionary. You can also check whether you can write plural forms of these compound nouns (e.g. keyboards)
Form
Without a space:
- pop + corn = popcorn
- key + board = keyboard
- post + card = postcard
With a space:
- hot + dog = hot dog
- ice + cream = ice cream
- alarm + clock = alarm clock
The third way of writing compounds here is a combination of a noun (daughter) and a prepositional phrase (-in-law). When we write these the form is:
- daughter + -in-law = daughter-in-law
- father + -in-law = father-in-law
Pronunciation
We pronounce most compound nouns, especially those made up of two nouns, with the stress on the first syllable. This is important as it can change the meaning.
hot dog (the same stress on each word) = a dog that is hot
hot dog (more stress on the first word) = a snack made from a bread bun and a sausage
Session 3
agenda
the subject you plan to talk about in a meeting
item
(here) one subject you talk about in a meeting
deliver
finish a project
competitors
people or companies who are trying to be more successful than you
updates
information about progress of a project
prototype
the first example of a product
budget
the amount of money you have to spend on something
marketing
the things companies do, for example advertising, to persuade people to buy things
market research
collecting and studying information about what people buy and why
sell like hot cakes
to sell very quickly
Session 4
architecture
making and designing buildings
attracts
makes people interested so that they move closer
masterwork
a work of art made with great skill
interrupted
stopped something from happening for a period of time
facade
the front of a building
spires
the pointed tops of buildings like churches
laid
(here) put carefully into position
News Report
graduate (noun)
a person who has a degree from a university
unemployment
the situation of not having a job
underemployment
the situation of not having enough work, or not having work which uses your skills
social
related to society
graduate (verb)
to finish a university degree course successfully
steadily
at a continuous rate, without stopping
willing
ready and enthusiastic to do something
leadership
(here) the group of people who are the leaders of an organisation
expert
a person with special knowledge on a particular subject
hostile
unfriendly, and ready to fight
state
a country, and especially the government
prestigious
admired and respected
calm
peaceful; not worried or excited
optimistic
believing that good things will happen in the future
