Learn English Vocabulary Daily #18.4 — British English Podcast

Hello, and welcome to the English Like a Native Podcast.

My name is Anna, and you're listening to Week 18, Day 4 of Your English 5 a Day.

The series that aims to increase your active vocabulary by five pieces every day

of the working week from Monday to Friday.

Let's start today's list with an adjective, and it is covert, covert.

We spell this C O V E R T.

Covert.

If something is described as being covert, then it is hidden or it's a secret.

So, we often hear a covert operation.

Maybe the police are performing a covert operation, so a secretive operation.

Here's an example sentence,

"Covert operations were underway to bring down the biggest drug gang

in the west, that was until the newspapers found out and published

it all over their front pages!"

Have you ever been on a covert operation?

Okay, moving on to a verb now.

We have defect, defect.

This is spelt D E F E C T, defect.

To defect is to leave your current job or position especially if it's to

take up, to start a position elsewhere and with the competition specifically.

So, you move from Microsoft to go and work for Apple,

"Oh, she defected.

How rude."

Or you might leave Facebook to go and work for YouTube, their

biggest rivals, to defect.

Now here's an example sentence,

"Did you hear that Pamela, in the design department, defected to our biggest rival?

The boss is not happy!"

Have you ever defected?

I don't think I have, have I?

No, I don't think I have.

Alright.

Moving on to an adjective.

Now this is quite an interesting one.

AWOL.

AWOL.

This is an interesting one because it is an acronym, but we always use it in its

condensed form, in its acronym form, AWOL.

We spell this A W O L.

So, all capital letters, A W O L, AWOL, AWOL.

AWOL stands for 'absent without leave'.

To be absent without leave.

This is used usually for people who work within the armed forces

or within the police force.

So, if you are AWOL, it means that you go away, you disappear,

and you don't perform your duty.

You go missing without having been given permission.

Okay.

So, if I am supposed to be doing three months in barracks and I've just

got some general training and some general duties to do in the barracks

during those three months, but after three weeks I decide I don't like it.

And I ask if I can leave and they say no.

So, then I stick it out for another week.

But I really hate it, so, I just decide in the middle of the night to

grab my stuff and make a run for it.

And I run back to my mum's house, and I say,

"I don't like it there, I'm gonna stay here, don't tell them."

Then I've gone AWOL.

I've gone AWOL.

Okay, I left without being given permission to leave.

So, I will probably be punished in that scenario.

Here's an example sentence

"Alexander has been AWOL for two weeks now, are you sure

you haven't heard from him?"

Okay, next on our list is a noun and it is flotilla, flotilla.

We spell this F L O T I L L A.

Flotilla.

Now, a flotilla is a large group of small boats or ships,

so it's also known as a fleet.

I think that's what I would normally expect to hear.

A fleet of ships.

The Irish fleet.

The Spanish fleet.

The naval fleet, but flotilla is another possible word that you could use.

So, here's an example sentence,

"There was a flotilla of naval ships off the coast this week,

do you know why they were there?"

Next on our list is an idiom and it is to know the ropes or to learn the ropes.

So, you either know the ropes or you have to learn the ropes.

So, we spell this know, K N O W.

The, T H E.

Ropes, R O P E S.

Obviously, 'know' might be changed for 'learn' — L E A R N.

Learn the ropes.

Now these 'ropes' actually refer to activities that are

involved in a particular job.

So, if you are joining the backstage crew of a theatre then you are going to have

a very specific job to do in the theatre.

Maybe you are the person who changes the scenery after each scene.

And so, you have to learn what to do.

You need to learn how to move the scenery, how to safely store

the scenery, when to do it.

And so you will have to learn the ropes.

And when you come into the company, the company manager will find someone

who already knows the ropes so that they can 'show' you the ropes.

There's another use of the phrase to show someone the ropes.

I'll show you the ropes.

And once you know the ropes, then you can do it by yourself.

Okay, so you'll learn the ropes with me.

That's what I'll do.

I'll show you the ropes this afternoon.

Okay.

Here's an example sentence,

"Baking wedding cakes was so tough at first, but once I got

to know the ropes, it was easy!"

Alright, fantastic.

So, we've had our five.

Let's do a quick recap of them.

So, we started with the adjective covert, covert, meaning to be hidden or secret.

Then we had the verb defect, defect to leave your job or position; to

take up a position with another company, usually the competitors.

To defect.

Next, we had AWOL, AWOL, standing for absence without leave, where

you leave the armed forces without getting permission to leave.

Then we had the noun flotilla, flotilla, also known as a fleet, which is a

large group of ships or small boats.

Then we had the idiom to know, learn, or show someone the ropes

which is to learn a particular activity that's involved with a job.

Okay.

So, let's now do this for pronunciation.

Please repeat after me.

Covert.

Covert.

Defect.

Defect.

AWOL.

AWOL.

Flotilla.

Flotilla.

Know the ropes.

Know the ropes.

Very good.

Alright, let me test you now.

If you are a soldier and you decide to leave one day but you haven't been

given permission, what do you go?

You go...

AWOL.

That's right.

And I'm talking about a large group of small boats, but I

don't want to use the word fleet.

What word could I use?

Flotilla.

A flotilla.

And you've just started with my company, so you need to what?

You need to learn what?

The ropes.

You need to learn the ropes so that you know the ropes.

And if when you join my company I tell you you're going to be part of a

secret mission, what other adjective could I use instead of secret?

Covert.

Now you've worked for me for a few months but you get a better offer

from my biggest rival and you leave me to go and work for my rival.

What verb could I use to describe your terrible actions?

Defect.

Yes, to defect.

Very good.

Right, let's bring them all together in a little news bulletin.

Good evening, this is your breaking news update.

A flotilla of naval ships has been spotted off the coast of Spain's Costa

Calida this week, causing concern among locals and government officials.

Our reporter, Sarah, is live at the scene, Sarah, can you tell us what's happening?

Thank you, Jane.

I'm standing here on the beach of Mazarron where a mysterious

flotilla of naval ships can be seen.

Eyewitnesses report that the ships appeared during the night earlier

this week and have been stationed here for the past few days.

As you can see, the ships are massive and heavily armed.

Sources say that they are part of a covert mission and their presence here

has caused quite a stir in the area.

Some locals have expressed their concerns, with one resident saying,

"We've never seen anything like this before.

We don't know if it's for our protection or if we should be worried."

The Spanish government has yet to release any official statement, but sources say

that the flotilla may have defected from their original country and gone AWOL.

It is also speculated that they may be conducting a joint training

exercise with the Spanish Navy.

For now, all we can do is wait and see.

This is a developing story and we'll keep you updated as we learn more.

Back to you, Jane.

Thank you, Sarah.

As this situation unfolds, it is important for the public to learn

the ropes of the emergency procedures in case of any unforeseen events.

Stay tuned for more updates on this story.

This has been your news flash for today.

Thank you for listening.

And that brings us to the end of today's episode.

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Thank you as always for lending me your ears.

I look forward to tickling your eardrums once again tomorrow.

Until then, take very good care and goodbye.