B1 English Listening and Speaking Practice: "Dealing with a Difficult Boss"

 

Vocabulary
A. Impatient (adjective) [French : impatient]: Unable to wait calmly or accept delays. Example: The children became impatient while waiting for the bus. (Les enfants sont devenus impatients en attendant le bus.)

B. Dishonest (adjective) [French : malhonnête]: Not honest; willing to lie or cheat. Example: It is dishonest to lie about your qualifications. (Il est malhonnête de mentir sur ses qualifications.)

C. Controlling (adjective) [French : autoritaire]: Always wanting to control other people or their actions. Example: My controlling neighbor complains whenever I make changes to the garden. (Mon voisin autoritaire se plaint chaque fois que j'apporte des changements au jardin.)

D. Blame (verb) [French : blâmer / tenir pour responsable]: To say someone is responsible for something bad. Example: Don't blame your brother for breaking the window. (Ne blâme pas ton frère d'avoir cassé la fenêtre.)

E. Feel valued (expression) [French : se sentir valorisé]: To feel that others respect and appreciate you. Example: Children feel valued when their parents listen to them. (Les enfants se sentent valorisés lorsque leurs parents les écoutent.)

F. Treat (verb) [French : traiter]: To behave towards someone in a particular way. Example: You should treat everyone with kindness and respect. (Tu devrais traiter tout le monde avec gentillesse et respect.)

G. Politely (adverb) [French : poliment]: In a respectful and friendly way. Example: She politely asked the waiter for another glass of water. (Elle a poliment demandé un autre verre d'eau au serveur.)

 

Daylight Saving Time (DST): English Listening Practice with Questions and Vocabulary (B1 Level)

 

Vocabulary
A. Daylight (noun) [French: lumière du jour]: Natural light from the sun during the day. Example: We started our hike at daylight. (Nous avons commencé notre randonnée au lever du jour.)

B. Minimal (adjective) [French: minime]: Very small in amount or degree. Example: The new rule had a minimal effect on our daily lives. (La nouvelle règle a eu un effet minime sur notre vie quotidienne.)

C. Disrupt (verb) [French: perturber]: To interrupt something and stop it from working normally. Example: Loud noise can disrupt a lesson. (Un bruit fort peut perturber un cours.)

D. Strokes (noun) [French: accidents vasculaires cérébraux]: Serious medical conditions caused by a problem with blood flow to the brain. Example: The hospital organized a talk about preventing strokes. (L’hôpital a organisé une conférence sur la prévention des accidents vasculaires cérébraux.)

E. Sleep patterns (noun phrase) [French: habitudes de sommeil]: The usual times and ways a person sleeps. Example: Traveling across time zones can change your sleep patterns. (Voyager à travers plusieurs fuseaux horaires peut modifier vos habitudes de sommeil.)

F. Rise (verb) [French: augmenter]: To become greater in number, amount, or level. Example: The price of bread may rise next month. (Le prix du pain pourrait augmenter le mois prochain.)

English Listening Practice B2–C1: Building Talent Instead of Just Hiring It

 

Vocabulary 1

A. Impressive (adjective) [French: impressionnant]: Very good or special in a way that makes people admire you. Example: She gave an impressive presentation to the international team. (Elle a fait une présentation impressionnante devant l’équipe internationale.)

B. Sing decently (verb expression) [French: chanter assez bien]: To sing reasonably well, but not exceptionally well. Example: My brother can sing decently, but he prefers playing the guitar. (Mon frère chante assez bien, mais il préfère jouer de la guitare.)

C. Spectacular (adjective) [French: spectaculaire]: Extremely impressive, beautiful, or exciting. Example: We enjoyed a spectacular view from the top of the mountain. (Nous avons admiré une vue spectaculaire depuis le sommet de la montagne.)

D. Logic might suggest (expression) [French: la logique pourrait laisser penser que]: It seems reasonable to think that something is true. Example: Logic might suggest that higher prices will reduce sales. (La logique pourrait laisser penser que des prix plus élevés feront baisser les ventes.)

E. Iconic (adjective) [French: emblématique]: Very famous and easily recognized by many people. Example: The Eiffel Tower is an iconic symbol of Paris. (La tour Eiffel est un symbole emblématique de Paris.)

F. Undeniable (adjective) [French: indéniable]: Clearly true and impossible to reasonably deny. Example: Her progress in mathematics is undeniable. (Ses progrès en mathématiques sont indéniables.)

G. Mediocre (adjective) [French: médiocre]: Average or below average, not particularly good. Example: The restaurant received mediocre reviews from its customers. (Le restaurant a reçu des avis médiocres de la part de ses clients.)

H. Artistry (noun) [French: talent artistique]: Skill and creativity shown when making or performing something. Example: The artist's artistry is visible in every painting. (Le talent artistique de cet artiste se manifeste dans chaque tableau.)

I. Taboos (plural noun) [French: tabous]: Subjects or actions that society considers unacceptable to discuss or do. Example: The documentary discusses taboos surrounding mental health. (Le documentaire aborde les tabous liés à la santé mentale.)

 

Business English Listening Practice: R&D Meeting Expressions and Vocabulary (B2), Exercise 2

 

Exercise 2: Discussing Research Projects and New Ideas

Situation: A research team is evaluating different technologies for a new product.

Key expressions: investigate, explore options, potential, data, conclusions

Comprehension questions
1. What is the main objective of the research project?
2. What two options are being considered?
3. Why does the team need more data?
4. What problem does the existing product have?
5. Has the team confirmed that the new material will solve the problem?

Participants: Research Lead (woman), Researcher (Indian man), Product Engineer (British woman)