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Vocabulary Quiz
thing • infrastructure • collapsed
constructed • complete
  1. A lot of the houses in this area because of the strong winds.
  2. After the party, the whole house was a mess.
  3. The is that if you don't have somebody to practice English with, you will forget what you know.
  4. Many of the foundations are so poorly that the buildings are sinking.
  5. The city does not have an to support this many people.
Comprehension Quiz
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1196 Rainy Routine

Diego and Valeria discuss how rain can wreck routines in different cultures.

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  • Audio Slideshow
  • Vocabulary
notes
Audio notes are simple, spoken, downloadable explanations of key vocabulary and phrases from the audio. Learn more about them at the audio notes tutorial page here.

the thing is that

The thing is that the weather is changing, right?

You can use this phrase when you want to give a reason for your opinion. Notice the following:

  1. The thing is that I prefer to watch movies in my house.
  2. The thing is that having someone to do things with keeps you active.

infrastructure

The infrastructure of my country wasn't prepared for this weather.

In this case, 'infrastructure' refers to the facilities and services that exist in a specific country.  This includes water systems, transportation systems, etc. Notice the following:

  1. The local government would like to make some major changes in the infrastructure of our area.
  2. It is always difficult to adjust to the infrastructure of a new city.

collapse

If it rains a couple of days in a row, the city collapses.

Something 'collapses' when it falls to pieces. This can be physically, in the sense of a building collapsing, or it refer to a system that can no longer function. Notice the following:

  1. Our complete plan just collapsed after the first step.
  2. That barn looks like it's about to collapse.

poorly constructed

The cities are poorly constructed.

If something is 'poorly constructed,' it is assembled in a way that is not done well or isn't durable. Notice the following:

  1. We didn't worry too much that the building was poorly constructed because it was only temporary.
  2. Most of the houses in this area are poorly constructed.

a complete mess

Public transportation is just a complete mess.

When transportation is a 'complete mess,' it means that it doesn't function the way that it should. Notice the following:

  1. Her car is usually a complete mess.
  2. After the storms, the whole city was a complete mess.

 

 

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