TED Talk - Nonny de la Peña - The future of journalism? Virtual reality.

http://www.ted.com/talks/nonny_de_la_pena_the_future_of_news_virtual_reality

VOCABULARY

to push the envelope - to attempt to extend the current limits of performance. To innovate, or go beyond commonly accepted boundaries.

Her gymnastic skills are absolutely stunning. She's not afrait to push the envelope of athletic performance and always surprises spectators. 

 
to bawl - to shout or cry loudly 

I was watching my daughter playing in the garden. I heard the phone ringing, so I rushed to answer it. When I came back, little Adele was lying on the lawn and bawling. I saw blood dripping from her wounded knee. 

-Why are you bawling? I'm trying to focus here!!!
-Oh, you are always so insensitive! I won't tell you what happened if I'm a trouble to you!
 
to have a seizure - to have an attack

People with diabetes should mind the hours of meals. If the sugar in their blood drops too low, they risk having a seizure and even falling into a coma. 

-What happened to dad? Why is he in the hospital?!
-He's had a seizure. A heart attack. But he will be fine, the doctor said. 
 
peripheral vision - a part of vision that occurs outside the very centre of gaze.

John was jogging in the park, when suddenly, his peripheral vision captured two squirrels swiftly climbing a spruce.

Peripheral vision is an important feature - it allows you to notice potential danger appearing in your field of view.

duct-taped - fixed with a duct tape . See below.

When the police entered his flat, they found him fixed to a chair with a piece of rope, his mouth duct-taped so that he couldn't speak.

-What happened to mum's favourite vase?
-I broke it by accident.
-And you thought that duct-taping it would pass unnoticed? 

to commission - to arrange for someone to do a piece of work for you. 

We commissioned an expert to evaluate the potential price of the painting we found in the attic. 

For the expo, the organisers commissioned by a famous artist several scupltures representing innovation and progress. 

an outpouring - when an emotion is being expressed a lot in public.

Nobody has ever seen such an outpouring of rage as the one displayed that day in the supermarket by a 5-year-old boy to whom his mother refused to buy a light sabre. 

When Tom Hiddleston gets married, we can expect an outpouring of grief among his fangirls. 

to cock a gun - to pull back the hammer (or hammer mechanism) to ready the gun for fire.

'Say goodbye to life' he said, cocking his Walther. 

 Before you fire off a gun, you have to cock it.

TED Talk : Rose George : Inside the secret shipping industry

Rose George : Inside the secret shipping industry

http://www.ted.com/talks/rose_george_inside_the_secret_shipping_industry

VOCABULARY:

shipping the transport of goods by sea (or any other means)

Very few people think about how commercial goods are transported, so they are usually rather surprised to hear that we all owe 90% of deliveries to shipping. 

Should there be any problem with shipping, the delivery of commodities to the client might be delayed.

seafarer a person regularly travelling by sea

I bet there is no seafarer that suffers from sea sickness. 

A seafarer's life is really tough - weeks or months spent on waters, no women, no Internet.... 

vessel a ship or a large boat

Everybody on the lifeboats! Thevessel is going down!

The Titanic was said to be an unsinkable vessel and yet, over 1500 people lost their lives when it drowned. 


on a par with equal in importance or quality to

I never buy cheap perfumes - they will never be on a par with good old Chanel. 

This employee may have the least experience of all but he is on a par with the others in terms of efficiency. 

admiralty the jurisdiction of courts of law over cases concerning ships or the sea and other navigable waters

flag of convenience a flag of a country under which a ship is registered in order to avoid financial charges or restrictive regulations in the owner's country


dregs what is lefs of a liquid in a container, together with any sediment

I only drink instant coffee, because I can't stand dregs from the ground one.

(metaph) When she finally arrived home from work, she used the dregs of her energy to nibble a slice of bread and feed the cat before she fell half-alive on her bed. 

soot a deep black powdery or flaky substance consisting largely of amorphous carbon, produces by the incomplete burning of organic matter

No wonder that the air in Cracow is so polluted - if you look at the funnels during the winter season, you will see smoke full of soot coming out of them.

We should clean up fireplace - the pane is all black from soot, you can barely see the fire!

plight a dangerous, difficult or otherwise unfortunate situation

During the war, plights became a part of his everyday routine - he had to be very careful not to get shot.

Our hitchiking trip was great, though we got involved into a plight once, when a truck driver took a detour and for a couple of hours we had no idea where we were going. 

garrulous excessively talkative, especially on trivial matters

Christmas is coming, which means that we will have to listen to your garrulous old auntie again... She's definitely too talkative!

He was alively, garrulous man who liked feasting in a jolly company. 

to be in two minds be unable to decide between two alternatives

Honey, could you help me with the gift for your mother? I'm in two minds - I can't decide whether to buy her a book or a new baking tray.

Should I dye my hair red or black? I'm in two minds...

TED Talk of the week: Bandi Mbubi - Demand for a fair trade cell phone

Bandi Mbubi - Demand for a fair trade cell phone
http://www.ted.com/talks/bandi_mbubi_demand_a_fair_trade_cell_phone

VOCABULARY:

to boil down to sth - if a situation or a problem boils down to sth, that is the main reason or an esential meaning of it

All the troubles we are having with my son boil down to one thing - he cannot cope with our divorce.

Being a politician in rarely about altruism and community service - everybody knows that it all boils down to money.


heat conductor - a substance or an object made of such substance which can transfer heat.

Iron is a good heat conductor - you can observe it when you put an iron skillet over a burner of a stove that has been turned on. 

When feeling cold, it's good to have a boyfriend nearby - when he hugs you and your body becomes warm, you'll see that human body is a good heat conductor too! 


alloy - a substance composed of metal+metal or metal+nonmetal

Bronze is an alloy consisting of copper and tin.

Produced from a combination of polymers and metallic alloys, it is highly corrosion resistant and almost maintenance free. [Oxford Learner's Dictionary online]


to instill sth - to infuse slowly or gradually into the mind or feelings

The spooky atmosphere of the graveyard instilled fear in her as she was passing by. 

His wife's late arrivals at home instilled suspicion in his mind.


illicit trade route - a way through which illegally sold products are transported

Columbia is notorious for its intricate net of illicit drug trade routes. 

The police is aiming to work out secret illicit trade routes. 


misconduct - unacceptable or improper behaviour, especially by an employee or professional person

Mike was suspended for misconduct - he came to work completely drunk. 

Misconduct in the workplace can be a reason for disciplinary dismissal. 


to mount pressure on sb - to insist on somebody doing sth, taking up an action, starting to handle with a problem etc.

Environmentalists are mounting pressure on authorities to make them take up definite actions aiming to a reduction in air pollution.

Nurses are mounting pressure on the Polish government in order to obtain higher salaries.