These are words shouted as a way of celebrating or showing approval.
So, hip, hip, hurray because I have many nice things to share with you! But let’s start from the beginning.
At the end of last year, I set a tentative date to resume work with you all for late January. But those who know me know the number of plans and projects I have for this time of the year. During this break from our work, I have the chance to go further with my studies. My goal is always to build the new year on a solid foundation. So my focus is the work with English, teaching, and learning, as well as to improve myself and the structure that gives me support to better cater to your needs.
Let’s first learn how to pronounce tentative:
ˈten.tə.tɪv
The adjective tentative is used to describe something you are unsure or hesitant about.
On Monday, you can make tentative plans for the weekend, but it’s too early to commit to one party or another.
History and Etymology for tentative
Tentative, from the Latin tentātīvus, “testing, trying,” always describes something that is uncertain. If you make a tentative appointment, write it down in pencil, not pen, because it might have to be changed. Here the opposite of tentative is definite or set.
Tentative
Adjective 1Tentativeagreements, plans, ideas, deals, explanation or arrangements are not definite or certain, but have been made as a first step and are still able to be changed.
I have tentative plans to go to Europe in July.
Political leaders have reached a tentative agreement.
Such theories are still very tentative.
That’s just a tentative schedule.
In business:
While analysts are tentative at the moment, they remain basically optimistic.
The company began last year to take tentative steps towards a flotation.
Many cities in Brazil are holding the second round of municipal elections for mayor and vice-mayor, this Sunday. Councilors were already elected in the first round.
We have already learned vocabulary and phrases to talk about the United States presidential election. Now, let’s talk about our municipal elections.
Did you vote in the first round?
Are you going to vote in the second round?
Which party are you voting for?*
Who are you going to vote for?*
Who got the most votes?
Useful Vocabulary
campaign (n) in an election a campaign is a political and organized effort which seeks to win the vote of the electorate. Often called a ‘political campaign’ or an ‘election campaign.’
campaign (v) the things a candidate does to be elected (kissing babies, shaking hands, giving speeches, etc)
candidate (n) the person who is running in an election
debate (n) a formal discussion of the merits of something
debate (v) to argue for and against something
elect (v) the act of voting to select the winner of a political office
election (n) the formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office
electorate (n) the people who are eligible to vote in an election
government (n) the political body with the power to make and/or enforce laws for a country
local election (n) city or town elections
opposition (n) the major political party opposed to the party in office and prepared to replace it if elected
party (n) an organization formed to gain political power
political (adj) related to politics
politician (n) a person active in politics
politics (n) the process by which governments make decisions
run (v) to campaign to stand for a political position
*Be careful about asking this. For many people, voting is a personal matter.
A student was describing his weekend, and he said: “We went to downtown to visit.”
Can we say that? So, I decided to research American and British English. They seem to use “downtown” not quite the same way. It might be that Americans favor the use of the word “downtown” as an adjective and an adverb, while the British use it mainly as a noun.
downtown, adverb
in or to the central part of a city:
I’m going downtown now.
I work downtown, but I live in the suburbs.
You have to be downtown in a hurry.
downtownadjective
of the main business section of a city or town (only before noun):
downtown Los Angeles
downtown store
a downtown address
Downtown business interests say that restoration would be too costly.
He works in an office tower in downtown San Francisco.
downtown, noun
the centre of a city or town, especially its main business area:
There is a good hotel in the heart of downtown.
The hotel is situated two miles north of downtown.
The two chains were frequent neighbors at many malls and in many downtowns.
Here is a video that shows you how to pronounce downtown in British English. The speaker has an accent from Glasgow, Scotland.
So, how do we say that we went to visit a new city and that we wanted to get to know the downtown of the city?
There are a couple of possibilities:
“We went downtown to visit.” (adverb)
“We drove downtown to visit.” (adverb)
“We went to downtown Luiz Alves to visit.” (adjective)
“We went to visit the downtown of the city.” (noun)
The 2020 presidential elections in the US, in which President Donald Trump faces the Democrat candidate Joe Biden, are causing a lot of controversy. In the US many votes are cast digitally and there were plans to enlist the help of hackers to reduce the risk of cyber-attacks on election day.
Here is a lesson that teaches us the vocabulary to discuss this initiative.
In 2000 the presidential race between Al Gore and George W. Bush ended inrecounts and disputesovermissing votes. George Bush became the first modern president to win the election despite gaining fewer popular votes than his opponent. How many fewer votes than Gore did Bush win by in the 2000 American presidential election?
a) half a million votes
b) a million votes
c) two million votes
Listen to the programme to find out the answer.
Vocabulary
volunteer someone who works willingly without being paid, because they want to
hacker someone who breaks into computer systems without permission in order to find information or do something illegal
eligible qualified to do something by having the necessary requirements
high-profile attracting a lot of attention and interest from the public, newspapers and the media
(have) the keys to the castle (idiom) information or knowledge which gives the possessor access to power
cybersecurity measures that are taken to protect organisations and their computer information against crimes and attacks carried out through the internet
Transcript
Rob Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I’m Rob.
Sam And I’m Sam.
Rob When it comes to US presidential elections, some are more dramatic than others.
Sam But few elections have been as controversial as this November’s contest between current President Trump and his Democratic rival, Joe Biden.
Rob In America, where many votes are cast digitally, there is a risk of cyber-attacks on election day and with so much depending on the result, US election officials are worried.
Sam In this programme we’ll be hearing about plans to prevent election cyber-attacks which involve election officials working with a very unusual group of people: volunteer hackers. Volunteers are people who work willingly, without being paid…
Rob … and hackers are people who break into computer systems without permission in order to find information or do something illegal.
Sam But cyber-attacks from hackers are not the only threat to fair and democratic elections.
Rob In 2000 the presidential race between Al Gore and George W. Bush ended in recounts and disputes over missing votes. George Bush became the first modern president to win the election despite gaining fewer popular votes than his opponent – but how many fewer? That’s our quiz question – how many fewer votes did Bush win than Gore in the 2000 American presidential election? Was it: a) half a million votes?, b) a million votes?, or c) two million votes?
Sam I’ll say b) a million votes.
Rob OK, we’ll find out later. Now, the project Sam mentioned, where official administrators team up with expert volunteers to keep the election secure, is called The Election Cyber Surge.
Sam BBC World Service programme Digital Planetmet up with project organiser Maya Worman to discuss the importance of keeping the election free from interference.
Maya Worman Any attempt to manipulate or interfere with election infrastructures – the machines or the information sets that determine who is eligible to vote and where – undermines the right to vote. And it puts burdens on voters and it impacts public confidence; and high-profile elections, especially like the one coming up, heighten the types of risks that we’re talking about.
Rob You can only vote in an election if you are eligible – qualified by having the necessary requirements, for example being a US citizen who’s aged 18 or over.
Sam It’s up to each of the eight thousand local jurisdictions around the United States to keep their area free from cyber-attacks and misinformation – risks which have increased because the coming election is so high-profile – attracting a lot of attention and interest from newspapers and the public.
Rob The Cyber Surge project to put expert volunteers in touch with local officials aims to prevent these risks. It covers everything from making sure administrators are using the latest anti-virus software to more serious threats from troublemakers.
Sam Now that’s got me thinking actually, Rob. Suppose I’m a troublemaker who wants to influence the election result – so I sign up as a volunteer and gain access to all kinds of information. How do we know that the volunteers who sign up are trustworthy?
Rob That’s a good question, Sam, and one that BBC World Service programme, Digital Planet, put to Maya Worman.
Maya Worman The expectation is not that the volunteer will have the keys to the castle by any means, more that they will have an open dialogue with an election administrator who wants to know more to explore cybersecurity enhancements in general or specifically.
Sam Volunteers are carefully selected according to their experience and skills incybersecurity – measures that help organisations and countries keep their computer information safe against crimes and attacks carried out through the internet.
Rob Volunteers share their expert advice by talking with election officials. They won’t be given access to sensitive information so they won’t have the keys to the castle – an idiom meaning to possess information or knowledge which gives the possessor access to power.
Sam All of which means that the 2020 election result will, hopefully, be accepted by everyone.
Rob Unlike the situation twenty years ago.
Sam Ah, you mean our quiz question, Rob, about the 2000 US presidential election which George W. Bush won despite securing fewer votes than his opponent.
Rob I asked you how many fewer votes Bush won than Al Gore that year.
Sam And I said b) a million votes.
Rob But in fact, it was even closer – just a) half a million votes in Florida.
Sam In this programme we’ve been looking ahead to the US presidential elections and its cybersecurity – measures taken to protect countries and their computer information against online crimes and attacks.
Rob The Cyber Surge project aims to put officials in touch with volunteers – people who work for free, who also happen to be expert hackers – people who break into computer systems without permission.
Sam But the idea isn’t to commit election crime – rather to prevent it by making sure only those who are eligible – or qualified – to vote, do so.
Rob The project was set up because the November 2020 election has become so high-profile – attracting a lot of attention and interest from the public and the media.
Sam And of course the volunteers themselves are carefully chosen to be impartial experts who give advice without holding the keys to the castle – an idiom about possessing information which gives access to power.
Rob What’s certain is that the world will be watching this election, so if you’re eligible, remember to vote.
Sam And remember to join us again soon. Bye for now!
Rob Bye bye!
What do you think? Do you feel safe casting your vote digitally? Is the public accepting electionhacking as a new normal? And would election hacking be the end of democracy as we know it?
When we work with people from all different areas and interests, we end uptalking about a wide variety of things and using the vocabulary specific to each subject.
So, after a student’s visit to Luiz Alves, known as “Terra Nacional da Cachaça,” or “National Cachaça Land,” in the Santa Catarina State, in the south of Brazil, a search in the vocabulary used by people who enjoy drinking (and that’s not me – hehe) was necessary.
As far as I know, the Portuguese word “cachaça” is used in English too. To my surprise, I did some search and found it in the Cambridge Dictionary:
cachaçanounUK /kəʃæs.ə/ US /kəʃɑː.sə/ a strong alcoholic drink similar to rum, made in Brazil from the juice of the sugar cane plant
Additionally, I found this information on the English Expertswebsite:
Donay Mendonça says: “Aqui na minha região (Goiás), a palavra cachaça é também usada – informalmente – para se falar de bebida alcoólica em geral, e não somente aguardente. Em inglês, há também um equivalente informal comum para este caso: booze.
Booze: alcoholic drinks. [Merriam-webster]
Exemplos de uso:
They turn to booze to beat work pressure. [Eles acabam recorrendo à cachaça para superar a pressão do trabalho.]
Have you got enough booze for the party? [Vocês tem cachaça suficiente para a festa?]
He’s been on the booze (=drinking too much alcohol) for five days. [Ele está afundado nacachaça faz cinco dias.]
My husband is now off the booze (=no longer drinking too much alcohol) and he is a different person. [Meu marido agora largou acachaça e está uma pessoa diferente.]
Only one more finding for cachaça at bab.la, because I believe three results for a search are good enough:
Okay! And cachaça is made in a distillery, not in a brewery! Hehe!
Brewing is the process of producing alcohol by steeping malted grains in hot water to extract the starch and produce a sweet liquid, which then undergoes a fermenting process using yeast. Distillation is the process of purifying a liquid, by heating and cooling.
So, which one do you prefer? How would you comparebeerwithspirits?
I’m sure you know what beer means. But what about spirits?
Spirit (noun) is a strong alcoholic drink such as whisky or brandy:
Vodka is a type of spirit.
Spirits are more expensive than beer, but they get you drunk faster.
