Hello and welcome to the English Like A Native podcast.
My name is Anna and you're listening to week 42, day 3 of Your English Five A Day, the second season.
Right, get your metaphorical coat, because we are going on a journey, a fluency journey, a journey that takes time and but is well worth the effort, because the views are spectacular and the company well, the company is lovely.
I promise.
And along the way, you are going to grow in confidence.
You're going to start to feel more and more like yourself when you have to communicate in English.
So stick around and let's go on this journey together.
As always, We're going to begin with a snapshot of what's to come.
Innes nibbled nervously on her sandwich whilst holding her breath, waiting to hear if the university would reject her application.
When the acceptance email finally arrived, it triggered tears of joy and relief.
Her friends insisted it was just a fluke, but Innes knew her hard work had earned this moment.
Fandubby dozy.
Let's jump into our vocabulary, starting with the verb trigger.
Trigger.
I use this verb all the time.
Trigger.
We spell this T-R-I-G-G-E-R.
Trigger.
To trigger is to make something happen very quickly, especially as a series of events.
So, someone's comment may trigger... a complete change in how a company deals with things.
This morning I had a message from one of my course students telling me about a difficulty she was having with the course layout.
And that one comment triggered a complete change, not just for her but for all the students on that particular course, because I realised that the experience would be better for all if I made this one Very simple.
Change.
Here's another example.
The smell of rain always triggers memories of my childhood holidays.
Next we have the verb nibble.
Nibble.
I like this one.
We spell it N-I-B-B-L-E.
To nibble.
To nibble is to eat small amounts of food by taking very small bites.
I often think of a hamster or a mouse nibbling.
They hold a grain or a nut in teeny tiny little paws and they nibble, don't they?
Although of course hamsters also do that thing where they stick huge pieces of food into their cheeks.
Like, how on earth did that fit in there?
I mean, yeah, crazy. but usually when they actually eat, they nibble.
And we nibble.
So I might say, he nervously nibbled a biscuit while waiting for the interview to start.
Next, we have the phrase hold your breath.
Hold your breath.
Hold, H-O-L-D, your, Y-O-U-R, breath, B-R-E-A-T-H. hold your breath.
To hold your breath is to wait for something to happen, often feeling anxious.
Now we'll often use this in the negative and say, don't hold your breath.
Don't hold your breath.
In that case, I'm telling you not to wait because something is not likely to happen.
If I'm waiting for something anxiously, then you could use the phrase Anna's holding her breath, hoping that her name will be announced.
So here's an example sentence.
We all held our breath as the winner was announced.
Next, we have the verb reject, reject.
We spell this R-E-J-E-C-T, reject, reject.
To reject is to not choose someone for a job or or a course of study or something similar.
I reject you.
You could also reject someone on a personal level.
If a man asked me to go on a date, for example, I would reject his offer.
Say, no, thank you very much.
I'm very happy.
I'm not looking to date anyone.
I'm in a very committed relationship and I have children and no, I reject your offer.
Okay, here's another example.
She applied to five universities, but two of them rejected her application.
Oh dear.
I remember applying to university and the first time round I was rejected from nearly all the universities I applied to.
And then the second year I had much more success.
I think I received three offers.
So never give up.
That's always my motto.
Never give up.
Next, we have the noun fluke.
Fluke.
We spell this F-L-U-K-E.
Fluke.
We have this long U in the middle.
Fluke.
A fluke is something good that happens because of luck.
For example, sometimes on the squash court my racket makes contact with the ball and the.
I will then do the most incredible shot and everyone's like wow, amazing Anna, that was such a great shot.
But in reality, it wasn't my skill or even my plan.
I just put my arm out and it was a fluke.
It just happened because of luck.
I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.
It was a fluke, a complete fluke.
Here's another example.
I guessed every answer on that quiz.
Passing was a total fluke.
OK, that's our five, so let's do a quick recap.
We started with the verb trigger, which is to make something happen very quickly, especially a series of events to trigger something.
We had the verb nibble.
Thinking about a hamster, you eat small amounts of food by taking very small bites. nibble.
We had the phrase hold your breath, which is to wait for something to happen, often feeling anxious.
Hold your breath.
We had the verb reject, which is to not choose someone for a job or a course of study or something similar to reject.
Then we had the noun fluke, which is something good.
That happens when, Because of luck, it was a fluke.
Fan Dabby Dozy, now it's time for you to raise your voice up to the sky.
Raise your voice so high that I can hear it here in my little house in London.
It's raining, so you'll have to be nice and clear.
Here we go.
Trigger.
Trigger.
Nibble nibble, hold your breath, hold your breath reject reject fluke, fluke.
Now let's revisit our snapshot.
Innes nibbled nervously on her sandwich whilst holding her breath, waiting to hear if the university would reject her application.
When the acceptance email finally arrived, it triggered tears of joy and relief.
Her friends insisted it was just a fluke, but Innes knew her hard work had earned this moment.
Now I want you to listen out for our target vocabulary once more. as we head into Storytime.
Stress had always triggered a need in Sandra to nibble something sweet a cookie or a piece of cake, whatever she happened to have handy.
And today was no exception.
Biscuit crumbs falling to the floor as she waited to hear back about yet another job interview.
It had been six months since she had lost her job.
Six months of applying for jobs online.
Six months of competing with AI-generated applications.
Six months of checking LinkedIn multiple times a day for news of an opportunity from her network.
In that time, she had applied for 200 jobs.
200!
Can you imagine?
That's around one job a day.
Being unemployed truly was a full-time job for Sandra.
With each application she had to tweak her CV, research the company and send a cover letter.
And most of the time she never heard back.
Nothing.
She had had around 20 interviews.
But she had been rejected every single time.
And here she was again, holding her breath, hoping that this time would be different.
She continued nibbling her chocolate chip cookie.
And then...
The phone rang.
Sandra's hand froze halfway to her mouth.
A bite of biscuit suspended in the air.
She stared at her mobile as it vibrated across the coffee table, the unknown number glowing accusingly at her.
Hello?
Her voice came out smaller than she'd intended.
Sandra?
It's Miles Chen from Brightwell Digital.
I'm calling about the marketing coordinator position.
Her stomach dropped.
Here it comes, she thought.
The polite rejection, the we've decided to go in a different direction speech she could recite in her sleep.
I'll be honest, Miles continued, you weren't our first choice.
Sandra closed her eyes.
Of course she wasn't.
Our top candidate accepted another offer yesterday, but after reviewing your portfolio again I realised we'd been idiots to overlook you.
Your ad campaign for those local businesses was brilliant.
Exactly the creative thinking we need.
The job's yours, if you want it.
Sandra's eyes snapped open.
I... sorry, what?
Miles laughed.
I know it's a bit of a fluke, getting the position this way, but sometimes that's how it works.
Can you start Monday?
The biscuit fell. fell from her hand, scattering crumbs across her lap.
A fluke, although not a total one.
Her application was good after all.
Six months of misery and it came down to someone else's last-minute acceptance somewhere else.
But did it matter how she'd got here?
Yes, she said, her voice stronger now.
Yes, absolutely.
Monday's perfect.
As she hung up, Sandra looked down at the mess of crumbs covering her clothes and the floor.
For the first time in months, she smiled.
Tomorrow she'd hoover.
Today she was celebrating.
And that brings us to the end of today's episode.
I do hope you enjoyed it.
Until tomorrow, take very good care and...
Goodbye.
