When you think about businesses that are selling through the roof, like aloe or skins, sure, you think about a great product, a cool brand, and brilliant marketing.
But an often overlooked secret is actually the businesses behind the business, making selling, and for shoppers, buying, simple.
For millions of businesses, that business is Shopify.
Nobody does selling better than Shopify.
With ShopPay, that boosts conversions up to 50%, Meaning way less carts are going abandoned and way more sales happening.
So if you're into growing your business, your commerce platform better be ready to sell whatever your customers are scrolling or strolling.
On the web, in your store, in their feed, and everywhere in between.
Businesses that sell more, sell on Shopify.
Upgrade your business and get the same checkout skins uses.
Sign up for your $1 per month trial period at shopify .com slash westwood1, all lowercase.
Go to shopify .com slash westwood1 to upgrade your selling today.
shopify .com slash westwood one hello and welcome to the english like a native podcast my name is anna and you're listening to week 21 day one of your english five a day the second season this series is all about indulging your need to daily dunk into the English language so that you can build your vocabulary and start to feel more confident and more like yourself when communicating in English.
So let's begin, as we always do, with a snapshot of what's to come.
When Nick couldn't fasten his luggage strap properly before boarding, he began to make a fuss about potentially losing his belongings.
The entire check -in process became a nerve -wracking experience as airport staff helped him secure his bags while other passengers waited impatiently.
Finally, with his luggage properly strapped and secured.
Nick felt relieved and apologised to everyone for causing such unnecessary worry over something so simple.
Alright, let's begin our dive into this vocabulary starting with the verb fasten.
Fasten. Now listen to the spelling.
We spell it f -a -s -t -e -n.
But we do not pronounce the T.
We say fasten, fasten.
To fasten something is to close or attach something securely.
For example, he fastened his coat because it was cold outside.
I always have to help my children to fasten the strap on their helmets before we go cycling or scooting to school.
They They try to do it themselves, but for some reason they're just unable to fasten the buckle.
It's too tricky, a little bit stiff, I think, so I have to do it for them.
They are both able to fasten their own seatbelts in the car and they can fasten their own shoes and they can fasten their own coats.
They are well on the road to being independent.
independent. Now, have you ever had it where you've had to dress in a hurry and you've fastened your cardigan or shirt or blouse wonky?
Have you ever done that?
You haven't matched up the buttons with the right buttonholes, but you don't realise and you fasten every button and then later you're like, hang on a minute.
This doesn't look right.
I've done it wrong.
Quick, unfasten it all.
all. Fantastic. To fasten.
Next, let's look at the adjective nerve wracking.
Nerve wracking. Two words.
Nerve, N -E -R -V -E, hyphen, wracking.
W -R -A -C -K -I -N -G. Obviously, the W there is silent.
violent, nerve -wracking.
If something is described as nerve -wracking, then it's very stressful or it's very worrying.
It makes you feel nervous or anxious.
Nerve -wracking. It's often nerve -wracking if you are waiting to perform in some way.
Maybe you have to present.
Maybe you have to stand up up and speak in front of a large audience or a small audience.
Maybe you are going in for an interview or an exam.
The moments leading up to these stressful experiences can be quite nerve wracking.
The anticipation of that moment is nerve wracking.
So here's an example sentence.
Waiting for the exam results was nerve wracking.
nerve -wracking? What do you find nerve -wracking?
I have to be honest, I'm not a fan of flying and I find the moments leading up to getting onto an aeroplane quite nerve -wracking.
I'm usually quite anxious until the plane touches down again, then I'm relieved and happy.
Next, we're going to look at the noun luggage.
Luggage. We spell this L -U -G -G -A -G -E.
luggage, luggage. Notice how I treat the second vowel, edge, luggage, luggage.
Even though the ending is A -G -E, I don't say age, I say itch, itch, luggage.
So, luggage is the bags and suitcases that you take when you travel.
So, you may travel with one big suitcase, that's your luggage.
But you may also travel with a little rucksack and a holdall kind of bag, a soft bag that you can zip up.
That could be your luggage, any bags or suitcases that you take with you when you travel, your luggage.
Here's an example sentence.
He packed all his luggage the night before the flight.
Next, we have the noun strap.
Strap. S -T -R -A -P. A strap.
A strap is a narrow piece of material used to carry, hold, or fasten something.
So, a strap. I often have to fasten the straps on my son's rucksack.
The straps that help to fasten down the flap at the top of the bag.
So when I filled the bag, I fasten it.
I fasten the straps and then we can go to school and I know that nothing will fall out of the bag because the straps have been fastened.
When I go hiking or if I go cycling with a heavy rucksack on my back I will often use the straps that help to fasten the bag around my chest and waist. So there's a waist strap and a chest strap.
Here's an example sentence.
Make sure the strap on your helmet is tight before you ride your bike.
Last, we have the idiom make a fuss.
Make a fuss. Three words, make, M -A -K -E, a fuss, F -U -S -S.
To make a fuss, this is a common phrase.
I often use it and it means to complain or to become upset about something, it's often becoming more upset than is necessary or to complain more than is necessary.
For example, children often make a fuss about little things.
Perhaps they have lost a twig that they were carrying around the park and now they've lost it and they're really upset about losing a twig.
And as an adult, you think, well, it doesn't matter.
It's just a twig. There are plenty of twigs around.
We can find another twig, but your child will make a real fuss about this very special twig that they were using as their magic wand or whatever it was.
I certainly go through this on a regular basis, which is why I often use this phrase, because my four -year -old likes to make a fuss about the silliest things.
But grown -ups can and make a fuss too.
This isn't just a phrase that we use to describe children's behaviour.
It's also for adults.
So I might tell you to stop making a fuss about the milk that we have to do tea today.
Perhaps we are running a social club and lots of people get together and normally we we have skimmed milk or semi -skimmed milk.
And today I made a mistake and I bought whole milk.
I bought full fat milk and you keep complaining about it.
You don't stop talking about how bad this awful full fat milk is.
You don't like the taste.
It doesn't make the tea taste very nice.
Nobody's going to like it.
And then I said to you, look, you don't need to make such a fuss.
it's not a big deal.
Leave it alone. If it's such a problem, go to the shop and buy some semi -skimmed milk, but don't make a fuss.
So here's another example.
Don't make a fuss. It's just a small mistake.
All right. So that's our five.
Let's do a quick recap.
We started with the verb farcen, with that T that we don't pronounce.
Farcen, which means to close close or attach something securely.
We moved on to the adjective nerve -wracking.
When something is very stressful or worrying, it makes you feel nervous or anxious.
It's nerve -wracking.
Then we had the noun luggage, the bags or suitcases that you take with you when you travel, your luggage.
We had the noun strap, a narrow piece of material used to carry, hold or fasten something, a strap.
And we had the idiom make a fuss, which is to complain or become upset about something more than is necessary, to make a fuss.
Right. Now it's your turn to raise your voice and repeat after me.
fasten nerve -wracking luggage strap strap.
Make a fuss. Make a fuss.
Fantastic. Alright.
What's the adjective I use when I talk about something that's very stressful, very worrying?
I spoke about flights.
Being being nervous about being on a plane, I find it quite nerve -wracking.
Yes, and when I do travel, I take with me a suitcase and a rucksack normally.
What is this? My suitcase and rucksack that I take with me when I travel is what?
My luggage. Very good.
And when I'm packing my luggage.
There's a narrow piece of material that I use to secure the luggage, and I can also use this narrow piece of material to hold my luggage.
What is this thing called, this piece of material?
A strap! Yes, I use the strap to secure my luggage and hold my my luggage and I also need to close this strap to secure my luggage.
What verb would I use to describe closing this strap?
Fasten. Yes, I fasten the strap to secure my luggage before I take the nerve -racking flight to my destination.
And just before getting onto the plane, I start to complain and get quite upset because I'm anxious and I feel like causing a scene.
What idiom would you use to describe what I'm doing?
Like becoming unnecessarily upset and complaining.
I'm making a fuss. And you say, Anna, stop making a fuss.
I know that you find flying nerve -wracking.
I know you've been anxious ever since you fastened your strap on your luggage and made your way to the airport but you shouldn't make a fuss.
It's not fair. Let's just go on the plane and have a nice time.
Fantastic. Now let's revisit our snapshot and see if it makes a little more sense the second time around.
When Nick couldn't fasten his luggage strap properly before for boarding, he began to make a fuss about potentially losing his belongings.
The entire check -in process became a nerve -wracking experience as airport staff helped him secure his bags while other passengers waited impatiently.
Finally, with his luggage properly strapped and secured, Nick felt relieved and apologised to everyone for causing such unnecessary worry over something so simple.
Fabulous. Let's now move on to my favorite part of the episode.
It is story time. When you think about businesses that are selling through the roof, like aloe or skins, sure, you think about a great product, a cool brand, and brilliant marketing.
But an often overlooked secret is actually the businesses behind the the business, making selling, and for shoppers, buying, simple.
For millions of businesses, that business is Shopify.
Nobody does selling better than Shopify.
With ShopPay, that boosts conversions up to 50%, meaning way less carts are going abandoned and way more sales happening.
So if you're into growing your business, your commerce platform better be ready to sell whatever your customers are scrolling or strolling.
On the web, in your store, in their feed, and everywhere in between.
Businesses that sell more, sell on Shopify.
Upgrade your business and get the same checkout Skins uses.
Sign up for your $1 per month trial period at shopify .com slash westwood1, all lowercase.
Go to shopify .com slash westwood1 to upgrade your selling today.
shopify .com slash westwood1.
Eloise gripped the armrests so tightly her knuckles turned white, the faded upholstery scratching against her skin.
The aircraft door thudded shut with a metallic finality and the captain's voice crackled through the speakers like a distant storm.
Cabin crew, please prepare for takeoff.
She swallowed hard. This was it.
No turning back. Around her, passengers chatted, flicking through safety cards or tapped away on their phones as though being hurled through the sky in a tin can was perfectly ordinary.
Her stomach clenched.
She envied their calm.
A flight attendant moved gracefully down the aisle, checking seatbelts.
Could you please fasten your seatbelt, madam?
she asked, smiling.
We'll be taxiing shortly.
Eloise fumbled with the buckle, her fingers trembling as she tried to slot the clasp into place.
The click was reassuring, but the knot in her chest remained.
She looked out the window, where the tarmac shimmered beneath the late afternoon sun. She'd read that distraction helped.
Breathing exercises, visualisation, but her mind whirled with what -ifs.
What if the engine failed?
What if the plane hits a bird?
What if? Would you like your luggage in the overhead compartment or shall I stow it under your seat?
The same attendant asked gently.
Oh, under the seat, please, Eloise said, forcing a smile.
I, um, like to keep it close.
Of course. The woman placed the small case carefully by Eloise's feet and adjusted the strap on the side so it didn't block the aisle.
Try not to worry, we fly this route every day.
Eloise nodded, but her fingers had already returned to the armrests.
The plane began to move.
A low rumble built beneath them and Eloise's heart thudded in rhythm.
She closed her eyes, counted backwards, thought about her destination, her sister's wedding in Florence.
It would be worth it, she just had to survive the next two hours.
A baby began to wail two rows behind her.
The man across the aisle groaned and muttered something under his breath.
His companion nudged him.
Don't make a fuss, Pete, she said firmly.
You were a baby once.
Eloise almost smiled.
The tension cracked just slightly.
And then the engine roar surged, pressing her back into the seat.
She bit her lip. Stay calm.
Just a little turbulence.
Millions flew safely every day.
But the moment the wheels left the ground, her breath caught.
Her mind screamed. What was she thinking?
Flying was nerve -wracking.
And that brings us to the end of today's episode.
I do hope you found it useful.
Until tomorrow, take very good care, don't make a fuss and goodbye.
