· 59 lists · 1940 words
Engineering and industry
What is said on the shop floor, and what is on the drawing.
What holds these lists together
These lists look at the same object from several angles: the plant, the part, and the proof that both are right. Their words mean something else in everyday use, and nobody notices. La consignation has nothing to do with a consignment of goods; it is the isolating and locking-off of a machine before anyone reaches inside. La gamme is not a product range but the sequence of operations a part goes through, and le gabarit is not somebody’s build but the jig or template the part is checked against. Read with their everyday meaning, they give you every sentence and not a single instruction.
The 59 lists
C1Electrical engineering and the gridTerminal, earthing, short circuit, isolation — and the drawing that shows the whole installation at once.40 wordsC1Mechanical engineering and productionTurning, milling, tolerance, fit — the language of the drawing and of the shop floor.40 wordsC1Quality assuranceSample, deviation, cause, evidence — and the sheet of paper it is all written on.40 wordsB1Digital life and data protectionThe account, the access, the backup.27 wordsB2Interface and data protectionHow a page is operated, how it is measured and how it is regulated.49 wordsB2Software and developmentBuilding, testing, shipping, securing.41 wordsC1Networking and securityFrom the packet to the key exchange — and what goes wrong on the way.64 wordsC1OpticsLens, focal length, aberration — why a picture comes out sharp.40 wordsC1Streaming and subscriptionsWhat a subscription really costs, and how to get out of one again.34 wordsC1Passwords and account securityWhat actually protects an account, and what only looks as though it does.35 wordsC1Learning systemsTraining, checking, scoring — and where a number lies.39 wordsC1Robotics and automationAxis, gripper, safety zone — and where a person is allowed to stand.42 wordsC1Refrigeration and air conditioningCircuit, refrigerant, load — why a plant cools, and when it does not.40 wordsC1DatabasesKeys, joins, transactions — and what a backup is actually worth.36 wordsC1Welding technologyBead, process, inspection — and why one weld holds and the next one tears.40 wordsC2SpaceflightA launch is an appointment with physics, not with the calendar.41 wordsC2Vacuum technologyWhere almost nothing is, and why that is so hard to produce.33 wordsC2Harbour and marine worksWhere a ship ties up, and who built the place it ties up to.30 wordsC2SurveyingWhere a thing exactly is, and how exact that exactly is.21 wordsC2Laser technologyLight that sets off in one direction and stays there.31 wordsC2Game developmentHow a system of rules turns into an experience.25 wordsC2HydropowerA power station that makes electricity out of height and volume.24 wordsC2Watchmaking and precision mechanicsEscapement, balance, power reserve: fine mechanics in one example.59 wordsC2Mobile networksHow a call finds its way through the air.24 wordsC2Particle physicsFields, forces and decays, and how to see what is never seen.40 wordsC2Cranes and materials handlingA load, a rope, and a chain of certificates behind both.32 wordsC2Corrosion and material failureWhy things go wrong long before they break.35 wordsC2Fire protectionWhat a building has to do before anybody calls the fire brigade.35 wordsC2GlassmakingA material that never quite turns solid.30 wordsC2TunnellingBuilding a void that the rock itself keeps trying to close.34 wordsC2Bridge buildingA structure that has to move in order to hold.30 wordsC2Satellite navigationA position worked out from four clocks, and everything that spoils it.32 wordsC2TanningSkin is turned into leather so that it will not rot.30 wordsC1MiningHow you get at the rock, and what is left when the shift ends.37 wordsC1Measurement technologySensor, error, traceability — a number that can stand up.41 wordsC2Explosion protectionThree things that must never all come together at once.33 wordsC2CryptographyKeys, signature, attack — and what security means here.36 wordsC2Hydraulics and pneumaticsForce carried by a fluid, and where it goes missing.29 wordsC2Packaging technologyWhat stands between a product and the world outside.23 wordsC2Drive technologyFrom torque to sizing, by way of everything that stands between the motor and the load.27 wordsC2Lubricants and tribologyWhat lies between two surfaces so that they do not eat each other.24 wordsC2Pipeline engineeringA thousand kilometres of buried steel, and the work done on it.23 wordsC2Control EngineeringHow a system finds its setpoint, or sails straight past it.32 wordsC2Waste water treatmentWhat happens to the water after it has vanished down the drain.31 wordsC2Lift technologyA car, a rope, a counterweight and a great deal of safety engineering.24 wordsC2Plastics technologyFrom pellet to part, and everything that goes wrong on the way.23 wordsC2ShipbuildingA hull that floats, that carries and that rights itself.27 wordsC2Foundry technologyMolten metal that shrinks as it freezes.31 wordsC2PapermakingA fibre put into water that comes back out as an endless band.24 wordsC2Noise control and acousticsHow sound is measured, damped and rated.27 wordsC2Sheet metal workingA flat piece of metal becomes a component.23 wordsC2MachiningTaking metal away until only the part is left.31 wordsC2Nuclear technologyA reactor, its barriers, and what becomes of the rest.27 wordsC2Wind energyA machine that spends its whole life out in the weather.26 wordsC2HydrogenMaking the gas is the easy part; moving it anywhere is not.27 wordsC2Building where the ground movesA structure allowed to bend so that it stays standing.31 wordsC2Batteries and storageWhat a cell can deliver, and why it ages.29 wordsC2Structural steelworkA frame that is bolted, welded and kept standing.27 wordsC2Semiconductor technologyHow sand becomes a part that switches.34 words
Spread across the levels
The category runs across the levels — it is an area, not a difficulty. If you practise it, you can also choose a level at the top of the practice page and then get only the part that sits there.
| Level | Words | Share |
|---|---|---|
| A2 | 2 | 0 % |
| B1 | 12 | 1 % |
| B2 | 103 | 5 % |
| C1 | 567 | 29 % |
| C2 | 1256 | 65 % |
Practise this category
Multiple choice and gaps, across all 59 lists and all 1940 words. Whatever you get wrong comes back tomorrow.