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EveryLingua

 ·  40 lists  ·  1606 words

Work and public life

The written, factual text: contract, report, form.

What holds these lists together

Work, business, law, the press, and the paperwork of renting, insuring and applying belong together because they produce the same kind of text: written, factual, with nothing left out. It prefers nouns to verbs and precision to emphasis, and it is more ceremonious than its English counterpart. A formal letter opens with Exmo. Senhor, short for «most excellent sir», where English makes do with «Dear Sir». Office life brings its own traps: a reunião is a meeting, not a reunion, and o ordenado is your pay. This vocabulary is rarely heard in conversation, which is why it tends to be learnt late and needed early.

The 40 lists

B2Organising the workSchedule, sign-off, bottleneck, handover — the words of a working day that is not only made of tasks.50 wordsB2Business and the economyTurnover, margin, balance sheet, takeover — the words that stand in every business report.50 wordsB2Law and the courtsHearing, judgment, time limit, burden of proof — the words a report from a courtroom cannot be read without.50 wordsB2How a news story is madeResearch, cross-checking, embargo, correction — the words for everything that happens before the article appears.50 wordsB1Finding and renting a flatFrom the advert to the handover: the words that get you into a flat, through the tenancy and out of it again.30 wordsB1The garden and the balconySowing, watering, pruning, harvesting.45 wordsB1At the supermarketShelves, offers, the till, complaints.50 wordsB1Shopping onlineOrdering, waiting, sending things back, complaining.30 wordsB1Cooking and preparingReading a Portuguese recipe and naming what the hands do.34 wordsB1Hotel and accommodationBooking, checking in, and saying what is wrong.31 wordsB1Station, airport, borderChecking in, changing trains, getting through the check.44 wordsB1Post, parcels and the bank accountWhat is actually needed at the counter and in online banking.38 wordsB1Tools and renovationTools, materials and the call to the tradesman.40 wordsB1Phone calls and appointmentsThe set phrases that hold on the telephone.31 wordsB1Public offices and formsThe words you need at exactly the moment you cannot look them up.43 wordsB1Friendship and relationshipsHow closeness begins, how it holds, and how it comes to an end.37 wordsB1Eating outFrom ordering at the table to the tip.30 wordsB1Work and occupationFrom the letter of application to the meeting.49 wordsB1Applying and the job interviewReading the advertisement, sending the papers, getting through the interview.46 wordsB1Insurance and contractsTaking out cover, cancelling it, reporting a claim.40 wordsB2Projects and leadershipWho decides, who delivers, who signs it off.45 wordsB2Marketing and advertisingWho is being advertised to, with what, and what the whole thing cost.41 wordsB2Email, documents, filingWriting, checking, filing, signing off.50 wordsB2Working hours and payFrom the shift to the payslip to the tax return.49 wordsC1A hotel from the insideOccupancy, the room rate, and the night on which the books are closed.42 wordsC1Customs and foreign tradeDeclaration, tariff code, origin — and who bears the cost.40 wordsC1Human resourcesHiring, development, parting — the language of the personnel department.42 wordsC1Negotiating and closing contractsFrom the letter of intent to the termination clause.49 wordsC1Organising an eventProgramme, technical kit, safety — what lies behind one evening.40 wordsC1Purchasing and procurementEnquiry, quotation, framework agreement — and everything a price is not.42 wordsC1Giving and taking criticismThe sentences that keep a conversation from escalating.34 wordsC1Giving a talk and presentingFrom the opening to the question you have no answer to.35 wordsC1The employer’s referenceThe text that sounds well-meaning and says something else.34 wordsC1Customer service and complaintsCase, escalation, goodwill — the language at the other end of the line.42 wordsC1Working from homeThe words for a working day that happens between two rooms.35 wordsC1Warehousing and order pickingLocation, route, paperwork — why an item is found, or is not.40 wordsC2Collective wage bargainingHow a wage is arrived at when nobody bargains for it alone.28 wordsC2Sports managementWho pays, who decides and who owns the broadcast.30 wordsC2Occupational medicineWhat a workplace does to a body.24 wordsC2Meetings and committeesMotion, vote, minutes — and what a resolution is.46 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.

LevelWordsShare
A120 %
A2292 %
B156535 %
B240325 %
C147930 %
C21288 %

Practise this category

Multiple choice and gaps, across all 40 lists and all 1606 words. Whatever you get wrong comes back tomorrow.