· 59 lists · 1940 words
Engineering and industry
What is said on the shop floor and written on the drawing.
What holds these lists together
These lists take the same object from three angles: the plant, the part, and the proof that both are right. Many of their words have an everyday meaning and a technical one, and nothing warns you which is meant. Disparar is to fire a gun, but o disjuntor disparou means the circuit breaker has tripped. A avaria is the breakdown, and a manutenção the maintenance that should have prevented it. And a garantia alone is the warranty, while a garantia da qualidade is a department: the same word in two worlds, one that pays for faults and one that prevents them.
The 59 lists
C1Electrical engineering and the gridTerminal, earthing, short circuit, safe isolation — and the drawing on which the whole installation appears once.40 wordsC1Machining and manufacturingTurning, 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 written on.40 wordsB1Digital life and data protectionAccount, access, backup — what every software notice is made of.27 wordsB2Interface and data protectionHow a page is used, measured and regulated.49 wordsB2Software and developmentBuilding, testing, shipping, securing.41 wordsC1Networks and securityFrom the packet to the key exchange — and what goes wrong.64 wordsC1OpticsLens, focal length, aberration — why an image comes out sharp.40 wordsC1Streaming and subscriptionsWhat a subscription really costs, and how to get out of one again.34 wordsC1Passwords and account securityWhat really protects an account, and what only looks as if 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 wordsC1MiningHow the rock is reached, and what is left when the shift ends.37 wordsC1Measurement technologySensor, deviation, traceability — a number with a claim to make.41 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 wordsC1WeldingBead, procedure, testing — and why a weld holds or tears open.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 wordsC2Ports and marine worksWhere a ship makes fast, and who built the place for it.30 wordsC2SurveyingWhere a thing exactly is, and how exact that exactly is.21 wordsC2Laser technologyLight that goes in one direction and stays there.31 wordsC2Game developmentHow a system of rules turns into an experience.25 wordsC2HydropowerA power station that turns head and flow into electricity.24 wordsC2Watchmaking and precision mechanicsEscapement, balance wheel, power reserve — precision mechanics shown on one example.59 wordsC2Mobile networksHow a conversation finds its way through the air.24 wordsC2Particle physicsField, interaction, decay — and how to see something you never see.40 wordsC2Cranes and materials handlingA load, a rope and a chain of certificates.32 wordsC2Corrosion and material damageWhy things fail long before they break — and what to watch while they do.35 wordsC2Fire protection in buildingsWhat a building must achieve on its own, before anybody calls the fire brigade.35 wordsC2GlassmakingA material that never quite becomes solid, and the trades that shape it while it is soft.30 wordsC2TunnellingBuilding a void that the rock itself is trying to close again.34 wordsC2Bridge buildingA structure that has to move in order to stand.30 wordsC2Satellite navigationA position out of four clocks.32 wordsC2TanningSkin becomes leather so that it will not rot.30 wordsC2Explosion protectionThree things that must never all come together.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 lies between a product and the world.23 wordsC2Drive technologyFrom torque to sizing, with whatever stands between motor and load.27 wordsC2Lubricants and tribologyWhat lies between two surfaces so that they do not eat each other away.24 wordsC2Pipeline engineeringA line a thousand kilometres long, and what happens inside it.23 wordsC2Control engineeringWhy a system that corrects too quickly begins to swing.32 wordsC2Wastewater treatmentWhat becomes of the water once it has vanished down the drain.31 wordsC2Lift technologyA car, a rope, a counterweight and a great deal of safety engineering.24 wordsC2Plastics technologyFrom granulate to finished part, and what goes wrong on the way.23 wordsC2ShipbuildingA hull that floats, that carries and that rights itself again.27 wordsC2Foundry technologyMolten metal that shrinks as it sets.31 wordsC2PapermakingFrom the fibre, over the wire, to the finished reel.24 wordsC2Noise control and acousticsHow sound is measured, damped and assessed.27 wordsC2Sheet metal workA flat piece of metal becomes a component.23 wordsC2MachiningTaking material away until the part is what is left.31 wordsC2Nuclear engineeringA reactor, its barriers and what becomes of the rest.27 wordsC2Wind powerA machine that stands out in the weather for the whole of its life.26 wordsC2HydrogenA gas that leaves nothing behind and makes everything difficult.27 wordsC2Earthquake-resistant buildingA structure that is allowed to move so that it stays standing.31 wordsC2Batteries and storageWhat a cell can do, and why it ages.29 wordsC2Structural steelworkA frame that is bolted and welded.27 wordsC2Semiconductor technologyHow sand becomes a component 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.