F2F Class Notes (Nemo) [R]

Vocabulary

agile (adj): 1-able to move your body quickly and easily:
E.g.: Monkeys are very agile climbers.
E.g.: You need to have agile fingers to do this kind of work.

surge (n): 1- a sudden and great increase:
E.g.: An unexpected surge in electrical power caused the computer to crash.
E.g.: There has been a surge in house prices recently.

skyrocket (v): 1-to rise extremely quickly or make extremely quick progress towards success:
E.g.: Housing prices have skyrocketed in recent months.

chaos (n): 1-a state of total confusion with no order:
E.g. : Snow and ice have caused chaos on the roads.
E.g.: Ever since our secretary walked out, the office has been in a state of total/utter chaos.

truck (n): 1-a large road vehicle that is used for transporting large amounts of goods:
E.g.: The road was completely blocked by an overturned truck.
a truck driver.

parcel (n): 1- an object or collection of objects wrapped in paper, or any other material especially so that it can be sent by post:
E.g.: a food parcel
E.g.: The parcel was wrapped in plain brown paper.

clog (v): 1-to (cause something to) become blocked or filled so that movement or activity is difficult:
E.g.: The roads are clogged with holiday traffic.
E.g.: Eating too much fat causes your arteries to clog (up).
E.g.: Leaves are clogging (up) the drain.

congested (adj):-too blocked or crowded and causing difficulties
–Congested roads and towns have too much traffic and movement is made difficult.
-If you are or your nose is congested, you cannot breathe through your nose because it is blocked, usually during an infection.
–Congested lungs or other body parts have become too full of blood or other liquid.

illegal (adj): 1- not allowed by law:
E.g.: a campaign to stop the illegal sale of cigarettes to children under 16
E.g.: It is illegal to drive a car that is not registered and insured.
E.g.: It’s illegal to discriminate against people on the basis of their sex.

gridlock (n): 1-a situation where roads in a town become so blocked by cars that it is impossible for any traffic to move:
E.g.: A car breaking down at rush hour could cause gridlock across half the city.

counteract (v): 1-to reduce or remove the effect of something unwanted by producing an opposite effect:
E.g.: Drinking a lot of water counteracts the dehydrating effects of hot weather.

counter- (prefix): 1-opposing or as a reaction to something:
E.g.: a counterattack (= an attack on someone who has attacked you)

bar (v): 1-to prevent something or someone from doing something or going somewhere, or to not allow something:
E.g.: The centre of the town was barred to football supporters.
E.g.: The incident led to him being barred from the country/barred from entering the country.

crack down (v): 1- to start dealing with bad or illegal behaviour in a more severe way:
E.g.: The library is cracking down on people who lose their books.

swarm (n): 1- a large group of insects all moving together:
E.g.: a swarm of bees/wasps/ants/locusts
E.g.: The dead sheep was covered with swarms of flies.
2-a large group of people all moving together:
E.g.: A swarm of/Swarms of photographers followed the star’s car.

swarm (v): 1-When insects swarm, they come together in a large group.
2-When people swarm somewhere, they move there in a large group or in large numbers:
E.g.: During the summer, tourists swarm the little beachside town.

Pronunciation

chaos-/ˈkeɪ.ɑːs/
parcel-/ˈpɑːr.səl/

Source: https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1801/180106-online-deliveries.html

The huge surge in the popularity of online shopping is creating chaos on the streets of our cities and on our road networks. As the number of online deliveries is skyrocketing, the number of delivery trucks making sure we get our parcels has also increased. The result is that hundreds more trucks are clogging up city streets. This is increasing congestion and adding to levels of pollution. There are literally hundreds more delivery trucks in cities around the world all trying to get parcels delivered on time. Delivery drivers are battling for often non-existent parking spaces. Many are forced to park illegally, or double park, adding to the gridlock for other road users. And the problem is set to intensify.

The BBC reports that the volume of parcel deliveries surged by almost 50 per cent between 2014 and 2016. It said this could continue to increase by up to 28 per cent a year over the next three years. Many cities have taken tough measures to counteract the problems associated with the increasing number of deliveries. Many cities in Europe and Asia have barred deliveries during times when roads are busiest. London is looking at the possibility of using buses for parcel deliveries. Some areas of London are also cracking down on food delivery motorbikes after their streets were being ‘swarmed’ by scooter riders. Food delivery companies in one London district must now apply for permission to operate.