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Hi, I'm Lisa. Let's learn some advanced vocabulary and expressions from a news article so that you can take your already advanced English to the next level, the final level of fluency. My goal is to teach you to communicate with educated native speakers on any subject just like you can in your native language. One of the best ways for you to achieve that is to learn the vocabulary and the expressions that native speakers are using and to be able to use those words yourself. For example, do you know the meaning of the adjectives "precarious" and "disconcerting" or the verbs "to soar" and "to tumble"? In this video, you will learn to use these words and many more. You will also have a chance to practice your accent. I will read parts of the article and I will pause to give you a chance to repeat after me.
This news article is about Wall Street, the stock market, and its impact on the economy. The title of the article isIntel's best day since the 1980s helps drive Wall Street to more records.
Let's look at the verb "to drive." Of course, you know the meaning of to drive a car, but "to drive" can be used in other ways. It means to cause something to happen or to make it move in a certain way, to make it act in a certain way. In this context, it means that Intel's strong performance caused the stock market to rise. We can use "to drive" this way:
"His speech drove the team to work harder."
"Rising oil prices drove inflation higher."
"The noise is driving me crazy." (meaning it's making me crazy)
We can also say, "He has a lot of drive." What does that mean? It means he's very motivated. He's motivated to work hard. He has a lot of drive. Or we can say, "He is very driven." I believe that you are driven to improve your English and that's why you're watching this video. You have a lot of drive.
Okay, let's look at the first two paragraphs of the article to learn some more words. First, I will read it and you listen.
"Wall Street rolled to more records on Thursday as Nvidia and Intel led a rally for technology stocks after announcing a deal that includes a $5 billion investment. The S&P 500 index rose 0.5% and is on track for a third straight winning week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 124 points or 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.9%. All three set all-time highs."
Let's look at the word "rally." A rally can be a noun or "to rally" is a verb. The article states, "Nvidia and Intel led a rally for technology stocks." To rally is to recover, to become stronger again after a period of weakness. In this case, it means a sudden increase in the price of stocks after a decline. You can also use the verb "to rally" this way:
"The stock market rallied."
"The team rallied in the second half and won the game."
In case you don't know, let's learn about the Standard & Poor's 500 index. It's commonly called the S&P 500. The article says the S&P 500 index rose 0.5%. The S&P 500 is a list of 500 large companies whose stock prices are tracked together to show how the US stock market is performing. If the S&P 500 goes up, it usually means that the economy is doing well. When the S&P 500 goes down, it often means the economy is slowing down.
The S&P 500 index rose 0.5%. "Rose" is from the verb "to rise," which means to go up (rise, rose, risen). Don't confuse this verb with the verb "to raise." To rise is to go up, but to raise is to make something go up. They're similar, but they're used differently: one is a transitive verb and one is an intransitive verb.
"The sun rose," but "I raised my hand."
"They raised prices," but "The prices rose." (That's an intransitive verb.)
Let's look at "to be on track for." The article states that the S&P 500 is on track for a third straight winning week. These are tracks—they are train tracks. So to be on track means to be moving in the direction to reach a goal, to be likely to achieve something. For example:
"She's doing very well at work. She's on track for a job promotion."
"This project is on track for completion by the end of the year."
The opposite of on track is "to get off track." That's when you start going in a different direction, in the wrong direction. Let's listen:
"When I do those things, I'm on track mentally, emotionally, and physically."
"And I knew that as long as I stayed on track, my career was secure."
"I apologize. I completely got off track."
You know the meaning of the word "straight," right? A straight line or straight hair, but the article talks about a third straight winning week—on track for a third straight winning week. In this case, straight means happening one after another without interruption, without stopping. For example:
"I've worked late for three straight nights." (The same thing as three nights in a row.)
"I've worked for 15 days straight without a day off."
"I can't believe I slept for 10 hours straight." (And that means I didn't wake up at all during that time. 10 hours straight.)
Let's listen to how some other people used it:
"We were traveling three days straight from Turkey by bus."
"They worked 20 hours a day for 100 days straight."
"Literally just been laying down for the last 24 hours straight pretty much."
Let's look at "all-time." In this article, it says "all-time high." All three set all-time highs. An all-time high means the highest level ever reached.
"Temperatures hit an all-time high this summer." (That means a record was broken. Temperatures were never higher than this summer. It was an all-time high.)
"The city's population is now at an all-time high."
We can also say "all-time low":
"The temperatures hit all-time lows last January."
We can say "all-time favorite":
"That movie is my all-time favorite."
Or "all-time best":
"She gave an all-time best performance." (It was her best performance ever.)
Or "all-time great":
"Michael Jordan is considered an all-time great in basketball."
Okay. Now, we're going to read the paragraphs again so that you can practice your accent. I will pause to give you a chance to repeat. Repeat after me:
"Wall Street rolled to more records on Thursday"
"as Nvidia and Intel led a rally for technology stocks"
"after announcing a deal that includes a $5 billion investment."
"The S&P 500 index rose 0.5%."
"And is on track for a third straight winning week."
"The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 124 points or 0.3%."
"and the NASDAQ Composite climbed 0.9%."
"All three set all-time highs."
Now, let's look at two more sentences:
"Intel soared 22.8% for its best day since 1987 after Nvidia said it would buy $5 billion of the chipmaker stock. Nvidia climbed 3.5% and was by far the strongest force lifting the S&P 500 because it's Wall Street's most valuable company."
Let's look at the verb "to soar." Intel soared 22.8%. To soar is to rise or to increase very quickly. For example:
"Gas prices soared after the hurricane."
"Sales of the new phone soared during the first week."
"My confidence soared when I got the promotion."
"The eagle soared high in the sky." (A bird can soar; an airplane can soar.)
You know the meaning of "far," but let's look at "by far." Nvidia was by far the strongest force lifting the S&P 500. We say "by far" when we want to emphasize that something is much better, much stronger, or much greater than anything else.
"She is by far the best singer in the group."
"This was by far the most difficult test I've ever taken."
"This is by far the best pizza I've ever eaten."
Or we can use "far" with a comparative adjective. For example, "far bigger than":
"Is the United States bigger than Switzerland? Yes, it's far bigger."
"This restaurant is far better than the other one."
"Is your English far better today than it was last year?"
Okay, let's read that part again to practice your accent. Repeat after me:
"Intel soared 22.8% for its best day since 1987"
"after Nvidia said it would buy $5 billion of the chipmaker stock."
Notice how I connected the two S's. I didn't pronounce both of those S's; I blended them into one sound: "chipmaker stock." You say it: "chipmaker stock." Anytime we have two consonants that are the same—one is at the end of the word and the other one is at the beginning of the next word—we only pronounce one sound. For example:
"She speaks Spanish." (We wouldn't say she speaks Spanish; she speaks Spanish.)
"I'm married." (We blend those two M's into one sound. Don't say I'm married; it's I'm married.)
Let's continue. Repeat after me:
"Nvidia climbed 3.5%."
"And was by far the strongest force lifting the S&P 500"
"because it's Wall Street's most valuable company."
Let's continue with some more sentences from the article:
"Fewer US workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than expected. That could indicate the pace of layoffs is slowing and it was a relief after the prior week's data showing a disconcerting leap to a 4-year high."
Let's look at "unemployment benefits." Fewer US workers applied for unemployment benefits last week. Unemployment benefits are the money that the government gives to people who lose their jobs and are looking for a job.
