# data[].attributes.headline
TED TALK 1: 404, the story of a page not found

# data[].attributes.subject
TED TALK 1: 404, the story of a page not found

# data[].attributes.body
Oops! Nobody wants to see the 404. But as Renny Gleeson shows us, while he runs through a slideshow of creative and funny 404 pages, every error is really a chance to build a better relationship.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Renny Gleeson: 404, the story of a page not found

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Oops! Nobody wants to see the 404: Page Not Found. But as Renny Gleeson shows us, while he runs through a slideshow of creative and funny 404 pages, every error is really a chance to build a better relationship.

# data[].attributes.body
Building Vocabulary

# data[].attributes.body
Source: CNN

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
CNN's Richard Quest discusses the business jargon that will invade the City in 2016 with Neil Taylor, Creative Partner at The Writer.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Got a Meeting? Take a Walk | Nilofer Merchant | TED

# data[].attributes.body
Page54

# data[].attributes.body
Page 53

# data[].attributes.body
Page 52

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Get a daily email featuring the latest talk, plus a quick mix of trending content.

By subscribing, you understand and agree that we will store, process and manage your personal information according to our Privacy Policy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Nigel Marsh: How to make work-life balance work

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Work-life balance, says Nigel Marsh, is too important to be left in the hands of your employer. Marsh lays out an ideal day balanced between family time, personal time and productivity -- and offers some stirring encouragement to make it happen.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Hugh Laurie vs Ellen DeGeneres - English vs American slang

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What happens when an elephant wants to eat your crops? How can you stop it? Beth and Neil discuss this and teach you some useful English vocabulary.

This week's question

How much does a fully-grown African elephant have to eat every day? Is it?

a) 50 kilograms of food per day?
b) 100 kilograms of food per day? or,
c) 150 kilograms of food per day?

Listen to the programme to hear the answer.

Vocabulary

rub shoulders (with)
meet someone and spend time with them

human-wildlife conflict
encounters between humans and wildlife leading to negative results, either for people (such as loss of crops or livelihood), or for animals (including killing or endangering their species)

raid
suddenly attack a place and steal from it

national park
large area of a country which is protected by the government because of its natural beauty, plants, or animals and which the public can usually visit

a way of life
activity that has become a common and regular event in the lives of a person or community, rather than something that happens only occasionally

spell trouble
suggest that there may be problems in the future
TRANSCRIPT
Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript.

Neil
Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil.

Beth
And I'm Beth.

Neil
Maybe the only good thing about Covid lockdowns was the return of wildlife to our towns and cities. Birds, foxes, and deer were seen in the streets close to people's homes.

Neil
Yes, as human populations increase while natural habitats decline, people and animals are increasingly being forced to compete for space. Wild animals can endanger humans when they break into their farms for food or water. And people might be forced to attack or even kill these animals to defend their homes.

Neil
But first I have a question for you, Beth. Weighing around six tonnes, a fully grown African elephant needs to eat a lot every day, but how much exactly? Is it:

a) 50 kilograms of food per day?

b) 100 kilograms of food per day? or,

c) 150 kilograms of food per day?

Beth
Hmm, I'll guess an elephant eats 150 kilos of food a day.

Neil
OK, Beth, we'll find out if that's the right answer at the end of the programme. Victor Ndombi is food security officer for the wildlife charity, Save the Elephants. Victor works at Tsavo National Park in Kenya, where he's often faced with wild elephants breaking into farms for food and water. Here's Victor explaining more to, Michael Kaloki, reporter for BBC World Service programme, People Fixing The World:

Victor Ndombi
The conflict usually varies. What we experience here is, during the crop season, that is the rainy season, that's where we usually have the crop raids. The elephants usually come here -lots of them - and they crop raid on the crops.

Michael Kaloki
Can I ask you, Victor, where do these elephants come from?

Michael Kaloki
Victor sounds very calm about this, it's just a way of life for the people out here. But elephants do spell big trouble for farmers. A fully grown male elephant can weigh the same as six cars on top of each other. It's easy to see how they can destroy crops and livelihoods.

Victor works in a national park, a large area of land which is protected by the government because of its natural beauty, plants, or animals. He explains that the elephants raid crops like maize and beans from farmers in the park. To raid means to suddenly attack a place and steal from it.

That's no problem if it's a fox in your rubbish bin, but African elephants are as big as six cars on top of each other, and this spells trouble for the farmers. If something spells trouble, it suggest that there may be problems in the future.

Neil
Fortunately, there's an unusual solution that's got people buzzing: bees. Ancient Kenyan folklore says that elephants are scared of bees. That's right - elephants, the world's biggest land mammal, are scared of an insect the size of your thumbnail!

Beth
Victor's team install beehive fences to protect farmers' crops. Real bees work best, but even a recording of bees angrily buzzing is enough to keep the elephants away. Better yet, the bees also pollinate plants, and even produce honey. It's good news for the farmer, but I have to feel a little sorry for the elephants...

Neil
Yes, especially because they need to eat so much. I think it's time to reveal the answer to my question, Beth.

Beth
You asked me how much food an elephant eats per day, and I guessed it was 150 kilograms.

Neil
Bye!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
BBC Learning English - 6 Minute English / Elephant-proof farming

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
How can you stop elephants eating your crops?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Explore live radio by rotating the globe.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Although it is common to write formal emails for work in English (either to ask for something or to reply to somebody), you will also have to write a lot of less formal emails as well (to work colleagues, customers you know well etc...).

Although formal and less formal(informal) emails are very similar, there are some differences (in the structure and the words and phrases you use). And it is important that you know what these are.

Structure

For emails asking for something, you start the email by writing some small talk (like 'How are you?' or 'I' hope you're well' etc...). After this then you write the purpose of sending the email. Then in the next section, you ask questions or request information. And in the last, confirm when you require the information etc...

Vocabulary

It is less formal. You can use specific phrases and words (like phrasal verbs (e.g. go away) which you shouldn't in more formal emails. You can also write contractions of words (e.g. "I'd"), which you can't when writing formal emails or letters.

In this online exercise on writing emails in English, you'll learn through seeing an example and doing a quiz business English vocabulary and phrases for informal (or neutral) emails of request and how to structure what you write. This is the type of email used when requesting or asking for things from a colleague or a trusted customer or supplier.
Click here to see more of our free online exercises on writing emails/letters
Example & Exercise:

Read the below informal business email of request about a project in an airport from a client to an external project manager.

From the context, try to guess what the meaning of the words/phrases in bold are. Then do the quiz at the end to check if you are right.

Hi Dave,

I hope that everything is OK over there. I just have a few questions about the Skipton Airport Project.

First, can you give me an update on where you are on the project? I'd also appreciate if you could explain what the current issues with the delivery system are? And confirm when you expect them to be resolved.

Also, at the end of our last meeting I asked for a copy of the latest Project Report. I still haven't received one. Can you forward it to me?

Can you also confirm if the post-installation support covers the equipment 24 hours a day? And what is actually included in the support? We'd especially like to know if the cost of parts and labour are included in the package? We need this information as soon as possible.

And lastly, we're thinking about extending the period of the post-installation support from your company from 6 months to 12 months. Can you give us a quote for this extension?

Please get back to me with the information as soon as possible.

Thanks,

Ian McAdam
Development Manager

Now do the QUIZ below to make sure you know how to write this type of email.

10 ways to write better business emails/letters

Quiz:

Below is a definition/description of each of the words/phrases in bold from the above text. Now choose the word/phrase from the question's selection box which you believe answers each question. Only use one word/phrase once. Click on the "Check Answers" button at the bottom of the quiz to check your answers.

When the answer is correct, this icon will appear next to the answer. Click on it to find extra information about the word/phrase (e.g. when, where and how to use etc...) and a translation in Spanish.

Practice

Now that you understand the vocabulary of writing an informal business email of request, practise it by writing your own business email of request with the new words/phrases.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Business English: Writing an informal business email of request exercise | Blair English

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Online exercise (with an example) that looks at the English vocabulary and phrases used for writing an informal or less formal business email of request.

# data[].attributes.body
http://www.blairenglish.com/exercises/emails/exercises/formal_email_request/formal_email_request.html

http://www.blairenglish.com/exercises/emails/exercises/formal_email_request_to_someone_do_not_know/formal_email_request_to_someone_do_not_know.html

http://www.blairenglish.com/exercises/emails/exercises/email_cannot_attend/email_cannot_attend.html

http://www.blairenglish.com/exercises/emails/exercises/how_to_write_email_invitation/how_to_write_email_invitation.html

http://www.blairenglish.com/exercises/emails/exercises/formal_email_response/formal_email_response.html

http://www.blairenglish.com/exercises/emails/exercises/business_update_email/business_update_email.html

http://www.blairenglish.com/exercises/emails/exercises/linkers_business_emails1/linkers_business_emails1.html

http://www.blairenglish.com/exercises/emails/exercises/linkers_business_emails2/linkers_business_emails2.html

# data[].attributes.body
Wordreference
https://www.wordreference.com/
ProZ
https://www.proz.com/search/

# data[].attributes.body
Thesaurus
https://www.thesaurus.com/
Collocations
http://www.freecollocation.com/
Longman
https://www.ldoceonline.com/
Cambridge
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/es/
Merriam Webster
https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day

# data[].attributes.body
TED

https://www.ted.com/

ELLLO

http://elllo.org/

Lyrics Training

https://es.lyricstraining.com/

BBC news

https://www.bbc.com/

NPR
https://www.npr.org/