BBC 6 min

Question 1

What does ‘anosmic’ mean?

Answer 1

unable to smell; having no sense of smell

Question 2

What does ‘weird’ mean?

Answer 2

strange; unusual; odd; bizarre

Question 3

What does ‘a good chance’ refer to?

Answer 3

quite a high likelihood or probability (that something will happen)

Question 4

What does ‘out of the ordinary’ mean?

Answer 4

unusual; uncommon; exceptional

Question 5

What is a ‘scent’?

Answer 5

distinctive smell; smell produced by an animal

Question 6

What does it mean to ‘filter (something) out’?

Answer 6

remove or separate something unwanted from a substance

Question 7

What is science fiction?

Answer 7

A kind of story about an imagined future, often involving technology and space travel.

Question 8

What does ‘in the not-too-distant future’ mean?

Answer 8

Soon; in a time not far from now.

Question 9

What does dystopian mean?

Answer 9

Describes a future situation which is very unpleasant.

Question 10

What does utopian mean?

Answer 10

Describes a future situation which is ideal.

Question 11

What is a downside?

Answer 11

Disadvantage; bad point.

Question 12

What does optimistic mean?

Answer 12

Positive about the future.

Question 13

What does plausible mean?

Answer 13

With a good possibility of happening.

Question 14

Who are environmentalists?

Answer 14

People who fight to protect the environment.

Question 15

What does ‘rally around’ mean?

Answer 15

Come together in support of a cause.

Question 16

What does invisible mean?

Answer 16

Unable to be seen.

Question 17

What is a bright future?

Answer 17

A good, positive future.

Question 18

What does ‘time will tell’ mean?

Answer 18

Things will become clear as time passes.

Question 19

What does ‘like finding a needle in a haystack’ mean?

Answer 19

Something that is impossible or very difficult to find because the area you have to search is so large.

Question 20

What does ‘thin on the ground’ mean?

Answer 20

There are very few of something.

Question 21

What does ‘abundant’ mean?

Answer 21

There is more than enough of something.

Question 22

What does ‘scratch the surface’ mean?

Answer 22

Find out (or do) a small amount about something, but not enough to fully understand (or deal with) it.

Question 23

What does ‘vast’ mean?

Answer 23

Extremely large; huge.

Question 24

What does ‘hard to get your head around’ mean?

Answer 24

Difficult to fully understand or comprehend.

Question 25

What does 'at the heart of' mean?

Answer 25

To be the most important part, or main cause, of something.

Question 26

What is a 'can-do attitude'?

Answer 26

Showing determination and confidence to take action and achieve results.

Question 27

What is 'The American dream'?

Answer 27

The idea that everyone in the United States of America has the chance to be successful and happy if they work hard.

Question 28

What does 'long-standing' mean?

Answer 28

Having existed for a long time.

Question 29

What is a 'take on (something)'?

Answer 29

A variation of, or new way of presenting, something which already exists.

Question 30

What does 'the final nail in the coffin' mean?

Answer 30

(idiom) An event that causes the final end of something that had already started to fail.

Question 31

What is babble?

Answer 31

Meaningless noises and sounds which babies make as they start learning to speak.

Question 32

What is a stressed syllable?

Answer 32

Sound within a word which is emphasised by being spoken longer, louder or higher than the other sounds.

Question 33

What does error mean?

Answer 33

Mistake.

Question 34

What is a classic example?

Answer 34

Perfect or most typical example of something which has all the features which you expect such a thing to have.

Question 35

What does it mean to take (something) for granted?

Answer 35

Accept or assume something without question.

Question 36

What does ambiguous mean?

Answer 36

Having more than one possible meaning; being open to interpretation.