Phrases and practice

Learn a useful phrase in context, listen to its pronunciation and practise saying it.

• The capsule should include ordinary objects too; otherwise future readers will mainly learn about what we wanted to show off.C1 · #4326
• The object's description cannot assume familiarity with a local joke that may be entirely incomprehensible in several decades.C1 · #4327
• Let us record who selected the contents and by what rules so the selection itself is not presented as a portrait of all residents.C1 · #4328
• A digital document needs information on how to read it; the filename alone will not tell a future user what the medium contains.C1 · #4329
• Let us distinguish the intended opening date from the date the capsule was placed, because they mean different things in the project's history.C1 · #4330
• Comparing the results makes sense only after checking whether participants measured at comparable locations and over comparable time intervals.C1 · #4331
• Let us mark the absence of a record from a street as missing data, not as confirmation that it was quiet there.C1 · #4332
• A note about a passing vehicle helps distinguish a brief event from the background that persisted throughout the measurement.C1 · #4333
• I will not combine readings from different devices into one series until we establish how to account for their differences.C1 · #4334
• The map should show the number of observations at each point so the reader can distinguish a single measurement from a series of measurements.C1 · #4335
• A full stop inserted by the editor may turn hesitation into a decisive ending, so its placement needs justification.C1 · #4336
• An exclamation mark conveys one interpretation of the tone, but should not replace a comment when the recording allows several readings.C1 · #4337
• An interrupted word and an unfinished sentence need separate markers because readers reconstruct the two kinds of interruption differently.C1 · #4338
• Quotation marks added to the transcript may suggest a verbatim quotation even when the speaker is only paraphrasing someone else's meaning.C1 · #4339
• Let us explain the pause notation before the text so the reader does not have to guess whether an ellipsis represents the speaker or the editor.C1 · #4340
• The description should follow changes in the dancers' formation rather than list every position separately if doing so would lose the meaning of the movement.C1 · #4341
• Naming the step with a technical term will not replace a description for someone unfamiliar with that term.C1 · #4342
• A moment without commentary may be intentional if it lets the listener hear breathing and the feet making contact with the floor.C1 · #4343
• Let us distinguish movement across the stage from the audience's viewpoint so 'to the left' has a consistent reference throughout the description.C1 · #4344
• Let us not assign a specific emotion to a gesture if the choreography deliberately leaves its meaning open.C1 · #4345
• The sample should retain the supplier's label and the date received; otherwise a similar appearance may conceal different origins.C1 · #4346
• A visible sign of wear need not disqualify a sample if it shows precisely how the material behaves in use.C1 · #4347
• A photograph of the sample will help locate it in the catalogue, but will not replace handling the material to assess its texture and flexibility.C1 · #4348
• When the supplier changes the composition under the same code, let us label the new sample as a separate version rather than silently replace the older one.C1 · #4349
• Let us record that part of the sample has been cut away so the next person does not mistake its altered shape for a feature of the product.C1 · #4350
• Let us count photographs from one uninterrupted stay of an animal in view as one visit if our unit of analysis is a visit rather than a frame.C1 · #4401
• The recording was triggered by a moving branch, so let us not automatically log this shot as an animal sighting.C1 · #4402
• Let us record the camera clock's offset alongside the time correction so the reader can reconstruct the sequence of events from the original files.C1 · #4403
• When the species identification is uncertain, let us retain the features behind the hypothesis rather than leave only the name.C1 · #4404
• Different fur colours in two shots require checking the lighting conditions before treating the difference as evidence of two individuals.C1 · #4405
• Let us compare photographs of the stained glass before and after conservation under similar lighting; otherwise a change in contrast may resemble a change in the design itself.C1 · #4406
• The description of a reconstructed fragment should identify the source of its shape so the maker's conjecture does not appear to be a surviving original.C1 · #4407
• If the old photograph does not show the detail, let us indicate the limit of the reconstruction rather than fill the gap through confident wording alone.C1 · #4408
• Restoring perfect symmetry will not be a neutral correction if the irregularities were part of the intended composition.C1 · #4409
• Let us distinguish a crack in the glass from a line joining the pieces in the diagram, because similar marks in a photograph do not have the same function.C1 · #4410
• Calling a scent woody describes an impression; it does not prove that the sample was made from wood.C1 · #4411
• The name 'ocean' may guide associations, so the description should distinguish it from the features the visitor actually recognises.C1 · #4412
• The label should explain whether we are presenting the scent of a preserved object or a modern attempt to recreate it.C1 · #4413
• If two people name the same scent differently, let us record both terms before treating a difference in words as a difference in experience.C1 · #4414
• Rather than judge an association as right or wrong, let us ask which aspect of the scent reminded the visitor of a particular place.C1 · #4415
• The size of the furniture in the model can be compared with the room only after establishing whether both were made at the same scale.C1 · #4416
• The transparent wall here serves to reveal the interior, so let us not automatically read it as a proposal to use glass in the building.C1 · #4417
• The shadow cast by the lamp above the model is not yet a sunlight study; we would need to specify which direction of light it represents.C1 · #4418
• Looking down into the model after removing the roof helps with explanation, but does not show what a resident will see from one point in the finished building.C1 · #4419
• If the model is meant to explain the stages of construction, the presentation should follow the sequence of work rather than the visual appeal of individual sections.C1 · #4420
• Let us place the unit added today in an explanatory note so the reader can distinguish the recipe's text from our interpretation of the measure.C1 · #4421
• The crossed-out quantity and the correction above it should remain visible if we want to show the history of trials rather than only the final recipe.C1 · #4422
• Let us not turn 'as always' into a specific baking time without an additional source, because the notebook itself gives none.C1 · #4423
• A stain obscures part of the number, so marking the uncertainty is more honest than choosing the quantity that best fits a modern version of the dish.C1 · #4424
• The ingredient index may include current names, provided we retain the old terms in the recipe itself and explain the connection between them.C1 · #4425
• If the sheet contains parts of several plants, the description should explain their relationship rather than attribute the entire set to one specimen.C1 · #4476
• Let us distinguish the colour visible after drying from the colour recorded at collection so the description does not mix two stages of observation.C1 · #4477
• The collection date is not automatically the date the label was written; a later note needs to be placed in the correct documentation sequence.C1 · #4478
• A flattened specimen does not always preserve the flower's original arrangement, so a photograph taken before drying may supplement the description.C1 · #4479
• Let us show a size scale in the sheet's reproduction so the viewer does not mistake an enlarged detail for the specimen's actual size.C1 · #4480
• The footsteps should change with the character's movement if sound itself is meant to explain the passage between rooms.C1 · #4481
• In a scene with several doors, a slam alone will not tell the listener which one closed until we connect it with a recognisable situation.C1 · #4482
• A musical transition may separate scenes, but should not by itself replace information that several years have passed if the plot depends on it.C1 · #4483
• When one actor plays two characters, let us test the difference between their voices without looking at the script, because the listener will not see their assigned names.C1 · #4484
• Let us not add more effects merely to make the scene sound richer if they obscure the link between an action and its sound.C1 · #4485
• Let us compare the paper's white and the light part of the image separately so the substrate's tint is not mistaken for part of the painted colour.C1 · #4486
• A sample showing only the centre of the image will not let us assess whether cropping the edges preserves the proportions of the whole composition.C1 · #4487
• A single colour patch will not replace a test of a gradual transition between shades if that transition is an important feature of the image.C1 · #4488
• If we are comparing the gloss of two papers, let us use the same image detail so choosing a darker scene does not change what we are assessing.C1 · #4489
• Let us link the approved print to a specific file version, because a later image correction does not automatically inherit the same approval.C1 · #4490
• The time shown by stationary hands should not be described as the time of a historical event without a source confirming the connection.C1 · #4491
• A description of the dial should not pretend to describe the entire mechanism if the visible part does not reveal its construction.C1 · #4492
• Clocks running for demonstration may show different times, so let us place the actual-time information outside their display.C1 · #4493
• Let us link the recording of the chimes to a specific clock's identifier so the visitor does not attribute the sound to whichever clock they are looking at.C1 · #4494
• If we describe the direction of movement from behind the clock, let us specify the viewpoint so the viewer does not apply it to the dial seen from the front.C1 · #4495
• If the postcard number marks its place in a publisher's series, let us not use it to construct the chronology of changes in the depicted street.C1 · #4496
• When scanning a fold-out panorama, let us show where the parts join so a technical gap between files does not appear as a gap in the city view.C1 · #4497
• Let us link the reverse-side copy to its specific picture so the message is not attributed to another card from the same box.C1 · #4498
• The phrase 'here with us' in the message requires establishing where it was written, which should not automatically be equated with the city in the picture.C1 · #4499
• Let us compare different colourings of the same photograph as postcard variants before reading them as evidence that the buildings were repainted.C1 · #4500
• If the same symbol denotes both a viewpoint and a rest spot, the legend should explain that not every marked location serves both purposes.C1 · #4551
• Highlighting a route with a thicker line should not suggest a wider road if the thickness merely indicates our suggested walk.C1 · #4552
• The distances between stops refer to the marked route, not straight lines connecting those locations.C1 · #4553
• The path's name should not look like the name of the whole area, especially when its label has to be moved away from the route line.C1 · #4554
• In the black-and-white version, let us distinguish routes by line pattern as well so that the legend's information does not depend solely on shade.C1 · #4555
• The marionette's gaze should draw the viewer towards the object before the hand gesture if noticing it is what triggers the character's reaction.C1 · #4556
• When two puppets move at once, let us establish which initiates the action rather than leave the viewer unintentionally unsure what caused the movement.C1 · #4557
• Visible strings can form part of the show's aesthetic, but their accidental tangling should not be presented as a deliberate gesture by the character.C1 · #4558
• Changing the puppeteer controlling the same marionette calls for an agreed walking style so that the cast change does not look like an unexplained change in character.C1 · #4559
• A longer stillness can emphasise reflection, provided an earlier gesture gives the viewer grounds to read the pause as part of the performance.C1 · #4560
• A sample folded in half shows two layers of fabric; the thickness description should state whether one layer or the whole folded piece was assessed.C1 · #4561
• If the pattern has a specific direction, the sample photograph should preserve it or clearly state that the piece was rotated for the page layout.C1 · #4562
• The number on the card identifies the sample, but does not replace a description of which visible side is treated as the fabric's face in the catalogue.C1 · #4563
• A worn section should be described as the condition of the surviving sample, not as proof that the pattern originally had less distinct outlines.C1 · #4564
• Two samples of the same pattern may come from different batches; a shared name does not justify omitting their separate inventory numbers.C1 · #4565
• The recorder's question should remain with the answer if otherwise it is unclear what the local word used by the speaker refers to.C1 · #4566
• In the listening version, let us separate the explanation of meaning from the utterance itself so that the editor's voice is not mistaken for another utterance by the speaker.C1 · #4567
• One person may use two variants of the same word; let us not edit the recording as though that difference necessarily had to be a mistake.C1 · #4568
• If the speaker repeats a word at the interviewer's request, let us mark the repetition as prompted rather than as a spontaneous speech habit.C1 · #4569
• The recording location and the place the speaker comes from should have separate fields, because they need not be the same place.C1 · #4570
• The caption should describe the cloud's visible form rather than add the following day's weather if we have no record of later observations.C1 · #4571
• The close-up does not show the cloud's position relative to the horizon, so a second frame should provide context rather than appear to show another phenomenon.C1 · #4572
• The order of photographs showing a change in shape should follow when they were taken, not which image best suits the end of the story.C1 · #4573
• Comparing two similar outlines does not require treating them as the same cloud; the description should distinguish similarity of form from continuity of observation.C1 · #4574
• An image of clouds reflected in water should be paired with the view of the sky rather than counted as a second independent observation of the same arrangement.C1 · #4575