Pronunciation ChallengeFlying cars airport of the future to land in England

Hello everyone! My name is Jonathan, and I’m back with another episode of VoiceTube’s Pronunciation Challenge. In today’s video, we get a glimpse of future transportation, and what’s being done to prepare for it right now. It’s really fascinating and I recommend you check it out. I have my own thoughts about this, but I’ll save those for later, so stay tuned until the end! Right now, let’s take a look at today’s featured sentence:

Sentence: 0:47 - 0:59
So some of our technologies will integrate the vehicle technologies, and will also have off grid renewable energy integrated with solar panels and hydrogen fuel cell electric generators.


Pronunciation Tips:

hydrogen - long i, schwa sound
vehicle - long e, silent h, short i

Vocabulary:

Grid (n.)
Definition from Cambridge Dictionary: a system of wires through which electricity is connected to different power stations across a region



off-grid (adj.) KK[ɔf] [grɪd] IPA/ɔf/ /ɡɹɪd/
Derives from off-the-grid

If something is “off grid”, or “off the grid”, it doesn’t depend on public utilities such as electricity. In this case, the person in the video is referring to the ability to power vehicles independently, without depending on electricity provided by the city.

Here’s an example sentence: “Solar panels and wind turbines are two methods of generating electricity off-grid.”

Renewable energy KK[rɪˋnjuəb!] [ˋɛnɚdʒɪ] IPA /rɪˈnjuːəb(ə)l/ /ˈɛnɚdʒɪ/
Definition from Cambridge Dictionary: energy that is produced using the sun, wind, etc., or from crops, rather than using fuels such as oil or coal

Renewable energy refers to an energy source that can be replenished. Solar power, for example, is considered a renewable energy because we can always get new energy from the sun. Fossil fuel, however, is not considered a renewable source of energy because the earth’s supply of fossil fuel is limited and will one day run out.

Here is the word in a sentence: “The Canadian side of Niagara Falls generates nearly 2 million kilowats of electricity, making it a key source of renewable energy.”

Integrate (v.) KK[ˋɪntə͵gret] IPA/ˈɪntəˌgreɪt /
Definition from Cambridge Dictionary: to combine two or more things in order to become more effective.

To integrate means to take one thing and combine it with something else. For example, in today’s video they talk about how existing transportation technologies will be combined together to be more effective.

Here is an example sentence: “Our new light-rail system will integrate with our existing network of subways and buses to provide a comprehensive public transit service.”

Outro
That’s it for today’s pronunciation challenge. While the technology displayed in today’s video might seem like something from a futuristic fantasy movie, I believe it is important to be as forward-thinking as realistically possible when developing infrastructure. This is because often such projects take years if not decades to properly develop. This is especially necessary in large, growing cities. For example, I am from Toronto, Canada. That area is expected to grow from 7 million in 2019 all the way to over 9.5 million by 2046. The city already has problems with traffic congestion, and adding more than 2 ½ million people will only make the problem worse. This is a problem shared by many cities around the world. For this reason, I find innovative solutions such as those presented in today’s video encouraging.

What is it like where you live? Do you live in a large city, or out in the countryside? How do you get around? Do you need to travel to get to work? Let me know in the comments below! And of course, remember to do your recording. I’ll catch you next time!

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