Hello and welcome to The English
We Speak with me, Feifei...
...and me, Roy.
We may sound a little different - that's
because we are not able to record
in our normal studios
during the coronavirus outbreak. Roy,
why have you shaved off your beard?
I don't think
I've seen your chin before.
Well, I got your voice message - you told
me to trim my beard. You said it's sad, but
necessary to keep my fur low due
to the coronavirus. I thought it was
a bit weird as my beard is
made of hair - not fur.
I'm not a dog, Feifei.
That's debatable... I saw you run after a
ball Neil threw for you. Anyway, I wasn't
talking about your beard. I said
it's very sad at the moment that
some workers have been
furloughed, but it's necessary for
some businesses to do it.
'To furlough someone' is when workers
are put on a leave of absence,
for example due to an
economic problem the business is
going through.
Ahhh yeah - that actually makes
more sense. I was so confused
about why you were
talking about my beard. I agree, it is
really sad that some people
have been furloughed.
That's our word for this
programme, isn't it?
It is, and it's not a new word,
but it's certainly more commonly used
recently due to the coronavirus
crisis. We'll talk about it more
after these examples...
Vlad is worried about being furloughed,
but it looks inevitable.
The company decided to furlough
workers while the business
wasn't operating.
After Mandy was furloughed, she decided
to devote her free time to painting.
This is The English We Speak from BBC
Learning English and we're
talking about the word 'furlough',
which describes when workers are
put on a leave of absence,
for example due to an economic
issue that a company is facing.
Yes, sadly, a lot of workers are being
furloughed at the moment due
to the coronavirus crisis.
It's different to being sacked
or made redundant, isn't it?
That's right - it's a temporary situation,
so workers stay on the payroll, but they're
not working.
Well, hopefully everyone will be able
to get back to their jobs soon
and not be furloughed
any more.
Yes, and next time I send you a voice
message you should listen more
carefully. You're so
silly, Roy.
Should I grow my beard back?
Definitely. It suits you.
Thanks for the advice - I will.
Bye, Roy.
Bye, Feifei.