📖 What is Muse English?
Muse English is a free English learning app with daily lessons across all 6 CEFR levels (A1 Beginner to C2 Proficient). Every day brings new vocabulary, a real podcast conversation, shadowing practice, grammar and quizzes — all at museenglishapp.com.
📚 Vocabulary
10 new words Learn new words with real examples and audio.
Podcast: Technology
Listen to today’s conversation.
📝 Podcast Transcript
Welcome to Word Kitchen, everyone. I am Maya.
And I am Lena. So glad you are here with us today.
Today we are talking about something that touches all of our lives, whether we love it or not. Technology.
Oh, definitely. Tech is everywhere now. Honestly, sometimes I feel like I spend half my day talking to devices instead of people.
Right? This morning my phone would not unlock. The biometric login just refused to recognize my face.
That is so annoying. Biometric security is usually great, but when your face unlock fails at seven in the morning, it feels personal.
Exactly. I was standing there making faces at my phone like a fool. Eventually I typed in my password like it was twenty ten.
Ha. But you know, biometric locks are one of my favorite modern inventions. My old laptop had no fingerprint reader at all.
Same. Now I unlock everything with my thumb. It is fast, and honestly, a strong biometric password is harder for thieves to steal than a short written password.
True. Though thieves are getting clever. Did I tell you about the phishing email I almost fell for last week?
No, what happened?
I got an email that looked exactly like it came from my bank. Same logo, same colors, same polite tone. It said my account was locked and I had to click a link.
Classic phishing. That is exactly how phishing attacks work. They create panic and rush you into clicking.
I was this close to clicking it. But something felt off. The sender address had a strange extra word in it. So I stopped and called the bank directly.
Smart move. The bank told me once that they never ask for passwords by email. A real phishing scam can look incredibly professional these days.
That is the scary part. Phishing used to be easy to spot, with bad spelling and weird grammar. Now the messages are smooth and convincing.
So how do you protect yourself? I try to slow down and look for small details, like the real sender address.
Good advice. Speaking of digital dangers, my cousin's laptop got infected with malware last month.
Oh no. How did it happen?
She downloaded what she thought was a free video editor. It looked normal, but it secretly installed malware that slowed her whole computer down.
That is awful. Malware is such a nightmare. Once it is inside your system, it can steal passwords or show fake ads all day.
She had to take it to a repair shop. They cleaned the malware completely, but it took two days and cost her real money.
That is why I always tell people to install proper antivirus software. Malware protection is not optional anymore.
Agreed. And only download programs from official websites. One careless click and you have malware running quietly in the background.
Right. So we have talked about staying safe. Now let us talk about the fun side of tech. Maya, you recently got a new wearable, right?
Yes! I finally bought a smartwatch. It is my first real wearable, and I am obsessed with it.
What do you use it for?
Everything. The wearable tracks my steps, my sleep, my workouts. It even reminds me to stand up if I sit too long.
I love wearable tech for fitness. My sister's wearable noticed her heart rate was unusual during a run and suggested she slow down.
Now let me tell you about my weekend disaster. My brother-in-law brought over his new drone.
Oh, a drone? Those things look like so much fun.
They are, until they are not. He was flying the drone over the park, filming the autumn trees, and it crashed right into a big tree.
No! Was the drone okay?
Miraculously yes. The drone bounced off a branch and landed in soft grass. But we learned that flying a drone takes real practice.
I have heard that. Modern drones have cameras that can film in incredible detail. Some farmers even use drones to check their crops.
Really? That is clever. And delivery companies are testing drones to drop off small packages faster.
I would love to see a drone deliver my lunch. Though I would worry about it dropping my sandwich on a roof somewhere.
Ha! Technology always has a funny side. Speaking of which, Maya, have you ever used an autonomous car?
Not yet, but I am fascinated by them. The idea that an autonomous vehicle can drive itself through a busy city still sounds like science fiction to me.
Me too. But they are real. In some cities, you can already order an autonomous taxi. You sit in the back and nobody is driving.
That would feel so strange. Still, autonomous driving could make roads much safer one day, since computers never get tired or distracted.
But let us be honest, technology does not always work perfectly. Remember my video call disaster yesterday?
Oh yes. Tell the story.
I was in an important video meeting, and suddenly my camera froze. My face was stuck in the funniest expression. Then the sound cut out completely.
A classic glitch. Video call glitches always happen at the worst possible moment.
It was such a strange glitch. Everyone could see my frozen face but nobody could hear me. I kept talking like an idiot for a full minute.
A software glitch during a live meeting is the worst. I restarted the app, and the glitch disappeared as mysteriously as it had appeared.
On the topic of imperfect tech, I saw something exciting last week. A friend who works at a tech company showed me a prototype of their new phone.
A real prototype? Like an early test version?
Yes. The prototype was bulkier than the final product will be, and the screen had a few rough edges. But it worked.
That is so cool. Seeing a prototype makes you realize how much work goes into a finished product.
Totally. She said this was the third prototype they had built. The first two had serious battery problems.
Testing prototypes must be fascinating. You get to touch the future before anyone else.
She told me that every prototype teaches the team something new. Sometimes a prototype reveals a problem they never expected.
It reminds me that even the smoothest devices started as rough prototypes. Perfection takes time.
So true. Now, a less glamorous question. Maya, do you keep your files in the cloud?
Absolutely. I moved everything to the cloud two years ago. All my photos, documents, work files.
Me too. Cloud storage has saved me so many times. When my old phone died, I lost nothing because the cloud had a full backup.
The cloud is wonderful until you forget your password. Then you are locked out of your own digital life.
Ha, yes. I pay a small monthly fee for extra cloud space. Honestly, cloud storage is one of the cheapest safety nets in modern life.
Agreed. My office uses a private cloud for company files, so everyone can reach the same documents from home or the office.
It is amazing how the cloud changed the way we work. No more carrying USB sticks everywhere.
Right? Now, here is a question for you. My home Wi-Fi has been terrible this week. Any advice on how to troubleshoot it?
Oh, I love a good troubleshooting session. First, turn the router off, wait thirty seconds, and turn it back on.
The classic move. I tried that, but the connection is still slow.
Then the next step to troubleshoot is to check if too many devices are connected at once.
Ha! Well, troubleshooting tech problems is mostly about patience. You test one thing at a time until you find the cause.
That is good life advice too. When you troubleshoot a problem step by step, you usually find the answer faster than guessing.
Exactly. Okay, lightning round time. Maya, what is your favorite piece of tech right now?
My wearable, hands down. What about you?
Honestly, biometric locks. I will never go back to typing passwords fifty times a day.
Fair. And the tech trend you are most excited about?
Autonomous vehicles. I cannot wait for a world where traffic jams drive themselves away. You?
Drones delivering everything. A drone bringing me coffee in the park would make my year.
And the tech problem you wish would disappear forever?
Phishing emails and malware, no question. If I never saw another phishing scam or cleaned another malware infection, I would be thrilled.
Same here. Technology should help us, not trick us.
Before we finish, let us do a quick recap of our ten words today. Lena, you start.
Okay. Cloud, a noun, online storage on the internet. My photos live in the cloud.
Drone, a noun, a small pilotless aircraft. Flying a drone takes practice.
Wearable, a noun, a device you wear like a smartwatch. My wearable tracks my sleep.
Glitch, a noun, a small temporary technical problem. A video call glitch froze my face.
Prototype, a noun, an early test model of a product. The third prototype finally worked.
Phishing, a noun, fake messages that steal your information. Never click a phishing link.
Malware, a noun, harmful software. Antivirus stops malware before it spreads.
Troubleshoot, a verb, to find and fix problems. Troubleshooting needs patience.
Biometric, an adjective, using body features for identification. Biometric locks use your face.
Autonomous, an adjective, working without human control. An autonomous car drives itself.
Beautiful. Thanks for joining us on Word Kitchen today, everyone.
We will see you tomorrow with a brand new set of words. Bye for now.
Bye!
🎙 Try Shadowing free sample
Listen and repeat along with the studio audio. Full shadowing practice with pronunciation scoring is in the app.
Sam woke up early and asked his phone to unlock with a biometric scan.
The biometric lock opened in less than a second.
He checked his email and saw a strange message about a blocked bank account.
Train your speaking
Shadow every sentence with studio audio and get your pronunciation scored — only in the Muse English app.
📝Grammar: Reported speech — sentences and questions
We use reported speech to tell someone what another person **said**. It is how we share news, stories, and messages in everyday conversation. When the reporting verb (**said**, **told**) is in the past, tenses usually shift one step back. Present simple becomes **past simple**, **will** becomes **would**, present perfect becomes **past perfect**, **can** becomes **could**, and **must** becomes **had to**. Pronouns and time words change too. "Tomorrow" becomes **the next day**, and "here" becomes **there**. This keeps the meaning clear for the new listener. Use **say** without a person, but
Master this grammar in the app
Get clear explanations, more examples and interactive exercises.
Keep learning every day
New lessons, podcasts and quizzes daily — free in the Muse English app.