Feifei: Hello and welcome to The English We Speak.
I'm Feifei…
Rob: …and I'm Rob.
And today, we’re going to use a common word
in a slightly different way.
It’s a preposition you’ve no doubt
known for a long time.
Feifei: Yes, our word is 'across'.
Of course, you can say things like:
Rob is sitting across from me.
Rob: Or:
This food is popular across China.
Feifei: But what about this:
Rob, are you across the plan for tonight’s event?
Rob: You’re not asking me if I’m sitting across
or on the other side from a plan, are you?
Feifei: No, when we use 'across' in this way,
it actually means 'to be familiar with'.
If you’re across a plan, you’re familiar with it.
You know what you need to know about it.
Rob: We often talk about being across a subject.
Especially a subject that is complex or changing.
It indicates you know all the important things
about the subject.
Feifei: Let’s listen to some examples to help clarify
how we use it.
Examples: Professor Zhang is a specialist
in the European economy.
He’s across all the latest developments.
A: Did you come to last week’s meeting?
B: Afraid not, no.
A: OK, so you’re not across the new plan.
Let me give you a quick summary.
A: Pete, I want to make sure you’re across the
food for tomorrow.
Now, remember two of our guests are vegetarian.
B: Got it.
Feifei: This is The English We Speak
from BBC Learning English.
There we are.
I hope you’re now across how we use this word 'across'.
Rob: Yes, you’re across 'across', so to speak!
Feifei: Anyway, as I was asking earlier, Rob,
are you across the plan for tonight’s event?
Rob: That was just an example of
how to use this phrase, right?
Feifei: No, you really don’t know about it?
Rob: What event?
Feifei: This isn’t good.
I thought you had sent out all the invitations?
Rob: What are you talking about, Feifei?
Feifei: Oh, just kidding! There’s no event tonight.
Rob: That’s not funny!
Now, getting back to the subject,
if you want to stay across
all the latest slang English expressions,
do remember to listen to The English We Speak.
Feifei: Bye.
Rob: That really wasn't funny.