A little exercise in English

Essaie de fournir un bref profile de ta personalité. Trouve trois adjectifs en anglais qui decrivent:

1. the taste or texture of your favourite snack
2. the place that you like best to spend your free time
3. the type of music that you like to listen to most
4. the TV program that you enjoy the most
5. an animal that you would like to own

Essaie d’identifier le pays d’origine de chacun des proverbes suivants:

1. the poor worker blames his tools
2. do not run after the wild boar and lose the pig at home
3. nobody calls his own buttermilk sour
4. he who ate the nuts must sweep away the shells
5. the hungry will not fall asleep because someone else has enough to eat
6. in war, you become ashes if you lose, and charcoal if you win
7. gentle words open iron gates
8. he got angry with the rat and set fire to the house
9. a handful of friends is better than a wagonful of gold

Now explain the meaning of each of the above proverbs and illustrate with an example. Then choose one or two that you like the most, stating your reasons.

The ability to convey information about oneself effectively is essential in many different types of situations, be they for social or business purposes. Try to tell more about your feelings and attitudes by completing each of the following sentences. You may want to write a little paragraph for each one to round it out.

1. I can confide in a person who………
2. I can be very sociable with people who………..
3. Concerning myself, I hope that………
4. I feel pleased when…………
5. I am disturbed when…………
6. It is easy to get along with people when………
7. To me a beautiful individual is one that………

Here are more quotations. Do you know who said each one? Do you know their meanings?

1. Settle one difficulty and you keep a hundred away.
2. He who does not tire, tires adversity.
3. Firmness of purpose is one of the best instruments of success.

This page is dedicated to Esther who graduated as a teacher, from her Uncle B.S.O.

À propos

Je suis Canadien. Ma langue maternelle est l’anglais et je l’ai longtemps enseignée comme langue seconde au niveau universitaire.  J’adore l’enseignement des langues. Je suis parfaitement bilingue (anglais/français). De plus, j’ai obtenu un A- au test de français oral du Service d’évaluation linguistique de la Télé-université. Écrire des poèmes en français est devenu une autre de mes passions. J’ai un blog au http://sonny8.wordpress.com

Interesting Words

Adam Jacot de Boinod wrote:

1) TINGO

When photographers attempt to bring out our smiling faces by asking us
to “Say Cheese”, many countries appear to follow suit with English equivalents. In Spanish however they say patata (potato), in Argentinian Spanish whisky, in French steak frites, in Serbia ptica (bird) and in Danish appelsin (orange). Do you know of any other varieties from around the world’s languages? See more on http://www.themeaningoftingo.com

2) WHIFFLING

fornale, to spend one’s money before it has been earned; cagg, a solemn vow or resolution not to get drunk for a certain time; and petrichor, the pleasant smell that accompanies the first rain after a
dry spell. http://www.thewonderofwhiffling.com

Odd Word Out

Each of the words below is followed by a list of 4 choices. Three of the choices could be correctly used to complete the word or expression with the given word. Which of the choices could not?

1. scale ____
(a) up (b) down (c) back (d) fished

2. far ____
(a) fetched (b) flung (c) gone (d) live

3. fore____ (one word)
(a) see (b) shadow (c) give (d) sight

4, ____ up
(a) sing (b) cook (c) back (d) gear

5. claw____ their benefits (one or two words)
(a) back (b) front (c) through (d) for

6. wheelchair ____
(a) bound (b) access (c) broken (d) ramps

7. ____ skies
(a) star-filled (b) starry (c) starless (d) all-star

8. ____ -hearted
(a) faint (b) fool (c) good (d) warm

9. take ____
(a) a breathe (b) a breather (c) a breath (d) one’s breath away

10. play it ___
(a) by the book (b) by ear (c) ear (d) down

11. ___ as heck
(a) day (b) sure (c) sorry (d) busy

12. to ___ record highs
(a) reach (b) go (c) hit (d) approach

La linguistique française

La linguistique française

More English vocabulary

I. Choose the word that correctly completes the expression:

1. a jaunty _______
(a) appear (b) appearance (c) appeared (d) pear

2. a search-and- _______ operation
(a) rescue (b) run (c) save (d) hope

3. lavish _______
(a) spent (b) sent (c) spending (d) sending

4. veering toward ______
(a) a disasters (b) disasterous (c) disastrous (d) disaster

5. sifting through _________
(a) a rubble (b) rubbles (c) the rubble (d) the rubbles

6. a _______ recuperation
(a) sustain (b) sustaining (c) sustained (d) sustains

7. wrenching ______
(a) joy (b) hungered (c) hunger (d) joys

8. expedite ______
(a) decisions (b) decide (c) decided (d) decides

9. an ______ spree
(a) eats (b) eat (c) eating (d) ate

10. all-in-_____
(a) one (b) zero (c) once (d) two

11. bridge ____ gap
(a) all (b) any (c) now (d) not

12. a huge recall of _______
(a) an car (b) a cars (c) cars (d) that cars

13. They went ______ hog and ordered all the trimmings.
(a) half (b) whole (c) quarter (d) no

14. His salary maxed _____ at $25,000.
(a) in (b) on (c) up (d) out

15. What are the ______ and bolts of good nutrition?
(a) nuts (b) a nuts (c) nut (d) note

16. Although they cannot search through everything, they will conduct spot ______.
(a) check (b) checked (c) checks (d) checker

17. Many people were still found to be suffering in the area that was ______ by the earthquake.
(a) ravage (b) ravaged (c) ravages (d) no ravage

18. After having worked for a whole month without a holiday, she _____ ____ a day off.
(a) fancy taking (b) fancied took (c) fancied takes (d) fancied taking

19. He spent many _____ nights worrying about his finances.
(a) sleepness (b) unsleepness (c) sleepless (d) unsleepless

20. Their plans to graduate at the end of the semester ____ amok.
(a) ran (b) runned (c) running (d) runs

II. Use each of the following words in sentences that make their meanings clear.

1. befuddled
2. sprightly
3. bewildered
4. minutiae
5. quirkily
6. stymied
7. meander
8. dawdling
9. recurring
10.musings

Getting down to writing ….

I. Use each of the following as the topic sentence of a paragraph. Write a new paragraph for each one.

1. Well, is it a done deal, then?
2. Don’t sully such an immaculate record.
3. The clamour for the latest scoop created a public outcry.
4. They have set their sights on the conference about climate change.
5. No one would want to buy such a gas guzzler.
6. Those remarks will generate tremendous buzz.

II. Use each of the following as the theme for a story. Write a one story per topic.

1. Financial woes
2. Sitting idle
3. Rallying around a cause
4. Some might have been well-heeled but ….
5. A Treasure trove of keepsakes
6. Copycat
7. All natural

Expressions that illuminate

For each of the following choose the word which best completes the expression.

1. _______ traumatic stress
(a) lost (b) post (c) cost (d) ghost

2. a _____-blown rebellion
(a) cruel (b) nose (c) full (d) half

3. a contentious _______
(a) master (b) matters (c) masters (d) matter

4. a once-in-a-lifetime _______
(a) opportunities (b) chances (c) live (d) chance

5. the school of hard _______
(a) nocks (b) works (c) knocks (d) locks

Vocabulary in context

Can you use the following in sentences to illustrate what they mean?

1.an abortive attempt

2. a lame alibi

3. scathing remarks

4. a vitriolic review

5. an insipid episode

6. a lame alibi

7. crass insensitivity

8. to reach a crescendo

9. to detect the anomaly

10. continuous recrimination

11. to face the odds with equanimity

12. a bountiful provision

13. a coy grin

14, wishy-washy

15. kowtow

Synonyms and Antonyms

I. What are good synonyms for each word that follows? Where possible list the antonyms.

1, anomaly

2. crass

3. perfunctory

4. puerile

5. recrimination

6. spry

7. equanimity

8. bountiful

9. courtly

10. crescendo

11. vitriolic

12. obsequious

13. suave

14. abortive

15. coy

16. insipid

17. gibberish

18. fastidious

19. erudite

20. diligence

II. Match the words in list A with the ones in list B that have opposite meanings.

List A.
1. anomaly

2. crass

3. coy

4. bountiful

5. insipid

6. abortive

7. equanimity

8. perfunctory

9. scathing

10. suave

List B
a. fruitful

b. exciting

c. custom

d. flattering

e. meager

f. anxiety

g. brazen

h. scant

i. surly

j. courtly

Do you know these expressions?

Use the following expressions in sentences to illustrate the meaning of each one.

1. It’s not rocket science.

2. What goes around comes around.

3. the bottom line

4. When all is said and done

5. at first blush

6. going forward

7. at the end of the day

8. revolutionary age

9. thinking outside the box

10. Don’t shoot the messenger.

Wording

Can you put each one of the following into sentences to explain its meaning:

1. rocky investments

2. a rumpus over the accusations

3. a sprawled out on the grass

4. offsetting costs

5. time-strapped

6. vacancies abound

7. avuncular demeanor

8. squeaky-clean character

9. cutting corners during a financial downturn

10. drum up business

11. bird’s-eye view of the glacier

12. an absolute eyeopener

13. in-your-face

14. fraught with

15. good intent

Some Choice Vocabulary

I. Can you use the following words in sentences that explain their meanings?

1. underdog 11. enhance 21, incursion

2. to offset 12. fizzle 22. to wind up

3. panoply 13. blathering 23. to eschew

4. carport 14. pricey 24. wayward

5. dumbfounded 15. ruffle 25. akimbo

6. weary of 16. robust 26. anciliary

7. mindfulness 17. to thwart 27. maskot

8. to hail 18. impetuous 28. anachronism

9. to laud 19. to admonish 29. street smarts

10. fraught 20. windfall 30. to drum up

II. Complete the following expressions or phrases with an appropriate word:

Example: __________ calibre Answer: high or low calibre

1. __________ turnover

2. __________ blackout

3. __________ perspective

4. __________in a wink

5. a __________ guess

6. _________ into a rage

7. nary a ____________

8. a twist of the _____________

9. undisclosed _____________

10. endangered ______________

11. ________ is a linchpin

12. a convicted _____________

13. a kitschy _____________

14. trapped in a maelstrom of ______________

15. watery __________

16. to skirt

17. the _________ draft

18. tell it like it __________

19. a whistle __________

20. _________ maverick