Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment [ 31 ]

31- ] Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment .

 

Air Travel .

A- ] Departure :

- At the airport , you first go to the ‘ticket counter’ to ‘check in’ [ report that you have arrived ] . The ‘ticket agent’ [ airline representative ] ‘checks’ [ examines ] your ticket and ‘identification [ID] [ any document that shows who you are ] and gives you a ‘boarding pass’ for the plane with the ‘gate’ number [ e.g. , gate 14 ] and you seat number on it . If you have luggage to ‘check’ [ the luggage is taken on the plane separately ] , you are given a ‘claim ticket’ [ a piece of paper that shows the luggage is yours ] . If you are taking an international flight , an official checks your passport . International passengers can buy things in the ‘duty-free shops’ without paying sales tax , e.g. , perfume , watches and packaged food . About half an hour or so before ‘takeoff’ , you ‘board’ [ get on ]the plane and find your seat . If you have ‘carry-on luggage’ , you can ‘store’ [ put ] it under the seat in front of you or in the ‘overhead compartment’ above you . The plane then ‘taxis [ moves slowly ] toward the ‘runway’ , and when it has permission to ‘take off’ [ leave the ground ] , it accelerates along the runway and takes off .

B- ] The flight :

You may want or need to understand announcements ; these come from the ‘captain’ [ the pilot ] or from the ‘cabin crew / flight attendants’ [ people responsible for the safety and comfort of the passengers ] :

- Please ‘fasten your seat belts’ and put your seat in the ‘upright position’ .

- We are now ‘cruising’ [ flying at a steady speed ] at an ‘altitude’ [ height ] of 30,000 feet.

- We would like to ‘remind’ you [ ask you to remember ] that this is a ‘nonsmoking flight’ .

- The ‘flight attendants’ are now coming through the aircraft with ‘landing cards’ .

   [ These are cards you may have to fill out when you enter certain countries . ]

- At this time , please ‘discontinue the use of [ stop using ] and ‘stow’ [ put away ] any ‘portable electronic items’ [electronic articles that you can carry ,e.g. a laptop] .

C - ] Arrival :

When the plane ‘lands’ [ arrives on the ground ] , you have to wait for it to stop / to come to a full stop . When the doors are open , you ‘get off’ the plane and walk through the ‘terminal building’ [ where passengers arrive and depart ] and go to the ‘baggage claim’ area , where you get your luggage . After international flights , you then ‘pass through customs’ [ where your bags are checked for illegal goods or large purchases ] . If you are lucky , you can then get a bus , taxi or train to the center of town without waiting too long . You can also ‘rent’ a car at most airports .

Hotels .

A-] Hotels and other lodgings :

- ‘ a hotel’ : You pay for your room , but meals are usually extra . Most hotels have a restaurant and / or a coffee shop .

- ‘a motel’ : Less expensive than a hotel . Parking is free ; often you can park your car right outside your room . There’s usually no restaurant .

- ‘a bed and breakfast [ B & B ] : A room in someone’s home or in a small inn . Breakfast is included in the price .

- ‘a youth hostel’ : Very inexpensive ; you share a room with other people .

B- ] Staying at a hotel :

- We stayed at Sheraton Hotel for three nights in July , but I ‘made a reservation’ / ‘reserved a room’ [ arranged for a room to be held ] three months ‘in advance’ [ earlier ; in other words , in April ] because it was the middle of the ‘tourist season’ [ period of time ] . When we arrived , we ‘checked in at the registration desk’ / ‘at the front desk’ ; then the ‘bellman’ [porter] took our suitcases up to the room . I gave him a ‘tip’ - $ 1 for each suitcase . The staff was very friendly – we had a very nice ‘maid’ [ a woman who cleans the room , or ‘cleaner’ for a man or woman ] – and the room was very comfortable . The only problem was with the TV , which did not work [ function ] very well . [ You can say ‘There was something wrong with the TV’ .]

C- ] Useful words and expressions :

- ‘ a single room’ : For one person .

- ‘ a double room’ : For two people . You can ask for two beds or a ‘king-size’           [ extra large ] bed .

- ‘double occupancy’ : means two ‘guests’ [ people ] stay in the room . Some hotels advertise room rates in this way : ‘$ 50 per person , double occupancy’ . [ The price is $ 100 . ]

- ‘a nonsmoking room / floor’ : Smoking is not allowed .

-Could I ‘make a reservation’ /‘reserve a room’ /‘book a room’ for next Thursday ?

- Could I have a ‘wake-up call’ at 7 a.m. , please ? [ Could you call to wake me at 7 a.m. ?]

- Could you ‘put it on my bill’ , please ? [ add the cost to the bill , e.g. , for a meal you order in your room ]

- I’m ‘checking out’ , [ leaving the hotel at the end of your stay ] Could I ‘pay my bill’ , please? [ pay for everything ]

- Could you ‘call [ telephone for ] a taxi for me to go to the airport ?

-Are you ‘full’ /‘fully booked’ [ completely full , no rooms available ] all next week ?

- Is breakfast ‘included’ ? [ Does the price include breakfast ? ]

- Where’s the ‘elevator’ ? [ the machine that takes you from one floor to another ]

- Excuse me . How do I get to the subway station from here ?

Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment [ 30 ]

30 ] Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment .

 

  

War and peace .

A- ] The outbreak [ start ] of war :

- Wars often start because of a ‘conflict’ [ strong disagreement ] between countries or groups of people , about ‘territory’ [ land that belongs to one country or group ].

- A country invaded another country . The country entered the other country ‘by force’ and ‘in large numbers’ and captured [ also took / took control of ] one of its cities . Soldiers from the other country had to ‘retreat’ [ go backward X advance ] to other positions . The army and air force of this country continued to ‘attack’ the cities [ took violent action to damage it] but the other country’s soldiers ‘defend’ them [ take action to protect them ] successfully .

B- ] A war zone :

- They are around the city of Y is now the main ‘war zone’ [ the area where the fighting is happening ] . The other country has asked for help from its ‘allies’ [ countries that are friends with this country ] . The allies sent ‘aid’ [ help ] in the form of extra ‘troops’ [ large groups of soldiers ] and supplies [ food and other things that are needed , e.g. , blankets and medicine ] . There is ‘shelling’ [ ‘firing’ of ‘guns’ and ‘explosives’ ] of the city every day , and hundreds of soldiers are either ‘killed’ or ‘wounded’ [ injured ] . Many ‘civilians’ [ ordinary people who are not in the army ] are also killed .

C- ] Peace talks :

For the civilians who are still ‘alive’ [ X dead ] , the situation gets worse . As winter approaches , food supplies ‘run out’ [ they are almost gone / finished ] . The soldiers get tired , and both sides begin to see that neither side can win the war ; they agree to meet for ‘peace talks’ [ talks to try to negotiate a ‘peace settlement’ / an end to the war ] . Finally they agree to a ‘cease-fire’ [ a period of no fighting ] .

D- ] Terrorism :

- ‘Terrorism’ is violent action for political reasons . People who do this are ‘terrorists’ , and a common terrorist crime is ‘hijacking’ [ taking control of a bus , train , ship or plane ; the people on board then become prisoners ] . The main purpose of hijacking is to use the prisoners [ called ‘hostages’ ] in order to ‘bargain’ for something [ to demand something in exchange for the hostages ] . The terrorists may agree to ‘release’ the hostages [ permit them to go free ] if government agrees to give the terrorists money or release other terrorists .

Pollution and the environment .

A- ] Important definitions :

- Many people ae worried about the environment [ the air , water and land around us ] as a result of the ‘harmful’ [ dangerous / damaging ] effects of human activity . Some of these activities cause ‘pollution’ [ dirty air , land and water ] , and some are ‘destroying’ the environment [ damaging it so badly that soon parts will not exist ] . Here are some of the problems :

- ‘the ozone layer’ : a layer of gases that stops the sun’s harmful radiation from reaching the earth . Recent research shows that there are now holes in parts of the ozone layer .

- ‘the greenhouse effect’ : when gases [ from pollution ] trap the sun’s heat , in the same way that the glass of a ‘greenhouse’ [ a glass building for growing plats in winter ] holds in heat . This may lead to ‘global warming’ .

- ‘global warming’ : an increase in world temperature caused , in part , by an increase in carbon dioxide and other gases .

- ‘acid rain ‘ : rain that contains dangerous chemicals ; this is caused by smoke from factories.

B - ] Common causes of damage :

- smoke from factories . – car ‘exhaust fumes’ . – ‘dumping’ [ throwing away ] industrial ‘waste’ [ unwanted material ] in sea and rivers . – ‘aerosol cans’ [ also called ‘spray cans’ ].

Some of these contain CFCs [ a type of chemical ] , which can damage the ozone layer .

C - ] Protecting [ stopping damage to ] the environment :

- Don’t ‘throw away ‘ bottles , newspapers , etc. Instead , take them to a ‘recycling center / bin’ so they can be ‘recycled’ [ used again ] .

- Walk , bicycle , or use ‘public transportation’ [ buses , subways , etc. ] ,if possible .

- Join a ‘carpool’ [ a group of car owners who agree to share their cars ; a different car is used for the group each day ] if you must drive to work or school .

- Don’t ‘waste’ [ use badly ] ‘resources’ [ e.g. water , gas ] . Try to ‘conserve / save X waste] them .

Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment [ 29 ]

29- ] Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment .

Making Uncountable Nouns Countable .

A- ]  You can make many ‘uncountable’ nouns ‘singular’ and ‘countable’ by adding a ‘piece of’ or a ‘little] ‘bit of’ . Similarly you can make such nouns ‘plural’ with ‘pieces of’ or ‘bits of’ . [ Bit is less formal than piece and they are not always interchangeable . ‘Bit’ can be used with all types of nouns . ‘Piece’ tends to be used more with ‘uncountable’ nouns . Bit suggests a smaller amount than piece .

- She bought an attractive old ‘piece of’ furniture at the auction sale .

- How many ‘pieces of’ luggage have you got with you ?

- The police collected ‘bits of’ information from different sources .

- Chopin wrote some wonderful ‘pieces of’ music .

- Before you go to England , you should know two ‘bits of’ advice .

- He spends all his money buying new ‘bits of’ computer equipment .

B-] A number of other words go with specific uncountable nouns :

1-] Weather :

- Today’s weather has been variable . In the north there were heavy ‘showers’[ of rain ].

- The sunny ‘spell’ [ of weather ] that we have had this last week has continued in much of the south although there were occasional ‘numbers of thunder’ and ‘flashes of lightning’ in some areas with some quite loud ‘claps of thunder’ in one or two areas . These were followed by a few ‘spots of rain’ but ‘gusts of wind’ soon blew them away and the sunshine returned .

2-] Groceries :

- I need a ‘loaf of’ bread , a couple of ‘slices of meat , two ‘bars of’ chocolate , a ‘tube of’ toothpaste , two ‘cartons of’ milk and three ‘bars of’ soap . [ slice can also be used with toast , bread , meat and cheese ]

3-] Nature :- Look at the ladybird on that ‘blade of’ grass !

- What’s happened ? Look at the ‘cloud of’ smoke hanging over the town !

- She blew little ‘puffs of’ smoke out of her cigarette straight into face .

- Let’s go out and get a ‘breath of’ fresh air .

- Put another ‘lump of’ coal on the fire , please . [ lump can also be used with ‘sugar’ ]

4-] Other :

- I had an amazing ‘stroke of’ luck this morning .

- I’ve never seen him do a ‘stroke of’ work . [ only in negative sentences ]

- I’ve never seen him in such a ‘fit of’ temper before .

- The donkey is the basic ‘means of’ transport on the island .

- Tights must be the most useful ‘article / item of’ clothing ever invented .

- There was an interesting ‘item of’ news about France on TV last night .

C-]  The phrase ‘ a state of’ can serve to make an uncountable noun singular . The nouns used with ‘state’ are usually abstract and include ‘chaos’ , ‘emergency’ , ‘tension’ , ‘confusion’ , ‘health’ , ‘disorder’ , ‘uncertainty’ , ‘poverty’ , ‘agitation’ , ‘despair’ and ‘flux’

[ continuous change ] e.g. a state of emergency .

Words that only occur in the plural .

A-] Tools , instruments , pieces of equipment :

- ‘scissors’ , ‘pliers’ , ‘pincers’ , ‘tweezers’ , ‘tongs’ , ‘headphones’ , ‘binoculars’ , ‘scales’ ,

‘handcuffs’ , ‘shears’ , ‘glasses / spectacles’ , ‘goggles’

B-] Things we wear :  ‘clothes’ , ‘pyjamas’ , ‘knickers / pants’ , ‘underpants / pants’ , ‘jeans’ ,

‘tights’ , ‘jodhpurs’ , ‘leggings’ , ‘dungarees’ , ‘shorts’ , ‘trousers’ , ‘braces’ , ‘[swimming] trunks’ .

C- ] More useful words :

- When I move to London , I’ll have to find ‘lodgings’ .  [ e.g. a room in a flat ]

- When will the ‘goods’ be delivered ? [ articles / items ]

- The architect inspected the ‘foundations’ before declaring that the ‘premises’ were safe .

     [ under the building / the buildings itself ]

- The military ‘authorities’ have established their ‘headquarters’ in the old Town Hall .

- The ‘acoustics’ in the new opera-house are near-perfect . [ quality of the sound ]

- The ‘contents’ of the house were sold after her death .

- ‘Looks’ are less important than personality in a partner .

- As you come to the ‘outskirts’ of the village , there are ‘traffic-lights’ . Turn left there .

                     [ the beginning or end of the village ] 

- The ‘stairs’ are a bit dangerous ; be careful .

- The ‘proceeds’ of the concerts are going to the children’s fund .[ money from selling tickets]

- A terrorist has escaped from prison . Her ‘whereabouts’ are unknown . [ where she is ]

D-] Words with plural form but used mostly with singular verbs :

- Names of some games : ‘billiards’ , ‘dominoes’ , ‘draughts’ , ‘darts’ , ‘bowls’ , ‘cards’ .

- Names of subjects / activities : ‘physics’ , ‘economics’ , ‘classics’ , ‘gymnastics’ , ‘aerobics’ ,

‘athletics’ , ‘maths’ .

- Some words look plural or may be thought of as plural , but are not , e.g. ‘means’ , ‘news’ ,

‘spaghetti’ [ an Italian plural form ] , ‘series’ .

- There was a ‘series’ of programs on TV about Japan .

- Is there a cheap ‘means’ of transport I could use to get there ?

Formal and informal words .

Formality is all about your relationship with the person you are speaking or writing to . If you use formal language , it may be because you wish to show respect , politeness , or to put yourself at a distance [ for example , ‘official’ language ] . Informal language can show friendliness , equality or a feeling of closeness and solidarity with someone . You should never use informal language just to sound fluent or clever . Slang is extremely colloquial language . Slang helps to make speech vivid , colorful  and interesting but it can easily be used inappropriately . Although slang is mainly used in speech , it is also often found in the popular press .

A-] Scales of formality :

Some groups of words can be put on a scale from formal to neutral to informal .

formal	neutral	informal
offspring	children	kids
abode / residence	house / flat	place
goodbye	bye-bye	bye or cheerio
alcoholic beverages	drink	booze
go amiss	go wrong	go pear-shaped

B-] Short , monosyllabic informal words :

Informal versions of words are often short and monosyllabic , as we can see in the right-hand column in the table above . They include slang words .

- It cost me ten ‘quid’ . [ pounds ] – I’ll help you peel the ‘spuds’ . [ potatoes]

- My ‘bike’’ s been stolen . [ bicycle ] . – Come and meet my ‘Mum’ and ‘Dad’ .        [ mother and father ]  - I always go be ‘tube’ . [ word used for the London Underground ]

- Hi ! Can’t stop ; see you , ‘bye’ ! [ hello ; goodbye ] – I’ll get a ‘cab’ from the station .[taxi]

C-] Clippings :

Shortening a word tends to make it less formal , as in ‘bye’ .

- I’ll meet you in the ‘lab’ [ laboratory ] . – What’s on ‘telly’ tonight ? [ television ]

- We should put an ‘ad’ [ advertisement ] / an ‘advert’[ advertisement] in the ‘paper’ [newspaper] – Shall I phone [telephone] them ?– Her sister’s a vet [ veterinary surgeon ].

D-] Formality in notices , instructions , etc. :

You will often see formal words in signs , notices and directions .

- This public house is closed until further notice .

- Articles deposited must be paid for in advance .

- Do not alight while the bus is in motion .

- We regret we cannot accept cheques .

- Do not address the driver unless the bus is stationary .

- Tickets must be purchased before boarding the train .

- Children are required not to deposit litter in the play area .

E-] Using slang appropriately :

Remember , it can be risky for someone who is not a native speaker to use slang . Firstly , because some slang expressions may cause offence to some sections of the population . For example , most policemen ae quite happy to be referred to as ‘coppers’ but are offended by the term ‘pigs’ . Similarly , you could probably use the word ‘sozzles’ [ meaning drunk ] in front of anyone but using the words ‘pissed’ , or ‘arseholed’ , which also mean drunk , could upset some people .

Secondly , slang words date very quickly . Different generations , for instance have used different slang expressions to say that something was ‘wonderful’ .

Pre-war : top-hole , 1940s : wizard , 1960s : fab , groovy , 1970s : cosmic , 1980s : brill , wicked , 1990s : cool , class .

B-] Some common slang words and expressions :

The words and expressions which are most likely to cause offence are underlined .

- Expressions for money : dough , bread , dosh , loot , brass , readies

- Expressions for the police : pigs , fuzz , cop[pers] , bill

- Expressions for drunk : pissed   , pie-eyed , paralytic   , legless  , arseholed

- Expressions for a stupid person : wally , prat , wanker  , jerk , dickhead  , plonker , pillock  , dork , clueless , out-to-lunch , doesn’t know his arse from his elbow

- Expressions for lavatory : loo , lav , bog , john

- Epressions for drink : booze , plonk [ wine ] , a bevvy

- Drug-related expressions : a fix , dope , grass , high , stoned , snow [ heroin ]

- Prison-related expressions : nick [ prison ] , nark [ informer ] , screw [ warder ]

C -] Slang is often used by one particular group and is unintelligible to other people . Here are some examples from American truck-drivers using CB radio to talk to each other .

- grandma lane : slow lane   , five finger discount : stolen goods  , super cola : beer

doughnuts : tyres , anklebiters : children , affirmative : yes , motion lotion : fuel , eyeballs : headlights .