Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment [ 24 ]

24- ] Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment .

 

Texture , brightness , weight and density .

A-] Texture – how something feels when you touch it :

adjective	typical examples
smooth	the paper , glass
polished	varnished wood / a shiny metal surface
silky	silk itself / fine , expensive tights or stockings
sleek	highly polished , streamlined , new car bodywork
downy	new-born baby’s hair
slippery	a fish just out of the water
furry	a thick sheepskin rug
rough	new , unwashed denim jeans / bark of a tree
coarse	sand
jagged	sharp , irregular edges of broken glass or metal
prickly	a thistle , cactus , thorns on a rose
gnarled	twisted , dead wood from an old tree

- Your hair has a ‘ silky’ ‘feel’ . – This cotton is very ‘smooth’ ‘to the touch’ .

- The table had a beautiful ‘polished’ ‘surface’ . –The ground was rough underfoot.

B-] Brightness : - ‘shiny’ leather shoes . –carnival costumes full of ‘vivid’ colors .

- a ‘shady’ corner of the garden . – a ‘dazzling’ light .

- You wear such ‘dull’ colors : why not get some ‘brighter’ clothes ?

- The light’s too ‘dim’ to read in here . We need another lamp .

- I wear sun-glasses when I drive because of the ‘glare’ of the sun .

C-] Density and weight :

- A ‘solid’ X ‘hollow’ object . – She has ‘thick’ X ‘thin’ / ‘fine’ hair .

- An area with ‘dense’ X ‘sparse’ vegetation .

- These boxes are rather ‘weighty’ . [ heavier than expected ]

- Your bag’s as ‘heavy’ as ‘lead’ ! What’s in it , bricks ?

- Your bag’s as ‘light’ as ‘a feather’ ! Have you brought enough ?

- This suitcase is very ‘bulky’ / ‘cumbersome’ . [ difficult , big and heavy ]

Sound and light .

A- ] General words to describe sound :

- I could hear the ‘sound’ of voices / music coming from the next room . [neutral]

- The ‘noise’ of the traffic here is pretty bad . [ loud , unpleasant sounds ]

- The children are making a terrible ‘racket’ upstairs . Could you go and tell them to be quiet ? [ informal ; very loud , unbearable noise , often of human activity ]

- ‘Noise’ and ‘sound’ can both be countable or uncountable . When they are of short duration or refer to different sounds / noises , they are countable . When they mean a lot of continual or continuous sounds , they are uncountable .

- Their lawnmower makes ‘a lot of noise’ , doesn’t it ? [ uncountable ]

- The ‘sound’ of the sea is very relaxing . [ uncountable ]

B- ] Sound words and things that typically make them :

verb /noun	example of what makes the sound
bang	a door closing in the wind , someone bursting a balloon
rustle	opening a paper / plastic bag , dry leaves underfoot
thud	a heavy object falling on to a carpeted floor
crash	a big , solid , heavy object falling on to a hard floor
clang	a big bell ringing , a hollow metal object being struck
clatter	a metal pan falling on to a concrete floor
hiss	gas /steam escaping through a small hole
rumble	distant noise of thunder , noise of traffic far away
roar	noise of heavy traffic , noise of a huge waterfall
ring	a small bell ringing , a telephone

C-] Darkness : Some adjectives for ‘dark ‘conditions .

- These brown walls are a bit ‘gloomy’ . We should paint them white .

- This torch is getting a bit ‘dim’ . I think it needs new batteries .

-It was a ‘somber’ room , with dark , heavy curtains . [ serious , imposing ]

D- ] Types of light :  Note these collocations .

- The sun ‘shines’ and gives out ‘rays’ of light .

- A torch gives out a ‘beam’ of light .

- A camera gives a ‘flash’ of light .

- Stars ‘twinkle’ .

- A candle-flame ‘flickers’ in the breeze .

- White-hot coal on a fire ‘glows’ .

- A diamond ring ‘sparkles’ .

- A gold object ‘glitters’ .

Movement and speed .

‘Move’ is the basic verb for all movement , but it also means ‘to move to a new house’

or flat’ , e.g. We’ve ‘moved’ . Do you want our new address ?

A-] Particular types of movement :

- Cars , lorries , etc. ‘travel’/ ‘drive’ along roads .

- Trains ‘travel’ along rails .

- Boats / ships ‘sail’ on rivers / across the sea .

- Rivers / streams ‘flow’ / ‘run’ through towns / villages .

B-] Things often have particular verbs associated with their types of movement .You should learn them as typical collocations .

- White clouds ‘drifted’ across the sky .

- The flag ‘fluttered’ in the wind .

- The leaves ‘stirred’ in the light breeze .

-The trees ‘swayed’ back and forth as the hurricane grew stronger .

- The car ‘swerved’ to avoid a dog which had run into the road .

C-] Verbs to describe fast and slow movement :

- The traffic was ‘crawling along’ because pf the roadworks .

- Stop ‘dawdling’ . We’ll be late !

- Suddenly a car came round the bend and ‘tore along’ the road at high speed . Seconds later , a police car ‘shot past’ after it .

- Everyone was ‘hurrying’ / ‘rushing’ to get their shopping done before closing time .

- The train was just ‘creeping’ / ‘plodding along’ at about 20 miles per hour . I knew we’d be late .

C-] Nouns to describe speed and their typical contexts :

- ‘speed’ is a general word : used for vehicles , developments , changes , etc. , e.g. We were travelling at high ‘speed’ .

- ‘rate’ is often used in statistical contexts ; the rate of increase / decrease , e.g. The birth ‘rate’ is going down .

- ‘pace’ shows how you experience something as happening fast or slow , e.g. The lesson was going at a very slow ‘pace’ .

- ‘velocity’ is used in technical / scientific contexts , e.g. The ‘velocity’ of a bullet .

Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment [ 23 ]

23- ] Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment .

Crimes .

A-] Note the difference between the verbs ‘steal ‘ and ‘rob’ . The object of the verb ‘steal’ is the thing which is taken away , e.g. They stole my bike . Whereas the object of the verb ‘rob’ is the person or place from which things are stolen , e.g. I was robbed last night . A masked man robbed the bank .

B-] The table below gives the names of some types of crimes together with their associated verbs and the name of the person who commits the crimes .

crime	definition	criminal	verb
murder	killing someone	murderer , killer	murder , kill
shoplifting	stealing something from a shop	shoplifter	shoplift
burglary	stealing something from  someone’s home	burglar	burgle
smuggling	taking something illegally into  another  country	smuggler	smuggle
kidnapping	taking a person hostage in exchange for money or other favors , etc.	kidnapper	kidnap

C-] Here are some more useful verbs connected with crime and law :

- He ‘committed’ a crime’ when he robbed a bank .

- Someone ‘witnessed’ the crime and told the police . The police ‘charged’ him ‘with’

‘bank robbery’ . They also ‘accused’ his twin brother of being his ‘accomplice’ .

- The ‘case’ ‘came to court’ and they were ‘tried’ . The ‘trial’ did not last very long . They ‘pleaded not guilty’ in the court . Their ‘lawyer’ did his best to ‘defend’ them but the ]prosecuting lawyer’ ‘produced’ a very strong case against them .

- After ‘brief deliberations’ , the ‘jury’ ‘passed verdict on’ them . They decided that one was ‘guilty’ but the other was ‘innocent’ . The ‘judge’ ‘acquitted’ the innocent ‘of’ any ‘involvement’ in the ‘robber’ but ‘sentenced’ the other ‘to’ three years ‘in prison’.

He also had to ‘pay’ a large ‘fine’ . The guilty ‘served’ two years in prison [jail] but was ‘released from’ prison a year early . He ‘got time off’ for ‘ good behavior’ .

D-] Here are some useful words :

- ‘trial’ : the legal process in court whereby an accused person is investigated , or tried and then found guilty or not guilty .

- ‘case’ : a crime that is being investigated .

- ‘evidence’ : information used in a court of law to decide whether the accused is guilty or not .

- ‘proof’ : evidence that shows conclusively whether something is a fact or not .

- ‘judge’ : the person who leads a trial and decides on the ‘sentence’ i.e. the punishment .

- ‘jury’ : group of twelve citizens who decide on the ‘verdict’ i.e. whether the accused is guilty or not .

Succeeding , failure and difficulty .

A-] Succeeding :

- We ‘succeeded in’ persuading a lot of people to join our protest

- I ‘managed’ to contact him just before he left his office .

- I don’t think I can ‘manage’ the whole walk . I think I’ll turn back  .

- We’ve ‘achieved’ / ‘accomplished’ a great deal in the last year . [ both are used with quantity phrases such as ‘a lot’ / ‘a little’ ; ‘accomplish’ is rather formal ]

- The company has ‘achieved’ all its ‘goals’ / ‘aims’ / ‘targets’ for the year . [ achieve is more common than accomplish with nouns expressing ‘goals’ and ‘ambitions’ ]

-Do you think his plan will ‘come off’ ?[ succeed ; informal ]

Matrix for some typical collocations with ‘succeeding’ verbs :

	reach	attain	secure	realize	fulfil	achieve
ambition		*		*	*	*
dream				*		*
agreement	*		*
obligation					*
target	*	*				*
compromise	*					*

B-] Failing and difficulty :

- Plans and projects sometimes ‘go wrong’ or ‘backfire’ . [ don’t run out as intended ]

- Companies , clubs and societies often ‘fold/ go under’ through lack of success . [ close down ; ‘go under’ is informal ]

- A plan or project may ‘falter’ , even if it finally succeeds . [ have ups and downs ]

- All your plans and hard work / efforts may ‘come to nothing’ .

- I have great ‘difficulty’ in getting up in the morning . I ‘find it difficult’ to remember the names of everybody in the class .[‘hard’ can also be used here ; it is more informal] 

- It’s ‘hard’ / ‘difficult’ to hear what she’s saying .

- I often ‘have trouble’ starting the car on cold mornings . [ more informal ]

- We’ve ‘had a lot of bother with’ the neighbors lately . [ very informal ]

- Can you ‘cope with’ three more students ? They’ve just arrived .

- I’ve no money , my friend left me ; I need help ; I just ‘can’t cope’ any more .

Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment [ 22 ]

22- ] Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment .

The Weather .

A-] Cold weather :

In Scandinavia , the ‘chilly’ [ cold , but not very ] days of autumn soon change to the cold days of winter . The first ‘frosts’ [ thin white coat of ice on everything ] arrive and the roads become icy . Rain becomes ‘sleet’ [rain and snow mixed ] and then snow , at first turning to ‘slush’ [ dirty , brownish , half-snow ,

 half-water  ] in the streets , but soon ‘settling’ [ staying as a white covering ] , with severe ‘blizzards’ [ snow blown by high winds ] and ‘snowdrifts’ [ deep banks of snow against walls , etc.] in the far north . ‘Freezing’ [when temperatures are below 0 centigrade ] weather often continues in the far north until May or even June , when the ground starts to ‘thaw’ [change from hard , frozen state to softer state ] and the ice ‘melts’ [ change from solid to liquid under heat ] again .

B-] Warm / hot weather :

- ‘close’ [ warm and uncomfortable ] . – ‘stifling’ [ hot , uncomfortable , you can hardly breathe ] . – ‘muggy’ [ very warm and a little damp ] . – ‘humid’ [ hot and damp , makes you sweat a lot ] – ‘scorching’ [ very hot , often used in positive contexts ] –‘boiling’ [ very hot , often used in negative contexts ] – ‘mild’ [ warm at a time when it is normally cold ] – ‘a heatwave’ [ very hot , dry period ]

C-] Wet weather :

This wet weather scale gets stronger from left to right .

‘damp’-------‘drizzle’ -------‘pour down’ [verb]------‘torrential rain’-----‘flood’ .

-  Autumn in London is usually ‘chilly’ and ‘damp’ with ‘rain’ and ‘drizzle’ .

- It was absolutely ‘pouring down’ . or There was a real ‘downpour’ .

- In the Tropics there is usually ‘torrential rain’ most days , and the roads often get ‘flooded’ . or There are ‘floods’ on the roads .

- This rain won’t last long ; it’s only a ‘shower’ . [ short duration ]

- The ‘storm’ damaged several houses . [ high winds and rain together ]

- We got very wet in the ‘thunderstorm’ . [ thunder and heavy rain ]

- ‘Hailstones’ were battering the roof of our car . [ small balls of ice falling from the sky ] . ‘Hail’ is uncountable . There was ‘hail’ yesterday .

- The sky’s a bit ‘overcast’ ; I think it’s going to rain . [ very cloudy ]

- We had a ‘drought’ last summer . It didn’t rain for six weeks .

D-] Mist and fog :

Nouns and adjectives : ‘haze’ / ‘hazy’ [ light mist , usually caused by heat ]  ‘mist’

/ ‘misty’ [ light fog , often on the sea , or caused by drizzle ] , ‘fog’ / ‘foggy’ [ quite thick , associated with cold weather ] , ‘smog’ [ mixture of fog and pollution ( smoke + fog) ]

E-] Wind :

- There was a gentle ‘breeze’ on the beach , just enough to cool us .

- There’s a good ‘wind’ today ; fancy going sailing ?

- It’s a very ‘blustery’ day ; the umbrella will just blow away .

- There’s been a ‘gale’ waning ; it would be crazy to go sailing .

- People boarded up their windows when they heard there was a ‘hurricane’ on the way .

Global problems .

A-] Disasters / tragedies .

- ‘ earthquakes’ [ the earth moves / trembles ] – ‘volcanoes’ [ hot liquid rock and gases pour from the earth ] – ‘hurricane’ / ‘tornado’  / ‘typhoon’[ violent winds /storms ]

- ‘drought’ [ no rain ] – ‘ famine’ [ no food ]  - ‘flood’ [ too much rain ]

- ‘epidemic’ [ diseases affecting large numbers of people ]

Disasters not caused by human beings can be called ‘natural disasters’ .

- ‘major accidents’ [ e.g. plane crash ] – ‘war’ / ‘civil war’ [ civil war is war between people of the same country ]

B-] Verbs connected with these disasters :

-A ‘volcano’ has ‘erupted’ in Indonesia . Hundreds are feared dead .

- The flu ‘epidemic’ ‘spread’ rapidly throughout the country .

- Millions are ‘starving’ as a result of the ‘famine’ .

- A big ‘earthquake’ ‘shook’ the city at noon today .

- The area is ‘suffering’ its worst ‘drought’ for many years .

- ‘Civil war’ has ‘broken out’ in the north of the country .

- A ‘tornado’ ‘swept’ through the islands yesterday .

B-] Words for people involved in disasters /tragedies :

- The ‘explosion’ resulted in 300 ‘casualties’ . [ dead and injured people ]

- The real ‘victims’ of ‘civil war’ are children left without parents .

           [ those who suffer the results ]

- There were only live ‘survivors ‘ . All the other passengers were reported dead .

           [ people who live through a disaster ]

- Thousands of ‘refugees’ have crossed the border looking for food and shelter .

- During the battle , the 'dead’ and the ‘wounded’ were flown out in helicopters .

           [ wounded : injured in a battle / by a weapon ]

C-] Headlines :

Here are some headlines from newspapers all connected with disasters and epidemics .

- ‘Rabies’ [ disease can be caused by bite from a dog , fox etc. very serious ]out of control in many parts of Asia .

- ‘Cholera’ and ‘typhoid’ [ diseases causing sickness , diarrhea etc. ; caused by infected food and water ] injections not needed’  says Tourism Minister .

- New ‘malaria’ [ usually caught because of mosquito bites ] drug tested .

- ‘ Yellow fever’ [ tropical disease ; skin goes yellow ] figures drop .

- New ‘AIDS’ [ acquired immune deficiency syndrome ; often caused by sexual contact or contact with contaminated blood ] unit to be opened this month .

- Minister says fight against ‘leprosy’ [ terrible skin disease ; leaves the skin deformed ]

goes on .

Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment [ 21 ]

21- ] Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment .

Possession , giving and lending .

A-] Possession :

- All his ‘possessions’ were destroyed in the terrible fire . [ everything he owned]

- Don’t leave any of your ‘belongings’ here ; we’ve had a few thefts recently .

[ smaller things e.g. bag , camera , coat ; always plural ]

-‘Estate’ in the singular can mean a big area of private land and the buildings on it , or all of someone’s wealth upon death .

- She owns a huge ‘estate’ in England . [ land , etc. ]

-After his death , his ‘estate’ was calculated at £ 5 million . [ all his wealth ]

- ‘Property’ [ uncountable] is used in a general sense for houses , land , etc.

- He’s only fourteen ; he’s too young to own ‘property’ .

- A ‘property’ [countable] is a building [e.g. house , office-block ] or land .

- She owns some valuable ‘properties’ in the town-center .

B-] Words for people connected with ownership :

- The ‘proprietor’ of this restaurant is a friend of mine . [ formal ; used for shops , businesses etc. ; ‘owner’ is less formal ]

- The ‘landlord / lady’ has put the rent up . [ owner of rented property ]

- Do you own this house ? No we’re just ‘tenants’ . [ we rent it ]

C-] Giving :

- The river ‘provides’ the village ‘with’ water / ‘provides’ water ‘for’ the village .

[ or supplies ]

- Would you like to ‘contribute/ donate’ something to the children’s hospital fund?

- Salah Ltd . ‘supplies’ our school ‘with’ paper and other items . [ often for ‘selling’ contexts ]

- It gives me pleasure to ‘present’ you ‘with’ this clock from us all .

- The school restaurant ‘caters for’ 500 people every day . [ looks after the needs of them ]

- That uncle of mine that died ‘left’ £ 30,000 to an orphanage .

- When she died she ‘donated’ all her books to the public library . [ for large gifts to institutions ]

- You’ve been ‘allocated’ Room 24 . Here’s your key .

D-] Lending , etc.

- We’ve decided to ‘hire / rent’ a car . Can you recommend a good ‘car-hire/ car-rental’ firm ? [ rent and hire are both commonly used ]

- We’d like to ‘rent’ a flat for six months . [ not hire ]

-We’ve ‘hired’ the lecture-room for a day .[ not rent ; short , temporary arrangements ]

- Thar tape-recorder you ‘lent’ me last week , could I ‘borrow’ it again ?

- I’m trying to get a ‘loan’ from the bank to buy a boat .

Money – buying , selling and paying .

A-] Personal finance :

-Sometimes in a ‘shop’ they ask you : ‘How do you want to pay ?’

You can answer : ‘Cash’ l ‘By cheque’ . / By credit card’ .

- In a ‘bank’ you usually have a ‘current account’ , which is one where you ‘pay in your salary’ and then ‘withdraw’ money to ‘pay your everyday bills’ . The band sends you a regular ‘bank statement’ telling you how much money has gone in and out of your account .

- You may also have a ‘saving account’ where you ‘deposit’ any extra money that you have and only ‘take money out’ when you want to ‘spend’ it ‘on’ something special .

- If you spend more than you have in your account you can have an ‘overdraft’ . The bank allows you to spend more and ‘charges’ you ‘interest’ .

- If your account is ‘overdrawn’ [ you have taken more out of your account than you had in it ] you are ‘in the red’ [ as opposed to ‘in the black’ or ‘in credit].

- Sometimes the bank may ‘lend’ you money – this is called a ‘bank loan’ .

- If the bank [ or building society ] lends you money to buy a house , the money is called a ‘mortgage’ .

-When you ‘buy’ [ or ‘purchase’ more formally ] something in a shop , you usually ‘pay’ for it ‘outright’ but sometimes you buy ‘on credit’ .

-Sometimes you may be offered a ‘discount’ or a ‘reduction’ on something you buy . For example , you might ‘get £10 off’ perhaps because you are a student . You are offered a discount if you buy ‘in bulk’ .

- It is not usual to ‘haggle’ about prices in a British shop .

- If you want to return something which you have bought to a shop , you may be given a ‘refund’ , i.e. your money will be returned , provided you have a ‘receipt’ .

- The money that you pay for services , e.g. to a school or a lawyer , is usually called a ‘fee’ or ‘fees’ .

- The money paid for a journey is a ‘fare’ .

- If you buy something that you feel was very ‘good value’ , it’s a ‘bargain’ .

- If you feel that it is definitely ‘not worth’ what you paid for it , then you can call it a ‘rip-off’ . [ very colloquial ]

B-] Public finance :

- The government collects money from citizens through ‘taxes’ . ‘Income taxes’ is the tax collected on ‘wages’ and ‘salaries’ . ‘Inheritance tax’ is collected on what people inherit from others .

- ‘Customs or ‘excise duties’ have to be paid on goods imported from other countries .

- VAT or ‘value added tax’ is a tax paid on most goods and services when they are bought or purchased .

Companies pay ‘corporation tax’ on their profits .

-If you pay too much tax , you should be given some money back , a ‘tax rebate’ .

- The government also sometimes pays out money to people in need , e.g. ‘unemployment benefit’ [ also known as ‘the dole’ , informal ] ‘disability allowances’ and ‘student loans’ [ money lent to help pay for studying] . Recipients ‘draw a pension’ , ‘unemployment benefit’ or are ‘on the dole’ or ‘on social security’ .

- Every country has its own special ‘currency’ .

- Every day the ‘rates of exchange’ are published and you can discover , for example , how many dollars there are currently to the pound sterling .

- A company may sell ‘shares’ to members of the public who are then said to have ‘invested’ in the company . They should be paid a regular ‘dividend’ on their ‘investment’ , depending on the ‘profit’ or 'loss’ made by the company .