Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment ( 26 }

26- ] Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment .

 

 

Fine Arts

The arts .

A-] Things which generally come under the heading of ‘the arts’ :

Literature 

l

                                                            biographies                  short stories

                                                                     l                                  l

                                               novels - drama                           poetry

Fine Arts

l

                                                      architecture    ----- painting

                                                      ceramics                  sculpture

Performing Arts

l

                                                        theater                 cinema

                                                  drama                        ballet

                                  opera , concerts : classical / rock /country & Western 

- ‘The arts’ [plural] covers everything in the network . ‘Art’ [ singular , uncountable ] usually means ‘fine art’ , but can also refer to technique and creativity .

-Have you read the ‘arts page’ in the paper today ? [ that part of the newspaper that deals with all the things in the network ]

- She’s great ‘art lover’ . [ loves painting and sculpture ]

- Shakespeare was skilled in ‘the art of poetry . [ creative ability ]

- ‘Dance’ usually refers to modern artistic dance forms : ballet usually has a more traditional feel , unless we say ‘modern ballet’ .

- A ‘novel’ is a long story , e.g. 200-300 pages ; a piece of short prose fiction , e.g. 10 pages is a ‘short story’ .

B-] Use of ‘the’ - definite article :  When we refer to a performing art in general , we can leave out the definite article [the] .

- Are you interested in cinema / ballet / opera / theatre ?

- But : Would you like to come to the cinema / ballet / opera / theatre with us next week ?  [ particular performance ]

C-] Describing a performance :

We went to see a new ‘production’ of Hamlet last night . The ‘sets’[ scenery , buildings , furniture on the stage or in a studio ] were incredibly realistic and the ‘costumes’

[ clothes the actors wear on stage ] were wonderful . It was a good ‘cast’ [ all the actors in it ] and I thought the ‘direction’ [ the way the director had organized the performance ] was excellent . The actors ‘gave’ a marvelous ‘performance’ . It ‘got rave reviews’ [ means got very enthusiastic comments ] in the papers today .

C-] Words connected with events in the arts :

- there’s an ‘exhibition’ of paintings by Manet ‘on’ in London .

- They’re going to ‘publish’ a new ‘edition’ of the ‘works’ of Shaw next year .

- The Opera Society are doing a ‘performance’ of Don Giovanni .

- Our local cinema’s ‘showing’ Titanic next week .

Music .

A-] Buying music :

- Many people now buy music on CD .

- ‘album’ [ a recording of a selection of songs / tracks / pieces of music on a CD or cassette ]

- ‘hit singles’ [ best selling songs issued individually ]

- ‘lead singer’ [ main singer in a band ]

- ‘backing’ [ the group providing the background music /vocals for the song ]

B-] Types of music :

Music can be described in terms of the instruments playing it : ‘piano music’ , ‘guitar music’ , ‘big band music’ , ‘instrumental music’ [ instruments only with no vocals

[ voices , singing ], ‘electronic music’ [ played be a synthesizer ] , ‘orchestral music’.
                                                                      country & Western  ---------blues
                                                chamber music ------------- folk ------------ jazz   
                                                           heavy metal  -----------pop ---------classical 
                                                                                   soul 

Styles of music .

- ‘Western’ [ a style of US music based on western a folk music ] .

- ‘chamber music’ [ written for a small group of orchestral instruments ]

- ‘folk’ [ traditional ]

- The dinner was lovely , but the ‘background music’ was just too loud . We couldn’t talk .

- It’s difficult to concentrate on work  when there’s ‘dance music’ playing .

- The ‘soundtrack’ of that film is fantastic . I think it won an Oscar . [ music for a film]

I don’t really like restaurants where they play ‘muzak’ [ recorded , light music played continuously in public places ; you can also say ‘canned music’ or ‘piped music’ ] .

- Music can be described in terms of its period or place of origin :

‘contemporary’ , ‘modern’ , ‘20^th century’ , ‘ ‘sixties’ , ‘Irish’ , ‘Indian music’

 C-] Other adjectives used to describe music :

- ‘live’ , ‘recorded’ , ‘deafening’ , ‘loud’ , ‘rousing’ , ‘soft’ , ‘sweet’ , ‘innovative’ , ‘tuneless’ , ‘discordant’ , ‘tuneful’ , ‘soothing’ , ‘relaxing’ , ‘peaceful’ , ‘modern’

D-] Things you do with music :

- She ‘plays the piano’ very well , but she doesn’t ‘read music’ .

- She’s got ‘ a good ear’ . [informal] – She can ‘pick out’ any tune on the piano .[informal

- She doesn’t have to ‘practice’ much at all . She’s ‘natural’ . [informal] .She can ‘play by ear’ .

- He’s very ‘musical’ . He ‘wrote an arrangement of / arranged’ a Bach symphony for the band .

- You can ‘play a tune’ on an instrument or you can ‘whistle’ [make a sound by pushing air through your lips] or ‘hum’ [sing with lips closed] . You can ‘make music’ in lots of ways .

- I’ve some new ‘chords’ on the guitar [several harmonizing notes played at the same time] .

- I have to ‘practice’ my ‘scales’ , but it’s boring . [sets of notes moving up and down in steps ]

Sport .

A- ] Some sports you may not know :

-‘hang-gliding’  , ‘windsurfing’ , ‘[ten-pin] bowling’ , ‘scuba-diving’ , ‘cross-country skiing’ , ‘show-jumping’ , ‘fencing’ , ‘snooker /pool / billiards’ , ‘motor-racing’ , ‘archery’.

B-] Equipment  - what you hold in your hand :

- ‘golf’ : ‘club’ , - ‘squash’/ ‘tennis’ / ‘badminton’ : ‘racket’ – ‘darts’ : ‘dart’  ,  ‘cricket’/ ‘table-tennis’ / ‘baseball’ : ‘bat’ ,- ‘[ice] hockey’ : ‘stick’ , - ‘snooker’ / ‘pool’/

‘billiards’: ‘cue’ , - ‘canoeing’ : ‘paddle’ , - ‘rowing’ : ‘oar’ , - ‘fishing’ : ‘rod’ / ‘line’

C-] Athletics – some field events :  -‘discus’ , -‘javelin’ , -‘high-jump’ , -long-jump’

- ‘pole-vault’ .

- She’s a great ‘sprinter’ [fast over short distances ] . – She’s running the ‘final leg’ in the ‘relay’ . I hope no-one drops the ‘baton’ .

- He’s a great ‘long-distance’ runner . [e.g. 5000 meters , marathon]

- ‘Jogging’ round the park every Saturday’s enough for me . It keeps me fairly fit .

D-] Verbs and their collocations in the context of sport :

- Our team ‘won’ / ‘lost’ by three ‘goals’ / ‘points’ .

- She ‘broke’ the Olympic ‘record’ last year .

- He ‘holds the record’ for the 100 meters ‘breast-stroke’ .

- Liverpool ‘beat’ Hamburg 4-2 yesterday .

- How many ‘goals’ / ‘points’ have you ‘scored’ this ‘season’ ?

- I think I’ll ‘take up’ bowling next spring and ‘give up’ golf .

E-] People who do particular sports :

- ‘er’ can be used for many sports , e.g. ‘footballer’ , ‘swimmer’ , ‘windsurfer’ , ‘high-jumper’ , ‘cricketer’ , ‘golfer’ , etc.

- ‘Player’ is often necessary , e.g. ‘tennis-player’ , ‘snooker-player’ , ‘darts-player ‘ , and we can also say ‘football-player’ , ‘cricket-player’ .

- Some names must be learnt separately , e.g. ‘canoeist’ , ‘mountaineer’ , ‘jockey’ , ‘archer’ [not archerer] , ‘gymnast’ .

Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment [ 25 ]

25- ] Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment .

Politics and public institutions .

A-[ Types of government :

-‘republic’ :a state governed by representatives and usually a president [ e.g. US , France ]

- ‘monarchy’ : a state ruled by a king or queen [ e.g. UK , Sweden ]

- ‘federation’ : a union of political units [ e.g. provinces] under a central government [e.g. USA ]

- ‘democracy’ : government of , by and for the people

- ‘dictatorship’ : system of government run by a dictator

- ‘independence’ : freedom from outside control ; self-governing

B-] Presidential and parliamentary government [ US and UK ] :

United States :

- ‘Presidential government’ : The powers of the President and the legislature                   [ Congress ]are separate . These ‘branches’ of government are elected separately .

- ‘The President’ is ‘elected’ for a four-year ‘term’ and can ‘appoint’ or ‘nominate’ high official in government , including ‘cabinet’ members [ who advise ] and federal ‘judges’ . The President leads a major party , usually , but not always , the ‘majority party’ in Congress .

 - ‘Congress’ consists of two ‘houses’ , the ‘House of Representatives’ and the ‘Senate’.

- ‘Congressmen or women’ and ‘Senators’ are elected for fixed terms .

- The ‘judiciary’ is a separate branch . The ‘Supreme Court’ , the highest court , can ‘overrule’ the President and Congress .

C-] United Kingdom :

- ‘Parliamentary government’ : The government consists of a ‘legislature’ [Parliament] and a ‘Cabinet of Ministers’ from the ‘majority party’ in Parliament .

- The ‘Prime Minister’ is the head of the government and the leader of the majority party in the ‘House of Commons’ , holding office while the party holds a majority . The Prime Minister ‘selects’ high officials and ‘heads’ the Cabinet .

- ‘Parliament’ consists of two ‘chambers’ , the ‘House of Commons’ and the ‘House of Lords’ .

- ‘MPs’ are ‘members of parliament’ elected from each ‘constituency’ [ geographical area ] to the ‘House of Commons’ .

-The ‘judiciary’ is independent but it cannot ‘overrule’ the Prime Minister of Parliament .

The ‘Highest Court’ consists of a group of Lords .

D-] Parliamentary elections :

During a ‘general election’ each ‘constituency’ has to choose which ‘politician’ it wants as its ‘representative’ . Usually there are several ‘candidates’ to choose from . These candidates are all ‘standing’ [ or ‘running’] for Parliament . They present the ‘policies’ that they represent . On ‘polling day’ each citizen goes to the ‘polling station’ and ‘casts a vote’ by marking a cross on their ‘ballot paper’ . The candidate who gets the ‘majority’ of votes wins the ‘seat’ . If the vote is very close , the constituency may be referred to as a ‘marginal seat’ . If an MP dies ‘in office’ , then there has to be a ‘by[e]-election’ to replace him or her . The public can also occasionally vote in a ‘referendum’ – a ‘direct vote’ y the people on an important public issue .

The press and the media .

A-] The term the ‘mass media in English refers basically to TV , radio and newspapers : means of communication which reach very large numbers of people .

B-] Radio and television :

Types of programs : documentaries , news , broadcasts , current affairs programs  , soap operas [ continuing stories about the lives of a set of characters] ,

quizzes sitcoms [ comedies centering around a set of characters in a particular situation] , drama , chat shows , detective stories , sports programs , weather forecasts , music programs , game shows [ where contestants compete for prizes ] , variety shows , commercials [ adverts ]

-  ‘serial’ is a story that continues from one program or ‘episode’ to the next . A series about the same ‘characters’ or has the same format each week but each program is complete in itself .

- ‘Films’ originally made in a different language may have ‘sub-titles’ so you can read a translation of what the characters are saying or be ‘dubbed’ , so you hear what they are saying in your own language .

C-] Newspapers and publishing :

- ‘Parts of the newspaper’ : ‘headlines’ , ‘news reports’ , ‘editorial’ [ an opinion article written by the editor ] , ‘feature articles’ , e.g. about fashion or social trends , ‘horoscope’ , ‘cartoons’ , ‘crossword’ , ‘small ads’ , ‘business news’ , ‘sports reports’

, ‘scandal’ , ‘the letters page’ .

- A ‘popular’ or ‘tabloid newspaper’ focuses more on sensation than real news whereas a ‘quality newspaper’ A ‘tabloid’ usually has a smaller format than a ‘quality paper’ , it has larger ‘headlines’ and shorter stories , and in Britain it prefers stories about film stars , violent crimes and the royal family . A ‘journal’ is the name usually given to an academic ‘magazine’ . A ‘color supplement’ is a ‘magazine’ which comes out once a week [ often on Sundays ] as an addition to a newspaper . A ‘comic’ is a ‘magazine’ , usually for children or teenagers , with lots of picture stories and / or cartoons .

D-] Some verbs connected with the press and the media .

- The BBC World Service ‘broadcasts’ throughout the world .

- I can ‘receive’ / pick up’ broadcasts from Moscow on my radio .

- They’re ‘showing’ a good film on TV tonight .

- This book was ‘published’ by CUP and it was ‘printed’ in Cambridge .

- The film was ‘shot / made on location’ in Spain .

- They ‘cut / censored’ the film before showing it on TV .

- This article / program has been badly ‘edited’ .

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 .