30.9.16

English vs. American Vocabulary

29.9.16

The Royal Canadian Tour in pictures and video - day 6

Prince William and his family—Duchess Kate, Prince George and Princess Charlotte—are on tour in Canada this week, and so the adoring public are getting treated to an extra dose of cuteness as the royal offspring attend all kinds of official events.

On Thursday (September 29th), they hit up a children’s party celebrating military families in Victoria. It was a fine day to be outside, and the young Prince and Princess took full advantage of the good weather to enjoy themselves. Or rather, they really enjoyed the balloons on display—and the bubbles. These children are basically models for bubbles.

128 words to use instead of "very"

28.9.16

Idioms with parts of animals

Claw your way back/into/out of to: to achieve something or move forwards by making a big effort or with difficulty. I clawed my way to success in business.
Hoof it: (informal) to go on foot because transportation is unavailable. We have to hoof it to the station.
Raise hackles (make someone’s hackles rise): to make someone angry. His jokes raised my hackles.
Be on horns of a dilemma: having to make a choice between two equally important alternatives. I found myselfon the horns of a dilemma.
Draw in your horns: to behave carefully in order to spend less money than before. I draw in my horns, after I resign.
Get the hump: (informal) to get upset. I get the hump when my team loses.
Over the hump: (informal) : past the hardest part of something. We are finally over the hump after hard work.
Get your snout in the trough: When you get your snout in the trough, it means you try or hurry to get a lot of money.
Turn tail: to turn around and flee from danger. They turned tail and ran away from the fight.
Be on someone’s tail: to drive after someone. There is a red car on my tail.
Can’t make head nor tail of: to not understand at all: We can’t make head nor tail of this Russian book.
Chase your tail: to work hard to do something but achieve very little. You can’t repair the bicycle. You’re justchasing your tail.
Be the cat’s whiskers: (informal) to be superior person. The model thinks she’s the cat’s whiskers.
By a whisker: narrowly; by a slight amount. The athlete won by a whisker.
Come out of your shell: to become more confident and outgoing when spending time with other people. Hecame out of his shell and had a very sociable weekend.
Birds of a feather: people with similar characters. Tony is my best friend. We’re birds of a feather.
A feather in your cap: a great achievement; success to be proud of. It’s a feather in your cap to receive the commendation for bravery.
Clip your wings: to restrain someone from acting freely. My parents never tried to clip my wings.
Wait in the wings: to be ready to replace someone: ready to be active. Two talented players are waiting in the wings.
On the wing: in flight. He shot the crow on the wing.
Spread your wings: to feel more confident to try something new. It is time to leave home and spread your wings.
Take under your wing: to take care of someone. He took the child with cancer under his wing.
Take wing: to begin to fly. As soon as it saw me, the stork took wing.

26.9.16

Funny Talking Animals - BBC Video

Types of vehicles with definitions

Airship (also dirigible)

an aircraft consisting of a large gas balloon that looks like a ship, and a gondola where passengers sit. Gondola is a structure suspended below the balloon.

Airplane (also plane)

an aircraft that has wings and an engine, used for transporting people or goods

ATV (all-terrain vehicle)

a small open vehicle with four large wheels and a single seat in the middle, used for driving on dirt roads

Automobile (car)

a road vehicle that has four wheel and engine, that is designed for one driver and one to seven passengers

Ambulance

a vehicle that provides medical care in emergency and takes the patients to or from hospital

Balloon (also hot-air balloon)

an aircraft consisting of a large spherical bag filled with gas or hot air, and basket suspended below the bag

Bicycle (informal bike)

a vehicle consisting of metal frame, one small seat , handlebars and two wheels, that a person rides by pushing the pedals with both feet

Boat

a watercraft that is smaller than ship, and used for travel on water

Bus

a large vehicle that has a lot of seats for passengers and used for public transportation

Cable car

a vehicle without engine that hangs from cables and travels up and down steep hills

Canoe

a long and narrow boat that is made of light materials

Golf cart

a small vehicle that is designed to carry two golfers and their equipment around a golf course

Helicopter

an aircraft with rotating blades on its top that can stay in the air without moving

Hovercraft

a vehicle consisting of a cushion of air and one or two blowers that allow it travel above land, mud, water or ice

Locomotive (also engine)

a vehicle that is powered to pull trains along railroad tracks

Moped

a small motorcycle with an engine that is assisted with pedaling

Motorcycle

a road vehicle with engine and two wheels that is designed for carrying one or two riders

Rickshaw

a cart for one or two passengers that is pulled by a person

Pedalo (also pedal boat)

a small boat with pedals that is usually moved on small lakes for pleasure

Police car

a vehicle with flashing light, siren and other police equipment, used for carrying officers or suspects

Fire engine

a vehicle that is designed for fighting fires and rescuing people

Sailboat

A boat that is moved by sails

Ship

a large watercraft for carrying people or goods by sea or ocean

Snowmobile (also sled)

a small vehicle for a single rider that is designed to travel on snow or icy surfaces

Submarine

a water craft that is capable of travelling underwater

SUV (sport utility vehicle)

a car that is capable of supplying power to all wheels for rough surfaces

Tractor

a farm vehicle with large back wheels, used especially for pulling agricultural machines

Train

a group of rail vehicles attached and pulled by a locomotive

Tram (also street car)

a vehicle that runs on rails in the cities and driven by electric wires

Tricycle

a bicycle that has three rear wheels and one front wheel

Trolleybus

a bus driven by electric wires above the road

Truck (British English lorry)

a heavy vehicle that is designed to carry large loads

Van

a vehicle that is bigger than an automobile, used for carrying goods, equipment or people

Garbage truck

a vehicle to collect household wastes

25.9.16

The Royal Canadian Tour In Pictures - day 2

September 25

Prince William offers assistance to his wife as they depart a seaplane in Vancouver.

The Duke and Duchess arrive with Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie, to visit the Canadian Coast Guard.

Shapes and solids - vocabulary

Shapes

Circle: a line that curves until its ends join. A ring is in the shape of a circle.
Oval: a line that is curved like outline of an egg
Square: a flat shape having four equal sides (the opposite sides are parallel) and all four internal angles of 90 degree
Rectangle: a flat shape having four sides (the opposite sides are parallel) and all four internal angles of 90 degree
Triangle: a flat shape having three sides and three angles
Pentagon: a flat shape having five sides and five angles
Hexagon: a flat shape having six sides and six angles
Octagon: a flat shape having eight sides and eight angles

Solid figures

A shape that has length, width and height is called a solid figure. The solid shape can include:

Cube: a solid figure having six square faces that are all equal. A cube has eight points and twelve edges.
Cone: a solid figure with one circular base and curved side that narrows gradually until it joins to the top called the apex.
Cylinder: a solid figure consisting of two circular ends and one curved side
Pyramid: a solid figure consisting of square base and four triangular sides that meet at the top called the apex
Sphere: a solid figure that is perfectly round like a ball

24.9.16

The Royal Canadian Tour In Pictures - day 1

As the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge embark on their first royal tour with Prince George and Princess Charlotte in Canada, the world's eyes will be on the young family. After arriving in Victoria on Saturday September 24, their trip takes them to Vancouver, Bella Bella, Kelowna, and Haida Gwaii in British Columbia, as well as Whitehorse and Carcross in Yukon, before they make their return to the UK on Saturday, October 1. Track their travels in pictures here.

September 24

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with Prince George and Princess Charlotte disembark their aeroplane.

The royal family are greeted by Canada's prime minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie, as well as governor general David Johnston and his wife, Sharon, British Columbia's Lt.Gov. Judith Guichon and premier Christy Clark and her son, Hamish.

The royal couple accept gifts and flowers from well wishers.

12 of the most misused English words - infographic

23.9.16