Unfortunately it is quite a common occurance nowadays...
People are LAID OFF, SENT AWAY, GIVEN THE SACK, GOT RID OF, FIRED...
it doesn't matter how HARD-WORKING, DEDICATED, SMART, SKILLFUL, QUALIFIED... they are.
Companies are DOWNSIZED, SHUT/CLOSED DOWN, BOUGHT OUT...
Are you familiar with the words in capital letters?
When a loved one dies, most of us are grieving so much that it’s hard to do
anything else. Yet in almost all cultures, family and friends expect the
opportunity to say goodbye, either with a memorial service, traditional funeral, or
even to scatter someone’s ashes. There are many
ways to honour a person who has passed away.
Although it may feel like a sombre time, a lot of people hope their own
funerals will be celebratory. Sometimes the person who has
died has already asked friends and family to do something fun or moving in honour of the way they experienced
life. It feels important to do our best to fulfil these wishes.
Find
the synonyms/definitions for the underlined words:
1.achieve, bring about, make happen
2.arousing or touching the emotions
3.crying, mourning
4.dark, gloomy
5.died
6.it will be celebrated
7.make the remains of a body spread in the wind
8.tribute
Find out what’s happening in Marni’s family as she and
Devan talk about funerals:
Marni: I just got a notice in the mail that an old aunt died
and I have to ______________ her funeral.
Devan: Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry.
Marni: It’s OK. She was 98, so she lived a good life. But I
do want to go and __________________________
Devan: Is her ______________________ going to be _____________________,
or is your family more serious about these kinds of things?
Marni: I think it should be fairly celebratory. A woman who
lived until 98, that’s a pretty miraculous thing. I know there’s going to be a
lot of family there that are really intensely _______________. The grieving
process is so different for so many people that I’m a little nervous about some
of my family members and how they’re going to take it.
Devan: That’s true. Have you thought about your own funeral,
what kind of celebration you want to have?
Marni: I would want my funeral to be celebratory and
hopefully _________________ for people. I don’t want it to be a
______________________.
Australian tourist board answers your questions!!?
__________________________________________________
Q: Does it ever get windy in Australia ? I have never seen it rain on TV, how do the plants grow? ( UK ).
A:We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around watching them die.
__________________________________________________
Q: Will I be able to see kangaroos in the street? ( USA )
A: Depends how much you've been drinking.
__________________________________________________
Q:I want to walk from Perth to Sydney - can I follow the railroad tracks? ( Sweden)
A: Sure, it's only three thousand miles, take lots of water.
__________________________________________________
Q: Are there any ATMs (cash machines) in Australia ? Can you send me a
list of them in Brisbane , Cairns , Townsville and Hervey Bay ? ( UK)
A: What did your last slave die of?
__________________________________________________
Q:Can you give me some information about hippo racing in Australia ? ( USA)
A: A-Fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe .
Aus-tra-lia is that big island in the middle of the Pacific which does not
... Oh forget it. Sure, the hippo racing is every Tuesday night in Kings Cross. Come naked.
__________________________________________________
Q:Which direction is North in Australia ? ( USA )
A: Face south and then turn 180 degrees. Contact us when you get here and we'll send the rest of the directions.
_________________________________________________
Q: Can I bring cutlery into Australia ? ( UK )
A:Why? Just use your fingers like we do...
__________________________________________________
Q:Can you send me the Vienna Boys' Choir schedule? ( USA )
A: Aus-tri-a is that quaint little country bordering Ger-man-y, which is
Oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday night in Kings Cross, straight after the hippo races. Come naked.
__________________________________________________
Q: Can I wear high heels in Australia ? ( UK)
A: You are a British politician, right?
__________________________________________________
Q:Are there supermarkets in Sydney and is milk available all year round? ( Germany)
A: No, we are a peaceful civilization of vegan hunter/gatherers.
Milk is illegal.
__________________________________________________
Q:Please send a list of all doctors in Australia who can dispense rattlesnake serum. ( USA)
A: Rattlesnakes live in A-meri-ca which is where YOU come from.
All Australian snakes are perfectly harmless, can be safely handled and make good pets.
__________________________________________________
Q:I have a question about a famous animal in Australia , but I forget its name. It's a kind of bear and lives in trees. ( USA)
A: It's called a Drop Bear. They are so called because they drop out of
Gum trees and eat the brains of anyone walking underneath them.
You can scare them off by spraying yourself with human urine before you go out walking.
__________________________________________________
Q:I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Can you tell me where I can sell it in Australia ? ( USA )
A: Anywhere significant numbers of Americans gather.
__________________________________________________
Q: Do you celebrate Christmas in Australia ? ( France)
A: Only at Christmas.
__________________________________________________
Q: Will I be able to speak English most places I go? ( USA)
If you are preparing for your advanced level exam learning vocab is an important task for you at the moment. You are supposed to get used to using a more sophisticated, elaborate, complex, highly-developed,versatile,varied, formal, approved and soft language...
The video below is full of formal-informal examples.
Please!!! If you feel like collecting them in written form, could you send them in through the messages box?!!
So a good tip for the exam:
Try to sound sophisticated and politically correct, use some euphemisms! :-)
(maybe not as many as here...)
Anyanyelvi szövegeket hallgatni jó módja mind a szókincs, mind a
nyelvtani tudás fejlesztésének. Persze azt tudnod kell, hogy nem biztos,
hogy minden hallott kifejezést érdemes bedobni a nyelvvizsgán! Ha
viszont az a célod, hogy az anyanyelviek által beszélt mindennapi angolt
is megismerd, neked való a következő filmrészlet a lassan klasszikusnak
számító Jóbarátok szappanoperából. Ne keseredj el, ha nem érted minden szavát. Gyorsan beszélnek...
Ha már azon a szinten vagy, hogy azért nagyjából érted, érdemes letöltened akár MP3 formátumban is, és meghallgatnod többször is. (két hétig, naponta 10x) Így biztos lehetsz benne, hogy véreddé válik, és nem kell majd gondolkodni, ha hasonló kifejezéseket akarsz használni.
A jelenetben egy tévés játékot gyakorol a három srác:
És most lássuk, tudsz e válaszolni néhány kérdésre:
1)Why did Chandler and Ross come to Joey's?
2)Chandler
introduces himself as a headhunter working for whom ...:
3)What
does a Wicked Wingo Card do?
4)When
Chandler picks A Gimme card he ...
5) Why doesn’t Ross get the Hopping bonus?
6)In
the end, the winner is...
Transcript:
-Hey, Joe! Wanna shoot some hoops?
-I can't go. I'm practicing. I got an audition to be the host of a new game show.
-Cool!
-Great!
-Yeah, if I get it, by day I'll be Dr. Drake Ramoray. But by night I'll be Joey Tribbiani!
-You'll be perfect for this! That's already your name!
-The audition's in a couple hours, and I don't understand the game.
-Do you want some help?
-Oh, really? That'd be great. Hey, you guys can be the contestants!
_Awesome!
-Ok, I guess we can lose to junior-high girls some other time.
-All right. Let's play Bamboozled!
-Bamboozled?
-Yeah. Isn't that a cool name?
-Yeah!
-No!
-All right. Okay. Our first contestant is Ross Geller. Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself, Ross.
-Well, I'm a paleontologist. I live in New York. I have a son, Ben. Hi, Ben! And..
-I said, a little bit, Ross. Now how about you, Chandler?
-Well Joey I'm a headhunter. I hook up out-of-work Soviet scientists with rogue Third World nations. Hi, Rasputin.
-Excellent! Let's play Bamboozled!
Chandler, you'll go first. -What is the capital of Colombia?
-Bogota.
-It's Bogota, but close enough. Now, you can either pass your turn to Ross or pick a Wicked Wango Card.
-What does a Wicked Wango Card do?
-I should know that. Let's see. Just one moment, please.. Here we are. A Wicked Wango Card determines whether you go higher or lower.
-Higher or lower than what?
-This is embarrassing!
-Can you believe how lame this is?
-I'm sorry. I don't believe contestants are allowed to talk to each other.
-Ross, you're in the lead.Would you like to take another question or spin the Wheel of Mayhem?
-The Wheel has not been my friend tonight, Joey. I'll take another question.
-Okay. This is gonna be tough. Hold your breath.
-It's okay. I'm ready.
-No, You gotta hold your breath until you answer.
-This is ridiculous! He's not gonna hold his..
-Okay. What do you have a fear of if you suffer from this phobia? Triska..
Holy cow. That's a big word. Trisk..Look at this,Chandler. How do you say that?
-Let me see that.
-This one right here.
-Triskaidekaphobia.
-Fear of Triscuits!
-No! No. Fear of the number 13.
-Fear of Triscuits?
-It's possible. They have really sharp edges.
-All right, Chandler, you're up.
-Wait a minute, I believe I'm entitled to use my Angel Pass for a free turn.
-This game makes no sense!
-You're upset because you're losing.
-Oh, come on, Ross. I think we're all losers here.
-All right, Chandler, you can either spin the Wheel or pick a Google Card.
-Oh, I don't care.
-You must choose, Mr Bin.
-Either. It makes no difference.
-Choose, you jackass.
-I'll take a card.
-You picked the Gimme Card! -You get all of Ross' points!
-What?
-This game is kind of fun!
-You don't think it's a little crazy that you get all my points..?
-I don’t think the contestants are supposed to speak to each other.
-In what film would you hear this line:
"We don't need no stinking badges!"
-Treasure of the Sierra Madre!
-Correct! It is possible for a Backwards Bonus.
-Madre Sierra the of Treasure!
-Yes!
-I'd like to go up the Ladder of Chance to the Golden Mud Hut!
-Wise choice. How many rungs?
-Six!
-That noise can only mean one thing.
-Hungry Monkey!
-I'd like a Wicked Wango Card.
-OK. It's an audio question.
Name this television theme song..
- Oh, my God. I know this. Give me a second.
-I challenge it.
-Shut up!
-"I Dream of Jeannie"!
-Yes! You’re back in the lead! I'd like to spin the Wheel.
-Oh, come on!
-Super Speedy Speed Round.
-Is there a Hopping Bonus?
-Of course.
-Who invented bifocals?
-Ben Franklin!
-Correct. Which monarch ruled Great Britain the longest?
- Queen Victoria!
-Correct again! But you forgot to switch legs between questions. No Hopping Bonus!
Találd meg a szövegben az alábbi szavak/kifejezések szinonímáját:
claimed to be true
get
predict
dishonest
proof
examined
range
basic
beam
in search of
Extra Sensory Perception
ESP
or Extra Sensory Perception is a catch-all expression for the alleged ability
of certain people to receive transmitted thoughts from others, to transmit
their own thoughts, to see what will happen in the future or to be able to move
objects from one place to another without physically touching them. These
special people are called psychics or sensitives. Some believe that we all have
this ability to some degree but that most of us choose not to develop it.
Some
people are happy to believe in ESP while others are firm disbelievers.
Parapsychologists who are dedicated to scientifically studying the claims that
are made, lend a certain seriousness to the subject. They have identified four
distinct types of ESP:
Clairvoyance
describes the act of being able to obtain knowledge of a person or event
without the use of the normal senses.
Telepathy
is the process by which a person is able to read another person’s thoughts
without the use of any of the normal senses.
Psychokinesis
is the ability to influence a physical object just by thinking about it.
Precognition
is the term applied when somebody is able to foresee future events.
Many
people are sceptical about ESP. Alongside the existence of documented evidence
there are plenty of claims that have turned out to be fraudulent. For most
people it is difficult to accept such claims without having had first hand
experience. The lack of scientific evidence is another factor to take into
account. On the other hand, most of us have, at some time, experienced a
seemingly inexplicable occurrence; hearing the telephone ring and knowing who
will be on the other end of the line or cases of coincidence that seem to be
too extreme to be accidental.
Over
the years there have been numerous ESP experiments conducted by serious
scientists in serious institutions. Joseph Banks Rhine, a botanist at Duke
University published a famous book in 1934 called “Extra-Sensory perception” in
which he claimed to have overwhelming evidence of ESP. However, other scientists
have been unable to duplicate his results since, which has resulted in the book
losing much of its original credibility and fame.
The
Ganzfield experiments are considered to have been the most carefully
scrutinised ESP experiments. Alleged psychics had their eyes covered and ears
blocked while a “sender” attempted to transmit messages. Later the psychics
would compare the messages received to the original messages sent out. There
was a great deal of excitement and interest at the time but the research failed
to produce convincing results.
One
of the strongest criticisms against ESP is that in order for it to exist, the
fundamental laws of physics would necessarily have to be broken.
Human
beings are attracted to the whole spectrum of supernatural phenomena. ESP will
always continue to fascinate. This becomes clear when we see how much of the
media is dedicated to the topic; magazines, journals, web sites, television and
radio programmes. Some of the most successful (the reader says 'sensible')
films in recent years have fuelled interest among the younger generations who
are starting to ask the same questions and to look for explanations for the
same phenomena as their parents and grandparents before them. Who knows? One
day we might just find these answers because one thing is certain: "The
truth is out there"!
