20131029

hoMESIcknESs

Vocabulary:

  • I'm joined by someone.
  • suffer: to experience physical or mental pain
    I think he suffered quite a lot when his wife left him.
    she's been suffering from cancer for two years.
    he suffers from asthma. 
  • combat: try to stop something unpleasant or harmful from happening or increasing
    The government is spending million of dollars in its attempt to combat drug abuse.
    I have to combat this constant desire to eat chocolate. 
  • in their early days
  • at university
  • pine for sb/sth: to want something or someone very much, usually when it is impossible to have them or when they have gone away
    he's still pining for his ex-girlfriend.
  • long for sth / long to do sth : to want something very much
    she longed to see him again.
    i'm longing for news of him. 
  • remind sb of sth: make someone think of something or someone else.
    your hair and eyes remind me of your mother. 
  • growing: increasing in size or quantity
    there is a growing awareness of the seriousness of this disease.
  • panic attack: a sudden period of severe anxiety 
  • withdraw from: to stop talking to other people and start thinking thoughts that are not related to what is happening around you.
    as a child, she frequently withdraw into her own fantasy world.
    after the accident, he withdrew into himself and refused to talk to family or friends.
  • stay in touch with
  • phone:
    could you please answer the phone?
    we speak on the phone twice a week.
    if the phone lines are busy, please try again later.
    i left the phone off the hook, so that it wouldn't ring. 
  • left sth/sb behind: to leave a place without taking something or someone with you
    we left in a hurry and i must have left my keys behind.
    he was forced to leave the country, leaving behind his wift and children. 
  • expat community: someone who does not live in their own country
    a large community of expatriates has settled there.  
  • take the pressure off
  • struggle: to experience difficulty and make a very great effort in order to do something
    i've been struggling to understand this article all afternoon.
    fish struggle for survival when the water level drops in the lake
  • have a hard time / give sb a hard time
  • acknowledge: to accept, admit or recognise something or the truth or existence of something
  • homesickness / homesick :
    as i read my mum's letter, i began to feel homesick. 



20131023

Lazy

vocabulary:

  • stall:
    (n) a large table or small shop with an open front from which goods are sold in a public place
    in the village market, the stalls are piled high with local vegetables.
    (n) the seats on the main floor of a theatre or cinema, not at a high level
    (v) if an engine stalls, it stops working suddenly
    i stalled the car twice during my driving test but still managed to pass.
  • squiffy: slightly drunk
    "I've only have one glass of sherry and i feel squiffy already." she said.
  • tipsy: slightly drunk
    Auntie Pat is getting a little tipsy again. 
  • sober: not drunk or affected by alcohol.
    are you sober enough to drive?
    sober (sb) up: to become less drunk, or make someone less drunk
    i went for a walk to sober up.
    have a black coffee - that should sober you up
  • There are plenty more fish in the sea: user to tell someone whose relationship has ended that there are many other people that they could have a relationship with
    Don't cry over him - there are plenty more fish in the sea! 
  • spring to mind: to come quickly into your mind
    say the word 'Australia' and a vision of beaches and blue seas immediately springs to mind
  • clumsy: describe someone who often has accidents because they do not behave in a careful way
    that's the 3rd glass you've mashed this week - you're so clumsy. 
  • footy: football 
  • bloody: used to emphasise an adjective, adverb, or noun in a slightly rude way
    life would be bloody boring if nothing ever went wrong.
    I had a bloody good time last night.
    What a bloody morning. 
  • mend: to repair something that is broken or damaged
    I've left my watch there to be mended.
    could you mend this hold in my shirt?
    on the mend: to be  getting better after an illness or injury
    my hand is on the mend. 
  • fix (fix a problem, but mend a thing) 
  • knackered: very tired
    i'm too knackered to go out this evening
    knacker: tire out
    don't go to fast. you'll knacker yourself in the first hour
  • aloof: not friendly or willing to take part in things
    she seemed rather aloof when in fact she was just shy.
    not interested or involved, usually because you do not approve of what is happening
    she kept herself aloof from her husband's business. 




20131016

sCALd

Gosh! i scalded my hand!!!

vocabulary:

  • scald: to burn the skin with boiling liquid or steam
    i dropped a pan of boiling water and scalded my leg. 
  • imminent: coming or likely to happen very soon
    a strike is imminent.
    imminent disaster/danger
  • groovy: very fashionable and interesting
    that's a very groovy hat you're wearing, did you knit it yourself? 
  • hooray/hurray: used to express excitement, pleasure or approval
    you won? Hooray!
    Hooray! It's time to go home!
  • hurt:
    (v) to feel pain in part of your body
    Tell me where it hurts.
    My head hurts.
    (v) injure someone or cause them hurt
    Emma hurt her back when she fell of her horse.
    (v) to cause emotional pain
    she criticised my writing quite severely and that hurt.
    (v) to cause harm
    one more drink won't hurt.
    a lot of firms are being hurt by the current high interest rate.
my scalded hand is really hurt! 

20131005

lESS iS morE

Learning from conversation.

Vocabulary:

  • scaredy-cat: someone, especially a child, is easily frightened
    come on, scaredy-cat, it won't bite you. 
  • underfoot: under your feet as you walk
    it feels nicer underfoot.
    the grass was cool and pleasant underfoot. 
  • rousing: making people feel excited, and proud or ready to take actions
    she delivered a rousing speech full of anger and passion.
  • Silhouette: a dark shape seen agains a light surface (???)
    the silhouette of the bare tree on the hill was clearly against the winter sky.
  • en route: on the way to or from somewhere
    I stopped en route and got some wine. 
  • rowdy: noise and possibly violent
    a rowdy party 
  • hut: a small simple building, usually consisting of one room
    a mountain hut
    a wooden hut
    a row of beach huts 
  • stilt: one of a set of long pieces of wood used to support a building so that it is above the ground or water
    the houses are built on stilts to protect them from annual floods. 
  • mosquito net 
  • coral reef: an area of coral, the top of which can sometimes be seen just above the sea
  • snorkel / snorkelling:
    we went snorkelling along the Great Barrier Reef
  • fairly: more than average, but less than very
    I saw her fairly recently.
    we get on fairly well.
    I'm fairly sure that this is the right address.
  • suppose: 
    • to think something is likely to be true: suppose + (that) / suppose + to V
      I couldn't get any reply when I called Dan, so I suppose (that) he's gone out.
      Do you suppose (that) she will marry him?
      he found it a lot difficult to get a job than he supposed it would be.
      We all supposed him to be German, but in fact he was Swiss.
      Her new book is supposed to be very good. 
    • used in making polite request
      I suppose you couldn't lend me some money till tomorrow, could you? 
    • used to show unwillingness to agree
      I don't agree with it, but I suppose (that) it's for the best.
    • (conjunction.) used at the beginning of a sentence or clause to mean "what would happen if":
      Suppose we miss the train - what will we do then?
      We'd love to come and see you on Sunday, suppose/supposing I don't have to work that day.
  • presume: to believe something to be true because it is very likely, although you are not certain.
    I presume (that) they are not coming, since they haven't replied to the invitation.
    You are Dr. Smith, I presume?
    "Are we walking to the hotel?" "I presume so/not."
  • assume: to accept something to be true without question or proof
    I assumed (that) you knew each other because you went to the same school. 
  • apart from: except for or not considering
    apart from us, there was anyone there under 30.
    apart from the salary, it's not a bad job.
  • except: not including; but not
    the museum is open daily except Monday(s).
    everyone was there except for Sally. 
  • seem: to be judged to be 
    • He's 16, but he often seems younger.
      the children seemed tired.
      I suspect his claim is not all they seem -- he tends to exaggerate.
      things are seldom as/what/how they seem. 
    • I seemed to know more about him than anyone else.
      they seemed to be taking a long time to decide.
      There seems to have been a mistake -- my name isn't on the list. 
    • It seems (that) she can't come.
      It seems to me (that) we need to be at the airport two hours before take-off.
      "was a decision made?" "It seems not/so." 

Expression: 
  • What time it will get you there? 
  • It is a long time since I have been to Paris.
    It's been a while since I was last time in Paris. 
  • I bet: said to show that you understand why someone has a particular opinion or feels a particular way
    "I was so relieved I didn't have to clean up after the party." "I bet you were."
    "I'm so annoyed with her." "I'll bet."