Word of the day

To circumvent

Word of the day

This is also the piece of advice of the day! lol !

Don't lose your mojo, guys!

;)

Curious? You know what to do.

Fill in the blanks with a suitable word - 48 medals!

A) There were a number of participants at the conference dinner, several of were keynote speakers.

B) The old house, its condition, is likely to sell quickly given the present housing market.

C) The diner complained so vociferously that the manageress came out of the office to see what the problem was.

D) The party atmosphere suddenly dissipated, at point I made up my mind to leave.

E) The chairman outlined his vision for the future but the chief executive argued that a strategy could be detrimental to the company’s future.

F) More and more people are turning to vegetarianism which say is much better for your health.

G) My therapist said I could drop in I wanted to, regardless of whether I’d made an appointment or not.

H) The main reasons for quitting my job were overwork and a meagre salary. There are I could mention but they were the primary factors.

I) The reviews of the play were glowing but as a  of fact I thought it was terrible!

J) Most people are car lovers. Even , cars cause enormous damage to the environment.

K)  most people pass their Proficiency exam first time round a number of candidates will, sadly, fail.

L) The hotel was poor, the food terrible, and we had torrential rain for the whole week.  short, the holiday was a disaster.

M) As far as the police were in , they decided not to press charges against the thief this time round.

N)   the bank was shut all weekend they weren’t able to withdraw any cash.

O) I wouldn’t apply for that job if I were you. In  case the advert says you have to have a clean driving licence and you haven’t even passed your test yet.

P) Broadly , young people are concerned with finding a good career once they have graduated from university.

Word of the day

To abscond

Idiom of the day

"To be made redundant."


Look at the picture and write a sentence in which you would include the idiom.



10 medals!

Use of English - Part 1

DREAMS

35 MEDALS up for grabs! ( 5 medals for each correct item )

Think of the word which best fits each space. Use only ONE word in each space.

Dreams (0)have always fascinated human beings. The idea that dreams provide us with useful information about our lives goes (1)________ thousands of years. For the greater (2)_______of human history (3)_________ was taken for granted that the sleeping mind was in touch with the supernatural world and dreams were to be interpreted as messages with prophetic or healing functions. In the nineteenth century, (4)_________ was a widespread reaction (5)____________ this way of thinking and dreams were widely dismissed as being very (6)________ more than jumbles of fantasy (7)_________ about by memories of the previous day.

This particular one is worth 36 medals!!

Big Challenge! One single word worth 45 medals!!!

Congrats Deborah!!

Pronunciation of the day

And the word is... formidable.


One of its meanings is the exact same one in Portuguese, but there are others...
Anyways,  there two ways of pronouncing it.  Curious?

Click on the word.

Cheers,
Luiz

The Quarterly Trophy News - This issue's Interview

Click here to read the interview during which Ana Fontenelle, our trophy winner and current CPE holder, gives an account of her feats and accomplishments!

Phrases/collocations of the day

It's all about the eye!

I was playing Assassin's creed the other day, I yes, I'm a nerd and love playing PS3) and the narrator said I was "in the line of sight of one of the soldiers..." Then I thought: "cool, line of sight... how interesting ... " then it reminded me of "field of vision"... and then you know what happens... that's when you stand up , and hit the books... lol

So, it's all about the sense of sight, but be careful with collocations! We say...

Field of vision

Line of sight

Point of view

Cheers,

Luiz

Listening Challenge - 3 medals each correct answer

You will hear part of the audio of a TV show in which a reporter and a historian speak about great medical discoveries. Complete the sentences with a word or short sentence.

Click here to see the sentences you are to complete.

Sentence Transformation

Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first one, using the word given. DO NOT CHANGE THE WORD GIVEN. You must use between three and eight words, including the word given.

1 - Neither of these carpets is any better than the other.

CHOOSE

There's not _________________________ these two carpets.

2 - In particular, the school library was criticised by the inspectors because of its poor lighting.

SINGLED

The inspectors _______________________ because of iys poor lighting.

3 - I have no idea whatsoever why Zoe resigned from her job.

LOSS

I am ______________________________ why Zoe resigned from her job.

5 medals each correct answer.

Words/pronunciation of the day

I finally took some free time to set up my dj'ing paraphernalia in my living room , so... beware! anytime soon I'll be back spinning at any gig in Rio de Janeiro.

Speaking of spinning... it reminded me those English words I'm really fond of:

Pinwheel

Propeller

Can you think you other objects that spin?

3 medals per noun are up for grabs!!!!

Cheers,

Luiz

Word of the day

And the word of the day is...

myriad

Usage Note: Throughout most of its history in English myriad was used as a noun, as in a myriad of men.In the 19th century it began to be used in poetry as an adjective, as in myriad men. Both usages in English are acceptable, as in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Myriad myriads of lives." This poetic, adjectival use became so well entrenched generally that many people came to consider it as the only correct use. In fact, both uses in English are parallel with those of the original ancient Greek. The Greek word mrias,from which myriad derives, could be used as either a noun or an adjective, but the noun mrias was used in general prose and in mathematics while the adjective mrias was used only in poetry.

Taken from http://www.thefreedictionary.com

Partial results on the way to the big ONE and ONLY !!!

Saying of the day + Homophones

Wow, what a crazy month !

The start of my post-grad studies were put off until August for they have not reached a minimun number of regstrations. So, I thought: " I can't just sit idle on Fridays this term! What am I going to do? So, I decided to apply for CELTA! Too much work , but I'm enjoying it! Better this way. I always prefer to keep myself busy because The devil finds work for idle hands.

Having said that...

1 - What is the corresponding idiom in Portuguese? ( 5 medals )

2 - Type a situation after which you would say this idiom. It could have happened to you... or a friend/ family member. You can just make a situation up if you would like... (15 medals )

By the way... Are you guys watching this season of American Idol? DO you have a favourite?

Mine are Jessica Sanchez and Colton Dixon.

Oh, I almost forgot...

3 - Find the homophones. ( 2 medals )

Cheers,

Luiz

Gapped sentences - 15 medals!

Click on the image above to get a larger picture and a better view of your challenge!

Cognate of the day

to scale

Definition

to climb up a steep surface, such as a wall or the side of a mountain, often using special equipment

The prisoner scaled the high prison wall and ran off.