general vocabulary
28
Around the world
A. Choose the correct geopolitical word in A, B or C to complete each of these sentences.
1. Japan, Korea and the Philippines are all in the __________________________ .
A. Near East |
B. Middle East |
C. Far East |
2. The South Pole is situated in the __________________________ .
A. Arctic |
B. Antarctic |
C. Antarctica |
3. New Zealand is part of __________________________ .
A. Australia |
B. Australasia |
C. Austria |
4. Bangladesh is part of __________________________ .
A. the Indian subcontinent |
B. India |
C. Indiana |
5. Nicaragua is a country in __________________________ .
A. North America |
B. South America |
C. Central America |
6. Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Panama and Honduras all form part of __________________________ .
A. Latin America |
B. Spanish America |
C. South America |
7. Apartheid was abolished in __________________________ in the 1990s.
A. southern Africa |
B. North Africa |
C. South Africa |
8.The United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland form a group of islands known as
__________________________ .
A. Great Britain |
B. England |
C. the British Isles. |
9. The United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland form part of __________________________ .
A. Continental Europe |
B. Mainland Europe |
C. Europe |
10.Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates form part of what is known as__________________________ .
A. the West Indies |
B. the Gulf States |
C. the European Union |
11. Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark are known collectively as __________________________ .
A. the Baltic Republics |
B. the Caribbean |
C. Scandinavia |
Don’t forget to keep a record of the words and expressions that you have learnt, review your notes from time to time and try to use new vocabulary items whenever possible.
For reference, see the Easier English Dictionary for Students (978 0 7475 6624 3)
Around the world
B. Change each country / area below into the nationality and / or language spoken of the people who come from that place (for example: Britain = British). Write each word in the appropriate space in the table. Be careful, because usually we add or remove letters to / from the name of the country before we add the ending.
Greece |
• |
Portugal |
• |
Ireland |
• |
Belgium |
• |
Finland |
• |
England |
|||||||||
Wales |
• |
Scotland |
• |
Holland |
• |
Lebanon |
• |
Malaysia |
• |
|
Norway |
||||||||
Sweden |
|
• |
Thailand |
• |
Peru |
• |
Bangladesh |
• Israel |
• |
Japan |
|||||||||
Iran • |
|
Burma • |
|
|
America |
• |
Canada |
|
|
• |
Spain |
• |
|
Turkey |
|||||
Switzerland |
• Saudi Arabia |
• Denmark • |
Iraq |
• |
Australia |
• |
Malta |
||||||||||||
Kuwait |
|
• |
Russia |
|
|
• |
Yemen |
• |
Philippines |
• |
|
Poland |
|||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
-ese |
|
-(i)an |
|
|
-ish |
|
|
|
-i |
|
|
|
-ic |
|
|
|
Others |
||
(e.g., China = |
|
(e.g., Brazil = |
|
|
(e.g., Britain = |
|
|
(e.g., Pakistan |
|
|
(e.g., Iceland |
|
|
(e.g., France = |
|||||
Chinese) |
|
Brazilian) |
|
|
British) |
|
|
|
= Pakistani) |
|
|
|
= Icelandic) |
|
|
French) |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. A quick quiz. Answer these questions.
1.What do we call a variety of language spoken in a particular area? Is it an accent, a dialect or an idiom?
2.What is your mother tongue?
3.What do we call a person who is able to speak (a) two languages and (b) three or more languages fluently?
4.With regard to your country, what is (a) the name of the continent in which it is located, (b) the main language spoken and (c) the nationality of the people?
vocabulary general
29
For reference, see the Easier English Dictionary for Students (978 0 7475 6624 3)
general vocabulary
Size, quantity & dimension
A. Look at the following list and decide whether we are talking about something big (in terms of size, quantity or dimension) or something small.
1. a minute amount of dust __________________ |
14. a giant building __________________________ |
||
2. a minuscule piece of cloth__________________ |
15. a gargantuan meal ______________________ |
||
3. an enormous book ________________________ |
16. a wide avenue |
__________________________ |
|
|
|
||
4. a mammoth job |
__________________________ |
17. a broad river ____________________________ |
|
|
|
||
5. a huge waste of time ______________________ |
18. a tall man________________________________ |
||
|
|
||
6. a vast room ______________________________ |
|
|
|
|
|
19. a high mountain ________________________ |
|
7. a gigantic wave |
__________________________ |
|
|
|
|
20. a deep lake ______________________________ |
|
8. a tiny car ________________________________ |
|
|
|
9. a monumental error ______________________ |
21. a shallow pool |
__________________________ |
|
|
|
||
10. a colossal statue__________________________ |
22. a long-distance journey __________________ |
||
|
|
||
11. plenty of food |
__________________________ |
23. a vast crowd of supporters ________________ |
|
|
|
||
12. dozens of times __________________________ |
24. tons of work ____________________________ |
||
13. a narrow alleyway________________________ |
25. a great deal of time ______________________ |
||
B. Now complete these sentences using one of the expressions above. In some cases, more than one answer is possible.
1.Before you embark on __________________________ , it is essential that you are well-prepared.
2.We spent ______________________________ working on the plans for the new library.
3.I’ve told you ______________________________ not to smoke in here.
4.__________________________ must have blown into the camera and scratched the film.
5.Villages along the coast were destroyed when _________________________ caused by the earthquake swept houses into the sea.
6.It was _________________________ going there; he didn’t even turn up.
7.One of the Roman emperor Nero’s greatest excesses was to build _________________________ of
30 |
himself in the city centre. |
|
For reference, see the Easier English Dictionary for Students (978 0 7475 6624 3)
Size, quantity & dimension
8. Despite the poor harvest, there was _________________________ for the whole population.
9. _________________________ called the Thames separates the city of London from the suburbs to the south.
10._________________________ gathered to see their favourite football team.
11.We ate _________________________ and then lay down to rest.
12.It was _________________________ and his voice echoed around the walls.
13.We have _________________________ to do in the next few days, so I suggest we start as soon as possible.
14.Loch Ness is _________________________ in the Highlands of Scotland.
15.The only evidence was _________________________ which was stuck on a branch of one of the trees in the garden.
16.‘Sumo’ is _________________________ containing almost 1,000 pictures by the controversial photographer Helmut Newton.
17.He had _________________________ to do, so took the phone off the hook, made himself some coffee and sat down at his desk.
18.The Matterhorn, _________________________ in Switzerland, has claimed the lives of many who have tried to climb it.
19.He made _________________________ in his calculations and had to start all over again.
20.The manufacturers have built _________________________ which is ideal for getting around the city.
21.The NEC in Birmingham is _________________________ which is used for concerts and exhibitions.
22.The main feature of the town is a _________________________ lined with shops and cafés.
23.I could see the key glittering at the bottom of _________________________ .
24.Legend spoke of __________________________ dressed in gold, known as El Dorado.
vocabulary general
25. _________________________ ran along the side of the house to a garden at the rear. |
31 |
|
For reference, see the Easier English Dictionary for Students (978 0 7475 6624 3)