A funny video on St. Patrick’s Day:
http://player.history.com/pservice/embed-player/?siteId=hist&tPid=14086723871
More videos on this topic: http://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day
Category: Videos
What is the Zika Virus? – vocabulary, video, and exercises with answers.
I suggest that you read this list of words you may not know before watching the video.
VOCABULARY
To spread : to become larger or to affect a large area.
Ex. The fire spread through the six-storey building via the single staircase which acted as a chimney.
To detect : to discover or ascertain the existence.
Ex. Irregularities were detected on seven of the websites.
To break out : if something dangerous or unpleasant breaks out, it suddenly starts.
Ex. War broke out in 1914.
To transmit : to give or pass from one person to another; to cause (a virus, disease, etc.) to be given to.
Ex. Hepatitis C is a life-threatening viral disease transmitted primarily by blood contact.
To link : to make a connection between two or more things, ideas or people.
Paralysis : a condition in which you can’t move or feel al or part of your body.
Spike : a very high level.
Outbreak : a sudden increase, rise.
Mild : not strong in action or effect.
Vaccine : a substance injected into a person or animal to protect against a particular disease.
Downloadable PDF: What is the Zika Virus – vocabulary
Answer the following questions:
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How many people could be affected by Zika virus this year?
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Where was it discovered and when?
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Where did it break out in 2015?
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How is this virus transmitted?
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What are some of the effects of Zika virus?
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Is there a treatment for this virus?
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When could be ready a vaccine against Zika virus?
Fill in the gaps with the correct word from the box.
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Zika virus could _________ tofour million people this year.
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It was ____________ in Uganda in the 1940’s.
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It ______________ in the Americas and the Caribbean in 2015.
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Zika is _______________ through a particular species of mosquito that ______________ mostly in tropical regions.
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Zika has been _______________ to paralysis and birth defects.
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Officials are now _____________ pregnant women not to travel to places where there is an active Zika ___________.
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Officials say finding a vaccine could _____________ to a decade.
Downoadable PDF: What is the Zika Virus – exercises
Downloadable PDF: What is the Zika Virus – correct answers
Who invented the Internet? And Why?
VOCABULARY
Credit: praise or special attention that is given to someone for doing something or for making something happen.
Example: She got no credit for solving the problem.
To threaten: to tell someone that you will kill or hurt them or cause problems if they do not do what you want.
Example: They threatened the boy with a gun.
Geek: meaning.
Myriad: a very large number of things.
Mainframe: a large and very fast computer that can do many jobs at once.
*Interesting article on this topic: The First Mainframe .
Behemoth: something very big and powerful.
Packet switching: a digital networking communications method that groups all transmitted data into suitably sized blocks called packets.
Congestion: too blocked or crowded and causing difficulties.
Example: Yesterday, there was a traffic congestion.
Gateway: a hardware device that acts as a “gate” between two networks.
To spread: to open, arrange, or place (something) over a large area.
Example: The fire spread very rapidly because of the strong wind.
Steadily: not changing much.
Retail: the sale of goods in small quantities directly to customers.
Downloadable PDF: Who invented the Internet – Vocabulary
Verb tenses review
Fill in the gaps with the correct form of the verbs in the brackets:
- So, have you ever _____________ (to wonder) who actually _____________ (to invent) the Internet?
- Or _________ (to be) it thanks to a myriad of smart scientists ________________ (to work) on something they __________ (to know) _____________ (to be) useful but _______________________ (to realize – negative form) would be so big?
- One popular but wrong story ________ (to be) that the internet ________________________ (to develop) by the USA so they ___________ (to have) a communication network that would survive a nuclear war.
- With time-sharing, these behemoths could ______________ (to process) several tasks at a time, which _____________ (to mean) their power could be used by several scientists at once.
- And, obviously, once you _________________ (to start) ___________________ (to connect) computers together you ________________ (to start) to wonder about what you ________________ (to need)to do to make communications between them easier.
- The French also _______________ (to play) a role. They _________________________ (to work) on a scientific network called CYCLADES, but they ______________ (to have – negative form) a big budget, so they ________________(to decide) to work on direct connections between computers, as opposed to working with gateway computers.
- The TCP/IP protocols _______________ (to form) the basic communication language of the internet, which _______________ (to label) the packets of data and ________________(to make) sure that even though some pieces of the same data ____________________ (to take) a different route, they all _________________ (to arrive) at their destination and can be reassembled.
- Networks really ________________ (to begin) ________________________ (to communicate) with each other in 1975, so you could _______________ (to argue) that __________________ (to be) the beginning of the internet.
- Most internet traffic in 1976 _____________ (to be) email, because academics ____________________ (to think) electronic post-it notes ______________ (to be) dead-core.
- He _____________ (to do) so by __________________ (to invent) an interface _________________ (to use) HTTP, HTML, and URLs that _________________ (to make) internet browsers possible.
Downloadable PDF: Who invented the Internet – fill in the gaps activity
Correct answers: Correct answers – Fill in the gaps activity – Who invented the internet
1,200 fake life jackets that would have been sold to refugees were seized in a raid by Turkish authorities.
Vocabulary
FAKE => not true or real; meant to look real or genuine but not real or genuine.
LIFE JACKET => 
(‘life vest’ in British English). A life jacket is a jacket or a vest designed to save you from drowning by holding you up when you are in the water.
SEIZED => TO SEIZE => To confiscate; to take possession of by legal authority.
SOAKED => TO SOAK => To (cause to) become thoroughly wet or filled with water or other liquid.
CAPSIZED => TO CAPSIZE => To turn over. 
ROUGH SEA => Stormy or choppy sea. 
DROWNED => TO DROWN => To die by being underwater too long and unable to breathe.
In my opinion, this is cruelty. These people suffered enough. It is not possible to justify this mean and heartless act. I hope it won’t happen again.
An article on this topic: Independent
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!
Do you know the origin of this celebration? If you don’t, watch this video and find out more about this topic!
VOCABULARY
TO WONDER = to have an interest in knowing or learning something; to think about something with curiosity.
TO MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS => This phrase is used as an INFORMAL and often somewhat IMPOLITE way to tell someone to stop watching or asking about something that is private.
BEHOLD! (interjection)= look!; see!
TO BUMP= to collide with; to hit against an object in a sudden and forceful way.
WHATEVER (slang)
PILGRIM= a person who makes a journey, often a long and difficult one, to a special place for religious reasons.
Photo credit: Peter E. Lee / Foter.com / CC BY-NC
SETTLEMENT= a place where people have come to live and where few or no people lived before.
FARMER= a person who operates a farm or cultivates a land.
Photo credit: jaci XIII / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA
HARVEST= the season when crops are gathered from the fields or the activity of gathering crops.
Photo credit: TumblingRun / Foter.com / CC BY-ND
BLESSING= approval that allows or helps you to do something.
Thanksgiving crossword puzzle
(printable or interactive)
“Stranger in Brașov”- Video with quiz
VOCABULARY:
Lonesome, lonely: sad from being apart from other people.
To set off: to begin a journey
Cement: a soft gray powder that is mixed with water and other substances to make concrete.
To grin: to smile widely.
Cozy: small, comfortable, and warm.
Crochet throws: 
To wolf down: (slang) to eat something very rapidly and in very large pieces.
To slip: to move quietly and cautiously.
Feast: a special meal with large amounts of food and drink.
Profusely: given, produced, or existing in large amounts.
Array: a large number, as of persons or objects.
Sinking: anxious.
To stiffen: to become physically tense.
Hasty: done or made very quickly.
Watch the video and answer the questions below:
1.Where did the story take place?
2. How did the old lady receive her unexpected guest?
3. The protagonist met a little girl, who did she think she was?
4. What did they watch on TV?
5. Why did the old woman slip out?
6. What did the old woman cook?
7. How did they communicate?
8. When did the guest understand that they were not her friend’s relatives?
9. What did she do to get out of that embarrassing situation?
10. What was the mistake?
Answers:
1. It took place in Brașov, in Romania.
2. The old lady received her guest with a big grin (smile).
3. She thought she was her friend’s sister.
4. They watched soap operas on TV.
5. The old woman went out to buy food.
6. She made soup, meat, and polenta.
7. They communicated with gestures.
8. She understood she made a mistake while looking at pictures. There weren’t pictures of her friend!
9. To get out of that situation, she said that she had previously booked a room in a hotel.
10. She mixed up the numbers. The right apartment number was 98.
Up – Olly Murs ft. Demi Lovato – Learn English with songs
Watch the video once, then try this game: Lyricstraining (You can choose between 4 different levels).
This is the lyrics:
I drew a broken heart
Right on your window pane
Waited for your reply
Here in the pouring rain
Just breathe against the glass
Leave me some kind of sign
I know the hurt won’t pass yeah
Just tell me it’s not the end of the line
Just tell me it’s not the end of the line
I never meant to break your heart
I won’t let this plane go down
I never meant to make you cry
I’ll do what it takes to make this fly
You gotta hold on
Hold on to what you’re feeling
That feeling is the best thing
The best thing alright
I’m gonna place my bet on us
I know this love is heading in the same direction
That’s up
You drew a question mark
But you know what I want
I wanna turn the clock yeah
Right back to where it was
So let’s a build a bridge yeah
From your side to mine
I’ll be the one to cross over
Just tell me it’s not the end of the line
Just tell me it’s not the end of the line
I never meant to break your heart
I won’t let this plane go down
I never meant to make you cry
I’ll do what it takes to make this fly
You gotta hold on
Hold on to what you’re feeling
That feeling is the best thing
The best thing alright
I’m gonna place my bet on us
I know this love is heading in the same direction
That’s up
Girl I know we could climb back to where we were then
Feel it here in my heart
Put my heart in your hand
Well I hope and I pray that you do understand
If you did all you have to say is
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
I’m waiting for you
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
I never meant to break your heart
I won’t let this plane go down
I never meant to make you cry
I’ll do what it takes to make this fly
You gotta hold on
Hold on to what you’re feeling
That feeling is the best thing
The best thing alright
I’m gonna place my bet on us
I know this love is heading in the same direction
That’s up
Do you know the difference between though, although, even though, despite, and in spite of?
Video on this topic by Engvid:
School idioms
A great infographic by Kaplan International Colleges on School idioms:
Example sentences with these idioms:
- BOOKWORM
Margaret rarely leaves the library. She has typical symptoms of a bookworm.
- TO BRAINSTORM
Over the next three days, we’ll hear stories of bravery and brainstorm solutions for change.
- COPYCAT
She called me a copycat for wearing the same prom dress. - HIT THE BOOKS
I haven’t studied for today’s test yet. Time to hit the books!
- PASS WITH FLYING COLORS
As for the exam, I’m pleased to report you passed with flying colors. - SKIP CLASS
Are you going to skip class and go to the beach? - DROPOUT
“Why don’t we see Joanne Red at school anymore?”
“Oh, she’s a dropout, she left high school last week.” - TEACHER’S PET
Marcus is a teacher’s pet. He cannot shut up. He runs to the class after lunch and seems to always be raising his hand.
A funny video by English is Fun! on this topic:
- A POP QUIZ => An unexpected exam.
- TO READ OUT LOUD => To read loud enough that anyone can hear you and follow along.
- TO PLAY HOOKY => To not go to school when you’re supposed to.
- CLASS CLOWN => The person in the class who just likes to act silly and make everyone laugh during class.
Now that you know all these idioms, try to fill the gaps in this quiz to find out if you remember their meanings:
Activity for teachers: School idioms ex.
Answers: School idioms ex. answers
Free English Materials For You 