Tag: Free English resources

Listening Activity – Halloween History

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Happy Halloween! pumpking halloween.png

Yesterday I watched this interesting video by National Geographic on Halloween so I decided to share it with you. As always you’ll find a vocabulary list below and a comprehension activity. I hope you’ll enjoy it :-).

VOCABULARY

COMMUNION (with somebody/something): the state of sharing or exchanging thoughts and feelings; the feeling of being part of something.
Ex. Many people who live in close communion with nature are superstitious.

PRANK:  a trick that is done to someone usually as a joke.
Ex. Jackie’s pranks were starting to annoy her colleagues.

PATCHWORK: a thing that is made up of many different pieces or parts.
Ex. So the world is this complex patchwork of regions.

OCCULT: magic or supernatural.

TO STITCH WITH:  to make (something) out of many different things
Ex. They stitched red and blue ribbons onto their hats.

TO SPAN: to last for a particular period of time, especially a long period.
Ex. His career spanned half a century.

TO SPREAD: to cover, or to make something cover, a larger and larger area.
Ex. The European flu continues to spread throughout the UK.

VEIL: something that covers or hides something else.

TO GATHER:  to bring (things or people) together into a group.
Ex. The children gathered their toys (together) and put them away.

TO FROWN ON SOMEBODY/SOMETHING: to disapprove of somebody/something.
Ex. The company frowns on dating among employees.

TO MERGE:  to combine or make two or more things combine to form a single thing.
Ex. He has plans to merge his own company with another one.

DECEASED: dead; no longer living.

THE FOLD: a group of people with whom you feel you belong or who share the same ideas or beliefs.
Ex. We are hoping that these policies will bring reluctant voters back to the fold.

FAMINE: a situation in which many people do not have enough food to eat.

EXTORTION: the crime of making somebody give you something by threatening them.

BRIBE: something valuable (such as money) that is given in order to get someone to do something.

Free PDF version: listening-activity-Halloween-vocabulary

Watch the video, then try to answer these questions

1. Who originated Halloween traditions? What did they celebrate on October 31st?

2. Why did they lit huge bonfires and gathered around them?

3. When did the Vatican decide to merge this holiday with a church holiday?

4. All Saints day was known as …

5. What does ‘hallow’ mean?

6. When did Halloween become a ‘dangerous holiday’?

7. What was originally ‘trick or treat’?

Free PDF version: Listening-Activity-Halloween-questions

Answers: Listening-Activity-Halloween-answers

 

Listening Activity based on the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC’s video –“EXPLORING THE OCEAN FOR SIXTY YEARS – BEST JOB EVER” by Sylvia Earle

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Complete the following sentences with the correct words:

  1. Even if you_______________________ (to see- never) the ocean or touch the ocean touches you.
  2. Every breath you take, every ______________ of water you drink it’s the ocean.
  3. For me ___________________ (to be) a biologist just ____________________ (to follow) my heart ____________________ (to lead) me to some fascinating places.
  4. As a scientist I love nothing more than being an explorer ____________________ (to discover) the nature of life itself, that sense of eureka.
  5. It’s a wonderful passport _______________ the ocean.
  6. We are just beginning to assess the magnitude of out ignorance and at the same time that we’re learning more, we’re also discovering how much we_________________________ (to lose).
  7. How do you save the ocean? You find others who __________________ (to have) a similar goal.
  8. All of us depend on these _______________________ and they’re incredibly …. In some ways they’re incredibly ______________________ if we do the right thing but they’re also …
  9. It’s a magical sight that endless horizon that just _____________________ (to stretch) out to blue infinity.
  10. You jump in the ocean and there you find ___________________________.

PDF version:listening-activity-exploring-the-ocean-for-sixty-years-freeenglishmaterialsforyou

Answers: listening-activity-exploring-the-ocean-for-sixty-years-answers-freeenglishmaterialsforyou

Listening activity -What’s the big deal with gluten? by William D. Chey – TED-Ed

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Yesterday, I came across this Ted-Ed video and I found it quite informative. It’s just 5 minutes long and it isn’t difficult to understand. As you can guess reading the heading, it’s about GLUTEN, allergies, and intolerances. On Ted-Ed‘s website, you can find other listening activities on the video. 

Below a vocabulary list you should read before watching the video:

cereals-visual-vocabulary

Image source

BIG DEAL: something that is very important.
Ex. This was a really big deal for me.

RECENTLY: not long ago
Ex. I received a letter from her recently.

DIETARY: related to your diet.
Ex. This kind of dietary behaviour needs to be stopped immediately.

CRAZE: an activity, object or idea that is very popular for a short time.
Ex. The new dance craze is spreading.

INSOLUBLE: not able to be dissolved in a liquid.

DOUGH: flour mixed with water, and other ingredients that is baked to make bread, cookies, etc.

TO MOUNT: to activate; to launch.

MILD: not strong in action or effect.
Ex. Your friend had a mild heart attack.

TO IMPAIR: to make something weaker or worse.
Ex. Smoking can impair your health.

RASH: a lot of small red spots on the skin that is caused by an illness or a reaction to something.

FORTUITOUS: happening by chance; not planned.
Ex. My presence here is fortuitous.

PDF version: what-is-the-big-deal-with-gluten-vocabulary

Fill in the gaps in the following sentences:

  1. Maybe you’ve recently seen the phrase “gluten-free” on food ________________, or take-out menus, shampoo bottles, apartment listings, the _______________of your shirt, on a hammer, as a lower back tattoo, or in your friend’s resume.
  2. Next time someone starts telling you about their newfound freedom from gluten, here are some questions you can ask, and the _________________ answers that your friend, being a reasonable individual making educated _________________choices, and by no means just following the latest diet _________________, will tell you.
  3. What is gluten? Gluten is an insoluble protein composite _________________ of two proteins named gliadin and glutenin.
  4. Gluten is found in certain grains, particularly wheat, rye and _______________ .
  5. Gluten is responsible for the elastic consistency of and the chewiness of _______________ foods made from wheat flour, like bread and pasta.
  6. For some people, these foods cause problems, namely wheat allergy, celiac _________________, and non-celiac gluten sensitivity.
  7. Wheat allergy is an uncommon _________________ that occurs when a person’s immune system _________________an allergic response to wheat proteins, leading to mild problems, and in rare cases, a potential dangerous reaction called anaphylaxis.
  8. Celiac disease is an _________________ disease, in which eating foods with gluten leads to inflammation and damage of the lining of the small intestine.
  9. This impairs intestinal function, _________________ to problems like belly pain, bloating, gas, diarrhea, weight loss, skin _________________, bone problems like osteoporosis, iron deficiency, small stature, infertility, fatigue and depression.
  10. Celiac disease is present in one in every 100 to ____________persons in the U.S.
  11. The most effective _________________ is a gluten-free diet, which helps heal intestinal damage and improve symptoms.
  12. Gluten sensitivity’s _________________ in the general population is unclear, but likely much more common than wheat allergy or celiac disease.
  13. For example, it may be the case that gluten can activate the immune system in the small intestine, or cause it to become _________________.
  14. The human intestine can’t _________________ or absorb fructans, so they make their way to the large intestine or colon, where they’re fermented by bacteria, producing short-chain fatty acids and gases.
  15. Another possible explanation behind gluten sensitivity is the ________________ effect.  This occurs when a person believes something will cause problems, and because of that belief, it does. It’s the opposite of the more well-known and much more ____________________ placebo effect.
  16. So a better name than non-celiac gluten___________________might be wheat _____________________.

PDF version: whats-the-big-deal-with-gluten-fill-in-the-gaps-without-answers

Answers: what-is-the-big-deal-with-gluten-answers

 

Get rid of

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to-get-rid-of-meaning-phrasal-verb-femfy-free-english-materials-for-you

‘Get rid of’ is an INSEPARABLE phrasal verb.

Example sentences:

  • She’s trying to get rid of us.
  • I can’t get rid of my phone until John calls.
  • I just can’t bring myself to get rid of this old dress because it has so many good memories attached to it.

 

 

Who invented the Internet? And Why?

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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:

  1. So, have you ever _____________ (to wonder) who actually _____________ (to invent) the Internet?
  2. 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?
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. Networks really ________________ (to begin) ________________________ (to communicate) with each other in 1975, so you could _______________ (to argue) that __________________ (to be) the beginning of the internet.
  9. Most internet traffic in 1976 _____________ (to be) email, because academics ____________________ (to think) electronic post-it notes ______________ (to be) dead-core.
  10. 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

 

 

Slideshare

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Slideshare is a community that allows people to upload and share slides and other resources. Its aim is to share knowledge online.

For example, this is a presentation on plural nouns in English:

This is a book on phrasal verbs in context:

This one could help you improve your vocabulary:

This is how it looks when you search for a topic:
Slideshare
First of all, you have to write the topic you are interested in (on the top), then you can click on the search icon. The image above shows you how it will appear on your screen. After you’ve clicked on the “search” button, you can change the language (look at the red arrow on the right). Thanks to this option, you will be able to find resources not only in English but also in other languages.

For example, choosing French, instead of English, this is what’ll appear on your screen:
slideshare_french