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Example sentences from the web:
- Marcus: “When is Lucy coming back?”
Brenda: “She is not coming back. She is gone for good.” - His severe injury ended his career for good.
- I was afraid you had disappeared for good.
Tag: Real English
A brief history of video games (part 1) – Safwat Saleem – video + fill in the gaps exercise
VOCABULARY
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Interface: a system that is used for operating a computer.
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To spread: to become known by many people.
Ex. The news spread quickly. -
Patent: an official document that gives a person or computer the right to be the only one that makes or sells a product for a certain period of time.
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Mouthful (US): something said that has a lot of meaning or importance.
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To wonder: to want to know something or to try to understand the reason for something.
Ex. I wonder if she’ll call him. -
Release: the act of making something available to the public.
Ex. The release of her article for publication is scheduled for tomorrow. -
Hit: success
Ex. The song is a hit. -
To heat up: to increase or become more active or intense.
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To feature: to include someone or something as an important part.
Ex. I consider the measures featured in the report to be insufficient. -
To kick off: to begin, to get started.
Ex. The game kicks off at 2:00. -
Milestone: an important event in the development or history of something or in someone’s life.
Ex. Your poem will be a milestone in the literature of your Country. -
Damsel in distress (old-fashioned): a young woman who is not married and needs to be rescued.
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Sales: the number of items sold.
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Merely: only, just.
Ex. It was merely a suggestion.
Downloadable PDF file: A brief history of videogames (part 1) – Vocabulary
Here you can watch this video with subtitles: Ted Ed
Fill in the gaps in the following sentences with the correct form of the words from the vocabulary list written above:
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In 1972, Bear’s idea to get video games out of the science lab and into the living room led to the _____________ of a game console called Odyssey.
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A video game is an electronic game that has an ______________ designed for human interaction on a video device.
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Space Invaders also helped ____________ what is known as the Golden Age of Arcade Games.
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In fact, the earliest U.S. video game ______________ on record was in 1948, and at the time it was referred to as a cathode-ray tube amusement device. That’s a ______________ !
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This all changed when a man named Ralph Baer looked at his television screen and ______________ how else it might be used.
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By 1978, competition between Atari and another game company called Midway was _______________.
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While arcade games continued to decline in ________________ over the years, the popularity of video games was ________________ beginning […].
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By 1980, color came to arcade games, and this was also the year that another video gaming _________________ was born.
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It was an immediate ___________________ and it’s credited as the first commercially successful video game.
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Video games are used by scientists, the military, and people like you, and their evolution has ________________ across arcades, consoles, computers, smartphones, and all kind of other electronics.
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It was released in 1987 and, like Donkey Kong, it ___________________ a _______________________ storyline, a storyline common in many video games.
Downloadable PDF file: A brief history of videogames (part 1) – Fill in the gaps exercise with answers
Answers:
1) Release; 2) interface; 3) kick off; 4) patent; mouthful; 5) wondered; 6) heating up; 7) sales; merely; 8) milestone; 9) hit; 10) spread; 11) featured; damsel in distress.
WEIRD – What does it mean?
Example sentences from the web:
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Her boyfriend’s a bit weird but she’s nice. (meaning 1)
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We heard some weird sounds outside! We are scared now! (meaning 2)
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But something weird definitely happened here. (meaning 2)
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He stayed home on a Friday night?!? That’s weird. (meaning 1)
Visual Thesaurus
Some weird auditions on
America’s & Britain’s Got Talent
Weird news on Metro: http://metro.co.uk/news/weird/
“Scumbag” – English slang
“Awkward” – What does it mean?
Image source
Gif source
Gif source
Example sentences from the web:
- I often find our awkward silences more comfortable than our awkward conversations.
- It would be awkward to show him you’ve rejected me.
- She is awkward at dancing.
Synonyms for AWKWARD:
Visual thesaurus
“To sit on a fence” – English idiom
Example sentences from the web:
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No one knows which of the candidates Joan will vote for. She is sitting on the fence.
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I am sitting on a fence here, to go or not to go?
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Many customers are still on the fence waiting to see if a better, less expensive computer will come along.
As you can see in the last example sentence, a variation of this idiom is “to be on a/the fence“, with the same meaning.
Examples from the news:
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Bond Market Just Sitting On The Fence – (New York Times, August 19, 1995)
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In fact, I would think that he would get even more votes – from people who were sitting on the fence before […] (Yushchenko sitting pretty, BBC News, December 4, 2004).
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“It is not a question of sitting on the fence,” he said. “This is an important decision and it’s important we get it right.” (Simon Wright in a corner on tuition fees, BBC News , November 3, 2010).
“Tosser” – British slang
Photo credit: Lst1984 / Foter.com / CC BY-NC
Here you can find other examples and meanings of this slang term: Urban Dictionary
“Every cloud has a silver lining” – English proverb
This phrase is often said to people who are feeling down or depressed in an attempt to try and cheer them up.
Here you can read some information on this proverb: Origin of this proverb.
Example sentences from the web:
- Well, I suppose it’s nice to know that every cloud has a silver lining.
- Interview With Mexican Quake Witness (CNN, 2003):
HARRIS: Well, actually, then, if that’s the case, this toll of only 23 deaths can — I should say — shouldn’t say only 23 deaths — but 23 deaths is actually quite a low number, considering the fact this could be a lot worse, then.
PETERS: In fact, Mexican authorities are saying they’re quite amazed that the casualties appear to be so low at this point. They do expect them to rise, but they say — well, I guess every cloud has a silver lining. This may be that for this earthquake because previous earthquakes of this magnitude in Mexico have killed hundreds.
HARRIS: Well, here’s hoping that silver lining gets even bigger and more pronounced there. Thank you, Gretchen Peters, thank you very much. We appreciate it. Take care. Gretchen Peters of the ” Christian Science Monitor ” talking to us from Mexico City. - Don’t forget that every cloud has a silver lining. The sun will shine again.
Words from the example sentences you may not know:
- TOLL: the extent of loss, damage, suffering, etc., resulting from some action or calamity: The toll was 200 persons dead or missing.
- CASUALTIES: loss in numerical strength through any cause, as death, wounds, sickness, capture, or desertion.
- EARTHQUAKE: a shaking of a part of the earth’s surface that often causes great damage
“Geek” – English slang
*Notice that in British slang the meaning of “geek” is slightly different in a negative way. In the UK, a “geek” is someone into computers and IT, but also a boring and not fashionable person.
To jump out of one’s skin – English idiom
Example sentences from the web:
- I was daydreaming so I nearly jumped out of my skin when he spoke to me.
- Oh! You really scared me. I nearly jumped out of my skin!
- I knock at the door. No answer. I knock again. Still no answer. In a split second, I hear a dog barking behind me, and I practically jump out of my skin.
This is a video on this topic by Niharika:
Talking about ‘fear’ in English
I hope you’ll like it!
Free English Materials For You 