Improve Your English – 258 [Archives:2004/786/Education]

Dr. Ramakanta Sahu
I. What to Say
Situations and expressions (72):
Good Luck messages (IV)
Good luck wishes are harbingers of hope and as such have a sublime connotation. They have a positive approach that lends a fresh perspective on life. They infuse into us the spirit to strive relentlessly for the achievement of loftier goals and ideals.
– Whatever you're dreaming of, that's what this wishes you, for if any one deserves life's best and all its pleasures too, it's you.
– Sometimes we're happy; sometimes we're sad; some days we feel really good and some days we feel bad Although life can be tough sometimes, remember those times won't last, for each day brings you closer to it, being in your past. So just smile your way through and be happy for ever.
– The world is full of different types of people. Never judge them at the same level. Do good acts, and a smiling face is the best reward for them. Keep up your efforts. Best of luck for your mission.
– Light up people's lives with a bit of love and care. Hold on to hope because it's sure to give you happiness at the end. All the best.
– Be tough enough to bounce back from a failure. Pass on good memories to the people who you share your life with. Enjoy your life to the fullest. Best wishes.

II. How to Say it Correctly
Correct errors, if any, in the following sentences
1. No sooner he received the message than he went out.
2. Now that we have shifted our house seldom we go to his house.
3. Neither he came nor did he send the money.
4. See these words in the dictionary and write down their meanings.
5. The school is too much small to accommodate all the students.

Suggested answers to last week's questions
1. Rahim denied that he had stolen the purse.
2. The mother with her children was killed in a train accident.
3. Each doctor and nurse of the hospital is to be given the responsibility to keep the hospital clean.
4. Ahmed as well as his brother has been arrested by the police.
5. My house is 5 kilometers from the college.

III. Increase Your Word Power
(A) How to express it in one word
1. To remove from state ownership.
2. The number below the line in a fraction.
3. Discovery of the future by supernatural means.
4. A list of law cases to be tried.
5. Person who wants his doctrines to be put into practice.

Suggested answers to last week's questions
1. The act of setting aside something, especially a sum of money, for a special purpose: appropriation (n)
2. A result, calculation, description, etc. that is not exact but is an almost correct amount or estimate: approximation (n)
3. To stop using (a metal) as a standard of money: demonetize (vt)
4. To lower in rank or position: demote (vt)
5. Women and children who are quiet, serious and not mixing with anybody: demure (adj)

(B) Synonyms and antonyms
A synonym is a word which conveys a meaning similar to the given word. An antonym is a word which conveys a meaning opposite to the given word.
(I) Synonyms
Given below are some words followed by four answers. Mark the answer which is nearest to the meaning of the given word
1. incense
a) to worship b) to enrage c) to stimulate d) to inhale
2. evince
a) to show plainly b) to see clearly
c) to be interested d) to shrink back
3. impeach
a) to accuse b) to remove from office
c) to slander d) to put in jail

ii) Antonyms
Given below are some words followed by four answers. Tick the answer which gives the opposite meaning of the word.
1. impious
a) holy b) mischievous
c) shrewd d) diplomatic
2. enigmatic
a) displeased b) simple
c) short-sighted d) learned
3. sporadic
a) epidemic b) stagnant
c) spontaneous d) regular

Useful terms, their origin and meaning
Suggested answers to last week's questions
1. trochee (Gk. 'running'): A metrical foot containing a stressed followed by an unstressed, syllable.
2. utopia (Gk ou, 'not + topos, 'place'): Sir Thomas More was the first to apply this word to a literary genre when he named his imaginary republic Utopia (1516)
3. Vernacular (Lat. 'vernaculus', 'domestic, native, indigenous'): Domestic or native language. Now applied to the language used in one's native country.
4. vignette (Fr. 'little vine'): A sketch or short composition which shows considerable skill.
5. wit (Old Eng. Witan, 'to know'): intelligence; understanding, quickness of mind.
('Origin and meaning of useful terms' is concluded herewith)

(C ) Words commonly confused
Bring out differences in meaning of the following pairs of words
1. abnormal, subnormal 2. sick, sickly
3. bier, bear 4. expatiated, expiated
5. ceded, seceded

Suggested answers to last week's questions
1. contagious (adj) (of disease spreading by touch): All skin diseases are contagious.
contiguous (adj) (touching, neighboring): Eritrea is contiguous to/with Yemen.
2. pier (n) (structure of wood, iron etc. built out into the sea): The view of the sea from the pier is scintillating.
pair (n) (two things of the same kind): I bought a new pair of trousers.
peer (n) (equal in rank, merit or quality): It is difficult to find his peer.
pare (vt) (cut away the outer part of): The hunters pared the claws of the animal.
pear (n) (sweet, juicy fruit): Children love eating pears.
3. ablution (n. us. pl) (ceremonial washing of the hands or the body as an act of religion): The priest performed his ablutions before praying.
oblation (n) (offering made to God): The devotees made oblations to Allah, the most merciful.
4. belief (n) (the feeling that something is real and true): I haven't much belief in his sincerity.
conviction (n) (the act of bringing certainty to the mind): The speaker spoke with full conviction.
faith (n) (trust, strong belief; unquestioning confidence): We have abiding faith in the mercy of Allah, the most compassionate.
5. virtuous (adj) (having or showing virtue): Virtuous souls deserve Allah's mercy.
virtuoso (n) (person with special knowledge of, or taste for, works of art): According to some critics, Pope was not a poet, but a virtuoso.

(D) Idioms and phrases
Use the following idioms in illustrative sentences
1. his days are numbered
2. have no time for (someone/something)
3. have the time of one's life
4. turn one's nose up
5. in the nick of time

Suggested answers to last week's questions
1. take someone's word for it (to believe what someone says without question): I have had no interaction with him, but I will take your word for it that he is honest and hard working.
2. put one's finger on (something) (to describe something exactly or to identify something): The Manager put his finger on the problem when he said that we didn't have enough money to pay the workers.
3. play it cool (to deal with a problem or a situation in a calm way): Although he was nervous, he played it cool in the interview.
4. until one is blue in the face (having made maximum effort): He shouted until he was blue in the face, but no one came to his rescue.
5. you can take a horse to the pond but you can't make it drink (you can encourage someone to do something which he/she does not want to do): It is very hard to make unmotivated learners willing to learn – you can take a horse to the pond but you can't make it drink.

IV. Grammar and Composition
(A) Grammar
Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it means exactly the same as the sentence given before it
1. The play was so good that she went back to see it again. It ))))-
2. Ahmed Azzan and I haven't seen each other for two years. It's two ))))))
3. I go to the cardiologist less often than I should.
I don't ))))))
4. I regret not keeping in touch with her.
I wish ))))-
5. 'I'm sorry I broke the vase,' Jamal said to Majid.
Jamal apologized ))))

Suggested answers to last week's questions
1. We regret to announce that Flight BA503 has been delayed for a further thirty minutes.
2. If you want to see the city, may I suggest a guided tour of the main points of interest?
3. You can drive to Paris but the roads are always crowded. Why don't you take the train instead?
4. We went to the seaside on a day excursion once and it rained all the time.
5. I'm sure you'd like a rest after your long journey.
6. I don't fancy going on a long sea-voyage. Imagine meeting the same people day after day!
7. One of the thrills of the holiday was to go for a ride on a horse.
8. My ambition is to travel round the world.
9. The explorers were all ready for the long expedition that lay ahead of them.
10. We decided to go on the optional trip to see Shakespeare's birth place.
11. We are going for a short visit to our friends in London.

V. Pearls from the Holy Quran
And call in remembrance
The favor of Allah
Unto you, and His Covenant,
Which He ratified
With you, when ye said:
“We hear and we obey”:
And fear Allah, for Allah
Knoweth well
The secrets of your hearts.”
S5:A7

VI. Food for Thought
“It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer.”
)Albert Einstein
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