Swine flu pandemic
April 29th, 2009
Some recent vocabulary in the news.
The World Health Organisation has asked governments to prepare for a swine flu pandemic. The number of confirmed infections has risen above 100 on four continents, and there could now be evidence that patients are spreading the illness to others.
The WHO has warned that if the disease takes hold across the world, it could be a disaster for poorer countries which do not have the resources for dealing with a pandemic.
swine flu = the new type of influenza originating in Mexico. (Also called Mexican flu)
pandemic = an epidemic on a global scale
infections = instances where people are infected by a disease
spread an illness = give the illness to another person
take hold = become established
resources = financial or organisational systems
Other words and phrases associated with this story:
an outbreak = when an illness occurs: "There has been an outbreak of TB in the city."
a case = an instance of the disease: "There have been five new cases reported of TB."
virus = something that causes a disease: "A virus has been going around."
patient = a person who is in hospital: "The patient is showing signs of recovery."
symptoms = the signs that you have an illness: "Symptoms of swine flu are coughing, weakness…"
Photo credit: Sarihuella
Learning idioms
April 26th, 2009There's a thread on the Help Me! forum about the meaning of different phrases and expressions in English. The most recent question is about the idiom "red-handed", which means "caught in the act of doing something wrong". For more idioms of colour, see here.
Here are some more idioms and phrases to talk about stealing:
be caught red-handed: "The thief was caught red-handed."
be caught with your fingers in the till (till = cash register in a shop): "She was caught with her fingers in the till and she lost her job."
have sticky fingers: "Don't leave your bag unattended. Some people in this office have sticky fingers."
to nick = to steal: "The kids used to nick sweets from the shop when they were young."
to pinch = to steal: "He pinched some money from his mum's purse."
to fall off the back of a lorry (UK) = to refer to stolen goods.
"Where did he get your DVD?"
"Don't ask. It fell off the back of a lorry."
Need a way to practise English vocabulary?
April 19th, 2009Here's a great idea – open a twitter account and practise idioms / phrasal verbs etc in your tweets to friends, family and followers.
I saw this idea in a tweet from English Phrases who explain how to do it here.
Don't forget: to follow english-at-home.com on twitter, go here.
Coffee or tea?
April 19th, 2009It's a rainy Sunday afternoon – perfect for relaxing with a pot of tea and some blueberry muffins. The English love their tea and in fact we drink it pretty much throughout the day – not just at 5pm. What do you prefer drinking when you want to relax with friends or family?
How do you spend your day off?
April 13th, 2009Most of the schools are closed, so I've had pretty much a week off teaching. I had a long list of things "to do", and I was really looking forward to doing them all and being "productive". I was going to tidy up the garden, go to the beach, experiment in the kitchen, and meet up with friends. I've done perhaps one-third of what I was planning to do, and I have no idea where all the time went. What do you normally plan to do when you have a day off? Do you manage to make the most of your time? (If you do, what is your secret? I'd love to know!)
An approach to learning
April 4th, 2009There's been a recent question about this phrase on the Help Me! forums. At first glance it looks strange: when you see "an approach to…." you imagine that there should be the rest of the infinitive verb, as in "an approach to get…" or "an approach to find…" But the "to" in the phrase isn't part of an infinitive verb, but a preposition, and after prepositions we need a gerund:
"An approach to learning…"
"I look forward to seeing you soon."
Other prepositions:
"A way of getting results…"
"By doing this you find…"
"These scissors are for cutting material."
"From working with these students she understood…"
