Spotlight Online: Language

One of these will help you to remember difficult things…

Eamonn Fitzgerald — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 06:47:16 +0200

* an anagram * a mnemonic * a metaphor * an algorithm

Making arrangements on the phone: Three skills

Anne Hodgson — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:14:13 +0200

On the phone you need "survival phrases", listening skills and standard, ready-to-use chunks of language you don't have to think about. Find out about online audio sites to brush up your listening and speaking skills and review phrases for making arrangements.

"In Hollywood, says Sean Penn, you fall out; you break up; you _____ up!"

Eamonn Fitzgerald — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:14:12 +0200

* pick * make * shut

A mother who spends a lot of time online is called a…

Eamonn Fitzgerald — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 08:52:12 +0200

* surfmomma * netmate * mousewife

Modal verbs: will and would

Eamonn Fitzgerald — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 21:06:25 +0200

Would is the past form of will. It's a modal auxiliary verb: "It would be lovely to have a bit more time."

"My grandfather _______ smokes nor drinks. That's why he's lived so long, he says."

Eamonn Fitzgerald — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 07:39:30 +0200

* either * neither * both

"Since the __________ of the Islamic Republic in 1979, Iranian foreign policy has been volatile and erratic."

Eamonn Fitzgerald — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:14:17 +0200

* deception * inception * reception

Singing the code of life

Anne Hodgson — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:14:14 +0200

A 40-member choir sings a song written from the sequence of each person's DNA in a monument to our similarities and differences. How do codes work? From the notation of music to the mapping of genetic code.

"The iPhone 4's design is superb, but that's ____________. All this negative publicity has damaged it irreparably."

Eamonn Fitzgerald — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 09:01:52 +0200

* nearby the point * alongside the point * beside the point

"I can't afford to take a holiday this summer, but I might find some time for a …"

Eamonn Fitzgerald — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:14:08 +0200

* minibreak * tinytrip * daycation