Aspects of Culture

English Is a Crazy Language

I. Vocabulary work

Study the words.

To be well/better/best off, indispensable, vagary, purport, marvel, rigid, misperceive, engender, spoof, lunacy.

Choose a suitable word from Ex. 1 to fill in the gaps. Make sure to use it in the appropriate form.

1. His wealth fluctuates with the … of the stock market.

2. It is a … of engineering, still functioning today.

3. The law is moral and ….

4. The main … of my writing is to tell you that we have found a house for the next half year.

5. Our teacher is a … disciplinarian.

6. His idea was considered total ….

7. It’s not a good idea to change jobs; you’re … where you are.

8. Such policies have … controversy.

9. The letter … to express people’s opinion.

10. One cannot but... at these stunning cathedrals.

11. Mike Myers’ comedy flop The Love Guru has dominated the Golden Raspberries, the … prizes awarded to the worst Hollywood movies of the year.

12. People who … social reality in this way tend to feel lonelier and less satisfied with life.

3. In what situation would you use the following set expressions? Give your own examples.

To be mad about smth/smb, every nook and cranny, taken aback, kit and caboodle, spick and span, a near miss, go back and forth, innocent bystanders, a hit-and-run play, in fine fettle, daylight savings time, annals of history, hue and cry, might and main.