Sam Bankman-Fried expected to face eight criminal charges in New York

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Write summary of the article

When Harry Met Meghan

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Read the article, answer the questions and write a summary:

1. What is the author's attitude towards monarchy as a form of rule?

2. How did the royals treat Meghan Markle at the beginning as compared to later events?

3. What is the documentary 'Harry & Meghan' about?

4. According to the author, does monarchy have a chance?

Here is the trailer of the documentary:

10 Best Countries to Move, Live, Work Abroad for Expats in 2022 | InterNations Expat Insider Survey

 

Name the city from the list you would like to live in

The top 10 cities to live and work abroad this year

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Read the article and answer the questions:

1. What are the benefits of living in Valencia for expats?

2. How many respondents took part in the survey?

3. Describe the advantages of living in Dubai.

4. What factors were taken into consideration while deciding which city is the best?

A private celebrity chef in Beverly Hills shares what her millionaire clients eat in a week

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Read the article and answer the questions:

1. Who is 'Chef Bae' and what does she do in life?

2. What is healthy to eat/drink prior to having breakfast?

3. What is the best time of the day to eat heavy carbs?

4. How does the chef manage to achieve great flavour in the dinner dishes?

Phrasal verbs: life, crime and society

Break in – force entry

The burglar broke in and stole cash and some jewelry.

 Break out – escape from

The prisoners broke out of the prison during the fire. 

Get away – escape

I managed to get away from the police as I was faster than the others.

Get away with – not be punished for sth

My boss got away with tax fraud by bribing a judge.

Give up/in – hand yourself in

The thief gave himself up to the police. 

Let off – not punish/forgive

The police let us off in the end as we were not speeding too much.

Lock up – put in prison

We ought to lock up all corrupt politicians.

 Look into– investigate

The police are looking into the incident.

Run away – flee/ escape by running

We all ran away after the protest so that we were not detained. 

Tell off – shout at

The police told the children off.

Tell on – grass on

The witness told on his business partner to avoid further prosecution.

Tip off – give evidence against

The police were tipped off last night by a witness.

Make up 3 sentences with any of these phrasal verbs.

Why Belgium is now the cocaine capital of Europe

 

Watch the video and answer the questions:

1. What countries is the cocaine imported to Belgium from?

2. How many tons of cocaine were seized in Belgium in 2021?

3. How is the Balkan mafia related to the cocaine trafficking?

4. How are the Belgian police involved in the trafficking?

Golden Globes, Hobbled By Scandal, Set to Announce Noms

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Read the article and answer the questions:

1. What was the 2021 scandal about?

2. Why did Brendan Fraser say he would not attend the ceremony?

3. What are the favorites this year?

Participial Construction & Absolute Construction: Difference Explained

Every learner of English ought to know the difference between participial construction and absolute construction . These two constructions are the source of many an error often committed by English - users. 

What is participial construction? It is a common type of sentence construction in English . It consists of a participial phrase or clause followed by the main clause. The participle may be present participle ( - ing) or past participle ( -ed or -en). Look at these sentences :

*Singing loudly, John entered the room . 

*Tired from work, Kate went to bed early. 

*Having read the book, she returned it to the library. 

The first part of the sentence is called a participial phrase. The verbs in participial phrases are in the participle forms, present or past, and their subjects (not mentioned) are always the same as the subjects in the main clauses. So , remember that if you put a noun or pronoun other than the real subject (that is, subject of the participial phrase) at the beginning of the main clause, it may result in confusion ! Look at this sentence :

Walking in the grass, a snake bit her . 

What impression do you get? Was the snake walking? If you re-write the sentence as

Walking in the grass, she was bitten by a snake 

the sentence would make sense . 

Now, let me discuss Absolute Construction. This type of sentence construction makes use of absolute phrases. What is an absolute phrase? Well, it is different from participial phrases in that it explicitly mentions the subject. The subject is never mentioned in participial phrases. For example, "being rich" is a participial phrase , "he being rich" is an absolute phrase. Another difference between participial construction and absolute construction is that the subjects of absolute phrases are always different from those of their main clauses. For this reason the syntactic relation between the absolute phrase and the main clause is always a fragile one. Hence the name absolute construction. You know absolute means "independent" or "not related " etc. The absolute phrases serves to give additional details in a hurried manner, so to speak. Nonetheless, there is a strong semantic relation between the absolute phrase and the main clause. Look at these sentences:

*The party being over, the guests began to depart. 

*Her husband being away, she felt lonely and miserable. 

*All government offices will remain closed tomorrow, tomorrow being a holiday. 

*The doctor having arrived, she looked happy and cheerful. 

Make up 3 sentences with the absolute construction and post them below. 

Pay attention to your body's master clock | Emily Manoogian | TEDxSanDiegoSalon

 

Watch the video and answer the questions:

1. What do you know about a circadian rhythm?

2. Explain the phenomenon of 'social jetlag'.

3. What are the benefits of time-restricted eating?

The 7 types of rest that every person needs

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Read the article and answer the questions:

1. How many type of rest are there? Enumerate them.

2. Is getting more sleep always a solution to the problem? If yes/no, why?

3. What is creative rest about?

Plane idioms

 

• to be flying high – to be very successful
• to fly by the seat of one’s pants – to do sth. difficult without much experience or ability
• to come to a standstill – to stop

• to do sth. on autopilot – to do sth. without thinking: I can cook this dish on autopilot.
• To take a nosedive – to go down suddenly and fast: The prices have taken a nosedive.
• To be soaring – to opposite of “to take a nosedive”: The prices are soaring.
• To be on a collision course – to behave in such a way that it’s likely to cause a major disagreement/fight: The two countries are on a collision course.

Make up 3 sentences with these idioms and post them below.

These Cities Have the Best Public Transit Systems

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Read the article and answer the questions:

1. Which city has the best public transport in the world?

2. What factors were taken into consideration while assessing the public transport?

3. Describe the system of public transport in the US.

Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me — An Exclusive Conversation | Apple TV+

 

Watch the interview and answer the questions:

1. What is the documentary about?

2. How many tour had Selena had prior to cancelling the show?

3. What was Selena afraid of in her childhood?

4. Who did Selena meet with when she visited her hometown?

15 Advanced English Phrases for Expressing Emotions

 

1. Flying high

Meaning: very happy.

She’s flying high after the successful product launch.

2. Pumped up

Meaning: very excited about something.

He’s pumped up for his first half-marathon race this weekend.

3. Fool’s paradise

Meaning: a situation when someone is happy because they’re ignoring a problem or fail to realize its existence.

He’s been living in fool’s paradise since he started trading stocks, expecting to make millions even though he doesn’t have investing experience.

4. Be down in the dumps

Meaning: to feel unhappy or without hope.

I always feel down in the dumps when I go back to work after a long weekend.

5. Be at the end of your rope (American); Be at the end of your tether (British)

Meaning: to feel very upset because you’re no longer able to deal with a difficult situation.

Helen is at the end of her rope after looking for a job for months without any luck.

6. Grief-stricken

Meaning: extremely sad.

After his partner died in a car accident, he was left grief-stricken.

7. Bite someone’s head off

Meaning: to respond with anger to someone.

I just asked one question to confirm his request, and my boss bit my head off.

8. Black mood

Meaning: to be irritable, angry or depressed.

She’s scared to ask for a day off as her boss is in a black mood today.

9. Drive up the wall

Meaning: to annoy or irritate someone.

His constant whining drove me up the wall, so I left.

10. Have/get/feel butterflies in your stomach

Meaning: to feel very nervous or excited about something that you have to do, especially something important.

I’m going to have the first meeting with a big client tomorrow, and I’m feeling butterflies in my stomach.

11. Afraid of your own shadow

Meaning: very easily frightened.

After reading “Dracula,” she became afraid of her own shadow.

12. Petrified of

Meaning: extremely frightened, especially so that you cannot move or decide what to do.

In the “Harry Potter” series, Ron Weasley is petrified of spiders.

13. Feel out of it

Meaning: to not feel in a state of one’s normal mind.

He just woke up from a night of heavy drinking and felt so out of it.

14. Puzzle over

Meaning: to think carefully about someone or something for a long time and try to understand them.

I puzzled over the assignment for a few days before I decided to ask my professor for clarification.

15. Ambivalent about

Meaning: feeling two different things about someone or something at the same time, for example, that you like them and dislike them.

He’s ambivalent about quitting his job to start his own business; he wants his freedom, but there are risks.

Choose 5 idioms to your liking and make up sentences with them.

Why is the World Cup important to Qatar?

 

Watch the video and answer the questions:

1. Why is this cup named the most expensive one in the history of football?

2. Describe Qatar's preparation for the tournament. What obstacles did it encounter?

3. What benefits can this event bring to the economy of Qatar?

World population reaches 8 billion people, with India expected to surpass China as most populous nation

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Read the article and answer the questions:

1. How is the growing world population related to the number of children in the family?

2. What was human life expectancy between 1990 and 2019?

3. Enumerate the most populous countries in the world.

Phrasal Verbs About Education

Make up five sentences with these phrasal verbs

NEUROSCIENTIST: You will NEVER LACK Motivation Again

 

Watch the video and answer the questions:

1. Why do the majority of people work hard?

2. How are working hard, getting a reward and dopamine release are related>

3. What was the Stanford experiment about and what did it reveal?

4. What solution does Andrew Huberman to counter the problem?

28-year-old Harvard grad who quit his $200,000 job: Here's the biggest downside of success 'no one talks about'

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Read the article and answer the questions:

1. What was Julian's occupation after graduation?

2. What incident addicted his mental health?

3. What did he do for other people suffering from the same condition?

'Brazil was stolen': the Bolsonaro supporters who refuse to accept election result

 

Watch the video and answer the questions:

1. What is the attitude of Brazilian people towards Lula, the newly elected president?

2. Was the election transparent, according to the voters?

US warns Australia against joining treaty banning nuclear weapons

 

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Read the article and answer the questions:

1. What do you know about the new treaty banning nuclear weapons?

2. What is the stance of the current government of Australia in regard to the treaty?

3. Describe the reaction of the US officials. 

Andrew Tate on Why He Became a Muslim

Watch the interview and answer the questions:

1. Why did Andrew Tate leave Christianity?

2. What happened to a teacher who refused to criticize Andrew at school? 

3. Describe the defamation campaign led against Andrew Tate and the reasons for it.

Kanye West claims he lost $2bn in one day amid backlash to antisemitic comments

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Read the article and answer the questions:

1. What companies cut ties with Kanye West over his antisemitic remarks?

2. What was Kanye's response?

3. What happened to Kanye's Instagram account?

Phrasal verbs related to food

 1. Eat in/out (To eat at home/to eat in a restaurant)

Are you going to eat in tonight? No, mum. I'm eating out with my friends.

2. Eat up (To finish all your meal, usually used with children)
Eat up your breakfast now or you'll be late for school.

3. Pick at (To eat small amounts of food because you're not hungry or you don't like it)
Is something wrong with you? You've been picking at your food for half an hour.

4. Dig in (To start eating)
Dig in before your food gets cold!

5. Polish off (To eat something until it's finished)

He polished off a plateful of lentils in next to no time.

Make up 3 sentences with these phrasal verbs and post them in the commentary section below.

Cost of living crisis: Eat or heat a 'huge reality', as councils face 'unprecedented' pleas for help

 

1. What do you know about food banks?

2. Describe the situation Graham Smith found himself in.

3. What classes of society has the crisis affected?

We live on cereal and soup, I ration washing my hair - what else can I give up to survive?

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Read the article and answer the questions:

1. Describe the diet of the author of the article.

2. What tools does she use to warm herself up?

3. How much has her rent increased?

Post your answers in the commentary section below

Complexity.The Oxford comment

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Listen to the track and answer the questions:

1. What university is the speaker from?

2. What does she say about the brain’s ability to perform complex vs easy tasks?

3. What facts about ants did she mention? 

Phrasal verbs about money

Choose 3 phrasal verbs and make up 3 sentences with them.

 

Britain is slowly waking up to the truth: Brexit has left us poorer, adrift and alone

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Read the article and answer the questions in the commentary section:

1. How did the British public treat Boris Johnson?

2. What were the promises made by the politicians promoting Brexit?

3. Did the politicians in the article live up to their promises?

English idioms

Learn these idioms and make up three sentences with them

Idiom	Meaning	Usage
As right as rain	Perfect	as part of a sentence
Bolt from the blue	Something that happened without warning	as part of a sentence
Burn bridges	Destroy relationships	as part of a sentence

UK economy: is there worse to come?

 

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Watch the video and answer the questions%

1) What can you say about the British pound in the current economic crisis?

2) How is the British government planning to fix this problem?

Post your answers in the commentary section below.

Who’s paying for Britain’s disastrous mini-budget? We are, with our health

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Read the article and answer the questions:

1) What was the result of the UK government's tax cuts?

2) How did the housing market react to changes?

3) How will low-income households survive?

4) What consequences can more expensive fuel have for people's health?

Post your answers in the commentary section below.

What are NFTs? | The Economist

 

Watch the video and answer the questions below:

1) Where did NFTs come from?

2) Where can you sell an NFT?

3) How is NFT represented in art?

4) How is NFT related to metaverse?

Are NFTs really art?

 

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Read the article and answer the questions:

1) What do you know about NFT? Decipher it.

2)  Who are the celebrities that are promoting NFT?

3) What makes NFT different from art objects created in the past?

4) Would you like to buy one?

The Amazing Qur'an

 

Watch the lecture and comment below

Questions for Seminar 4 in Stylistics

 1. Climax

2. Anticlimax

3. Antithesis

4. Litotes

6. Simile

7. Periphrasis

8. Represented Speech

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Questions for Seminar 3 in Stylistics

 1. Anaphora and epiphora

2. Chiasmus

3. Climax and anticlimax

4. Stylistic inversion

5. Ellipsis

6. Asyndeton and polysyndeton

7. Antithesis

8. Suspense

9. Aposiopesis

10.Represented speech

click here to read the lecture

If Netflix is stumbling will Wall Street renew or cancel?

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Read the article and answer the questions:

1) Speak of Netflix at the beginning of its launch. Was it a success?

2) How many new users  have subscribed to Netflix this year as compared to the previous year and what was the result of it?

3) What other streaming services are mentioned in the article?

Post your answers in the commentary section below.

Questions for Seminar 2 in Stylistics

1. Expressive Means

2. Stylistic Devices

3. Metaphor

4. Metonymy

5. Simile

6. Epithet

7. Pun
8. Zeugma
9.Violation of phraseological units
10. Semantically false chains
11. Nonsense of non-sequence
12. Irony
13. Antonomasia
14. Hyperbole
15. Oxymoron

Lecture 3

Lecture 4

Questions for Seminar 1 in Stylistics

1. The definition of the term 'style'

2. Different areas of stylistics

3. Stylistics and other linguistic disciplines

4. The belles-lettres style

5. The newspaper style

6. The style of scientific prose

7. The style of official documents

8. The publicistic style

Lecture 1

Lecture 2