USEFUL VOCABULARY

EDITOR’S INTRO

WHY ARE YOU LEARNING ENGLISH? TO GET A BETTER JOB,

READING II: Salad Days

Salads rival Big Macs for fat

The Name Game

THIS IS ANOTHER PART IN OUR SERIES OF FAMOUS NAMES WITH MEANING. MORE NEXT MONTH

What planet are you from?

WHAT PLANET ARE YOU FROM? ARE YOU POWER-HUNGRY LIKE JUPITER? ENERGETIC LIKE MERCURY? TAKE THIS QUIZ TO FIND OUT WHICH PLANET BEST MATCHES YOUR PERSONALITY

USEFUL VERBS & EXPRESSIONS

THIS IS ANOTHER PART IN OUR SECTION ON USEFUL VERBS AND EXPRESSIONS. THIS MONTH: PLANNING A PARTY

Party Panic

How to give a big party on a small budget

Story Time

“My daddy’s an accountant. What does your daddy do for

BASIC ENGLISH: Renting a shared flat

SOCIAL ENGLISH: Renting a shared flat

LISTEN AND REPEAT THESE EXPRESSIONS

DR FINGERS’ ERROR CORRECTION CLINIC

IN THIS SECTION, DR FINGERS IDENTIFIES AND CORRECTS TYPICAL ERRORS

Company Evaluation

Rating your job

GRAMMAR FUN: relation/relationship/relative

THIS MONTH, WE’RE LOOKING AT THREE WORDS WHICH ARE SIMILAR IN MEANING AND THEREFORE EASILY CONFUSED: “RELATION”/ “RELATIONSHIP” / “RELATIVE”

TELEPHONE ENGLISH: Calling an Electronic Store

Match the shop (1-4) to the item you would buy

Starry Night

DID YOU KNOW THAT STARS IN THE SKY CAN SOMETIMES MAKE SHAPES AND PATTERNS? THESE ARE CALLED CONSTELLATIONS. LET’S SEE IF YOU CAN RECOGNISE THESE FAMOUS ONES

FILM / TV SCRIPTS: Will and Grace

Use the context of the dialogue to figure out the

Feeding Time

The science behind overeating

TRIVIA MATCHING

MATCH THE WORDS (1 TO 12) TO THE PHOTOS (

WEIRD TRIVIA

THIS IS ANOTHER PART IN OUR MINI-SERIES ON STRANGE FACTS. WHOEVER THOUGHT THE WORLD WAS SO EXTRAORDINARY?

DR FINGERS’ GRAMMAR

Thank you for writing in. It can be difficult to

Corny Criminals

HERE’S ANOTHER PART IN OUR SERIES ON GOOD, BAD AND FUNNY CRIMINALS

RECIPE

HERE ARE TWO SPACEY RECIPES FOR YOU TO TRY THIS

Roommate Trouble

What typical problems / arguments do flatmates have? Make a

8 REALLY USEFUL PHRASAL VERBS!

Notice how phrasal verbs often have more than just one meaning

WHERE DO PLANETS GET THEIR NAMES?

The stories are Greek. The names are Roman. Many of

WHY ISN'T PLUTO A PLANET ?

Pluto’s fate was determined at the International Astronomical Union conference

DO ALIENS REALLY EXIST?

THERE HAVE BEEN MANY INCIDENTS OVER THE YEARS INVOLVING ALIEN SIGHTINGS. HERE ARE THREE FAMOUS ONES

THREE FAMOUS SPACE FILMS!

A film that has been considered one of the top

DID THE LUNAR LANDINGS REALLY HAPPEN?

On 20th July 1969, television sets were tuned into a

STARTREK

Star Trek is one of the most famous science fiction

STAR TREK

The 2009 film Star Trek was directed by JJ Abrams

What's your sign?

HOT ENGLISH’S PSYCHIC HAS PEERED INTO THE STARS TO GIVE US HER DESCRIPTION OF EACH ASTROLOGICAL SIGN. DOES THE DESCRIPTION FOR YOUR STAR SIGN MATCH YOUR PERSONALITY?

Face to Face

THERE’S NO DENYING THAT ASTRONOMERS GALILEO AND COPERNICUS WERE WAY

WHY YOU SHOULD GO TO THE SCI-FI LONDON FESTIVAL!

Sci-Fi London is the UK’s most popular science-fiction themed event

LITTLE JOKES

MATCH EACH JOKE BEGINNING (1 TO 8) WITH ITS ENDING (A-H). THEN, LISTEN TO CHECK YOUR ANSWERS

GRAFFITI

HERE ARE SOME MORE EXAMPLES OF BRITISH TOILET GRAFFITI

Misheard Lyrics

HERE ARE SOME MORE OF THOSE TOUGH-TO-UNDERSTAND SONG LYRICS. SEE IF YOU CAN IDENTIFY WHICH OPTION IS THE CORRECT LYRIC

Couch Potato

What does this picture show? Do you know the expression

VOCABULARY: music shop

HERE ARE SOME COMMON WORDS OR OBJECTS THAT YOU WILL SEE OR HEAR AT A MUSIC SHOP

(NOT SO) TYPICAL DIALOGUES: The CD store

IN THIS DIALOGUE, ETHAN IS IN A CD STORE

Mickey Rourke: back from the darkness!

Actor Mickey Rourke (born 16th September 1952) was famous in

DR FINGERS’ VOCABULARY CLINIC: describe similar things

THIS MONTH, WE HAVE SOME EXPRESSIONS TO DESCRIBE SIMILAR THINGS

RIDDLES & quirky news

”Ithink farmers have always thought that a good relationship with

Political House Call

You’re going to hear someone describe the policies of a

DUMB LAWS

HERE ARE SOME MORE CRAZY LAWS FROM THE US. (US ENGLISH SPELLING) THIS MONTH:WISCONSIN

Wisconsin Facts

• Eagle River is known as the snowmobile capital of

DICTIONARY OF SLANG

HERE WE’VE GOT SOME EXAMPLES OF HOW TO SAY THINGS IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS

DR FINGERS’ ERROR CORRECTION CLINIC

IN THIS SECTION DR FINGERS IDENTIFIES AND CORRECTS TYPICAL ERRORS

Anger Management

Read these statements about anger. Do you think they are

POT IDIOMS

THIS MONTH WE ARE LOOKING AT SOME “POT” IDIOMS

Ridiculous Lawsuits

Taking the law too far

PHRASAL VERB THEMES: booklets Work and Career

THIS MONTH, WE’RE CONTINUING WITH OUR CAREER-RELATED PHRASAL VERBS. COMPLETE THE SENTENCES WITH THE WORDS BELOW

EYE CANDY, WINGMAN & LEGWORK

THIS MONTH, WE’RE LOOKING AT ANOTHER GROUP OF INTERESTING WORDS. THEY’RE ALL COMPOUND NOUNS WITH BODY PARTS IN THEM. HAVE YOU HEARD THESE WORDS BEFORE?