Crank Call

EDITOR’S INTRO

Hi, and welcome to another issue of Learn

Basic English

This month: the airport.

Halloween

Look at these Halloween jokes. Match each beginning (1-11) with each ending (A-K). Then, listen to the CD to see if you were correct.

Halloween Trivia

Here are some interesting things about that spooky,

FUNNY PRODUCT LABELS

Our mini-series on funny signs from English-speaking countries. Here’s another part in our series on funny product labels. Some companies seem to think we’re raving loonies

DR FINGERS’GRAMMAR CLINIC

NEGATIVE QUESTIONS

QUIZ ARE YOU A GREEN TRAVELLER?

How much do you really care about the environment? Do our quiz and find out whether you are a green traveller or not

AMAZING WORLD KANSAS

When most people think of Kansas, they imagine a scene right out of a western movie complete with Wyatt Earp. Or they think of Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz and her ruby shoes. But there is so much more to the undiscovered state of Kansas. (US English spelling)

LIVING ABROAD

Every month we interview someone who has lived or visited another country about their experiences and impressions of that country. This month we are speaking to Lindha about her time in Kansas in the city of Manhattan. (US English spelling)

USEFUL ADVICE

Learn how to entertain yourself with these fun activities.

CROSSWORD

Answers on page 55 Across 2:

Airport Words

See if you can identify the word. Then, try to find the words in the Wordsearch. Good luck! (Read the vocabulary page 32/33 before doing this.)

PREPOSITIONS TO DESCRIBE GRAPHS, TRENDS & CHANGES!

One way to really improve your English is to learn about prepositions, and how and when to use them. Prepositions exist in most languages, but they aren’t always used the same way… and this can be confusing. Just to help you with that, we’re looking at some useful English prepositions to describe graphs, trends and changes. These prepositions will help you understand and speak better English. Read over the information. Then, try the exercise to test your understanding. Good luck! 😊

Fawlty Towers

One of Britain’s top comedy TV hit series is Fawlty Towers. It was first shown in the 1970s, but it continues to be as popular as ever. Fawlty Towers became an enormous success and was recently voted number one in a poll of the top 100 British comedy shows. Let’s have a look at it

PHRASALVERBS TAKE

The verb “to take” has many different uses. Generally, we use this verb to refer to the action of carrying/taking something from one place to another. For example, “I took my car to the garage so they could repair it.”

FISH IDIOMS

This month we are looking at some general fish idioms.

DR FINGERS’VOCABULARY CLINIC:

This month: IDIOMS SPEAKING AND TALKING

Royal Trivia

The section that makes grammar easy and fun

Movie review: The Queen

A fascinating study of character, tradition and political reality in late twentieth-century Britain.

The House of Windsor

Anne The Queen’s only daughter. She is most

The Royal Family Tree

See if you can complete each numbered space with the correct member of the Royal Family.

What is a king without a crown?

The British monarchy has a large, expensive and very heavy collection of regalia officially known as the Crown Jewels. Apart from being priceless, they have a very interesting history.

British laws

If you thought the law on the doormat was silly, here are some other laws that still exist in Britain. And quite a few of them are silly too.

Guy Fawkes

The original ‘bad guy’

Guy Fawkes Trivia

Here are some interesting things about Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot.

Story Time

Jokes, stories and anecdotes as told by native English speakers.

British bar chat

Pets

US bar chat

Authentic conversations by native American speakers

Dictionary of slang

Here we’ve got some examples of how to say things in different situations.

GREAT MOMENTS IN AMERICAN HISTORY

This is the second part in our mini-series on US history. This month, Teddy Roosevelt, and the Great Depression

THE GREAT GAME

BRITAIN’S HUMILIATING DEFEAT IN AFGHANISTAN IN THE 19TH CENTURY

DOORMAT MAYHEM!

A new law to ban one of Britain’s most popular pieces of outdoor furniture: the doormat.

Fluency Practice

English language speed and fluency practice to help you improve your speaking.

BUSINESS COLLOCATIONS: FIGURES.

This month we are looking at some typical

What is Hot English?

A monthly magazine for improving your English. Real