HAPPY ANNIVERSARY December

EDITOR’S INTRO

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

XMAS VOCABULARY

THIS IS ANOTHER PART IN OUR SECTION ON USEFUL VOCABULARY. THIS MONTH: CHRISTMAS. ANSWERS ON PAGE 56

What holiday character are you?

b. At the end of November. You can never start

The Name Game

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

Wrap Rage

Amazon declares war on excessive wrapping

USEFUL VOCABULARY

THIS IS ANOTHER PART IN OUR SECTION ON USEFUL VOCABULARY. THIS MONTH: THINGS IN AN OFFICE. ANSWERS ON PAGE 56

USEFULVERBS & EXPRESSIONS

THIS IS ANOTHER PART IN OUR SECTION ON USEFUL VERBS AND EXPRESSIONS. THIS MONTH: THE OFFICE

Story Time

JOKES, ANECDOTES AND STORIES AS TOLD BY NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS

BASIC ENGLISH Family

a general word to describe any or all of the

SOCIAL ENGLISH The Family

LISTEN AND REPEAT THESE EXPRESSIONS

FUNCTIONAL LANGUAGE Phone expressions Messages

Useful language for successful communication

DR FINGERS’ ERROR CORRECTION CLINIC

IN THIS SECTION DR FINGERS IDENTIFIES AND CORRECTS TYPICAL ERRORS

Crime Alert

You are going to listen to a woman called Jo

Personal details

What personal details do you give when you join a

Check, Inmate

Prisoners and university students compete

Film / TV Scripts

THIS MONTH: IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE

Winter festivals!

Find out about some other winter festivals and customs

Go Green!

A new study shows the benefits of green spaces

TRIVIA MATCHING

SEE IF YOU CAN DO THIS MATCHING EXERCISE. LOOK AT

WEIRD TRIVIA

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

DR FINGERS’ GRAMMAR

Thanks for writing in. You addressed a very common problem,

Corny Criminals

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

RECIPE

THIS MONTH, WE HAVE TWO RECIPES FOR YOU TO COOK AT HOME

London Bus Tour

Match the words from column A with a word from

10 SONGS TO HELP YOU LEARN ENGLISH

LISTENING TO SONGS IS A GREAT WAY OF IMPROVING YOUR ENGLISH. AND SONGS CAN HELP IN SO MANY AREAS OF LANGUAGE. HERE ARE 10 OF OUR FAVOURITES

GHOST TOWN

“IT’S EVERYTHING THE AMERICAN PUBLIC WANTS: A FAT, BRITISH, MIDDLE-AGED COMEDIAN TRYING TO BE THE SEMI-ROMANTIC LEAD,” SAID RICKY GERVAIS ABOUT HIS ROLE IN THE FILM GHOST TOWN

Comedy Poll

Hot English’s favourite comedies

How to understand Scots!

A look at language in Scotland

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

GOLF

Misheard Lyrics

HERE ARE SOME MORE OF THOSE DIFFICULT-TO-UNDERSTAND SONG LYRICS. SEE IF YOU CAN IDENTIFY THE CORRECT ONES

Festival: Up Helly Aa

DO YOU FEEL LIKE SOME FIRE, FEASTING, FANCY DRESS AND FUN? WELL, EUROPE’S BIGGEST FIRE FESTIVAL MAY IGNITE YOUR INTEREST

Less or Fewer?

A grammar debate with Tesco

VOCABULARY Books

HERE ARE SOME USEFUL WORDS FOR TALKING ABOUT BOOKS

(NOT SO) TYPICAL DIALOGUES The Bookshop

IN THIS CONVERSATION, MADELINE IS BUYING A BOOK AT A BOOKSHOP

DR FINGERS’ VOCABULARY CLINIC describing money

HERE ARE SOME MORE USEFUL AND INTERESTING EXPRESSIONS FOR YOU TO LEARN. THIS MONTH, WE ARE LOOKING AT SOME EXPRESSIONS TO DESCRIBE MONEY

RIDDLES & quirky news

Unusual news stories from around the world

The benefits of going abroad

What are the benefits of studying or working abroad? How

DUMB LAWS

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

Vermont Facts

◼ The state has a population of 10 cows for

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

ADVANCED LISTENING

Why do you think the following things were once censored

SEAT IDIOMS

THIS MONTH, WE ARE LOOKING AT SOME “SEAT” IDIOMS

INSANE NAME

School gets a new name in ridiculous new ruling

WHAT ARE YOUR NEW YEAR’S resolutions?

Look at this list of New Year’s resolutions. Which ones

PHRASAL VERB THEMES Relationships(part II)

THIS MONTH WE ARE LOOKING AT SOME MORE PHRASAL VERBS YOU CAN USE TO TALK ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS. THIS IS THE SECOND PART OF A TWO-PART SERIES

NO-BRAINER

THIS MONTH WE’RE LOOKING AT THE WORD “NO-BRAINER” AND HOW IT IS USED IN A VARIETY OF CONTEXTS