- Gives the go-ahead to plans
- in turn of events
- interested parties
- hold talks / conference (Convene is a good alternative for hold. Thanks to Grace for her suggestion)
- top job
- attract attention
- controversial decision
- peace talks
- broke down
- outlined plans for
- taken hostage
- seize control
- lost control of
- keep a close watch on
- keep someone informed as the news developed
- a building caught fire when lightning struck
- no loss of life
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
The language of news stories
Collocations -words that go together
Dear students,
Sorry for not being able to explain collocation clearly in the lesson today. The following is what I've found on a dictionary website. Hope it's helpful.
When words are used together regularly, rules are formed about their use not for grammatical reasons, but because of the association. 'Black and white' appear in that order because of collocation; they are always in that order and to put them the other way around seems wrong. For the same reason we 'make a mistake' when we 'do a test'. The reason for using these verbs with these is that we always do; this is collocation.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Connotation
The connotation of a word is its emotional meaning. Words that leave a good emotional impression have a positive connotation. Words that leave a bad emotional impression have a negative connotation.
The paragraph below describes Susan's day. After reading the paragraph, identify whether the description has a positive or a negative connotation. Rewrite the paragraph in a different tone.
On Monday morning Susan woke up to a dreary, gray sky. She was late for her boring office job. She rushed to eat her breakfast and spilled scalding coffee on her new skirt. Next, she forgot her umbrella and by the time she got to the crowded subway, she was dripping wet. When she finally got to work her unsympathetic boss scolded her in front of the other employees. In a black mood, Susan glared at her boss and the other employees, retreated to her small cubicle and began to cry.
On Monday morning Susan woke up to a dreary, gray sky. She was late for her boring office job. She rushed to eat her breakfast and spilled scalding coffee on her new skirt. Next, she forgot her umbrella and by the time she got to the crowded subway, she was dripping wet. When she finally got to work her unsympathetic boss scolded her in front of the other employees. In a black mood, Susan glared at her boss and the other employees, retreated to her small cubicle and began to cry.
scalding: (adj) boiling
subway: (n) a usually electric underground railway
retreated to: (phrasal v.) moved back to
cubicle: (n) A small compartment, as for work or study.
Share your version of the story by posting it up here. Thank you.
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