Weekly Lesson Unique Personalities Use your browser's print command to print this lesson |
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Vocabulary
cynical |
1) Adj. seeing little or no good in other people, believing that people do good things for bad reasons |
eccentric |
1) Adj. having strange, unusual or abnormal habits or tastes (This term is less insulting than strange, weird or bizarre.) |
egotistical |
1) Adj. thinking too highly of oneself, considering oneself better than others |
imaginative |
1) Adj. creative, having much imagination |
indecisive |
1) Adj. unable to decide quickly, not knowing what choice to make |
picky |
1) Adj. hard to please, too careful in choosing something |
sensible |
1) Adj. practical, reasonable, something that makes sense |
sensitive |
1) Adj. easily feels emotion, easily hurt emotionally (can be positive or negative) |
sophisticated |
1) Adj. representing high culture, very experienced in life |
thoughtful |
1) Adj. often doing things to make other people feel good |
Vocabulary in Conversation
Use the above vocabulary to fill in the blanks in the following conversation. Your answers can be checked by clicking at the bottom of the page.
Robin: Did you meet that guy, Richard, at the party last night?
Michele: Oh my God, he was so ____________________ . He kept talking about how intelligent he was and how much money he makes. He even said he was thinking about becoming a professional model. Like that is ever going to happen!
Robin: What about Brad, the artist from New York, he was rather ____________________! He told me he sculpts and paints nothing but frogs. He even said he wanted to introduce a new line of frog jewelry. That's a little odd.
Michele: He wasn't strange at all. I thought he was very ____________________; you have to be really creative to become such a successful artist. He was also wonderfully ____________________ - he almost started crying as he told me about his art. By the way, look at the ring he gave me.
Robin: He gave you a frog ring? That's the ugliest thing I've ever seen!
Michele: It is not! I think it's really ____________________. He said his jewelry is the latest trend among the New York elite. Wasn't that ____________________ of him to give me one of his creations.
Robin: Not really, I think he just wanted some free advertising.
Michele: My God, you are so ____________________! Wasn't there anybody you liked at the party?
Robin: Yeah, Bill was really nice. He was the only ______________________, clear-thinking person I met there.
Michele: Oh, the waitress is coming. Have you decided what to order?
Robin: I'm not sure what I want to order. I don't know what I want.
Michele: You are so _____________________ . Nothing is every good enough for you.
Robin: That's not true! I'm just a little ________________________.
Michele: Well, you need to decide soon so we can order.
Vocabulary Follow-Up
Using the vocabulary above, fill in the blanks below with words which express the opposite meaning.
1. naive _____________________
2. easy to please _____________________
3. uncreative _____________________
4. selfish _____________________
5. modest _____________________
6. normal _____________________
7. quick to decide _____________________
8. unfeeling _____________________
9. illogical _____________________
10. has faith in people _____________________
"Get"
1) Complete the following text by filling in the blanks with the appropriate preposition or prepositions.
Use the following prepositions: over, down, out, off, between, on, into, under, in
My dog, Rover, is so difficult to control. He is always getting ________ the couch when I am not in the room. I always tell him to get ________ the furniture, but he just lies there looking at me. Last week, I was sitting on the couch with my girlfriend. He jumped up on the couch and tried to get ________ us. I immediately yelled, "Get ________!" But, he just sat there, desperate for attention. When I eat dinner, he always gets ________ the table and begs for food. Another problem is that I live next to a main road. He somehow gets ________ of the house and gets ________ the fence. I'm afraid he is going to get hurt. And last week, he got ________ my closet and chewed up my shoes. I don't know how he got ________ - I usually keep the door closed. I think I need to take him to an obedience school.
2) Now reread the above passage to help you complete the list of definitions below.
get _____________: to climb up onto
get _____________: to leave, climb down from
get _____________: to position oneself between
get _____________: to jump off of something (command form)
get _____________: to go beneath
get _____________: to escape from
get _____________: to successfully climb over
get _____________: to enter something which is usually closed
get _____________: to enter
Focus on Verbs
All of the following sentences should be completed using the Simple Present or the Present Continuous. You must use the words in the parentheses to fill in the blanks. Hint: the following exercise includes both non-continuous verbs and mixed verbs. The first blank has been completed for you as an example. If you are confused, go to the English Page's Verb Tense Tutorial
A Trekking Journal
November 12, 1997
Today (be) ___is___ the second day of my trek around Mount Annapurna. I am exhausted and my legs (shake)____________________ ; I just hope I am able to complete the trek. My feet (kill, really)____________________ me and my toes (bleed)____________________, but I (want, still)____________________ to continue.
Nepal is a fascinating country, but I have a great deal to learn. Everything (be)____________________ so different, and I (try)____________________ to adapt to the new way of life here. I (learn)____________________ a little bit of the language to make communication easier, unfortunately I (learn, not)____________________ foreign languages quickly. Although I (understand, not)____________________ much yet, I believe that I (improve, gradually)____________________
I (travel, currently)____________________ with Liam, a student from Leeds University in England. He (be)____________________ a nice guy, but impatient. He (walk, always)____________________ ahead of me and (complain)____________________ that I am too slow. I (do)____________________ my best to keep up with him, but he is younger and stronger than I am. Maybe, I am just feeling sorry for myself because I am getting old.
Right now, Liam (sit)____________________ with the owner of the inn. They (discuss)____________________ the differences between life in England and life in Nepal. I (know, not)____________________ the real name of the owner, but everybody (call, just)____________________ him Tam. Tam (speak)____________________ English very well and he (try) ____________________ to teach Liam some words in Nepali. Every time Tam (say)____________________ a new word, Liam (try)____________________ to repeat it. Unfortunately, Liam (seem, also)____________________ to have difficulty learning foreign languages. I just hope we don't get lost and have to ask for directions.
Weekly Lesson Answers Unique Personalities |
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Vocabulary in Conversation
Robin: Did you meet that guy, Richard, at the party last night?
Michele: Oh my God, he was so egotistical . He kept talking about how intelligent he was and how much money he makes. He even said he was thinking about becoming a professional model. Like that is ever going to happen!
Robin: What about Brad, the artist from New York, he was rather eccentric! He told me he sculpts and paints nothing but frogs. He even said he wanted to introduce a new line of frog jewelry. That's a little odd.
Michele: He wasn't strange at all. I thought he was very imaginative you have to be really creative to become such a successful artist. He was also incredibly sensitive - he almost started crying as he told me about his art. By the way, look at the ring he gave me.
Robin: He gave you a frog ring? That's the ugliest thing I've ever seen!
Michele: It is not! I think it's really sophisticated. He said his jewelry is the latest trend among the New York elite. Wasn't that thoughtful of him to give me one of his creations.
Robin: Not really, I think he just wanted some free advertising.
Michele: My God, you are so cynical! Wasn't there anybody you liked at the party?
Robin: Yeah, Bill was really nice. He was the only sensible, clear-thinking person I met there.
Michele: Oh, the waitress is coming. Have you decided what to order?
Robin: I'm not sure what I want to order. I don't know what I want.
Michele: You are so picky . Nothing is every good enough for you.
Robin: That's not true! I'm just a little indecisive.
Michele: Well, you need to decide soon so we can order.
Vocabulary Follow-Up
1. naive sophisticated
2. easy to please picky
3. uncreative imaginative
4. selfish thoughtful
5. modest egotistical
6. normal eccentric
7. quick to decide indecisive
8. unfeeling sensitive
9. illogical sensible
10. has faith in people cynical
"Get"
1)
My dog, Rover, is so difficult to control. He is always getting on the couch when I am not in the room. I always tell him to get off the furniture, but he just lies there looking at me. Last week, I was sitting on the couch with my girlfriend. He jumped up on the couch and tried to get between us. I immediately yelled, "Get down!" But, he just sat there, desperate for attention. When I eat dinner, he always gets under the table and begs for food. Another problem is that I live next to a main road. He somehow gets out of the house and gets over the fence. I'm afraid he is going to get hurt. And last week, he got into my closet and chewed up my shoes. I don't know how he got in - I usually keep the door closed. I think I need to take him to an obedience school.
2)
get on : to climb up onto
get off : to leave, climb down from
get between : to position oneself between
get down : to jump off of something (command form)
get under : to go beneath
get out : to escape from
get over : to successfully climb over
get into : to enter something which is usually closed
get in : to enter
Focus on Verbs
A Trekking Journal
November 12, 1997
Today (be) ___is___ the second day of my trek around Mount Annapurna. I am exhausted and my legs (shake) are shaking ; I just hope I am able to complete the trek. My feet (kill, really) are really killing me and my toes (bleed) are bleeding, but I (want, still) still want to continue.
Nepal is a fascinating country, but I have a great deal to learn. Everything (be) is so different, and I (try) am trying to adapt to the new way of life here. I (learn) am learning a little bit of the language to make communication easier; unfortunately, I (learn, not) don't learn foreign languages quickly. Although I (understand, not) don't understand much yet, I believe that I (improve, gradually) am gradually improving
I (travel, currently) am currently traveling with Liam, a student from Leeds University in England. He (be) is a nice guy, but impatient. He (walk, always) is always walking ahead of me and (complain) complaining that I am too slow. I (do) am doing my best to keep up with him, but he is younger and stronger than I am. Maybe, I am just feeling sorry for myself because I am getting old.
Right now, Liam (sit) is sitting with the owner of the inn. They (discuss) are discussing the differences between life in England and life in Nepal. I (know, not) don't know the real name of the owner, but everybody (call, just) just calls him Tam. Tam (speak) speaks English very well and he (try) is trying to teach Liam some words in Nepali. Every time Tam (say) says a new word, Liam (try) tries to repeat it. Unfortunately, Liam (seem, also) also seems to have difficulty learning foreign languages. I just hope we don't get lost and have to ask for directions.