ielts-yasi.englishlab.net

- You like it because it’s in a very convenient location, such as close to the centre of the city, close to your work, close to your school/university etc.

- You like it because your friends live there.

- You like it because it has beautiful parks, gardens, river-bank walkways, a river, a lake, a mountain for climbing etc.

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96. A Foreign (or other) Language

A prerequisite for learning a foreign language should be (would be) an interest in foreign cultures/countries in general, an interest in the world outside your own country. That includes an interest in other languages in general. Without that, a person has much less interest/motivation to seriously study/learn a foreign language.

Psychologists believe the majority of the human thinking process involves thinking with language, or at least words. For example, it is easier to remember something if it has a name. Without language, a human being's brain is much less developed.
Language is primarily a spoken medium of information exchange (and of personal thought); written language is a symbolic representation of the spoken language.
pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, fluency
idioms, idiomatic language, expressions
a native-speaker
an accent; a regional accent
an extinct language / an endangered language – cultural repercussions
If a human learns a language before about the age of 12, that person is learning a second language that is often spoken as well as the person’s native language. After the age of about 12, a learned language becomes, “a foreign language” and the speaker may never speak it quite as well as a second language.
Some foreign languages – Russian, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, Hungarian, Greek, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Turkish, Malay (Bahasa), Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, Swahili

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97. A Subject

Typical high school academic subjects: The study of your own language, English, Mathematics, History, Geography, Science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geology), Social Studies . . .

Typical subjects of interest, not necessarily a school subject; sometimes a university course – Finance, The Stock Market, Sport, Politics, Family History, Parenting, Painting, Gardening, Home Decoration, Health, Computers, The Internet, English, . .

When the word, “subject” means a specific narrow topic or question such as: “The subject of having a baby”, “The subject of getting married”, “The subject of what type of work I should do in the future” or, “The subject of who really killed JFK.” For these four examples, you can also say, “The question of” instead of “the subject of”.

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98. Public Holidays

Public holidays are "proclaimed" by the government.
a non-working day (except for essential services such as police, hospital employees, bus drivers etc.)
a one-day holiday, a two-day holiday, a one-week holiday
There are three main types of public holidays – i) traditional festivals (including religious holidays), ii) holidays that are related to significant events in a nation’s history and iii) holidays that are internationally recognized such as Labour Day (= May Day) and New Year’s day.
Public holidays that are happy are “celebrated”; holidays that are more solemn, such as those concerning the death of soldiers in a war are “commemorated” (= “in remembrance” of some solemn event in history).
All nations have some form of “National Day” that celebrates the formation of the nation.
Traditional holidays help to maintain the traditional culture of the nation and help give the people of sense of cultural identity.
“National Day” (or some similar name) helps to maintain a sense of national identity and pride in the nation.
For Chinese people, The Spring Festival, The Dragon Boat Festival and The Mid-Autumn Festival should always be written or spoken with the word, “The”.
The Spring Festival = Chinese New Year. This is celebrated according to the lunar calendar so the exact date varies from year to year. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_New_Year
Public holidays give people a break from work. However, national productivity (= the economy, the GDP) is reduced by public holidays.
In countries where workers do not normally receive (paid) annual vacations from work (of 2 to 4 weeks), one or more one-week public holidays serve as a substitute for an annual vacation. An annual vacation is also called, “an annual holiday” or “annual leave”.

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99. Perfume

fragrance, fragrant
cologne (= Eau de Cologne, French for “Water from Cologne”) Nowadays, this is best known as a fragrance/a deodorant/an after-shave lotion for men
https://howjsay.com/search?word=eau+de+cologne
https://howjsay.com/search?word=cologne
(especially for men) – unnecessary; "not very masculine"; "I prefer to have a natural body odour"
the scent of flowers (a flower), the aroma of sweet spices, a hint of flowers, a hint of spices / fragrant fruit
to smell nice, to smell attractive,
alluring
a fresh, clean smell (fragrance), a beautiful smell/fragrance
a luxury gift
a dab of perfume on my . . . wrists, neck, . . .
a spray, to spray
. . . among my cosmetics
my signature scent
different perfumes for different seasons
under-arm deodorant (for both men and women)
a luxury that I can’t afford at the moment

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100. Social Media

to maintain contact with friends / to keep in contact with friends / to communicate quickly with others
to broaden one’s range of social contacts / to broaden one’s social network (either in real-life or one’s “virtual” [= online] social network)
face-to-face communication
a substitute for real (real-life) relationships with others
better than feeling alone; to help overcome loneliness / to help overcome of sense of isolation
a sense of connectedness (to others/to the world)
sharing photographs
voice/ text messages
sending/receiving computer files
an avenue for expressing opinions / for exchanging information
to bring an issue to the attention of a wide audience
to spread the word
a marketing tool
If or when you name a particular social media platform, slow down a little and pronounce it especially clearly.

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101. Smiling

to smile, a smile
a smile (微笑) is silent; laughter (笑声) has sound - the two are different
“He’s/She’s/I’m a smiler” = a person who smiles a lot
optimistic, cheerful
to look on the bright side of life
“I look more beautiful when I smile.”
to grin, a grin
to smirk, a smirk
a friendly smile
a broad smile, to smile broadly = to “smile from ear to ear”
a welcoming smile
to beam, a beaming smile
expressing: – friendliness, graciousness, politeness, tenderness, amusement, , happiness, pleasure/delight
a "social nicety"
to return a smile
to put a smile on (one's/someone’s) face; to lift someone's mood
to hide embarrassment, to hide one's true feelings
to flash a smile
to smile at something / someone
a plastic smile = a forced, artificial smile; a smile someone wears despite having no feelings of happiness or joy. Examples: “John seemed fine at first glance, but before long, I could tell that he was wearing a plastic smile and that something was bothering him.” “Look at that his big plastic smile—he's such a conman! I sure hope he doesn't win the election.”
to feel/ sense/ tell/ when someone’s smile is false = to detect when someone’s smile is false
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/body-odd/how-spot-fake-smile-its-all-eyes-f1C9386917
http://www.wiseoldsayings.com/smiling-quotes/
https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/smile

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102. Rubbish / Litter

garbage (US), trash (US), rubbish (Br), waste, refuse (noun) https://howjsay.com/search?word=refuse – all are non-count nouns
litter (non-count noun) = small pieces of rubbish that have been left lying on the ground in public places; to litter
unsightly = not attractive to look at;
dangerous / unsafe; slippery (e.g., a banana peel)
to step over something, to walk around something, to kick it away/to kick it to one side
untidy Note: “dirty” and “untidy” do not mean the same
inconsiderate, irresponsible, lazy, careless, ignorant, selfish, ignorant, uncivilized
to pick up something; to pick something up e.g., to pick it up
take responsibility
to put something in a - - rubbish bin, trash can, garbage bin, garbage can, waste receptacle
to dispose of something properly
a street cleaner; to sweep

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103. Parties

English speakers do not say, “participate in a party” or “take part in a party”. Instead, we simply say, “go to a party”, or slightly more formally, “attend a party”.
"join a party" is only used when you have not been invited before the party started but, for example, you pass by a party and are asked to join (= you are invited)
to "crash" a party = to attend a party when you were not invited
be invited to a party
hold a party (hold, held, held)
throw a party = to hold a party but a more informal party, arranged rather quickly
a restaurant dinner = dinner in a restaurant
a celebration, to celebrate
alcohol, alcoholic drinks
a cocktail party
a birthday party
an anniversary party (a wedding anniversary)
a wedding reception. (Avoid saying, “a wedding party” because that expression usually means, “the group of people going to the wedding ceremony”, such as at the government Registry Office. That ceremony is usually or often conducted separate from the big dinner that most people have called, “the wedding reception”.
a reunion, a class reunion, a family reunion
the atmosphere at the party
dancing, music, chatting, eating & drinking
a present, presents, gift, gifts
games, children’s games, party games

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104. Plans

“to change one’s mind” (sometimes but not always the reason for a change of plan)
To cancel, be cancelled
to eventuate, to realize a plan
to "fall through", a plan that fails
to anticipate problems
a goal, sub-goals, steps, stages, to do things in order
methodical
a strategy; (less commonly used - a stratagem)
a course of action
a "game plan"
to prioritize, priority,
aspects of time and money
spontaneous, spontaneity
a rigid plan, a flexible plan
to modify a plan, to adjust a plan
a project
a scenario = a situation, a circumstance
To postpone, be postponed
To procrastinate
“Procrastination is the thief of time” (A commonly used proverb)
A schedule, be scheduled. A “timetable” is a schedule that repeats itself, e.g. every day or every week, such as a bus timetable, or a class timetable.
A diary, an appointment book, a calendar

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105. Fame

famous
fame (uncountable noun); enduring fame; transient fame
outstanding; leading; foremost; renowned, well-known, illustrious; prominent; acclaimed; eminent; noted; popular (in many cases); exalted (in extreme cases, almost the same as “worshipped”); lionized (similar to exalted)
notoriety; infamous
a celebrity = a certain type of famous person = a famous person who is currently famous in the popular media, someone whose personal life is interesting to average people, and someone who is might be interviewed on TV talk shows. Celebrities are often the “stars” in the entertainment industry, including sports stars, and the “stars” in the business world. A celebrity is a “celebrated person”.
“in the spotlight”
A famous person can be someone who is no longer alive (e.g., a well-known historical figure).
hero, (promoted as a) role model; set an example; influence, influential, power, powerful
success (achievement), wealth (usually but not always), the respect of others, freedom
loss of privacy, gossip magazines, tabloid newspapers
paparazzi - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paparazzi - photographers of celebrities, usually for gossip magazines, entertainment magazines and tabloid newspapers

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106. Friendship

friend, friendship, friendly
companion, companionship
amiable
to be fond of someone
to get along (well) with each other
To keep each other company
“hang out together” – more suitable for teenagers to say
loyal, loyalty
trust
honest, open-hearted, speak frankly, willing to help each other
to have things in common; to have common interests; to discuss things; to have similar values
to basically like each other (each other’s personality/mind/heart/sense of humour)
understand each other; We have a rapport (with each other)
kind to each other; respect each other
willing to be a sympathetic listener
We are workmates; colleagues
We are fellow-students
We are roommates
We are classmates
We are partners
To get to know someone (= to have reached the stage where you feel you understand and know someone quite well, especially after sharing information and/or sharing experiences together)
make a friend; form a friendship, make friends with someone (But “find” or “get” a girlfriend or boyfriend, not “make”.)
a boy friend (stress on second word) = a male friend; a boyfriend (a romantic relationship)
an “everyday friendship” = not really a close friendship
A close friendship = a strong friendship = we are good friends (with each other)
An acquaintance; an acquaintanceship
A passing friendship = a friendship that didn’t last very long
To “go our different directions” = to “go in different directions” = to grow apart

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107. Awards

An award, to award, be awarded
(Not exactly the same as an award) a reward, to reward, to be rewarded; to show gratification
A prize
A medal
An achievement
A public (or, an official) acknowledgement of hard work and achievement
A certificate, a degree, a diploma, a graduation certificate
A qualification for certain types of work
A champion, a championship
A contest, a competition

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