Some foreign words and phrases

• Ab initio: from the beginning.
• Ad hoc: for the particular end or purpose at hand.
• Au revoir: till we meet again.
• Bon appetit: good appetite.
• Bona fide: with good faith.
• Corrigenda: things to be corrected.
• Crème de la crème: the best of the best.
• Curriculum vitae: course of life, resume.
• De facto: in fact.
• Dixi: I have said it.
• Emeritus: honorably retired.
• En masse: in a large body.
• E pluribus unum: out of many, one.
• Esprit de corps: team spirit.
• Eureka: I have found it.
• Faux pas: social blunder.
• Glasnost: openness.
• Guru: spiritual leader or teacher.
• Habeas corpus: a writ to produce a prisoner before a court of law.
• Haute cuisine: high-class cooking.
• In camera: in secret.
• In situ: in the original arrangement.
• In toto: totally, as a whole.
• Joie de vivre: joy of living.
• Jus civile: the civil law.
• Kitsch: sentimental bad taste.
• Laus deo: praise to God.
• Magnum opus: a great work of art or literature.
• Modus operandi: method of working.
• Non liquet: it is not clear.
• Nota bene: note well.
• Ora pro nobis: pray for us.
• Pax in bello: peace in war.
• Per centum: by the hundred.
• Post meridiem: after midday.
• Post mortem: after death.
• Prima-facie: at first sight.
• Quondam: former.
• Resurgam: I shall rise again.
• Sayonara: goodbye.
• Status quo: existing order of things.
• Terra firma: solid ground.
• Ultra vires: beyond the powers.
• Vis-à-vis: compared with.
• Viva voce: orally.

IELTS: International English Language Testing System

• IELTS is International English Language Testing System.
• It is an English Proficiency test.
• It is useful for studies or works in almost all countries where English is the language of communication.
• It measures the ability to communicate in English through listening, reading, writing and speaking.
• Listening includes answering according to speech delivered by using a CD.
• Reading includes reading a passage and answering questions.
• Writing includes writing essays from the given topics.
• Speaking includes participating in an interview to successfully converse in English.
• Many colleges, universities, government and private organizations and agencies accept the IELTS score.

Prefixes and their numbers

Semi, hemi, demi ----------------------- ½
Uni , mono -------------------------------- 1
Bi, di ---------------------------------------- 2
Tri, ------------------------------------------ 3
Tetra, quadri ----------------------------- 4
Pent, penta, quint ---------------------- 5
Sex, hex, hexa --------------------------- 6
Hept, hepta, sept, septi, septam ---- 7
Oct, octa, octo --------------------------- 8
Non, nona -------------------------------- 9
Dec, deca --------------------------------- 10

Atto ---------------------------------- 0.000000000000000001
Femto -------------------------------- 0.000000000000001
Pico ---------------------------------- 0.000000000001
Nano --------------------------------- 0.000000001
Micro -------------------------------- 0.000001
Milli --------------------------------- 0.001
Centi -------------------------------- 0.01
Deci --------------------------------- 0.1
Uni, Mono -------------------------- 1
Dec, deca –-------------------------- 10
Hect, hector ------------------------ 100
Kilo --------------------------------- 1000
Mega ------------------------------- 1000000
Giga -------------------------------- 1000000000
Tera -------------------------------- 1000000000000

Numbers give meanings

One sided : partial, unfair
One way : requiring no reciprocal action
First aid : emergency treatment before the regular medical
treatment available
One-off : only happening once
One-horse town : a small, old fashioned and boring town
One-liner : a short joke, a funny remark
First footer : the first person to enter a house in the New Year
Second banana : a person in a subservient position
Two-faced : double-dealing, false
Two-way street : situation, depends on co-operation of two people
Three-ring circus : a confused situation due to too much activity
Third party :someone who is not one of the two main people
Fourth dimension : time
Four-eyes : one who wears glasses
Four-flusher : someone who cheats others
Fifth column : a group of people who work secretly for the enemy
Fifth wheel : one who is superfluous, unnecessary or burdensome
To take five : to stop working for a few minutes
At sixes and sevens : in utter confusion or disorder
In seventh heaven : to be supremely happy
Behind the eighth ball : in a highly disadvantageous or dangerous position
On cloud nine : to be extremely happy
Dressed (up) to the nines : wearing the best or most formal clothes
Ten to one chance : very probably
Be ten a penny : a dime a dozen, to be very common, not unusual
Ten-strike : a stroke of great success, a very profitable bargain
Eleventh hour : at the last possible moment, just in time
Talk nineteen to the dozen : to talk very quickly and without stopping
Forty winks : a short sleep, esp. after dinner
Go fifty-fifty : share the cost of something equally
Hundreds of : a lot of
Wife in a thousand : a perfect wife
Look like a million dollars : to look very attractive
On somebody’s last legs : to be very ill, likely to die soon

Easy ideas to learn spoken English.

• Learning to speak English is not a difficult task. If you have the will to learn and spare time, you can start learning even from now.
• Think in English.
• Start using simple vocabulary.
• Speak clearly and concisely.
• Speak aloud. The more you speak English aloud, the faster you will learn to speak it fluently.
• Also practice by talking to yourself (self talk).
• You can learn grammar also while practicing spoken English.
• Read aloud using full voice volume while reading English newspapers.
• Read different variety of articles like jokes, poetry, stories, etc.
• Read with an intention to completely understand the meaning and concept.
• Learn new words every day.
• Read news articles on the internet.
• Also make use of some English teaching web sites.
• Watch English films and listen English conversations.

Teaching and learning English is the need of the hour

English is spoken in almost all parts of the globe. A person, whether educated much or not is expected to speak English fluently without any hesitation, for many purposes. It may be for good employment opportunity all over the world, for business, for higher education, scientific studies, research works etc. Call centers, BPOs etc generally need good English speaking as a skill.

Trained personnel are capable of speaking good English, and are able to shine in the world in various sectors of employment. To meet the growing requirement of English speaking man power for various employment opportunities, teaching and learning English is the need of the hour. English is also essential for mutual communication among people of different states having different languages as their mother tongues in countries like India .Mother tongue may have great literatures. We can translate them in other languages to help the mankind and to promulgate the richness of the mother language. For doing this one must be capable of expressing in other desired languages. Here comes the teaching and learning process. Learning is a continuous process and obviously teaching is required for learning. Let the teaching-learning process continue effectively to attain and maintain success.

EXPRESS COLOURS EASILY

Names of some colours are given below for the beginners to speak conveniently and uninterruptedly.

• Alabaster----------White
• Amber--------------Yellow
• Argent--------------Silver
• Carmine------------Red (crimson)
• Carnation----------Rosy Pink
• Chocolate----------Brown
• Cochineal----------Scarlet
• Elephant-----------Grey
• Emerald------------Green
• Hazel---------------Reddish Brown
• Honey--------------Yellow
• Indigo--------------Violet Blue
• Ivory--------------- Creamy White
• Jupiter-------------Blue
• Khaki---------------Brownish Yellow
• Lake----------------Crimson
• Lilac----------------Pinkish Violet
• Lily-----------------White
• Moon---------------White
• Olive---------------Greyish Green (Grayish Green)
• Pillar-Box---------Bright Red
• Primrose----------Pale Yellow
• Sapphire----------Blue
• Straw--------------Pale Yellow
• Teak---------------Reddish Brown
• Topaz-------------Yellow
• Vermillion--------Red
• Violet-------------Light purple

ENGLISH IS SPOKEN IN MANY PARTS OF THE GLOBE.

This is for the beginner, who will be benefited very much if start learning the spoken English. Learning is a continuous process. Let us start learning gradually to improve our lifestyle, communication skill, business, career, wealth, and so on.

Initially let us see a few differences between The British English and The American English.

BRITISH ENGLISH ---------------AMERICAN ENGLISH

1. AUTUMN------------------- FALL
2. BAG -------------------------SACK
3. BARRISTER ----------------LAWYER
4. BISCUIT --------------------COOKIE
5. CAR PARK------------------ PARKING LOT
6. CASHIER -------------------TELLER
7. CHEMIST'S SHOP ---------DRUG STORE
8. CRISPS ---------------------CHIPS
9. CROSSROADS --------------INTERSECTION
10. CUPBOARD -----------------CLOSET
11. CURTAINS -----------------DRAPES
12. DIALING CODE ------------AREA CODE
13. DUSTBIN -------------------GARBAGE PAIL / GARBAGE CAN
14. FRYING PAN ---------------SKILLET
15. GEAR LEVER ---------------GEAR SHIFT
16. HANDBAG ------------------POCKETBOOK, PURSE
17. HOUSEWIFE ---------------HOUSEMAKER
18. INFLUENZA ----------------GRIPPE
19. JAM -------------------------JELLY
20. JUG -------------------------PITCHER
21. LIFT ------------------------ELEVATOR
22. LORRY ---------------------TRUCK
23. MAIZE ----------------------CORN
24. NAPPY ---------------------DIAPER
25. PAVEMENT ----------------SIDEWALK
26. PETROL --------------------GAS / GASOLINE
27. PETROL STATION -------FILLING STATION
28. POST CODE ---------------ZIPCODE
29. QUEUE --------------------LINE
30. RUBBISH -----------------GARBAGE
31. SWEETS ------------------CANDY
32. TELEPHONE BOX -------PHONE BOOTH
33. TOILET ------------------RESTROOM
34. TIMETABLE -------------SCHEDULE
35. TORCH -------------------FLASHLIGHT
36. TROUSERS --------------PANTS
37. WAISTCOAT ------------VEST
38. WINDSCREEN ----------WINDSHIELD