Verbal Analogies

A Vocabulary lesson for mid - high Intermediate 

It's funny to hear children talk naively about age. "He's a nice guy," one will say, "but he's old." "Oh, how old is he?" "I don't know. Forty, I guess. Your age."
In the year 1200, forty may have been old, but it isn't any longer. For well-understood reasons, life expectancy has increased significantly in the last century. People are eating healthier, smoking less, and better understand the benefits of exercise. Thanks to advances in medicine and public health, are well on their way to addressing chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease.
The result is mind-blowing. In 1900, an American could anticipate a life span of 48 years, whereas in 2000, the average life span climbed to 75!
Naturally, this leads us to speculate, "What is the limit? How old is old?" According to records believed to be authentic, a man in Japan lived to the age of 120.
Scientists agree that the answer lies in these three factors: genetics, environment and lifestle. It may not be easy, but people can change their environments and their lifestyles. However, for a long time, most experts felt that little could be done about the first, genetics. Now, with recent scientific advances, there's reason to wonder whether that is true. For example, Helen Brau of Stanford University was able to modify the genetic make-up of muscle mass, where they would produce human growth hormone. (Human growth hormone, a synthetic version of the hormone produced by the pituitary gland, has been shown to reverse the effects of aging.)
Skeptics say that it's silly to want to add more and more years to one's life. What matters, they assert, is the quality of that life. Enjoy yourself, they say, and let the end come when it will.
Either way, we now have reason to wonder whether Ponce de Leon's "Fountain of Youth" is more than just a myth. We seem to be closer than ever to shattering our previous conceptions of the average human life span.

Read each sentence to decide if the underlined word is used correctly in context.

1. Sandra had a naive view of the world: she was suspicious of everyone.
2. In trying to determine which patients to treat first, the doctors had to figure out which injuries were significant and which were slight.
3. Whether Matt earns on A on the science exam is a matter of great public interest, as he discusses his test scores only with his best friend.
4. Terri's rash had all the makings of a chronic condition: it appeared that one time...and never again.
5. The three-game series was completely sold out, and the announcers correctly concluded that the fans eagerly anticipated these important games.

Use the correct forms of the following words to complete this paragraph:
speculate, authentic, modify, altered, mass

No one can deny how beautiful diamonds can be, but an untrained observer might not be able to tell whether a stone is even ______________. Have you ever seen a brilliantly shinin diamond on a woman's finger? It's hard to realize that once it was simply a _____________. Tons and tons of pressure have so dramatically ______________its appearance. A non-expert can only _______________ about the steps a gem cutter must take in order to _______________ the stone to its final shape.

Select the word closest in meaning to the given form of the list of word.

1. __________ synthetic
a. unbelievable     b. lengthy     c. nearby     d. manmade

2. __________ skeptic
a. disbeliever     b. infant     c. student     d. expert

3. __________ assert
a. manage     b. create     c. claim     d. obliterate

4. __________ myth
a. legend     b. athlete     c. wizard     d. hero

5. __________ conception
a. attempt     b. victory     c. idea     d. simplicity

Verbal Analogies
One way to test your knowledge of words is a task known as a verbal analogy.
example:

temperature: thermometer:: weight : scale

An analogy consists of two pairs of words, with each pair domonstrating the same relationship. In this case, you realized that temperature is measured by a thermometer, just as weight is measured by a scale.

 

Try these:

 

1. wizardry : magician :: diagnosis : _____

a. realtor   b. doctor  c. printer  d. athlete

2. cliche : overused :: miser : _____
a. generous  b. skimpy  c. old  d. cheap

3. agile : awkward :: immune : _____
a. vulnerable  b. treated  c. sticky  d. painful

4. naive : sophisticated :: public : ____
a. assertive  b. authentic  c. private  d. significant

 

At first glance, the thought of living a long life is a very attractive one. If we look at the amazing difference in life spans from 1900 to 2000, it's hard to find any negatives at all!

What if life could be extended even more? By a lot! A significant number of problems would result. Write at paragraph using as many words from this lesson describing some possible negative outcomes of longer life spans. 

 

 



Any / Some / None

I am sure most ESL Teachers have come across the confusion between

Any

And

Some

And

None

Teacher: What did you do last weekend?

Student: Anything! I was so bored I did anything.

 

So here are "some" handy tools / exercises I have found and passed around!

 

 

Use:

ANY and SOME are used for objects and people.

Use ANY for negative sentences: Marsha doesn't have any paper today. She forgot it at home.

Use SOME for affirmative sentences: Sara has some paper. She will lend some paper to Marsha.

***Use SOME / ANY for questions: Excuse me Sara, do you have any paper? / Excuse me Sara, do you have some paper? ***A general guideline about any / some in questions: If the speaker thinks the answer is probably NO, the speaker will probaby use ANY. If the speaker has no guess about the answer, the speaker will probably use ANY. If the speaker thinks the answer is probably YES, the speaker will probably use SOME.

What are SOME and ANY?

Some and any are determiners. We use these words before nouns in order to add meaning. The words some and any are used for countable and uncountable nouns.

 

1) Terry has ____ pennies in her pocket.
2) Tomas doesn't have ____ pennies in his pocket. His pocket is empty.

 

3) Angela doesn't like to eat ____ vegetables.
4) In fact, last night she didn't eat____ salad. Her mother was angry!
5) But Angela always likes to have ___ ice cream for dessert.
6) She'd be happy if she could eat ___ vegetable-flavored ice cream!
7) But we know there really isn't ___ vegetable-flavored ice cream!

 

8) He decided to have ____ pizza instead. He's not a nice brother!

 

I also love to pass along this joke. My students always love it and it's really handy!

 

This is a little story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done

 

I took this joke from here but I am sure most of you have heard this somewhere or the other!

 



Hot Words

I named the following Vocabulary activity as "Hot Words", because all the words studied in the excercise are either misused, overused or should just not be used!
My students really enjoyed it and it was actually perfect for a 90 minute class because after each set of words, we'd discuss them and at the end of the exercise I had the students make their own sentences.

The Handout:

1. We repurposed the product to create synergies and expand its parameters. Now we need a new marketing plan with an iconic logo and theme.

_______________ : an image immediately recognizable.

_______________: the parts of a complex organism working together.

_______________: a neologism / invented word.

_______________: a term in math often misused to mean “boundaries”.

2. Pursuant to our teleconference yesterday, I expect you to interface with the relevant parties to complete the project.

_______________: individuals or groups coming together for discussion.

______________: following, or in accordance with.

_______________: pertinent.

 

3. Our uber publicist cannot seem to relate to the national media and so is creating a dichotomy between our client and the press. National media outreach does not appear to be the publicist’s forte.

_______________: it’s a bird! It’s a plan! No, it’s ____________man .

_______________: the chasm you find between Liberals and Conservatives.

*Did you know? Alibi is a legal term meaning “elsewhere.” This is the “plea of having been elsewhere at the time when any alleged act took place.” We use it informally to mean “excuse.”

4. Our sales department has a myriad of problems that are beginning to affect our profits. Please dialogue with the manager there and try to incentivize him and his staff to do a better sales job by paying closer attention to the affective side of persuasion.

____________: relating to the emotional side of a person.

_____________: a great number.

______________: a discussion between two people.

_____________: a made up word that means nothing.

 

*Did you know? You could be noisome without being noisy? The word has nothing to do with noise. It means “offensive”, “disgusting” and “harmful”. Noisome comes from “annoy”.

 

5. As per your instructions, I am making the office more user-friendly by putting less people in the reception area and creating more viable conditions.

______________: easy to use

______________: capable of growth

_____________: use this with weight or amount

 

6. A very unique thing occurred to me businesswise; the stock market collapsed and decimated my savings. My adviser said it was ephemeral, however.

____________: once meant killing every tenth of something

_____________: does not take a qualifier because it is the only one of what it is

_____________: passing, short lived

 

Teachers' Guide / Answers

Remember to explain to your students that the "chosen" words are not incorrect, just should be avoided being over used!

1.We repurposed the product to create synergies and expand its parameters. Now we need a new marketing plan with an iconic logo and theme.

iconic : an image immediately recognizable. It means very famous and well known but should be only used represent religious symbols. In this case, "an iconic" can just be removed from the sentence.

synergies: the parts of a complex organism working together. This word is correctly used however it's important to know that although very commonly used in the Business World, this word actualy originates from Biology. "the parts of a complex organism working together"

repurposed: a neologism / invented word. This means to give a new purpose or use. According to the Merrium Webster, this word was first used in 1984.

Parameters: a term in math often misused to mean “boundaries”. It's all about making sure you are pronunciating it correctly! Parameter is the more specific mathematical term whereas perimeter refers to "limits".

 

2. Pursuant to our teleconference yesterday, I expect you to interface with the relevant parties to complete the project.

Interface : individuals or groups coming together for discussion. This is a noun, in this sentence is used as a verb.

Pursuant : following, or in accordance with. This word is used / should be used in more legal terms or relating to law. 

 relevant : pertinent. Correctly used here, but sometimes overly used. Another synonym could be "appropriate"!

 

3. Our uber publicist cannot seem to relate to the national media and so is creating a dichotomy between our client and the press. National media outreach does not appear to be the publicist’s forte.

uber : it’s a bird! It’s a plan! No, it’s ___________man . This is a German word meaning "super". Mostly used in slang but widely emerging in the Business world now as well. Just be careful not to overuse it!

dichotomy: the chasm you find between Liberals and Conservatives. Although this is a synonym of "division", it just means a lot more. Almost like a "deeper division". Also is a syllable more than "division", so if you are using it in spoken English, think twice!

4. Our sales department has a myriad of problems that are beginning to affect our profits. Please dialogue with the manager there and try to incentivize him and his staff to do a better sales job by paying closer attention to the affective side of persuasion.

affective : relating to the emotional side of a person. Remind students here about the difference between "effective" and "affective".

myriad: a great number. Greek

dialogue : a discussion between two people. Dialogue is better used as a noun. To have a dialogue would be better than using it as a verb as in this case.

incentivize : a made up word that means nothing. this is a corporate jargon, very nicely explained in the Urban Dictionary. Check it out!

 

5. As per your instructions, I am making the office more user-friendly by putting less people in the reception area and creating more viable conditions.

user-friendly : easy to use It's better to use "accomodating" or "comfortable" here. "user-friendly" is better used with programs/equipment/computer related etc.

viable : capable of growth Viable means "able to survive". In this situation, "workable" would be a much better choice of word.

 less : use this with weight or amount Less is used with a non count noun. In this case, you need "fewer".

 

6. A very unique thing occurred to me businesswise; the stock market collapsed and decimated my savings. My adviser said it was ephemeral, however.

decimated : once meant killing every tenth of something

unique : does not take a qualifier because it is the only one of what it is Something which is "unique"is already one of a kind, adding "very" is really not necessary!

ephemeral : passing, short lived