Learn hot english issue 247 december 2022

“The classes we’ve had with Hot English have been really effective.. Hi, and welcome to another issue of Learn Hot English – the fun magazine for learning English.. You’ll learn to und

I S S N 1 5 7 7 7 8 9 8 00247

The number-one magazine for learning and teaching English!

@LEARNHOTENGLISH No.247

FREE subscription if you recommend Hot English Language Services to your company E-mail classes@learnhotenglish.com / www.learnhotenglish.com / 2

Our dynamic courses and materials

will give employees the language

they need at work!

Face-to-face classes in Spain and

online classes all over the world

Why not try us for FREE?

We’ll give you a FREE one-hour

trial class (with no obligation)

with one of our English teachers

If you love our materials, why don’t you sign up

for company classes and get them for FREE?

Wherever your company is based, we can help

Contact us NOW and put us to the test!

Are you looking for English classes for your company?

Finding an academy that can keep students motivated, provide excellent materials, and offer a professional service isn’t easy But Learn Hot English has the solution!

for your employees!

(00 34) 91 421 7886 business@learnhotenglish.com

TAP HERE

for your FREE trial class!

“The classes we’ve had with Hot English have been really effective With their innovative learning system, our students have both progressed and enjoyed themselves.”

David - Financial Director

Cambridge University Press Iberia

All material in this publication is strictly copyright, and all rights are reserved Reproduction without permission is prohibited The views expressed

in Hot English Magazine do not necessarily represent the views of Hot English Publishing SL, although we do think that spaghetti grows on trees

and boxing is a brutal sport

Hi, and welcome to

another issue of Learn

Hot English – the fun magazine for learning English In this month’s issue, we’re looking at 10 Christmas traditions from English speaking countries

In this great article, you’ll learn a lot about the

culture in other countries, and have something

to talk about over the holiday period! Of

course, that’s not all and we’re also looking at

pranks, Notting Hill (the movie), boxing, Las

Vegas, banks, Giorgio Armani, jokes, a famous

prank about spaghetti, phrasal verbs, idioms,

slang, vocabulary, a business topic, and lots,

lots more Well, we hope you enjoy reading and

listening to this issue of Learn Hot English

Have fun, learn lots of English and see you all

next month!

PS Remember to sign up for our newsletter

so you can receive lots of FREE language

lessons, and find out what we’re doing Just

visit our website (www.learnhotenglish.com) and

enter your name and e-mail address in the box

on the right-hand side of the page Don’t forget

to check out the blog on our website: www.

learnhotenglish.com/blog for free lessons and

articles on how to learn English Or “like” us

on Facebook or Twitter (@LearnHotEnglish)so

you can keep up with our latest news.

Why are you learning English? To get a better job, to pass an official English exam,

to travel, or just to communicate in English? Hot English magazine helps with all this.

1 Increase your vocabulary In every issue of Hot English

you’ll learn over 350 English words and expressions! Plus

you’ll learn lots of idioms, phrasal verbs, grammar and more.

2 Improve your listening Every magazine has 60

minutes of spoken English audio You’ll learn to understand

English, plus you can hear lots of different accents!

3 Exam English Hot English helps prepare you for

official English exams (First Certificate, IELTS, TOEFL,

etc.) How? Exams test your ability to speak and your range

of vocabulary Hot English improves your communication

skills and your knowledge of words and expressions

4 Business English Practical English for the office, for

meetings, for talking to clients – it’s all in Hot English

Plus, read business tips from entrepreneurs

5 Travel English Want to travel to English-speaking countries? With Hot English you’ll learn the words and expressions you need for international travel!

6 Social English How do native English speakers really talk? Learn with our natural English conversations Also, learn English slang Plus, in Hot English you’ll read about current events (news, culture, music, films) so you can make conversation with native English speakers.

7 Want to learn even more? Get an English Unlocked book You’ll learn extra vocabulary, grammar, social English and business English The English Unlocked books are linked to the topics in Hot English magazine Visit our website for more details.

For great private language classes, e-mail classes@learnhotenglish.com / www.learnhotenglish.com / 3

3 Editorial

4 Dr Fingers’ Error Correction Clinic

6 Vocabulary - At The Doctor’s

8 Listening: Discussing Money Problems!

24 Vocabulary - The Bank

25 Typical Dialogues - The Bank Robber

26 Crossword

28 Wordsearch & Matching

30 Dr Fingers’ Grammar Clinic

31 Business Dialogues - The Proposal

32 Idioms – Idioms

34 Giorgio Armani

“The King Of Jackets”

36 Weird World - Swiss Spaghetti

& Stupid Brits

38 Weird World - Cartoon

39 Strange But True

40 British Bar Chat

41 US Bar Chat

42 Dictionary Of Slang

43 Phrasal Verbs - Bring

44 Answers and Scripts

How you learn English with Hot English magazine Pre-Intermediate (CEF level: A2)

34 36 18

Intermediate (CEF level: B1)

Upper Intermediate (CEF level: B2)

Advanced (CEF level: C1)

16

LearnHotEnglish learnhoteng HotEnglishMagazine

ERROR CORRECTION CLINIC

Hello everybody, and welcome to my “Error Correction” clinic You

know just the other day I recorded a very interesting conversation

in one of my classes During the extract, you will hear how Susana,

one of my students, makes a few mistakes See if you can spot

them You will have to excuse my class of 16 year-olds - they are

somewhat undisciplined

Dr Fingers: Good morning, class Who did that? That is very rude

and I will not have that in my class Frederique, stop that… no… no, Frederique you will cause an accident Michaela, phone for an ambulance will you? Frederique, get up off the floor!

OK, class, we’re going to do a little exercise

Class: Boo!

Dr Fingers: Now settle down Right, Susana and Pierre, come to

the front Now come along, it’s almost lunch time

Now, Pierre, I want you to ask Susana these questions (he hands them a sheet of paper) The rest of you be quiet and listen carefully

Pierre: OK, Susana, how long have you been living in

Valencia?

Susana: I am here for ten years

Pierre: And how long have you been learning English?

Susana: I am learning English for eight years

Did you hear the mistakes? Susana said:

“I am here for ten years”; and,

“I am learning English for eight years”

These are very typical mistakes Remember, we use the present

perfect, (“have” + a past participle) to refer to an activity that

started in the past, and has continued until the present For

example, if you met someone three years ago, you “have known

that person for three years”; or if you started studying French

six years ago, and you are still studying it, then you “have been

studying French for six years” Here are a few more examples:

“I have been in Paris for ten years,” which means that you moved

to Paris ten years ago and are still living there now

“I have been waiting for twenty minutes,” which means that you arrived twenty minutes ago and are still waiting

“I have been learning Italian for nine weeks,” which means that you started learning Italian nine weeks ago, and you are still studying it now

Just after the class I disciplined Susana privately for a few hours, and now I think she understands the rule Later, my students repeated the conversation without the errors:

Pierre: OK, Susana, how long have you been living in

Valencia?

Susana: I have been here for ten years

Pierre: And how long have you been learning English?

Susana: I have been learning English for eight years

For fantastic Video-Phone classes, e-mail classes@learnhotenglish.com / www.learnhotenglish.com /

4

AUDIO

In this section Dr Fingers identifies and corrects typical errors…

and ensures that they are NEVER, EVER repeated

THERE ARE FIVE TEACHER’S PACKS:

Are you an English language teacher?

Do you need some new material for your classes? If so, the Teacher’s Packs are perfect for you!

The Teacher’s Packs are full of fun, ready-to-go

lessons that will help your students learn lots of

useful English…and save YOU loads of time!

TAP HERE FOR A FANTASTIC OFFER ON ALL 5 TEACHER’S PACKS,

AND SAVE YOURSELF LOTS OF TEACHER PREPARATION TIME!

And each PACK comes with over 20 ready-to-go lessons that include warmers,

listening exercises and follow-up speaking and writing activities All this will make

your life as a teacher so much easier!

Your students will love these classes and learn lots of useful English Guaranteed!

Great ideas for busy teachers!

TAP HERE

2 And I've got this terrible pain in my

3 I just need to take your

4 You need to drink plenty

of …

5 You also need to take this

6 You can get it in the

7 Just take one every six

hours

3 Speaking activity

Use the phrases

to act out a role play between a doctor and

a patient

I’ve sprained my ankle

I’m a bit sunburnt

I’ve got a bruise on my leg

I’ve twisted my wrist

I banged my head

My eye has swollen up

I hurt my arm

I’m having trouble breathing.

I got stung by a bee

I’ve got a pain in my left shoulder

I’ve got a cut on my finger

I’ve got a rash on my arm

Useful expressions

Temperature – a normal body

temperature is about 37ºC

Thermometer – an instrument

for measuring temperature

Fever – if you’ve got a “fever”,

your body temperature is high

Pills – small pieces of medicine

that you swallow without

chewing

Medicine – a substance that

you drink or swallow to cure an

illness

Vomit / throw up – when you

“vomit”, liquid/food comes out

of your mouth

Tummy bug – an illness in your

stomach caused by bacteria

Headache – a pain in your

head

Sore – if you body is “sore”, it

hurts Also, “ache”: “My body is

aching.”

Fluids – liquids such as water /

orange juice, etc

Prescription – a piece of

paper the doctor writes with

information about the medicine

you need

Chemist’s / pharmacy (US

English) – a shop where you can

buy medicine

Clinic – a building where people go to see the doctor / receive medical advice, etc

Diarrhoea – if someone has

“diarrhoea”, liquid comes out of them when they go to the toilet

Cough – an illness in which your chest or throat hurts

Queasy / sick / nauseous – if you’re feeling “queasy”, you feel

as if you’re going to vomit

Dizzy – if you feel “dizzy”, you feel as if you’re about to fall

Flu – an illness which is like a cold but more serious

Blood pressure – the amount

of force with which your blood flows around your body

Painkiller – a medicine that stops pain

Pulse – the regular beating of blood through your body

Infected – an “infected ” area

of your body that has germs or bacteria on it.

More words

temperature pill chemist’s problem medicine stomach fluids

Are you looking for an English study plan to improve

your English level quickly? One that allows you to

study wherever and whenever you want?

If so, you need the Complete English Course!

Your very own online teacher at home or work!

OUR 3-LEVEL COURSE WILL ENSURE YOU…

…make real progress as quickly as you want!

…improve all areas of English at the same time!

…increase your English level!

The course is online so you can study wherever and whenever you want! Each level

comes with videos, listening activities, quizzes, tests and lots more! Choose your level:

And you’ll progress quickly and easily so can speak fluently and naturally!

Complete the course with a video-phone teacher for even faster learning!

Each level will improve your

Speaking, Pronunciation, Listening, Reading, Vocabulary &

You’re going to listen to someone who is talking about money

problems Listen once What exactly is the problem?

3 Listening II

Choose the correct answers (a/b) Then, listen again to check

your responses.

1 Harry went to the pub… a) on foot b) by bus

2 Harry has a lot of a) money b) debts

3 Harry has bought a a) bus b) plane

4 It cost a) $10,000 b) $20,000

5 It is a a) red bus b) Boeing 747

The pronunciation of can and can’t

A

Can

There are two ways of pronouncing the modal verb can

We often use the strong form can /kæn/ for emphasis in

speech:

a) I can see it

b) He can help us

And we use the weak form can / kən/ in casual speech:

a) I can see it

b) He can help us

Can’t

The negative form can’t / kɑːnt/ has the /ɑː/ sound:

a) I can’t see it

b) He can’t help us

B

Now listen and repeat these sentences with the weak form of can

a) They can help us

b) She can do it later

And these sentences with can’t

a) We can’t see it

b) They can’t help us

Now compare the affirmative and negative forms Can you hear the difference?

a) I can see it / I can’t see it

b) He can help us / He can’t help us

Discussion Ask and answer the questions.

How good are you at saving money?

How much money have you got saved up?

What would you like to buy with it?

How much do you save every month?

Where do you put it?

How much interest does it earn?

If you could spend it all now, what would you buy?

Where’s the best place to invest money? Why?

Listen & learn !

Download the audio files for your magazine so

you can improve your listening and speaking skills

Then, you can listen to Learn Hot English as you're

driving! .walking! .doing exercise! .relaxing at home!

In order to get the downloadable audio files for this magazine, go to

www.learnhotenglish.com/

learn-hot-english-magazine-audio-files

And enter this code:

HotMP3s2019

Download the audio files for this magazine!

Tap here for the MP3s!

Irregular Past Tense Verbs

In past editions of Hot English

we’ve looked at the pronunciation of

regular past tense verbs This month

we’re going to be looking at the

pronunciation of irregular past tense

verbs, and grouping the verbs according

to their sounds This month we’ll be

looking at that very complicated,

confusing and completely ridiculous

word group “ough / augh” I wrote a

little poem to introduce the subject

It may help you understand the

complexity of all this, and I sincerely

hope you’ll enjoy it OK, here goes:

An Ode To “Ough”

The past of “think” is “thought” I know,

But with no “t” we must say “though”,

The past of “catch” is “caught” we’re told,

But we have a “cough” when it is cold,

Of “teach” I’ve learnt the past is “taught”,

But we must be “tough”, as a last resort,

The teachers say it’s “bought” for “buy”,

But with no “t” it’s “bough”, I cry,

To “bring” is “brought”, the master shouts,

But with words like “trough” I have my

doubts,

Of “fight” it’s “fought” we are informed,

But say “hiccough”, we’re severely

warned,

Now that’s the end of this sad tale,

Which will surely make your face turn pale

By Dr Fingers - copyright, 2004

Listen & Repeat

Well, that’s quite enough of that Now let’s get on with some pronouncing Listen and repeat these words:

When the following word starts with a vowel, this final “t” connects with the vowel to form a new sound For example:

“I thought about it”, which becomes the following in connected speech:

“I though ta bou tit”

Now listen to some more examples:

“I bought it last night.”

(I bough tit last night)

“I fought a bear.”

(I fough ta bear)

“She taught it to me.”

(She taugh tit to me)Can you hear how the final “t” joins together with the vowel to form a new sound?

Exercise

Now let’s try an exercise Listen to the following sentences and repeat them Then, listen again and try to write the sentences in connected speech We’ve done the first one for you:

1 She fought a lion = She fough ta lion

a tale n

a story

FREE subscription if you recommend Hot English Language Services to your company E-mail classes@learnhotenglish.com / www.learnhotenglish.com / 11

¡Nuestros dinámicos cursos al igual

que nuestros materiales le darán a

sus empleados el lenguaje necesario

para comunicar en inglés!

¡Clases presenciales en España y

clases virtuales en todo el mundo!

¿Por qué no intentarlo con nosotros?

Le daremos una hora de prueba

GRATIS (sin obligación) con uno de

nuestros profesores de inglés.

Si le gustan nuestros materiales, ¿por qué

no se registra con nosotros para obtenerlas

GRATIS para su empresa?

Donde sea que se encuentre tu empresa, nosotros te podemos ayudar ¡Contáctanos ahora y ponnos a prueba!

¿Está buscando clases de inglés para su empresa? Encontrar una academia que mantenga

a sus estudiantes motivados, que provea excelentes materiales, y que ofrezca un servicio profesional no es tarea fácil Sin embargo, ¡Learn Hot English tiene la solución!

¡para sus empleados!

(00 34) 91 421 7886 business@learnhotenglish.com

www.learnhotenglishcorp.com

Clases

¡una hora de prueba para su empresa! Para obtener su clase gratis, contacte:

business@learnhotenglish.com

Language classes for companies!

PULSE AQUÍ

!para su clase gratis¡

“Las clases que hemos cursado con Hot English han sido muy efectivas C

on su sistema de aprendizaje tan innovador

This is the first part in our new section called “Story Time” In this

section you will be able to hear two native English speakers telling

each other jokes, stories or anecdotes These authentic conversations

will help you with your listening skills, and give you lots of

interesting expressions to use yourself - plus, you’ll enjoy hearing the

joke or story Please remember, these are authentic conversations,

and the speakers do a lot of things that make it difficult to

understand, such as hesitating, interrupting and mumbling This

is all part of natural conversation The trick is to listen for the key

words (the most important words in the conversation - usually the

nouns) Don’t try to understand every word - this is too difficult

because not all the words are pronounced clearly, and most of the

time the speakers are trying desperately to communicate a messages

and understand what the other person has said

The Theatre Tickets

As you are listening, try to answer these questions:

1 Where did the couple go out?

2 Who do you think wrote the note?

3 What is the punch-line?

William: So, have you heard any good jokes recently?

Peter: Mmm…, oh yeah, I did, yeah, I heard a good one the other

day actually

William: Yeah? What was that?

Peter: Ah, it’s about this, er, couple, [what happens?] and erm,

they get sent these two tickets, they just, this letter just

arrives, and they get sent these two tickets to see a, a play

at the local theatre

William: Yeah, oh, that’s nice

Peter: Yeah, I don’t know the name of the play, but that doesn’t

matter, anyway Anyway, there’s, er, a note with the, er,

with the tickets, that goes, “guess who sent these?”

William: What? With no name or anything?

Peter: No, no name, no, nothing like that So, they ring round all

their friends, you know, “hey, did you send us some tickets

to go and see this play?” [uh huh] And, well, basically

they, they don’t find out who sent it, and they think, well,

might as well go anyway So they go off, have a lovely

evening, and afterwards they go and have a nice romantic

dinner [yeah] Yeah, they, and then they get home…

William: What, what happens when they get home?

Peter: Yeah, this is the funny bit They get home and they, they

notice that the door’s broken open, [yeah!] and they go

upstairs, you know, the usual stuff, all the clothes are on

the floor, they’ve, you know, basically, they’ve …

William: … Sounds like my flat

Peter: Yeah, but they’ve been burgled…

William: Oh God! Yeah?

Peter: They’ve been burgled, and they’re, like, oh God, how, you

know, typical, just go out and that happens And then they

go into the kitchen [yeah], and on the kitchen table there’s this note…

Jokes, stories and anecdotes as told by native English speakers

USEFUL VOCABULARY to help you with the story:

anyway exp

this word is used to change the direction

in a conver-sation, and is also used when you want to stop the conversation

and start talking about something different

to guess vb

if you “guess” the answer, you try to imagine the answer

to ring round phr vb

to ring all your friends

you know exp

people often say this to check that the other person understands

to find out phr vb

to discover

might as well exp

if you say that you “might as well” do something, it means that you will do that thing, even though you don’t really want to do it

the usual stuff exp inform

“stuff” is things in general In this case

it means, “the usual things that happen”

If you’re serious about improving your English,

this is the BEST option for you!

The Complete Learn Hot English Method includes the following books:

THIS IS A GREAT INVESTMENT

IN YOUR ENGLISH LEARNING FUTURE!

TAP HERE TO BUY!

Illegal Shopping

If you are shopping with a friend, get an item of clothing such as a

pair of trousers Pull off some of the clothes tags Then, when your

friend isn’t looking, put the tags in your friend’s bag Later on, as

they try to leave the shop, the alarm will go off… and you can have

fun listening to your friend trying to explain things to the police

Name Games

When you meet a friend’s new girlfriend, say something like, “hi,

you must be Sally - I’ve heard so much about you,” knowing full

well that the girl’s name is Mary

You can do the same with boys too, using names like John, James

or William

Looking For Love?

Put an ad in a newspaper for a friend of yours Write something

completely ridiculous, such as the following:

“Rich, successful 28-year-old male seeks young, attractive female

for a meaningful relationship Some outside gardening work and

physical labour may be required.”

Your friend will be receiving lots of interesting calls from confused

people asking about the “gardening work”

Bless You!

Go to the bathroom and make your hand wet Then, walk behind

someone and sneeze, spraying them with the water from your

hand As your victim turns around, cover your face with your hands

and say sorry (they’ll think you sneezed all over them) To make

things worse, you could clean your hand on their shoulder, or ask

them politely for a tissue

Transport Police

For this joke you need a new car, a dark suit and a hairdryer Park

your car by the side of the road and point the hairdryer at traffic

The drivers will think you are a traffic police officer and slow down

as they pass you If a real police officer asks you what you are

doing, just say that you are drying your hair, or that you spilled

some coffee on the ground and you are trying to dry it up

A Bad Taste In The Mouth

Put some shaving foam into your partner’s toothpaste tube Make

sure you are there to watch the reaction as they try to clean their

teeth with the disgusting substance

Free Food

Buy a box of doughnuts and leave them open so they dry out

completely Then put them near the coffee machine in the office

so everyone will see them Your victims will pick them up, bite

into them and discover they are rock hard What fun!

Urgent Calls

Use the office intercom system to call your manager to different

parts of the building Watch as he or she goes walking around the office, getting more and more furious Be careful to disguise your voice

Panic

If there’s a new person in the office, leave a note without a name

on their desk that reads:

“Urgent: the president needs those X23P numbers ASAP!” Watch as the new employee panics and wanders about the office trying to figure out what to do

Tools

Here’s another trick for the new employee Send him or her to a shop to buy a “left-handed hammer” Get angry when they come back with nothing, claiming that there’s no such thing as a “left-handed hammer”

OK, that’s all for now Have fun with your pranks and be careful

Warning

Hot English will accept no responsibility for any

“accidents” that occur as a result of readers attempting any of these pranks

Have you ever opened a door and a bucket of

water fell on your head? Or tried to move your

computer mouse but couldn’t because someone

had glued it to your desk? Or been the victim of

any other kind of cruel joke? If you have, you have

suffered at the hands of the “prankster” - that

irritating person who can’t resist playing jokes on

you Here are some of the classic pranks

/ www.learnhotenglish.com / Looking for a quality English-language course abroad? Contact classes@learnhotenglish.com

the intercom system n

a telephone in your house that you use to talk with people who are in the street

With our Phrasal Verb Conversations!

course, you’ll learn 250 phrasal verbs quickly and easily so you can:

Tap here to buy

Do you find it hard to understand

native English speakers when

they’re talking? This is because

they often use phrasal verbs!

Books & Underwear

William Thacker’s life doesn’t seem to be going anywhere He’s

an English guy who runs a bookshop Business is not going

well for two reasons: he doesn’t have many customers; and the ones who do come in try to steal books As a result, poor Will doesn’t even have enough money for a cappuccino in the morning - he has to get half a cup

He shares a house with a Welsh guy called Spike Spike is a

total slob who leaves his clothes lying about, walks around

in his underwear, spends the day reading the newspaper and eats junk from the fridge

Boy Meets Girl

But one day William’s life suddenly changes He’s working in the bookshop when a world-famous American actress called Anna comes in William does his best to act normally, but is completely

overwhelmed He talks nervously, becomes very insecure and

tries to give her some advice on which books to buy:

William: That book’s really not good - just in case, you know,

browsing turned to buying You’d be wasting your money

But Anna decides to buy the book anyway An insecure, modest William then adds:

William: Oh, right, on second thoughts maybe it wasn’t that

bad Actually, it’s a sort of masterpiece really

Classic Hugh Grant!

Will their love survive the pressures of a show-business lifestyle? Can Anna really be in love with this poor, insignificant English guy?

AUDIO

Scene I

In this scene William and Anna are on the sofa

eating ice-cream Anna is upset because the

newspapers have just published some nude photos

of her that were secretly taken many years ago:

Anna:(angry)

The thing that’s so irritating is that now I’m so

totally fierce when it comes to nudity clauses

William: (surprised)

You actually have clauses in your contract about

nudity?

Anna:(serious)

Definitely “You may show the dent at the top of

the artist’s buttocks - but neither cheek In the

event of a stunt person being used, the artist must

have full consultation.”

Would you be tempted to go for a slightly better

bottom than your own?

Anna: (serious)

Definitely This is important stuff

William: (surprised)

It’s one hell of a job What do you put on your

passport? Profession - Mel Gibson’s bottom

Anna:(serious)

Actually, Mel does his own ass work Why wouldn’t

he? It’s delicious

a dent n

a small hole In this case, the vertical line that divides your bottom

a buttock n

you have two “buttocks” - one on each side of your bottom

a cheek n inform

you have two “cheeks” - one

on each side of your bottom

stuff n

things

it’s one hell of a job exp

it is a very difficult job

an ass n offens

the part of your body that you sit on

NOTTING HILL

Our Opinion

This is a great comedy There’s fantastic chemistry

between Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts, and the film is

even funnier because we know that Julia is playing a part

that is more or less her real-life character, particularly

when she talks about her problems with the press and her

own obsessions with weight

Starring: Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts

Director: Roger Michell

Release Date: 1999

Genre: romantic comedy

G L O S S A R Y

to run vb

to control and direct a business

total adj mod

this word is used to say that

something is an extreme example

or perfect example

a slob n

someone who is very lazy and

never cleans

to leave things lying about exp

to leave clothes, etc on the floor

to look at things in a general way

to waste money exp

to spend money on things you don’t really need

For fantastic Video-Phone classes, e-mail classes@learnhotenglish.com / www.learnhotenglish.com / 17

Scene 2

It’s late at night and William is at home on the sofa

Anna is sleeping upstairs Spike, William’s flatmate,

comes down to talk to William:

William: (tired) Hello

Spike: (excited)

Hello I wonder if I could have a little word

William: (angry) Spike

Spike: (excited)

I don’t want to interfere, or anything… but she’s

split up from her boyfriend, that’s right, isn’t it?

William: (tired) Maybe

Spike: (excited) And she’s in your house

William: (tired) Yes

enough (pause) Do you mind if I have a go?

William: (angry) Spike

Spike:(understanding)

No - you’re right

William: (tired) I’ll talk to you in the morning

Spike: (worried) Okay, okay Might be too late, but okay

(William tries to get back to sleep)

to have sex with some-one

for God’s sake exp offens

an exclamation of anger or surprise

get a grip exp

You’ll find a Christmas tree in most homes in the UK at

this time of the year Some people decorate the tree early

(at the start of December), while others leave it until 24th

Typical things to put on a Christmas tree include fairy

lights, baubles and tinsel The origin of the Christmas tree

goes back to 16th century Germany

Later, in 1841, German Prince Albert (Queen Victoria’s husband) brought the custom

to England when he put up a Christmas tree at Windsor Castle to remind him

of the ones he had

as a child… and the tradition just grew from there

2 Stockings

It’s typical for children to leave a stocking by the fireplace

on 24th December This is so “Santa” (aka the parents) can fill it with little gifts Apparently, the tradition comes from Saint Nicholas (270-343 AD), who once threw some

gold down the chimney of a poor man’s home

By chance, the gold fell into some stockings that had been left there to dry Incidentally, St Nicholas is known

as “Sinterklaas” in the Netherlands, which is where the name Santa Claus comes from.

3 Carols

Carols are Christmas songs like the world-famous Silent

Night Many traditional English carols come from around

the 18th and 19th centuries, such as God Rest Ye Merry

Gentlemen Other more modern Christmas songs include

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer , Last Christmas

(by Wham) and

Bing Crosby’s White

Christmas In towns and cities all over the

UK, people sing carols

in the streets or town squares Some even sing at home with the family; or they

go “caroling”, which consists of going from house to house singing carols

4 Calendars

It’s common to see Advent calendars in many homes

during Christmas These are little calendars with a Christmas image, and 24 little windows with the numbers

1 to 24 written on them in random order The numbers

represent the 24 days before Christmas Day (on 25th December) Behind each window, there’s a little chocolate

and a picture such as a reindeer, snowman, present

The first advent calendars, like the ones we have today, appeared in Germany in the early 1900s

18 / www.learnhotenglishcorp.com/en / Contact us for fantastic online classes for your company, wherever you are: classes@learnhotenglish.com

What Christmas traditions are there in your country? In this

article, we’re going to look at 10 important traditions (and

some of their origins) from English-speaking countries So,

you’ll learn something about a different culture, and you’ll

have things to talk about during the holiday period! Read

over the information Then, see if you can do the exercises

on the following pages

10 CHRISTMAS

TRADITIONS!

Fairy lights = small coloured lights to

decorate things (such as a Christmas tree)

Baubles = coloured glass balls that you can

hang on a Christmas tree

Tinsel = a form of decoration that consists

of a piece of thread (string) with coloured, metal strips on it

A stocking = a long, thick sock for keeping

warm

aka = an abbreviation of “also known as”

We use this to say that something has another name

A gift = something you give someone for

their birthday, Christmas, etc (a present)

A saint = a dead person who is officially

recognised by the Christian church as a perfect Christian

Advent = the period between the Sunday

closest to the 30th of November and Christmas Day

In random order = if you put things “in

random order”, you put them in any order, not according to any special plan or method

A reindeer = an animal like Bambi or

Rudolph with large horns (antlers) that lives

in northern Europe

A snowman = if you make a “snowman”,

you use snow to create something that looks like a person

A display = if there’s a display of flowers

(for example), the flowers are arranged so people can see them

A turkey = a bird with a bald head (no hair)

that looks like a big chicken; turkey meat is popular in many countries

Turkish = from the country Turkey, which is

now known as Türkiye

A merchant = a person whose job is to buy

or sell goods, usually between different countries

An evergreen = a tree or plant that has

green leaves all year

A berry = a small, round fruit that grows on

a plant or tree: strawberry, blackberry, etc

Pagan times = before Christianity – more

than 2,000 years ago

A fertility symbol = an object that represents

birth, life, regeneration…

Cardboard = thick paper that can be used to

make boxes, cards, etc

A cylinder = a long object with circular ends

A firework = an object that produces a loud

sound and lots of colour in the sky when you light it

A crown = a hat that a king or queen wears

A confectioner = a person whose job is to

make or sell sweets

Mincemeat = a) a sweet mixture of fruit,

nuts, etc.; b) meat that has been cut into very small pieces

A raisin = a dried grape; a “grape” is a

round fruit that is used to make wine

A spice = a substance used to flavour food:

pepper, cumin, basil, paprika…

Nutmeg = a hard fruit from a tropical

tree that’s used to flavour food, make a bechamel sauce, etc

Cinnamon = a spice from a tree that’s used

to flavour food, make tea…

A crusader = a soldier who went on military

expeditions to the Holy Land in the 11th to 13th centuries

The Holy Land = an area in what is now

Israel and Palestine near cities where Christ lived: Jerusalem, Bethlehem…

A delicacy = a special and delicious food

from a particular culture, country, area, region, etc

A fruitcake = a cake with dried fruit, nuts,

etc

To steam = to cook food using steam (the

hot gas that’s produced when water boils

at 100ºC)

To bake = to cook food in an oven

To light (past: lit) = if you “light” something,

you put fire on it so it burns

Cards

Many people in the UK send Christmas

cards In fact, if you visit someone’s house

during the Christmas period, it’s typical

to see a display of cards sent by friends

and family members The tradition was

started by Sir Henry Cole (1808-1882) and

artist John Horsley Together, they created

the first Christmas card in 1843 as a way of

encouraging people to send more letters

and use the postal service Cards can have

a variety of images on them, including

religious ones (such as the baby Jesus), wintery ones (like snowy trees), or fantasy ones (such as a snowman)

Turkeys

The star of many Christmas dinners (served any time from 2pm to 7pm) is a

roast turkey The first turkeys, which came

from Mexico, were brought to England

in the 16th century by Turkish merchants

(which is where the name “turkey” comes from) King Henry VIII (1491-1547) was the first king to enjoy turkey for Christmas For many years, the meat was too expensive for most households, but it became popular after turkey prices decreased in the 1950s

7Plants

It’s typical to decorate houses with plants

at Christmas Holly and ivy are evergreens,

so they provide some colour during the

dark months; and holly also has bright red

berries Another typical plant is mistletoe

It’s typical to hang it above a door, and the

custom is to kiss under it The tradition of

decorating homes with these plants comes

from pagan times Back then, the plants

were seen as a way to protect the home from

evil spirits; they were also fertility symbols

8 Crackers

Christmas Crackers are placed on the table for dinner The idea is to open them with someone else To do this, each person holds

a thin piece of paper that goes through the

middle of the cardboard cylinder inside the

cracker On the count of three both people pull on their end of the paper, and BANG, there’s a small explosion, which is caused

by a tiny firework inside the cracker On

opening the cracker, you can find three things: a little present, a joke and a paper

crown that you’re supposed to wear during

the dinner Christmas crackers were invented

by confectioner Thomas Smith (1823-1869)

in the 1840s as a way of selling more of his chocolates, which he placed inside crackers

9 Mince pies

Mince pies are little cakes filled with

mincemeat, which is a mixture of nuts,

raisins and dried fruit, as well as spices

like nutmeg and cinnamon Mince pies

originated from the 12th century when

crusaders returned from the Holy Land

with traditional spices and delicacies

Mince pies usually have a star on top, to

represent the Christmas Star, which led people to baby Jesus in Bethlehem The original mince pies had meat in them, but these days, they’re just sweet

10Puddings

A Christmas pudding is a cake with raisins, nuts and dried fruit It’s like a

fruitcake, except it’s steamed instead of

being baked Sometimes, a coin is hidden

inside the Christmas pudding The person who finds it will have good luck… and the money! Sometimes, brandy is poured over the pudding, which is lit as it’s taken to the table The pudding can also be served with brandy butter, which is made from

butter, sugar and brandy The pudding has its origins in 15th century England

Do you share any

of these traditions

in your country?

Complete the sentences with the words from below

1 A Christmas is something that people

decorate in their homes at Christmas

2 Many people in the UK send to each

other at Christmas

3 Holly and ivy are evergreen that are

used to decorate homes

4 Mistletoe is typically hung above a door, and the

5 Christmas crackers have three things inside them: a

6 Mince pies are little cakes filled with mincemeat,

which is a mixture of nuts, raisins and dried

7 A Christmas pudding is a cake with raisins, nuts and

8 Brandy butter is made from butter, and

brandy

2 Sentence completion

Complete the sentences with the missing letters

1 Small coloured lights to decorate things (such as a

Christmas tree) are fa lights

2 Coloured glass balls that you can hang on a

Christmas tree are known as ba

3 A decoration that consists of a piece of thread

(string) with coloured, metal strips on it is

tin

4 A long, thick sock for keeping warm is a sto

5 Something you give someone for their birthday,

Christmas, etc (a present) is a gi

6 An animal like Bambi or Rudolph with large horns

(antlers) that lives in northern Europe is a

re

7 If you make one of these, you use snow to create

something that looks like a person = a sno

8 A bird with a bald head (no hair) that looks like a big

chicken is a tu

9 A hat that a king or queen wears is a cr

10 A sweet mixture of fruit, nuts, raisins that’s inside a

mince pie is mince

11 “Sinterklaas” is the Dutch (from the Netherlands)

12 Christmas songs such as the world-famous Silent

Night are known as ca

13 A calendar with the numbers 1 to 24 written on them

to represent the 24 days before Christmas is an

Ad ca

EXERCISES TO HELP YOU REMEMBER THE WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS!

Answers on page 44

kiss tree sugar fruit cards crown steamed plants

These eBooks will guarantee you learn and remember over

500 idioms! Try one out for yourself, it’s pure magic!

These fantastic eBooks come with over 500 really useful phrasal verbs + images + audio files + example sentences to help you remember them!

Phrasal verbs

booklets Tap here to buy!

10 CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS!

www.learnhotenglish.com Tap here to buy!

Learn over 500 words and move up a level with

the course book English Unlocked! Your complete,

self-study English learning pack Learning guaranteed!

Reading, listening, pronunciation, vocabulary,

grammar, progress tests, listen-and-repeat

and much, much more.

Increase your range of vocabulary!

Improve your listening skills!

Perfect your pronunciation!

Develop your reading skills!

English Unlocked! will give you the English you need

for travel, work, exams (FCE, IELTS, TOEFL…) and life!

6 books to choose from!

More than 50 hours of learning material!

Over 100 pages divided into 8 units!

3 hours of listening material!

Videos with exercises!

A variety of English accents!

Read and listen to this product on an iPad, iPhone, smartphone,

tablet computer, PC, Mac…TOEFL…) and life!

“Best money I ever spent on an English course My English

is so much better now because of this English Unlocked

Thanks Hot English!” - Daniel K (Cologne, Germany)

Unlock y our English with…

Donald Duck comics were banned in Finland because Donald wasn’t

wearing trousers These days, Finns are more liberal minded… and

Americans are more conservative

A dog’s power of smell is 20 times better than ours; and a dog’s

overall smell is also 20 times stronger than ours… in most cases

Bamboo (the tallest grass in the world) can grow up to 90 cm in

a day, which is just as well because hungry Pandas consume huge

quantities of it

Bone is stronger, centimetre for centimetre, than steel

In supermarkets you will find that the best products are about 150

cm off the ground This is so you can see the products clearly… and

hopefully fall into the temptation of buying them

Chickens in the US are working overtime: in 1994 they produced

73,866 million eggs; and in 2001 it was 97,452 million eggs How

many are they going to produce this year? Wait and see

The vampire bat’s favourite animals for blood are cows, pigs, and horses In one year, a colony of 100 vampire bats can drink the blood of 25 cows Luckily we don’t appear on their menu

The most powerful earthquake in the US happened in 1811 in New Madrid, Missouri The quake lasted three minutes and was felt 1,500

kilometres away

55% of the world’s population think the sun is a planet It’s actually

a star, in case you were part of that 55%

The word “samba” means “to rub navels together”

The risk of having a heart attack is 50% higher on Mondays Apparently, the stress of going back to work after a relaxing weekend at home is just too much for us

Reindeer milk has more fat than milk from cows

In the past, it was actually legal to grow opium in the US And you

could buy marijuana and cocaine over the counter from any drug

store

We laugh about 15 times a day on average Monday is the worst day of the week with just 4 laughs But by Friday most people are

laughing about 20 times a day So, roll on Friday!

You may have wondered why American football players all huddle

together during the game Well, it all started years ago with a New

Jersey team who had a deaf player The players used sign language

to talk with him, and they didn’t want the opposition to see the

signals So now you know!

Most lipstick contains fish scales - it gives it that glossy, shiny

look Yuk!

Meat-eating animals won’t eat another animal that has been killed

by a lightning strike [How do they know that?]

It takes 43 of your muscles to frown, but only 17 to smile You can

develop your facial muscles by permanently frowning - it’ll also give

you a “don’t mess with me” look

Your right lung takes in

more air than your left one

does Next time you go

jogging, lean over to the

right so you can run for a

longer period

Dogs, cows, horses, donkeys

and pigs are all mentioned

in the Bible… but not the

cat Poor things!

Bubble gum contains rubber Frequent consumers of this substance

may notice how they have become more “bouncy” over the years

Apparently, 40% of people who have dogs or cats carry pictures of

their pets in their wallets Only 30% of people with children have

photos of their “loved ones”

Research indicates that mosquitoes are attracted to people who

have recently eaten bananas Monkeys beware!

The ancient Egyptians worshipped a goddess called Nut, who was

goddess of the sky

About a third of all Americans flush the toilet while they’re still

sitting on it

You’re more likely to get stung by a bee on a windy day

Apparently, the poor bees can’t control their sense of direction and crash into us

Neanderthal man’s brain was bigger than ours However, it wasn’t as effective, of course

The Piraroa Indians of Venezuela cook tarantulas and eat them

Apparently, the spiders taste like nuts

The queen termite can have 30,000 children every day, and

500,000,000 children during her lifetime She usually dies at the age

of 50… completely exhausted

G L O S S A R Y

to ban vb

to prohibit

just as well exp

good, fortunate or lucky

steel n

a type of very strong metal

to work overtime exp

to work more than your standard hours

over the counter exp

if you buy something “over the counter”, you buy it in a shop The

“counter” is the long table in a shop behind which the shop assistant stands

a drug store n US

a shop that sells legal drugs and medicine A “chemist’s” in British English

roll on Friday exp

to frown vb

to move your eyes closer together to show that you are angry

don’t mess with me exp

don’t do or say anything to me because

to sting vb (past: stung)

if an insect “stings” you, it bites you and puts poison in you

a small insect that eats wood

For fantastic Video-Phone classes, e-mail classes@learnhotenglish.com / www.learnhotenglish.com / 23