1. VOCABULARY: FOOD FOR THOUGHT
“Food for thought” is an expression that means something is very interesting. There are a lot of expressions using food words. Here are a few:
- like two peas in a pod = almost identical, the same
- not worth a hill of beans = worthless, no value
- use your noodle = think carefully
- to have a beef with someone = to have problems, an argument
- big cheese = big boss, important person
- to be small potatoes = to be of little importance
- to stew about = to worry about
- to be in a pickle = to be in trouble
- gravy train = easy way to make money
- to butter up = to flatter someone because you want something from them
Now see which of the above expressions is the best substitute in these sentences. Watch your verbs!
- John and Annie are having a lot of financial problems lately. They’re really worrying about money!
- I heard he quit because he had a big argument with the boss. Isn’t that interesting?
- I made a big mistake when I bought that computer at a garage sale – it’s worthless!
- He got into the stock market for all the wrong reasons – he thought it would be an easy way to make money!
- You should think carefully before you make this decision!
- They aren’t twins, but those two sisters really look alike.
- I don’t like people flattering me when it’s so insincere.
- She’s in trouble with her teacher because she was cheating on the test.
- Don’t worry about what he thinks – he’s not a very important person in the company.
- I think he has trouble making friends because he considers himself the most important person of the group!
(Answers at the end of lesson)
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2. GRAMMAR: Asking “Adjective Questions”
What if you want to know the height of Mt. Everest? Or if a new movie is good or just average? Or someone’s age? Making a question with adjectives like high, good, old, etc. is really easy – we just use HOW+ADJECTIVE:
How high is Mt. Everest?
How good is “Revenge of the Sith?”
How old is Paul?
How far is it to New York?
This works with any adjective you can think of – How cold, how funny, how angry, how interesting, etc. See if you can turn these sentences into questions using this idea – but be sure you don’t forget the correct question form!
Example: She drives 20 miles to work every day = How far (or How many miles) does she drive every day?
1. That book was very interesting. ________________________________________
2. Some dinosaurs could run 35 miles per hour! _______________________________
3. I feel really thirsty right now! _____________________________________________
4. This brochure wasn’t very informative. _____________________________________
5. It’s raining really hard today! _____________________________________________
6. Chimpanzees are almost as smart as humans.________________________________
(Answers at the end of the lesson)
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WHAT’S NEW IN SAN DIEGO:
Teachers’ movie and video/dvd recommendations: MILLION DOLLAR BABY (Clint Eastwood), SUPERSIZE ME (Michael Moore – on video, about overeating in America), and, if you like really scary movies, THE GRUDGE, on video and dvd, an English re-make of the Japanese movie Ju-on by Takeshi Shimizu.
ANSWERS:
Vocabulary: 1. stewing about; 2. had a beef , food for thought; 3. not worth a hill of beans; 4. a gravy train; 5. use your noodle; 6. are like two peas in a pod; 6. buttering me up; 7. in a pickle; 8. small potatoes; 9. the big cheese
Grammar: 1. How interesting was that book? 2. How fast could dinosaurs run? 3. How thirsty do you feel right now? 4. How informative was that brochure? 5. How hard is it raining? 6. How smart are chimpanzees?