FACTS OF THE WEEK
A group of hyenas is called a cackle. A giraffe can go longer without water than a camel. Due to a genetic defect, cats can’t taste sweet things. Apple seeds contain cyanide.
GOOD WEEK FOR:
Kletskassas or “chat checkouts”, as a Dutch supermarket chain opens slower checkouts in an effort to combat loneliness amongst the elderly. Customers can take their time and talk as they pay for their groceries rather than being encouraged to pay and exit as quickly as possible!
21 January 2022
Monday 17th January is supposed to be the saddest day of the year. Nevertheless we
are all in good spirits :-)
As usual, we have been looking through the media this week and here are some of the
stranger stories we found:
News and homework:
21 Jan. 2022
QUOTATION OF THE WEEK
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, what
are you doing for others?” ~ Martin Luther King
This week's homework is called "Organisations are Gardens".
Gardens and Plants provide many metaphors in English:
PART A - Literal meanings
Complete the following sentences:
STEM, DIG, FLOURISH, PERENNIAL, PLOUGH, GLASSHOUSE, CROPS, WEEDS, BRANCHES, DEAD
WOOD, ROOT OUT, BEAR.
1) An older name for a large greenhouse is a ??????
2) Before farmers can plant a crop, they first have to ????? the fields.
3) You find a flower at the end of the ?????? of a plant.
4) Children love to build houses in the ?????? of trees.
5) If you want your flowers to grow you must first get rid of the ??????.
6) Potatoes, barley, wheat and corn are all types of ???????
7) You use a spade to ?????? the garden.
8) To keep a tree healthy, you must first cut away the ??????.
9) Trying to ????? a large bush or tree is often very difficult.
10) Some fruit trees never ????? fruit.
11) Some plants ?????? by the sea while others hate it.
12) Flowers which bloom year after year are ?????? plants. Ones which bloom only for one year are
called annuals.
PART B
Match the expressions with the meanings below:
1) DIG OUT the sales figures
2) The problems STEM FROM
3) PLOUGH money INTO
4) WEED OUT poor staff
5) CUT BACK ON expenses
6) The business is FLOURISHING
7) BRANCH OUT INTO new markets
8) BEAR FRUIT
a) Invest a lot
b) Find and remove
c) Successful
d) Find something
e) Produce results
f) Originate from
g) Reduce
h) Expand and diversify
PART C
Complete the following sentences:
PLOUGHING, WEED, DIG, BRANCH, STEM, FLOURISH, BEAR, CUT BACK
1) I can't find last week's sales figures. Have you got a minute? Can you ?????? them out for me, please?
2) I'll tell you why we have problems in this company! All our problems ?????? from bad
communication. We need to speak to each other more.
3) We can't go on ?????? more and more money into advertising when people don't want our
products.
4) Too many people in our company have been doing the same job for too long. We need to ?????? out
the weaker ones and re-train our best staff.
5) We are in the middle of a recession. This means we have to ????? on all unnecessary expenses.
6) I am pleased to say that business at Mayflower College is beginning to ?????? again after a difficult
few years.
7) At Mayflower College we have been teaching English for many years, but we are now planning to
?????? out into teaching other languages.
8) 2000 enquiries this week! Our advertising campaign is beginning to ?????? fruit at last!
And finally your riddle for this week.
Components of an earthly circuit
Revolution is the key.
Light and dark are always present,
Seven names are all there be.
Have a great week and we look forward to writing to you next week.
Paul Stevens - Director (based in San Diego, USA)
Jill Tyler - General Manager (based in Plymouth, UK)
A tarantula, who had been abandoned on an
underground train in London. Commuters
alerted station staff to a plastic box containing
the spider – a pink toed tarantula, native to
Central and South America, which is now
looking for a new home.
BAD WEEK FOR:
A curious dog who got his head stuck in a wall and, to make things even worse another dog began biting him in an effort to get him to move away from his territory! Luckily animal rescuers were able to assist and “Buddy” is recovering.
Olive oil, as a study finds that a spoonful of olive oil
every day can reduce the risk of fatal diseases. By
studying the diets of 92,000 health workers over 30
years, the scientists found that people who
consumed olive oil regularly were less likely to die
from cardiovascular disease and cancer.
© MAYFLOWER COLLEGE english@maycoll.co.uk
MEANING: In a bad situation
use: After investing all my money in a business that has failed, I
am now “up a creek without a paddle.”
UP A CREEK WITHOUT A PADDLE
1) An older name for a large greenhouse is a GLASSHOUSE
2) Before farmers can plant a crop, they first have to PLOUGH the fields.
3) You find a flower at the end of the STEM of a plant.
4) Children love to build houses in the BRANCHES of trees.
5) If you want your flowers to grow you must first get rid of the WEEDS
6) Potatoes, barley, wheat and corn are all types of CROPS
7) You use a spade to DIG the garden.
8) To keep a tree healthy, you must first cut away the DEAD-WOOD
9) Trying to ROOT OUT a large bush or tree is often very difficult.
10) Some fruit trees never BEAR fruit.
11) Some plants FLOURISH by the sea while others hate it.
12) Flowers which bloom year after year are PERENNIAL plants. Ones which bloom only for one year
are called annuals.
The answer is DAY
1) I can't find last week's sales figures. Have you got a minute? Can you DIG them out for me, please?
2) I'll tell you why we have problems in this company! All our problems STEM from bad
communication. We need to speak to each other more.
3) We can't go on PLOUGHING more and more money into advertising when people don't want our
products.
4) Too many people in our company have been doing the same job for too long. We need to WEED
out the weaker ones and re-train our best staff.
5) We are in the middle of a recession. This means we have to CUT BACK on all unnecessary expenses.
6) I am pleased to say that business at Mayflower College is beginning to FLOURISH again after a
difficult few years.
7) At Mayflower College we have been teaching English for many years, but we are now planning to
BRANCH out into teaching other languages.
8) 2000 enquiries this week! Our advertising campaign is beginning to BEAR fruit at last!
1) DIG OUT the sales figures d) Find something
2) The problems STEM FROM f) Originate from
3) PLOUGH money INTO a) Invest a lot
4) WEED OUT poor staff b) Find and remove
5) CUT BACK ON expenses g) Reduce
6) The business is FLOURISHING c) Successful
7) BRANCH OUT INTO new markets h) Expand and diversify
8) BEAR FRUIT e) Produce results
FACTS OF THE WEEK
A group of hyenas is called a cackle. A giraffe can go longer without water than a camel. Due to a genetic defect, cats can’t taste sweet things. Apple seeds contain cyanide.
GOOD WEEK FOR:
Kletskassas or “chat checkouts”, as a Dutch supermarket chain opens slower checkouts in an effort to combat loneliness amongst the elderly. Customers can take their time and talk as they pay for their groceries rather than being encouraged to pay and exit as quickly as possible!
21 January 2022
Monday 17th January is supposed to be the
saddest day of the year. Nevertheless we are all
in good spirits :-)
As usual, we have been looking through the
media this week and here are some of the
stranger stories we found:
QUOTATION OF THE WEEK
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question
is, what are you doing for others?” ~ Martin
Luther King
News and homework
21 Jan. 2022
© MAYFLOWER COLLEGE english@maycoll.co.uk
Olive oil, as a study finds that a spoonful
of olive oil every day can reduce the risk
of fatal diseases. By studying the diets
of 92,000 health workers over 30 years,
the scientists found that people who
consumed olive oil regularly were less
likely to die from cardiovascular disease
and cancer.
BAD WEEK FOR:
A curious dog who got his head stuck in a wall and, to make things even worse another dog began biting him in an effort to get him to move away from his territory! Luckily animal rescuers were able to assist and “Buddy” is recovering.
A tarantula, who had been abandoned
on an underground train in London.
Commuters alerted station staff to a
plastic box containing the spider – a pink
toed tarantula, native to Central and
South America, which is now looking for
a new home.
Paul Stevens - Director (based in San Diego,
USA)
Jill Tyler - General Manager (based in
Plymouth, UK)
This week's homework is called "Organisations
are Gardens".
Gardens and Plants provide many metaphors
in English:
PART A - Literal meanings
Complete the following sentences:
STEM, DIG, FLOURISH, PERENNIAL, PLOUGH,
GLASSHOUSE, CROPS, WEEDS, BRANCHES,
DEAD WOOD, ROOT OUT, BEAR.
1) An older name for a large greenhouse is a
??????
2) Before farmers can plant a crop, they first
have to ????? the fields.
3) You find a flower at the end of the ?????? of a
plant.
4) Children love to build houses in the ?????? of
trees.
5) If you want your flowers to grow you must
first get rid of the ??????.
6) Potatoes, barley, wheat and corn are all types
of ???????
7) You use a spade to ?????? the garden.
8) To keep a tree healthy, you must first cut
away the ??????.
9) Trying to ????? a large bush or tree is often
very difficult.
10) Some fruit trees never ????? fruit.
11) Some plants ?????? by the sea while others
hate it.
12) Flowers which bloom year after year are
?????? plants. Ones which bloom only for one
year are called annuals.
PART B
Match the expressions with the meanings
below:
1) DIG OUT the sales figures
2) The problems STEM FROM
3) PLOUGH money INTO
4) WEED OUT poor staff
5) CUT BACK ON expenses
6) The business is FLOURISHING
7) BRANCH OUT INTO new markets
8) BEAR FRUIT
a) Invest a lot
b) Find and remove
c) Successful
d) Find something
e) Produce results
f) Originate from
g) Reduce
h) Expand and diversify
PART C
Complete the following sentences:
PLOUGHING, WEED, DIG, BRANCH, STEM,
FLOURISH, BEAR, CUT BACK
1) I can't find last week's sales figures. Have you
got a minute? Can you ?????? them out for me,
please?
2) I'll tell you why we have problems in this
company! All our problems ?????? from bad
communication. We need to speak to each
other more.
3) We can't go on ?????? more and more
money into advertising when people don't
want our products.
4) Too many people in our company have been
doing the same job for too long. We need to
?????? out the weaker ones and re-train our
best staff.
5) We are in the middle of a recession. This
means we have to ????? on all unnecessary
expenses.
6) I am pleased to say that business at
Mayflower College is beginning to ?????? again
after a difficult few years.
7) At Mayflower College we have been teaching
English for many years, but we are now
planning to ?????? out into teaching other
languages.
8) 2000 enquiries this week! Our advertising
campaign is beginning to ?????? fruit at last!
And finally your riddle for this week.
Components of an earthly circuit
Revolution is the key.
Light and dark are always present,
Seven names are all there be.
Have a great week and we look forward to
writing to you next week.
UP A CREEK WITHOUT A PADDLE
MEANING: In a bad situation
use: After investing all my money in a
business that has failed, I am now “up a
creek without a paddle.”
1) An older name for a large greenhouse is a
GLASSHOUSE
2) Before farmers can plant a crop, they first
have to PLOUGH the fields.
3) You find a flower at the end of the STEM of
a plant.
4) Children love to build houses in the
BRANCHES of trees.
5) If you want your flowers to grow you must
first get rid of the WEEDS
6) Potatoes, barley, wheat and corn are all
types of CROPS
7) You use a spade to DIG the garden.
8) To keep a tree healthy, you must first cut
away the DEAD-WOOD
9) Trying to ROOT OUT a large bush or tree is
often very difficult.
10) Some fruit trees never BEAR fruit.
11) Some plants FLOURISH by the sea while
others hate it.
12) Flowers which bloom year after year are
PERENNIAL plants. Ones which bloom only
for one year are called annuals.
The answer is DAY
1) I can't find last week's sales figures. Have
you got a minute? Can you DIG them out for
me, please?
2) I'll tell you why we have problems in this
company! All our problems STEM from bad
communication. We need to speak to each
other more.
3) We can't go on PLOUGHING more and
more money into advertising when people
don't want our products.
4) Too many people in our company have
been doing the same job for too long. We
need to WEED out the weaker ones and re-
train our best staff.
5) We are in the middle of a recession. This
means we have to CUT BACK on all
unnecessary expenses.
6) I am pleased to say that business at
Mayflower College is beginning to FLOURISH
again after a difficult few years.
7) At Mayflower College we have been
teaching English for many years, but we are
now planning to BRANCH out into teaching
other languages.
8) 2000 enquiries this week! Our advertising
campaign is beginning to BEAR fruit at last!
1) DIG OUT the sales figures d) Find
something
2) The problems STEM FROM f) Originate
from
3) PLOUGH money INTO a) Invest a lot
4) WEED OUT poor staff b) Find and remove
5) CUT BACK ON expenses g) Reduce
6) The business is FLOURISHING c)
Successful
7) BRANCH OUT INTO new markets h)
Expand and diversify
8) BEAR FRUIT e) Produce results