Preparing for the 'oposiciones': homophones

We say that two or more words are homophones when they are pronounced the same, v.g. hair (pelo)/hare (liebre), sea (mar)/to see (ver), son (hijo)/sun (sol); right (derecha; correcto)/to write (escribir)/rite (rito), etc. EXERCISE Find homophones for the following words: 1.- leak /li:k/ (gotera) 2.- sail /seIl/ (vela; zarpar)  3.- through  /Tru:/  (a través de) 4.- wine /waIn/ (vino) 5.- horse /hO:s/ (caballo) 6.- grease /gri:s/ (grasa; gomina) 7.- seller /"sel@/ (vendedor)   8.-...

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Notes for a brief History of English Lexicography

Mi post de hoy va dedicado con nostalgia a mis querido alumnos de Lexicografía Inglesa, hasta el curso 2011-12, año en el que la asignatura dejó de impartirse, por haber sido excluida incomprensiblemente del Plan de Bolonia. NOTES FOR A BRIEF HISTORY OF ENGLISH LEXICOGRAPHY Introduction The earliest ‘list of words’ that might be said to constitute the beginnings of English lexicography were the glossaries of Anglo-Saxon priests and schoolteachers, compiled to enable those who didn’t know Latin to read Latin manuscripts (English lexicography...

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preparing for the 'oposiciones': antonyms

We give this name to two words which have opposite meanings: true/false. I include under this heading the three different types of antonyms distinguished by some linguists: gradable, non-gradable and reversive. Gradable antonyms can be used in comparative constructions: bigger/smaller than , and the negative of one member of the pair does not necessarily imply the other: if sb. is less rich than another, for example, it does not necessarily follow that he is poor. The same can be said of practically all pairs of adjectives: thin/thick, wide/narrow;...

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Preparing for the 'oposiciones': synonyms

We say that two or more words are synonyms when they have the same or nearly the same meaning, e.g. shut and close. However, there’s seldom strict synonymy, but loose synonymy, so we’d better speak of near-synonyms. For reasons of economy, to have two or more words with exactly the same meaning is a luxury that languages cannot afford. The main reasons why it’s difficult to find strict synonymy or one hundred percent synonyms are the following: Differentation of meaning. Words often change their meaning with the passing of time: originally,...

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Preparing for the 'oposiciones': términos informáticos (ejercicio)

Ejercicio Une los siguientes términos informáticos con sus correspondientes significados/ definiciones: 1.- back-up 2.- booting 3.- attachment 4.- hacker 5.- phishing 6.- pop-up 7.- screensaver 8.-laptop 9.- search engine 10.- spam a.- salvapantalla b.- pirata informático c.- correo basura d.- ordenador portátil e.-copia de seguridad f.- ventana anunciando algo que suele aparecer de pronto en la pantalla del ordenador g.- buscador h.- envío de e-mails fraudulentos para obtener los datos bancarios del usuario i.-...

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You've got a friend

I share with you today 'You've got a friend' by the great Carole King. I find this song a hymn to friendship, and it gives me a thrill every time I listen to it, as I think of my friends, from the past, from the present and from the future. LYRICS When you're down and troubled And you need some loving care And nothing, nothing is going right Close your eyes and think of me And soon I will be there To brighten up even your darkest night You just call out my name And you know wherever I am I'll come running to see you again Winter, spring,...

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Preparing for the 'oposiciones': animals' cries

apes gibber (los simios chillan) bears grunt (los osos gruñen) birds sing/chirp/twitter/warble (los pájaros cantan/pían/trinan/gorjean) bulls bellow (los toros mugen) cats miaow/mew/purr (los gatos maullan/ronronean) cocks crow (los gallos cantan) cows moo/low (las vacas mugen) crickets chirp (los grillos chirrían) crows caw (los cuervos graznan) dogs bark/woof/growl (los perros ladran/gruñen) donkeys/asses bray (los burros/los asnos rebuznan) doves/pigeons coo (las palomas arrullan) ducks quack (los patos graznan) elephants trumpet...

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Preparing for the 'oposiciones': idioms with names of fruit and veg (exercises)

There are lots of idioms both in English and in Spanish with names of fruit and vegetables. Here are a couple of exercises to review them: EXERCISE -1 Complete the following sentences with the adequate English idiom, then translate into Spanish: 1.- Lucy is the ........ of her father's eye. 2.- It's no longer a secret - your sister spilled the ........ 3.- He says he doen't want the post, but I think it's a case of sour .......... 4.- So he has come two days too soon, hasn't he? That ..........the applecart. 5.- While Paul and I were exhausted...

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Lectura recomendada.

Entre mis lecturas recientes, se encuentran las dos primeras novelas de la trilogía THE CENTURY de Ken Follet, que os recomiento muy encarecidamente. La primera, Fall of Giants, abarca la primera parte del siglo XX, hasta unos años después de la 1ª Guerra Mundial y, la segunda, Winter of the World, continúa desde esa fecha hasta después de la 2ª Guerra Mundial. Se trata de una fascinante combinación de ficción-documento histórico, con prácticamente los mismos miembros de varias familias, inglesa, alemana, rusa y norteamericana como protagonistas,...

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Preparing for the 'oposiciones': during/for

During y for pueden significar ambos ‘durante’, pero during indica el tiempo dentro del cual transcurre algo y for, cuánto tiempo: during the spring/the night/the day – durante la primavera/la noche/el día for five years/months/weeks/days – durante cinco años/meses/semanas/días Práctica Rellena los huecos con during o for según convenga a.- I haven’t played chess ........................... years. b.- I only saw her once ........................... my stay in New York. c.- Luke worked as a lifeguard ..............................

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Preparing for the 'oposiciones': if/whether in indirect questions

Shall we use whether or if in indirect questions? Both mean 'si' and, in most cases, you can use one or the other, with no difference in meaning, though it can be said that if is more colloquial than whether: I asked her if/whether she loved me - le pregunté si me quería I'm not sure if/whether I can go to your birthday party next Friday - no estoy segura si puedo ir a tu fiesta de cumpleaños el próximo viernes  I wonder if/whether I should tell the boss - me pregunto si debería decírselo al jefe. When the alternative with or/or...

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