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Vocabulary: Bermondsey and Rotherhithe Saturday 25th January 2014

29/1/2014

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Hello to all of you.

Below is some of the vocabulary that we went over at the end of the walk last Saturday. How lovely to do that in such a lovely pub! And weren’t we lucky to be inside when the thunder storm began?!

I enjoyed meeting you all and hope to see you again soon. You really worked hard – listening, finding new words, speaking English and supporting each other. Thank you!

Best Wishes

Gail


Vocabulary In the shadow of the Shard: Bermondsey and Rotherhithe – Saturday 25th January 2014

To snatch  (verb): to take something with a quick rough movement.


e.g. On the London Underground there are often warning signs about ‘bag snatchers’ – people who snatch bags and run off with them.

e.g. We talked about how people took dead bodies from graveyards (especially in the early 19th century). They were called ‘body-snatchers’)

To bury (verb) buried: a) to put a dead body in the ground.

b) to put something in a hole in the ground and cover it. E.g. Our dog buried it’s bones in the garden.

To plant (something) (verb): to put plants, seeds etc in the ground to grow. e.g. Bulbs should be planted in the autumn.

A ditch (noun): a long narrow hole that has been dug in to the ground. Usually ditches are along the side of a road or field for water to flow away.

To dig (verb): (digging; pt pp dug): to move earth and make a hole in the ground. E.g. the children are busy digging in the sand.

We talked about how the river water was kept away from Jacob’s Island in the Victorian period. Ditches were dug all around Jacob’s Island so the water drained away and they could build on the land.

A spade (noun): a tool that you use for digging.

A shovel (noun): a tool used for picking up and moving earth, snow, sand etc.

The shore (noun): the land at the edge of the sea or lake. We often call the shore by the sea ‘a seashore’.

A shard (noun): a piece of broken glass, ceramic, metal etc, that usually has sharp edges.

The tall building we looked at is called The Shard. It’s the tallest building in Europe and opened to the public in February 2013.

To chat (verb): (chatting; chatted) to talk to somebody in an informal, friendly way.

A chat (noun): E.g. Let’s have a chat in the café.

The tide (noun): the regular change in the level of the sea caused by the moon and the sun.

At high tide (or ‘when the tide is in’) the sea is closer to the land.

At low tide (or ‘when the tide is out’) it is further away and more of the beach can be seen.

The River Thames is a tidal river. When we arrived at St Saviour’s Dock, the tide was out so we could see the beach.

Waves (noun): a line of water moving across the surface of the water, especially the sea, that is higher than the rest of the surface.

E.g. Maria and Filippo decided to surf the waves.

A canal (noun): a deep cut that is made through land and filled with water for boats or ships to travel along.

A canal is man-made.  A river is natural.

A cellar (noun): an underground room that is used for storing things. E.g. The cellars of the Mayflower Pub are used to store beer.

Lining (noun): material that covers the inside surface of something. E.g. I’ve torn the lining of my coat.

a hem (noun): the edge at the bottom of a piece of cloth (especially on a skirt, dress or trousers) that has been turned up and sewn.

to hem in (expression): to surround and prevent somebody/thing from moving on.

We also use this expression to explain a feeling. We heard how Rotherhithe Street is one of London’s longest streets and how it’s very narrow because ‘it’s hemmed in by tall warehouses’.

A cycle lane (noun): A division of a road that is marked off with painted lines and can only be used by cyclists.


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Vocabulary: London's Legal Quarter - the Inns of Court, Thursday 12th December 2013

16/12/2013

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Hello all
Thank you for providing so much interesting research about the history of the places we saw. You worked really hard!

Here is the vocabulary that we went over at the end (even though it was a bit noisy in that bar!).

I look forward to seeing you all again soon and wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a great 2014!

Best Wishes
Gail

Vocabulary:
To be broke (adjective) (informal): To have no money. E.g. I can’t stay in London any longer because I’m absolutely broke!

Gobbledegook (also gobbledygook) (noun) (informal): Complicated language that is hard to understand. We also use it to mean that something that someone says is rubbish. E.g. I listened to the teacher in class but it was complete gobbledegook to me! E.g. I watched that T.V. programme last night but it was total gobbledegook.

A wig (noun): a covering made of real or false hair that you wear on your head. E.g. we saw the wigs that a judge and barrister wear in court. They are made of horse hair.

A gown (noun): a) A loose piece of cloth worn by certain professions E.g. lawyers, barristers, judges. We saw some of the gowns worn by lawyers and Judges in the shop, Ede & Ravenscroft (the specialist gown and robe makers since 1689).

a) A woman’s long formal dress for special occasions.

c) A dressing gown. This is the long loose robe that we wear after a bath or when we get out of bed.

A robe (noun): A long, loose piece of clothing, especially worn at ceremonies.

To quote (verb): a) to repeat exactly something that somebody else ahs said or written before. E.g. The newspaper quoted the Prime Minister.

b) to say what the cost of a piece of work is or probably will be. E.g. He quoted £1,200 to repair our roof.

A quotation (noun) We usually say ‘a quote’: a) a phrase from a book, speech, play etc.

b) a statement that says how much a piece of work will probably cost.  E.g. He gave me a quote for £50 to put some shelves up.

To abbreviate (verb): To make something shorter, especially a word or phrase. E.g. The World Wide Web is usually abbreviated to ‘www’.

An abbreviation (noun): A short form of a word or phrase

E.g. etc = etcetera; Mr. = mister; kilometre = km

A measurement (noun): a) a size, amount etc that is found by measuring. E.g. What are the exact measurements of the room? (= how wide, long etc is it?)

A foot (noun) (used in measurement): A measure of length. 1 foot = 30 centimetres (cm).

E.g. How tall are you? I’m 5 foot 5 (inches)

E.g. A 6-foot high wall

We abbreviate feet/foot as ‘ft’ E.g. She’s 5ft 3ins (= 5 foot 3 inches).

A jug (noun): A container with a handle used for holding or pouring liquids. E.g. A milk jug. E.g. A jug of water. E.g. We asked for a jug of water at the end of our walk.

A vase (noun): A container that is used for holding cut flowers in water.

A window box (noun): A long narrow box outside a window, in which plants are grown.

A gardener (noun): a person who works in a garden as a job or for pleasure. E.g. The gardener in the Inns of Court knows how to create beautiful gardens!

To sue (somebody) (for something) (verb): To go to a court of law and ask for money from somebody because they have done or said something bad about you. E.g. He took his company to court and sued them for £10000000 because they broke their contract.

To lie (about something) (verb): To say or write something that you know isn’t true. E.g. The witness lied in court. E.g. How could you lie to me?

A lie (noun): to tell a lie. E.g. That story he told us about being ill, was just a lie to get out of working!

Perjury (noun): When a witness (or the person who is either accused or the defendant) deliberately lies in court. E.g. The witness committed perjury when she lied about what time he arrived back home.  

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