Vocabulary: In the News

BlackBerry jam

Kirstie Crail — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:32:52 +0100

Research in Motion, the company that created the BlackBerry, has had a lot of damaging publicity in recent years. BlackBerry is no longer flavour of the month. It’s in a bit of a jam.

Geschmacksrichtung des Monats; hier: in

in der Klemme

The perfect pose — and poser

Deborah Capras — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:52:57 +0100

Frenchmen are in the news — and not just because of their famous poses.

Posen

A sombre start

Deborah Capras — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 08:14:36 +0100

In summer, most Greeks prefer the shade, leaving the tourists to get suntans, sunstrokes and sunburns. But despite the winter sun, Athens is a sombre place and the locals are in a sombre mood.

Sonnenbräune

Sonnenstich

Sonnenbrand

düster

die Einheimischen

Press language in 2011

Deborah Capras — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 08:21:10 +0100

In this quiz, we take a look back at events that took place in 2011. Test your knowledge of the language used in the commentary pages of the world's most popular media.

Wise Words 2011

Deborah Capras — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 06:21:07 +0100

In this quiz, I test your knowledge of some of the expressions I’ve focused on in 2011. I’ve covered many topics, from political scandals to royal weddings, from London riots to Shakespeare's Richard III.

What have you learned from my blogs?

A turkey at Christmas

Deborah Capras — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 06:21:07 +0100

A turkey is an ugly bird, but it’s delicious. Turkey is also a beautiful country. So why does Deborah Capras always think of failure when she hears the word “turkey”?

Executive pay

Kirstie Crail — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 08:51:55 +0100

Despite the global financial crisis, some executives are still laughing all the way to the bank. Are they earning too much money? What do you think? Could you talk about this topic in English?

Führungskräfte

Thema

Boxing and business

Kirstie Crail — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 10:07:45 +0100

Even if, like me, you’re not a fan of boxing, you should still be able to understand — and use — the most common boxing expressions. Especially if you work with men.

The games supermarkets play

Kirstie Crail — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 10:51:52 +0100

The UK supermarket industry is worth £120 billion, so it’s understandable that every supermarket is doing its best to attract the maximum number of UK customers. We look at the language used to describe the various initiatives.

Milliarde(n)

anlocken

What's wrong?

Deborah Capras — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 14:16:35 +0200

The UK has many of the same health problems as other European countries. It has a different kind of health insurance to Germany, however. We look at two types of problems: health problems in Britain’s population and with the service.