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Introduction In just 1/2 a minute you can…

1. Learn A Lovely Word Or Phrase
2. Enjoy A New Picture From Sab (me!)
3. Improve Your Listening Skills
4. Practise Your Pronunciation
5. Enjoy A New Picture From Sab (me! 😉
6. Know Me A Little Better (Oh Yes!)
7. Get A Grasp On Grammar
8. Enjoy A New Picture From Sab (me!)
9. Have Fun Learning English!

Instructions

It’s very easy to have fun learning English with the our Words & Pics.

For example:

1. Click on ‘LISTEN‘
2. Try to understand some words and expressions
3. Read the text and look at the pictures
4. Check to see how much you understood
5. Click the yellow ‘Translate‘ button if you want to
6. Listen again and read at the same time
7. Repeat the most important expressions exactly
8. Do the fun quiz and test what you have learned
9. Celebrate! Your English is richer thanks to Words & Pics!

And now… here are the latest WordPics…

~ Day 1: ‘plaque‘ ~

WORDPIC of the DAY: ‘plaque‘ ~ Believe it or not, I spent a huge amount of time a few years ago wandering through the streets of Paris looking for little blue plaques on buildings like this one. It says ‘Water and gas on every floor’, back in the days when apartment blocks were really proud of this fact. Funnily enough, I found this one in the place outside Paris where I live. Civilisation comes to town!

VOCABULARY: ‘plaque‘ ~ A thin, flat plate or tablet of metal, porcelain, etc., intended to decorate, or to give information, often set into a wall, like here, or on a piece of furniture. Ahh, the Paris plaques I could tell you about!

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~ Day 2: ‘temporary‘ ~

WORDPIC of the DAY: ‘temporary‘ ~ I was going to choose the word ‘squalor’ or ‘desperate’, but I didn’t think that was totally appropriate. After all, these temporary inhabitants (or should I say ‘underhabitants’?) of this underpass along the Seine in Paris have tents; at least they have that! And how desperate they are, I’m not sure; I think people bring them food and stuff. But temporary, I think we can say, they certainly are.

VOCABULARY: ‘temporary‘ ~ Lasting, existing or surviving for a certain, limited time only; not permanent. Not lasting forever. Just like us, really!

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~ Day 3: ‘vegetation & greenery‘ ~

WORDPICs of the DAY: ‘vegetation & greenery‘ ~ Vegetation and greenery has the sometimes infuriating habit of sneaking in everywhere. Your prized, expensive garden plants might not like your soil, but you can bet there’s some obscure, uninvited species that does! This is another river Seine discovery – there are some strange things going on down there on the riverbanks of Paris – you should take a look, next time you’re in town!

VOCABULARY: ‘vegetation & greenery‘ ~Two for the price of one! These words mean pretty much the same thing: plants, green growing things. ‘Vegetation’ is more neutral, I suppose – a fact; ‘greenery’ is more positive – a Good Thing.

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 ~ Day 4: ‘self-portrait‘ ~

WORDPIC of the DAY: ‘self-portrait‘ ~ I’m a big fan of self-portraits; I’ve been taking them for many years now. I even have a website for them, if I can remember the name*. Not because I’m in love with myself or anything. It’s more about getting old and my own mortality. I’m going to die, well, I’m dying, actually. (We all are.) So I thought I might as well watch it happen…

VOCABULARY: ‘self-portrait‘ ~ This is a picture – a photograph or a painting, for example – taken or painted by the person… of themselves! So this self-portrait here was taken by me, Sab, of myself, also Sab! Do you see where I’m coming from?!

SELF-PORTRAITS: http://my-mystic-me.parissetmefree.com/ AND EVEN MORE: http://www.parissetmefree.com/self

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 ~ Day 5: ‘fountain‘ ~

WORDPIC of the DAY: ‘fountain‘ ~ The Wallace Fountains (les Fontaines Wallace) are a famous symbol of my favourite city – Paris, the capital of France! They are normally a sort of dark green (which we call bottle green), so it is always fun when you find one that has decided to be just a little bit… different!

VOCABULARY: ‘fountain‘ ~ This is often a special device which sends water into the air. A ‘drinking fountain’, like the Wallace Fountains in Paris, offer you water to drink, and sometimes you have to press a button to get it. Come on – a little effort never hurt anyone!

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~ Day 6: ‘scooter‘ ~

WORDPIC of the DAY: ‘scooter‘ ~ The girl in this picture is riding a scooter and there was a craze here in France a few years ago when even serious business people could be seen scooting all over the place. I’ve always found them a bit silly, but then I preferred roller-blading, which is much cooler 😉

VOCABULARY: ‘scooter‘ ~ This was originally a child’s method of transport, like a tricycle, and has a large foot-board with a little wheel at each end. There is also a long vertical handle to steer with. We also sometimes talk about a ‘motor scooter’, which is a little motorbike with small wheels and not much power. I still prefer roller-blades!

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 ~ Day 7: ‘distressed‘ ~

WORDPIC of the DAY: ‘distressed‘ ~ This is one of the most distressed images I’ve created in quite a while. It started as a simple shot of the little town centre near me and turned into… something totally different.

VOCABULARY: ‘distressed‘ ~ In pain or unhappy; miserable; not in a good state. Here, I use ‘distressed’ about a photo to say it has been made to look in bad condition or very old. We also talk about distressed jeans when the are made to look very old.

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