Categoria: Lezione di inglese

Learn English with the News – Simone Biles, the GOAT, Leaves Olympic Events

For athletes, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Perhaps behind the fame and success there is something that spectators don’t see. Or maybe they do… As of late, many prominent athletes have voiced their personal problems, putting their mental health first over everything else, and Simone Biles is one of the latest athletes to show us that they are indeed human.
Watch the video and then do the accompanying English language exercises!

The news is a consistent source of entertainment, knowledge and discovery that never ceases to exist and always comes out with more and more material each day. Because it plays such a vital part in our lives and is so important to keep up with, it is without a doubt a piece of your everyday routine that can’t go ignored.

Whether it is to understand the ramifications of recent legislation passed, to hear about recent events and grasp the potential consequences to your country, or simply hear about what is happening in other countries in order to compare them to what’s happening in yours, the news is certainly a staple in our lives and the most consistent way to get information.

This is why Scrambled Eggs has decided to unite two of your biggest worlds: learning English and keeping up with what is happening in the world. We hope our challenging daily exercises, composed of listening, vocabulary and comprehension exercises in English, will satisfy both of those above worlds in a satisfactory and also entertaining way.

So enough about introductions, let’s get to today’s Learn English with the News topic:

Now that you’ve had a listen, let’s put your knowledge to the test with some of our vocabulary and comprehension exercises:

Simone Biles, the GOAT, Leaves Olympic Events || Answer the Questions

Answer the following questions with the correct form.

Simone Biles, the GOAT, Leaves Olympic Events || Definition Match

Put the following words to the correct definitions.

Simone Biles, the GOAT, Leaves Olympic Events || Multiple Choice

Choose the correct preposition

 

Full Text:

” World gymnastics champion and Olympic gold medal winner Simone Biles leaves the USA team because she is concerned about her mental health. The gymnast, often called “the GOAT” (greatest of all time), announced she will not participate in the team events with the other five members of the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Team.

She competed in two events with her team: floor and vault. Simone faced a difficult moment in her vault event that caused her to decide not to continue the team events. In her vault event, Simone had what gymnasts call “twisties.” Twisties is when a gymnast loses their orientation while spinning in the air. It can be very dangerous because they will not know where they are or how to land. Fortunately, Simone landed safely on the mat.

Twisties can happen when gymnasts face extreme pressure and stress.

Top-level athletes can experience a lot of stress from the pressure of performing on the world stage. Even one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, like Simone, can face these pressures. She made a brave and difficult decision to leave the team events to concentrate on her mental health.

The USA Gymnastics organization told reporters that they don’t know if Biles will participate in the individual all-around competition scheduled for next week.

The 24-year-old athlete will be evaluated by doctors to be sure that her health and safety are prioritized. “

Common False Friends – A2 Level

There are many words in English that are similar to words in Italian! When we find these similar words, it makes learning English much easier! For example, in English we say film, like in Italian! We also say spectacular, like spettacolare, fantastic, like fantastico, and splendid, like splendido.

Unfortunately, not all words that sound similar have the same meanings. These words are called “false friends” and they can be very tricky! Some false friends have slightly different meanings while others can mean the exact opposite of what you want to say!

In order to help you make only true friends in English, we’ve compiled a list of common false friends that occur between English and Italian. Take a look to see if you have ever been tricked by these tricksters!

Cold – caldo

When it is cold, I need to wear a heavy jacket, thick socks, and a very warm scarf. It is cold in the fall and very cold in the winter.

Annoyed – annoiata

My little sister annoys me a lot! I always ask her to stop making sounds and playing music when I study but she never listens to me!

Brave – bravo

I don’t like to public speaking. I am very afraid when I give presentations in front of a lot of people, but I need to be brave and face my fears!

Morbid – morbido

My friend is very morbid. She likes to watch a lot of horror films and read scary stories!

Noisy – noioso

New York is a very noisy city. You can hear the sirens from ambulances all the time, even at night!

 

Common False Friends | True or False

Indicate which sentences are true and which ones are false.

 

Common False Friends | Synonym Match

Put the following words to the correct synonyms.

Common False Friends | Fill in the Blank

Fill the empty spaces with the proper words

A Brit in Italy: 5 Things we do in the UK that would be considered a sin in Italy

Italian and British culture are not exactly the same; let’s discover some of the most common differences with Beth !!!

  1. Cocktails with meals

Cocktail culture in the UK & USA is pretty famous all over the world, but we take it to an extent that every Italian would gasp in horror at. We drink pina coladas with steak, long island iced teas with carbonara, strawberry mojitos with hot-dogs… any combination you can think of, we probably do it! Coming to Italy, I’ve learnt that there are certain drinking rules, e.g., white wine with fish, beer with pizza, red wine with red meat. These were all new to me, but I promise I now abide by your ‘laws’!

 

  1. Going out with wet hair

The infamous colpo d’aria is spoken about every day around the country, but many don’t know that it’s just an old wives’ tale! Of course, if you are already sick and you expose yourself to the cold, it could make it worse. But there’s no evidence that suggests going outside with wet hair can produce a virus or bacteria… which is why in the UK, you’ll see many people outside with wet hair. Plus, it rains so often that you’re bound to end up soaking wet anyway!

 

  1. Walking barefoot everywhere

Although the UK is famous for its terrible weather, the country just doesn’t seem to be as dusty as Italy. It is extremely common for us to walk around the house with no shoes or socks on, especially as most of our rooms have carpets. Additionally, those who live in the countryside or who have gardens can walk around barefoot even outside! As a child I spent most of my time with no shoes on, but of course you shouldn’t expect to see people barefoot in public. I think we can all agree that those who take their shoes off on airplanes are the worst!

 

  1. Drinking coffee at all hours (including with dinner)

This one is no longer a shock to most Italians, but yes… we drink cappuccinos, lattes, macchiatos, every coffee you can think of at all times of the day! Irish coffees (hot coffee with cream and whisky) are very popular after dinner, and it’s normal for us to have coffee with meals. This of course includes the full English breakfast, but I think you can let us off the hook for that one!

 

  1. Not saying hello/goodbye to everyone

When entering or leaving a party in the UK, we usually just say a sweeping hello/goodbye to the room, or to anyone who needs to know where we are. In Italy, however, I’ve learnt that it’s rude to leave someone out when greetings are involved. Hugs and kisses must be given to everyone! If you visit the UK, feel free to pull an Irish exit… we promise we won’t mind!

 

A Brit in Italy || Vocabulary

Put the following words to the correct definitions.