Aim High 5 Unit 2: Talking the talk

Unit 2 page 13

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Exercise 2.Read and listen to the text.

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Where do words come from?

How do new words enter a language? Who coins new words? Sometimes the inspiration for a word is obvious. For example, in the 1960s calculator made its first appearance in everyday English. Its name was based on its apparent function to calculate. Sometimes a word or name is eponymous. This means that it takes its name from the person who discovered or invented the object. The radioactive element einsteinium is an example of an eponymous word taking its name from the famous scientist Albert Einstein. Other words are top onymous. They take their name from the place where they were invented or made famous. An example of a toponymous word is tangerine, which comes from the city of Tangiers in Morocco, where the fruit is abundant. Another example is the word for the material denim, which originated in Nimes, France. The material was said to be de Nimes, or from Nimes. Sometimes people simply invent words. Milton Sirotta is documented as the youngest person ever to coin a word that is in use today. He coined the words Google and Googleplex when he was nine years old. Sirotta's uncle was a mathematician called Edward Kassner. Kassner wanted to find a name for an extremely large finite number. The number one followed by 100 zeros. One day in the late 1930s, Kastner asked his nephew for some ideas about a name. Sirotta thought about it for a moment and then suggested Google. Kastner was delighted he had finally found a name he liked. Sirotta also suggested the term Googleplex for the number one followed by zeros until a person got tired of writing. Kastner appreciated the boys ingenuity, but pointed out that no two people would tire at precisely the same moment. As a result, Kastner defined the Googleplex as the number one followed by a googol of zeros. This made Googleplex a finite number, although it was unimaginable large. The terms Google and Googleplex first featured in Kastner's 1940 publication, mathematics and the imagination. It's highly unlikely that Sirotta or Kastner ever imagined what would happen to the words they coined so many decades ago. What is more intriguing about Sirotta and Kastner story is that their creations are in a way now known by millions if not billions of people around the world. In 1996, two computer science graduate students at a California University created a new search engine. After working for more than a year to perfect it, the students and several of their fellow office workers had a number of brainstorming sessions to find the right name for this innovative tool. They wanted a name related to the indexing of a colossal amount of data, so someone suggested Google. One of the students liked the idea and asked his friend to check if the name was available for a web address. According to the story, although the students were brilliant computer scientists, they were bad at spelling and instead of searching for “googol.com” They searched for “google.com” They found that this web address was available. They realized their error, but they preferred the unconventional spelling so they registered the web address. Www.google.com Unfortunately, neither Kassner nor Serotta lived to see the Internet age. Kassner died in 1955, and Sirotta passed away in 1980. Neither of them found out how the word they had coined inspired the name of the most popular search engine in the world.

Complete the sentences or answer the questions with words from the box:

ingenuity   ·  new   ·  apparent   ·  limit   ·  coin   ·  big   ·  brainstorming   ·  originate   ·  die   ·  large   ·  term   ·  unusual   ·  recorded   ·  fascinating  

1.	Something that is colossal is very .
2.	If something is documented, it is .
3.	Something that can be seen or understood is .
4.	Something finite has a .
5.	What do we call someone’s ability to think of clever, inventive ways of doing something? .
6.	If something is abundant, it is available in quantities.
7.	Which verb means to think of a lot of ideas in a group? – .
8.	Inspiration gives you ideas for doing something .
9.	What do we call a word or expression that refers to a particular subject? – .
10.	Which word is a synonym to invent? – .
11.	Which verb means to start or cause to happen? – .
12.	Unconventional means something is .
13.	If something is intriguing, it is .
14.	Something innovative uses methods and ideas.
15.	Which word is a synonym for pass away? –

This exercise (1) has been made by: Mr. Hamdi.a.Sultan

Collocations
Replace the words in bold with the correct words in the box.

collected   ·  care for   ·  coined   ·  searching   ·  have   ·  switch   ·  get  

1.	The word blog was by John Barger ihn1997.
2.	I am the internet for information about the man who invented the light bulb.
3.	We a lot of data from the questionnaires we did with students.
4.	Could you on the light? I can’t see.
5.	The Americans don’t as many holidays as the Europeans.
6.	Did you any ideas for a birthday present for Jack when you were shopping?
7.	Please your computers when you’ve finished using them.
8.	Would you a cup of tea?

This exercise (2) has been made by: Mr. Hamdi.a.Sultan

Computing words:
Complete the e-mail with words from the box:

digitally- enhanced   ·  webinar   ·  data-mining   ·  malware   ·  podcast   ·  phish   ·  wiki   ·  social networking  

Hi Kevin

I’m doing a research into    sites for my project and I’ve just taken part in a    on the internet about the dangers of these sites for “friends”. You can download the    of the presentation to your MPs player. Anyway, a lot of    takes place on these sites as companies look for the latest trends so they can use them in marketing and advertising. Then there are criminals who    for people’s bank detail’s and things like that by pretending to be trustworthy companies. And of course there is a lot of    such as viruses that can harm your computer. But apart from all this, you can’t even trust people’s photos on these sites because they are sometimes    to make them look better! If you’re interested in learning more there is a    where you can find and add information on the subject. I’ll give you the address when I see you tomorrow.

Best,

Tim

This exercise (3) has been made by: Mr. Hamdi.a.Sultan

Words about words
Match the words with the sentences. Use each words twice.

1.	He’s working in Germany, where he teaches EFL.
2.	William Grossman said, “the eye – they see”.
3.	I’m going to leave no stone unturned in my efforts to discover the truth.
4.	Don’t drink the dirty water.
5.	He’s brave as a lion.
6.	He’s a very down to earth man.
7.	The NATO headquarters are in New York.
8.	Astronomers are moon starers.
9.	Dad grumbles like a bear in the mornings.
10.	Sue’s sister is sleeping.

a	acronym.
b	acronym.
c	cliché.
d	simile.
e	anagram.
f	alliteration.
g	alliteration.
h	cliché.
i	anagram.
j	simile.

This exercise (4) has been made by: Mr. Hamdi.a.Sultan

Match the beginnings (1-8) with the endings (a-h) to form well-known similes:

1.	As easy as
2.	As cold as
3.	As dry as
4.	As blind as
5.	As free as
6.	As old as
7.	As silent as
8.	As sweet as

a	the grave.
b	a bone.
c	honey.
d	a bird.
e	the hills.
f	ice.
g	a bat.
h	pie.

This exercise (5) has been made by: Mr. Hamdi.a.Sultan

Match the statements with the speakers:

1.	"Do you want chips with your steak?"
2.	“I was wondering if we could discuss my salary?”
3.	“We fancy a skiing holiday. What have we got?”
4.	“You can pay for the suit by credit card if you like”
5.	“How many rooms were you thinking of reserving?”
6.	“I can give you an appointment with Mrs Redman at 4 pm. Is that OK?”
7.	“We were hoping to have seats in the first class.”
8.	“I was thinking that you might like it to take a test drive.”

a	hotel receptionist.
b	secretary.
c	customers at a travel agency.
d	employee.
e	car salesman.
f	shop assistant.
g	airline passengers.
h	waitress.

This exercise (6) has been made by: Mr. Hamdi.a.Sultan