среда, 24 октября 2012 г.

Enrich your vocabulary


“He’s got the memory of a goldfish.”
This expression is used to say that someone has a very poor memory. It’s based on the idea that gold!sh have a memory of only three seconds. But scientists have actually trained gold!sh to navigate mazes. So, they aren’t so forgetful after all!

“I’m as blind as a bat without my glasses.”
People who can’t see very well are often compared to bats. However, bats aren’t actually blind. Most species use echolocation to help them "y around at night, but they also have eyes and are capable of sight.

“Lightning never strikes twice!”
This well-known saying means that something unusual can’t happen twice in a row. But there’s no reason
why lightning can’t strike the same place twice. In fact, lightning strikes the Empire State Building in New York City around 100 times a year!

“Stop watching so much TV! You’ll get square eyes!”
Of course, no one believes your eyes will actually go square from watching too much TV, but many people tell young children not to sit too close to the television because they believe it’s bad for their eyes. However, there’s no evidence to suggest that watching TV causes poor vision.

“Starve a fever, feed a cold!”
People often use this expression, and it’s commonly believed to be true. However, the truth is, eating has no bad e#ects on the body when you’re sick. In fact, the reverse is probably true as food gives us energy. So, if you eat, you’ll be stronger and better able to cope with the illness.

“He’s just burying his head in the sand.”
This expression is used to refer to someone who is hiding from their problems. It comes from the myth that ostriches hide their heads in the sand when they’re in danger. They do put their heads in the sand, but not for the reason stated above: they often dig holes in the ground to protect their eggs from predators.

“If he finds out what you’ve done, it’ll be like a red rag to a bull.”
People use this expression to say that something will make someone very angry. However, bulls are colour blind, so the cloth could be yellow with pink polka dots for all they care. Apparently, it’s the fast movement of the material that makes them charge.