вторник, 23 февраля 2016 г.
понедельник, 22 февраля 2016 г.
People's Character
There are many different aspects of personality and character, and we have
many different words in English to describe them!
Intelligence
Let’s start with a person’s
intelligence. A very common word to describe an intelligent person is smart. There is
also the word clever – that refers to someone who is intelligent in a creative way; a clever
person can create unique and unexpected solutions to problems. And someone who
has life experience, lots of knowledge, and the ability to make good decisions
is wise.
The opposite of smart is stupid or dumb – be careful
with these words, as they are strong and insulting! The opposite of wise is foolish – that’s a
person who doesn’t have common sense, and who does things that are not a good
idea.
Work Ethic
A person’s work ethic is their
attitude towards work. Companies want to hire people who are hard-working, reliable (meaning you
can depend on them; you know they will get things done) and diligent (applies
persistent effort).
Hard-working
There’s also the word ambitious – meaning
someone who strongly desires a lot of success. That can be considered a good or
bad trait. An ambitious person can have the potential to achieve great things
in an honest way… or they might be the type of person who will be dishonest and
hurt others in order to get money and power.
Lazy
The opposite of hard-working
is lazy – a person who is not active and doesn’t like to do work or make an effort.
The opposite of reliable is unreliable – you can’t have certainty that an unreliable person will do their work.
Another bad characteristic for a worker is being careless – that’s the
opposite of careful. A careless person doesn’t pay attention or focus,
increasing the possibility of making mistakes.
Confidence
A person who has TOO much
confidence in themselves, and who considers themselves superior to others, is arrogant – and
someone who cares too much about their appearance is vain. The opposite
of arrogant is humble –
someone who is modest and who does not call attention to their own greatness.
People’s confidence affects
the way they make decisions. Someone who is decisive makes
strong, firm decisions and is confident in their choices. The opposite is an indecisive or wishy-washy person –
someone who feels insecure (not confident) and has difficulty making final decisions, or who
constantly goes back and forth from one option to another without committing.
An insecure person may
also be rather sensitive (meaning their feelings are easily hurt).
Social Relations
The way you react to social
situations is another major element of your personality. Someone who is outgoing or extroverted LOVES being
in social situations and interacting with other people. Outgoing people are
often talkative or chatty – meaning they talk a lot. The opposite is someone who is reserved or shy – this is a
quieter person who doesn’t like being the center of attention. The word “shy”
is stronger than “reserved.”
As for the way you treat other
people, it’s good to be kind (someone who treats others well), nice (pleasant
and friendly), and considerate (someone who thinks about other peoples’ feelings and tries not to hurt
them).
The opposite of kind is mean or nasty (someone who
treats other people badly). An even stronger word is cruel – a person
who intentionally causes others to suffer. And it’s also not good to be rude or inconsiderate – meaning
someone who is not polite, and who doesn’t think about others’ feelings.
When someone irritates you, do
you get angry easily? Someone who quickly gets angry is short-tempered. The opposite
is to be patient and easy-going – an easy-going person is relaxed, flexible, and easy to relate to.
Short-tempered
Money
There are also words to
describe a person’s attitude towards money and resources. Someone who likes to
share and give away their money, time, and possessions is generous – and someone who prefers to keep everything for themselves is selfish. Another
word, stingy, is used specifically for a person who hates spending or giving money. And a
person who wants to have much more than is necessary or appropriate is greedy.
Challenges
Finally, how can we talk about
the ways a person reacts to challenges and difficulties? Someone who loves
having new experiences is adventurous, and
someone with a lot of courage is brave. An even
stronger word for “brave” is fearless – someone who seems never to be afraid!
The opposite of being brave is
being a coward – someone who has no courage – but we often use slang expressions, for
example, saying the person is “a chicken” or “a wimp” or to
say the person “doesn’t have the guts” to do something.
smart, clever, wise, stupid, dumb, foolish, hard-working, reliable,
diligent, ambitious, lazy, unreliable, careless, arrogant, vain, humble,
decisive, indecisive, wishy-washy, insecure, sensitive, outgoing, extroverted,
talkative, chatty, reserved, shy, kind, nice, considerate, mean, nasty, cruel,
rude, inconsiderate, short-tempered, patient, easy-going, generous, selfish,
stingy, greedy, adventurous, brave, fearless, coward, chicken, wimp, doesn’t
have
the guts
the guts
Vocabulary Practice
- Who is the smartest person you know?
- Do you consider yourself ambitious? Why or why not?
- How would you try to motivate a friend who is lazy?
- Have you ever worked with someone who was unreliable? How did you handle the situation?
- Are you typically more decisive or indecisive? Have you ever regretted a decision you made?
- Are you more outgoing or more reserved?
- Who is the most talkative person you know?
- Describe an act of kindness that you have done for someone (or someone has done for you).
- Do you know anyone who is mean or rude?
- Describe a situation you have experienced in which you had to be brave.
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