7 HOMOPHONES

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Different spelling - same sound

Many words in English have different spellings but are
pronounced exactly the same. These words are called
"homophones". Here are 7 examples:

1. sea, see
2. for, four
3. hear, here
4. one, won
5. knight, night
6. him, hymn
7. to, too, two

What can we learn from all this? We can learn that the *sound*
of a word is more important than the spelling. English is not
"phonetic". That means that the spelling and the sound do not
always match.

Of course, it is good to spell correctly. But to help you
understand spoken English and many rules of English, you should
think first about the sound of the words. Do not worry too much
at first about the spelling.

7 TEENS

What's a "teen", or a "teenager"? People sometimes talk about
teenagers when they really mean "young people". For example,
you might read: "This is a club for teenagers from 12 to 16."

Time to get accurate. Someone who is twelve years old is not
a teenager. Someone who is thirTEEN years old *is* a teenager.

How old is a teenager? A TEENager is:

13 thirTEEN
14 fourTEEN
15 fifTEEN
16 sixTEEN
17 sevenTEEN
18 eighTEEN
19 nineTEEN

Note the following:

They are in their teens. (They are aged 13 to 19.)
They are in their late teens. (eg They are aged 17 to 19.)
- early teens
- mid teens

a teen idol (an idol for teenagers)

a teenybopper - a young teenager (especially girl), who
follows the latest fashions in music and clothes

7 Ways to Say "OUGH"

It's a pity that English is not phonetic! In some languages,
you can look at a word and know immediately how to pronounce
it. But in English you need to be a little more careful.

Take the letters "ough", for example. They occur in many
words, but they do not always sound the same.

1. though (like o in go)

2. through (like oo in too)

3. cough (like off in offer)

4. rough (like uff in suffer)

5. plough (like ow in flower)

6. ought (like aw in saw)

7. borough (like a in above)

So how do you know the pronunciation of a word? Well,
fortunately "ough" is an extreme example. English words are
not always that difficult. But in general, when you learn a
new word, you should also make sure you know its
pronunciation. If you do not have a teacher or someone to
say the word for you, you can look in a dictionary. All good
dictionaries give the pronunciation for each word, often
with special symbols. So it's a good idea to look at your
dictionary carefully and learn the pronunciation symbols.
After that, you'll always be able to find the pronunciation
of any word, easily. Try it with the 7 "ough" words above.

عضو جدید الفبای زبان انگلیسی

الفبای انگلیسی در گذشته 26 حرف داشت. اما به تازگی کاراکتر & که به معنی (و) است به جمع الفبای زبان انگلیسی پیوسته است و به این ترتیب زبان انگلیسی 27 حرفی شده است. اما این کاراکتر تاریخچه جالبی دارد. بیش از 1500 سال از زمانی که برای نخستین بار شکل این کاراکتر طراحی شد می گذرد. در نسخه های قدیمی رومی از حروف شکسته استفاده می شد و در آن زمان رومی ها در تلاش بودند به شیوه ای بنویسند که در فضای نوشتن تا حد امکان صرفه جویی کنند. در زبان لاتین et معادل (و) است و هنگامی که این دو حرف به صورت شکسته نوشته می شوند و در کنار هم قرار می گیرند به شکل & نوشته می شوند و بنابراین می توان گفت این کاراکتر جدید الورود زبان انگلیسی ریشه لاتین دارد. اما از آنجایی که این کاراکتر در زبان انگلیسی بسیار مورد توجه بوده است و در بسیاری از نامه ها و کتاب ها مورد استفاده قرار می گیرد انگلیسی ها تصمیم گرفتند رسما این کاراکتر را در زبان انگلیسی بپذیرند. اگر چه اساسا حرف ها اجازه ورود به الفبای زبان را دارند اما مثل این که این کاراکتر از این قاعده مستثنی است.

7 TOEIC Tips

TOEIC: Test of English for International Communication

Tip 1: Set a goal
If you are taking the test to apply for a job, find out what
score is needed. Some jobs require a minimum score of 600.
Management jobs may require a higher score, such as 800.
Choose a goal that you can achieve.

Tip 2: Understand the test
Make sure you understand the format of each section. By
practising tests, you will become very familiar with the
TOEIC. The test should become "second nature" to you before
you attempt the real thing.

Tip 3: Make a study plan
Procrastination is one of the key reasons students fail the
TOEIC. The day you decide to take the TOEIC should be the
day you start to study. Write down your study plan!

Tip 4: Divide study time appropriately
The TOEIC is divided into seven sections. Each section is
worth a certain amount of points. Don't spend too much time
studying one section. Many students make the mistake of
studying the section that they enjoy the most.

Tip 5: Build a strong vocabulary
Another reason students fail the TOEIC is that they have a
very limited vocabulary. Remember that the TOEIC has a
business theme. You should study vocabulary such as travel,
banking, health, restaurants, offices, etc.

Tip 6: Isolate your weak points
After you have been studying the TOEIC for a while, you will
find out which parts give you the most trouble. You might
want to change how you divide your time.

Tip 7: Eliminate distractors
Every TOEIC question has at least two distractors (wrong
answers to trick you). There are many types of distractor
such as, similar sounds, homonyms, repeated words etc. Make
a list of distractors so you recognize them more easily.