Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead is a first-person shooter. In campaign mode, the player takes control of one of the survivors; if four human players are not available, then the remaining survivors are AI-controlled bots. They play through the levels fighting off the infected—living humans who have been infected with a rabies-like virus that causes psychosis, to which the survivors are immune.[3][4]
The game is focused on cooperation and team play; colored outlines of teammates are visible through walls to help players stick together and coordinate their movement. If a survivor falls off a ledge, then they may automatically hang onto it and can only be helped up by another survivor. If a survivor’s health is depleted, then they become incapacitated and can only be revived by another survivor, at which point they continue playing with a low amount of health that decreases over time. If a survivor has been incapacitated and revived twice without tending to their wounds, then they will experience distorted black-and-white vision, and the next incapacitation will kill the character. If a survivor takes enough damage while incapacitated, or is not eventually helped up by teammates, then the incapacitated character will die. During “Campaign” mode, if a survivor is killed, then they will respawn in a closet or other enclosed space after a period of time (except during key points in the scenario), but must be freed by another survivor to rejoin the team. Otherwise, the player must wait until the next level.[5] However, if all four survivors are killed or incapacitated, players will have to restart from the last checkpoint. Survivors can share first-aid kits and pain pills and help each other heal. Left 4 Dead has friendly fire that cannot be disabled, increasing the need for caution around other survivors. On the easy difficulty level, friendly fire does not harm teammates but still registers as having occurred with a notice on the screen saying, “Don’t shoot teammates!”
The survivors communicate by voice commands that are accessed by quick menus, and some sound off automatically when performing actions such as reloading or spotting infected.[6] Over 1,000 unique lines have been recorded for each survivor.[7] Additional communication of player actions is conveyed through character lights. Also, weapon-mounted flashlights and muzzle flashes help the players in determining whether their companions are shooting, performing melee attacks, reloading or moving. Due to control issues and the likelihood of players using a LIVE headset, the Xbox 360 version of Left 4 Dead omits the quick phrases feature.[8]
The game is experienced through five campaigns that take place in various urban and rural locales. Multiple visual in-game hints—including license plates, park signs, markings on airport equipment, and lines of dialogue spoken by the survivors—suggest that these locations are in Pennsylvania,[9] and similarly a memorial wall giving names of those who have died in the infection (actually names of the game’s development team) along with their dates of birth and death suggests that the game takes place in October 2009.[10] Each campaign is divided into five chapters (except Crash Course, which has two chapters) marked by safe rooms, which are checkpoints where players can heal, re-arm and revive characters who were killed.[11] Specifically, the four campaigns are: “No Mercy”, an urban setting culminating in a hospital skyscraper; “Death Toll”, a small-town and countryside setting; “Dead Air”, an airport setting; and “Blood Harvest”, a woodland and farm setting. A two-level campaign, “Crash Course”, was released on September 29, and is set in the outskirts of a small industrial town. The levels have distinct beginnings and ends, but there are a number of alternate routes to follow with more supplies, helping to create a sense of non-linearity.[12] In the final chapter of each campaign, the players must defend a position from an onslaught of infected until rescue arrives.[7] Each campaign typically lasts between 35 and 75 minutes depending on the difficulty level. Both platform versions of the game utilize an achievement system.[13]
Survivor characters
The final design of the survivors, shown on the poster for the “No Mercy” campaign. Left to right: Francis, Bill, Zoey, Louis
There are four playable human characters in the game:[14] Francis (voiced by Vince Valenzuela), a tattoo-covered biker; Bill (voiced by Jim French), a former Green Beret and a Vietnam veteran; Zoey (voiced by Jen Taylor), a college student and horror movie enthusiast; and Louis (voiced by Earl Alexander), a junior systems analyst in his company’s IT department.[15] Early plans were for players to be randomly assigned to characters but in the final release, players can choose any character—provided that the character has not already been selected—or be randomly assigned an unselected character.[7]
Survivors are armed with various firearms. Each player starts the game with an M1911 pistol.[16] It may be reloaded an unlimited number of times and is the only weapon that the survivor can use when they are incapacitated. When a second pistol is found, the player can dual wield them. At the beginning of each campaign, the player can choose between an Uzi submachine gun and a pump-action shotgun. As the survivors progress through a campaign, more powerful weapons can be found: the fully automatic M16A3 assault rifle (an upgrade to the Uzi), Benelli M4 Super 90 semi-automatic shotgun (an upgrade to the pump-action shotgun), and a scoped Ruger Mini-14 hunting rifle. In addition to firearms, a player can also carry three other items in their inventory: improvised grenades (either a Molotov cocktail to create a wall of fire or a pipe bomb, modified with an attached smoke alarm designed to attract the infected to it before it explodes);[16] a first-aid kit, which can be used to heal any survivor; and pain pills, which provide temporary health that depletes gradually and quicker with damage from infected, and can be handed to teammates for later use. Regardless of what weapon or item a player is using, a melee attack can be used to shove away any infected within reach. Also available are environmental weapons, such as gasoline cans, oxygen cylinders, and propane tanks, all of which explode when shot. These can be picked up, moved, and used as a melee weapon by the survivors, but while carrying an object they cannot use their weapons or health items. Strategically-placed minigun turrets are encountered at various locations throughout the different maps.
Infected characters
The infected (voiced by experimental musician Mike Patton and voice actor Fred Tatasciore)[17] are the survivors’ foes in Left 4 Dead, and they appear to be partly inspired by the infected from several modern films, including Dawn of the Dead or 28 Days Later.[18][19] An important distinction from the former is that while the infected do resemble traditional undead zombies, they are, as cited in the game’s manual, living humans infected with a rabies-like pathogen, very much like the infected in the latter film. While they are never seen eating human flesh or brains, the manner in which they are portrayed is meant to create and sustain a more brutal, believable reality for the player to immerse his or herself in. In an interview with 1Up.com, Mike Booth commented on the concept of using a pathogen as an inspiration for the setting:
| “ | Even though we obviously pushed well beyond the realm of believability with many of our “boss” infected, the core idea of a mind-destroying, civilization-collapsing pathogen is more horrifying to me than magically animated corpses, precisely because it is plausible. Rabies is a good example of a pathogen that can turn a loyal, friendly, protective family pet into a slavering attack machine. It’s a virus that reprograms the behaviors of a complex animal – a mammal, in fact. What if something similar happened to humans? Left 4 Dead is one possible answer.[3] | ” |
The common infected encountered during the game are fast and agile, weak individually, but may be overwhelming in numbers. They display a special attraction to high-pitched alarm-type sounds, such as the beeping device attached to pipe bombs and car alarms. Common infected will often chase down the source of these noises while ignoring lower-pitched, but much louder sounds such as gunfire. They occasionally attack in masses referred to in-game as a “horde”.[20]
In addition to the common infected, there are five “special” or “boss” infected whose mutations grant them special attacks that make them far more dangerous. Each of the special infected, as well as approaching hordes, have a distinctive sound or a timely musical cue, making their presence easily recognizable by players. They are:[21]
- The Boomer, a bloated infected whose vomit and bile (which may be released at will and upon death) blinds the player briefly and attracts a horde of common infected.
- The Hunter, an agile infected that can pounce on survivors from great distances.
- The Smoker, an infected that can ensnare survivors from a distance with its long tongue and, upon death, releases a cloud of smoke that obscures vision.
- The Tank, a gigantic, muscular infected that is powerful and difficult to kill. It can knock players backwards, dealing massive damage, or attack from afar by throwing a lump of debris. It also has the ability to bash certain objects, such as cars and dumpsters, towards survivors, causing incapacitation on contact.
- The Witch, a passive female infected, who, when provoked by loud sounds, lights, or proximity of survivors, will attack her provoker. She is able to incapacitate or kill the provoker (depending on the difficulty setting) in one hit. If her victim survives, she will attempt to kill them if not killed herself.
One special infected did not make it into the game. The “Screamer” was an infected strapped in a straitjacket and let out a loud, high-pitched scream and began to run away when it sighted the survivors, forcing the survivors to find and kill it before the scream attracted a horde of common infected. However, the Screamer ended up being too difficult for players to figure out where the Screamer came from or was going or even understand that they were meant to chase it. Because of the confusion, it was replaced by The Witch and Boomer.
In versus mode, four additional players can take control of the special infected—apart from the witch, who remains computer-controlled. Each infected player is randomly assigned a class of special infected when they enter a spawn mode. While in spawn mode, the infected can quickly roam around the map in search of an appropriate place in which to spawn. This location must be sufficiently distant from any survivor, out of the line of sight of any survivor, and outside restricted areas such as safe rooms. Upon death, the infected player must wait up to 10–25 seconds before reentering spawn mode, depending on how many players are on the infected team. When a tank is spawned in the game, infected players receive a message indicating which player will control it. The human-controlled infected can see their teammates’ outlines through walls similar to the survivors, but can also see each survivor’s outline, which is colored according to the survivor’s health and fades out if the survivor refrains from attacking, running and vocalizing. Vertical pathways exclusive to the infected, such as pipes and vines, are marked with animated symbols for the infected players. These can be climbed and used for ambushes.
AI and the Director
In Left 4 Dead, the AI Director computes each player’s “stress level” based on a variety of factors to better pace the game and provide a fair challenge.
The artificial intelligence of Left 4 Dead features a dynamic system for game dramatics, pacing and difficulty called the “Director”. Instead of fixed spawn points for enemies, the Director places enemies and items in varying positions and quantities based upon each player’s current situation, status, skill and location, creating a new experience for each playthrough.[7] The Director also creates mood and tension with emotional cues, such as visual effects, dynamic music, and character communication.[8]
Valve has termed this dynamic set-up “procedural narrative“.[22] In addition to the AI Director, there is a second Director that controls music. It was created as a way to keep the music interesting throughout the game. The music Director monitors what a player has experienced to create an appropriate mix. The process is client-side and done by a multi-track system. Each player hears their own mix, which is being generated as they play through the game, and dead players watching a teammate hear their teammates’ mix.[23]
A far simpler version of the A.I. Director was already used for some key battles in Half-Life 2: Episode Two.[24]
Valve is looking for ways to apply the Director in their future games to make pacing and difficulty more dynamic.[25]
Game modes
Left 4 Dead contains four game modes: campaign, versus, survival, and single-player. The cooperative campaign consists of up to four human-controlled survivors who attempt to make their way between safe rooms and eventually to rescue. In this mode, the special infected are controlled by the AI. In a versus campaign, each team of one to four players plays each chapter of the campaign as both survivor and infected, swapping sides once per chapter.[26] Unlike campaign mode, dead survivors do not respawn. If at least one player-controlled survivor finishes the level, the survivor team earns 100 points as well as bonus points based on their health and the health items in their inventory. These points are then multiplied by the chapter’s difficulty level, and the number of survivors who finished. If all player-controlled survivors are killed, the survivor team only earns points according to their average progress through the chapter and the difficulty multiplier.[27] Survival mode consists of a timed challenge where players try to survive as long as possible against a never-ending flood of the infected, added in April 2009 in the Survival Pack downloadable content.[28] Single-player mode is basically the same as campaign mode, but played offline with three AI-controlled bots as the other survivors. On Xbox 360, other players can join in on the same console to turn single player into an offline co-op game. The game can also be played through a system link, or local area network.
The Collective Noun
The Collective Noun
http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/collectivenoun.htm
–
Nouns name people, places, and things. Collective nouns, a special class, name groups [things] composed of members [usually people]. Check out the chart below:
| army audience board cabinet class committee company corporation |
council department faculty family firm group jury majority |
minority navy public school senate society team troupe |
Use correct verbs and pronouns with collective nouns.
Each noun from the list above is a single thing. That thing, however, is made up of more than one person. You cannot have a committee, team, or family of one; you need at least two people who compose the unit.
Because people behave as both herd animals and solitary creatures, collective nouns can be either singular or plural, depending on context. In writing, this double status often causes agreement errors. How do you tell if a collective noun is singular or plural? What verbs and pronouns do you use with the collective noun?
Here is the key: Imagine a flock of pigeons pecking at birdseed on the ground. Suddenly, a cat races out of the bushes. What do the pigeons do? They fly off as a unit in an attempt to escape the predator, wheeling through the sky in the same direction.
People often behave in the same manner, doing one thing in unison with the other members of their group. When these people are part of a collective noun, that noun becomes singular and requires singular verbs and pronouns. As you read the following examples, notice that all members of the collective noun are doing the same thing at the same time:
Every afternoon the baseball team follows its coach out to the hot field for practice.
Team = singular; follows = a singular verb; its = a singular pronoun. All members of the team arrive at the same place at the same time.
Today, Dr. Ribley’s class takes its first 100-item exam.
Class = singular; takes = a singular verb; its = a singular pronoun. All members of the class are testing at the same time.
The jury agrees that the state prosecutors did not provide enough evidence, so its verdict is not guilty.
Jury = singular; agrees = a singular verb; its = a singular pronoun. All members of the jury are thinking the same way.
Now imagine three house cats in the living room. Are the cats doing the same thing at the same time? Not this group! One cat might be sleeping on top of the warm television. Another might be grooming on the sofa. A third animal might be perched on the windowsill, watching the world outside. There is one group of animals, but the members of that group are all doing their own thing.
Members of collective nouns can behave in a similar fashion. When the members are acting as individuals, the collective noun is plural and requires plural verbs and pronouns. As you read these examples, notice that the members of the collective noun are not acting in unison:
After the three-hour practice under the brutal sun, the team shower, change into their street clothes, and head to their air-conditioned homes.
Team = plural; shower, change, head = plural verbs; their = a plural pronoun. The teammates are dressing into their individual outfits and leaving in different directions for their individual homes.
After the long exam, the class start their research papers on famous mathematicians.
Class = plural; start = a plural verb; their = a plural pronoun. The students are beginning their own research papers—in different places, at different times, on different mathematicians.
The jury disagree about the guilt of the accused and have told the judge that they are hopelessly deadlocked.
Jury = plural; disagree, have told = plural verbs; they = a plural pronoun. Not everyone on the jury is thinking the same way.
Whenever you cannot decide if a collective noun is singular or plural, exercise your options as a writer. You have two ways that you can compose the sentence without causing an agreement error: 1) insert the word members after the collective noun [jury members, committee members, board members], or 2) use an entirely different word [players instead of team, students instead of class, soldiers instead of army]. Then you can use plural verbs and pronouns without worrying about making mistakes or sounding unnatural.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
|
|
 Theatrical poster |
|
| Directed by | David Yates |
|---|---|
| Produced by | David Heyman David Barron |
| Written by | Screenplay: Steve Kloves Novel: J. K. Rowling |
| Starring | Daniel Radcliffe Rupert Grint Emma Watson Michael Gambon Jim Broadbent Alan Rickman Tom Felton Helena Bonham Carter |
| Music by | Nicholas Hooper Themes John Williams |
| Cinematography | Bruno Delbonnel |
| Editing by | Mark Day |
| Studio | Heyday Films |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | 15 July 2009[1] |
| Running time | 153 minutes[2] |
| Country | United Kingdom United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | GBP£150 million (USD$250 million)[3] |
| Gross revenue | $886,038,524[4] |
| Preceded by | Order of the Phoenix |
| Followed by | Deathly Hallows |
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a 2009 fantasy-adventure film based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the sixth film in the Harry Potter film series. It is directed by David Yates, the director of the fifth film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. David Heyman and David Barron produced the film,[5] and the screenplay was written by Steve Kloves, the screenwriter of the first four films.[6] Filming began on 24 September 2007, and the film was released in cinemas worldwide on 15 July 2009, one day short of the fourth anniversary of the corresponding novel’s release. In everywhere but the United States, the sixth film was simultaneously released in regular cinemas and IMAX 3-D in all countries. In the US, the IMAX version was delayed by 2 weeks due to a Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen several week commitment.[7] The film was released instead in IMAX 3D on 29 July, two weeks after its original release, in these countries.[8]
The film opened to critical acclaim and instant commercial success, breaking the records for biggest midnight opening gross of all time as well as biggest single-day worldwide gross of all time. In five days the film made $391 million, breaking the record for biggest five-day worldwide gross in history. It is also the highest-grossing film of 2009, grossing more than $880 million. The film is dedicated to the memory of actor Rob Knox[citation needed] who portrays Marcus Belby in the film and was killed in May 2008.
Plot
Having returned to power, Death Eaters attack both the Muggle and Wizarding worlds, while Lord Voldemort has given Draco Malfoy an assignment. Bellatrix Lestrange goads Severus Snape into making an Unbreakable Vow with Draco’s mother, Narcissa, to protect Draco while he works to carry out the assignment if he fails. Scarred by his experience at the Ministry of Magic with Voldemort, Harry is reluctant to return to school. Dumbledore encourages Harry to continue and takes his help in enticing former Potions Professor Horace Slughorn to return to Hogwarts. Later, while leaving Fred and George’s new shop in Diagon Alley, Harry, Ron and Hermione notice Draco associating with Bellatrix Lestrange, Fenrir Greyback and Narcissa Malfoy in Borgin and Burkes, leaving Harry suspicious.
At Hogwarts, Harry and Ron borrow textbooks from the school for Slughorn’s Potions class. The previous owner of Harry’s copy, the “Half-Blood Prince”, has annotated the book with additional instructions and spellcraft that allow Harry to excel in class and win a vial of the luck potion Felix Felicis. After making it as Keeper in the Quidditch team, Ron becomes a Quidditch hero and he forms a relationship with Lavender Brown, which leaves Hermione heartbroken. At the same time, Ginny Weasley is in a relationship with Dean Thomas, which in turn, leaves Harry distraught. He hides his feelings from all but Hermione, however, knowing Ron is very protective of Ginny and would never allow a relationship between them. Harry spends Christmas Break with the Weasleys, during which he discusses the situation at Hogwarts with Order of the Phoenix members Arthur Weasley, Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks. During this time, he becomes closer to Ginny, who has since broken up with Dean Thomas. Bellatrix Lestrange and Fenrir Greyback attack the Burrow and attempt to kidnap Harry. The Order is able to keep everyone safe, but the Death Eaters set fire to the Burrow.
Draco continues to elude Harry while perfecting the use of a Vanishing Cabinet inside the Room of Requirement. Harry suspects Draco is behind two attempts on Dumbledore’s life: one through a cursed necklace (which accidentally hospitalizes Katie Bell), and another through a bottle of poisoned mead which nearly kills Ron. In his semi-comatose state, Ron mumbles Hermione’s name, causing his relationship with Lavender to end. During a confrontation with Draco, Harry hits him with a curse from the Half-Blood Prince’s book which severely injures him. Snape arrives and heals Draco as Harry retreats. Fearing that the book may be filled with more Dark Magic, Ginny convinces Harry to leave the book in the Room of Requirement to prevent using it ever again. While Harry closes his eyes, Ginny hides the book and before he opens his eyes, she kisses him, starting a relationship between them.
During private meetings held throughout the year, Dumbledore shows Harry memories of a young Tom Riddle and reveals Slughorn retains a memory critical to Voldemort’s defeat. Harry manages to retrieve the memory using Felix Felicis. The memory reveals that Voldemort had been seeking information creating seven Horcruxes, devices that safeguard a portion of the creator’s soul, thereby granting him immortality until the Horcruxes are destroyed. Dumbledore reveals that two of Voldemort’s Horcruxes have already been destroyed: Tom Riddle’s diary, and his mother’s ring. After locating another Horcrux, Dumbledore requests Harry’s help to retrieve it. Deep inside a seaside cave, Harry is forced to make Dumbledore drink a foul, mind-altering potion that hides the Horcrux, a locket. Though gravely weakened by the liquid, Dumbledore is able to defend them from a horde of Inferi and Apparates himself and Harry back to the Astronomy Tower at Hogwarts.
Once there, Dumbledore first tells Harry to fetch Snape for help, but tells him to hide when footsteps approach. Draco appears and reveals that Voldemort has chosen him to kill Dumbledore, but is unable to follow through. Snape arrives, motions to Harry to stay hidden, and joins the throng of Death Eaters that arrive through the Vanishing Cabinet and surround Draco as he hesitates. To Harry’s horror, Snape casts the Avada Kedavra curse to kill Dumbledore and then escapes from the castle with the other Death Eaters. In their wake, they cast the Dark Mark, wreck the Great Hall, and set fire to Hagrid’s Hut. Harry tries to stop them, but Snape deflects Harry’s spells and Bellatrix stuns him. Before departing, Snape reveals to Harry that he is the Half-Blood Prince. Harry returns to the school to find the staff and students mourning Dumbledore, and walks over to the body, eventually breaking down in tears as Ginny comforts him. Everyone raises their wands in respect of their headmaster.
While Hogwarts mourns Dumbledore’s death, Harry reveals to Ron and Hermione that the locket Horcrux was a fake. The locket contains a message from an “R.A.B.” stating he has already taken the real Horcrux and hopes to destroy it and the rest of the Horcruxes. Rather than return for their final year at Hogwarts, Harry and his friends vow to seek out R.A.B. and the remaining Horcruxes as Dumbledore’s phoenix, Fawkes, flies into the horizon.
[Exercise] Common Adjectives
Common Adjectives
http://www.learnenglish.de/tests/commonadjectivestest.htm
| Adjective | Opposite |
|---|---|
| alive | ??? |
| ancient | ??? |
| attractive | ??? |
| backward | ??? |
| bad | ??? |
| beautiful | ??? |
| big | ??? |
| blunt | ??? |
| boring | ??? |
| bright | ??? |
| broad | ??? |
| calm (person) | ??? |
| calm (weather) | ??? |
| clean | ??? |
| clever | ??? |
| closed | ??? |
| clumsy | ??? |
| cold | ??? |
| cool | ??? |
| cruel | ??? |
| dangerous | ??? |
| dark | ??? |
| dead | ??? |
| deep | ??? |
| difficult | ??? |
| dirty | ??? |
| dry | ??? |
| dull | ??? |
| early | ??? |
| easy | ??? |
| fake | ??? |
| fancy | ??? |
| fast | ??? |
| fat (people) | ??? |
| fierce | ??? |
| forward | ??? |
| frantic | ??? |
| fresh | ??? |
| gentle | ??? |
| good | ??? |
| graceful | ??? |
| guilty | ??? |
| happy | ??? |
| hard | ??? |
| heavy | ??? |
| high | ??? |
| hot | ??? |
| ill | ??? |
| innocent | ??? |
| kind | ??? |
| late | ??? |
| left | ??? |
| light | ??? |
| long | ??? |
| loose | ??? |
| loud | ??? |
| low | ??? |
| mad | ??? |
| modern | ??? |
| narrow | ??? |
| new | ??? |
| noisy | ??? |
| normal | ??? |
| old (people) | ??? |
| old (things) | ??? |
| open | ??? |
| outgoing | ??? |
| plain | ??? |
| poor | ??? |
| quiet | ??? |
| real | ??? |
| repulsive | ??? |
| rich | ??? |
| right (answer) | ??? |
| right (directions) | ??? |
| rough | ??? |
| safe | ??? |
| sane | ??? |
| shallow | ??? |
| sharp | ??? |
| shiny | ??? |
| short (things) | ??? |
| short (people) | ??? |
| shy | ??? |
| slow | ??? |
| small | ??? |
| smooth | ??? |
| soft (touch) | ??? |
| soft (sound) | ??? |
| sour | ??? |
| spotless | ??? |
| stained | ??? |
| stale | ??? |
| stormy | ??? |
| strange | ??? |
| strong | ??? |
| stupid | ??? |
| sweet | ??? |
| tall | ??? |
| tame | ??? |
| terrible | ??? |
| thick | ??? |
| thin (people) | ??? |
| thin (things) | ??? |
| tight | ??? |
| ugly | ??? |
| warm | ??? |
| weak | ??? |
| well | ??? |
| wet | ??? |
| wide | ??? |
| wild | ??? |
| wonderful | ??? |
| wrong | ??? |
| young | ??? |
Common Adjectives
Common Adjectives
http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/adjectivecommon.htm
[Grammar][Exercise]Adjectives - Used to something
Adjectives - Used to something
http://www.quia.com/pop/88362.html
| 1. Mr grandfather … to school. (walk) | |||||
| 2. I … in front of an audience. I am a teacher. (speak) | |||||
| 3. The Beatles … very popular when I was young. (be) | |||||
| 4. I … whisky, but I do now. (like) | |||||
5. He has lost a lot of weight. He … fat. (be)
|
Answers:
1. used to walk 2. am used to speaking 3. used to be 4. didn’t used to like 5. used to be 6. are used to using 7. am used to 8. get used to anything 9. used to play 10. used to get up
[Grammar]Adjectives - Used to something
Used to something
http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/usedtotext2.htm
Used to can be used as an adjective and we use it to talk about things that have become familiar, and are no longer strange or new.
Used to usually comes after verbs such as be, get or become.
- After a while you get used to the noise.
- She will become used to the smell.
- I was used to the web site.
You can also say that someone is used to doing something.
- I’ll never get used to getting up at six o’clock in the morning.
- It took me a while until I was used to driving on the right-hand side of the road.
Word of the Day, August 13
Word of the Day, August 13
-susceptible -defer -undermine
susceptible (rentan)
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/susceptible
open, subject, or unresistant to some stimulus, influence, or agency
http://www.yourdictionary.com/examples/susceptible
Large areas have been burnt by uncontrolled forest fires and uneven regeneration of the forest renders the park particularly susceptible to any disturbance.
defer (menunda)
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/defer
put off, delay
http://www.yourdictionary.com/examples/defer
But in an age where few are prepared to defer gratification, resistance among developers to the promise of instant ecommerce functionality is crumbling.
undermine (mengurangi)
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/undermine
to weaken or ruin by degrees
http://www.yourdictionary.com/examples/undermine
Nothing has done more to undermine public confidence in the pensions system than the losses felt by those honest, decent people.
[Grammar][Exercise]Comparative/Superlative Adjectives
http://www.learnenglish.de/Games/Adjectives/CompSup.htm
Choose the correct answer.
| 1 | Mount Everest measures 8,848 meters, Mount Kangchenjunga measures 8,596 meters and K2 measures 8,611 meters. | ||
| A | Mount Everest is the highest mountain. | ||
| B | Mount Kangchenjunga is the highest mountain. | ||
| C | K2 is the lowest mountain. | ||
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| 2 | Anne is 43 years old, Lynne is 40 years old. | ||
| A | Anne is younger than Lynne. | ||
| B | Lynne is older than Anne. | ||
| C | Anne is older than Lynne. | ||
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| 3 | The red dress costs 25.00, the blue dress costs 15.00. | ||
| A | The red dress costs less than the blue dress. | ||
| B | The blue dress costs less than the red dress. | ||
| C | The blue dress costs more than the red dress. | ||
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| 4 | Russia is 17,075,000 sqm, France is 544,000 sqm. | ||
| A | France is larger than Russia. | ||
| B | Russia is larger than France. | ||
| C | Russia is smaller than France. | ||
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| 5 | Box A is bigger than box B, box C is bigger than box A. | ||
| A | Box B is the smallest box. | ||
| B | Box A is the biggest box. | ||
| C | Box C is the smallest box. | ||
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| 6 | I live 2 km from my mother. My sister lives 1 km from her. | ||
| A | I live nearer my mother than my sister. | ||
| B | My sister lives nearer my mother than me. | ||
| C | My sister lives further from my mother than me. | ||
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| 7 | Jane has 1,633.20, Bill has 1,635.30, John has 1,632.10. | ||
| A | Bill has the most money. | ||
| B | Jane has the least money. | ||
| C | John has the most money. | ||
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| 8 | Carrots are good for you, cakes are bad for you. | ||
| A | Carrots are worse for you than cakes. | ||
| B | Cakes are better for you than carrots. | ||
| C | Carrots are better for you than cakes. | ||
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| 9 | Johnny was bad, Wendy was very bad, Billy was very, very bad. | ||
| A | Johnny was the worst. | ||
| B | Wendy was the best. | ||
| C | Billy was the worst. | ||
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| 10 | I saw two plays, one on Monday 1st April and the other on Tuesday 2nd April. I enjoyed the Monday play, I didn’t enjoy the one on Tuesday. | ||
| A | I enjoyed the second play more than the first play. | ||
| B | I enjoyed the first play more than the second play. | ||
| C | I enjoyed the first play less than the second play. | ||
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Answer:1. A 2. C 3. B 4. B 5. A 6. B 7. A 8. C 9. C 10. B
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http://www.learn-english-today.com/lessons/lesson_contents/adjectives-ex.html
| 1. Jeremy is 10 years old. Julie is 8 years old. Jeremy is (old)__________________Julie |
| 2. The Alps are very high. They are (high) ____________________ mountains in Europe. |
| 3. An ocean is (large) _____________________ a sea. |
| 4. A Rolls Royce costs a lot of money. A Twingo costs less money. A Rolls Royce is (expensive) ________________________ a Twingo. |
| 5. John’s results were bad. Fred’s results were very poor. Fred’s results were (bad) _______________ John’s. |
| 6. This exercise is not difficult. It’s (easy) _____________________ I expected. |
| 7. The weather is not good today - it’s raining. I hope the weather will be (good) _______________ next week. |
| 8. People are not friendly in big cities. They are usually (friendly) ____________________ in small towns. |
| 9. In the government of a country, the President is (important) _____________________ person. |
| 10. People say that Chinese is (difficult) ____________________to learn than English. |
Answer:
1. older than 2. the highest 3. larger than 4. more expensive than 5. worse than
6. easier than 7. better 8. friendlier 9. the most important 10. more difficult
[Grammar] Superlative Adjectives
Superlative Adjectives
http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/adjectivesuper.htm
The superlative is used to say what thing or person has the most of a particular quality within a group or of its kind. Superlative adjectives normally come before any other adjectives.
- Mount Snowdon is 3,559 feet high.
- Ben Nevis is 4,408 feet high.
>> Snowdon is not the highest mountain in Britain, Ben Nevis is.
Forming the superlative
| Form | Rule | For example |
|---|---|---|
| Words of one syllable ending in ‘e’. |
Add -st to the end of the word.
|
wide - widest |
| Words of one syllable, with one vowel and one consonant at the end. | Double the consonant and add -est to the end of the word. | big - biggest |
| Words of one syllable, with more than one vowel or more than one consonant at the end. | Add - est to the end of the word. | high - highest |
| Words of two syllables, ending in ‘y’. | Change ‘y’ to ‘i’, and add -est to the end of the word. | happy - happiest |
| Words of two syllables or more, not ending in ‘y’. | Place ‘the most’ before the adjective. | beautiful - the most beautiful |
The following adjectives are exceptions:
- ‘good’ becomes ‘the best’
- ‘bad’ becomes ‘the worst’
- ‘far’ becomes ‘the furthest’
For example:
- “Jill is the best student in the class .”
- “Jack is the worst student in the class.“
- “In our solar system the planet Pluto is the furthest planet from the Sun.”
!Note - superlatives are usually preceded by ‘the‘.
For example:
- “The Rio de la Plata river, on the southeast coastline of South America, is the widest river in the world.”
- According to the List of World records Carol Yager (1960-1994), from Michigan, is the fattest person ever to live, weighing 725 kg (1,600 lb).
- “Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world.”
- “I think that Castle Combe is the prettiest village in England.”
- “Arguably, Rome is the most beautiful city in the world.”
Irregular Adjectives
|
Adjective
|
Comparative
|
Superlative
|
Example
|
|---|---|---|---|
| bad | worse | the worst | Historians say that Hitler was worse than Mussolini. He was one of the worst dictators the world has ever seen. |
| far | further | the furthest | Mars is further from the Sun than Earth. Pluto is the furthest world from the Sun. |
| good | better | the best | Her English was better than the teacher’s. She was the best English student in the class. |
| old (age) | elder | the eldest | My elder sister Karen is the eldest in our family. |