Das menschliche Gehirn
"Das Gehirn ist nicht nur ein
Gefäß, das gefüllt werden muss,
sondern ein Feuer, das gezündet
werden will." – (Plutarch)
Question 1
What's a common example of an
octagon?
a) a star
b) a stop sign
c) a pyramid
Answer 1
b) a stop sign
Discussion 1
Vok. „common“, „octagon“;
What‘s the adjective (>octagonal)?
What‘s the rule for putting the stress in words
of Greek origin (>second to the last syllable)?
Do you know other examples with „octa“
(>octave)?
What does „gon“ mean (>angle)?
Do you know other examples with „gon“
(>Pentagon)?
Question 2
What award, founded in 1901, is
funded with the help of the Bank of
Sweden?
Answer 2
the Nobel Prize
Discussion 2
Voc. to found (regular) + to fund (regular) + to
find (irregular)
transl. exercise:
1. Sie gründeten eine Bank.
2. Er fand eine Münze.
3. Die Eltern unterstützten ihre Kinder
finanziell beim Studium.
Question 3
Do you know the meaning of the
verbs "to assure", "to ensure" and "to
insure"?
Can you make sentences with these
words?
Answer 3
to assure = versichern
(jemandem etwas versichern);
to ensure = sicherstellen, gewährleisten, sich
darum kümmern;
to insure = versichern (was Versicherungen
tun)
Discussion 3
"We assure you that we will
ensure the punctual delivery
of the insured goods."
Question 4
How much must a movie
gross in U.S. ticket sales to
be considered a
blockbuster?
Answer 4
one hundred million dollars
Discussion 4
to gross = in Brutto einbringen,
blockbuster = Kassenschlager,
Straßenfeger;
„to bust“: sprengen, Pleite machen,
jemanden verhaften, kaputt gehen
Question 5
How many boroughs make
up the city of New York?
Answer 5
five
Discussion 5
The Bronx (northern, on the North American
mainland), Brooklyn (most populous,
Manhattan, Queens (the largest and most
ethnical diverse), Staten Island (South West of
the other boroughs). Harlem River separates
The Bronx from the island of Manhattan.
Disc. 5: New York
Question 6
What score out of 800 did future
Microsoft founder Bill Gates get on
his math S.A.T.?
Answer 6
800
Discussion 6
SAT = Scholastic Assessment Test,
auch “aptitude”: ability, skills, talents,
German: Eignung, Befähigung etc.
Question 7
What's the term for a plant
that lives more than two
years?
Answer 7
perennial
Discussion 7
from Latin "perennis": durable,
sustainable, persevering, persistent,
arduous;
from the Latin elements
"per" = through, lasting for a period of
time, and "annus" = year/s
Question 8
If your teacher says "use your
noggin," what is he asking you to do?
a) smile
b) think
c) speak loudly and clearly
Answer 8
b) think
Discussion 8
noggin = slang expression for
brain; auch 'kleiner Holzkrug'
Question 9
What is an acronym?
a) a word formed from the initial letters of the
words of a compound term, e.g. UNO
b) an open access encyclopedia which can be
used by internet users, e.g. Wikipedia,
c) an invertebrate animal with strong grasping
forelegs, also called 'praying mantis'
Answer 9
a) a word formed from the initial letters of the
words of a compound term, e.g. UNO
Discussion 9
invertebrate = wirbellos
Do you know more acronyms
(>NAFTA, ASAP etc.)?
Do you know more words with the
ending „-ym“ (>pseudonym,
synonym, homonym)?
Question 10
How high up in the sky do you need
to go to be in space?
a) 93 miles
b) 423 miles
c) 1209 miles
Answer 10
a) 93 miles
Discussion 10
1 mile = 1,609 km; that means it‘s
approx. 150 km up to reach space
Question 11
What does Las Vegas, which is
originally Spanish, mean in
English?
a) the stars
b) the meadows
c) the vegetarians
Answer 11
b) "the meadows"
Discussion 11
meadow = grassland, hayfield;
word order in the question:
„What does .... bla, bla, bla ..... mean?“
Question 12
What was red about the Red
Baron, the WWI flying ace?
a) his beard
b) his plane
c) his complexion
Answer 12
a) his plane
Discussion 12
complexion = Teint, Hautfarbe
Manfred von Richthofen, flew a
Fokker Albatros, did not survive
the war
Question 13
What is another name for a
lumberjack?
a) a logger
b) a loggerhead
c) a tree surgeon?
Answer 13
a) a logger
Discussion 13
A loggerhead is an idiot, log is wood,
lumber (wood for construction purposes), a logger is
a man who works with log (e.g.
who makes log cabins)
Question 14
What is known as
"the Royal Disease"?
Answer 14
hemophilia
Discussion 14
a bleeding disorder; low levels or
complete absence of the blood protein
for clotting
Question 15
What period of time is
known to scientists as a
nychthemeron?
Answer 15
twenty-four hours, or, in other
words: a day and a night
Discussion 15
The adjective is nychthemeral
(not nychthemeronal!)
Question 16
What food does half the
world's population subsist
wholly or partly on?
Answer 16
rice
Discussion 16
to subsist (on s.th.) = to be able to
continue to exist, to survive;
subsistence: means of obtaining the
bare necessities of life
Question 17
What newspaper is
considered a must for all
aspiring yuppies?
Answer 17
The Wall Street Journal
Discussion 17
"a must“; “The do‘s and don‘ts for software
developers“ (example);
a "yuppy": a young person who lives in a rather large
city, earns a lot of money (preferably in stock trading)
and spends it doing fashionable things and buying
expensive possessions.
Do you know there is a verb "to yuppify"? It means 'to
change the appearance of a place to suit or attract
people who earn and spend a lot of money'
Question 18
What does the word "thoroughfare"
mean?
a) a fee to ride all buses in a city all day
b) a lump-sum price, a 'package price'
c) a through street for public traffic
Answer 18
c) a through street for public traffic
Discussion 18
a heavily traveled passage (can be a
waterway); example: Broadway in New York;
„through“;
„thorough“ (thoroughly): exhaustively
complete: a thorough search, painstakingly
accurate or careful: thorough research,
absolute: a thorough pleasure.
Question 19
Whose book with the title Surviving at
the Top, spent less time on the New
York Times list than any other Number
One book?
Answer 19
Donald Trump's
Discussion 19
Donald Trump (born June 1946 in New York,
parents: German/Scottish); in the freewheeling 1980s, he created an empire in real
estate and casinos.
Other Books: "The Art of the Deal"(1988),
"The Art of the Comeback",
"How to Get Rich" (2004)
Question 20
What Washington, D.C., building
housed the Democratic Party
headquarters in 1972?
Answer 20
The Watergate
Discussion 20
The 'Watergate scandal' (1972-1974) was an
American political scandal and constitutional
crisis that led to the resignation of President
Richard Nixon. Watergate is the name of the
hotel complex which White House conspirators
broke into to plant bugging devices and
wiretaps (see additional information);
“to house” ...
Thank you
for your attention!!