IELTS Canvass

Monkey Business – Idiom of the Day
Meaning:
Thoughtless actions sometimes considered pranky or even unlawful.

History:
The word “monkeyshine” is an ancestor of the idiom “Monkey business”. History dates back to the early 18th century, roughly in 1832. In the initial phases it meant dishonesty. There are references to the idiom being used in this context in Jim Crow’s song mocking African-American slaves. Also, there is some evidence of the term “monkey tricks” being used by parents in England to refer to their children’s misconduct. The idiom with its current meaning was put down in writing in 1883 in W. Peck’s Bad Boy.

Idiom scenarios:
Scenario 1:
Teacher [ pointing to student 1] : What is the biological name of hibiscus?
Student 1: ………….Does not answer…………….
Teacher [ pointing to student 2] : You?
Student 2: ………….Does not answer…………….
Teacher: I know you guys were into some monkey business. Shame on you guys for not knowing the answer.

Scenario 2:
Friend 1: What happened to the bakery shop here?
Friend 2: He sold it to a Hotel.
Friend 1: Why did he do it?
Friend 2: He fell prey to some monkey business of people who lured him to a diamond business and landed in debts.
Friend 1: Oh! No.

Scenario 3:
Old lady to mother of two kids: Your kids are not allowing me to lie down for a while.
Angry mother to children: Can you stop your monkey business and allow her to sleep?

Examples:
Go through the examples to understand the usage of the idiom:
1. The rich man was arrested because he did some monkey business and escaped the taxes.
2. The shopkeeper was annoyed with the kids because they were always into some monkey business with the customers.
3. The judge warned the defense lawyer not to get involved in monkey business.

Calumniate – Word of the Day
Meaning:
[Verb]: make false and defamatory statements about.

History:
History dates back to the mid15th century. Debated of Latin origin
From Latin calumniatus; past participle of calumniari; From calumnia

Usage:
1. Verb examples – Calumniate:
1. The politician was calumniated by his rival.
2. The opposition has been calumniating the ruling party for long.
3. The journalist was warned for calumniating the actor.
4. The company was calumniated by the agitated union.
5. There is ample evidence that the lawyer was not calumniated, but was rightly attacked for his misdeeds.
6. Some people take pleasure in calumniating the rich people .
7. John resigned because somebody calumniated him.
8. Sita was fined for calumniating the hospital.
9. It is not a surprise that Rita is calumniating Sita. They don’t like each other.
10. “You’re digging your own ground when you’re calumniating someone”.

2. Adjective examples – Calumniable:
1. The rival’s accusations against the politician are calumniable.
2. The actor filed a lawsuit against the publication of a calumniable report on him.
3. “I’m making it clear that I did not say anything calumniable”.
4. Rich people are threatened by calumniable reports to extort money from them.
5. The judge knew that John’s arguments were calumniable.

3. Noun examples – Calumniation:
1. The rival’s calumniation troubled the politician.
2. The calumniation of the opposition was a big headache to the ruling party.
3. The actor filed a lawsuit against the journalist’s calumniation.
4. The agitated union’s calumniation against the company was ignored by the CEO.
5. There is ample evidence that it is not a calumniation, but the truth.
6. Calumniation of rich people is not a joke.
7. Calumniation caused John to resign his well paid job.
8. The judge fined Sita for her calumniation of the hospital.
9. Rita’s calumniation of Sita received no support from the hostel mates.
10. Calumniation is equivalent to digging one’s own grave.

Besotted – Word of the Day
Meaning:
Deeply infatuated
Drunk
Origin:
The word was first used in the late 16th century. Then, it meant “stupid” and “infatuated”.

Examples:
He was so besotted with her that he never realised how badly she treated him.
The king was completely besotted with the idea of building a tower that rose till the heavens.
Ross and Rachel were initially besotted with each other before Rachel started working with Mark.
The lovers are always besotted with each other in the honeymoon phase of the relationship.
John is so clearly besotted with Irene that he can’t notice her pathological lying.
I was besotted with sneakers in middle school.
Raphael got so besotted with Natalia that he used to daydream about her all day at the office. It started affecting his work.
I was so besotted with the bottle that I had to go completely sober. Looking back, it was one of the best decisions I ever made.
Laura was so besotted with Fabio that she never seemed to mind his cheating and his fits of rage when something was even slightly out of place.
Move on, man. You’re besotted with a girl who’s out of your league and has a boyfriend. Nothing’s ever going to happen.

Describe an expensive activity that you enjoy doing occasionally. You should say:
– What the activity is
– Where you do this activity
– Who you do this activity with

You experienced an incident on public transport that caused you distress. Write a letter to the manager of the public transport company. In your letter..
– describe the incident

– explain how this incident affected you
– suggest what could be done about it.

Assiduous – Word of the Day
Meaning:
[adj] : showing great care and perseverance; attentive, devoted.

History:
History dates back to the early 15th century. Debated of Latin origin.
From Latin assiduus.
In the 18th century the meaning of the word seems to have been contaminated.

Usage:
1. Adverb examples – assiduously:
1. The nurse gave the medicines assiduously.
2. The policeman regulated the traffic assiduously.
3. The student jotted the notes assiduously.
4. The mother fed the kids, assiduously.
5. John attended the client meetings assiduously.
6. The maid cleaned the house assiduously.
7. The UN council wanted the government to deliver the food packets assiduously.

2. Adjective examples – assiduous:
1. The nurse was assiduous in giving the medicines to the patients.
2. The policeman was assiduous in clearing the traffic.
3. The student was assiduous in taking notes.
4. The mother was assiduous in feeding the kids.
5. John was assiduous in attending client meetings.
6. The maid was assiduous in cleaning the house.
7. The UN council wanted the government to be assiduous in delivering the food packets.

3. Noun examples – assiduousness:
1. The doctor noted the nurse’s assiduousness in giving the medicines.
2. The policeman’s assiduousness in clearing the traffic, helped the people.
3. The student’s assiduousness in taking notes astonished the teacher.
4. The kids were happy because of their mother’s assiduousness in feeding them.
5. John’s assiduousness in attending client meetings was appreciated by his boss.
6. The house was s**c and span becuase of the maid’s assiduousness.
7. The UN council demanded assiduousness from the government.

Turn Turtle – Idiom of the Day
Meaning:
Something inverted in position. Depicts helplessness of a person. It is also used to indicate that a situation is reversed, but this meaning is not widely used.

History:
History dates back to the 18th century, roughly in the early 1800s. The idiom seems to be based on the struggle that a turtle undergoes when it is having its body turned upside down.

Idiom scenarios:
Scenario 1:
Friend 1: Do you know of the accident that happened on the hill nearby?
Friend 2: No. Tell me all about it.
Friend 1: Two buses collided with one another and one of the buses turned turtle.
Friend 2: What happened to the passengers?
Friend 1: Luckily, people escaped with minimum injuries.

Scenario 2:
Queen 1: When will I get the diamonds from Africa?
Minister: I’m afraid you won’t get it. The ship carrying the diamonds has turned turtle.
Queen: What?

Scenario 3:
Kid 1 [ explaining how to handle the toy car]: This is how you should play with the car.
Infant: [Tries but nothing happens]
Kid 1: Oh no! The car has turned turtle. It won’t move. [ Then places it upright and the car moves]
Infant laughs.

Scenario 4:
Lady 1: Did you watch the movie about the famous ship?
Lady 2: Yeah I did. It’s a tragedy after the ship turned turtle.
Lady 1: Yes, it is .

Examples:
Go through the examples to understand the usage of the idiom:
1. John was in the car when it turned turtle.
2. The cockroach had turned turtle and was struggling. Tom put it back in position.
3. The child clasped the caretaker’s hand, as their cruise turned turtle.

https://youtu.be/NIguuua3VCA

Free activities in the Burnham area/ ielts listening 23 November 2020

https://youtu.be/t5hVObhLO3I

Community centre evening classes/ ielts listening 24 November 2020

https://youtu.be/L8lnBf0bmps

Bankside recruitment agency/ ielts listening 25 November 2020