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English Detective, Issue #1 Nov.26, 2012 November 26, 2012 |
A Detective’s Methods (& how to investigate English words)
In our first issue we introduce the great detective Sherlock Holmes and his science of detection. In addition to a crossword, a word search and some practice exercises, there is a second reading about another detective series and a quiz at the end of the second week. (I’ve suggested days for each activity, so you can do a little each day. Feel free to do each activity when it’s best for you, and skim or skip sections that you already know-- or if there is too much for you to handle this week. Each issue will be a little different.) Coming next in English Detective: The Discovery of Penicillin (with a discussion of the scientific method.) In the next few weeks: setting goals for success, learning from failure, and doing what you love. From the editor: The Current Investigation (what’s in this issue)
In this first issue of English Detective, we look at what it means to be a detective. A detective investigates (studies) mysteries (situations where something important is unknown) and finds answers. Detectives use clues-- hints they discover that show how something happened or what it means. They also hunt for evidence. The word ‘evidence’ comes from videre, the Latin verb that means 'to see.' It refers to physical clues detectives find by careful observation. Detectives are often asked to solve crimes: to find the person who broke the law (especially a thief or a murderer), to find a missing (or dead) person, or to discover the criminal's motive-- the reason they did what they did. Most of us won't have a chance to solve a major crime or make a major discovery. However, you and I can be word detectives. Words can be interesting, important, or even mysterious. Solve the mysteries of English! As James Bond's boss told him, "Your mission, should you choose to accept it"-- is to find out what a word or phrase means, and how and when it is used. Take on the challenge today! Your First Clue: Vocabulary we’ll Emphasize in this Issue
Week 1: accurate, acquired, analysis, aspects, attain, conceived, conclusion, deduction, detected, evidence, inferred, inspection, investigation, link, mental, process, revealed, and their variations (family members). We also will study three related words not on the Academic Word List (AWL): examine, inquire, and observe. Week 2: area, author, contribution, created, cultures, emphasis, enable, experts, finally, insights, motivation, procedure, professional, react, series, similar, techniques, traditions, unique, (and instinct, not on the AWL.) You probably already know several of these words, or most of them if you speak a Latin-based language. (I only counted 7 of them I could not guess from Spanish.) If you don’t remember some of the new words after reading and practicing with them, it’s O.K.-- you will be seeing them again. However, if you don’t understand at least the basic meaning of a word after reading and practicing it, try looking it up in a dictionary and making a flashcard or note to study it. Try Monday’s introduction to detective words. It isn’t hard!
Week 2: Investigating on Your Own
Monday:Getting the Whole Story-2
![]() Tuesday: Word Detective 2
(This turned out to be quite long. If you want, you could study half today and the rest tomorrow, as the Wednesday lesson is short.)
B) Dr. Watson C) Sir Arthur Conan Doyle D) someone else
B) In some places young men and young women are not allowed to be together without adult supervision; in others they are together often. C) Some people drive cars to work; others take the bus or ride bicycles to their jobs. D) Some mothers carry their young
children on their backs with them while they work; in other places many young children are cared for in one place.
B) the value of eating together C) the importance of food D) the tradition of a meal of many different kinds of foods
B) a fast-food cook C) a farmer D) a lawyer
B) Alexander Graham Bell created the telephone C) Benjamin Franklin created electricity D) Miguel Cervantes created Don Quixote.
B) a desire for fame and honor C) a desire to help people D) a desire to relax and work less
A) Is there a hospital near here? B) Is there a hospital in this area? C) Is a hospital in your area expensive? D) Do you have a local hospital?
B) send a letter or Christmas card C) make a phone call D)send a text message
B) A fish biting a hook hidden in a worm. C) A policeman lifting a gun when he sees a criminal reach into his coat. D) Children running outside when they hear an ice cream truck nearby.
B) to study all night before a big exam. C) to write down every word the teacher says and then rewrite the whole lecture. D) to copy your best friend’s notes, even if they don’t make sense.
B) The World Series is a group of baseball games between winning teams to determine the top team of them all. C) She shopped for a series of vegetables, fruits, and desserts. D) The teacher planned a series of tests to prepare students for the final exam.
B) Vegetables and fruits C) A twin brother and sister D) Two twin brothers
13. Final means last. Which of these are CORRECT uses of ‘finally?’ (There are more than one.)
B) To describe the last event: “The finally race will be a relay.” C) To tell someone we have been waiting: “You have finally arrived!” D) To express relief: “I’m finally done!”
14. ‘En’ is a prefix that sometimes means ‘in’, but often turns an adjective or noun into a verb meaning ‘to make ____’: So to enable means A) to make a table B) to make a new ability C) to make able D) to make someone disabled
B) Ask for an explanation or demonstration of the company’s preferred procedure. C) Put on his uniform. D) Leave the office.
16.Experts are people who know more than most people about a subject. ‘Expert’
can also be an adjective. At a murder trial, to prove the cause of death they might need an expert witness who is a
B) lawyer C) nuclear physicist D) doctor
B) a traditional basket design C) an elegant Roman wine glass D) Picasso’s painting ‘Guernica.”
B) Einstein developing the theory of relativity. C) Shakespeare writing about Mac Beth’s motivations D) Pasteur realizing that tiny bacteria caused many diseases
B) Hitting back C) Running away D) Smiling at the person
B) Your contributions are tax-deductible. C) Thanks for contribute. D) Thank you for contributing to our cause.
1C) Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
C) Some people drive cars to work; others take the bus or ride bicycles to their jobs. (This answer involves an individual
or economic choice; the others are often the result of culture-- the way a whole group of people has traditionally done things.)
B) the value of eating together
D) a lawyer 5. Which of these is false? C) Benjamin Franklin created electricity. (Electricity is a natural force. Franklin studied it, and was interested in ways to use it, but it existed long before he did.)
D) a desire to relax and work less
C) Is a hospital in your area expensive?
B) send a letter or Christmas card
B) A fish biting a hook hidden in a worm. (The other actions have been learned through past experiences or training.) Instinct is not on the awl list!
A) to review for short periods frequently.
C) She shopped for a series of vegetables, fruits, and desserts.
D) Two twin brothers
C) To tell someone we have been waiting: “You have finally arrived!” D) To express relief: “I’m finally done!”
C) to make able
B) Ask for an explanation or demonstration of the company’s preferred procedure.
D) doctor
D) Picasso’s painting ‘Guernica.”
A) Tommy getting the right answer on his math test
D) Smiling at the person
C) Thanks for contribute. (Don’t use a verb after a preposition. Use a noun or a gerund: Thanks for your contribution or
Thanks for contributing.)
Fill in the blanks. You will need each word only once, so you can cross it off once you use it.
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I’m looking forward to sending you the next issue of English Detective (about the scientific method and the discovery of penicillin) in two weeks!
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