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 starb) a stop signc) 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 willensure the punctual deliveryof 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) smileb) thinkc) 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 milesb) 423 milesc) 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 starsb) the meadowsc) 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 beardb) his planec) 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 loggerb) a loggerheadc) a tree surgeon?

 

Answer 13

a) a logger

Discussion 13

A loggerhead is an idiot, log is wood, lumber (wood for con-struction purposes), a logger isa 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 buy ing 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 dayb) 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 free-wheeling 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!!