way2go! 7. Coursebook, Schulbuch

29 Expand your vocabulary: More on families Make sure you know the meaning of the expressions below, then go through the previous section again and collect more to put in the four categories. LANGUAGE 16 a People What they do Things you need How things can be father-in-law spouse ancestor raise children stand by each other keep sb. company a home living space infrastructure positive caring hospitable Look at the expressions in your table for one minute and close your book. Write down as many as you can remember. Then compare your expressions in small groups and make up sentences using them. What does family mean to you? Write your own definition. Use words and phrases you’ve collected. b WRITING 17 By the way: All together now! There are many collective nouns for humans, some of which are positive, such as a club or a party , and some of which are less positive like a gang or a rabble 1 . You probably know some collective words for animals too, such as a pride of lions or a herd of cattle , but there are a few you probably haven’t heard of. For example, there may be a mischief 2 of mice living in your cellar, eating away at your food supplies. Not to worry, just get yourself a clowder of cats to chase them away. The cats may have babies which would then be a kindle of kittens . In the cellar, there may also be a clutter of spiders , but they’ll be busy feeding on a business of flies . If it’s starting to feel a little crowded at home, you might go outside and see a gaggle of geese or a scurry of squirrels . An army of frogs might be in the river, along with a shoal of fish . Rather worryingly, there could be an unkindness of ravens or even worse, a murder of crows ! Further away from home, there’s a shrewdness 3 of apes and a congregation of alligators . Some words for groups of animals seem obvious. For example, if you’ve ever tried to move a buffalo, you’ll know why a group of them is an obstinacy 4 ! Equally, a shiver of sharks and a stand of flamingos make perfect sense. As elephants never forget, maybe that’s why a group is a memory of elephants , and a crash of rhinoceroses speaks for itself. Let’s end on a pleasant note. Who could resist a charm of hummingbirds 5 ? And wouldn’t you love to meet, in your perfect fantasy world, a blessing 6 of unicorns ? Work with a partner to make up your own fun collective nouns, for example a rabble of pupils , a depression of teachers , etc. 1 rabble: Gesindel, Pöbel 2 mischief: Unfug 3 shrewdness: Schläue, Klugheit 4 obstinacy: Bockigkeit, Sturheit 5 hummingbird: Kolibri 6 blessing: Segen Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv