WORDS THAT GO TOGETHER 10/2019 Spotlight 59Exercise 2Complete the sentences below with the collocations
presented on this page.A. We changed the sugar for salt in the office kitchen to
play a trick on our boss on.B. Of all the vegetables my grandmother cooks,
is the one I like most.C. Although she was over 60 on her wedding day, she
made a beautiful.D. For my stag party, I am going to Munich with some
friends to try all the beers at the.E. There is a special dance some people do around a(n)
, in which they weave ribbons into a
beautiful pattern.F. My friends and I decided not to buy each other Christ-
mas presents, but to wait and try to get some bargains
in the.Fotos: iStockphoto, Jacob Wackerhausen, Kenneth Wiedemann, svetikd, mediaphoto/iStock.com; moviestore collection Ltd/Alamy Stock Photo
Answers1.^
Month by month1.^
January sales2.^
January King
3.^maypole4.^
December bride5.^
April Fool’s Day6.^
March Madness7.^
Oktoberfest8.^
March hare9.^
May-to-September/December romance
10.^ June bug
11.
April shower
12
.^ Ma
yflower
2.A.
April Fool’s DayB.^January King
C.^December bride
D.^Oktoberfest
E.^maypole
F.^January salesbargain [(bA:gIn]
, Schnäppchen
beetle [(bi:t&l]
, Käfer
breeding season
[(bri:dIN )si:z&n]
, Paarungszeit
burst [b§:st]
, Ausbruch; hier:
Schauercabbage [(kÄbIdZ]
, Kohl
hare [heE]
, Hase
item [(aItEm]
, Artikel
last [lA:st]
, dauern
maturity [mE(tSUErEti]
, Reifepattern [(pÄt&n]
, Muster
pole [pEUl]
, Stange, Mast
ribbon [(rIbEn]
, Band
stag party
[(stÄg )pA:ti] UK
, Junggesellenabend
trick [trIk]
, StreichTips
⋅ At the start of the year, a lot of shops hold January sales, in
which they reduce the prices of many items that were not
sold before Christmas in an attempt to attract customers.
⋅ A January King is a small cabbage with blue or purple
leaves. It is harvested and eaten in winter, particularly
around January.
⋅ March hare is an informal term used to describe someone
as mad, because it compares the person to a hare in the
breeding season. One famous March hare is found in the
story Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.
⋅ Another form of madness associated with March is March
Madness, which refers specifically to the period of time,
in March, when big and important basketball games are
held in the US and people seem to spend the whole month
watching and talking about that sport.
⋅ Short bursts of light rain in the spring are sometimes called
April showers.
⋅ The first day of April is known as April Fool’s Day, a day
when people often play little jokes or tricks on each other. If
someone plays a trick on you, you are an April fool.
⋅ A month later, on 1 May, also called May Day, many people
celebrate spring festivals. At the heart of these celebrations
stands a maypole, a tall pole — decorated with flowers and
ribbons — around which people dance.
⋅ Did you know that the first English immigrants to America
arrived on a ship called the Mayflower?
⋅ A May-to -September romance is a relationship in which
one partner is clearly older than the other. The idea behind
this is that, with a year symbolizing the life of a person,
May is a time of youth, whereas September stands for
maturity. You might also come across the expression May-
to -December romance, which describes a relationship in
which there is a very big age gap.
⋅ If you think a romantic relationship is not likely to last^
long, you can also call it a May-to -September romance; for
example: “Penny’s got a new boyfriend, but it’s probably just
a May-September romance.”
⋅ A June bug is a type of brown beetle in the US that is
particularly active during the early summer months.
⋅ The famous German beer festival held in Munich every
year is known around the world. The name, Oktoberfest,
with the German spelling, is also used in English.
⋅ A woman who marries rather late in life, at a much older age
than most brides, is called a December bride.EIf you enjoyed these
“month-of-the-year”
collocations, there are more
where they came from.
In the next issue, we look
at collocations with the
days of the week.