Tiếng anh oxford5 pptx

Oregon OREGON Oregon natives and other Westerners pronounce the state name’s last syllable to sound like “gun,” not “gone.” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/oregon.html03/09/2005 15:39:10 organic ORGANIC The word “organic” is used in all sorts of contexts, often in a highly metaphorical manner; the subject here is its use in the phrase “organic foods” in claims of superior healthfulness. Various jurisdictions have various standards for “organic” food, but generally the label is applied to foods that have been grown without artificial chemicals or pesticides. Literally, of course, the term is a redundancy: all food is composed of organic chemicals (complex chemicals containing carbon). There is no such thing as an inorganic food (unless you count water as a food). Natural fertilizers and pesticides may or may not be superior to artificial ones, but the proper distinction is not between organic and inorganic. Many nitrogen-fixing plants like peas do a great job of fertilizing the soil with plain old inorganic atmospheric nitrogen. When it comes to nutrition, people tend to generalize rashly from a narrow scientific basis. After a few preservatives were revealed to have harmful effects in some consumers, many products were proudly labeled "No Preservatives!” I don’t want harmful preservatives in my food, but that label suggests to me a warning: “Deteriorates quickly! May contain mold and other kinds of rot!” Salt is a preservative. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/organic.html03/09/2005 15:39:10 oriental ORIENTAL ASIAN “Oriental” is generally considered old-fashioned now, and many find it offensive. “Asian” is preferred, but not “Asiatic.” It’s better to write the nationality involved, for example “Chinese” or “Indian,” if you know it. “Asian” is often taken to mean exclusively “East Asian,” which irritates South Asian and Central Asian people. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/oriental.html03/09/2005 15:39:10 orientate ORIENTATE ORIENT Although it is standard in British English “orientate” is widely considered an error in the U.S., with simple “orient” being preferred. See also “ interpretate.” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/orientate.html03/09/2005 15:39:11 ostensively OSTENSIVELY OSTENSIBLY This word, meaning “apparently,” is spelled “ostensibly.” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/ostensively.html03/09/2005 15:39:11 over-exaggerated OVER-EXAGGERATED EXAGGERATED “Over-exaggerated” is a redundancy. If something is exaggerated, it’s already overstressed. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/over.html03/09/2005 15:39:11 oversee/overlook OVERSEE/OVERLOOK When you oversee the preparation of dinner, you take control and manage the operation closely. But if you overlook the preparation of dinner you forget to prepare the meal entirely—better order pizza. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/oversee.html03/09/2005 15:39:11 pair (number) PAIR (NUMBER) “This is a left-handed pair of scissors.” “There is a pair of glasses on the mantelpiece.” “Pair” is singular in this sort of expression. Note that we say “that is a nice pair of pants” even though we also say “those are nice pants.” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/pair.html03/09/2005 15:39:12 palate/palette/pallet PALATE/PALETTE/PALLET Your “palate” is the roof of your mouth, and by extension, your sense of taste. A “palette” is the flat board an artist mixes paint on (or by extension, a range of colors). A “pallet” is either a bed (now rare) or a flat platform onto which goods are loaded. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/palate.html03/09/2005 15:39:12 parallel PARALLEL SYMBOL Beginning literature students often write sentences like this: “He uses the rose as a parallel for her beauty” when they mean “a symbol for her beauty.” If you are taking a literature class, it’s good to master the distinctions between several related terms relating to symbolism. An eagle clutching a bundle of arrows and an olive branch is a symbol of the U.S. government in war and peace. Students often misuse the word “analogy” in the same way. An analogy has to be specifically spelled out by the writer, not simply referred to: “My mother’s attempts to find her keys in the morning were like early expeditions to the South Pole: prolonged and mostly futile.” A metaphor is a kind of symbolism common in literature. When Shakespeare writes “That time of year thou mayst in me behold/When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang/Upon those boughs which shake against the cold” he is comparing his aging self to a tree in late autumn, perhaps even specifically suggesting that he is going bald by referring to the tree shedding its leaves. This autumnal tree is a metaphor for the human aging process. A simile resembles a metaphor except that “like” or “as” or something similar is used to make the comparison explicitly. Byron admires a dark-haired woman by saying of her, “She walks in beauty, like the night/Of cloudless climes and starry skies.” Her darkness is said to be like that of the night. An allegory is a symbolic narrative in which characters may stand for abstract ideas, and the story conveys a philosophy. Allegories are no longer popular, but the most commonly read one in school is Dante’s Divine Comedy in which the poet Virgil is a symbol for human wisdom, Dante’s beloved Beatrice is a symbol of divine grace, and the whole poem tries to teach the reader how to avoid damnation. Aslan in C. S. Lewis’ Narnia tales is an allegorical figure meant to symbolize Christ: dying to save others and rising again (aslan is Turkish for “lion”). List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/parallel.html03/09/2005 15:39:12