Oh, hello. I didn't see you there. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson
on how to learn English with books. Today, I'm looking at a very specific book.
This is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It is a young adult novel that is very popular,
and has been turned into a movie, and is easy to find everywhere.
So, in this lesson, I'm going to talk about why The Hunger Games is a great book to start
for new intermediate English learners, and also, I'm going to talk about 10 items of
vocabulary from chapter one of the book. If you'd like to get a copy of the book yourself,
you can check out the link to Amazon attached to this video for a physical copy, and if
you're interested in an audio version of the book, you can actually link to Audible.com
where, if you do sign up, you get your first book free, so you can get The Hunger Games,
you can get classics like 1984, you can find newer books as well. So, if you're interested
in that, check out the links attached to the video. And now, let the games begin.
So, like I mentioned, The Hunger Games is a good book for intermediate English students
for a number of reasons. First of all, The Hunger Games is written in the first person,
so there is a lot of: "I", "I", "I", just like you normally speak in everyday life,
where the most common personal pronoun you use is probably "I". Second of all, it is
written in the present tense. Now, I don't mean that the book doesn't have future tense,
or past tense, or conditionals. It has all those things, but the primary tense it uses
with the character speaking is the present.
So, now, I'm going to read you the first paragraph of the book so you can see what I mean.
"When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold.
My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim's warmth,
but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress.
She must have had bad dreams, and climbed in with our mother.
Of course she did. This is the day of the reaping."
So, you see "is", you hear:
"The other side of the bed is cold when I wake up."
Present simple. Now, not only does this make it a little easier for new English learners or
intermediate English learners to read the book because the present tenses are usually
the first ones you learn, it also makes the book a lot more engaging, interesting, and
exciting, because everything feels a lot more present. There's no other way to put it.
Third of all, The Hunger Games, as you probably know if you're watching this video, or maybe
you don't know, is very popular. Now, you might be thinking:
"Why is this a good thing if I'm choosing a book to learn English?"
Well, number one: It's really easy to find.
Whether you're looking for the audio book or if you're looking for a physical copy,
if you're looking for the e-book - every website, every store will have stacks and stacks of
copies of this book. This also means there are multiple translations. This might also
mean that you have already read this book in your own language, and it might be a good
idea, now, to read it in English, because you're already familiar with the content,
the characters, and what the action is like in the book.
Fourth, it does have an interesting story. Is it my favorite book of all time?
No, it's not, but it is pretty interesting.
There is a dystopian world, a tyrannical government
that's ruling everyone, and there's a strong female hero. So this book is actually really
popular with teenage girls, also with boys and men, but there is a strong female lead,
which is attractive to many people.
Now, the other thing is that this book is packed with vocabulary. Not just this book,
obviously, many books are packed with vocabulary, vocabulary, vocabulary. And what I recommend,
especially if you do buy a physical copy of this book, is that you use it like a notebook.
Be ready to just write in it. Write vocabulary all over the place. Write translations.
If you want to write, you know, the Spanish translation, the Portuguese translation, the Farsi translation,
the Arabic translation, so it makes sense to you.
Now, I can speak from this from a personal level, because I am currently reading
The Hunger Games, but I'm reading it in French, as I am studying French. And the first...
I'm only about five pages in, but those first five pages are just filled with notes in pencil
that I have left. And I'm writing all over it, I'm treating it like a notebook. You know,
normally I take good care of my books, and I think:
"Oh, my book, my book, it must be in perfect condition."
But, if you're learning a language, when you buy a book, you use it
like a notebook; you write all over it. It makes it much more personal for you, and it
will help you to learn the vocabulary and the grammar a lot quicker. And speaking of
vocabulary, let's look at some words from chapter one of The Hunger Games.
Okay, so, the first word we are going to look at from chapter one of The Hunger Games is
"swollen". "Swollen" is an adjective that means enlarged due to internal pressure. It
sounds complicated, but as soon as I describe it, you'll get it. For example:
"His ankle looked swollen for 3 days after he twisted it."
So a part of your body can be swollen
when it is twisted or it becomes enlarged. If you have an allergy, for example, your
neck might become swollen. If you twist your ankle when you're running, the ankle gets
bigger, it gets swollen. Okay? So just repeat after me:
"Swollen".
Okay, good. Let's continue
to the next one, which is a phrasal verb.
Now, this phrasal verb is "blurt out". "Blurt out" means to say something suddenly without
thinking about it. So if you just say something and you don't really think about it,
you blurt it out. For example:
"You can't just blurt out anything that pops into your head!"
So if you're, you know, having a fight with your boyfriend or your girlfriend, and you suddenly
blurt something out that is a secret, like: "I've been cheating on you!"
because you feel so guilty, it's probably not a good thing. But when you blurt something out, you say
it without thinking because you're emotionally charged inside and you want it to come out.
Next: "upbeat". If you're an upbeat person, you're positive, you're happy, you're cheerful.
So, for example: "She's always upbeat around the office."
You see the prefix "up", and
"beat" like "boom, boom, de dum, boom". If you're upbeat-right?-you're positive, cheerful,
happy. Like: "Hey, how's it going? Hey, how is your day going?" Things like this. So,
if you're upbeat, you're happy, cheerful. Positive personality. So, are you an upbeat
person or are you someone who is, you know, a little more subdued or sad in life?
Which, I'm sorry. So...
Next: "resemble". "Resemble" is a verb. If you resemble something or someone... To resemble
means to be like or similar to. For example:
"He resembles his father."
So this means maybe in his character, his personality.
It can also mean in his looks, his appearance. He
resembles his father. Okay?
And finally, we have: "abandoned". This is an adjective or a past verb, which could mean
to be left alone or deserted. Now, if you are deserted, abandoned, left alone, it means
someone just-I'm going to drop this-abandoned you. Okay? So, for example:
"Their parents abandoned them when they were 12."
Maybe their parents were not happy people, they had a
lot of things going on, they didn't like their kids... It could be a number of reasons. Maybe
they had depression issues, and the parents abandoned their children. This is a sad story.
I don't know why I made this example. I'm very sorry, students. All right, let's look
at five more pieces of vocabulary.
Our next word is "snob". Now, a snob is someone who acts superior or who feels they have better
taste than someone else. For example: You could be a movie snob,
you could be a food snob, a video game snob.
Someone who feels your taste is better, you know, than other people.
For example: "Don't be a food snob. We're going to McDonald's!" Okay? You made
lunch plans and your friend has a limited amount of money they can spend, and they say:
"I want to go to McDonald's. It's cheaper than going to this steak restaurant you recommended,
where I have to pay $50 for a steak." Okay? So: "Please don't be a food snob. We're going
to McDonald's! End of story." All right? So, don't be a snob.
Next we have a verb, this is "ensure". So, "ensure", you see "sure", "ensure", make sure
or make certain. So, for example:
"Please ensure you lock the door."
We did this to ensure that everyone, you know, would stay awake during the movie or something like that.
Next we have another verb: "scrub". So, when you think of "scrub", you see the word "rub",
in there, and "scrub" means to rub hard with a brush, a cloth, etc. So, if you're doing,
like this, you're scrubbing the floor, or scrubbing the wall, or scrubbing your hands.
Okay? Now, this is usually on a hard surface. So, for example: "I hate scrubbing the toilet."
If your toilet is very dirty and you have to get in there, and scrub the toilet. Okay?
Next, this is an expression: to keep tabs on someone or something.
If you are keeping tabs on someone or on something,
you are observing it carefully, or you're keeping a record of something. For example:
"We need to keep tabs on how much we're spending."
So this could be in a business, this could be in a relationship,
this could be a conversation with your roommate
where, you know, you don't feel confident, you don't feel comfortable about how much
money you have, and you tell your roommate, you tell your business partner, you tell your
girlfriend/wife/husband, whoever:
"We need to pay attention to how much money we're spending.
We need to keep tabs on how much we're spending.
Track it, record it, pay careful attention, and observe our habits."
Okay? You can also keep tabs on a person. So, you know, if you
have been with a company for five years and there's a new employee, your boss might tell
you: "Keep tabs on this guy. Keep tabs on this girl. Keep tabs on this one." This means:
"Pay attention to them. They are new. They might make mistakes more easily than you,
since you've been here for longer. So keep tabs on them."
And finally, we have "mercy". "Mercy" is a noun. It usually goes with the verb "show",
"to show mercy".
It means to show compassion or kindness. So, for example:
"They didn't show their enemies any mercy."
So this means that in a war, one army showed no mercy, no
compassion, no kindness for someone else. Imagine, you know, if you are in a war or
if you're in a fight with a person and you're losing the fight, and you want them to stop,
you might just say:
"I give up. Mercy. Mercy. Mercy. Please, please, please stop.
Show some kindness. Show some compassion, please."
So today, we looked at 10 words. Number one: "swollen", this means enlarged due to internal
pressure. So, if you have an allergic reaction to something, your hands can become swollen
or your neck can become swollen. If you twist your ankle, your wrist,
they can become swollen as well.
Next we have "blurt out". So, again, this is a phrasal verb that means to say something
without thinking about it. You can blurt out your true feelings for someone, like:
"I love you." Okay? You blurt out, you say it without thinking about it,
because it's inside you and it wants to come out.
Next: "upbeat". This is an adjective that means positive, happy, or cheerful.
A person can have an upbeat personality, they can be an upbeat person in general. Okay?
A movie can even have an upbeat feel to it,
if it's a very positive movie, you know, with light touches to it.
Next: "resemble" is a verb that means to be like or similar to. So, two songs
can resemble each other, two people can resemble each other,
two movies can resemble each other if they
are similar. So, as I said in the previous example:
"Oh, he resembles his father." Or:
"You resemble someone I know." Or:
"She resembles her sister",
looks like or maybe acts like her sister.
Next: "abandoned" which means to be left alone or deserted. If someone abandons you,
they leave you all by yourself, and usually they never come back.
It's a very sad, dramatic word, if you remember the example we gave before.
Next: "snob". A snob is a person who acts like they're superior or like their tastes
are better than yours. So, we mentioned food snobs, movie snobs, you can have video game
snobs. Any type of snob, a person who feels they are better than you and have better taste
than you at something.
Next: "ensure". Just see the word "sure" and think:
"make sure". Ensure, make sure, ensure make sure.
Or make certain. Okay? So, please ensure you do the quiz after this video on
www.engvid.com.
Next we have "scrub". So, to scrub, think of this action
[rubs hands together]
Okay.
To rub hard with a brush or cloth, etc. You have to scrub your bathroom, scrub the tub,
scrub the toilet, scrub the floor. Scrub your feet, maybe your feet are really dirty.
Next: to keep tabs on someone or something, it means to observe carefully or to keep a
record. So, if you keep tabs on someone, you're paying close attention to what they're doing.
You can keep tabs on your spending, how much money you're spending, for example, as well.
And finally, we have "mercy", which is compassion or kindness. So this usually goes with the
verb "show", "to show mercy". Show compassion, show kindness. All right.
So, today, we have been talking about The Hunger Games.
If you would like to get an audio version of the book, you can check out the link to Audible.com
attached to this video. There, when you sign up, you can get your first book for free.
Also, if you want to get a print copy of the book, don't forget to check out the Amazon link,
which is also attached to this video. And, as always,
if you want to test your understanding of this material,
check out the quiz on www.engvid.com.
And if you like this video, like it, comment on it, subscribe to the YouTube channel,
check me out on Twitter and Facebook.
And one more thing, guys,
so this is kind of a new video style that I'm trying, and
I'd like to know, if you guys enjoyed this talk about books and learning vocabulary through
books, if you'd like to see more videos like this where I look at a specific book,
like 1984 or like The Chronicles of Narnia or
The Lord of the Rings, or something like this,
also let me know in the comments, and we'll see what can happen after that.
All right, until next time, thanks for clicking.