Talking about yourself
Date: 2015-10-07; view: 455.
VOCABULARY EXTENSION I
I.Chinese astrology organises years into cycles of twelve with each year named after an animal. The Chinese believe that the year you are born in affects your character.
| Animal | Year | Characteristics |
| RAT | 1972, 1984, | Imaginative, charming, generous, |
| quick-tempered, opportunistic (1) | ||
| BUFFALO | 1973, 1985, | Conservative, methodical (2), conscientious, |
| chauvinistic (3), a born leader | ||
| TIGER | 1974, 1986, | Sensitive, emotional, tend to get |
| carried away (4), stubborn, rebellious | ||
| RABBIT | 1975, 1987, | Affectionate, obliging (5), gallant (6), |
| sentimental, superficial (7) | ||
| DRAGON | 1964, 1976, | Fun-loving, popular, perfectionist, |
| gifted, may sometimes be tactless | ||
| SNAKE | 1965, 1977, | Sagacious( 9), charming, intuitive (10), |
| stingy, inclined to procrastinate (11) | ||
| HORSE | 1966, 1978, | Diligent (12), independent, placid (13), |
| friendly, can be selfish and cunning | ||
| GOAT. | 1967, 1979, | Elegant, artistic, always ready to |
| complain, plagued by (14) worry worry | ||
| MONKEY | 1968, 1980, | Witty, magnetic personality (15), can be |
| self-seeking (16) and distrustful | ||
| ROOSTER ~ | 1969, 1981, | Industrious, shrewd (17), decisive, very |
| extravagant, a flashy (18) dresser t | ||
| DOG | 1970, 1982, | Down-to-earth, altruistic (19), morose (20), |
| sharp-tongued (21), a fault-finder (22) | ||
| PIG | 1971, 1983, | Intellectual, tolerant, naïve (23), downfall (24) |
| could be desire for material goods |
(1) using situations for own benefit
(2) systematic, careful
(3) too patriotic
(4) become too excited and lose control
(5) ready to help
(6) (of man) polite to women
(7) not caring about serious things
(8) inclined to say things that upset or offend people
(9) wise
(10) understanding instinctively
(11) delay doing something
(12) hard-working
(13) calm, does not easily become excited or angry
(14) troubled or distressed by
(15) personality that attracts people to you
(16) wanting to gain advantage for oneself
(17) having good judgement
(18) expensive or impressive
(19) thinking of others rather than oneself
(20) gloomy
(21) inclined to speak in a severe and critical way
(22) critical person
(23) without enough experience of life, trusting too easily
(24) cause of destruction
II. Charming, witty, wise - recognise yourself? Stingy, selfish, sly - must be somebody else!
Some words in the chart above have positive associations, others negative ones. Here are some words from the chart together with other words that share some aspects of their meaning. The table shows which have positive and which have negative associations.
| Positive | Negative | Positive | Negative |
| generous, unstinting | extravagant, immoderate | shrewd, astute | cunning, sly |
| resolute, dogged | stubborn, mulish | sober, serious | morose, sullen |
| thrifty, frugal | stingy, parsimonious | witty, pithy | sharp-tongued, terse |
| diligent, industrious | work-obsessed, (a) workaholic | tolerant, broad-minded | unscrupulous unprincipled |