Teacher Discussion Forums

Yes, totally true. The brain feels no pain. And if the patient is conscious, he can help the surgeons by telling them which part of his body reacts to the procedures they do inside his head. A bit weird, I admit, but true.

Thanks for the help!

B.

Hi everyone,

I'm back with some more vocab questions.

Please help me understand the meaning of the words in bold:

The patient's consciousness serves to edit the normal prattle of surgery, and any mild emergency is met with suppressed anxiety.

(The context is brain surgery).

Thank you!

B.

Hi, thanks for the reply. Here's another question, if you'll be so kind... :) At the first sign of invasion, a Paul Revere alarm sounds, and numerous body systems hasten into action. What's a "Paul Revere alarm"? I suppose it has some cultural/historical connotations which I just can't find the expl...

Hi everyone,

pls help me with another vocab/agreement question.

What's the subject of shrunken in the following context? Is it "we"? Am really confused... Thanks!

"If shrunken down to their size, we would see red cells as bloated bags of jelly and iron drifting along in a river..."

Hi everyone, thanks for all your helpful answers. I have another question now. :) Please have a look at the following sentence and paraphrase it for me, if you will. Thanks so much! Pete Rose can count on his muscles springing into action to snare a screaming line drive because he has built that res...

Hi everyone, I'm back with another question. I'm just gonna go ahead and post it here, so I don't clutter up the list with so many vocab questions. Could anyone explain what "pin-sized potions" means in the following context? "An allergist can crack the secret code of your body's likes and dislikes ...

Thanks, you guys, for all the suggestions. They've been of great help!

B.

Hi guys, I'm not sure if my question really fits into this category, but please help me with it. :) Could someone please explain what "barnacles" means in the following context: "Laws are too encrusted with cultural barnacles that obscure their true essence." I'm guessing it means "obstacles, impedi...

Hi,

could anyone please explain what "to give the edge to somebody" means? Take someone's part or so?

Thanks!

B.

Hi everyone, would you say that " to pay the price" always has a negative connotation? I'll give you a bit of a context as well: "Now the prospect of Reich loomed, where before there had been only the tame Federal Republic. If offering up the mark will banish that prospect, he is willing to pay the ...

Yes, they are indeed called intensifiers.

Thanks!

Bogdan

You've taught in Turkey, Andrew? That's fantastic! I also taught in Istanbul for two years. Remember when they used to translate "cok kalabalik" as "very people"? :D :D :D Funny stuff! Thanx for the tips! Bogdan (by the way, they used to pronounce my name as "boktan" in Turkish. Know what that means...

Really? This book reads easily is totally incorrect? I'm sure I heard it several times. What sort of anomaly is that?

Bogdan

Hi,

does anyone know what such constructions as "the very first ...", "ever growing/changing etc. are called and where I could find an extensive list of them? To my mind, I'd call them linguistic enhancers. Does such a term ever exist or have I just coined it?

Thank you!

Bogdan

Read also fits in this category, doesn't it?

This book reads easily.