#3 Google Syntax

This week we learned about Google Syntax and below I'd list some examples of them:

1. Search for an exact word or phrase - "search"

"Halloween Costumes" - About 106,000,000 results

2. Search within a site or domain - site: 

halloween costumes site:ebay.com - About 496,000 results 

3. Search for pages that are similar to a URL - related:

related:topshop.com - About 28 results

4. Search for a specific file format - filetype:

halloween filetype:ppt - About 7,540 results

5. Search for pages that link to a URL - link:

link:youtube.com - About 4,610 results

So honestly, I find this quite embarrassing that I just knew about Google Syntax recently, but I think this'd make our "research" on google way easier and faster. And I'm not complaining about that, too! ;)

-G

#2 Dictionary Exercise

This week's assignment that was given by our teacher, Miss Sally;
is to read an article from BBC News : Walk or cycle for 'a happier commute'.

For me personally, I don't really have any significant problem in understanding the whole article and vocabularies,
but I'd still list some words that I think are quite interesting and a little bit unfamiliar for me.

1. a necessary evil

(idiom)

a thing that is bad or that you do not like but which you must accept for a particular reason
ex:The loss of jobs is regarded as a necessary evil in the fight against inflation.

2. face up to something

(phrasal verbs)

to accept and deal with something that is difficult or unpleasant
ex:She had to face up to the fact that she would never walk again.You have to face up to your responsibilities.

The online dictionary that I chose to look the words up is the Oxford Learner's Dictionary.
I find it very simple and also easy to use. 
Definitions and examples that it provides are also extremely clear and helpful for me.
I actually prefer online dictionaries better than the actual 'book dictionary', because not only it is highly convenient, but also it's faster for us when we look the words up. Online dictionaries save us so much time and we don't even have to turn the pages one by one just to find a word in the thick-and-never-ending book (aka the 'old-fashioned' dictionary). 
We just have to type the words that we're looking for and the results will just instantly come out; definitions, example sentences, additional notes, etc. Perfect for learning new vocabularies and improving our English skill.
In another word, a big thank you for whoever invented the Online Dictionaries! 

-G