Vocabulary Work:
Words That Contain Colours
Introductions and expressions:
All students know how to say colours in English as it is vocabulary of
beginner/elementary level. But not all of them know some words and idiomatic expressions
that contain a colour. For instance, when at one of my English lessons I asked my students
what the expression “to buy a white elephant” means, they were simply at a loss. To
enlarge students’ vocabulary range here is a set of exercises which I call “Colour”.
Exercise 1. Find the word beginning with white using definitions:
1. It is used for writing on in classrooms, mainly with the help of dry
erase markers.
2. Workers that do jobs in offices, banks, etc.
3. Typical drink for breakfast with milk or cream.
4. You say it to somebody to avoid upsetting them or making them angry.
5. The US President works and lives there.
6. Something that is not at all useful, especially something that has
cost a lot of money.
7. A white liquid used for painting walls.
Exercise 2. Find the word beginning with red using definitions:
1. To catch somebody at the moment when they are doing something wrong.
2. Special treatment that you give someone important who is visiting
you.
3. A giant tree that grows in California US.
4. A fact that isn’t important but is introduced in order to take
attention away from something that is important.
Exercise 3. Find the word beginning with blue using definitions:
1. Workers that do jobs such as repairing machines and assembling
things at the factories.
2. A small plant with blue flowers that grows in the forest.
3. A small dark blue berry.
4. A plan for describing how to achieve something used by architects.
5. A piece of blue material given to the first prize winner of a
competition.
Exercise 4. Find the word beginning with green using definitions:
1. An area of land around a city where building is not allowed.
2. A glass building used for growing plants that need protection from
the weather.
3. A shop that sells fruits and vegetables.
4. A document that shows that a foreigner can live and work in the USA.
5. If you are very good at making plants grow you have this on your
hand.
Exercise 5. Fill in the gaps with a suitable colour. Only one variant
is possible:
1. Nobody believed my brother’s story. In fact he was telling a ____
lie.
2. Nobody can stand Carl’s behaviour. We call him the ________ sheep
in our family.
3. My friend was lucky when he got a _________ card. He is thinking of
moving to Alabama next month.
4. When the prince arrived in Italy, he was given the ______ carpet
treatment.
5. It’s great that we live not far from the forest, near the ______
belt.
6. My girlfriend must be rich since she frequently buys _____
elephants.
7. Oh, look at Max! He’s got a ______ eye. He must have been
fighting.
8. The first prize goes to Andrew Edberg. Here is the traditional
______ ribbon and a golden statuette.
Exercise 6. Fill in the gaps with “colour” expressions:
1. Mary is keen on gardening and everyone says she’s got ______.
2. – Oh, what has happened? You’ve got a ________!
– Don’t worry, Mum! It’s the result of playing volleyball. The
ball suddenly hit me hard in the face.
3. The Kyoto conference was devoted to the problem of the _____ effect.
4. Kamala picked beautiful ______ and daisies in the field.
5. If you want to emigrate and work in America, you need to get a
______.
6. Our granny baked a lovely _______ pie.
7. The cupboard in our kitchen is made of ________.
8. The film was fantastic! It was about the ________ in space.
9. The thieves were unable to escape and were caught _______.
10. We had a bus tour in Washington, and we saw a lot of wonderful
places as well as the famous _________.
Key:
Ex. 1: 1. whiteboard; 2. white-collar; 3. white coffee; 4. white
lie; 5. White House; 6. white elephant; 7. whitewash.
Ex. 2: 1. (to catch) red-handed; 2. red carpet; 3. redwood; 4.
red herring.
Ex. 3: 1. blue-collar; 2. bluebell; 3. blueberry; 4. blueprint;
5. blue ribbon.
Ex. 4: 1. greenbelt; 2. greenhouse; 3. greengrocer; 4. green
card; 5. green thumb.
Ex. 5: 1. white; 2. black; 3. green; 4. red; 5. green; 6. white;
7. black; 8. blue.
Ex. 6: 1. a green thumb; 2. black eye; 3. greenhouse; 4.
bluebells; 5. green card; 6. blueberry/blackberry; 7. redwood; 8. black holes; 9.
red-handed; 10. White House
By Alexander Derbaremdiker,
Polytechnic College No. 8, Moscow
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