English by Viola

15 March 2017 22:02

Let it be the week of math.
Pointless:
1. Lacking meaning; senseless: a pointless remark; a pointless coincidence.
2. Ineffectual; useless: a pointless effort to prevent discussion of the scandal. See Synonyms at futile.
3. Having an end that is not sharp or tapered; having no point: pointless arrows.
4. Failing to score a point: a pointless first quarter.

English by Viola

12 March 2017 22:36

- Despite being a woman of few words, Sarah was well-respected in her field because of her actions.
- She is a woman of few words, but she always gets things done.

English by Viola

08 March 2017 19:24

Have you ever heard about International Women's Day? Why do we need a day to celebrate just half the inhabitants of our planet? Find out about this special day by reading the text below.

Long read time - via BritichCouncil

http://lnk.al/3Vb5

English by Viola

06 March 2017 19:22

International Women's Day is too close.

English by Viola

27 February 2017 06:44

Some of our followers claim that we post fewer idioms than usual. Well, that's wrong, we stick to our guns :)

English by Viola

21 February 2017 22:06

Idioms time!

You and who else? and You and what army?:

a phrase that responds to a threat by implying that the threat is a weak one.

Example:
Bill: I'm going to punch you in the nose!
Bob: Yeah? You and who else?

Tom: Our team is going to slaughter your team.
Bill: You and what army?

English by Viola

18 February 2017 08:48

BTW, to put up with someone or something = to tolerate or endure someone or something; to be able to stand someone or something. However, it is usually used in negative context. Don't put up with the rows!

English by Viola

16 February 2017 15:27

English42 has prepared a simple chart which shows you 6 phrasal verbs you can use to talk about your love life – present, past or future.

English by Viola

09 February 2017 21:20

It's high time you thought about You-Know-What :)

English by Viola

07 February 2017 15:51

Knock-knock jokes will never go out of fashion, won't they?

English by Viola

30 January 2017 08:01

Hi, guys!

We have decided to launch a new contest for those who took IELTS exam.
Here you are - http://lnk.al/3Frv. You'd better read it carefully, but to cut the long story short:
Write an essay —> Send it before February, 7th —> Win a bunch of Viola presents!
As simple as that. Good luck!

English by Viola

25 January 2017 18:46

We found some space infographics for you, guys!
(and tomorrow we will release the new contest)

English by Viola

20 January 2017 17:09

We are as apolitical as possible, yet we like to watch historic events.

Here are two links to Trump Inaugural Live Stream:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4PJLBHuKJ8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crR6Rys4usA

You can discuss it in our @violachat.

English by Viola

18 January 2017 18:54

What would happen if the Earth abruptly stopped spinning for 42 seconds?

This answer assumes that the earth stops suddenly for 42 seconds and then starts spinning at its normal speed.

Read: https://goo.gl/oTnrGR

#fact

English by Viola

18 January 2017 16:53

Nothing new under the sun - except for cool idioms!

Space is our topic for these days.

English by Viola

14 March 2017 20:13

Shepherd's pie (made with minced lamb) or cottage pie (made with minced beef) is a meat pie with a crust of mashed potato.
Happy Pi day! :)

English by Viola

10 March 2017 21:58

Sorry, but putting the comics here was an irresistible temptation.
Besides, isn't that pen cool?

English by Viola

07 March 2017 19:10

Let us provide you with a quote:

The terms matryoshka doll, babushka doll, and Russian nesting doll all refer to the same item. The feature that makes a matryoshka doll unique is that the doll actually consists of many dolls nested within one another. All but the smallest doll have a top and a bottom half that come apart to reveal the next smaller doll. One matryoshka doll may consist of up to 20 dolls. They are a symbol of Russia and of the Russian culture, but have become popular worldwide.

English by Viola

01 March 2017 20:41

We were telling you about war and army for too long. This long picture is all about peace :)
(best buds = people who regard themselves as very close friends)

English by Viola

24 February 2017 18:51

This phrase refers to the 1815 battle outside the Belgian town of Waterloo in which Napoleon Bonaparte was finally defeated by forces commanded by the Duke of Wellington. The term Waterloo quickly became synonymous with anything difficult to master. It was referred to as such the year after the Battle of Waterloo by another English hero - Lord Byron, in a letter to Thomas Moore:

"It [Armenian] is... a Waterloo of an Alphabet."

Yet another English icon, Arthur Conan Doyle, was the first to refer to someone meeting their Waterloo, in Return of Sherlock Holmes, 1905:

"We have not yet met our Waterloo, Watson, but this is our Marengo."

This refers to the Battle of Marengo in Italy, in which Napoleon 's forces were surprised by an Austrian attack and came close to defeat.

(via http://lnk.al/3Q2N)

English by Viola

20 February 2017 21:52

OK, the topic for the week is an army.
(not a army, even though Chuck Norris is not the right person to argue with)

English by Viola

16 February 2017 16:39

hook up - to arrange for someone to go out with someone
make out - (slang) to kiss and touch someone in a sexual way
fall out - to quarrel or disagree with someone about something
break up - to end a romantic relationship with someone
shack up - to live with and have a sexual relationship with someone you are not married to
settle down - to get married and settle into a stable way of life

English by Viola

15 February 2017 21:59

Hi, guys!

It was a harsh struggle - we were trying to choose the winner of our contest, which turned out to be one of the toughest decisions ever made. Sorry for the waiting, we know, you hate it. However, now we are happy to announce the results:

First place - Sayyor Yusupov, whose detailed essay was full of tips on every single part of the exam.

Second place - Egor Zmaznev, a dedicated student of business faculty from Finland, who managed to pass IELTS after two-week preparation and shared his experience in a captivating way.

Third place - Bekhruz Saparbaev, who passed IELTS twice and shared not only the tips of his best tutor but also his own ones, as currently, he is an IELTS-teacher himself.

These cute followers of our channel receive special gifts from Viola (will be sent pretty soon, we will get in touch with winners (beware - only @tonyprots is trustworthy) - and share photos of presents with you). All other participants won't be left without presents as well - special wooden badges will be sent to everyone.

Last but not least - we will publish extracts from all essays - and full articles of the winners. You will be able to find them using #VIOLA_IELTS tag. Moreover, you will get a full list of tips in one article followed by comments of Violaclub.ru teachers who specialise in IELTS exam. So, the new era of original helpful materials begins :)

P.S. Even though IELTS is one of the most popular exams in the world, we won't forget about any other part of English studies. Besides... we have lots of ideas on new contest :)

English by Viola

07 February 2017 19:31

Today you've the last chance to take part in our IELTS contest! The instructions in case you've forgotten: https://goo.gl/g8h3zd. Our brave warriors have already started reading your essays! :)

English by Viola

06 February 2017 08:33

Brace yourself, Saint Valentine's Day is coming!

Less than two days left before the contest deadline, yet for now, we decided to start a new topic - that's LOVE!

English by Viola

28 January 2017 21:52

- They are worlds apart. I can't imagine how they ever decided to get married!

English by Viola

24 January 2017 22:07

BBC Learning English vocabulary list on space is here to cheer you up before some nasty, pardon, necessary ads :)

English by Viola

19 January 2017 22:11

Well, this joke really made our day :)

English by Viola

18 January 2017 18:54

Hey, guys!

We rarely recommend you channels (except for the long lists with which you are all are familiar with), but this one really deserves a separate post.

@space_english - "Great Space" - is an English-language channel about the cosmos. The channel has photos from NASA, CSA, ESA, Roscosmos and the Hubble Scope. It also provides you with news connected to space, space gifs, facts, stickers and awesome videos.

Don't hesitate - join @space_english right now. That's how a typical post from there looks like:

English by Viola

15 January 2017 22:47

"get cold feet" means "to suddenly become too frightened to do something you had planned to do"
Especially something important like getting married...