Harvard English Course - Unit 01: Alphabet, Numbers & Shapes

A Selection of Acronyms

Technology

  • RADAR (1942): Radio Detection and Ranging
  • VOD (2002): Video on Demand
  • DNA (1944): Deoxyribonucleic Acid
  • HDMI (1995): High-Definition Multimedia Interface
  • DVD (1995): Digital Versatile Disc
  • LASER (1957): Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation
  • LED (1968): Light-Emitting Diode
  • SMS (1992): Short Message Service
  • ATM (1978): Asynchronous Transfer Mode
  • LCD (1979): Liquid Crystal Display

Expressions

  • AFK (1990): Away From Keyboard
  • OMG (1917): Oh My God!
  • AKA (1950): Also Known As
  • BTW (1992): By The Way
  • ASAP (1954): As Soon As Possible
  • FYI (1960): For Your Information
  • DIY (1963): Do It Yourself
  • ROFL (1989): Rolling On The Floor Laughing
  • LOL (1980): Laughing Out Loud
  • BRB (1991): Be Right Back

Computer

  • USB (1995): Universal Serial Bus
  • BIOS (1975): Basic Input/Output System
  • MIDI (1983): Musical Instrument Digital Interface
  • PDF (1992): Portable Document Format
  • GIF (1987): Graphics Interchange Format
  • URL (1992): Uniform Resource Locator
  • JPEG (1986): Joint Photographic Experts Group
  • HTML (1993): HyperText Markup Language
  • WWW (1990): World Wide Web
  • AVI (1992): Audio Video Interleaved

Listening

1. Listen and Repeat

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

2. Complete 1-7 with letters from the box. Each group has the same vowel sound.

  1. A _ _ K
  2. B C D _ G P _ V
  3. F L _ N _ X
  4. I _
  5. O
  6. Q U _
  7. R

3. Listen to the dialogues and answer the questions. Choose a or b.

  1. a. Alexandra Baecher b. Alexandra Baicher
  2. a. Giacomo b. Jiacomo
  3. a. Louise Waish b. Louise Walsh
  4. a. Vicky Watson b. Vicki Watson
  5. a. Meilin Zhu b. Meilin Zhyu
  6. a. Rufus Kean b. Rufus Kien

Discussion

  1. Spell the acronyms in the above posters.
  2. Spell your name and your friend's name.

Vocabulary

1. Match the words in the box with the numbers

zero, nine, three, one, seven, ten, four, two, eight, five, six

  • 0. zero
  • 1. _______
  • 2. _______
  • 3. _______
  • 4. _______
  • 5. _______
  • 6. _______
  • 7. _______
  • 8. _______
  • 9. _______
  • 10. _______

1. Write the numbers next to the words

  1. eleven _______
  2. nineteen _______
  3. twenty _______
  4. thirteen _______
  5. twelve _______
  6. fifteen _______
  7. fourteen _______
  8. sixteen _______
  9. eighteen _______
  10. seventeen _______

2. Write the numbers

  1. 62 sixty-two
  2. _____ thirteen
  3. 12 _______
  4. 50 fifty
  5. 100 _______
  6. _____ eleven
  7. 45 _______
  8. _____ thirty-one
  9. 76 _______
  10. _____ twenty-six

Listening

1. Listen and write the numbers

2 5 ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

2. Listen and write the numbers

  1. 67 4. _____ 7. _____
  2. _____ 5. _____ 8. _____
  3. _____ 6. _____

3. Listen to the conversation and mark the correct statement

  1. The bus number is 29 / 39
  2. The price is 49 / 45
  3. The gate number is 88 / 58
  4. The bus leaves at 5:15 / 4:45
  5. Her age is 54 / 64

What's the shape's name?

  1. c_____ (circle)
  2. t_______ (triangle)
  3. r_________ (rectangle)
  4. s_____ (square)

How to say the shape? Match the description with the picture.

Phrase of the Day: Greetings

Here are some formulas for greetings:

Greeting people:

More formally:

Replying greetings:

Saying goodbye: