English Conversation Questions

Design

Questions

1. Do you think design is important? Why?
2. Have you ever designed anything?
3. What are some well designed products?
4. What are some poorly designed products?
5. Are there any designers you admire?
6. Have you done any interior design in your home?
7. Would you like to be a web designer?
8. How would you design a new mode of transport?

Videos

Stunts, pyrotechnics, and superstars in sunglasses: that’s what comes to mind when you think of the world behind the scenes of a big-budget action movie, right? Well here’s one more for you: automotive modification.

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Matt McEntegart wasn’t a great artist and didn’t know much about computers, but he knew he was good at tricking out average sedans and morphing them into mobile masterpieces. A regular dude with an auto body shop in Tampa, Florida, he never imagined that one of his designs would be used in Warner Brothers and DC Comics’ upcoming film, “Suicide Squad.”

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Category:  Art | Geography & Travel
Keywords: Cars | Design
There’s no apartment in New York City more famous than Monica’s impossible rent-controlled, two-bedroom West Village digs. From the purple walls to the outdoor terrace, the “Friends” apartment became the quintessential

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ideal of everything New York could be. That’s all thanks to John Shaffner, the man responsible for creating the set of “Friends.” As a production designer, Shaffner has worked on 44 different series and 68 pilots, including “Dharma and Greg,” “The Drew Carey Show,” “Two and a Half Men,” and “The Big Bang Theory.”

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Category:  Art
Keywords: Design | Housing | TV Series
Vox
The 2018 World Cup football is a nod back to an iconic design.
When you think of a soccer ball, you probably imagine a classic black-and-white paneled ball. It’s known

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as the Telstar ball, and it was created thanks to TV.

The 1966 World Cup in England was broadcast live across the globe and it was at this point that television became a huge part of the sport. Thanks to the BBC, it was seen by four hundred million people. But spotting the ball was a bit challenging.

Back then, soccer balls looked more like reddish-brown volleyballs. And on black-and-white TVs, it didn’t really stand out from the green field.

By the 1970 World Cup, the soccer ball had changed to that classic Telstar. The contrasting panels made it stand out on TV. Plus, the players loved it because the 32 panels brought the ball closer to an actual sphere.

This year’s World Cup ball is called the Telstar 18, a nod to the original design. While the panels have changed to just six propeller-shaped pieces to make the ball even more spherical, the black-and-white checkered design is back.

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Category:  Art | Sports
Keywords: Design | Fashion | Sports | Television
Vox
Women’s minuscule pockets favor fashion over function – and it sucks.
It turns out that women went from having what some might call “superior” pockets to the ridiculously tiny

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versions we have today. We’ve been asking for better pockets since the beginning of the 20th century, but somehow, not much has changed. What’s the hold up?

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Category:  Art
Keywords: Design | Fashion | Pockets

Vocabulary:
cove
secluded
float
shore
anchor
lighthouse
greenhouse
handsaw
hammer
power tool
nail
board (noun)
ton
land sick
biomass
canoe
paddle
real estate
prosper
fulfilled

Expressions:
subsistence living
hon

Vocabulary:
word
word
word
word
word
word
word
word
word

Expressions:
expression
expression
expression
expression

Vocabulary:
prestigious
involuntary
swindler
fraudulence
unwarranted
concern
unfounded
impostor
syndrome
faculty
pervasive
prevalent
disproportionately
underrepresented
downplay
abnormality
self-esteem
spiral
accolade
threshold
susceptible
voice (verb)
peer
dismiss
excel
ease
mentor
competence
banish
frank

Expressions:
nagging doubt
shake a feeling
put something to rest
surefire way

Vocabulary:
filmmaker
principle
handcuff
clown
distill
underdog
aspect
familiar
unfamiliar
chopsticks
keyboard
organic
grounded
clarity
stuntman
steady
gag
perfectionist
rhythm
distinct
continuity
elbow
bunch
flail around
unlike
invincible
impressive
humanize
asset
payoff
relentlessness
finale

Expressions:
kick ass
going above and beyond
get smacked in the face
sell a joke

Vocabulary:
explosion
smoke (noun)
engine
unique
pilot
route
unemotional
terror
instant
reach out (to someone)
postpone
urgency
purpose
regret
humanity
ego
reflect
eliminate
frame (verb)
artistic
talent
bawl
miracle

Expressions:
bucket list
brace for impact
mend fences
make sense
connecting dots