English Conversation Questions

Countries

Questions

1. Tell us a little bit about your country, please.
2. Do we need so many countries in the world?
3. What things are necessary for a country to be a country?
4. Do you like your country? Why?
5. How many countries have you been to?
6. Which country in the world do you most admire and why?
7. If you were a country, what would you be and why?
8. What country would you love to live in apart from before?

Videos

Yakko Warner from the TV show Animaniacs singing a song to help you learn the Nations of the World.

Category:  Geography & Travel
Keywords: Cartoons | Countries
Vox
Making accurate world maps is mathematically impossible.
Maps are flat representations of our spherical planet. Johnny Harris cut open a plastic globe to understand

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just what it takes to turn a sphere into something flat.

His struggle to make a flat map out of the plastic globe is indicative of a challenge mapmakers have faced for centuries: It is mathematically impossible to translate the surface of a sphere onto a plane without some form of distortion.

To solve this problem, mathematicians and cartographers have developed a huge library of representations of the globe, each distorting a certain attribute and preserving others.

For instance, the Mercator projection preserves the shape of countries while distorting the size, especially near the north and south pole.

For a more accurate view of land area look at the Gall-Peters projection, which preserves area while distorting shape.

In the end, there’s not “right” map projection. Each comes with trade-offs, and cartographers make projection decisions based on the particular tasks at hand. But if you are interested in seeing an accurate depiction of the planet, it’s best to stick with a globe.

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Category:  Geography & Travel
Keywords: Countries | Maps | Travel

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