Know your false friends
by Bogdan O. Tomsa
1. Teacher to students: Everyone, please look at figure 2 on page 66.
She works in the fashion industry, so she has to stay fit and keep a good figure.
1, 4, 5, 6, 7, etc. are called figures.
Oh, don’t ask me to calculate your salary. I’m helpless at figures.
2. Chicago is my favourite film of all times.
If you boil milk, it will form a thick film of fat on the top.
3. Kids love chewing gum.
When brushing my teeth, my dentist advised me to brush my gums too. They, too, can carry bacteria.
4. Where’s my jacket? Oh, you’ve hung it on the peg in the hall.
Big concerts are sometimes held in sports halls.
5. Oh, he turned up in his new convertible Mercedes. He thought he’d impress me!
Before we send these parcels out, we have to impress them with our company seal.
6. The clothes industry in Romanian is on the rise.
George has always been praised for his industry.
7. Most children have an interest in computer games these days.
For any loan, banks can apply interests from 10 to 50%.
8. Where’s Mary? Oh, I’ve just seen her here! Where’s she gone?
Your judgements are not just. You are being unfair!
9. Margaret Thatcher was the first woman Prime Minister in the history of Britain.
After graduating from the seminary, he became a minister in his home village.
10. Please sit down. I’ll be with you in just a minute.
Don’t ask her what the party was like. She’ll tell you everything about it down to the most minute details.
The secretary was busy writing up the minutes of the meeting.
11. It’s just normal for teenagers to try to imitate their favourite pop stars.
Teacher to students: You see, in a square all four sides are normal to one another.
12. I’ve always been curious to see what’s inside a tank.
Mary: Maybe I’ve run out of petrol.
John: That’s impossible. We’ve just filled up the tank.
Did any of the new meanings surprise you at all? Read on to see whether you guessed them correctly or not.
1. Figure = an illustration; diagram; picture; drawing
Figure = the shape of the human body; human form;
2. Film = motion picture, movie;
Film = a fine, thin skin, surface, layer, or coating; (=Ro. pelicula, membrana, strat)
3. Gum = chewing gum
Gum = (often pl.) the firm flesh covering the jaws on the inside of the mouth and surrounding the base of the teeth; (Ro. = gingie)
4. Hall = a passageway or room between the entrance and the interior of a building; (Ro. = hol)
Hall = a large public or semipublic room for gatherings, entertainments, etc. (Ro. = sala)
5. Impress = to have a marked effect on the mind or emotions of; (Ro. = a impresiona)
Impress = to mark by using pressure; stamp; imprint; (Ro. = a imprima, a stanta, a sigila etc.)
6. Industry = any large-scale business activity;
Industry = diligence, assiduity, persistence; (Ro. = harnicie)
7. Interest = a feeling of intentness, concern, or curiosity about something;
Interest = money which is charged by a bank or other financial organization for borrowing money;
(Ro. = dobanda)
8. Just = now, very soon, or very recently;
Just = fair, morally correct;
9. Minister = person appointed by the head of a government to take charge of some department;
Minister = a priest in particular parts of the Christian church (Baptist, Protestant, etc.)
10. Minute = the sixtieth part of an hour;
Minute = very small; tiny;
Minutes = (pl.) an official record of what was said and done at a meeting, convention, etc.
(Ro. = proces-verbal)
11. Normal = ordinary, usual, standard, regular, typical, etc.
Normal = (Math.) perpendicular; at right angles;
12. Tank = a heavily armored, self-propelled combat vehicle armed with guns and moving on full tractor treads;
Tank = any large container for liquid or gas; (Ro. = container, rezervor)
Some of the definitions above are courtesy of Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (CALD) and Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary.