bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

additionalInfoBoxes

quizIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

John Millen

We often take the colour white for granted. But it is much more than just a background colour.

White nouns

Take a look at these important white nouns and decide what each of them means.

Is a white elephant exactly what it appears?

1) A white lie

a) A lie that you tell frequently.

b) A lie that you tell to be polite or to stop someone being hurt by the truth.

2) A whitewash

a) White soap or gel that you use when you are taking a shower.

b) Hiding the full truth about something bad so that it does not look as bad as it is.

3) A white-collar worker

a) Someone who works in an office doing mental not physical work.

b) Someone who sells  shirts in a department store.

4) A white elephant

a) Something that is expensive but is completely useless.

b) A baby elephant under six months old.

5) A white flag

a) A flag that is waved to show defeat or surrender.

b) A flag that flies outside a government building when someone important is there.

6) White goods

a) Large electrical items for the house such as cookers and fridges.

b) Special presents that you wrap up in expensive white paper.

White adjectives

What does the white adjective mean in each of these sentences?

Have you ever been to a white-tie dinner?

1) White hot

Don't touch it! It's white hot!

a) It's extremely hot.

b) It is hot but won't burn you seriously.

2) Off-white

Cindy wore an off-white trouser suit that looked  elegant.

a) A white trouser-suit with shades of grey in it.

b) A white trouser-suit with black buttons.

3) Snow-white

Paul has just bought a snow-white kitten for his sister's birthday.

a) A kitten with shades of other colours in its fur.

b) A pure white kitten.

4) White-tie

We've been invited to a white-tie dinner on New Year's Eve.

a) A dinner where the men have to wear formal clothes including a white bow-tie.

b) A dinner where all guests have to wear white clothes.

5) As white as a sheet.

'You looked as white as a sheet when you opened that letter.'

a) All the blood drained out of your face and you looked shocked.

b) You gave a big smile and looked very pleased.

6) Black-and-white

You must tell the teacher he stole the money - it's black-and-white.

a) It is easy to understand whether the situation is right or wrong.

b) It is a complicated situation to understand

Which white?

White goods or a white elephant?

Choose the correct phrase to make each sentence make sense.

1) She was (black-and-white / as white as a sheet) when she opened the envelope and looked at the photo.

2) My sister works in the (white elephant / white-goods) section of a department store in  Kowloon.

3) The molten lava was (off-white / white-hot) as it spewed out of the volcano.

4) A plain (off-white / white-tie) top would look very  stylish with that skirt.

5) Do you think that telling a (white-wash / white lie) is okay when you don't want to hurt someone's feelings?

6) I wouldn't want to be a (white-collar worker / white elephant). I think that being stuck in an office all day would bore me to tears.White haiku

White haiku

Look around you.

Think of something that   is white and then write   a haiku about it. Try to   keep to the five syllables/   seven syllables/five syllables  form.

White bed sheets like ghosts

Blowing in the cold north wind

Breaking their earth strings

Black words,  a white page

Take us  where we want to go

Tell us telling wonderful things

Here the first white snow

The sound of cold white silence

Travelling through still air

Answers



A clean slate