The most delicious smell filled the house yesterday. My son, Cass had made bread. He has made it successfully many times, and I have had to go to the supermarket on many occasions just to get more flour. Of course, when he first started making bread, there were a few disasters. It took a while(1) to teach him to clean up after cooking, and to use the right ingredients and the right method of cooking and baking. However, with practice he has become an expert, and we all look forward to sampling(2) his baked goods. There was something extra special about yesterday's bread though. Cass had actually(3) grown the wheat, harvested it, and made it into flour for the bread. He's a purist, and like me, an avid gardener. He planted the wheat in the autumn, and waited patiently for it to grow. So far this summer, he has been checking it every day. When he saw that it was ready to harvest, he cut it all down, threshed it, and put the grain in a large bag. We have a grinding machine which he used to crush the grain into flour. So he went through the process from the very beginning to the end. He even cleaned the kitchen! It was a labor of love.
1. 'A while', 'it took a while'. These phrases are commonly used in the same way as 'some time'. It's very non-specific, and good usage.
a. It'll take you a while to get used to those high heels.
b. It took me a while to learn French, several years actually.
c. He has been going to the gym for a while, ten years I think!
2. 'To sample' is to have a little bit of a larger item, often food. However, it can also be non-edible items like perfume, detergent, creams. The verb and noun are also used in science, when tiny pieces of substances are taken to be examined.
a. I sampled some unusual cheeses in the deli.
b. The sunscreen company sent me a sample in the mail.
c. The biologists took samples of the pond water and later examined them in the laboratory.
3. The use of 'actually'. It's a fabulous and common word. Here it's used as emphasis. We do this by putting it in front of the verb.
a. I couldn't believe that the two-year-old actually read the novel!
b. Everyone thought they would lose, but they actually won the race.
c. His friends were supposed to help him, but he actually did all the work himself.
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Peter: Hi Liz, are you just about ready?
Liz: Yep. Thanks again for giving me a ride. I appreciate all your help.
Peter: Oh, don't mention it. Anything for my friends!
Liz: You're so sweet.
Peter: So, your dad will pick you up at the train station?
Liz: Yes. She'll be in her aerobics class, so she won't know that I'm arriving. We'll pick up three more people, plus the birthday cake, and get back to the house before she comes home. Everyone else will be waiting there.
Peter: Oh, I love surprise parties.
Liz: Me too!
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I laughed when I saw the cartoon scene from this podcast, of a boy talking to his teacher, and giving a very weak excuse as to(1) why he hadn't done his homework. I remember telling a similar tale(2) to the principal of my elementary school. However, all those years ago, we didn't have computers, and we certainly had never heard of technology viruses. I told him that my mother had burned my homework. "She burned it?" he exclaimed, looking at me with judging eyes. Of course, he knew that I was lying, and I knew that he knew. Why did I even try to lie to my principal? I suppose I was scared of his anger; I didn't expect him to be ok with me not doing(3) the homework. Plus it's always easy to blame your mother when she's not around. I come across similar situations with my children, "Robert, why didn't you clean up your mess?" An answer to that is often, "Domini didn't clean up hers either." In English we call it 'pointing the finger'. We mention someone else's fault to make ourselves look better, and feel less guilty. Nowadays, of course, we are not limited to blaming our mothers, brothers and sisters, or our family pets (children are known to say that the dog ate the homework). We can now add computers, printers, and viruses to the list.
1. The use of 'as to' in the first sentence. It's a little bit old fashioned, but still sounds good in sentences that we are trying to stretch out, or lengthen. It means the same as 'regarding' or 'concerning'. It also sounds less formal than 'regarding' or 'concerning' and that is often why it is used.
a. I'd like to hear an explanation from you as to why you fired Jim and then hired Bob.
b. I understand the project, but I don't have a clue as to how it will be financed.
2. 'Tale' means a story. It is often used as a kind way of saying 'a lie'.
a. I don't believe what she was saying; I think she was telling a little tale.
b. The fishermen always tell tales about the giant fish that escaped from the net.
3. 'To be ok with something' means that a person is comfortable or agrees with a situation.
a. Are you ok with me coming to your house at 10pm?
b. I'm not ok with this situation; it makes me feel uncomfortable.
c. I can't believe that you're ok with your noisy neighbors.
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While substitute teaching in a local school for an art teacher, I came across junk art. I had heard of it(1), but I had never really looked into it. Actually, elementary school art often involves items that are for recycling, like boxes, bottles, or packages. However, there is a difference between using recycled objects for art projects, and junk art. In junk art, the object used is not disguised by colors, shapes, or textures. Pablo Picasso was the first well-known artist to include junk in one of his pictures, in fact, he stuck a piece of a chair onto a painting. Later, junk art was practiced and perfected by(2) Marcel Duchamp. As I looked around the art room where I was teaching, a red glow caught my eye. The color was coming from(3) a string of fairy lights that had been placed inside empty, red cartridges that had been used in a shot gun. Usually, these are just thrown away. However, someone must have had the idea of saving them for a creative reason. I think that the idea of using shot gun cartridges as a string of lights is delightful. Its use in art is so different from its original intention; it's a great contrast.
1. 'I had heard of it' and its variations can be used in conversation to increase the impression of your fluency.
a. I had heard of him, but I had never met him.
b. I had heard of the book, but I had never read it.
c. We had heard of them, but we had never met them.
2. To have something 'perfected by' a person.
a. My grandmother created the recipe, and my mother perfected it.
b. He came up with the idea, but you perfected it.
3. '....was coming from...' is used in this podcast to add a bit of description to the text, and is good to use in conversation.
a. The noise was coming from next door; I don't know what was going on.
b. There's a strange smell in the garage; it's coming from one of the storage boxes.
c. What beautiful music! Where is it coming from?
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Our recent camping trip turned out to be more interesting than I had expected. My family and I drove up to a remote forest area near Lake Chelan. There were no houses nearby, and only a few signs of human life(1). We set up our campsite next to a dirt path, overlooking a spectacular view of some distant mountains. It is very dry this time of year, but there are enough trees to offer some welcome shade(2). We rode our dirt bikes, built a campfire, the boys did some target practice with their BB guns, and we generally relaxed and explored. Some friends also joined us, one of whom is a hunter, and a bit of an animal expert. When he arrived, before he even said, "Hello," he presented us with a snake that he had just found on the property. "It's a kind of Boa," he explained. We all leaned forward to have a better look. It was small and green, and seemed to be a very gentle creature. It doesn't eat, bite, or sting humans, so I was quite happy to hold it. My daughter, who is an animal lover, borrowed it for quite a few hours. It curled around her hands, wrists, shoulders, and even her neck. I think it appreciated her warmth(3). The snake is now in a very nice terrarium back at the house where it is being thoroughly spoiled, and is growing longer and fatter.
1. 'Only a few signs of human life,' shows how remote the place was where we were camping. ' A sign of/ a few signs of' is an effective way of expressing the lack of impact of humans. It can also be used with many other subjects. It is similar to using the expression 'traces of'.
a. As we walked through the forest, we could only see a few signs of the fire that had happened five years ago.
b. There were signs of animal activity in our garden: bear tracks and claw marks on the trees!
2. 'Welcome' is used as an adjective in the context of something being appreciated, a help, or a relief.
a. At the end of my marathon, I was offered some cold water. It was truly a welcome drink.
b. The old men meet at the coffee shop where they have a welcome conversation.
3. The verb 'to appreciate' can be added into conversation easily and effectively to show fluency.
a. Thanks for helping me with the paperwork; I really appreciate it!
b. I appreciate how you listen so well.
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