Beginners.
It's great to be back podcasting for you, my listeners. And what an exciting time of year it is! Back to school. For some of us, it is back to work. It seems that for most of July and August, here in the States, there are advertisements everywhere for the children's clothes and supplies for school. Unlike in England, here each child has a long list of supplies that their parents must buy for them for the start of school in September. The list includes: pencils, paper, books, pens, kleenex, sanitary wipes, coloring pens, paints, and the list goes on and on. My children were very excited when I came back from the store with lots of bags full of their stuff. They took them and ran up to their bedrooms to make piles of their new supplies under their desks, or in a special place. It is quite funny to see them on the first day of school, because their backpacks are crammed full. They can hardly zip them up! I think that it is exciting for them because it helps them feel prepared for a new school year with new friends, a new teacher, and a new schedule. They probably feel a little nervous about the newness of it all, and so, getting organised with their stuff makes them feel ready.
Grammar notes.
Useful vocabulary: supplies, kleenex, sanitary wipes, piles, to cram.
Exs:
Our most important emergency supply is bottles of water.
You must use a kleenex if you have a runny nose.
Instead of using bleach water to clean the countertops, I use sanitary wipes.
There were piles of dirty clothes all over the laundry room. Can't people just put them in the washer?
The little boy crammed the blueberries in his mouth.
Advanced.
So, I found myself a few weeks ago in Fred Meyer. It is a huge, general store in East Wenatchee where you can buy anything from milk to shoes, plastic bags to eye drops, or toys to trees. It's a great place if you want, what they call over here, 'a one stop shop' experience. They also have a wonderful place called 'Playland' where you can drop off your little children in a safe, supervised, 'kids only' room, so they can play and have fun while you do all of the boring shopping. What a great idea. But I wasn't doing normal shopping that day. I was on a mission. School supplies. To be honest, with four kids, it's all a bit of a headache. Thankfully though, these shops are not only ready to receive our money, but they are also ready to help us find what we need very easily. There were two very long aisles of school supplies, organised very clearly, to direct the grumpy, unwilling mothers, like myself, into the full shopping experience. I had sheet of paper in my hands with lists for each age group. Pencils first I think; okay, a pack of ten or a dozen. Is there an important difference. What's the big deal if I get the wrong one? Okay Anna, let's keep a good attitude. Next, paper. Young kids need wide ruled paper, not college ruled which is narrower. That makes sense. And so, I spent about an hour choosing, browsing, picking things up, putting them back, comparing, and selecting. And, finally it was done. Well, that wasn't too difficult after all.
Grammar notes.
New expressions and vocabulary: 'a one stop shop', to drop off, to supervise, grumpy, narrow/ narrower.
Exs:
It's so easy to shop in that store. It's my one stop shop.
I will drop the kids off at my mother's tomorrow.
Those rowdy boys really need to be supervised.
I wish he wasn't so grumpy. It's difficult to talk to him; he's so negative.
That road is narrow, but the other one is narrower.
Beginners.
We are continuing our study of different countries, with Croatia. It is a realtively small country in Central and Southeastern Europe, that is sandwiched between Slovenia and Hungary to the North, Serbia to the Northeast, Bosnia and Hertzegovina to the East, and Montenegro to the Southeast. Just opposite, to the West, across the Adriatic Sea, is Italy. It is shaped like a crescent moon. The geography of this country is quite varied. It has a very long rocky coastline, plains, lakes and rolling hills to the North and East, and very dense forests and mountains in the Dinaric Alps. Certainly there is a lot of variety in an area of 56 and a half thousand square kilometres. There are over 1000 islands in the Croatian territory, many inhabited, and enjoyed by tourists. Croatia is famous for its national parks and for having 49 caves, three of which are deeper than 1000 metres. It is also home to seven Unesco World Heritage sites. It has certainly become a hot spot for tourist in recent years. If you are looking for natural beauty and history at a reasonable price, apparently you need look no further.
Grammar notes.
Useful vocabulary: to be sandwiched (in) between, rolling hills, a hot spot.
Exs:
Our house is sandwiched between a butcher's and a baker's.
The rolling hills look smooth because they are not very high, nor do they have jagged rocks.
That night club is the city's main hot spot.
Advanced.
The earliest inhabitants of Croatia have been found to be Neanderthals. Several tribes of different regions lived in various areas of what now forms Croatia. In 9 AD, it became part of the Roman empire. However, in the 7th century AD, European Avars invaded and destroyed nearly all of the roman towns. The Croats organized themselves into 2 areas, and missionaries set about christianizing the people. Pope John V111 recognised Branimir as the Croats first leader in 872, but it did not become a kingdom until a century later. The Hungarian and Croatian royalties were related, and Hungary took over for 400 years, though Croatian independence was recognized. A Sabor, or kind of parliament ruled for the next 400 years. Croatia joined the Hapsburg empire in 1527 but then became independent in 1918. At this point Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes united to become Yugoslavia, much to the outrage of the majority of Croats; they wanted state independence.
Yugoslavia was quickly overtaken by Nazi Germany and a puppet Croatian ruling party, the Ustache, was set up. It was a brutal regime. After the war, Yugoslavia became socialist, and later a major war between the Croats and the Serbs took place between 1991 and 1995. Croatia was finally recognized in 1992 as an independent country.
Beginners.
The unfortunate thing about cooking is the cleaning up that you need to do afterwards. Oh drudgery! The endless pile of cups, plates, cutlery, and pots and pans can spoil an otherwise fun evening. I am used to cleaning the kitchen. I do it every day, sometimes without even realising. My goal is to get the dishes done as soon as possible. Even my mother has commented on the speed with which I unload and load the dishwasher, clean the countertops and put clean crockery away. Well, if I don't like doing it, then why do it slowly? Get it done as soon as possible, so I can move on to doing something more interesting. I know that I can't complain; I do have an automatic dish washer, so the job isn't really that difficult. I remember when I was a little girl and nobody really had dishwashers. They were extremely rare. My mother would wash everything by hand in very hot soapy water. Then, she would rinse every item in the sink off in very hot, clean water. The pots and pans and everything else would sit on the draining board for a while. A short while later, when the water had run off, we would each take a kitchen towel and help her dry and put it all away. It seemed to take forever. I think, though, that back then, we had less to do; we didn't seem so busy. I can't imagine life without my automatic dishwasher.
Grammar notes.
Related vocabulary: drudgery, crockery, cutlery, to rinse, the draining board.
Exs:
The class I just had was pure drudgery. It was slow and boring.
I need crockery. I hardly have any cups, plates, bowls, or other dishes.
Our silver cutlery needs to be polished with a special liquid.
After lathering up the car, the couple rinsed it off thoroughly with the hose.
My draining board is too small to hold all of the pots and pans; water runs over the edge onto the countertop.
Advanced.
Okay, roll up your sleeves and get on with it. Don't just stand there contemplating. It is a necessary evil, a daily duty, a pain in the rear. To do this successfully, make sure that you don't have any distractions; you need to focus. This is how I clean the kitchen. First of all, I scan the room to see if there is anything that needs to be thrown away. Then, I put away any clean cutlery or crockery that hasn't been used. I move all of the items that need to be washed close to the sink. Plates that still have food on them are scraped off over the pedal bin, (I have a really cool one that is extra big, and can be kept open if you are using it alot). I try to stack plates and bowls according to size so everything looks organised, even if it is still unwashed. I fill up the sink with these stacked, dirty items, making sure to put the cutlery in one pile, and anything delicate up on the countertop by itself. Wine glasses can easily break in the sink with the heavier items. I turn on the tap, switch the fosset head to spray rather than stream, and I rinse each item quickly before I load up the dishwasher. Once I reach this stage, it all goes very quickly. I try to arrange everything in the dishwasher to get maximum exposure to soapy water and rinsing. Nobody likes to open a dishwasher and find that it hasn't done its job. Then, I pour the soap powder into the little, plastic compartment, close the door, push a few buttons, and viola!, my favorite maid leaps into action. After that, I simply need to wipe down the countertops, and sweep the floor, and then pat myself on the back for a job well done.
Grammar notes.
Verbs: to contemplate, to scan, to scrape, to switch, to wipe.
Exs:
It was my day off, so I spent some time contemplating the flowers.
The robot scanned the building and detected an unexploded bomb in the corner of the lobby.
The girl fell down in the playground and scraped her knee.
I switched from regular coffee to decaf, but I was tired all the time, so I switched back.
She wiped the tears from her eyes with a handkerchief. His train had already left; she wouldn't see him for another month.
There's no podcast today. Sorry! I'm suffering from summer fatigue. Is it an illness? No. It's called needing a good vacation. I'll catch up with you on Wednesday. See you then. Anna.
Beginners.
The other day, I took the children to the local library. It is only a ten minute drive from our house. We had a lot of books that were overdue and needed to be returned. It's one of those great places to go when it is too hot to do anything else. Another benefit of going there is that it forces the children to be quiet. Ha-ha, that was my plan! We actually stayed there for over two hours. The library here in Wenatchee is divided into three sections. The main floor has most of the books, reference books, magazines, seating areas, and librarians' area. Downstairs has lots of computers for researching files of all sorts. Around the corner from this area is a quiet row of desks with internet access. You can take in your own laptop, plug it in, and search the web, or do any kind of work you need to. It is a very handy place. The top floor is dedicated to children. I love going there. The first thing you see as you go up the stairs is a huge, metal, green frog with a crown on it. There is a computer for children to do various learning games on. And then, the main room has a big fantasy mural, lots of toys and books, a tent with big pillows and stuffed animals, blocks of all sorts, and a fish tank. It is fun, imaginative, and cozy. There are two other small areas, amongst rows of book shelves, where children can sit and play with games, puppets, and puzzles. It was in the puzzle area that my children discovered a box of dominos. They were hooked. They absolutely refused to leave. I stopped asking them to get ready to go, because I could see that they were totally engrossed in the game. Dominos are fun, great to hold, and quite addictive.
Grammar notes.
Related vocabulary: overdue, benefit, reference, handy, stuffed animals, to be engrossed.
Exs:
The pregnant lady is overdue; she should have had the baby two weeks ago.
One benefit of being a teacher is that you often learn a lot from your students.
I can't take out that book from the library. It is a reference book.
This new cell phone is so handy! It fits in my pocket, has the internet, and even charges the car battery.
My little girl has loads of stuffed animals in her bedroom.
I was talking to my husband, when I realized that he was engrossed in his book, and hadn't heard a word that I had said.
Advanced.
When we came home from the library, my children found our box of dominos, and immediately started to play. However, they didn't want to play the traditional game of number sequencing. Their goal was to set up a domino course that would all fall down at the slightest, deliberate touch. It wasn't as easy as they were hoping. They had visions of dominos all over the house, up and down the stairs, in and out of rooms, under chairs, through doors etc etc. Well, to start with, they didn't have enough dominos, so they had to settle for an obstacle course of medium size. They became very quiet and very industrious about the project. The whole thing took at least an hour. About half way through, I had to walk away and leave them alone because they were accidentally knocking down the arrangement, and becoming quite frustrated. It's always best for Mum to leave the room at that point and not say anything unless asked for advice. Finally, though, after a lot of trial and error, the domino course was ready for an audience. We all gathered around and waited for the count down. "Three, two, one, go!" Cass put a small, plastic ball on a shoot that pointed at the first domino. Success! It fell over and all the others did the same. They fell up a small stack of dvd cases that were positioned like stairs, then down the other side. They fell over in a circle shape, down an incline, and, for the grand finale, pushed two balls over to a wall of dominos that came crashing down!
Grammar notes.
Uses of the past participle as an adjective: asked, questioned, reminded, beaten, left.
Exs:
She will help you only if asked (only if she is asked to).
They were questioned by the police.
I am reminded every day of my friend who moved away.
The rugby team entered the changing room, tired out, and beaten by their opponents.
The kitten continued to sleep, left alone by the children.
Beginners.
A few days ago, we had a yard sale. I actually held it over two mornings, out of my garage. Yard sales are very common in this area, and very popular too. Do you know what they are? I suppose the name explains the meaning; a sale of household items which takes place outside on your driveway, or inside your garage. With it being so hot, I arranged everything inside my garage so prospective buyers wouldn't leave quickly because of the blast of the sun. The shade in the garage would keep them looking at the items a little longer. Amongst all the 'stuff' was a box of craft items and bits and pieces of little importance. I had marked the box with "$1 each or best offer". When the sale was finally over, I took most of the left over things to a charity organization, leaving just one box in the garage. I happened to look in the box today, and found something that I had long forgotten about: two ears of Indian corn. I had bought these a few years ago as a decoration for the house at pumpkin time, or late autumn. It is a reminder of the harvest, of the change of season, and of the richness of creation. But Indian corn has a unique look, and a unique history. All corn, I suppose, could be called Indian corn, but, in general, we give that name to the multicolored variety of corn that is used mainly for decoration rather than food.
Grammar notes.
Useful vocabulary: houshold items, to arrange, a prospective buyer, 'bits and pieces'.
Exs:
The shop sells household items, no farming equipment.
She is very good at arranging flowers in a vase.
If the entryway of the house is attractive, we will attract prospective buyers.
"What's in your bag?" "Oh, just bits and pieces."
Advanced.
Corn, or maize, was originally an american plant, grown by the Native American indians throughout Mesoamerica. It was a staple food for many of the tribes, and still is for many people. In Mexico, for example, corn is ground up into a crumbly flour, and made into 'masa' which is rolled out and cooked into tortillas, a round, flat grain wrap eaten with meat and vegetables. About three hundred and thirty two million metric tonnes of corn are grown in the U.S every year, more than in any other country. A lot of it is exported, but much of it is made into corn syrup which is added to many processed and premade foods. In hot climates it is quite easy to grow, and there are many varieties. A couple of years ago I grew corn, and was quite impressed at its performance. It got to about seven feet tall and produced a lot of ears. Mind you, the corn kernels were not consistently shaped. Some were swollen, and others were non existent. Some ears had a lot of flavor, others had very little. It'll take a bit of research for me to get it right, I think. However, when the Europeans first came over to the Americas, the Native Indians gave them some very good advice as to how to survive by growing successful corn. They taught them to put salmon in the earth where the corn was to be grown. This increased the nutrients of the earth greatly and gave good yields. Corn is a fascinating and delicious vegetable, and though used world wide, it is distinctly american. I'm glad I didn't manage to sell the two ears of corn. I think I'll keep them as a decoration and a reminder for a few more years.
Grammar notes.
Related vocabulary: staple, a grain, processed, research.
Exs:
Corn is a staple in Central and South America. Wheat is more of a staple in North America.
The farmer grows lots of grains: wheat, corn, and barley amongst others.
The hot dog is a very tasty but highly processed food.
Research indicates that A Cup of English is the best podcast on the internet......
Beginners.
You will probably get tired of me writing about how hot it is. Yes, yes, Wenatchee is always hot in the summer. However, this year, it has been exceptionally hot, like an oven. The past few weeks have each had several days of temperatures up to 106 degrees. You don't really see anyone around in the streets during the day, unless they are crazy....The early morning is wonderful, and late evening is very pleasant for a barbecue, a get together, or to do some gardening. I look out of my kitchen window during the day at my vegetable garden, longing to go over there and check things out, but there is no way that I can. When you walk in this kind of heat, you feel like you are cooking. My temperature gauge has been much busier than usual, going up into the hundreds during the day, and then back down at night. Mind you, even at nine and ten o'clock at night, recently, it has stayed about 90 degrees. Even with a breeze, the temperatures can be problematic. Because the hills are so dry this time of year, there is a great risk of fire. All it takes is a careless action of throwing a cigarette out of the window, or perhaps a fork lightning strike, and a hazardous fire is on our hands. The sky around Wenatchee has been hazy towards the North for a few days, which means that there is probably a sage brush fire or a forest fire somewhere close by. It is similar conditions to those of the Mediterranean where the fires are raging. It's a hot time, and full of danger.
Grammar notes.
Related vocabulary: a gauge, to rage, problematic, exceptionally.
Exs:
The temperature gauge on my car said that it was 120 degrees. I don't think that is accurate.
The bull went into a rage when he saw the red flag.
The situation is problematic. Not everyone will be happy about it.
That boy is exceptionally talented. He plays the piano like a master.
Advanced.
Don't you just long for shade in the middle of summer? I do. Am I a whimp? Should I be tougher and able to put up with the heat? But heat, I think, is almost more difficult to deal with than the cold. At least when it is cold, you can put lots of clothes on. When it is boiling hot and you are only wearing a bikini, there is nothing else you can take off! You have to escape and find air conditioning. And just pray that the electrical connection doesn't fail. I can't imagine what it is like at the moment in Greece where it is so, so hot, and where the fires are so many, and out of control. What can be done? What could be done? How could a government ensure that those kinds of disasters stop happening. In our area, we have fires during the summer most years. One thing that I have seen put in place are the fire barriers. They are long areas of land that have been cleared of trees and shrubs, and which divide planted or forested areas into sections. They are just like wide, dirt roads. The object is to contain a fire. The wide, empty, dirt length stops fires blowing over into more planted areas. It works, in a preventative way. Another preventative measure that is quite common and inexpensive, is to clear forest floors of dead wood, which is often extremely dry and burns quickly. I remember hearing the news last year about fires in Greece which were believed to have been started deliberately. There was a huge reward for information leading to the arrest of the arsonists. I hope they were caught. They should spend the rest of their lives planting trees.
Grammar notes.
Useful verbs: to long for, to spend (time/money), to put up with, to clear.
Exs:
I long for the cooler days. In a month they will be here.
We spent all morning together just walking and chatting. Then we went to the shops and spent all of our money.
I don't know how you put up with your neighbors. They are so noisy in the evenings!
The land was cleared of trees and bushes because an office building was going to be built there.