Beginners.
There is an invasion going on in our house. It started out as an unnoticed thing, but it has grown to huge proportions. Every room of my house is affected. Every corner shows a sign of this invasion. Even my friends and neighbors have mentioned it. And the scary thing is, is that it is unstoppable. It is Hello Kitty. Every time I open a cupboard, some Hello Kitty thing falls out. When I go to the shoe closet to get my sneakers, I have to shake them upside down, not because there might be a spider inside one of the shoes. Oh, no. But, because there might be a small, hard, Hello Kitty figure hiding inside. Even when I eat, I have no rest. The Hello Kitty cups, plates, and cutlery stare at me while my little girl eats away happily. The other day, when I was in the supermarket, I found myself humming a familiar tune. Can you guess what it is? It goes something like, "Hello Kitty, it's a lovely day. We'll laugh and sing in a very happy way...." and it never ends! Sometimes, when I'm in bed, trying to go to sleep, I see faces, of big, white, cute cats dancing about the room; it's terrifying! Will it ever stop? I don't think so. My daughter has a birthday coming up, and all of her friends have the same obsession. The day will be filled with Kitty!
Grammar notes.
Related vocabulary: obsession, to hum, sneakers, proportion, invasion.
Exs:
Egypt is her obsession. Her whole house is filled with egyptian replicas.
He is such a happy little boy. He hums happy tunes all day long.
I want to go for a run, but I can't find my sneakers.
That home looks out of proportion; the garage is huge, but the house is small.
After the invasion of Spain by the Moors in 711, they stayed for 800 years!
Advanced.
Okay, it's not that scary, I just wanted to get your attention. Hello Kitty is, however, a part of the U.S culture now. Originally created by Ikuko Shimizu, this Japanese character has taken the world by storm, won the hearts of little girls everywhere, and created a profit of one billion dollars a year. Not bad for a little kitty! Her appeal is on many levels. First, she is just absolutely cute. Her pretty face, the bow in her hair, and her girly clothes, all go straight to the heart. Also, the stories of Hello Kitty take place in the context of friends and family, adventures and fun. So children feel happy and comfortable watching the movies or reading the books. She first came to the U.S in the form of a vinyl purse in 1976, two years after her creation in Japan. Now, there seems to be no end to the products that depict her character. Even expensive jewelery and clothes for women are quite common here in the United States. In Tokyo Japan, there is a place called Sanrio Puroland, where you can find Hello Kitty in all her glory. It is like a theme park that includes other japanese anime characters such as Pokemon. It's a big business. There are theme park rides, restaurants, musicals, and big gift shops. It's amazing how a well designed and appealing character can create such a globally successful business.
Grammar notes.
Vocabulary: character, design, to depict, profit.
Common expressions: to take the world by storm, to win the hearts, to be common, not bad for....
Exs:
Mickey mouse is one of the most famous characters of children's entertainment.
The architect designed the biggest hotel in the world.
That picture depicts the rebuilding of London after the war.
The business will have to close. It doesn't make a profit.
The new french singer has taken the world by storm.
The politician has won the hearts of his people by his well written speeches.
It's very common to see deer walking around the town in Winter.
She won the gold medal. Not bad a disadvantaged girl who never had formal training!
Beginners.
When my computer doesn't work, or when I cannot get a good internet connection, I miss podcasting. I'm sorry that I missed last week, but it was one thing after another with computers. Do you ever have problems with them? They are so useful sometimes, and then, at other times, they can be a real pain. Well, I suppose the reason for me missing a couple of podcasts has given me a story for this podcast. A week ago, I showed A Cup of English to a friend of mine. While we looked at the computer, the battery sign flashed once. I checked that the cable was plugged into the socket properly. But the sign kept on flashing, twice, three times. "Battery failure, two minutes of power," it said. Then, "Battery failure, thirty seconds of power." Then suddenly the screen went black. "Oh, shoot!" as they say around here in cowboy country. Well, off to the computer wizard it went the next day. At home, we have another computer, but it is a bit of a dinosaur. It is big, and slow, and seems to eat important information, just like a T-Rex eats meat. But at least I had a chance to do a podcast, so I thought. I happily turned it on, put in my password, selected the big E sign for the internet, but no luck! "No connection available" was the message it gave me. "Sugar!" as we say in England and a few other places. "What on earth is wrong now?"
Grammar notes.
Vocabulary: battery, to charge, failure, to plug in.
Exs:
We bought a new toy for Tommy, but we forgot to buy batteries.
The car battery needs to be charged; I think someone left a light on all night.
Lack of study will lead to failure on your exam.
Of course the tv is not working. You need to plug it in!
Advanced.
The next day, when I woke up, there was a lot of noise in the neighborhood. I looked out of the window and saw lots of trucks of different kinds, a crew of workmen, a backhoe, and a roller. Hmm, interesting. I wondered what needed to be done. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with the road. Then, someone rang the door bell. "Hello. I'm from the local council. We're putting in a drain because of the excess water that gathers on the street." I thanked the man for letting me know. Our cul-de-sac does get huge puddles when it rains, so what they were doing made sense. The trouble was, as they were digging, they cut the internet cable for our area. Oops! They notified us and fixed the problem, but not until a few days had passed. So, what was I going to do? A friend told me that the local library has internet access for one hour for free. Great! The problem was that I didn't have recording access, or my sound editing software. After the workman told me that they had fixed the internet cable, I tried to get on again, but no luck. Nothing! So, I jumped into action, called our internet provider, and a technician came to the house to see what was causing the problem. He looked here and there, pulled out wires and cables, and put them back. "I think I've found the problem," he said. The plastic head of one of the tiny cables that plugs into the router kept on slipping out slightly, totally unnoticed by us. Oh my goodness! All this technology, and we depend on a little piece of plastic.
Grammar notes.
Computer vocabulary: router, screen, software, cable, high speed access.
Exs:
The router is a little box that connects to the computer and supplies the internet.
My baby squirted his milk on the computer screen.
I need a new software for virus protection.
The main power cable has been cut.
I'm tired of this slow computer. I need high speed internet access to do my job properly.
Beginners.
Have you had the flu this year? Do you know anyone who has had it? It can be a nasty illness. Usually you have a temperature, you feel weak, and sometimes you might have a cough also. There is a lot of talk about flus at the moment. You have probably heard about the new H1N1 flu. It seems to be scaring a lot of people. When I say that it is a new flu, what that means is that, though it is from the family of flus, it is slightly different than any that we are used to. It is cold and flu season here at the moment. Lots of children are staying home from school because they have a touch of this, or a touch of that. It's best to stay at home, get lots of rest, preferably stay in bed, and have nutritious drinks and food, if you feel like eating. Your body will fight the virus that you have, and it will eventually win. Thank goodness! Isn't it great that our bodies can do that! Doctors say, that to prevent illness there are some golden rules: wash your hands with soap and water regularly, avoid sick people, sleep well, eat well, and try not to touch door knobs and taps because they usually are covered in germs. Still, even if you do all these things, the viruses that float around in the air are difficult to avoid. Our local community has flu shots, or injections, every year. They say that the most vunerable people, such as the very young, the very old, and those who have weak immune systems, should have the shot. It is not a pleasant thing to have, but you can avoid a bad virus if you get the injection.
Grammar notes.
Related vocabulary: a virus, to float, to avoid, germs, immune system, a touch of (illness).
Exs:
I felt terrible for a week. I had some kind of virus, though I didn't know exactly what it was.
Look how the clouds float in the sky!
We avoid that area of town; it doesn't seem safe.
Wash your hands! They must be covered in germs!
His immune system must be weak because he gets one illness after another.
I have a touch of bronchitis; it's not too bad at the moment, and it's getting better.
Advanced.
The flu really has quite a history. Throughout history, humans have suffered because of various flus. One of the worst was the Spanish flu which caused the deaths of 100 million people around the time of the First World War. It didn't originate in Spain, and is only called the Spanish flu because Spain was the only country during the war that didn't have censorship in its newspapers. It is thought that the majority of those people who died, did so because of complications and infections after getting the flu. Now a days, we have access to antibiotics and better quality medicines and health treatment, so even if we get the flu, we can quickly intervene if our health gets worse. So, what is the panic about the H1N1? The World Health Organisation has called it a pandemic, which means that it has spread quickly all over the world. And, what does H1N1 mean, anyway? Well, flu viruses come from humans, pigs, and birds. Apparently, they all have two proteins on their surface, but each flu has a slightly different arrangement, and that is because the viruses can change or mutate. The H and the N are the first letters of the names of the proteins. It's fascinating, isn't it? Many people have had the H1N1 flu and not realised it, thinking that it was a virus that they had had before. Well, I suppose we will get used to it, because it is here to stay, unfortunately. We can only do our best to stay healthy and clean, and follow the golden rules to avoid contracting the virus. Let's hope that we all stay healthy this year!
Grammar notes.
Related vocabulary: censorship, to intervene, antibiotics, protein. Practice of 'though'.
Exs:
The Mexican press now no longer has censorship.
The Special Forces intervened and trapped the criminals.
The baby has an ear infection, so he needs antibiotics.
The body builder has to eat a lot of protein every day to keep his muscles big.
Practice of 'though'.
(similar to 'but' or 'however') I never got a long with him, though I did like his sister.
(short for 'even though') Though we were tired, we carried on dancing.
Beginners.
It's that time of year again. The days are rapidly getting colder. There is frost in the morning on the grass, the sun is mild, and the colors of the trees and plants are quickly changing. Around this time every year, my husband plans a trip up to a nearby mountain, called Sugar Loaf. What a pretty name! He goes there every year to dig up some trees, then he brings them home and plants them in the garden. You need a permit to do that. So he drives to the nearby town of Leavenworth which is close to the place where he gets the trees. There is a ranger station in Leavenworth where you can get all sorts of information about the wilderness area, camping, hiking, fishing, and the available trees. You must pay ten dollars per tree, and follow a map to a specific place where trees are going to be cleared. The mountain mainly has pine trees, Alpine Fir to be specific. Because the area where the trees are is quite high up, there is already snow up there, even though there is no snow in any towns yet. You must get wrapped up well, take good gloves, and maybe some hot chocolate in a thermos. Then, you park the truck, find the trees you want, and start the hard work of digging. I must say that it is always my husband who does the digging. Digging through snow, ice, earth, and roots is too much for me. But I help by wrapping up the root ball of the tree in burlap, a rough, degradable material. And then it is off to plant them at home.
Grammar notes.
Related vocabulary: to wrap, degradable, a thermos (flask).
Exs:
About a week before Christmas, I try to get the presents wrapped.
We put our degradable kitchen waste in a pile in the garden.
We take hot coffee in a thermos flask when we go fishing in the mornings.
Advanced.
Two years ago, my husband dug up about twenty trees from Sugar Loaf Mountain. It took him the whole day to get there, dig the trees, load them up, and drive home. It really is a tremendous amount of work. He had gone with two friends, a couple who works in his office. It's important to have company when you do something like that, for safety mainly. If your truck were to break down, you would be in trouble. You don't necessarily get any cell phone reception up in that mountain, so you would have to walk a long, cold way back to civilization. It is also a bit of a scary ride up there. The road is narrow and very windy. When it is covered in snow and ice, it becomes dangerous and slippery. So, if you go with someone else, you are definitely safer, and you will have a much more pleasant time. The man who went with my husband is strong and really helped him dig. By the time they came home, they were tired but happy. There was no way that they could plant all of the new trees the same day because it was getting dark and they were exhausted. So, they did that the next day. So far, the trees have survived. Often when you transplant trees, about twenty percent of them die from shock, but we have been lucky and have not lost any of them. Because the growing season is much longer down here than up in the cold mountain, the Alpine Fir get tall quickly. We have put several near our fire pit, and plan on making the rest of our back garden into forest-like retreat.
Grammar notes.
Practice of the subjunctive with 'if'.
Exs:
If you talked more clearly, the Japanese students would understand you.
If I could just spend more time studying, my French would be so much better.
If they had read the instructions properly, they wouldn't have broken the new carpet shampooer.
Beginners.
A couple of years ago, we bought a Leopard Gecko for our oldest son, Hudson. He didn't want any toys, just an animal. He is fascinated with reptiles and has read many books about them. So, we went to the pet shop and immediately found what we were looking for. A young, spotty, pretty Leopard Gecko, cool and dry to the touch, and easy to look after. It is surprising what you learn through your own children. I researched the Geckos a little, to make sure that his environment was as it should be. They need a ten to twenty gallon glass or plastic cage. They need a place to hide, some kind of paper or rock on the ground, a humid bed, a heat lamp, and several crickets or worms to eat every few days. They are nocturnal, so if you want to see them hunt and eat, it is best to feed them just before you go to bed. They are so interesting to watch when they hunt. They dart about, chasing their prey. They also lick the air to help them find the insects. After they have eaten, they will lick their lips, and their eyeballs! It sounds gross, but they are actually cute. As a pet owner, you can carry them around the house; they like the warmth of our bodies. However, they do move very fast, so it is best to keep them in their cages for safety. Another interesting fact about them is that they shed their skin and eat it! It supplies them with calcium. They are a very popular pet because they are very easy to take care of, they are quiet, and considered exotic because they come from Afghanistan, India, Iran, and Pakistan.
Grammar notes.
Expressions: it is/ was as it should be, to dart (about), prey.
Exs:
The wedding was just as it should be, elegant, happy, and beautiful.
The fish dart about in the water; it is hard to see them when they move so fast.
The lion was looking for prey. It went down to the water hole and spotted a zebra.
Advanced.
Leopard Geckos are certainly fun to watch. It's just not much fun when one of them escapes in your house! Yesterday, I had decided to get some reading done. I have signed up for a college course which requires quite a bit of reading. A little girl friend had come over to play with my daughter, so I thought, while they played, I could read. A few minutes into their play, I got the sneaky feeling that they were up to no good; it was too quiet. Suddenly, breathlessly, Domini comes downstairs and says that Anthony, the Gecko, had got out of his cage. "What?" I exclaimed, "And how on earth did that happen, Domini?" "I don't know, Mum," she said, shrugging her shoulders and looking guilty. I raced upstairs and to my horror found that the cage was on the floor with the lid off, and that the bedroom door was open. He could be anywhere! Great! He's probably under my bed! I could just imagine hearing scratching in the middle of the night, and seeing him run across the floor, or worse, my bed! Well, I tried to control my imagination, and I got on with the job of looking for him. My son's bedroom was a terrible mess, so I had to pick everything up carefully, and tidy up very gently, keeping my eyes open for a little spotted head or tail. And, by the way, they drop their tails when they are scared. So I shuddered at the thought of finding a Gecko tail in my son's dirty laundry or in his pile of Pokemon cards. After an hour of moving furniture, and tidying up, I found the poor little thing, in a corner, behind some shelves. Because he was away from the heat lamp, he was cold and sleepy, so I could easily catch him. Thank Goodness! I can walk around barefoot in my house again. I'll have to read some other time.
Grammar notes.
Common expressions: to get a sneaky feeling, how/ what on earth?, to shrug one's shoulders.
Exs:
I got a sneaky feeling that the water was left running all night. I checked, and the whole of downstairs had flooded!
How on earth are we going to replace that broken window tonight? It's freezing cold and snowing. What on earth were you thinking about playing golf inside the house?
The children didn't want to answer the question, so they kept shrugging their shoulders, as if they had no clue what was being asked.
Beginners.
I walked into the kitchen this afternoon, and I found my son, Robert, climbing through the kitchen window. "What on earth are you doing?" I asked him. "I wanted to open the window so I can pass you all my pumpkins." "Okay," I replied, still a bit confused about why he needed to climb through the window instead of just opening it. Anyway, he passed me all of his pumpkins, about eleven of them. He put them in the sink, washed them off, and then placed them on the mantlepiece as a decoration. He kept one of them in the kitchen. His plan was to open it, take out the seeds, and bake them. So that is what we did. He did most of the work. We have some little pumpkin knives that are not very sharp, but similar to miniature saws. They are good for cutting through the tough pumpkin skin. Next he took out the seeds and the gooey pulp. He picked out the seeds, put them in a pan of water, and washed them. When the pulp had been washed off, he dried the seeds in a paper towel, and put them on a metal baking tray. A sprinkle of salt, and into the oven they went, at 350 degrees. I actually forgot about them until I smelled something delicious. Luckily, they were not burnt. Yum, baked pumpkin seeds from our own garden! Well done, Robert.
Grammar notes.
Vocabulary: pulp, paper towel, baking tray.
Exs:
I like to buy orange juice with no pulp.
If you spill that milk, don't use a kitchen towel. Please use a paper towel instead.
We put the cookie dough, spoonful by spoonful, on the baking tray.
Advanced.
My son said to me yesterday that he wanted to pick his pumpkins. He had planted the seeds in early Summer, and much to my surprise, had had success. He had been shopping with me one day in June, and he saw an aisle with seeds of all kinds. The home store was gearing the sales around the garden, and planting vegetables. So he looked up and down the aisle. There were many kinds of seeds to choose from, but he stuck to the miniature and white pumpkins. He knew exactly what he wanted. "Now, we have to follow the instructions properly, or they won't grow, okay Robert?" I had said to him, knowing that he likes to do things his way, and not necessarily always the right way. "Okay, Mum," he replied. When we got home, after unloading the car of all of our shopping, we headed straight out to the garden. He chose to plant the seeds in a circular, built up area of soil where we have lots of trees and bushes. In the middle of this area is a firepit. "When we roast marshmallows over the firepit, we'll be able to look around and see pumpkins everywhere," he said excitedly as we opened the packets. However, he put both packets of seeds in one little hole. I told him that they probably wouldn't grow well at all and that we should follow the instructions, but he insisted on planting them his way. Well, wouldn't you know that out of the two of us, he is the one with the bumper harvest! So much for instructions!
Grammar notes.
Expressions: a bumper harvest/ crop, wouldn't you know, to my/his/our surprise. Practice of pluperfect.
Exs:
This year we had a bumper crop of tomatoes. The plants just kept producing and producing.
She bought a lottery ticket and, wouldn't you know, she won some money!
At first, the man and woman didn't like eachother at all. To our great surprise, they announced their engagement three months later.
Pluperfect.
He had planted many types of seeds, but had hardly harvested any crops.
Had he had enough of fighting, or did he want to box all night?
They had never been to Greece before; they had always stayed in the Americas.
Beginners.
We are continuing with our study of countries of the world with Afghanistan. As you know, it is in the news all the time, and has been for quite a few years. Let's try to understand why, and to learn a little more about the country. Afghanistan is located in the central part of South Asia. To the West is Iran, to the Southeast is Pakistan, and towards the North are Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, with China to the East. It is what we call 'landlocked'. That means that it has no access to the sea. Most of its territory is mountainous, called the Hindu Kush area, with the highest peak, called Nowshak, reaching 7,485m. The land quality and shape is also very varied. Some mountains are very steep with narrow gorges and valleys, and others are more like plateaus. A very famous route through the mountains that was used as part of the Spice Route, is the Khyber Pass. The Northern Plains are very fertile and used for agriculture. The South, however, is dry and desert-like. The main rivers are the Amu Darya and the Oxus. There are also hydro-electric dams, but because of political problems, they have not been fully used for a while.
Advanced.
Historically, Afghanistan has had a life of turmoil. It's location has made it susceptible to invasion, and that is exactly what has happened throughout its history. Because it has been used as an important passage between Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, it has come under the control of wealthy and aggressive nations. The first settlers were Indo-Europeans, called the Aryans, who settled in the area about 4000 years ago. It became part of the Persian empire in the sixth century. Alexander the Great from Greece conquered Persia, followed by several other peoples. Khorasan, the original name of Afghanistan, was taken by Arabs in 7th century and from then on it adopted Islam as its oficial religion.The Turks invaded in the 10th century, and then the Mongols in the 13th century. Its prosperity was attractive to its aggressors. In the 18th century Khorasan was ruled by both the Moghuls of India and the Safavids of Persia, but in 1747 the Afghans revolted and separated themselves. Finally, it won independence from British involvement in 1919.
Afghanistan is an Islamic State that has a transitional government. In 1979 the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. They had planted a Soviet friendly government but met resistance from the population. The occupation continued for 10 years with the toll of 1 million Afghan lives. The opposing militia, the Muhajideen were supported by the USA and its allies. When the Soviets pulled out, the civil war followed. Then, the Taliban, a group sponsored by Pakistan, became their present occupier and aggressor. After the September 11th attacks, the U.S invaded Afghanistan with the aim of squashing Taliban terrorist activity.
This war ravaged nation is the focus of world attention. With untapped resources of oil and gas, and a strong sense of national identity, there is hope that the people of Afghanistan can regain independence and reach their true potential.