Peter: Are you going home for the holidays?
Liz: Yes I am. We're going to have a big, family get-together. It'll be fun, but there's loads to do. I think my mother is already stressed.
Peter: Stressed? Why get stressed at such a fun time of year?
Liz: She doesn't choose to get stressed. It's just what often happens. She has most of the responsibility for the get-together, so there is a lot to think about.
Peter: I can't see what the fuss is all about. She just has to do the cooking, right?
Liz: No, there's much more to organize. She has to make the sleeping arrangements for all the visitors, including buying more bedding. We can't have eighty year old aunt Betty sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag. Then there's the food. I don't think we have enough chairs, so where will everyone sit for dinner? My job will be to make a huge grocery list, buy everything, and then put it all away neatly. My Dad and I will drive to the airport to pick everyone up, but they're all arriving at different times.
Peter: What a headache! When I go home for the holidays, I just turn up!
Liz: Well you're lucky, and spoilt!
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A few weeks ago, I went to pick up my son from High School. Usually I park away from the heavy traffic, on the right side of the parking lot, and he meets me there. I usually sit waiting for a few minutes, and catch up with(1) my emails while I wait. This particular day though, I suddenly heard the back of the car open, and a voice say, "Hey Mom, can you help me with this?" I looked back and saw an enormous, brown, wooden tower. Hudson was carrying it, and it was so large that I couldn't even see him. "Wow!" I said, as I jumped out of the car(2). "Let me put the back seats down for you(3), otherwise, it won't fit in the back." I lowered the two back seats of the car, and helped Hudson put his creation from his art lesson in carefully. As we drove home he showed me the gift certificate(4) that he and his team mates had won for building this mini- Eiffel Tower. "Well done, darling," I said. "It's quite a work of art." The night before, he had asked me if I had any extra Christmas lights that he could use for his art project. I gave him some, but didn't ask him about the project. I actually expected it to be some normal, small art project, perhaps something that shows a certain painting technique, or some specific medium, like oil paint, clay, or metal paper. This, however, was much more than I had expected(5). It completely took me by surprise(6). It sits in his bedroom now, and is lit up. I'm considering bringing it downstairs for our Christmas entryway decoration. It'll make a change from a Christmas tree.
1. 'To catch up with my email' this verbal phrase can be used in many contexts. It means to get up to date, or to read the latest emails, to hear the latest news etc.
a. Yesterday I caught up with my bills; thankfully I paid every one on time.
b. Last week I caught up with my best friend. She had a lot of news to tell me.
2. "....as I jumped out of the car." In this part of the podcast, I don't literally mean that I jumped out of the car. In English, we often use a verb such as jump to describe a quick, enthusiastic movement or decision.
a. I jumped to volunteer; I could see that he needed help. (speed)
b. He jumped up from his chair and started to sing. (enthusiasm).
3. "Let me put the back seats down for you." Here in the podcast, I literally mean, " Let me fold down the seats so the project will fit," or "Let me fold down the seats so we can fit your art project in the back of the car." You can see that these two sentences would be quite long and unnecessary. As in any language, English will often use a shorter version. It is understood that we have to make room in the back of the car for the project, so it is much simpler to say, "Let me + verb for you." If you are helping someone do anything physical, you can just use this phrase instead of going into detail.
a. Let me open the door for you. (to carry the old tv out and to bring the new one in).
b. Let me hold that up for you. (the sofa, while you look underneath for your phone).
4. Gift certificates are a very popular present for all occasions.
a. I got a Starbucks gift certificate for my birthday.
b. Let's buy him a gift certificate to the hardware store.
5. "This was much more than I had expected." I have included this sentence in the grammar notes because it is perfect to learn by heart in order to use it in multiple situations.
a. (Realising that there is a surprise party for you) "This is much more than I had expected."
b. (Being given the award for excellence by your company) "This is much more than I had expected."
6. "It completely took me by surprise." This is another 'ready made' sentence that you can use in your conversations.
a. The rain storm caught us/got us while we walked home. It completely took me by surprise.
b. He turned up with his luggage at midnight. It completely took us by surprise.
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'Luminous', 'glowing', 'radiating' are the words which came to my mind(1) after reading an article about a very special, new technology. It's called 'Starpath', an earth-friendly(2), inexpensive, and efficient way to light our streets. A company in England called Pro-Teq Surfacing, has developed a material made out of ultraviolet particles. These particles are spread onto a path, where they absorb sunlight during the day, and then they glow(3) blue at night. The first public demonstration of this took place in the city of Cambridge. I found a photograph of the path in the newspaper called 'The Telegraph', and it does show the path glowing at night. This is a very exciting development in lighting because it is clean, sustainable(4), and very cheap. I can imagine the cost of lighting our streets with traditional street lamps. However, this Starpath technology could cut our national lighting costs by hundreds of millions each year. We certainly cannot do without(5) light at night, to keep us safe, to help us find our way home, and to discourage crime. What a fantastic development. And this is just the beginning. Starpath technology offers the possibility of different colors of light as well. Also, the material used can last up to seventy years, so it is very sustainable stuff. As councils are turning off street lamps to save money and to meet carbon emissions targets, Starpath could be a valuable solution to both problems.
1. 'To come to mind' means that something reminds you of something else; it could be an image, a word, even a color.
a. When I think of my Kindergarten students, a tornado comes to mind.
b. When I think of my good friends, a garden of flowers comes to mind.
2. 'Earth-friendly' is a very popular and very important phrase. It means something that doesn't harm the natural environment.
a. This plastic bag is earth-friendly; it decomposes quickly and is not toxic.
b. My earth-friendly light bulbs take a few minutes to produce bright light.
3. 'Glow' is one of the main ideas in this podcast, and it means the same as 'radiate', or 'emit light'. It can be used figuratively as well.
a. His face was glowing with success when he found out that he had passed the exam.
b. The moon glowed through the clouds.
4. 'Sustainable' comes from the verb 'to sustain' which means 'to keep going' or 'to support'.
a. That forest is sustainable because the trees that are cut down are quickly replaced.
b. We need an educational program for prisoners that is sustainable.
5. 'To do without' is interchangeable with 'to go without', but the latter often means that a person lacks some basic necessity.
a. The homeless shelter cannot do without funding, even for a day.
b. The play cannot do without the main actor; it just wouldn't work.
c. People can only go without water for a few days, but they can go without food for about a month.
d. I can't do without/ go without my coffee in the morning.
Thanks for joining me! You're welcome to join my Facebook page called Anna Fromacupofenglish. Send any questions and comments to acupofenglish@hotmail.com
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