A visit to a doctor

One morning I woke up with a very sore throat. I could not swallow without feeling great pain. I told my mother about it.She decided that I should skip school that day. She was going to take me to see a doctor. At 9 a.m., my mother and I took the bus to town-to see our family doctor. We waited for a while at the clinic before I got to see the doctor. Dr. Lee examined me carefully. I had a slight fever and other symptoms that indicated that I might be coming down with influenza. So he gave me an injection and prescribed some oral medicine for me. He also wrote me a medical certificate so that I could be absent from school for a couple of days. By the time we reached home, my throat was definitely not as sore as it was before. The injection must be doing its work. I took the oral medicine diligently and after two days of rest I was well on my way back to health again.

skip   not attend       symptoms   signs of disease       diligently   without fail, perseverance in carrying out a task

Walking in the rain

As I descended the steps of the bus, I saw dark clouds in the sky. It looked as though it would rain.I walked briskly toward home which was a good kilometre away. My mother had warned me about getting caught in the rain. I might catch a cold or something. I wondered if I could get home before it rained. As if in reply to my thought the rain came down. I wanted to run for it but my heavy schoolbag discouraged me from doing so. So I walked on. Soon it was raining cats and dogs. In a short while I was drenched from head to toes. Instead of feeling miserable I was actually enjoying it. The feeling of cool water running down my wet body was quite pleasant. Finally I reached home. My mother was shocked to see me soaking wet. She hurried me to the hot shower after which I put on clean dry clothes. She was worried that I might get sick. Well, I did not. In fact I felt great, having had such a wonderful experience walking in the rain.       briskly   quickly       drenched   wet with water       soaking wet   thoroughly wet, totally wet

Games I like to play

The games I like most is badminton. All it takes is a willing partner, two rackets and a shuttlecock. We do not even need a net. After all we simply enjoy hitting the shuttlecock to each other. My sister and I spend hours doing this just about everyday. We are not going to be world champions. It is simply great fun.We used to do this with two old toy rackets. Since then our father had bought us two real, although cheap, rackets. I must say we enjoy the game even more. Sometimes even my mother comes to join in the fun when she has the time for it. The other game I like to play is table tennis. We have an old table, two bats and some balls. So on some days we play table tennis instead. This is a game that requires more skill. We cannot even hit the ball onto the table half of the time. This can be frustrating. So we go back to badminton which is far easier and more fun. Since we play outdoors we are at the mercy of the weather. We often have to pause when the wind is too strong. It is difficult to hit the shuttlecock properly when the wind blows it away. Sometimes it rains, making it impossible to play. I do play other games in school like basketball and football. Somehow they do not seem to be much fun. So I stick to badminton and table tennis.

shuttlecock a small light object with a rounded end to which real or artificial feathers are fixed and which is hit over the net in the game of badminton frustrating making you feel frustrated, discouraging at the mercy of sb/sth to be in a situation where someone or something has complete power over you

How I can stop wasting things in the house

We are lucky to live in a rich country where we have many things at our convenience. However we tend to be wasteful.Electricity is one thing we waste most. Lights, fans, radios and other appliances are kept on even when no one is using them. I make it a point to switch them off when I do not need them. It takes less than a second to throw a switch but to some people even this seems a difficult task. Anyhow, not wasting electricity reduces the bill appreciably. Thus we do not have to pay for the electricity we do not use. The other wasted commodity is water. Leaky pipes and faucets plus the negligence of leaving taps running all contribute to this wastage. Fresh water is precious, so it is not to be wasted. It is only a simple matter of shutting off a tap after use. I make sure I do this. Another big wastage is food. My mother used to cook so much food that much of it was simply thrown away. She knows better now. I pointed out to her about how we wasted food. She realised it and now cooks only what we can eat. The garbage bin used to be filled with half-eaten cakes, fried chicken and things we thought we could eat but could not. It is not so anymore. Besides, we do not waste money on food we throw away. We waste other things like tissue paper, clothes, soap, talcum powder andaerosol sprays. All these cost money. In short, we waste the money we work so hard to earn. It is definitely better not to be wasteful. I discover there is a simple method of not wasting things, which is -- use only what we need. Do not touch what we do not need. In this way we can stop being wasteful.

faucet a device that controls the flow of liquid talcum a powder, usually having a pleasant smell, put on the skin to make it feel smooth or to help it stay dry aerosol a metal container in which liquids are kept under pressure and forced out in a spray

Visiting a book fair

A Book Fair was being held in the Town Hall. So one morning our teacher said that we were going to visit it. We cheered loudly for it meant that there would be no lessons for the day.We lined up outside the classroom. Then we marched in pairs out of the school, up the pedestrian bridge, down the other side of the road and into the Town Hall just a few hundred meters from our school. At the Town Hall we were told to behave ourselves. If we wanted to buy any book, we were to take it to our teacher. Then we gleefully buried ourselves among the vast number of books on display there. There were so many books there. It was impossible to look at all of them. So I spent my time browsing mainly among the books on wildlife and nature, my favorite. As much as the books were wonderful, the price was discouraging. I could not afford to buy any of them. I would have to ask my mother to buy one for me later on. Time flew. Two hours seemed like two minutes. Soon our teacher told us toassemble at the front door. There she helped those buying books pay at the counter at a special discount. Not many of us bought books. They were too expensive. I did not buy any. After paying for the books we lined up and marched back in pairs to school.

gleefully   happily       time flies   time passes quickly       assemble   to come together in a single place

She's got a really useful right foot !!!

John	My sister's really keen on soccer.
Eric	Really, what team does she support.
John	She doesn't support any in particular. When I say keen, I mean she's an enthusiastic player. She plays for a local women's team.
Eric	Is she any good ?
John	Well, she's scored ten goals so far this season. She's got a really useful right foot.
Eric	Well if that's the case, you really must take me to see her play sometime.

What a bargain !!!

Jenny	Look what I've got.
Fay	Wow, that's the snazziest looking handbag I've ever seen. Where did you get it ?
Jenny	I got it in Paris on my last trip.
Fay	I bet it cost a fortune ?
Jenny	No it didn't, I got it for half price because the shop was having a clearance sale.
Fay	What a bargain ! You'll have to take me with you next time.

Explanation :

Something that is a bargain is good value for money, usually because it has been sold at a lower price than normal.

Example : At this price the wine is a bargain ...

You've been ripped off !!!

Terry	What do you think of my new suit ?
Michael	Not bad. I like the wide lapels and the pant cuffs. It reminds me of one I saw in the department store the other day. Did you get it there ?
Terry	No, I got it at that new outfitters on the main street.
Michael	How much did it cost ?
Terry	Three hundred and fifty dollars.
Michael	What ? You could have got the one from the department store for $200. You've been ripped off !

Explanation :

If someone rips you off, they cheat you by charging you too much money for something or by selling you something that is faulty

Example : The Consumer federation claims banks are ripping you off by not passing along savings on interest rates ...

My feet are killing me !!!

Marie	You look a bit tired. What have you been doing ?
Yvonne	Shopping for some new outfits.
Marie	Did you get what you want ?
Yvonne	I did, but it took me all day.
Marie	What do you want to do now ?
Yvonne	I just want to sit down somewhere and relax. My feet are killing me !

Explanation :

If you say that something is killing you, you mean that it is causing you physical or emotional pain.

Have you got them in my size ?

Shopper	Excuse me, could you show me to the skirts section please ?
Clerk	Certainly madam, please come this way..
Shopper	Ah! these are just what I've been looking for. Have you got them in my size ? I'm a size 8.
Clerk	Just a moment ..... ! I'm afraid not madam. We appear to be temporarily out of stock.
Shopper	Oh, how disappointing ! When will you next have some in ?
Clerk	We should be getting a delivery at the beginning of next week.

English Learning Lesson Eight

English Quote 2

English Quote 2

English Quote 1

Quote 1

The 12 Verb Tenses

The 12 Verb Tenses

Conjunctions

Conjunctions

Personification

Personification

Metaphors

Metaphors

Daily Use Idioms

Daily Use Idioms

Fewer vs. Less

Fewer and less can be confusing. Although both words are used as comparatives, they are used differently. Here are the rules.

Fewer

Fewer is used with countable nouns, things that can be counted or that normally have a plural such as friends, books, students..

Examples:

·         There are fewer customers theses days than last summer.

·         I should eat fewer candies.

·         There are fewer cookies in the box

Less

Less is used with uncountable nouns, things that can't be counted or that don't normally have a plural such as money, bread, water...

Examples:

·         He has less money

·         There is less drinking water in the village because of the drought.

·         You should spend less time playing video games.

Less with numbers

As discussed above less is normally used with uncountable nouns and fewer with countable nouns. There are, however, some exceptions; less can also be used with counting nouns that denote distance, amount, or time.

Examples:

·         Less than two weeks

·         Less than two miles.

·         Less than three kilos.

Use of A little or a few, little or few

The expressions a little and a few mean some or enough.

The expressions (very) little and (very) few mean hardly any or not enough.

A little, a few, (very) little and (very) few are quantifiers

Study the following examples:

Examples	Meaning
I've got a little money. I'm going to the cinema.	some/enough
I've got a few friends. We meet everyday.
I've got (very) little money. I need to borrow some.	hardly any / not enough
I've got (very) few friends. I need to make new friends.

The rules:

Affirmative sentences:

A little, a few, (very) little and (very) few are generally used in affirmative statements, not negatives or questions.

Countable and uncountable nouns:

1.      A little and (very) little are used with uncountable nouns (money, bread, water...)

2.      A few and (very) few are used with countable nouns (friends, tables, teachers..)

Meaning:

1. A little and a few mean: some or enough.
   
   Example:
   
   "I have got a little money" = I have got some money. It's enough for me to do what I want.
   "I have got a few friends" = I have got some or enough friends. We meet every day.
2. (Very) little and (very) few mean; hardly any or not enough.
   
   Examples:

I have got (very) little money = I have got hardly any. I haven't got enough. I'll borrow some from my friend.
I have got (very) few friends = I have got hardly any. I haven't got enough. I need to make new friends.