Learn an English expression about skills we never forget.
source http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0794jnj
Tuesday, 14 May 2019
Sunday, 12 May 2019
Lesson 36: I Can Fix This!
Summary Anna bought the wrong foods for the dinner she and Marsha planned for some friends. They are coming in thirty minutes. What will Anna make with the unusual ingredients she bought? Speaking Use this video to practice saying the new words and learn some prepositions of location: in, on, under, and inside. Pronunciation Use this video to learn how to change your intonation when saying compound nouns like pancake mix, shopping list, and peanut butter. Conversation Anna: Last time on Let’s Learn English, Marsha and I invited friends to a dinner party but I shopped with the wrong list. Guests are coming soon. Marsha is worried but I have a plan. Let’s see what it is. Anna: I just need a couple of ingredients. Marsha, please hand me the flour. Marsha: Anna, where is the flour? It's not in the cabinets. Anna: I put the flour inside the refrigerator. Marsha: Why? Anna: It’s cold and dry in the refrigerator. See, it says: “Put in a cold, dry place.” Okay, now, Marsha, please hand me the eggs. Marsha: Anna, where are the eggs? Anna: The eggs are inside the cabinet under the sink. Marsha: Anna, why are the eggs in here? Anna: On the farm, we always put the eggs there. How else can the chickens see them? Okay. You clean the living room. I will make dinner. Marsha: What are you going to make with these ingredients? Anna: I have a plan. Marsha: Okay, the apartment is clean. The kitchen is not. What are you cooking? Anna: I made my favorite recipe: peanut-butter-banana pancakes! Marsha: You made breakfast. Anna: Yes! I call it let’s-eat-breakfast-for-dinner dinner! Marsha: Anna! Mmm! Hey, this tastes good! Anna, you made it work! Anna: That’s our guests! Marsha: I’ll answer the door. Anna: I’ll finish here. Anna: Like I said, sometimes Marsha worries too much. When something goes wrong with your plan, just change the plan! Till next time! Writing What is your favorite recipe? Is it an easy food to cook? Tell us about it. Write to us by email or in the Comments section. Click on the image below to download the Activity Sheet and practice talking about locations in the kitchen. Learning Strategy Learning Strategies are the thoughts and actions that help make learning easier or more effective. The learning strategy for this lesson is Substitute. That means using one thing instead of another. In using English, if you can't think of a word, you can use a phrase that means the same thing. Let's say you cannot remember the word "huge." You can say "very, very big" instead and communicate the same meaning. Or, you can use a gesture with your arms out to your side. Gestures are another way to substitute when communicating in your second language. In this lesson, after Anna makes pancakes for dinner, she says, "Yes! I call it let’s-eat-breakfast-for-dinner dinner!" She substitutes a breakfast food for a dinner food. Marsha agrees with Anna's substitution. She says, "Anna, you made it work! How about you? Do you ever substitute in speaking English? Write to us about it in the Comments section or send us an email. Teachers, see the Lesson Plan for more details on teaching this strategy. Quiz Listen to short videos and test your listening skills with this quiz. ______________________________________________________________ New Words breakfast - n. the first meal of the day cabinet - n. a piece of furniture that is used for storing things and usually has doors and shelves dry - adj. having no or very little water or liquid egg - n. a hard-shelled oval thing from which a young bird is born flour - n. powder made from a grain (especially wheat) that is used in cooking for making bread or cakes inside - p. in or into the inner part of (something or someone) recipe - n. a set of instructions for making food refrigerator - n. a device or room that is used to keep things (such as food and drinks) cold sink - n. a wide bowl that has a faucet for water and a drain at the bottom and is usually positioned in a counter taste - v. to have a particular flavor under - p. in or to a lower place than (something) ______________________________________________________________ Free Materials Download the VOA Learning English Word Book for a dictionary of the words we use on this website. Each Let's Learn English lesson has an Activity Sheet for extra practice on your own or in the classroom. In this lesson, you can use it to practice talking about locations in the kitchen. For Teachers See the Lesson Plan for this lesson for ideas and more teaching resources. Send us an email if you have comments on this course or questions. Grammar focus: Prepositions of location Topics: Asking the location of items; Names of locations in the kitchen Learning Strategy: Substitute Speaking & Pronunciation Focus: Intonation patterns of compound nouns ____________________________________________________________ Now it's your turn. Send us an email or write to us in the Comments section below or on our Facebook page to let us know what you think of this lesson.
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/lets-learn-english-lesson-36-i-can-fix-this/3568962.html
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/lets-learn-english-lesson-36-i-can-fix-this/3568962.html
Thursday, 9 May 2019
Science Fiction and the Passive Voice
The Terminator movies, featuring actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, have been some of the most popular films ever made. They tell the story of a resistance leader and the robots sent from the future to kill him. They can also offer a lesson about English grammar. Listen to this line from “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.” “The first Terminator was programmed to strike at me in the year 1984, before John was born. It failed.” Today, we are going to examine that statement as an example of the passive voice. We will also show you how you can use direct and indirect objects with the passive voice. First, let’s talk about some definitions. What is the passive? English speakers use the passive voice for two main reasons. First, they might not know who did an action. Second, they might not think telling who did an action is important. At the beginning of this report, you heard the following line in the passive voice. “The first Terminator was programmed to strike at me in the year 1984, before John was born.It failed.” Why did the speaker use the passive voice? Because the person doing the action was unknown. In other words, no one knows the person (or machine) who programmed the Terminator. In addition, that information might not be important. What is important is that the Terminator is now on a mission! If the statement were in the active voice, it would be: Someone programmed the first Terminator to strike at me in the year 1984, before John was born. Direct and indirect objects Betty Azar, a grammar expert, notes that English speakers generally use only transitive verbs, or verbs followed by an object, in the passive voice. English speakers do not generally use intransitive verbs, verbs that do not take an object, in the passive voice. What are objects, you might ask? In grammar, we talk about direct objects and indirect objects. The direct object receives the verb’s action. The indirect object identifies the person who received the action. Here is an example using James Cameron, who directed the first Terminator movie. You could say, “The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films gave James Cameron an award.” That sentence is in the active voice. “The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films” is the subject, and “gave” is the verb. The direct object is “an award,” and the indirect object is “James Cameron.” But let’s say you do not know who gave James Cameron the award. How could you use the passive voice to change the sentence? Here are two options. You could make the direct object the subject and say, “An award was given to James Cameron.” Or, you could make the indirect object the subject and say, “James Cameron was given an award.” In other words, either the direct object or indirect object can take the subject position in a passive voice sentence. Here is another example, using the statement you heard at the beginning of the report. In the active voice, it might sound something like this: “Someone gave the Terminator an order.” “An order” is the direct object and “the Terminator” is the indirect object. In the passive voice, the indirect object can come first, as in, “The Terminator was given an order.” Or, the indirect object can come second, as in, “The order was given to the Terminator.” Closing thoughts Today, we explored the passive voice and both direct and indirect objects. We showed you that both kinds of objects could be the subject in a passive sentence. The next time you are watching films or reading, try to find examples of the passive voice. Ask yourself if the examples you find fit into the patterns we talked about today. Try to identify the direct and indirect objects. Be sure to record what you find and make note of questions that you have. With time and practice, you will soon be able to identify the passive voice with ease. A word of caution, however. You should be careful about using the passive voice in your own writing and speaking. While the passive voice is useful, English speakers often prefer reading and listening to sentences in the active voice. English speakers consider active voice sentences to be clearer. The passive voice is like a sharp kitchen knife: it is a very useful tool, but one that should be used with great care. And that’s Everyday Grammar. I’m Jill Robbins. And I’m John Russell. John Russell wrote this story for Learning English. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story feature – n. to have or include (someone or something) as an important part resistance – n. a secret organization that fights against enemy forces who have gained control of a region, country, etc. program – v. to give (a computer) a set of instructions to perform a particular action : to create a program for (a computer) pattern – n. something that happens in a regular and repeated way We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/science-fiction-and-the-passive-voice/4910484.html
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/science-fiction-and-the-passive-voice/4910484.html
Can we trust a smart speaker?
These devices listen to our every command. But when does 'listening' become 'spying'?
source http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p078r919
source http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p078r919
Tuesday, 7 May 2019
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