A Cup Of English
Anna
Categorieën: Onderwijs
Luister naar de laatste aflevering:
For many months, I have been involved in a renovation project that has extended into at least six months. Thankfully it is almost complete. The original plan was that my mother would move into a refreshed and updated downstairs area, and I would have the upstairs. This is still the plan; however, we have had to proceed in two different stages. My mum has moved in already, but my area upstairs is still quite bare and rudimentary. And by that, I mean exposed plumbing, no carpet, and a fully exposed roof! You would have to be desperate to live in my apartment at the moment, as you can hardly*(1) call it an apartment at all. Thankfully, I have a carpenter who is much more than his job description; he can do just about anything when it comes to constructing a house. He is from Venezuela, so I enjoy speaking Spanish to him. He is very accomodating and diplomatic as well. I seem to keep changing my mind and adding new ideas, and he simply smiles, clarifies what I would like, then nods his head and says, "Esta bien Anna." Very charming. But, gosh, there are a thousand things to think about, double-check, and schedule. Some days other workmen turn up late, or not at all, an ordered part might be delayed, or something breaks. You have to learn to manage your stress when you are up to your neck*(2) in 'stuff'! It reminds me of a man I used to know who was a general contractor, a man who organizes all of the different workmen on a jobsite. I asked him once what he did all day, and he replied, "I spend the whole day yelling at people." I wouldn't be cut out for that! So, as you can imagine, I make a trip every day up to my house, visit my mum and have a cup of tea, and then get on with the project upstairs. The days are flying by, and I so look forward to the move in date! Finally, I will be in my newly renovated, little sanctuary. 1. 'Hardly' is an adverb that means 'barely,' or 'almost not.' It is so useful, and definitely a daily use word. It is often used with 'ever.' Ex 1. He hardly ever reads the newspaper, so he doesn't know what is going on. 2. It was raining so hard while I was driving that I could hardly see. Something important to remember about hardly is that it is used to denote frequency or degree. It doesnot denote intensity. So, you could not use it in the following sentences: He tried hardly to finish his homework. You MUST use 'hard' because we are talking about the intensity of his 'trying'. Therefore we say: He tried hard to finish his homework. One way to remember this is that 'hardly' means very little, whereas 'hard' means a lot. Another example: He focused hardly through the binoculars. This also is WRONG. You should say: He focused hard through the binoculars. 2. 'Up to your neck' is used with the verb 'to be', and it means that you are extremely busy, stressed, or preoccupied in some way. Ex 1: I am up to my neck in bills this week. I have to make sure I pay them. 2. She seems to be up to her neck in problems; I hope she resolves them soon.
Vorige afleveringen
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1289 - half-in Tue, 12 Dec 2023 - 0h
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1288 - Ten Thousand Dahlias. Mon, 18 Sep 2023 - 0h
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1287 - Renovation mess! Sun, 13 Aug 2023 - 0h
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1286 - A Winter Return. Wed, 28 Dec 2022 - 0h
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1285 - An Inspiring Day Out. Wed, 30 Mar 2022 - 0h
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1284 - An Awkward Phone Call. Fri, 13 Jan 2017 - 0h
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1283 - What have you never experienced? Tue, 10 Jan 2017 - 0h
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1282 - Sleeping Lady Skating. Wed, 04 Jan 2017 - 0h
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1281 - The Best Santa Ever? Wed, 04 Jan 2017 - 0h
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1280 - A Sudden Freeze. Wed, 14 Dec 2016 - 0h
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1279 - An Unknown Artist. Thu, 24 Nov 2016 - 0h
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1278 - London, The Lovers' Statue. Wed, 23 Nov 2016 - 0h
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1277 - Sue's Creative Cooking. Mon, 07 Nov 2016 - 0h
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1276 - Do you tangle with Zen? Fri, 28 Oct 2016 - 0h
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1275 - Photos by the river. Thu, 20 Oct 2016 - 0h
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1274 - Rules and expectations. Mon, 03 Oct 2016 - 0h
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1273 - Yoga please! Tue, 20 Sep 2016 - 0h
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1272 - A Country Party. Tue, 13 Sep 2016 - 0h
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1271 - WSU Vet Hospital. Mon, 05 Sep 2016 - 0h
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1270 - Boeing: The Future of Flight 2. Mon, 22 Aug 2016 - 0h
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1269 - Boeing: The Future of Flight 1. Fri, 19 Aug 2016 - 0h
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1268 - Let's go with Pokemon Go! Wed, 03 Aug 2016 - 0h
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1267 - An Interview at Scalar Learning. Thu, 28 Jul 2016 - 0h
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1266 - A Visiting Student. Wed, 13 Jul 2016 - 0h
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1265 - A better way to waste. Fri, 01 Jul 2016 - 0h
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1264 - Brexit or Pumpkin Cake? Thu, 23 Jun 2016 - 0h
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1263 - Basic Pronunciation Practice #41 + Interactive English. Sat, 18 Jun 2016 - 0h
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1262 - Soccer practice. Thu, 16 Jun 2016 - 0h
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1261 - Cowboys and cowgirls. Tue, 07 Jun 2016 - 0h
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1260 - Apple Blossom Heat. Fri, 13 May 2016 - 0h
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1259 - Teacher appreciation. Thu, 05 May 2016 - 0h
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1258 - Username and password. Thu, 28 Apr 2016 - 0h
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1257 - You want to join the circus? Mon, 18 Apr 2016 - 0h
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1256 - Spring Work. Mon, 11 Apr 2016 - 0h
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1255 - Jumping Whales. Tue, 29 Mar 2016 - 0h
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1254 - The Banyan Tree. Fri, 25 Mar 2016 - 0h
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1253 - Aloha Maui. Tue, 15 Mar 2016 - 0h
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1252 - Basic Pronunciation Practice #40 + Interactive English. Fri, 04 Mar 2016 - 0h
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1251 - Dentist or Orthodontist? Tue, 01 Mar 2016 - 0h
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1250 - Advertising to Children. Wed, 24 Feb 2016 - 0h
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1249 - The Transplanting Battle, Fri, 19 Feb 2016 - 0h
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1248 - Suspend Fri, 19 Feb 2016 - 0h
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1247 - Party Central. Sat, 13 Feb 2016 - 0h
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1246 - Basic Pronunciation Practice #39 + Interactive English. Thu, 11 Feb 2016 - 0h
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1245 - Chief Moses. Tue, 09 Feb 2016 - 0h
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1244 - Sniff The Dessert. Sun, 07 Feb 2016 - 0h
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1243 - Secret viewers. Tue, 02 Feb 2016 - 0h
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1242 - Leavenworth Winter Sports. Thu, 28 Jan 2016 - 0h
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1241 - 'To do' in all its forms. Fri, 22 Jan 2016 - 0h
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1240 - Basic Pronunciation Practice #38 + Interactive English Thu, 21 Jan 2016 - 0h