John's English Corner

Maybe some help for those learning English as a second language

JC’s IELTS & English Corner May 12, 2013

Filed under: Education — Currin Family @ 5:32 PM

As and Like are both used to compare situations or actions.

Like and As

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Thu, 05/09/2013 – 06:27 — Chris McCarthy

Grammar Vocabulary

 

As and Like are both used to compare situations or actions. But here are some differences:

As

We use as to talk about something we do or how something is used.

I worked as a graphic designer for eight years.

She used her jacket as an umbrella when it started raining.

‘As adjective as’ is used to compare things or people.

It’s not as cold as it used to be.

He studied as hard as he could for the exam.

As can be used to link two clauses – it’s followed by a clause with a subject and a verb.

He became a lawyer, as his father did years before.

He is very passionate about his work, as are his siblings.

Like

In these sentences Like is followed by a noun or a pronoun.

I was treated like a king at my grandmother’s house.

He isn’t anything like his brother.

You are just like your dad.

Like – as though – as if

These three words and phrases can be used as comparisons with no difference in meaning.

You look like you’ve been working hard.

She spoke as though she was in a hurry to leave.

That sounds like a great idea.

Lesson by Tristan

Now choose the right word/phrase for each sentence:

1 He worked ___ an actor for a few years.

 

as

like

2 The exam wasn’t as hard ___ I expected.

 

as

like

3 You sound ___ you don’t trust him.

 

like

as

4 Your phone is the same ___ mine.

as

like

5 His taste in music is ___ mine.

as

like

6 Paris isn’t anything ___ London.

like

as

7 You look ___ you need a break.

as if

as

8 She has a great sense of humor, ___ does her sister.

as

like

 

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Filed under: Education — Currin Family @ 4:20 PM

“Hi. Do you have any vacancies?”

“HI. DO YOU HAVE ANY VACANCIES?”

English Lesson: Hi. Do you have any vacancies?

You had to travel to another city at the last minute. You don’t have a hotel reservation, so you go to a hotel and ask this at the reception desk.

Hi. Do you have any vacancies?

00:01

00:10

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any (something)

The words "some" and "any" have almost the same meaning. But you use "some" in positive sentences:

He didn’t study at a four-year university, but he does have some formal training.

"Any" is used in negative sentences like this:

It’s not like we need any more food.

It’s also used in questions, like in this example:

Is there any tea left?

(a hotel) has vacancies

If a hotel has rooms which are available for people to rent now, you can say that the hotel "has vacancies".

Some hotels have a neon sign out front which says "vacancies" if there are rooms available, and "no vacancies" if all of the rooms are full.

Categories: in a hotel

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Word of the Day | elusive

The Learning Network - Teaching and Learning With The New York Times

May 10, 2013, 12:04 am Comment

Word of the Day | elusive

By THE LEARNING NETWORK

elusive •\ē-ˈlü-siv, -ˈlü-ziv\• adjective

1. skillful at eluding capture
2. difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
3. difficult to describe

Posted by John Currin at 10:41 PM No comments:

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IELTS test in New Zealand and Bangladesh – April 2013 (General Training)

English – IELTS by support  /  12min  //  keep unread  //  preview

IELTS test in New Zealand and Bangladesh – April 2013 (General Training)

IELTS test takers from New Zealand and Bangladesh (thank you, M and S!) shared this exam update. They didn’t remember any reading or listening topics, but had a good recollection of the writing and speaking questions:

Writing testIELTS test in New Zealand

Writing task 1 (a letter)

You have recently booked a trip abroad with a travel agency, however, plans have changed and you cannot go to that trip. Write a letter to your travel agent. In your letter

- Give details of your trip.
- Explain why you can’t go on this trip.
- Tell the agency what you want to do about the booking.

Writing Task 2 (an essay)

It is generally believed that clothing and fashion industry have a big influence on people. Is this a good or a bad thing? Explain your answer using your own experience and examples where relevant.

Speaking test

Interview

- What is your full name?
- Can I see your ID?
- Where are you from?
- Do you work or study?
- What do you do for a living?
- Please describe your job in detail.
- What is the hardest part of your job?

Cue Card

Describe a team project you have been involved in. Please say
- what was it,
- when was it,
- what happened and
- how you feel about this project.

Discussion

- Describe a big change that happened in your life.
- Was it a good or a bad experience?
- How did it affect your life?
- What did you learn from it?

Related posts:

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Filed under: Education — Currin Family @ 4:01 PM
“Looks like you’ll have to fend for yourself for a few days.”

“LOOKS LIKE YOU’LL HAVE TO FEND FOR YOURSELF FOR A FEW DAYS.”

English Lesson: Looks like you'll have to fend for yourself for a few days.

You’ve been asked to go on a business trip. You’ve just told your husband about it. He doesn’t do much cooking or cleaning at home. You tease him by suggesting that it will be difficult for him when you’re gone.

Looks like you’ll have to fend for yourself for a few days.

00:01

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It looks like (something is happening)

This phrase can be used when you’re guessing about how something is going to turn out when it’s finished:

It looks like the Yankees are going to win this one.

However, it is also used in situations where something has already happened, and you have to tell the bad news to someone:

Sorry, it looks like we had to reject your loan application.

Saying "it looks like" something bad happened is softer-sounding than simply saying that it happened.

fend for (oneself)

"Fending for yourself" mean surviving without outside help. For example, if a group of people gets lost in the wilderness, they will have to "fend for themselves".

It’s common to say that someone has to "fend for themselves" when the main caregiver in a family (usually the mother or wife) is away from home for a few days.

Categories: at home

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Adjectives and Prepositions

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Adjectives and Prepositions

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Sat, 05/11/2013 – 06:22 — Chris McCarthy

Here are some adjectives and the prepositions we use with them. There is no real system and so the only way to learn them is to treat them as a ‘fixed combination’ and record them as you meet them when you read or listen. There are many adjective preposition combinations which are not show here.

at

I’m good at learning languages but bad at maths.
He’s terrible at expressing his ideas.

for

Exercise is good for your health.
Children must learn to be responsible for their actions.
He’s very qualified for the position.
France is famous for its cuisine.

of

I’m tired of this terrible weather.
I’m fond of chocolate.
He’s quite capable of working alone.

with

He was pleased with the results of his exams.
She’s still angry with me for forgetting her birthday.
I’m bored with hearing the same things on TV.

to

He’s married to my cousin.
I’m responsible to the shareholders of the company.

Remember – responsible for something but responsible to someone.

in

He’s interested in quantum physics. 
She specialised in ancient languages.

Remember too that a preposition is followed by a noun or a gerund (‘ing’ form).

I’m interested in learning about different cultures.

Now choose the correct preposition for these sentences:

Lesson by Tristan

  • 1 What are you good _ ?

    with
    at
    at

  • 2 John is interested _ travelling.

    at
    in
    of

  • 3 He’s married _ a fashion model.

    of
    to
    with

  • 4 I’m angry _ my neighbours. Their dog is always digging in our garden.

    in
    with
    to

  • 5 I’m happy _ the job interview. I think it went well.

    with
    for
    on

  • 6 She’s fond _ her old walking shoes.

    on
    to
    of

  • 7 Who is responsible _ this disaster?

    for
    of
    to

  • 8 I’m bored _ having to do the same things over and over at school.

    with
    to
    at

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FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

IELTS Speaking test in Nigeria – April 201

English – IELTS by support  /  16min  //  keep unread  //  preview

IELTS Speaking test in Nigeria – April 2013

The speaking questions below were shared by O who took the IELTS test in Nigeria:

Speaking testIELTS test in Nigeria

Interview

- What is your full name?
- Can I see your ID?
- Where are you from?
- Do you work or study?
- Do you live in a house or an apartment?
- Do you like this house? Why?
- What kind of house would you like to have in the future?
- What type of transport do you use most often? Why?
- What do you think can be done to encourage more people to use public transport?

Cue Card

Describe a situation when you helped someone in the past. Please say

- What situation was it?
- Whom did you help?
- How did you help him/her?
- How did you feel after helping him/her?

Discussion

- Do you think people are less willing to help others these days? Why?
- How do people in your community help one another?
- How can young children be encouraged to help one another?

Related posts:

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  3. IELTS test in New Zealand – April 2013 (General Training) An IELTS test taker from New Zealand (thanks T!) remembered…
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AMERICAN HISTORY: Eighteenth Century Conflicts in Europe Affect North America November 15, 2012

Filed under: Education — Currin Family @ 10:46 AM

AMERICAN HISTORY: Eighteenth Century Conflicts in Europe Affect North America

November 15 2012 , Written by John Currin’s Blogs and News

 

Read, listen and learn English with this story. Double-click on any word to find the definition in the Merriam-Webster Learner’s Dictionary.

 
 
Fort Ticonderoga in the modern era
 
 
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11/01/2012

► Listen to this story in high-quality 192 kbps audio(or right-click/option-click to save)

STEVE EMBER: From VOA Learning English, this is THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. I’m Steve Ember.
 
This week in our series we tell about the conflicts among the nations in Europe during the eighteenth century and how they affected North America.                                                      
 
During the eighteenth century, Spain, France and Britain controlled land in North America. Spain controlled Florida. France was powerful in the northern and central areas. Britain controlled the east. All three nations knew they could not exist together peacefully in North America. The situation could only be settled by war.
 
The powerful European nations already were fighting each other for control of territory and riches all over the world. These small wars continued for more than one hundred years. They were called King William’s War, Queen Anne’s War, King George’s War and the French and Indian War.
 
The French and Indian War was fought to decide whether Britain or France would be the major power in North America. France, its colonists and their Indian allies fought against Britain, its colonists and their Indian allies.
 
The war began with conflicts over land. French explorers had been the first Europeans in the areas around the Great Lakes and the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. France had sent traders and trappers to these territories and had established trading centers there.
 
Britain claimed the same land. When the king gave land in North America to someone, the land was considered to extend from the east coast to the west coast — although no one knew where the west coast was. The land along the east coast had become crowded, and settlers were moving west. White people were destroying the Indians’ hunting areas. And Indians became worried that they would lose the use of their land.
 
The Indian tribes might have been able to resist the people moving west if they had been united. But their own conflicts kept the tribes apart. When Britain and France started fighting each other, some Indians helped the British. Others helped the French.
 
The French settlers lived mainly in what was called New France. Today it is part of Canada. Life there was different from life in the British colonies to the south. For example, there was no religious freedom. All settlers in French territories had to be French and belong to the Roman Catholic Church. So, many French people who belonged to Protestant groups settled in the British colonies. These French Protestants were known as Huguenots.
 
France also did not like the fact that the British paid the Indians high prices for animal furs. France was more interested in the fur trade than in settling the land. The British hurt the French traders’ business when they bought fur from the Indians.
 
One of the French trading centers was built in the area where the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is today. The French called it Fort Duquesne. The British claimed it was in Virginia and – therefore – that the land belonged to them. In seventeen fifty-four, the governor of Virginia sent a twenty-one-year-old colonist named George Washington to tell the French to get out. This was the same George Washington who would later become the first President of the United States.
 
The French refused to leave Fort Duquesne. So Washington and one hundred fifty men attempted to force them out. They attacked a group of Frenchmen and killed ten of them. The French and Indian War had begun.
 
British troops under the command of General Edward Braddock joined George Washington at Fort Duquesne. The British general expected to fight the way battles were fought in Europe. There, troops lined up on open fields and fired their weapons as they marched toward each other. The French and Indians did not fight this way. They hid in the woods. They wore clothing that made them difficult to see. They shot at the British from behind trees. The British had more troops than the other side. But the French and Indians won the battle of Fort Duquesne. General Braddock was killed.
 
Most of the French and Indian War was fought along two lakes in an area of what is now New York state, near the border with Canada. One was Lake George. The other, Lake Champlain north of Lake George. It reaches almost all the way to the city of Montreal in Canada.
 
These lakes provided the best way to move troops and supplies during the French and Indian war. Few roads existed in North America at that time. The military force, which controlled the lakes and rivers, controlled much of North America.
 
The French had military bases in the cities of Quebec and Montreal. The British had bases along New York’s Hudson River. The area between them became the great battleground.
 
Fighting increased after the British defeated the French near Lake George in the final months of seventeen fifty-five. The French then built a new base to control Lake Champlain and the surrounding area.
 
The French base was at the southern end of Lake Champlain. They built a strong camp or fort.  They called it Fort Carillon.
 
The fort would control Lake Champlain and the area needed to reach the northern part of Lake George. The fort was designed to provide a strong defense against attack. The French built two big walls of logs, several meters apart. The area between the walls was filled with dirt. Later, a strong stone front was added. Troops inside the walls were well protected. The British built a similar fort at the southern end of Lake George. They called it Fort William Henry.
 
France sent one of its best military commanders to take command of its troops in America. His name was the Marquis de Montcalm. General Montcalm attacked several British forts in seventeen fifty-seven. One of these was Fort William Henry on Lake George. The British commander was forced to surrender.
 
General Montcalm promised that the British troops would be treated fairly if they surrendered. But the Indian allies of the French did not honor the surrender agreement. They began to kill British soldiers and settlers. No one is sure how many people died. It could have been more than one thousand.
 
In seventeen fifty-eight, a strong British force attacked Fort Carillon on Lake Champlain. General Montcalm was the French commander. Fort Carillon was strong enough that the smaller French force was able to defeat the larger British force. The British withdrew, but attacked again the next year. This time the British commander was General Jeffery Amherst.
 
Amherst was successful. The British defeated the French. They changed the name of Fort Carillon to Fort Ticonderoga. It became an important military center in the French and Indian War. Fort Ticonderoga would also become important later, during America’s war for independence.
 
The Battle for Quebec was the turning point in the conflict. Britain and France signed a treaty to end the war in seventeen sixty-three. The British had won. They took control of the lands that had been claimed by France.
 
Britain now claimed all the land from the east coast of North America to the Mississippi River. Everything west of that river belonged to Spain. France gave all its western lands to Spain to keep the British out. Indians still controlled most of the western territory, except for some Spanish colonies in Texas and New Mexico.
 
Today, you can still visit the two forts that were so important in the French and Indian War. Not much remains of the original buildings. However, both have been re-built using the original designs. The area surrounding both forts is very beautiful, including the two lakes, Lake George and Lake Champlain.
 
Many people travel to this area to enjoy the outdoors. The area includes one of America’s national historical parks, Saratoga. It also includes the Lake George Beach State Park. Few people who visit this calm and peaceful area stop to remember the terrible fighting that took place there two-hundred fifty years ago.
 
The events following the French and Indian War will be our story next week.
 
You can find our series online with transcripts, MP3s, podcasts and pictures at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. I’m Steve Ember, inviting you to join us again next week for THE MAKING OF A NATION — American history in VOA Special English.
 
 
 
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AMERICAN HISTORY: Eighteenth Century Conflicts in Europe Affect North America

STEVE EMBER: From VOA Learning English, this is THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. I’m Steve Ember. This week in our series we tell about the conflicts among the …

http://learningenglish.voanews.com/content/transcript/1546386.html

 

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Improving ‘Feed Efficiency’ in Cattle Read, listen and learn English with this story. Double-click on any word to find the definition in the Merriam-Webster Learner’s Dictionary.

Filed under: Education — Currin Family @ 10:37 AM

Improving ‘Feed Efficiency’ in Cattle Read, listen and learn English with this story. Double-click on any word to find the definition in the Merriam-Webster Learner’s Dictionary.

November 15 2012 , Written by John Currin’s Blogs and News

 

Science & Technology

Improving ‘Feed Efficiency’ in Cattle

Read, listen and learn English with this story. Double-click on any word to find the definition in the Merriam-Webster Learner’s Dictionary.

 
 
University of Idaho Professor Rod Hill with part of the university’s purebred herd (VOA/T. Banse)

MULTIMEDIA

Play or download MP3 of this story
 
 
TEXT SIZE 

11/13/2012

From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report in Special English.
 
Animal feed is the biggest cost for most cattle producers. In the United States, the cost of hay, grains and other feed has risen sharply because of a drought. At the same time, wildfires this year burned more than a million hectares of North American rangeland.
 
Jack Field raises cattle in the northwestern state of Washington. To save money, he made plans to truck his small herd of cows three hundred kilometers to feed on crop stubble. Crop stubble is what remains after crops have been harvested.
 
Moving his cattle from farm to farm costs money and time. But he says if he can avoid feeding them hay, he can still make a profit.
 
Tim DelCurto is a beef scientist at Oregon State University. He is working with ranchers and feedlot owners to help them find lower cost ways to feed cattle. He says cattle can eat things like grass-seed straw and distillers grains. These grains are left over from ethanol fuel production.
 
He says cattle can also eat cannery waste and items rejected by vegetable processors — like misshapen green beans, carrots, even French fries.
 
“Now I think one of the unique attributes of beef cattle — and sheep would fit this, too — is that they can virtually digest anything.”
 
The rising cost of feed has led agricultural research universities to give greater attention to what experts call “feed efficiency.” The University of Idaho has a cattle barn where sensors measure exactly how much food each cow eats.
 
Professor Rod Hill says just because animals are growing at the same rate does not mean they eat the same amount of food. In fact the difference in how efficiently their bodies convert feed into meat, fat, bone and hide might be surprising. 
 
“These animals are — for your eye and mine — they look quite homogenous. But the variation in intake for animals growing at the same rate is of the order of thirty-five percent.”
 
This is a case where humans and animals have something in common.
 
“You know, we talk to people who say, ‘All I have to do is, is, is look at the candy store and, and I put on three pounds.’ We don’t actually quantify it so precisely in humans, but we know in humans that some people can eat a little and they can put on quite a bit of weight and some people can eat a lot and hardly put on any weight. So it’s a biological phenomenon.”
 
Rod Hill says ranchers can use selective breeding to get the same growth with less feed. But he says not to focus too much on one thing, like reducing fat.
 
“Less-efficient animals are slightly fatter, and more-efficient animals are slightly leaner. So we wouldn’t want to just go after efficiency and then forget about the body composition. So, we wouldn’t want animals to become too lean, so that might reduce marbling in the product, especially in the quality cuts where the profit is.”
 
 
 
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Improving ‘Feed Efficiency’ in Cattle

From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report in Special English. Animal feed is the biggest cost for most cattle producers. In the United States, the cost of hay, grains and other feed

http://learningenglish.voanews.com/content/transcript/1544440.html

 

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“Board” the history and development of an English word

Filed under: Education — Currin Family @ 10:18 AM

“Board” the history and development of an English word

November 15 2012 , Written by John Currin’s Blogs and News

 

“Board” the history and development of an English word

 

 

 
from LanguageWell – Communicating in English by admin
 
 

Board – vocabulary developed from floors and boats

As I said in my article   Board – a simple word, with many uses, BOARD is a magical word in the sense that a simple piece of wood has become many things; this shows how a free language can evolve and take shape.

Let’s look at how it could have developed:

Boards were first used to make floors in houses. The “floorboards” were laid on other pieces of wood to raise the floor off the ground.

This technique was adapted for boats as well. The wooden boarded floor was where the sailors moved around to control and manoeuvre the sails. Under this floor was the storage area, or hold. With time the crew* would say they were “on the boards”, which later became “on board”  Soon “on board” had the meaning of “on the ship”

If a person falls off a ship into the water, we say “the man fell OVERBOARD”

If the engine (motor) of a boat is outside the boat that it drives we say that it is an OUTBOARD motor.

Now we can say that someone goes “on board” a ship to mean that they go onto the ship.

- People going on board now also is “the passengers are boarding”

But this phrase can also now be used for trains or planes. The typical railway guard in the films blows his whistle and shouts “all aboard” so that the passengers get on the train because it is going to leave.

At airports you check the screen to see when you have to get on your plane, when the sign changes from “Wait in departure lounge” to “now boarding” you know that your plane will be leaving soon.

So just following the simple idea of a wooden floor we arrive at an internationally recognised phrase: “boarding now at Gate 23″

In another article we  will see how board is now an important word in hi-tech and big business

 

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“We’re still assessing the extent of the damage.” November 12, 2012

Filed under: Education — Currin Family @ 12:26 PM
PhraseMix Examples November 12, 2012

“We’re still assessing the extent of the damage.”

English Lesson: We're still assessing the extent of the damage.

There’s been a hurricane. The governor of your state is giving a press conference to talk about the results of the storm. A reporter asks how bad it was. The governor doesn’t exactly know yet, so he says this.

We’re still assessing the extent of the damage.

the extent of the damage

 

The “extent” of something means how much, how far, how bad, etc.

English speakers often use this word in the phrase “the extent of the damage”. After some kind of accident or disaster, you have to check the extent of the damage, which means how badly things are broken and messed up. For example, a car mechanic can check the extent of the damage to your vehicle after a car crash.

 

assess the damage

 

The word “assess” means to check or test. “Assessing the damage” to something means figuring out how badly it was damaged. 

You “assess the damage” in situations like these:

  • You assess the damage to the body of someone who’s been injured.
  • The government assesses the damage to homes and businesses when there’s been a natural disaster.
  • An insurance company representative assesses the damage to your car when you’ve gotten in a car accident.

 

 

Categories: medium: on the news | register: academic | topic: disaster | grammar: progressive aspect

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