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sábado, 31 de março de 2012

Jokes - 21

Two cows are standing in a field.
One says to the other "Are you worried about Mad Cow Disease?"
The other one says "No, It doesn't worry me, I'm a horse!"



A teenage girl had been talking on the phone for about half an hour, and then she hung up.
"Wow!," said her father, "That was short. You usually talk for two hours. What happened?"
"Wrong number," replied the girl.
 
 
 
To listen to this joke, go to the link below:
http://www.manythings.org/jokes/9986.html

Topics on Grammar

Other vs Another

another + singular nonspecific countable noun

Examples:
•"Let's meet another day."
•"I'd like another piece of cake."

The nouns ("day" and "piece") in both sentences are countable and singular (e.g. not with an 's') nouns.

The nouns in both sentences are also not specific. This means that the speaker doesn't care which day or piece of cake he gets; he just wants a different one. He wants another one, but he hasn't said (or it isn't clear or important) which one.

Hint: If you understand English articles ("a/an/the"), then think of "another" as "an + other." You can use "another" before a noun whenever you can use "a(n)" before a noun. The rules are the same. Another = an other!


other + plural or uncountable nonspecific noun

Examples:
•"Other people have problems, too." [people = plural noun]
•"This book has other information." [information = uncountable noun]

The nouns in both sentences are not specific, just like with "another". The speaker doesn't specify which other people have problems, or what other information the book has. The rules are the same as "another" except that "other" is used before plural or uncountable nouns.

Hint: If we think about articles (a/an/the) again, then remember that we use "other" before a noun that would NOT need an article.


the other + specific noun (singular, plural, countable or uncountable)

Examples:
1."One of my brothers lives in Canada. The other brother lives in Japan."
2."I go to school on Monday and Thursday. I work on the other days of the week."

The nouns ("brother" & "days") in both sentences are specific.

Re: Example #1: What brother lives in Japan? The other brother. The speaker said he has two brothers. He told you where the first brother lives, so the other brother must be his second brother. This is a specific brother (not general). You know what brother he is talking about.

Re: Example #2: What days of the week does he work on? Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. The speaker said he goes to school on Monday and Thursday. You know that the other days of the week are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. So the speaker says "the other" because it is clear what other days of the week he works on. Specifically, they are Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.

Hint: Thinking about articles again, the rules for "the other" are the same as the rules for "the" + noun.



For some activities, visit the following links:

http://www.englishcurrent.com/esl-materials-2/other-another-difference/
http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-26019.php
http://www.english-test.net/esl/learn/english/grammar/ei074/esl-test.php
 
 

sábado, 17 de março de 2012

sexta-feira, 16 de março de 2012

Recipe of the Week - Pretzels

Buttery Soft Pretzels


Ingredients


15 g active dry yeast
4 g white sugar
295 ml warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
625 g all-purpose flour
100 g white sugar
9 g salt
15 ml vegetable oil
110 g baking soda
950 ml hot water
55 g kosher salt, for topping



Directions

1.In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

2.In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center; add the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough. If the mixture is dry, add one or two tablespoons of water. Knead the dough until smooth, about 7 to 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

3.Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water.

4.When risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape. Once all of the dough is all shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution and place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt.

5.Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes, until browned.

Videos of the Week

How to Pronounce Contractions: American English Pronunciation



Aula de Ingles Basico 4 - Direções

How to use the word AIN'T in English (slang lesson)

sábado, 3 de março de 2012

Book of the Week - Children's Stories

Andersen's Fairy Tales

Hans Christian Andersen, during his lifetime he was acclaimed for having delighted children worldwide, and was feted by royalty. His poetry and stories have been translated into more than 150 languages. They have inspired motion pictures, plays, ballets, and animated films.



To read a set of classic short stories, go to the following links:
http://www.planetpdf.com/planetpdf/pdfs/free_ebooks/Andersens_Fairy_Tales_NT.pdf
http://www.classicreader.com/book/109/

To listen to the same stories in MP3 file, go to this link:
http://librivox.org/andersens-fairy-tales-by-hc-andersen/



To watch the classic Ugly Duckling, in 25 minutes, watch the 3 videos below:




My Trips 9 - Italy

I spent 4 days in Rome, the capital of Italy (and of cats). In fact, Catopolis would be a suitable name for her. Apart from that and the chaotic traffic, the city has more churches than the number of days in the year. Some of the churches are quite old. I highly recommend a visit to Duomo Church, featured in the movie "Angels and Devils," starred by Tom Hanks. Vatican City is the smallest country in the world and next door to Rome. It's really worth a visit! If you toss a coin at Fontana di Trevi legends says you'll get back to Rome someday. Perhaps my coming back is still to come...

 Ouside the Colosseum



 Inside the Colosseum


 Roman Forum

 Vatican City