Insect Expressions: Words and their stories

 

Source: For more info, visit VOA Special English www.voanews.com

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

There are many American expressions about insects -- like bees, for example. Bees are known as very hard workers. They always appear to be busy, moving around in their homes, or hives. So you might say you were as busy as a bee if you spent your weekend cleaning your house.

In fact, you might say your house was a beehive of activity if your whole family was helping you clean. You also might say you made a beelinefor something if you went there right away. When we go to see a movie, my friend always makes a beeline for the place where they sell popcorn.

Here is an expression about bees that is not used much any more, but we like it anyway. We think it was first used in the nineteen twenties. If something was the best of its kind, you might say it was the bee's knees. Now, we admit that we do not know how this expression developed. In fact, we do not even know if bees have knees!

If your friend cannot stop talking about something because she thinks it is important, you might say she has a bee in her bonnet. If someone asks you a personal question, you might say "that is none of your beeswax."This means none of your business.

Speaking of personal questions, there is an expression people sometimes use when their children ask, "where do babies come from?" Parents who discuss sex and reproduction say this is talking about the birds and the bees.

Hornets are bee-like insects that sometimes attack people. If you are really angry, you might say you are mad as a hornet. And if you stir up a hornet's nest, you create trouble or problems.

Butterflies are beautiful insects, but you would not want to have butterflies in your stomach. That means to be nervous about having to do something, like speaking in front of a crowd. You would also not want to have ants in your pants. That is, to be restless and unable to sit still.

Here are some expressions about plain old bugs, another word for insects. If a friend keeps asking you to do something you do not want to do, you might ask him to leave you alone or "stop bugging me." A friend also might tell you again and again to do something. If so, you might say he put a bug in your ear.

If you were reading a book in your warm bed on a cold winter's day, you might say you were snug as a bug in a rug. And if you wish someone good night, you might say, "sleep tight -- don't let the bed bugs bite."

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This VOA Special English program was written by Shelley Gollust. I'm Faith Lapidus. You can find more WORDS AND THEIR STORIES at voaspecialenglish.com.

SpeakUp in Class

Speak Up in Class: to solve this exercises visit http://englishtips-self-taught.blogspot.com/2010/12/ireland-cost-of-celtic-tiger.html and listen to the audio. 

Speak Up in Class

The cost of the Celtic Tiger

Before you start

1.     Talk to a partner.

1.     What do you know about Ireland and its history?

2.     Have you read any books by Irish authors? If so, what impression did you get of Ireland and the Irish?

3.     Have you been to Ireland?

4.     If you have, was it what you expected? If you haven’t, what do you image it to be like?

Listen and answer

1.     Ireland’s economy is:

a)    Stronger than many in Europe b) not as healthy as it was. C) just beginning to improve.

    2.  Ireland’s skilled workers?

       a) Work long hours and have no time to enjoy themselves. b) Spend too much time partying. c) Work hard and play hard.

3       Some say Irish people.

a)    Are too concerned about making money.

b)    Are losing their traditional values. c) Both of these.

4.The crime rate:

a)    Has risen and is now a problem

b)    Has risen, but not enough to be considered a problem

c)    Has stayed the same.

5.     According to a survey, Irish people

a)    Aren’t as happy as they were in the past.

b)    Are happier than people in many other Europeans countries

c)    Are much happier then the Dutch.

 Read and answer:

3. Read the article and answer the question with a partner.

1.     What does the article say in detain about the present day Irish economy?

2.     How has the flow of migrant workers changed in Ireland within a generation?

3.     What qualities do Irish people traditionally associate with their society?

4.     Does Thomas Saunders think having money changes everybody?

5.     What example is there of how people now feel less safe?

6.     What social problems are mentioned, besides crime?

7.     Which negative aspect of Ireland’s prosperity does Ann Harry attitude nowadays?

       Learn it! Use it!

4. Here are some common expressions that appeared in the article. Use them to complete the sentence.

A BIG DEAL -  ALL SORT OF THINGS - AN AWFUL LOT OF – A REAL ISSUE – A STING IN THE TAIL – IN THE GRASP OF – IN THE SHADOW OF – THE BE-ALL AND END-ALL – VERY GOOD THAT WAY – SECOND ONLY TO

1.     Steve talks about nothing but cars. They’re­­­­­­­ ____________________of his life.

2.     If you need help you can always ask Rose. She’s______________________.

3.     There are several hostages still______________________ terrorists.

4.     Obesity is becoming______________________ in Western society.

5.     The first part of the report seemed very positive, but there was__________________.

6.     It wasn’t an important competition, but winning it was________________________ for our team.

7.     Tom is very shy. He grew up_______________________ his famous father.

8.     ________________________English people are unable to speak a foreign Language.

9.     This sparkling wine is excellent. It’s_________________________ champagne.

10.  My old computer was very temperamental ________________________used to go wrong with it.

Take it further

6.     Look at the different meanings of the word deal. Then read the sentences and decide what the meaning is in each case.

Deal (noun): contract; agreement; amount.

Deal (verb): give/share out; traffic.

Deal in (verb): buy and sell traffic.

Deal with (verb): give attention to: save (a problem): have business relation with; be about.

1.     This new book deals with the abolition of the slave trade in the 19^th century.

2.     I don’t know a great deal about this subject.

3.     Let’s do a deal. If you help me with my Math homework, I’ll write your English essay for you.

4.     Two boys on our block were arrested for drug-dealing.

5.     This urgent, so we need to deal with it at once.

6.     In this game you have to deal five cards to each of the players.

7.     Frances and Mark deal in unique silver.

8.     I usually deal with Mrs. James and head office because she’s every efficient.

            Ready for FCE? (First Certificate in English)

Use the word in brackets to form a word that fits in the space given. E.g. Ireland was once a relatively (RELATE) poor country.

1.     Until the 1990s, many people saw the Republic of Ireland as a poor and____________________ (BACK) country.

2.     Now, however, it is the second__________________(RICH) country in Europe.

3.     Ireland now has many immigrants from____________________(EAST) Europe.

4.     In some sectors, the____________________(PRODUCT) of its workforce is the highest in Europe.

5.     Till now the Irish have been known for their_____________________(FRIEND).

6.     But now,________________________(FORTUNE), some people think traditional Irish values are disappearing.

7.     Nevertherless, the Irish are still among the__________________ (HAPPY) people in Europe.

8.     In a survey in 2006, 82 percent of the___________________ (INTERVIEW) declared they were happy all or most of the time.

9.     However, some people fear the Irish are becoming less_________________________(CHARITY)

10.           They say younger people are no_________________________(LONG) willing to help those around them.

Country Joe McDonald: Woodstock revisited

Language Level: Intermediate

Source: Speak Up

Standard: British accent

Woodstock Revisited

Country Joe McDonald became a key figure in counter-culture in 1969 when, at the Woodstock Festival, he took the stage and chanted the “Fish Cheer.” Fish, in addition to being the name of Country Joe’s band, was a euphemism for another four-letter world that begins with F. Country Joe, with the help of the 400.000 crowd, spell out the world, before launching into the “I-Feel-Like-I’m Fixing-to-Die Rag,” a song against the Vietnam War. It was what historian would call “a definition moment.”

Nearly four decades have passed since then and today Country Joe McDonald believes that we need the values of the 1960s more than ever. When he met with Speak Up, we asked him to talk about this:

Country Joe McDonald:

(Standard American accent)

We are still, in America and globally, fighting the culture wars of the ‘60s today, that the new fundamentalists of the Muslim world and the Christian world still hate the morality of the ‘60s and the culture of the ‘60s, the music of the ‘60s, the recreational drug lifestyle, the sexual lifestyle. Sometimes I equate it with when it was discovered the world wasn’t flat and some people were in the business of making maps of the world, flat world maps, and when the news came back that the world was around, you know, all the souvenir flat-world mugs, T-shirts, maps, were completely worthless, but they had warehouses full of this shit, and they had to keep merchandising it, you know and that’s like the news of the fundamentalists today.

They try to merchandise this same shit, even though, you know, they’re saying things like Aids is not true, people don’t have sex, loud music causes insanity, marijuana use will cause people to commit murder. And this battle is still going on today and it’s manifested itself in a new generation of punks like Osama Bin Laden and George W. Bush, who want to harken back to 200 fucking years ago and believe that they’re being modern when that do that, but they’re losing, they’re doomed, just like old-fashioned communism was doomed, and old fascism is doomed and racism is doomed and sexism is doomed and …you know, in a sense, classical music is…doomed, you know! Time marches on and there’s nothing we can do about it.

In conclusion we asked Country Joe whether the ‘60s were fun:

Country Joe McDonald:

Were the ‘60s fun? Oh, yeah, you had to live through the ‘50s to know what hell was like, in order to really appreciate the ‘60s! I think it was like maybe for people coming out of  the disco era and finally confronting punk rock, you know, it was like “Woah, my…thank God!” you know. Yeah, it was fun.

The Man (no audio)

Country Joe McDonald (the nickname “Country Joe” was a reference to that of Joseph Stalin) was born in Washington, D.C. in 1942, but grew up near Los Angeles. In the early1960s he headed to Berkeley, in order to attend university, but got more involved in music and politics. He formed a group, Country Joe & the Fish which, along with the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and Big Brother & Holding Company, was to dominate San Francisco’s vibrant flower power scene immortality when it played at Woodstock. For more on Country Joe’s activities today, visit: http://www.countryjoe.com

Family Album, part XVI

Source: Family Album


Improve your English with the Family Album's videos, I hope this can be useful for you. Do you like this? Share it, twit, Stumble it.

The Sounds of Christmas

Cover Art from Pink Martini's first holiday album.

Source: www.voanews.com

Doug Johnson: Welcome to American Mosaic in VOA Special English

(MUSIC)

I’m Doug Johnson.

The winter holiday can be beautiful and bright.  Christmas lights, boxes wrapped in pretty paper and excited children are everywhere.

But it can be a difficult and demanding time, too.  There is a lot of preparation for Christmas: shopping, cleaning, cooking and decorating.

So today on our show we invite our listeners to slow down while we play holiday music released this year.

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That is “Pie Jesu” sung by ten-year-old Jackie Evancho of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  Jackie was discovered earlier this year on the television show “America’s Got Talent.” She did not win the competition.  But she did get a record deal.

AP

Jackie Evanko sang at the National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony with President Barack Obama and his family in Washington.

Her Christmas album, “O Holy Night,” came out November sixteenth.  The Recording Industry Association of America just rated the album platinum. That means it has sold one million copies or more.  Billboard magazine says Jackie Evancho is the country’s top-selling new artist.

“Carols and Christmas Songs” is the name of Bryn Terfel’s new album.  The Welsh opera singer sings a beautiful Austrian song called “Still, Still, Still.” The German words to the first verse mean:

Still, still, still

For the baby wants to sleep

The angels jubilate with beauty

Making music by the manger

Still, still, still

For the baby wants to sleep

(MUSIC)

The Putamayo World Music company’s seasonal album is called “World Christmas Party.”  The recording features songs and artists from Brazil, Cape Verde, New Zealand and many other parts of the world.

One of the performers is the Heritage Hall Jazz Band from New Orleans, Louisiana. The band has been playing traditional New Orleans jazz around the world for almost thirty-five years.  Here the band performs “Barra de Navidad Blues.”  Barra de Navidad is a beach town in Jalisco, Mexico.  It means “Christmas Sandbar” in Spanish.

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Scottish singer Annie Lennox released her first holiday album this year.  However, she says she has been singing the songs on “A Christmas Cornucopia” since her childhood.  In fact, some of the songs were probably playing when was born -- on Christmas night, nineteen fifty-four.  Here she performs “Silent Night” which she recorded with the African Children’s Choir in South Africa.

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One of America’s favorite television shows also has a record out for the holidays.  “Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album,” went to number three on Billboard’s special holiday sales chart.

Critics’ reactions were mixed.  Some praised the producers for trying new things with traditional Christmas songs.  Others said the producers did not choose the right singers for the songs.

However, most critics thought Matthew Morrison, who plays a teacher on the show, performed this song well.  Here is “O Christmas Tree.”

(MUSIC)

The number one album on Billboard’s Top Two Hundred is a holiday recording.  Scottish singer Susan Boyle’s “The Gift” has been in that position for four weeks.

Boyle launched her career in January of last year. She performed on the television show “Britain’s Got Talent.”  Her performance was posted on YouTube.  Her beautiful voice and shy personality got the attention of huge numbers of people.  She became famous almost overnight.

Here Susan Boyle sings “The First Noel” from her album, “The Gift.”

(MUSIC)

The O’Jays are a rhythm and blues group from Canton, Ohio.  They formed in the late nineteen fifties and have had seven studio albums on Billboard’s top twenty chart.

This year the O’Jays released their second holiday album, “Christmas with the O’Jays.”  It includes traditional songs, but also this danceable number, “Cause It’s Christmas.”

(MUSIC)

Finally, Pink Martini is a twelve-member orchestra from Portland, Oregon.  The group made its first holiday album this year.  “Joy to The World” includes songs for Christmas and Hanukkah.  There are also holiday songs from around the world like “Shehedryk (Ukrainian Bell Carol).” It is known in America as “Carol of the Bells.”  The song tells the story of a swallow flying into a family’s home to declare the good fortune they will have in the New Year.

(MUSIC)

I’m Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed this holiday program.  It was written and produced by Caty Weaver.  You can get transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our shows at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. If you have a question about American life, write to mosaic@voanews.com.  We might answer your question on this show. So please include your name and country.

Join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC, VOA’s radio magazine in Special English

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Happy Xmas, War is Over

Source: www.englishexercises.org Author: Teacher Claudia Jonh Lennon - Happy Xmas War is over Listen and Fill in: So this is  And  have you done Another  over And a  one just begun And so this is  I hope you  fun The near and the  one The old and the  A very  Christmas And a happy New  Let's hope it's  a  one Without any fear And so this is  For weak and for  For  and the poor ones The world is so wrong And so happy  For  and for white For yellow and   ones Let's  all the fight A very Merry Christmas And a  New Year Let's hope it's a good  Without  fear And so   is Christmas And what have we done Another year  and a new one just begun And so happy Christmas I hope you have  The  and the dear one The old and the young A  Merry Christmas And a happy New Year   hope it's a good one  any fear War  over If you  it, War is over, Now...