Teaching Tips & Ideas

PREPOSITION - THE UNPREDICTABLE WORD

NEAR - Perto de. Indica proximidade. Empregado
antes do Particípio Presente equivale a “a ponto de”.
e.g.: - You were near falling into the pool. He lives near the church.

OF - De. Caso genitivo. Posse.
e.g.: - A glass of water.
A couple of pigeons.
The pages of the book.
The privileges of the Royal Family.

OFF - Longe de. Fora. Indica separação. Distância etc.
e.g.: - Take off your hat.
She fell off the bike.
The stream is two miles off.

If I Fell

Image of The Day

LAST RIDE

THE WRONG DOOR

The air hostess is at the back of the airplane preparing the trays for lunch. A little old lady comes in and speaks to her:

- “Where’s the ladies’ toilet ?”

- “It’s right at the other end of the airplane – at the front!”

She walks to the front of the airplane and opens the door. She sees the captain and his co-pilot. They are busy. They don’t see her.

Then she returns to the air hostess.

- “Is everything O.K.?” the girl asks the lady.

- “Yes, but there are two men in the ladies’ toilet watching TV!”

Adapted from Intermediate Stories for Reproduction, by L.A. Hill


Now... Answer the questions:

Where does this conversation take place ?
Who is at the back of the airplane and what is she doing ?
Who comes in and what does this lady do ?
Where is the ladies’ toilet according to the air hostess ?
What does the lady do then and what does she see ?
What does the old lady say to the air hostess ?

Quote of The Day

"Sink the Bismarck!" A terse order issued by Winston Churchill, Britain's Prime Minister during WW2




(The Bismarck was one of the most fearsome german baattleships afloat. Its Mission: force Britain's surrender)

Laughter's the Best Medicine

BENEFIT OF HAVING SAME NAME FOR ALL KIDS

A scouser goes to the council to register for child benefit.

- “How many children?” asks the council worker.

- “10″ replies the woman.

- “10?” says the council worker. “What are their names?”

- “Wayne, Wayne, Wayne, Wayne, Wayne, Wayne, Wayne, Wayne, Wayne and Wayne” she answers.

- “What? They’ve all got the same name?” says the council worker, “Doesn’t that get confusing?”

- “Oh no,” says the scouse woman, “It’s great!

- If they’re out playing in the street I just have to yell ‘WAAAAAYNE, YER DINNERS READY’ or ‘WAAAAAAYNE GO TO BED NOW YER LOUSY LAD!’ and they all do it.”

- “But what if you want to speak to one individually?” asks the perturbed council worker.

- “That’s easy,” says the Scouse woman

- “I just use their surnames.”

Word of The Day

TIDY

Function: adjective

Comparative and superlative forms: tidier; tidiest also more tidy; most tidy

Meanings:

1 - clean and organized - not messy

e.g. She keeps her desk tidy. (neat)

a tidy kitchen. The house is neat and tidy. (lean and organized)

2 - keeping things clean and organized

e.g. He has always been a tidy person.

3 - of an amount of money, informal. Fairly large

e.g. She earns a tidy salary. They paid a tidy sum for the house.

Teaching Tips & Ideas

PREPOSITION, THE UNPREDICTABLE WORD

ACROSS - Indica movimento ou extensão por cima de um objeto, de um lado para outro. – Através de.

e.g.: - He lives across the street.
She swam across the river.

AFTER - Depois de, após, atrás de, em busca ou no encalço de, à maneira de, abaixo de (graduação).

e.g.: - After a storm comes a calm.
The letter arrived the day after.
Peter went after his brothers.
The policeman ran after the crook.
A painting after Rembrandt.
A captain comes after a major.

AGAINST - Contra, em contato com, para, (em previsão de).

e.g.: - Let’s all fight against tyranny.
The public opinion was against George Bush.
She was leaning against the wall.
We must save against bad days in the future.

RULES OF THUMB – “RATHER”

RATHER - Um tanto, Meio
OR RATHER - Ou melhor, Aliás
WOULD RATHER - Preferiria
RATHER THAN - Em vez de

e.g. “She is rather tall, or rather, she is tall, but if she could choose, she would rather be short rather than tall”.

Rather peculiar the example above, don’t you think ?

Image of The Day

A Tribute to a "Ham"

American leading man, Victor Mature was born in Louisville, Kentuck. Mature was educated at parochial schools, the Kentucky Military Institute and the Spencerian Business School. He briefly sold candy and operated a restaurant before moving to California.

Discovered while on stage at the Pasadena Community Playhouse, his first leading role was as a fur-clad caveman in "One Million B.C." (1940), after which he joined 20th Century Fox to star opposite actresses such as Betty Grable and Rita Hayworth. He was cast by John Ford in "My Darling Clementine", playing Doc Holliday opposite Henry Fonda's Wyatt Earp.

For the next decade, Mature settled into playing hard-boiled characters in a range of genres such as Westerns and Biblical films, "The Robe" with Richard Burton and Jean Simmons and its popular sequel, "Demetrius and the Gladiators" with Susan Hayward. Both films deal with the fate of the robe worn by Jesus before the crucifixion. Mature also starred with Hedy Lamarr in Cecil B. DeMille's Bible epic, "Samson and Delilah" (1949) He reportedly stated he was successful in Biblical epics because he could "make with the holy look".

He also starred with Esther Williams in "Million Dollar Mermaid" (1952), and had a romantic relationship with her. Williams, relates in her autobiography that during the filming, the actor made love to her, the whole night long on a beach, while the rest of the team and the cast slept.

Actually he was one of the greatest Hams in the history of Hollywood.

Here are some of his Personal Quotes:

"I'm no actor, and I've got 64 pictures to prove it."

"If you're so concerned about fucking privacy, don't become a fucking actor!"

"Actually, I am a golfer. That is my real occupation. I never was an actor. Ask anybody, particularly the critics."

Victor John Mature died of leukemia in 1999, at his Rancho in Santa Fe, California, at the age of 86. H.C.

Quote of The Day

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man.
- Mark Twain

Laughter's the Best Medicine

Irish Catholics

Mrs. O'Donovan was walking down O'Connell Street in Dublin, and coming in the opposite direction was Father O'Rafferty.

- "Hello," said the Father, "and how is Mrs. O'Donovan? Didn't I marry you two years ago?" She replied

- "That you did Father." The priest asked,

- "And are there any little ones yet?"

- "No, not yet Father," said she.

- "Well, now, I'm going to Rome next week, and I'll light a candle for you."

- "Thank you, Father." And away she went. A few years later they met again.

- "Well, now, Mrs. O'Donovan," said the Father, "how are you?"

- "Oh, very well," said she.

- "And tell me," he said, "have you any little ones yet?"

- "Oh yes, Father. I've had three sets of twins, and four singles-ten in all."

- "Now isn't that wonderful," he said, and how is your lovely husband?"

- "Oh, she said...He's gone to Rome. To blow out that fuckin' candle."

Word of The Day

unbalance

Function: verb (with object)

Inflected forms:
unbalances; unbalanced; unbalancing

Meaning:
to cause (something or someone) to stop being balanced, steady, stable, etc.
e.g. If too many people stand up, it will unbalance the boat. The tax cuts have unbalanced the budget. His experiences in the war unbalanced his mind. (made him slightly crazy)

Teaching Tips & Ideas

All right, Dear Teacher, Make My Day!

ACTIVE VOICE PASSIVE VOICE
Present Tense
I BUY a toy - A toy IS BOUGHT by me
I BUY toys - Toys ARE BOUGHT by me

Past Tense
I BOUGHT a toy - A toy WAS BOUGHT by me
I BOUGHT toys - Toys WERE BOUGHT by me

Future
I WILL BUY toys - Toys WILL BE BOUGHT by me

Conditional
I WOULD BUY toys - Toys WOULD BE BOUGHT by me

Modals
I CAN BUY toys - Toys CAN BE BOUGHT by me
I COULD BUY toys - Toys COULD BE BOUGHT by me
I MUST BUY toys - Toys MUST BE BOUGHT by me
I MAY BUY toys - Toys MAY BE BOUGHT by me
I MIGHT BUY toys - Toys MIGHT BE BOUGHT by me

Present Perfect Tense
I HAVE BOUGHT toys - Toys HAVE BEEN BOUGHT by me
He HAS BOUGHT a toy - A toy HAS BEEN BOUGHT by him

Past Perfect Tense
I HAD BOUGHT toys - Toys HAD BEEN BOUGHT by him

Image of The Day

Quote of The Day

"A Countryman between two lawyers is like a fish between two cats."
Benjamin Franklyn - US author, diplomat, inventor, physicist, politician, & printer

Laughter's the Best Medicine

The FBI had an opening for an operative (assassin).

After all the background checks, interviews and testing were done, there were 3 finalists; two men and a woman.

For the final test, the FBI agents took one of the men to a large metal door and handed him a gun.

- "We must know that you will follow our instructions no matter what the circumstances. Inside the room you will find your wife sitting in a chair . . . kill her!!!’?

The man said,

- “You can’t be serious. I could never shoot my wife.” The agent said,
- “Then you’re not the right man for this job. Take your wife and go home.”

The second man was given the same instructions. He took the gun and went into the room. All was quiet for about 5 minutes. The man came out with tears in his eyes,

- “I tried, but I can’t kill my wife.” The agent said,
- “You don’t have what it takes. Take your wife and go home.”

Finally, it was the woman’s turn. She was given the same instructions, to kill her husband. She took the gun and went into the room. Shots were heard, one after another. They heard screaming, crashing, banging on the walls. After a few minutes, all was quiet. The door opened slowly and there stood the woman, wiping the sweat from her brow.

- ”This gun is loaded with blanks” she said. “I had to beat him to death with the chair.”?

MORAL: Women are crazy. Don’t mess with them…

BIG-BANG

Big Bang sounded like a deep hum

by Marcus Chown

The Big Bang sounded more like a deep hum than a bang, according to an analysis of the radiation left over from the cataclysm.

Physicist John Cramer of the University of Washington in Seattle has created audio files of the event which can be played on a PC. "The sound is rather like a large jet plane flying 100 feet above your house in the middle of the night," he says.

Giant sound waves propagated through the blazing hot matter that filled the Universe shortly after the Big Bang. These squeezed and stretched matter, heating the compressed regions and cooling the rarefied ones.

Even though the Universe has been expanding and cooling ever since, the sound waves have left their imprint as temperature variations on the afterglow of the big bang fireball, the so-called cosmic microwave background.

Word of The Day

CHANGELING:

Noun :

Ugly child left by fairies in place
of a pretty child (folklore); child which is
substituted for another.

"Changeling" is also the title of a 2008 movie film starring Angelina Jolie and directed by Clint Eastwood. The plot tells the story of a mother's prayer for her kidnapped son to return home is answered, though it doesn't take long for her to suspect the boy who comes back is not her son.

Teaching Tips & Ideas

THE SOUNDS OF ED

If the verb ends with "t" or "d" the final "ed" sounds exactly like "t" or "d"

e.g. want - wanted - (wanted)
wound - wounded - (wounded)

If the final sound of the verb is voiceless (no vibration) such as "sh" "tch" or "s", final t-sound is used:

wash - washed - (wosht)
watch - watched - (wotcht)
pass - passed - (passt)

If the final sound is voiced (with vibration) such "m", "n", "b", "z"; final d-sound is used:

comb - combed - (comd) (notice silent b)
plan - planned - (pland)
sob - sobbed - (sobd)
raise - raised - (reizd)

Do Not Believe In What You Hear

Little Johnny was heard by his mother reciting his homework:

- “Two plus two, the son of a bitch is four; four plus four, the son of a bitch is eight; eight plus eight, the son of a bitch…”

- “Johnny !” shouted his mother. “Watch your language! You’re not allowed to use the swearwords.”

- “But, Mom,” replied the boy, “that’s what the teacher taught us, and she said to recite it out loud till we learned it.”

Next day Johnny’s mother went right into the classroom to complain.

-“Oh, heavens !” said the teacher. “That’s not what I taught them. They’re supposed to say, "Two plus two, the sum of which is four."!

Image of The Day

Quote of The Day

“The price of greatness is responsibility.”

Winston Churchill

Men & Women Are Just Simple People

NICKNAMES

If Laura, Kate and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Kate and Sarah.

If Mike, Dave and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Godzilla and Four-eyes.

EATING OUT

When the bill arrives, Mike, Dave and John will each throw in $20, even though it’s only for $32.50. None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back.

When the girls get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.

MONEY

A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.

A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn’t need but it’s on sale.

BATHROOMS

A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel .

The average number of items in the typical woman’s bathroom is 337. A man would not be able to identify more than 20 of these items.

ARGUMENTS

A woman has the last word in any argument.

Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

FUTURE

A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.

A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

SUCCESS

A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.

A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

MARRIAGE

A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn’t.

A man marries a woman expecting that she won’t change, but she does.

DRESSING UP

A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the trash, answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail.

A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.

NATURAL

Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.

Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

OFFSPRING

Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams.

A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.

Word of The Day

Zealous

Function: adjective

Comparative and superlative forms: more zealous; most zealous

Meaning:

- feeling or showing strong and energetic support for a person, cause, etc. filled with zeal

e.g zealous fans - She was one of the president’s most zealous (ardent supporters. The detective was zealous in his pursuit of the kidnappers.

Derived forms:

Zealously - adverb
e.g. He zealously pursued the kidnappers.

Zealousness - noun (noncount)

Laughter's the Best Medicine

Image of The Day

Quote of The Day

Contact is a 1997 film about a scientist, after years of searching, finds conclusive radio proof of intelligent aliens, who send plans for a mysterious machine.

Directed by Robert Zemeckis. Written by James V. Hart and Michael Goldenberg, based on the novel by Carl Sagan.

Below is the puzzling dialogue between Dad and Daughter

Young Ellie Arroway: - Dad, do you think there's people on other planets?
Ted Arroway: - I don't know, Sparks. But I guess I'd say if it is just us... seems like an awful waste of space.

Proofs Of Who Was Jesus

There were 3 good arguments that Jesus was Black:

1. He called everyone brother
2. He liked Gospel
3. He didn’t get a fair trial

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Jewish:

1. He went into His Father’s business
2. He lived at home until he was 33
3. He was sure his Mother was a virgin and his Mother was sure He was God

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Italian:

1. He talked with His hands
2. He had wine with His meals
3. He used olive oil

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was a Californian:

1. He never cut His hair
2. He walked around barefoot all the time
3. He started a new religion

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was an American Indian:

1. He was at peace with nature
2. He ate a lot of fish
3. He talked about the Great Spirit

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Irish:

1. He never got married.
2. He was always telling stories.
3. He loved green pastures.

But the most compelling evidence of all - 3 proofs that Jesus was a woman:

1. He fed a crowd at a moment’s notice when there was virtually no food
2. He kept trying to get a message across to a bunch of men who just didn’t get it
3. And even when He was dead, He had to get up because there was still work to do

Can I get an AMEN!! A WOMAN!?

Word of The Day

Brew

Function: verb

Inflected forms:
brews; brewed; brewing

Meanings:
1 - to make (beer, ale, etc.)
e.g. (with object) They brew the beer on the premises.

The restaurant also brews its own ginger ale and root beer.
(no object) They’ve been brewing in the new brewery since March.

brewing vats - the brewing process

2 - to make (coffee, tea, etc.)
e.g. (with object) I'll brew another pot of tea.

Note: This usage of brew is often followed by up.
e.g.
She brewed up some coffee while I cooked the bacon and eggs.

(no object) The coffee is brewing. (the coffee is being brewed).

3 - (no object) : to start to form
e.g. It feels like there's a storm brewing. Trouble is brewing.

Derived form:
brewer noun [count]
Plural: brewers

e.g. a brewer of fine ales

Laughter's the Best Medicine

Be Fair To Me, Honey

The newly weds arrived at the front desk of the posh ocean-side resort in Hilton Head, South Carolina, looking all fresh, and eager to enjoy their two week vacation - honeymoon.

The stunning blonde at the front desk smiled and said

- "Well, hi Jimmy baby, how ya been lover? Long time no see."

A frosty silence prevailed until the couple reached their room.

Once inside, the piqued bride demanded:

- "And just who was THAT woman ?!?!?"

The groom wiped his brow and said

- "Just relax honey. Please ! I'm going to have enough trouble explaining you to her."

Image of The Day

Word of The Day

SNAPPY

Function: adjective

Comparative and superlative forms: snappier; snappiest also more snappy; most snappy

Status: informal

Meanings:
a - exciting or lively
e.g. snappy colors - a snappy tune

b - moving or able to move quickly
e.g. a snappy pace - a car with a snappy engine

fashionable or stylish
e.g. - a snappy (sharp) dresser - a snappy (snazzy) bow tie

clever and funny
e.g. a snappy (witty) joke/remark
The show is well-acted, and the dialogue is snappy.

feeling or showing irritation : snappish
e.g. He got pretty snappy about it. She was awfully snappy with me.

Idiom:
make it snappy or British look snappy
Status: informal
Meaning:
to act, move, or go quickly : hurry up
e.g. Clean your room, and make it snappy! (do it quickly)

Derived form:
snappily adverb Audio Pronunciation
e.g. snappily written essays - snappily dressed

Laughter's the Best Medicine

After three years of marriage, Kim was still questioning her husband about his lurid past.

- "C'mon, tell me," she asked for the thousandth time, "how many women have you slept with?"

- "Baby, " he protested, "if I told you, you'd throw a fit."

Kim promised she wouldn't get angry, and persuaded her hubby to tell her.

- "Okay," he said, "one, two, three, four, five, six, seven – then
there's you -- nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen....."

GONNA BE A BEAR

(a Mother)

In this life I'm a woman. In my next life, I'd like to come back as a bear. When you're a bear, you get to hibernate. You do nothing but sleep for six months. I could deal with that.

Before you hibernate, you're supposed to eat yourself stupid. I could deal with that too.

When you're a girl bear, you birth your children (who are the size of walnuts) while you're sleeping and wake to partially grown, cute, cuddly cubs. I could definitely deal with that.

If you're mamma bear, everyone knows you mean business. You swat anyone who bothers your cubs. If your cubs get out of line, you swat them too. I could deal with that, too.

If you're a bear, your mate expects you to wake up growling. He expects that you will have hairy legs and excess body fat.

Yup, 'gonna be a bear!

Quote of The Day

"Most people are only alive because it is illegal to shoot them."
-unknown

Obama: The face of Brazil's carnival

BRADLEY BROOKS

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) — Barack Obama is the new face of America, and his likeness will be represented in force during this year's bawdy Carnival bacchanalia.

Plastic replicas of the U.S. president-elect's face are the top-selling masks this year, said Olga Gibert Valles, owner of one of Rio's oldest Carnival costume producers.

That means come Feb. 22, when Carnival begins, thousands of half-naked "Obamas" will take to the streets during the countless freewheeling parades throughout the city.

About half of Brazil's 190 million people are black and many were elated by Obama's election. The incoming U.S. president is so beloved, at least eight Brazilian politicians changed their names to "Barack Obama" on the ballot of local elections in October.

"First, he isn't Bush," said 24-year-old Mascaras Condal mask designer Victor de Quadras, explaining the Obama masks' appeal. "Second, there are many blacks in Brazil and it's important that he's the first black president in the U.S."

Valles said her company has already made 7,000 Obama masks.

The company is well known in Rio for its clever designs featuring politicians or other news makers.

The biggest selling mask depicting a real person?

"It's Osama," Valles said, referring to al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. About 50,000 of his masks have been sold since the Sept. 11 attacks, which Valles attributed to dark humor rather than support for terrorism.

Image of The Day

Man Travels 500 Miles for a Haircut

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Dave Gaskell is so finicky about how his hair is cut that he commutes 500 miles to his barber.
About once a month since he started working for US Airways in September, Gaskell boards a plane in Cincinnati, rents a car and gets a haircut from Donald Stoops Jr. in New Bloomfield in central Pennsylvania.

"Why not?'' said Gaskell, 54. “He gives a great haircut. I'm kind of particular about haircuts.''

Gaskell, who retired from a 30-year teaching career last year, left Cincinnati around 6 a.m. Tuesday. Four hours later, his gray locks were being snipped at Stoops Barber Shop.

He's been going to Stoops for decades. Stoops' father, Donald Sr., cut Gaskell's hair when Gaskell was a cadet at Carson Long Military Institute in New Bloomfield. "I have yet to find another place that cuts hair like I like it,'' said Gaskell, who served 17 years in the military and likes his hair cropped just a certain way.

As a US Airways ramp agent, Gaskell's plane travel is cheap -- he pays just $80 a year for unlimited flights. He said he's flown to Orlando, Fla., and Seattle just for lunch.

To Stoops, who has been cutting hair since 1955, Gaskell's trips aren't unusual. Customers return from South Carolina and California for haircuts and good conversation - all for $5, he said.

"You'd be surprised where people come from,'' Stoops said.

hucaldas@gmail.com
hugocaldas.blogspot.com

Quote of The Day

"Whoever said money can't buy happiness, didn't know where to shop."
Gertrude Stein

Laughter's the Best Medicine

Gallows Humor - Quite An Easy Solution

Dorothy is very upset as her husband Albert had just passed away. She goes to the mortuary to look at her dearly departed and the instant she sees him she starts wailing and crying.

One of the attendants rushes up to comfort her. Through her tears she explains that she was upset because Albert was wearing a black suit and that it was his dying wish to be buried in a blue suit.

The attendant apologises and explains that they always put the bodies in a black suit as a matter of course, but he’d see what he could do. The next day Dorothy returns to the mortuary to have one last moment with Albert before his funeral the following day.

When the attendant pulls back the curtain, Dorothy manages to smile through her tears as Albert is now wearing a smart blue suit. She asks the attendant

“how did you manage to get hold of that beautiful blue suit?”

“Well, yesterday afternoon after you left, a man about your husband’s size was brought in and he was wearing a blue suit. His wife explained that she was very upset as he had always wanted to be buried in a black suit” the attendant replied.

He continued “After that it was simply a matter of swapping the heads” .

Word of The Day

EYE-OPENER

Function: noun (count)

Plural: eye-openers

Status: informal

Meaning:

Something that shows or teaches you something in a surprising way

e.g.

Traveling abroad can be a real eye-opener to many people. They say her biography is quite an eye-opener. The speech was an eye-opener for us.

Derived form:

eye–opening adjective

Comparative and superlative forms: more eye-opening; most eye-opening

e.g.

Traveling abroad was an eye-opening experience. The movie has some eye-opening special effects.

Image of The Day

A Most Interesting Story

Source: The Washington Post
Pearls before breakfast, by GeneWeingarten

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

Quote of The Day

"Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful.
It's the transition that's troublesome."
-unknown-

Teaching Tips & Ideas

Words of transition, words of connection

São conjunções, advérbios, preposições, locuções, etc., que servem para estabelecer uma relação lógica entre frases e idéias. As listas abaixo se constituem numa ajuda decisiva para quem compõe um texto em inglês, independentemente do nível de capacidade do redator. As principais palavras de conexão, a partir de seus equivalentes em português são:

First of all,...In the first place...To begin with....
Em primeiro lugar...Para começar...

According to...
De acordo com...

Especially…Mainly…
Principalmente…

The main reason...
A principal razão…O principal motivo…

From now on...
A partir de agora…De agora em diante…


So far everything is OK...Up till now...
Por enquanto está tudo bem… Até agora...

I’m planning to stay in Brazil for some time...
for a while…for the time being…
Por enquanto pretendo ficar no Brasil…

In the meantime, meanwhile...
Nesse meio tempo…

In the midst of...
Em meio a…

As a rule...
Via de regra…

As time góes by...
À medida que o tempo passa...

By the way...
À propósito…por falar nisso

Laughter's the Best Medicine

This has got to be one of the cleverest e-mails I’ve received in awhile. Someone out there is deadly at Scrabble.(Wait till you see the last one)!


Anagrams

DORMITORY:When you rearrange the letters: DIRTY ROOM

ASTRONOMER:When you rearrange the letters:MOON STARER

PRESBYTERIAN:When you rearrange the letters:BEST IN PRAYER

DESPERATION:When you rearrange the letters:A ROPE ENDS IT

THE EYES:! When you rearrange the letters:THEY SEE

GEORGE BUSH:When you rearrange the letters:HE BUGS GORE

THE MORSE CODE :When you rearrange the letters: HERE COME DOTS

SLOT MACHINES:When you rearrange the letters: CASH LOST IN ME

ANIMOSITY:When you rearrange the letters:IS NO AMITY

ELECTION RESULTS:When you rearrange the letters: LIES - LET’S RECOUNT

THE EARTHQUAKES:When you rearrange the letters:THAT QUEER SHAKE

ELEVEN PLUS TWO:When you rearrange the letters:TWELVE PLUS ONE

AND FOR THE GRAND FINALE:

MOTHER-IN-LAW:When you rearrange the letters: WOMAN HITLER

Word of The Day

Convalesce

Function: verb

Inflected forms:
convalesces; convalesced; convalescing

Meaning:
: to become healthy and strong again slowly over time after illness, weakness, or injury
e.g.
- She spent two months convalescing (recuperating, recovering]) at home after her surgery.
- He is convalescing from his leg injuries.

Image of The Day

Quote of The Day

"The brain is a wonderful organ. It starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get into the office."
- Robert Frost was an American poet.

Teaching Tips & Ideas

TO BE AS "TER"

The Verb To Have (Ter) in Portuguese is widely used, appearing in terms of our everyday life and often assuming an idiomatic role. The Verb To Have, which would be its equivalent in English, has a more restricted use, not appearing too much in idiomatic forms. The Verb To Be, on the other hand, covers in English a large area of significance, appearing in many expressions of our everyday life, similar to the Verb To Be (Ser) in Portuguese. Therefore the verb To Have corresponds to the verb To Be, in the examples below: H.C.

Quantos anos você tem? - How old are you?
Você tem certeza? - Are you sure?
Você tem razão. - You are right.
Não tenho medo de cachorro. - I'm not afraid of dogs.
O que é que tem de errado? - What's wrong?
Não foi culpa minha. - It wasn't my fault.
Tivemos sorte. - We were lucky.
Tenha cuidado. - Be careful.
Tenho pena deles (sinto por eles). - I'm sorry for them.
Não tenho condições de trabalhar. - I'm not able to work. / I can't work.
Ela tem vergonha de falar Inglês. - She's too shy to speak English.
Você tem que ter paciência. - You must be patient.
Ele tem jeito para línguas. - He's good at languages.
Um canteiro de fumo tem 2 metros de largura por 25 de comprimento. - A tobacco seedbed is 2 meters wide and 25 meters long.

Laughter's the Best Medicine

No Worries

Abe and Esther are flying to Australia for a two-week vacation to celebrate their 40th anniversary. Suddenly, over the public address system, the Captain announces, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I am afraid I have some very bad news. Our engines have ceased functioning and we will attempt an emergency landing. Luckily, I see an uncharted island below us and we should be able to land on the beach. However, the odds are that we may never be rescued and will have to live on the island for the rest of our lives!"

Thanks to the skill of the pilot and the flight crew, the plane lands safely on the island. An hour later Abe turns to his wife and asks,

"Esther, did we pay our $5,000 PBS pledge check yet?"

"No, sweetheart," she responds.

Abe, still shaken from the crash landing, then asks, "Esther, did we pay our American Express card yet?"

"Oh, no! I'm sorry. I forgot to send the check," she says.

"One last thing, Esther. Did you remember to send checks for the Visa and MasterCard this month?" he asks.

"Oh, forgive me, Abie," begged Esther. "I didn't send that one, either."

Abe grabs her and gives her the biggest kiss in 40 years. Esther pulls away and asks him, "What was that for?"

Abe answers, "They'll find us!"