📅 Slang of the Day

✳️ nick (1)

✍ Meaning:

to steal something

🔎 For example:

🔺I left my bike in front of the bank while I went inside to pay some bills. When I came back out it was gone. Some bastard had nicked it!

🔺Did you ever nick money from your mum's purse when you were a kid?
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➕ Note: This word is usually used for minor thefts by kids or petty criminals, not major thefts by professional criminals or corrupt politicians, government officials and businessmen.

💢 Variety: This slang term is typically used in British English but may be used in other varieties of English too.
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🔜 @english_union

✅ English Vocabulary: “BIG” synonyms

If you want a better English vocabulary, you need to know different words that mean the same thing. Instead of saying ‘a big building’, you can say ‘a colossal building’. Instead of ‘a big amount of money’, say ‘an enormous amount of money’. In this lesson, I’ll teach you many different words in English that mean big. Learning synonyms for common English words is a great way to make your English more interesting. Watch this video to learn words you can use instead of big. Then, see how well you can spell these words in my quiz!

🆔 T.me/English_Union
🎥 #video #engvid

It's nice to have a friend
Demo
From Taylor swift new album
🆔 T.me/English_Union
✴️ #song

🗣

Taylor Swift

🌀‌ [128 mp3]
🆔 T.me/English_Union

🗣

Taylor Swift

🌀 [320 mp3]
‌
🆔 T.me/English_Union

🗣 Taylor Swift
🎵 It's Nice To Have A Friend
#TaylorSwift

[Outro]
Ooh
Ooh

[Verse 1]
School bell rings, walk me home
Sidewalk chalk covered in snow
Lost my gloves, you give me one
"Wanna hang out?" Yes, sounds like fun
Video games, you pass me a note
Sleeping in tents

[Chorus]
It's nice to have a friend (Ooh)
It's nice to have a friend (Ooh)

[Verse 2]
Light pink sky up on the roof
Sun sinks down, no curfew
20 questions, we tell the truth
You've been stressed out lately, yeah, me too
Something gave you the nerve
To touch my hand

[Chorus]
It's nice to have a friend (Ooh)
It's nice to have a friend (Ooh)

[Verse 3]
Church bells ring, carry me home
Rice on the ground looks like snow
Call my bluff, call you "Babe"
Have my back, yeah, every day
Feels like home, stay in bed
The whole weekend

[Chorus]
It's nice to have a friend (Ooh)
It's nice to have a friend (Ooh)
It's nice to have a friend (Ooh)
It's nice to have a friend (Ooh)
(Ooh)

🆔 @English_Union

🆎 The differences between for, since and ago

We use for and since to say how long, but there is a little difference between them.

We use for + a period of time
⭕️ For three Days
⭕️ For two years

We use since + the start of the period
⭕️ Since Monday
⭕️ Since 9 o'clock

✅ ago= before now
We use ago with the past

⭕️when did u go out? "Ten minutes ago" (=ten minutes before now)
⭕️ I started my new job three weeks ago.(=three weeks before now)

✅ Here compare ago and for to learn more:
⭕️ when did you arrive in Iran?
I arrived in Iran 2 days ago

⭕️ How long has she been in Iran?
She has been in Iran for 2 days.
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🔜 @english_union
✴️ #GRAMMAR

🎧Farm Life

Todd and Monica discuss the allure of life on the farm.

#Podcast_Transcript
#pod #audio
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🔜 @english_union

🇺🇸Todd: Monica, you mentioned a farm home stay in New Zealand. Have you ever actually ever lived on a farm?

🇳🇿Monica: I haven't lived on a farm as such, but I've visited family friends who have lived on farms.

Todd: Did you like it?

Monica: Yeah, I remember loving visiting my family friends on farms. Yeah, especially riding horses. I loved riding horses when I was young.

Todd: So are you good? Are you an equestrian professional?

Monica: I wouldn't say that. I do remember one time. My mother always seems to tell people this story about when I was young, and we were at her friend's farm. I was on a horse, and the horse took off, and I was only about, I think ten at the time and I was hanging off the side of this horse and my mother was really worried for me, and then when the horse finally stopped she ... you know ... she came running up and asked me if I was OK and things, and apparently I said to her, "Oh, it's OK. I wanted it to go fast."

Todd: That's cute. You're lucky you didn't get hurt though.

Monica: Yeah, well, I guess I just didn't sense the danger.

Todd: Actually, I kind of grew up on a farm. My grandfather had a ranch growing up so I spend every summer on his ranch, so I have quite the ... I don't know ... I guess I have a lot of experience on a farm. Yeah, it's good. I remember when I was young I thought the life on a farm was just the best. I mean I had it so good, and I loved everything about living on a farm and I thought when I was gonna get older, I would want to be on a farm, but now that I'm older, I couldn't image doing it every again.

Monica: What can't you imagine doing?

Todd: I don't know, I guess, I just couldn't imagine all that work, and I think I'm just so addicted to city life or suburban life and living in a house and just doing work on computers and things like that. I couldn't go back to that lifestyle, but when I was young, I have to admit, I enjoyed it a lot. So how about you? Could you see yourself moving and living on a farm?

Monica: Well, yeah, I think my thoughts are similar to yours in that I'm very used to being inside using a computer, and I'm used to a very different lifestyle to one that involves being on a farm, but yeah, I've never had a long period of time where I've stayed on a farm like you so yeah maybe it's a bit different for me.
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🔜 @english_union

🔍Learn Vocabulary from the lesson!


▪️As such

I haven’t lived on a farm as such.

The phrase ‘as such’ functions similarly to the word ‘but’ and can often be omitted. Notice the following:

▫️I’m not a professional musician as such, but I’ve played drums at many school parties.

▫️I’m not a professional musician, but I’ve played drums at many school parties.


▪️I wouldn’t say that

An equestrian professional? I wouldn’t say that.

We use the phrase ‘I wouldn’t say that’ when something is not 100% true. Here are two samples:

▫️I wouldn’t say I’m fluent in English as such, but most native speakers understand me.

▫️I love History and I studied it in college, but am I an expert? I wouldn’t say that.


▪️Hanging off

I was hanging off the side.

When somebody or something is 'hanging off', it is attached from above with no support from below. Notice the samples:

▫️As the fire raged, people were hanging off the outside of the building.

▫️My neighbor always hangs her laundry off the balcony.


▪️Sense the danger

I just didn’t sense the danger.

When we sense something we have a feeling about it, but we don’t know exactly why. Here are some samples:

▫️Jogging through the park at night, I didn’t sense the danger people often speak of.

▫️Judging by her silence, he sensed his teacher was annoyed.


▪️Suburban life

I enjoy suburban life and living.

The suburbs are an area just outside the city. There are a lot of houses and small apartments, but not many tall buildings. Life there is very different from city life. Notice the sample sentences:

▫️For me, suburban life is boring and far from places I like to hang out at.

▫️Suburban life is great for families. It’s quieter and safer than the city.
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🔜 @english_union

📽Learning English With Famous Speeches

🗣Boris Johnson | First Speech as Prime Minister
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🎧 Paul Bunyan

Jakes tells Shirley about a popular folk hero to American school children.

#Podcast_Transcript
#audio #pod
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🔜  @english_union

🇳🇿Shirley: Hi Jake, how are you today?

🇺🇸Jake: Good. How are you Shirley?

Shirley: Not too badthanks. I thought we might talk about folk heroes today. I don’t really know much about American folk heroes, are there any that you have a favorite or...?

Jake: Actually my hometown in the United States happens to be known as one of the hometowns for Paul Bunyan.

Shirley: I think I’ve heard of that name but I don’t know anything about him.

Jake: Paul Bunyan was a lumberjack. Like, he would cut down trees and he was supposedly a very giant man. He was huge. And I don’t know if he ever actually lived sometime in the past, but maybe he was just a very large man but somehow the stories have been passed down to say that he was as large as a house or as large as a skyscraper. It completely depends on who you ask.

Shirley: Wow, so not sure whether he’s a mythical character or a real character.

Jake: No one really knows for sure.

Shirley: What did he do?

Jake: Well, some people say that he took his ax and he dragged it behind his back across the United States and he made the Mississippi river.

Shirley: So it’s a kind of story to explain why something exists.

Jake: That’s part of it. And also, he had a pet too. His pet is very famous.

Shirley: And what kind of pet?

Jake: His pet was an ox, but it wasn’t just an ordinary ox. It was a blue ox. And it was also oversized to fit with his size.

Shirley: What did his pet do?

Jake: Well his pet I think would just carry lumber for him or something...

Shirley: So about when did this story start? When did Paul Bunyan become famous? Or when did people know about that story?

Jake: Well, I’m not exactly sure, but like your country, the United States is a very young country and has a very young history since the European settlers came there so I think it’s maybe from a couple hundred years ago, maybe at the most.

Shirley: Hmm. Ok.
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🔜  @english_union

🔍Learn Vocabulary from the Lesson!


▪️Not too bad

“Not too bad” is a common response to the greeting and question, “How are you?” It is another way of saying “good”. It is also used to answer many other simple questions. Note the following example:

▫️A: How was the movie?
B: Not too bad, but I thought it would be better.


▪️Folk hero

A folk hero is a real person or fictional character who is famous in a particular community or culture. See the examples below:

▫️Santa Claus is a folk hero who is famous around the world.

▫️In our small town, our local firefighter has become a folk hero for his bravery.


▪️Skyscraper

A skyscraper is a very tall building. It is called a skyscraper because it is so tall that it seems to scrape, or scratch, against the sky. Notice the following examples:

▫️We could see the entire city from the top floor of the skyscraper.

▫️There are many new skyscrapers in Beijing.


▪️Mythical

A myth is a story that is often used to explain something. Usually, a myth is fictional, or untrue. Mythical is an adjective to describe something that comes from a fictional story. See the examples below:

▫️A unicorn is a mythical animal.

▫️There are many mythical characters in ancient Greek stories.


▪️Lumber

Lumber is what trees are called when they are cut into boards. Wood that has been prepared to be used for construction is called lumber. See the examples below:

▫️One of the main exports in Canada is lumber.

▫️I need to go to the hardware store to buy some lumber.
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🔜  @english_union

📅 Idiom

✳️ up to your neck | up to your eyeballs


✍ Meaning:

If you're up to your neck in something, or up to your eyeballs in something, you've got too much of it and it's become a problem.

📝 For example:

✏️I'm up to my neck in emails and I don't think I can get away at the moment.

✏️Christmas is the worst time at the animal shelter. We're always up to our eyeballs in stray dogs and cats.

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🔜  @english_union
➕ #idiom

✏️✏️✏️✏️✏️✏️✏️
✳️ Phrasal Verb of the Day

✳️ put on (4)


✍ Meaning:

If you put on weight, or put on pounds or kilos, you become heavier.

🔎 For example:

🔺 put on sth :
Oh no! I've put on 5 kilos in the last month.

🔺 put sth on:
 If you exercise less, but keep eating the same amount of food, you'll probably put some weight on. 


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🔜  @english_union
➖ #phrasal_verb
✏️✏️✏️✏️✏️✏️✏️

📆 Today's Idiom

✳️ at loose ends

🌅 Meaning:

If you're at loose ends, you feel restless and unsettled because you don't have anything to do.

🌠 For example:

🔹Hank's been at loose ends since he lost his job, so I hope he finds another one soon. 

🔹We tried limiting the time Jimmy could play computer games, but he gets restless and moody whenever he's at loose ends, so we let him play. 
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🔸 Note: This is similar to the British idiom "at a loose end", though "at loose ends" seems to indicate a state of unhappy restlessness that results from having nothing to do. The British idiom simply means having nothing to do.

🔸 Variety: This idiom is typically used in American English but may be used in other varieties of English too.
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🆔 T.me/English_Union
✳️ #IDIOM

🎧The Nature of Myths

Jake shares with Shirley why the myth of Paul Bunyan still lives on today.
#pod #audio
#Podcast_Transcript
🎙 @English_Union
#speaking #listening

🇳🇿Shirley: So you said Paul Bunyan is famous. How do people know about him. Is he in children’s story books or do you learn about him at school?

🇺🇸Jake: Yes, both. At school I remember having maybe a Paul Bunyan day. It’s not an actual national holiday but at school I think we had maybe one day when I was in preschool or kindergarten where we would just talk about Paul Bunyan. They would show us picture books of Paul Bunyan and we would make art based on Paul Bunyan. Things like that.

Shirley: That’s pretty amazing that he’s so famous and just for making the Mississippi river. Is there something special about the river that makes it important in America?

Jake: Well it’s definitely the most important river in America, I would say. It’s large and it crosses the entire United States down the middle and, yes, the Mississippi river is very important to the United States and especially where I’m from because I live near the Mississippi river in the United States.

Shirley: Are there any Native Americanstories to explain why the Mississippi river is such a big river and why it’s there?

Jake: I’m sure there are but unfortunately we choose to talk about the Paul Bunyan story more for one reason or another. I’m not sure why it’s the most famous, but I’m sure the Native Americans have much older stories to explain the Mississippi river.

Shirley: So Jake, is he famous for anything else other than making that big river?

Jake: Well, I think it’s maybe just a story about hard work for children and things like that, because they would say he had a huge ax and he could cut down ten trees with one swing and things like that.

Shirley: So, not really an environmentalist.

Jake: Not really. I think the story was invented before the environment (movement) was invented, so it’s a bit of an old story...

Shirley: So do they want children to go cut down trees or what’s the purpose of the story now?

Jake: Well I think it just means work hard and prosper, like many stories in the United States.

Shirley: I see.
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🔜  @english_union

🔍Learn Vocabulary from the Lesson!


▪️Native American

Are there any Native American stories to explain why the Mississippi river is so big?

Native Americans are the groups of people who were living (and continue to live) in North and South America before the European settlers came. They are also sometimes referred to as “Indians”. See the following examples:

▫️Native Americans had different lifestyles depending on the available resources where they lived.

▫️Unfortunately, Native Americans were treated poorly throughout America’s history.


▪️Unfortunate

Unfortunately, we choose to talk about the Paul Bunyan story more.

Unfortunate means unlucky. Unfortunately is an adverb which is the same as saying “it’s too bad that...”. Study the examples below:

▫️Unfortunately, we won’t be able to finish painting today.

▫️I broke one of the new wine glasses unfortunately.


▪️For one reason or another

We choose to talk about the Paul Bunyan story for one reason or another.

“For one reason or another” can be used to explain the reason for something when you don’t really know what the reason is. It is almost like saying, “I am not sure why we do this, but there must be some reasons.” Notice the examples below:

▫️My son likes to wear different colored socks for one reason or another.

▫️For one reason or another, history always repeats itself.


▪️Environmentalist

So, Paul Bunyan is not really an environmentalist.

An environmentalist is a person who tries to conserve and protect things in nature such as plants, animals, oceans, rivers, soil, and the air quality. A person or a product that is concerned about the environment is also called “green”. Notice the following examples:

▫️Hybrid cars are very popular with environmentalists.

▫️Global warming is a top priority for environmentalists.


▪️Prosper

The story of Paul Bunyan teaches children to work hard and prosper.

To prosper means to have success. It often refers to financial success but it also can refer to being healthy. See the examples below:

▫️Since he quit drinking, he has really prospered financially.

▫️The fish really prosper near this coral reef.
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🔜  @english_union