Wedding Customs


source: JenniferESL        2013年8月5日

BBC News Review: Tourists' carbon footprint 3 times worse


source: BBC Learning English          2018年5月8日
The story
A new study says tourism accounts for 8% of global carbon emissions – about three times more than previously estimated.
The report, published in the journal Nature, includes details on the carbon footprint linked to tourists' food, shopping and accommodation as well as their travel.

Key words and phrases: 
--choking: stopping from breathing
• It looked like he was choking. Probably because he was eating too fast.
• Throughout the holiday, the roads were choked with cars.
--globetrotting: travelling frequently worldwide
• The globetrotting basketball team became internationally renowned.
• Globetrotting is a great life, but it’s hard to start a family.
--cost the earth: be very expensive
• It’s a beautiful dress, but it costs the earth. I certainly can’t afford it.
• The wedding cost them the earth, but you can’t put a price on love.

Language challenge: 
The amount of carbon a person generates is their carbon ______
a) handprint
b) footprint
c) faceprint

# materials above: from http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english...

1 Simple Spelling Tip | Improve Your English Writing Skills


source: mmmEnglish       2018年4月5日
There are not many simple English spelling rules available to help you improve your writing and spelling skills.... But this one has helped me (and lots of native English speakers) throughout their lives.
In this lesson, I'll share a simple English spelling tip that will help you to write more confidently in English: i before e, except after c

Learn English with Friends: Flirting with Police


source: Learn English With TV Series         2016年6月17日

English Modals: 4 ways to use "SHOULD"


source: Learn English with Alex [engVid]       2018年4月13日
Most people only use "should" for advice. However, did you know that you can also use it to talk about your expectations and past regrets? Not only that, but you can even use it to make your statements less certain. Learn to use should for MORE than just advice, and master this common and useful English modal verb.

5 Simple & Easy tricks to Speak Fluent English Faster?


source: Learn English with Let's Talk         2018年4月17日
You are looking to speak fluent English faster, improve your pronunciation and speak like a native English speaker. You have tried every tip and trick in the book to improve your English fluency without achieving any major success. Maybe you are doing things the wrong way. Here are 5 simple and easy tips to speak fluent English faster and better in no time. Niharika, your English trainer has shortlisted some easy to implement English learning methods that would help you to learn English faster and make you a pro at speaking English. Learn tips to improve your English pronunciation, learning real conversation phrases and how to find native speakers to practice English. We hope this English lesson will take your English to a level you have always imagined.

5 Tips To Become a Confident English Speaker! Ask Alisha


source: Learn English with EnglishClass101.com       2018年4月14日
In this video, Alisha answers 5 questions.
- I dont understand english, I wanna learn but i dont know how to start?
- Do you have any ideas on how to improve speaking skills in English?
- I want a plan to speak English fluently.
- Can I practice listening to English using YouTube videos, for example?
- Do you think it's easier to understand the British accent or the American accent?

Conversation Practice: Travel (14 Questions & Answers) - 60 Dai...


source: Helena Daily English       2018年5月1日
English Speaking Conversation Practice (14 Questions & Answers) - 60 Daily Topics - S1.
Travelling to some places you’re interested in? I’m sure you did, wandering on the coaches to enjoy the beautiful scene in your hometown or take your bag to other famous places like France with Eiffel Tower or Mount Fuj in Japan...so on
Lets take a flight with me

Learn to talk about microadventures in 6 minutes!


source: BBC Learning English          2018年3月22日
Join us for six minutes of adventure! You won't be going far but you'll discover how adventurer, Alastair Humphreys thinks there's fun to be had on your doorstep. Along the way we'll be exploring the expeditions you could go on and new items of vocabulary to take with you!

# materials below: from http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/feat...
This week's question:
How far it is around the world measured at the equator – in other worlds the circumference? It is approximately…
a) 30,000 km
b) 40,000 km, or
c) 50,000 km
Listen to the programme to find out the answer.

Vocabulary:
wanderlust: a strong desire to travel
a sense of adventure: the feeling of doing a new, exciting and sometimes dangerous activity
to coin: used a word or phrase that no one has used before
hunch: an idea you have based on feelings but with no proof
charm: part of the pleasure or enjoyment of something
on your doorstep: close to where you live

Transcript: 
(Note: This is not a word for word transcript)

Rob
Hello I'm Rob and welcome to 6 Minute English– the show that brings you an interesting topic and authentic listening practice…

Neil
...and don't forget vocabulary to help you improve your language skills. I'm Neil by the way and today we're off on an adventure.

Rob
But not a very big adventure Neil – it's just a mini or microadventure – but if you have wanderlust – a strong desire to travel – I think it may appeal.

Neil
It will appeal to you Rob because you love to travel – haven't you circumnavigated the globe – I mean go all the way round the world?

Rob
Almost Neil – but today's mini-adventure doesn't involve travelling too far from home. We'll explore the topic more in a moment but not before we've set today's quiz question. So Neil do you know how far it is around the world measured at the equator – in other worlds the circumference? It is approximately…
a) 30,000 km
b) 40,000 km, or
c) 50,000 km

Neil
Well, I haven't walked it but I know it's a long way – so I'll go for c) 50,000 km.

Rob
I shall keep you in suspense and tell you the answer at the end of the programme. Our topic for discussion won't be travelling so far – it's about a new trend for small adventures.

Neil
What you mean are shorter breaks, closer to home. They're less expensive of course but also instil a sense of adventure – that's the feeling of doing a new, exciting and sometimes dangerous activity.

Rob
Well, adventurer, Alastair Humphreys has coined the phrase 'microadventures' to describe this. 'To coin' here means to use a word or phrase that no one has used before.

Neil
Now he's someone who goes on big trips and expeditions to the four corners of the globe and writing books about his adventures. But he wanted to prove you don't have to go far to find adventure.

Rob
Let's hear from him now – speaking on BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme – about what he did. How did he describe his first microadventure?

Alastair Humphreys, adventurer
I'd been doing big adventures for years and I had this hunch that you didn't need to go to the ends of the world to have some sort of adventure. You didn't need to be in beautiful Patagonia to have the spirit of adventure. So I decided to try and prove my theory by doing the most boring, ugly adventure I could think of. And I came up with the idea of walking a lap of the M25 in the snow in January. And time and again as I walked round the M25 I just kept thinking to myself this experience is exactly the same as the four years I spent cycling round the world. Smaller, of course, a bit silly, but definitely felt like an adventure And that's when I really started to come up with the idea of microadventures.

Neil
So a microadventure is a boring, ugly adventure?

Rob
No Neil. It may not be glamourous but it is an adventure. He walked around the London orbital motorway – called the M25 – to prove his hunch that you don't need to go far to find adventure. A hunch is an idea you have based on feelings but there's no proof.

Neil
Well his hunch was right. But walking alongside a motorway isn't my idea of adventure.

Rob
It doesn't have to be Neil. Just getting out on your bike and exploring somewhere in your locality that you haven't visited before is an adventure. And how about camping?

Neil
Ah yes, I do like to camp out – that's a phrasal verb to mean sleep outside in a tent. You can be so close to nature and breathe in the fresh air.

Rob
Yep and you don't need to go far for a camping adventure – and being out a night really adds to the sense of adventure. That's what Alastair Humphreys believes…

Alastair Humphreys, adventurer
We humans are so boring these days – we so rarely spend time out in the darkness to see the stars and to see how the world feels different by night. I get a little bit nervous still – I still imagine ghosts – but that's part of the charm of making a little frisson of adventure. And then in the morning the sun comes up, the birds sing, jump in a river, back on the bus, back to your desk for 9.00.

Rob
Seeing how the world feels at night is a nice idea. Getting a bit nervous – anxious maybe – is part of the pleasure or enjoyment – what Alastair calls 'charm'.

Neil
I agree – and he used another word 'frisson' meaning a sudden, strong feeling of excitement, or fear.

Rob
My biggest fear would be returning to my desk for 9.00! But Alastair is right, there is an adventure to be had on your doorstep – that means close to where you live.

Neil
But only a small adventure Rob! Unlike an adventure round the circumference of the Earth.

Rob
Yes that was my question earlier: how far it is around the world measured at the equator – in other worlds the circumference? It is approximately…
a)    30,000 km
b)    40,000 km, or
c)    50,000 km

Neil
I said c) 50,000 km.

Rob
Sorry Neil – too far. The Earth's circumference has been calculated to be 40,075km. To travel that distance would be a major adventure.

Neil
OK, I think we should remind ourselves of the some of the words and phrases we've discussed today – starting with wanderlust – a strong desire to travel. "Rob has wanderlust, he's never at home!"

Rob
That's because I have a sense of adventure. That's the feeling of doing a new, exciting and sometimes dangerous activity. "Neil has no sense of adventure because he likes his holidays to be planned out with no surprises!"

Neil
That's a little unfair Rob – I just like to be 'holiday happy' – that's a term I've just coined, which means used a word or phrase that no one has used before. You can also say 'to coin a phrase' after using an expression that is well known and possibly used too much.

Rob
Next we heard hunch – that's an idea you have based on feelings but there's no proof. "I have a hunch Neil wants to go to the pub – he's packing his bag!"

Neil
Your hunch is correct Rob. But not before we recap our next word charm – that's part of the pleasure or enjoyment of something. "Part of the charm of going to the seaside is eating ice cream and walking down the pier."

Rob
And finally we heard on your doorstep - that means close to where you live. "There's a pub right on your doorstep, so why don't you make the most of it!"

Neil
I intend to Rob but first let me to remind you that you can learn English with us at bbclearningenglish.com. That's it for today's 6 Minute English. We hope you enjoyed it. Bye for now.

Rob
Bye.

English @ the Movies: 'Cut It Out'


source: VOA Learning English      2018年3月30日

News Words: Blockchain


source: VOA Learning English                  2018年3月29日
Blockchain is a new word that describes accounting technology. Learn what it is with News Words.

Greet People Like a Native Speaker | Pronunciation Lesson


source: Interactive English          2017年7月15日
Do you want to say words & phrases just like a native speaker would? If so, then it's important to master the pronunciation of the first words you often say to people...GREETINGS!
In this lesson, we go over several common greetings in English and tell you how to say them just like a native English speaker. We'll look at how the words sound, the different reductions, as well as word omissions when it comes to greeting people.
Before you can start a conversation, make sure you at least know how to give people the perfect greeting. :)

Does your intonation sound rude or polite?


source: Speak English with Christina       2015年11月15日

Collocations and Phrasal Verbs w/ 'COME'


source: Gerry English Expressions          2016年1月30日