dating-part 2

For all of you hopelessly romantic people out there here is the second part of the "useful-vocabulary-for-dating" series:

Two days later, Sandra is talking to her friend Ivana on the phone.

Sandra: He's gorgeous! So easy to get on with.

Ivana: What does he do?

Sandra: Design software.

Ivana: I hope you didn't bombard him with questions about his job.

Sandra: Look, are you my dating coach or something? Anyway, why not?

Ivana: He might think you're checking for wallet padding.

Sandra: You've never even met him!

Ivana: He paid, I suppose.

Sandra: Yes. Is that another mistake?

Ivana: So, when are you seeing him again?

Sandra: Tonight.

Ivana: Tonight? Don't you think you're coming on a bit too strong?

Sandra: He only suggested a quiet drink somewhere.

Ivana: Don't you think maybe now's a good time to hang back a bit?


Explanations:

bombard with- an excellent, show-off-your-range-of-vocabulary way to say that someone is asking you way too much questions:
They bombarded him with questions about his looming wedding.

dating coach- After some time browsing the web, I stumbled across a great article about dating coaches which goes to show that they are currently all the fashion. According to the article, dating coaches are the last port of call for a mushrooming number of desperate singles. Although the methods applied on the clients and the charges vary greatly from dating coach to dating coach, apparently all of the coaches have one ultimate goal-to boost their clients' seductive skills. What can I say about that, but ask myself what ever happened to the good, old times when people just went on a date oblivious of any rules and still found their perfect match.

To read the whole article, visit: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/FunMoney/Story?id=2193295&page=2

wallet padding- is an expression which stands for how much money there is in a man's wallet

come on strong- informal-to make it very clear to someone that you find them sexually attractive

dating-part 1

In the next weeks I'll be writing about some vocabulary that might come in handy if you ever happen to be going out on a date with a drop-dead gorgeous English person.

1. Do you live by yourself?
(all I'll be writing about is from the May issue of Spotlight)

Tim first met Sandra at a fitness club. One day, he suggests they go out for dinner.

Tim: Do you fancy some wine? A glass of red?

Sandra:I'm still recovering from this morning's workout, so I'll go for water, thanks.

Tim: Good idea. I think I'll do the same.

Sandra: Have you been here before?

Tim: Once or twice-you know, when I can't be bothered to cook.

Sandra: Oh, do you live by yourself?

Tim: No, I share a house with another guy, a friend from uni. And yourself?

Sandra: Sorry?

Tim: Do you live by yourself?

Sandra: No, no. I live with my parents-still.

Tim: What's that like?

Sandra: Well, I'd like to move out, but it's easier said than done.

Explanations:

Do you fancy.... used to ask people what they'd like:
Do you fancy going to the cinema tonight?

To go for something has the meaning of to choose. It is often used when selecting food or drink from a menu:
I think I'll go for the lamb.

If you can't be bothered to do something, you don't want to spend neither time nor energy on it.

Instead of I live by myself, you can say I live on my own or I live alone.

Ways of walking-part 3

Welcome to the last part of the series entitled "Ways of walking". Today we are going to look at the expressions you can use when describing "walking with difficulty".

-trudge or plod- to walk with effort because you are tired, fed up or carrying something heavy:
I'd had to trudge through the snow to get there.
Despite the wind and the rain, they plodded on until they reached the cottage.

-limp or hobble- to walk unevenly because your legs or feet hurt:
Three minutes into the match, Jackson limped off the pitch with a serious ankle injury.
The last time I saw Rachel she was hobbling around with a stick.

-stagger- to walk in an uncontrolled way as if you were about to fall:
After he was attacked, he managed to stagger to the phone and call for help.

-wade- to walk with effort, often through water, snow or mud:
The river was full but we managed to wade across.

Before I forget, as the best method to learn something is by doing, I have three exercises for you from "Spotlight" so that you can put what you have learnt on "ways of walking" to use:

1. Which verb would you use to say that you.....
a) had nothing better to do and walked around a shopping centre all morning?......
b)walked around your local park, looking at the flowers in your lunch break?......
c) were in a hurry to get to a dental appointment on time?.....

2. Replace "walk" with a verb which is featured in this series.....
a) She walked up and down the living room, waiting for him to come back.
b) Why does he have to walk around here as if he owns the place? Who does he think he is?
c) Two guards walked the prisoner into the yard where the firing squad was waiting.

3. Which verbs from the series best complete the sentences below?
a) He........ to the door, his hands bleeding.
b) Each day they would .......... back to the campsite, cold and exhausted.
c) It was obvious he had injured his foot because he was ...........badly.

Ways of walking-part 2

2. Walking in a way that shows your feelings

-to strut- to walk with your head up and your chest out to show that you are high and mighty:
He strutted past us like a peacock without even saying hello.

-to frogmarch someone-to force a person to go somewhere by holding his or her arm tightly:
He was frogmarched out of the room by security stuff.

-to pace- to walk up and down in a small place because you are nervous, angry or impatient:
He paced up and down outside the delivery room, waiting to hear if it was a boy or a girl.


Before I forget, all of this entries about walking are from the last years' August editionof "Spotlight". I'm writing this because the last thing I could wish for is a plagiarism accusation put against me.

Ways of walking-part 1

In the next weeks, I'll introduce to you the verbs which we use when referring to different kinds of walking, depending on pace and the message you wish to convey each time.

1. Walking quickly and walking slowly

-dash- people who dash go somewhere quickly. In sentences, this verb is often used to mean "leave":
Sorry, but I've got to dash. My train's leaving in half an hour.

- amble/stroll/saunter- walk in a slow, relaxed way:
They strolled along the beach, looking for shells.

-mosey around-walk without a particular purpose:
I had yesterday off and moseyed around town all day.

personal finance-part 3

Pat wants to transfer money to her son's bank account in France.

Pat: What about bank charges at your end, Chris?

Chris: Well, there shouldn't be any. As long as you have my international account number and the sort code, it should go straight through.

Pat:But I haven't got those.

Chris: I've got them, Mum. I'll e-mail them to you.

Pat: Well, they said here there'd be no commission.

Chris: There won't be, Mum. Oh, yeah. I've checked the rate. It's 1.46 to the pound.

Pat: 1.46. I told you. The pound's getting stronger.

Chris: Tell me, how did you find out about these people in the first place?

Pat: Doesn't matter just now. They said it'll take five working days to clear.

Chris: Look, Mum, I'll speak to you next week. OK?

Pat: Let me know when the money comes through, Christopher.

Chris: Will do. Bye, Mum.

Explanations:

sort or sorting code- an official number used to refer to a particular bank

commission-charge for the transaction of money

clear- If a bank clears money, it allows the transaction to be processed

will do- is short for "Yes, I will do that."

personal finance-part 2

Daniel is trying to arrange car insurance on the telephone.

Woman: And will you be wanting comprehensive cover?

Daniel: Well, it's a brand-new car.

Woman: OK, with full cover. If the car is stolen within the first year or if it's a complete write-off, we'll replace it with a new car of the same make.

Daniel: Right.

Woman: Maybe, you'd like to fill out a proposal form online. If that's acceptable, we'll issue you with a cover note.

Daniel: And the premium?

Woman: OK. A high voluntary excess will bring the premium down. And then it depends on how many people will be driving the car.

Daniel: I see.

Woman: You can get a quote online if you want one quickly.

Daniel: Great! I'll do that.

Explanations:

will you be wanting...- the woman's choice of the future continuous makes the question sound more polite.

comprehensive insurance or cover- means full cover of the liability for injuring other people or damaging property when driving

write-off (verb and noun)-to damage a vehicle so badly that it cannot be repaired:

His car was completely written-off in the accident.

a cover note- a document that proves you have car insurance

voluntary excess- is the amount of money you pay yourself when you make a claim for loss, damage, injury, theft etc

quote-here- the amount of money a product or service will cost

personal finance- part 1

The next topic in my "everyday English" series is personal finance, so that you don't find yourself lost for words about money and transactions if you were to live or stay in an English speaking country.

Sam has gone to the bank with his friend Jim to get a statement.

Sam: Oh, Christ! No! I'm overdrawn again. Do you know how much they charge? Sixteen per cent!

Jim: Haven't you got an overdraft?

Sam: I had one last year for a while. But the next one will knock me back 25 quid. And that's just the arrangement fee.

Jim: Well, shall I lend you something?

Sam: No, it's OK, thanks. The joke is that I've got money in a savings account, but I cannot get at it.

Jim: That's not much help, is it?

Sam: Well, you cannot do partial withdrawals. You know, just the whole lot. But the interest rate's brilliant.

Jim: So what are you going to do now?

Sam: I don't know. I'll think of something.

Explanations:

bank statement-a printed record of the money put into and removed from a bank account

be overdrawn; overdraw-having taken more money out of your bank account than the account contained, or (of a bank account) having had more money taken from it than was originally in it:

They were overdrawn by £150, so they couldn't write any cheques.

overdraft-an amount of money that a customer with a bank account is temporarily allowed to owe to the bank, or the agreement which allows this:to run up/pay off an overdraft

knock someone back-informal-cost someone a lot of money

quid- informal- pound or pounds

savings account-an account in a bank or similar financial organization which earns interest

p.s. You can withdraw money at any time from a current account, but not from a savings account.

Green living-part 3

Here is part three (the final part) of the green living series, so you can brighten your horizons:

Carrie is expecting a baby. She's talking to her friend Gillian on the phone.

Carrie: Did you use disposable nappies with your two?
Gillian: Well, we did with Tom. With Isabel, we changed to reusable ones, though.
Carrie: Would you do that again?
Gillian: Yeah, I think so. It's a hassle, but you get through a hell of a lot of nappies, and they're not exactly cheap. We also went off the oils and the powders with Isabel.
Carrie: Why's that?
Gillian: Well, they're loaded with chemicals, aren't they? The best thing is olive oil. It's cheap. It's natural.
Carrie: You mean the same stuff you have in the kitchen?
Gillian: Yeah. And above all, it's not perfumed. All these baby products smell the same.

Explanations:

it's a hassle (informal)- something is difficult : Getting to work today was a real hassle.

a hell of a lot of (informal)-emphasizes a large number

go off something (informal)- lose interest in something

loaded with (informal)- a stronger equivalent of "full of"

Green living- part 2

Here I'm again with part two of the green living series:

Jeremy is thinking about having two wind turbines installed next to his house. Brian is giving him some advice.

Brian: The first hurdle is getting planning permission.

Jeremy: The neighbours won't mind. They've seen my pictures.

Brian: OK, but the next thing is the noise. The environmental health people will want to know how loud the turbines are when they're up.

Jeremy: I've got all the figures. You'll hardly hear them.

Brian: But you want to be on the safe side. Imagine if you had to take the whole lot down after a few weeks.

Jeremy: I'm serious about it, and I'm going to do it properly. I reckon I can reduce my bills by 40 per cent.

Brian: Well, you'll need a lot of staying power-if you'll excuse the pun.

Explanations: a planning permission is an official agreement that something new can be built or an existing building can be changed.

If you are on the safe side, you take no risks.

the whole lot is a common vague expression. Here it refers to the turbines.

a pun is the humorous use of a word that has two meanings. Here, the pun is power. Jeremy needs "staying power", the energy and determination not to give up on his project. But "power" is also what he wants from his wind turbines.

Green living- part 1

Here I have again adapted an idea from Spotlight (I can highly recommend this mag for you as it has almost anything an English learner's heart could possibly hanker after :)).

Anyway, I'm going to provide you with "everyday English" vocabulary each week, which I'll break off in chunks. In that way, it will be easier for you to read it, and if you wish, memorize it:

The topic for this week is- green living

A short conversation: (in Spotlight, February 2007)

Rachel: Damian's gone completely over the top.

Lucy: Don't tell me. He wears his Birkenstocks to work now.

Rachel: Not that. You know the envelopes with the windows?

Lucy: Yes.

Rachel: He cuts them out, because they're plastic, not paper.

Lucy: That must take ages.

Rachel: Yes, especially if you use scissors.

Lucy: You're joking.

Rachel: No, it's a ritual. Every Sunday evening he sits down with a pot of tea and works through his envelopes.

Lucy: I suppose it's rooibos he's drinking, is it?

Rachel: I asked whether boiling the kettle negated the effort he put into the separation process.

Lucy: And?

Rachel: He was really offended. He's refusing to talk to me now.

Vocab- go over the top-do something in an exaggerated way. Sometimes, people just say "OTT".

Birkenstock- is a German company famous all over the world for its sandals; the picture of one model is on the right

rooibos (the picture is featured on the right)- is the name of a bush, which is used for making tea, grown in South Africa

negate (slightly formal)- to cause something to be useless-The increase in our profits has been negated by the rising costs of runnning the business.