American English Refresher

What’s New? America’s Oceans and Seas Facts.

History Topic! The Earths Oceans Unexplored.

Conversation Topic. Musical Instruments and Conversation.

Speaking Practice. Basic Dialog with Musical Instrument.

Basic Grammar Review. The Past Simple Tense.

English Grammar. Adverbs During, While and For.

America’s Oceans and Seas Facts.

While there is only one global ocean, the vast body of water that covers  71% of Earth is geographically divided into distinct regions. The  United States recognizes five named ocean basins: Arctic, Atlantic,  Indian, Pacific, and Southern.

The ocean and large inland lakes play an integral role in many of the  Earth’s systems, including climate and weather. More than 50% of all  species on Earth are found under the ocean and the ocean helps sustain  human life above the water by providing 20% of the animal protein and 5%  of the total protein in the human diet. In the United States alone,  there are over 95,000 miles of shoreline. More than half of the U.S.  population lives within 50 miles of the coast in the narrow area of land  known as the “coastal zone.”

Saline water covers approximately 72% of the planet’s surface and is  customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas, with  the ocean covering approximately 71% of Earth’s surface and 90% of the  Earth’s biosphere. The ocean contains 97% of Earth’s water, and  oceanographers have stated that less than 5% of the World Ocean has been  explored. The total volume is approximately 1.35 billion cubic  kilometers with an average depth of nearly 3,700 meters.

As the world ocean is the principal component of Earth’s hydrosphere, it  is integral to all known life. The world ocean forms part of the carbon  cycle, and influences climate and weather patterns. The world ocean is  the habitat of 230,000 known species. Because much of it is unexplored,  the number of species that exist is much larger, possibly over two  million different species. The origin of Earth’s oceans remains unknown.

Yeah. An informal variant of  “Yes”.

Doesn’t it? The falling intonation on this question tag shows that it is simply a conversational element not requiring an answer.

I wish I could… Notice that could is a past tense modal verb. “I wish I could” refers to present time.

Don’t you play…? The negative  question implies that the speaker expects the answer to be affirmative.  It is equivalent to: “You play the violin, don’t you?”

With a rising intonation on the final “You”. 

“My sister does”. This is a short statement without repeating the question.

The sentence means “My sister plays the violin”.

Flute lessons. A compound noun, with the principal stress on the first word. Remember that “Flute” is a noun and it is singular.

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What’s New?  Why are teachers leaving their jobs?

History Topic! One room school history.

Conversation Topic. Safety and Caution Dialog.

Speaking Practice. “Be Careful” Dialog.

Basic Grammar Review. Present progressive or present continuous?

English Grammar. The Future with “Will” or “Going To”.

“Staggeringly high” numbers of teachers are ready to quit the  profession, a leading education researcher has warned, as growing  pressures placed on staff and schools make the job “just too big an  ask”. Rebecca Allen, director of the Education Datalab think tank has  become the latest expert to highlight what has been referred to as a  “crisis” in teacher recruitment and retention.

Children across the country are being taught by teachers who do not  want to be there, but are trapped by their financial circumstances, Ms  Allen said. Speaking at a General Election briefing on education, she  warned teaching is now “incredibly difficult”, as staff are increasingly  bogged down with paperwork and accountability tasks that are leaving  them exhausted and unmotivated.

Ms Allen said there is a need to look at improving the experience of  teachers at the start of their career, which could include measures such  as mentoring, smaller teaching workloads, or extending the teacher  training period. More needs to be done, in particular to help new  teachers, to stop them walking out the door, she said.

One-room schools were commonplace throughout rural portions of  various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States,  Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Spain.  In most rural (country) and small town schools, all of the students met  in a single room.

There, a single teacher taught academic basics to several grade  levels of elementary-age boys and girls. While in many areas one-room  schools are no longer used, it is not uncommon for them to remain in  developing nations and rural or remote areas. Examples include remote  parts of the American West, the Falklands, and the Shetland Islands.

Teachers in one-room schools were often former students themselves.  Their role is well-described by a student from Kentucky in the 1940s:

“The teachers that taught in the one room, rural schools were very  special people. During the winter months they would get to the school  early to get a fire started in the potbelly stove, so the building would  be warm for the students. On many occasions they would prepare a hot,  noon meal on top of the stove, usually consisting of soup or stew of  some kind. They took care of their students like a new mother hen would  care for her newly hatched chicks; always looking out for their health  and welfare”.

More on one room schools at Wiki.

Thank you Wiki http://bit.ly/2rvmPOB

While there are differences between “Will and “Going to”, there are  also many similarities in the way we use these. I am going to explain  these two terms a little differently than you might have studied. First  of all, “Will” is a “Modal Auxiliary Verb”. “Going to” is nothing more  than a common phrasal verb.

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What’s New? Has Construction Begun on The US Border Wall?

History Topic! The Mexican Border History

Conversation Topic. Happiness in Conversation.

Speaking Practice. Small Talk and Feeling Happy.

Basic Grammar Review. Adverbs of Frequency and Present Simple Examples.

English Grammar. Question Tags or Tag Questions?

As of January 20, 2019. It doesn’t look like it. On his fifth day in  office, Trump ordered construction of the wall to begin using cash on  hand. ProPublica reported that Customs and Border Protection  (CBP) had just $20 million in their coffers for the project, which isn’t  much when cost estimates for building a concrete wall range from $1  million to $21.6 million per mile.

The Mexico–United States barrier is a series of walls and fences along  the Mexico–United States border aimed at preventing illegal crossings  from Mexico into the United States and vice versa. The barrier is not  one continuous structure. It is a grouping of relatively short physical  walls, secured in between with a “virtual fence”. It includes a system  of sensors and cameras monitored by the United States Border Patrol. As  of January 2009, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported that it had  more than 580 miles (930 km) of barriers in place. The total length of  the continental border is 1,989 miles (3,201 km).

In the mid-16th century, with the discovery of silver, settlers from a  variety of countries and backgrounds began to arrive in the area. This  period of sparse settlement included colonizers from different  backgrounds. The area technically was part of the Kingdom of New Spain.

Notice the intonation of I am happy in the examples below. This intonation, with the strongest stress on am,  is the emphatic, confirmatory form normally used in response. It is  similar, in meaning and intonation, to the short answer form, I am  – which might, in fact, be used here, with the weak stressed “happy”  simply dropping off. “I just heard I passed”. Notice that the “that” is  omitted in this bit of reported speech. Exam is short for examination.  Physics exam, is a compound noun, it has the principal stress on the  first word.

I’m glad somebody’s happy. Note the omission  of that in reported speech, and the strong contrastive stress on  SOMEbody. It implies that the speaker herself is not happy.

What’s the matter? A common idiom, meaning; What is troubling you? What is wrong?

I’m just worried. Here “just” means merely or only. The term “I just  heard” means very recently. “Have to” has the same meaning as must. “I  guess” means the same as “I think”.

Read more here https://larisaenglishclub.com/pdf-resources/larisa-english-club-8-pdf-version/

What’s New? Computers of Today, Money and Electricity.

History Topic! Computers of the Past.

Conversation Topic. Time Expressions, Collocations and Prepositions.

Speaking Practice. How to tell someone time.

Basic Grammar Review. What do Adjectives do in English?

English Grammar. The Eight Parts of Speech.

Computers of Today, Money and Electricity

British Airways’ mass systems failure and  cancellation of flights during   one of the UK’s busiest travel weekends  of the year may have been down to  “cost cutting” under a new CEO.

      The company has denied the claims.

After an unidentified “power supply issue” caused the  delay and cancellation of more than 1,000 BA flights, focus has  narrowed to CEO   Alex Cruz and what unnamed colleagues have described  as his “slash and burn” management style.

The abacus was initially used for arithmetic tasks. The Roman abacus was  developed from devices used in Babylonia as early as 2400 BC. Since  then, many other forms of reckoning boards or tables have been invented.  In a medieval European counting house, a checkered cloth would be  placed on a table, and markers moved around on it according to certain  rules, as an aid to calculating sums of money.

In English, there are an uncountable number of ways  to refer to time. Then there is the difference between American and  British English. The main idea is to recognize that communication is  always the main goal. If you are speaking with someone and they fully  understand what you are saying, that is perfect English.

Here are a few examples of time expressions. While  they might fall under several different categories of grammar, time  expressions are simply time expressions. Do not worry about why  expressions are formed the way they are. More importantly, learn the  time expression and it’s meaning. Most time expressions are based more  on “Collocations” than general rules for “Prepositions”.

Negative questions are also common in spoken English.  Isn’t it a lovely day? Aren’t we going to the park today? These are  examples of negative questions. The main idea with negative questions is  that we previously discussed or planned a future event.

Adjectives are simple describing words that give  information about nouns, pronouns and feelings. That said, remember  about that job thing. Just because an adjective is generally used to  describe, they can also take on other jobs in the English language. For  instance, the word “Blue” is generally considered an adjective to  describe an object. However, when the letter “A” is used before the word  “Blue”, it becomes a noun. “A table, a chair, a book, a blue”. “A blue  is another word for “Pill or capsule”. These are simple examples of  nouns.

Read more here https://larisaenglishclub.com/pdf-resources/larisa-english-club-7-pdf-version/

What’s New? Healthy Food to Eat Today!

History Topic! Food in America One Hundred Years Ago.

Conversation Topic. Introductions and everyday hello’s.

Speaking Practice. Conversation Practice and Hello.

Basic Grammar Review. What is a Verb?

English Grammar. “Like” is used seven ways in English!

There may not be a ‘one size fits all’ solution when it comes to  finding a food that will transform your health, but there are a few  ingredients that we should definitely all be consuming more of. No one  wants to feel trapped in a soul destroying diet but sometimes a few  simple guidelines can help nudge us in the right direction.

It might be the name of your favorite shampoo, but the Aloe Vera leaf  boasts a whole host of other nutritional benefits. The active  components of the inner leaf can support everything from digestion to  the immune system to blood sugar balance and cholesterol. The enzymes  and fibers it contains can even help you absorb nutrition from other  foods better, possibly increasing the benefit you can gain from the rest  of your healthy diet. It is a great one to add into your everyday!’’

‘’It’s an oldy but goody – drink more green tea! It’s benefits  include hormone balance, weight management, liver detoxification,  anti-oxidant source and reducing risk of disease development.

‘’Whole eggs are one of the most nutritious foods on the planet. They  have previously been demonized owing to their high cholesterol content  but it is now widely accepted that the dietary cholesterol within is  actually positive rather than negative. While the egg whites are rich in  protein which will keep you feeling full and satisfied, egg yolks are  loaded with vitamins, minerals and various powerful nutrients.

So, what did everyone eat just about everyday 100 years ago? First it  depended on where they lived. If we try to pick just one country,  America would be a great place to start. If a person lived near the sea,  they ate a lot of fish. Just like today, fish is often abundant in  coastal areas. If you lived in the southern states in America, you most  likely ate a lot of potato and corn. In northern states, you probably  ate more beef and milk products.

One hundred years ago, transportation from coast to coast was common.  Trains provided many goods from other parts of the country, but fresh  fruits and vegetables from state to state were much less common.  Worldwide commerce was non-existent. Everyone ate what they grew. That  might be fresh fruits and vegetables in the growing season or pickled  cucumbers in the winter months. Meats and poultry were often dried and  stored in root cellars.

While studying English, we learn NOT to repeat what the other person  just said. However, there are a few areas in speech where it is okay to  repeat what the other said or something close to it. Introductions are  often challenging for students. Exactly why that is, I am not sure.  Practice your English everyday and soon you will speak fluently.  Actually, introductions should be one of the easier parts of English  study. Why? Because, we meet people often and certain words and  expressions are used again and again.

Read more here https://larisaenglishclub.com/pdf-resources/larisa-english-club-6-pdf-version/

What’s New? The Antarctic is Turning Green.

History Topic! Land Discovery of The Antarctic in 1675.

Conversation Topic. Leading Statements and Questions.

Speaking Practice. Creating Dialog with Leading Questions.

Basic Grammar Review. Prepositions of Place, Movement and Time.

English Grammar. Reported Speech.

Scientists say the frozen continent is likely to ‘alter rapidly under  future warming, leading to major changes in the biology and landscape of  this iconic region. The Antarctic is turning green with rising  temperatures having a “dramatic effect” on the growth of moss in the  frozen continent, scientists have discovered. Since 1950, temperatures  in the Antarctic Peninsula have risen by about half a degree Celsius  each decade. This is much faster than the global average.

Growth rates of moss since 1950 have been running at four to five times  the level before. This is according to a study by UK-based researchers  who studied three sites across a 1,000km stretch of the peninsula. In  addition to climate change, the extinction of animal species is  prolific. Plastic waste, fossil fuel ash and radioactive particles from  nuclear bomb tests will all leave a permanent record in the planet’s  future rocks.

“Between 1950 and 2000, temperatures increased by half a degree per  decade on average,” said Dr Amesbury of Exeter University. “The reason  we are so confident the moss is responding primarily to temperature, is  because of the wide-scale response we see in our moss banks from three  different sites that stretch 1,000km across the Antarctic Peninsula.”

The researchers who reported the results of their study in an  open-access paper in the journal “Cell Biology”, also looked into how  sensitive the moss would be to further warming. “The results of that  analysis lead us to believe there will be a future ‘greening’ of the  Antarctic and a further increase in moss growth rates. “We are likely to  see massive amounts of moss colonizing new areas of ice-free land  created by the warmer climate.

Thank you Wiki.

The first Antarctic land discovered was the island of South Georgia,  visited by the English merchant Anthony de la Roché in 1675. Although  myths and speculation about a Terra Australis (“Southern Land”) date  back to antiquity, the first confirmed sighting of the continent of  Antarctica is commonly accepted to have occurred in 1820 by a Russian  expedition. The first human born in the Antarctic was Solveig Jacobsen.  He was born on 8 October 1913 in South Georgia.

“Indirect reported speech” is when we refer to a statement or fact from  the past and go back one tense in our statement. So, if someone said “I  am hungry” we would say “He said he was hungry”. Notice how the verb “To  be” changed from “Am to Was”. In this example, we went back one tense  to refer to what was said.

Read more here https://larisaenglishclub.com/pdf-resources/larisa-english-club-5-pdf-version/

What’s New? Job’s, Manufacturing, Growth and Profit’s Today.

History Topic. Ford Motor Company in the early 1900‘s

Conversation Topic. Job Interviews and What to do!

Speaking Practice. Job Interview Dialog.

Basic Grammar Review. Conjunctions in English. One of the Eight Essential Parts.

English Grammar. How to use the adverb “How”.

In today’s world of manufacturing, growth and profits are looked at  much differently than 100 years ago. Like many things of the past, today  is more about competition. Sure, a century ago, all companies worried  about profits and making money. In today’s world, it is more about what  the other guy is doing. It is all about investment and the future. One  wrong step or misinformation can cost a company billions.

For most employees, tomorrow and beyond are part of the unknown world  of progress and profits. Here is part of a recent article about Ford  Motors. Interesting and all about the world of manufacturing today!

History of the Ford Motor Company.

In 1908, Henry Ford introduced the Model T. Earlier models were produced  at a rate of only a few a day at a rented factory on Mack Avenue in  Detroit, Michigan and later at the Piquette Avenue Plant (the first  company-owned factory), with groups of two or three men working on each  car from components made to order by other companies (what would come to  be called an “assembled car”). Employee turnover was a big problem  because of long hours and hard work for little money.

In January 1914, Ford solved the employee turnover problem by doubling  pay to $5 a day cutting shifts from nine hours to an eight-hour day for a  5-day work week (which also increased sales; a line worker could buy a T  with less than four months’ pay), and instituting hiring practices that  identified the best workers, including disabled people considered  unemployable by other firms. Employee turnover plunged, productivity  soared, and with it, the cost per vehicle plummeted. Ford cut prices  again and again and invented the system of franchised dealers who were  loyal to his brand name. Wall Street had criticized Ford’s generous  labor practices when he began paying workers enough to buy the products  they made.

By the end of 1919, Ford was producing 50 percent of all cars in the  United States, and 40% of all British ones; by 1920, half of all cars in  the U.S. were Model Ts. (The low price also killed the cyclecar in the  U.S.) The assembly line transformed the industry; soon, companies  without it risked bankruptcy. Of 200 U.S. car makers in 1920, only 17  were left in 1940. This was due to poor planning and the high cost of  production.

More information can be found at Wiki.

A face to face job interview is often the second or third stage.  Searching for and applying for a new job opportunity are often the first  and second stages. If you are lucky enough to sit with an HR director  or manager, your chances of getting the job are very good.

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What’s New? Flying Cars of Today.

History Topic! Flying Cars of The Past.

Conversation Topic. Talking about others.

Dialog Practice. Questions and Answers.

Basic Grammar Review. Question Words.

English Grammar. Adverbs and The Perfect Tense.

What’s new in the world of technology and inventions? Daily, we hear  more and more about flying cars. Although the concept of flying cars has  been just a dream for many inventors for years, soon, flying cars will  be the norm. In Dubai located in The United Arab Emirates, the summer of  2017 will bring with it, a dream come true.

Flying taxi’s will be in the sky soon. With great anticipation, Dubai  will be the first in the world to launch a flying taxi service. As  incredible as this seems, it will be a reality in 2017.

To make this invention even more futuristic, the plan is to fly these  taxi’s autonomously. In other words, just get in, push a button or two  and away you go to your destination. In just a few minutes you will be  flying over and around buildings. Who knows what else you will see as  you travel above?

Autonomous flying taxi’s will take you to work, shopping, home and  who knows where else? While many firms have been developing flying cars  for years, a Chinese company will be the first to launch a flying taxi  service in Dubai.

This is just the beginning of flying vehicles for commercial use. It  could take several years before we see flying taxi’s in other cities.  This is just the early stage of commercial development . The fact that  this taxi will fly itself, makes it twice as interesting.

The concept of a flying car goes back several centuries. For hundreds of  years, many have drawn all kinds of concepts. Each and every one was  different from the others. As with all inventions, a concept starts  first, with reality being realized later. Sometimes much later. In the  case of flying cars, lifetimes have passed with little progress until  recently.

Here is more about the history of flying cars. Thank you Wiki!

In 1956, the US Army’s Transportation Research Command began an  investigation into “flying jeeps”, ducted-fan-based aircraft that were  envisioned to be smaller and easier to fly than helicopters. In 1957,  Chrysler, Curtiss-Wright, and Piasecki were assigned contracts for  building and delivery of prototypes. They all delivered their  prototypes; however, Piasecki’s VZ-8 was the most successful of the  three. While it would normally operate close to the ground, it was  capable of flying to several thousand feet, proving to be stable in  flight. Nonetheless, the Army decided that the “Flying Jeep concept  [was] unsuitable for the modern ....

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What’s New? Everyday Phrases.

History Facts! History of The Internet.

Conversation Topic. Personal Information.

Dialog Practice. Question Words.

Basic Grammar Review. The Definite Article.

English Grammar. Modal Verbs of Probability.

Great question! In everyday English this phrase is used to say “Hello  or Hi”. It can also mean, “How are you?”. Phrases come from just about  every place on earth. Anywhere English is spoken for sure. Phrases come  from movies, sitcoms and music.

Who makes a phrase popular? People who like to create stuff. People  who are popular. People who like what someone created and decided to use  it over and over. When others like it and can apply the phrase to a  situation or experience, now we have a phrase.

Once a phrase is created and becomes popular, often it is used in a  variety of different ways. Literal or idiomatic. Literal definitions  refer to situations where we can see what happens. A common phrase might  be “Look up”. In this example, we can see what is happening at the time  of speaking. It is something we can refer to as an action. The phrase  “Look up” as an idiomatic expression can have several definitions.

Look  up is used in three specific ways as an idiomatic expression. Here are  examples; “Things are looking up these days” means that a given  situation is improving. “Look it up in the dictionary” means to search  for a word, definition or information in a dictionary. “Look me up the  next time you are in town” means to visit with me.

The “Definite Article” is the most used word in the English language.  What is it? It is the word “The”. It is used many different ways and  often there are no definite rules for it’s usage.

A  country can use it or not. It is all up to the government of a given  country to decide. Hotels are pretty much the same. Some examples might  be; The Hotel Regency or The Regency Hotel or Hotel Regency. All of this  said, there are basic rules that we need to follow to understand “The  Definite Article” in everyday English.

Here are just a few. “The” is often used when we refer to groups of  objects or people. Some examples are “The British”, “The Canadians”,  “The Americans”. In these examples, we are referring to groups of  people.

Other examples are “The USA”, “The UK”, “The Netherlands”. In these  examples, we are referring to groups of places. There are examples when  we don’t use “The”. For instance, we do not use “The” before a lake but,  we do use “The” before groups of lakes. An example is “The Great  Lakes”.

We also use “The” extensively as a “Determiner”. Examples are “The  City of New York”, “The County of New York”, “The State of New York”.  When we want to clearly refer to a place or thing, we use “The Definite  Article”.

The word “The” is used for “Singular, Plural and Uncountable Nouns”.  When you see the word “The’ before one word, you need to know that word  is a noun. This rule applies to any word we refer to as a noun.

While there are many definite rules for “The”, here is just one more.  Remember pronunciation before “Vowels” and “silent letters”. Here are a  few examples: “The apple”, “The elephant”, “The ice cream”, “The  orange”, “The umbrella”.

https://larisaenglishclub.com/pdf-resources/larisa-english-club-2-pdf-version/

Thank you for joining us today. Larisa English Club is created for learners of a second language! My name is Bill. Our format is quite simple. We encourage everyone to take notes and participate with the dialog portion. We call it "Speaking Practice”. Listen and practice speaking with Bill.  

“Larisa English Club” is full of knowledge to study, learn and practice. This English tutorial is a natural extension of my teaching experience. Teaching over 15,000 hours of English as a second language has afforded me the opportunity to teach and learn at the same time. Our recorded episodes can be listened to as many times as you wish. Our tutorial is designed as a supplement to your daily dose of English. I hope you enjoy “Larisa English Club”.

What’s New? New English Words.

History Topic! Color Photography.

Conversation Topic. At The Restaurant.

Dialog Practice. Ask and Answer Questions.

Basic Grammar Review. The Indefinite Article.

English Grammar. Present Simple Tense.

I love this question when it refers to English. What’s new? English is new! That’s right! In the English language, there is a new word created every 89 minutes. The reality is that no single person knows the English language. The facts are simple, the English language is constantly evolving. The truth is that, although one in seven people around the world speak English, nobody actually knows the entire English language. Millions know how to use the English language and they might be fluent. Just know that daily study, new vocabulary and practice speaking will help you attain your English goals.

The foundation of virtually all practical color processes today. The three-color method was first suggested in an 1855 paper by Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell, with the first color photograph produced by Thomas Sutton for a Maxwell lecture in 1861. Color photography has been the dominant form of photography since the 1970s, with monochrome photography mostly relegated to niche markets such as art photography.

In color photography, electronic sensors or light-sensitive chemicals record color information at the time of exposure. This is usually done by analyzing the spectrum of colors into three channels of information, one dominated by red, another by green and the third by blue, in imitation of the way the normal human eye senses color.

Today's technology uses the same light spectrum as in the 1800‘s.  Creating colors by mixing colored lights (usually red, green and blue) in various proportions is the additive method of color reproduction. LCD, LED, plasma and CRT (picture tube) color video displays all use this method.   If one of these displays is examined with a sufficiently strong magnifier, it will be seen that each pixel is actually composed of red, green and blue sub-pixels which blend at normal viewing distances, reproducing a wide range of colors as well as white and shades of gray. This is also known as the RGB color model.

Thank you Wikipedia! Find more on this subject by going to Color_photography

Today’s conversation topic is “At The Restaurant”. Being polite is always best with friends and family. What about with coworkers, shopping or dining? Download the PDF https://larisaenglishclub.com/pdf-resources/larisa-english-club-1-pdf-version/