145 Breakfast Improves Mental Sharpness

If you are not in the habit of having breakfast, then you should start doing so. A recent study shows
that not only is breakfast the most important meal of the day, but it is also important to eat it at the
right time. The timing of breakfast may affect one's performance in school or at work. For instance, if
children eat breakfast 30 minutes before school, they will probably do better than those who eat it two
hours earlier.
What you eat is also an important factor. If you eat sweet foods, they will probably improve your
ability to think and remember. In brief, the study claims that they improve mental sharpness. If I were
you, I would give it a try. After all, what's there to lose?

148 what a Terrible Experience!

Jeff is in a school play with his classmates.
(C=classmate; J=Jeff)
C: Hey, Jeff! What's the matter?
J: I forgot my lines.
C: If you forgot your lines, you should make something up.
J: What should I say?
C: Anything! If you don't say anything soon, you'll ruin the whole play.
J: OK. OK...(to the audience) I love you!(laughter)
C: You're an idiot! What on earth was that about?
J: I think I'm gonna faint.
C: Don't. If you do, that will be the end of the play.
J: Good!(to the audience) Goodbye! (He faints.)

147 Let Experience Be the Teacher

It has often been said that there's no better teacher than experience. So how does a student of English learn the language through experience? Obviously, to "experience" English, you'll have to use it as often as possible. That is why more and more teachers use role plays, dramas and field trips to teach English. What you see, hear and feel will more likely stick in your mind than what you read in a book.
Should you have the opportunity to take part in a school drama one day, you will probably try to memorize your lines to perfection. If you are anything of an actor, you will probably say your lines with emotion. In other words, you may "experience" the use of the language as it is really used in everyday life. So if I were you, I would let experience be the teacher.

146 Doing It in the Pants

Donald is in class. He raises his hand to get the teacher's attention again.
(T=teacher; D=Donald)
T: Yes, Donald. What do you want?
D: Excuse me, sir. May I go to the washroom?
T: But this is the third time in half an hour.
D: I know. But my mother made me eat a big breakfast this morning.
T: Why?
D: She said that if I eat a big breakfast, I will do better in my schoolwork.
T: But if you go to the toilet every ten minutes, you won't be able to do any work.
D: Uh... but if I don't go now, I'll do it in my pants.
T: Well, I guess if you've got to go, you've got to go.

144 Go for It

Vicky is talking to her teacher about her English.
(V=Vicky; T=teacher)
V: How can I improve my English, sir?
T: Well, the more you read, the better you'll write.
V: And what about my spoken English?
T: Practice makes perfect. Speak English whenever you have the chance.
V: But I don't get many opportunities to speak English.
T: Remember: You'll have to create opportunities yourself.
V: What do you mean by that?
T: You can't sit on your behind and hope that good things will come to you. You've got to go for it.
V: I see what you mean.
T: Good. Now go and put what you have learnt into practice.

143 How to Improve Your Writing Skills

By the time you reach this page, you will have studied 142 lessons of this book. You will have learned
many new words, idioms, sentence structures and quite a bit of grammar. You will have come to a stage where
you might be asking yourself, "How much have I improved, if at all?"
Why not give yourself a simple test? Read a short text. Read it carefully, then try to rewrite what you
have just read, in your own words. After that, compare what you have written to the text. This is called
paraphrasing. In face, it is a good way to improve your writing skills.

141 Men or Monkeys?

No matter what anybody says, there's no telling how man came into existence. But some people insist that
through evolution human beings came from apes. A recent incident seems to support such a suggestion.
A three-year-old boy fell from a height of 18 feet into an area where gorillas were kept in a zoo. On
seeing this, a 150-pound gorilla came to his rescue. To everyone's astonishment, it picked up the boy,cradled
him in its arms and brought him to the zookeepers. While zoogoers screamed in horror, the gorilla showed
maternal behavior and even protected the child from other gorillas. The boy survived and the gorilla was
given an award. This incident had many people asking,"Could it be that humans do have a special bond with
apes?" Whatever the answer may be, there's no denying the resemblance between men and monkeys.

142 Say Cheese

A boy and a girl are at the zoo.
(B=boy; G=girl)
B: Oh, my God! That kid just fell and one of the gorillas is walking toward him quickly. Call the zookeeper!
G: It's no use doing that. It's too late. One of the gorillas got him.
B: Oh no! Help! Help!
G: Hey! Wait a minute. The gorilla is carrying him to the gate.
B: Wow! That's cool!
G: Hurry! Take a picture of this.
B: That's a good idea.
G: Look, the gorilla's actually posing for us.
B: Isn't she cute? Come on, gorilla, say cheese.
G: Cut that out, will you? Do you think it understands English?
B: Look! It's smiling!

140 Going Bananas in Bangkok

Gary and Carrie are driving in the streets of Bangkok.
(G=Gary; C=Carrie)
C: Hey, Gary! Take a look at that cop. He's gone bananas.
G: No, he hasn't. He's dancing and directing traffic at the same time.
C: How ridiculous! He's causing a traffic jam. Because everyone's looking at him, the traffic is almost at
a standstill.
G: That's not his fault. The traffic almost always moves at a crawl anyway.
C: In that case, I'm going to join him.
G: Hey, come back, Carrie. Don't do that. (Carrie dances with the cop.)
C: This is fun! Look, other people are joining us.
G: What a mess!