Centre for English Language Learning-CELL

26/08/2025

25/06/2025

Courtesy: OUP

12/06/2025

A MAYDAY Call, in aviation terminology is a distress call recognised internationally. This is used in case of extreme emergency, where the aircraft is in immediate danger. It is the most urgent distress signal in aviation terms. MAYDAY is derived from the French word "m'aider", which means "help me".

06/06/2025

The longest official place name in the world is Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu, located in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. It is a hill, and locals often shorten the name to "Taumata Hill".

Interestingly, the name contains 85 letters
Pronunciation: Toe-mah-tah-fah-kah-tah-ngi-hah-nga-kaw-oh-oh-aw-ta-ma-te-a-too-ri-poo-ka-ka-pee-kee-mow-nga-haw-raw-noo-koo-paw-kai-feh-noo-ah-kee-tah-nah-tah-hoo

Here's a breakdown to help with pronunciation:

Taumata: The first part of the name is "taumata," which means "hill" or "summit".

Whakatangi: The next part means "to sound, to play, to blow".

Hangakoauau: "Hangakoauau" means "to have a breath, to listen".

O Tamatea: "O Tamatea" refers to the legendary hero Tamatea.

Turi Pukakapiki: "Turi Pukakapiki" means "to slide and climb".

Maunga Horo: "Maunga Horo" means "mountains are swallowed".

Nuku Pokai Whenua: "Nuku Pokai Whenua" means "to swallow the land".

Kitanatahu: "Kitanatahu" means "standing and blew his horn".

The full name translates roughly to "the place where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, who slid, climbed and swallowed mountains, known as 'landeater', played his flute to his loved one,".

08/04/2025

The Sound of the Bucket

There was no bell in the hamlet.
No clock, no siren.
But every day, at exactly four o'clock,
we heard the sound of the bucket.

It was Louise, a woman we almost never saw.
She lived alone, near the old well, a little away from the other houses.
At four o'clock, she went out.
She was gently hauling a bucket of water.
We could hear the rope creaking, the water splashing, the iron striking the curb.
Then she came back in.
That was all.
But that sound...we grew attached to it.
It punctuated the days.
Like a gentle landmark.
Like a discreet heartbeat.

One day, the sound didn't come.
Nor the next day.
Nor the day after.
The well remained silent.

Someone finally went to see.
Louise had died.
Calmly, in her sleep.
Everything was clean, tidy.
The bucket was empty, lying upside down.

So an old man from the hamlet came the next day,
at four o'clock.
He pulled out a bucket,
without needing to.
He filled it.
Then he put it back down.
And the noise returned.

Since then, every day at four o'clock, someone comes.
Not always the same one.
Sometimes a woman. Sometimes a child.
Sometimes a stranger passing by.
We don't speak.
But we keep up the rhythm.
The creaking.
The lapping.
The sound of the bucket.

It's not a tradition.
It's not a ceremony.
It's just what Louise did.
And what we continue to do. Because something in that sound says, “I’m still here.”

Anonymous

14/01/2025

These seemingly ordinary flowers can be found in the forests of China and northern Japan, but when they come into touch with water, their petals turn transparent. Its scientific name is Diphylleia grayi, and it is also known as the glass flower or skeleton flower.
Courtesy: Fb

10/12/2024

THE RIVER IS AFRAID WHEN ENTERING THE OCEAN They say that before entering the sea, the river trembles with fear; He looks back at the entire journey, the peaks and mountains, the long and winding road that crossed between jungles and towns, and sees in front of him an ocean so large that entering it can only mean disappearing forever. But there is no other way. The river cannot return. Nobody can come back. Going back is impossible in existence. There is no other way, the river cannot return. The river needs to accept its nature and enter the ocean. Only by entering the ocean will the fear dissipate. Because only then will the river know that it is not about disappearing into the ocean, but about becoming an ocean.

Khalil Gibran - A metaphor about life

29/06/2023

Look at these examples to see how we use at, in and on to talk about time.

At weekends, I love to go trekking.
In summer, the weather is humid here.
On weekends, I work from home.
In the afternoon, I take a short nap.
On Fridays, I work until 12.
At 5 o'clock, I do two or three more hours of work.

17/07/2022

'Very' is an adverb used to add emphasis to an adjective or adverb to a great degree and to add force to a superlative adjective. It is highly recommended to use alternatives in place of 'very' in academic as well as in general writing.