Made In English

09/05/2014

The word TROUBLE is a great word! You can use it in lots of situations.

Firstly, it means "guai", or "difficoltà".

Example: I'm in trouble! = sono nei guai!
I'm having trouble with this test. = Sono in difficoltà con questo esame.

Secondly, To Trouble oneself, means to bother/disturb oneself in order to do something.

Example: Thanks for your offer, but I don't need your help. Don't trouble yourself.

Another way to say this is "to go out of your way" for someone or something.

Example: I knew that Jim wanted ice cream, so I went out of my way to drive all the way to Leeds to buy some.

Another way to say this: I knew that Jim wanted ice cream, and I troubled myself to make him happy by going all the way to Leeds to buy some.

30/04/2014

How can we say "che peccato!" in English?

Here are some ways:

What a shame!
What a pity!
That's too bad!

That's too bad! is definitely the most common one, and the least used by non-mothertongue people

27/04/2014

I'm sitting at my computer, totally exhausted. I'm thinking about the different expressions we use in English to say we are tired. Here are some:

I'm exhausted.
I'm asleep on my feet.
I'm burnt.
I'm zapped.
I'm bushed.

There are more, but I'm so tired I can't remember!

So here's a phrasal verb which means I'm going to bed:

I'm going to turn in now.

Verb: To turn in = to go to bed.

Goodnight!

02/04/2014

I'm baaaaaack! how is everyone's English?

02/04/2014

Sorry I haven't written in a year. I was on maternity leave. ;)

01/03/2013

28/02/2013

Reaction to Italian Elections

Don't forget that you can press CC in the corner of the video to see subtitles...


http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-february-27-2013/no-men-for-old-country

Italians find themselves bereft of spiritual and secular leadership.

25/02/2013

http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/ID/2338321513/

Protesters showed up at the polling station where Italian politician Silvio Berlusconi cast his ballot as the country votes in a watershed parliamentary election

21/02/2013

The other day I went to see the movie Lincoln. It's a long historical movie, that is interesting if you are interested in American history.

Lincoln is most famous for abolishing slavery.
BUT DID YOU KNOW THAT NOT ALL STATES HAVE RATIFIED THIS AMENDMENT? I'm not joking. The USA is full of contradictions.

Here is my favourite, funny, Jon Stewart with the news: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-february-20-2013/the-last-amender

Mississippi...has finally...abolished slavery. Thank you so much. What a modern State!

(Feel free to ask me anything you can't understand from the video.)

Mississippi ratifies the 13th Amendment and abolishes slavery.

14/02/2013

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

Here is a funny joke, about a couple in a therapist's office:

A husband and wife came for counselling after 20 years of marriage. When asked what the problem was, the wife went into a passionate, painful tirade listing every problem they had ever had in the 20 years they had been married.

She went on and on and on: neglect, lack of intimacy, emptiness, loneliness, feeling unloved and unlovable, an entire laundry list of unmet needs she had endured over the course of their marriage.

Finally, after allowing this to go on for a sufficient length of time, the therapist got up, walked around the desk and, after asking the wife to stand, embraced and kissed her passionately as her husband watched with a raised eyebrow. The woman shut up and quietly sat down as though in a daze.

The therapist turned to the husband and said, "This is what your wife needs at least three times a week. Can you do this?"

The husband thought for a moment and replied, "Well, I can drop her off here on Mondays and Wednesdays, but on Fridays, I fish."

28/01/2013

Wow. This last week was a really cold one in Canada, my home. I mean (voglio dire), COLD! Temperatures varied from -25° to -42° celcius. BRrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Here is a little video from Canada about why Canadians always talk about the weather: http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/TV%20Shows/The%20National/Only%20in%20Canada/ID/2329134419/

There are two interesting words in the little interviews:

an ice-breaker
and
whiners

Does anyone want to try to guess what these words mean in the context?

Why do Canadians love to talk about the weather?

18/01/2013

Hello and Happy New Year!

It's 2013. According to Chinese Astrology, it's the year of the snake and of water. Here is the description of someone born this year:
WATER SNAKE Horoscope
Feb 14, 1953 to Feb 2, 1954
Feb 10, 2013 to Jan 30, 2014

Snake people enter a room and there is Music, Music, Joy! Everyone dances! Such high spirit! The Snake is so intense and passionate, just as likely to take out the castanets as to climb mountains of snow. Snake year people are charming and romantic, often planning delightful hideaway surprises. Possessing tremendous wisdom, they are deep, quiet thinkers, calm by nature, but most intense. They often get involved in great causes, bigger than life, and often serve as mentors to the young. To paraphrase Confucius, they have a kind of inner beauty that arises, hovers, then comes to nest. They will have an abundance of good fortune and a long and prosperous life.

Sharkfin Soup and Chinese Cabbage are among keys to good health!!

Water Snakes are the realists who bring to life the visionary schemes of the idealists. They are the practical, useful, dependable people of earth who are tinged with enough imagination themselves to make life very interesting indeed. Water Snakes exude warmth and never lack for friends, who are always invigorated by the Snakes' boundless optimism and playfulness. Water Snakes possess a wealth of sterling attributes that bring career success within their grasp - eventually. From small to big, they are always moving up in their career ladder and sooner or later, they will reach the top. Financial life is not great, but not bad, bulls and bears always striving for even balance. Water Snakes take great care of their relationships with friends and they make excellent companions to while away the hours. Love Life is somewhat of a teeter-totter, going up, coming down, gradually striking a healthy balance. Eventually, they find someone to love who will fully commit to them in return. Once this happens, setbacks will be a thing of the past.

Famous Snake People: Mao Tse-tong, Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Ferdinand Marcos, Abraham Lincoln, Lady Pamela Mountbatten, Martin Luther King, Grace Kelly, Jacqueline Kennedy, Edgar Allen Poe, Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bob Dylan

Any questions about the vocabulary? There are lots of hard words in there!