We just celebrated World Book Day last week, so this is our chance to learn some idiomatic expressions with “read” and “book”: to be an open book: to be easy to understand; to have no secrets E.g. Julie is an open book. I always know what she is going to do next. The message of the conference call is an open book. We need to save money. to read between the lines: to understand indirect communication; to interpret message from hints E.g. My boss told me to take a very long vacation. Is he saying I should leave the company? I’ve got a note from my son. He did not say anything but I could tell by reading between the lines that something is wrong. a bookworm: One who spends much time reading or studying. E.g. He spends all day in the library. He's a real bookworm. When I was a child, my classmates called me a bookworm, because I was reading books in all my free time. off the books: without being included on the official (financial) records E.g. Waiters often work off the books, they get paid in cash. The company was fined for paying staff off the books. to read into: to attach or attribute a new or different meaning to something E.g. You should not read anything else into his message. He means exactly what he says. Sharon tends to read into everything her boyfriend says or does, and they have a lot of arguments because of this. to read the fine print: to know all the information contained in a document E.g. You should always read the fine print before signing a contract. If you read the fine print, you will see that this deal is not as good as it sounds. read up: to research information about someone or something. E.g. The teacher told the children to go to the library and ready up on Martin Luther King, Jr. I like to read up on the places I plan to visit before my travel.
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Do you think we use enough “z”s in our language? No? Then let’s learn Polish! Polish is a very unique and rather difficult language to learn but if you are looking for a new challenge and want to talk to one of the approximately 40 million Polish speakers around the world, this is your chance. If you live in the US, the chances are you have a Polish deli in your neighborhood, but did you know that more people speak Polish in England than Welsh? Check out this article on the guardian about Polish possibly becoming a second language in England.
If you want to test your knowledge, and have a fun way to learn about pronunciation, check out this video experiment of Americans trying to pronounce the names of Polish cities. Photo of City of Łódź, Poland Spring has finally sprung so we have no excuse not to learn some expressions with the word “spring”! spring into action: to suddenly start moving or doing something E.g. After hours sitting in front of the TV, Jim sprang into action and started his chores. Once the meeting ends, let’s spring into action right away so we don’t lose the momentum! to spring into one’s feet: to stand up quickly E.g. When her fiancé saw Elizabeth enter the room, he sprang to his feet and crossed the room to greet her. Everyone springs into their feet every time the boss enters the room. spring on: to surprise someone with something unexpected E.g. Kaitlin would like to spring his new idea on the committee at the next meeting but she is a little nervous about it. Life will spring surprises on you, pleasant and unpleasant – you have to deal with them all. to spring up: to come to existence, to develop E.g. The old lady woke up in the morning and was delighted to see that her flowers had sprung up overnight. A new youth movement sprang up in the country and they are becoming stronger every day. to spring to life: to become alive E.g. The party always springs to life when Ava arrives. Once the sun goes down, the city springs to life and the streets become crowded. no spring chicken: not so young anymore E.g. I don’t want to go out tonight, I am no spring chicken and clubs are for the young anyway. She may not be a spring chicken, but she can really dance! |
AuthorTeam of Hansa One Directors, Trainers and Instructors sharing experiences and interests on all things cultures and languages. Archives
January 2019
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