Englishwiz

Pithy   pithy adjective -  being short and to the point                 

Television Shows My mother was telling me about how she and her family got their first television when she was a teenager. Of course it was black and white. She said she only watched it at night. She doesn't remember ever watching it in the morning or afternoon. When I was young we had only about 3 or 4 different channels. I think they were channel 3, 4, 6, and 9. My bothers and sisters and I would sometimes fight about which channel to watch. But we usually enjoyed the same shows. Nowadays we can get hundreds of channels on TV. I can't believe it! There are channels with only old movies, and channels with only cooking, and channels with only fishing. It's amazing! There is a channel for everything. I wonder how much my brothers and sisters and I would fight if we had hundreds of channels when I was a child. Of course we had only one television set. These days I notice families with 2 or 3 or more television sets in their homes. I guess it stops people from arguing ov...

Using an English/English Dictionary Vocabulary wide choice - lots of different ones to choose from  bilingual - two languages  to be against - disagree with  to look up - to search for something in a book    Reading Today's English learner has a wide choice of dictionaries in which to choose from. There are dictionaries with American English, with British English, with idioms or slang, and even with pictures. One of the most popular dictionaries I have seen among many students are talking electronic dictionaries. All you have to do is type in a word in your language and you can see it and hear it in English. That's great, right? Well, I think it's great, too... but only sometimes. Bilingual electronic dictionaries are fast and easy. They can be great when you are traveling and need information quickly. But I am against electronic dictionaries and even bilingual paper dictionaries in many cases. Let me explain... When you reach an intermediate level of ...

Improving Your English   A lot of people are always asking, "How do I improve my English?" There are many possible answers, but here are just a few pieces of advice. Be responsible for your own learning Sure you have teachers, reading materials, and websites to help you with your English, but who is really responsible for making sure you learn English well? Nobody but you. Make sure you are the one who is taking charge of your own learning. There is a good article about the subject on the  5 Minute English  website. It's at  www.5minuteenglish.com/articles . Check it out. Immerse yourself in English as much as possible Immerse  means to be surrounded by something. If you are immersed in English, it is all around you. Of course this isn't always possible, but you can do some things to surround yourself in English from time to time. Listen to the radio in English.  If there are no English radio stations where you live, listen to one on the internet...

Levi's Blue Jeans   Vocabulary emigrate -  (v)  to move permanently from one's country to another. dry goods -  (n)  clothing, fabric, and other items to sell miner -  (n)  a person who searches for gold, diamonds, etc. durable -  (adj)  last a long time fabric -  (n)  material for clothing, curtains, etc. tailor -  (n)  a person who sews clothing rivet -  (n) (v)  a metal piece that holds 2 thing together. (You can see the metal on Levi's jeans) patent -  (n) (v)  an inventor's right to be the only one making or selling a product think it over -  (v)  think about it, decide Do you enjoy wearing Levi's blue jeans? Blue jeans have become popular all over the world, but do you know how they got started? Read on to find out... Levi Strauss was born in Germany in the mid 1800's and emigrated to the United States as a young man. He lived in New York City and learned the dry-goods bu...

Night Study in Korea Vocabulary: crucial  -- of top importance strain  -- pressure to droop  -- to fall downwards to scribble  -- to write carelessly obsession  -- too-strong a focus to outlaw  -- to ban zeal  -- strong desire slogan  -- phrase expression an aim divisive  -- cause argument to be entrenched  - to hold a fixed position fanatical  -- obsession of a fan (see above) prosperity  -- increasing standard of living This lesson is provided by Mark McCarthy from  www.getesl.com , which features low-cost online ESL classes. Night Study Becoming Par for Course in S. Korea Reading and Grammar:   Directions: Each of the ten sentences below contains one error. Identify and correct the error. 1) A 17-year-old boy drifts into sleep, his head droops into the open textbook in front of him. 2) Around him are sit other teenage South Koreans struggling to stay awake as a tutor scribbles English vocabulary on a b...

International Women's Day Vocabulary: vibrant  -- fully alive  discrimination  -- unfair treatment  grim  -- harsh, relentless  pandemic  -- disease spread over wide areas  alleviate  -- reduce  vulnerable  -- likelihood towards  to exhort  -- to urge strongly  moribund  -- stagnant, doesn't move well  pioneer  -- first to act  This lesson has been provided by Mark McCarthy. Visit his website at  www.getesl.com for more information on studying English online. Grammar: Each of these sentences contains one error. Find and correct the error. Women urge unity to advance rights as they mark International Women's Day 1) Women marked International Women's Day around the world with vibrant calls for unity for advance sexual equality and women's rights. 2) In Tehran several hundred of Iranian femal...