Reading English Books Together

Did you know that if you decide to embark on a military career and enlist as a soldier you will be doing a job that comes third on the list of the worst jobs compiled by American researchers in 2014*?  Yet, Prince Harry, the grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, who did 10 years of full-time military service, including two stints on the front lines of Afghanistan, does not regret joining the armed forces. In 2015 he announced that he was resigning but added that he felt deep gratitude: ‘I consider myself incredibly lucky to have had the chance to do some very challenging jobs and have met many fantastic people in the process. ...The experiences I have had over the last 10 years will stay with me for the rest of my life." Prince Harry  By the way, what military rank does Harry have? He is Captain Harry Wales. It is higher than lieutenant [lefˈtenənt] but below major. The system of military ranks is one of the oldest hierarchies in the world and the word ‘rank’ is believed to derive

When do you change -f into -ves in the plural form? What is the plural of belief and what is the plural of wife?  Read our post below to find it out. First do a short vocabulary test. Choose the right answer: Easy questions: 1. What is the English word for ‘a young cow’? a. a calf b. a lamb c. a kid d. a foal 2. What is the English word for someone who steals money or valuable things from you? a. a hijacker b. a blackmailer c. a bribee d. a thief 3. If you have a strong feeling that something exists or is true, it is your … a. fantasy b. whim c. belief d. intention Difficult questions: 4. After farmers have reaped wheat or rye, they bind the cut plants in bundles. One of these bundles is called... a. a sheaf b. a scythe c. a rake d. a haystack 5. What do you call in English a piece of cloth you use to blow your nose with? a. a sponge b. a handkerchief c. a napkin d. a duster 6. What is the English word for a small fairy-tale creature with pointed ears that has magica

Which is correct: The President Obama or President Obama? Lionel Messi, a first-class foorball player or  Lionel Messi, the first-class foorball player ? The writer Joanne Rowling or W riter Joanne Rowling?  Read our post to find it out.              Have you ever heard of George Bernard Shaw, THE IRISH PLAYWRIGHT? He wrote more than 50 plays including ‘Pygmalion’ and is the only man in history to be awarded both the Nobel Prize and an Oscar. Besides, he had a reputation for being a wit. Anecdotes abound featuring Shaw responding in an amusing and clever way to all sorts of situations he found himself in. Here are some of them: ANECDOTE 1 THE DANCER Isadora Duncan once wrote to George Bernard Shaw suggesting that they should have a child together: “Think of it!” she remarked. “With my body and your brains, what a wonder it would be.” “Yes,” Shaw replied. “But what if it had my body and your brains?” ISADORA DUNCAN ANECDOTE 2 Shaw decided to invite Winston Church

December is coming and we thought: Why not tell you a story that happened to the world renowned crime fiction writer one December evening?  Here it is: On the evening of the third of December in 1926 Agatha Christie left her house in Berkshire. Her car was later found abandoned but there was no sign of the famous novelist.  Her disappearance was shrouded in mystery and for 11 days the whole nation was gripped by the question: ‘What has happened to Agatha Christie?’  Agatha Christie in 1926 The police as well as volunteers had been searching high and low until a banjo player with the Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate recognized Agatha Christie among the hotel guests and alerted the police. It came out that all this time Agatha Christie had been staying in the hotel under the assumed name of Theresa Neele. Till the end of her life Agatha Christie didn’t say a word about her flight from home on December evening leaving her biographers to wonder what had prompted her to get away and

‘It is better to hitch your wagon to a star than to wander aimlessly through life.’ The sentence contains one of the most popular English sayings which comes to mind whenever we think about being ambitious and aspiring to achieve more. ‘Hitch your wagon to a star’, we say to someone encouraging him to be brave and to set optimistic goals. But what is the origin of this saying? In 1870 Ralph Waldo Emerson, an American lecturer, poet and essayist, published his essay ‘Civilization’ in which he wrote that a civilized man will move on to accomplish more and more complex tasks and he will use the powers of nature to solve problems at hand: ‘Now that is the wisdom of a man, in every instance of his labor, to hitch his wagon to a star, and see his chore done by the gods themselves. That is the way we are strong, by borrowing the might of the elements. The forces of steam, gravity, galvanism, light, magnets, wind, fire, serve us day by day, and cost us nothing. Ralph Waldo Emerson(1803-

Sometimes the name of a real person becomes the name of a thing, a place or an invention. The person gets forgotten but his name enters our day-to-day vocabulary describing something we cannot really do without. Who, for example, remembers James Thomas Brudenell, seventh Earl of Cardigan? Yet, when winter comes, most of us like to wear woolen knitted jackets that the seventh Earl of Cardigan designed and made popular. Whose names brought the words 'boycott' and 'hooligan' into existence? Read our post to find it out. Captain Charles Cunningham Boycott was an estate manager running the lands of Lord Erne in County Mayo, Ireland. His reponsibilities included collecting rent from the farmers who worked Lord Erne's land. He showed no mercy for those farmers who had no money to pay rent because of bad harvests. He was not to be persuaded to reduce rent payments or let them pay later. His only response to them was: If you cannot pay, give up the land.  As a result

Suppose I want to say: She not only helped me to find a job but also let me stay in her flat for a few months. Is it correct?  What about the following sentence: The place doesn’t only depress me but also makes me feel frightened? ' Answer: Sentence 1 is correct but sentence 2 is not. Sentence 2  should be changed into 'The place not only depresses me but also makes me feel frightened.' REMEMBER: Not only ....but also is used WITHOUT do\does\did.   Here are more examples for you: She not only speaks like Cicero but also has considerable legal expertise. The war not only caused destruction and death but also stirred up intense hatred between the two nations. Bonus: You can start your sentence with not only for emphasis. Then it will be followed by an auxiliary verb and the subject. Not only did she overcome her severe illness but also made an invaluable contribution to political science. Not only do they cherish their time-honored traditions but also make s

‘We are turning over a new leaf and if we put our shoulder to the wheel and keep our eye on the ball, we will enjoy success and never come back to the mundane life we used to have.’ What is an idiom? It is a fixed word combination whose meaning is not transparent. It creates a picture through which an idea is communicated to you. Can you find 3 idioms in the first sentence of this news item? Why study idioms? There are at least three valid reasons: a. to sound more interesting E.g. Which sentence sounds better: It is easy. or It is a piece of cake? b. to give importance to what you are saying, to make it more expressive Compare: His new film failed. or His new film sank like a stone. c. to break the ice or bring a smile to another person’s face: The film was so boring – like watching paint dry Can you add more reasons to the list? Test yourself on the commonest English idioms. Choose the right answer: 1. If you don't have any plan, you are going to play it by ...  

Is ‘media’ singular or plural?  Would it be correct to say: Managerial excellence is an important criteria? Which plural should I use: referenda or referendums? Read our post below to find it out. There is a small group of nouns in English which are of Greek or Latin origin. For example: an analysis, a criterion, a stimulus.   These nouns still form plurals in the same way as they did in Latin or Greek. Let us focus on the most common nouns of this type and divide them into 5 groups. Group 1   -is [ ɪ s] ending in the singular      -es [i ː z] ending in the plural                a crisis                                       crises                an analysis                                 analyses Group 2   -on ending in the singular      - a ending in the plural                a criterion                                 criteria                a phenomenon                          phenomena Group 3   - um in the singular                   -a in t

The Rubicon is now a small shallow river in northeastern Italy. Yet many centuries ago it marked a boundary between Julius Caesar, govenor of Gaul, and Julius Caesar, the Emperor of Rome.  Read our story to find out how one of the most important decisions in world history was made. You will also learn the link between the words Rubicon, ruby and rubric. In his 2005 song ‘Streets of Love’ the British rock musician Mick Jagger sings:  ‘You're awful bright, you're awful smart  I must admit you broke my heart  The awful truth is really sad I must admit I was awful bad While lovers laugh and music plays I stumble by and I hide my pain The lights are lit, the moon is gone I think I've CROSSED THE RUBICON…’ The final line ‘I think I’ve crossed the Rubicon’ might not be clear to you if you do not know the story of the Roman general and statesman Julius Caesar starting the three-year civil war that eventually transformed the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire.  To begin