EnglishInFavour: марта 2017

пятница, 31 марта 2017 г.

Vin Diesel: 7 Things You Don't Know About Me

Gloomy

GLOOMY ['gluːmɪ] - прил. тёмный, мрачный
gloomy weather — тёмная, мрачная погода

2) угрюмый, печальный; удручающий; приводящий в уныние, наводящий тоску
gloomy landscape — угрюмый пейзаж
gloomy silence — гнетущая тишина
gloomy prophecies — мрачные прогнозы

вторник, 14 марта 2017 г.

Brass neck

Summary

If you have a neck made of brass how does it make you behave? Feifei discovers an expression about being confident that shouldn't be taken literally!

Transcript

Feifei Hello I'm Feifei and this is The English We Speak.

Rob Yes, it is. And hello, I'm Rob.

Feifei I don't know about you Rob, but I seem to have so much work to do at the moment.

Rob Yeah, me too. We've got to meet that deadline by Friday.

Feifei I guess we've all got lots to do – and that's why I was surprised that Phyllis has asked to take three days off work this week.

Rob Three days? Are you sure? Maybe she's unwell?

Feifei No, she's fine – I heard her say to the boss in a very loud voice 'I've got a great deal on a flight to Italy so I need to take the rest of the week off.'

Rob What cheek – she's got a brass neck.

Feifei A brass neck? Phyllis has a brass neck! Really – when did she get that – maybe she needs a holiday to recover from the operation?

Rob No no no Feifei. Her neck isn't actually made of brass – I just mean she is confident but also a bit rude – she can do or say things that most of us would be too embarrassed to do or say.

Feifei Yes, she just doesn't care what she says does she? So if someone is described as having a brass neck, it means they are confident and say or do what they want but doesn't understand their behaviour might be unacceptable to others.

Rob Yes, she certainly doesn't worry about what other people think of her. A bit like people in these examples…

Examples My ex-boyfriend's got a brass neck, coming round and asking me to do his washing!

The customer has a brass neck asking for a refund when it was obvious he had already worn the shoes.

She's got a brass neck telling the boss that he wasn't very good at his job – I would never say that!

Feifei So having a brass neck means you are extremely confident about your own actions but you don't understand that your behaviour might be unacceptable to others. So it's not like us Rob?

Rob Absolutely not. Although, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind writing the notes for the presentation we're doing? I've got to meet someone for lunch.

Feifei Ermm….

Rob Come on Feifei, you love writing presentations…. Oh why are you looking so brassed off?

Feifei Brassed off – you mean I'm looking annoyed and disappointed – maybe I'm looking brassed off because of your brass neck.

Rob I'll take that as 'no' then. Oh well, at least you understand this English expression now!

Both Bye!

At the drop of a hat

Summary

Rob says if he had the money he'd go to Australia at the drop of hat. Always thoughtful, Feifei offers Rob her hat - but she soon discovers her hat won't even get him to the airport! Find out why in this programme.

Transcript

FeifeiHello and welcome to The English We Speak. I'm Feifei.

RobAnd I'm Rob. So Feifei, have you got any holiday plans?

FeifeiYes I have actually. Three weeks in Australia.

RobAustralia – wonderful! If I had the money, I'd go there at the drop of a hat.

FeifeiWhat? At the drop of a hat? Here, take my hat.

RobYour hat?

FeifeiYes, you said you'd go at the drop of hat, so here's my hat, now drop it – and then you can go.

RobI wish it was that simple. When I said at the drop of a hat I meant 'mmediately'. If I had enough money, I would go to Australia immediately – without delay.

FeifeiI see. So in other words, you would go to Australia without hesitation.

RobExactly. Let's hear some more examples…

ExamplesMy husband just can't stop spending - he buys clothes at the drop of a hat!

If I knew what to do next, I'd quit my job at the drop of a hat. Until then, I'll stay where I am.

My wife's expecting a baby so I might have to rush to the hospital at the drop of a hat.

FeifeiTo do something at a drop of a hat means to do something immediately without even thinking about it. Well Rob, I'll send you a postcard when I get to Australia but it may take a while.

RobWhy's that?

FeifeiWell I'm going skiing in France first.

RobOh, well that's somewhere where you really don't want to drop your hat – it'll be freezing!

FeifeiSo you don't fancy coming with me then?

RobSkiing? No, that's something I wouldn't do at the drop of a hat. I'll think about it. But have fun.

FeifeiThanks.

BothBye!

La-la land

https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/features/tews/170314_tews_la_la_land_download.mp3

Summary

La-la land is sometimes used as the informal name for Los Angeles but 'la-'la land' has another meaning which Rob explains in this programme and discovers that this is somewhere Feifei might be heading to!

Transcript

Rob Hello, I'm Rob…

Feifei…and I'm Feifei and this is The English We Speak.

Rob Feifei, you've travelled all over the world but have you ever been to la-la land?

Feifei Ha – you mean Los Angeles – the city of angels. It's an amazing place, full of film stars!

Rob Sounds great and you're very clever – la-la land is the informal name for Los Angeles… but there is another la-la land.

Feifei And where is this other la-la land?

Rob It's usually in someone's head! Like our boss – he wants me to write all these scripts, edit them and make him a cup of tea – by the end of the day. He really is living in la-la land!

Feifei Our boss is living in la-la land – but the last time I checked he was living in London!

Rob Well Feifei, if someone is living in la-la land it can also mean they are in a fantasy world where they believe impossible things might happen – but they are being unreasonable and not being realistic.

Feifei Just like our boss.

Rob Someone in la-la land doesn't really understand how things really are – take a listen to these examples…

Examples She's clearly living in la-la land – how can we ever afford to buy a house with the little money we earn?

My boyfriend's living in la-la land if he thinks I'm going sailing with him – I get seasick!

Feifei That's la-la land – a phrase to describe someone who is unreasonable or out of touch with reality. I know the feeling – I've got lots of work to do too and I'm going on holiday tomorrow… I don't suppose you could help me?

Rob Feifei you really are living in la-la land – I've told you I haven't got any time.

Feifei Ah well, I just thought I'd ask.

Rob Anyway, where are you off on holiday to this time?

Feifei Can't you guess?

Rob
La-la land?

Both
Bye!