Hello and welcome to English with Lucy. Today we have another topic:" Four common British expressions." Now, before we get started, make sure you connect with me on all my social media which is right here. You can subscribe to my YouTube. You can also like me on Facebook. And for my Chinese followers, I have my Weibo account as well.
Four Common British Expressions:
"A piece of cake."
And this is very similar to "Easy-peasy, lemon squeezy, " which we've discussed in a former video. And basically, it means very easy. So I might come out of an easy exam saving, "That exam was a piece of cake."
"Break a leg!"
It actually looks really rather cruel, but I promise you it's positive. And "Break a leg!" means "Good luck!" So before a race, before a job interview, before a test, instead of saying "Good luck!" I might say "Break a leg!"
"It cost an arm and a leg."
And this basically means something was really expensive. If I say, "My bag cost an arm and a leg, " I mean it cost a lot of money.
"To call it a day."
And this means "to end a task". So, for example, "I'm feeling a bit tired. I think I'll call it a day. "That means "I think I'll stop here. Let's finish."
Thank you so much for watching this program of "Four Common British Expressions." I hope you like it, and I hope you've learned something.
Edmund Halley (哈雷) was an English scientist who lived over 200 years ago. He studied the observations of comets (彗星) which other scientists had made. The orbit (轨道) of one particular comet was a very difficult mathematical problem. He could not work it out. Neither could other scientists who dealt with such problems.
However, Halley had a friend named Newton, who was a brilliant (有才华的) mathematician. Newton thought he had already worked out that problem, but he could not find the papers on which he had done it. He told Halley that the orbit of a comet had the shape of an ellipse (椭圆).
Now Halley set to work. He worked out the orbits of some of the comets that had been observed by other scientists. He made a surprising discovery. The comets that had appeared in the years 1531, 1607, and 1682 all had the same orbit. Yet their appearances had been 75 to 76 years apart (相隔).
This seemed very strange to Halley. The different comets followed the same orbit. The more Halley thought about it, the more he thought that there had not been three different comets, as people thought. He decided that they had simply seen the same comet three times. The comet had gone away and had come back again.
It was an amazing idea! Halley felt certain enough to make a prediction (预言) of what would happen in the future. He decided that this comet would appear in the year 1758. There were 53 years to go before Halley's prediction could be tested.
In 1758 the comet appeared in the sky. Halley did not see it, for he had died some years before. Ever since then that comet has been called Halley's Comet, in his memory.
Nearly everyone is shy in some ways. If shyness is making you uncomfortable, it may be time for a few lessons in self-confidence. You can build your confidence by following some suggestions from doctors and psychologists.
Make a decision not to hold back in conversations. What you have to say is just as important as what other people say. And don't turn down party invitations just because of your shyness.
Prepare yourself for being with others in groups. Make a list of the good qualities you have. Then make a list of ideas, experiences, and skills you would like to share with other people. Think about what you would like to say in advance. Then say it.
If you start feeling self-conscious in a group, take a deep breath and focus your attention on other people. Remember, you are not alone. Other people are concerned about the impression they are making, too.
No one ever gets over being shy completely, but most people do learn to live with their shyness. Even entertainers admit that they often feel shy. They work at fighting their shy feelings so that they can face the cameras and the public. Just making the effort to control shyness can have many rewards. But perhaps the best reason to fight shyness is to give other people a chance to know more about you.
What will man be like in the future-in 5000 or even 50,000 years from now? We can only make guesses, of course, but we can be sure that he will be different from what he is today. For man is slowly changing all the time.
Let us take an obvious example. Man, even five hundred years ago, was shorter than he is today. Now, on average, men are about three inches taller. Five hundred years is relatively short period of time, so we may assume (假定) that man will continue to grow taller. Again, in the modern world we use our brains a great deal. Even so, we still make use of only about 20% of the brain's capacity. As time goes on, however, we shall have to use our brains more and more, and eventually we shall need larger ones! This is likely to bring about a physical change too: the head, in particular the forehead, will grow larger.
Nowadays our eyes are in constant use. In fact, we use them so much that very often they become weaker and we have to wear glasses. But over very long period of time it is likely that man's eyes will grow stronger.
On the other hand, we tend to make less use of our arms and legs. These, as a result, are likely to grow weaker. At the same time, however, our fingers will grow more sensitive because they are used a great deal in modern life.
But what about hair? This will probably disappear from the body altogether in course of time because it does not serve a useful purpose any longer. In the future, then, both sexes are likely to be bald (光秃).
Perhaps all this gives the impression that future man will not be a very attractive creature to look at! This may well be true. All the same, in spite of all these changes, future man will still have a lot in common with us. He will still be a human being, with thoughts and emotions similar to our own.
When learning English, some students may find it difficult to improve their listening. Here are some tips.
Relax yourself
You need to relax. This will help you with your listening.
Listen carefully to the first sentence
The first sentence tells a lot about the whole passage. For example, if, at the beginning, you hear "Many shops in many parts of China have decided to take away all kinds of Japanese goods off their shelves, but some people say it's not a good idea. Our reporter says…" .
Think when you're listening
. For example, you can think of the following questions: What happened? When, where and how? What was the result and what did the speaker want to tell us? In this way, you may understand the passage better.
It's important for you to remember some important facts. For example, if the passage is a science report, you should try to remember its findings, and how the scientists got their results. This is also helpful to your listening.
A. When you're listening, try to do some thinking.
B. Pay attention to key words.
C. Before you start listening to something, don't get excited or nervous.
D. you know you will hear a piece of news，not a children's story, or a science report.
E. This is especially helpful to improve your listening skills.
F. Maybe they can help you in one way or another.
G. Listen to important facts.
It happened years ago when I was a poor freshman. I chose a cheap airline（航空公司）to fly back to1after Christmas break. The airline 2 my flight to Spokane and I was left overnight in Seattle.
As a 16-year-old young girl, I felt3 because I didn't have enough money for a4 and how to spend a night became a problem. I stood at the customer service counter, 5, trying to fight back tears. Then a woman 6me and said she'd like to take me to her home and she'd get me 7 to the airport in the morning. Having gotten off the same flight as me, she had her own two kids to8, but she said, as a mother, she 9 to leave me alone to spend the night in the airport.
She took me to her home and10 me to a good meal. And then she had her own kids 11 one bedroom so that there was an extra room for me 12 she gave me all her contact information and told me to 13 my mom and let her know where I would stay.
Now I have two kids of my own, living a super 14 but happy life. Therefore, I 15 even more the fact that a 16, who had two children at home, was willing to help me in spite of the 17. College was my dream, but my family faced a really tough situation and I was 18 dropping out (辍学) then. It was this woman who made a 19 in my life and her act caused me to have the courage to 20 my studies. At last, I got a doctor degree.
Few places are developing towards a cashless future as quickly as Sweden, which is now enjoying the (convenient) of electronic payment. This year, only about 20% of all consumer payment in Sweden is made in cash, (compare) with an average of 75% in rest of the world. And many of the country's banks no longer accept or offer cash.
Not everyone is joyful. Some people say Sweden's electronic payment might result more Internet crimes. Also, elderly people in Sweden who use cash may be (easy) ignored. And young people using apps to pay for everything or taking out loans via mobile phones risk (fall) into debt.
However, advocates like Mr. Tim refer to personal safety as a reason that countries should go cash-free. His son's apartment was broken into twice several years ago. " If this (be) a cashless society, the robbers couldn't sell they steal," said Mr. Tim.
Certainly，cash isn't dead. The Swedish central bank predicts it'll decline fast still be working in 20 years. Anyway, for more and more consumers, cash is no longer (they) habit.
