Spoken English

'UH HUH', 'UNH UNH' AND 'OOPS!'

Listen
AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on Wordmaster: we talk with English teacher Nina Weinstein about some expressions in spoken American English that you might not find in a dictionary.

RS: But if you are a good listener, you'll hear them. They give people time to think while helping connect one thought to the next.

NINA WEINSTEIN: "One of the useful links, I think, is the expression 'let's see,' which means 'let me think.' Often my students will use a kind of word like that from their own language. And so they'll be speaking Japanese or Spanish or whatever with their linking word and THEN they'll continue the rest of the sentence in English. And so I give them 'let's see' as a way to bridge their thoughts and also give them time to think."

AA: "'Let's see' also has a meaning in itself, though, too, doesn't it? Where, for example, you're not sure which way you've decided on something so you'll say 'OK, let's see' -- let's see what happens. 'Let's see.'"

NINA WEINSTEIN: "I think you're right. I think it could indicate that you're not sure of the answer. It has a lot of meanings. And a lot of these have dual meanings, like the simple expression 'uh huh.' Uh huh can mean that we're listening to what the person is saying, so this is a way of keeping them talking. It can also mean yes, or it can be pronounced 'um hmm.'"

RS: "What about no?"

NINA WEINSTEIN: "'Unh unh.' And my students often have a problem distinguishing between uh huh and unh unh."

AA: "Give us an example of how to use them correctly."

NINA WEINSTEIN: "'Do you want to go to the movie?' 'Uh huh.' Do you think that the movie will start after nine?' 'Unh unh.'"

RS: "You say your students have trouble distinguishing between the two?"

NINA WEINSTEIN: "Right."

RS: "Now, do you reinforce them with facial expressions or shaking your head, or nodding your head [yes] or shaking your head no?"

NINA WEINSTEIN: "I talk about the beat. If you listen to 'uh huh,' the accent is on the second syllable. If you listen to 'unh unh,' it's equal. So 'unh unh' is more staccato. And I tap my hand on the desk to kind of reinforce this. And then I usually asked them if they sing karaoke or something like that, so they get the idea of the beat. But I don't sing for them!"

AA: "Unh unh."

RS: "So you give them a couple of examples and they're tapping out on their desk whether it's yes or no?"

NINA WEINSTEIN: "Exactly."

RS: "I want to go back to unh unh, uh huh and a third one, 'uh oh.'"

NINA WEINSTEIN: "Uh oh."

RS: "They sound very similar. We have three here and if you could go over them again for us, I think that would be very useful because they sound so similar, but they're used in such different contexts."

NINA WEINSTEIN: "Well, I think if we look at the rest of the sentence or listen to the rest of the sentence, that gives us a big clue. If someone asks a question and the answer is uh huh, then it has to be either yes or no, so that pretty much narrows it. If there's a situation -- for instance, if a person spills some coffee or something like that, and the person says 'uh oh,' I think there's a kind of feeling that the situation gives us that something bad has happened, and uh oh means 'oh no,' there's a problem, something bad has happened, there's trouble or something like that. So often the situation will give us the idea."

AA: "It's a synonym for 'oops,' right?"

NINA WEINSTEIN: "It can be oops. We also say 'whoops.'"

AA: "What about a word like 'hey'?"

NINA WEINSTEIN: "Hey is actually a conversational strategy and it's used to draw attention to what you're talking about: 'Hey, did you see the movie on Channel 3 last week?' So I can delete the hey and still have a good sentence, but hey adds a kind of attention focus to the sentence."

RS: "What would you suggest to do to teach these things? Is it just to listen a lot?"

NINA WEINSTEIN: "I think that often what I read in the literature is a kind of lumping together of all of these strategies. But just in what we've spoken about today, you can see that they're very complicated, or they can have multi-purposes, each one. So I think that we need to give students systematic practice in hearing them and in distinguishing when the differences can be confusing, such as uh huh/unh unh."

AA: Nina Weinstein is an English teacher in Southern California and author of the book "Whaddaya Say? Guided Practice in Relaxed Speech." She's put together a list of conversational strategies including the ones we talked about today, which we'll post on our Web site, voanews.com/wordmaster.

RS: And that's Wordmaster for this week. Our e-mail address is word@voanews.com. With Avi Arditti, I'm Rosanne Skirble.

MUSIC: "Uh Huh Oh Yeh"/Paul Weller
---
Conversational Strategies

Vocabulary or techniques used in spoken English, but not in written:

• Uh huh shows the speaker you’re listening; can mean “yes”; can be pronounced “um hmm” (mouth closed)
• Unh unh means “no”; can be pronounced “mm mm” (mouth closed)
• Uh, um give the speaker time to think. (Don’t use these too much.)
• Hmm means “I’m thinking” or “That’s interesting.” Can be pronounced “Mmm.” (“Mmm” can also mean “I like it" – food, an idea, etc.)
• Uh oh means “Oh no, there’s trouble.”

You know establishes understanding between the speaker and listener ("The restaurant is on the street; you know, the one just before you get to the mall.") It also gives the speaker time to think.

• Huh? is informal for “what?” Can be pronounced “hmm?”
• Hey is a casual way to draw attention to what you’re saying. Often begins a sentence.
  

In other words can begin a sentence. Can be used to check that the listener understood the speaker (very useful for second language learners)

Oops or whoops is used when someone makes a mistake or drops something.

Let’s see means “let me think” or “I’m thinking.” Often begins a sentence.
Tsk tsk tsk expresses disapproval

Aha means “I’ve discovered something.” Usually said with a lot of emphasis.

Other conversational strategies include:

Irregular pacing. Natural English isn’t spoken at one speed; native speakers can speed up or slow down within a speech, sentence, or even a phrase.

Repetition of words. Words and phrases are often repeated spontaneously.

English Improvement

COMPOUNDING MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A BLACK BIRD AND A BLACKBIRD

Listen
AA: I'm Avi Arditti. Rosanne Skirble is away, but joining me from Los Angeles is English teacher Lida Baker to explain our topic on Wordmaster this week. It's a feature of the language called compounding.

LIDA BAKER: "Compounding is when we take two words in English and we put them together to make a brand-new word. For example, you can take the word race and the word car and you can put it together and you have a race car. But interestingly you can also combine those two words together in the opposite order, car plus race. And then you have ... "

AA: "Car race."

LIDA BAKER: "Car race, which is a kind of ... "

AA: "Race."

LIDA BAKER: "Isn't that interesting? So a race car is a kind of car and a car race is a kind of race. One of the rules, I guess, of the meaning of compounds in English is that the core meaning is the word on the right."

AA: "So what are some other examples?"

LIDA BAKER: "Well, there are all kinds of compounds in English. The most common ones are when we combine two nouns -- so race car, housekeeper. One of the things that's confusing about compounds is the spelling, because sometimes it's written as two words; for example, race car. Sometimes it's written as one word; for example, housekeeper. And sometimes it's written with a hyphen. I actually would have to check this myself, but I think the word baby-sitter is written with a hyphen.
"Now the point is, even native speakers of English don't always know how to spell compounds and they have to consult a dictionary. So I would give my students exactly the same advice.
"Now let's move away from the written language and talk about the spoken language. There is a unique feature of compounds which is that the first word is normally the one -- well, always the one that is stressed. So notice, for example, that we say RACE car, HOUSE keeper, BLACK bird, MAKE up, BABY sitter. You see how the first -- we've talked on this program about word stress before. In a compound the first word is the one that gets stressed, and that's one of the things that actually identities it as a compound. What if you have, for example -- well, where does the president of the United States live?"

AA: "In the White House."

LIDA BAKER: "In the WHITE House, and it's stressed on the first word. But I live in a white HOUSE. So there's a difference between a compound which is a unit that has a meaning of its own, like White House, which is the residence of the president of the United States, as opposed to a house that happens to be white. Another famous example of that is blackbird, which is a specific type of bird, and a black bird as opposed to a blue bird or a red bird, you see?

AA: "Uh-huh."

LIDA BAKER: "So what we have to do in the classroom -- first of all, explain to students what I just explained to you, and then do what we call ear training. I can propose a couple of activities that teachers can do that can help students to learn compounds. One of them is a simple matching activity where you have two columns. And what the students have to do is take a word from the first column and match it with a word in the second column and create the compound and then practice saying it correctly. So, a simple matching activity.
"But there's another activity that is really fun, and that is to take these -- you know how we were talking about the difference between 'White House' and 'white house' or 'blackbird' and 'black bird'? You take those phrases and you try to create -- this is kind of for advanced students -- but try to make one sentence that contains both of those. So as an example: 'I saw a white house on my way to the White House?' Can you hear the difference?"

AA: "Uh-huh."

LIDA BAKER: "Or I saw a black bird, but I'm not sure if it's a blackbird.' I've done this and it's a lot of fun. You see students, you know, they're pounding on the desk trying to figure out where the stressed word is and so on."

VIETNAMESE TEACHER'S DAY

Everybody!



I'm so happy! You all make me moved. I promiss myself that everything i do, i do it for me...hi hi ...for YOU.

Lời Ru Của Thầy

Mỗi nghề có một lời ru
Dở hay thầy cũng chọn ru khúc này
Lời ru của gió màu mây
Con sông của mẹ đường cày của cha


Bắt đầu cái tuổi lên ba
Thầy ru điệp khúc quê nhà cho em
Yêu rồi cũng nhớ yêu thêm
Tình yêu chẳng có bậc thềm cuối đâu!


Thầy không ru đủ nghìn câu
Biết con chữ cũng đứng sau cuộc đời
Tuổi thơ em có một thời
Ước mơ thì rộng như trời, ngàn năm


Như ru ánh lửa trong hồn
Cái hoa trong lá, cái mầm trong cây
Thầy ru hết cả mê say
Mong cho trọn ước mơ đầy của em.


Mẹ ru em ngủ tròn đêm
Thầy ru khi mặt trời lên mỗi ngày
Trong em hạt chữ xếp dày
Đừng quên mẹ vẫn lo gầy hạt cơm



Từ trong vòm mát ngôi trường
Xin lời ru được dẫn đường em đi
(Con đường thầy ngỡ đôi khi
Tuổi thơ lăn một vòng bi tới rồi!)



Hẳn là thầy cũng già thôi
Hóa thân vào mỗi cuộc đời các em
Thì dù phấn trắng bảng đen
Hành trang ấy đủ thầy đem theo mình



(Đoàn Vị Thượng)

Confusing Words

USED TO

When we use used to, we are talking about something which happened regularly or was true at an earlier stage in our lives but which is now over.

Thus, it can only be used in the past tense. If we want to talk about present habits or states, we simply use the present simple tense.

With the negative we often say never used to in preference to didn't use to or used not to - in an informal register. Study the following examples:

1. 'Do you remember? There used to be fields of clover where those houses are now.'
2. 'I never used to smoke, but now I smoke twenty a day.'
3. 'You used to play chess with your friends, but nowadays you play chess with your computer.'
4. 'I used to buy really expensive make-up, but that was when I was working full-time.'
   

To make questions, we use the normal auxiliary did. Note that used to cannot be used in question tag form. Note also the possible/probable replies to used to questions.
Study the following examples:

1. 'Did you use to go ice-skating when you were young?' 'No, I never did.'
2. 'Didn't you use to ring the school to say you were ill and then play poker with Sam?' 'I sometimes did, yeah!'
3. 'You used to do ballet in the church hall, didn't you?' 'Yes, I did. Every Saturday between the ages of nine and twelve.'

be used to + noun or -ing get used to + noun or -ing

If somebody gets or is used to something, he becomes or is fully familiar with it. It is no longer strange or awkward. It can refer to past, present or future experiences. Study the following:

1. 'These are very high heels, I know, but I'm sure you'll get used to (wearing) them.'
2. 'I wasn't used to living in such a small flat and I found it really hard at first.'
3. 'I'm used to all the noise now, but I'd always lived in the country before, you see, where it is very quiet.'
4. 'I never got used to shaking hands with people all the time when I lived there. It's just not the custom in our country.'
5. 'Are you getting used to the accent now? It's very different from standard English, isn't it?

In all of the above examples be or get used to can be replaced by be or become accustomed to which is very similar in meaning, if a little more formal.

Read through them again using these replacement verbs. So, just to recap and confirm:

1. 'When I lived in Mexico, I used to drink tequila at every opportunity.' (A regular habit then, but probably not now.)
2. 'I found it quite a strong drink at first, but I soon got used to it.' (It quickly became quite palatable.)
   

Confusing Words

WED & WEDDING

A wedding is a marriage ceremony which is held in church or a registry office and also includes the party or special meal which follows the ceremony. All of this usually happens on your wedding day.

There are a number of other wedding compounds that are associated with wedding day:

- The newlyweds had told everybody that they wanted no wedding presents as they were emigrating to Australia.

- The predominant colour at Sophie's wedding was creamy white. Her wedding dress was this colour and the icing on the three-tier wedding cake was this colour too.

- Is it true that in Britain you wear your wedding ring on the third finger of your left hand?

- A silver wedding is celebrated after 25 years of marriage and a golden wedding after 50 years.

If you wed someone, you marry them, but wed is not used very much nowadays as a verb as it is rather old-fashioned. It can sound quite effective however, because it is unusual. Sometimes it has a poetic ring to it:

- We got wed soon after the baby was born.

- I shall never wed as I like to be independent.

marriage / marry / get married

Marriage describes the relationship between husband and wife or the state of being married:

- They enjoyed a long and happy marriage.

- Most marriages these days do not last.

- The bride's parents did not approve of Victoria's marriage to George.

If you marry someone, that person becomes your husband or wife and we use the verb marry in preference to wed normally.

However, even more usual than marry is get married. This use of get with a past participle is a very common structure in contemporary English and is used across a range of common expressions. It has the same sort of force as reflexive verbs have in other languages. Thus in English we would say: Don't get lost! NOT Don't lose yourselves! Consider the following:

- I married the man next door / I got married to the man next door.

- They didn't get dressed until two o'clock in the afternoon.

- I didn't bother to get washed as I knew I would be working on the farm.

- Remember, it's a big dark wood. Be careful not to get lost.

- We had known each other for fifteen years before we got engaged.

- I never get invited to Sarah's parties.

- We got married on 10 June, but by the beginning of the autumn both of us knew that the marriage would not last and that sooner or later we would have to get a divorce / get divorced.

Interestingly, although we can say they married and they divorced as an alternative to they got married and they got divorced, we cannot say: they engaged. Here, only they got engaged is possible.

Improving Your Listening Skills

UN STANDS BEHIND DIPLOMAT

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U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has asked special advisor Ibrahim Gambari to convey strong disappointment to Burmese authorities on the government's decision to expel the highest-ranking U.N. official in the nation. Gambari is due to meet with Burmese authorities Saturday when he returns to Burma to push for reconciliation between the government and opponents. From VOA's New York Bureau, correspondent Barbara Schoetzau has the story.

Burma is expelling the U.N. regional coordinator, Charles Petrie, for an October 24 statement linking poverty in Burma to 45 years of military rule.

In a released statement that day, United Nations Day, Petrie said demonstrations against rising fuel prices that quickly turned into anti-government protests were indications of how badly Burma's economy and humanitarian situation had deteriorated.

U.N. spokesperson Michele Montas says Burma's ministry of foreign affairs wrote the United Nations that Mr. Petrie has been in Burma for a long time and should move on. She said the U.N. stands fully behind Petrie.

Ibrahim Gambari Montas says Secretary General Ban and Gambari met Friday at the airport in Istanbul, Turkey, where the U.N. chief gave the special envoy instructions for his visit to Burma.

"The Secretary General is disappointed by the message from Myanmar stating that it would not want the resident coordinator, Mr. Charles Petrie, to continue to in Myanmar. The Secretary General has full confidence in the United Nations' country team and its leadership and appreciates their contribution to the social, economic and humanitarian conditions for the people of Myanmar. The Secretary General has instructed the special advisor, Mr. Ibrahim Gambari, to convey his views directly to the authorities when he visits the country," she said.

As head of the U.N. Development Program in Burma, Petrie is the highest-ranking U.N. official in the country. Montas says there is no such thing as a fixed term for a regional coordinator. She says the United Nations Development Program will continue its work in Burma regardless of whether Petrie leaves or stays.

Speaking Practice

UNIT 8: LOVING AND DATING

- Dating practices vary from culture to culture: ways of dating are different from country to country.
- People date for a period of time to see if they are compatible.
- There are three typical kinds of date: going out on group dates with a number of friends, going on blind dates (going out with a person that you've never met), and going with your only partner.
- Be careful when dating because people sometimes don't show their true colors on the first, second, or fifteenth date.
- It's difficult to get to know someone through email or online.

QUESTIONS:

Why do you date?
Where do you want to have dates?
Why do you choose such places?
What should you do at the first date?

Functions Of English

WELL-OFF & BETTER-OFF

well-off

Well-off relates mainly to money matters. If you are well-off, you may not be rich exactly, but you have enough money to live well and comfortably:

By central European standards they are quite well-off They have their own flat and drive new cars.

well-off for

However, if you say you are well-off for something, this means that there are many of them:

We’re well-off for coffee shops in this town. There’s one at every corner in the High Street.

better-off

The comparative form of this adjective is better-off which is used to talk about the varying degrees of wealth different people have:

We’re not as well-off as the Jones’s. They’re definitely better-off than we are. Just look at the way they dress!

To be better-off, as you suggest, Mariano, also has another meaning of being in a better situation and is used mainly in conditional patterns as follows:

If you’ve got heavy bags to carry, you’d be better-off taking a taxi.It says on the sign that the motorway ahead is blocked. You’ll be better-off if you leave the motorway at this junction which is coming up now.

the better-off

The better-off is sometimes used as a noun to describe a category of people, cf the rich / the poor:

The rich and the poor live side-by-side in this part of town.The better-off should pay a higher rate of income tax, while those who are worst-off should pay no tax at all.

Functions Of English

ANALYZING PROBLEMS

I. Focusing on the main problem/issue

1. What is the main problem?
2. What is the real issue (here)?
3. (I think) the major problem is . . .
4. Our primary concern is . . .
5. The crux of the matter is . . .
6. (As I see it), the most important thing is . . .
7. The main problem we need to solve is . . .
8. We really need to take care of . . .
9. It all comes down to this:

II. Asking for input

1. What should we do about it?
2. What needs to be done?
3. What do you think we should do?
4. What are we going to do about it?
5. Do you have any suggestions?
6. Any ideas?

III. Making Recommendations

1. I recommend that . . .
2. I suggest that . . .
3. I would like to propose that . . .
4. Why don't we . . .

Improving Your Listening Skills

WEIGHING THE IDEA OF A YEAR OFF BEFORE COLLEGE

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In Britain and other countries, young people sometimes take a "gap year," a year off between high school and college.

This idea never gained a big following in the United States. Recent news reports have suggested that interest may be growing, though there are no official numbers.

Charles Deacon is the dean of admissions at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He estimates that in the current first-year class of one thousand six hundred students, only about twenty-five decided to take a year off. He says this number has not changed much over the years.

Mister Deacon says the most common reason is to have a chance to travel. But he says international students may take a gap year to meet requirements at home for military duty.

Some high school graduates see a year off as a chance to recover after twelve years of required education. But it can also give students a chance to explore their interests. Students who think they want to be doctors, for example, could learn about the profession by volunteering in a hospital for a year.

Many colleges and universities support gap-year projects by permitting students to delay their admission. Experts say students can grow emotionally and intellectually as they work at something they enjoy.

The Harvard admissions office has an essay on its Web site called "Time Out or Burn Out for the Next Generation." It praises the idea of taking time off to step back, think and enjoy gaining life experiences outside the pressure of studies. It also notes that students are sometimes admitted to Harvard or other colleges in part because they did something unusual with that time.

Of course, a gap year is not for everyone. Students might miss their friends who go on directly to college. And parents might worry that their children will decide not to go to college once they take time off.

Another concern is money. A year off, away from home, can be costly.

Holly Bull is the president of the Center for Interim Programs. Her company specializes in helping students plan their gap year. She notes that several books have been written about this subject. She says these books along with media attention and the availability of information on the Internet have increased interest in the idea of a year off.

And she points out that many gap-year programs cost far less than a year of college.

Confusing Words

IDENTICAL / PREPOSITIONAL PAIRS

Here are some examples: on and on, again and again, round and round, up and down, little by little, all in all

• You needn't go on and on about needing a holiday. I know we haven't had a break for over a year now.
• I've told you again and again to stop swearing in front of the children, but you take no notice.
• We're not making any progress by arguing like this. We're just going round and round in circles. My head's beginning to go round and round.
• How are you getting on now? ~ Oh, up and down, as usual. I have good days and bad days.
• Little by little his heath improved and he was able to walk further and further each day.
• All in all, it was a successful holiday in spite of some scary moments.
  
  on and on: without pausing or stopping, usually with go
  
  again and again: repeatedly
  
  round and round: moving in circles or spinning, usually with go
  
  little by little: gradually or slowly
  
  all in all: taking everything into consideration

Vietnamese Women's Day

On this occasion, i wish all of my female learners a big success, and an ever-lasting beauty.

Improving Your Listening Skills

BUSINESS NEWS

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Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez celebrated May Day, the international workers' holiday, by issuing a decree that transferred control of the country's last privately owned oil fields to government control. The state will own at least 60% of every oil field in the country, and Chávez encouraged the companies owning the remainder to retain their minority holdings in order to help develop the fields and refine the crude oil. The U.S. oil companies Chevron, Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, the British company BP, Norway's Statoil and France's Total agreed to the transfer of control, although negotiations over compensation still have several weeks to go. Chávez has announced that he may nationalize private hospitals and the steel and banking industries as well.

The Chinese have arrested the general manager of a company northwest of Shanghai for selling wheat gluten used in pet food that killed at least 16 pets in the United States and made thousands of others sick. The wheat gluten contained melamine, a chemical that is normally used to make plastics and fertilizer but that is sometimes added to pet food because it fools the tests that measure the amount of protein in the food. Similar exports also killed more than 30 dogs in South Africa.The Chinese government first objected to claims that the animals were killed by exports from their country, and their new willingness to take action shows that they were worried about the effect of the animal deaths on their export business.

Rupert Murdoch's media conglomerate the News Corporation has bid $5 billion for Dow Jones, the parent company of the Wall Street Journal newspaper. There had been no announcement that Dow Jones was available for sale. Although the Dow Jones board of directors announced that 52% of the voting shares of the company were against the sale, Murdoch is not giving up. He announced that he would create an independent editorial board for the Wall St. Journal and would not send his own editors to run it. Discussing his attempts to communicate with Boston's Bancroft family, who own 62% of the shares, Murdoch said "I think the next step for us is to be patient—and to be available at any time should they respond to my suggestion for a meeting."

The News Corporation is not the only media conglomerate trying to buy a well-known financial news publisher. British news and financial information provider Reuters announced that Canada's Thomson Corporation has made a bid to buy them out. Thomson has grown from a small newspaper publisher to a worldwide publisher of scientific, healthcare, tax, and especially legal research information. They publish some financial information, but are not a major player; a Reuters acquisition would let them compete with market leader Bloomberg for the business of delivering real-time financial information. News of the Thomson offer and Murdoch's offer for Dow Jones boosted the share price of most major publishing companies.

A US court decision on the design of a gas pedal for cars and trucks will have a huge effect throughout the country's technology industries. When Canadian pedal manufacturer KSR International added an electronic sensor to one pedal model, the Teleflex company claimed that the design infringed on their patent and demanded royalties. In a unanimous decision, the US Supreme Court ruled that the invention was obvious enough to not be worthy of protection under patent law. Because so many hardware, software, communications and biotechnology companies make their money by charging royalties for technology that may infringe on their patents, this change in how courts view infringement will make it difficult for many of these companies to make this money so easily.

Improving Your Listening Skills

COLLEGES SEE GREEN IN SUSTAINABILITY STUDIES

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We talked last week about a movement to build environmentally friendly school buildings in the United States. Today we look at the spread of "green" studies in higher education.

Many colleges and universities around the country now offer programs in sustainability studies. These programs combine environmental science, social science, economics, agriculture, renewable energy and other subjects.

Antioch University in New Hampshire and Maharishi University of Management in Iowa are just two of the schools with sustainability programs. At Dominican University of California, near San Francisco, students can receive a master's of business administration in sustainable enterprise. School officials say their Green MBA brings together the aims of the financial world with those of the social justice and environmental movements.

This year, Arizona State University opened its Global Institute of Sustainability. The aim is to do research across many departments, then bring that information to schools, businesses and industries.

Arizona State has also launched a School of Sustainability. Like many sustainability programs, this one grew out of an existing environmental studies program.

The school is just starting its first academic year. Students can take courses towards a master's degree or a doctorate in sustainability. And the school will soon offer undergraduate programs.
Officials say the School of Sustainability aims to educate a new generation of leaders to solve environmental, social and economic problems.

But experts sometimes question whether students who study sustainability will be able to sustain themselves by finding jobs.

Charles Redman is the director of the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University. He says more and more local governments around the country are forming sustainability committees that need environmental experts. And he says companies increasingly want experts who know how to make businesses as environmentally responsible as possible.

He cannot talk yet about graduates of his own school, since it has just started. But he says he does know that among colleges and universities, there is a high demand for professors who can teach sustainability.

Improving Your Listening Skills

MAKING SENSE OF A WEAK DOLLAR

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Weak or strong. Which is better? If the question is about the American dollar, the answer depends on whom you ask.

The dollar has been weakening against several major currencies. One euro is currently worth about one dollar forty cents. A British pound is worth over two dollars.

Many widely traded products are bought and sold in dollars. These commodities include oil, soybeans and metals like copper. A weak dollar can mean a better deal for foreign buyers. But for oil producers and countries that tie the value of their own money to the dollar, weakness reduces their purchasing power.

A weak dollar, though, may help reduce the American trade deficit because it makes American exports less costly. But in the United States it can raise the cost of imports. An exception is imports from China.

The Chinese government sets the value of the yuan on foreign exchanges. This year the yuan has increased less than four percent against the weakening dollar. This has kept the prices of Chinese imports low.

In other cases, however, a weak dollar hurts American businesses that deal in imported goods. They may have to raise prices or sacrifice profits. Many companies do not want to raise their prices for fear that they may lose market share.

The Federal Reserve has said that inflation remains under control. But the Fed says it is prepared to take action if inflationary pressures increase.

Last month the central bank cut short-term interest rates by half a point. It did so to help keep problems in the housing and credit markets from harming the wider economy and causing a recession.

But some economic worries appeared to ease after the latest jobs report last Friday. The Labor Department said employment increased by one hundred ten thousand jobs in September. Also, new numbers for August showed a gain of close to ninety thousand jobs.

The department had earlier reported that the economy lost four thousand jobs in August, the first report of job losses in four years.

Still, critics warn of dangers from a weaker dollar and lower interest rates, which reduce the returns on dollar-based investments. A New York Times commentary, for example, said dollar weakness is rooted in the borrow-and-spend behavior of the government and the public. It said foreign lenders will be less and less likely to want to invest in dollars, and that will only make things a lot worse.

Functions Of English

GIVING ADVICE

There are a number of formulas used when Giving Advice in English. Here are some of the most common:

• I don't think you should work so hard.
• You ought to work less.
• You ought not to work so hard.
• If I were you, I'd work less.
• If I were in your position, I'd work less.
• If I were in your shoes, I'd work less.
• You had better work less.
• You shouldn't work so hard.
• Whatever you do, don't work so hard.
  

Improving Your Listening Skills

US Auto Industry

Listen and download

Labor relations in the American auto industry took a new turn this week with a deal that many are calling historic.

An employee returns to work at the General Motors factory in Warren, MichiganGeneral Motors and the United Auto Workers agreed on a proposed new contract after a strike that lasted two days. Seventy-three thousand union workers walked off the job.

Job security was the top issue for union members. The U.A.W. is seeking to protect jobs in the United States and limit the number of temporary workers used by General Motors.

For G.M., the main issue was to find a way to cut its costs for health care for retired workers. The nation's largest automaker estimates its long-term responsibilities at more than fifty billion dollars.

Under the agreement, G.M. would create a trust called a volunteer employee benefit association. This VEBA would pay health care costs for retirees. G.M. is expected to invest about thirty-five billion dollars to start the fund. The fund would be independently administered and the union would supervise it.

United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger said the fund should secure benefits for retirees for the next eighty years.

G.M. has seen its share of the North American market shrink while its labor costs have remained far above its biggest competitor, Toyota. The deal would give G.M. the right to lower pay for some new employees.

The agreement is likely to provide an example for coming talks with the two other major American automakers, Ford and Chrysler.

The new contract still needs final approval by the union. Until then the full details are not being released. The union expects its members to begin voting this weekend.

The trust would also need approval by the courts and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The process is expected to take two years. After that, G.M. would no longer have to pay for health benefits for its retirees.

Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said the agreement will help his company become more competitive. This, he says, will permit G.M. to keep a strong manufacturing presence in the United States and make future investments.

This was the first nationwide strike against G.M. since nineteen seventy.

The existing contract ended at midnight on September fourteenth. Union members continued working until their leaders called the strike Monday morning. The strike ended early Wednesday after negotiators reached the agreement.

Confusing Words

APPROVE

The meaning of approve changes when you add the preposition of to make approve of. Approve by itself means 'sanction' or 'endorse' as in these two examples. In the first, an accountant is speaking, and in the second, a university admissions tutor.

• 'I cannot approve the reimbursement because you haven't given me the receipts for your expenditure.'
• 'I cannot approve your application to study law because you do not have the relevant qualifications.'

If you approve of something, then you consider it to be good or you agree with it. Consider:

• 'I don't approve of smoking in restaurants because it is so upsetting usually for non-smokers.'
• 'Why don't you approve of my friends? They are all good upright people.'
  
  [ə'pru:v]
  ngoại động từ
  chấp thuận; phê chuẩn; phê duyệt; chuẩn y
  that peace treaty has been approved by the national assembly
  hoà ước ấy đã được sự phê chuẩn của quốc hội
  the auditors approved the company's accounts
  các kiểm định viên đã chấp thuận các chứng từ thanh toán của công ty
  chứng tỏ; tỏ ra
  to approve one's valour
  chứng tỏ lòng can đảm
  he approved himself to be a good pianist
  anh ta tỏ ra là một người chơi pianô giỏi
  nội động từ
  ( to approve of somebody / something) tán thành; ưng thuận; bằng lòng
  to approve of the proposal
  tán thành lời đề nghị
  Lan doesn't want to take her new boyfriend home in case her parents don't approve of him
  Lan không muốn đưa anh bạn mới quen về nhà nếu bố mẹ không ưng thuận anh ta

Functions Of English

MAKING COMPLAINTS

There are a number of formulas used when complaining in English. It's important to remember that a direct complaint or criticism in English can sound rude or aggressive. It's best to mention a problem in an indirect manner. Here are some of the most common:

• I'm sorry to have to say this but...
• I'm sorry to bother you, but...
• Maybe you forgot to...
• I think you might have forgotten to...
• Excuse me if I'm out of line, but...
• There may have been a misunderstanding about...
• Don't get me wrong, but I think we should...

Ex:

• I'm sorry to have to say this, but I think we need to take another approach.
• I'm sorry to bother you, but I think you need to refine this layout.
• Maybe you forgot to include his name and number.
• I think you might have forgotten to finish the report on time.
• Excuse me if I'm out of line, but your work has not been adequate lately.
• There may have been a misunderstanding about what I expected from you.
• Don't get me wrong, but I think we should concentrate on the Smith account for the moment.
  

Improving Your Listening Skills

WHAT AMERICAN WORKERS CALL THEIR EMPLOYERS

Listen

The Italians have an old saying, "Il dolce far niente." The words mean it is sweet, or enjoyable, to do nothing.

On weekends and during holidays, many of us enjoy doing nothing. But most of the time we have to work. And, to keep our jobs, we must work hard. Our employer will not like it if we do nothing. American workers often call their employers bosses. The word boss comes from the Dutch word, baas, meaning master.

Sometimes company bosses are called the brass. They also are sometimes called top brass, or brass hats.

Experts disagree about how these strange expressions started. But, they may have come from Britain. Leaders of the nineteenth century British army wore pieces of metal called oak leaves on their hats. The metal, brass, has a color similar to that of gold. So a leader or commander came to be called a member of the brass. Or he might have been called a brass hat. Or, even the top brass.

By the nineteen forties, the expression had spread beyond military leaders. It also included civilian officials.

A newspaper in the American city of Philadelphia used the term in nineteen forty-nine. It called the most important police officials, top brass.

Other expressions that mean boss or employer have nothing to do with brass or hats. One of these is big cheese. A cheese is a solid food made from milk.

The expression probably started in America in the late nineteenth century. Some experts believe it comes from a word in the Uersian or urdu languages -- chiz. The meaning is a thing. So the meaning of big cheese may be a big thing.

Other experts say the word cheese in this expression was really an incorrect way of saying chief. The word chief means leader. So the expression may mean big leader.

An employer usually does not object to being called boss. But most workers would not call their employers big cheeses, top brass or brass hats to their faces.

These words are not really insulting. But neither do they show great respect.

Employers also have expressions to describe their workers. One of them that describes a good worker is that he or she works like a Trojan.

This expression probably comes from the ancient writings of the Greek poet Homer. He wrote about the Trojans who lived in the city of Troy. He said Trojans worked very hard to protect their city.

Now, the expression often is used to describe an employee who works hard for a company. A loyal, hard-working employee is said to work like a Trojan.

So be happy if your company's brass hats say you work like a Trojan. They may consider you valuable enough to increase your pay.

HOC TIENG ANH QUA THANH NGU

THE BIGGER THEY ARE, THE HARDER THEY FALL

The bigger they are, the harder they fall means that it is more difficult to beat stronger opponents, but we can beat them, and when they lose they suffer a bigger loss. Example: "Are you worried that he might be too strong?" Reply: "No, I'm not. He may be big, but the bigger they are, the harder they fall."

The word harder has two meanings here. First, it is harder (more difficult) to beat them; and second, when they lose they go down harder (more painfully). Example: "Those guys thought they would never lose. But we finally beat them. And look at them crying now." Reply: "The bigger they are, the harder they fall."

The bigger they are, the harder they fall means that bigger people are harder to knock down, but when they go down they hit the ground harder. You can say this to encourage a smaller competitor. Example: "Good luck, and remember: The bigger they are, the harder they fall."

Functions Of English

AGREEING AND DISAGREEING

Agreement

• There are many reasons for …
• There is no doubt about it that …
• I simply must agree with that.
• I am of the same opinion.
• I am of the same opinion as …
• I completely/absolutely agree with …
  

Qualified Disagreement

• It is only partly true that...
• I can agree with that only with reservations.
• That seems obvious, but …
• That is not necessarily so.
• It is not as simple as it seems.
• Under certain circumstances …
  

Disagreement

• There is more to it than that.
• The problem is that …
• I (very much) doubt whether …
• This is in complete contradiction to …
• What is even worse, …
• I am of a different opinion because …
• I cannot share this / that / the view.
• I cannot agree with this idea.
• What I object to is …
• Unlike … I think …

COVER LETTERS

SAMPLE RESUME COVER LETTER

Richard Anderson,

1234, West 67 Street,

Carlisle, MA 01741,

(123)-456 7890.

Date: 1st May, 2005.

Mr. John Smith,
National Inc.,
257, Park Avenue South,
New York, NY 12345-6789.

Dear Mr. Smith,

My outgoing personality, my sales experience, and my recently completed education make me a strong candidate for a position as an insurance broker for National Inc.

I recently graduated from the National University, New York, with a degree in marketing, where I was president of both the Future Business Leaders of America and the American Marketing Association.

Although a recent graduate, I am not a typical new graduate. I attended school in Chicago, New Jersey and Boston. And I've put myself through these schools by working such jobs as radio advertising sales, newspaper subscription sales, and bartending, all of which enhanced my formal education.

I have the maturity, skills, and abilities to embark on a career in insurance brokering, and I'd like to do this in Manhattan, my home state.

I will be in New York at the end of this month, and I'd like very much to talk with you concerning a position at National Inc. I will follow up this letter with a phone call to see if I can arrange a time to meet with you.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Richard Anderson,
Senior Student, Marketing,
National University,
Manhattan.

Enclosure:
1) Resume
2) Certificate of Honor "Future Business Leaders of America"

Fragments

NOUN-PARTICIPLE PHRASE

A phrase is a word group that cannot stand as a complete sentence. A noun-participle phrase has a noun followed by either a present or a past participle, but it is a fragment because a participle is not a complete verb. To be complete, the participle must be combined with a form of the verb to be.

Fragment: The woman driving. The picture found in the garage.
Correct: The woman is driving. The picture was found in the garage.

Watch out for the word being, however. This word, when added to a participle or when appearing on its own, will not create a complete sentence.

Fragment: The picture found in the garage.
Fragment: The picture being found in the garage.
Correct: The picture has been found in the garage.

Fragment: Chocolate being one of the joys in her life.
Correct: Chocolate is one of the joys in her life.

Grammar Review

HOW TO USE ANOTHER AND OTHER

With countable nouns

· another + singular nouns
Ex: another pencil
· other + plural nouns
Ex: other pencils = some more.
· the other + plural nouns: the last ones or people
Ex: the other pencils = all remaining pencils

With uncountable nouns

· the other + singular nouns = the last one (in a group)
· other + uncount nouns = some more
Ex: other water = some more water.
other beer = some more beer.
· the other + uncountable nouns = the remaining or left
Ex: The other beer = the remaining beer.

Another and other are indefinite, while the other is definite. Another and other can be used as pronouns
Ex: I don’t want this book. Please give me another.

- A plural noun can be replaced by (other + nouns or others). Don’t use (others + countable nouns).

- We can use another one, the other one and other ones.

Note: This vµ that can be used with one but these and those are never used with ones.

Common Mistakes

DAY 5

Wrong: He cannot read and write.
Right: He cannot read or write.


Wrong: Where is here.
Right: Where are we.


Wrong: How heavy are you ?
Right: How much do you weigh ?


Wrong: He was talking in a high voice.
Right: He was talking loud.


Wrong: Most Westerners have high noses.
Right: Most Westerners have long noses.


Wrong: Are you home tomorrow.
Right: Are you at home tomorrow.


Wrong: How does she look like ?
Right: What does she look like ?


Wrong: This is the way how I did it.
Right: This is how I did it. or This is the way I did it.


Wrong: How do you think about Taiwan.
Right: What do you think about Taiwan.


Wrong: How can I do ?
Right: What can I do ?


Wrong: " How long have you been in Taiwan ?"
" Six months "
" How about Chinese food ?"
Right: " How long have you been in Taiwan ? "
" Six months "
" Do you like Chinese food ?"

Functions Of English

ACCEPTING AND REFUSING

Accepting and refusing politely may depend on what you are asked. For example

1. Would you like some cake?

• Yes, please.


• Sure.


• Thanks


• Okay. Thank you


• No, thank youI'd better not.


• No, but thanks for offering.
  

2. Would you like to go see a movie?

• Okay. Sounds good.


• Sure. I'd love to.


• Yeah. Good idea


• No, I'd rather not.


• I'm sorry, but I can't.


• No, but thanks for inviting me.
  

3. How about some more pie?

• All right. Thanks


• Looks good.


• Thanks


• Don't mind if I do.


• No, thanks.


• I'm really full.


• Thanks anyway.


• Looks delicious, but I'll have to pass.
  

4. How about going skiing this weekend?

• Great. What time?


• Sounds like fun.


• All right. When and where?
  Sorry. I'm busy this weekend.


• I don't think I can.


• How about some other time?
  

Sentences

SENTENCE FRAGMENTS

To be a complete sentence, a group of words must pass two tests:
1) It must have both a subject and a verb.
2) It must express a complete thought.


In a normal (declarative) sentence, the subject (usually a noun, pronoun, noun phrase, or noun clause) appears to the left of the verb (which expresses action, occurrence, or state of being).

You may have other parts to a sentence such as a direct object or object complement, but these parts are not always necessary to create a complete sentence. Normal (declarative) sentences usually fall under one of seven patterns:

1. S-V: I talked.


2. S-V-O: They studied the assignment .


3. S-V-IO-DO: We gave him a coke .


4. S-V- O-OC (N): They called him names.


5. S-V-O-OC (Adj.): She thought the test easy.


6. S-LV-C (N): The girl is a ninja .


7. S-LV-C (Adj.): The girl seems acrobatic .


8. S = Subject, V = Verb, O or DO = Direct Object, IO = Indirect Object, OC = Object

Complement, LV = Linking Verb, C = Complement, N = Noun, Adj. = Adjective.

You have two methods of testing a group of words to see if it is a complete sentence: the embedding frame and the tag question.

I. SENTENCE FRAGMENTS

Sentence fragments are incomplete sentences or part of sentences.

Study the following examples of sentence fragments and how to correct them

1. Because of some students work part-time while taking a full load of courses.
Problem: This is a dependent clause
To correct: Because of some students work part-time while taking a full load of courses, they have very little free time.

2. For example, the increase in the cost of renting an apartment

Problem: There is no verb
To correct: For example, the increase in the cost of renting an apartment is rapid

3. Feeling lonely and failing most of his classes.
Problem: This is a participle phrase
To correct: He felt lonely and was failing most of his classes.Feeling lonely and failing most of his classes, the student wisely decided to make an appointment with his counselor

4. Many young people who leave home at an early age
Problem: The independent clause is unfinished
To correct: Many young people leave home at an early age.Many young people who leave home at an early age do not manage their money well.

be continued

VU LAN FESTIVAL

VU LAN FESTIVAL

- Le Vu Lan is a Buddhist holiday, held annually on the 15th of the 7th month of the lunar calendar. The main objective of this festival is for the people to express their gratefulness and appreciation to their mother.

- English meaning: THE PRACTICE OF FILIAL PIETY FESTIVAL (OR ULLAMBANA- Tieáng Phaïn)

The Ullambana Sutra is a Mahayana sutra which consists in a brief discourse given by the Gautama Buddha principally to the monk Maudgalyāyana (Mokuren in Japanese) on the practice of filial piety. The text is considered of questionable authenticity by many.
In the Ullambana Sutra, the Buddha instructs his disciple Mahāmaudgalyāyana on how to obtain liberation for his mother, who had been reborn into a lower realm, by making food offerings to the sangha on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. This practice is the basis of the Obon ceremony in honor of one's ancestors which is still observed widely in Japan. Judging from that, it may be inferred that this sutra has had considerable influence.

VIETNAMES ARTICLE

Từ nguyên

Vu-lan (zh. 盂蘭; sa. ullambana) là từ viết tắt của Vu-lan-bồn (zh. 盂蘭盆), cũng được gọi là Ô-lam-bà-noa (zh. 烏藍婆拏), là cách phiên âm Phạn-Hán từ danh từ ullambana. Ullambana có gốc từ động từ ud-√lamb, nghĩa là "treo (ngược) lên". Thế nên các dịch giả Trung Quốc cũng dùng từ Đảo huyền (zh. 倒懸), "treo ngược lên" cho từ Vu-lan, chỉ sự khổ đau kinh khủng khi sa đoạ địa ngục.

Truyền thuyết

Xuất phát từ truyền thuyết về Bồ tát Mục Kiền Liên đại hiếu đã cứu mẹ của mình ra khỏi kiếp ngạ quỷ. Vu Lan là ngày lễ hằng năm để tưởng nhớ công ơn cha mẹ (và tổ tiên nói chung) - cha mẹ của kiếp này và của các kiếp trước.

Theo kinh Vu Lan thì ngày xưa, Mục Kiền Liên đã tu luyện thành công nhiều phép thần thông. Mẫu thân ông là bà Thanh Đề đã qua đời, ông tưởng nhớ và muốn biết bây giờ mẹ như thế nào nên dùng mắt phép nhìn khắp trời đất để tìm. Thấy mẹ mình, vì gây nhiều nghiệp ác nên phải sanh làm ngạ quỷ, bị đói khát hành hạ khổ sở, ông đã đem cơm xuống tận cõi quỷ để dâng mẹ. Nhưng vì phải chịu hình phạt, mẹ ông không thể ăn được - vừa đưa lên tới miệng, thức ăn đã hóa thành lửa đỏ.

Mục Liên quay về tìm Phật để hỏi cách cứu mẹ, Phật dạy rằng: "dù ông thần thông quảng đại đến đâu cũng không đủ sức cứu mẹ ông đâu. Chỉ có một cách nhờ hợp lực của chư tăng khắp mười phương mới mong giải cứu được. Ngày rằm tháng bảy là ngày thích hợp để vận động chư tăng, hãy sắm sửa lễ cúng vào ngày đó".

Làm theo lời Phật, mẹ của Mục Liên đã được giải thoát. Phật cũng dạy rằng chúng sanh ai muốn báo hiếu cho cha mẹ cũng theo cách này (Vu Lan Bồn Pháp). Từ đó ngày lễ Vu Lan ra đời.

Truyền thống lễ nghi

Ngày xóa/xá tội vong nhân có lẽ cũng có nguồn gốc từ lễ Vu Lan, khi người chết được giải cứu.

Trong một số nước Á Đông, ngày lễ này thường được tổ chức vào ngày 15 tháng âm lịch, để tỏ hiếu với cha mẹ, ông bà và cũng để giúp đỡ những linh hồn đói khát. Ở Nhật Bản ngày lễ này được tổ chức vào ngày 7 tháng 7 để tỏ những ước nguyện của mình, người ta viết ước nguyện rồi treo vào cây trúc với mong ước điều ước đó sẽ trở thành hiện thực.

Improving Your Listening Skills

TEACHER IN SPACE ANSWERS QUESTIONS FROM STUDENTS

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SOUND: "Good morning, Discovery Center -- good afternoon. We're happy to be here with you. This is Al Drew, Clay Anderson, Dave Williams and I'm Barb Morgan. And we are ready for your first question. Welcome aboard the International Space Station."

Astronaut Barbara Morgan on the space shuttle EndeavourThat was teacher-turned-astronaut Barbara Morgan, speaking from more than three hundred twenty kilometers above the Earth.

CHILDREN: "Hello from Idaho!"

And those were the students she was greeting in the northwestern state of Idaho. They gathered at the Discovery Center in Boise on Tuesday to ask the astronauts questions by video link.

The astronauts already knew what the questions would be. One student asked what stars look like from space.

Basically the answer was that the space shuttle and the space station are kept brightly lit, so it is difficult to see a lot of stars.

BARBARA MORGAN: "In fact, one way to think about that when we're on the International Space Station and all the lights are on when we look outside, it's very much like trying to look at the stars when you're in Boise. You can see some, but then if you go up high in the mountains, up to McCall, and you have all the lights out, that's what it will be like once we undock from [the] station and we can turn all our shuttle lights out, and also for the station folks they can turn all their lights out."

Barbara Morgan taught elementary school in McCall, Idaho, before she trained for space. She and six other astronauts arrived Friday on the shuttle Endeavour to bring supplies and new equipment to the international station.

Barbara Morgan is fifty-five years old. She taught for many years before she became an astronaut.

QUESTION: "Hi, I'm Sarah Blum. How does being a teacher relate with being an astronaut on this mission?"

BARBARA MORGAN: "Well, astronauts and teachers actually do the same things. We explore, we discover and we share. And the great thing about being a teacher is you get to do that with students. And the great thing about being an astronaut is you get to do it in space. And those are absolutely wonderful jobs."

Barbara Morgan first prepared for a shuttle flight more than twenty years ago. She trained in case NASA needed a substitute for Christa McAuliffe, its choice to become the first teacher in space.

Then, in nineteen eighty-six, Christa McAuliffe died with the Challenger crew when the shuttle exploded shortly after launch.

After the disaster, NASA officials barred other civilians from shuttle flights. But in nineteen ninety-eight, they created a new position for teachers to become fully trained astronauts. Barbara Morgan is NASA's first "educator astronaut" launched into orbit.

One of her first tasks was to operate Endeavour's robotic arm to inspect the shuttle for any launch-related damage. Cameras showed a small area hit by a piece of protective foam that fell off the fuel tank. NASA officials say the damage is not a safety threat but they are deciding what to do about it.

Normal English

TALEBAN RELEASED TWO SOUTH KOREAN HOSTAGES

Listen and Download 625k

Taleban leaders say the two women were both sick and have been freed as a gesture of good will.

But there is still no independent verification of the Taleban's claims. Government officials say they have not seen the two women yet but hope they have been released.

The apparent breakthrough comes as Taleban and South Korean officials complete their second day of face-to-face talks in the Afghan city of Ghazni.

Taleban insurgents kidnapped 23 South Koreans on July 19 as the group of Christian volunteers drove through the wartorn province.

Two of the South Koreans have already been executed, and insurgents have said they will kill more unless the government frees a number of pro-Taleban prisoners.

So far the government has refused to consider an exchange.

Afghan Interior Ministry Spokesman Zemarai Bashary says the government is providing security for the talks in Ghazni, but is not directly involved.

"I cannot go into too many details about the issue [but] this much I can say: Afghan representatives were not in that meeting," he said.

Provincial governor Merajuddin Pattan says the government did offer Taleban leaders safe passage to attend the negotiations and remains committed to supporting the South Korean initiative.

"We told them that we would guarantee the negotiation process and that there would be no operation against them until this dilemma is solved," he said.

Four South Korean delegates and two Taleban leaders are involved in the talks, which started Friday evening in a heavily guarded Afghan Red Crescent office.

The insurgents have said all along that they would kill the hostages, most of whom are women, unless the government frees a number of pro-Taleban prisoners.

The Afghan government has said from the start it would not exchange prisoners for hostages, and it is not clear if the South Korean negotiators can promise the release of any Taleban.
However, Afghan authorities in touch with the Taleban say the militants are also seeking a ransom payment.

In an incident earlier this year, Afghanistan released five top Taleban prisoners in exchange for an Italian journalist being held hostage.

There was widespread criticism of that agreement, by U.S. officials among others, who argued that it would only provoke more kidnappings in the future.

South Korea, however, has pleaded for greater flexibility, and has sought U.S. support for the effort to free the 21 remaining hostages.

ENGLISH IDIOMS

SMELL A RAT

• How come the front door is open? Didn't you close it before we went shopping?
• I'm sure I did. I can't understand it. Frankly, I smell a rat.
• Me, too. I'm convinced that something is definitely wrong here. We'd better call the police.
  

GO TO THE DOGS

• Have you seen their house lately? It's really gone to the dogs.
• t's true that it has become run-down and in serious need of repair, but I'm sure that it can be fixed up to look like new.
• I guess with a little carpentry work and some paint it could look pretty decent.
  

FISHY

When the security guard saw a light in the store after closing hours, it seemed to him that there was something fishy going on. He called the central office and explained to his superior that he thought something strange and suspicious was occurring.

Grammar Rules

THE A- ADJECTIVES

Common a- adjectives

• ablaze
• afire
• aflame
• afloat
• afraid
• aghast
• aglow
• alert
  alike
• alive
• alone
• aloof
  ashamed
• asleep
• awake
• aware
  

These adjectives beginning with a- are only used in the predicate (after a linking verb such as be, feel, look or seem) and never before the noun:

- The baby is asleep. NOT The asleep baby....

- The man is alone. NOT The alone man....

1. Alert and aloof are used before the noun: an alert person, an aloof person
2. A few of the other a- adjectives are sometimes used before the noun if they are used with a modifier: the half-asleep man, the wide-awake child, the very ashamed student

So the basic rule is: Do not use these adjectives before a noun.

NOTE: Other adjectives beginning with a- such as abominable, assertive, attentive, etc. are used before and after the noun.

Confusing Words

Day 4

Wrong: Let's begin from page 10.
Right: Let's begin at ( on ) page 10.

Wrong: Did you attend college ?
Right: Did you go to college ?

Wrong: I wanted to go to Europe last summer, but it was too expensive so I gave up to go.
Right: I wanted to go to Europe last summer, but it was too expensive so I gave up the
idea.

Wrong: I'll go there at three.
Right: I'll be there at three.

Wrong: I am going back my home.
Right: I am going home.

Wrong: His temperature went down.
Right: His temperature came down.

Wrong: I like green color.
Right: I like green.

Wrong: Today's newspapers has his articles on Taiwan.
Right: Today's newspapers carries his articles on Taiwan.

Wrong: Give me money, if you have.
Right: Give me money, if you have any.

Wrong: You'll have a cold if you sleep with your window open.
Right: You'll catch a cold if you sleep with your window open.