easy english

[Easy English Blog] Problem in a restaurant

/ italkyoutalk
assorted variety of foods on plates on dining table

Photo by Daria Shevtsova on Pexels.com

Sometimes we go to a restaurant and the service is very bad. Recently, this happened to me, and my friends. We met at a restaurant. There were six people. Five plates came to our table. One meal was not served.

We waited for ten minutes. We asked about the missing order. After ten minutes the waitress came back. ‘Oh, sorry,’ she said.  ‘We forgot about the other order.’

This was difficult. In our culture, everyone waits until all the food is on the table. It is rude to start eating before other people. So everyone’s food was cold, and one person didn’t have a meal at all!

Patricia @ I Talk You Talk Press

[Easy English Blog] Making coffee

/ italkyoutalk

aroma-black-and-white-bottle-343665

How do you make coffee at home? I know people who have coffee making machines that cost more than a $1000. Then, I know people who use capsules to make coffee. Those machines cost between $200 and $500. I am old fashioned. I use a coffee plunger. I broke my coffee plunger last week. I bought a new one. A shop near our house had a sale. My new coffee plunger cost $20. I think the coffee I make is OK. Of course, the coffee from a café is better than my home coffee but I don’t mind.

Patricia @ I Talk You Talk Press

[Easy English Blog] Bad weather

/ italkyoutalk
artistic blossom bright clouds

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

The weather has been bad. The wind is very strong. We have many large trees in our garden. They are very old. So, when the wind is strong, branches fall off the trees. Before I drive out of our house, I must walk out and pick up the dead wood. It’s OK. But I think, What if some day I walk out and one of our special trees has fallen down?

A branch of a tree falling down is not convenient, but a whole tree is like a death in the family.

Patricia @ I Talk You Talk Press

[Easy English Blog] January sales

/ italkyoutalk
man wearing pink polo shirt with text overlay

Photo by Artem Bali on Pexels.com

Do you ever go to the January sales? Most shops have sales after Christmas. They used to start in January, but now they start earlier. Some sales start before Christmas, some start on Christmas Day and some start the day after.

When I was a child, the sales usually started in January, so we called them January sales. I always looked forward to the January sales. I often got money for Christmas from relatives. I spent the money in the sales in January. I usually bought books or music.

Now, I go to the sales on December 26th or 27th. The shops are packed with people searching for bargains. I usually buy clothes now. I don’t go clothes shopping in Japan, so I buy my clothes in the UK. The sale season is the perfect time for me to go shopping. I can only buy a few items though, because if I buy many clothes, they don’t fit into my suitcase! One year, I bought too many clothes, and I had to send them to Japan by airmail, because I couldn’t carry them! Since then, I’m always careful not to buy too much.

Heather @ I Talk You Talk Press

[Easy English Blog] New Year’s resolutions

/ italkyoutalk
woman on rock platform viewing city

Photo by picjumbo.com on Pexels.com

Are you making any New Year’s resolutions? A New Year’s resolution is a change you want to make, or a goal you want to aim for. Some common New Year’s resolutions are “I’m going to stop smoking”, “I’m going to cut down on alcohol”, “I’m going to exercise more,” “I’m going to study hard”, “I’m going to lose weight,” etc.

For 2019, my New Year’s resolutions are:

  • write more graded readers
  • exercise for an hour every day
  • study Russian, Chinese and French every day
  • eat less chocolate (I don’t know if I can do this one…)
  • spend more time outside

How about you? What are your New Year’s Resolutions?

 

 

[Easy English Blog] Flying years

/ italkyoutalk
gray double bell clock

Photo by Moose Photos on Pexels.com

Is it just me, or has this year flown by? It seems that each year seems to pass more quickly than the last. January seems like only a few months ago! People say that the years seem to speed up as we get older. I agree with this. When I was a child, the years seemed to pass slowly. When I started working, they started to speed up. Maybe it is because we are so busy every day.

This year, the summer was very hot. Summer seemed to pass slowly. I was looking forward to cooler weather, but the long summer days seemed to last forever. Then when it became cooler, time started to speed up again.

Next year, I want time to slow down. Maybe I need to make some changes for this to happen. Maybe I need to spend some time sitting quietly, or I need to take more time off work to relax and enjoy the days. Maybe I need to get out more! I think many of my days are the same. Maybe I need more excitement! I’ve thought about keeping a diary, but I know that I won’t keep it up for long. Maybe I can try to do something different every day. Even if it’s just a small thing. I think I will appreciate the passing time more.

Heather @ I Talk You Talk Press

[Easy English Blog] Christmas cards

/ italkyoutalk
have a very merry christmas greeting card

Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

Sending Christmas cards is a popular tradition at Christmas. When I was a child, I used to send a card to everyone in my class at school. Then, when I went to high school, I just sent cards to my family and friends. Now that I’m older, I only send cards to my family and close friends.

I buy the Christmas cards in Japan. There are some interesting Christmas cards here. My favourite cards have illustrations of famous Japanese sights, such as Mt. Fuji, Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto, or Izumo Taisha Shrine in Shimane. The pictures are filled with mini Santas! My family like these cards very much. They are different from the cards which are available in the UK.

There are many other beautiful cards too. These cards have brightly coloured pictures of Mt. Fuji or other places in Japan. They are expensive, but they look nice, and different from the other cards in people’s houses.

Heather @ I Talk You Talk Press

[Easy English Blog] Christmas decorations

/ italkyoutalk
brown beside fireplace near brown wicker basket

Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

Do you usually have a Christmas tree? For many years, I decorated a tree. I tried hard to have a real tree, but sometimes it was too difficult and I used an artificial tree. These days I don’t have a Christmas tree. Our house is small and there is nowhere to put a tree. But I still decorate the house. I like to put shiny balls of different colours in glass bowls. I think they look very pretty.

I always decorate the mantelpiece and fireplaces. Of course, it is summer here so we do not have fires but I put pine cones, shiny balls and foliage in one fireplace and flowers in the other. I decorate the mantelpieces too – with pine branches and  artificial berries and lights. (This picture is not from my house!)

Patricia @ I Talk You Talk Press

[Short Story]Marcus and the Boss

/ italkyoutalk
photography of airplane during sunrise

Photo by Anugrah Lohiya on Pexels.com

It’s Friday afternoon. Marcus is sitting in the airport lounge. He is waiting for his girlfriend to arrive from Sydney. Marcus feels bad. He works in a department store. Fridays are always very busy. But he wanted to be at the airport when his girlfriend arrived.

On Friday morning, Marcus said to his boss, “I have a terrible toothache. I must go to the dentist.”

His boss was angry. “But it’s Friday! We are always very busy on Fridays. And today is very difficult. My grandmother died. I cannot be here this afternoon!”

Marcus said, “But I cannot talk to customers. The pain is very bad. I must go.”

Marcus wants to meet his girlfriend, but he feels very bad. I said something that was not true, he thinks. I don’t have a toothache. It will be very difficult for my co-workers this afternoon. I am not at work. My boss is not at work. His grandmother is dead. My boss must be very sad.  I am not a nice person.

Then Marcus sees his boss! His boss looks very happy. His boss is wearing vacation clothes! He is wearing shorts. He is wearing a shirt with a pattern of pink flamingos and palm trees. He is walking towards the counter that has a sign ‘Wonderful weekend vacations on a beach in the Pacific’.

Oh, thinks Marcus. My boss does not have a dead grandmother! He is having a three- day weekend vacation!

Marcus does not feel so bad. I did a bad thing, he thinks. I said my tooth was very painful. But my boss said his grandmother died. On Monday, I will say to my Boss, ’I like your flamingo shirt!’ He can never say anything to me because I will tell our co-workers that his grandmother did not die! Maybe I can have many more free days. My girlfriend will be very pleased.