Can you complete this English saying?
There’s no place…
a) like the office
b) like one’s country
c) like home
d) like this place
The answer is below! ↓
Answer: c)
There’s no place like home.
Meaning: Home is the best place.
Example:
A: Are you going anywhere in the summer holidays?
B: No I’m staying here. There’s no place like home!
What do you think? Do you agree with the phrase “There’s no place like home”? 🙂
A free, printable lesson plan based on our Fast 500 Easy English story The Umbrella
Download file (PDF) No Sweat! – The Umbrella
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Start QuizCooking and recipes in English.
A friend gave me a bag of snow peas. He had just picked them from his garden. So I made stir fried beef with snow peas.
I had some beef in the freezer so I defrosted it. I try to catch it before it is completely defrosted. It is easier to cut thin slices if the meat is still half-frozen.
Most recipes don’t have cashew nuts. But I added some because my family likes them.
Recipe (for 4)
400g thinly sliced beef
2 tablespoons (30ml) soy sauce
1 tablespoon (15ml) sherry or mirrin
1 tablespoon (15ml) sugar
2 tablespoons (30ml) of grated ginger
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 teaspoon (5ml) of cornflour)
2 cups snow peas
½ cup cashew nuts (if you like them)
2 tablespoons of cooking oil (I used peanut oil)
chopped red and green peppers
This was very quick – I put the soy sauce, sherry, sugar and cornflour in a bowl and mixed them together well.
Then I added the garlic, ginger and beef, and stirred until the meat was mixed with the seasonings.
Then, I left it all for a few minutes.
I washed the snow peas and took the leaves off the top. The ones in shops usually have these removed already.
I heated the oil and threw the contents of the bowl into the wok. When the beef looked almost done I added the snow peas and stirred.
I sprinkled the chopped red and green peppers on top, and the meal was ready.
Thought: My peas were very young. If you buy them in the supermarket, they might be older. So you might have to drop them into boiling water for a minute. Drain the peas and run cold water over them. Then shake them dry before you add them.
My friend also gave me a box of freshly picked strawberries so we had them for dessert. You have to love this time of year!
Stir fries are great when the weather gets hotter. They need almost no cooking so there is not too much heat in the kitchen.
Do you have a favourite stir fry combination?
(P)
Do you know the phrase “to bide (one’s) time“?
Look at the examples below. Can you guess the meaning?
E.g. 1:
A: Has Mike found a new job yet?
B: No, he isn’t even looking. He’s biding his time until the new factory opens near his house.
E.g. 2:
A: I heard Nelly said some bad things to you in the meeting yesterday. What did you do?
B: I didn’t do anything.
A: No? Why not?
B: I’m biding my time. The CEO is coming to our office next month. Maybe that will be a good chance to get revenge. Heheheh…
A: Ooh, nasty!
—–
Could you guess the meaning?
to bide (one’s) time = to wait patiently for a good chance.
Do you know the phrase “to jazz up“?
It means “to make something more interesting or better looking.”
E.g. 1
A: I don’t know what to wear to the party tonight. I’m thinking of wearing my blue dress, but it’s a little plain.
B: You could jazz it up with a sparkling necklace.
A: Yeah, that’s a good idea.
E.g. 2
A: This restaurant is a bit boring.
B: Yeah, it is. They need to jazz up the rooms with some pictures and music!
——
Question:
What do you think needs “jazzing up” in your town?
Warm raindrops
and cloudy skies
The rainy season
is two weeks early.
This page has information about the places in Old Jack’s Ghost Stories from England (1).
1. Treasurer’s House
Treasurer’s House is in the centre of York, behind the large cathedral, York Minster.
Treasurer’s House is owned by the National Trust. The previous owner was Frank Green, a rich businessman. He enjoyed collecting antiques, and you can see his antiques in the house today. The house has gardens which are beautiful in all seasons. It also has a tearoom and a shop.
More information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasurer%27s_House,_York
Map:
Main Website:
Other interesting places near Treasurer’s House:
York Minster – One of Europe’s largest and most famous cathedrals. (Cathedral = large church).
The Shambles – A very old, narrow street near York Minster. The buildings in the street date back to the 14th and 15th Century. Today, there are shops and cafes in the old buildings. It is a very popular with tourists.
2. Duddon, Cheshire
Duddon is a small village 5 miles (8km) from Chester. The number 84 bus runs from Chester to Duddon.
(The copyright on this image is owned by John S Turner and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license. Attribution: John S Turner)
If you are visiting Chester and have some free time, Duddon is a nice place to enjoy the English countryside.
The pub, The Headless Woman, has closed and there are plans to build houses on the site.
Map:
Interesting places near Duddon:
The City of Chester
This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. By and copyright Tagishsimon 9th October 2005
Chester is an old Roman city, and has a history of 2000 years. It has many old buildings, a cathedral (large church) and old Roman walls around the city. Cheshire – Chester and Duddon are in the county of Cheshire. Cheshire has some beautiful countryside and small towns and villages. It is also very close to Wales and Liverpool. Old Jack recommends hiring a car. You can drive through the countryside and also easily visit Wales and Liverpool.
3. The Prince Rupert Hotel
The Prince Rupert Hotel is in the middle of the historic town of Shrewsbury, and has a very long history. It also has royal connections. Around 400 years ago, Prince Rupert, the grandson of King James I, stayed here. There are 12th century rooms and 15th century rooms. It has a restaurant and a spa.
Map:
Interesting sights:
Shrewsbury has many interesting sights, for example, Shrewsbury Castle and Shrewsbury Abbey, a church founded in 1083. The town has old traditional streets and a river. Charles Darwin was born here.
(This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Samluke777 at the English Wikipedia project.)
4. Ettington Park Hotel
Ettington Park Hotel is 6 miles from Stratford-upon-Avon. It is a large gothic mansion, and sits in the beautiful Warwickshire countryside.
(This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. Attribution: Richard Croft)
Website: Ettington Park Hotel
Map:
Stratford-upon-Avon is famous as the birthplace of William Shakespeare.
Interesting sights in Stratford-upon-Avon:
William Shakespeare’s Birthplace – Shakespeare was born in this house. It is now a museum and a popular tourist destination.
Anne Hathaway’s Cottage – Shakespeare’s wife, Anne Hathaway, lived here when she was a child.
(This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. Attribution: Kenneth Allen)
Royal Shakespeare Theatre – You can enjoy one of Shakespeare’s plays in this theatre next to the River Avon.
5. Liverpool Street Station
Liverpool Street Station is one of the Underground’s busiest stations. It is on four main lines – Central, Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan. The platforms on the Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines were opened in 1875, and the Central line platforms opened in 1912.
(This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. Attribution: Stacey Harris.)
Website: TFL
Map:
From Liverpool Street Station, you can find a train to take you to many of London’s famous sights.
6. Macdonald Berystede Hotel
This hotel is an old stately home with gardens. It is surrounded by beautiful countryside, and is only 15 miles from Heathrow Airport.
Website:
Map:
Other interesting places near the hotel
Ascot is a rural village famous for the Ascot Racecourse. The racecourse was founded in 1711 by Queen Anne. There are many horseraces at the racecourse. The most famous is the Gold Cup. This is held during the Royal Ascot horserace. The race is held every June.
(This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. Attribution: Steve F.)
The hotel is only 10 miles from Windsor Castle, which is the world’s oldest and largest inhabited (inhabited = people live there) castle in the world. Every year, hundreds of thousands of tourists visit Windsor Castle.
(This photograph is in the public domain.)
I have a bad cold. It started about four days ago.
First, I had a sore throat. Then I started coughing. At first, I thought it was hay fever because there is a lot of pollen in the air at this time of year.
But then I got a runny nose, a fever and a headache. It’s definitely a cold!
When I get a cold, I usually take medicine. The medicine makes me drowsy (sleepy) so I only take it at night. I take two capsules at a time.
I also try to eat healthily The other day, I bought some organic barley grass powder. Barley grass has many vitamins and minerals.
I mixed it with water and vegetable juice. It is not the most delicious thing to drink, but I think it is one of the healthiest!
I also bought many boxes of tissues! I hope I won’t need them all!
What do you do when you get a cold?
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