الأحد، 3 أبريل 2011

he English Blog


About

My Sites

Top ELL Sites

ELL Blogs

ELL Podcasts

For Teachers

Blogroll

Become a Fan

Cartoon: Rats Leaving The Sinking Ship Of The Desert

Rats leaving sinking ship This cartoon by Schrank from The Independent on Sunday relates to reports that more people have left the inner circle of Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, following the high level desertion of Moussa Koussa, Libya's foreign minister, who arrived in the UK on Wednesday. Read more and watch video >> Gaddafi is portrayed as a camel, stuck in the desert sands. Rats are jumping off the camel's back and fleeing. One asks, "Which way to London?" (a reference to Moussa Koussa's flight to the UK capital). In a nod to NATO's no-fly zone, a fighter jet passes overhead . EXPLANATION The cartoonist has linked two metaphors to describe Gaddafi's plight. The first metaphor is 'rats leaving the sinking ship'. This is an expression used in situations where people abandon something before it gets too bad: More rats jumped from Moammar Khadafy's sinking ship yesterday, while rebels massed for a counterattack to retake cities they lost this week.(See earlier post on this expression.) The second metaphor is 'ship of the desert', a term used to describe the camel: Arab poets have often called the camel the 'ship of the desert'.
Posted by Jeffrey Hill on April 03, 2011 at 08:10 AM in Cartoons, Idioms, News | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
| | | |

Newsy Video: FDA Updates Calorie-Posting Requirements

A new labeling provision, set to take effect in 2012, will require certain food establishments to post calorie information on menus. View transcript >>

ALSO SEE
• Calorie counts for everywhere from bakeries to vending machines (Mail Online)
• Should movie theaters reveal popcorn calorie counts? (The Week)
Posted by Jeffrey Hill on April 03, 2011 at 07:28 AM in Food and Drink, News, Video | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
| | | |

Words in the News: Burden

Debt burden
Families will be hit by a debt crisis over the next four years that will see average British households plunge further into the red as the government austerity programme bites, The Oberver reports. Full story >>
VOCABULARY
If you describe a problem or a responsibility as a burden, you mean that it causes someone a lot of difficulty, worry, or hard work. • The Bank of England's inability to control inflation will inflict a heavy burden on us all.
Posted by Jeffrey Hill on April 03, 2011 at 07:16 AM in News, Vocabulary | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
| | | |

Newsy Video: Libyan Rebels Call for Ceasefire

The offer comes after a U.S decision to ramp down their commitment in the zone and rumors that Gaddafi's government might be crumbling. View transcript >>

ALSO SEE
• Libya rebels propose ceasefire (Sydney Morning Herald)
• Libyan government rejects ceasefire offer (RTE News)
Posted by Jeffrey Hill on April 02, 2011 at 09:41 AM in News, Video | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
| | | |

Cartoon: Gaddafi Loses His Head

Gaddafi camel cartoon
This cartoon by Dave Brown from The Independent is based on a painting called Memnon and Sesostris, (study) by Jean-Léon Gérôme. Gérôme (May 11, 1824 - January 10, 1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as Academicism.
Memnon-and-Sesostris,-(study)-large
In fact, Gérôme's painting depicts the Colossi of Memnon, two massive stone statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. For the past 3400 years (since 1350 BC) they have stood in the Theban necropolis, across the River Nile from the modern city of Luxor. (Source: Wikipedia)
Colossi of Memnon
In Dave Brown's version, there is just one statue—that of Libyan dicator Col Gaddafi. And its head has just fallen off, scaring the camels. This is, perhaps, wishful thinking on the part of the cartoonist, as Gaddafi is not only managing to cling on to power, but seems to have regained the upper hand in his fight with rebel forces.
COMMENT
Cartoonists often use the metaphor of a fallen or crumbling statue to represent deposed leaders (see here for a recent example relating to Hosni Mubarak).
Posted by Jeffrey Hill on April 02, 2011 at 08:00 AM in Cartoons, News | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
| | | |

Newsy Video: UN Staff Killed in Afghan Demonstration

The demonstrations were in response to U.S. Terry Jones, who reportedly oversaw a Koran burning last week. View transcript >>

ALSO SEE
• Seven killed in worst-ever attack on UN workers in Afghanistan (The Telegraph)
• How burning the Koran lead to murder in Afghanistan (The Telegraph)
Posted by Jeffrey Hill on April 02, 2011 at 07:11 AM in News, Video | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
| | | |

Words in the News: Mob

UN Afghanistan mission

The United Nations mission in Afghanistan has been devastated by killings by protesters enraged after a Koran-burning stunt, The Guardian reports. Full story >>
VOCABULARY
A mob is a large, disorganized, and often violent crowd of people. • Miami Beach police are defending the actions of an officer seen on video slamming a woman to the ground while surrounded by a mob.
Posted by Jeffrey Hill on April 02, 2011 at 07:02 AM in News, Vocabulary | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
| | | |

Video: Google Hiring Autocompleters

Google is hiring autocompleters for Google Search! Are you passionate about helping people? Are you intuitive? Do you often feel like you know what your friends and family are thinking and can finish their thoughts before they can? Are you an incredibly fast Google searcher? This could be the job for you. See here for more details.

Posted by Jeffrey Hill on April 01, 2011 at 11:25 AM in Humour, Web/Tech | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
| | | |

Video: Introducing Gmail Motion

Now you can control Gmail with your body. Learn more at http://gmail.com/motion

COMMENT
Mmm, could this possibly be another one of these?
Posted by Jeffrey Hill on April 01, 2011 at 11:12 AM in Video, Web/Tech | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
| | | |

Ten of the Best April Fool's Hoaxes

In case you hadn't noticed, today is April Fools' Day. To mark the occasion, The Independent has a slideshow featuring ten of the best April Fool's hoaxes from the past. My favourite is this all-time classic from the BBC news show Panorama. Broadcast in 1957, the programme reported that farmers in the Swiss canton of Ticino were enjoying a bumper spaghetti harvest. The story was so convincing that hundreds phoned into the BBC either to query it or to ask how to grow their own spaghetti trees. Of course, those were the days when spag bog had not yet become Britain's favourite food!

COMMENT
You can watch a better quality version here (embedding has been disabled).
APRIL FOOLS 2011
• April Fools 2011: The Big List (TechCrunch)
• Portugal 'sells' Ronaldo to Spain in €160m deal on national debt (The Independent)
• Mail readers' heads explode in search for April Fool (Daily Mash)
• A ZIMMER SKATEBOARD... NOW THAT’S SILVER SURFING (Daily Express)
• Royal wedding – live updates (The Guardian)
• Doing a bit of forward planning, Kate? Princess-in-waiting eyes up baby clothes (Mail Online)
• 10 stories that could be April Fools pranks but aren't (BBC News)
Posted by Jeffrey Hill on April 01, 2011 at 09:27 AM in Humour, News, Slideshow, Video | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
| | | |

Cartoon: The Marshmallow Kid

Marshmallow trial
This cartoon by Andy Davey from The Sun relates to the story of a 13-year-old boy who was quizzed by police over an 'assault' on another boy—with a marshmallow! Nathan Watch was larking about with pals on his way to Torpoint Community College, Cornwall, when one threw a marshmallow that hit a fellow pupil. The pupil rang his parents to complain. And they called the school and cops. Read The Sun's exclusive here.
The cartoon shows the boy in the dock in court. The marshmallow is in an evidence bag marked 'Exhibit A'. The boy's lawyer tells the judge: "M'lud, the defendant would like two Curly Wurlys and a Mars bar to be taken into consideration."
EXPLANATION
When someone pleads guilty in court, they sometimes ask for other offences to be taken into consideration. The hope is that by confessing to other crimes or misdemeanours, they will receive a more lenient sentence (see here, for example). Curly Wurlys and Mars Bars are types of confectionery, so the boy is effectively admitting to previous assaults with different sweets.
VOCABULARY
1. The defendant is a person who has been accused of breaking the law and is being tried in court.
2. M'lud is short for 'my lord', and is used to address a judge in a British court of law.
3. Evidence is the information which is used in a court of law to try to prove something. An object that a lawyer shows as evidence in a legal case is an exhibit.
See here and here for more vocabulary relating to crime and punishment.
COMMENT
I don't think this is an April Fool joke—but I may be wrong.
Posted by Jeffrey Hill on April 01, 2011 at 08:41 AM in Cartoons, News | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
| | | |

Newsy Video: Japanese Nuclear Workers—We Know We Will Die

Japanese nuclear workers have come out and said they know they could die from radiation within years—or even weeks—from cancer. View transcript >>

ALSO SEE
• Japan nuclear crisis: Fukushima 50 'expect to die' (The Telegraph)
• Desperate conditions of the Fukushima Fifty (Mail Online)
COMMENT
Those workers are true heroes.
Posted by Jeffrey Hill on April 01, 2011 at 08:12 AM in News, Video | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
| | | |

Words in the News: Envoy

Envoy
Col Gaddafi has sent one of his "most trusted envoys" to London for talks with British officials, The Guardian says. Full story >>
VOCABULARY
An envoy is someone who is sent as a representative from one government or political group to another. • President Obama named the veteran diplomat Princeton Lyman to be his new special envoy to Sudan.
Posted by Jeffrey Hill on April 01, 2011 at 07:55 AM in News, Vocabulary | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
| | | |

EF English Proficiency Ranking

English Proficiency Ranking
EF Education First, the international education company, has published what it claims is “the world’s first index to compare the English-language ability of adults in different countries”. Based on free online tests completed by 2m adults around the world, the index ranks 44 countries according to their English language proficiency. You can read the full report here. And take a test here.
ALSO SEE
• China: better English students than India? (Financial Times)
• Scandinavians at the Top, Russia, Turkey and South American Countries Score Low in English Language Skills (PR Newswire)
COMMENT
EF admits that its rankings—which are based on the results of voluntary, free online tests used as a marketing tool for its English courses—are scarcely a measure of the linguistic skills of the entire population. At best, the index measures “the English skills of adults who aspire to have better English”—already a self-selected class. Still, it's encouraging to see that France, for once, didn't do too badly (17th, to be exact). Which country do you think was N° 1? Find out here. (Clue: It begins with 'N'.)
Posted by Jeffrey Hill on March 31, 2011 at 03:15 PM in France | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
| | | |

Cartoon: The House That Looks Like Colonel Gaddafi

Gaddafi house
This cartoon by Matt from The Daily Telegraph relates to yesterday's short-lived viral sensation about a house in Swansea, Wales, that looks like Hitler:
Hitler house
The end-of-terrace house became an unlikely internet hit after a passer-by uploaded a picture of the "Hitler House" to Twitter.
ALSO SEE
• Hitler house becomes internet sensation (New Zealand Herald)
• The Hitler house: Semi in Swansea looks eerily like Nazi dictator (Mail Online)
• House That Looks Like Hitler Becomes Viral Hit (Huffington Post)
• Houses That Look Like People (The Independent)
• Not fuhrer sale (The Sun)
• 'Hitler House'? (ITN News)
VOCABULARY
The Hitler house is a semi. A semi-detached house (or semi) is a house that is joined to another house on one side by a shared wall. A house which has no shared walls is fully-detached.
Posted by Jeffrey Hill on March 31, 2011 at 09:45 AM in Cartoons, News | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
| | | |
Next »

Search


Gadgets powered by Google
AnswerTips-enabled
Your email address:


Powered by FeedBlitz
Share
profile

Jeffrey Hill

englishblog

englishblog profile
englishblog Cartoon: Rats Leaving The Sinking Ship Of The Desert http://jeffreyhill.typep... 15 hours ago · reply · retweet · favorite
englishblog profile
englishblog Newsy Video: FDA Updates Calorie-Posting Requirements http://bit.ly/hHH8kH 16 hours ago · reply · retweet · favorite
englishblog profile
englishblog Words in the News: Burden http://bit.ly/ez4Sw4 16 hours ago · reply · retweet · favorite
englishblog profile
englishblog Newsy Video: Libyan Rebels Call for Ceasefire http://bit.ly/gEXB1R yesterday · reply · retweet · favorite

By TwitterButtons.com

Recent Posts

Categories

Archives

More...
Apture
Blog powered by TypePad
Member since 10/2004
مرسلة بواسطة في

ليست هناك تعليقات:

إرسال تعليق

الاشتراك في: تعليقات الرسالة (Atom)