Messages from July 2002

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Hi,Duane; Got my email? I understand what Jo said about the word 'delivery date'.(And I have the same opinion as Jo's.)But I 'd like to hear ur opinion as well,for as a matter of fact,in my work,in a sales confirmation between the seller and the buyer,the word'delivery ' conveyed a wrong or vague idea.It is intended to mean the shipping date---the date when the goods are shipped (on board) at the loading port of the consignor (the seller),instead of arrival at the port of the consignee (the buyer).Since the goods are to be shipped from China to the USA,I am afraid some misunderstandings might occure between the buyer and the seller.So we'll make sure enough to avoid any trouble.Simply put,can delivery date mean the same thing as the shipping date in the USA? Thank u!

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Could you say:
A backwards poet writes inverse?
A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion?
If you don't pay your exorcist, you get repossessed?
The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered?
A local area network in Australia could be called the LAN down under?
The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison is a small medium at large?
Those who jump off bridges in Paris are in Seine?
Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses?
Acupuncture is a jab well done?
Marathon runners with uncomfortable shoes suffer the agony of defeat?

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Jane, As a consumer if I ordered something and was told a delivery date I would expect to receive the goods on that date. So I would understand it to mean the date when the goods will arrive at their detsination. I would expect to see something like 'dispatch' for the date the goods are sent. However, in the specialised context in which you work I suppose the meaning could be different.

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Hi, everybody. I had never meant to accuse anybody on the board. If Duane took it that way, it might be due to my defective English as I was too overpowered by the tragic news. I apologize. I don't think there is anything we can't talk out especially when we have been on the board for some time and everybody has the generosity to offer an apology. I won't take up any political issue but problem is that what I think a moral issue may be considered political one by others. I simply ask for your magnanimity if I cross the fine line. Today was my father's 93rd birthday and we celebrated it with a very small party including my wife, his two grand daughters who were avaialbe from work. In all he had five children, eleven grand children, but only two great-grand children, which demonstrate our demographic problem. He is very frail but still supports himself and is quite alert correcting my memory. He was a little upset, though, when he saw Georgian elderly in TV who are quite active in their 100 plus.

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Hi Jo, I do have a question about the word---delivery.I often come across this word in the sales confirmation.'delivery date'--- Is it the date on which the goods will leave the port or the date on which the goods will arrive at the port? or can mean both?Thank u!

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I think it depends where you live and you have the totally different political opinions, because the local media would affect your view. I have a satellite TV, so I can watch The Chinese Central TV news, Hong Kong TV news, ABS news, CNN news and also our TV news. I have noticed the news in different places have different ways to read it out and they have favouritism to the different sides as well. So that, the audiences would follow the news and have sympathy to one side. I believe no media is independently when giving out the news to their audiences or readers. They always have biases to one side, so that�s why our Duane and Haruka have their different opinions.

Now I want to put another joke on here to cheer everyone up!!!!
A man always drives very carefully and never ever drives over the speed limit. One day he drove 39 MPH (mile per hour) precisely to pass a speed camera in a 40-mile zone. The speed camera gave him a very bright flashlight and he was so surprised and said to himself, � that camera is wrong.� So he drove back and he drove 30 MPH to pass the speed camera again, but it also gave him a very bright flashlight and he also said to himself, � that camera must be wrong.� So he drove back again and he drove 20 MPH in the third times to pass the speed camera again, but it still gave him a very bright flashlight and he was so confidently said to himself, � that stupid camera definitely has something wrong.� Then he drove away. After a week later, he received a letter from the Transport Police Department, it contained three fine tickets and three photos which was showing him and he was not wearing the seatbelt.

I hope it can change the atmosphere on here and hope everyone has a lovely summer holiday.

Best wishes from Benly

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Amen.

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I've been trying to write a message to follow up this little exchange of views for 10 minutes now and keep deleting it and starting again. I'm not sure what to say or how to say it. Maybe we should just move on now... maybe Benly can find another gem from the tabloid newspapers for us? or maybe Jane has another language question? It's not that I mind discussing world issues, politics etc - they're important, but they can stir up quite deep-rooted emotions and maybe a message board isn't the best place for really in-depth debate...?

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Jane - I apologize to you and the others on this board for airing some of my opinions in my last message.
If you want to chat with me about things that may not be appropriate on this message board, you will have to send an email to me. I have listed my email address above.
I publicly apologize to Haruka if I have offended you in any way.
Bye for now, Duane

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Hi, you guys are now turning to talk about some serious issues.But I don't those things such as differences between Homicide bombers and what you call missle bombers. And that--- You have pointed your metaphorical finger at us with your words. I was always taught that when you point your finger at someone else, you always have three fingers pointing back at you.(what does these fingers mean?) How are we going to teach our young people about peace? But one thing is clear enough --- Haruka is really a responsible and competent teacher.Presume every human being in the world has 50 % or less of Haruka's heart,the world has peace...

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Haruka - I am not sure if most people understand your frustration and your pain (including me). I think you have spent many years reflecting on the injustice mankind inflicts on itself.
You ask "are these people really the same humans as those on our message board?" I don't think they are the same because they did not have a Haruka to teach them about peace. They did not have a Jo to teach them about love. They did not have a Benly to teach them about friendship. They did not have a Yuyang to teach them about feelings.
I don't presume to have the answers to your questions but I feel strongly that the problems in the Middle East are transgenerational and they will continue to pass down from father to son until something happens to break the cycle.
I personally think there are huge differences between Homicide bombers and what you call missle bombers. There are no differences between the outcome of their acts but I think there are huge differences in their motivation.
You have pointed your metaphorical finger at us with your words. I was always taught that when you point your finger at someone else, you always have three fingers pointing back at you.
How are we going to teach our young people about peace?

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Hello, everyone. Sorry for throwing cold water on the jolly mood. But I can't help but vent my anger toward the country that bombarded defenseless Gaza apartment to kill a terrorist leader causing death of nine innocent children. Are these people really the same humans as those on our message board? Anybody please tell me where the difference is between a suicide bomber termed a terrorist and this missile bomber? I'm afraid our negligence will lead to the moral decadence among people in the world. How are we going to teach young people about peace?

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Duane, it could almost be a true story... ;)

Regarding this survey of British holidaymakers, and the various perceptions of how British people behave abroad, I think it depends to some extent where you go. Young Brits get up to some really revolting things in some of the popular resorts that are known for their night clubs and 18 - 30s package holidays - imagine all those 18 year olds away without their parents for the first time...!

There are some popular and relatively cheap resorts where a lot of British people go only for sun, sand and - frankly - sex. They don't take an interest in the language or culture. They expect people to speak English, they seek out English food and drink and moan about 'foreign' things and yes I have seen it not just read it in the papers! (I mean it's not everybody, but it's the badly behaved who make a more memorable impression than the quiet civil ones!)

On the other hand if a survey were carried out in less popular tourist destinations, Perhaps places like Russia or China which tend to attract travellers who are interested in the culture not the weather, then maybe the results would be different. Maybe people there see a different type of British tourist.

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Hi Duane,

You are really a great joke teller and make this board even more funny, lively and enjoyable. Now I have already fallen in love with your messages and they make me to laugh none stop.

I also want to put a joke on here for you all, but it may not be as funny as Duane�s one.

As an old pensioner was driving down the M3 motorway (the highway) to London from Southampton, his mobile phone rang and he answered it and his wife�s voice was warning him very urgently.

� Peter, I just heard on the news that there�s a stupid car going the wrong way on the M3. Please be careful daring!!�

�What the hell is going on?� said Peter. � It�s not just one car. It�s hundreds of them!!!�

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Hi,Benly: It's fun to hear one after another joke or story from Duane.But where did Duane copy it from ? Did he dream it up ? The more interesting part is Jo and her hubby are the hero and heroine. Don't you think so?

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Benly - here is a story for you. It is not a true story, but it is a funny story. I hope you like it and I hope Jo and her husband will forgive me.

Jo and her husband are camping in the desert. They set up their tent, crawl in, and are soon asleep.
Some hours later, Jo wakes up her husband and says "look up at the sky and tell me what you see."
Her husband replies, "I see millions of stars."
"What does that tell you?" asks Jo.
Her husband ponders for a minute.....
"Astronomically speaking," he says, "it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets.
Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo.
Time wise, it appears to be approximately 2:45 AM.
Theologically, it is evident that the Lord is all powerful and we are small and insignificant.
Meteorologically, it seems that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow.
Why, what does it mean to you, Jo?"
Jo is silent for a moment, then speaks, "Honey, someone has stolen our tent!"

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Many thanks for everyone�s kind and good comments for the British attitude when they travel aboard. But I really believe the result of the survey is true. I have noticed lots of British people when they were on holiday aboard and their behaviour was very bad indeed. Most of them drink too much, because our alcohol duty is the highest in the world, so when they can drink two or three time more quantity at the same price in England. That�s why they can easily get drunk aboard, and then they would give lots of trouble to the local people.

One thing I don�t know is why some British people on holiday aboard change their attitude will completely different. They speak very loud, act very rude and are not very polite to the locals.

Jo, you are British, I wonder if you notice these sorts of things happening? And what do you think about the survey?

Jane, the Germans rank the highest in the survey, but they don�t like to give any tips for any services.

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Hi Jane,

I am not saying you look like a Japanese woman. I just said in your previous post sent on the 07/20/02 at 16:30:56 GMT that the words look like Japanese. You said they were missing and had some scribble words instead, but they look very like Japanese words to me. Don�t you think so? I am so sorry about the confussion!!!!!!!!!!!

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Benly - Regarding the article you read in your national newspaper today. Just remember that the authors of articles get paid to write articles. They don't necessarily have to be true, but they do have to help the publishers sell newspapers. There are several publications over here that have reported sitings of Elvis Presley, even though he has been dead and buried for years. Newspapers print what people like to read. It doesn't always have anything to do with reality.
The other thing I have noticed is that in most countries, the only ones who travel abroad are the wealthy. The ones with money. If your article wanted to really get into comparisons, what is the income levels of those reported travelers? Did they break it down by ethnic groups from each country? To me, there may not be enough information to make a solid statement that one country is more polite than another. What if the article were originated in an Austrialian newspaper, or one from Bermuda, or maybe Bulgaria? Would the results of the survey be the same?
I think it's up to people to read newspapers and before you believe everything you read, screen the information with filters of intelligence.
Bye for now, Duane

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Are most of you using a recent version of Windows? If so you should be able to install support for Japanese and Chinese character sets from the original Windows CD so you the messages won't contain so much gobbledygook.

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Jane, Sorry! I have just looked at the mesasge of mine you refer to. It should read 'toes' not 'eyes'!!! I don't know where that came from!!! (trying to write about one thing while thinking about something else?!) There is no such expression 'keep me on my eyes'! I think I'm going bonkers.

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Benly, Hey I am just glad to be a moderate one. But I am confused by the results. Why Britons became the worst behaved? That is unbelievable! For the traditional status, I think Britons are all polite ones. As for me, I think I must apologize to the keepers of rearing-pond, Because I always go fishing at holidays without their permission. (^_^) haha! I feel so ashamed now.

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Hi,Haruka,I can't read ur letter 'harmony'either in my end.We do say 'hexian',but ur word turned out to be Wa ...??? Ok,just ok. Benly,how come u say i am more like a Japanese.You know Japanese women are regarded to be the most tender and caring women in the world.(Do u think so,Haruka?) The Germans rank the highest from the survey, ...but Germans are deemed as the meanest, worse than the British.Benly,it's a bit confusing here to combine these sentences.(about the Germans) How come the Britons are the worst? Seems impossible:you are regarded as genltemen and gentleladies.

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Hi, Jane. I couldn't read any of your letters besides Roman alphabet and four-tone symbols. They arrived just garbled. As I said I don't mind at all because I can communicate with you in English without any inconvenience and this messageboard is intended for this cause but just for a test, can you read the following letter at your end? This is just a letter meaning "harmony" both in Chinese and Japanese. But you say HE and we say WA. �a

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Jane, They look very like Japanese to me!!!!

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I have read an interesting article on our national paper today. The headline is �The British are the holidaymakers from hell.� They said Britons are the rudest, worst behaved, most linguistically incompetent and the least adventurous holidaymakers in the world.

These all are from an international survey of tourist offices. The Germans rank the highest from the survey, Americans are the second best and the Japanese came third. They also said Americans are the most polite tourists in the world and tip the most. Next are the Japanese, but Germans are deemed as the meanest, worse than the British.

Over all the British are the least regarded by foreigners. That is really embarrassing for the British when they travel aboard. But Duane and Haruka you both should feel proud being your nationality when you travel aboard. I don�t know why the paper did not mention anything about the Chinese, so that means Jane and Yuyang, you both must be in the middle of the survey, because the paper only mentions the best and the worst. Anyway you all are better than us!!!!

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but why the Japanese words are all missing???

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�Ϥ���ޤ��� n����ha���� 1.�ߣ�level tone)�� 2. /(rising tone) 3.��( like n�� ha�� ) 4. \(falling tone) eg: �� �� �� ,q�� xi��ng xi��ng ti��n g�� Hi, everyone, now i can make it --- the correct Chinese Pinyin.Though Haruka can't type Chinese, I can still type Japanese.

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Duane, I love your joke. Have you got any more?

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I received this joke on my email yesterday. I think it is funny.

The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British and Americans.
The French eat a lot of fat and also suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.
The Japanese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.
The Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and also suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.
CONCLUSION:
Eat and drink what you like. Apparently, speaking English is what kills you.

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Hi,Jo: Maybe Daune's idea is practical.Actually I've been doing what he suggests.In this way it's easier for u to handle it.And everyone can keep what he chooses. Sorry,I am clear about the phrase'keep sb. on one's toes';But ur posting dated 07/16 at 19:08 of the phrase'keep me on my eyes'just puzzled me.Maybe I am too serious.

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Jo _ I have heard the term "keep you on your toes" but have never heard "keep you on your eyes". Not on this side of the pond.
In case anyone doesn't know this...if there is a specific message or group of messages that I want to study in more detail, I just print them. Just highlight the area you want to print, click on "file", then click on "print", then click on "selection" and then hit "enter". It only prints the highlighted area.
I don't know how to refer back to the main message board once you have left it to post a message. I would start to respond to a message and forget what it said and I couldn't go back it, so I just started printing the ones that I wanted. I guess if one wanted to, they could archive on their own by just printing the messages they want.
Bye for now, Duane

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Hello, Jo, and everybody. Thaank you for updating archives. One day some of my students would come back to see their old writings as if to see an old album. It might be out of sheer nostalgia, yet it can be out of a quest to examine their progress in English writing. Our campus stands on a hill about 40 km from the center of Tokyo. Yes, the architecture is quite modern making use of the slope oflandscape which tends to cause a huff and puff to an aged teacher. Women's universities are free from vandalism and always kept clean and neat. What surprises me most is luxurious facilities such as dining room (messroom?), and lounge. Now that you gave me some encouragement I'm more inclined to buy a new digital camera. About six years ago, I was a pioneer to dabble the new gadget but soon the machine became obsolete. New model made a debut almost every month and I lost interest. The picture you saw was taken by a kind office staff. We still have 92 women's universities and colleges all over Japan, maybe most in the world. The US has some, and Korea has not a few including the alma matre of the new premier. Interestingly, conservatives in US including Bush seem to favor uni-sex institution which, they believe, helps to bolster the family value. I know there is none in UK, China, and Russia.

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Jane, I don't know the expression 'keep you on your eyes'. I could tell you to 'keep your eyes open', that would mean be alert, in the sense: beware (maybe there are thieves about or something). But if I keep you on your toes I keep you alert more in the sense of making sure you're paying attention and taking part. Maybe I'm not explaining this very well... :(

Sorry, I forgot to tell you that I'd uploaded Haruka's picture. I'll do a bit of updating now and remove the picture of the green Duane. Thanks for your thoughts on archiving. Haruka was using them for research and I'm in disucssion with him by email, so I'll try to keep on archiving for the time being but see if I can find an easier way.

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Jane, I have had the same problem about quizzical marks. My solution is I just copyed these marks form this site or other english versions to pervent mistakes. Especially the mark: " ", ' ' and ( ). But it is very inconvenient. So, sometimes I just let them exist.

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Haruka, I like the sculpture-like buildings of your school which have the modern-edge but not too luxuriant to be a study place. You can see the concrete base coexists with the glass-and-frame structure harmoniously. But I want to know that are there many women��s university in Japan? Why you oppoint different college for different gender? Or it just a tradition? There were lots of women��s college in china dozens or maybe a hundred years ago. Nowadays, we all study at the same place. I think if there were not any girl in school, I would prefer to stay at home! Haha.

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Oh,yes.So beautiful a scene! How happy Haruka is ,working only twice a week,and in a ladies' university!!! But why can't I see any student or teacher in it?

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Hello, everyone: Why! The mark(\) in my keyboard is just lying beside the key Backspace,not under it.So it must be somewhere on the board of the Japanese too. And it's been puzzling all the time too to find that the marks such as ' in each of Benly's postings are all shown to be sth.unknown,neither English nor Chinese or Japanese... Has anyone else here noticed the same thing? BTW,I haven't even had a glance at the picture of Haruka's college.Is there any in the gallary? Looking forward to seeing Duane's beautiful garden...

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Did I miss something or were we not told that a picture of Haruka's University is on the picture gallery? It looks like a beautiful place and a pleasant place to work. Thanks for sharing it. I will send Jo a picture of my house and neighbor hood as soon as I get this new roll of film developed. I took some on some old film and they didn't turn out very good. Bye for now, Duane

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Haruka - the backslash (\) should be located right under your "backspace" key. Are you sure it is not there?
Benly - I have not been on vacation again. I have just been watching all the good stuff going on here. I didn't have a lot to say, so I just enjoyed everyone elses messages. If you want to know if I am here, just throw a chocolate chip cookie on the screen and see who's hand grabs for it first! That would be mine.
Chat with you later, Duane

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sorry haruka, it is: -/v\

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Haruka, did you said you can not type the sign "\" on your keyboard? The order of four-tone is: "�C , �M , V, \ "

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Hello, Yuyang. Thank you for your tip. I wouldn't use Chinese characters, though, on this site as this is dedicated to communication in English. So long as it's written in Roman Alphabet I may be allowed to use other languages as anyone can chip in. And now, I know how to use four-tone symbols, except for the opposite to /. I can type on my keyboard /,-,v but not the othe slant. Are the Japanese going to be left behind?

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Hi Duane,

Where were you during the past week? We hardly see your messages at all, because you are the most popular poster on this board. You are not telling me you were on holiday again! The football I think it is all over now and our domestic football is still enjoying their summer holiday, so even our papers don�t mention the word of football at all

You have mentioned to use the scanner to scan the Chinese writing on your previous post and send it by E-mail that is a really good idea, I have never thought of this as an easy, saving money and quicker way to send my Chinese letters to Hong Kong for my relatives. On the other hand, they also can send me the Chinese writing mail. Many thanks for your valuable idea. That�s why we keep using Jo�s message board, everyone can share their fantastic idea with the others. That is wonderful!!

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Jo - I think it would be good if you kept the most recent postings but I don't think you need to keep anything that is more than one month old. I would say that on August 1st, delete everything from June and older. Then on September 1st, Delete July, and so on. And, please get rid of that picture of the "green Duane".
Yuyang - I agree with you about showing Chinese characters. If you scan it as a .jpg file, you can email it to someone as a graphic. That is probably the best way to do it. Or, you could scan it, email it to Jo and she can post the graphic on this message board for all to see.
Benly - I hope your job is enjoyable for you and that you are meeting a lot of new people. We haven't chatted for a while but I still read your messages as you post them. I just found out the other day that Turkey took third place in the World Cup. After the finals were over, it seems no one wanted to talk about it anymore.
It has been interesting reading about Jane and her daughter and Haruka. I did not think it was boring at all.
Bye for now, Duane

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Hi, Jo; Do u mean 'keep me on my toes'is just the same as 'keep me on my eyes'? Ok, it's a Yes or No question. As for the old archives, i quite agree to Yuyang's opinion.We seldom go back to look through the archives,but i think we do need to look back sometimes.Of course we can let most of the casual talks pass away,but there are some valuable language lessons you taught and the important links such as the links to ur college and also some particular or interesting messages like Duane's funny stories and good articles about bibles, etc. worthy of being recalled.So you'd better let them stay here.However, it's really time-consuming work now for u to do.Anyway I won't keep u tied up.It's up to u. Hi, Yuyang; You're really something as to think of such a way to handle this sort of thing.I doubt whether u r majored in computers.I know photoshop,but still am at a loss about what to do, for i never tried it before.Nevertheless nothing matters.Since we come here to practise English,it's unnecessary to speak Chinese here.What's more, if Haruka really needs some Chinese poems,I can post him some by air mail. BFN,everyone.

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Haruka and Jane.

I thinked about the wrong displayed chinese character on the message for a long time, and I have made a resolvent. That��s we can type the chinses character in a picture format. There are so many popular design sofrware, like photoshop, by which you can type your letter as draw a picture. Then you send the picture (saved in �Cjpg- or �Cbmp- format) to the e-mail of your fiends. By this, haruka will receive an e-mail not only have the correct chinese character, but also have PinYin on each word. Do you know how to use the software, Photoshop??

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You guys are so amazing talking about some very interesting stuff about the Chinese poem. I only know a few of the easiest and the most popular ones. When I was studying in Hong Kong, they taught us some basic Chinese poem knowledge and not many people were willing to learn, because they are not that useful for our daily life. I still remember it has four sentences and each sentence has five or seven words, but the teacher could talk about each poem for a whole lesson while some students might fall asleep.

Haruka you really surprise me that you are so interested in the Chinese poem as you are a foreigner. I wish I can help you, but I am only a beginner. I think our best friends Jane and Yugang will offer their best to help you. I hope you can be the first Japanese to write Chinese poems in Japan.

Jo, I don't mind, whatever is easy to you.

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Jane, Form your letter, I can feel your maternal love to your daughter and your pride in her. I believe she is good, and I am glad to chat with you and your daughter both in English and Chinese. But, you know, I am not a expert in chinese ancient literature. Hahaha. Just do my best, ok?

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Jo,

You have asked us for advice concerning whether you should delete the old messeges or keep them stayed and I will try to make some suggestions. I visited and looked at the old archives several times for recalling, but is not so often. So I think you can delete the messages which have stayed here for TWO months. Or you can keep some good and representational messages stayed (maybe dozens) and delete the unimportant. Like the old photo-album of a family, these archives not only record the road we passed jointly, but give the new comers an introduction of us as well. But it��s still a time-consuming work. Right? :) ------Yuyang

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I don't know if any of you have noticed, but I haven't managed to archive the old messages for a few weeks now. It's not a really difficult job but I have to do it manually so it's a bit time consuming. What do you folks reckon? Is it worth archiving them? I'm tihnking of just not bothering. Does anyone looks at the archives anyway? If you do, please tell me and I'll make the effort. If not... well the messages stay here for some time anyway (I'm not sure how long before they get deleted). What do you all think?

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Hi Jane, I thought you may be able to guess the meaning of my idioms from the context! You keep me on my eyes means you don't let me get sleepy or lazy - I have to keep alert to be able to answer your questions!

Hi Katty. I don't understand much of your conversation with the academic elite about poetry but you're welcome here anyway (no-one's complaining!)

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Don't you want to have a Russian version of your web-site? I can make it. The details are in my web-page.

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Hi, Yuyang; My daughter's English is just like the first one she posted;as for the second one she asked me for help,because she doesn't know how to express her ideas in English though she may express herself well in Chinese,and she doesn't know enough English words yet.Just as u said she does well in her subjects,and is always among the top few students of her grade.She is really smart.Better than both of her parents.And she is esp. good at Chinese.So she likes to chat with you about Chinese ancient literature, but in Chinese, if u like.By the way, i told her all the Chinese characters would be tried in vain last time.But she wanted to see what the typing of that poem would be like.Today she is gone for the summer camp which will last 15 days. BFN.

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Hi,Haruka Sorry, it's my fault to make it confusing.Katty doesn't know how to express her idea in English.She asked me for help.I gave her the wrong word 'rhythm',instead of 'rhyme'.Really confusing.She meant to say in the sentence-ban juan xiang lian ban yan men,( \ v - / \ v / ) nian bing wei tu yu wei peng.( v - / v \ / / )that the last word of the first part'men'(/) and the last word of the second part'peng'(/) are rhymed.She told me it's one of the poems of the famous book .She is really good at Chinese, but i am not.

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Hi, Katty. Do I hear many friends protesting against my hijacking Jo's website for Chinese poems? Very sorry. But Katy, I don't seem to understand which is what you say "former part" or "latter part". Also, you might be saying about rhythm, in which case four tones may count. I had been wondering about rhyme (what a confusing spelling!), in which case Pinyin matters. By the way I can remember offhand a great poet in Tang period, that is Du Fu (in Japanese, To Ho) but to tell you the truth all other names were lost out of my aging memory. Thank you for your kindness. I hope I'm not bothering you too much.

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Hi, Yuyang. Yes, we read Chinese characters and grasp the general idea. But we never know the sound it carries.

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-Benly-, ----it��s so enviable to have so many of native speakers to talk with.

-Haruka-, ----the chinese traditional poem has several forms/styles. For example, the ��five-word poem�� and the the ��seven-word poem�� which always have four or eight sentences and have just five or seven words (chinese characters) in each sentence. It��s very difficult to depict the scene and the environment, express you idea and mood in just five/seven characters, considering the rules, forms and rhyme of classical poem at the same time, but chinese ancient poet did it perfectly. I think it is the main glamour of chinese traditional poem. However, it is too hard to understand, even for a chinese people.

As you said, there also are some important things been lost in translated editions of chinese poem, like the fate of Shakespear in Japanese. Why you want the translated ones? When I met some japanese friends in Nanjing, although we can not talk, we communicate our ideas by writing. Japanese are familiar with the chinese character, right?? So why not you read the original ones which are wrote in old chinese character directly?

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Jane, I think your daughter is a confident girl and have the arder which just belong to young people. You see, she is better than you in some areas. :) But you must tell her that the type style of chinese can not be displayed correctly on screen for there is not chinese type on a foreigner��s computer.

I do know the rich city, WenZhou. It is famous for costume and once a time fake shoes! But know I think everything have been well planned. Whether or not, you are the first part of people who make the fortune of the openning policy. And your daughter��s english is good and can write perfect sentence, not like you said before. Bye �C***Yuyang***--

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Haruka,these four lines each is from four different poems.In each sentence the last word of the former part and the last word of the latter part are the ending rhythm. Here is one of the poems in whole: ban juan xiang lian ban yan men,(\v-/\v/) nian bing wei tu yu wei peng.(v-/v\//) tou de li xin san fen bai,(-//---/) jie de mei hua yi lu hun .(\//-\v/) yue ku xian ren feng gao mei,(\--//v/) qiu gui yuan nu shi ti heng.(--\v\//) jiao xiu mo mo tong shei su,(--\\//\) yuan yi xi feng ye yi hun.(\v--\v-) In this poem,only the first and the second sentence are rhythmed.The poem is taken from ,do you know it?

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Hi, Katty. Thank you for your effort to teach me. You must have spent a lot of time typing many kinds of symbols. In fact Chinese letters arrived at my monitor screen garbled. (Sorry everybody, I'm to blame.) I knew four tones but I came to know for the first time how it could be displayed. Interesting. I used to learn Tang shi (do you know we also call "poem", shi?) in my highschool days, but only in Japanese translation! It has no more sense than trying to read Shakespear in Japanese translation as all the musicality elements are lost. I could read four-tone symbols and English Pinyin in your mail though I could not understand the meaning (Maybe Duane could). But I have a friend who has been stationed in China. I would bring it to him for the Chinese transliteration. In this connection, Katty, No.1 -4 are lines of a poem? From Pinyin I don't seem to notice any end-rhyme. Or am I missing the point? Thanks to your mom, and you again.

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Hi, Benly The scorching sun just prevents me from going anywhere.So I have to stay inside all day long and all night long this weekend.Just now I read ur describing of the summer weather in England,which sounds more like a beautiful poem,u know? So i really wish I sent the sun to you generously...:) Hope u enjoy ur sunshine! Hi,Zhuge Yuyang, I've never heard about the construction fee.And I've never been there.I live in a city near Wenzhou, u know that? BFN.

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Hi Jo,

Kelvin is my work mate and he has been studying at our college for the past few years. He came from India and speaks perfect English. But he will study a computer course at Portsmouth University in October. I gave your message board address to him on Friday after work and he said he would visit us on here.

Most of my work mates are native speakers, so I can practise my English with them all the time. As you know I am a very talkative person. They probably think I speak too much during work!!!

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Hi Jane,

While I was moaning about the British weather on my previous post sent yesterday. I had a surprise this morning when I looked out of my bedroom window. There was our summer sun, but the weather forecast says the rain is coming we will have rain this evening. So we will have the miserable weather back again.

If we have the sun, the summer in England would be perfect. Because our summer daytime is very long, it is from 4AM till 10 PM everyday and the temperature is round 27 degree C in the daytime, but it will drop back to 15 degree C � 18 degree C in the evening. In the summer all the trees are full of green leaves and the flowers are beautiful everywhere. The lawns like big green carpets. Everywhere is full of life. But all of this only lasts for a few months and then we have an every long winter, the weather makes everything into the opposite. All the trees are without a single leaf and the rotten brown leaves cover the lawns. All the flowers are hiding somewhere and the rain comes down everyday. The sun disappears behind the black thick cloud and the whole weather�s atmosphere is very sad.

At my age I should work for everyday, but I have spent nine months at the college and for the last three months I have got a job, so I can to show to my children I am not a lazy person. My son has another year to finish University and I also have a daughter who is the same age as your one. On the other hand, I also have some extra money to spend when I go back to the college in September.

The � Okie Dokie� is a very popular phrase in our daily life.

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Hello,Haruka.Nice to meet you!I'm jane's daughter.I'm katty.I'm not good at English,but I think my Chinese is better than my mother.So I think I can help you.I often read Chinese poems of old times.Eg:Tang shi,and so on ,I like them.I can only write them in Chinese PingYing.
     /  /  /   v     \          \     -       -
1.e e e,qu xiang xiang tian ge.�죬�죬�죬��������衣��
     \        /     -     \       /    -     /     /
2.song ren fa,song ren gui,bai ping
   /    /    \   -   -
mang mang zhe gu fei.�����˷������˹飬��Ƶãã���ɡ���
v   /   -    \    \  -   /    -
3.jiu qi xiang wang da di tou,di
   \ - / - \ /
xia lian qiang di shang lou.�������������ͷ���������ɵ���¥��
   \ v - / \ v
4.ban juan xiang lian ban yan
   / v - / v \ / /
men,nian bing wei tu yu wei pen.(������������ţ����Ϊ����Ϊ�衣��
Chinese poems have four tones:- / v \,maybe you cannot understand.

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Hi, Jane. Your insatiable interest in English is amazing. Could you tell me a few lines of any Chinese poem which has rhyming? I believe you can write them in English phonetically. Because of the peculiar structure, Japanese cannot be a carrier of rhyme scheme, It's not a rush, of course.

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Hi, Duane. a, i, u, e, and o are exactly Japanese vowels. Peter Roach, in his book "English Phonetics and Phonology"(1991) says Englsih has six short vowels, five long vowels, and eight diphthongs. By the way, today's papers say English education will be strengthened by our government bringing in more native speakers. In this area we don't seem to have a trade dispute though we are chronically in the deficit (I mean our export is virtually none).

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Jane, I am happy you know the Zhuge-cun (Zhuge-village), Lanxi. But I avoid to go back my original home at all time, for I heared about that we have the family name of Zhuge and live outside the ��village�� must pay a sum of constructing-money for visit there. Is it true? And it is oddly to visit my original home anonymously! So I am a roamer and walk around my home.:)

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Hi Benly, Come on, why you feel odd? As I said before, there isn��t a permanent teather, also a permanent leaner too. Do you think the sunshine in summer is lovely? I don��t think so, for we have too much of it, like Jane said. I feel I am toasted in an oven. Maybe the thing you haven��t is always the best. :)

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Hi, Jo, I like to hear u say things like 'under the weather',but the first time to hear 'keep me on my toes'.Will u say it in another way (explain it)after u say all those? Thanks.And hope u r in good shape now. Hi,Yuyang,did u tell me u r from Zhuji-zhuge chun?But so far as i know it's in Lanxi,so? Anyhow we are from the same province,aren't we? TTYL.(Talk to u later.)

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Nice to hear from you, Benly.Actually we are both students of English language.But u r far more fortunate to be Jo's student.And what's more, u have lots of more chances to practise ur English in real life.Seems u r now on ur vacation.It's so cool to have vacations in summer.You can go around and have some leisure time to do anything u like.But why do u work?What's the weather like in summer in London usually?Maybe the sun really has moved to our place,for it's sweltering hot here( about 38 degrees centigrade). Okie Dokie ( i just learned it this morning,do u often hear it said?)Bye!

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It's so true that 'teaching is learning'. Your questions really keep me on my toes! Jane, I'm NOT the best teacher, but I think I'm always improving. If I wasn't, then it would be time to find a new job ;)

Benly, who's Kelvin? Sounds like an English name. Are you meeting English speakers at work? I hope so. That would be much better for your English than any number of my lessons!

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Hi Kelvin,

You said you would visit Jo message board. So I just want to say hello to you and I hope you enjoy it on here. The weather doesn't it seems very nice for you to play cricket tomorrow. In fact I really don�t understand the game, it seems very boring for me and it lasts so long. I prefer to watch football. I suppose you are a Saints� fan as well, because I have seen you wearing a Saints shirt before. So we can talk about lots of football on here in the future when the football season starts, but Jo doesn�t like to talk about. I hope you have a nice weekend and enjoy your cricket game. See you on Monday

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Well, this message board seems like it is a teacher�s club. I didn�t realise Jane was a teacher before. So we can say four and a half teachers are on this board. That is good news for those who are learners, like me. Now you all make me feel like the odd one out. But I will keep practising my English with you all.

Sorry to hear Jo is not very well!! I know we don�t seem to have summer weather at all. Every day I look out the window and it is always dark, dull, wet and cloudy. Where has our sun gone? Probably, it has already gone to Japan, China and USA. So you are the lucky ones.

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Hi Duane It's so interesting to learn that u r learning Japanese too.I have also learned some .But years ago. I almost forgot them all.But still remember a little.See ,can we talk in Japanese next time? Haha.Bye.

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Jo,I'm really so grateful to you for your help.Without any exaggeration u r the best teacher I 've ever met.Your teaching on language points is always convincing.The question 'besides' was put forward by my daughter.I can't find an answer for her.Because I only know it's a preposition.I thought it must be followed by a noun or a gerund.Well, u r a born teacher.I cannot but admire u.How I wish I were ur student!

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Nihao,Yuyang So we are kind of townfolks, aren't we? But it never occured to me that my intuition could be so wrong , just as yours.Not until today did I realize that you are a man.But how come u thought I am a girl?By the way,my daughter is still a beginner,she is unable to write complete sentences.Talk to you later.BFN.

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Hi,Haruka Teaching is learning. As a teacher I could fathom this theory quite well.But unfortunately I am no longer a teacher now.That's why I say my English is going backward ;Since I don't have to use English either in my work or in my life.And no pressure to prepare for any tests.Now I can only use it to chat with you.Haha. Bye.

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Wow! The board seemed a bit quiet for a few days (that was last week). This week I was always too busy, too tired or too ill (don't worry, I've not been seriously ill, but just a bit under the weather) and one way or another didn't get round to checking your messages. And there you all are again! Nice to see you all back and to read all your news!!!

Jane, I'm going to try to answer your language question, but I haven't thought it through in depth and am not referring to a book, so I could be wrong!

I would say 'besides' may not be the important part of the sentence. The form of the verb may depend on the structure before 'besides'. In your example, we would say 'are we going to talk' not ' are we going to talking' so therefore 'talk' sounds better here.

Take another example: 'I like skiing'. (after 'like' it's common to use 'ing') so...'What else do you like doing besides skiing?'

What do other members of my 'club' (!) think? Does my theory work with other examples you can think of? If not, then it's probably just one of those things where either is acceptable (and one or the other is more or less acceptable depending on where you're from!)

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Haruka, I��m truly grateful for your help and opinions. Form your letter I get the idea that there is no shortcut in english studying. And I will never forget the truth which you said in passage: ��Proficiency cannot be obtained without the balanced interaction between input and output.�� When I know you have studied english for almost fifty years, however, I feel light-hearted because I have studied it for a shorter time, altought you maybe get perfect at the early times. :) I think I am grasping at a straw to comfort myself. You know, I have made no progress in my english level for a long time. Finally, congratulations on your new teaching job, but I heard of your would-be droped MA course with great regret. Bye for now and thank you again.

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Haruka - did you mean that you only have 5 vowels in Japanese? We only have 5 here, a,e,i,o,u, and sometimes w. Maybe I misunderstood your statement.
I speak a little Japanese and I speak a little Mandarin Chinese and I think both are difficult but the Chinese has sounds that are very difficult for me to make. My brain will not let me accept the fact that they are parts of words and not just noises. I still study as often as possible but not often enough to get good at either one. -- Duane

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Hello, Yuyang and Jane. I'm flattered by the splurge of nice words to me. I have a history of learning English spanning over half a century including the period I was just using English on the job. It has not been without twists and turns and I still commit many errors. It is partly because our language is so different. Imagine we have only five vowels. Generally, Chinese are better speakers of English compared with Japanese and I attribute this to the phonological richness of Chinese language. And it has much to do with socio-political reasons. Chinese or British have fought with many invading powers. You had to think of effective communication to outlive. Japanese were leading lives at ease in a limited and isolated space, not much in need of communication skill(think of our language's ambiguity). How I keep up my study? I subscibe to an English paper and listen to American servicemen's broadcast. As a matter of fact I am a student of another MA program though I'm about to quit for physical and financial reasons. But I have the least exposure to communicative English, for which Jo's message board helps a lot with lively discussions with Jo, Benly, Duane,and you. The board offers a valuable chance to my students, too. Proficiency cannot be obtained without the balanced interaction between input and output. Recently I could land a teaching job which requires teaching in English. That is a windfall opportunity to me as well as a big challenge. I seem to enjoy it now because I have more than enough chance for output. It is always true that teaching is learning.

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Hi, Duane. Thank you for your concerns with Mariko's questiion. She was trying to clear up some of the uncertain issues and she could talk to me in class.

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Haruka, I have the same opinion with Jane that your English, as the second language, is really good!! Now, a poor chinese young man is begging you for help. :) I think it will take you too much time to give me a lecture, so I just have some little questions. How long have you studied English? Where did you study English, Japan or other country? Are you study English everyday? Your answer will give me a reference. Thank you in advance.

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Hi Jo, have your ever noticed your board is a teacher��s club full of your colleagues. I think it��s amazing.

Hi Jane,

Nice to hear form you! As I expected we are not far away, and Zhejiang is my original family home(zuji). If I introduce myself to you in chinese, you will find it��s not difficult to identify my origin, because my family name is ��Zhuge��, an unfamiliar surname in China but abundant in Zhejiang. Do you know the Zhuge Cun (village)? Believing it or not, I am a descendant of the ancient notable, Zhuge Liang.

You surprised me for you have so many experiences and have a daughter at 15. I always get false imagination form a people��s name, without exception this time. I think you are a girl at the same age of your daughter before you told me the truth. Haha, I think my old friends are accustomed to it.

I was a postgraduate study for Art and Design and graduated from my college several monthes ago. Then I take my first job as a university teacher, teaching art and design, althought I had worked for a famous design company during this period for a short time.

By the way, why you don��t introduce your daughter to this site? Bye!

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Nihao,Yuyang; Hi,Duane;And everyone else: When you reappeared a few days ago,I just felt impulsive to ask you what you teach and where you live.After all we are the only two from China,who visit this board frequently.And it's not too late for us to get to know each other now.I'm from Zhejiang,a civil servant working in a government office.I have 20 years of working age,and I have a daughter of 15.English was my major when I was at college.Speaking of the three and a half teachers here,I can also be counted as one or a half,because I had 12 years of teaching English at a high school in my city.Now i still have to use English sometimes to issue some certificates.And my daughter is learning English too.Since she is good at learning languages,I hope I can help her make greater progress.That's why I often turn to Jo and Duane for help. Of course I am myself still interested in learning sth. new ,and pure English as well.As students of old days,we learned typical British English,yet American English becomes more and more popular nowadays.And I like it very much.So I enjoy any nice English each of you writes on this board,esp.what Duane and Jo does.OH, here i have to mention that Haruka's English is real excellent as a foreign language learner. Compared with him i am far from being satisfactory. Duane, thank you again for your help. BFN,everyone!

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Haruka - Do you understand Mariko's question? It seems to me like she is asking the difference between Japanese characters and Arabic characters?

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Hello!�h have any question about test. How many about are there questions �iapanese to Arabic numerals?

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�g��������!I�@have�@any question about test. How many are there questions about Japanese to Arabic numerals.�aecause I still not remenber trillon.

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�g��������!I�@have�@any question about test. How many are there questions about Japanese to Arabic numerals.�aecause I still not remenber trillon.

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Benly - You honor me. I would be very lucky to be half as good as any of the teachers that you mentioned. I am lucky to have good friends like you and my other friends here on Jo's Message Board. I like to learn and I like to share.
Yuyang - I like to repair things and build things and install things. When my daughter was a little girl she used to brag and say "my daddy can fix anything". It made me proud even though I knew it was not true, but it made me feel good to know that she had faith in me.
I know there is a lot of waste in America (probably other countries as well) but please do not think that all Americans throw everything away and buy new things. It is not true....especially in my home. I have repaired many things. Not because I knew how, but because I was not afraid to try. Every journey of 1000 miles begins with the first step. To accomplish anything you have to get up off your butt and take the first step.
BFN, Duane

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Haruka, I think I am starting my tip of life, for I finished my education and will be a enlightener to young people. Thank you for your wishes. Oh, ballet teather! That��s good! It seems there are lots of teachers at your family too(three and a half at this board). Is your daughter a ballet teacher at Japan or USA? I like ballet, but, you know, my round-body decide that I can just be a viewer. Haha! As an artist too, I deeply know that ��no pain, no gain�� and sometimes ��have pain, no gain��. So I appreciate your daughter, and give my best wishes to her.

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Benly, you know, I became a teacher just several weeks ago, and here comes the summer vacation, so I still not a genuine teather and haven��t meet my students at classroom. But I think I will do my best to be a good teacher.

We really have lots of teachers on this site, three and a half teachers as you said. There are lots of students on this board too. Sometimes you cannot tell the difference between a teacher and a learner. Although you are not a professional teather, you can instruct us at other areas. Like Duane, I think he is a teacher too, for he is a native speaker of English, and for his experences, his thinking and his life style. As a old chinese proverb says: ��You will inevitably be a teacher when you walk with other two people.�� No one can be an expert at all aspects. Right? That��s why we come here and talk with each other. So, you are my teather too!!

I will tell you every interesting things happened in my class next term. Thank you for your informations about Rosanna. Bye for now. yuyang

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Hi, Yuyang. My daughter finished a ballet teacher's course. She likes dancing but opted to become an instructor as it guarantees a longer career. Congratulation for your teaching job. Seems to me you are cruising in your hopeful voyage.

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Hi Yuyang,

Nice to hear you again! I think Rosanna is in Hong Kong at this moment. When we finished our exams, we had an end of term party at one of our tutor�s home. I remembered she said she would go to Hong Kong the next day. But I don�t know when she will back to England. I suppose before the September. She should be back before the new term starts.

Glad to know you became a teacher. Just half year ago you still was a student and now you are the other way round. How do you feel as a teacher? Now we have three and a half teachers on this board. You, Haruka and Jo are professional teachers, while Duane, I classify him as half a teacher. Sorry Duane, because you are not a professional teacher, but honestly, you are still good enough to be a teacher indeed.

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Duane, I think your vacation is more like a family get-together, yes it��s necessary and wonderful too. You like fix things? You mean ��Repair�� or ��install�� things? It sounds a little unbelievable. You know, in China, most of people think american never repair somethings. If something goes wrong, they just get a new one. But I think it is a rumor. I like handwork too. Not only repair something, but create some handcrafts and other art-pieces as well, like Rosanna do. So I have a small studio. Oh!! Where is Rosanna?? She lesved a long time like me. Have you ever met her on net?

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Hi Jane, although you have been here such a long time and we come from the same country, I do not know who you are and where are you stay in china. Can I get some informations about you? Maybe we are neighbors!:) I live in Nanjing. By the way, as a chinese your englilsh is very good. Bye!

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Yuyang - Thanks for your good wishes, belated they may be. My vacation was not mystic. My wife and I spent a few nights in South Lake Tahoe. I won a bit of money at the casinos and my wife put it all back. I guess that is fair. Them we drove about 7 hours south to Southern California and spent the next five nights with my daughter and her family. It was a relaxing trip and we had lots of fun with our grandchildren. My daughter has four children. I am not good at sitting still for long periods of time and my daughter has lots of little chores for me to do, so I was able to help her fix some things and I kept myself a little busy at the same time. I am kind of a handyman around the house. I like to fix things and build things. All week long I work with numbers and it feels good to actually do something with my hands that has a result that you can see. Welcome back to the board. Don't stay away so long next time, you might get bored. LOL
Bye for now, Duane

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Hi Jane - nice to hear from you again and also nice to hear from our friend, Yuyang. Nice to see you back, Yuyang. I could feel you lurking around the edges but I couldn't quite pull you into the conversation.
Jane - I am not an English teacher and I am sure there are good reasons to use one way over another. I can tell you as a native speaker of American English, and someone who can help you with conversational English....."What are we going to do besides eat?" sounds much better than to use the word "eating". Other similar examples..."what are we going to do besides talk? (talking)..."what are we going to do besides drink? (drinking). The words ending in "ing" don't sound good used in that way. Jo could probably give you the clinical explanation. I would have to look it up in my grammar books.
I would say "look out the window" and "look out of the window" are both acceptable. They are more geographically used. One part of the country may use it one way and a different part may use it another. I don't think either is wrong. I think it would be considered more like a dialectal choice. BFN, Duane

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Hi,Duane.Welcome back from ur vacation. u r most popular here since u r the native speaker of A.E.Now i have another question to ask u.In the sentence "What are we going to do besides eat?" (Why not use "besides eatting?") ; And "Look out the window." (Why not "Look out of the window?") English is really a crazy language.BFN

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Hi, everybody here (especially my old friends), I am really sorry for my unregular apperence. I think it��s ungracious to be silence in such a long time. Though I visited this site several times during this period, I kept my mouth close, because I��m not a soccer fan like most of you.

Duane, If I had known you took a vacasion this summar, I would have given you a well-wishing. But now it��s too late. I��m interested in where did you go in your vacation? Being abroad or just at USA? I��m planning a vacation too. I think I will visit the mystic place --- Tibet. Maybe I can take back a Tibetan-Mastiff puppy. (I like dogs)

Haruka, how are you! I read about some information about your daughter. It��s wonderful and painful to be a balletdancer right? I means ballet is a back-busting career and it��s unease to be a good ballerina. For japanese parents, like chinese, have closer relationship with their child than west countries�� parents (maybe), I think you worry about her very much and feel disburden, aren��t you?

Now, I am a college teacher and a part-time designer at the company I had worked for several monthes.

Best wishes to everyone, Yuyang

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Benly and Haruka: Thank you for your good wishes regarding my vacation. We had a wonderful time and I feel very relaxed now and I am ready to go back to work.
I heard on the news about the winner of the World Cup, but I did not hear who won 3rd place. Was it Turkey or So. Korea?
Haruka - You asked if this is a common term in the US: "Who would you call on for help?" I would say "yes". It is common. You could also say "Who would you call for help?" You could drop the word "on" and it means the same thing. I think normally you would be asking, "Who would I call for help?" I don't know if you meant to say "you"???? If you are asking about the use of the word "Whom" verses the word "Who", most people don't use the word "Whom". I don't think most Americans know the proper use of the word "whom". It is slowly being pushed out of our language due to lack of usage. People don't know how to use it so they just don't use it.
I hope this answers your question. If not, please feel free to ask me more. I enjoy helping you if I can.
Bye for now, Duane

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Rie Kato - This is to answer your post of June 28th. You asked at what age children start reading the Bible here. I have grandchildren that are 2 and 4 years old and they go to Sunday School at church every sunday. Their teachers read Bible stories to them even at their young age. I guess they could start reading the Bible whenever they start to read.
If you have a copy of the Bible that is hard for you to understand (which some of them are), I would suggest you try to find a copy of the the New Century Version (NCV). It is supposed to be written in third grade English and it is a direct translation (as opposed to paraphased).
I hope this helps you. Duane

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Duane, Welcome back from your vacation. I'm pleased your Independece Day was without major troubles. Somehow I couldn't get through with the website you mentioned. Never mind. Now I'm talking about English. My younger daughter used to live near Wimbledon while attending a ballet teacher's school for two years. Then, after a few years back in Tokyo, she had to move to NY with her newly-wed husband who was assigned to a new position in the U.S. I gave her some advice on pronunciation difference between two countries focusing on the major features; firsty, rhotic or non-rhotic (-r- of "car"). Secondly, the sound of -a- in "past", and thirdly, vowel sound of "dawn". I should have added the diphthong of "coat". I haven't heard from her since how my advice was helpful. Today, I came to learn that British says "trainers" in place of "sneakers", soccer "boots" for "shoes" and "sellotape" for "scotch tape", the last one likely for the reason of different manufacturers. They are all from a textbook available in Japan. Now, I have a question; Is this a common expression in the U.S.,too? "Who would you call on for help?" as a deviation from "Whom"....

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Hi everyone! I was noticing some interest in the square watermelon. I posted a message on June 4th about the same thing. I think my address was wrong. If you are still interested I think the site address is:
http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/06/15/square/watermelon/index.html

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I am a graduate student at NGCSU in Georgia, USA. I am completing my ESL endorsement and need help with a project. You need not be concerned about grammar or spelling. Information needed: First name Age Male or Female 1. In what country were you born? Can you tell me something about your country? 2. In what country are you currently living? 3. If you are in a country other than the country in which you were born why did you move? 4. How are you learning English? (school, self-study, online) 5. Why are you learning English? 6. How is the American culture different than your culture? Do you feel you have experienced culture shock? 7. What cultural differences have you noticed about the USA in terms of classrooms and teaching? 8. Do your family members speak English at home? 9. How long have you been studying English? 10. Have you experienced difficulties in your cross-cultural communications? Can you describe one such problem you may have had? Thank you for your help with this class project. I must have your answers by July 7th. Please reply to my email address apglory@hotmail.com.

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I like sunshineday after rainy.Students are waiting long summer vacation.every one will think many enjoy things.

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"Please don't take my sunshine away". Here in Tokyo we have the faint sunshine after many rainy days but a typhoon is reported to be approaching from the south. Our students have only two weeks left before the long summer vacation and they must be busy preparing for their mid-term test which is on the 18th, the last day of the first semester.

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Where does all this rain come from?! We don't have a 'rainy season' in England but this year it looks like all fours seasons are going to be as rainy as each other. It's July already. It's supposed to be summer. Pictures in textbooks that show summer in England show people on the beach and the sun shining. Today it is raining so hard and it just doesn't stop. AAAaaagggghhh! It's horrible. The sky is so grey I've had to put the light on - it's mid afternoon and sunlight shold be streaming through my window.

Sorry about that little moan. Just had to get it off my chest ;)

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Hi Haruka,

All Brazilian boys are born with football talent. I have heard from the football commentators on TV saying all Brazilian baby boys have a football as a birth present from someone. When they are old enough to play football, they just use their bare foot to kick the ball. So that their feet can feel the ball directly and pick up the football skills more easily and quicker. I suppose no other country can compare to their football enthusiasm. That is why they can have their fifth World Cup Championship.

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Hi, Benly. Our rainy season still lingers but the World Cup is over. I'm still wondering how such an uncanny goal was possibe. I'm talking of the last goal. One Brazilian was dribbling toward the goal and made a pass sideways to the second player. Kahn reacted instantly to the situation but alas, the second player just let the ball go past him and the third player dashing next to him, that was Ronaldo, got the ball and hit the mark, giving no time for Kahn to adjust his positon. This stunning combination in a second was just awesome.

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