The Three Sisters
Hello everyone, and especially Leila!
Wow, what a response to the movies! I don’t think there’s much more for me to tell you, except maybe to make some recommendations for Aussie movies you might like. As I’m sure you know, there are a lot more Aussie actors than I mentioned last time; people like Eric Bana, Naomi Watts and Mel Gibson, to name a few. A lot of movies are filmed here too – the ones that spring to mind are The Matrix (and the sequels), which was filmed here in Sydney (one of my students at the time bumped into Keanu Reeves in a lift), and Mission: Impossible 2. Some of you mentioned some real Aussie classics: Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Muriel’s Wedding, Crocodile Dundee, Shine. All of these feature some great actors – Geoffrey Rush in Shine is fantastic. A couple of more recent ones you may have seen are:
Ned Kelly (2003 – I think, starring Heath Ledger, Orlando Bloom & Naomi Watts. It tells the story of Australia’s most famous outlaw, the bushranger Ned Kelly. There’s a 1970s version starring Mick Jagger, if you’re really keen!)
Rabbit Proof Fence (I really recommend this one, although I should warn you it’s VERY sad, the more so because it’s based on a true story.)
Strictly Ballroom (directed by Baz Luhrmann, who you may know as the director of Moulin Rouge and Romeo & Juliet – also filmed on location in Sydney)
The Castle (this is an Aussie classic; a comedy with very typical Aussie humour; you’ll either love it or hate it!)
Japanese Story (starring Toni Collette, about a Japanese business man coming to Aus and the cultural differences they experience. Again, a very sad movie)
Jindabyne (I have to admit, I haven’t seen this one)
Lantana (I did see this one, but I’m ashamed to admit I can’t remember much about it …)
Leila, possum, you mentioned Vegemite … has anyone ever tried it? I have to say I really don’t like it myself, although I’m trying to bring Owen up as a true Aussie by giving him Vegemite on toast for breakfast … Vegemite is a spread made mainly from yeast and malt. It’s actually very high in certain vitamins (vitamin B, I think), and there’s even an expression in Aus where we can refer to someone as a “happy little Vegemite”. I’ve just looked on the pot we have in the fridge, and there’s a website (of course there is!), so have a look if you’re really interested: www.vegemite.com.au
Now, I promised you an Aboriginal legend, didn’t I? Leila, you’ve inspired this, as I was looking for some more photos to post, and I found some of a recent trip to the Blue Mountains. The Blue Mountains are about 90 mins drive west of Sydney, and are really beautiful; in fact I think the area has been listed as a UNESCO world heritage site. The mountains themselves aren’t really what I would call mountains; they’re more a series of ridges with high plateaus and steep valleys. From a distance they look blue because of the gum (eucalyptus) trees, hence the name Blue Mountains. A few years ago, in a remote area of the mountains, a species of tree was discovered that was thought to be extinct; they managed to grow it in the Botanical Gardens in Sydney and now you can buy seeds so that you can grow it yourself! The area in the mountains where it was first discovered hasn’t been made general knowledge, though. The tree is the Wollemi Pine, and there’s a website which can give you a lot more information about it if you’d like: http://www.wollemipine.com
Probably the most famous area of the Blue Mountains is the Three Sisters at Echo Point in Katoomba. Katoomba is the main town of the mountains – the early explorers tried for years to find the route across as they’d guessed (correctly) that there would be fertile farmland on the other side, and they eventually found a way. It’s the only way across, with the result that all the villages in the Blue Mountains area are strung out along the highway – the railway from Sydney also follows the same route.
Anyway, here’s a picture of the three sisters for you (it's from the Blue Mountains Tourist website: http://www.bluemts.com.au), and I’ll tell you how they came to be turned into stone.
The Aboriginal dream-time legend says that three beautiful sisters, 'Meehni', 'Wimlah' and Gunnedoo' of the Katoomba tribe lived in the Jamison Valley (below modern Katoomba). They had fallen in love with three brothers from the Nepean tribe, but they couldn’t marry because it was against tribal law. The brothers, who had fallen deeply in love with the sisters on account of their great beauty, decided to break the law and to use force to capture the three sisters, which caused a major battle between the two tribes. As the lives of the three sisters were seriously in danger, a witchdoctor from the Katoomba tribe turned the three sisters into stone to protect them from any harm. Although he had intended to reverse the spell when the battle was over, the witchdoctor himself was killed in the fighting. As he was the only one who could reverse the spell to change them back into human form, the sisters remained as a reminder of this battle for generations to come.
There’s another version of the story, which says that the sisters were out one day with their father when they were attacked by a bunyip (a terrifying spirit who lives near water and eats any people who come near). In order to protect the sisters and save himself, their father turned them into stone and himself into a lyrebird. Unfortunately, when he did this he lost his magic bone, which had the power to change them back again. So he remains a lyrebird, scratching the floor to try and find the bone to reverse the magic, while his daughters look down on him from above.
Which version do you like best? And can you tell us about any legends from your country?
I thought I had a picture of a lyrebird that my dad took last time my parents visited us in Aus, but despite looking everywhere I can’t seem to find it! Lyrebirds have an amazing ability to mimic any noise, including cars, chainsaws, dogs and mobile phone ringtones! The lyrebird is also featured on the Australian ten-cent coin.
The following pictures are from our last day out in the mountains, in July this year. We went to Leura, the village before Katoomba on the way up from Sydney, and had a short walk and a picnic. We were expecting it to be really cold, but in fact the weather was wonderful! I’d packed the car full of gloves, scarves and woolly hats, and we didn’t need any of them!
Leila, I have to say that I’m hard pressed to find errors or possibilities for improvement in your writing, as you use English very accurately and precisely to say what you want to say! I’m really glad that you’re feeling that your writing has developed, and that you feel more confident – that’s great! (I don’t know how much I’ve helped you, though!!).
We’ve had a couple of discussions about articles, so we might have a brief look at them now, and I’ve also noticed a couple of structures that you’ve used that might be useful for everyone else. So that’s the plan! (Sorry, the interesting bit’s over!)
I’m sure all of you have had some horrible experiences with articles in English, especially if you’ve been trying to learn all those little rules and exceptions that always come up in the grammar books. Don’t get me wrong, the little rules are important, but there are some more general rules that can be really helpful to know.
Let’s have a look at a few examples:
I took Owen to a park in Dulwich Hill this morning.
The park had lots of things to climb on.
Parks are well set-up for toddlers.
In the first sentence, have I mentioned the park already? Do you know exactly which park I’m talking about? (No – there might be a lot of parks in Dulwich Hill and you don’t know which one we went to.)
What about the second sentence? Have I mentioned the park already? Do you know which one I’m talking about? (Yes – the park that I took Owen to this morning)
In the third sentence, am I talking about one park, or parks in general? (General)
So you can ask yourself these questions:
Does the person listening to me know what I’m talking about? (Maybe I’ve mentioned it already)
If yes - Use the
If no - Use a/an
Am I talking generally?
If yes – Use no article + plural noun
If no - Use the + singular noun
Now I’m not saying that these are the only things you need to know to use articles in English correctly, but these are the main uses. If you can use this, you’ll get it right more often than not.
I thought I’d give you a bit of practice, so here are some errors to correct. I feel a bit mean picking on Leila all the time, so some of these are hers, but some are from your comments (I won’t name names!). In some of the sentences the article is wrong (remember no article is sometimes correct) and in some the article is missing, so I’ve put an (X) to show you where. You might also need to change singular to plural or plural to singular. Good luck! (Answers next time!)
1. Tomatoes and cucumber are grown in a glasshouse.
2. Regarding (X) subject matters you have wished for.
3. We could hear (X) rattling while sitting.
4. (X) Finnish tango is a close relative to (X) Argentinean tango.
5. To wish my parents (X) happy wedding anniversary.
6. The movie would give me (X) bad taste of the book. (But well done for getting “the” right!!)
7. The plot of the film is set in the history.
8. The building has a false ceiling to make it look nice. (X) false ceiling is made of plywood.
And here are the other points I wanted to look at (Leila, these are yours – I’m so glad you used these structures as I think they’re really useful ones to know!)
Here’s the first one, from your post on 11th Nov (I’ve been saving it until we talked about articles!).
more freedom one has, more responsibility one has to take
Firstly, with this kind of structure, we always need to use the in both parts of the sentence, so it should look like this:
The more freedom one has, the more responsibility one has to take.
Can you see the structure?
The + comparative form + first clause, and the + comparative form + second clause.
We use this to show that two things are related, or that two things change together. Here are some more sentences for you – can you complete the second part? You can put anything you like, as long as it’s grammatically correct!
1. The longer I spend looking at the BBC Learning English site …
2. The more I read about Australia …
And here’s the second one, from your post on 15th Nov – again, I’ve been saving it for articles!
Most definitely one must not dive under water, too big shock for your head.
I’m focussing on the adjective/noun at the end of the sentence; it should say:
It’s too big a shock for your head.
Did you notice that I’ve used “a”? Let’s see what happens if we rewrite the sentence …
It’s a big shock / The shock is too big.
When we use too, the word order changes: too + adj + a + noun.
Notice that we use a, not the, and it’s singular. If the noun was plural, we couldn’t use this structure; we’d have to say “the shocks are too big”. Interesting, isn’t it? (I bet you’re all sitting at your computers with your heads in your hands! I hope not …)
So let’s have a little practice of this one as well. Can you rewrite the sentences using the structure: too + adj + a + noun? I’ll do the first one as an example …
1. (e.g.) The day was too hot to go to the park = it was too hot a day to go to the park.
2. The curry was too spicy for Owen to eat.
3. The pile of laundry is too big to do at once.
As I’ve given you so much homework on articles, I won’t look too hard at vocab tonight – I’ll just give you the definitions for the 8th & 12th, and some answers to the last homework. (I might steal the answers from your comments, actually, as they were all great – well done!)
1. What cracks you up?
• funny ring tones
• children (Hyoshil, I loved your story about your son!!)
• comics
2. What sort of things might you do or say if you were showing off?
• saying male drivers have more accidents than women (nice one, Adriana!)
• boasting about how much money you have
• buying a pair of Prada shoes
3. Can you tell us about someone you take your hat off to?
• Dr Zilda Arns (thank you, Ana Paula)
• Paulo César Vinha (thank you as well, Adriana)
• Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, Ghandi, Mother Teresa (thanks, Leila)
4. Can you tell us something that works a treat if you have a headache? Lots of suggestions for this one – let’s share some advice:
• a cup of coffee without sugar and a dark room
• have a rest
• have a cup of tea
• personally, I lie down with an ice pack on my head (looks very strange, but it works!)
5. Do you ever nag anyone? Who? What about? (Or does someone nag you?)
• Most of you were talking about a family member, and it is of course possible to nag yourself!
• Depending on who you ask, I never / always nag Chris (delete as appropriate!)
6. If you could settle down anywhere in the world, where would you choose?
• the seaside
• Dubai (why, Naheed?)
• the place where I live now (good answer, Adriana!)
• Natal (after your description, Ana Paula, me too!)
• I asked Chris, and he said he would settle down either in Sydney or the little village just outside Durham where he lived when we were at Uni there.
7. What was the last thing you chucked out? Why?
• Chris’s shoes!!!!!!! (no, no, only joking!)
• Our coffee plunger (it broke into pieces when Chris dropped a cup on it – strangely, the cup didn’t break)
OK – here are the definitions for the previous vocab lists …
8th Nov – Springtime in Sydney
off and on (expr) = occasionally
(one of Sydney’s) gems (n) = a very beautiful part of a city or country
knocking off time (expr) = time to finish work
sweepstake (n) = a type of gambling where you put a small amount of money on one horse.The person who picks the winning horse wins all the money.
be into sth (phr vb) = enjoy doing sth, like sth
epidemic (n) = a disease that affects a lot of people at the same time
quarantine (n / vb) = to keep an animal or person away from others in order not to spread a disease
12th Nov – Waltzing Matilda
to do sth (or sb) good (expr) = improve your health or lifestyle
to take advantage of (expr) = to use the good aspects of a situation
it’s bad enough … let alone (expr) = we use let alone to add emphasis, usually after a negative statement. e.g. I can’t believe you’ve swum in a frozen river once, let alone every winter!
to do sth justice (expr) = to treat or explain sth in a way that shows what it’s really like
crikey! (Aus. exclamation) = this is very informal; it’s used to show surprise
And I think that’s it for today!
Goodnight from Oz,
Rachel
Today’s vocab …
spring to mind (expr)
outlaw (n)
bushranger (n)
strung out (adj)
I’m hard pressed (expr)
Don’t get me wrong (expr)
Comments
Hi Rachel,Leila and everyone, I am a new blogger.Although iam a frequent visitor of BBC website, this is the first time,I am This is Praveen Raj from India.Presently iam working in Bangalore and my native place is in Tamil Nadu,a state in India. Rachel,your article is wonderful and i wish to contribute regularly in future.Correcting a persons language and improving his skills is a great work.Eventough i can write in English, I have found writitng in English to be difficult and hard.Thanks to my Laziness. Since you wrote many information about Australia, i would also like share my experience about that faboulous country.Last month i was fortunate The first foreign country i have visited and hope to visit more. We were three guys sent from India by our company to Brisbane.Unfortunately we could stay there only for three week ends.we went to Dream world,Warne Brothers Movie world,Gold coast. We stayed in Pacific International Hotel,near queen street.Queen street is a big commercial street where we used to spend our evening.It was an ideal city and we found the city people friendly. we became familiar with the words like Mate,buddy,no worries etc. i bought some audio books which included some Aboriginal stories as well.It did have the second version which u shard with us. I wish to write something everyday to improve myself. Good luck for everyone.see you later. Regards Praveen Raj
The longer I spend looking at the BBC Learning English site … the more I learned. The more I read about Australia … The more I impressed. The curry was too spicy for Owen to eat. (It was too spicy a curry for Owen to eat. The pile of laundry is too big to do at once. (It is too big a pile of laundry to do at once. Am I right? I want to participate in the blog competition. What is the procedure?
Hi dear Rachel , How are you ? What about your better half and lovely Owen . sorry for my big delay for reply , but I think being late is better than never ! After reading your last Blog , I really feel terrible . I have read just , The Thorn Birds . I might live very far away from modern world . About books , I only have read old famous novels in the past and newly some English book for brush up my English . As a workwomen and a mother I 'm very busy and I can't organize my time , so I have very less time for myself . But any way I love reading books especially Novels and Crimes ( like you ) and watching any kind of detective soap opera and movies , like Miss Marpel , Sherlook Holmes & … were my young stage hobbies .Do you think I can find any free virtual library for being up to dates ? Here are my answers to your questions : 1) My son 's antics cracks me up now a days . 2) I might show off for my aerobic instructor diploma , but naturally I 'm very humble and I usually don't show off ;-) 3) Like Naheed ( Thank you dear Naheed for your sympathy :- 0) 4) I take my hat off for all workwomen and of course I do hat off for all caring BBC teachers . 4) A cup off tea and a few deep breath or some kind of Yoga relaxation would be a good natural remedy for headache . 5) I usually don 't nag but my husband nags most times about my out activities . 6) Like Aderiana , I don’t think I prefer other where to my home town but I love to travel , all around the world , specially Uk country sides .7) Oh my goodness , My husband is really handy and can repair every thing , So I can't remember ant thing that I chucked out .And finally about meaning of my name , my name is a percian name which means , sb who is like a fairy( houri in Arabics ) creature in another word ,in Persain we say "Pary" to fairy . That 's all for Today .Hurrey , today is Thursday and tomorrow is Friday ( Iran 's weekly off day ). Have a nice time and byeeeee .
Dear Rachel, here is your article task with answers, hope I got everything right: 1. Tomatoes and cucumberS are grown in _ glasshouseS. 2. Regarding THE subject matter_ you have wished for. 3. We could hear A rattle_ while sitting. 4. THE Finnish tango is a close relative to THE Argentinean tango. 5. To wish my parents A happy wedding anniversary. 6. The movie would give me A bad taste of the book. 7. The plot of the film is set in _ history. 8. The building has a false ceiling to make it look nice. THE false ceiling is made of plywood. Thank you, Rachel, for the exciting Aboriginal legend. I think I prefer the second version because it is somehow purer. Regard this as you wish ;) Here in Russia we do have legends, but not very many. The one that springs to my mind is called «Prophetic Oleg». He was Great Knyazh («duke») of one of the regions of Ancient Russia (Russia was devided into independent «knyashestvos» («counties») at that time, and Russia itself was called «Rus»). He was a very fair ruler and great warrior and his loyal stallion was his best friend who he had come through fire and water with. Once when he was riding his horse he met a blind prophet who told him that his horse would be the cause of his death, whereupon Oleg placed his horse in a stall, ordered to look after him carefully and never again saw him. Many years later, when he grew old and his horse had died long before it, Oleg resolved to see his best friend's remains. When he came there, he said to the bones «That prophet was mistaken. You, my beloved stallion, are dead and I still live...». While he was saying this a poisonous serpent crept from within the horse's skull and gave Oleg a mortal bite. I was a child when I learnt this legent and it even made me cry, so sad it was, and I felt sorry for the betrayed horse. What do you think of this legend? I am looking forward to your next blog post. Sincerely, Ana
Hi Rachel, I always read your long posts but sometimes I cannot make a comment. But, I found that the last ones, are not published, for instance the one I made yesterday to Leila. I dont know if it is for the different time in each country. I want to tell you that I was surprised when you wrote about the jacarandá as we write it in spanish. I didn`t know that it could be found in Australia. As I am fond of Wikipedia, I looked for it, and the article confirms that also in Australia and New Zeland there are jacarandá. I see that you are in a very happy period of your life raising your child. Regards, Beatriz
Once upon a time, an Arabic legend says, a young man married a girl from some village. Two days after the wedding, he put her on the back of his horse and they rode for many hours. It was already night when they got to a vast house in a secluded area, with no houses around it. After staying for one week, the groom packed his things and he told his bride that he should leave her for certain days...Days passed, and months passed and when it was a year he returned to the place and found the girl sitting on a bench facing the locked doors of the house with her eyes wide open but silent forever. He shrugged his shoulders and decided that the girl was not good enough for him...The second bride he found lying motionless in the bed. His 13th bride, he left only one day after the wedding. One year later, he heard noises outside the high walls of the house as he was approaching the place. When he opened the door, he saw his wife, her back to the door, milking a stone cow, while talking to a stone mother in law who was taking care of a stone baby...
Hi, Rachel. I spent half a year in the UK in 2004. I was introduced to an English specialty that sounds strangely like your Australian Vegemite. It was also made from yeast, brown, to be spread on bread and considered healthy. It was called Marmite. Did your Mum feed you with Marmite toasts? - You asked for legends. Here in the east of France, in Franche-Comté, the Vouivre is well known. When she is not transformed into other beings she's like a snake with wings and a precious red stone on the frown. When the Vouivre is drinking or having a bath she takes off the stone, and if someone is able to take it without being killed he will be rich.
Self-correction: not to "come" through fire and water, but to "go" through fire and water. And not "knyaShestvos" but "knyaZhestvo". :*)
Dear Rachel Do you really want to bring Owen up as a true Aussie? Only giving vegemite in breakfast can fulfill you desire to bring him up as an Aussie or other necessary things are accompanied with it? Both legends are very interesting and can spread good highlight three peaks of that mountain. Photographs are nice looking. 1. Tomatoes and cucumber are grown in glasshouse. 2. Regarding the subject matters you have wished for. 3. We could hear the rattling while sitting. 4. A Finnish tango is a close relative to an Argentinean tango. 5. To wish my parents a happy wedding anniversary. 6. The movie would give me a bad taste of the book. (But well done for getting “the” right!!) 7. The plot of the film is set in the history. 8. The building has a false ceiling to make it look nice. The false ceiling is made of plywood. 1. The longer I spend looking at the BBC Learning English site, the more I will be familiar with its contents. 2. The more I read about Australia, the more I learn about it. 1. (e.g.) The day was too hot to go to the park = it was too hot a day to go to the park. 2. The curry was too spicy for Owen to eat. =It was too spicy curry for Owen to eat. 3. The pile of laundry is too big to do at once.=It is too big a pile of laundry to do at once. spring to mind (expr) – to come quickly into your mind outlaw (n) – Criminal bushranger (n) – a criminal or thief who lived in the bush strung out (adj) – If a group of similar things or people are strung out, they are in a long line with spaces between each of them I’m hard pressed (expr) – have difficulty doing something Don’t get me wrong (expr)- said when you think someone might not understand what you say, or be upset by it
Hi Rachel!!! Wow! What a wonderful legend! I loved the pictures too. What a dazzling place! Oh by the way Rachel, thanks for the Aussie movies tips. I´ll try to find out them :-). In answer to your question the version that I liked best was the second one, because I think it has a strong impact; what a fate the three sisters and the father were doomed. Well, there´s a Brazilian legend that I like very much, which tells the story of one of the most largest lilies in the world, the Vitória Régia. Here´s the legend: In the old times, there was a tribe who used to live on the Amazonas river shore. A beautiful young Indian womam called Naia spent most part of her time with the other women of the tribe singing and admiring the Moon and the stars. They dreamt in one day to be one of them. The Moon laid on the river´s water an intense and beautiful light, which made Naia to climb the highest threes and mountains, with the purpose to touch the Moon and stars. She believed if she succeded in touching the Moon or even the stars she would be trasnformed in one of them. However, all her attepts were in vain. She came back to the tribe sad and very dissapointed. In the following night, she left the tribe with the idea that that night she would fullfil her dream. She went to the river to stare at the waters and dream awake. As soon as she arrived, Naia could see in all its glory the Moon´s reflexion on the crystalline waters. Naia in her innocence thougth that the Moon had come to bathe itself on the river, and in this way allowed her to touch it. So, Naia dove in the rivers waters dissapearing forever. The Moon had pity of Naia, who had lost her life pursuing it, so the Moon transformed Naia into a giant flower-the Vitória Régia, which spreads its petals and a deligtful sent on Amazonas waters, in order to receive the full light of the Moon. I hope you have liked the legend Rachel. I´ll try to do the homework now 1. Tomatoes and cucumber are grown in glasshouses. 2. Regarding the subject matters you have wished for. 3. We could hear a rattling while sitting. 4. The Finnish tango is a close relative to the Argentinean tango. 5. To wish my parents a happy wedding anniversary. 6. The movie would give me a bad taste of the book. 7. The plot of the film is set in history. 8. The building has a false ceiling to make it look nice. The false ceiling is made of plywood. ================================= 1. The longer I spend looking at the BBC Learning English site the shorter are my difficulties in learning English; 2. The more I read about Australia the more I want to visit this country. ================================== Rachel, this exercise is quite trick. Gee! Everyting sounds wrong! I´m looking forward for the answers.(too + adj + a + noun) 2. The curry was too spicy for Owen to eat= it was too spicy a curry for Owen to eat 3. The pile of laundry is too big to do at once= it was too big a pile of laundry to do at once. Vocab: spring to mind (expr):to come quickly into your mind; outlaw (n): a person who has broken the law; bushranger (n): a criminal or a thief who live in the bush( hidden); strung out (adj): experiencing the strong effects of drugs (?); I’m hard pressed (expr): to have lots os difficult doing sth; Don’t get me wrong (expr): don´t misunderstand me. Well Rachel, that´s it. I hope hear from you soon. Have a wonderful shinning day( right now here is 8:41pm, so I believe in Oz is about 9:00am). Bye dear, Ana Paula x.
Hi Racheal, I like the first version of the three sister story. You know still there are tribes and caste groups don’t get marry other groups though they are in same tribe and caste. With in tribes and caste there are many sub groups. If you watch Tamilian movies, it is one of the Indian languages you can often see the hero will be from one caste or religion and the heroine will be from another caste or religion. Both will face lots of hardship from their families for successful end. If it is not, the story will end in tragedy. Nowadays we can’t see a witchdoctor or magician to perform magic like your story to turn the human being into stone. I can’t imagine man or women become a stone. The preachers claim that they are doing miracles, cure the sick with the power of God. Is it possible to do that with the help of God?
Hey up Rachel!! I hope you are doing well. It was great to see all three of you together and the view is just beautiful. I liked the picture of Owen, he seems to be working hard with a branch on his shoulder :). Talking about the legend, I would prefer the first one as this one makes a more clear picture in my mind. In answer to your question on Dubai, I would like to settle down there mainly because there are good job opportunities for Accountants. I may not like to live there forever because of its hot weather, but would like to have a holiday apartment in Marina Towers and would spend a great time with my sisters and parents. Secondly, I like Dubai for its shopping festivals, food, and it's a peaceful place to live. I haven't visited myself though, but gather a lot of information about it. Oh, and the time's come to submit my homework. 1. Tomatoes and cucumbers are grown in a glasshouse. 2. Regarding (the) subject matters you have wished for. 3. We could hear (the) rattling while sitting. 4. (The) Finnish tango is a close relative to (the) Argentinean tango. 5. To wish my parents (a) happy wedding anniversary (this one was mine:$). 6.The movie would give me (a) bad taste of the book. 7.Plot of the film is set in the history. 8.The building has a false ceiling to make it look nice. (The) false ceiling is made of plywood. 1. The longer I spend looking at the BBC Learning English site, the more I feel like to browse through all its parts which is not possible. 2. The more I read about Australia, the more I become able to tell about it to my friends. Last but not least. 1) It was too hot a curry for Owen to taste (poor child!:().2)It was too big a pile of laundry to do at once (Did this happen to you Rachel?). All the best wishes, Naheed
Hi Rachel :-) The The Aboriginal legends are vey nice. I know similar one about three small rocks. Once upon a time there lived a king who was a powerfull wizard. one day when he was in the forest he saw three beautifull girls and at once he fell in love with them all. As they were good witches they wanted to do something good. They asked him what he would like them to do for him. He answered he would like to marry them all. 'It's impossible, you can marry only one of us,' said one of the good witches. 'I'm a king, and I'm a powerfull wizard,' said the King 'and I can do everything I want'. The three witches were afraid and decided to change the King into stone. But when they were just about to cast their spells, the King put a spell-mirror up and the spells bounced off the mirror and the good witches were turned into stone, into three small rocks, which you can see in the forest. Researchers say that the three rocks are postglacial, but I prefer the legend. All the best.
Hello Rachel!I was unable to choose between the two versions of the story. In fact, it was too difficult a decision to choose the better one. For me, the best result of the long evolution of any living beings there on that magic place is that wonderful family photograph. Chris couldn´t disapoint me as he looks just like the picture of that happy student on those ancient Greek´s lectures. How could I forget that! Although, after I had only loafed around recently I intended to have a crack at the homework this time. But, the more I am loking at the first example the more I am not able to find the mistake.(Doesn´t Chris want to help me!) I have knelt so long here to create these sentences that all my ancles are aching horribly. However,I am highly pleased to watch what a capable bushman is growing up there. The next great crocodile from Oz by the age of his manhood will have remembered of the princess who had once taught very disobedient old student. Bye until the next time!
Hello Rachel, very interesting legend!!! Why do you think people tend to ceate and believe in legends??? especially about ancient places? this is the homework: 1. Tomatoes and cucumber are grown in a glasshouse.( in glasshouses) 2. Regarding (X) subject matters you have wished for. (the) 3. We could hear (X) rattling while sitting. 4. (X) Finnish tango is a close relative to (X) Argentinean tango.(the-the) 5. To wish my parents (X) happy wedding anniversary. (a) 6. The movie would give me (X) bad taste of the book. (But well done for getting “the” right!!) (a) 7. The plot of the film is set in the history.( in history) 8. The building has a false ceiling to make it look nice. (X) false ceiling is made of plywood.(the) 1. The longer I spend looking at the BBC Learning English site (the better my English become) 2. The more I read about Australia the more I wish to visit it )
Hello Rachel! Thank you for the legend. I prefer the first one. I admire the courage brothers who didn't yield to the destiny. I would like to share one of our legends. It goes like this: A brother and sister were home while the parents at work. The brother used a big knife to peel a sugar cane for the sister to enjoy. Involuntarily, the knife came to the sister's head. The brother was too frightened of his sister being bloody, thought she was dead so he went away. Luckily, the girl was saved but she lost her beloved brother. Over fifteen years elapsed since the brother had left. Experienced ups and downs, the brother became a fisher, got married and had one child. One day, it was rough sea, the husband took a day off fishing. He first discovered a scar on his wife's head. He asked where it was from. The wife told the story. The more he heard the paler he was with fear. Now he knew he married his blood sister, decided not to spill the beans though. Then choppy sea was over, he went fishing and once again never came back. Evening after evening the wife carring her child sat on a mount longing desperately for the husband. She waited waited waited until turned into stone named the 'longing-for-husband stone' which remains on a mountain in Binh Dinh province, Vietnam. Rachel, I like your photoes. What was Owen doing in the third picture? here's my task on the articles: 1/Tomatoes and cucumbers are grown in a grasshouse. 2/Regarding the subject matters you have wished for. 3/We could hear rattles while sitting. 4/Finnish tangos are closely relative to Argentinean ones. 5/ To wish my parents a happy wedding anniversary. 6/ The movies would give me the bad taste of the book. 7/The plot of the film is set in history. 8/The building has a false ceiling to make it look nice. The false ceiling is made of plywood. Next is to complete teh sentences: 1/ The longer I spend looking at the BBC Learning English site the better my English is brushed up. 2/The more I read about Australia the more fascinated I am by. And finally, rewritng the sentences with 'too + adj + a + noun': 2/ It was too spicy the curry for Owen to eat. 3/It is too big the pile of laundry to do at once. That' all. I look forward to your answers. Best regards, Myen.
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