Comments

You want us to learn more phrases. Thanks. "Brush up" means learn more. You change a little because you said "my hometown Istanbul". Are you English? I think your wife comes from Greece.

Hi Simon, I should really congratulate you. Because the tasks you set for us, make us read the texts more than once looking for information. Moreover, you've written your comments in a way that make us read other readers' as well 2. read between the lines means to reach to some conclusions that are not stated in the texts but based on them; brush up means to improve one's skills in sth 3.a."I haven’t had this much fun for ages";b. "It’s so cool"; c. "to see how keen..."d. "I was also very interested to hear..."4. I usually pick them up from the speech of others and try to use them myself.By the way isn't "Mehpare" an Afghan name? Because we have the same name in Iran too but with a different spelling, "Mahpare" and it means part of the moon which implies the beauty.

Gule gule Simon, nice to meet you! I read between the lines that you have a good sense of humor, but as I am not certain about it, I need to brush up in that one. I regret to say, that I am unable to say how you have changes as our encounter is still a very new one, I read your two blogs today. However I have been following this site for over a year now, but for last few days and weeks not so regularly. Busy life you see. I see, I see, said the blind man to his deaf wife. By the way, I am a Northern Finnish woman with some sense in humor, from time to time, mind you. You asked us to find four phrases that helped you to say that you really liked something. My first guess is: Wow, secondly wow and thirdly wow. Forth one was beyond me.

Thank you for your advices!! I would like to ask you if you can post a blog about using the most useful phrasal verbs..help me!!! ..have a nice day!!!

it's a great idea this blog and this maner of learning english. i find it very goog. i have not got much time now to participat but i will come next time. good bye simon

Hello Simon! I like the way you lead. 1.Frankly speaking I’ve not found new facts about you, apart from fact that your wife is not Turkish. So I’ve not any clue to guess more things about you. As for idea about who has changed you at all, I recon both life and experience are changing us. But I have another guesswork. Your spouse’s changed you. By no means your way of life is the same as it was before you got married.2. I think “read between the lines” means to see unframed picture of events which writer is talking about. In some cases it may be sort of suggested meaning of phrases. I think “brush up” means to fresh up smth, for example “to brush up my English” may mean to take a few lessons. 3. Thanks also to Monica from Brazil for the term "Blogland"! I haven’t had this much fun for ages! It’s so cool to read your great comments …it’s good to know I’m not the only… I’m really proud to be…You ought to be proud… 4. I like to find new phrases by both listening radio and reading books. It’s fanny to listen people from different walks of life talking about sports, art, politics and so on by using different words and expressions. Someone, for example, stuck with word presumably. And another one speaks less officially by using I guess. I’m looking forward to read your next blog.

Hi Simon, I missed the 1st blog and now I'm make sure that I will not miss it again. The new facts is your hometown is Istanbul, is that mean you're actually from Turkey, or maybe you half English and half Turkey?, I think yr dad is English and your mom Turkey.I think yr wife from Greece since your daughter's name is Irene. "read between the lines" mean in one sentence below the surface underlying meaning implied. In another words there might be more than one content in one sentence that the person want to let us know. "brush up" mean to improve The 4 phrases i could guess are :- "WOW, I haven't had this much fun for ages", "It's so cool to read your great comments...", "I'm really proud to be married.." and "I was also very interested to hear from". Other phrase is.. " Where on earth is that..", "I'm wondering if any of you out there.." I found the phrases by pick up the word that you chosen and also by instincts haahha. I think the best way to remember phrase is to use it as often as we could. Imitate it, I like to watch TV and sometimes I tried to memorize the phrase they used and used it in my daily conversation...

Hi, I am glad you enjoy the blog. The new things that I know about you is that your wife is not Turkish, and that you live in Istambul, which you name as your homeland and say that have a strong bond with that place that for you is the best in the world. Perhaps you were born there and your parents are British. The other new thing is that you know what is Skype and you have used it, so you are no so illiterate with regards to computers. I did not complain about the exercises. it was just a fact that I pointed. now I dont´have time to do the other that you asked, but it is interesting because one has to read many times your post, to see what is hidden there.

Hi Simon. Unfortunately I can not find out any new fact about you. If you really gave some new facts here between lines, I think it is the task for Mr. Sherlock Holmes. But for me your second post has brought more mysteries then the answers. You are surprised me (not to say astonished) that your wife is not Turkish. How come? She bears Turkish name after all. May be she is from Cyprus? Phrase “read between the lines” means discover information from the text that does not present directly (as well as “outright failure” is a result of my tries to use that method of reading). Phrase “brush up” I suppose is equal to “make better”. Next how you express that you like something - 1) “I haven’t had this much fun for ages!” 2) “It’s so cool” 3) “good to know” 4) “I was also very interested to hear”. Here is couple of phrases new for me – “out there“, “short and sweet“. Why can not we remember new words well from the first time?!

Hi, Simon and all Bloggers. I missed your first blog but I see it's really fun and I will try not miss it again. It will be nice to spend evenings in such good company:)Most things about you people have just said. But what I think about you is that your wife is from Greece. And I think you eventually understood computers :)) and now you are very confident with the new technologies.( this is my idea about who You are changed at all :):)) That's why your wife is still laughing, because in the past she used to teach you how to use computer and now she forgot most of the things and has to learn from you :). Read beetwen lines ? hmm.... It means what somebody wanted to say, to guess what isn't written, to look for or discover a meaning in sth that is not openly stated. "brush up " means to quickly improve your skills . And now 4 phrases:It's so cool to read your great comments...", "I'm really proud to be married.I haven't had this much fun for ages"( ok Maybe I found only 3 :))And another phrase which I think is very useful : Oh, don't think you can escape! And last one: 4 task . I will try tomoorow .Time to rest after very busy day at work :( Godd night to everybody

Hello again Simon! Unfortunatelly my comments on your first blog haven't appeared yet! My new guesses: perhaps she is Azerbaidjani(it's an arabic name anyway!) and you Scottish?? Bye for now,

Hi Simon, Welcome to the Teacher Blog. I like the way you put us on our feet with some original and interesting exercises.I'd like to follow you, however I'm currently without a good internet connection so I have to connect by dial up, which is a nightmare. By the way, I'm argentinean but my father was born in Syria. Moreover I agree with you, Istambul is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. See you soon, Cris

Dear Simon, It is really nice of you to care of every one as much as possible and highlighting the point which is the best part of comment writer in that context. This type of effort not only encourages us to take part but also to be a diligent student also. Certainly native writers use phrasal verb and you aren’t exception. Reading your post today, I found that you are a dedicated teacher and migrated to Turkey to teach English language and living in Istanbul. Your wife isn’t a Turkish. Both of you are in touch with each other before marriage and ready help our previous blog teacher during her visit to Turkey. Read between the lines means to try to understand someone’s real feeling or intentions from what they say of write. Brush up on something mean to revive previously study material again. Four phrases you used to express you really liked something are it’s so cool to read, it’s good to know, it’s so much more interesting, and I was also very much interested to know. Other phrases used in your text are getting down to work, pick up, look through, get in touch, note down, look through, call somebody up etc. it is better to read stories, novels written by native writer to be familiar with phrase and try to find meaning of those phrase from the context

hi,some years ago i happened to visit istanbul,Cappadocia,Pumnmakele and I can say I enjoyed my journey a lot. ABOUT YOU IHAVEN'T LEARNED ANYTHING NEW ,BUT I CAN TRY TO GUESS SOMETHING:YOU ARE A CLEVER boy with spirit of adventure.For this reason together with your wife ,who is indian.have decided to go and live in the country whose history you had studied and admired.hadn't you?This is the idea i have had of you since your first appearance in blogland. "To read between the lines "means to be able to infer something the writer doesn't openly write. To brush up"means to improve. I havent had so much fun for ages It 's so coolto read It's so much more interesting It sgood to know I am very fond of learning new vocabulary in such a way. bye bye for now maione

Hi Simon, really this blog is funny and enjoy to learn, thanks for the new phrases. I'm following to my task. I guess you have father or mother from turkey, Your wife, if she isn't from turkey, she is Greek by your daughter's name and You stay in Turkey for your job. "Read between the lines" means it's something decode a message, Brush up, it's when somebody review something. The next for me is" get one more phrase that you think is useful". The last one, I keep in english practice with this webpage and news. regards

Hello Simon, I was eager to visit this exciting “Blogland” again. What I know definitely about you now is that you have been living in Turkey for 12 years, that you’ve been settled in Istanbul for some time and that your wife is not Turkish, though her name sounds Turkish (I have no idea what country she could be from, she might be English of Turkish origin). You seem to be very happy to live in Istanbul. I suppose it’s not only because you’ve got a happy family life there but also you’re satisfied with your job. I imagine you as someone who once travelled to Turkey for business, met your future wife there, decided to stay and change your profession starting as an ELT teacher. Variety is the spice of life, isn’t it? “Read between the lines” means that a reader has to pick up what a writer wants to say by interpreting his remarks or allusions, as his sentences are not explicit. What I can read between the lines is that you’re a sociable person (maybe a little bit of an adventurer), as you revealed to have talked to completely unknown people using Skype. As for “brush up”, I think it means to renew one’s skills, especially those related to a foreign language. That’s, after all, one of the reasons we’re here, isn’t it? You meant that you really liked something when using “I haven’t had this much fun for ages”, “it’s so cool”, “it’s so much more interesting” and “it was great fun”. I find two other phrases very useful – “set a task” and “get in touch with”, they sound so natural. When reading any text, I always try to find phrases that I consider useful for everyday conversation. Then, to remember them I try to put them in a new context created by myself. One of my favorites is “Practice makes perfect”. However, as I have no much opportunity to practice speaking, I learn new phrases slowly and forget them quickly!!

Hello Simon, Im Mahjabeen from Pakistan. I also welcome you on this blogland. Hope we will learn alot from you. I've noticed few things in you. First, you've your own style of teaching. You motivate students to learn by themselves. Second, you want us to learn phrases . Third, you've mentioned skype in order to brushup our english, right?. Also you are a holidaymaker too. As for your second question:Has your idea about who I am changed at all? How ? Why?. I think, you dont have any computer technophobia now like you had before. Maybe,because your wife helped you in learning it. Now, let me guess the meanings: To brush up: to improve your skills, read between the lines i think it means to read the whole text. Now the lexis: Find 4 phrases that helped me say that I really liked something. I've found these lines in your blog which is showing that you like something but im afraid i dont find any phrases in your blogs. First sentence which i found is 1)fun for ages. 2)so nicely described 3)It’s so cool to read your great comments. It could also be i love to do it. NOw Sharing : I usally find the new phrases through bbcle site and through newspaper also. I think the best way to remember phrases is to make its sentences or write a story on it. I always try to use them in my writing and conversation. The most important thing is to revise them once in a week. Thats all for now.Im looking forward to read your another blog. Mahjabeen

Hello Simon You such a wonderful sense of humor. Thanks a lot for your interesting questions. Now let me answer few of them; What I've learned more from you is that your hometown is Istanbul which means to me that you were born there and I guess your parents are English people who immigrated to Turkey!. 2)read between the lines means look for specific implied details while you are reading. " brush up" means improve, ex: let me help you brush up your English. 4)The best way for me to learn new vocabulary and expressions and phrases is through reading or listening. Then what I do to remember them and use them later is to construct my own sentences using them and ask others to correct me if I'm wrong!. This is the best way ever for me. All the best.

Hello Simon! Nice this kind of blog too and good for the neurons.. you see what I mean! In this post you sparingly give us new clues,don't you? The most obvious ones are the name of your hometown, Istambul you find the best city in the world and that you ready to show it to holidaymakers.(Be careful, you could have lots of canditates! This kind of sightseeing is the nicest one cos we can see quirky things with personal anecdotes and not only the main monuments.)Apparently you have experienced some ways to brush up a language like (a kind of)phone call. Perhaps to better advise other learners. Indeed in your two blogs you give us some tips, guidelines. You seem to me rather demanding, liking heading us on a "precise road" with a nice, funny and challenging way. Not to dislike me!Anyway we can't escape!! Maybe you ha've got a kind of framework for the comming month. So your second post comes to confirm the feeling I had previously. And people find pleasure don't you think? 33comments Wow! a lot of work for you to read all that! You're asking for it!! To read between the lines is to guess or imagine sth which is more or less hinted. It's sure we're going to brush up, improve our skills with you! Related to like: wow, it's cool to read...am really proud to be married to... I haven't had this much fun for ages...It's a great fun talking...You must be an easy going person to be so often pleased! What does your wife think abt that?! (Mehpare is a Turkish firstname tough isn't it?) Has your idea about who I am changed at all? is interresting in its construction, at least for me. I read and listen to many things on Learning English and I write down the particuliar sentences I come across. I try to classify them by themes and I study them. It's eassy to find them again when we need them. And I think it's a good exercise to put back Alzheimer disease!!! BYE...

Dear Simon, from your blog I know you and your wife live in Istanbul but your wife is not Turkish. From the clue of your daughter's name I guess your wife is from Greece. And I think Beatriz's deduction is reasonable that you may be born in a British family in Turkey. "read between the lines" means trying to figure out the truth behind the words. While "brush up" means to polish, to improve some skill as as in the context you mean to improve your command of English to a more fluent level. When you want to say you really like something you use "Wow! I haven't had this much fun for ages!", "It’s so cool to", "It’s so much more interesting to" and "I was interested to". Other phrases I like from your blog are "note them down", "be proud of your English/ be proud to be married to my wife", "look through", "get in touch with me", "have a strong bond" and "a wee girl". To find the phrases, I just read through your blog and stop to check the expression unfamiliar to me. Actually I am still not very much sure the meaning of "I do have a strong bond". Does it mean "I do have some very close friends"? And what is "a wee girl"? Is it an informal way to say "a small girl" or it is a normal expression in Sottish English? Thank you for your attention.

Hi,Simon It’s wonderful to have an enthusiastic teacher with a good sense of humour in cyber class. I am intrigued by your questions which guessing your life. You said your wife is not a Turkish. So I reckon she is from Greek and her background might have been gypsies . Oh, deer me I think my imagination is out of order but I don’t feel like stopping here. so may I continue ?You have several jobs like a journalist, an English teacher and a travelling writer. You get itch feet all the time and you don’t mind tucking in any food that your wife provides. You love to clown around and are the funniest daddy to your daughter (I like your daughter’s name but struggle to pronounce it correctly). I guess that’s enough today but I’ll come back soon. Have a great day!

Hi Simon! The first blog has passed by me, but I want to join your students. So my attempt to make the tasks: 1. New facts about you are: that your hometown is Istanbul and your wife isn’t Turkish. From these facts I can guess that you are Turkish, you was born in Turkey, but grown up in any English-speaking country and 12 years ago you returned to Turkey, where you’ve met your wife. I suppose your wife is Greek. That’s why your little daughter’s name consists of 2 parts! Greece+Turkey! Am I right? 2. I read between lines when I see meaning which is not written directly, but hidden and meant. When I read your block and try to do tasks I brush up my English, I try to improve it. 3. I see that you like something when you say: “Wow!”, “I haven’t had this much fun for ages!”, “It’s so cool”, “It was great fun”. The useful and unknown phrase for me was: “to have strong bond with…” Unfortunaly, I have no secrets or recipes how to remember new phrases, so I would hear any! Your blog is like a puzzle!

Hi Simon! The first blog has passed by me, but I want to join your students. So my attempt to make the tasks: 1. New facts about you are: that your hometown is Istanbul and your wife isn’t Turkish. From these facts I can guess that you are Turkish, you was born in Turkey, but grown up in any English-speaking country and 12 years ago you returned to Turkey, where you’ve met your wife. I suppose your wife is Greek. That’s why your little daughter’s name consists of 2 parts! Greece+Turkey! Am I right? 2. I read between lines when I see meaning which is not written directly, but hidden and meant. When I read your block and try to do tasks I brush up my English, I try to improve it. 3. I see that you like something when you say: “Wow!”, “I haven’t had this much fun for ages!”, “It’s so cool”, “It was great fun”. The useful and unknown phrase for me was: “to have strong bond with…” Unfortunaly, I have no secrets or recipes how to remember new phrases, so I would hear any! Your blog is like a puzzle!

Hi Simon, you are more and more puzzling. Please, put us out of our misery! (picked up from Amy's blog). Waiting for your information, here you are my humble homework. 1)I've learned you are proud to be married to Mehare who isn't Turkish (maybe she is from Morocco); you live in Istanbul, beloved city; once you used Skype and found it funny. 2)I guess you like teaching. 3)For now I haven't changed my idea about you. "Read betwen the lines" means to understand what actually the writer feels or wants to say without expressing it clearly. "Brush up" means to improve your knowledge of something already learned but a bit forgotten. 1)Whow I haven't had this much fun for ages! 2) It's cool to read your great comments...3)I was also very interested to read...4)It was great fun to talking to complete strangers! When I find new phrases in books,in films (subtitles),in this blog and in bloggers comments I try to remember them writing on a notepad and, on a board in the kitchen so I can glance at them easily. Time to go, bye bye.

it's me again. About the phrases I found: 1- Wow (but can be a phrase?), 2-I haven'thad so fun for ages. 3- It is so cool... 4- It was great fun. I think you are very clever and have sense of humor, so we will have fun even if the student blogger doesn´t appear.

Hello Simon, as for this post, it's hard to read between the lines and write more about you but there are few things that I can make out. First about your wife, she must be from Iran since her name Mehpare, it sounds more Iranian name but at times it also sounds Turkish. Okay, one more thing I can find out about you is that having lived for 11 years in Turkey you know this country and its places like the back of your hand, don't you? The phrases that you have used to say you like something are 'I haven't had this much fun for ages','it's so cool','it's good to know'and 'to be proud of something'. The phrase I particularly like is 'where on earth is somebody'. As for learning new phrases and expressions, I learn them from bbc le website and of course how can I forget bbc le blogs and other internet websites I also learn them from newspaper and tv. I have a notebook in which I write them down and then make sentences using them and along with that I use them while speaking where necessary. I think reading student teacher blogs is a good way to brush up our English. Best wishes, Naheed

Hi Simon! I don’t know why but I thought that all teachers here must live in UK, and I was surprised to know that your hometown is Istanbul. I have never been there and in general in Turkey, but I’ve heard much about its beauty. And among Belarusian rich people it’s very popular to spend holydays in Turkish hotels. I wish to visit Turkey one day. Not long time ago I’ve read the book “Kar” of Orhan Pamuk and still I’m under the impression. By the way you must be from English speaking family and spend a half of your life not in Turkey - do you feel yourself Turkish or maybe… I don’t know…British? It would be really very interesting to find out more about you and your family! I understand the expression “read between lines means” as to find out some information that was not said directly but which we can understand from the context. Expression “brush up” was new for me and my dictionary said that this means to refresh, quickly improve skills. I would love to brush up my English. I love this language, and it’s my hobby to learn it. 3. I’ve found the next phrases: “It’s so cool to read”, “I’m really proud”, “It was great fun”, and “it’s good to know”. 4. I think that the best way to learn new phrases is reading. You can just read without trying to remember words and phrases and then in a right moment understand that you already know some phrases and the way to how to use them naturally. Goodbye, Simon! =)

Hi everyone! "read between lines" means to find out the real meaning in a text, in which such meaning is not too obvious but you deduce it. " BRUSH UP sth" reading between the lines, I guess it means to improve a skill quickly, so the more phrases we learn, more fluent we are, it's quicker. Well Simon the phrases you used to show that sthg really liked you are 1. I haven't had this much fun for ages 2. It's so cool 3. It was grat fun ..., but the last one I,m sorry!!! I couldn't find it. However, here there are some phrases which come in handy for me: A) How keen you are to GET DOWN TO WORK. It means to begin to work seriously. B) It helps you to PICK UP new phrases. In other words, we learn easier new phrases. C) I suggest you to NOTE them DOWN. It means to write sth important so that we don't forget it. D) Get in touch with me, or I'm/ I keep in touch with someone, which means to communicate with somebody by phone or writing to him. It's good fun learning new phases and phrasal verb through BBC, I always have much fun when I do this, well I do it everyday. The way I find new phrases is reading and visiting the features of BBC like Flatmates and many others, how I remember them? well, it's a bit difficult for me but I make a revision every weekend, and in my daily life, when I know that I'm going to say in my mother tonge I've learned how to say that in English, I do it. Besides, if I don't remember I inmediatly look for it on my notes and then I don't forget it anymore. I need to be very aware of it, yes, I try to think in English during the day.

Hi Simon! It´s nice to hear from you again :-)! Well, it´s interesting to read about your Skype experience. Every wekeend I meet some friends at Skype in order to brush up on my English speech. Even though we´re from different parts of the globe, we try to manage our meetings at a time that can be suitable for each participant. It´s a wonderful experience indeed :-). Oh, I reckon we have another challenge here, don´t we? 1- I´ve learned that your wife isn´t Turkish as I´ve guessed before ( hmm... I´m quite curious now). Maybe she could be from Greece, because of the second name of your daughter, Irene. 2- I think read between the lines means to try to figure out the thoughts or feelings of somone through s/he body language or through the things that this person writes. Brush up means to improve. 3- I haven´t had so fun for ages, it´s so cool, it was great fun, so nicely described. Well, I found interesting the way you´ve finished your blog. I´ve never heard 'Right well that’s about it from me.' 4- Generally I find new phrases when I´m watching a film or TV series or while I´m reading a book. I write down this phrase and then I try to use it as much as I can. Beides that,I´ve come across recently with a very interesting site called Free Rice. There, I learn new words and I keep up the 5-a day diet that Amy prescribed last month :-). Here´s the link: http://www.freerice.com/index.php?&t=433445201345&s=English%20Vocabulary . Best wishes, Ana Paula.

HI There Late better never , so welcome to this month Blog . When I realized you live in Turkey as I live in your neighbour country , it made me exiting , because I live in one of north west provinces that the people mother language is turkey although it ‘s a bit different from “ Istumbol “ turkey. Have you been in Iran in this years ? .I love to have a trip to Istambool but my dream has n’t been come true yet ;-(I must confess that I thought your wife with her nice and familiar name in Persian is from turkey but she could be from Iran ( no way , I know ) , surria , or any nearby country and Nehir ( Actually Nahr with Persian accent ) means stream ! You use lots of phrases In your writing and I liked it very much . Sorry my cheeky monkey has just got u and it ‘s better to leave Cyber so challenges fo the next time . I ‘m waiting for your next Entry . Please give my hello to your wife and kiss Nehir for me . Cheers . plus : I hope you will read this 25 th comment , too

Hi Simon, One after other the blog teachers suggest to learn new words and phrases to brush up English language. Amy, the previous teacher advised us to learn five new words a day. It sounded very interesting. In practical I couldn’t follow it. I try my best to follow the advice to get fluency. Certainly you are a different kind of teacher from others. You made us to think and write about you. It is an innovative one. I find it difficult to guess about you further. So I went through the comments of our blog friends. From that I could find out you must be half English and half (I couldn’t guess). Read between lines means try to understand the meaning correctly and do not want to omit even small thing. I really liked something- I haven’t had this much fun for ages, it’s good to know, it’s so much more interesting to read, I was really interested to hear. Useful phrase- I want you to look through my blog.

Hi Simon It's great to see you here in blogland - I'm really enjoying reading your posts :-)

Hello Simon, it's very nice talking to you again. How are you? Let me try to answer today's task. 1)I learned that you are not married to a turkish girl as I had thought and you are not so out about technology for you gave us an advice to use skype. Another thing I learned about you is that you are a demanding person as you yourself said. 2) I think read between the lines means that you get information from things that are not clearly written in the text and brush up means to make something better by working on it. 3)The four ways to say you really liked sth: I haven’t had this much fun for ages! It was great fun;it's good to know; it's so cool. Another good phrase is: to be keen on something. 4) To find new phrases I try to pay attention to dialogs in english speaking motion pictures. There are always a lot of them, though hard to pick up sometimes. That's it for now. See you more later. Bye,Bye.

Hello Simon, It's interesting to learn a few more facts about you. You are English and Istanbul is your hometown. Like most readers, I thought your wife was Turkish but she isn't. Now I know a name isn't responsible for where a person is from. My ideas about who you are has changed a bit. You were a digital immigrant yesterday but turn into a real digital citizen today. I think I read between the lines that means I guess what you implies. Brushing up or improving English writing and speaking skill is our object here. So I try to pick up new phrases from your blogs. Today's phrases that say you really like something are 'Wow! I haven't had this much fun for ages', 'it's so cool to do something', I was very interested to do something', or 'It was a great fun doing something'. Also other useful ones to me are 'note something down' and 'get in touch with someone'. usually, I also find new phrases from songs, story books for children, note them down, make my own sentences with them, try to use them to help me remember. Best wishes, Yen.

Hi Simon This is my first time i have entered blogland and i have found it very exciting and its such a great opportunity for people to learn English.Now i am so eager to write about you that i cant wait for a second now.what i have observed about you is that you are very honest and loyal about your family.and you are very social and helpful.The way you are putting your efforts in improving people's english is remarkable.Now coming to the homework you gave us to do.So,Brush up means "to work on something to improve".Please do come up with some more new words and phrases. Thanks best wishes