Tag: English Courses

Telling Time

Here are several different ways to talk about the time!

What time is it?

It is 5 o’clock.

OR

It’s 5.

 

Use o’clock to a time that is on the hour. Remember that if you want to clarify in the morning or at night, AM or PM goes after o’clock.

 

Ex:       It is 6 o’clock PM.       (Afternoon)

 

It is 8 o’clock AM.       (Morning)

What about other times?

 

There are two ways to say 3:40.

  1. It’s three forty.
  2. It’s twenty to three.

Check out this chart to help you describe more times:

 

6:05 Six oh five Five minutes past six
3:15 Three fifteen A quarter past three
4:30 Four thirty Half-past four
12:45 Twelve forty-five A quarter to one

 

Bonus: These two times can also be said in another way!

 

12:00 AM =  midnight

            12:00 PM = noon

 

Now try this quiz to test your knowledge!

 

Telling Time

Try this quiz to test your knowledge!

Books about the American South

Check out this list of interesting books to read to help you prepare for your next trip to the American South.

The United States is very large and so has different cultural and historical influences in different regions. In this post we’re going to take a look at The American South.

The American South is also called “The Bible Belt” because of the many churches, both large and small, scattered across the land as well as religious influence on society in the area. Texas is one of the most internationally known Southern states, but Southern culture in Texas is very different from what you’d find in South Carolina or Georgia. Many parts of Texas identify with the American Southwest (think cowboys and Spaghetti Westerns) whereas in the states that make up the American South are more closely related to a slower, sweet-tea and fried chicken kind of lifestyle.

The American South is both enchanting and evil. It is the place where the slave trade started in the United States as well as where the first shots of the Civil War were fired at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. It is also home to world-famous Southern hospitality, Gospel, and Soul Food. A place where centuries-old oak trees rustle in the cool Southern breezes. It’s the birthplace of Ray Charles and Hank Williams and where Gullah Geechee culture still thrives today.

In order to give you a chance to experience The American South, we’ve compiled a list of novels and short stories, both fiction and non-fiction, that will transport you among the chaos and beauty of the region.

  1. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil – John Berendt

Published: 1999

This non-fiction novel explores the ins and outs of life in Savannah, Georgia while centering around a shocking crime.

  1. The Color Purple – Alice Walker

Published: 1982

The novel explores the lives of two sisters in rural Georgia as they cope with hardship and sacrifice.

  1. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee

Published: 1960

A cornerstone of the American literary canon, this novel depicts both the moral depths of the human conscience as well as a coming-of-age story in a small Southern town.

  1. As I Lay Dying – William Faulkner

Published: 1930

A harrowing tale of one family’s journey across rural Mississippi to bury their wife and mother, Addie.

  1. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café – Fannie Flagg

Published: 1987

This novel ties together two stories of friendship, loss, and adventure, one set in 1980’s Alabama and the other in the 1930’s.

  1. The Complete Stories of Flannery O’Connor – Flannery O’Connor

Published: 1955

This is the largest compilation of short stories by one of The American South’s most prolific authors.

  1. Invisible Man – Ralph Ellison

Published: 1952

This novel shows the nightmare of the nameless protagonist’s literal journey across The American South to the streets of Harlem as well as the horrors of his figurative journey across the racial divide.

  1. The Water is Wide – Pat Conroy

Published: 1972

The true story of Pat Conroy’s difficult and rewarding year teaching on Yamacraw Island, a land where the way of life is threatened by the fast-growing, overbearing world around it.

 

Learn English with the News – Simone Biles, the GOAT, Leaves Olympic Events

For athletes, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Perhaps behind the fame and success there is something that spectators don’t see. Or maybe they do… As of late, many prominent athletes have voiced their personal problems, putting their mental health first over everything else, and Simone Biles is one of the latest athletes to show us that they are indeed human.
Watch the video and then do the accompanying English language exercises!

The news is a consistent source of entertainment, knowledge and discovery that never ceases to exist and always comes out with more and more material each day. Because it plays such a vital part in our lives and is so important to keep up with, it is without a doubt a piece of your everyday routine that can’t go ignored.

Whether it is to understand the ramifications of recent legislation passed, to hear about recent events and grasp the potential consequences to your country, or simply hear about what is happening in other countries in order to compare them to what’s happening in yours, the news is certainly a staple in our lives and the most consistent way to get information.

This is why Scrambled Eggs has decided to unite two of your biggest worlds: learning English and keeping up with what is happening in the world. We hope our challenging daily exercises, composed of listening, vocabulary and comprehension exercises in English, will satisfy both of those above worlds in a satisfactory and also entertaining way.

So enough about introductions, let’s get to today’s Learn English with the News topic:

Now that you’ve had a listen, let’s put your knowledge to the test with some of our vocabulary and comprehension exercises:

Simone Biles, the GOAT, Leaves Olympic Events || Answer the Questions

Answer the following questions with the correct form.

Simone Biles, the GOAT, Leaves Olympic Events || Definition Match

Put the following words to the correct definitions.

Simone Biles, the GOAT, Leaves Olympic Events || Multiple Choice

Choose the correct preposition

 

Full Text:

” World gymnastics champion and Olympic gold medal winner Simone Biles leaves the USA team because she is concerned about her mental health. The gymnast, often called “the GOAT” (greatest of all time), announced she will not participate in the team events with the other five members of the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Team.

She competed in two events with her team: floor and vault. Simone faced a difficult moment in her vault event that caused her to decide not to continue the team events. In her vault event, Simone had what gymnasts call “twisties.” Twisties is when a gymnast loses their orientation while spinning in the air. It can be very dangerous because they will not know where they are or how to land. Fortunately, Simone landed safely on the mat.

Twisties can happen when gymnasts face extreme pressure and stress.

Top-level athletes can experience a lot of stress from the pressure of performing on the world stage. Even one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, like Simone, can face these pressures. She made a brave and difficult decision to leave the team events to concentrate on her mental health.

The USA Gymnastics organization told reporters that they don’t know if Biles will participate in the individual all-around competition scheduled for next week.

The 24-year-old athlete will be evaluated by doctors to be sure that her health and safety are prioritized. “