What I do And What Is Done

From Twitter
I go shopping at the market after cleaning the house each morning. The Corona Virus situation has change our activities.

A. usual
B. usually

Answer And Explanation
① A. ‘usually;’ is an adverb, which is required to help (“modify”) the verb go. 
② B. ‘usual’ is an adjective, which is needed to help (“modify”) the noun activities.

Comedians in Cafe on Diet

Jerry: What do you –a soy or meat burger?
Alec: I would have soy.
Jerry: a vegetarian diet, I still got fat.
Alec: eating soy, so am I.
Ricky: You’re both ridiculous.

Use all choices in the spaces above:
prefer
despite
rather
In spite of my

Photo: Flip Mishevski

Answers And Explanations
Jerry: What do you (①) prefer–a soy or meat burger? ‘Prefer’ is used regarding choices.
Alec: I would (②) rather have have soy. ‘Rather’ precedes a verb, such as ‘have.’
Jerry: (③) Despite a vegetarian diet, I still got fat. ‘Despite` precedes a noun.
Alec: (④) In spite of my eating soy, so am I. ‘In spite of’ precedes a noun or a… pronoun or Proper Noun and then a verb. But here, we have ‘my,’ which couldn’t come before the ‘a vegetarian diet’ in number 。 
Ricky: You’re both ridiculous.

No Phones in Pockets!

From Twitter:
Dr. J: Don’t do that.
Bo: __ my phone in my chest pocket?
Dr. J: Right.
Bo: Really?
Dr. J. You’ll get tumors in your chest. Not in your pants pocket either.
Bo: And headphones?
Dr. J:_ ②_them; don’t hold a phone near your head–nor a tablet or laptop on your lap.

Choices:
have
use
put

Photo: Tran Mau Tri Tam

Answer And Explanation:
Put is the answer; though ‘have’ is okay, the emphasis in a “dos and don’ts” situation is usually on the beginning action, or the doing. In other words, we put something in a place before we have it in that place. So the ‘putting’ is a the “beginning” or causal action. Also, if you imagine a patient in a doctor’s office–after a physical exam– s/he probably puts the phone in his or her pocket in front of the doctor. So, the doctor’s saying “don’t do that” refers to something the person is “doing”, not “having.”

‘Use’ is the answer; there is no other sensible choice, here.

Working from Home

I like working from home.

From Twitter:
I like working from home, because I can save time __ to the office.

Choices
a。from going
b。of going
c。to go

Photo: The Coherent Team

Answer and Explanations:
The answer is:
a. ‘from going to,’ because we are taking time out of, or “from” an activity.

b. If we wanted to use ‘of going’ we would need to be referring to a specific amount of time, so would need ‘the’ in front of it: ‘save the time of going.’

c. If we used ‘to go,’ the meaning changes to suggesting that we want to go to the office.

What Are They Doing?

From Twitter:

What are these people doing? Look at the choices under the picture gallery and make sentences.

① Mo –

Nib

② Jo –

Tram car

③ Im –

Rocket

④ Bi –

Automobile

⑤ Ci –

Movie camera

⑥ Ee –

Musical keyboard

⑦ Gi –

Microphone

⑧ Mi –

Man lifting weights

⑨ Xi –

American football

Make sentences with these choices and see the white board below for help:

play ❶
make
sing
drive
ride
fly
write
Play ❷

Answers:

① Mo –

Nib

Mo is writing.

② Jo –

Tram car

③ Jo is riding a trolley.

Rocket

Im is flying a rocket.

④ Bi –

Automobile

Bi is driving (or riding in) a car.

⑤ Ci –

Movie camera

Ci is making a movie (or filming [with a camera]).

⑥ Ee –

Musical keyboard

Ee is playing (keyboard[s]).

⑦ Gi –

Microphone

Gi is singing (with a mic[rophone]).

⑧ Mi –

Man lifting weights

Mi is weightlifting/working out/ exercising.

American football

Xi is playing (or wathcing) football.

Whose Mask?

Is this mine or yours? It’s hers. Or–is it his?


Jo (a guy) and Mo (a gal) took ① masks off & left ②. Later they are confused as to who owns what, and Bo helps them sort it out.

Jo: Is this ③ mask or is it Mo’s?
Bo: It’s ④.
Jo: Where’s ⑤?
Bo: ⑥ here.
Jo: And yours?
Bo: ⑦ on me!
Mo (to Jo): Does Bo have ⑧ mask?
Jo: Yes ⑨ has it.

Choices
my
their
she
her
it’s
them
hers
mine
your

A


Johny’s Bar

From Twitter:
The bartender at Johnny’s S & P’s Bar on Greenwich Street is a ① mate of mine. He often gets me my drinks ② on the house.

A. The meaning of ① is:
spouse
acquaintance
buddy
co-worker on a ship

B. The meaning of ② is:
inside
on the second floor
on the roof
free
at a discount

Answers And Explanation :
A.mate means buddy (or close friend), and is used in other English-speaking countries beyond the US
B.on the house means free

Is there a doctor in the house?

Kim: It ① there aren’t many public health professionals in @Japan.
Jake: What’s that mean?
Kim: It ② there are researchers, but few doctors and nurses to treat #COVID19 patients.
Jake: Are you sure?
Kim: It’s hard to get info.

looks
like
seems

Answers And Explanation
Seems and looks like work here, but looks like is usually or best used for first-hand observations–things you can see now (usually, not always); seems is better for number 1, because it can be used more abstractly (not necessarily about what’s in front of one’s eyes). But remember, seems and looks like are interchangeable.
Again, seems and looks like work here, but looks like seems more conclusive, after having examined the facts–as in a conclusion. But once again, the two choices are interchangeable.

Scrub or Sterilize?

From Twitter:

Usually, people ① their hands with soapy ② after going to the bathroom, working or being outside. Surgeons always ③ their hands and arms up to the elbow. Nowadays, we must ④ our hands, clothes, hats, wallets and shopping packaging.

Choices
sterilize (to destroy all germs, bacteria and pathogens [0n/in/around something])
washed (past tense of ‘wash’)
lather (the bubbles made from swishing soap and water on the body or hair)
scrub (to clean vigorously and abrasively to scrape away dirt and germs)
soapy (having soap and possibly suds [soap bubbles])

#Corona

The Answers are:
① wash
② scrub
③ sterilize

photo: Mathew Tkocz