Category: Twitter

寝ると眠る=Fall Asleep?

From Twitter:
A. What time did you go to bed?
B. Dunno–2?
A. Why do ya look tired?
1. B. I didn’t __ until 3.
2. A. __ to sleep later then?
But lack of sleep reduces memory, memory organization, brain cleansing and testosterone–even testicle size!
B. Yeah?
A. Yup!

Choose:
a. go to sleep
b. fall asleep

Answers and Explanation:
1. b., fall asleep, which means to slip into the brain-rest-state of unconsciousness
2. a., go to sleep, which means to (sometimes to go to the bed and to) try to fall into the brain-rest-state of unconsciousness

Flat Earth?

From Twitter:

A. You think Earth is flat?
1. B. Yes. __ it isn’t.
2. A. I can show you the __.
3. B. What’s your __?
A. Ever seen a lunar eclipse?
B. Sure.
A. Earth’s shadow is curved on the moon.
B. That’s the moon’s curve!
A. Ug. So–fly to 13,624 ft, or higher!
B. Oh.

a. proof
b. evidence
c. prove

Answers and Explanation:
1. c., prove (a verb)
2. a., proof or b., evidence (both nouns)
3. a., proof or b., evidence (both nouns)

Sleep Time

From Twitter:

1. Mom: It’s _.
Kid: Okay, Mom, but can I get something to eat?
2. Mom: After you _.
Kid: I’m hungry now!
Mom: You ate a ton. Pajamas–now.
…

3. Mom: Okay, you ate; now _!
Kid (from bed): Mom!
4. Mom: _.

a. Sleep
b. Go to sleep
c. Get ready for bed
d. bed time
e. Go to bed

Answers & Explanation:
1. d. Bed time means “the time one should go to the bed and begin to sleep.“
2. c. Get ready for bed means “prepare to sleep.”
3. e. Go to bed means “go to the bed room, get in the bed and sleep.“
4. b. Go to sleep means “begin to sleep.“

To The Moon Again

From Twitter:

Pick the best answers:

1. __ the rocket, the SLS* will take Americans to the moon next time.
2. __ selecting crews, NASA will have a male/female landing team this time.

a. about
b. concerning
c. regarding
e. in terms of
f. with
g. as for
h. in the case of

Answers:
1. d. as for
2. e. in terms of

Explanation:
Number 1. First the bad answers:
a., About works in conversation but is not the best literate answer. It is a casual beginning–not lending the proper sophistication to the subject–but again, it is an “okay” basic preposition for the phrase.
b., Concerning also works, but … well, but nothing. It is fine, but it lends a feeling of awkwardness and perhaps too much formality; it also sounds like there is a problem. What we are really looking for is a neutral preposition to introduce the rocket.
f., With is too informal and sound as if we have already mentioned the type of rocket.
h., In the case of also sounds too specific, like with, meaning it sounds like we have spoken of the rocket type already.

The best answer is g., as for, because it is like about, but lends a feeling of uncertainty, until we get to the certainty… of the type of rocket that has been chosen. But the best reason is that… though we can use it for selecting crews–a process– in this case it is better to be paired with a single noun (rocket); so we use as for, more than in terms of for single things or people.

Number 2. e. In terms of is the best answer for ‘selecting crews’ because ‘terms’ suggests separate ideas or procedures, and a selection process is about that kind of thing–procedures, especially with a partitive (the ‘of’ portion), suggesting parts (in this case of a process).



Castaway (“If Only”)

From Twitter:

A castaway* on a deserted island says:

“If I only had a lighter and a flare gun!”**

The suggested idea is (Choose):
a. He had only those things, but lost them.
b. He needs things–most of all those things, so then he could help himself with them.
c. He wishes he had just a lighter and flare gun.

*A castaway
is a person who has been cast (or “thrown”, but not by someone else) away, meaning “lost” in a forgotten, hard-to-locate or distant and “uncivilized” place–away from society, such as a island in the Pacific Ocean.

**A flare gun fires a non-destructive glowing projectile (a flare) into the sky; 1. it is used to send an emergency signal in order for the user to show others his location, so that s/he can be found and rescued. 2. In war time it is used to illuminate where the enemy is.

Answer: The answer is b.: He needs things–most of all those things (the flare gun and lighter), so then he could help himself with them.

Explanation: The answer isn’t a., because if only I had is a conditional clause expressing a wish for the present, not regret about the past. And the answer isn’t c., because who would wish for only some necessary items and not others–and what would be the point of saying this in the narrative (story)?

Ocean Warming

From Twitter:

Scientists said today that the oceans are __ so quickly it’s like 5 atomic bombs are being detonated in the sea.

a. heated
b. heats
c. heating
______

It’s a serious problem, so please turn off your car, scooter or truck when not driving and all electricity at home when not using it.

Answer: c., heating

Explanation:

Technically, there are two possible grammatical answers but only one contextual correct answer; a., heated is possible grammatically, but in context would make no sense, because using the past tense in this way indicates the causative, meaning someone or something heats the ocean, which of course we know is not true (unless we are talking about the sun); the ocean is heated naturally; people could split hairs with me on this, and they would be right, but give me a break; I’m trying to make a more important point:

The sentence begins with ‘scientists said today…’ and ‘are’ is the linkning verb, so–the best answer is heating (are + ing = the present continuous)

Cash Or Charge

From Twitter:
A. I got lunch.
B. You paid last time. I`ll pay _ card!
A. No. Your bill is too high; how will you _ it?
B. You always pay _ me.
A. When you’re doing well you can _ me.
B. I’ll __ it to you.
A. From Spain?
B. _!

a. treat
b. buy
c. by
d. for
e. transfer
f. wire transfer
g. pay

Answers:
c. by, g. pay, d. for, e. transfer, f. wire transfer

Explanation:
I got lunch expressed in the present means I am getting lunch for you.
We pay with cash or by card/by check, by money order or by traveler’s check.
We pay a bill, pay a fee, pay a penalty fee, pay a fine. (No preposition between ‘pay’ and the object)
We transfer bank to bank within a country.
We wire transfer to another country.



Calm down?

From Twitter
1/2) A danger in studying English by memorizing set expressions is in not knowing when to use them, making one look foolish or even insulting. Any English teacher in Asia can tell you we experience this often. One reason is students do not read books enough. Next, see 2/2. >
2/2) The other day a man on the train saw that I dropped a pen. He picked it up, handed it to me and said “Good morning.” I said “thank you” and returned the greeting. He then said, “Calm down.” He should’ve said:

a. What’s new?
b. Where are you from?
c. You’re welcome.
d. relax

Answers: Of course a, b, and c are fine (though a. is really for friends or people who know each other), with c being the most common and boring, but d is out (wrong or inappropriate). It doesn’t even make sense.

Explanation: “Calm down” is bizarre, but I suppose the old man meant, “relax”? Even that is a non-relevant answer. But living in another culture we have to understand peoples’ attempt to communicate.

Soy Sauce in Japan

From Twitter:

(Choose the better style.)

1. ___is different in my province of Japan.
a. The taste of the soy sauce
b. The soy sauce’s taste

2. ___ is where the fuel is kept in most airliners.
c. The wing of the plane
d. The plane’s wing

Answers:

  1. a
  2. c

Explanation: Ownership or possession is the ability to “have” things, to “possess” them and to “keep” them; we usually show ownership in English by adding ‘s. Look:

Bob‘s skis
Lily’s tablet
the president’s stupid hair
the dude‘s bowling ball

the floor of the car
(a car can’t own a floor.)

the wing of the plane
(a plane can’t possess a wing.)

the roof of the house
(a house can’t keep a roof.)

Traditionally we do not give the power of ownership to things, inanimate (non-animated/non-moving) objects, non-lifeforms. So–to indicate that something is a part of something else or belongs with it or is part of it, we use the (or a) and of.

続ける: Continue….vs Keep vs Go on

The cop said “Carry on.”

From Twitter:
Choose:
Peter: So then I — wait, can I have another beer?
Bartender: One beer comin’ up.
Paul: __ your story; I wanna know the rest.
Peter: Where was I?
Mary: You were gonna tell us what happened next.
Paul: Yeah, __!
Peter: So, the cop said; __

a. carry on
b. go on
c. continue

Answers:
c, b and a

Look/Explanation:
Peter: So then I — wait, can I have another beer?
Bartender: One beer comin’ up.
Paul: Continue your story; I wanna know the rest.
Peter: Where was I?
Mary: You were gonna tell us what happened next.
Paul: Yeah, Go on! Go on means ‘Go on’ means ”keep telling your story.”
Peter: So, the cop said; carry on. ‘Carry on‘ sounds official and means go continue doing what you were doing (but can be casual, too–meaning the same thing as ”go on”–but this is less common.)

photo: by Elevate
photo: Clay Banks