Archiv des Autors: andergast

The Stars And Stripes – flamin’ stars

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The German Emperor William once said that the American Flag looked like a candy stick to which the American president Woodrow Wilson replied, “except you can´t lick our cane”.

This was probably not the first time that “Old Glory” was disrespected and won´t be the last. A Pakistani businessman makes his living out of manufacturing Star Bangeled Banners only for having them burned by irate Muslim Anti US Protesters.

The Stars And Stripes consists of 50 stars representing its Federal States, as well as 13 stripes for the colonies that initially declared independence from Great Britain.

Bus vs. Buzz

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For some ESL (English as a second language) learners the two vocabs of the headline might mean difficulites and mix-up potential especially pronounciationwise.

Buzz is an onomatopoetic expression, i.e. its sound insinuates its meaning: the two z´s at the end, pronounced correctly vocalized, sound almost like the noise a fly makes, which is exactly what it is.

Additionally, it can also refer to that intermediate state between sobriety and alcoholic intoxication.

A bus is a means of public transportation used by people either because of environmental correctness or lack of money.

Date vs. Data

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The two words of the headline are often and sustainably mixed up by ESL (English as a second language)  learners. Date refers to an appointment, businesswise, but more often romantic; the date of a day, month, year etc., or can mean a fruit, similar to a fig.

Data is simply the information that you feed or get from e.g. a computer, or you use for writing a report or in an argument.

date:

1
: the oblong edible fruit of a palm (Phoenix dactylifera)
2
: the tall palm with pinnate leaves that yields the date
1
a : the time at which an event occurs <the date of his birth> b : a statement of the time of execution or making <the date on the letter>
2
3
: the period of time to which something belongs
4
a : an appointment to meet at a specified time; especially : a social engagement between two persons that often has a romantic character b : a person with whom one has a usually romantic date
5
: an engagement for a professional performance (as of a dance band)
data
1
: factual information (as measurements or statistics) used as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation <the data is plentiful and easily available — H. A. Gleason, Jr.> <comprehensive data on economic growth have been published — N. H. Jacoby>

Homer Simpson Quotes – Operater give me the number for 911

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Homer Simpson is an American icon of pop culture. Somtimes I wonder what he owes his popularity to. Is it because the All American Male can identify with him so well, or is it just that you love to see someone who is worse off than you?

source: 2spare

  • Oh, so they have internet on computers now!
  • Bart, with $10,000, we’d be millionaires! We could buy all kinds of useful things like…love!
  • Just because I don’t care doesn’t mean I don’t understand.
  • I’m normally not a praying man, but if you’re up there, please save me Superman.
    		•

    Englisch Lernen Lernen

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    Das klassische Pauken von Vokablen ist längst aus der Mode und der Hosenboden kann vor Erleichterung aufatmen.

    Moderne Lernmethoden versuchen alle Sinne des Menschen haptisch, visuell, auditiv, optisch, und sogar den Geruchssinn mit einzubeziehen. Merke: Je mehr Sinne am Lernprozess beteiligt sind, desto effizienter ist er.

    Immerssionsmethode:

    Bedeutet übersetzt so etwas wie eintauchen. Man versucht, die Situation im englischsprachigen Aussland so gut als möglich zu simulieren. Also: mit dem Partner Englisch sprechen, Radio und Fernsehen nur auf Englisch, Bedienungsmenü auf Computer, Handy und Tablet auf Englisch, Zeitung auf Englisch, Besuche im Irish Pub usw.

    Passives Lernen:

    Frauen sind angeblich gut im Multitasking, auch Männer sind es, sie wissen es nur nicht. Jeder Mensch ist durchaus in der Lage mehre Sachen auf einmal zu machen. Fragen Sie nach bei meinem Neffen, der kann Fernsehen, Radio hören und Computerspielen alles zur selben Zeit. Wenn Sie also mit etwas beschäftigt sind, dass nicht Ihre volle Konzentration erfordert, hören, sehen und spüren Sie Englisch. z.B.: beim Bügeln oder Joggen englische MP3 hören.

    emotionales Lernen:

    Je höher der emotionale Erlebniswert eines Lernaufwandes ist, desto effektiver. Ideal eine Liebesaffäre mit einem Partner der Zielsprache. Wenn dies nicht möglich ist, versuchen Sie einen Freundeskreis in der Zielsprache zu etablieren (Facebook machts möglich), oder beschäftigen Sie sich mit Ihrem Hobby nur noch auf Englisch (Fachzeitschriften, Filme etc.)

    Wisecracks by Thomas A. Edison

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    The inventor of the electric light bulb was not only a technical genius, also his quotes are proverbial:

    “Discontent is the first necessity of progress.”

    “Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure”

    “The value of an idea lies in using it”

    “There are no rules here — we’re trying to accomplish something.”

    The Imperial System – The Weight of The Past

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    Continental Europeans might have wondered that in GB, US and other remnants of the British Empire the scale units are often different. This might be due to the fact that especially Britons have not quite come to terms with the fact that their times as a predominant power are over and accepting the metric system, or getting rid of some more of their eccentrities, would make their lives and interaction with them easier. But don’t we love the British for their quirks and oddities.

    Source: http://convert.french-property.co.uk/

    Metric Imperial
    1 millimetre [mm] 0.03937 in
    1 centimetre [cm] 10 mm 0.3937 in
    1 metre [m] 100 cm 1.0936 yd
    1 kilometre [km] 1000 m 0.6214 mile
    Imperial Metric
    1 inch [in] 2.54 cm
    1 foot [ft] 12 in 0.3048 m
    1 yard [yd] 3 ft 0.9144 m
    1 mile 1760 yd 1.6093 km
    1 int nautical mile 2025.4 yd 1.853 km
    Metric Imperial
    1 sq cm [cm2] 100 mm2 0.1550 in2
    1 sq m [m2] 10,000 cm2 1.1960 yd2
    1 hectare [ha] 10,000 m2 2.4711 acres
    1 sq km [km2] 100 ha 0.3861 mile2
    Imperial Metric
    1 sq inch [in2] 6.4516 cm2
    1 sq foot [sq ft] 144 in2 0.0929 m2
    1 sq yd [yd2] 9 sq ft 0.8361 m2
    1 acre 4840 yd2 4046.9 m2
    1 sq mile [mile2] 640 acres 2.59 km2
    Metric Imperial
    1 cu cm [cm3] 0.0610 in3
    1 cu decimetre [dm3] 1,000 cm3 0.0353 ft3
    1 cu metre [m3] 1,000 dm3 1.3080 yd3
    1 litre [l] 1 dm3 1.76 pt
    1 hectolitre [hl] 100 l 21.997 gal
    Imperial Metric
    1 cu inch [in3] 16.387 cm3
    1 cu foot [ft3] 1,728 in3 0.0283 m3
    1 fluid ounce [fl oz] 28.413 ml
    1 pint [pt] 20 fl oz 0.5683 l
    1 gallon [gal] 8 pt 4.5461 l
    USA measure Metric
    1 fluid ounce 1.0408 uk fl oz 29.574 ml
    1 pint (16 fl oz) 0.8327 uk pt 0.4731 l
    1 gallon 0.8327 uk gal 3.7854 l

    Germans And Their Beer The Hard Facts

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    One stereotype about the Germans is their soft spot for beer. And it’s not just a prejudice, it’s the truth, Germans love this brew of hop and malt so much that they reach an individual average consumption of 1o7 liters per year, 16 liters more than the average Briton for example. Still, in the overall ranking, Germans only get the silver medal trailing behind a hard drinking Czech Republic.

    source: Wikipedia

    1 Czech Republic 132 -21.1 1708
    2 Germany 107 -3.7 8787
    3 Austria 106 -1 888
    4 Ireland 104 -2.8 479

    Hammer Idioms – der Hammer

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    Genauso wie es im Deutschen hammerhart kommen kann, mag auch die englische Sprache nicht auf dies nützliche Werkzeug als Gegenstand idiomatischer Redewendungen verzichten:

    to hammer away at something = unerbittlich mit etwas fortfahren

    z.B.:

    Johnny was hammering away with questioning the applicant, it was almost embarrassing.

    to come under the hammer = versteigert werden

    The Hammer Inc. is coming under the hammer, I don´t understand why, they had been making profit.

    to hammer something home = jemandem unter Schwierigkeiten begreiflich machen

    The boss tried to hammer home to the staff that there wouldn’t be  a Christmas gratification this year, to no avail. ( to no avail = erfolglos).

    What Does Halloween Actually Mean?

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    Halloween was introduced in Mainland Europe not before a few years ago, probably in order to give retail revenue a  boost, similar to the introduction of Christmas in China.

    So many, all over non English-speaking Europe might not know, where the word Halloween originates from.

    The term Halloween, in its actual meaning, is supposed to announce the beginnig of winter, Nov 1st being All Saints’ Day or All Hallows’ Day, Okt. 31st, therefore, being All Hallows’ Eve shortened to Halloween, i.e. the evening before All Hallows’ Day.