FCE: Idioms: raining cats and dogs

Most learners of English will be familiar with the idiom It’s raining cats and dogs. Indeed, many people remember it because it’s such an odd expression and one which can conjure up quite entertaining images. There is, however, one small problem attached to this idiom: native speakers of English rarely use it and, if they do, it sounds rather old-fashioned. So, what do they say? Well, as with so many things, it depends on the context and who you are addressing your remarks to. In a polite, formal situation one might simply say It's pouring, with the optional addition of the slightly superfluous words with rain: It’s pouring with rain or It’s pouring down. Less formal alternatives are It’s chucking it down or It’s bucketing down, neither of which would be considered impolite in any way. If the rain is particularly heavy, the verb lash down can be used, as in 'It’s been lashing down for an hour now'. In British English one of the most common expressions is It's pissing down, although caution should be exercised when using this expression as some people may consider it impolite or even offensive. To be on the safe side it might be better to stick to It’s pouring down or the entertaining expression It’s pouring with rain out there, which suggests that it sometimes rains in here.

Author: Tim Bowen

FCE - How to Write an Article 2

Follow this step by step guide to a good article:

Decide what your article will be about.
Research the topic of your article.
Write your article using the template below.
First paragraph: In the first few sentences, answer these questions!
Who?
What?
When?
Where?
Why
Grab the reader's attention by using an opening sentence which is a question or something unexpected!
Now, give the details. It is always a good idea to include one or two quotes from people you interviewed. Write in the third person (he, she, it or they). Be objective. Use active verbs so the reader feels things are really happening!
Last paragraph: Round off your article. Try ending with a quote or a catchy phrase!
By-line: At the end, state who wrote the article; 'By ....'.
Decide where appropriate illustrations/pictures will be placed.
Proof-read your article and edit where needed.
Spell check your article!

FCE - WRITING AN ARTICLE

Ten Steps to Writing an Article
1. Realize that writing is a process, not a short burst of frantic activity. The usual steps are planning, research, writing a rough draft, editing, then writing a final draft.

2. Planning an article involves discussing why it is important and what you want to include. If you decide about length, scope and focus in advance, it will save you time and effort later.

3. Good articles are descriptive. Draw on your own experience and talk to those who have more experience or different experience than you.

4. The best articles help readers solve problems, save time, avoid mishaps and do their jobs more effectively. You can’t assume that the reader shares your perception of a problem; you may have to sell them the problem before you sell them a solution.

5. Write your draft the way you would tell the story to one of your friends. It should be informal and clear. Short words and short sentences are fine.

6. Readers want articles about things they can actually control and problems they can solve. Writing an article about a huge problem that is too large or too expensive merely raises the reader’s anxiety.

7. Tell real stories. Use actual examples. Readers want to hear about things that happened. They aren’t interested in platitudes, cliches, lectures, or slogans. Readers want reality, not theory.

8. Magazines are a clutchplate between the way things are and the way they should be. Ideally, everyone follows all the rules all the time, and no mishaps ever happen. In reality, people cut corners, take chances, stop paying attention, fall asleep in class, drive drunk, ignore their supervisor, take the easy way out, get in a hurry, resist learning, and on and on.

9. A magazine article doesn’t regurgitate official procedures or rules. Readers have plenty of those things already; the problem is that they don’t follow them. Simply repeating the procedures avoids the real problem.

10. "Why" is more interesting than "what." Defining a problem or a hazard is only the starting point.

Telephone English

Telephone English
Learning how to communicate well on the telephone is one of the top priorities for many students who need to use English at work. Learning the common phrases that are used on the telephone helps students know what to expect. However, what students often need most is practice, practice, and more practice. While helpful, practicing a role-play in the classroom is not always the best way to improve telephoning skills. Telephoning requires special skills as there are a number of difficulties that arise when telephoning that are specific to telephoning. The first and foremost difficulty is not being able to see the person you are communicating with. This lack of visual communication often makes students, who can communicate quite successfully in other situations, nervous and thereby hinders their communicative abilities. Add to this the typical hectic pace of business communication, and you have a particularly difficult situation.

Telephone English - Important Phrases
There are a number of phrases and idioms that are only used when telephoning. Let's first take a look at an example dialogue: Here are the most common:

Operator: Hello, Frank and Brothers, How can I help you?
Peter: This is Peter Jackson. Can I have extension 3421?
Operator: Certainly, hold on a minute, I'll put you through...
Frank: Bob Peterson's office, Frank speaking.
Peter: This is Peter Jackson calling, is Bob in?
Frank: I'm afraid he's out at the moment. Can I take a message?
Peter: Yes, Could you ask him to call me at . I need to talk to him about the Nuovo line, it's urgent.
Frank: Could you repeat the number please?
Peter: Yes, that's , and this is Peter Jackson.
Frank: Thank you Mr Jackson, I'll make sure Bob gets this asap.
Peter: Thanks, bye.
Frank: Bye.
As you can see, the language is rather informal and there are some important differences to everyday English. Look at the chart below for key language and phrases used in telephone English:

Introducing yourself
This is Ken.
Ken speaking

Asking who is on the telephone
Excuse me, who is this?
Can I ask who is calling, please?
Asking for Someone
Can I have extension 321? (extensions are internal numbers at a company)
Could I speak to...? (Can I - more informal / May I - more formal)
Is Jack in? (informal idiom meaning: Is Jack in the office?
Connecting Someone
I'll put you through (put through - phrasal verb meaning 'connect')
Can you hold the line? Can you hold on a moment?
How to reply when someone is not available
I'm afraid ... is not available at the moment
The line is busy... (when the extension requested is being used)
Mr Jackson isn't in... Mr Jackson is out at the moment...
Taking a Message
Could (Can, May) I take a message?
Could (Can, May) I tell him who is calling?
Would you like to leave a message?

(more practice on video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGuug8vShQg)

"BONNIE" PRINCE CHARLES

Famous Scots
- Prince Charles Edward Stuart (1720-1788)




Background
Bonnie Prince Charlie was a grandson of King James VII who was driven out of Britain in 1688 because of his support of the Catholic faith. Parliament had originally wanted James' daughter Mary and her husband, William of Orange from the Netherlands, to act as regents until James' newly born son, James Francis Stuart (Charles' father), reached his majority (and had been raised in the Protestant faith). But William was unhappy with this arrangement and insisted on having the crown along with his wife. Parliament agreed, thus sowing the seeds of the subsequent Jacobite Uprisings (Jacobite came from the Latin word for James - Jacobus).

Of course, King James VII tried to regain his throne. But on July 12, 1690, William defeated James in the Battle of the Boyne, Ireland. King James VII died in exile in 1701. There were further Jacobite insurrections in Scotland, particularly in 1715 when James Francis Stuart (nicknamed "The Old Pretender") landed in Scotland, some months after the Earl of Mar had conducted an ineffectual campaign. James had dithered in France about when to leave for Scotland and it was mid-winter by the time he arrived at Aberdeen on 22 December. And he did not bring the expected French military forces or any money. After two months he was advised to withdraw and left once more for France, never to return.

William and Mary died childless and her sister and successor Queen Anne also died without issue. Parliament then decided in 1714 (by a majority of one) to ask George, the Elector of Hanover in Germany to become king of Britain. George's mother was Sophia, a grand-daughter of King James VI. Even so, the rules of succession gave James Francis Stuart a stronger right to the throne, a point not lost on the Jacobite supporters, most of whom were in Scotland.

In 1718, James Francis Stuart married Princess Clementina Maria Sobieski of Poland who was one of the wealthiest females of royal birth in Europe. Their son, Prince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Silvester Maria Stuart was born in Rome on 31 December 1720. The Pope gave his personal blessing to the infant.

Early Years
Although the Hanoverian rumour machine tried to spread stories that he was deformed and an imbecile, unbiased observers of the young Prince described him as headstrong and brave. He learned quickly and could converse in English, French, Latin and Italian (but there was nobody to teach him Gaelic). He was a good marksman with a cross-bow. It is possible that his father would have allowed Charles to be reared as a Protestant to improve his chances of inheriting the throne but this was not a viable proposition while living in Rome.

In addition to being called Prince Charles Edward, he also gained the nicknames of "Bonnie Prince Charlie" and "The Young Chevalier" (the French word for Prince). His portraits certainly show him to be a handsome young man.

Charles was treated as a Prince in Italy and later in France. The French and British were at loggerheads (as on so many occasions over the centuries) and in 1744 offered a fleet with 7,000 soldiers to help Charles restore the Stuarts to the British throne. But many of the ships were lost in a storm and wrecked on the Dunkirk coast.

The song "My Bonnie" refers to him.

(Also visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNdH44_WaqY) Enjoy it!!!

FCE - ENGLISH IDIOMS THAT USE THE WEATHER

English idioms that use the weather.

a face like thunder = to look very angry: "What's up with him today? He has a face like thunder!"
a fair-weather friend = a friend who doesn't support you in bad times: "I'm a bit disappointed in John and David. It turned out they were only fair-weather friends."
a snowball's chance = very little chance (as much chance as a snowball has in hell): "We don't have a snowball's chance of winning that contract!"
a storm in a teacup = a lot of fuss over something small: "Don't worry about those two arguing. it's just a storm in a teacup."
be a breeze = to be easy: "The exam was a breeze."
be snowed under = to be very busy: "We're snowed under at work."
blow hot and cold = to keep changing your attitude: "They're blowing hot and cold over this issue. It's impossible to know what they want!"
brass-monkey weather = very cold weather: "It's brass-monkey weather today. You'd better wrap up warm!"
come rain or shine = whatever happens: "He's always working in his garden – come rain or shine."
the lull before the storm = a quiet time before a busy or difficult time: "It's going to get very busy on Thursday. Today and tomorrow are just the lull before the storm."
save up for a rainy day = put money aside for when you might need it later: "I don't want to spend this extra money. I'll save it up for a rainy day."
see which way the wind blows = to analyse a situation before doing something: "I'm going to see which way the wind blows before asking her about a raise."
steal someone's thunder = do what someone else was going to do and get all the praise: "You'll steal her thunder if you wear that dress tonight!"
take a rain check = postpone something: "I don't really want to go the cinema tonight. Can we take a rain-check on it?"
under the weather = not feel very well: "I'm feeling a bit under the weather at the moment."
weather the storm = to survive a difficult situation: "This recession is quite serious and it's becoming difficult to weather the storm."

(watch a video on http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=rn1BxewN-kQ)