Using "HIT" in expressions - part 1

NYC beaches are still somewhat empty, but once the temperatures start to reach
the 90s, everyone's going to be HITTING THE BEACHES, and they will be packed.

Are you familiar with the following idioms using the word "HIT"?

• HIT THE BOOKS       HIT THE BEACH      HIT THE JACKPOT
• HIT A HOMERUN      HIT THE MARK       HIT THE ROAD

If you are, try the exercise below and see how well you know them. If you need a quick explanation, head over to our main blog for a quick lesson!

1. Don't you have a big exam next week? When are you going to __________?
2. Let's __________ early tomorrow before traffic gets heavy.
3. The meteorologist's predictions really __________.  It rained, then it snowed just as he said.
4. They usually don't __________ until July when the water gets really warm.
5. Tom's still in Las Vegas. He says he won't come back until he __________.
6. I don't understand why Sarah didn't win the competition. I totally think she __________ with her last performance.
7. It's still beautiful out. Let's __________ after dinner and just take a walk.
8. Sarah is always __________. It's no wonder she always graduates at the top of her class.
9. It's getting late. I should __________. I have an early start tomorrow.
10. I honestly thought I'd failed the test, but I found out I actually aced it. I was so worried, but I had no idea I'd actually __________.

Using idioms with the word "CUT"

How well do you know the following idioms?

CUT IT CLOSE; CUT CORNERS; CUT OUT FOR; CUT OUT TO; MAKE THE CUT; 
CUT SOMEONE SOME SLACK; CUT IT OUT; CUT THE CRAP; NOT CUT IT

If you're familiar with all of them, then head over to our main blog for a quick exercise & check how well you can use these idioms in sentences.

If you're unsure about what some or all of them mean, read on for our quick lesson and look at the examples below first before heading to our main blog and trying the exercise.

-- CUTTING IT CLOSE means to almost be late for something or to not give yourself ample (enough) time before a scheduled event.

Give yourself ample time for your flight. You don't want to CUT IT TOO CLOSE and be stressed going through airport security. 

-- CUT CORNERS means to miss steps in a process.
His manager advised him not to CUT CORNERS in order to make a good impression with his colleagues.

Adriane's tips for improving your English

The latest teacher featured on our main blog is Adriane Lee, a senior ESL instructor and former coordinator at New York Language Center's Jackson Heights branch. Adriane has a long personal and professional background in dance performance and choreography, which she equates with TESOL. Read about Adriane's profile at our main blog.

Adriane motivates students to work on their English by encouraging them to do something fun, such as watching your favorite tv shows and movies and using these fun and relaxing activities to improve your skills in reading, listening, vocabulary, and pronunciation. She says you can accomplish this by repeating subtitles until you're comfortable saying the sentences, yourself. You can also press the mute button and voice the conversations on the screen. She also suggests recording yourselves using your phones for one minute and transcribing (writing down) what you've said so you can check for grammatical mistakes.

An exercise on WISHING correctly

How good are you at WISHING in English? Have you read our four-part lesson on how to wish correctly? If you need a refresher, go to PART 1 to review wishing in the present, PART 2 to read about wishing someone the best, PART 3 for wishing about the future, and PART 4 for wishing about the past, also known as regret or blame. Once you're ready, try the following exercise. (You'll find the answers below.) GOOD LUCK!

1. Sarah wishes she _________ a larger oven. (She doesn't have a larger oven.)
2. Tom wishes Sarah _________ at the party. (Sarah was not at the party.)
3. John wished they __________ tear down the old, historic building downtown. (They will tear it down soon.)
4. Tom decided to go to the party. Now, he wishes he ___________; he's bored.
5. The Smiths own a beautiful boat, but sometimes they wish they ________. Maintenance is so expensive & they hardly use it.
6. They wish the kids __________ the horror movie. Now, they can't sleep.
7. When the job gets too stressful, Peter wishes he __________ the manager. (But he is.)
8. He wishes Sally __________ to his party. She's not going because she has to work.
9. She wishes she ________ to set her alarm. (She forgot to do it.)
10. John wishes he _______ sick. He'd be more productive. (He's not feeling well.)

How did you do? Did you find the practice helpful? Share it with friends! You can use the buttons below; you can also share it on Facebook and on Twitter. Just tag your posts #ilovenylc. Thanks!

ANSWERS: 1. HAD   2. HAD BEEN   3. WOULDN'T   4. HADN'T GONE   5. DIDN'T   6. HADN'T SEEN/HADN'T WATCHED   7. WEREN'T   8. WERE GOING/WOULD GO   9. HADN'T FORGOTTEN   10. WEREN'T/DIDN'T FEEL

-- Joe Yu, ESL instructor 

Doubting research on animal self-awareness: a TOEFL integrated essay

To practice writing a TOEFL integrated essay, students are given three minutes to read a short passage, after which they listen to a lecture related to the topic they just read about. They are then given 20 minutes to outline, write, and edit their essays. This particular exercise is from page 391 of "Delta's Key to the TOEFL iBT" preparation course book.

WRITING TASK: Summarize the points made in the lecture, being sure to explain how they cast doubt on specific points made in the reading passage.

ESSAY:
The reading passage discusses the idea that chimpanzees have the ability for self-awareness by mentioning an experiment and its positive results. The lecture, on the other hand, casts doubt on this experiment and questions the validity of its results.

The reading explains how scientists used the "mark test" to determine that chimpanzees experience self-awareness. During this test, chimpanzees were allowed to get used to the presence of a mirror and play with it. The animals were then given sleeping pills, and one eyebrow and one ear were marked red while they were unconscious. The chimpanzees were then observed with and without the mirror after they woke up, and scientists recorded how they behaved in both situations. The results of the experiment showed that the animals touched their heads and faces significantly more when the mirror was in the room. In addition, the animals seemed to notice the red spots on their bodies, sniffing and examining their fingers after touching the spots. Furthermore, the animals groomed themselves and made faces in front of the mirror, which made scientists conclude that the chimpanzees were able to be aware of their image in the mirror.

The lecture, on the other hand, questioned the results of the above experiment. First, the professor mentions that the results were inconsistent since in one test, only one chimpanzee touched the red marks. This differed from the other times when most of the chimpanzees showed awareness of the marks on their eyebrows and ears. Second, the lecture says that chimpanzees routinely touch parts of their body and, therefore, can't be interpreted as being aware of their image in the mirror. In fact, one chimpanzee rubbed the marks off even before he saw himself in the mirror. Third, the lecture mentions that chimpanzees are known to groom themselves around each other. Grooming is a social activity among their species when they are in each other's presence. Grooming themselves in front of a mirror, therefore, doesn't necessarily mean that they recognize themselves. It may simply be a social response upon seeing another chimpanzee in the room.

-- written by Joe Yu, ESL instructor, during a writing activity in class

Fiction or Nonfiction: A TOEFL Independent Essay

This TOEFL independent essay is in response to the writing task on page 423 of the course book "Delta's Key to the TOEFL iBT" and was written in class during our writing practice exercise. The students were given 30 minutes to outline, write, and edit their own writing.

QUESTION: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? It is more important for students to read books about real events than it is for them to read novels. Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.

ESSAY:
With very little free time on our hands these days, it's sometimes a challenge deciding which kinds of books to read. For example, are novels worth our time and effort more than books about real events? In my opinion, reading any book with good information and a potent message is a good choice. However, I think students are better off spending their time reading novels because of their entertainment value and because novels have their way of teaching that helps readers relate the message to their lives.

I like the entertainment value of novels especially because students usually have to read so much technical information for their classes. Reading novels allows them to escape reality while also teaching them about life and how to deal with problems and challenges. The characters in a novel often go through issues that seem unsurmountable in the beginning, and the reader is able to experience these challenges and witness how they are eventually dealt with or overcome. Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea," for example, shows how the main character wrestled with a huge fish and the elements in the open water, and as we are engaged in how the events unfold, we also learn about the character's tenacity and ability to master his environment and himself.

In addition, novels have a way of helping readers relate the book's message to their lives because the lives of the characters in novels, however strange, usually go through common human issues and dilemmas that are often easy to understand in an emotional or psychological level. Because of this, learning goes beyond intellectual knowledge and becomes deeper and, some might say, lasting because a story usually lingers in the reader's head long after he or she finishes reading a book. While the message is often indirect and expressed through the characters, its effect on the reader is often unmistakable and poignant. For example, in addition to being gripped by the old man's predicament in Hemingway's novel, we also learn about character and the writer's message about how to deal with the forces that we face in our lives.

Reading books about real events, while informative and also important for students, don't have the same effect that novels have. These books usually don't entertain their readers or take them to imaginary lands that seem strange or different while also helping readers understand themselves. In addition, books of nonfiction rarely take readers on a journey while at the same time help them understand their lives and their present circumstances.

written by Joe Yu, ESL instructor, during our writing activity in class.

Do actions speak louder than words?

This TOEFL independent essay question asks if you agree with a statement. Of course, it's always easier and safer during the test to agree or disagree based on what you personally believe. However, it's a good idea to practice by arguing for the opposite side. It exercises your reasoning skills and prepares you for questions on the TOEFL or on any test when you don't know which side to take. With practice, you will be able to take any side, whether you agree with it or not, and reason it well.

The following essay was written during a 30-minute writing exercise, and for practice, the writer argued for the side opposite what he believes. The thesis statement of the essay is in bold. In addition, the arguments, which should be mentioned in the introduction and as thesis statements in the body paragraphs, are underlined.

This question is from page 275 of the TOEFL preparation textbook by Longman.

ESSAY:

There's a common adage that says, "Actions speak louder than words," It gives the idea that a person can say anything, but if his actions convey the opposite, his words become invalid or irrelevant because his actions will have a stronger influence on others. While I agree with this saying, I also think that there are times when words, in fact, speak louder than actions. These happen during times after we've acted out on impulse such as during times of stress and also when someone's personality or habit says the opposite of what the person wants to convey.

One instance when our words speak louder than our actions is after we are angry or stressed. When we are upset, we may show annoyance at people or even express anger toward others. However, when the difficult moment has passed, we can correct these personal misdemeanors with our words, and without even explaning or apologizing, we can use the right words to show others the kind of person we really are, that we didn't mean to be rude, and that we are capable and in fact have a greater tendency to be kind. While some may disagree with this argument and counter that in fact our negative actions showed our true feelings at the moment, just like our positive actions when we began to feel better showed our good side. I would insist that words have power, and they have the ability to erase any of our momentarily negative actions.

Other times when I think words speak louder than actions is when a person's character comes through in his words despite his actions. One example is when a person conveys sarcasm. A person might be smiling or may act nice, but a hint of sarcasm in his voice can easily betray his good or kind actions. In addition, I've encountered people who simply look angry. However, once I've had the chance to talk to them, their kindness comes through in their words. Some people may describe someone's bark as being worse than his bite, which is often used to refer to a strict or intimidating person. This means that this person may look intimidating because of the way he conducts himself, but in fact, this person is actually quite nice and approachable once you get to know him.

There is no doubt that the saying "Actions speak louder than words" definitely has truth to it. However, there are instances where the opposite is definitely true. Words also have their way of communicating that can correct any mistake made in someone's actions, and it can show someone's real personality when a person's actions somehow show a different persona.


-- written by Joe Yu, ESL instructor