Will the President Protect Religious Rights?

Sometimes the White House gets the easy questions wrong. On Tuesday, White House press
secretary Jay Carney was asked about a controversial mandate stemming from Hey ,

This is Chris and I've got a second bonus tip for you today that is based in the science of language
learning and language acquisition.

Bonus tip 2:

2. Use Listen & Answer Mini-Stories. Research shows that students who learn English
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these stories, the teacher asks a lot of easy questions while telling a story. The questions
encourage students to think and respond quickly in English, without translation. This is why we use
Listen & Answer Mini-Stories in all of our lesson sets. Your time is valuable and we want you to
make maximum progress for each minute you spend with our lessons!

Use listen and answer mini-stories and you will have more fluent speech, greater confidence, and
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Good Luck, Make Maximum Progress, and Have Fun,

that would require religious employers to provide insurance coverage for birth control despite
religious objections.

The regulation in question, released by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS),
falls under the category of preventative services and would require almost all health
insurance plans to cover everything from all FDA-approved contraceptives to sterilizations
without cost to the insured. The mandate includes coverage of controversial drugs likeella
which can abort an early pregnancy. Religious employers with serious moral objections to
providing coverage for such services will find little help in the mandates narrow religious
exemption. Since it was first proposed in August, the mandate has received harsh criticism with
regard to its treatment of conscience rights.

It should be easy to conclude that upholding the religious rights of individuals and institutions
is the optimal choice. But the White House appears bent on stifling that freedom with this
mandate.

Carney assured reporters, We want to strike the right balance between expanding coverage of
preventive services and respecting religious beliefs.

But the mandate requires religious employers to provide coverage for birth control methods
that could result in abortion, a serious erosion of religious liberty in America.

Despite a religious exemption in the Obamacare HHS contraception mandate, many religious
employers are not likely to get off the hook. The religious exemption is available only for
organizations with a primary mission to inculcate religious valueswhich could exclude
many religious service providers, among others.

But religious employers, like all Americans, wont accept the mandates narrow definition for
what constitutes religious exemption. As written, the religious freedom of organizations or
entities with a religious affiliation that offer social services or help to people in need may not be
protected.

Former Heritage research fellow Chuck Donovan noted that, though federal law requires
respect for the conscience of health care providers on many of these issuesthe new HHS
guidelines show disrespect for freedom of conscience.

The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health found the exemption so narrow
that they held a hearing to discuss its severe threat to conscience rights. As witnesses testified,
no American should be forced to choose between compromising their beliefs or obeying
government regulationsand thats exactly what this mandate would force upon religious
employers.

By failing to protect the rights of these dedicated religious organizations, who often provide
services without regard to the recipients religion, the government does a disservice to
American citizens who rely on them. Religious organizations often meet crucial health care,
education, and social needs in society, something the government should reward, not punish.

The uproar surrounding the mandate is heating up everywhere. Belmont Abbey, a private
Catholic college in North Carolina, has partnered with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty to
sue HHS over the mandate. The mandate would force the college to provide insurance plans for
students and employees that cover procedures and prescriptions the college finds morally
objectionable.

The Obama Administration has already pandered to the liberal, abortion-rights community on
this issue, and its time for them to recognize this wrong choice. If Obama wants to uphold
American religious liberty as it was intended, he should alter the mandates offensively narrow
religious exemption and allow conscience rights and religious freedom to flourish.

awry / ru / adjective or adverb




1 : not working correctly or happening in the expected way : wrong Something was
dreadfully/terribly awry. usually used in the phrase go awry Their plans went awry. Something
had gonedreadfully/terribly awry.

2 : not straight or neat Her hair was all awry.

Note: Awry is not used before a noun.

The National Popular Vote Scheme Isnt So Popular

The Heritage Foundation and the State Government Leadership Foundation are
hosting an exciting event on December 7 to examine the Electoral College and the
proposed National Popular Vote (NPV) plan.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) and the chief election officials
of five states Secretaries of State Beth Chapman (Alabama), Tre Hargett
(Tennessee), Delbert Hosemann (Mississippi), Kris Kobach (Kansas), and Matt
Schultz (Iowa) will discuss the advantages of the Electoral College and the political,
practical, and constitutional problems with the NPV.
What is the National Popular Vote plan exactly? NPV proposes an interstate compact
(without the consent of Congress) in which participating states agree in advance to
automatically allocate their electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote
the highest vote getter, even if only a plurality disregarding the popular vote results
in their state.
As our recent Heritage research report explains, the NPV would effectively abolish the
Electoral College without going through the formal process of amending the
Constitution. NPV supposedly would go into effect as soon as states cumulatively
possessing a majority of the electoral votes needed to win an election (270 votes) join
the compact.
The NPV would undermine the protections of the Electoral College, diminishing the
influence of smaller states. It would lead to more recounts and contentious conflicts
over the results of presidential elections. It could also encourage voter fraud. It may
even result in presidents being elected with very small pluralities, or someone being
elected who failed to qualify for the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Most importantly, this misguided National Popular Vote proposal strikes directly at the
American Founders view of federalism and a representative republic that balances
popular sovereignty with structural protections for state governments and minority
interests.
We began a public discussion of this topic at a panel presentation on October 28
featuring several experts. Yet the threat posed by NPV deserves even more attention,
especially from knowledgeable election officials and congressional leaders.
On December 7 Senator McConnell will discuss the Electoral College's purpose of
ensuring the participation of a broad regional diversity in the outcome of elections,
while five Secretaries of State will bring to light both practical and Constitutional issues
that arise from the NPV scheme. Whether you attend in person or watch live via our
free webcast, we hope you will join us for this important interactive discussion.

Stop Obama's Big Union Onslaught
What does it take to bring an airline to its knees? Uncompetitive union-negotiated labor
contracts and a fundamental unwillingness to recognize that in a down economy, unions have a
hard time raising wages without destroying jobs.

That was a lesson that unions refused to learn in the case of American Airlines, which yesterday
announced that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, making it the last large U.S.
full-fare airline to seek court protection from creditors. American was forced to take that action
when the airline pilots union refused to budge on its demands for massive signing bonuses and
wage increases. The airline's competitors are flying high in profits after restructuring union
contracts in their own bankruptcy proceedings.

Unions also didn't learn any lessons after taxpayers bailed out General Motors and Chrysler,
and then-White House "auto-czar" Ron Bloom gave the UAW preferential treatment in the
restructuring process despite their contracts being largely at fault.

And, this is a lesson that still has not penetrated the walls of the Obama White House. The
President's appointees to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) want businesses to be
unionized at all costs, even if it means harming both workers and the economy. They're trying
to make it happen by ramming through measures that would help expand unionization in
America.

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on the Workplace Democracy and Fairness
Act, introduced by Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN).
The bill protects the right of workers to decide whether or not to unionize. That's a right that
the NLRB would like to drastically weaken.

One tack the Obama NLRB is taking is implementing "snap elections" which Heritage labor
expert James Sherk saysare designed to prevent employees from making an informed choice
about unionizing.

The policy shortens the election period from six weeks to as little as 10 days, depriving
companies of their ability to explain to workers the darker side of unionization, including strike
histories, dues increases, and union corruption. Meanwhile, union leaders would have months
to try to sell workers on their side of the story through rose-colored glasses.

The NLRB is set to vote on the new rule today, but it's possible that their efforts could be
forestalled if the lone Republican on the board resigns or withholds participation in the vote,
depriving the NLRB of the quorum it needs to issue regulations.

Their earlier gambit -- known as "micro unions" -- redefines who gets to vote on unionizing a
particular workplace. Instead of workers with a shared "community of interest" forming a
single bargaining unit and voting together on unionizing (think cashiers, shelf-stockers, and
greeters at a grocery store), now the Obama NLRB has allowed unions to form cherry-picked
bargaining units of their supporters. Sherk explains how the new rule would impact workers:

If most workers at a store oppose unionizing, but a union has majority support among the
cashiers, it can now form a union of just the cashiers. The shelf-stockers and greeters would not
get a vote.

Unionizing brings risks to the entire workplace. The Obama NLRB has allowed unions to
selectively disenfranchise the workers who do not want to take that risk.

All of this is occurring despite the fact that only one in 10 non-union workers say they want to
unionize. What's more, unionized companies invest less, are less competitive, and create fewer
jobs than non-union companies. Given these facts, it's no surprise that union membership
has shrunk to just 7 percent in the private sector. Likewise, though, it's not surprising that the
Obama NLRB is digging in and trying to foist unionization on all companies while it still can.

Kline's bill attempts to prevent that from happening by guaranteeing that union elections are
not held until workers have at least 35 days to hear from both sides, ensuring that employers
have at least 14 days to find legal counsel before any legal proceedings begin, preventing unions
from cherry-picking which workers can vote, and protecting privacy by letting workers decide
which contact information to release to union organizers.

Kline says, "It's very clear to me that we're seeing the rights of employers and employees under
attack." And he's right. Workers have a right to organize unions, but they should have a right
not to organize them as well. Reforms like the ones Kline is proposing help protect that right.
professional /prfnl/ adjective




1 a always used before a noun : relating to a job that requires special education, training, or skill
Do you have any professionalexperience? professional people/photographers/electricians/soldiers
a professional career

1 b always used before a noun : done orgiven by a person who works in a particular
profession professional services You needprofessional help. You should
seek professional advice.

2 a always used before a noun : paid to participate in a sport or
activity professional athletes/golfers a professional poker player a golfer who recently turned
professional

2 b always used before a noun : done by people who are paid to play or
compete professional sports/football/poker

3 [more professional; most professional] : having or showing the skill, good judgment, and polite
behavior that is expected from a person who is trained to do a job well He deals with the
customers in a very professional way. = He is very professional in dealing with the customers. I
was impressed by the calm andprofessional way she handled the crisis. The presentation was
very professional.

How Your Birthdate Might Impact the Rest of Your Life

Could your dute of blrth uffect the rest of your llfe? Severul studles suggest key neurul dlfferences
between bubles born ln the summer und wlnter seusons.

A 2006 study ln Schlzophrenlu Reseurchfound thut wlnter bubles (born ln wlnter und sprlng) were on
uveruge both blgger und brlghter thun thelr summer (born ln summer und full) counterpurts. The study,
led by Hurvurd Unlverslty reseurchers, followed 21,000 chlldren from blrth; by thelr 7th blrthduys, wlnter
chlldren emerged 210 grums heuvler, 0.19 cm tuller, und hlgher scorlng on lntelllgence exerclses.

Thut wusn't the flnul word, however. In u 2010 study ln Nuture Neurosclence, Vunderbllt Unlverslty
reseurchers exposed newborn mlce to elther summer-llke or wlnter-llke llght condltlons. When the mlce
were luter plunged lnto complete durkness, the "summer" mlce kept to u dully routlne whlle the "wlnter"
mlce struggled. Though lt's uncleur how well these results trunslute to humuns, the lmpuct on the mlce's
blologlcul clocks suggests u llnk between blrthdute und emotlonul regulutlon.

When we probed our own dutubuse for unswers, we found thut out of 12,259 members who pluyed the
populur free gume Memory Mutrlx, there were no stutlstlcully slgnlflcunt seusonul dlfferences. We used
only US members' gumepluy dutu to lnsure thut ull blrthdutes corresponded to the sume seusons; you
cun see u churt und full detulls on the blog.

So the reul unswer ubout whlch blrth seuson ln "better" remulns uncleur. The most lmportunt thlng to
remember, regurdless of your blrthduy, ls thut you cun work on lmprovlng your bruln und body yeur-
round. Our Memory Mutrlx unulysls showed thut members born ln ull seusons showed slgnlflcunt
lmprovement wlth Lumoslty trulnlng! So get your dully dose of vltumlns from elther produce or
supplements, exerclse regulurly no mutter the weuther, und keep your bruln flt wlth dully trulnlng from
Lumoslty. Unlock full uccess toduy to try ull 35+ exerclses, see your progress hlstory, und stuy on truck
every duy of the yeur.

How the EPA May Cost You Thousands
Brace yourself. The cost of a new car in America is set to explode, skyrocketing by thousands of
dollars, all thanks to a new regulation proposed by President Barack Obama's Environmental
Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Under a new 893-page proposal unveiled last week, automakers must hit a fleet-wide fuel
economy average of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025--double today's 27.3 standard. The
government says it would cost automakers $8.5 billion per year to comply, which means a spike
in sticker prices of at least $2,000 to $2,800, according to official projections. Other estimates
peg the added costs at $3,100, and that could go even higher. AsThe Wall Street
Journal writes, "Vehicles that currently cost $15,000 or less will effectively be regulated out of
existence."

Apart from increased costs, the new regulations would have other impacts on consumers as
well. In a new paper, Heritage's Diane Katz warns that another unacceptable consequence is
loss of life resulting from smaller vehicles:

In past years, the structure of the regulations induced automakers to dramatically downsize
some vehicles to meet the standard, which increased traffic fatalities by the thousands. The new
standards would require downsizing to both small and large models, which the government
contends will neutralize the risk. However, the NHTSA and the EPA disagree on the extent of
the risk, while outside experts say that the danger would be heightened by the extreme
stringency of the proposed standards.

While consumers struggle to pay the price of higher cost vehicles, U.S. automakers would likely
take a hit as well. They would be forced to change the lineup of vehicles they offer in order to
meet their fuel efficiency targets, and they would produce cars and trucks that Americans don't
even want. The Wall Street Journal explains:

The only way Detroit can hit these averages will be by turning at least 25% of its fleet into
hybrids. But hybrid sales peaked in the U.S. two years ago at 3% of the market and are
declining. The EPA's $157 billion price tag includes only the estimate of what manufacturers
will have to invest in new technology, not the billions more that will hemorrhage when nobody
buys their EPA-approved products.

And all this comes as the former "Detroit Three" are struggling with weak auto sales, projected
to be down by 17.9 percent in 2011 from where they stood at the onset of the recession.
Ironically, the federal government that bailed out the industry is now imposing regulations that
could once again threaten its existence. The Obama Administration is pointing to the supposed
benefits of the new standards--including a fuel savings of $1.7 trillion--but as Katz writes, that
number is "pure speculation given that actual savings would depend on the price of gasoline,"
which can't be predicted 14 years into the future, much less next summer.

There's another point to be made, as well: American consumers would face higher-priced
vehicles and fewer choices all at the hands of unelected bureaucrats at the EPA who have never
been authorized by Congress to set fuel-efficiency standards for any purpose. That, though, is
consistent with President Obama's modus operandi--to regulate where he cannot legislate.
There is something Congress can and should do: bar the EPA and the NHTSA from
implementing and enforcing the new standards by withholding funds or passing a law
prohibiting the regulation.

The EPA should not be in the business of picking and choosing what kind of cars and trucks
Americans can drive, and neither should President Obama. But if Congress does not take
action, that could certainly be the result.
Groceries
The items you buy at the supermarket are called groceries. If I go to the
supermarket and buy some apples, laundry detergent and napkins these are the
groceries I bought.
We are out of food in the house. I need to get some groceries.
notextile.
Aisle
The aisle is a row of products in the store. The typical American supermarket is set
up with about 12 to 15 aisles or rows. They are set up in lines starting from the front
of the store and going to the back. The aisles have a sign above them that tells you
what is sold in that row.
The bread is in aisle 3.
Cashier
This is the person that you pay when you are done shopping. They are behind a
counter and they have a computer that they use to enter prices.
I tried to pay the cashier with my credit card, but it was declined.
Lane
The cashiers are set up in rows of about ten and they are called lanes. The lanes are
numbered and a cashier may tell you I can check you out in Lane 2. This means
that the cashier will take care of you in Lane 2.
All of the lanes have lines. Its going to take forever to get out of here.
Shopping Cart
This is a wagon like cart that is made of metal bars and can be pushed by its handle.
Anything you buy in the store is put in these while you shop.
Im not going to buy a lot. I wont need a shopping cart.
Cold Cuts
These are sliced or cut meats like ham or turkey that are used to put on sandwiches.
Well have to buy some cold cuts to make sandwiches.
Coupon
This is a small piece of paper, usually cut out of a newspaper, which you give to the
cashier when you pay for what you buy. The coupon gives you a discount on an
item you buy.
Im going to use this coupon for $.50 off of diapers.
Meal Deal
Many supermarkets offer a combination of food sold for one price that you can eat
for dinner. An example of a meal deal would be an offer of a plate of turkey,
potatoes and green beans for $5.95.
Theyve got a meal deal at Randalls for $7.00."
Deli
This is the part of the store where you buy meat and cheese for sandwiches.
Im going to get a pound of Black Forest ham at the deli.
Bakery
This is the part of the store where you buy cakes and other dessert type food.
They have a great selection of pastries in the bakery.
Dairy
This is where the food items like milk and cheese are found.
I need some milk and cheese from the dairy section.
Produce
The section where you find fruits and vegetables.
Youll find the carrots and the apples in the produce section.
Condiments
These are any items that go on food like ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, relish,
etc
Im going to stop in the condiment aisle to get pepper and salt.
Cleaning Supplies
In this aisle you will find all your household cleaners, bleach, mops, and sponges.
We are going to need some cleaning supplies to get this place clean.
Seasonal
This is the section where you would find beach toys in the summer, Halloween
costumes in the fall and Christmas things in the winter. This section always
changes to fit peoples needs for that time of year.
During the month of February you will find Valentines Day chocolates and cards
in the seasonal section of the store.
Check out
This expression is another way to express that you are going to pay.
Sir, are you ready to check out? This is like saying: Sir, are you ready to pay?
Paper or Plastic?:
When you go to pay for your food the cashier will ask you this question. What they
are asking is if you want your groceries put in plastic bags or paper bags.
Sir, would you like paper or plastic?
Express Lane:
This is the lane where you can pay for your groceries if you only have a few items.
Usually its for people who have ten or less things to buy.
Im only buying three things. I can use the express lane.
Cash or Credit?:
Almost all supermarkets in the United States accept cash, credit card and even
checks as forms of payment. Since cash and credit card are the most common way
to pay the cashier will usually say, Cash or Credit? when you are ready to pay.
Maam, will that be _cash or credit_?
Please swipe your card:
If you pay with a credit card the cashier will ask you to slide or swipe your credit
card in the small screen/computer attached to the counter that takes your credit
card information.
If that is all you are going to buy please swipe your card.
To scan an item:
Each product that you buy in the grocery store and most other stores too, will have
a bar code on the package. This bar code is placed close to the cash registers bar
code reading device and the machine registers the purchase. It then adds it to your
bill. Many stores let customers scan their own purchases and pay by entering their
credit card or cash into the register.
The cashier was scanning my purchases while I helped bag them.
On sale:
This will be written on a sign near the product you want to buy if they are selling it
for a discounted price.
Lets go to Target. They have lawn furniture on sale.
The total comes to/Thatll be
The cashier many times tells you the total price of what you purchased by saying
one of these expressions.
_Thatll be_ $47.59. Cash or credit?
Ice or Stamps?
While you are putting your food on the counter to check out almost always the
cashier will ask you if you need ice or stamps. Stamps are kept in the cashiers
drawer and ice is located right outside the store. Customers can pay for both at the
cash register and get them on their way out.
Did you find everything that you need? Do you need ice or stamps?
To bag the groceries
In the supermarket when an employee puts the items you purchased in the plastic
or paper bags its called bagging the groceries.
If the store is really busy you may have to bag the groceries yourself.
Do you need help out?
This is another question asked by almost every cashier after you pay for your
groceries. When a cashier asks this he wants to know if you need an employee of
the store to help you get the bags of groceries to your car and put them in your car.
I am 36 years old and healthy and they always ask me this so I assume it is required
for them to ask everyone!
Sir, _do you need help out_?

Hello,

I will send you a new English listening lesson each week so you can improve your English
listening comprehension skills. It is a recording of me talking about a specific subject
through a short story. I am an English as a Second Language professor in the USA. I was
born in New York. My accent is a typical American accent. Here is the first one:


Click Listening Passage for Going Grocery Shopping to hear the first listening passage to
improve your English listening comprehension skills. Press the play button on that page at
the top to hear the audio and then answer the questions. To see a list of the terms used
in the passage, and to hear them, go to the vocabulary lesson for this topic at Food
Shopping Vocabulary and Terms.

Please e mail me any questions that you have while going over the lesson. Some of the
words you may not recognize. I will be happy to clear up any confusion you may have. I
can also send the audio file in a different format if you can't open it on the web site. Below
is the script written out for what you will hear on the web page. I attached a Windows
Media Player version of the audio in case you cant open the file on the site. Thanks

Andrew Lawton
Learn English with Drew

Down the street a new supermarket just opened. I love it! It is called the HEB. The store
is really nice inside. They have a huge bakery and a great deli section. The prices are
really low so you dont even need coupons. Pretty much every day there are things on
sale.

Yesterday I went to the HEB to pick up a few things and I was amazed by their seasonal
aisle. It is almost Halloween and this store is ready. They have all sorts of costumes,
decorations and candy for the holiday. I had my daughter with me and she didnt want to
leave because she was having so much fun trying on the costumes and masks.

We eventually managed to make it to the cash registers to check out. The HEB is really
environmentally conscious so instead of just offering paper or plastic to bag your groceries
they offer you canvas bags too. These are reusable so they avoid unnecessary garbage
that will go right to the landfill. After the cashier scanned all of my purchases he asked me
if Id like to pay cash or credit. I said credit so he told me to swipe my card. It turned out
that I had forgotten my wallet. I had no way of paying. I was embarrassed but the cashier
was really nice about it. He put all of my groceries to the side and told me he would keep
them there until I could go home to get my wallet. I thanked him and left. An hour later I
returned, scanned my card to buy the groceries and left.

I would recommend this supermarket to anyone. They have great customer service and
the groceries are cheap. If only other stores would follow their lead!

stumble / stmbl/ verb [no object]

inflected forms: stumbles; stumbled; stumbling



1 : to hit your foot on something when you are walking or running so that you fall or almost
fall : trip I stumbled on the uneven pavement. The horse stumbled and almost fell.

2 always followed by an adverb or preposition : to walk in an awkward way He stumbled drunkenly
across the room. Hestumbled over to the table. She usually stumbles out of bed[=gets out of
bed] around 7:00 am.

3 a : to speak or act in an awkward way I heard him stumble over the unfamiliar words.
She stumbled through an apology.

3 b : to begin to have problems after a time of success The economy has stumbled in recent
months.

4 always followed by an adverb or preposition : to find or learn about something unexpectedly
I stumbled across/on [=found] this book by chance. He stumbled onto [=found out] the truth.
We stumbled onto/across the ruins of an old fort. Theystumbled/on/upon [=discovered] a bizarre
plot.

stumble noun, plural stumbles [count] After a fewstumbles,the economy was back on track.
stumbler /stmbl/ noun, plural stumblers [count]

Obama Keeps Turning His Back on Jobs
This week, President Obama is again set to make a pitch for his latest plan to stimulate the
economy, but meanwhile he is turning his back on projects that would put tens or even
hundreds of thousands Americans to work. And he's doing it all to appease his left-wing,
environmentalist base at the expense of domestic energy production.

Heritage's Rob Bluey reported last week on a new finding by a New Orleans-based group that
the Obama administration is approving just 35 percent of the oil drilling plans for the Gulf of
Mexico so far this year. It is also taking an average of 115 days -- nearly four months -- to secure
approval from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. Those
numbers are a sharp drop from previous years, well below the historical average 73.4 percent
approval rate and 61 days it takes to approve plans. And for plans that require drilling activity,
the numbers are even worse with an average approval time of 222 days.

That's bad news for job creation. One deepwater rig alone can create 700 jobs locally. But
slowing down oil drilling in the Gulf isn't the only way the President is blocking jobs. Earlier
this month, the Obama Administration announced it would delaythe construction of the $7
billion Keystone XL pipeline that would bring in more than 700,000 barrels of oil per day from
Alberta, Canada, to the Texas Gulf coast--and could have produced upwards of 20,000 jobs.
Heritage's Nicolas Lorisexplains the impact:

What this delay really means is that President Obama is putting off an important election year
decision in which two of his largest supporters--labor unions and environmentalists--are split
on the issue. This tactic allows the decision to be delayed until after the 2012 elections.

More importantly, this means a delay in access to easy imports from our northern neighbor, the
creation of thousands of jobs, and the generation of revenue for the states where the pipeline
passes. Montana, South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Texas are collectively
projected to collect $5.2 billion in property tax revenue as a result of building the pipeline.

As if that weren't enough, the White House made another decision blocking energy-related jobs
in the United States. In mid-November, the Obama Administration delayed a mineral lease
sale in Ohio's Wayne National Forest for oil and gas drilling. Apart for providing Americans
access to affordable energy, the project could have had a tremendous impact in the state,
including the creation of an estimated 200,000 jobs, an overall wage and personal-income
boost of $12 billion by 2015, and a billion-dollar boon to Ohio landowners, schools, businesses,
and communities.

The President's direction on energy policy is aimed at appeasing a very specific base, but it's
coming at a tremendously high cost. While Americans struggle to make ends meet, pay their
bills, and find work, President Obama is turning his back on new jobs and safe, affordable
energy sources.

negligence / ngl ns/ noun [noncount]

Status: formal



: failure to take the care that a responsible person usually takes :lack of normal care or attention
Medical negligence may be the cause of death. [=the patients death may have happened because
the doctor did not do something that should have been done] The company was charged
with negligence in the manufacturing of the defective tires.

dilute /du lu:t/ verb [with object]

inflected forms: dilutes; diluted; diluting



1 : to make (a liquid) thinner or less strong by adding water or another liquid You can dilute the
medicine with water.

2 : to lessen the strength of (something) The hiring of the new CEO diluted the power of the
companys president. diluting the quality of our products


diluted adjective diluted wine
dilution /dalu:n/ noun, plural dilutions [count] lowerdilutions of the medicine [noncount]
Theres been some dilution in the stocks value.

obtain /b te n/ verb

inflected forms: obtains; obtained; obtaining



1 [with object] somewhat formal : to gain or get (something) usually by effort The information may
be difficult to obtain. We obtaineda copy of the original letter. Theyve obtained [=acquired] the
necessary permission to enter.

2 not used in progressive tenses [no object] formal : to continue to be accepted or in use These
ideas no longer obtain for our generation.

obtainable /btenbl/ adjective, formal The drug is legallyobtainable in this country.

President Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation
We hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving yesterday and continue to enjoy spending time with
friends and family today. While we at The Heritage Foundation enjoy our holiday, we invite
you to read President Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation below.

The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and
healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget
the source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a
nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually
insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed
to foreign states to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all
nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony
has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict, while that theater has been
greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national
defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of
our settlements, and the mines, as well as the iron and coal as of our precious metals, have
yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased
notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and
the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to
expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They
are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins,
hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully
acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore
invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are in foreign
lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving
and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.

And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such
singular deliverances and blessings they do also, with humble penitence for our national
perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become
widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are
unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the imposition of the Almighty hand to heal the
wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the divine purpose, to
the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.
sell out phrasal verb




1 a : to be bought until no more are available : to be entirely sold Tickets to the concert sold
out quickly. The book has sold out in stores across the country.

1 b : to sell the entire amount of something Many stores sold outquickly when the book was first
published. The concert sold outquickly. [=all the tickets to the concert were quickly bought]

1 c be sold out : to have sold the entire amount of something "Are there any more tickets?" "No,
I'm sorry, We're (all) sold out." [=we've sold all the tickets] often followed by of The
store wassold out of milk again. [=there was no milk at the store because it had all been sold]

1 d sell (something) out or sell out (something) : to sell all of (something) The tickets
were(all) sold out quickly. [=all of the tickets were sold quickly]

2 : to sell all that you own of a business, company, etc. In the end, the other owners forced her
to sell out.

3 disapproving : to do something that does not agree with your beliefs, values, etc., especially in
order to make money Many of the band's fans accused them of selling out when they started
appearing in television commercials. The union sees the deal asselling out to management. [=the
union sees the deal as going against their principles and favoring management]

4 sell (someone) out or sell out (someone) informal : to do something that harms or causes
trouble for (someone who trusted you) in order to get something for yourself : to betray (someone)
She sold out her accomplices [=she told police who her accomplices were] in exchange for a lower
sentence.

Give Thanks for Families by Helping Foster
Children Find a Home

By Jennifer Marshall

Many of us will give thanks for family this week. Sadly, more than one hundred thousand children
awaiting adoption from the foster care system dont have a family to be thankful for.

More than 400,000 children are in the foster care system, and about a quarter are in circumstances
that will prevent them from being reunified with their family of origin. They need adoptive homes.

November is National Adoption Month, and this years initiative aims to find permanent parents for
these 107,000 foster children. Thats a call advocates of limited government should take seriously.
Without adoption, these children will reach adulthood without a family to call their own. That will put
them at greater risk of economic distress, depending on welfare, having a child outside of marriage,
and being convicted of a crime.

Time is not on the side of these children. In 2003, Dr. Wade Horn, then Assistant Secretary for
Children and Families at the Department of Health and Human Services, testified that after reaching
age nine in foster care, a waiting child is more likely to remain in the foster care system than to be
adopted. The foster care system urgently needs reform, as Thomas Atwood, former president of
the National Council for Adoption, wrote in a Heritage Backgrounder earlier this year.

But reforming policy wont be enough. These vulnerable children need families. Adopting a foster
child is civil society in action, a beautiful picture of conservative principles at work.

Not everyone is in a position to foster or adopt, but we can all help those who assist foster children
to find homes and support the families who take them in. This holiday season, spread the word
about this good work. If you know a foster or adoptive family, thank them and ask how you can
help.

Consider a donation to Wait No More or Harvest of Hope (described below) on behalf of the more
than 100,000 foster children waiting for adoption.

Wait No More: Launched in 2008 by Focus on the Family to alert more Americans to the urgency
of the need for adoption, Wait No More hosts events that gather government leaders, churches,
private adoption agencies and prospective adoptive parents to provide information and
opportunities to begin the adoption process on site. To date, 7,100 have attended Wait No More
events, with 1,791 families initiating adoption of foster children. In Colorado, where the group is
headquartered, the number of foster children waiting for adoption dropped from about 800 to 350,
thanks to the efforts of Wait No More in conjunction with other ministries and agencies.

Harvest of Hope: Rev. Buster Soaries and his Somerset, NJ, congregation began their foster care
work when they learned of a boarder baby crisisnewborns abandoned in hospitalsin their
county and elsewhere in the state. The Harvest of Hope Program was created to find families for
these infants. Since then, Harvest of Hope has recruited 385 foster families, placing a total of over
900 children in temporary foster care. Some 149 families have adopted 235 children. The ministrys
efforts have expanded, with Harvest of Hope now leading a statewide network of churches from
which foster parents are recruited and supported as they take in children.
A Day of 'Public Thanksgiving and Prayer'
Most of us have heard or read at least part of Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving proclamation at
some point. But even those who have heard it many times can overlook two important aspects
of this important document.

The first is its timing: October 3, 1863. The nation had already endured two years of appalling
carnage on the battlefields of the Civil War. And although Gettysburg and the fall of Vicksburg
seemed to mark a turning point in favor of the Union, there was no clear light at the end of the
tunnel. In fact, much more blood would be shed in the months ahead.

And yet President Lincoln paused at this time of unimaginable crisis not only to urge
Americans to give thanks, but to note how blessed our nation is. "The year that is drawing
toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies," the first
sentence reads. He lists those blessings in terms so strong and soaring one could almost forget
this was one of our nations darkest hours.

Nearly 150 years later, this is a perspective check. If Lincoln could encourage his fellow
Americans to give thanks at such a bleak time, how can any of us complain about our lot? How
can we read about polls that suggest our best days are behind us, that all we can do is manage
our "inevitable" decline? What nonsense.

That's not to say we dont have difficulties. We do -- serious ones. And no, the answer isnt to
crack a phony smile and pretend everythings great. We need to do what past generations have
done: look our problems squarely in the eye, roll up our sleeves and get the job done. We make
mistakes, but we learn from them. But to give up? No. Such a defeatist attitude is unworthy of a
free people.

The second aspect of Lincoln's proclamation that's sometimes forgotten is the reason given for
the holiday. To give thanks, yes, but not just in general -- to give thanks to God. "No human
counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things," he writes. "They
are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins,
hath nevertheless remembered mercy."

Whoa -- hold on there. Somebody get the ACLU. How un-PC can a president get? Wasnt
Lincoln worried that he might offend some of his listeners?

Hardly. He was following in the hallowed footsteps of George Washington. Notice the date of
Lincolns proclamation: October 3. On that same day in 1789, the nations first president
gave his Thanksgiving proclamation. And like Lincoln, he was clear about who deserved our
gratitude.

Washington called that day on all Americans to observe a day of "public thanksgiving and
prayer" devoted to "the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent Author of
all the good that was, that is, or that will be."

This shouldn't surprise anyone. "Of the many influences that shaped the American concept of
liberty, the first and most formative was faith," writes author and Washington scholar Matthew
Spalding. The Founding Fathers knew the First Amendment didnt forbid public mention of
God. It simply meant there could be no official state church.

They also knew that, whatever church an American belonged to, he ought to give thanks to
Almighty God. Not because we're living in some heaven on earth -- that's impossible. But
because despite our problems, we're incredibly blessed. We live in a land that recognizes our
right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In a world beset with death, tyranny, disease
and famine, that's nothing short of a miracle.

We need to act like we believe that. And the best way to start is to say thanks.
Illuminate Your Mind,
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%y JOE HARDY, Ph.D.

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lush / l / adjective

Comparative and superlative forms: lusher; lushest



1 a : having a lot of full and healthy growth lush grass lush[=luxuriant] tropical vegetation The
frequent rainfall encourages the lush growth of trees, ferns, and shrubs.

1 b : covered with healthy green plants lush green fields/farms/pastures She always wanted to
live on a lushCaribbean island. The hills are lush with deep, thick grass.

2 : having a pleasingly rich quality a lush and fruity wine lushcolor photos the
films lush imagery a thick lush carpet

lushly adverb lushly planted gardens a lushly [=lavishly] illustrated book

lushness noun [noncount] the lushness of the surrounding countryside

Learn about lush as a noun.

The GOP Debate over Protecting America
They came, they saw, and they debated. Last night in Washington, D.C.'s, Constitution Hall,
eight Republican contenders for the presidency engaged in a debate on foreign policy and
national security co-hosted by The Heritage Foundation, the American Enterprise Institute,
and CNN. When the dust had settled after the two-hour debate, Americans had a clearer
picture of where each of the candidates stood on the seminal issue of how to best protect
America.

The candidates addressed questions ranging from Afghanistan to Pakistan, Africa to South
America, and border security to terrorism. Critically, the candidates confronted the challenge
of defense spending and whether our military has the funding it needs to carry out its mission.
Heritage's James Carafano saysthat it's an issue that can't be ignored:

Regardless of what the candidates said tonight, the reality is that if one of them takes office, he
or she will be commander in chief of a military that is under-funded and under-powered.
President Obama has already put enough cuts on the table to leave the military smaller and less
capable than when he took office.

Changing the trajectory of the U.S. military will require investing in the military and dealing
with our fiscal crisis. This debate gave each candidate an opportunity to make a case for being
up to the job.

The growing threat posed by Irans accelerating nuclear weapons program and support for
terrorism surfaced as an issue at the top of nearly all the candidates' concerns, though they
disagreed on how to best confront the problem. Among the problems they identified were
Irans growing ties with Venezuela and support for Hezbollah activity in Latin America, the
need for increased sanctions, and President Obamas lack of leadership on the issue.

Border security and immigration, too, were hot topics, as was the growing threat of expanding
socialism in South America, the relationship between Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and
Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as well as the ever-present menace of Mexican
criminal cartels.

For all the ground that was covered, unfortunately there was not enough time to discuss every
issue of importance. Take Asia, for example, and concerns such as Chinese currency and
exchange rate policies, the growing assertiveness of Chinese foreign policy toward its
neighbors, and the impact of budget cuts on the U.S. military posture in Asia. North Korea, too,
went unaddressed last night. Heritage's Bruce Klingner says it should be a priority:

North Korea already has six to eight nuclear weapons and 1,000 missiles that threaten South
Korea, Japan, and U.S bases in Okinawa and Guam. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates warned
in January 2011 that North Korea could hit the United States with a nuclear weapon by 2015.

It would be worthwhile to discern whether the Republican candidates have a plan for dealing
with Pyongyang before one of them potentially becomes commander in chief.

There are other issues, too, that the presidential candidates should address, including how
America maintains its enduring alliances in Europe, the expansion of free trade, and the
maintenance of an effective missile defense system.

One thing is clear from last night's debate: the United States faces significant foreign policy and
national security challenges, and even more attention should be focused on these issues in the
2012 presidential campaign. Heritage is proud to have had the opportunity to join with AEI
and CNN in bringing these issues to light and fostering a thoughtful debate among the
Republican candidates. Protecting our nation and amplifying American leadership globally is a
critical issue -- one that is fundamental to the role of the President and the federal government.
Hopefully the debate continues.
subsequent / sbskwnt/ adjective

Status: formal



: happening or coming after something else The rate of population growth reached a peak in 1999
and declined in subsequent years. Her work had a great influence on subsequent generations.
Subsequent studies confirmed their findings. his arrest andsubsequent conviction often
followed by to events subsequent to [=after] the war

subsequently /sbskwntli/ adverb, formal She graduated from college
and subsequently [=afterward] moved to New York. Subsequently, the drug was found to cause
cancer.

Debate Night
Tonight at 8 p.m. ET, eight Republican presidential candidateswill take the stage at
Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., to tell America where they stand on foreign policy and
national security in a special debate hosted by The Heritage Foundation and the American
Enterprise Institute, broadcast on CNN and moderated by Wolf Blitzer.

The debate marks the first time that either Heritage or AEI -- both nonprofit, nonpartisan
research institutes -- has sponsored a presidential debate. Businessman Herman Cain, former
Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, Texas Governor Rick Perry, former Speaker Newt
Gingrich, Representatives Ron Paul (TX) and Michele Bachmann (MN), former Governor Jon
Huntsman (UT), and former Senator Rick Santorum (PA) will square off, addressing an issue
that should be central for these contenders for the White House: Which presidential candidate
will best protect our nation and amplify American leadership, and how will they do it?

That question is vitally important for the eight candidates in the spotlight this evening.
Ensuring our country's defense is a fundamental responsibility of the federal government, as
set forth in the Constitution. And it is up to the President to take the lead in crafting American
foreign policy while also serving as commander in chief of the armed forces.

Over the past weeks, Heritage has highlighted some of the central foreign policy and national
security issues confronting America today: the threats to defense spending, a continuallyrising
China, the war in Afghanistan and against terrorism, thefailed attempt to "reset" relations with
Russia, and the increasingly dangerous, hostile, and emboldened Iran. Each issue poses serious
questions and choices for the man or woman who sits in the Oval Office.

This week in particular, defense spending has been in the headlines. Yesterday, the
congressional "super committee" that was charged with developing a plan to reduce the federal
deficit by more than $1.2 trillion announced its failure. As a result, funding for our military
could be in jeopardy, with automatic cuts that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta described as
"devastating." President Obama has already slashed military spending, and Congress cannot
solve the overspending problem by gutting defense. How the federal government funds our
men and women in uniform is a vital issue that deserves attention.

That funding is necessary for America to adequately guard its interests at home and abroad.
But spending is not the only issue. Building the right strategy is just as important to confront
America's challenges abroad. China has increased its defense budget by double digits every year
for the last 20 years, while the United States is winding down its defense budget at a similarly
rapid pace. Terrorist threats continue to emerge, and the International Atomic Energy
Agency recently released a report confirming that Iran has made substantial progress in its
nuclear weapons program. Though Osama bin Laden is no more, the gains the United States
has made in waging the war in Afghanistan could be squandered if we continue on our plotted
course. Likewise, our current posture toward Russia has failedbecause we have expected more
from the Russians than they are willing to give under any circumstance.

Tonight, the eight Republican presidential candidates will have an opportunity to address
questions surrounding these issues and how they would conduct American foreign policy and
national defense. Join us as we watch the debate tonight at 8 p.m ET. Learn more about the
issues and read our post-debate reaction and analysis at our blog, Foundry.org. Follow
ourTwitter account (@heritage) for real-time updates about the debate and the issues.
Throughout the day and during the debate, join the discussion on Facebook with our more than
388,000 fans. We want to hear from you and what you think.

The U.S. Constitution creates a government of the people to, among other things, "provide for
the common defence." The Founding Fathers believed this to be one of the fundamental
responsibilities of the federal government, and they agreed that when America was threatened,
the nation had to respond clearly and forcefully. It follows that the President of the United
States must play a central role in executing this responsibility. We hope that tonight the eight
Republican presidential candidates address the serious question of how they would carry out
that duty, and we invite you to join us in watching and discussing this important debate.

The Republican presidential debate will air nationally tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on CNN
and CNN en Espaol and worldwide on CNN International, CNN Radio, and CNN.com.
function / fk n/ noun

plural functions



Meanings:
1 : the special purpose or activity for which a thing exists or is used [count] The function of the
heart is to pump blood through the body. He believes that the true function of art is to tell the truth.
What functions do these programs fulfill/perform/serve? infants learning to control their
bodily functions [noncount] The instrument is chiefly used to measure and record heart function.
The design achieves a perfect blend of form and function.

2 [count] : the job or duty of a person His job combines thefunctions of a manager and a worker.
Her chief/main/primary/principal function is to provide expert legal advice.

3 [count] : a large ceremony or social event They went to severalfunctions during their college
reunion weekend. a social function

4 a [count] : something (such as a quality or measurement) that is related to and changes with
something else Height is a function of age in children. [=the height of children increases as their
age increases]

4 b [count] : something that results from something else His personal problems are a function
of [=a result of] his drinking.

The Debate over Defense Spending
The U.S. military and America's national security stands at the brink. This week, a
congressional "super committee" was due to develop a plan to reduce the federal deficit by
more than $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years. Failing to enact the plan by January 15, 2012,
would result in automatic cuts to military spending--a scenario that Defense Secretary Leon
Panettadescribes as "devastating."

The super committee's ability to succeed remains in serious doubt, with reports of its deadlock
and failure headlining newspapers this morning. Meanwhile, Republican presidential
candidates are set to take the stage tomorrow night at Washington, D.C.'s Constitution Hall in
a debate on foreign policy and national security co-hosted by The Heritage Foundation and the
American Enterprise Institute. With the future of America's national security hanging in the
balance, the question of which presidential candidate would best protect America has more
importance than ever.

In letters sent to Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) last week, Panetta
detailed the danger of further defense cuts if the super committee fails to meet its target.
Panetta said that under the worst-case scenario, "the total cut will rise to about $1 trillion
compared with the FY 2012 plan," which in practical terms means "the smallest ground force
since 1940, the smallest number of ships since 1915, and the smallest Air Force in its history."

What's more, as Panetta explained, the Pentagon would face the prospect of terminating the F-
35 Joint Strike Fighter; littoral combat ship; all ground combat vehicle and helicopter
modernization programs; European missile defense; all unmanned intelligence, surveillance,
and reconnaissance systems. It may also have to delay the next-generation ballistic missile
submarine; terminate next-generation bomber efforts; and eliminate the entire
intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) leg of Americas nuclear "triad."

And amidst these potential reductions to U.S. forces, Panetta wrote, "Unfortunately, while large
cuts are being imposed, the threats to national security would not be reduced. As a result, we
would have to formulate a new security strategy that accepted substantial risk of not meeting
our defense needs." Tragically, America's military is being threatened despite the fact that
national defense is the priority job of the national government, as set forth in the U.S.
Constitution. The Defending Defense Project lays out three key facts about military spending
today that the GOP presidential candidates should bear in mind as they seek the White House.

First, the main driver of America's growing debt and deficit is domestic spending--especially
entitlement spending--and not defense spending. Mandatory and discretionary domestic
program spending has experienced almost exponential growth since the 1970s, contrasted with
spending on national defense, which has stayed comparatively stable.

Second, defense spending has been subjected to several rounds of reductions under President
Obama, with long-term cuts amounting to roughly $850 billion already. Heritage's Mackenzie
Eaglen debunks the myth that the military hasn't already faced cuts:

Using Washington math, some say there have beenno defense cuts. But President Obama's
started slashing military plans and priorities since taking office. His first defense budget
canceled or delayed some 50 major equipment programs, including ships, missile defense,
cargo and fighter aircraft, and ground vehicles valued at more than $300 billion. Then, behind
the scenes, the White House took another $78 billion out of the military's budget last winter.

Eaglen writes that Obama was so pleased with these defense cuts that he vowed to repeat
them by cutting another $400 billion from the military. If Congress fails to pass into law a
massive deficit-reduction bill as required, then long-term defense will be again cut--this time,
by as much as $500 billion.

The third fact? In order to maintain global leadership, the United States must make
commensurate investments in defense of its national security and international interests.
Heritage's Jim Talent explains why that mantle of leadership is so crucial:

Ever since the end of World War II, American power has been the chief deterrent to aggression:
the shield under which the tools of diplomacy, trade, and engagement have produced
unprecedented progress toward freedom and democracy. But the shield is cracking. Americas
global influence is being checked and rolled back, and even the homeland is no longer safe from
attack.

The United States continues to face threats at home and abroad, yet slashed military spending
would undermine America's ability to confront these challenges. America's debt and rampant
spending are serious problems that needs to be addressed, but eviscerating the military--which
has already been cut--is not the way to do it.

Tune in tomorrow, Tuesday, November 22, at 8 p.m., for theGOP presidential debate on
national security and foreign policy broadcast on CNN and co-hosted by The Heritage
Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute. Click here for more information.
ESL Expressions for Feelings and Emotions
Expressions > Feelings & Emotions
To let your hair down
To let go of stress and relax.
After working seven days in a row I am ready to let my hair down
To be pumped up
To be very excited.
Sam is pumped up to play in the game. I have never seen him so excited.
To cop out
To not do something that you were supposed to do
bq. She was going to pick Diana up at seven, but she copped out.
To sink in
The feeling you get when you finally understand an idea you have been pondering.
It is finally sinking in. I receive what it is Im thinking about every day.
To come down with
To say that you have come down with something means that you are suffering
from it. People come down with colds or other sicknesses.
I was going to attend the wedding, but I came down with the flu. My doctor told
me to stay in bed.
To be under the weather
If you say that you are under the weather it means that you are not feeling well.
You are sick.
Sheila didnt make it to work yesterday. She was feeling under the weather. I
guess she had a cold or something.
To be as sick as a dog
To be very sick. To not feel well at all.
Yesterday I was as sick as a dog. I couldnt even get out of bed to tie my shoes.
To blow your top
If a person blows his top it means that he got really angry.
When that lady backed into my brand new BMW I blew my top. I only had the
car for a day and it already had a dent!
To freak out
To lose your temper or your cool. To appear and act very agitated.
When my mom sees what a mess I made in the house she is going to freak out.
To come down hard on
To be very intense in the punishment that you give someone for something they did
wrong.
The teacher comes down hard on any students that cheat on tests. She usually
throws the test away.
To sock someone
To hit another person.
She socked me when I told her the news. I guess she wasnt happy
To smoke someone
To beat another person at an athletic event by a lot.
Sandy smoked me on the tennis court. I didnt know she was that good.
To kiss up to
To be overly friendly to a peron in hopes of obtaining something in return.
I hate having to kiss up to the boss. The problem is that it is the only way to get
anything around here.
To tear it up
To do an activity very intensely and well.
We really tore it up on the mountain yesterday. We skied the best we ever have.
To fill in
To give a person information that he or she may have missed.
When I got back to work they filled me in on what had happened with our boss
To strike out
To not acheive what you intended to do.
John asked Sara out on a date. She said no. I guess he struck out!
To work it out
To fix a problem or situation through talking and communication.
Jan and Michael worked it out a while ago. They no longer want to get divorced.
To hold off on
To wait on a certain action until something else happens.
I am going to hold off on buying that new car until I get a new job
To give the heads up
To give a warning to others about something that is going to happen.
They will give us the heads up about the class cancelations so we know what to
sign up for in the fall.
To get it together
To recover after having some sort of problem.
I know that you are nervous about giving a speech, but you have to get it
together. Those people want to hear you
To talk someones head off
To talk to another person a lot to the point where you annoy him.
If you get in a conversation Bob, make sure you have a lot of time. He will talk
your head off!
To get off your chest
To say something you have been wanting to say for a long time.
I finally got it off my chest. I told Sara that she cant keep coming over so late.
To ramble on
To talk and talk without stopping.
bq. I dont like talking to John. He just rambles on about nothing!
To start from scratch
To start over again. To stop previous efforts and start again.
This is not working. We need to start over from scratch with new ideas
To rock
Word used to describe someone or something that is really good or cool.
My dad rocks! He let me have the keys to his car for the weekend.
To leave hanging
To leave a person waiting for you to act.
Dont leave me hanging. Call me with the results!
To be all over it
To pursue an activity with vigor. To do everything you can to get the task done.
Dont worry about James. Hes all over it. He always gets the work in on time.
To land a job
To get a job you have been trying to get.
I landed this job last May and I have been loving it ever since.
To come up on
To approach something.
When we came up on the crime scene I knew it was bad. There were cops
everywhere.
To go for it
To leave all fear behind and put your best effort into achieving what you are looking
for.
When I told my mom I was looking to get out of the family business she told me to
go for it. She never wanted me to be miserable working in a filed I dont like.
To get antsy
To have a nervous feeling. To be anxious to act.
I got really antsy waiting in the driveway for my aunt to arrive.
To run it by someone
To explain an idea to a person to see if that person is OK with it
You will have to run this by with the boss. He has to approve it.
To rip off
To steal from a person through trickery or deceit.
The used car salesman tried to rip me off. He didnt tell me that the car needed a
new AC. I didnt find out until I took it for a ride.
On the fly
To do be done in a quick and hurried way. To complete a task while you are in a
hurry.
Ill have to complete my home work assignment on the fly. Ive got a million
things to do today.
To cut some slack
To give a person a break on an issue. To not be strict with a person.
I wish my teachers would cut me some slack. I was sick for three days and I had
to miss class. They are still making me turn in all of my work on time!
To kill for
To really want something bad. It is an expression and doesnt mean to actually kill
anyone.
I would kill for a big juicy hamburger. I havent eaten since this morning.
To fit in
To get along with the group. To have a feeling of belonging to a group of people.
My brother has a hard time fitting in with the people at work. They are all huge
partiers and he likes to just be mellow and relax.
To stand out
To attract attention for being exceptional or unusual.
John really stands out for his ability to play the saxophone. Nobody in school
plays that well.
To hold out
To not do a desired act in hopes that waiting will bring better results.
You need to hold out until she offers more money. She wants you for the job, but
she will hire you for the least amount of money possible.
To back off
To not do a certain activity with the same intensity that you were doing it.
I will back off on smoking so much now that I had my third heart attack.
Cut it out
If you tell somebody to do this you man that you want that person to stop doing a
certain activity.
You need to cut it out. I dont want you saying stuff like that anymore.
To hang around
To spend leisure time doing nothing of particular importance.
My friend Bob like to hang around my house. He doesnt like spending time with
his wife.
To clash with
When talking about clothing if you say something clashes it means the two clothing
items dont look good together.
My green hat clashes with my pink shorts. I will have to change.
To touch base with
To get in contact with a person about a previously discussed issue.
I will touch base with you about the vacation home rental when I get back on
Thursday.
To take the high road
To choose to make the correct and moral decision when faced with a problem or
conflict.
I could have made John pay for his mean comment by firing him. I decided to
take the high road and just let it go.
To wear somebody out
To make a person tired by being demanding and taking up their time.
My little daughter wears me out. She never stops asking for candy!
To catch heat for
To get in trouble for something that you did.
I caught heat for staying out late. My mom was really angry with me.
To hit the nail on the head
To be completely correct about an issue or an idea.
Obama hit the nail on the head when he decided that the US needs to address
health insurance.
To cough up
To pull out or produce something, even if you dont want to. People are said to
cough up money when they have to pay for something that they dont want to.
I had to cough up $100 for a new lamp that my wife wanted. The last thing I
wanted to spend my money on was another piece of furniture for our house!
To walk the line
To act and believe a certain way, but at the same time to be very close to another
way of acting.
My friend Bob walks the line between being aggressive and being an insensitive
jerk.
To kick butt
To do really well at a certain activity.
My brother really kicks butt at surfing. He is the best surfer Ive seen.
To be an animal
If you describe a person as an animal it means that this person is enthusiastic,
almost to a fault, about a certain activity or topic.
When it comes to revolutionary war history John is an animal. He eats, breathes
and sleeps the historical facts of this time period.
To break the news
To inform somebody of news that they did not previously know.
I hate to break it to you. Your deodorant doesnt work and quite frankly you
stink!
To head off
To start a movement, like walking or driving, in certain direction.
After discussing the situation he will head off to the mangers office to inform him
of the problems.
To strike out
In terms of dating or meeting a potential mate to strike out means to fail at
winning this person over.
I went up to the pretty new secretary at work to ask her out. She told me to go
away. I guess I struck out again.
To let up
To stop being so intense in regards to how you are handling a situation.
You need to let up on how you are dealing with your sons learning disability. If
you push him too hard he will not want to study at all.
To come down hard on
To punish severely for a wrong doing.
My parents came down hard on me when I was caught cheating at school. They
grounded me for three days.
To fish out
To reach down into something to take out an object.
I had to fish out my keys from the bottom of a cup full of ice. My daughter played
a trick on me.
To slide by
To barely get a task or goal accomplished. To intentionally not put forth your best
effort.
Some of my students just slide by my class. They pass, but they put in a minimal
amount of effort.
To eat it
To fall down in a dramatic fashion usually while participating in an activity like
skiing or biking.
I hope I dont eat it on that steep hill. I dont have a helmet so I could get hurt.
To drain somebody
To act in a way that annoys and tires another person. This can be done by
requesting a lot of favors or expecting too much from him or her.
My co worker really drains me. She tells long stories about her cat and stares at
me while speaking to make sure Im listening. She always needs help with her
computer and she borrows my pen constantly.
To hold up
To enter a store with a weapon and demand money.
They held up a gas station near my house on Monday.
To ride it out
To wait for something bad or negative, like a bad financial market, to be over.
I dont like my boss, but Im not going to quit. Ill ride it out until he is transferred
to another branch.
To take a crack at
To make an attempt at something.
I think Ill take a crack at that new video game my son bought. it looks fun.
To rag on
To make fun of and put down.
My friends used to rag on my girlfriend because she is ugly. I told them to stop.
To hound someone
To be persistent in your request of another person. You can hound someone for a
favor or an answer.
My sister hounded me for the name of my new friend. She thinks he is cute.
To cover for someone
To step in and do the work for a person who is unable to perform the task or job.
People do this as a favor for a friend. You can cover for a co worker if he is ill and
cant go to work.
Can you cover for me at the front desk. I need to go out and make a call to my
daughters school. Ill be back in a few minutes.
To hack it
To be tough enough to handle a problem or a situation.
He cant hack a four mile hike. He is really out of shape.
To get to the bottom of it
To investigate a situation or problem and figure out the cause of it.
We need to get to the bottom of it on this issue with the missing books. Who is
taking them?
To give props to
This is a slang expression meaning to acknowledge that someone has done
something good.
I give props to all fathers out there that take care of their kids. Being a parent is
hard.
To have a one track mind
To be focused on one particular thing always.
John really has a one track mind. All he thinks about is golf
Freak of nature
Someone who does an act so intensely that it doesnt seem possible
My boss is a freak of nature. He works 13 hours a day and comes in every
morning ready to work hard. Where does he get the energy
To be a strange bird
A person who acts out of the ordinary can be described as a strange bird.
My English professor is a strange bird. He wears exotic clothing and sings to
himself.
To blow your top
If a person blows his top it means that he got really angry.
When that lady backed into my brand new BMW I blew my top. I only had the
car for a day and it already had a dent!
To freak out
To lose your temper or your cool. To appear and act very agitated.
When my mom sees what a mess I made in the house she is going to freak out.
To come down hard on
To be very intense in the punishment that you give someone for something they did
wrong.
The teacher comes down hard on any students that cheat on tests. She usually
throws the test away.
Eye candy
A person who is really good looking can be called eye candy.
Johns sister is real eye candy. She is super hot and shows off her good looks.
A looker
This is a person who is really good looking.
That new delivery guy is a real looker. All of the women in the office cant keep
their eyes off him!
To be on a tight leash
To be closely watched by a spouse or an employer or anyone who has control over
you.
Tiger Woods is on a tight leash with his wife since his affairs came out in public.
She has taken him back, but she is watching closely.
A hot head
This describes a person who loses his temper easily.
My boss is a real hot head. He always yells at me for everything and Im scared
to talk to him.
Gunslinger
A person who is willing to take huge risks to obtain glory.
bq. My friend Craig is a real gunslinger. He will take crazy chances just to get the
sale he is looking for.
A go-getter
A person who works hard and strives hard to get what he wants.
Neil is a go-getter. He got a great new job by taking the boss out out dinner and
showing him his rsum.
Hell raiser
A person who stirs up a lot of trouble for the fun of it. Someone who like to get
people upset.
My nephew is a real hell raiser. He runs around hitting other kids just to get
them to cry.
Nut job
A person who is mentally unstable, or just crazy in general, can be described as a
nut job.
My science teacher is nut job. She talks to herself and walks around the room
with a crazy look in her eye.
A pinhead
If you call a person a pinhead it means that this person is very dumb.
My cousin Larry is a pinhead. He says the stupidest things.
To Be Crunchy
A person is considered crunchy if he likes the outdoors, hiking, camping and
environmental issues.
Sara could be considered crunchy. She rides her bike everywhere so she wont
hurt the environment.
A show off
A person who wants everyone to see how good he or she is at a certain activity.
My brother is a show off when it comes to the guitar. Every chance he gets he
pulls out his instrument to play.
Joined at the hip
A phrase to describe two people who are always together in any situation.
My brother and his girlfriend are joined at the hip. They work at the same place
and go to the same school. If you see one, you are going to see the other.
A basket case
A person who is extremely stressed and nervous. it can be caused by a specific
situation.
I was a basket case when my dog died. I loved him so much and it was hard to
see him go.
To be a trooper
To act in a way that is selfless. To put up with a uncomfortable situation for the
benefit of another.
My brother was a trooper yesterday. He watched all four of my kids while I
played golf for eight hours.
To be in tune with
To have a deep understanging of something.
She is really in tune with her class. She knows exactly what they need
A space cadet
This describes a person who often times seems a little confused and in his own
world.
My brother Sam is a space cadet. He sits there and stares and nobody knows
what he is thinking about.
A fruit cake
This is an insult one would use to call a man gay or homosexual.
The coach called me a fruit cake because I was scared to tackle the large guy on
the other team.
Eye candy
A person who is really good looking can be called eye candy.
Johns sister is real eye candy. She is super hot and shows off her good looks.
A looker
This is a person who is really good looking.
That new delivery guy is a real looker. All of the women in the office cant keep
their eyes off him!
To be on a tight leash
To be closely watched by a spouse or an employer or anyone who has control over
you.
Tiger Woods is on a tight leash with his wife since his affairs came out in public.
She has taken him back, but she is watching closely.
A hot head
This describes a person who loses his temper easily.
My boss is a real hot head. He always yells at me for everything and Im scared
to talk to him.
Gunslinger
A person who is willing to take huge risks to obtain glory.
My friend Craig is a real gunslinger. He will take crazy chances just to get the
sale he is looking for.
A go-getter
A person who works hard and strives hard to get what he wants.
Neil is a real go-getter. He got a great new job by taking the boss out out dinner
and showing him his rsum.
Hell raiser
A person who stirs up a lot of trouble for the fun of it. Someone who like to get
people upset.
My nephew is a real hell raiser. He runs around hitting other kids just to get
them to cry.
Nut job
A person who is mentally unstable, or just crazy in general, can be described as a
nut job.
My science teacher is a real nut job. She talks to herself and walks around the
room with a crazy look in her eye.
A pinhead
If you call a person a pinhead it means that this person is very dumb.
My cousin Larry is a real pinhead. He says the stupidest things.
To Be Crunchy
A person is considered crunchy if he likes the outdoors, hiking, camping and
environmental issues.
Sara could be considered crunchy. She rides her bike everywhere so she wont
hurt the environment.
A show off
A person who wants everyone to see how good he or she is at a certain activity.
My brother is a real show off when it comes to the guitar. Every chance he gets
he pulls out his instrument to play.
Joined at the hip
A phrase to describe two people who are always together in any situation.
My brother and his girlfriend are joined at the hip. They work at the same place
and go to the same school. If you see one, you are going to see the other.
A basket case
A person who is extremely stressed and nervous. it can be caused by a specific
situation.
I was a basket case when my dog died. I loved him so much and it was hard to
see him go.
To be a trooper
To act in a way that is selfless. To put up with a uncomfortable situation for the
benefit of another.
My brother was a real trooper yesterday. He watched all four of my kids while I
played golf for eight hours.

To each his own
An expression that means that every person has his or her own unique likes and we
shouldnt judge.
I cant believe John like peanut butter on his salad. Well, to each his own.

run-of-the-mill
Ordinary and not special.
We watched another run of the mill horror film to kill time.
To stay the course
To keep to your plan even when things are going poorly.
I told him to stay the course and it would eventually work out.
To go the extra mile
To put extra effort into what you are doing.
I love the service at this store. All of the sales people go the extra mile to help you.
To avoid it like the plague
To do everything possible to avoid a particular situation.
I hate going to the dentist. I avoid it like the plague.
To find a happy medium
To find a balance in a situation that you are dealing with.
My wife says I work too much. She says I need to find a happy medium between
work and spending time with the family.
To go overboard
To do something with too much intensity or effort.
She went a little overboard with the ballons for the birthday party. She hung 700
of them!
To be a cinch
To be easy or for sure.
Dont worry about the math class. It is easy to pass. It is a cinch to do well.
To not fly
To not be acceptable.
Talking in class, while the teacher is teaching, wont fly here. You will get sent out
of class.
See you on the flip side
A slang way of saying see you later
I have to go. Ill see you on the flip side.
To fly the coop
To leave a place or a home to live somewhere else.
Once my son graduates high school, I imagine he will fly the coop as soon as
possible.
To be on the mend
To be feeling better healthwise.
Im happy to say that I am on the mend. Ive been getting better for a couple of
days now.
To catch someones drift
To understand what a person is talking about.
bq. That guy creeps me out. Do you get my drift?
A close call
A situation that almost happened, but did not.
That was a close call. I almost fell off my horse.
Thats the way the cookie crumbles
Another way to say this is how life goes.
I didnt get the job I applied for. Sometimes things just dont work out. Thats the
way the cookie crumbles Im afraid.
Running on empty
To go along with your life or work feeling very tired and drained.
Ive been running on empty these last two weeks. Im working too much.
Living on the edge
To live a risky life style where things could go wrong at any time.
John really lives on the edge. Any day he could die with all the risks he takes.
A freebie
Something given away for free.
On the last day of school the teacher gave out some cool freebies. We all got
pencils and notebooks for free!
A scorcher
A very hot day.
It was a real scorcher today. The high was about 100 degrees!
A fiasco
A bad situation that is chaotic and turns out poorly.
The day at the beach was a fiasco. It rained all day and the baby got sick
To be in a rut
To have a feeling that you are doing the same thing over and over and not getting
successful results.
I am kind of in a rut with my new project. I need some new ideas.
To be far out
An expression used to describe something that is pleasing or cool
That new movie is far out. I loved it!
Long range plan
A plan of action that takes into account the distant future.
My long range plan for this business is to start marketing to China.
Come hell or high water
This means that no matter what happens you are going to do someting.
Come hell or high water I am going to class today. My professor told me that I
will fail if I miss again
To be up to someone
When the result depends on the decision of another person.
Ask your mother if you can have that cookie. It is up to her. She knows what you
have had today, not me.
A Hair Pin Turn
A very sharp turn on a road or highway.
Dont drive fast up here. Theres a hairpin turn that causes horrible accidents
To Not Cut It
To not be enough. To not be acceptable
The paper you wrote doesnt cut it. You need to add more information to get an
A.
A Tongue Twister
A sentence or phrase that is difficult to say because the sounds are hard to
pronounce.
His name is long and there are a lot of consonants. It is a tongue twister.
To Splurge
To uncharacteristically spend a lot of money on something.
Im going to splurge on this new Rolex. It is something Ive wanted for a while, so
Ill just spend the money.
To Be a Sitting Duck
To be exposed to danger because of the situation that you are in.
Im like a sitting duck out here on the football field. There is lightning and I have
nowhere to hide.
To be hairy
If a situation is hairy it is very intense and maybe even scary.
It got pretty hairy in there. Both customers were yelling at me and my boss was
angry. Luckily I talked my way out of it.
A nail biter
A situation is a nail biter if you dont know how it is going to turn out until the
very end. It creates a nervous feeling.
That game was a real nail biter. We didnt know who was going to win until the
last second when the forward scored the last point.
Mad house
A place or situation is called a mad house when there is no order and everyone is
going crazy.
Dont go to my house when all of the kids are at home. It is a mad house.
To go haywire
When everything starts to go wrong and chaos takes over.
Once I dropped the glass of water on the computer everything wenthaywire. The
computer blew up and we lost all of the files.
To be hard up
To not have enough money to pay for anything that you need.
Last summer I wasnt working. I was so hard up for cash that I had to cut the
neighbors lawn to get enough money to go out.
To be stuck between a rock and a hard place
To be in a situation that is impossible to get out of.
Last night I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. At 7:00 PM I had to pick
up my daughter from school and be at home for the cable guy. I couldnt do both
things at the same time.
Pressure Cooker
This is a situation that is full of stress and pressure.
That meeting was a real pressure cooker. We didnt know if we could convince
the boss of our new proposal.
Cakewalk
Something that is easily done. It is an easy goal to accomplish.
Getting that job was a cakewalk. I knew the owner of the company.
Off the hook
When something is really cool or outstanding it can be described as off the hook.
The party was off the hook. Everyone was going crazy and having a great time.
To be down and out
To be in a depressed and low mood. Things are not going well for you.
bq. Last year I was down and out. My wife divorced me and I lost my job. Nothing
was going well for me.
Running around like a chicken with its head cut off
This expression describes a person who is confused and frantic and unsure of what
to do next.
The kitchen staff was running around like a chicken with its head cut off. There
were too many food orders and nobody knew what to do.
A lost cause
A situation is described as a lost cause when there is no hope for success.
I tried to help him learn to play the piano, but he just wont practice. It is a lost
cause thinking that he will one day play well.
Downer
A situation that brings everyones mood down, like rain during a picnic or a flat tire
on a road trip, is called a downer.
Seeing my ex wife at the party was a downer. It brought back a lot of bad
memories.
To be up in the air
When it is uncertain how the situation will turn out it is said to be up in the air.
We dont know if John is returning from Iraq next month. With the war being so
unpredictable everything is up in the air.
To kill two birds with one stone
To take care of two different obligations with one action.
If you get a pool you will be killing two birds with one stone. You will have a
place to exercise doing laps and youre kids will have a place to play.
Jacked up
Not working correctly. Something that is broken could be described as jacked up.
After the accident my bike was all jacked up. The gears were no longer working
and my handle bars were crooked.
Dime a dozen
Something that is very common and not difficult to find.
Employees with an MBA are a dime a dozen. To get a job in this market you need
to have real experience too.
To get out of hand
When a situation is no longer controllable it is out of hand.
My party got out of hand when everyone started to drink too much. All the
younger people started throwing food at each other.
A pigsty
A slang word to describe a place that is very messy.
Johns mom told him his room was a pigsty. He wasnt allowed to go out to play
until he cleaned it.
To cut back
To do a certain activity less. To refrain from a previous activity.
When the economy goes bad people cut back on spending. Everyone is scared of
spending money.
Wealth of
To say there is a wealth of something means that there is a lot of it available.
There is a wealth of information in the library. You should go there to do your
research.
To be a steal
If you purchase something, and you get a really good price for it, you can say it was
a steal.
That was a real steal. I got a new I pod and a Wii for $200!
To be out of your league
If something is out of your league it means that you are not good enough for it. You
dont have the qualities it takes to obtain that goal.
That girl is out of your league. She is really pretty and only dates rich guys.
A no brainer
A situation or problem that is easy to figure out. The solution is obvious.
Choosing between going to the beach or staying home with Bob is a no brainer.
The beach is fun and Bob is boring. I will go to the beach!
To end on a bad note
When something ends and people are left with a bad feeling about the situation.
Our trip ended on a bad note. The last day of travel we got a flat tire and
everyone was irritable and exhausted.
A thorn in my side
This is something that continually annoys you like a student who is always bad or a
problem that never goes away.
John has been a real thorn in my side at work. He doesnt know how to do
anything so I always have to do it for him.
Over the top
When a person takes things a little too far and pushes the limits.
John is way over the top when it comes to basketball. He gets really upset with
everyone when he is not winning.
To be green with envy
To be very jealous of someone or something.
I was green with envy when I found out you were going to Hawaii. I love it
there!

Transcript
Listen to the phrase
This is an official document that lists your previous grades. Each College or
university you attended in the past should have one of these for you.
When I apply to graduate school Ill need to send them my transcriptfrom the
college where I received my undergraduate degree.
Schedule
Listen to the phrase
Students in college receive a schedule to show them what their classes are and
where they are. Schedules are usually given to students on a white piece of paper
with the information printed out by computer.
This semester I have a great schedule. I dont have classes on Friday.
TA
A TA is a teaching assistant. Many professors at American universities have
teaching assistants who grade papers, give small classes, give tests or assist in the
computer lab. TAs are usually graduate students working on their masters or
doctorate degrees.
The TA teaches the class when the professor is not there.
Lecture
Listen to the phrase
A lecture is the time in class where you listen to the professor speak (or lecture) on
the material for that class. These classes are typically large and given in an
auditorium environment. A class may meet Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but
only have lectures on Monday and Wednesday. Fridays class could be a discussion
with a small group of students and a TA or it could be a class in the computer lab.
You need to attend each lecture if you want to do well in the class.
To Audit
Listen to the phrase
A student may audit a class at a university. This means that the student attends
class for observational purposes. Students are not graded for the class. Usually
students must contact the professor to get permission to audit the class.
I decided to audit the Spanish class. I am interested in Spanish, but I dont need
the class for a grade.
Prerequisite
Listen to the phrase
If a class that you want to register for says that there is a prerequisite than there
are certain classes you must have taken before you can sign up for this one. An
example would be if you wanted to sign up for Spanish II and there was a small
note below the class description that said, Prerequisite Spanish I. In order to be
able to take the Spanish II class you have to have taken Spanish I already.
To take Astronomy 202 there is a prerequisite. You have to have taken and
passed Astronomy 101.
On a Scholarship
Listen to the phrase
A scholarship is money granted to a student to pay for or help pay for their tuition
at the university. There are many kinds of scholarships one can receive. To find out
information on scholarships students should go to the financial aid office on their
campus.
I dont have a lot of money. Im able to go to college because Im on a
scholarship.
Syllabus
Listen to the phrase
A syllabus is an informational packet or sheet of paper that has all the information
you will need to know about the class. Most professors hand these out the first day
of class. Usually the professors name, number and e mail are listed on the top of
the syllabus.
If you want to know how many tests there will be throughout the semester then
check the syllabus.
Credit Hour
Listen to the phrase
A credit hour is the amount of time a week you spend in that particular class. Most
classes are three credit hours meaning that you have that class for a total of three
hours a week.
Biology 101 is worth 4 _credit hours._
Transfer Credits
Listen to the phrase
Transfer credits are classes from a previous university that you completed that you
can receive credit for at the new university. If I enroll at a new university and I have
already taken classes at another one in the past I may ask a college official if I could
transfer any of the classes I had taken already. Many students take lower level
classes at community colleges because it is cheaper than taking them at a
university. Students, upon enrolling at the university, transfer these classes to the
present institution.
If you are going to move to a different college you should first check to see if they
accept transfer credits.
Withdraw or Drop a Class
Listen to the phrase
To withdraw or drop a class means that you have decided to not take the class
anymore. A student must contact the registrars office before the drop date (see
next term) and drop the class officially.
I dont like that class or the professor. Im going to drop the class.
Drop Date
Listen to the phrase
This is the last day during the semester that you can drop a class and get your
money back. If you drop the class after this date you will lose your money and if you
are failing the class on your transcript there will be a note that you dropped a class
you were failing.
You better drop that class before the drop date or you wont get your money
back.
Major and Minor
Listen to the phrase
Your major is the subject that you would like to get your degree in. If I major in
biology I take the majority of my upper level courses in biology. A minor is a
subject that you focus on that you would take courses in, but not as many as you
would for your major. A student could be a biology major and a French minor.
My major is accounting and my minor is French.
Dorm
Listen to the phrase
This word is short for dormitory. This is a building on campus where the students
live, usually two students per room.
During my freshman year I lived in a huge dorm on campus.
Dining Hall
Listen to the phrase
This is a building on campus that serves food to students. There are usually four or
five dining halls on campus. Students buy meal plans and present their student IDs
to the dining hall staff to get their meal.
I eat most of my meals in the dining hall.
The Quad
Listen to the phrase
A lot of universities have a central area where many of the academic buildings are.
The lawn and sidewalk area in between all these buildings is usually called the
quad. This is the central point of the university and students gather here for
social and academic reasons. On nice days this area is full of students relaxing.
Sometimes they have live music or other events in the Quad at my school.
Greek System
Listen to the phrase
The Greek system is an organization of student social groups called fraternities for
men and sororities for women. Students that would like to join a particular
fraternity or sorority visit the house that the group is based out of and meet the
members. This is done at the beginning of each semester and is called rush.
Some students get involved in the Greek System at their school to meet new
people.
Rush
Listen to the phrase
This is the week that students have the opportunity to meet the different
fraternities and sororities and possibly join the organization.
To get into the fraternity that I liked I had to participate in rush.
House Party
Listen to the phrase
Many students, especially juniors and seniors, rent houses near or on campus to
live in during the semester. On weekends a certain house will decide to have a party
that is open to students on campus. There is usually a fee of about $4 to get in
which pays for the keg of beer usually served. These parties usually attract the
younger students who are too young to get into the local bars.
Theres a house party down the street this Saturday night. I know the two guys
that live there. Theyre in my history class.
BYOB (Bring your own booze)
Listen to the phrase
This is a phrase that tells the guests that if they want to drink theyll need to bring
their own beer, wine or liquor.
I think the party is BYOB. Make sure you stop at the store to pick up some beer.
Pull an all nighter
Listen to the phrase
Students who have a big test the next day may stay up all night and study for the
test. This is called an all nighter.
I havent studied at all yet. Ill have to pull an all nighter.
To Cram for a Test
Listen to the phrase
To cram for a test means that you wait until the day or night before the test and you
try to quickly memorize the material.
I hate to study. I normally just cram for a test right before class.
Freshman 15
Listen to the phrase
It is said that many college students during their first year of college gain a lot of
weight. Students are adjusting to a new lifestyle and end up eating bad food or
eating too much due to stress.
If you eat all that fried food from the dining hall you will gain the
notorious Freshman 15.
Straight A Student
Listen to the phrase
A student who consistently gets As in all classes taken.
A straight A student will have a better chance to get a scholarship.
Fall behind
Listen to the phrase
If you miss a class or two you miss out on what is happening in class and the
material covered. This is called falling behind.
I missed three classes because I went to a wedding in New York. I hoped I
wouldnt fall behind, but I did!

in-law
A person who is related to you by marriage.
My brother in-law is kind of irresponsible. He is 40 years old and has never had
a job.
Stepfather
A person who is married to your mother, but is not your original father. You could
have a stepmother or a stepbrother/sister too.
John doesnt get along with his new stepfather. He misses his dad and hes mad
that his mom remarried
Biological mother or father
The parent that conceived you. If a person is adopted into another family his
original parents are his biological parents.
Sandy never met her biological father. He left her mother before she was born
To get adopted
This is when an adult takes in a child who doesnt have parents that can care for
him or her.
Did you know I was adopted. My real parents were drug addicts and gave me up
for adoption
To give up for adoption
To legally surrender your rights in raising your child to another adult or a couple.
The pregnant teenager is going to give her baby up for adoption.
Blood relative
A person who is related to you by birth as opposed to being related to you by
marriage.
Larry is not an actual blood relative of mine. He is the son of my stepmothers
daughter.
Household
This refers to all of the people who live in a house as a whole.
The food in the refrigerator is for the entire household. Thats why there is so
much. Dont eat it all!
Nuclear family
A persons direct family members. It consists of your mother, father and siblings.
Aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents are not part of the nuclear family.
People are usually closest to their nuclear family.
Extended family
Any family members that are not part of your nuclear family like aunts, uncles,
cousins and grandparents.
My extended family is so large that we cant all fit in my house.
Long lost relative
A family member that you havent seen or heard from in a while.
My long lost uncle Tim stopped by for Thanksgiving. We were all so surprised.
Second cousin
The child of a persons cousin.
Did you know that my second cousin is Justin Bieber? I am so proud.
Broken home
A family in which the mother or the father has left.
Sara comes from a broken home. Her dad left when she was 7 years old.
Dysfunctional family
A situation where there is controversy and abuse between the family members.
I hate to see little kids growing up in a dysfunctional family.
Estranged family member
A person who doesnt get along with the family and does not keep in contact.
Their estranged son Daniel is living in San Francisco now. I dont think theyve
heard from him in years.
Recite the pledge
This is an oath of allegiance to the United States. It is recited by the students and
school staff each morning. During the pledge everyone stands and faces the
American flag with their right hand over their heart. It is usually followed by the
morning announcements. Below is the pledge:
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic
for which it stands: one Nation under God, indivisible, With Liberty and Justice
for all.
The school requires all students to stand while they recite the pledge.
Morning announcements
Each morning, usually after the first or second class, the principal or the assistant
principal will get on the school wide microphone and go over any important events
or issues that have to do with school for that day. Some examples of things that are
announced are schools sports scores, cancelations of after school activities and
acknowledgement of individual student achievements.
During the morning announcements we found out that the volley ball team won
last night.
Periods
At most schools the day is broken up into blocks of time in which the classes meet.
A school day could be broken up into 9 periods. Each period would be about 45
minutes. Students are scheduled for a class, lunch or an elective during each
period.
I have math class during 2nd period.
Elective
This is a non academic class that students take. These are classes that the students
choose according to their interests. Some example elective classes are art, music,
drama and theater.
For my elective class this semester Im going to take art.
Recess
This is a time after lunch in which the students can play or socialize. The lunch
period is usually split evenly between time in the cafeteria to eat and time outside
or in the gym to play for recess. In high school this time is just free time to talk or
do homework.
During recess the boys played soccer.
Tardy Bell
Throughout the school day there are bells that go off to let the students know that
they need to be somewhere. There is usually a bell that sounds five minutes before
the class starts and there is another one to indicate that the class has started. The
bell that indicates that class has started is the tardy bell. Any student who enters
class after this bell is tardy (late).
Three students entered class after the tardy bell and they had to talk with the
teacher after class.
Homeroom Teacher:
In middle school and high school students have different teachers for different
subjects throughout the day. The teacher whose class they have in the morning
during the morning announcements is said to be their homeroom teacher. If the
office needs to get the student any information or documents it will usually be done
during this period. Attendance for the day is also done during this period.
I got a letter from the office for my parents during my homeroom class.
Take Home Folder:
In grades kindergarten through about 7th grade students carry a folder with them
to each class. This folder lists their assignments and teachers can put an
announcement or a message for the parent in there. Students are to take the folder
home each night and the parent usually has to initial the folder to indicate that they
looked it over. This is a way for teachers to communicate with the parents.
My mom asked to see my take home folder to see if I had any homework.
Teachers Aide:
These are employees of the school that help the teachers in the classroom. They do
not actually teach a class and they are not required to have a teaching certificate or
college degree. Teachers aides usually work with the special education program.
The teachers aide will help Sara with her math.
Special Education:
This is a program that is designed to help students with learning disabilities. The
special education staff comes up with an academic plan for each student to help
them succeed. Students in special education generally receive more one on one
help. For the major subjects students in this program will be in a special classroom
with teachers trained in special education techniques.
The students in special education will be tested today on their math skills.
Resource Room:
This is a classroom where students can receive extra help on any subject. If a
teacher in a regular classroom has a student who is struggling he may send the
student here. In the resource room there are teachers and teachers aides who help
the students in any subject.
If John is struggling with the math unit send him to the resource room for extra
help.
Progress Report:
This is a report that shows the students grades at the midway point of the
semester. It is not the official grade for the grading period, but it lets the parents
know how their child is doing in each class.
His progress report showed that he is failing math. He better study or he could
get a F for the semester.
Report Card:
This is an official document from the school that lists the students grades for the
semester in each of his/her classes. Teachers in each subject submit the grades to
the office at the school and the office creates the report card. This is sent to the
students house by mail.
If I get all good grades on my report card I will get a new bike.
Pop quiz:
This is a quiz that a teacher can give that is not announced beforehand. Students
cant study for these quizzes because they dont know when they will be. They are
used to measure student understanding of the material covered in class.
I cant believe he gave a pop quiz today!
GT/Gifted and Talented:
This is a program for students who are exceptionally intelligent and need
instruction beyond the level that the regular classes provide. These students are
usually taught in separate classrooms by teachers trained to deal with their needs.
The school will have a testing program to determine if a student qualifies for this
service. These programs are usually for the lower grades. By the time students get
to middle school they take Advanced Placement classes to meet their needs.
The regular education classes are too easy for Jim. He needs to be in thegifted
and talented program.
Advanced Placement/AP Courses:
These are courses that are offered in high school. They are college level classes for
students who excel academically. These credits can go towards college in the future.
I am going to take AP History my junior year.
To get left back:
If a student does not do well academically during the school year he can be
required to repeat the year. Teachers will meet towards the end of the year and
decide if a struggling student needs to stay in the same grade next year or be left
back.
If you dont start making an effort in school you are going to get left back.
Pep Rally:
This is an activity in which all of the students gather in the gym of the school to
cheer on their sports teams. The coach of each team will introduce the athletes and
the cheer leaders perform and cheer. The school band plays music to get the crowd
excited. Pep rallies usually occur the school day before a big game.
You can scream as loud as you want at a pep rally.
Snow day:
This is a day in which school is canceled due to a heavy snow. Students and parents
find out about these cancelations by watching the local news.
I was so excited that school was cancelled because of the storm. It was asnow
day.
Try out:
To join a sports team in middle school or high school students have to play in front
of the coach to prove that they are good enough to be on the team. This is called
trying out. The coach for a particular sport can only choose a limited amount of
students to be on the team. During the try out day he will pick the best players.
My daughter is going to try out for the soccer team next year.
Make the Team:
If you are selected to be on the team after try outs it is called making the team.
I hope I make the team this year. I really want to play volleyball.
Field Trip:
This is when a group of students leaves the school during the school day to visit a
museum or any other kind of learning institution. Many times parents will
volunteer to go to help watch the kids. A school bus is usually used to transport the
students.
This year the students went on a field trip to the New York museum.
Cut Class:
If a student does not go to a class that he is supposed to go to it is called cutting
class. Students get in trouble for doing this and the punishment varies from school
to school. High schools are usually the only ones dealing with this behavior since
the students are old enough to drive and are given more freedom throughout the
day.
If you cut class again you are going to get in trouble.
Get a referral:
When a student misbehaves a teacher may give him a referral. This is a written
document sent to the principals office that details what the student did wrong. The
principal will call the students into his office and decide what the punishment will
be.
John hit another student so he got a referral.
In School Suspension/ISS:
If a student breaks a major school rule like fighting or throwing food he could be
sent to In School Suspension. Students in ISS have to spend the entire school day
in a separate room where they are not allowed to talk. During the day the students
will work silently on their school work.
After the fight I was given 3 days of ISS.

Promotion/Get a Promotion
A promotion is getting a new position with the same company that pays better and
includes more responsibility.
After three years working for this company I finally got a promotion. I am now
the regional manager.
Office Politics
The way that power and influence are used in a work place. How people act towards
the boss to get the things they want.
I dont like working here. The only way to get a promotion is to be best friends
with the boss. The office politics here are ridiculous.
Corporate Culture:
This describes the overall attitude a specific company has towards things like work
behaviors, dress, vacation time, relationships between co workers and anything
else that has to do with how employees act at work.
Everyone wants to work here. The corporate culture is great. Everyone is
respectful and there isnt a lot of stress.
Career Ladder
A structured group of positions that one takes to move up in responsibility in a
company. An example of a career ladder is starting off as a sales person, moving to
assistant manager, moving up to manager of the office and then becoming the
regional manager.
Sara plans on moving up the career ladder all the way to the top.
Job Perks or Fringe Benefits
A benefit that a certain job has that an employee enjoys. Some examples would be a
free cell phone or the use of a company car.
There are a lot of perks to working at this college. My kids get to go here at no
cost and I have a free gym membership.
Dress code
The rules set up at a company that state what an employee can and can not wear at
work.
The dress code is really strict here. We have to wear a tie and a jacket everyday.
Team Player
An employee that does well at working with others in the company.
John is not much of a team player. If you put him with a group of people to finish
a project he will go off and sit by himself.
To Gross
This is used to talk about how much money you make before taxes are taken out.
Last year I grossed over one hundred thousand dollars.
To Temp
To take a temporary position for a company. These positions dont pay benefits and
can last for just one day to a year.
I lost my job in April and had to start temping just to pay the rent.
Full Time
To work over 35 hours a week and to receive benefits, such as health insurance or
sick days, is considered full time.
Sam got hired as a full time employee so now he will have health coverage.
Dead End Job
A job that offers no possibility to move up in responsibility or pay.
This is a dead end job. I will never get promoted here.
To Get Your Foot in the Door
This is an expression that means to take whatever position you can find with a
certain company just to be involved. The hope is that you will get promoted after
you prove how good of a worker you are.
To get my foot in the door at this company I took a job in the mail room. My hope
was to get into sales eventually.
To Burn Out
To work too much to a point where you feel tired and unmotivated to do your job.
Dont work so many hours a day. Youre going to burn out.
To Moonlight
To work a second job, usually at night, to make extra money.
Many teachers have to moonlight just to pay the bills. They pay is not enough.

English words and expressions for getting a driver license
DMV:
Abbreviation for the department of motor vehicles. This is the government office
where one would go to apply for a driver license.
Youll have to go to the DMV to apply for your license.
Learners Permit
A temporary permission to drive when you are in the process of learning to drive.
At age 16, in this state, most kids get their learners permit so they can start
driving.
Expired drivers license
A license that is not good anymore. Most states require you to renew your license
every four years. if you dont do this, after four years your license is expired.
I cant drive to school today. My license has expired and I forgot to renew it.
Drivers Ed
This is a class that people take to qualify to get a drivers license. A lot of the class is
done in a car with an instructor.
If you want to drive the first step is to enroll in some sort of drivers ed class.
Defensive Driving
This is a class people take after getting a ticket. When you finish the class you can
get your ticket dismissed. Some people take this class just to get a reduction in the
amount paid in insurance premiums.
Last year, when I got that ticket for speeding, I took a defensive driving class. It
took the violation off my record.
DUI/DWI
This is the term for being caught driving while drunk. In almost all cases the driver
will lose his or her license and have to pay very expensive fines.
Dont drive if you are going to drink tonight. You cant afford a DUI.
Moving Violation
This is the term for any violation of the law while the car is moving.
If they get you for a moving violation the fine is going to be a lot of money.
Suspended License
A license that is not valid because of an unresolved issue like not paying a ticket.
You cant drive with a suspended license. If you get pulled over you will be in a
lot of trouble.
Renew Your License
A drivers license only lasts for a few years. When the license has expired you have
to go to the DMV and re apply for the license.
In this state you have to renew your license every four years.
Revoked Drivers License
If a driver commits a certain crime, like a DUI or reckless driving, his license will be
taken away for a period. The drivers license is now considered revoked or
temporarily taken away. This person will have to pay fines or take a driving course
to get his license back in good standing.
You shouldnt drive with a revoked drivers license. If the police stop you they will
put you in jail.
Motorist
An offical term for a person who operates a vehicle of any kind.
All motorists have to have a drivers license.
Drivers license points
For every ticket or infraction you receive or commit while driving you receive a
certain amount of points towards your license. This is a system that the state will
use to track drivers. If you get a certain amount of points in a period of time you
could lose your license.
With that many points on your drivers license you are going to lose it.
Driving offense
If you break a traffic or driving law, and you get caught, it is called a driving
offense.
My brother had four driving offenses in one month!
Drivers license restrictions
These are conditions that a driver has to meet while using the license and driving
the vehicle. The restrictions are listed on the back of the license for the police
officer to see. Some example of common drivers license restrictions are: corrective
lenses (needs glasses while driving) and daylight driving only.
My license has one restriction. I have to drive with corrective lenses.

Job Opening
A position with an employer that is vacant. The employeer is actively looking to
hire someone for this job.
Do you know of any job openings in your company? I need a job!
Resume:
This is a document that lists all of your work experience. Employers will want to see
this before they give you an interview.
My resume is full of jobs in sales that Ive had.
Cover Letter
A letter that you include with your resume that explains what job you want and why
you are qualified for it.
In my cover letter I explained that I was born for this job.
Thank You Letter
This is a letter you send to a person who interviewed you for a position. In this
letter you thank him for his time.
Make sure you send a nice thank you letter. Employers like this.
References
A list of former employers or contacts that a potential employer can call to inquire
about your work performance.
Since I have never had a job, I have no references. What am I going to do?
Background Check
Employers will research your past and see how you have done at other jobs before
they hire you. They will call your references and check your criminal history. This is
a background check.
We were going to hire him until we completed the background check. This guy
had stolen money from three different companies and had gone to jail twice.
Overqualified
If a job applicant has more experience and skills than the position requires he is
said to be overqualified. Employers dont like to hire people like this because they
usually leave the company for something better.
John was the CEO of a major company for years. Now that he is having to find a
new job, he is realizing that he is overqualified for many positions.
Relative Experience
A potential employer may ask if you have any experience in the past doing what the
new position requires. This is relative experience.
I listed my job as a car salesman as relative experience for the software sale job I
am applying for. Both jobs involve working with customers and selling a product
On the Job Experience
Actual real llife work experience doing a specific kind of work. Many job applicants
are right out of college and have never worked in the field they are trying to get
into. They have no on the job experience.
Some people take low paying jobs just to get the valuable on the job experience.
Career Fair
This is an event that colleges or towns put on to let employers meet potential
employees. Different companies will set up an information booth and send a
representative to talk to the people who are looking for jobs.
Sam brought his resume to the career fair, but he was too scared to talk to
anyone. What a waste of time!
Cold Call
This is when a job seeker calls an employer that he doesnt know to seek
employment. This job seeker calls about a job even though there has not been an
announcement about a job opening.
I made a few cold calls to some accounting firms in my town. My goal was to see
if there were any openings for accountants fresh out of school. It didnt go well.
Most offices politely said they werent looking for anybody.
Want Ads
A section of the newspaper that employers use to advertise job openings.
My first step in the job seeking process was to check the want ads.
Networking
The act of contacting and communicating with people in your career field. Letting
people know that you are looking for a job. One does this hoping that one day one
of your contacts will call you about a job opening.
Sara has spent the last week networking with local sales people. She hopes that
one of these contacts will help her find a job.
Job Lead
Information that one receives about a potential job opening.
The career counselor in our college always has a few job leads for students who
are in accounting. Local firms call her everyday.
To Put Your Feelers Out
To actively look for potential job openings by communicating with other people and
finding out about companies that are looking to hire.
His brother is really unhappy with his current job. He hasnt quit yet, but he has
his feelers out to see what other jobs are out there.

Attorney
Another name for lawyer. A person who is hired to counsel and manage a case that
goes to court.
My attorney did everything he could to get me off for the crime I was accused of.
Unfortunately he is not a very good one and I now have to go to jail.
Misdemeanor
A less serious crime that usually results in less than a year in jail time or no jail
time at all.
Some examples of misdemeanors are stealing a cheap item, being drunk in public
and trespassing on private property.
Felony
A serious crime that results in over a year in jail. Examples of felonies are murder,
rape and kidnapping.
Now that Sam has committed a felony he is no longer just a street punk. He is a
serious criminal.
Press charges
To officially inform the authorities about a crime that was committed against you.
When my son hit another kid at school his parents had the option to press
charges against my boy. Luckily they chose not to and let the school deal with the
issue.
Defendant
The person who is being accused of a crime.
The defendant seems very nervous during the trial. I think he did do the crime.
Plaintiff
The person who files the complaint against the defendant.
The plaintiff accused that man of attacking him in his front yard. This man is
denying any wrong doing.
Alibi
To be in a different location during the time in which the crime was committed.
Somebody being accused of a crime will want to have this so he can prove that it
was impossible for him to have done the crime.
John has an alibi for the night of the murder. He was with his mom all night
watching a movie. He couldnt have killed Sara.
Cross Examination
When the lawyer for the opposing side questions the witness in a trial.
You need to be prepared for the cross examination. Lawyers are notorious for
being harsh towards the witness for the opposing attorney.
Plea Bargain
An agreement between the defendant and the prosecutor in which the defendant
admits to doing the crime so he can get a shorter sentence.
He was advised to take the plea bargain, but he refused. He was convinced that
the jury would find him not guilty.
To Sentence
When the court gives a punishment to the defendant for a crime committed.
I think the judge will be kind when he sentences you. He didnt seem to upset
about the crime you committed.
Prosecutor
The lawyer whose job it is to decide who is being tried for the crime committed. He
also presents the evidence against this person in court.
The prosecutor is going to bring up the fact that you have been arrested many
times before. He will probably call up witnesses to tell the court about these
crimes.
Subpoena
The command by the court of the government that a person appears in court at a
certain time to give information and answer questions about the matter at hand.
Mary was subpoenaed to appear in court last year to provide information on
what she saw during the attack. She was happy to do it since she wanted the
attacker to go to jail.
Retain a Lawyer
The act of employing a lawyer to represent you for whatever reason.
I decided to not retain a lawyer. I dont think he will sue me for such a small
matter.
Testimony
The evidence given by a witness in court under oath.
Robert gave his testimony in court about what he knew in regards to the theft.
Settlement
An agreement between the two opposing parties in a certain lawsuit.
Luckily they were able to reach a settlement before they has to go to court.
Ambulance Chaser
A lawyer who is out to make quick money from a persons suffering. This lawyer
encourages people to sue for anything that happens.
He has turned into a real ambulance chaser. He takes on the most ridiculous
cases.
Power of Attorney
When a person gives the authorization to another person to act as his attorney.
My brother has the power of attorney in this matter. He will know what to do.

To get busted
To get caught by a law enforcement officer for breaking the law.
I got busted for speeding in a school zone. The cop clocked me doing 80 mph.
To have a record
If you have been arrested before the police will have files on what it was you were
arrested for. This is called having a record.
Since I have a record I have trouble finding work. Nobody wants to hire a
criminal, even if he has cleaned up.
To take downtown
Police stations are usually located downtown. If an officer says that hes taking you
downtown it means that you are going to jail.
They informed my brother that they were going to take him downtown. He was
arrested for public intoxication.
To have a warrant out
A police officer will ask if you have any warrants out for your arrest. This is an
official document that says that you are to be arrested for a previously committed
crime.
If you have a warrant out you should be careful not to get pulled over for
speeding. The cops will take you downtown when they find out.
To post bail
When a person gets arrested he can pay a certain amount of money, decided on by
the judge, to get out of jail until his trial.
If you cant post bail youll be sleeping in jail tonight. I would call a friend to get
you out of here!
To bail out
A friend, family member or a lawyer can come to the jail and pay the bail money to
get that person out of jail. This is called bailing out.
His parents had to bail him out of jail after he got arrested for driving drunk.
How embarrassing!
To book someone for a crime
If a policeman decides to charge you for the crime you committed this can be called
booking.
He decided to book me for public intoxication since I started arguing with him.
Lesson learned. Dont argue with a cop that may let you go!
To crack down on
When the local police are making a point of finding people breaking a specific
crime it can be stated that they are cracking down on this crime.
Be careful when you drive by the school on Elm Street. The cops arecracking
down on speeders in that area.
To be crawling with cops
If a particular area has many police officers walking about, for whatever reason, it
is said to be crawling with cops.
Dont break any laws downtown at the block party tonight. The whole area will
be crawling with cops.
To throw the book at
If a judge decides to give you the maximum penalty for the crime that you
committed then he is throwing the book at you.
Be respectful of the judge, or he will throw the book at you.
An ex-con
This is a person who was arrested and served time in jail for a crime. He is now out,
but still has a record.
My uncle wont hire ex-cons because he thinks they will steal from him.
Plead the fifth
By United States law, if you are arrested and asked questions about the crime from
a law enforcement officer, you have the right to remain silent and not answer
anything. This is called pleading the fifth.
My lawyer advised me to plead the fifth if was questioned about the murder.
To do time
If you spent any time in jail you are said to have done time.
He did some time for robbing the convenient store down the street. Luckily that
time scared him into being a good citizen and staying away from trouble.
To hold up
If a criminal pulls a gun out at a cashier of a small store or bank it is called holding
up.
Two men held up the liquor store down the street. They got away with $300 and
a pack of cigarettes.
To rat on
If a person is arrested for a crime that he committed with other people he may be
asked to tell what these other people did in terms of executing the crime. This is
called ratting on a friend.
They caught one of the kids in the gang that was vandalizing cars. After a couple
of hours of threats and questions the detectives got him to rat onthe other gang
members.
The fuzz
This is a slang word for police police officer.
The fuzz is everywhere. I wish theyd leave me alone!

Makeover
This is a complete change and improvement of a persons appearance. A person
who gets a makeover will get new clothes, new make up and a new hair style.
After her makeover nobody recognized her.
Facial
This is a treatment to the face that involves cleaning, massaging and rubbing on
special cleansing creams.
My wife gets a facial every three weeks.
Hair Care Products
These are any products bought to clean or style a persons hair. Shampoo and hair
gel are examples of hair care products.
When Emily goes on a trip she packs way too much. She brings an entire bag just
for her hair care products.
Pedicure
This is a treatment for the foot and toe nails that involves massaging and cleaning.
People go to special stores or salons to get this done.
Before the big dance Sally got a pedicure. She was planning to wear open toed
shoes and she wanted her feet to look good.
Manicure
A manicure is the same treatment as a pedicure, but for the hands.
She gets a manicure once in a while.
Face mask
This is a product made of cleansing materials that you rub on your face. It is usually
left on for a certain amount of time and then peeled off after it hardens.
His mother had a face mask on and it scared him.
Botox
This is a substance that is injected by a doctor into a patients skin to make wrinkles
go away. People usually get Botox in their face where the wrinkles are most
noticeable.
Once you are 50 you are going to have wrinkles in your face. The only thing you
can do is get Botox.
Perm
This is a treatment done to hair to give it curls or waves. To achieve this look heat
and chemicals are used.
Her hair is so straight that she has to get a perm every month.
To tease your hair
This is the act of combing your hair from the ends to the scalp. The normal way to
comb hair is from the scalp down. People tease their hair to get make it fuller and
give it more body.
My hair is really frizzy. If I tease it the hair sticks up in the air!
To get highlights
Highlighting your hair means that you use chemicals to change the color or lighten
up your hair. People highlight their hair to get rid of grey hair and also to make it
blonder.
His mother got highlights to hide the grey.
To wax
Waxing a body part is the process of using a chemical to remove the unwanted hair.
Women will wax their legs or their armpits.
Mary waxed her legs before the dance so she would look good with her low cut
dress.
Bikini wax
This is the same process as getting your legs waxed, but it is done in the area of
your bikini bottom. Women will do this to this before going out in public with a
bathing suit.
If you are going to wear that bathing suit you definitely will need a bikini wax.
Wonder bra
This is a bra that is designed to push the breasts up to make them look bigger.
His girlfriend wears a wonder bra to get attention. It makes him mad.
Active ingredients
These are the ingredients that cause the desired effect of the product. They can be
man made or natural substances. Most products contain several different
ingredients. The active ingredients are the reason a consumer would buy the
product.
What are the active ingredients in that cough medicine?
Age spots
These are spots or marks on the skin caused by exposure to the sun. They usually
appear when a person is older so they are called age spots.
Hillary used to go out in the sun all the time. Now that she is older she has a lot
of age spots.
Allergen
This is an ingredient or a substance that could cause an allergy. Most products list
the allergens contained in their product on the packaging.
Youll have to check to see what allergens are in that medicine. He is allergic to
almost everything.

Tooth decay
Damage to the outer part of a tooth caused by bacteria.
If you dont brush your teeth you will suffer from tooth decay.
Cavity
A hole in the tooth caused by decay
Im going to the dentist tomorrow. I hope I dont have a cavity.
Root canal
A common procedure to replace infected areas of the tooth
His teeth were so bad that he needed two root canals.
A Filling
Material placed in the cavity of a tooth to protect it
I had to get a filling on one of my back teeth the last time I went to the dentist.
To get a tooth pulled
The act of taking out a tooth out of the mouth.
My daughter got a tooth pulled to make room for the new tooth coming in.
Molar tooth
The large teeth in the back of your mouth used for chewing
People chew with their molars.
Wisdom teeth
The last teeth in the back of your mouth that come in
His son got his wisdom teeth when he was 13 years old.
Novocaine
An anesthetic no numb the mouth before a dental procedure.
They will hopefully give me some novocaine so I wont feel anything during the
procedure.
Dental Hygienist
A person in the dentists office that cleans your teeth before the dentist sees you.
The hygienist cleaned my teeth well before the dentist came in.
Dental floss
A slippery white string that one slides between teeth to clean them.
You will need dental floss to get that piece of apple out of your teeth.
Chipped tooth
A tooth that is damaged and has a piece missing.
My front tooth is chipped because my sister threw a rock at me.
Braces
A device placed on the teeth to make them straight.
John is going to need braces on his bottom teeth. They are crooked.
To grind your teeth
To put your bottom and top teeth together tightly so they come in contact. This is
bad for the teeth.
Dont grind your teeth. It causes damage to the teeth.
A go getter
A person who is very motivated and tries hard to be successful at what he does.
My brother is a real go getter. He started his own software company and he now
makes a lot of money.
Outgoing
To be friendly and sociable.
I wish my girlfriend was more outgoing. She justs sits in the corner quietly at
parties.
People person
Someone who enjoys and thrives being around other people.
A sales person needs to be a people person. You have to talk to potential
customers all day.
Magnetic personality
A person who has a confident and positive personality. This person has charisma
and people want to be around him.
My new boss Terry has a magnetic personality. He is full of energy and charm.
To be driven
To have a lot of motivation to succeed. To be a hard worker who is always focused
on accomplishing goals.
John is a very driven person. He wakes up early and works hard all day. He
rarely takes a day off.
Goofy
A person who is silly and jokes around a lot can be called goofy.
My dad is so goofy. When my friends come over he dances around with a kitchen
apron on singing strange songs.
To be good natured
To be friendly and pleasant to be around. A person with an overall good attitude.
He is such a good natured guy. He never gets in arguments with anyone.
A ham
A person who likes to be silly and tell jokes.
My uncle Bob is quite a ham. He tells jokes all day and plays tricks on us.
To be a shallow person
A person who is not caring and only is concerned about things like money or fame
is considered shallow.
Barbara is a shallow girl. Before she goes out with a guy she needs to know how
much he makes a year.
To have demons
To have issues in your past that affect you to this day.
Harold is a nice guy, but he has his demons. He had a rough childhood and it still
affects him.
To be stiff
To be an awkward person who is not relaxed and makes everyone uncomfortable.
My cousin Larry is a little stiff. He just stands there quietly not knowing what to
say.
To be creepy
To have a personality that kind of scares people. To have a strange intense way
about you that looks like you might be up to no good.
Dont go out with Tom. He is a creepy dude. He stares at young girls with a
strange look in his eyes.
A basket case
A person who is emotionally unstable and highly agitated.
I was a basket case after hearing that my dog was run over by a truck. I loved
that dog and I was very upset.
A nut job
A negative slang expression that describes a person who does strange and crazy
things.
My physics professor is a real nut job. He teaches with his back to us and he puts
his shoes on the wrong feet.
Crash Diet
Here the person dieting changes his/her habits drastically. This can be cutting out
all carbohydrates, sweets or just cutting calorie intake by a large margin.
After weighing myself I decided to go on a crash diet.
Low Carb Diet
This focuses on cutting out or limiting carbohydrates from the dieters food intake.
Many of the popular diets today focus on limiting carbohydrates. Dieters will eat
meats and any other foods high in proteins to replace the breads and pasta that are
popular in the way Americans eat.
Most people today are on Low carb diets.
Fad Diet
This is one that is popular and being talked about in the media. Talk shows and the
news programs tend to give these coverage since many viewers are interested in the
latest dieting trends.
Every year there is a new fad diet that everyone is trying.
Atkins Diet
This is the most famous of the low carb diets. Dr. Robert Atkins came up with this
plan after trying it out himself to lose weight. It is based around the dieter limiting
their carb intake and finding their own personal limits on carb consumption.
My brother went on the Atkins diet. He wont eat a lot of bread or pasta.
South Beach Diet
This is a very popular in the US that focuses on replacing bad carbohydrates with
good carbohydrates. Bad carbohydrates are the processed foods like potato chips
and other unhealthy foods. Good carbohydrates are non fatty foods like lean meats
and nuts and fish.
The south beach diet changed my life. I now know how to choose the right foods
Super Foods
These are foods that are naturally healthier and more prone to preventing disease
than the average foods. Some examples of super foods are blueberries, spinach, and
turkey.
Try to incorporate some of the super foods in what you eat each day.
Dietary Supplement
This is anything that is added to a persons diet to add nutrients that may be
missing from the daily diet. Vitamins are examples of Dietary supplements.
To make sure I am really healthy I take dietary supplements.
Go on a diet
When a person decides to start watching what he eats it is called going on a diet.
After the holidays I will go on a diet.
Ideal Weight
This is the weight that is considered healthy for your height and bone structure.
After a month of jogging I was at my ideal weight.
Binge Eating
This is when a person goes through a period where he overeats. It usually happens
in a short period of time.
On vacation people may do some binge eating.
Junk Food
These are foods that have little to no nutritional value. Potato chips and French
fries are examples of junk food.
If you are watching your weight, you have to avoid all junk food.
Empty Calories
These are calories in food that give you energy, but dont have any nutritional
value. Junk foods are full of empty calories.
That white bread has a lot of empty calories. You should eat whole wheat bread.
Super size it
Fast food restaurants are notorious for serving junk food. Many of these
establishments now give customers the option to make their order even bigger. If a
customer decides to super size it he will be charged about a dollar more and he
will get a larger portion of everything.
Part of the reason that she is so fat is that she always super sizes her order at
McDonalds.
To break your diet
If you are watching your weight and one day you break down and eat junk food it is
called breaking your diet.
Im sure to break my diet if we go to Burger King.
Healthy Portions
Many diets focus on reducing the food intake of the dieter during each meal.
Dieters learn how much of each different food group should be consumed for each
meal. The appropriate amounts of foods are called healthy portions
Remember to eat healthy portions and you wont get fat.
Get in shape
To get in shape is to exercise and eat healthy with the goal of attaining a persons
ideal weight.
This spring Im going to work out and get in shape so I can wear a bikini on the
beach.
To work out
This can mean a variety of things. When a person goes to the gym to either lift
weights or do cardiovascular exercises it can be referred to as to workout. Some
people do refer to working out as just the act of lifting weights.
We are going to work out at the gym around 9:00 AM tomorrow.
A workout
This is a session where people spend time exercising to maintain or improve
physical health. A workout can range from lifting weights to using a treadmill or a
stationary bicycle.
I had a great workout yesterday. I was exhausted when I got home.
Bench press/to bench
A bench press is a weight lifting exercise where a person lies down on his back on
a bench that holds a barbell. He takes the barbell with two hands and lowers it to
his chest and then extends his arms to raise the weight. This movement is repeated
8 to 15 times. The act of doing this exercise is to bench.
To really build strength you need to bench press every time you work out.
Barbell
This is the long metal bar that weight lifters attach the circular weights to when
working out.
I use a 45 pound barbell when I bench press.
Dumbbell
A dumb bell is the same idea as a barbell, but it is smaller. They can be grasped
with one hand. People will use dumbbells to work out one arm at a time.
I usually work out my arms with dumbbells.
Feel the burn
When a person exercises a specific muscle to a point where there is a burning
sensation it is called feeling the burn.
I added some extra weight to really feel the burn.
Max out
When a person lifts as much weight as possible for one repetition of a specific
exercise it is called maxing out.
Sometimes I will max out on the bench press to impress my friends.
To spot/ get a spot
When a person is maxing out or just lifting a lot of weight in general he will need a
person to stand near him to help with the weight if it becomes to heavy to handle.
This is called getting a spot. If someone wants to bench as much as he can he will
ask a friend to spot him so the barbell doesnt come crashing down on his chest.
You are going to have to get a spot if plan on lifting that much weight!
Nautilus equipment
These are machines that provide resistance to work on different muscle groups.
I use the nautilus equipment when I just want to get an aerobic workout.
Free weights
This is a term that describes the dumbbells, barbells and the circular weight discs
that go on the bars. Free weights can describe anything that is used for weight
lifting that is not a machine.
I prefer the free weights over the nautilus machines.
Bulk up
To lift weights with the goal of gaining muscle mass and overall weight.
Before the football season the athlete decided to bulk up.
Personal Trainer
Most gyms will have a staff members who will help you come up with a workout
plan. These people are called personal trainers. They motivate you and walk you
through the workout.
Last summer Mary really wanted to look good in a bathing suite. She decided to
get a personal trainer that would help push her.
Kick off
To start the game off one team will kick the ball to the other team. This is called the
kick off.
Kick off is at 1:00 PM
A play
Each time a team attempts to move the ball forward it is called a play.
That guy plays hard on every play.
To tackle
To knock down the person that is carrying the football.
You need to tackle any player that has the ball on the team you are playing.
Touchdown
To score six points in the game of football by getting into the opposing teams end
zone.
With one more touchdown we could win this game.
Field goal
When a team kicks the ball through the goal post, which is located in the end zone,
it is awarded three points. The team has to drive the ball close enough to the end
zone to make this possible. Most professional kickers can only kick the ball about
50 yards, if that.
We are only down by 2 points. One field goal and we win the game.
End zone
A football game is played on a 100 yard field (about 91 meters). Each team has a ten
yard area at the end of the field that they are to protect. If the opposing team gets
into this area with the ball this team gets a touch down.
If you can get the ball in the end zone you have a touchdown.
Down
This is an opportunity that a team has to move the football forward ten yards.
Every time a team gets the ball it has four opportunities (downs) to move the ball
10 yards. If the team is successful in moving the ball ten yards they receive four
more downs to move another 10 yards.
We have to take advantage of every down we get.
1st Down
This is the first opportunity a team gets to move the ball forward. If the team gets
the 10 yards required, they start over in the cycle and this is called 1st down.
Most teams like to run the ball on 1st down.
To punt the ball
To kick the ball to the team that you are playing. This is done when a team that has
the ball can not get a first down to continue with their drive.
This airline allows two carry on bags per customer.
To go for it on 4th
When a team is on the 4th down and instead of kicking the ball to the opponent
they decide to try again for the first down. The risk in this is that if the 1st down is
not made, the opposing team gets the ball there. If the team decides to punt the ball
is a lot farther down the field.
It is really risky to go for it on 4th down.
To huddle
Before the offense of a team attempts a play the team members gather around in a
circle to discuss what strategy they will use..
Most teams will huddle before any offensive play
Quarter back
Eleven people are on the field for a particular team for offense and defense. Usually
there are about six or seven players that stand in a straight line in front of the ball
for each play. The center player in this line gives the ball to one player behind him
on each play. This person decides to either throw it to another teammate or hand it
off to someone to run the ball. He is the quarterback.
The quarter back decides where the ball is going on each play.
Running back
This player stands behind the quarter back for each play and runs with the ball if
the quarter back hands it to him.
A running back needs to be strong and fast.
Offensive line
The players on the offense that line up right in front of the ball for each play. One
person (called the center) gives the ball to the quarter back to start each play. The
job of the offensive line is to protect the quarter back from defenders.
We have a very big offensive line to protect our quarter back.
To hike the ball
To start each play one player in the offensive line gives the ball to the quarter back.
This is called hiking the ball.
Once the ball is hiked the action starts.
Premium
Listen to the phrase
The periodic payment made towards a health care policy. If health insurance is
provided by a persons employment the premiums are usually taken out of the
monthly check.
I pay $350 in health insurance premiums.
HMO (Health Maintenance Organization)
Listen to the phrase
This is a corporation that is financed by the premiums people pay who have chosen
the specific HMO. People who work at larger corporations or for the state will
usually have the option to choose a HMO to provide their health care. The HMO will
have certain doctors and medical staff that take care of these patients. Different
towns and states have different HMOs that cover the area.
When I got hired on with Dell I was informed that I would be receiving
Healthcare benefits. I had to pick one of the three HMOs that Dell uses as my
provider.
Co-pay
Listen to the phrase
This is the portion of the overall payment that the patient pays on the day of the
doctors visit. The insurance covers the rest.
I think my co-pay for this visit will be twenty dollars.
Check In/Admissions
Listen to the phrase
This is the process you follow when you first arrive at the hospital. Upon entering
the main doors of the hospital or medical facility you will see a Check in or
Admissions desk. There will be an employee seated there that will take your
information and inform the right people that you have arrived.
When I got to the hospital I went straight to the check in desk.
Physician
Listen to the phrase
This is a term that describes a doctor who is trained in the art of healing and
practices medicine. In the United States you can get a doctorate in many different
subjects (Education, Business, Accounting etc). The term physician specifies
that the person who has that title received his/her doctorate in medicine.
The nurse told me that the physician would see me in five minutes.
Physicians Assistant
Listen to the phrase
Health care professionals licensed to practice medical care with physician
supervision.
The Physicians Assistant was able to see me about my condition.
Nurse Practitioner
Listen to the phrase
Is a registered nurse with an advanced education and training in a clinical specialty
who can perform delegated medical acts with physician supervision.
You wont need to see the doctor today. The nurse practitioner will help you.
Inpatient
Listen to the phrase
A hospital patient who receives lodging and food as well as treatment.
The doctor told me to check in as an inpatient today since I would be spending
the night.
Outpatient
Listen to the phrase
A patient who is not hospitalized overnight but who visits a hospital, clinic, or
associated facility for diagnosis or treatment.
If you are going to check in as an outpatient you wont need to stay overnight.
Diagnosis
Listen to the phrase
When the doctor determines the identity of what the patient is suffering from it is
called the diagnosis.
The diagnosis was good. The doctor told me I dont have pneumonia. She said I
just had a cold and that I would need to take these pills.
ICU (Intensive Care Unit)
Listen to the phrase
This is an area of the hospital where patients get constant attention. There is
specialized equipment here to treat patients that are in a serious condition.
After the accident she had to spend a week in the ICU.
OR (Operating Room)
Listen to the phrase
This is a place where surgery takes place.
Anyone who enters the OR needs to wear a mask and gloves.
Emergency Room/ER
Listen to the phrase
This is a section of the hospital that is designated for emergencies. There are nurses
and doctors on duty at all times to treat patients right away. The staff will see any
patient from a car accident victim to an elderly person suffering a heart attack.
Patients who have immediate needs will either drive up to the ER door or be taken
in by an ambulance.
I had to go to the ER when I fell and broke my leg.
Physical/Routine Check up
Listen to the phrase
This is an appointment with your doctor to check on a persons general health. It is
not a visit with the doctor to address an specific ailment or condition.
Every year I go to my doctor for a routine check up.
Ailment
Listen to the phrase
The sickness or illness that the patient is suffering from.
Because of his ailment he will not be able to run in the race.
Ache
Listen to the phrase
A sharp pain that continues for a period of time. A common phrase that is used
with ache is a headache.
I have a horrible headache.
Sting
This is a burning type pain that you would feel after a bee sting or after scraping
your knee badly.
I fell and scraped my knee. It really stings.
Throb
Listen to the phrase
An ache that comes and goes in intensity.
My tooth is throbbing with pain.
Tenderness
Listen to the phrase
Describes an area on your body that has been injured and hurts if you touch it. It is
painful to the touch.
I have a little tenderness in my arm where I was hit with the falling rock.
Cramp
Listen to the phrase
A sudden sharp pain felt in a muscle.
I woke up this morning with a cramp in my neck and shoulders.
Swollen
Listen to the phrase
An area of the body that has become larger due to an injury, irritation or
discomfort.
His finger is swollen from hitting it with a hammer.
Dizziness
Listen to the phrase
A feeling of lightheadedness where you may feel like the room is spinning and it
may be difficult to stand.
When I hit my head I felt some dizziness and I had to sit down.
Run a fever
Listen to the phrase
When the temperature of your body is higher than normal.
I was running a fever all day yesterday so I didnt go to work.
To go numb
Listen to the phrase
A lack of feeling or sensation in an area of your body.
I dont have any feeling in my hurt finger. It has gone numb.
Broken/Fractured or Cracked Bone
Listen to the phrase
This refers to a bone in the body that has a break or a separation of some sort.
As a result of her skiing accident she broke her collar bone.
Sprain
Listen to the phrase
This is an injury to a ligament or a joint caused by a sudden overstretching.
The runner sprained his ankle and needs crutches to walk.

Bargain Hunting
If you are bargain hunting you are going to different stores looking for sales on the
items that you want. Many people will check the ads in the newspapers and on the
internet to find which stores are having sales.
My mom and dad love to go bargain hunting the day after Christmas when
everything is cheap.
Pay Retail
If you pay retail for an item of clothing this means that you pay full price. The
stores that sell clothing are called retail stores.
Instead of finding bargains and sales he always pays retail. He must be rich.
To Return
If you buy an article of clothing, or pretty much anything that youd find in a store
for that matter, you have the option of bringing the item back to the store for your
money back. This is called a return. People return clothing because it doesnt fit,
it is damaged or they just dont like it. The clothing needs to be still new (no stains
or wear and tear) and you need to have a receipt to get your money back.
I bought a flashy looking shirt at the mall the other day. When I got home I
decided I didnt like it. I ended up returning it.
Store Credit
When a customer brings back an item, but does not have a receipt, he may receive
store credit from the store. This means the person has credit towards buying
another item in the store that equals or is less than the price of what he returned.
No money is given back to the customer. His only option is to spend the credit at
that location.
I wanted to return those jeans I got from The Gap. Since I lost the receipt I could
only get store credit. Its a good thing I like The Gap!
To Exchange
If a customer buys an article of clothing and later decides he needs a different size
he can exchange (or trade in) the item for the desired size. There is not a money
transaction involved in this. The store simply gives the customer the size he needs
and puts the returned item back on the shelf to be sold again.
Go home and let your son try on the shoes. If it turns out they are too small you
can come back and exchange them for a bigger size.
Gift Card
At most major stores you can buy a card that has money on it towards a future
purchase there. People will give these cards to others as a present. They come in
handy if you know a person who you are buying a gift for likes a specific store, but
you dont know exactly what to buy him.
Since I dont know what she likes Im just going to get her a gift card so she can
decide herself.
Shopaholic
This is a person who is addicted to shopping. He or she receives a high or a rush
from finding and buying a new item.
His wife is a shopaholic. All she does is shop and spend all of their money.
Tax Free Weekend
Many states will not put taxes on clothing the weekend before the children go back
to school in the fall. This gives parents a small break price wise when they buy back
to school clothes for their kids.
We are just going to hold off on buying her a new outfit until the tax free
weekend next month. It will be cheaper then.
Outlet Mall
This is a type of shopping mall where the manufactures of the clothing sell their
clothes to the shoppers in their own stores. Usually a particular clothing maker
sells their clothes in a large store like Macys or J.C. Pennys. In these stores many
brands are sold. Since the clothing manufacturer is selling through their own store
the prices are generally lower.
Lets go to the outlet mall. The prices are cheaper and the selection is greater.
Accessories
These are articles of clothing that are worn, but are not part of the main outfit you
have on. Your shirt, pants and shoes are part of your main outfit. Your wrist watch,
pocket book or earrings would be your accessories.
When you go through the security area in the airport you have to remove all of
your accessories.
Petite Sizes
This describes clothing for women who are small and slim.
Sara is 54 and about 100 pounds. She shops in the petite section of the
department store.
Maternity Section
This is the area of the store that sells clothing for women who are pregnant. There
are even entire stores dedicated to maternity wear.
Lets check out the maternity section to find an outfit for my niece. She is three
months pregnant.
Plus Sizes
These are clothing sizes for women who are heavier or taller than average.
My grandmother has put on some weight. She now has to buy plus sizes.
Moo Moo Dress
This is a slang term for large dresses that some overweight women wear. These
dresses are one piece and they are very loose fitting. The word moo is the sound a
cow makes.
Our science teacher used to always wear a moo moo. She was pretty fat.
Business Casual
Clothes that are worn in a business casual type environment are short sleeve polo
shirts and khaki pants with leather shoes. Many American companies and other
places of employment let their employees dress in this way. People arent wearing a
suit and tie as much anymore in the work place.
In his office they are required to wear a suit and tie everyday except for Friday.
On Friday they can dress business casual.
Boot Cut
This describes pants or jeans that are wider at the bottom of the legs so they can be
worn with boots.
When I wear my cowboy boots I have to wear my boot cut jeans.
Tailored
This describes pants that are skinny and tight fitting at the bottom. They are the
opposite of boot cut pants.
When I wear my nice leather shoes I wear my tailored pants.
Pleated
This term describes pants that have creases or folds in the front. You see this look a
lot with khaki pants.
I prefer my pants pleated. It makes them look nicer.
Flat Front
This term describes pants that are not pleated. There are no folds in the front.
Flat front pants are more causal than pleated pants.
To ask someone out
To ask a person if she would like to go out to dinner or a show. There is a
understanding that the the man is interested in starting a relationship.
I was going to ask my sisters friend out, but I was told she already had a
boyfriend.
To be seeing someone
This means that you are in a relationship with another person.
Sara is not single. Shes been seeing a guy from work since January.
Whirlwind romance
A very intense romance that starts off strong and usually is unexpected.
Tom and Mary had a whirlwind romance last summer. It didnt last though.
They broke up last week.
Blind date
A date between two complete strangers. Usually friends of both the man and the
woman arrange these kinds of dates.
I went on a blind date last night with a girl my bosss wife knows. It went pretty
well.
To be set up
When a friend arranges a date for you with a person he knows.
John set me up with a woman he knows from church. We have been dating for a
month now. I owe John a favor.
To be serious
A person is described as serious, in terms of his relationship, if he thinks it will
last long and that it could lead to marriage.
Betty doesnt seem to be serious about her new boyfriend Matt. She doesnt talk
about him that much and she laughs at the idea of them getting married.
To have chemistry
To get along well with a person you are dating or considering dating.
I think she is really pretty, but we have no chemistry together. We went on a date
and there was a lot of awkward silence.
To hit it off
To get along well with another person
I really hit it off with that girl from the office on our first date. We had a greqt
time.
To break up with
To end a relationship with a boyfriend or girlfriend.
Cindy broke up with my brother because he watches football all day. She felt
very neglected.
To break it off
This is another term for ending a relationship with someone.
Donald decided to break it off with his new girlfriend when he found out that she
hates dogs.
A stalker
A person who follows someone else around in an unwanted way. Many times it is a
man who is obsessed with a woman and wont leave her alone.
My sisters ex boyfriend turned out to be a stalker. When she went out with her
friends he would follow her to see what she was up to.
Long distance realationship
A relationship where the two people involved live far apart.
Long distance relationships usually dont work. It is hard when you cant see the
person you are dating.
Significant other
A term for the person who you are dating.
I think we can bring our significant other to the office party.
To have a lot of baggage
To have issues and problems that may affect the relationship.
Be careful if you plan on dating her. She has three small kids and a crazy ex
husband.
On again, off again boyfriend/girlfriend
This is when a couple breaks up and then gets back together again frequently.
Sara is going to come with her on again, off again boyfriend. I wish she would
decide if she liked him or not!
To hang out
To spend time with your friends not doing anything in particular.
After school I always hang out with Steve and Terry.
To chill with
Another term for hanging out or spending time with a person.
We usually chill with Randy after the game.
Shoot the breeze
To have a friendly conversation with another person that is relaxed.
I was shooting the breeze with Daniel when Tara walked up and told us the
news.
To crash at
To stay at a persons house for a short period of time. This usually happens when
someone has nowhere else to go.
On my visit to Houston for the game I crashed on Jarods couch for two nights.
BFFs
This means best friends forever and is a slang way to say that someone is your
very good friend.
Sara and Sally are BFFs. They go everywhere together.
To dis someone
To insult or to put down.
Why are your friends always dissing me? They are mean to me.
To be buddy buddy
To be really good friends with another person.
John and Ross are really buddy buddy. They hang out every day.
To be attached at the hip
An expression meaning that two people are always together.
My girlfriend and Johns sister are attached at the hip. They are always
together.
To friend someone
This is a term used on the popular facebook web site. You friend someone to
make contact and be able to exchange information.
That guy from class friended me yesterday. I didnt accept him because he is
creepy.
Crew
A slang term for the group of people you spend time with.
All of Jasons crew was there. They seem to travel in a pack.
Sleepover
This is when you sleep at a friends house for one night for fun. Little kids usually
do this.
My daughter wants to have a sleepover with some girls from her class.
Fair weather friend
A friend who only spends time with you when you are doing well. If you are having
trouble this person disappears. He is not a good friend.
When Tom lost his fortune he realized that he had a few fair weather friends.
Some people never called him again.
Casual acquaintance
A person you are familiar with, and have talked to, but you are not close friends. It
may be a friend of a friend.
I wouldnt say that Pam and I are friends. She is just a casual acquaintance.
Family friend
A person who the whole family likes and is close to.
Joe has been a family friend for years. He even comes over at Christmas and
Easter
Apartment Complex
This is what a group of apartments owned by the same company is usually called.
Lets go check out that new apartment complex over on Riverside Drive.
Landlord
The landlord is the person that rents the property to the person who needs the
house or apartment. Landlords collect the monthly rent and are responsible for
repairs to the property as stated in the lease.
My landlord gets angry if I pay the rent late!
Tenant
A tenant is the person who is renting the apartment or home. Her name will be on
the lease.
The tenant is responsible for any damage to the apartment.
Lease
A lease is a contract between the tenant and the landlord that states the conditions
of the renting of the property. The tenant signs the lease before moving into the
property. If the tenant breaks any of the rules in the lease he could be evicted or
charged a fine.
I signed a lease for one year.
Break a Lease
When the tenant does not pay the agreed upon amount of rent for the agreed upon
amount of time this is called breaking the lease.
If you break the lease your credit score will be bad.
Credit Approval
Before you are able to rent or buy an apartment or house the person you will be
paying will need to check on your credit history. They will check on your financial
history and make sure that you are a responsible person that pays your bills. If they
find that your credit history is good, you will be granted credit approval. Now you
will be able to rent the apartment or get a mortgage to pay for the home.
If I can get credit approval I will be able to get that new house.
References
To get a credit approval you may be asked to list the name and telephone numbers
of people you know to verify your identity and credibility. These people would be
your references.
Before the apartment complex lets me sign a lease, they want to check
my references.
Security Deposit
A security deposit is a certain amount of money you have to give the landlord
before you can move into the apartment. This money is returned to you at the end
of your lease, provided that there are not any damages. The landlords ask for this
security deposit so if the resident leaves early, or destroys the place, he will at
least have some money towards the expenses.
Before you move in youll have to pay a security deposit of $250.
Co-signer
If you want to rent a house or an apartment, and the landlord requires that you
have a higher income than you do, you can get another person to sign the lease with
you. This other person is the co-signer. Your income, and your co-signers
income, will be looked at to determine if you are someone who is likely to be able to
afford the rent.
Since I am a student, I dont have a high income. I will need a co-signerso I can
get into that apartment.
Notice of Eviction
An eviction is when the tenant is forced to move out of the property being rented
out. Tenants are usually evicted due to breaking a stipulation of the lease
agreement.
When I returned home there was a notice of eviction on my door. I should have
paid the rent!
Amenities
These are extra features an apartment or apartment complex may have. A pool or a
nice gym are examples of amenities that an apartment complex could have.
Examples of amenities in the actual apartment living area would be a fireplace or a
large bathtub.
This apartment complex has a lot of great amenities. They have an indoor pool, a
basketball court and a game room.
Mortgage
A mortgage is a loan to purchase a home, where the property is used to guarantee
repayment of the loan. Individuals will get a mortgage through a mortgage
company so they can buy the house immediately. This individual pays a set amount
every month to the mortgage company until he pays off the loan.
Our mortgage payment each month is $1300.
Down Payment
A down payment is a sum of money you pay towards your home when you first buy
it. In some situations you are required to pay a certain amount as a down payment
before you can move in.
We will need $10,000 for the down payment on our new house.
Realtor/Real Estate Agent
This is the title of the person who specializes in real estate and finding you the
home you want. This person also will help you find a buyer for a home you would
like to sell. Real estate agents make a percentage of what your house sells for.
My realtor is Barbara Smith. She is really good at her job.
Asking Price
This is the price that the seller of the home has indicated that he wants to sell it for.
Depending on the economy, and other factors, the seller could go up or down on
the price.
His asking price is way too high. Nobody is going to make him an offer.
To Flip a House
This is a term used to describe the act of purchasing a home with the intention of
selling it in the near future for a profit. Usually the buyer will buy a run down
home, fix it up and try to sell it for more money. This is called flipping a house.
How long do you think it would take to flip that house?
A Lot
A lot is the piece of land that the house will be built on or is already built on. An
advertisement for a house could say, Beautiful two story house on a spacious lot.
I want a large lot so that my kids have somewhere to play.
Wooded Lot
This term is used to describe a lot with many trees. Wooded lots are desirable
because they provide more privacy and shade, so the price is usually a little higher.
If you live in a wooded lot your neighbors wont be able to see into your
windows.
Cul-de-sac/Dead End
This is a street in a neighborhood that ends and has no exit. The cul-de-sac is
circular and there are usually houses built all around it. Many people like to live in
these areas because there is not much traffic. The only traffic comes from people
who live off of the cul-de-sac.
I like living in a cul-de-sac because there isnt a lot of traffic.
Upgrades
When you buy a new house from a home builder usually you have two options for
the different features in your house. You can get the standard features or the nicer
ones, which cost more. When you choose the fancier features, you chose to
upgrade. An example of an upgrade would be to get the more expensive lights
installed in your house instead of the ugly ones that are standard with the home
you are buying.
This house comes with a lot of upgrades like tile floors and stainless steel
appliances.
Subdivision
An area of real estate or land that is divided up into sections to build homes on. The
homes are usually on a small lot of land and built by the same builder.
In our subdivision there are 100 homes all built by Centex.
HOA/Home Owners Association
This is an organization created by the developer of the subdivision that enforces
any rules or codes. This group is in charge of the maintenance of the public areas
like the pool and the sidewalks. Each resident is a member of this association and
pays a monthly fee. That money goes towards things like neighborhood parties and
landscaping. The HOA will meet a few times during the year and discuss any issues.
The HOA has decided to put a new pool in.
Townhouse
A townhouse is also known as a row house. It generally refers to a type of dwelling
having two floors, with the living area and kitchen on the first floor, and the
bedrooms on the second. Townhouses share a common wall between units.
Near the downtown area you will find a lot of townhouses.
No Money Down
If you buy a house usually you need to make a down payment. If the seller
advertises no money down than it is not required to make the down payment.
Now is a great time to buy a house. You can get a new home with no money
down.
4BD/2BA
You may see this type of expression in a newspaper that advertises real estate. BD
stands for bedroom and BA is for bathroom. So in this example the house or
apartment has four bedrooms and two bathrooms.
We have three kids so we want four bedrooms and two bathrooms. We are only
looking at the adds that say, _4BD 2BA_
Breach of Contract
This means a failure to perform promises that are made in the contract. If I sign a
contract that says I will not have a pet in my apartment and I have one anyway that
that is a breach of contract.
My land lord is suing me for a breach of contract because I have too many people
living with me.
Furnished Apartment
A furnished apartment is one that already has furniture in it. These kinds of
apartments are usually for a person who is working in town for a long period of
time.
I am only going to be in Seattle for six months. I will need to rent afurnished
apartment.
To Put Down Money
If it is required that you make an initial payment on the home you want to buy than
you have to put down a sum of money. You could say, I put down $10,000 on my
new house in Atlanta.
If you dont want another buyer to buy that house youll have to put money
down on it.
All Bills Paid
If you rent a house or an apartment and the monthly price you pay includes utilities
(electric, gas, phone) than it is all bills paid. The tenant doesnt have to worry
about paying individual utility bills. The landlord has already charged the tenant in
their monthly rent for those services.
The rent for this house is $1000 a month. This price is all bills paid.
Floor Plan
A floor plan is how the inside of the house is set up. It refers to the positioning and
location of the different rooms in the house. An older person who has trouble
walking may prefer a floor plan that has all the rooms close to each other so he
wont have to walk a lot.
I like this floor plan. Having the kitchen next to the den is great.
One-Story or Two-Story
A floor or level of a house is called a story. A house with only one level is a one-
story house. Most homes for sale are either one or two stories. Three story houses
are usually very large homes that cost a lot of money.
My grandmother needs a one story house since she cant walk up the stairs.
Ghetto/Slum
If someone describes a place as a ghetto or a slum it is slang for low income
housing with a high crime rate.
There is a lot of crime in the ghetto.
Ritzy Area
If a neighborhood is considered ritzy than the homes are expensive and fancy.
Our friends make a lot of money. They live in a nice big house in the ritzyarea of
town.
Starter Home
A home that is relatively small that a young couple would buy for their first house.
The idea is that when the couple makes more money they would move to a bigger
nicer house.
My son and his wife just got married. They just bought a small house near their
work. It is cute, but it is just a starter home. In a few years, when they have more
money saved, theyll move to a bigger house.
Curb Appeal
This describes a home that has an attractive front yard and front porch area. The
landscaping is nice and inviting.
If you want to sell your house you need some curb appeal.
Run Down
A home that is old and is falling apart.
My home is old and run down. I need to make some repairs and paint the
exterior.
Fixer Upper
A house that is old and run down, but with some repairs and updating, has the
potential to be a nice home again. These homes are many times found close to the
downtown area of a particular town or city. This is where the first homes were built
years ago when the town first got started. In the US there is a trend of people
moving back into the downtown areas that were abandoned. Old houses are
renovated and, due to their desirable location, they can be worth a lot of money.
If you are going to buy fixer upper you better have some money for repairs
Bucks:
A slang word for bills or dollars.
This new jacket cost me thirty bucks.
To spot money:
To give a person cash for a specific small purchase if this person does not have any
money on them.
Can you spot me three dollars? I want to get a drink but I forgot my wallet.
Benjamin:
The one hundred dollar bill has the picture of Benjamin Franklin on it. So people
call this a Benjamin.
Maybe if you show him some Benjamins hell start talking!
To go broke/To be broke:
To get to a point where you have spent all of your money.
John is currently broke. He has no money in his bank account. He went broke
because he gambles to much.
Spendthrift
A person who spends too much money.
My sister is a spendthrift. She buys everything she sees so shes always broke.
To save it for a rainy day:
To save a certain amount of money, usually unexpected money, for a day when you
may need it.
I won a hundred dollars playing poker last night. I think Ill save it for a rainy
day. I could pay the electric bill with it, but that would be boring.
To be cheap:
To not be willing to spend money. A person who could pay for things for other
people, but chooses not. He would rather keep the money for himself.
That guy is so cheap! He wont even get his daughter a new pair of sneakers.
Tightwad:
A person who doesnt spend any money, even though he does have it. This is an
insulting term. It means that this person is cheap.
Her husband is a tightwad. He wont let her buy anything.
To be loaded:
To have a lot of money to your name.
Brad Pitt has got to be loaded. Hes been in a lot of movies.
Filthy rich:
To have a abnormally large amount of wealth.
When a college athlete signs on with a pro team in this country he usually
becomes filthy rich overnight.
To be strapped for cash:
To not have any money to pay for something.
Why is Bob always strapped for cash when it is his turn to pay for lunch? Does
he ever have money?
To throw money down the toilet:
To waste money on a stupid cause.
Fixing that old car up is throwing money down the toilet. It will never run well
again. Theres been too much damage.
Cash cow:
Describes a business or source of income that brings in a lot of money.
His ice-cream stand is a cash cow. He makes a load of money each day selling
those dumb cones!
To cost an arm and a leg:
To cost a huge amount of money.
That car cost me an arm and a leg. I wont be able to buy anything for a while
now.
A five spot:
A five dollar bill.
I dont have any money on me. Can you lend me a five spot?
Tear Jerker
This is a movie that is made to be sad and to make the audience cry. The movie is
usually about a person losing a loved one.
My wife likes to see movies that are tear jerkers, but I prefer action movies.
Chick flick
A movie is called a chick flick if it appeals to mostly women. These movies are
usually about romance or the empowerment of women. Most men try to stay away
from these movies.
Sams girlfriend made him go to a chick flick.
Blood and gore movie
This phrase is used to describe a horror movie that shows a lot of violence and
death. The point of the movie is to scare you by showing the murders up close.
I wont let my daughters watch blood and gore movies. They are too scary.
Sci Fi movie
Movies that are about something that doesnt scientifically exist are called sci fi
movies. A lot of times these are about space travel and aliens or life on earth with
strange animals that are not found in real life. Star wars, Star Trek and Jurassic
Park are examples of this genre.
Jenna doesnt like sci fi movies because they remind her of her dorky brother.
Animated Movie
An animated movie is one that is drawn or created by a computer like a cartoon.
There are not real actors acting. Many times a famous actor will do the voice for
one of the characters, but no live person acts in these movies.
Kids love animated movies because they are made for children.
Blockbuster
This is a term to describe a movie that is extremely popular and earns a lot of
money.
I think Will Smith is going to be in another blockbuster movie this summer.
A box office flop
This term describes a movie that does poorly in the theaters. Not many people turn
out to see it and it usually loses money for the production company.
This movie is horrible. It is sure to be a box office flop.
B Movie
A B movie is one that is made on a low budget and doesnt have famous actors.
My friend has all of these unheard of B movies that he shows his guests.
Indie Movie
The term indie is short for independent. So these are films that are mode
outside of the Hollywood scene where all the big movies are made.
Some of the best actors start out in indie films. This is where they get discovered.
Sequel
A sequel is a movie that comes after another movie and it continues the story. A lot
of movies that do well will have a sequel or two.
That movie was great. I hope they do a sequel.
Movie Trailer
This is a short advertisement for the movie that shows some of the scenes. If you go
to a movie theater they will show three or four of these to get you excited about
upcoming movies.
Lets go see that movie. It looked really good in the trailer.
Oscar winning actor
The Oscars are awards handed out to the best actors and directors, among other
movie industry professionals, in a ceremony each year. These awards are
considered the most prestigious awards in the industry.
This movie has Morgan Freeman. He is an Oscar winning actor.
Oscar nominee:
This is a term to describe an actor who was up for an Oscar award but did not win.
Julia Roberts was an Oscar nominee in 1997 for a movie she did with Tom
Hanks.
A lister
This is a term that describes the elite actors in Hollywood. These are the select few
that earn multimillions for doing a movie. A few examples of actors on the A list
are Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, and Jennifer Aniston.
The director knew that he needed an A lister in the cast to make his movie sell.
All Star Cast
A movie is said to have an all star cast when there are more than two or three big
name actors in it. A couple of huge movies that boast an all star cast are Oceans 11
and JFK.
With an all star cast like that the movie has to be good!
Hollywood Mogul
This is a business person in Hollywood who is powerful and successful in the movie
industry. This person is involved with the process of determining which movies get
made and when.
He was a rich Hollywood mogul that everyone knew and respected.
Matinee
A matinee is a movie shown in a theater before 5:00 PM. The price is reduced
since there are not usually a lot of people going to the movies during the day.
When I have a day off of work Ill go see a matinee show in town.
Country Western Music
This is a type of music that comes from folk music. It is more upbeat and faster
than folk music. Country western is popular in the southern regions of the US.
Country performers generally wear cowboy hats and tight jeans and are from small
working class/farming towns in the south. The songs range from beer drinking to
broken hearts to family and god. Some major country western artists in the last few
decades are Alan Jackson and Garth Brooks.
When Im in Texas I love to see country western bands. They are everywhere.
Classic Rock
This is music from the 1960s to the 1970s. During this period of time rock music
was huge and some of the best and most influential bands were in their prime.
These songs and bands are still popular even though many of the bands have long
since split or even died. The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and Led Zepplin are three
of the biggest classic rock bands.
It is amazing that kids are still listening to classic rock.
Heavy Metal
This is rock music that is extremely intense, loud and fast. The heavy metal artists
tend to wear black leather and they have long hair. The songs are usually about
pain, death and torture. The 1980s is when this type of rock was in its prime,
although it is still out there now. Metallica and Iron Maiden are examples of well
known bands in this category.
Before a big game he listens to heavy metal music to get excited and pumped up.
Hardcore Rap
This is a type of rap music that is intense, angry and full of offensive language. The
topics are usually drugs, prostitutes and gang life.
Most parents dont want their kids listening to hardcore rap.
Glam Rock
This is rock and roll music played by men with make up and long hair. They have a
feminine look to them. It was very popular during the 1980s. Poison, Cinderella
and Winger are examples of bands in this category.
It is funny to see old glam rock videos where the guys are dressed as women.
Easy Listening
Easy listening is music that is calm and not offensive. It is the kind of music that
would be played in a doctors office as background music that doesnt draw any
attention.
This easy listening music is boring me. Put on something harder.
Grunge
This is a style of rock music that mixes punk rock and heavy metal that came about
in the early 1990s. It is said to have originated in Seattle, WA with bands like
Nirvana and Sound Garden. The artists sing about the frustrations of life and being
young in the US. As opposed to the leather and flare of heavy metal and punk
bands grunge artists wear sloppy old clothing like worn out jeans and flannel shirts.
A lot of angry kids can relate to grunge.
Acid Rock
This is rock that has to do with psychedelic drugs that were introduced to the main
stream in the 1960s. The fans and the artists of acid rock are into smoking
marijuana or taking LSD, the two most popular psychedelic drugs. The Grateful
Dead and Jefferson Airplane are examples of major bands on this genre.
Acid rock bands are big among the drug using crowd.
Teeny Bopper Music
This is music played by artists that appeal to younger audiences. The artists are
young, good looking and dance a lot. The songs are usually about love, dating and
topics that teenagers are interested in. Music critics and most adults dont take
these artists seriously. Britney Spears and N Sync are two popular artists in this
category.
At the junior high dance they play mostly teeny bopper music.
Techno Music
This is a style of music that is driven by electronic sounds and is for the purpose of
dancing. There are usually not lyrics involved in this music. It is popular among the
younger stylish crowd.
When her friends want to go out and dance they go to bars that playtechno
music.
A Rave
This is an all night dancing party where techno music is played. These parties are
many times thrown in a large location that fits many people. Drugs are a big part of
this scene. Young people will take drugs like Ecstasy to enhance the experience.
Raves are banned in some areas because of the notorious drug use among the
young party goers.
Juans parents wont let him go to a rave because they are worried about the
drug use prevalent at these parties.
House Band
This is a band that plays frequently at a certain bar or music club. The band
considers this location their home base.
Lets go to The Whiskey. I love their house band. They can play anything.
Head Banger
This term refers to a music fan that likes heavy metal and other hard core intense
music. These fans actually throw their head back and forth to the rhythm of the
music. Head bangers typically are males with long hair and beat up clothing.
The Metallica concerts are always full of head bangers.
Moshing
This is a style of dancing popular with the heavy metal/grunge/punk crowd. The
mostly male participants violently crash into each other in a wild angry dance.
Moshing is done in the front area of the live music venue in a place called the mosh
pit.
If you are going to watch the show in the mosh pit you need to be ready to get hit.
Concert goers who are moshing love violent contact with others.
One Hit Wonder
This term describes a band that puts out one hugely popular song that is played
everywhere. Once this songs popularity dies down the band fades away. They dont
put out any more songs that are popular.
Do you remember that song Driving from the summer of 02. It was by a one
hit wonder band that is no longer around.
Super Group
This is a term to describe a band composed of musicians that were famous before
the formation of their super group. Musicians that are part of a very successful
band will sometimes leave the band for whatever reason. Many times they will form
another band with fellow stars of rock music.
The guitarist for my favorite band left to join another huge band. They are now
a super group.
A Cover
If a band plays a popular song written by another artist it is called a cover. Many
bands will cover classic rock songs.
His band plays all covers. They dont have any original music.
Gig
When a band lines up a show at a certain club,bar or even an arena it is called a
gig. These are usually paid performances and the amount paid depends on the
popularity of the group.
My band has a huge gig at the Saxon Pub tonight.
Appetizer
Listen to the phrase
This is food, served in small portions, that you have the option to order before you
get your main dish. Examples of appetizers served at many American restaurants
are: shrimp cocktail, fried calamari and Buffalo wings.
Lets get the chicken wings as an appetizer.
Main Course
Listen to the phrase
This is the main plate which usually consists of a meat, vegetable and a starch.
Prices of a main course vary from about $7.00 to $35.00 at a fancy restaurant.
On my birth day I go to my favorite restaurant and I get the T-bone steak for
my main course.
Entre
Listen to the phrase
This is a way to refer to the main course. Its usually only called an entree at the
fancier restaurants.
I ordered the salmon as my entre.
Dish
Listen to the phrase
Sometimes the main course will be called a dish. The waiter may say:
This dish is served with steamed vegetables.
The following vocabulary words are words that you would use to explain to your
waiter how you would like your meat cooked and prepared:
Rare
Listen to the phrase
If you ask for your food cooked rare the meat will be red in the middle. Most
restaurants wont serve meat truly rare because of the chance that a guest could get
sick, but if you like your meat served red this is how you should order it.
I like my steak rare. I think it tastes better that way.
Medium Rare
Listen to the phrase
This is a common way meat is served in a restaurant. Ordering your meat medium
rare will get you meat that is just a little bit red in the center, but no to well done.
I like my steak medium rare. I like it to be a little red in the middle, but not so red
that it is juicy.
Well Done
Listen to the phrase
Meat ordered well done will be cooked so there is no red. The meat will come out a
little tough, but there isnt much chance that you will get sick.
Keep my steak on the grill. I like it well done.
Blackened
Listen to the phrase
If you order your meat blackened the chef will cook the meat at high heat in a lot of
pepper and other spices. The meat, whether it is chicken or fish will have a black
color when it is served. Ask your waiter if the dish is spicy!
I asked for the blackened catfish. The fried catfish is good, but it is not as
healthy.
Fried
Listen to the phrase
Meat served fried is dipped in bread crumbs and cooked in oil. Fried chicken and
chicken fried steak are popular fried meals along with just about any type of
seafood fried.
The fried shrimp are delicious.
Sauted
Listen to the phrase
Usually means cooked in butter and some kind of sauce. Many restaurants will
sautee food in a wine sauce.
The chicken sauted in white wine sauce is fantastic.
Grilled
Listen to the phrase
Cooked on a grill over a fire. Anything from salmon to steak to vegetables are
available grilled. This is a very common way to have your entre cooked at an
American restaurant.
This dish is served with grilled vegetables.
Other common terms used in the typical American restaurant:
Service
Listen to the phrase
This is a term used to talk about the good or bad job the waiter/waitress is doing
with your table. If you think the waiters are quick and friendly at a particular
restaurant you would say that the service is good.
Lets get out of here. The service is terrible. We still havent gotten our drinks
yet.
Tip/Gratuity
Listen to the phrase
These are terms that mean money paid to the waiter in addition to what you pay for
the food and drinks. In the United States most people leave 15% to 20% if the
service was good.
I am going to leave $20 for the tip.
Bill/Check
Listen to the phrase
These terms mean the printed out copy of the total amount due with a price for
each individual item purchased.
Once the waiter brings the check lets get out of here.
Soft Drinks
Listen to the phrase
Soft drinks are carbonated beverages like Coke or Sprite. These drinks are also
called soda or pop. Almost all restaurants in the United States will let you have as
much soda as you can drink during your stay at the restaurant.
Coke and sprite are my favorite soft drinks.
The Works
Listen to the phrase
If a waiter asks if you want the works he wants to know if you want all of the
options that come with the meal on it. If you order a hamburger and you have the
option of getting ketchup, pickles, tomatoes, and lettuce on it you could say, I
would like a hamburger with the works. The waiter would know that you want all
possible options on the hamburger.
Ill take the hamburger with the works.
Side Items/Sides
Listen to the phrase
These are food items like vegetables and potatoes that come with the main course
that you order. Many restaurants will let you decide which sides you want to
accompany the meal you have ordered.
With that dish you can choose two side items to go with it.
House Red or White
Listen to the phrase
If you are ordering a glass of wine or a drink with liquor and you would like a
cheaper brand you ask for the house wine or liquor. This will be the restaurants
basic wine or liquor and it is usually the cheapest. An example of ordering a house
wine would be, Id like a glass of your house red. Margaritas (an alcoholic drink
that mixed tequila and lime juice) are very popular in the United States. If you
order one the waiter many times will ask what kind of tequila you would like. If you
dont want anything fancy (expensive) you would say you just want the house
tequila.
Ill have the house red.
Common expressions used to order at a restaurant in the United States:
y Could I get the grilled Salmon please?
y Id like the hamburger well done please.
y Ill have the shrimp creole with rice and beans please.
y Bring me the chicken fried steak with green beans. (informal way of ordering)
y Give me the baked chicken in garlic sauce. (also informal)
Other common expressions:
Table for two?
Listen to the phrase
This expression could be asked by the host or hostess to see how many seats you
will need at your table. If the hostess sees four people she may ask, Table for
four?
On the house
Listen to the phrase
This expression means that the restaurant will pay for whatever they say is on the
house. If the waiter brings you your dinner and it is cold the waiter may say that
your dinner is on the house. He means that the restaurant will pay for that plate
due to their error.
Im sorry I brought the wrong drink. It will be on the house.
On the side
Listen to the phrase
This expression is used to tell your waiter that you would like an item, for instance
mushrooms or pickles, but not on top of your main course. I could order a taco and
ask for cheese on the side if I liked cheese, but not in the taco.
Ill take the hamburger with the onions on the side.
Lunch Specials
Listen to the phrase
Many restaurants offer discounted prices for lunch to try to get the people who
work in the area to come for lunch. These are items on the menu, usually in a
separate section, that are cheaper and smaller than a normal entre at that
restaurant.
Lets go to that new restaurant downtown. They have good lunch specials.
Todays specials are
Listen to the phrase
Many American restaurants will have a dish or dishes that are not usually on the
menu. These dishes usually change everyday and the waiter will tell you the price.
_Todays specials are_ fried catfish and tortilla soup.
Do you have room for
Listen to the phrase
A waiter may ask you this question to see if you still have an appetite for dessert or
another menu item.
Do you have any room for dessert? We have keylime pie and chocolate ice
cream.
Chain Restaurant
Listen to the phrase
In the United States there are many restaurants that are in almost every town and
city. These restaurants that have a presence in many different places are called
chain restaurants. Mc Donalds is a great example of one of these kinds of
restaurants. You can go basically all over the world and find a Mc Donalds and it
will be the same food and service at all locations. Other examples of chain
restaurants in America are: Olive Garden, Fridays, and Lubys.
Mc Donalds is probably the largest chain restaurant in the world.
Groceries
The items you buy at the supermarket are called groceries. If I go to the
supermarket and buy some apples, laundry detergent and napkins these are the
groceries I bought.
We are out of food in the house. I need to get some groceries.
notextile.
Aisle
The aisle is a row of products in the store. The typical American supermarket is set
up with about 12 to 15 aisles or rows. They are set up in lines starting from the front
of the store and going to the back. The aisles have a sign above them that tells you
what is sold in that row.
The bread is in aisle 3.
Cashier
This is the person that you pay when you are done shopping. They are behind a
counter and they have a computer that they use to enter prices.
I tried to pay the cashier with my credit card, but it was declined.
Lane
The cashiers are set up in rows of about ten and they are called lanes. The lanes are
numbered and a cashier may tell you I can check you out in Lane 2. This means
that the cashier will take care of you in Lane 2.
All of the lanes have lines. Its going to take forever to get out of here.
Shopping Cart
This is a wagon like cart that is made of metal bars and can be pushed by its handle.
Anything you buy in the store is put in these while you shop.
Im not going to buy a lot. I wont need a shopping cart.
Cold Cuts
These are sliced or cut meats like ham or turkey that are used to put on sandwiches.
Well have to buy some cold cuts to make sandwiches.
Coupon
This is a small piece of paper, usually cut out of a newspaper, which you give to the
cashier when you pay for what you buy. The coupon gives you a discount on an
item you buy.
Im going to use this coupon for $.50 off of diapers.
Meal Deal
Many supermarkets offer a combination of food sold for one price that you can eat
for dinner. An example of a meal deal would be an offer of a plate of turkey,
potatoes and green beans for $5.95.
Theyve got a meal deal at Randalls for $7.00."
Deli
This is the part of the store where you buy meat and cheese for sandwiches.
Im going to get a pound of Black Forest ham at the deli.
Bakery
This is the part of the store where you buy cakes and other dessert type food.
They have a great selection of pastries in the bakery.
Dairy
This is where the food items like milk and cheese are found.
I need some milk and cheese from the dairy section.
Produce
The section where you find fruits and vegetables.
Youll find the carrots and the apples in the produce section.
Condiments
These are any items that go on food like ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, relish,
etc
Im going to stop in the condiment aisle to get pepper and salt.
Cleaning Supplies
In this aisle you will find all your household cleaners, bleach, mops, and sponges.
We are going to need some cleaning supplies to get this place clean.
Seasonal
This is the section where you would find beach toys in the summer, Halloween
costumes in the fall and Christmas things in the winter. This section always
changes to fit peoples needs for that time of year.
During the month of February you will find Valentines Day chocolates and cards
in the seasonal section of the store.
Check out
This expression is another way to express that you are going to pay.
Sir, are you ready to check out? This is like saying: Sir, are you ready to pay?
Paper or Plastic?:
When you go to pay for your food the cashier will ask you this question. What they
are asking is if you want your groceries put in plastic bags or paper bags.
Sir, would you like paper or plastic?
Express Lane:
This is the lane where you can pay for your groceries if you only have a few items.
Usually its for people who have ten or less things to buy.
Im only buying three things. I can use the express lane.
Cash or Credit?:
Almost all supermarkets in the United States accept cash, credit card and even
checks as forms of payment. Since cash and credit card are the most common way
to pay the cashier will usually say, Cash or Credit? when you are ready to pay.
Maam, will that be _cash or credit_?
Please swipe your card:
If you pay with a credit card the cashier will ask you to slide or swipe your credit
card in the small screen/computer attached to the counter that takes your credit
card information.
If that is all you are going to buy please swipe your card.
To scan an item:
Each product that you buy in the grocery store and most other stores too, will have
a bar code on the package. This bar code is placed close to the cash registers bar
code reading device and the machine registers the purchase. It then adds it to your
bill. Many stores let customers scan their own purchases and pay by entering their
credit card or cash into the register.
The cashier was scanning my purchases while I helped bag them.
On sale:
This will be written on a sign near the product you want to buy if they are selling it
for a discounted price.
Lets go to Target. They have lawn furniture on sale.
The total comes to/Thatll be
The cashier many times tells you the total price of what you purchased by saying
one of these expressions.
_Thatll be_ $47.59. Cash or credit?
Ice or Stamps?
While you are putting your food on the counter to check out almost always the
cashier will ask you if you need ice or stamps. Stamps are kept in the cashiers
drawer and ice is located right outside the store. Customers can pay for both at the
cash register and get them on their way out.
Did you find everything that you need? Do you need ice or stamps?
To bag the groceries
In the supermarket when an employee puts the items you purchased in the plastic
or paper bags its called bagging the groceries.
If the store is really busy you may have to bag the groceries yourself.
Do you need help out?
This is another question asked by almost every cashier after you pay for your
groceries. When a cashier asks this he wants to know if you need an employee of
the store to help you get the bags of groceries to your car and put them in your car.
I am 36 years old and healthy and they always ask me this so I assume it is required
for them to ask everyone!
Sir, _do you need help out_?
Service Provider
This is another name for the cell phone company. They are the ones who sell you
the phone and provide you with the cell phone service. Verizon, AT&T and T mobile
are examples of service providers.
Before getting a cell phone make sure to compare the rates of the different
service providers.
Wireless Carrier
This is also another name for a cell phone company.
There are many wireless carriers to choose from. Shop around and find the best
one for you.
Service plan
A cell phone company like Verizon or Sprint will offer several different options on
what features your cell phone gets, how many minutes you have per month, where
you can call and how many phone lines you get. These are called service plans.
I need the service plan with a lot of minutes per month. I like to talk all day.
Prepaid Plan
When getting a cell phone plan some companies will offer a prepaid plan. The
customer pays a set price for the desired amount of minutes before the month
starts. This means that once he has used up his minutes he can no longer make any
more calls until buying more time. On traditional cell phone plans customers can
keep using the phone to make calls after hitting the call limit. The prices are very
high for minutes used after the limit. Cell phone companies make a lot of money
this way.
My son needs a prepaid plan for his cell phone. If he had a regular service plan
he would talk forever and have a bill he couldnt pay.
Family Plan
This is a specific type of service plan that has more than one line that goes to one
bill. There is a cheaper rate as opposed to buying several separate lines. Most times
there is some sort of a deal in which family members can call each other for free or
for a very low price.
If you are going to get your daughters their own cell phones you should look into
the family plans that the cell phone companies have.
Loyalty Discount
Most cell phone companies offer a discount on the cell phone you purchase if you
agree to use their service for a set amount of time. Customers have to put this in
writing by signing a contract.
That new phone will be really cheap if you sign a contract with a loyalty discount
with Verizon.
2 year contract
Most cell phone companies require a customer to sign a 2 year contract to take
advantage of the loyalty discount. If a customer is to break this contract there is a
fee. After 2 years the customer has the option to go with another provider.
Nobody likes to sign the 2 year contract, but it does make things cheaper.
Peak hours/Peak hour minutes
These are the hours in which the most people are using their cell phones. A service
plan provider will charge the most for calls made during these hours or they will
limit the amount of minutes you have to talk during these times. Peak hours are
usually weekdays from 9 AM to 9 PM. Minutes used during peak hours are called
peak hour minutes.
According to my cell phone contract during the peak hours I can only talk 100
minutes a month.
Off peak hours/minutes
These are the hours that the cell phone company has determined are not in high
call volume for their customers. During these hours the cell phone company will
charge less for minutes used.
Call me after 9:00 PM. I have a lot of off peak minutes that I never use. Im
already out of my peak minutes.
Airtime
This is the amount of time a cell phone customer is on the phone per billing month.
Airtime could include time on the internet or faxing if the customers plan and
phone has those features.
The plan I need for my business gives me almost unlimited airtime. It is really
expensive!
In Network
Cell phone companies have transmission towers places in different locations in the
areas where they provide service. If a customer is calling a person who is using a
traditional phone or another cell phone companys service then the call has to be
transferred. If a customer of a cell phone company calls another person who is
using that same provider (Verizon customer calling another Verizon customer)
there is not as much transferring of the call. These in network calls are usually
cheaper.
My plan offers unlimited in network calls.
Land Line
A land line is what the traditional phones use. Calls made travel through an actual
wire buried in the ground or strung up on a telephone pole.
We dont have a land line anymore. Since we all have cell phones and a good
service provider there is no need.
Roaming
A cell phone company will not always cover all areas that a customer could travel
to. If a customer makes a call in an area that his service provider doesnt cover the
phone will have to use another providers network. This is called roaming. These
calls cost a lot of money.
On my vacation I didnt realize that my phone was roaming. I paid a lot of
money for each call.
To Bundle Services
Many of the service providers will offer internet and cable TV services for the home
too. A customer can use one service provider for their phone, cable TV and their
internet and the price is discounted. To combine all of these services with one
company is to bundle services.
Ever since I bundled our services we pay a lot less. When I paid separately for
each service it was expensive.
Hands Free Device
This is an attachment to the cell phone that lets you use the phone without having
to hold it. Most times this is a small device that fits into your ear.
If must speak on the phone while you are driving then please at least use ahands
free device.
Bluetooth
This is a technology that allows your cell phone or computer to communicate
wirelessly with another device that is close by. It is a small personal network. A cell
phone uses Bluetooth technology to communicate with a headset or any other
hands free device that is nearby. A wireless key board will use Bluetooth technology
to communicate with the computer it goes with.
My new phone has Bluetooth so I have a cool new headset.
Browser
This is the software application that lets you look through the different web sites on
the internet. Windows Internet Explorer and Mozilla are examples of popular
browsers.
If you have trouble using the internet you may need to update the version of
your browser.
Surfing the Web
Surfing the web just means that you are looking around at the different sites. This
is usually a leisurely activity as opposed to doing an intense search for a specific
topic.
When Im bored I sit for hours surfing the web.
Chat Room
Many internet sites have an area where web users can enter and participate in a live
text chat with others. This is called a Chat room.
I met my wife in a singles chat room.
High Speed/Broadband Internet Service
This is the type of internet service that gets data to your computer at a fast rate.
People pay more for this service so they can download pages and images quicker.
Now that I have broadband I can download those pictures you sent me.
Dial up Service
This is internet service using a modem and a telephone line. In the past most
people on the internet used dial up. It is a lot slower and is being taken over by
broadband.
When I had dial up I couldnt even download a song. Now I can download an
entire album.
Download
To download is to transfer a file from another computer to your own. People
download anything from music to text files to movies.
If you cant find the song at the music store you can download it on the internet.
Virus
This is a software program that ruins files on your computer or the entire computer
itself. People create these viruses and spread them throughout the internet to give
other people trouble.
My computer is in the shop. I have a virus and I cant open any of my work files.
Hacker
A hacker is a computer expert that uses his skills to cause damage to other
peoples systems or to steal information.
A hacker entered the computer system of the bank and stole all of the money. I
hope they get him!
Smut Sites
These are internet sites that show pornographic images.
At Johns work anyone who enters a web site deemed as smut will be fired.
Blocked Site
A site that has been blocked is one that has been deemed inappropriate by those in
charge of Information Technology. Companies and schools will block certain sites
so employees dont surf the web all day.
Dont even try to get on to that game web site. It is blocked.
Case Sensitive
Many sites ask you to enter a password. If it is indicated that the password is case
sensitive you have to capitalize the letters that should be capitalized. If you dont,
the password wont work.
My password is case sensitive. If I dont capitalize the first letter it wont work.
Spam
Spam is unwanted e mails from advertisers wanting you to buy their product.
Companies that use spam send out thousands of e mails to any e mail addresses
they can get in hopes of selling their merchandise.
We are so sick of receiving spam. Half the messages we get each day are from
advertisers.
Internet Predator
This is a person who goes into chat rooms looking for young girls to befriend. These
predators are hoping to meet up with the young women for a date.
I always warn my daughter about the number of internet predators that are out
there. I dont want her to get hurt.
Wide Screen
A relatively new type of TV that has a large screen.
Lets go to Johns to see the game. He has a new wide screen TV.
Flat Screen TV
This is a new style of TV that is very skinny and doesnt take up a lot of space. Some
people hang these on their walls.
I dont have a lot of space in my living room. Ill need to get a flat screen TV to
put up on the wall.
Clicker
Another word for the remote control that changes the channels on your TV.
I cant find the clicker. Is it under the couch?
Premium Stations
Television stations that one needs to pay for like HBO or Showtime. These stations
usually show movies.
It will cost you about $15 to get two premium stations a month.
Sitcom (Situation Comedy)
A half an hour show that usually shows the lives of a family. Most of the time these
are comedies.
Cheers and The Cosby Show are examples of sitcoms that did really well.
Prime Time
This is the time on TV, from about 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM, that the most amount of
people are watching television. This is when television stations put on their best
shows.
The best shows are always on at prime time.
Rerun
This is when a television network puts on a show that has already been shown
months before.
I hate when they show reruns. I dont want to watch the same show again!
Ratings
A measurement done to see how many people are watching a particular television
show.
They canceled my favorite show because the ratings were low. I guess nobody
liked the show as much as me.
Family Friendly
Shows that are OK for children to watch. These shows dont show sex or violence
Now that I have two kids that are old enough to turn on the TV, I have to find out
which stations are family friendly.
Newscast
The hour or half hour when a station runs the news
My dad is always on his favorite chair at 6:00 PM to see the newscast.
Local News
Most cities and towns have a news program that focuses on things that happen in
that particular area. This is called the local news.
My sisters school was on the local news. They had a fund raiser for a local
charity.
News Anchor
A man or woman who reports the news on a particular station.
My favorite news anchor growing up was Tom Brokaw.
Pause for a commercial break
A commercial break is when the television program is interrupted to show four or
five commercials. Newscasters or television hosts will say, We are going to pause
for a commercial break. to tell the audience that commercials will now be shown.
When they pause for a commercial break I will take the trash out like my mom
asked me to.
Infomercial
A show that does nothing but inform the audience about a specific product. These
are shown late at night when there are not a lot of people watching TV.
I saw an infomercial for a new work out video. I was tempted to buy it!
Public Service Announcement
This is shown during the advertisements. Instead of advertising a product, these
announcements inform the public about a certain issue like a disease or a way to
protect the environment.
I saw a public service announcement about keeping the local lake clean. I guess I
cant dump my garbage in there anymore
Talk Show
A show that has one host who interviews different guests.
Oprah is the queen of talk shows in the US.
Go through security
To pass through the security area before being allowed to enter the airport.
Youll have to go through security before arriving at your gate. I hope you dont
have any metal in your pockets!.
Check your bags
To leave your larger bags with the airport staff before getting on the plane. These
will be put below the plane since they dont fit in the passenger area.
I would check that bag in. It is much to big to bring with you.
Carry on
A small bag that you will take on the plane with you is considered a carry on.
This airline allows two carry on bags per customer.
Stand by
Most airlines will let a passenger with a ticket for a different flight get on the
desired flight if there is room. This person has to wait until right before the flight
takes off. If there is an extra seat he can travel on this plane. If all the seats are
taken he has to wait for the next flight.
We got to the airport really early so I decided to try to get on an earlier flight as
a stand by passenger. It turned out that all the ticket holders showed up, so I had
to wait.
Take off
This is the hour that the plane leaves the airport.
What time do we take off?
To board
To get on to the plane. The act of entering the plane at the designated time.
What time are we going to board?
Airfare
The price paid to travel on a plane.
If you want to go to South America youll need to take into consideration the
airfare and the price of the hotels you will be staying at.
Boarding pass
A pass or document that lets the passenger enter the plane.
Even though you bought your ticket online, you will need a boarding pass to get
on the plane.
Layover
When you take a flight to one location to catch another plane to go to your desired
location.
Well have a layover in Denver and then we will continue to Los Angles.
Jet lag
The tired feeling one gets after traveling for many hours through different time
zones.
When you travel from Boston to San Francisco you will probably be jet lagged.
Motion sickness
To feel sick from the movements of the plane.
If you suffer from motion sickness take a pill or dont travel.
Cruising Altitude
This is how high the plane is in the air for the majority of the trip. After taking off
the pilot guides the plane up until he feels a certain altitude will be the best for safe
travel.
Once the pilot announces that weve reached our cruising altitude you can get up
to go to the bathroom.
Turbulence
When there is a lot of wind or there is a storm in the area that you are flying
through the plane will bounce around a bit. This is called turbulence.
I get a little nervous when we there is turbulence while flying. Im always
convinced that the plane is going down!
Barf bag
The small bag provided in the storage area attached to the seat in front of you on
the plane. This is for passengers to use if they get sick from the turbulence.
Grab the barf bag. Hes going to puke!
In flight entertainment
The TV screen available to passengers is called in flight entertainment. Usually
TV stations are shown or a movie.
Most people like Jet Blue because there is free in flight entertainment.
To floor it
This automobile vocabulary expression means to step on the gas pedal quickly and
as hard as you can. The object is to get the car moving as fast as possible in the
shortest amount of time.
My friends told me to floor it so I could pass the slow truck ahead.
notextile.
Pedal to the metal
This means the same thing as to floor it. It basically means to put your foot on the
gas pedal and to push it all the way to the floor.
When I get on the highway it is all pedal to the metal!
Peel out
This is when your automobile is stopped and you suddenly put your foot on the gas
hard. This causes the tires to spin without the car moving. A black mark will be left
on the pavement.
You shouldnt peel out so much. Youre going to ruin your tires.
Fish tail
This ESL automobile vocabulary expression is when a car is driving on a slippery
surface and the back wheels loose control. The back end of the vehicle moves from
side to side.
When I was driving down the highway during the thunderstorm my car _fish
tailed_ and I crashed."
To cruise
This is an expression used to talk about a ride in an automobile that is solely for
enjoyment. Young people and their friends will go out for a cruise to see what is
going on in town.
During the summer my friends and I like _to cruise_ in my friends old
Mustang.
Slam on the brakes
This is an expression that means to apply sudden and hard pressure on the brakes
causing the wheels to stop right away. If someone was to stop right in front of you
would slam on the brakes to avoid hitting the car.
The bus driver had to slam on the brakes when the boy crossed the street without
looking.
To rev the engine
An ESL automobile vocabulary expression that is the act of putting your foot on the
gas pedal while the automobile is still in park or in neutral. The engine will make a
loud sound and it is called revving the engine.
My neighbor was revving his engine all night and it kept me up.
Hang a left/right
When a person is giving directions to a driver if he wants him to turn he could say
hang instead of turn. It is an informal expression.
_Hang a right at the next light and then hang a left_ onto Red Oaks."
Tailgate
This is when a driver is driving close behind the car in front of him. This driver
usually wants the other car to speed up so he impatiently follows closely.
I get mad when someone tailgates me. I wish theyd go around me.
Get a flat
When your tire is punctured and loses all of the air it is said to be flat. So if you
run over a nail, or something else that is sharp, the air comes out of your tire and
you have a flat tire.
On the way home from school we _got a flat_ and had to pull over. Luckily we
had a spare tire.
Break down
If your car breaks down it means that it stops working. The engine no longer
pushes the car forward. There are many reasons why a car could break down, but
the point is the car will not function properly.
I hope we dont break down on the way to the mall. This car is old and I dont
trust it.
Get a jump
If the battery of your car loses power and goes dead you can charge it using cables
and another cars battery. This is called getting a jump.
I left my lights on after I stopped the car and the battery went dead. I had to get
a jump from my friend.
Cut off
An ESL vocabulary expression where driver 1 is driving in his lane and driver 2
pulls in front of him. This causes driver 1 to have to slam on the brakes, swerve out
of his lane or crash into driver 2. Driver 1 may experience road rage because of
this!
We were driving down the highway and a drunk driver cut us off.
Road rage
This is a term that describes when a person becomes excessively angry when he
feels he has been mistreated by another driver. This can happen when one driver
tailgates, cuts off or nearly crashes with another driver. As the population and
traffic grow in many cities there are more and more cases of road rage. Many times
these incidents end in a shooting.
There was an episode of road rage that occurred downtown last night. A man
jumped out of his car and struck another driver after he was cut off.
Run a light
This is when a driver goes through the intersection when the light is already red.
Many drivers get tickets for doing this and sometimes accidents occur.
I got a ticket for running a light in Jarrell, TX.
Flash your brights
This is when you put your front headlights on full power and then turn them off
quickly. People do this to get another drivers attention at night.
The car behind me flashed his brights at me so I would speed up. I didnt.
Get pulled over
If you are stopped by a police officer you are said to be pulled over. The police
officer will turn on his lights and his siren to indicate that he wants you to stop and
go to the side of the road. He will then get out of his car and tell you what you did
wrong. Usually you will get a ticket for speeding or running a red light.
Harry got pulled over for running a red light on Forest Street.
School zone
This is a street that is in front of a public school. During the times that students are
coming or going from school the speed limit is usually 25 mph. Police tend to watch
this area carefully and pull over any cars that speed. The fines for speeding in this
area are usually a lot more money.
Be careful in driving in a school zone. There are kids crossing the street.
Break down lane
This is the area immediately to the right of the right hand lane on a highway.
People do not drive in this lane. It is used for cars that have broken down or for
police officers to park if they pull over a car.
I had to use the break down lane when I got a flat tire.
Fender bender
A fender bender is when there is an accident, but there are not any serious
injuries. Usually it is a situation in which a car slams into the car in front of it
because of a sudden stop.
I got into a fender bender because I wasnt paying attention.
Traffic jam
A traffic jam is a situation in which there are so many cars on the road or highway
that the traffic comes to a complete stand still.
We were stuck in a traffic jam so we were late.
Get a ticket
When a police officer pulls you over he may give you a fine for breaking a traffic
rule. He will hand you a piece of paper that says what law you broke and how much
you need to pay. This is called getting a ticket.
I really hope I dont get a ticket again. They cost a lot of money!
Speed trap
This is a section of the road where police officers will monitor for speeding cars.
One police officer will hide his car on the side of the road to check how fast cars are
going. Another officer will be down the road ready to pull over the speeder.
I didnt know there was a speed trap on that road so I got pulled over.
Beach bum:
A person who is always at the beach and never seems to have anything important to
do.
Harold is a beach bum. Any day of the week you will find him there.
High/Low tide:
At different times of the day the ocean water is higher up on the beach than other
times. This is called high tide. Low tide is when the ocean water is the farthest out.
During low tide there is more room on the beach to play and sun bathe.
Be careful during high tide. The waves are really big at this time.
Riptide:
This is a condition in the ocean where two different current meet and the water is
really rough. Swimmers have to be careful here because the water can drag you
under.
Sally was swimming in the riptide and she drowned.
Choppy:
This describes the water when there is a lot of wind and the water is rough and
there are lots of little waves.
The ocean is really choppy when there is a storm.
Coozie:
This is a piece of foam that goes around your beer or soda can to keep it cold.
Does anyone have a coozie? My beer is getting warm.
Canopy:
This is the tent like structure that has a roof, but no walls on the side. It is used to
create shade for beach goers.
We will need a canopy today. The sun is blazing!
G string:
This is a type of bathing suit bottom for women that has a small string on the back
so everyone can see your butt.
If you are going to wear a G string dont be surprised if random men start
whistling at you.
Speedos:
This is a bathing suit for men that is very small and tight fitting. Most Americans
dont wear them. It is more of a European thing. Men in the US wear loose fitting
long bathing suits.
There he is in his Speedos. He makes me very uncomfortable! I dont want to see
that much of his body.
Beach Front Property:
A house and land that is right on the beach. These properties tend to cost a lot of
money because they are very desirable.
When I earn my first million Ill get some beach front property.
To Comb the Beach:
To look all over the beach walking and using your eyes. This is usually done to find
a lost person.
We combed the beach looking for our lost son. He ended up being found at the life
guard stand.
Beached Whale:
This is a slang term for a really fat person who is lying on the beach with a bathing
suit on.
You look like a beached whale out here. Put some clothes on. I told you to go on a
diet before coming out to the beach!
Flip Flops:
Light rubber sandals used when going to the beach.
Get your flip flops on since we will be walking on the beach.
Sand Castle:
A structure built out of wet sand that is made to look like a large house or a castle.
Dont step on my sand castle. it took me two hours to make.
Sunscreen/Sunblock:
A lotion that one spreads all over the body to avoid a sun burn.
Get out the sunscreen. It is going to be a hot one today.
SPF number:
The number on the sun screen bottle that tells you how strong the lotion is in terms
of fighting off a sun burn.
Youll want a sun block that has a SPF of at least 30 on days like this.
Bungalow:
A small house on the beach.
We are going to stay in a small bungalow on the beach for three nights.
Blue Book Value
Kelley Blue book is a web site that lists the going value of used cars. When people
want to know on average how much people are paying for a certain car they go
here..
He wants to sell me that Honda for $20,000. The Blue Book Value for that exact
car is $15,000. Hes crazy!.
Hybrid
A car that is powered by a regular engine and an electric system that is
rechargeable. The idea is to save the driver money on gas since the engine is not
working as hard.
A lot of Hollywood stars drive hybrids to show their support for environmental
causes.
Sedan
A car that has a front row of seats and a back row of seats. It fits at least four
people.
If you want kids youll want a sedan. Getting a baby into a sports car is
miserable.
Coupe
A car with only two seats. These are usually considered sports cars.
If you buy the coupe you wont have room for anything.
SUV
A car that has similar qualities to a truck. They usually have four wheel drive and
have a lot of space for passengers. The letters stand for Sports Utility Vehicle.
Id like an SUV so I can cart my family around but still be able to drive around
my grandpas farm.
Pickup Truck
A truck that has an open aired storage space or bed in the back section. Many of
these have just two seats in the front. People buy pickups so they can haul heavy
large things around.
If you have a pickup we can take these couches to Larrys place.
Car Dealer or Dealership
A store that buys cars directly from a certain manufacturer and sells them to
customers at a higher price. This is where most people buy new cars. The car
manufacturers dont sell directly to consumers.
I spent three hours at the dealership trying to decide on the best car.
Sticker Price
The price that the manufacturer suggests the car dealer sell the car for. This price is
almost always higher than what people actually pay.
The sticker price of this Toyota Camry is $25,000, but Ill probably end up
paying $22,000.
Extended Warranty
A contract between the buyer and the seller that guarantees free maintenance for
the car on specific issues for a set amount of time.
If they offer you the extended warranty I would buy the car at that price. At least
you know that the car wont break down on you the first year.
Bumper to Bumper
A warranty that covers the whole car for a set amount of time.
Another reason to go with a Honda is the bumper to bumper warranty.
Recall
When the car manufacture realizes that there is a mechanical defect with a certain
model of their cars and has to inform all owners. Usually the car owner gets a letter
in the mail and is able to bring his car in to get fixed without charge.
Ford always seems to have a bunch of recalls on their trucks. I wonder what the
problem is.
Factory to Dealer Incentives
A discount that the car manufacturer offers to the dealer to increase sales.
Try to buy a car when there are factory to dealer incentives. That is when you
can really save money.
Car Lot
The area outside of the car dealership where all of the cars available are parked and
shown.
Take a look around the lot and tell me which car you like.
Shoulder:
The area on the right side of the lane where there is space between the land and the
permitted driving area to the left. Drivers are not supposed to drive here. Police
and disabled vehicles stop here.
If your car breaks down pull over to the shoulder so nobody hits you from
behind.
Break down lane
Another name for the shoulder, or the area to the right of the driving lane.
I pulled over to the break down lane when I got a flat tire.
Guard Rail
A safety barrier between the road and the land on the right hand side of the road.
These prevent cars from falling of the road into a ditch or anything else that is
dangerous.
When you are driving up a mountain there are always guard rails on the side of
the road. Nobody wants to see you fall off the mountain!
Overpass
A road or bridge that passes over the top of another road or highway.
You will have to pull off the highway and take the over pass to change directions
on the highway.
Passing lane
The lane on the left hand side of the highway that is used for cars to go faster to
pass other slow moving vehicles.
Sometimes I stay in the passing lane if I am in a hurry and I want to go really
fast.
Detour
When the road or highway is closed ahead due to an accident or construction. An
alternative route is provided so cars must exit the road.
At exit 20 there will be a detour since they are fixing the road. There will be a lot
of traffic.
Loose gravel
An area in the road that is under construction and has rocks and pebbles on the
ground. These can cause cars to slide, so there will be a warning sign that says
loose gravel.
Slow down up here ahead. There is a sign that reads loose gravel. You dont
want to crash.
Four way stop
An intersection in the road where all four lanes that meet have to stop.
In a four way stop the person on the right gets to go first.
Yield
A driver will see a sign that says yield when he is to stop and let the car in the
oncoming lane go first.
When you enter a highway you have to yield to the cars that are already there
driving.
Toll Booth
An area on some highways where drivers must stop to pay a fee for using the road.
Stop up here at the toll booth. We have to pay two dollars.
Right of way
In an intersection, where two or more cars meet, the person who has the right to go
first has the right of way.
He should have let me go. I had the right of way. I guess he didnt know.
Drive Defensively
To drive in a careful way.
You should drive defensively so you dont get in an accident.
Scenic route
The way to a certain destination that has pretty scenery. This way is usually off the
highway and takes longer.
Lets take the scenic route. We are not in a hurry.
Parallel Park
To park between two cars that are on the same side of the street by backing in.
It is not easy to parallel park when the space you have is tiny.
Back-seat driver
A person who is in the passenger seat who tells the driver what to do and where to
go in an annoying way.
Dont be a back-seat driver!
Carpool
When a group of people, who are going to the same destination, decide to all drive
together instead of driving individually. This is done to save money on gas and to
protect the environment
My wife and the neighbor next door carpool to school. One week my wife drives
and the next my neighbor drives.
h5. Amenities
The settings or features of the hotel that make it more desirable to stay there. Some
examples of amenities are a spa, an indoor pool or a restaurant located in the hotel.
This hotel has a lot of amenities, but its still not worth $250 a night!
A double or a single
This refers to the number of beds in the room. A single would have one bed and a
double would have two beds.
Were going to need a double because I cant sleep near you.
WiFi
If a hotel advertises that it has Wi-Fi then it has a wireless internet connection
throughout the building. Guests can bring their laptops and get on the internet for
free.
If we get a room tonight it needs to be at a hotel with Wi-Fi. I have some work to
do.
Vacancy/No vacancy
If a hotel has a sign in the front that says No vacancy it means that there are no
more rooms left. If the sign says vacancy there are still rooms left.
We wanted to stay at the Best Western on I-35, but there was a sign that said,
_no vacancy_ in front of it.
Make a reservation
This is the process of contacting the hotel, confirming the days that you would like
to have a room and providing a credit card number to secure the room.
We need to make a reservation for next weekend before the hotel is full.
Book a room
This is just a different way to say make a reservation. It is the act of informing the
hotel that you would like a room on a specific date and providing a way to pay for it.
My secretary will book me a room for Tuesday the 9th.
All booked up
This is a term that means that the hotel is at full capacity. There are not more
rooms to rent out.
We wanted to stay at the Hilton downtown, but they are all booked up.
Continental Breakfast
This is a light breakfast that is served in the lobby area of the hotel. It is included in
the price of the room. The food consists of fruit, muffins and cereal. For drinks
there is usually coffee and some type of juice.
Dont make plans to eat out this morning. Our hotel has a continental breakfast.
Valet parking
This is a service the hotel may provide in which a staff member will park your car
for you. The guest pulls up to the front area of the hotel and the employee parks the
car. This saves the guest the hassle of looking for a parking space. It is customary to
tip the person who does this service for you.
Dont worry about getting a parking space. The hotel has valet parking.
Wet Bar
This is a bar for mixing drinks that has a sink for water. The nicer more expensive
hotels will have these. The guest is required to pay for any of the alcohol that is
consumed.
I cant believe it! This place even has a wet bar. This is classy!
Presidential Suite
This is the name for the most expensive room/suite in a nice hotel. These rooms
will usually be on the top floor of the hotel.
If you go up to the presidential suite there is a great view of the city.
Room Service
The nicer hotels that have a restaurant will offer their menu delivered to your
room. You call down to the room service number and you make your order. The
food and drinks you order are added to your bill.
Lets get room service tonight. Im tired and I dont want to leave the hotel.
Lobby
This is the area of the hotel where the main doors and the front desk are. There are
usually couches and a TV in this area. People will wait here for their luggage or for
their car if they used the valet parking service. The lobby is also a meeting place for
hotel guests and their visitors.
Meet me in the lobby of the Radisson at 10:00 PM.
Seedy hotel
This is a hotel in a run down area of town. There is usually a lot of drug dealing and
prostitution going on in the area and in the hotel rooms.
The mayor was caught doing drugs in a seedy hotel downtown.
Bed and Breakfast
This is a private home in a nice scenic area of town that rents out a room or rooms
for the night. These establishments cater to the tourists that are looking to spend
some time in a nice small town. Breakfast is served in the morning by the owner of
the house.
Lets stay at that nice bed and breakfast near the old church on Main Street.
Wake up call
This is a call from the front desk of the hotel to wake you up at a certain time. The
guest sets this up with the front desk before hand.
We are going to get a wake up call at 6: 00 AM so we dont miss our flight.
Five star hotel
This describes the best and fanciest hotel out there. Hotels are ranked from one to
five stars. One is the worst and five is the best. These hotels will have all of the
amenities possible.
For our honeymoon we booked a 5 star hotel.
Travel agent
This is the person that sells or arranges a trip for an individual or a group. The
travel agent will help you plan your trip and find the best deals in terms of airfare
and lodging.
Were going to need a travel agent if we want to plan that big of a trip.
Package Tour
This is a vacation put together by the travel agent. The price includes travel, lodging
and food. It usually works out cheaper to plan a trip this way although you do have
less flexibility.
My sister and her husband went to Greece on a package tour. They didnt want
to try to set everything up by themselves.
All Inclusive
This is a term that describes a resort or hotel in which everything is covered by the
price you pay per night. The food and drinks will be included in this price.
Lets stay at the all inclusive Ramada on the beach. We wont have to ever leave
the hotel.
Peak Season
This is the time of year when the most people are traveling. The rates of the rooms
will be the highest and the chances of the hotels being booked up will be the
highest. Peak season is usually during the times when kids are off of school.
If we fly during the peak season were going to pay a lot of money.
Off Season
This is the opposite of peak season. During the off season not too many people
are traveling. You can get cheaper rates for everything.
Going to Florida in the summer will be hot, but it will be cheap. The summer is
the off season for resorts in Florida.
Group Rate
If you book your vacation and you have a larger than normal amount of people
traveling you can get a group rate. This rate will be cheaper since you are bringing
in a lot of business.
Last year my family and I went to Puerto Rico for a week. It wasnt too expensive
since we got a group rate. My company flew a bunch of us down there.
Time Share
This is a room or unit in a resort setting that people buy for a certain amount of
time. The time share will have several different families or individuals that pay
money towards it. Each owner has a set amount of time that he/she can use it
during the year. Having a time share is a way to have a place in a nice area without
having to pay the full price.
My parents have a time share in the Bahamas. They go down there one month a
year in the fall.
Gateway City
This is the city that a major airline has its headquarters at. If you are flying with a
specific airline many times youll have to make a stop in the gate way city of that
airline. Dallas/Fort Worth, TX is the gateway city for American Airlines while
Atlanta, GA is the gateway city for Delta Airlines.
If you fly with United Airlines you will have to stop in Chicago. That is
their gateway city.
Layover
If you are flying from one specific city to another at times there is not one plane
that makes the trip without stopping. Many times you will fly to a city in between
the city you are traveling to and the one from which you left. This stop is called a
layover. Many times you will have to switch planes at the layover city.
Im flying from New York to San Francisco with a layover in Chicago.
Spring Break
Spring break is when the public schools and colleges in the US have off for a week
sometime in March or April. Many families go on vacation during this time. College
students are infamous for heading to beaches in Florida or Mexico to party hard
during spring break.
My brother went to Cancun, Mexico for his spring break his sophomore year at
Yale.
Working Vacation
This is a trip that someone may take for business that also involves pleasure. A
company may send an employee to another city for a conference. If the employee
takes his family with him to enjoy the city during non working hours it is called a
working vacation.
I took a working vacation to Las Vegas. I had a business seminar on Thursday,
but the rest of the weekend I spent with my wife in the casinos.
Attractions
These are areas that are well known and draw a lot of tourists in. A museum or
amusement parks are examples of attractions. Any tourist destination will have
two or three major attractions.
The Statue of Liberty is a major attraction in New York.
Tourist Trap
A tourist trap is a restaurant or an attraction in an attractive area of town that
caters to people visiting the city. The prices are high to take advantage of the
tourists who dont know where else to go. Tourist traps are located near the major
hotels.
Go to Nathanial Hall when you are in Boston. It is a bit of a tourist trap, but it is
still fun.
Where the locals go
This is an expression that people use to describe places that people who are from
the area go to. These are places that are not in the tour books and dont have a lot of
tourists.
Im sick of these expensive tourist traps. Lets go somewhere where the locals go.
Off the beaten path
Most major cities or areas that draw a lot of tourism have four or five different
locations that every tourist goes to. Places that are less known to tourists are
described as being off the beaten path.
Sarah knows of a cute little Italian restaurant on the west side of the city. It is not
near any of the major attractions so it wont be crowded. It isoff the beaten path.
Ecotourism
This is tourism that is for the purpose of seeing and experiencing the natural
environment of an area. Special attention is made in not harming the natural
habitat. Rainforests and natural parks are examples of ecotourism locations.
Costa Rica is huge for its ecotourism.
Theater District
This is an area of the city that is home to a lot of the cultural events like theater
productions and symphony concerts. Most major US cities have a theater district.
When you are in New York you need to check out a show in the theater district.
Red light district
This is a section of the city that has prostitution and run down bars. Drug dealing
and a lot of other criminal activity will take place here.
Dont turn down 57th Street. You will end up in the red light district.
A blustery day
A day that has strong violent winds.
You shouldnt attempt to sail your boat on a blustery day like this.
Gale force winds
Winds that are very strong.
Today we are likely to see gale force winds and heavy rain.
Scorcher
This is an extremely hot day.
Yesterday was a scorcher. It hit 103 degrees by 1:00 PM.
Heat index
This is a measurement of discomfort caused by a combination of heat and
humidity.
When the heat index is high it can be dangerous to be outside.
Record highs/lows
When the temperature hits an all time high or low for a specific day or period of the
year.
This summer it was hot! We had record highs.
Partly Cloudy or Partly Sunny
When the sky has a few clouds.
It is going to be partly cloudy tomorrow.
To dip into (a certain temperature)
A term used to describe the temperature going down below what it was.
It was cold last night. The temperatures dipped down below freezing.
Unseasonably hot or cold
A term used to describe when the temperatures are higher or lower than normal for
a certain time of the year.
It has been unseasonably warm this winter. I dont think weve had any days
below 50 degrees.
Cold front or warm front
A mass of air that moves into an area that is colder or warmer than the current
conditions.
We are going to have a cold front come in tomorrow. The lows are going to be in
the 40s.
National Weather Service
A federal agency that is responsible for weather forecasts.
We need to see what the National weather service is saying about this latest
storm coming our way.
Weather forecast
A prediction on how the weather will be. This can be seen by different television
networks during their news hour.
The weather forecast for tomorrow says it will rain all day.
Severe weather
Any type of weather that may put people at risk. Examples would be snow storms,
hurricanes and tornados.
Be careful out there today. They are predicting severe weather.
Light freeze
A weather condition when the air drops below freezing for only a short period of
time.
Last night we had our first light freeze of the winter.
Fair weather
Moderate temperatures that are good for going outside.
The weatherman said it will be fair tomorrow.
Tips for Learning English
Different strategies an ESL student can use to learn English:
y Watch an hour of TV in English each day: Sit and watch TV in English with
a pencil and a notebook handy. Jot down words and phrases that you dont know
and look them up later. Dont try to understand each and every word. Instead, try
to get the main point of what is being said. make sure to watch different types of
programs so that you get exposure to all kinds of vocabulary.

y Read Novels in English: This is not easy to do for ESL studnets, but it is a
great exercise. Think of a book that you have already read in your native language.
Find the English translation of that book. Since you already read this book, you will
know what the story is about, and you wont feel too lost. Sit down with a dictionary
and slowly read from the beginning to the end. Dont look up every word.

y Watch DVDs in English with the subtitles on: Pick your favorite movie and
watch it with the subtitles on. When you hear a part that you dont understand,
pause the movie and write down what the subtitles say. Look up the words that you
dont know.

y Write out a situation that you come across daily: Think of something that
you do everyday. Some examples are going to the store, going to work or having
dinner with your family. Write out what you do in these situations like you were
explaining it to a friend. Look up the words you dont know and then check your
sentences in Google (see next step).

y Use the internet to check your sentences: If you want to know if the way
you worded something sounds awkward type it into Google. If you get a lot of hits,
then English speakers would say it that way. If you get no hits, then native speakers
probably wouldnt use the words you chose. This only works for a few words at a
time. You cant put in an entire sentence if it is long.

y Find online English Chat Rooms: There are many out there. Just type
English online chat and you will see many. This exercise helps you with real time
conversation skills.

y Get yourself in situations where you are forced to speaks English:Try
to get a job where it is required that you speak English. This will force you to
practice your speaking. If you cant find a job like that try to find a volunteer
position that requires English. You are more likely to remember the words you
learned speaking with a person as opposed to what you learn out of a book.
flexible / flksbl// adjective

comparative and superlative forms: more flexible; most flexible



1 : capable of bending or being bent flexible branches swaying in the breeze a material that is
both strong and flexible She's been doing exercises to become stronger and more flexible.

2 a : easily changed Our schedule for the weekend is veryflexible. : able to change or to do
different things This computer program has to be flexible to meet all our needs.

2 b : willing to change or to try different things Whatever you want to do is fine with me.
Im flexible.

flexibility /flksblti/ noun [noncount] She's been exercising to improve her flexibility. He
shows remarkableflexibility as an actor. [=he can play a wide range of roles]

flexibly /flksbli/ adverb
renowned /r nu nd/ adjective

comparative and superlative forms: more renowned; most renowned



: known and admired by many people for some special quality or achievement a
restaurant renowned for its wine list a renownedscientist
Hello! How's it going?
I'm checking in with you today to see if you are making maximum progress with your English. Are
you? If not, why not?
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act,
but a habit.
-Aristotle, (384 BC - 322 BC) Greek Philosopher
Working as teacher, counselor, and coach over the past 15 years, I've seen all kinds of students.
Some students had bad habits and
some had good habits. Most students have so-so habits.
What kind of English learning habits do you have? Are they working for you? Could some of your
learning habits be working against you?
Are you spending lots of time on grammar? Do you think one more year of memorizing vocabulary
will help? Have you tried putting
your English textbook under your pillow at night? :)
Excellence in English speaking and listening will never come from textbooks. It won't come from
grammar lessons. It won't come from
vocabulary lists. In fact it can't. It's just not possible! Why? Language learning is very different
from other kinds of learning. We can't learn
English deeply with the same habits and methods we use for math, science, or history.
Research by Stephen Krashen and others has shown again and again that happy & relaxed
students acquire languages faster than anxious
and bored students. Are you happy and relaxed with your English study?
Flow English lessons keep students happy and help students make maximum progress. How?
Two ways:
1) Our Combination of Humor and Fun. We *guarantee* that our lessons are more fun than any
other lessons available. Imagine looking
forward to studying English. Our lessons are wild, scary, weird, sexy, and outrageous! No more
forcing it day after day. No more fear or worry.
Most important, no more boredom!
2) Your Maximum Progress and Passion. When you have fun and feel the progress with your
English speaking and listening, you
become passionate about your learning.
Passion for English + Fun with English = Excellence.
Flow English Lessons are Excellent- they have the best habits and methods built-in!
America's $15 Trillion Nightmare
This week, the U.S. national debt clock hit a nightmarish milestone: a record $15 trillion.
Words can't even begin to describe the scope of borrowed federal spending, but it is no doubt a
staggering figure that has risen dramatically in the last decade and is more than $4 trillion
higher than when President Barack Obama took office less than three years ago. Unfortunately,
Washington does not appear poised to take action to rectify the problem, and those with their
hands on the wheel are ignoring the root of the problem: spending.

House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) on Wednesday said of the news, "Today
marks an infamous day in American history. It is the day that the national debt has surpassed
the $15 trillion mark. This debt is hurting not only our economy today, but will result in our
children and our grandchildren experiencing a diminished future." Ryan is right. Future
generations will be shackled by today's debt. And Heritage's Alison Fraser explains how federal
spending is headed toward a cliff of terrifying proportions:

Federal spending, at about 24 percent today, is significantly over the average of 20 percent of
GDP, but in a decade it will top 26 percent. Within a generation it will reach nearly 35 percent
of GDP. Before the end of the decade taxes will have recovered from their recession-driven
levels and will continue to rise thereafter.

So what's Washington doing about it? Fighting over how high to taxes instead of getting to the
root of the problem. By Thanksgiving, the 12 members of the congressional "super committee"
are required to reach agreement on a plan to achieve $1.2 trillion in deficit-reducing measures-
-a mere drop in the bucket when measured against America's spending crisis. Yet even that task
appears out of their grasp. Fraser writes that Democrats on the committee have said no to
several actions that would alter America's crushing spending path, such as increasing the
Medicare retirement age or changing in the measure of inflation used to calculate entitlement
benefits, including Social Security:

Sadly, there are few additional changes on the list for them even to react to -- and their so-
called bold changes from several weeks ago have all but dried up. The Democrats' intractable
attitude on entitlement reform defies logic.

The facts are simple: Entitlements are going to generate European style debt levels unless they
are reformed. Paying for it without bringing down their spending would require
constant, crushing tax hikes on all taxpayers -- not just the top 1 percent.

Fortunately, there are actions that Congress could take to rein in entitlement spending (which
already comprises 40 percent of all federal spending), and those include bold reforms to Social
Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. But the same ineffective approaches to cutting costs--like
cuts to doctors, hospitals, and other providers--will cause more harm than good and should be
scrapped.

And there are some in the House and Senate who understand the problem and are advocating
significant action. Seventy-two Members of the House and 33 Senators are standing against
continued overspending, over-borrowing, and overtaxing. In a letter yesterday to the super
committee, the House Members wrote, "It is evident that America has a fiscal crisis because
Washington spends too much, not because it taxes too little," and warned, "Increasing taxes on
Americans would destroy jobs, erase all hope of an economic recovery, and simply serve to feed
out-of-control spending in Washington."

The Heritage Foundation, too, has called upon the super committee to "drive federal spending
down -- including by fixing ever-expanding entitlement programs -- toward a balanced budget,
while preserving our capability to protect America, and without raising taxes." And Heritage
vice president David Addington writes, "The super committee has a chance -- one chance -- to
get it right. More taxes means more government and a worse economy. The super committee
should recommend legislation that rests on three pillars: (1) cut non-security spending, (2)
maintain defense capabilities, and (3) do not hike taxes."

There are 15 trillion reasons that show how deeply America's fiscal house is in disorder, and
there are 12 members of the congressional super committee who can propose a solution that
helps the country turn the corner without raising taxes, without weakening our defense, and
without burdening future generations. But getting there will require serious leadership, action,
and an understanding that doing business as usual will not bring this nightmare to an end.

Reminder: Next Tuesday, November 22, at 8 p.m., The Heritage Foundation and the
American Enterprise Institute are co-hosting a GOP presidential debate on national security
and foreign policy, broadcast on CNN. Click here for more information.
buy into phrasal verb

construction: buy into (something)



1 : to pay money in order to own part of (something, such as a company or sports team) Investors
are buying into Internet companies.

2 : to accept or believe (something) as true The book teaches kids not to buy into the notion that
money brings happiness.

The Truth About Public School Teacher Pay
Last winter, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) traveled his state, holding a series of
townhalls in which he touted a significant but politically unpopular plan: asking public school
teachers to accept a pay freeze and begin contributing 1.5 percent of their salaries toward their
health care plans, whereas before they paid nothing. It's a battle that pitted Christie against
powerful teachers unions, and it's a fight that has brought the issue of teacher pay to the center
of the public square.

That battle has played itself out across the country. Earlier this year in Wisconsin, Governor
Scott Walker (R) faced a $3 billion structural deficit and the fourth-highest tax burden in the
country. Among the reforms he enacted were limits to collective bargaining power and reform
of public employee benefit plans, which included asking public-sector employees (including
teachers) to make a 5.8 percent contribution into their pension plans and pick up the tab for 12
percent of their health care benefits, whereas before they paid nothing. Walker's actions led to
unionized education employees leaving schools in protest and Democratic lawmakers fleeing
the state in order to prevent the plan from passing the legislature.

Today, Governor John Kasich of Ohio (R) faces a similar fight. Earlier this year, the state
legislature enacted reforms of public sector union benefits, but now the issue is up for repeal in
a statewide ballot initiative.

In New Jersey, Wisconsin, and Ohio, teachers unions have led the effort to beat back the
reforms, arguing that teachers are overworked and underpaid and taking issue with even
modest reforms to pension benefits as states grapple with budget deficits. But a new paper
by Jason Richwine, Ph.D. and Andrew Biggs addresses the question of teacher pay head on and
asks whether teachers today receive the right level of pay. They find that when benefits such as
tenure, health care, and pensions are considered, the typical public-school teacher is well-paid:
"We conclude that public-school-teacher salaries are comparable to those paid to similarly
skilled private-sector workers, but that more generous fringe benefits for public-school
teachers, including greater job security, make total compensation 52 percent greater than fair
market levels, equivalent to more than $120 billion overcharged to taxpayers each year."

Richwine and Biggs also find that when it comes to pay, some of the best teachers are being left
behind:

While union contracts help secure overcompensation for the average teacher, they may still
leave the most valuable teachers underpaid. School administrators need to be able to hire and
fire teachers as needed, basing personnel decisions on rigorous value-added evaluations and
setting pay based on prevailing market rates.

Case in point: the Farmington, Michigan, school district. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports
that in that district, the average gym teacher's salary is $75,035, whereas science teachers make
$68,483 on average. Likewise, in Harrison, Michigan, "science teachers earned $49,000 on
average while gym teachers averaged $62,000." Tom Gantert writes, "This is not unusual,
because school districts don't differentiate what a teacher does when considering
compensation, regardless of the district's educational needs. Teachers are paid on a single
salary schedule based on seniority and education level." And that single salary schedule is
negotiated in the union contract.

More than ever, high-quality teachers and ensuring that our children have the best education
possible is central to America's future. The best teachers should be rewarded, and schools
should have the freedom to make the right decisions to get the job done.

gravity / grvtl/ noun [noncount]




1 : a very serious quality or condition : the condition of being grave or serious They didn't seem to
understand the gravity [=seriousness] of the situation. He uttered the oath with proper gravity.
[=solemnity]

2 technical : the natural force that tends to cause physical things to move towards each other : the
force that causes things to fall towards the earth attempting to defy gravity the force of gravity


Uncle Sam Is No Venture Capitalist
It's yet another inauspicious announcement the Obama Administration didn't want you to
hear. Late on Friday, the White House announced that it ordered an independent reviewof
loans made by the Department of Energy to energy companies after months of weathering
criticism for its $528 million loan to the now-bankrupt Solyndra solar panel company.

The White House's independent investigation, though, isn't the only one in town. The
FBI raided Solyndra after it declared bankruptcy, and Congress is diving in with an
investigation of its own. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who has been a strong advocate of this
federal loan program, is set to testify before a congressional committee in mid-November on
his involvement in the scandal. And Heritage's Lachlan Markay reports that the House Energy
and Commerce Committee announced Friday that it will vote to subpoena a host of White
House documentsrelated to Solyndra, including messages from the President's Blackberry. The
White House, though, would not comment on whether it will comply with the subpoena.

Even the mainstream media is picking up on the story. On yesterday's Meet the Press, host
David Gregory asked White House senior adviser David Plouffe whether, in times of dire
economic straits, the government should be playing venture capitalist and trying to prop up
green energy industries. Plouffe's answer? In a nutshell, other governments are doing it, so we
should, too: "Listen, you see what's happening in other countries, you know, huge investments
in this clean energy sector. We have to do everything we can."

But as the motherly advice goes, just because all your friends are jumping off a bridge, that
doesn't mean you should do it, too. Unfortunately, this seems to be the logic the Obama
Administration is operating under, despite the weight of common sense that should otherwise
be holding it back: If the centrally-controlled economy of China does it, so shall America.

The latest proposal on the table is the Clean Energy Deployment Administration--a veritable
"green bank" that would provide loan guarantees to energy and automotive projects that
Washington deems worthy. And what it amounts to is a costly subsidy financed by the
taxpayers that invites the government to stick its finger into the private energy marketplace. If
the company defaults, the taxpayer is on the hook--just like in the case of Solyndra. The total
cost of the program? Ten billion dollars, with projected costs hitting an additional $1.1 billion
over the next five years.

So what about the Administration's argument that other countries are investing heavily in these
industries, so the United States must keep up? In a new paper, Heritage's Nicolas Loris
analyzes the green bank program and points out a harsh reality: When subsidies are removed
from these green energy industries, they collapse because they were developed in a bubble and
can't survive on their own. Loris explains that European countries--which pursued the path the
Obama Administration would like to go down--learned that lesson the hard way and are
making an exit:

When faced with a need for drastic budget cuts and job creation, Spain, the United Kingdom,
Germany, France, and the Czech Republic decided to reduce subsidies for green energy
programs, such as wind and solar energy. As a result, some industries have collapsed and
others are either collapsing or face difficult roads ahead.

Although each European country has taken a different approach to subsidize green
technologies, the results have been the same: Artificially propping up industries by reallocating
labor and capital toward uncompetitive projects, forcing higher energy prices on ratepayers,
and failing projects are costly to the economy and the taxpayer.

Europe has seen that picking winners and losers in green energy doesn't work and brings with
it a steep cost. The Obama Administration has seen it first hand with Solyndra, the hundreds of
millions of taxpayer dollars it wasted, and the 1,100 former employees now out of work. But for
some reason, even that first-hand experience can't convince them to stop playing with taxpayer
dollars as if it's their "Monopoly" money to burn.

Congress should refuse to expand loan guarantee programs and quit putting taxpayers on the
hook for an untold number of projects that could fail. The American people simply can't afford
to have Washington put them in the venture capital business.
uncanny / n knl/ adjective

comparative and superlative forms: more uncanny; most uncanny



: strange or unusual in a way that is surprising or difficult to understand She had
an uncanny resemblance to someone I had seen before. She has an uncanny sense of direction.
anuncanny ability to predict the weather

uncannily /nknli/ adverb He looks uncannily like a friend of mine.
an uncannily realistic painting


weird / wl d/ adjective

comparative and superlative forms: weirder, weirdest also more weird; most weird



: unusual or strange She listens to some really weird [=bizarre] music. My little brother
acts weird sometimes. I heard a weirdnoise. That's weirdI put my book down right here just a
few minutes ago and now it's gone. a weird-looking creature

weirdly adverb Why are you behaving so weirdly? a weirdlyentertaining movie

weirdness noun [noncount]

hoax / ho ks/ noun [count]

plural hoaxes



Meanings:
: an act that is meant to trick or deceive people The bomb threat is probably a hoax, but we should
still evacuate the building. She was the victim of a cruel hoax.

Learn about hoax as a verb.

Should America Carry the U.N.?
The 39-story United Nations headquarters stands on the banks of the East River in Manhattan.
But now the U.N. is planning the construction of a new building next door, with a price tag
pegged at $400 million -- and it could soar even higher. And since U.S. taxpayers pay 22
percent of the U.N. budget, the costs for that new building will come right out of your pocket,
leading to a very serious question: Just how far should the United States go in supporting the
U.N. and international organizations like it?

The issue of a new building in New York isn't the only U.N. story to make the headlines this
year. Take the issue of Palestine, which over the summer formally requested U.N. membership.
If Palestine were to succeed in its unilateral efforts, it would be detrimental to U.S. interests in
the region, isolate Israel, and deal a major setback to Israeli-Palestinian peace prospects. And
all of that would come at the hands of an international organization over which the United
States can exert strong influence but cannot control. If Palestine is granted member status at
the U.N., American interests--along with those of its allies--will be seriously harmed, requiring
an even greater vigilance and financial commitment to maintain leverage for U.S. priorities.
Again, the question is posed: When does our commitment to an international organization
become a problem?

In the latest installment of Heritage's "Understanding America" series, Brett Schaefer
addresses America's role as a member of international organizations. He explains that
conflicting interests will nearly always hinder forward movement on issues of peace, security,
and human rights -- but that doesnt negate the benefit of having a platform for achieving U.S.
interests.Schaefer further explains the risks of participation in these bodies:

Supporting international organizations is not without consequence. It is a burden, albeit
sometimes a burden worth bearing. But refusing to recognize the limitations of international
organizations and their potential to cause harm does a disservice to the American people.

Joining with friendly nations for a mutual benefit or avenue to problem solving can prove to be
valuable for the United States, but America's leaders must never sacrifice the greater American
interest for the sake of compromise. When does our commitment to an international
organization become a problem? Thats a question U.S. leaders must continually ask
themselves. Schaefer explains how the United States must seek to strike that balance:

If the United States is not to undermine its interests, it must abandon its default position of
supporting and engaging with international organizations regardless of their performance.
Instead, the U.S. must assess honestly whether each organization works, whether its mission is
focused and attainable and not dependent on good faith that does not exist, and whether it
advances U.S. interests.

International organizations are a tool to attain a goal, not an end in themselves. They are one
way for the U.S. to defend its interests and to seek to address problems in concert with other
nations. But they are not the only option, and their strengths and weaknesses should be clearly
understood.

America played a key role in the founding of the U.N., so our stake in its success is important.
But there are always risks in working with other nations -- and each international organization
relies at least in part on the good faith of those involved. However, each country's own
priorities come first, which is why American leadership must be eternally vigilant in assessing
the record and actions of participating countries.

That is true when it comes to issues such as America's financial commitment to the U.N.,
particularly as the organization considers constructing a costly new complex in Manhattan.
And that vigilance is even more imperative on issues of international security and the
promotion of ideals at odds with America's interests abroad, as is the case with Palestine's bid
for recognition in the U.N.

In a 1985 speech to the U.N. General Assembly, President Ronald Reagan addressed the U.N.'s
role head on--and the need for America to remain vigilant, noting, "The vision of the U.N.
Charter--to spare succeeding generations this scourge of war--remains real. It still stirs our soul
and warms our hearts, but it also demands of us a realism that is rock hard, clear-eyed, steady,
and sure--a realism that understands the nations of the United Nations are not united." Those
words hold true today and should guide America's understanding of its commitment to
international organizations but also the realities and limitations of its engagement.
on the spot idiom




Meanings:
1 : right away at the place that has been mentioned : immediately I offered him the job when he
came for an interview, and he accepted the offer on the spot. When the boss saw him stealing, he
was fired on the spot.

2 : at the place where something is happening She was on the spot reporting on the fire soon after
the alarm was sounded.

3 : in a difficult or dangerous position or situation The question put me on the spot.

4 British : in the same location without moving forward or backward running/jogging on the
spot [=(US) in place]

What is the American Idea?
What is the American idea? That all depends on whom you ask. According to President Barack
Obama, it's the notion that the federal government is the answer to America's problems, and
that through its intervention--by sheer force of spending--it can create a brighter future for all
Americans.

There's a different view, though, that has again found its voice in the past year. It's the idea that
America is at its best when its people are allowed to be free and produce, not thanks to the
government or even in spite of it, but on their own merit and initiative. Yesterday, those two
competing visions were on display--the former delivered in Denver by President Obama, and
the latter in Washington at The Heritage Foundation by House Budget Committee chairman
Paul Ryan (R-WI).

In Colorado, President Obama announced his latest plan to stimulate the economy--a student
loan giveaway paid for by the taxpayers. The President declared that, "When I wake up every
single morning, what I'm thinking about is how do we create an America in which you have
opportunity, in which anybody can make it if they try, no matter what they look like, no matter
where they come from, no matter what race, what creed, what faith." And, a few breaths
later, he said that there's only one way, only one force, that can achieve that outcome--the
federal government:

So the truth is the only way we can attack our economic challenges on the scale that's necessary
-- the only way we can put hundreds of thousands of people, millions of people, back to work is
if Congress is willing to cooperate with the executive branch and we are able to do some bold
action -- like passing the jobs bill. That's what we need.

In an auditorium in Washington, Ryan offered a different vision of the American Idea, and it's
one that celebrates freedom and prosperity, individual achievement and opportunity:

The American Idea belongs to all of us -- inherited from our nations Founders, preserved by
the countless sacrifices of our veterans, and advanced by visionary leaders, past and present.

What makes America exceptional -- what gives life to the American Idea -- is our dedication to
the self-evident truth that we are all created equal, giving us equal rights to life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness. And that means opportunity.

Ryan said that it is in times like these, when America is struggling with unemployment and
businesses are closing, that the American Idea is in jeopardy, that "America's commitment to
equality of opportunity is called into question." Unfortunately, he explained, President Obama
is responding to these challenges by giving in to the temptation of exploiting fear and envy by
embracing petty and trivial rhetoric, avoiding making tough decisions on spending and the
debt, and by attempting to score cheap political points instead of building consensus:

Instead of appealing to the hope and optimism that were hallmarks of his first campaign, he
has launched his second campaign by preying on the emotions of fear, envy, and resentment.

This has the potential to be just as damaging as his misguided policies. Sowing social unrest
and class resentment makes America weaker, not stronger. Pitting one group against another
only distracts us from the true sources of inequity in this country -- corporate welfare that
enriches the powerful, and empty promises that betray the powerless.

Ryan points to the President's policy decisions as evidence of damaging class warfare: higher
taxes on the "rich" to pay for more failed stimulus spending; the EPA's punishment of
disfavored yet commercially competitive sources of energy, while doling out cash to politically
favored alternatives; the National Labor Relations Board threatening hundreds of jobs by suing
a company for politically motivated reasons; and granting Obamacare waivers to politically
connected firms and unions, all while the rest of America wonders whether they will lose their
health care coverage.

All of this, Ryan says, points America toward a future where equality of outcome is favored over
equality of opportunity, and where "a class of bureaucrats and connected crony capitalists
trying to rise above the rest of us, call the shots, rig the rules, and preserve their place atop
society."

In the House, Ryan has helped lead Congress to pursue a series of policies that promote an
American Idea far different than the President's. It involves spending within our means,
reforming the tax code, and enacting meaningful entitlement reforms. Meanwhile, he points
out, it has been more than 900 days since the President's party has passed a budget in the
Senate. Yet still we hear the steady drumbeat from the White House calling for more taxes and
spending--none of which has mustered support within either chamber in Congress.

While the President crosses the country, America is at a crossroads. Should it head toward
bigger government in the fruitless pursuit of equal outcomes or restrain government so that
equal opportunity can flourish? For the sake of the American Idea that the Founders
envisioned, let's hope our leaders make the right choice.

Watch the full video and read the full text of Ryan's speech atFoundry.org.
adapt / dpt/ verb

inflected forms: adapts; adapted; adapting



1 : to change your behavior so that it is easier to live in a particular place or situation [no object]
When children go to a different school, it usually takes them a while to adapt. usually followed
by to These fish all adapt easily to colder water. She hasadapted to college life quite easily. [with
object] She has adapted herself to college life quite easily.

2 [with object] : to change (something) so that it functions better or is better suited for a purpose
The teachers adapted [=modified] the science curriculum so that students of all abilities will benefit
from it. The camera has been adapted for underwater use. The clock was adapted to run on
batteries.

3 [with object] : to change (a movie, book, play, etc.) so that it can be presented in another form
He adapted the novel for the stage. [=he rewrote the novel as a play] The movie was adapted from
the book of the same title. adapting the movie for television

The Serious Risks of the Russian Reset
President Obama may believe that Americas reset policy with Russia is the correct move to
cover important foreign policy bases, but the policy is deeply flawed. It puts the United States
at a disadvantage we cant afford and forces us to lay aside fundamental American principles of
human liberty.

The reset concessions are simply not worth the exchange of empty promises from Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev, who is merely a talking head for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
As Heritages Ariel Cohen & Kim Holmes wrote recently in a memo on U.S.Russia Relations,
Putin would like nothing less than a Soviet-like superpower prestige and status through forced
nuclear equality with Washington.

The large reset payoff requires America put it all on the line by cutting U.S. strategic nuclear
forces and engaging in missile defense talks with Russia, in addition to abandoning missile
defense deployment in Poland and the Czech Republic and keeping quiet about political
freedom violations running rampant throughout Russia. America may never have won the Cold
War 22 years ago with policies such as these.

It is imperative that America lead with the cause of freedom and justice when dealing with
Russia, or any other nation for that matter. In Heritages Understanding America
series,Matthew Spalding explains that the United States was founded and thrives on
universal principles that appeal to a higher standard. Such universal principles of freedom
should be the foundation of Americas foreign policy strategynot an afterthought.

Yesterday at a Heritage Foundation conference focused on the reset policy, House Speaker
John Boehner (ROH) recalledthe international leadership that prompted America to victory
in the Cold War not so long ago. He applauded President Ronald Reagan and British Prime
Minister Margaret Thatcher as two who quite simply, loved freedom[and] made their
feelings well-known, contagious, as if no one or no force could stand in their way.

Boehner urged America not forget what life was like for the Soviets before these two warriors of
freedom refused to stand for it. As Boehner said, freedom most inspires those who remember
life without it.

While the Obama Administration may believe the reset policy as it stands is necessary, the
deal raises a lot of red flags. In his paper, Cohen urges that America must not tolerate Russian
mischief or fail to make its priorities of freedom loud and clear.

As Boehner said, instead of negotiating with Russia, Washington should call its bluff
Publicly, forcefully, frequently. As the leader of the free world, America has a responsibility to
remain in control and end the idea that it is leading from behind when it comes to Russia.

In a recent memo, Cohen explained why the Obama Administration must stop its policy of
please Moscow and push Russia to reset its own policies. He writes:

Moscow has continuously promoted in word and deed the idea that there is or should be a
multipolar world order that constrains U.S. foreign policies. A reset policy that ignores
Russias global efforts to undermine the U.S. recalls the ill-fated dtente of the 1970s.

As experts at yesterdays conference attested, the risks involved in Americas reset relations
with Russia are many. Foreign policy dealings with any nationespecially Russiamust be
guided by Americas Founding values first and foremost. The consequences of doing otherwise
will be great.
commercial /k m l/ adjective




1 : related to or used in the buying and selling of goods and
services commercial property/regulations/vehicles a commercialairliner The city wanted to
encourage commercial rather than residential development along the river. [=the city wanted
businesses rather than apartments or houses to be built along the river] a commercial and
industrial city [=a city with many businesses and factories]

2 a [more commercial; most commercial] : concerned with earning money Their music is
too commercial. commercialartists

2 b [more commercial; most commercial] always used before a noun : relating to or based on the
amount of profit that something earns The play was a commercial success but an artistic failure.
[=the play earned a lot of money but did not show artistic skill]

3 always used before a noun : paid for by advertisers commercialtelevision/broadcasting The
average American sees and hears thousands of commercial messages each day.

commercially adverb He produced several commerciallysuccessful films.
commercially available software The album did well commercially. [=the album earned a lot of
money; many people bought the album]

Learn about commercial as a noun.

We Can't Wait Either, Mr. President
Take a stroll through your neighborhood Occupy Wall Street protest--whether it's in New York
or Chicago, Detroit or San Francisco--and you're likely to see a recurring theme emblazoned
across cardboard signs: redistribute wealth from the 1 percent to the 99 percent, all in the name
of fairness, whether or not it makes good policy. Or if you want to hear that message without
fighting the crowds, you could save yourself some time, turn on the TV, and tune in to
President Barack Obama's latest campaign swing across America, this time titled "We Can't
Wait."

"I'm here to say that we can't wait for an increasingly dysfunctional Congress to do its job.
Where they wont act, I will," President Obama proclaimed in Las Vegas, Nevada. "There is no
excuse for the games and gridlock we've seen in Washington. Where we don't have to wait for
Congress, we're just going to go ahead and act on our own." The actions the President is
proposing? More money for "underwater" mortgages and a yet-to-be-announced student loan
initiative.

There is no hiding the ball in the President's populist pitch--and that ball is Obama's desire to
circumvent Congress and enact policies that appeal to his far-left, big-government base,
regardless of the will of the people or their representatives in the House and Senate. Obama's
problem is that he failed to convince the American people--and his own party--to pass his latest
stimulus plan (a.k.a., "the American Jobs Act"), and now he's headed into an election season
with 14 million jobless Americans, a 9.1 percent unemployment rate, stagnant economic growth
as far as the eye can see, and nothing to show for it.

Entirely frustrated by his inability to ram his big spending plan through an unwilling Congress,
the President now says that "we can't wait" for Congress to act. What he's missing, though, is
that Congress isn't acting because the American people don't want their representatives in
Washington to go along with Obama's spend-more-tax-more scheme. It seems that the only
audience that might be receptive to the President's message is the protesters who are camping
out in solid opposition to the capitalist system, advocating for the government to bail them out,
just like it bailed out the banks and the automakers. It now looks like the President is about to
oblige and that the "we" he's referring to is the protesters and him.

Yesterday in San Francisco, the city's Board of Supervisors held a hearing in which Occupy San
Francisco activists urged the board to adopt policies that would prompt big banks to modify
mortgages for struggling homeowners, as Bloomberg reports. The President's latest proposal
doesn't look much different. It would refinance mortgages of homeowners who owe more on
than their houses than they are currently worth. The cost of the refinanced loans will be borne
by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which means that American taxpayers will be on the hook for
the cost. What's worse, this plan likely won't be any more successful than the Administration's
previous attempts to shore up the mortgage industry.

It seems that the President is about to address another concern of the "Occupy" protesters--
student loans. Many of the activists are complaining about their student loans and the cost of
college education and are demanding that the government pay their debts and/or provide free
tuition. Though we don't yet know what the President will propose, we do know that student
loan forgiveness and federally subsidized loans are not the way to reduce the cost of education.
Heritage's Lindsey Burke explains:

It is unfair to forgive student loans on the backs of waitresses and construction workers, and
the nearly three-quarters of Americans who didn't graduate college. Increases in federal
subsidies or student loan bailouts shift the burden of paying for college from the student - the
person directly benefiting from college - to the millions of Americans who did not graduate
from college.

Burke also points out that federal subsidies have not reduced college costs. While those
subsidies have increased 475 percent, the cost of attending college has increased 439 percent
since 1982. As students have more purchasing power, Burkewrites, colleges are incentivized to
raise tuition. "It's a vicious cycle that does nothing to mitigate the cost of attending college,"
Burke says.

But does bad policy matter to the President? Is his end game to improve America's economic
situation or to appeal to his base? Is he taking cues from Occupy Wall Street protesters as he
acts unilaterally to enact tried-and-failed policies? One thing is certain: Regardless of the
answer, America cannot wait for President Obama to stop circumventing Congress.
Obama's Iraq Failure
To hear President Barack Obama describe the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, you'd think
it was a long-anticipated political victory, the fruition of a promise he made when campaigning
for the White House. But his announcement last week that American troops in Iraq will return
by the end of the year is a result of a serious Obama Administration failure that will undermine
U.S. security interests in the Middle East.

Speaking on Friday from the West Wing, President Obama wasted no time in reminding the
American people that, "As a candidate for President, I pledged to bring the war in Iraq to a
responsible end," and that as commander in chief, he was making good on that promise in time
for the holidays. What the President didn't mention, though, was the story behind the headline-
-that the Administration tried and failed to negotiate with the Iraqi government to extend the
U.S. troop presence there in order to ensure the country's security and stability. The sticking
point for the negotiations was immunity for U.S. troops in Iraq. Heritage's James
Phillips explains:

Up until Friday, the Obama Administration had insisted that negotiations were on track for
extending the presence of a small residual force that U.S. and Iraqi military leaders agreed were
necessary to support Iraqi operations in key areas such as counterterrorism, air support,
intelligence gathering, logistics, and training. But Friday, in a hard-hitting article posted
on The Cable blog, Josh Rogin reported that the Administration had bungled the negotiations.

Those negotiations stalled, Phillips writes, because Iraqi political leaders didn't want to risk the
political consequences of extending immunity for U.S. troops. And given the Obama
Administration's eagerness to withdraw from Iraq and unwillingness to confront Iran they
didn't want to put their political necks on the line. Now, as a result, U.S. security interests will
suffer--bilateral U.S.Iraqi cooperation in fighting al-Qaeda in Iraq and radical pro-Iranian
Shia militias will be limited, and the ability to contain Iran will be weakened. Senator John
McCain (R-AZ) criticized the Administration on Sunday, calling the withdrawal decisions "a
serious mistake," and faulted the White House for its failure to negotiate with the Iraqi
government:

There was never really serious negotiations between the administration and the Iraqis. I believe
we could have negotiated an agreement. And I'm very, very concerned about increased Iranian
influence in Iraq.

In the wake of its decision, the Obama Administration is already anticipating the consequences
of the power vacuum it has created. In a series of interviews on Sunday, Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton warned Iran that even though troops will be withdrawn, the U.S. will still
maintain a presence in the region. "Iran would be badly miscalculating if they did not look at
the entire region and all of our presence in many countries in the region, both in bases, in
training, with NATO allies, like Turkey."

The reality, though, is that the United States has weakened its presence at a time when the
region can least afford it. And withdrawing U.S. troops is a stronger statement than any words
that can be broadcast on Sunday morning talk shows. Heritage's James Carafano explains that
the White House's decision is the mark of an Administration in retreat--and why this retreat is
incredibly dangerous:

With Syria in turmoil, Iran on the march, a more isolated Israel, and Turkeys ever-more
ambivalent policies, now is the worst time to see a diminished U.S. influence in ensuring
continued progress in Iraq. A total troop pullout will leave Iraqi security forces much more
vulnerable to terrorism, sectarian conflict, and Iranian meddling, and it will leave them much
less capable of battling al-Qaeda in Iraq and pro-Iranian Shia militias.

No American wants to see U.S. troops stationed in the Middle East and placed in harm's way
longer than they have to be. But unfortunately, their premature withdrawal from Iraq could
jeopardize the progress that so many American men and women fought and died for. While the
President now has a new talking point for the campaign trail, it comes at the expense of
national security interests. And it is the Obama Administration's policies and bungled
negotiations that are to blame.
instant / nstnt/ adjective




1 : becoming something very quickly The movie was an instanthit/sensation/success. He
became an instant celebrity with the publication of his first novel. Her trip made her
an instant expert on the region. [=it made her believe that she knew everything about the region]

2 : happening or done without delay : immediate We got aninstant response from the company.
The Internet provides instantaccess to an enormous amount of information. They took
aninstant dislike to each other. [=they immediately disliked each other] He
expects instant gratification.

3 of food : able to be made very quickly : partially prepared by the manufacturer so that final
preparation is quick and easy Is this coffee instant or regular? instant pudding/rice

ban / bn/ verb [with object]

inflected forms: bans; banned; banning



1 : to forbid people from using (something) : to say that something cannot be used or done The
school banned that book for many years. The city has banned smoking in all public buildings.
The drug was banned a decade ago. The use of cell phones is bannedin the restaurant.

2 : to forbid (someone) from doing or being part of something usually followed by from
They banned [=barred] him from entering the building. = He was banned from entering the building.
She was banned from the team because of drug use.
prevent /pr vnt/ verb [with object]

inflected forms: prevents; prevented; preventing



1 : to stop (something) from happening or existing Seatbelts in cars often prevent serious injuries.
Can exercise and a healthy diet prevent heart disease? The accident could have beenprevented.

2 : to make (someone or something) not do something : to stop (someone or something) from doing
something He grabbed my arm to prevent me from falling. Bad
weather prevented us fromleaving. How are you going to prevent him from finding out about the
party? often used without from in British English Her injury will prevent her competing this year.

preventable /prvntbl/ adjective Many of these deaths were preventable. [=avoidable]
a preventable disease

preventer noun, plural preventers [count] She applied a rustpreventer to the metal frame.
object /b kt/ verb

inflected forms: objects; objected; objecting



1 [no object] : to disagree with something or oppose something No one objected when the
paintings were removed. (law) Your honor, I object. That question is misleading. often
followed by to A number of people objected to the proposed changes. Many people object to [=do
not like] the amount of violence on television.

2 [with object] : to say (something that explains why you oppose something or disagree) We cant
buy that chair, he objected. It wont fit in the car. often followed by that He objected that the
chair was too big to fit in the car.

objector /bkt/ noun, plural objectors [count]

Learn about object as a noun

Biden and Reid's "Jobs Bill" Farce
If you listen to Vice President Joe Biden, the most effective way to prevent rape and murder is
more federal stimulus spending. In the Vice President's defense, at least this is a new
argument, considering the othersjobs created, bridges built, energy generatedhave all
miserably failed. But this desperate argument, while fresh, is also incorrect.

The Vice President made the remarks first in a speech on Tuesday at the University of
Pennsylvania, saying additional stimulus would put police on the streets and lower crime,
adding that he wished conservative lawmakers "had some notion of what it was like to be on
the other side of a gun, or [to have] a 200-pound man standing over you, telling you to submit."
On Wednesday in Flint, Michigan, Biden doubled down on those comments.

Biden was confronted on video by Human Events reporter Jason Mattera and was asked: "And
if the Republicans don't pass this bill, then rape will continue to rise?" Biden angrily
responded: "Murder will continue to rise, rape will continue to rise, all crimes will continue to
rise." White House press secretary Jay Carney gave President Obama's blessing to this message
in yesterday's press briefing, even as The Washington Post's "fact checker" gave Biden "four
pinocchios," calling the claim "absurd."

Biden also has the blessing of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (DNV) who scheduled a
vote yesterday on the $35 billion stimulus bill the Vice President was pushing, which was paid
for with a new tax hike on wealthy Americans.

That bill was defeated with bipartisan opposition last night, with Senator Ben Nelson (DNE)
saying: "I don't think you increase taxes for new spending," and Senator Mark Pryor (DAR)
saying: "I'm not sure federal taxpayers should be paying for teachers and first responders.
That's traditionally a state and local matter."

Ironically, as conservative commentator Kevin Eder noted, the same liberal pundits decrying
the failed vote for more federal police funding were only moments earlier celebrating the
Occupy Wall Street protests that have so far created hundreds of arrests, chased cops out of
public parks, and vandalized squad cars.

Defending this latest stimulus gambit, Senator Reid painted arosy picture of the economy: "It's
very clear that private sector jobs have been doing just fine. It's the public sector jobs where
we've lost huge numbers, and that's what this legislation is all about."

Certainly the millions of jobless private-sector workers across the nation would disagree with
Reid that our 9.1 percent unemployment rate is "just fine."

As Heritage's James Sherk explains:

Senator Reid is not just mistaken; he has his facts exactly backwards. If the recession has barely
touched one sector of the economy, it is government. Since the recession began in December
2007 the private sector shed 6.3 million net jobs, while government payrolls are down by just
392,000. That amounts to a 5.4 percent drop in private sector employment, while government
employment has slipped only one-third as much (1.8 percent). Education-related government
jobs have fallen even less, down 1.4 percent. Relatively few government employees are
unemployed. Only 4.7 percent of government employees cannot find jobshalf the national
unemployment rate. Government employees havethe lowest jobless rate of any industry.

Unfortunately, none of this has anything to do with jobs. It is entirely about Obama, Biden, and
Reid's liberal addiction to spending. Unable to convince Americans, or even their fellow
Democratic lawmakers, that another half-trillion-dollar stimulus paid for with tax hikes was a
good idea, they're trying to slip some of it through the backdoor by building sympathetic, but
false, narratives.

Teachers, policemen, and firemen are certainly sympathetic. They're suffering in the Obama
economy as well. But federalizing this local workforce is not the right antidote, nor would this
bill achieve what they promise it will.

Let's not pretend that more federal education spending is needed. Since 1970, school
enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools has increased just 7 percent, while staff
hires have increased 83 percent. As Heritage's Lindsey Burkeexplains, "On a per-pupil basis,
federal spending on education has nearly tripled since the 1970s." And Washington has almost
no measurable progress to point to after all of that spending.

Likewise, Burke says: "In the 1950s, there were approximately 2.36 teachers for every non-
teacher in a school district. Today, in our nation's school systems, that ratio is closer to 1 to 1."
The administrative counterparts are necessary to keep up with all of the new federal red tape
being passed down with the money.

And thus explains the problem with the federal government hiring local cops, firemen, and
teachers. The money is eithershort term, leaving state and local governments with either huge
holes to fill later and merely delaying unavoidable layoffs, or the "temporary" money becomes a
permanent growth in federal spending since future Congresses won't draw it back.

Take COPS. The "Community Oriented Policing Services" enacted by President Bill Clinton in
1994 was supposedly temporary and would put police on the streets to help stop crime.
Between 1996 and 2001, nearly nine times more money was spent on this initiative by Clinton
than on counterterrorism by the FBI.

The program, still alive today, has since shelled out billions of dollars to such crime-ridden
communities as Beverly Hills, California, and Wellesley, Massachusetts, with little impact on
crime rates, according to multiple studies by Heritage's David Muhlhausen.

The communities that do hire new police can't sustain them without constant federal aid, but
more often, the money is spent on existing workforce or funds the type of congressional
earmarks programs that make you cringe. And now even Biden is implicitly arguing that this
program failed, since he now claims we need billions more to do the exact same thingbut with
new rhetoric, a new name, and a new tax.

Biden and Reid's goal is simple: Tax and spend. It's the only idea they have. And this time
they're using tasteless scare tactics to try to achieve it. Taking money out of the economy so
Biden and Reid (who is now 900-plus days without even passing a budget) can redistribute it is
simply a losing proposition.
cross the line idiom




: to go beyond what is proper or acceptable Her criticism crossed the line from helpful to just plain
hurtful. The magazine crossed the line when they printed the nude photos.

Steve Jobs and American Exceptionalism
Steve Jobs, who died yesterday at the too-young age of 56, was a living refutation of all what
liberals constantly tell us about our country -- that we're falling behind others and live now in a
"post-American world," as one of Barack Obama's favorite books puts it in its title.

As anyone who's ever handled an Apple product or had his life improved by the technological
innovations our system has produced in just a decade (that means all of us) will tell you, Jobs
and innovators like him epitomize that immeasurable quality the left somehow finds most
abject -- American exceptionalism.

The meme of the left is that drudgery and mediocrity is not just our future but probably also
our just desserts--for being too imperialistic, consumerist, wasteful, patriarchal, or what have
you. (For an inexhaustible list of all our ills and sins, please check with the mob gathered at the
"Occupy Wall Street" protest.) One should compare this deadened vision with the wonders
Jobs wrought.

Apple Computer, the company Jobs founded at the age of 21 along with his friend Steve
Wozniak, was valued at the close of business yesterday at $350 billion and some change, more
than $100 billion ahead of Microsoft. General Electric, another American giant, weighed in at
less than half the price, $161 billion. Ford, GM and Volkswagen? Respectively, $40 billion, $35
billion and $42 billion. That should give some idea of where we are in the

21st century.

That beauty contest, how much a company is worth, is a result of decisions made by millions of
investors voting with people's savings (that is, for most of us, the sweat of our brow and our
hedge against an uncertain future). Investors voted for Jobs' company because consumers
loved its products, and consumers bought Apple products not because they were ordered to do
so by central planners but because they saw them as magic.

From computing to music to journalism, Jobs changed the way the world did its business and
leisure. Very little of what we do today has not been impacted somehow by Jobs and his
company. He certainly changed my life from my first Apple III with floppy discs almost 30
years ago, costing about $6000 and possessing a small fraction of the capabilities of my
streamlined new iPad 2, all at less than 10 percent of the cost of that early dinosaur.

Macs, with their trademark coloring and sleek design, transformed the way people came to see
computers, from gizmos only nerds understood or liked to things almost as organic as the
partly bitten apples of the ever-present logos. Creative designing and thinking flowed naturally
from a Mac, powering the creativity and productivity that have become the hallmark of the
American economy, our present problems notwithstanding. In music, Jobs changed the
industry by taking it digital.

As for journalism and reading in general, we have now gone back to where we started: the
biblical tablet. The elegant slab we take with us wherever we go can do the same for us and take
us, no matter where we are, anywhere in the universe our imagination wants to visit.

All this was the result of the happy coincidence of genius in an individual and a system. Jobs
was an individual with special DNA, no question. But this half-Arab boy who was given up for
adoption at birth and went on to drop out of college was able to transform the lives of
individuals across the world because he lived and worked in this country.

The genius of the American system is comprised of the rule of law, respect for private property
and the freedom of the individual to strive to be better than himself and his neighbor and reap
the rewards that come from his innate abilities and effort. All of these and many other liberties
are safeguarded in our Constitution. It is all part of what makes us an exceptional country.

This is not to say that we don't have problems. We are indeed falling behind -- not behind other
countries but behind our promise and potential. Our government spends too much, tries to tell
us how to run our private lives, and ties down in red tape the genius that brought you Apple.
The great and sometimes cacophonous debate we are having in our country at the moment
results from the fact that Americans have finally woken up to the threat our system confronts
and are doing something about it.

This is not what you hear. Daily we are told by our government leaders, the media, and
academia that we are as exceptional only in the way that is every other country on the U.N. roll,
from Albania to Zimbabwe, is exceptional. We are told that we have to manage our decline as a
power and that the great debate over ideas that we're having is evidence that "our politics is
broken." Typically, a columnist from a Manhattan paper has titled his most recent book That
Used to Be Us, a line, we're sad to say, that came straight from a speech by Barack Obama.

This is nonsense. Steve Jobs may have given to liberal causes and politicians throughout his
life, but his life proved the existence of the American Dream. As anyone who's Googled
something in her iPad and then Tweeted about it will tell you, Steve Jobs and those like him
symbolize American Exceptionalism every day.
dimension /d mn n/ noun [count]

plural dimensions



1 : the length, width, height, or depth of something : a measurement in one direction (such as the
distance from the ceiling to the floor in a room) She carefully measured eachdimension of the
room. The rooms dimensions [=its length, width, and height] were surprisingly small.

2 : the amount or number of things that something affects or influences usually plural We
underestimated the dimensions[=extent, range] of this problem. the
vast dimensions[=magnitude, scope] of the disaster

3 : a part of something There are many dimensions [=aspects] to the problem. The
social/political/religious dimensions of the problem must also be taken into account. The more
powerful engine gives this car a (whole) new dimension. [=makes the car very different]

dimensional /dmnnl/ adjective usually used in combination a multi-
dimensional problem

What is the President's Constitutional Role in Securing
Our Nation? In First-Ever Event, Three Former Attorneys
General Answer

Since 9/11indeed, long before thendebate has raged about what role the United
States Constitution gives the President, specifically regarding waging war.
Does the President have the primary direction of national security decisions," as John
Yoo argues, "with Congress retaining ample authority to check executive power?
Or, as others have asserted, did the Framers intend Congress to play the
predominant role in setting national security and foreign policy, with legislative action
overriding presidential decision-making? What role, if any, should the Courts play in
the conduct of national security policy?
Join us on October 11 at noon (Eastern time) as we turn our attention to The
Constitution and the Common Defense. Whether you join us live or watch online
via our free webcast, be sure to RSVP.
This landmark event continues our popular Preserve the Constitution Series. Dont
miss this opportunity to hear live fromthree former United States Attorneys
General: Edwin Meese III, who served under President Reagan, along with President
Bush's Attorneys General John Ashcroft andMichael Mukasey.
Arguably more than any other armed conflict, the events of September 11, 2001 tested
the Presidents constitutional authority to wage war on behalf of the country.
Whether the issue was the capture and treatment of detainees, interrogation
techniques, surveillance, the Geneva Conventions, wiretapping, Guantanamo, or the
role of the courts during war time, this conflict unleashed a public debate regarding the
role of the President during wartime.
Who ensures Americas national security? What role does the Attorney General play in
interpreting the Constitution and advising the Commander-in-Chief during
wartime? And has that role evolved over time, and why?
Join us for this historic event to hear three former U.S. Attorneys General discuss their
views on the Constitution as it pertains to Presidential power and the role of Congress
and the Court during wartime.
Breakthrough in Georgia Signals Good News
for Civil Society
Yesterday, The Heritage Foundation and Georgia Family Council co-hosted an event in Atlanta,
Georgia, illustrating the profoundly negative consequences of social breakdown in the state and
offering some promising solutions to restore human flourishing. At the symposium Breakthrough
Georgia: Fighting Poverty and Restoring Society, Heritage Senior Research Fellow Robert
Rectorpresented Georgia-specific research on child poverty and the role marriage can play in
reducing poverty rates.
Today, over 45 percent of births in Georgia are to unmarried mothers. The lack of social and
financial stability that accompanies those single-parent households greatly increases their chances
of experiencing poverty.
One in four single-parent households are poor in Georgia, while only 7 percent of married families
experience poverty. A child living in a single-parent home is five times more likely to experience
poverty than a child in a married-parent household; marriage can drop the probability of child
poverty by 84 percent.
Very little information is available to at-risk communities on the benefits of matrimony. Rector
suggested that community leaders and policymakers correct this information deficit by promoting
the social and economic benefits of marriage in schools, reducing marriage penalties in welfare
programs, and promoting life-planning and healthy relationship programs to those in communities
where healthy marriage has almost disappeared.
Effectively addressing decades of social breakdown cant happen overnightand it wont happen
without the important work of families, churches, and civic organizations. Thats why Georgia Family
Council introduced a new initiative yesterday that will combine both effective public policy and
community-based solutions to relieve suffering and promote human thriving. We want more
Georgians doing well, Randy Hicks, President of Georgia Family Council, explained, and we
believe theres a way to get there.
He outlined the multi-year Breakthrough Georgia initiative that will identify and develop specific
policy proposals and grassroots solutions to overcoming the barriers to human flourishing in the
state. Specifically, Breakthrough Georgia will produce policy and community recommendations that
will reflect the dignity and personal responsibility of the individual, promote family formation and
self-sufficiency, and respect and protect the role of community and faith-based groups in meeting
the needs of people.
The challenges created by social breakdown and the collapse of marriage are great; but the
promise of effective policies and community-based solutions to alleviate suffering, promote
wellbeing, and foster self-sufficiency is even greater.
The End of Qadhafi
Former Libyan dictator Muammar Qadhafi is dead from wounds he suffered during his capture
near his hometown of Sirte, according to Reuters reports. If the news turns out to be true, it
would be great news for the people of Libya who have long suffered under Qadhafi's tyrannical
rule and who have waged a months-long civil war to end the decades-old dictatorship.
However, just as the death of Saddam Hussein did not mark the end of hostilities in Iraq and
the death of Osama bin Laden did not spell the end of al-Qaeda, so it is also true that much
work remains to ensure that Libya's future is secure.

Qadhafi was reportedly captured in his hometown of Sirte amid news that the Transitional
National Council (TNC) finally took control of the city after weeks of fighting. Reuters reports:

National Transitional Council official Abdel Majid Mlegta told Reuters earlier that Gaddafi was
captured and wounded in both legs at dawn on Thursday as he tried to flee in a convoy which
NATO warplanes attacked.

"He was also hit in his head," the official said. "There was a lot of firing against his group and
he died."

Celebrations erupted in the capital city of Tripoli, and Libyan Information Minister Mahmoud
Shammam said, "It's a great victory for the Libyan people." But Heritage's James Carafano
notes that the work is just beginning for Libya's government:

Libya's new government has a long to-do list. It can only be hoped that disarmament and
reintegration goes quickly and the new government focuses on civil society, economic growth,
and keeping out extremist influences.

In August, Libya's rebel forces took control of Libya and effectively ended the Qadhafi
dictatorship. The TNC went on to kill or capture key members of Qadhafi's regime. However,
though the TNC has shown that it is capable of maintaining domestic political legitimacy and
authority, it is now responsible for an orderly transition to a new representative government.

The war has left Libya's population divided according to political, tribal, and local factions. The
U.S. should work with the TNC to make sure that Islamist extremists seeking to hijack the
democratic process are not successful, and it should be prepared to assist the TNC in restoring
the rule of law. And Heritage's James Phillips writes that securing the Libyan army's dangerous
weaponry, including anti-aircraft missiles known asMANPADS (Man-Portable Air Defense
Systems), should also be a high priority.

Though the end of the civil war in Libya appears to be near, now the work of reconstruction
begins. Hopefully, Libya can form a new democracy as it clears away the rubble of the Qadhafi
regime.
guilty / g ltl/ adjective

comparative and superlative forms: guiltier; guiltiest also more guilty; most guilty



1 : responsible for committing a crime or doing something bad or wrong Do you think he's innocent
or guilty? Will the defendant plead guilty or not guilty? Police have not been able to identify
theguilty party. [=the person who committed the crime] The state will prove that the defendants
are guilty as charged. [=that they committed the crime they are accused of committing] (informal)
They're (as) guilty as sin. [=completely/very guilty] often followed by of The jury found
her guilty of manslaughter. The only thing I'm guilty of is bad taste. sometimes used informally
in a joking way Did you plan this party? Guilty as charged. [=yes, I did]

2 a : showing that you know you have done something bad or wrong The children
exchanged guilty looks. He was acting like someone with a guilty conscience.

2 b : feeling bad because you have done something bad or wrong or because you believe you have
done something bad or wrong There's no need to feel guilty about it. Chocolate is one of
myguilty pleasures. [=something that I enjoy even though eating it causes feelings of guilt]

A Story Worth Telling: Justice Joseph Story and the
Proper Role of Judges


The Supreme Courts term has barely begun, yet speculation already abounds as to
when the Court will hear and how it will decide politically controversial cases such as
Obamacare, racial preferences, immigration, and same-sex marriage.
Court watchers offer their predictions as to the outcomes of the cases, but many (if not
most) simply presume that the justices will decide the cases based upon what they
individually believe to be good policy, rather than based upon any requirement in the
law.
Liberal activist judges have given the public reason to believe judging is just policy
work conducted in robes. Liberal Justice William Brennan famously said, With five
votes you can do anything around herefive being a majority of the Supreme Court.
And liberal Ninth Circuit Judge Stephen Reinhardt, who issues such radically activist
decisions that they are frequently reversed by even the most liberal Supreme Court
justices, boasts about how many of his extreme opinions slip through unreversed by
noting that our nation's highest Court cant catch them all.
This is not how judges are supposed to conduct themselves.Attorney General Edwin
Meese explains the proper role of a judge in deciding constitutional questions: Those
who framed the Constitution chose their words carefully; they debated at great length
the most minute points. The language they chose meant something. It is incumbent
upon the Court to determine what that meaning was.
Appointed to the Supreme Court by James Madison, Justice Joseph
Story understood American law from this standpoint. The Center for Legal and Judicial
Studies at The Heritage Foundation honors the legacy of Justice Story and his ideals
of judicial restraint with the Joseph Story Distinguished Lecture, which is part of
our Preserve the Constitution Series. Past speakers have included Judge Robert
Bork, University of Virginia Professor John Harrison, and Judge A. Raymond
Randolph. This year, we are honored to host Judge Alice Batchelder, Chief Judge of
the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
What if Supreme Court justices did not confine themselves to any established rules,
but instead determined the reason and spirit of the Constitution according to what
appears right to them? Judge Batchelder will explore this question in-depth, using
examples of key cases from recent history.
At 5:30pm (Eastern time) TODAY, click here to watch this years Joseph Story
Distinguished Lecture. This important speech will also be available online at that link
tomorrow by noon.
The Backdoor Attempt to Rewrite No Child Left
Behind
Remember when then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said of Obamacare that Congress will
"have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it"? Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) is now
taking that approach with his attempt to revamp education in America. And just as that
strategy was a terrible idea for health care, it's the wrong move for education, as well.

The Senate today will begin the markup of Harkin's 860-page proposal to rewrite the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), now known as No Child Left Behind
(NCLB). The proposal amounts to more new regulations and red tape that would be layered on
to local school districts, maintaining the status quo of Washington-centric education reform.
And the trouble is that the Senate hasn't even had time to parse through the proposed
legislation, let alone hear from those whom it seeks to control. In an exclusive interview
yesterday with The Heritage Foundation, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) explained his frustrations
with the process:

The bill is 868 pages and we got it yesterday, and I talked to committee members today and
said this isn't the way government should work. I thought we'd have hearings. We've had zero
hearings on No Child Left Behind. I would think we'd have several significant hearings...Bring
in the teachers, bring in the superintendents, bring in the principals and find out more about it.
We've had none of that, and I think it's rotten.

Paul's solution to the problem? He has promised to introduce 100 amendments, including a
complete repeal of NCLB, in order to slow down the committee and force them to take time to
consider everything that's in Harkin's proposal.

And that's with good reason. The federal government's heavy-handed, top-down approach in
education hasn't delivered results, as Heritage's Lindsey Burke writes:

This represents the ninth such bet since the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965,
and none has proved successful. NCLB, the most recent reauthorization of ESEA, has left local
school districts crying out for more freedom from federal red tape and to have their educational
decision-making authority restored.

Burke explains that among the proposals are codifying Obama Administration education
priorities, such as the "equitable distribution" of effective teachers among schools and
replacing existing federal standards with requirements that states prove they have "college- and
career-ready" standards (giving Washington more control over the content taught in local
schools). Meanwhile, any state that wants to receive money under Title 1 of the bill--the largest
source of federal funding for K-12 education--will have to go along with the Obama
Administration's new Common Core standards regime.

More federal involvement in education is not the way to help America's students succeed. It
hasn't worked in the past, and there's no reason to believe it will work again. Meanwhile,
ramming through an 860-page proposal that was authored behind closed doors isn't the way to
transparently reform education, either. Burke says there's a better way:

Instead of, to quote Reagan, another 860 page "bureaucratic boondoggle," policymakers should
work to reduce the federal footprint on education. A good proposal would allow states to
completely opt out of No Child Left Behind. A good proposal would allow states to spend
education dollars in a way that meets student needs and allow states to enact school choice
options for families. But Washington hasn't learned its lesson after more than four decades of
federal failure in education. Because what we're seeing now is a big government attempt to
reinforce the failed status quo.

Slowing down the legislative process and fully considering the ramifications of Harkin's
proposal is a good first start. But the next step should be for Congress to allow states to make
their own decisions on how to best direct dollars to meet their needs.
massive / ms v/ adjective

comparative and superlative forms: more massive; most massive



1 : very large and heavy The fort had massive walls. massivefurniture the
dogs massive head/jaw stars more massive than the sun

2 a : large in amount or degree A massive effort will be required to clean up the debris. You can
find a massive amount of information on the Internet. The stunt received massive publicity.
a massive collection of baseball cards

2 b : very severe He suffered a massive heart attack. a massivestroke

massively adverb a massively built structure a massivelypopular actor [=an extremely
popular actor]

massiveness noun [noncount] the castles sheer massiveness

Politic vs political

Although seemingly similar, these adjectives have nothing in
common.

Political means 'characteristic for politics', e.g. the political
system. An adverb deriving from it is 'politically'.

Politic is a rather formal word, used to describe something as
'wise, well-thought', e.g. He considered it politic to leave before
further trouble developed; an adverb: politicly.