Horse of a different color
معنی: یک موضوع دیگر، یک مطلب کاملاً متفاوت
Eric likes to play jokes on his friends, but he makes sure that nobody is hurt by any of his pranks. A prank that hurts someone is a horse of a different color! Being playful is one thing, but hurting someone by one's prank is quite a different matter.
اریک دوست دارد با دوستانش شوخی کند، اما مواظب است که کسی از شوخی‌های او ناراحت نشود. شوخی‌ای که کسی را ناراحت کند یک موضوع کاملاً متفاوت است. شوخ بودن یک چیز است و آزردن دیگری با شوخی چیز دیگری است .
اصطلاح شماره 2
Take it on the lamb
معادل فارسی: در رفتن
Poor Rich has always had his problems with the police. When he found out that they were after him again, he had to take it on the lamb. In order to avoid being caught and thrown in jail, he was forced to flee in a great hurry.
بیچاره ریچارد همیشه بـا پلیس مشکل داشته. وقتی فهمیـد که اونا دنبالش هستند، مجبـور شد در بره. برای اینکه گیر نفته و تو زندون نیفته مجبور شد به سرعت فرار کنه.
اصطلاح شماره 3
Cat got your tongue
معادل فارسی: موش زبانت را خورده
What's the matter? Cat got your tongue
موضوع چیه؟
موش زبونت رو خورده؟ )یعنی چرا حرف نمی‌زنی(
اصطلاح شماره 4
Get in someone's hair
معنی: کسی را اذیت کردن
I know that the children get in your hair, but you should try not to let it upset you so much.
- Listen, Jim. I can't help it. The children bother me and make me very angry.
- من می‌دونم که بچه‌ها اذیتت می‌کنند، اما باید سعی کنی نذاری این موضوع تو رو خیلی ناراحت کنه.
- ببین جیم. من نمی‌تونم کاریـش کنم. بچه‌هـا منو اذیـت می‌کنند و منو خیلی عصبانی می‌کنند.
1- اغلب به جای (فعل اصلی + فعل کمکی) می توانیم فعل کمکی را به تنهایی به کار بریم. به طور کلی این عمل موقعی می تواند رخ دهد که قبلا از فعل اصلی استفاده کرده باشیم به طوری که احتیاجی به تکرار آن نباشد. توجه داشته باشید که در این صورت فعل کمکی به صورت قوی تلفظ می شود .
Get up. --- I am /æm/ (= I am getting up.)
He said he’d write, but he hasn’t. (= … he hasn’t written.)
وقتی که یک فعل اصلی را به طریق فوق حذف می نماییم اغلب کلمات بعد از آن فعل (مانند مفعول) هم حذف می گردند. مثال:
I can’t see you today, but I can tomorrow. (= … I can see you tomorrow.)
Can I borrow the car for an hour this afternoon? --- Of course you can’t. (= … you can’t borrow the car an hour this afternoon.)
اگر در جمله ای be و have فعل کمکی نبوده و به عنوان تنها فعل جمله به کار رفته باشند باز هم می توانیم کلمات بعد از آن ها را حذف نماییم.
‘I’m tired.’ ---- ‘I am too’.
Who has a dictionary? --- ‘I have’.
اما توجه داشته باشید که معمولا نمی توانیم فعل اصلی را نوشته و کلمات بعد از آن را حذف نماییم .
What do you think of the play? --- I like it.
در جواب سؤال فوق نمی توانیم بگوییم: *I like. .
2- اگر در ساختاری بیش از یک فعل کمکی موجود باشد برای جلوگیری از تکرار همۀ آن گروه فعلی معمولا فقط اولین فعل کمکی را تکرار می نماییم. مثال:
You wouldn’t have won if I hadn’t helped you.
---- Yes I would. (= Yes, I would have won …)
Peter hasn’t been told, but I have. (= … I have been told)
اما اگر شکل دومین فعل کمکی با افعال کمکی جملۀ قبل متفاوت باشد تکرار می شود.
I think Mary should be told ---- She has been. (نه: *She has)
3- اگر در جمله ای فعل کمکی وجود نداشته باشد بجای تکرار فعل اصلی آن در جملۀ بعد، می توانیم از do استفاده کنیم. (البته نمی شود این حالت را حذف نامید بلکه یک نوع جانشینی است – به بخش 581 مراجعه نمایید.) مثال:
She likes jazz, and I do as well. (= … I like jazz as well)
I hope you enjoyed yourself. --- Yes, I did, thanks.
در انگلیسی بریتانیایی (ولی نه در انگلیسی آمریکایی) ممکن است که در این حالت do بعد از یک فعل کمکی دیگر هم به کار رود. مثال:
Come and stay with us. ---- I may (do), if I have the time.
در بعضی از موارد do می تواند به همراه so مورد استفاده قرار گیرد.
Put the car away please. --- I have already done so.
4- افعال کمکی اغلب می توانند د رحالت حذفی و یا جانشینی (که در طی سه قسمت قبل در همین بخش ذکر شد) به صورت ضمیمه در آخر جمله به کار روند و یا در جواب های کوتاه
و یا در پرسش های واکنشی مورد استفاده قرار گیرند.
You’ve lost weight, haven’t you?
She wants a holiday, does she?
You’re getting better at tennis. --- Yes, I am.
I’ll be seeing you again next week. --- will you? That’s nice.
بعد از Soو بعد از nor و neither ساختارهایی مشابه ساختارهای فوق می توانند مورد استفاده قرار گیرند. مثال:
I’ve forgotten the address. --- So have I.
It’s Tuesday tomorrow. --- So it is.
He doesn’t like Mozart, and neither do I.
.
reading comprehension:
Horse owners who plan to breed one or more mares should have a working knowledge
of heredity and know how to care for breeding animals and foals. The number of mares bred
that actually conceive varies from about 40 to 85 percent, with the average running less than
50 percent. Some mares that do conceive fail to produce living foals. This means that, on
average, two mares are kept a whole year to produce one foal, and even then, some foals are
disappointments from the standpoint of quality.
By careful selection, breeders throughout history have developed various kinds of
horses with a wide variety of characteristics to suit many different needs. The Great Horse
of the Middle Ages, for example, was bred for size and strength to carry a heavily armored
knight. The massive horses of such breeds are often called "cold blooded." The Arabs bred
lithe desert horses that were small and swift. These animals are often referred to as "hot
blooded. " Cross-breeding of hot-blooded and cold-blooded horses for certain characteristics
produced breeds ranging from riding horses to draft horses.
The Thoroughbred is considered by many to be the highpoint of elegance and fine
selective breeding. Many persons mistakenly apply the name Thoroughbred to any purebred
horse. But a Thoroughbred is a distinct breed of running horses that traces its ancestry through
the male line directly back to three Eastern stallions: the Byerly Turk, the Darley Arabian,
and the Godolphin Barb.
For convenience the breeds of horses are often divided into three major groups: (1)
ponies, (2) heavy, or draft horses, and (3) light horses.
11. Which of the following is not an example of an Eastern stallion?
(A) Byerly Turk
(B) Darley Arabian
(C) Thoroughbred
(D) Godolphin Barb
12. Which of the following was NOT a characteristic of the Great Horse of the MiddleAges?
(A) Large size
(B) Swiftness
(C) Strength
(D) "Cold-bloodedness"
13. It can be inferred from the passage that cold-blooded and hot-blooded horses were cross-bred for what reason?
(A) Such cross-breeding was a safer means of reproduction.
(B) Cross-bred horses were preferred by Arabs.
(C) By cross-breeding, horses with desirable mixed characteristics could be produced.
(D) Cross-breeding produced Thoroughbred horses.
14. In line 11, "lithe" most nearly means
(A) graceful.
(B) clumsy.
(C) massive.
(D) bulky.
15. Which of the following is NOT one of the major divisions of horse breeds?
(A) Draft horses
(B) Ponies
(C) Foals
(D) Light horses
16. According to the passage, which of the following horses is considered to be the finest purebred?
(A) Darley Arabian
(B) Thoroughbred
(C) Godolphin Barb
(D) Byerly Turk
17. To conceive is to
(A) become sick.
(B) become pregnant.
(C) die.
(D) be born.
18. A foal is a
(A) male horse.
(B) female horse.
(C) old horse.
(D) baby horse.
19. The average amount of mares bred which actually conceive is less than what percent?
(A) 40
(B) 85
(C) 50
(D) 75
20. A mare is a
(A) male horse.
(B) baby horse.
(C) female horse.
(D) old horse.
Felling Trees
from "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten : Uncommon Thoughts on Common Things" by Robert Fulghum
In the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific some villagers practice a unique form of logging. If a tree is too large to be felled with an ax, the natives cut it down by yelling at it. (Can't lay my hands on the article, but I swear I read it.) Woodsmen with special powers creep up on a tree just at dawn and suddenly scream at it at the top of their lungs. They continue this for thirty days. The tree dies and falls over. The theory is that the hollering kills the spirit of the tree. According to the villagers, it always works.
Ah, those poor nave innocents. Such quaintly charming habits of the jungle. Screaming at trees, indeed. How primitive. Too bad thay don't have the advantages of modern technology and the scientific mind.
Me? I yell at my wife. And yell at the telephone and the lawn mower. And yell at the TV and the newspaper and my children. I've been known to shake my fist and yell at the sky at times.
Man next door yells at his car a lot. And this summer I heard him yell at a stepladder for most of an afternoon. We modern, urban, educated folks yell at traffic and umpires and bills and banks and machines--especially machines. Machines and relatives get most of the yelling.
Don't know what good it does. Machines and things just sit there. Even kicking doesn't always help. As for people, well, the Solomon Islanders may have a point. Yelling at living things does tend to kill the spirit in them. Sticks and stones may break our bones, but words will break our hearts....
jack in the box
OUGHT. SHOULD. MUST. Three small words with perilously explosive potential. "Handle with care" should have been as plain to see as a gorilla gone ballistic at a children's petting zoo. Frightened friends feigned the warnings. Fragile. Do Not Drop. A bitter boss caused the warnings. Beware Of Dog. No Trespassing. And Jack? Jack awakened one morning in a box that belonged to an authentic litigation attorney; a square peg with wrong motives in someone else's round hole.
Overworked and underpaid. Fed up with punishing put downs by the firm's senior partner, a once summer intern nicknamed Ned. Ned had been dead from the heart down 20 years or more. Jack had been born again since he was 19. Ned flirted with the King's English like King David flirted with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:3). Everyone that knew Jack knew something was wrong - really wrong. Fearing he might respond poorly, his friends kept their distance.
At home, Jack felt like a Jewish prisoner and his home had "Auschwitz" written in sign language all over it. Sentenced to death by silence. The silence stilled his faith and stifled his spirit. Prayer had become painful. Forgiveness felt like asphalt.
Five years ago, Jack flew into enemy air space and Ned had a good shot. Anxious to devour the newest associate, he fired ground-to-air missiles with deadly precision. Jack fought the good fight both in and out of the office for almost four years. During his fifth year with the firm, his faith began to fade and the good 'ol boys from the Bible Study walked away.
Could he and should he have picked up the shattered pieces of the man that still existed from better days he'd lived before? Good question and maybe you know the answer. Understand that months of unyielding pressure had impaired his eyesight. Understand that when we question another man's character we better have some answers to explain our own. Jack did what we've all done. He did what you might be doing now. He let the sun go down on his anger one time too many (Ephesians 4:26). He cracked open the door of doubt and devilish discouragement made a mad dash for the it and ushered guilt in to act as the assassin of his faith.
You see, Jack never planned to become an attorney after he completed his undergraduate work. His real passion wasn't a real job. Not his words, but those of his father. Painting was God's gift and calling and he knew it in his heart, not just his head (Romans 11:29). Yet, acquiring his father's acceptance won out over his passion as well as his sense of purpose.
Married to his high school honey as well as a high monthly mortgage payment didn't make quitting an appealing option. Already the proud father of one with one on the way added to his financial insecurities and so he opted to stay the course and put up with Ned's oral lashings.
Another day came and Ned's neurosis sought to fool around with Jack's self-worth. But this time he went for Jack's jugular. The tiny soft tissue of Jack's heart that refused to harden; the joy that still remained. Jack's remaining joy had run to greet him every evening without fail and sat on his lap and uttered, "It's okay daddy". Jack's remaining joy hadn't yet imagined a love that walked away without a kiss goodnight. Jack's remaining joy said, "daddy," but saw Superman. Jack's remaining joy was his four year old boy, Jacob. Jacob, unlike Jack's busy wife and hushed friends, broke the silence and the code of conduct that so insidiously crept into their household.
Ned began to speak: "Should have got it right the first time, Jack. You ought to know by now that I expect perfection. Oh, and in case you forgot, it must be done today! If you want to act like Mr. Daddy-Do-Good before that bratty kid of yours goes to bed, you'd best get busy. Hope the boy has his mother's brains! Jack, I should have fired you a long time ago and saved the both of us a lot of heartache!"
Jack listened as his lips tightened. His blood pressure rose, his fists clinched. He closed his eyes and imagined Jacob's smile. He said nothing to Ned as he was blinded by the stack of bills he'd seen on the kitchen table before he left for work four hours earlier. Jack walked out in silence. He'd grown wearily used to it. He sat down as his face felt unusually tingly. He ignored it. He began to prepare his mind for a long night. A long night it would be for everyone but Jack.
You see, Jack's drive to meet the deadline caused his heart to flat line. Jack died in the box that belonged to an authentic litigation attorney. Dead at 35 from a massive heart attack. Found in his office chair the next morning by none other than Ned
Jack's joy remained. His little boy and God's miraculous creation. Jacob, like his daddy's friends, knew something was wrong. Jacob's love endured. Jacob's love stepped in when fear-wrought men walked out. He fell asleep where his daddy slept the night before. Daddy didn't come home to announce his departure or to plant a farewell kiss on his son's cherished cheek. Jesus walked in soon after Jacob had fallen asleep, and whispered in his tiny ear, "Your daddy's Home with Me."
Rather depressing story isn't it? Feeling like Jack? Jammed into a job that's joyless? You read the story and allow me to add that if you can relate, you are but one of millions. Jesus knew His disciples before hand. Matthew made nothing more than money before Jesus came along. Tax collector? Omnipotence knows our potential, His purpose, plan and specific calling for our lives.
A Jack in the box. As children, an amusing toy. Turn the crank, listen to the cheap composition, and eventually Jack pops up for a breath of fresh air. As adults, being a Jack (or Jill) in the box has been and continues to be a claustrophobic nightmare. May I encourage you to read Romans 11:29 and then Jeremiah 29:11?
Soon after reading Max Lucado's book, "It's Not About Me," I felt compelled to write and the above story is what flowed out in short order. May we all become about being God's Son Reflectors by simple obedience in using the gifts and fulfilling the calling He has provided each and every one of us.