Did you know that almost 1% of adults in the United States have been in jail? That’s 1 in 100 people! And about 500 of those prisoners break out per year.
This reminds me of a great movie. Have you ever seen Shawshank Redemption?
Did you know that the microwave was discovered by accident? Percy Spencer, an American engineer was working with magnetrons to create an efficient microwave radio signal when he noticed that the chocolate bar he was saving in his pocket had melted. He connected the melting of the bar to the machine, so he decided to test his theory by putting popcorn in front of the device. When he turned it on, the popcorn popped and he came up with (to create) the idea for a microwave.
Thanks to Spencer, we can warm up our food quickly!
2. warm up
Intransitive
Meaning: to prepare body for exercise
Example: You should warm up for at least ten minutes before you play in the game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EIveHwQcgU
This Australian Olympian became famous for her interesting warm-up before a race!
When someone calls you and you miss the call, and then you call back and they don’t answer, we call this “phone tag.”
Did you know that the average person talks on the phone for about 450 minutes per month. That’s almost 8 hours. Which means that on average a person speaks on the phone for 2 hours per week, and 25 minutes per day. Do you think that you speak more or less than that?
If you don’t have enough time to work out, you can do these activities for 30 minutes instead!
Raking leaves = 147 calories
Gardening = 153 calories
Vacuuming = 119 calories
Kissing = 6 calories per minute!
Sitting and watching television even burns 40 calories an hour!
2. work out
Intransitive
Meaning: to be successful, to solve a problem
Example: Don’t worry. Everything will work out fine.
3. work something out
Transitive / Separable
Meaning: to make a calculation
Example: I need to work out my finances before I purchase the house.
How often do you study English? I hope the answer is often! Or frequently! You should occasionally visit my blog for some quick English lessons.
Learn about adverbs of frequency:
Did you know that two weeks before Christmas and mid-March are the most common times for couples to break up? And interestingly, more couples break up on Mondays than any other day of the week!
Do you want some help learning English?
Learn about the difference between “some” and “any.”
When I was a child, someone broke into my parent’s garage and stole the lawn mower!
2. break something in
Transitive / Separable
Meaning: wear something a few times so that it doesn’t look/feel new
Example: I need to break in my new sneakers before I run the marathon!
Did you know that a good way to break in soccer cleats is to wear them in the shower? It seems strange, but it works!
The following is a funny article from The Onion, a satirical publication in the United States:
http://www.theonion.com/articles/hanging-out-continues-to-grow-in-popularity-among,1800/
There are a lot of phrasal verbs and slang in the article! Do you know what they all mean?
buckle down: to concentrate on a task with determination
shape up: to improve
goof off: to joke around or misbehave
kick back: to relax
screw/mess around: to joke around or misbehave
hook up: to become romantically or sexually involved with someone
flip out: to panic
get down: to lose one’s inhibitions—to enjoy oneself
jam away: to listen to or play music in a spontaneous way
take up: to join a new activity
straighten tight: to set priorities
bust forward: to move forward towards a goal