Live and Learn English with Jean Lee

LIVE, LEARN, & LOVE Do you take delight in watching films, listening to pop music, or reading books? For English learners, movies, songs, and books are one of the most wonderful sources to explore the language! You can indulge in your favorite pastime and still learn some expressions, words of wisdom, and oftentimes good lessons while you’re at it.   #38. Siddhartha (authored by Hermann Hesse, 1951) Siddhartha tel=>ls the story of a spiritual journey in which the main character seeks answers to the deep questions surrounding human purpose, isolation, and dissatisfaction in life. It is the most well-known work of Hermann Hesse, who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1946. Through the experiences of a young Indian named Siddhartha, Hesse presents a powerful moral allegory about fate and the uncertainties people face throughout life.   (ferryman Vesudeva): “I could see that and I did not expect any payment or gift from you. You will give it to me some ot...

LIVE, LEARN, & LOVE Do you take delight in watching films, listening to pop music, or reading books? For English learners, movies, songs, and books are one of the most wonderful sources to explore the language! You can indulge in your favorite pastime and still learn some expressions, words of wisdom, and oftentimes good lessons while you’re at it. #37. Another Year (film, 2010) Tom Hepple, a geologist, and his wife Gerri, a counsellor, are an older couple in London with a stable and affectionate marriage. The film follows their lives across the four seasons of a year, as they spend time with family and friends (such as Mary who is Gerri’s colleague at work and living as a middle-aged divorcee) who, in contrast, often experience varying levels of discontent and loneliness.   (The opening scene from the movie: Gerri’s counsels an insomniac patient named Janet at the medical center.) GERRI: What would you say was the happiest moment of your life? PATIENT: What d'y...

LIVE, LEARN, & LOVE Do you take delight in watching films, listening to pop music, or reading books? For English learners, movies, songs, and books are one of the most wonderful sources to explore the language! You can indulge in your favorite pastime and still learn some expressions, words of wisdom, and oftentimes good lessons while you’re at it.   #36. Letters to a Young Poet (authored by Rainer Maria Rilke, 1934) This is a hugely influential collection for writers and artists of all kinds, Rainer Maria Rilke's profound and lyrical letters to a young friend advise on writing, love, suffering and the nature of advice itself. From 1903 to 1908 Rilke wrote a series of remarkable responses to a young aspiring poet on poetry and on surviving as a sensitive observer in a harsh world. Those letters still remain a fresh source of inspiration and insight.   “I want to beg you, as much as I can, dear sir, to be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and to ...

LIVE, LEARN, & LOVE Do you take delight in watching films, listening to pop music, or reading books? For English learners, movies, songs, and books are one of the most wonderful sources to explore the language! You can indulge in your favorite pastime and still learn some expressions, words of wisdom, and oftentimes good lessons while you’re at it.   #35. The Human Stain (film, 2003) In The Human Stain, Coleman Silk (played by Anthony Hopkins) is a respected and sophisticated professor whose career is abruptly derailed and defamed after he unintentionally utters a remark perceived as racially offensive. Desperately determined to restore his reputation, professor Silk begins documenting his story with the help of his friend and fellow writer Nathan Zuckerman (portrayed by Gary Sinise). As the narrative unfolds, Zuckerman uncovers a deeply buried secret that the professor has concealed for decades. At the same time, Silk becomes romantically involved with Faunia Farley (p...

LIVE, LEARN, & LOVE Do you take delight in watching films or listening to pop music? For English learners, movies, songs, and books are one of the most wonderful sources to explore the language! You can indulge in your favorite pastime and still learn some expressions, words of wisdom, and oftentimes good lessons while you’re at it.   #34.   Michael Jackson’s Song : “Why You Wanna Trip On Me?”   “They say I'm different, they don't understand But there's a bigger problem that's much more in demand You got world hunger, not enough to eat So there's really no time to be trippin' on me So tell me (why) Why you wanna trip on me”   => The slang “ trip on someone ” goes back to the 1990s urban expression that means “to overreact/ to make an issue out of something/ to get upset, to make trouble/ to act irrationally, or to create obstacles”.   In this song, Michael Jackson is criticizing people who pay unnecessary or bothersome attention/ ...

Today's puzzle is called "To Be Announced." Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase or name in which the first word starts with the letter T- and the second word starts BA-.   Ex. Subject of a treaty restricting nuclear weapons   -->   T EST BA N   1. Object hit at Wimbledon   2. Plastic product made by Hefty   3. On a smartphone screen, indication of a so-so wi-fi connection   4. Head honcho   5. Public place to wash oneself in Istanbul   6. Tentative announcement to gauge public opinion   7. Body of water leading to Japan's capital   8. Supermodel who created and hosted "America's Next Top Model"   9. Group that plays another group's music, like Led Zep-again for Led Zeppelin   10. Sheriff's insignia in old westerns   11. Establishment serving Polynesian-style drinks   12. Common thank-you gift for donating to public television      ...