Live and Learn English with Jean Lee

Around this time of year with only a couple of days -that are filled with mixed emotions - left in the calendar, I find myself curled up in my own good old blanket with a cup of tea, reminiscing about what it’s been like for the past 12 months. Has it treated me right? Yup, it has to a certain degree. By the end of 2017, my husband and I had to be jet-setting between our old home in Illinois and this new place in Texas in the midst of the process of inter-States moving. Keeping the old house in tip top shape and presentable to sell in the local housing market was physically and mentally exhausting. (Especially, dealing with grass management ‘till our house was sold was so challenging when we are literally not living there anymore. What frustrated us more was coming to realize that our 10-year-old neighborhood had filed a report to the city about our UNKEMPT LAWNS so that we’d pay a fine. UGH. “Thank you very much for having been such a nice friend of ours for a decade before ...

Got plans to celebrate the end-of-the-year and Christmas with your loved ones? Here are some easy breezy Christmas quiz for English learners. Ready to solve the fun quiz? (source from https://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=christmas-words ) 1. This is a traditional Christmas drink made of beaten eggs, milk or cream and sugar. A. Custard B. Milkshake C. Eggnog   2. In places where winter is very cold, they usually have this place to make fires and to keep warm. A. Fireplace B. Chimney C. Heater   3. This plant is often used as a Christmas décor and people are given a kiss when they are found to be standing underneath it. A. Mistletoe B. Pine C. Poinsettia   4. Santa’s reindeers pulled this over ice and snow. A. Car B. Sleigh C. Truck   5. This is the scene showing the birth of Jesus Christ. A. Nature scene B. Christmas scene C. Nativity scene   6. They are Santa’s helpers; they help him p...

Looking back on my life, especially here in the States, I’ve come to realize that I have always been viewed by people around me as the one in a rush most of the time. “Hurry! Make it quick! Bustle around! Step on it! No time to lose!” must have been the unhealthy modus vivendi that’s been established deep inside of my life. Back in my days during master’s program of TESOL, I studied night and day to understand all the theories and concepts of teaching ESL/EFL, trying hard to stay ahead of course schedules. Topics for term papers were chosen in two weeks, written and revised by week 3, and then submitted way in advance. Even for the four-day long ‘take-home comprehensive exam’, I had prepared for the culminating project by making myriads of example questions and answers that could be on the test since one full year before the D-day, and was lucky enough to complete the 26 page-long papers to turn in only within two days. I’d even told my little son Hans to turn in his arts-and-...

Idioms related to Shopping Black Friday shopping spree is not just the American culture anymore. The blast-off sale right after Thanksgiving or Christmas has become a major occasion for shopaholics to mark the calendar for in many other countries in the world as well. This week, let us work on some interesting idiomatic expressions related to shopping and spending money. (resource from https://www.learnenglish.de/vocabulary/shoppingidioms.html , https://www.learn-english-today.com/idioms/idiom-categories/shopping/shopping.html )      1.    to pay over the odds : (verb) to overpay for something/ to pay too much for something    2.    to shop till one drop(s) : (verb) to go on an extremely long shopping trip until one feels exhausted    3.    retail therapy/ shopping therapy : (noun) the idea that buying things can cheer you up or make you feel better (especially when you’re under pressure or stressed ou...

Trees By Jean Lee Are you the one that has been in my yesterday? Am I still in your memory? You know my stories and quiet moments of silence in somber overlay That from time to time emerge in a way so peremptory. In the morning, you whisper sounds of hopes through balmy sunray At dusk, you bring me to tears pointing toward the sky where my father is so gingerly. Trees, you are listening when I pray Then keep me stay peaceful in my trajectory. Each time I get lost in a maze to my dismay, Your changing colors of leaves have taught me life is full of mystery. Will you be there for me in my twilight years in the same way? I know you won’t judge me and say “now you’re an old lady who’s so peppery”. Leaning on your wide and sturdy trunk as I lay, I’d ask for a long, long whispering of the good old time so savory. The stories would never seem dull or bewhiskered to me.

Let me share the interesting Sunday Puzzle, which is an on-air challenge, on National Public Radio (NPR). (October 28th, 2018) This Sunday, the caller was supposed to give a word or name that has the accented syllable of the sound "row" somewhere inside it . For example, what is the word meaning savagely violent? The answer is FE RO CIOUS 1. What is the noun meaning ‘a smell, especially an inviting one’? 2. Name the Kraft pasta product with cheese. 3. Brand name of the Mexican beer usually served with a lime wedge. 4. What are the vigorous physical exercises that you might do in a class or any exercises designed to strengthen the heart and lungs? 5. Name the capital of Liberia. 6. Name the capital of Kenya. 7. What is the adjective meaning ‘brave, courageous, valiant, valorous, intrepid’ as in the act of a lifeguard saving a drowning person or a hero saving people in need. 8. Give me the adjective meaning ‘not correct as a statement’. ...

I have always been a morning person who wakes up in the wee hours no matter how late I go to bed. Although I do not have to get out of bed that early to go somewhere for work, I just do. Being wide awake in the hours of serenity that is only sporadically interrupted by birdcalls like owl’s hooting or some random cars with loud engine noise out there in a distance brings me to the sense of peace. Doing my daily pre-run stretching, I wonder where and why the sounds out there are being made. It feels good to know that I am not the only one being awake in this quiet time slot. Even with those total strangers, some kind of comradeship is coming to my mind hearing the sounds. Among the people who had shared my mornings through the years, the exercise cohort at dawn and the fitness coach (who is also the gym manager) are always the most important and precious group of friends in my life. We are different ages with different backgrounds in life, but all single-hearted when it comes to ...

The time has come to feel wintry chill in the North hemisphere. Even in this State where Summer never seems to go, it has started to feel chilly. With a decade in the Midwest town in my life, the memory of shoveling the snow from our driveway will always be fresh enough to give me goosebumps. Why don’t we brace ourselves to survive the upcoming winter and brush up on some interesting English idioms that have “cold” words that are or are not related to cold weather. (source from https://www.kaplaninternational.com/blog/winter-idioms-vocabulary-english-lesson )    1.    to put ….. on ice : to stop (doing) something or to postpone/ delay acting on something    2.    the snowball effect : when something small keeps growing in importance or significance    3.    to weather the storm : to survive a difficult situation/ to find one’s way out of troubles    4.    pure as the driven snow : abs...