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.   # 8. Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk (2025, documentary film directed by Sepideh Farsi) “I am used to all these bombings, destruction,  no food,…..and this situation feels like normal here. I think I am in prison. But I don’t feel like a normal person in this situation. I don’t eat normal food, I don’t do normal things, I don’t walk in a normal street, and I want to be in a normal place and the nature breathing in clear air. We say “ Fatra o beta’addi ” which means “ This time will pass ”   -       =>    The 25 year-old Palestinian photojournalist Fatma is describing how her da...

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.   # 7. The Judge (2014)   “This family is a (fuxxing) Picasso painting.” :  -          This is a line said by the main character Hank Palmer, who is a successful and high-priced defense attorney in the big city, when he came back to his small home town for his mother’s funeral. He said it to his older brother, referring to the messy, complicated, and irreconcilable relationships among the family members. Just like the abstract style of Picasso painting, Hank feels that his family was not looking normal but rather maladjusted and morbidly distorted inside.   “I loved you then and...

WORKSHEET #93 Let’s practice some expressions from the episode #93 of Dr. Jedidiah’s Diary!     1.    Obviously, he is a heartless dictator who sees people of his own nation as purg________ .   (*meaning “something that is able to be purged/ eliminated/ removed”)   2.    I was totally bem______ by the critics’ abstruse arguments about the newly released movie. (*meaning “confused/ puzzled”)   3.    Hank can __________ off any styles. He looks dapper and snatched in any clothing. (*meaning “to succeed in achieving or winning something difficult”)   4.    What’s the weather like in your neck of the _________s ? (*meaning “a particular area or locality”)   5.    Trump is putting this country in crisis with his weapon called “tariffs” as his one and only way of retal_________ ing against foreign countries. (*meaning “to repay or to make an attack or assault in return for a similar at...

WORKSHEET #92 Let’s practice some expressions from the episode #92 of Dr. Jedidiah’s Diary!     1.    Senator Bernie Sanders has always been a respectable statesman who tries his best to educate and help people to stay woke and step up as a dou______ citizen of this nation against all odds. (*meaning “brave, determined, and resilient, often used to depict fighters, defenders, or persistent individuals”)   2.    Everyone in the studio went ber___ (*meaning “to go crazy or mad/ to act violently or uncontrollably) when the South Korean court had sentenced former first lady Kim, Keon-Hee to only 20 months in prison for the indisputable corruption.   3.    Larry stood out in the group of gorgeous socialites. He looked da_____ in the navy blue suit. (*meaning “neat and trim in dress and appearance – typically used of a man”)   4.    Henry had to st_________ himself (*meaning “to restrict, limit, or skimp on...

Today's puzzle is called "All In." I'm going to give you clues for two words. Insert the letters A-L-L inside the answer to the first clue to get the answer to the second.   Ex. Opposite of good / Romantic song   -->   B(ALL)AD   1. Exam / Having the greatest height 2. Bathe standing up / Not as deep 3. Something that's unexpected and beneficial / Air-filled rubber sac attached to a string 4. What bees do / Playing for time 5. Descendant / Green onion 6. Attempt in basketball / Onion used in cooking 7. Sweeper's tool / Locale in the game Clue 8. Overhead structure supporting a crane / Courage displayed in battle 9. Vast wooded areas / Prevents from happening   Answer Keys 1.   TEST => T(ALL)EST 2.   SHOWER => SH(ALL)OWER 3.   BOON => B(ALL)OON 4.   STING => ST(ALL)ING 5.   SCION => SC(ALL)ION 6.   SHOT => SH(ALL)OT 7.   BROOM => B(ALL)ROOM 8.   GANTRY =...

WORKSHEET #91 Let’s practice some expressions from the episode #91 of Dr. Jedidiah’s Diary!       1.    The film critic has an international reputation among film cog_________ti. (*meaning “persons who have superior knowledge and understanding of a particular field, especially in the fine arts, literature, and world of fashion”)       2.    The director has been in search of a young actor who will play the role of an innocent sw_________ in the Shakespearean period. (*meaning “Often used in literature (e.g., Shakespeare) to describe a country lad or shepherd, a young man or boy who worked as a knight's servant;   Modern Usage: Occasionally used as an old-fashioned or poetic synonym for a boyfriend, beau, or suitor”)       3.    Jenn was taking a stroll in the quiet trail str__________ with fallen leaves and twigs, thinking about her ex-boyfriend. (*meaning “spread or scattered here and there...

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.   # 9. “The Craving Mind” (authored by psychiatrist Judson Brewer, M.D. Ph.D.) “When my patients told me their stories of getting addicted, there was a common theme. It was as if they had been one of the lab rats in Skinner’s experiments and were describing the reward-based learning process that they had gone though:   I would have a flashback (to some traumatic event) (TRIGGER) => get drunk (BEHAVIOR) =>   this was better than reliving the experience (REWARD) ”   -         Dr. Judson Brewer found out that most of his patients (who are suffering from all different kinds of addi...

WORKSHEET #90 Let’s practice some expressions from the episode #90 of Dr. Jedidiah’s Diary!           1.   Her wi_______d face was telling me about her harsh past. (*meaning “(transitive/ intransitive verb) to become wrinkled, shrunken, or dry often as a result of aging or of failing vitality”)       2.   I think her hypochondria was one of the iatro__________ symptoms or disorder. (*meaning “relating to illness caused by medical examination or treatment”)       3.   The sniper confessed that the botched murder of the presidential candidate had been thoroughly planned with the opposite party candidate’s m__________ aforethought . (*meaning “the evil intention to kill/ harm, which is held to distinguish unlawful killing from murder”)       4.   Somebody must have t________ off the intruder that houses in this gated community would be empty during the holiday season. (*meaning “t...

WORKSHEET #89 Let’s practice some expressions from the episode #89 of Dr. Jedidiah’s Diary!     1.    I still remember the sharp tw_________ on my hamstring when it first kicked in during the 10K trail race. (*meaning “a sting or pang of pain that happens suddenly”)   2.    Mr. Nguyen begr______ly accepted his customer’s condescending attitude at his nail salon. However, he looked down on her stuck-up style deep down inside. (*meaning “reluctantly”)   3.    I was totally enamored by Ray’s convi_________ smile. It was so warm and welcoming. (*meaning “friendly; lively; enjoyable”)   4.    His penetrating eyes were as dark as an obs______________ crystal, which seemed to be seeing through what was on my mind. (*meaning “a dark natural glass formed by the cooling of molten lava”)   5.    Hey, don’t try to put ____________ in his mouth . I know he never said or meant that! (*meaning “to...