Sunday, September 30, 2012

Distillery













The Distillery District

...

Distillery District


The Distillery District is an area of downtown Toronto where there used to be an old distillery (a factory for making alcohol). Now it is a restaurant and theatre area.










Saturday, September 29, 2012

Hydro right-of-way

"Right of way" means: who has the right to drive through an intersection or road first.
For example, fire engines and ambulances always have the right of way.
Cars facing a green light have the right of way at an intersection over cars that have a yellow or red light.

-

A "Hydro right-of-way" means: the land under a high voltage hydro-electric line (wires).
There is a law that hydro lines have the right-of-way; this means that you cannot use the land for anything else, and you cannot block the hydro lines. If you own a piece of land and the government wants to run hydro wires across your land, you cannot stop them.
It is also illegal in Ontario, Canada to build a building under a hydro right-of-way, because the electrical field may have a negative effect on the health of persons nearby.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Teriyaki Steak


If you order steak in a restaurant, the waiter will ask: "How do you want it done?"

Your answer should be:

a) rare - means cooked lightly, so that the meat is still pink or bloody
b) medium
c) well done - means cooked for a long time, dark or almost burned/burnt


Wednesday, September 12, 2012

"People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."

... is an expression that means ...

you shouldn't criticize other people because
if you criticize other people, then other people will criticize you. (throw stones at you)

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Comparatives - more and less (adjectives)




Adjectives of one syllable: tall -> taller
old -> older

The bottle on the left is taller than the bottle on the right.
The bottle on the left is older than the bottle on the right.



Adjectives that end in "y":
funny -> funnier
dusty -> dustier

The bottle on the left is funnier than the bottle on the right.


Adjectives of 2 or more syllables:
expensive -> more expensive
interesting > more interesting

The bottle on the left is more interesting than the bottle on the right.

LESS
The first bottle is not as old as the second bottle.

The first bottle is less funny than the second bottle.
The first bottle is less expensive
The first bottle is less interesting.


Monday, September 3, 2012

Spitfire

English Expression of the Week: Spitfire

1. originally, a small fighter plane used by the Allies during World War II

2. slang, a small but aggressive animal or person, usually female