Improving your English vocabulary

On the left side there are some common expressions, in place of those try to use the more advanced adjectives on the right side:

common expression	advanced expression
a bad problem	a critical problem a key problem a serious problem a challenging problem
a great issue	a controversial issue an outstanding issue a sensitive issue a crucial issue an engaging issue a complex issue a current issue a popular issue a widespread issue a worldwide issue an attention-grabbing issue
a difficult situation	a hard situation a tough situation an awkward situation a critical situation a complicated situation an intricate situation a confusing situation a pertinent situation
a good idea	a novel idea a fantastic idea a smart idea an inspired idea a clever idea a weird idea an innovative idea
a nice plan	an attractive plan a brilliant plan a bright plan a plausible plan a feasible plan a structured plan an astonishing plan an exhaustive plan an innovative plan a forward-thinking plan

Animal Idioms

When there's someone who does the donkey work developing software, a good team leader  always find on opportunity to reward him.

Impudent people use euphemism to describe their behaviour, for instance: it's like water off a duck's back.

I was like a fish out of water when I started my first job.

You think that your job is going good, don't count your chickens, because someone could say that the team doesn't need you anymore.

Some mothers decided to take the bull by the horns and denounce the drug dealer who sell drugs to their sons.

The most domineering among brothers get the lion's share after the death of their parents.

Every woman is a dark horse when she is asked about her age.

I'm in the doghouse because I have forgot to buy a present for my girlfriend's birthday.

All the people that have gone on a cruise say that have spent their time on the boat making a pig of themselves.

When she discovered that her husband had had a love affair, that was the last straw and she asked for divorce.

The company has lost the majority of its customers and I smell a rat when they say that they are not going to make anybody redundant.

I got a new job that I like better and found a girlfriend, so it was like killing two birds with one stone.

One of my university teachers was always threatening noisy undergraduates in class that he would take action against them in an exam but his bark was worse worse than his bite.

After the police had fined the man for jwalking he went away with his tail between his legs.

People let sleeping dog lie so as not to be the first one to raise an argument at work.

Animal debates

People should not be allowed to keep very aggressive breeds of dog such as Rottweilers as pets.

PROs

Families should not be allowed to keep aggressive dog breeds as pets. The news confirms that aggressive dogs can cause harm to children. Indeed the dogs can confuse small children with prey and attack them.
People buy aggressive dogs and keep them in a garden or a courtyard to watch over their properties.  They train dogs to be aggressive to strangers. But I think that it isn't fair, because dogs can't replace men in doing jobs that require responsibility.

CONs

People should be allowed to keep any kind of dog in their house and in their gardens and even let dogs play with young children.
I think that it does not exist any kind of dog breed that are naturally aggressive or dangerous for men. When a dog attacks a man it is because of the dog's owner who is responsible for having made the dog aggressive.

In civilized society there is no place for entertainment which involve cruelty to animals

PROs

Animals are born to be free and to live in their natural habitat. Animals we see at the circus or the zoo suffer from a loss of their freedom. Captive animals live in cages that are far smaller than the habitats like forests and savannas where they would roam freely.
The animals that live at the circus are subject to physical abuse and torture. In fact the trainers use violence as means to make the animals perform degrading tricks.

CONs

Animals that live at the circus or the zoo are fed and are provided with a shelter to live and sleep. Animals living in the wild would naturally die because they become prey for their natural antagonists.
Circus animals are not subject to violence by the trainers. Trainers teach animals using food and caresses as a reward.

Drivers should be charged for using motorways and roads

Motorways allow citizens to move from a city to another. People travel to another city to go on brief trips, to commute to work far from their hometown and to meet relatives on religious holidays. In my opinion, it's a good idea charging drivers for using motorways.

In my country motorways are national but private companies are in charge of keeping them efficient. In such way motorways are well maintained and widespread throughout the nation. Maintaining this net of motorways in good condition costs the country money, so it seems obvious that drivers are obliged to pay a toll to use motorways.

In some areas environmentalists prefer surface motorways to underground train tracks. Railways are perceived as spoiling countryside and damaging the activities of farmers. In fact, in my country, the building of new train rails has meant digging into mountains to open new tunnels and has resulted in deviating rivers and lowering of the underground water layer.

Driving your private car is more polluting than travelling by public transports. Then making drivers pay money to use motorways contributes to keeping the environment clean.

On the other hand, if we don't ask for money to use motorways, they would certainly fall into decay.

To sum up I think motorways are as important as railways for a modern country. In fact if railways allow companies to carry goods economically, people can't do without motorways to move fast to nearby destinations.


What do think about free motorways ?

How to overtake a car

1st Diagram.

A motorway has multiple lanes. From left to right: the hard shoulder, the inside lane (or slow lane) and the outside lane (or fast lane).

The fast car catchs up on the slow car, pulls out into the fast lane, pulls ahead and then pulls in in front of the slower car. While pulling in if your car is almost brushed by the other one he cuts in in front of you.

If your car breaks down you have to pull over onto the hard shoulder.

2nd Diagram

If you run out of petrol you must fill up the tank with petrol. So you move over the slow lane, then you take the turn to the petrol station or service area.

You pull into at the petrol station and pull up (or draw up) the car in front of the petrol pump.

Before setting out on a long journey remember to top up all the fluids of your car.

Note: the verbs pull up and draw up come from the action of pulling up or drawing up the reins of a carriage.

An article about motorways or freeways

The nightmare Holiday

   Writing about the holiday of my nightmares isn't easy for me, in fact one of my best holidays, which I remember with great pleasure, turned into a nightmare during its last days.
   The holiday I'm talking about is set in Amsterdam, and I went there with other two friends of mine. Before leaving for our destination we booked a room with three beds. We had decided to stay in a hotel in the city center because my friends had had a negative experience with youth hostels.
   Walking through the streets of Amsterdam I realized how beautiful it is. The centre of this city was built on the banks of the river Amstel, it was developed in four concentric half-circles of canals. Amsterdam is called the Venice of the north because it features 1,500 bridges and pile dwellings.
   Because of its canals it's difficult to see a car running in the city, and the most common forms of transport are bicycles and trams. The absence of a stream of cars and the water flowing in its canals make the capital of the Netherlands a quiet and relaxing city.
   We spent our days in Amsterdam going sightseeing. The most important sights include Dam Square, the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum and the Royal Palace.
   Up until then everything was going good and at night I was tired after the day spent walking around the city. On the last day, while making up bed, I noticed something odd: a little insect was crawling between the sheets. For a few minutes, my friend and I staring at the matress we saw one insect after another come out of the bed. Since we had used all our money, we decided to leave but I had to sleep again in the same bed because that was the last night in the hostel.
   The following morning I didn't hear the alarm, I rushed to airport but arrived just when the gate was being closed. The most horrible night of my life was unfolding: I had to sleep on a metallic bench at the airport waiting for the next plane, the air conditioning wasn't even working, it was a hot day in August and I couldn't roll up my t-shirt sleeves because my arms were covered in an itchy rash caused by the insects bites.

Saint Valentine dialog

Mary: hi John, do you remember what day is today?

John: ehm, mmm. Yes of course. Today it's your mother's birthday. Isn't it?

Mary: no, today is our feast. It's S. Valentine.

John: ok, you know that I love you, so every day is our feast.

Mary: you love me, don't you?

John: yes, I do.

Mary: if you really love me, then marry me. We have been engaged for ten years! When are we going to settle down?

John: Oh Mary, but we moved in together only five years ago. My brother and his wife split up after six years of marriage, I think we should wait for another couple of years.

Mary: Oooh John, isn't it irritating your way of behaving? I think the day of our marriage is never coming up. And I'll tell you another think, I should have never trusted the friends that set us up....