English Language Learners

« first day (348 days earlier) ← previous day next day → last day (551 days later) »

Damkerng T.

22:00

The picture might help.

Ice Girl

Yes

Thanks

now main idea?

Damkerng T.

Spades

Spades is a trick-taking card game devised in the United States in the 1930s. It can be played as either a partnership or solo/"cutthroat" game. The object is to take at least the number of tricks that were bid before play of the hand began. In partnership Spades, the bids and tricks taken are combined for a partnership. Spades is a descendant of the Whist family of card games, which also includes Bridge, Hearts, and Oh Hell. Its major difference as compared to other Whist variants is that, instead of trump being decided by the highest bidder or at random, the Spade suit is always trump, ...

Okay. Let me see...

She started to work on their own fields and garden.

Ice Girl

During the next spring their hogs caught cholera and died. No cash that fall. What does no cash that fall mean?

Damkerng T.

Oh, that sad.

fall is a season

no cash ~ no money

I'm not sure about seasons in Iran.

In the US, I think they are winter, summer, autumn, and spring.

autumn is also known as fall.

Ice Girl

Iran is the same with it.

Damkerng T.

22:03

Ah, good.

In Thailand, we're mostly summer. :-)

and raining season.

Ice Girl

Nice

Damkerng T.

I like the brown leaves in fall.

But there is no such thing here.

Ice Girl

Me too

Damkerng T.

Ice Girl

And in the next year the drought hit. My mother and father trudged from the well to the
chickens, the well to the calf pasture, the well to the barn, and from the well to the
garden. The sun came out hot and bright, endlessly, day after day. The crops shrivelled
and died. They harvested half the corn, and ground the other half, stalks and all, and fed it
to the cattle as fodder. With the price at four cents a bushel for the harvested crop, they
couldn’t afford to haul it into town. They burned it in the furnace for fuel that winter.

Damkerng T.

22:05

Oh, too many sad things.

Do you know the word drought?

Ice Girl

Yes

hit?

Damkerng T.

It means that that next year was hit by the drought.

Meaning that next year has almost no rainfall.

Oh, this makes me feel sad.

Ice Girl

Damkerng T.

So there was no rain.

And because of the heat, they seem to be always tired.

But they still had to work.

from the well to the chickens, to the calf pasture, to the barn, to the garden

This must mean they had to carry water (which was hard to find, because there was not much rainfall) to the places they had to take care of.

Ice Girl

stalks?

Damkerng T.

22:11

the part of crop that is not the leaves

when it's really dry, you might call them stick

Ice Girl

fodder?

feed

right?

Damkerng T.

fodder ~ food for cows

Ice Girl

With the price at four cents a bushel for the harvested crop, they
couldn’t afford to haul it into town. They burned it in the furnace for fuel that winter.

Damkerng T.

The crop was so cheap.

Ice Girl

paraphrase it

please

Damkerng T.

22:15

It was so cheap that bringing it to the town to sell it didn't worth bringing it there.

So they kept the harvested crop, and used the crop as fuel in the winter.

1 bushel ~ 15 kg (or 25 kg for corn seeds)

Ice Girl

Are you tired?

Damkerng T.

Yes, I think.

I'm sorry, but it pasted my sleeping time.

Ice Girl

just one paragraph please?

haul?

Damkerng T.

Okay, let's do it quick, okay?

Ice Girl

okay

haul=transport

right?

Damkerng T.

22:19

Yes

Ice Girl

In 1934, in February, when the dust was still so thick in the Minnesota air that my parents
couldn’t always see from the house to the barn, their fifth child – a fourth daughter – was
born. My father hunted rabbits daily, and my mother stewed them, fried them, canned
them, and wished out loud that she could taste hamburger once more. In the fall the
shotgun brought prairie chickens, ducks, pheasant, and grouse. My mother plucked each
bird, carefully reserving the breast feathers for pillows.

Damkerng T.

In 1934, in February, when the dust was still so thick in the Minnesota air that my parents couldn’t always see from the house to the barn

When it's no rain, it will dry, and there will be lots of dust.

So the air is dusty.

The Minnesota air has thick dust.

Is that okay?

Ice Girl

Yes

Damkerng T.

their fifth child – a fourth daughter – was born.

Easy?

Ice Girl

Yes

Damkerng T.

22:22

My father hunted rabbits daily, and my mother stewed them, fried them, canned them, and wished out loud that she could taste hamburger once more.

Ice Girl

In the fall the
shotgun brought prairie?

Damkerng T.

Okay

shotgun was the gun the father used (to hunt rabbits and other animals).

Ice Girl

prairie?

Damkerng T.

So when it says shotgun brought other animals back (beside rabbits)

These animals are: prairie chickens, ducks, pheasant, and grouse.

Ice Girl

Damkerng T.

22:25

prairie chickens is a kind of chicken.

Ice Girl

Yes

Finished

thank you very much

Damkerng T.

So the father hunts many kinds of birds and chickens too.

You're welcome!

Ice Girl

oh, main idea please

sorry

Damkerng T.

Congratulations!

Hmm...

Ice Girl

Damkerng T.

22:27

During the drought, the father had to hunt rabbits and birds. The mother used them for food and used the feathers for their pillows.

Ice Girl

You said you're tired I stop it.5 paragraph left

Damkerng T.

(In other words, they can't sell anything much, and can't buy anything.)

Let's continue other time.

Ice Girl

Damkerng T.

Ice Girl

Thursday I will have exam about these hard essays

Damkerng T.

22:28

I think badass and others can help you too.

What kind of exam, an oral test?

Ice Girl

not oral

Damkerng T.

Questions and answers on paper?

Ice Girl

Yes

Damkerng T.

Do the teacher give you choices (multiple-choice questions)?

Ice Girl

My teacher is very very strict

Damkerng T.

22:30

Ice Girl

Never

She always ask very strange questions

Damkerng T.

Strange questions?

For example?

Ice Girl

Whatever that you can't imagine and think

I don't remember them

Damkerng T.

Is she an American?

Ice Girl

Damkerng T.

22:34

A native English speaker? Or maybe an Iranian?

(Maybe you have many teachers.)

Ice Girl

yes native english...

Damkerng T.

Ah, an English perhaps.

Never mind. Just keep learning from your teacher. :-)

It must be useful for you in the future.

Ice Girl

I think you are best teacher too

actually

Damkerng T.

Thank you.

That's very kind of you.

Ice Girl

really You're welcome

Damkerng T.

22:38

I think I should go to bed...

See you again soon.

Bye.

Ice Girl

Yes. Good night

Damkerng T.

Thanks. Good night to you too!

Ice Girl

Thanks too:)

skullpatrol

Hi @IceGirl

« first day (348 days earlier) ← previous day next day → last day (551 days later) »

all rooms

Transcript for

Jan6

Jan '147

Jan8

A room to talk about English, linguistics, or anything you wan...

join this room
about this room

00:00

06:00

12:00

18:00

all times are UTC