The Giraffe And The Pelly And Me

Gerunds

2007-12-12T19:38:00.000-08:00

I learn the english grammar of gerunds in this week.

1.When the -ing form behaves like a noun, it is called a gerund.Cycling,reading,looking and doing are gerunds. When you want to describe an action or an activity, you can use a gerund.

George prefers swimming to running.
Playing TV games is fun.
Please stop talking.
The film is about gambling.

Gerunds are uncountable. You cannot make them plural and you cannot use the articles a/an with them. There are many ways of using gerunds in sentences.

Gerunds can be the:

* subject of a sentence.

Reading builds your imagination.
Swimming is fun.
Smoking damages your health.

* object of a verb.

Edmond enjoys singing.
Everyone lifes sleeping.
Let's go shoppong.

* object of a preposition.

I'm good at drawing.
This book is about living in Asia.
Sam isn't interested in dancing.

2. You can use the preposition by + gerund to say how something is done.

In spoken English, When you answer a question, you can use the short form by + gerund. In written English, you usually use a complete sentence. Look at the examples below.

A: How did you become so strong?
B: By lifting weights./I became strong by lifting weights.

A: How did you find this flat?
B: By looking in a newspaper./We found it by looking in a newspaper.

A: How did you learn about computers?
B: By surfing the Net and playing computer games./Ilearnt about computers by surfing the Net and playing computer games.

You can use several gerunds in same sentence.

You can improve your English by studying books, listening to English on the radio and television,reading English books and newpapers and speaking English with your friends and family.

Phrasal verbs

2007-12-05T19:33:00.000-08:00

Before i had learn a grammar about "Phrasal verbs" .
The verbs in section A are called phrasal verbs. Most verb have only one main part, but phrasal verbs have at least two. The adverb or preposition in a phrasal verb is called a particle. Phrasal verbs usually follow one of these patterns:
verb+adverb verb+preposition
I wrote down her message. Please hand in your homework.

verb+adverb+preposition
You can't get away with cheating!

The meaning of a phrasal verb is often different from the meanings of the verb and particle by themselves.

Some phrasal verbs are intransitive. They do not need an object.
However, you can use an adverbor a prepositional phrase after these verds.

INRANSITIVE PHRASAL VERBS
Intransitive phrasal verbs cannot be followed by an object. You can use adverbs or prepositional phrases after these verbs. Study the following sentences.

I can't hear you. Please, speak up!
Did you go out last night?
Please hang on for a moment.

SEPARABLE PHRASAL VERBS

Separable phrasal verbs are transitive: thet are followed by an object. You can put the object after the particle or between the verbs and particle.

Henry took off his jacket.
Henry took his jacket off.

If the object is a pronoun, you must separate the phrasal verb.

INSEPARABLE PHRASAL VERBS

Inseparable phrasal verbs can also be transitive. You must always put the object after the particle.

Last night a thief broke into our flat.
Someone broke into it.
The thief made off with some computer files.
He made off with them.

James and the Giant Peach

2007-11-28T19:32:00.000-08:00

I ready to read a book it names "James and the Giant Peach". It writter is Roald Dahl.He is a vrey diverger people. It is because he wrote the story is full of imagination, he can imaginable a story about animals, a boy, Giant peach story.
Inside it had a many funny picture "James and the Giant Peach" it about a boy when he was small he had a happy family he live with his MUM and DAD happily.
Unlucky,his MUM and DAD die. He live with his two evil aunt. Spiker and Sponge, who subject him to a variety of physical and mental abuse.
One day, three years later, while chopping wood in the garden, James, then age seven, meets a strange man who mysteriously knows James's plight and gives him a small sack containing the ingredients for a magic potion, the consumption of which, the stranger promises, will bring James wealth, happiness, and great adventure. Unfortunately, while running back to the house to hide the sack, James trips and drops it. It bursts and the magic green crystals sink into the ground and vanish without a trace - or so it then seems. James is horrified at the loss of what seemed to be his only opportunity for escape from his wretched aunts. But things take another odd turn when a long-barren peach tree in the garden puts forth a single fruit which grows to almost twice the size of the tree. Spiker and Sponge realize they can make money, so they charge people to see the giant peach. One night, James, who has been shoved out of the house to pick up the litter from the crowd, crawls inside the giant peach, where he finds a most bizarre group of friends – all giant creepy-crawlies: the Centipede, Miss Spider, the Old-Green-Grasshopper, the Silkworm, the Earthworm, Mrs. Ladybird and the Glowworm. The peach, with the help of the Centipede, breaks off the tree, rolls over and flattens and kills James's two aunts, and into the Atlantic Ocean. Seeking to float to New York City to begin new lives, the friends embark on an adventure across the sea on the giant peach. Among the things they encounter before reaching the city are a swarm of sharks and air-elemental creatures called Cloud Men, who are responsible for painting rainbows. In the end, upon reaching the city, James and his friends are accepted into society, but James, having to retell his story to fascinated friends over and over, decides to write an account of the adventure, which is supposedly the book itself. This book breaks the fourth wall.

Esio Trot

2007-11-21T19:31:00.000-08:00

Last week, i had do a book report.the names of the book is "Esio Trot".
Esio Trot is a children's novel written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake.
The book is about Mr.hoppy, Mrs. Silver and her small pet tortoise.

Mr. Hoppy is a shy old man who lives alone in an apartment. For many years, he has been secretly in love with Mrs. Silver, a woman who lives below him. Mr. Hoppy frequently leans over his balcony and exchanges polite conversation with Mrs. Silver, but he is too shy to disclose how he feels. Mr. Hoppy longs to express his feelings to Mrs. Silver, but he can never bring his lips to form the words. As a result, Mrs. Silver has never had the slightest suspicion that she is the object of his affection.

Mrs. Silver has a small pet tortoise, Alfie, who she loves very much. One morning, Mrs. Silver mentions to Mr. Hoppy that even though she has had Alfie for many years, her pet has only grown a tiny bit and has gained only 3 ounces in weight. She confesses that she wishes she knew of some way to make her little Alfie grown into a larger, more dignified tortoise. Mr. Hoppy suddenly thinks of a way to give Mrs. Silver her wish and (he hopes!) win her affection.
Mr. Hoppy tells Mrs. Silver that he - in fact - does know of a way to make a tortoise grow bigger. He writes the following words on a slip of paper, and lowers it down to Mrs. Silver:

ESIO TROT, ESIO TROT,
TEG REGGIB REGGIB!
EMOC NO, ESIO TROT,
WORG PU, FFUP PU, TOOHS PU!
GNIRPS PU, WOLB PU, LLEWS PU!
EGROG! ELZZUG! FFUTS! PLUG!
TUP NO TAF, ESIO TROT, TUP NO TAF!
TEG NO, TEG NO, ELBBOG DOOF!

Mr. Hoppy explains that these magic words, when whispered in Alfie's ear three times a day, will cause Alfie to grow bigger and bigger. Mrs. Silver is doubtful, but agrees to try.

Over the next few days, Mr. Hoppy carries out the second part of his plan. He visits every pet shop in the city, and buys many tortoises of all shapes and sizes, but none that weigh less than 13 ounces. Mr. Hoppy brings all the tortoises back to his apartment and installs them in a makeshift corral in his living room. Next, Mr. Hoppy builds a special tool to help him snatch the tortoise from Mrs. Silver's balcony. He fastens a handle to the end of a long metal tube, and a tiny claw at the bottom. By pulling the handle, the arms of the claw gently open and close.

The following day, when Mrs. Silver leaves for work, Mr. Hoppy selects a tortoise from his living room that weighs exactly 15 ounces. He carefully picks Alfie up from the lower balcony, and exchanges him with the new tortoise. When Mrs. Silver returns home, she faithfully whispers the magic words in Alfie's ear, but does not notice that an exchange has been made.

Over the next 8 weeks, Mr. Hoppy continues to switch Mrs. Silver's current pet with a slightly larger tortoise, but she still does not perceive that her pet is growing in size. One afternoon, Mrs. Silver comments to Mr. Hoppy that Alfie seems a bit bigger, but cannot tell for sure. Suddenly, Mrs. Silver notices that Alfie can no longer fit through the door to his house, and exclaims to Mr. Hoppy that his spell is sure to be working! Mrs. Silver runs inside and weighs her pet, and is surprised to find that Alfie now weighs 27 ounces, more than double the weight he was before! Mr. Hoppy summons his courage and asks Mrs. Silver if he can come down and see the effect for himself. Mrs. Silver, in raptures over her pet's transformation, gladly grants his request.

Mr. Hoppy races down the stairs, nervous and excited to be on the brink of winning Mrs. Silver's heart. Mrs. Silver flings open the door, embraces Mr. Hoppy, and expresses her admiration for Mr. Hoppy's magical spell. Mr. Hoppy, suddenly emboldened by Mrs. Silver's warm smile, asks Mrs. Silver for her hand in marriage. Mrs. Silver delightedly accepts Mr. Hoppy's proposal, then adds that she thought he would never get around to asking.

Mr. Hoppy secretly returns all the tortoises in his living room back to their respective pet shops, and Mr. Hoppy and Mrs. Silver are happily married a few weeks later.And Alfie(tortoise) ends up in another's home.

I think it is a good book to read it. It is because Mr. Hoppy want Mrs. Silver happy and married to him by exchange the tortoise. It is a tricky way and interesting way to let Mrs. Silver married to him. We can take about a hour to read along the book, it is suittable to all peoples.In this book we can also learn the difficult vocabularies in the book. For example:

1.embraces [擁抱]
2.brink [邊緣]
3.emboldened [使有勇氣]
4.delightedly [欣喜地]
5...........

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer(2)

2007-11-14T19:56:00.000-08:00

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain, is a popular 1876 novel about a young boy growing up in the Antebellum South on the Mississippi River in St. Petersburg.

About the BookTom Sawyer, a mischievous redheaded orphan taken in by his Aunt Polly, goes through a series of adventures involving his friends, Joe Harper and Huckleberry Finn. Tom is an escape master, and a professional trickster. He escapes punishment many times by his tricks. Though he is often foolish and unpredictable, he also is somewhat smart and has a good sense of humor. When not trying to win his sweetheart, Becky Thatcher, Tom is either getting into mischief or going on an adventure. Many times, Tom suddenly changes from his grinning self into a fearsome pirate or Indian. His laugh changes into a bloodcurdling yell or a barking captain's voice. Tom Sawyer's main doings are racing bugs, impressing girls with fights and stunts in the schoolyard, getting lost in a cave, and playing pirates on the Mississippi River. The best-known passage in the book describes how Sawyer persuades his friends to white-wash, or paint, a long fence for him. In this book, Mark Twain is trying to depict the fun of boyhood.
Here is one of the Adventures of Tom Sawyer............

Prize day

It was nearly the end of the term. The examinations wre near. Mr. Dobbins was making the boys work very hard. If they didn't work, he beat them. Nearly every leson, some boy was beaten. The boys were getting angry about this. One dat they all met together and made a plan. What was their plan? It was this: Mr. Dobbins had no hair. He always wore a wig. The boys planned to paint his gead a golden colour. The painter's son promised to do this. Mr. Dobbins was living in his house. The boy could do the painting while Mr.Dobbins was asleep in his chair after his lunch. "You can be sure", he said to the class, "that Mr.Dobbins will have a golden head on Prize Day."

Prize Day came. All the pupils sat quietly in the school hall. They were dressed in their best clothes. Their parents were sitting there too. All the people of the village were there. First of all, different boys and girls recited poems. Tom did too. He stood on the platform in front of everybody, Shouting:

"Let me be free!

Let me die if I can't be free!

Freedom! Give me freedom!"

He stopped suddenly. He had forgotten the wordds! He looked round helplessly. He saw Mr. Dobbins"face, red with anger. He simply coild not remember another word of his poem. He looked very foolish standing there. He felt very foolish. He rushed off the platform, his face bright red with shame.

After the recitations, Mr. Dobbins stood up. He want to the blackboard. He began to draw a map of America. He was going to ask his pupils some questions on the Geography of America. While he was drawing, the fun began. A cat suddenly appeared above his head! It was hanging from a piece of string. A boy in the room above was holding the string. The cat could not make any sound because its mouth was closed with a tight bandage. Slowly the cat came down. It came nearer and nearer to the master's wig. It pulled it off! Then the cat was quickly pulled up. Everybody was looking at Mr. Dobbins' head. The painter's son had done his work well. Mr. Dobbins's head was a bright, golden colour. It shone like the sun! His pupils laughed loudly. Their parents laughed loudly. Everybody roared with laughter - except poor Mr. Dobbins!

the adventures of tom sawyer

2007-11-14T19:39:00.000-08:00

Mark Twain is one of the most popular American writers of the nineteenth century. His family was poor. Mark Twain left school at the ade of thirteen to work as a printer. In his leisure time, he wrote stories for a local newpaper. At the age of twenty, he began to work on boat which sailed up and down the Mississippi River. It was here that he met the characters he describes in his books. Many of his stories are about his journeys on the Mississsippi.
"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" is the best-known of his books. It describes the boyhood of Tom Sawyer, an orphan, who lives with his find Aunt Polly. Tom is a cheerful, honest, lively boy. His adventures have delighted boys and girls all over the world.
If you like " The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", you will also enjoy " The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn". There you will find many of the characters you have met in "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer".

Tom Sawyer also appears in three other Mark Twain books:
1.Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) 2.Tom Sawyer Abroad (1894) 3.Tom Sawyer, Detective (1896)

The Giraffe And The Pelly And Me

2007-10-24T20:38:00.000-07:00

I learn some word to describe a movement and the characteristic of a leading character. For example: "immense", "puchy" and "ordinary".
In this week I had learn about how to form a question and question tag, different kind tense.
I read a book called "The Giragge And The Pelly And Me" it story is funny.The Giraffe the Pelly and Me is a children's book written by Roald Dahl.

Introduction
The Giraffe's magic neck can stretch to thirty feet long and the Pelican's enormous beak carries water like a bucket. Together with a lively monkey they are the Ladderless Window - Cleaning Company, and never has cleaning windows been so much fun. Join Billy as he gets to know these amazing animals and is swept up in their crazy adventures.