Grammar exercise 9 - Computers

This weeks exercise had something to do with computers. I'm studying Business Informatics, so I decided to to this because I think it can help me in my job and it is important to know. It also had something to do with prepostions which I already did a few weeks before. I improved my skills how to use these but because of the huge amount of verbs in the English language, I did this similar exercise again, which was more focused on computer relevant verbs. I had 75% in the first try and did it once more so that I finished with a score of 100%. This exercise helped me a lot.

http://www.better-english.com/grammar/computer.htm

Thermal flu scanners to be activated at airports

This article is shocking but also very interesting. Australia installed thermal flu scanners on every big international airport. The country tries to detect people who show symptoms for the swine flu virus. It doesn’t prevent the virus entering the country, but it is delaying it. In my opinion it is good that the Australian government put so much effort in this. It is important to check people who show symptoms of the virus and to develop strategies against the virus. This is also a global problem where countries have to work close together.

http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=29&ContentID=138976

Cooking at home is great

The context

I’m not the kind of person who used to like cooking a lot in the past. But I love having barbecue here in Australia and also started enjoying cooking in general. Yesterday I cooked with my sister. We had some stir fry beef, spaghetti, beetroot , spring onions and garlic, all cooked in a wok.

The topic of the conversation

We talked about normal stuff, nothing special. She asked me to wear an apron because of the red beetroot and mentioned that I was wearing a white shirt and that it is not the best idea to wear that if you want to cook. I have never heard the word “apron” before but as she explained to me I knew what she meant without looking it up in a dictionary.

What I learned

The whole cooking thing for dinner is great. I learn a ton of new recipes because my sister is really good in that and has many different cooking books. Furthermore every time we cook, we try to cook different food. So I learn a lot of new vocabulary. Learning the word “apron” is just one example.

Reflection

I hope that my passion for cooking which I developed here in Australia lasts longer than me being here. I think it would be great trying all those recipes back home instead of eating unhealthy convenience food.

Grammar exercise 8 - if-clauses

This weeks‘ exercise deals with if-clauses. I decided to do that because I often mix it up. I had to put in the right tense for if-clauses type 1, 2 and 3. It helped me a lot to improve that. I now know the rules (grammar) and also when I have to use type 1, 2 or 3. It is a bit harder in a conversation when you don’t have so much time to think about it. ;-)

http://www.ego4u.de/de/cram-up/tests/conditional-sentences-3

Qantas to cut 1,750 jobs as profits dive

I read this article last week in a newspaper in a restaurant. (The Australian) I just tried to find an article about the same topic on the internet to have a reference. This is quite shocking to read that Qantas, Australias biggest airline has to cut so many jobs. All in all they have to cut 1750 jobs. There you can see that almost every company is affected by the global financial crisis. Another reason is that the market is very tough. Cheap airlines like Jet Star entered the market and this means a lot of competition for Qantas.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/04/14/2542122.htm

The dog is coming on Friday

The context
This Friday, my sister and my brother in law get a Labrador dog, just 8 weeks old. So this Wednesday we went to “Better Pets and Gardens”, a pet supply shop in Osborne Park. There you can buy food, toys and stuff for your dogs and animals. We bought food, a few pet toys and a dog crate.

The topic of the conversation
We also talked to one of the sales man there. He was really interested in what we are looking for and wanted to know which kind of dog they get. I was quite confused when he named the dog “bitch” but he explained to me what that means.

What I learned
Bitch is just the usual term for a female dog. Another new word I learned was dogs crate which is just like a box for the dog.

Reflection
I realized that there are a lot of special dog terms and that I don’t know any of them. Because of that it was sometimes a bit hard to follow the conversation. But it is always good to ask if you don’t understand a word or what they are talking about. I think I get used to it once the dog is here. Then I have to use the words as well.

Grammar exercise 7 - Grammar Vocabulary Mix

Today I decided to do a grammar mix exercise to see how much I already improved my English. There are four different levels and I did level 4. I had 80% and did a similar test when I came to Australia and just had half of the answers right. I think I improved my English in the first two and a half month here in Australia so far, and I try to do a another similar test at the end.

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/tests/mix-4

Dingoes destroyed after second attack on Fraser Island

I read this article this week. There were two Dingos shot because they attacked children. This happened in Queensland, Frazer Island. It is the second time within a week. I’m really happy that I wasn’t attacked by one when we went on the North West Trip with Murdoch. One of the last nights we stayed somewhere in the Outback where many Dingos walked through our camp during the night and in the morning. They weren’t aggressive because they are afraid of humans, but as we see here it can happen that they attack people. I’m glad that nothing happened ;)

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25338603-12377,00.html