A Warm Welcome to Olga!
Olga, it was a pleasure to read your lively and imaginative blog about Spain. I could almost feel the sweltering heat you describe in the streets of Madrid in summer. In terms of the weather, London is at the other end of the spectrum. You say that the only two words you hear in Madrid are 'boiling hot'. The only two words we hear in England in winter are 'freezing cold'!
A picture I took near my house a few weeks ago...
Come to think of it, we do hear more than the two words 'freezing cold' in London. We also hear windy, chilly, cloudy, mild, drizzle, stormy, fog, mist, wet, icy. Occasionally we hear the words: sunny and warm. We rarely hear the words: sweltering or boiling hot.
This is me enjoying the snow
If you're planning to visit England, it's crucial that you know some weather vocabulary because people love talking about the weather. So this week's homework is to complete the following conversation between two strangers at a London bus stop, using the following words:
sweltering / sunny / pouring / mild / freezing cold / breeze / snow
A: Brrrrrrrr! It's 1) ________ _______ today, isn't it?
B: Yes, I watched the weather forecast and apparently it's going to 2) ______ this weekend!
A: Great - I love having snowball fights! The weather is so changeable: yesterday it was nice and 3) ______ and there was a warm 4) _________.
B: You can never rely on English weather. I'm going on holiday to Madrid in July to enjoy some 5)______ weather. In summer there is 6) ________ heat there.
A: A little too hot for my liking! I like English weather... sometimes. Oh no, it's 7) ________ down with rain! Can I share your umbrella?
Do people like talking about the weather in your country? What are the most common topics of conversation?
Olga, your written English is very good, but as your teacher it's my role to go through your blog entry with a fine-tooth comb and look for mistakes! So here goes...
You write about sangria: The answer should be only one...
This sentence is not incorrect but doesn't sound very natural in English. You could use There is only one answer (to this question). You describe the variety of food in Spain:
I am sure that even the most sophisticated aficionado of refined dishes will find a dish after his heart!
Here we wouldn't use 'after his heart' but perhaps an expression like 'to his liking / to his taste':
... the most sophisticated aficionado of refined dishes will find a dish to his liking / to his taste!
A difficult aspect of English is the use of 'the':
I always bear in mind that the flexibility and adaptability are two of the most important attributes.
Here you don't need the article 'the' before 'flexibility'. We use the definite article 'the' to indicate something specific, so here it shouldn't be used because you're talking about 'flexibility' in a general way. So compare these two correct sentences:
Flexibility is one of the most important aspects of someone's personality.
The flexibility Olga showed when she worked with us was incredible.
In the second sentence, we use 'the' because we're talking specifically about Olga's flexibility. In the first sentence, we don't need 'the' because we're talking more generally.
Olga, I look forward to reading your next blog entry. Could you tell us a bit about Poland? I imagine Polish culture must be very different to Spain - do you miss it?
at the other end of the spectrum - the opposite
sweltering - uncomfortably hot
Come to think of it - now that I'm thinking about it
drizzle - light rain
fog / mist - a thick cloud of drops of water which makes it hard to see
changeable - something that changes in an unpredictable way
with a fine-tooth comb - very carefully