Stephen: Come on, Ash! I'll drive. Give me the keys!
Ashlie: Err, why won't it start? Did you leave the lights on last night?
Stephen: No, I didn’t, Ashlie.
Ashlie: The car won't start. And Stephen was supposed to give me a lift to the shops.
Stephen: I think it might be the battery or maybe that petrol thingy.
Ashlie: OK, Stephen. Which one's the battery?
Stephen: Erm... is it that one?
Ashlie: Erm, that's the radiator.
Stephen: How old is this car anyway? It's always breaking down!
Ashlie: And we never know how to fix it. Come on. I'll see if I can find a mechanic and you can make us a nice cup of tea.
Ashlie: They say it's going to cost a hundred and forty pounds to send out a mechanic!
Stephen: A hundred and forty pounds?
Ashlie: That is it! We've got to learn how to fix that car ourselves. Oh, hey, have a look at this, Stephen: ‘This course is intended to help people who want to save money on car service and repair bills.’
Stephen: Let me have a look. Ah, ‘By the end of the course you will have a good understanding of car electrical systems, wheels, tyres and brakes.’ Hmm, sounds good!
Ashlie: Right. I'm going to call them to find out when the course starts.
Ashlie: This was such a good idea, Stephen. Think of all the money we're going to save on car repairs.
Stephen: Yes, but I didn't expect to be in a classroom. I wanted to get my hands dirty and work on real cars.
Ashlie: We will. But first we have to learn some theory. Theory, then practice.
Teacher: So, this is a standard four-stroke engine… So, when the piston, here, reaches the top, the spark plug, here, will ignite the fuel and push the piston back down and then...
Stephen: This is so boring. When do we start with the real work?
Ashlie: This is really useful. You have to know how it works before you can fix it.
Teacher: ...inside here – so this is a water jacket. So that’s what cools down as the piston’s moving up and down, it creates friction, which creates heat. OK. So, out of the exhaust, through the centre-box and then through the rear exhaust.
Stephen: I'm exhausted. When are we going to do some real repairs?
Ashlie: Shh.
Teacher: We're going to take a break now and then we're going to the workshop and we'll look at some brakes, OK?
Stephen: Ah! Finally!
Teacher: OK, we're going to start with some simple checks. They should only take a few minutes to do. I'll show you first and then you can have a go yourselves.
Ashlie: We should have done this course years ago. We're going to save so much money.
Stephen: Yeah, this is more like it.
Teacher: OK, well done everyone. Let's have a look at what we've learnt so far. So, who can show me how to check the oil? Ashlie?
Ashlie: Yeah.
Teacher: And how about radiators?
Stephen: Ooh yeah, me. I can do that.
Teacher: Be careful. Be careful!
Ashlie: Stephen! I told you you needed to listen to the theory!
Comments
Have a nice day, Kirk and the team,
My name is Van, from Hanoi, Vietnam.
Would you mind helping me to clarify whether the following sentence is correct in terms of using present perfect tense: "We have become close friends for a long time.".
Thank you.
Hello langkhach,
No, that sentence is not correct. The reason is that the verb 'become' describes a single moment, not an ongoing state. You could say either of these:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Dear sir,
Can you help me clarify the grammatical point in this sentence: "Studies show that the number of criminals who continue to commit crime again is increasing every single day when they are released back to the society."
I'm wondering whether the verb "CONTINUE" here has been used correctly regarding its relation with the subject - either: the number of... or the noun "criminals" itself.
Thank you.
Van, from Vietnam.
Hello langkach,
The sentence is correct. The subject of 'continue' in this sentence is the relative pronoun 'who', which is plural as it refers back to '(the number of) people.
With phrases like 'a/the number of...' the verb is in agreement with the final noun, so we say 'a number of people go there every year' (not 'goes').
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Dear sir,
I am trying to find an English word or phrase for the item (a type of headgear) as it appears in the pictures shown in the following link: ----
Would you mind helping to tell me what it is called in English?
Thanks a bunch.
Van - from Vietnam.
Hello langkhach
I'd call that a 'headband' or, in the case of the plastic ones, an 'Alice band'. There are also 'barrettes' (which is more American English) or 'hair clips' (British).
(Please note I removed the link because we don't generally allow links in user comments, but I looked at it before I deleted it.)
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
cool
what are the velarized words in this section
Have a nice day, Kirk and the team,
My name is Van, from Hanoi, Vietnam.
Would you mind helping me to have a glace at my essay below? I mean, just the wording (arrangements and the way I write the sentences).
Thanks a bunch.
Some people think that the media should be for entertainment only. While other people believe that media should have education value. Discuss both view and give your own view.
Answer
Opinions are divided between ideas that the media should serve entertainment purposes and foster education values. In my opinion, the media can and should be both entertaining and educational.
On the one hand, the media has a prominent role in entertainment. Firstly, theyare communication outlets or tools and devices used to store and deliver information or data such as TV, the radio, and computers, etc. It is widely believed the media are a valuable and practical tool for information dissemination. The reason why the media becomes popular is its easily and rapidly updated news and information. Every second in life, the electronic media provide its target audience with up to the minute breaking news and stories. For example, via the Internet, readers may get instant access to the most up-to-date information about the War Trade between the USA and China. In addition, more and more viewers are attracted to game shows and reality programmes on television because of their high amusement level and top-ranking quality..
On the other hand, some people think that educational aspects should be appreciated. It is true that the media can affect directly their users, especially children and teenagers. At present, there are a number of programs which have violent actions, swearing, or discourteous speeches. Moreover, those programs contain sexual images which are inappropriate to their ages. As a result, it is advisable that the government take proper consideration the issuance of relevant educational programmes through the media.
In conclusion, even though there are different opinions between the entertainment purposes and educational values of the media, I agree with these both views.
Hello Van
Nice work on your essay! I'm afraid we don't provide feedback on our users' writing, but we do have a several pages with model essays that might be useful to you:
Hope this helps.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
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