A Simple, Powerful Prayer in Challenging Times

In this beautiful video, Moojibaba addresses the concerns and fears that many are facing during the current global crisis. Mooji shows us a powerful exercise and prayer which is tremendous support during such trying times — a ‘thank you’ prayer. “I’m going to show you right now a very simple practice to help you to feel calm and integrated again. Of all the mantras, of all the wonderful things you can think about, or say, or feel, saying, Thank you is one of the most effective and great mantras or prayers you can make.”

There are many useful words in his talk, words that we frequently use in our conversations.

Listen carefully and try to write down what you hear. It’s a good listening exercise. He speaks very clearly. And you can always turn on subtitles if you need.

Many of the adjectives he uses (calm, sad, angry, frustrated, lonely, depressed) we have learned already. Do you hear a different one? Which one?

What does he say that means the same as touched, moved?

And what about the nouns which name feelings, like peace, gratitude, depression? Make a list of them. Look them up in a dictionary.

“We hope you will join us in praying for the health and wellbeing of all who have been or will be affected by the virus, wherever they are in the world. May its growth and impact diminish quickly; may the sick recover to newfound strength; may we all use this challenging time to continue growing in ourselves, to discover the power and grace of the eternal light within us.”

~ Moojibaba

Days of the Week

Do you need to practice the days of the week? So listen and repeat. Notice that days, months, and holidays are always capitalized as these are proper nouns.

Now, have you ever wondered how the days of the week got their names?

Find below a video that explains their origins. You’ll learn how these names are related to ancient mythology and the planets.

‘Etymology’ is the study of the origin of words. Some of the days of the week have a simple etymology, like ‘Sunday’ — the day of the Sun, but many of the others aren’t as easy! This is a very interesting way to learn about the English language and the cultures that have influenced modern English. Gill will also explain how these names relate to the French and German languages. Join her as you will travel back in history, and out into the solar system.

Did you enjoy the journey? Now take the quiz to test yourself.

Easter! A long weekend?

Este está sendo um feriadão, ou um feriado prolongado para você?

A palavra mais comum para dizermos feriado em inglês é holiday. Existe a expressão day off, cujo significado é dia de folga, mas, dependendo do contexto (sempre ele!), pode também ser usada com o sentido de feriado.

Se quiser falar fim de semana prolongado ou feriadão, você pode usar as expressões long weekendthree-day weekend quando o feriado cai na sexta ou na segunda, e four-day-weekend quando o feriado cai na quinta, com recesso na sexta, ou na terça, com recesso na segunda. O termo bank holiday weekend é usado no inglês britânico.

E as perguntas mais comuns antes e depois de um feriado prolongado são a respeito de seus planos para ele: 

  • What are you going to do this long weekend? or What did you do this long weekend?
  • How is your long weekend going to be? or How was your long weekend?
  • How are you going to spend your three-day weekend? or How did you spend your three-day weekend?
  • Where are you going to spend your long weekend? or Where did you spend your long weekend?

Agora pratique, completando as frases com as palavras ou expressões que faltam:

1- Friday was a _____________________.

(Sexta-feira foi feriado.)

2- It was ____________________________________.

(Foi um feriado de três dias.)

3- There are many ____________________in Brazil.

(Há muitos feriados cristãos no Brasil.)

4- Next long weekend, Corpus Christi________________ a Thursday this year.

(O próximo feriado prolongado, Corpus Christi, cai em uma quinta-feira este ano.)

5- Last Thursday I was _____________________________. (four words)

(Quinta-feira passada, eu estava em clima de feriado.)

6- I _______________ the holiday at home.

(Passei o feriado em casa.)

Agora confira suas respostas:

1 – holiday; 2 – a three-day weekend; 3 – Christian holidays; 4 – falls on; 5 – in a holiday mood; 6 – spent .

Use essas expressões e saiba mais sobre feriado e feriado prolongado.

Your questions answered: burst or blow up?

A student asked: “What’s the difference between burst and blow“?

Good question! But be careful! We must use the phrasal verb blow up if we mean the same as burst. And I would even add blast and explode to burst and blow up.

There is very little difference between them. The one that might be more “general” than the others is burst, which simply means the failure of a container allowing the contents to spill out. Something can burst without exploding. In many contexts they could all mean the same thing, but there can be some small differences.

So, listen carefully.

BURST When used as a verb, it means that something is being broken open suddenly due to a build up of pressure.

It would usually not be used when speaking of explosives, but rather too much air pressure or water pressure. For example, a balloon will burst if you blow too much air into it. A dam may burst if there is too much water behind it.

When used as a noun, it can refer to the moment of breaking under pressure.

But it has another use where it means a sudden and brief occurrence of something. For example, we speak of a burst of laughter, or a burst of noise, or a burst of hard work, or a burst of interest or a burst into tears as in “She burst into tears”. (She suddenly started crying).

BLOW UP It can mean to destroy something with an explosive, but it can also mean to inflate with air, such as to blow up a balloon.

Blow up is more extreme. For example, a balloon will burst when you pop it, but a bomb will blow up. A pimple (zit) can burst, but a car can blow up in flames.

To blow up is also a term used on social media. It can mean “trending”. i.e “My latest Instagram post is blowing up”. (It’s getting a lot of likes/ it’s drawing a lot of attention).

BLAST When used as a verb, it usually implies the use of explosives such as dynamite. When used as a noun, it can refer to the actual explosion, but often it refers more to the sudden forceful wave of compressed air or energy that spreads out from the explosion. So, for example, you might hear that someone was knocked down by the blast, even though they were not hit by any objects or by the flames.

It is also used to describe a very enjoyable experience, such as “the party was a blast”.

EXPLODE is always a verb. The specific definition is a chemical reaction – the near-instantaneous conversion of a substance (an explosive) from a solid state to a gas. It is also used to describe any sudden, violent outburst.

Its meaning is a bit more general and can include the meanings of both blast and burst. So we can say that a bomb explodes or that a balloon explodes. We can even use it like the second meaning of burst and say things like “the crowd exploded with laughter”.

The noun form, EXPLOSION, is also quite general. The primary meaning is similar to blast and implies something like dynamite, but it has many other uses. It is very common to hear it used for things like “an explosion of joy”, “an explosion of laughter”, or “an explosion of interest.”

Well, burstblow upblast, and explode are only four of the verbs that we can use to express this action or experience. But don’t worry. These are the most popular ones.

Possibilities and opportunities

Hi everyone!

We now have the opportunity to go on with our studies, growing in knowledge and ability to communicate better in English each day!

Hurray! A fresh start to our dream!

Two of the words given above confuse learners: warranty and guarantee.

Learn the difference between a warranty and a guarantee, because it might save you a lot of money. And before you buy that new shirt, watch this vocabulary lesson so that you can ask if the store will allow you to return it for a refund, an exchange, or credit.

Get your notebook, listen carefully, and take notes.

So now, are you ready to go shopping? Test yourself.​

Okay! Concerning our English studies, I’ll provide you with possibilities and opportunities to apply what you already know and to develop and broaden your knowledge of the language. If you are fully committed to our work, results are guaranteed!