You probably have heard this song from High School Musical 2 - "What Time is it? Summertime!" What do Americans usually do in summer? The last thing they like to do is to stay indoors to study or work.
School gets out in mid-June, so parents make plans to travel or send their kids to summer camps. Road trips or beach vacations are top choices for families. Camps vary from technology to adventure. The local swim and fitness centers make popular spots to cool off.
The Music Center, shopping malls and Town Center host free outdoor concerts every week. And sports lovers canoe or kayak along the river or bike and hike on the trails all summer. So what is my family doing this summer?
On weekends, we're going to different state and regional parks. Rock Creek Regional Park's Lake Needwood is our favorite place to hike. The nature center there helps us understand this area's history. My children love the Legacy of the People exhibit. Outside they visit the aviaries to see their "feathered friends" - a wing-injured American bald eagle and a half-blind owl.
Grammar Gym
Welcome to the Grammar Gym, friends. My name is Liz. In today’s article we find this sentence: The last thing they like to do is to stay indoors to study or work. That’s our Grammar Tip sentence.
Our focus is on the phrase at the beginning of the sentence: the last thing. We use this expression when we want to talk about an activity that someone doesn't enjoy doing. In the case of today’s sentence, the writer is saying that Americans don’t really want to be indoors during the summer months. Because it is something they don’t want to do, we can say it is the last thing they like to do.
OK. Let’s look at some example sentences. Kerry hates doing house chores, so we can say: If Kerry has free time, the last thing she would do is clean her house.
Or, Steven doesn't like going to the mall on weekends, so we can say:
Going shopping this weekend is the last thing Steven would do.
If you want to see some more example sentences, then check out today’s Grammar Tip section in your Studio Classroom magazine. And that’s it for today. This is Liz from the Grammar Gym. See you next time.
Info Cloud
Former U.S. President Woodrow Wilson once said: The hyphen was the most un-American thing in the world.
And Britain’s Winston Churchill said hyphens were a blemish to be avoided wherever possible.
Yes, many people believe the hyphen (-) is a punctuation mark that has outlived its usefulness.
As evidenced by words that are born with hyphens but then slowly and discreetly abandon them. Does anyone remember when the word tomorrow had a hyphen after the t-o?
If not, then surely you remember when the word e-mail was always written with a hyphen after the e.
Well, not so much anymore.
But don’t worry, people. The hyphen is not going anywhere.
Good thing, too. Hyphens still have a handful of important functions. For example, they facilitate understanding by neatly dividing words.
Right. They prevent what some people call letter collision. Imagine encountering words like coat-tail, shell-like, re-enter and de-ice without their hyphen. What a mess!
You are right. Well, another important function of hyphens is they help prevent ambiguity. For example, a half-blind owl isn't the same as a half blind owl, is it? And an old-furniture dealer is quite different from an old furniture dealer.
hyphen n.
1.連字符號，現在越來越少用了，早期如：
to-morrow: tomorrow
e-mail: email
2.有些字hyphen是不可以拿掉的，如 re-enter (少了hyphen就會有2個e)
3.有些字的hyphen可以避免模擬兩可的情況，如：
an old-furniture dealer買賣舊傢俱的商人
an old furniture dealer年紀很大的傢俱商
Language Lab
musical n.音樂劇、歌舞劇
a play or film that includes singing and dancing
- Britney watched the famous musical "Phantom of the Opera" when she was visiting New York.
Britney到紐約玩的時候，看了有名的歌劇：歌劇魅影
musical adj.音樂的、與音樂有關的
- The singer's musical talent was discovered when she was very young.
這位歌手的音樂才華，在很年輕的時候就被發覺了
road trip n. 駕車的公路旅行
a long trip that you take in a car, usually with friends
- Sean and his buddy took a road trip from L.A. to Miami last summer.
Sean和他的好朋友，去年夏天，從洛杉磯開車，一路玩到邁阿密
- Mel Gibson starred in the famous road trip movie Mad Max.
梅爾吉勃遜曾經主演過一部有名的公路旅行的電影：衝鋒飛車隊
legacy n.留給後人的東西；後遺症
/ˈlɛgəsi/
something (such as property or money) that is received from someone who has died;
something that happened in the past or that comes from someone in the past
- These theses are this professor's legacy to the school.
這些論文是這位教授留給學校的重要資產
- We're changing the legacy of apartheid that was created by the old government.
我們正在改變舊政府造成種族隔離政策的後遺症
injure v.損壞、使受傷
to harm or damage (someone or something)
- The driver was seriously injured in the car crash.
這位駕駛在車禍中深受重傷
- Overwork can injure one's health easily.
過勞很容易讓一個人的健康受損
injury n.受傷、傷害
harm or damage : an act or event that causes someone or something to no longer be fully healthy or in good condition [noncount]
- The quarterback has to rest for three months because of his knee injury.
由於膝蓋的傷，這位四分衛得休息三個月。
mms://webvod.goodtv.tv/SC/20130619_bf778.wmv
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