July is Hot, Hot, Hot!

Start this month with some hot July facts

Welcome to one of the hottest months on Earth – at least in the Northern Hemisphere. On July 10, 1913, the temperature in Death Valley, California, reached 56.7 degrees Celsius. That’s approaching the heat you need to fry an egg! Indeed, you can try doing that on July 4 – Sidewalk Egg Frying Day.

Of course, you may want to beat the heat by eating ice cream. Ronald Reagan, America’s 40th president, would have supported that idea! In 1984, he declared July to be National Ice cream Month. Take your cold treat and go for a walk.

In some places you might spot a larkspur, July’s flower. White ones convey a happy nature while purple ones represent first love. July’s gemstone is the red ruby. This “king of gems” represents courage, among other virtues. According to some, soldiers used to implant rubies under their skin in hopes of gaining courage in battle.

International Joke Day is July 1 – today! And who doesn't like to laugh? Take some time to tell a joke or post something funny online. After all, laughter is the best medicine.

Info Cloud
Hi, friends. If you order eggs in a restaurant, the server will likely ask you: How do you like your eggs?

And the answer is not “Well done.” That’s an answer to the question: How do you like your steak?

That’s right. And since our lesson today mentions frying eggs, let’s learn the options we have for ordering eggs.

OK. First, there is sunny-side up. That’s when the egg is cooked on one side only, and the yolk is still runny.

Next, my personal favorite – over easy. That’s what the egg is cooked mostly on one side and a little on the other side. And the yolk is still runny.

And then there’s over hard. The egg, in this case, is cooked on both sides until the yolk inside is hard.

If you don’t mind peeling the shell, you can order an egg either soft-boiled or hard-boiled. The egg in both cases is boiled in the shell. The yolk is still liquid in a soft-boiled egg, and is solid in a hard-boiled egg.

Then there’s poached. That’s when the egg is boiled out of the shell.

Finally, there’s scrambled, which needs no explanation.

sunny-side up 太陽蛋 - 只煎一面半生的荷包蛋
over easy 兩面都煎，蛋黃不要熟的荷包蛋
over hard 兩面都煎，蛋黃全熟的荷包蛋
hard-boiled egg 熟蛋黃的水煮蛋
soft-boiled egg 軟蛋黃的水煮蛋
poached egg 水波蛋 - 水煮的荷包蛋
scrambled eggs 炒蛋

Grammar Gym
Hello, friends. Welcome to the Grammar Gym. My name is Liz.

In today’s article we read: This “king of gems” represents courage. among other virtues. That’s our Grammar Tip sentence. Our focus today is on the phrase “among other.” It’s a fancy way of saying one of many.

So today’s sentence just means this king of gems represents many virtues, and one of them is courage. Use this phrase when there’s a list of qualities or examples and you want to just mention one of them.

For example:
Amy visited museums, among other activities, while she was studying in Paris.
Or: A platypus is unlike other mammals; it lays eggs, among other unique characteristics.

So give this phrase a try. Think of something that has lots of qualities or examples and talk about it.
That’s it for today. Thanks for joining me here at the Grammar Gym. This is Liz. I’ll see you again next time. Bye-bye.

Language Lab
Celsius adj.攝氏的  [Fahrenheit adj.華氏的 ]
relating to or having a scale for measuring temperature on which the boiling point of water is at 100 degrees and the freezing point of water is at 0 degrees
- The temperature dropped to 5 degrees Celsius last night.
昨晚溫度降到攝氏五度
- The temperature now is 10 degrees Fahrenheit.
現在的溫度是華氏十度

indeed adv.真正地、確實地
without any question — used to stress the truth of a statement 
- Molly is indeed the most unselfish person I've ever met.
Molly真的是我所遇過最不自私的人
- The opportunity to interview such a celebrity is rare indeed.
訪問到這一位名人的機會，確實是很難的

convey v.表達、傳達
/kənˈveɪ/
to communicate or express something, with or without using words
- Each of his poems conveys a sense of hope.
他的每一首詩都表達出盼望
- Sherry conveyed her gratitude to her teacher with a lovely card.
Sherry用可愛的卡片，對她的老師表達出感謝
convey v.運送
to take or carry something from one place to another
- The furniture was conveyed by sea.
這些傢俱用海運運來的

virtue n.美德、德行
/ˈvɚtʃu/
morally good behavior or character  
- One of Jack's greatest virtues is his kindness.
Jack最優秀的美德之一就是宅心仁厚
virtuous adj.道德高尚的、正直的
/ˈvɚtʃəwəs/
behaving in a very honest and moral way
- Sean is a responsible, hard-working and virtuous family man.
Sean是一位認真、負責、正直又顧家的男人


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