Valme's English Corner

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Uncle SAM, symbol of American Patriotism

Hi, there!,

Have you ever wondered about the origin of UNCLE SAM? Where does he come from? Well, my mother asked me this a few days ago, and I could only answer her that this famous man is one of the most representative emblem of American Patriotism, as well as the Statue of Liberty. But what is his origin?

It is said that Uncle Sam was actually a meat packer in Troy, New York. His name was Mr Samuel Wilson. During the War of 1812, he supplied rations to the American army. As a matter of fact, these goods were stamped with these letters "E.A. - U.S.", E. A. referred to Elbert Anderson; whereas it was believed that U.S. referred to abbreviation of USA. Surprisingly, one of Sam's workers joshed that it stood for "Elbert Anderson and Uncle Sam," meaning the jovial Wilson himself. The soldiers already knew Samuel Wilson's cooperation, but they continued saying Uncle Sam. Was it only a joke?

Thus, from that moment onwards, the legend of Uncle Sam as a patriotic symbol and American proud cooperation was spread over the country.

If you are interested, you can read more at Suite101: Uncle Sam: A Brief History of America's Greatest Symbol http://www.suite101.com/content/uncle-sam-a42838#ixzz0y2FjnMx6

http://www.uncle-sams-home.com/ (Brief history for Children)

All Tenses (post 7)

Hi, there!,

If you need to review all tenses mixed, here you are a fantastic exercise! Have a Nice Day ;-)
Fill in the gaps with the correct form of the verbs in brackets.
1. Why ______ you _______ (be) so tired?
2. Because I ____________ (be) to the gym.
3. It ________________ (rain) all day.
4. Last night, I ______________ (decide) to go snowboarding.
5. My brother ______________ (buy and sell) cars. He _______________ (earn) a lot of money.
6. If I ___________ (need) money, I ___________ (get) a job.
7. When my sister _________ (be) a teenager, she ___________ (use/play) with barbies.
8. I _________ (think) you ____________ (improve) your English in USA.
9. When Ross ____________ (talk) on the phone, Rachel ________ (get) dressed.
10. After Sarah ______________ (eat) all the pasta, she ___________ (leave) home.
11. We all _______________ (relax) because the manager ______________ (leave).
12. Hey, what _______ you ________ (do) tonight? _______ you _______ (like) to come with me?
13. Well, I can’t, I ___________ (work) tonight.
14. Now, he _____________ (read) a book. I ______________ (finish) it by tomorrow.
15. When the football match __________ (start), a little rabbit __________ (appear).
16. Why ________ you _______ (call) Sarah? She ________ (wait) for your call.
17. If I ___________ (know) you __________ (come) to the party, we ___________ (pick you up).
18. David ____________ (speak) three languages. Oh! It _____ (be) fantastic!
19. Where ________ she ________ (born). She ________ (born) in Malta.
20. Two weeks ago, Mike

and Peter _________ (meet) Jane at John’s house.
21. They ____________ (get) married when they ___________ (save) enough money.
22. By this time next week, we _________ (sunbathe) on the beach!
23. Tom!, Susan __________ (just/arrive). Come on, _______ (go) down.
24. ________ you _______ (be/ ever) to Washington DC?
25. While we _____________ (swim) in the sea, we ___________ (see) a shark.
26. Who ____________ (talk) to you very soon?
27. I ___________ (not believe) a word he ________ (say). He ___________ (tell always) lies.
28. In 2019, you ___________ (get) a job.
29. _________ she ________ (try / ever) the Spanish omelet?
30. No, she ________ (have), but she ___________ (taste / already) Salmorejo.

All Tenses, text taken from TWILIGHT by Stephenie Mayer

Hi, there!,

You may have read TWILIGHT or seen the movie. So, I'm going to ask you to read the following text taken from the first novel of the saga, and then, complete with the correct form of the verbs in bracket

s. At the bottom, you could check your answers. I hope you'll enjoy this experiment!

Complete the following text taken from TWILIGHT with the correct form of the verbs in brackets.

“Edward Cullen ___________ (stare) at you again”, Jessica ______ (say), finally breaking through my abstraction in with his name. “I __________ (wonder) why he __________ (sit) alone today”.
My head _______ (snap) up. I __________ (follow) her gaze to see Edward, smiling crookedly, staring at me from an empty table across the cafeteria from where he usually ______ (sit). Once he _________ (catch) my eye, he _________ (raise) one hand and motioned with his index finger for me to join him. As I __________ (stare) in disbelief, he winked.
“_______ he _______ (mean) you?”, Jessica _______ (ask) with insulting astonishment in her voice.
“Maybe he needs help with his Biology homework”, I_________ (mutter) for her benefit. “Um, I’d better go see what he wants”. I could feel her staring after me as I walked away.
When I ________ (reach) his table, I stood behind the chair across from him, unsure.
“Why _______ you_____ (sit) with me today?”, he _________ (ask), smiling.
I _________ (sit) down automatically, watching him with caution. He ______ (be) still smiling. It _____ (be) hard to believe that someone so beautiful could be real. I _____ (be) afraid that he might disappear in a sudden puff of smoke, and I would wake up.
He _______ (seem) to be waiting for me to say something.
“This _____ (be) different!, I finally _______ (manage).
“Well…” He _______ (pause), and then the rest of the words ______ (follow) in a rush. “I ________ (decide) as long as I _________ (go) to hell, I might as well do it thoroughly”.”You know I ________ (not have) any idea what you mean”, I eventually _________ (point) out.

TEXT TAKEN FROM TWILIGHT by STEPHENIE MEYER

“Edward Cullen is staring at you again”, Jessica said, finally breaking through my abstraction in with his name. “I wonder why he’s sitting alone today”.
My head snapped up. I followed her gaze to see Edward, smiling crookedly, staring at me from an empty table across the cafeteria from where he usually sat. Once he’d caught my eye, he raised one hand and motioned with his index finger for me to join him. As I stared in disbelief, he winked.
“Does he mean you?”, Jessica asked with insulting astonishment in her voice.

“Maybe he needs help with his Biology homework”, I muttered for her benefit. “Um, I’d better go see what he wants”.I could feel her staring after me as I walked away.
When I reached his table, I stood behind the chair acroos from him, unsure.
“Why don’t you sit with me today?”, he asked, smiling.
I sat down automatically, watching him with caution. He was still smiling. It was hard to believe that someone so beautiful could be real. I was afraid that he might disappear in a sudden puff of smoke, and I would wake up.
He seemed to be waiting for me to say something.
“This is different!, I finally managed.
“Well…” He paused, and then the rest of the words followed in a rush. “I decided as long as I was going to hell, I might as well do it thoroughly”.”You know I don’t have any idea what you mean”, I eventually pointed out.