California dreamin’ is a song by a group called The Mamas and The Papas (you can find it on YouTube). They were popular in the 1960s, when Jeff was still very young.
In the song, the song writer, who is suffering from (having a bad experience as the result of) a cold winter day, is dreaming about moving to Los Angeles:
All the leaves are brown
And the sky is grey.
I’ve been for a walk
On a winter’s day.
I’d be safe and warm
If I was in L.A. (Los Angeles)
According to an article – America’s Most Popular States: The Reality of Living the Dream – at The Book of Odds web site – California has flooding, earthquakes, and wildfires. It’s short on cash (the state doesn’t have much money) and drinking water, but it’s still the state that most people want to live in. People prefer (like one thing better than another) California to Florida, Hawaii, Texas, and Colorado – the other states in the top 5.
What about the California dream? Is California a good place to live? How does it compare to other states? Here are some of the things I found in the article (some of the numbers have changed since the article was written):
12% of Americans already live in California (the population is more than 36 million!)
11.5% of Californians older than 16 are unemployed (don’t have a job). It’s better in Texas, where only 7.5% are unemployed. The national average is 6% (Since the recent economic problems, these numbers are much higher.).
The odds (see explanation below) of being a victim of violent crime in California are 1 in 198.5. California is safer, or less dangerous, than Florida and Texas.
Fewer people in Texas – only 75% – have a healthcare plan (health insurance). In addition, about 37% of the people in Texas are overweight (weigh too much). That doesn’t sound healthy.
Hawaii and Colorado have the highest number of insured residents (people with insurance) and the lowest number of violent crimes in the top 5 states.
Hawaii has almost as many earthquakes as California.
If you live in Colorado, there is a 1 in 10 chance that you will experience a wildfire each year. In California the odds are 1 in 3.33. I know about that; one of the recent wildfires was only a few miles from where I live.
The article asks an important question – “What do these numbers tell us about what life is really like in America’s most wanted states?” – and answers it – “Not much.” To really know what life is like somewhere, you have to know and think about more than these numbers. They are only part of the story. But they are interesting.
I’m curious: if you moved to the U.S., where would you like to live? Why?
Explanation: When we say “the odds are…” we are talking about the probability or chances of something happening. Here’s a simple example: when a woman has a baby, the odds are 1 in 2 that the baby will be a boy (or girl). Another example: if a horse is expected to win 25% – ¼ – of its races, the odds of its winning are 1 in 4. When the second number is smaller, there is a greater probability, or chance, of the thing happening. Oh my, I see that there’s a 1 in 1.4 (70%) chance of rain tomorrow. I need to make sure I carry my umbrella!
What words come to mind (what words do you think of) when someone talks about a “parking garage” or “parking structure (building)”?
I asked a few other people the same question. They said ugly. Necessary. Convenient (useful because it saves time). Scary. Dirty. Dangerous. When I looked at some articles online, I found a few more adjectives, such as utilitarian (practical but not attractive), austere (without decoration), and forlorn (empty and sad; often in bad condition). It doesn’t sound like parking structures have a very good reputation (how people think about them)!
All of that may change soon in Miami, Florida. There is an urban renewal (improving a city by building new buildings, bringing in more businesses, and more) project, called Lincoln 11 11, that may change how people think about parking structures.
A property developer is a person or company that makes money by buying land and building something on it to sell or lease (rent). A property developer in Miami has almost finished building a parking structure that includes condominiums (apartments that people own), high-end (expensive, exclusive) stores, a place near the top for people to gather with their friends to enjoy the view of the Atlantic Ocean and the beaches and – I almost forgot! – a place to park cars.
This new structure is very modern (not traditional). It was designed by the same company – from Switzerland – that designed the new Tate Modern Museum in London and the Bird’s Nest Stadium for the Olympics in Beijing. A bank building used to sit (be in the location) where the parking structure is being built. Unfortunately, the bank building became damaged by rioters (large group of people causing trouble or violence) and neglect (no one took care of it).
If you’d like to see the structure, go to the developer’s web site. When you get to the site, you’ll have to click on the middle of the screen to continue. To see pictures of each part of the structure, click on the words Vision, Architecture, Retail, and Residential. There are also some good pictures here.
The area – along Lincoln Road – where the structure is being built was a popular shopping area many years ago. However, by the 1950s it had faded (slowly disappeared). Happily, in the 1960s the area was revived (brought to life again). Today it’s a popular place for people to visit and shop.
The developer says that his idea – for the parking structure – is to bring people, events, parties, and life into the building, along with cars, of course. Both the designers and developer see the structure as an exciting experiment.
What do you think? Will it succeed (be successful)? Would you like to live there?
~Warren Ediger – ESL teacher/tutor, perpetual (permanent) student, writer, musician, father and husband, and creator of www.successfulenglish.com.
Every January 1st, new laws go into effect and people must begin to follow them. Last year in the U.S., 40,000 new laws were passed. Here are a sampling of (examples of) some of the new laws now in effect in the U.S.
* In the state of Texas, a new law says that teenagers (people between the ages of 13 and 19) must be accompaniedby (be with) an adult if they want to use the facilities at a tanning salon. Tanning salons are business where people go to have special lights shine on their skin so that it becomes darker, so they’ll have a suntan.
* If you’re driving in the state of Ohio, be sure to turn on your headlights (lights at the front of a car or vehicle that allows you to see the road in the dark) while it is snowing. If you don’t, you’ll get a ticket.
* The state of Illinois became the 19th state to outlaw (make illegal) texting, sending and receiving electronic messages, while driving.
* If you live in Kentucky and you want to get a payday loan, the new cap (limit) is $500. A payday loan is a loan you get from a private business that will lend you money until you get your next paycheck. Unfortunately, most payday loans require very high interest rates, so you would have to pay those high fees, too, when you get your paycheck. Of course, we don’t recommend getting a payday loan at all, as we talked about in English Cafe 94.
* In California, it is now illegal for restaurants to use oils, margarines, and shortenings (animal fat) that contain more than half a gram of trans fat, a type of unhealthy fat.
* Also in California, it is now against the law to cut off a cow’s tail, unless it is medically necessary, that is, only if a veterinarian (animal doctor) says the cow needs to have it cut off for the good of his or her health. So those who collect cow tails, beware!
Are there any unusual or surprising laws where you live, past or present?
~ Lucy
P.S. The photo above is of Lady Justice, a symbol of the judiciary, the system of courts in the U.S. Any depiction (image; drawing; painting; statue) of Lady Justice always has three things:
a sword (very long knife used as a weapon) to symbolize the power of the courts
a set of scales (device use to measure weight by putting weight on both sides until both sides are at the same level) to represent the weight of evidence on both sides of an issue
a blindfold, cloth over the eyes of Lady Justice, to symbolize impartiality (fairness; the ability to treat everyone the same)
P.P.S. Thanks to all those who read and comment on our blog posts. It’s one of the ways we know what you like and what you want to see more of on the blog. That’s why we really appreciate you taking the time to give us your feedback!
Some people have a difficult time saying, “I’m sorry” when they’ve done something wrong. If you are not sure how and when to apologize, don’t worry: Harvard Business Press, a publishing company, has a book for you called “Failure to Communicate” by Holly Weeks. It seems that for every supposed (apparent, possible but not necessarily real) problem in the U.S., someone has written a book to solve it for you.
According to Dr. Weeks (she teaches at Harvard), a good apology (1) acknowledges the mistake or fault (thing you did wrong), (2) expresses regret (sense of being sorry), and (3) takes responsibility for the mistake – that is, tells the person that you are to blame for it and admits that you were wrong. It seems straightforward enough (sufficiently easy to understand), but, says Weeks, many people today think that they’re apologizing but really aren’t.
For example, some people say “I want to apologize for…” Weeks thinks that this is not an apology, because the fact that you want to do something doesn’t mean that you are doing it. I want to lose weight, but that is different from actually losing weight.
What about people who say, “I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings” or “I’m sorry if you were offended (hurt) by what I did”? Again, Weeks says this is a non-apology apology. You aren’t really apologizing; you’re saying that the other person is being too sensitive (too easily offended) because what you did or said hurt their feelings. You’re not actually saying what you did was wrong (her Rule #1).
I’m not sure if I agree with Weeks here. Let’s say that you went to a movie without your friend. Your friend finds out and gets angry at you. You don’t think you did anything wrong, but you don’t want to hurt your friend, either. Should you say, “I’m sorry that I went to the movie” even if you are not honestly sorry? Is saying nothing in this case better than saying “I’m sorry I hurt your feelings”? I don’t think so. I think you can believe that what you did was right but at the same time not want to hurt someone else by it. I’m not sure how to say this other than “I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings.”
Perhaps part of the reason Americans don’t say sorry as much as they used to is for fear of liability – the idea that if you say sorry, you are admitting that you did something wrong and therefore have to pay for your mistake. Companies and organizations – and especially doctors and hospitals – rarely say they are sorry for fear of being successfully sued (legally required to pay for the damage that one has caused). Some U.S. states, however, have passed what are called “I’m sorry” laws, which say that even if you (or your company) say “I’m sorry,” it does not mean that you are accepting responsibility for the problem or mistake. You’re just being nice.
I’m guessing that Dr. Weeks would not be happy with these “I’m sorry” laws, however, since they violate (don’t follow) her Rule #3 about taking responsibility.
So you can see, the situation is not as easy as it looks. I am reminded of Love Story, which was not only a really bad book, but also a terrible movie in the 1970s, which had the line, “Being in love means never having to say you’re sorry.” Obviously the man who wrote that had never been married.
This is the story of Mr. Ayers (pronounced “airs”) and Mr. Lopez, the musician and the writer.
It’s “Mr.” because that’s what Mr. Ayers mother taught him when he was young, and that’s how he honors (shows respect to) her today, almost 60 years later.
Mr. Ayers is an African-American musician. When he was 19 years old, he left his home in Cleveland, Ohio, to attend the Julliard School, one of the best music schools in the world. He was filled with hopes and dreams for a future filled with music. His main instrument is the bass (the largest string instrument in an orchestra), but he also plays several others, including the violin, cello, trumpet, and flute.
Mr. Lopez is a popular writer for the Los Angeles Times. Twice a week he writes a column (a special story or article) called Points West. Many of his columns are human interest stories – inspiring (encouraging) stories about people. That’s how I met Mr. Ayers.
Mr. Lopez’ story about Mr. Ayers inspires me, but it makes me cry, at least a little. I’m a musician, too, so I can identify with Mr. Ayers in many ways. But in other ways, Mr. Ayers and I are very different. You see, while Mr. Ayers was at Julliard, he had a mental breakdown (became very depressed, anxious). His condition became worse and worse until he ended up (finally arrived) in Los Angeles, a street person living under a freeway bridge. That’s where Mr. Lopez met Mr. Ayers – on the streets of Los Angeles – and became his friend.
I’ve been following the story of Mr. Ayers in Mr. Lopez’ column for five years. It’s one of the happiest stories I’ve read. And, at the same time, one of the saddest. It’s about dreams, and broken dreams, and triumph (success) over broken dreams. It’s musical and, in many ways, magical.
Many people have become acquainted with Mr. Ayers from Mr. Lopez’ columns. And many of them have reached out (given help) to him. Someone found an inexpensive (not expensive) room for him to live in. He has gotten to know members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic (professional orchestra). Some of them give him free music lessons. And others are helping him record a CD.
Today Mr. Ayers still plays his cello on the streets of Los Angeles. His illness seems to be getting better, but it may never be cured (go away completely). He may never accomplish the dreams he had when was 19, but his life is better than it was a few years ago, thanks to his friend, the writer, Mr. Lopez.
If you’d like to learn more about the story of Mr. Ayers and Mr. Lopez, there are several things you can do:
Watch the 60 Minutes (a well-known and popular weekly TV news program on Sunday evening) story about Mr. Ayers and Mr. Lopez.
A final note: Mr. Ayers’ sister, Jennifer, has started a foundation (an organization created for a special purpose) called the Nathaniel Anthony Ayers Foundation. Its purpose is to help musicians and other artists who are mentally ill.
Warren Ediger – student of many things; ESL teacher/tutor; musician; husband and father; and creator of successfulenglish.com.
Have you ever heard the famous saying: “Necessity is the mother of invention”? Necessity is a need for something and invention is the creation of something new, something that no one has ever made before.
Many new inventions come about (result) by combining two or more things into something new. Cars are a good example. Hybrid cars (often simply called “hybrids”) are cars that combine an all-electric car with an all-gasoline-burning car to create a car that runs on part electricity and part gasoline. In this case, our need for more efficient and cleaner fuel (power) was the mother of invention.
When speaking of food, we often use the term fusion to talk about the blending of (putting together of; combining of) two or more types of cooking to make a new type of cuisine (fine food; cooking). In Los Angeles, Asian fusion is quite popular, with chefs (professional cooks) combining ingredients (individual parts of food) or cooking techniques of Asian food with those found in French, Italian, Middle Eastern, or other types of cooking. What is the necessity that is the mother of invention here? To please curious palates (mouths; tastes)? To lure (attract) to one place people who like different types of cuisine? The wish to create something new and innovative? Perhaps it’s a combination (fusion?) of all of these reasons.
I recently come across a new and interesting combination in music. You may have heard of the ukulele, an instrument used in traditional Hawaii music. It is a small instrument with four strings. And you all know what a guitar is, an instrument with six strings that no rock musician could do without. But have you heard of a guitalele?
As the name suggests, the guitalele is a cross between (combination of) a ukulele and a guitar. It has six strings like a guitar, but it is closer in size to a ukulele. From the clips (small segments of audio or video) I’ve seen on YouTube, it sounds marvelous. What is the necessity that prompted (encouraged) this invention? To help smaller musicians? To have an instrument with a really funny name that makes you laugh each time you hear it? I’m not sure. Unfortunately, for Americans, the inexpensive guitalele by Yamaha is not sold in the U.S. Why? I can only guess that they are still holding the funny-looking spork against us.
(By the way, “a cross between” is a very useful general phrase meaning a combination of two things. For example, in movies, a cross between a comedy and a romance is called a romantic comedy. With animals, a mule is a cross between a horse and a donkey. And when describing Jeff’s looks? He’s a cross between Brad Pitt and George Clooney, of course!)
This is the time of the year when students who want to study in the U.S. next fall (September) begin to worry about taking the TOEFL.
The TOEFL – Test of English as a Foreign Language – measures students’ ability to use academic English, the kind of English that is used in college and university classes. Almost all international students have to take the TOEFL before they can attend schools in the U.S. or other countries where classes are taught in English. More than one million students take the TOEFL every year.
The Problem
When students talk to me about the TOEFL, I’m often surprised by how little they know about it. They know that there are four sections (parts) – reading, listening, speaking, writing – but not much more.
The Solution
Check out (find information about) the TOEFL as soon as possible, before you begin to prepare for it.
On any test, it’s important for a student to know as much about the test as possible. If you do, you will be a better test taker. You can plan your preparation better, and you will know what to expect when you take the test. As a result, you will be more relaxed and more confident when you actually have to take the test.
Finding the Information
The Educational Testing Service (ETS) is the company that is responsible for the TOEFL. Their web site has a lot of information about the TOEFL and other tests, but it is not an easy site to navigate (to find where you need to go). Here are links to three pages on the ETS site that all students should look at when they begin to prepare for the TOEFL:
1. TOEFL iBT at a Glance – a four-page introduction to the TOEFL iBT (Internet-based Test). It briefly describes what’s new about the iBT and how it is different from the older paper-based TOEFL that many students are familiar with. It also contains answers to questions that students frequently ask.
2. The TOEFL iBT Tour – a video tour that introduces you to the TOEFL and shows you examples of each section of the test. Be sure to click on these links: Skills, Read, Listen, Write, Speak.
3. TOEFL iBT Tips – a long document – about 70 pages – that’s full of helpful information. You will find a description of each section of the test, with information about the specific skills (abilities) you need and the kinds of questions you will have to answer. There are also suggestions for how to improve your skills and prepare for the test. Rubrics (instructions for scoring) for speaking and writing will help you understand what you need to do to get good scores on those sections. Screenshots (pictures of the computer screen) show you what you will see when you take the test.
Do it now!
~Warren Ediger – student of many things, but especially language, learning/teaching, and technology; ESL teacher/tutor; musician; husband and father; creator of successfulenglish.com.
P.S. I want to thank Jeff, Lucy, and all of the members of the ESL Podcast family for the warm welcome you gave me after my first post. It’s a privilege and delight to be a part of this great family!
Visitors to Los Angeles have many tour options. Many people opt for (choose) star tours, which are tours that take visitors to the site of celebrities’ homes (or at least the outside of what are supposed to be their homes). Others like to visit famous Los Angeles sites, such as Disneyland, Universal Studios, and the beaches.
Now, visitors coming to Los Angeles have a new option: a tour of areas with high (a lot of) gang activity. Gangs–organized groups of criminals, usually of young people–have been part of Los Angeles for a very long time. Creator of LA Gang Tours, Alfred Lomas, thinks it is time for people to learn more about this aspect (part) of the city. Lomas is himself a former gang member, and the goal of the non-profit (not mainly to make money) LA Gang Tours is to make profits (earnings) that can then be used for micro-loans (small loans) for businesses in the community to promote more jobs.
To make the tour safe, Lomas says that he has the assurance (promise) of four gangs that they will not harm or harass (frighten and bother) the tour bus as it goes through their turf (territory). If you go on one of these tours, however, you know that there is some inherent (built-in; essential) danger. In fact, each person who goes on one of these tours has to sign a liability waiver, which is a legal agreement that says that the tour company is not legally responsible for anything bad that happens to you. Even with these dangers, however, the tours are very popular. The tour itself is two hours, includes lunch, and makes 12 stops.
These gangland tours are not without critics (people who think they are a bad idea). Some local leaders believe that the tours will give people an even worse image of these parts of the city, turning away potentialinvestors (people who might put their money into something, which they expect will make them more money).
Here is a quote from the Los Angeles Times story that I think sums up (summarizes well) the controversy:
“Everybody says we are the gang capital of the world, and that is certainly true, no denying that,” said the Rev. (Reverend) Gregory Boyle, who has spent decades trying to steer people out of gangs into legitimate work. “It’s hard to gloss over that. But there are two extremes we always need to avoid. One is demonizing the gang member, and the other extreme is romanticizing the gang.” (see definitions below)
So what do you think? Are tours of this kind a good idea? Are you ready to take an LA Gang Tour?
~ Lucy
to steer = to guide legitimate = legal; following the law or the rules to gloss over = to hide something bad under a false, good image; to make something seem better than it is extreme = highest or lowest; best or worst to demonize = to show something as evil or completely bad to romanticize = to show something as better or more appealing than it is
There’s an old expression in English, “The more, the merrier.” Merry is an old-fashioned word that means to be happy, as in “Merry Christmas.” “The more, the merrier” means the more people you have, say, at a party, the happier everyone is. We usually say this when somebody asks to join our group or some activity, and we want to make them feel welcome. But today I want to talk about not more people, but more money, and not “merry” as in happy, but marry, as in becoming husband and wife.
A new study of marriage in the United States has found that, in 2007, 19% of wives had husbands who were better educated (had more education) than they were, and 20% were married to men with less education. (Presumably (probably, most likely), the rest of the married couples had equal amounts of education, although the newspaper story I read doesn’t mention this.) But in 1970, 28% of wives had husbands who were better educated, and 20% were married to men with less education. In other words, it used to be that nearly 30% of women married men who were better educated than they were, but now that figure (number) has dropped to 19%. In 1970, only 4% of husbands had wives who made more money than they did; in 2007, 22% of husbands had wives who made more money than they did.
What can explain this change? First, this is the first generation of Americans in which more women have graduated from college than men, a change from previous generations when the majority of college graduates were men. With more education typically comes more income, although the relationship between education and income (the amount of money you make) is strong but not perfect. Second, many men clearly do not mind (are not bothered by) the fact that their wives have more education and make more money. It is still true, however, that women with college degrees are more likely to marry today than less educated women, although the overall percentage of the U.S. population that is married has been declining (going down, becoming less).
Is this a good thing, a bad thing, or neither good nor bad?
Most universities require their students to pass (complete successfully) certain courses (classes) in order to graduate. Usually, these are what we call general education classes, classes on topics that the university thinks everyone should know about to be considered an educated college graduate, such as literature, history, math, foreign language, and science. During the early part of the 20th century (remember the 20th century?), Cornell University (in Ithica, New York) began requiring student to pass a swim test, thinking that knowing how to swim was part of a “complete education.” Other universities followed suit (did the same thing), and by the 1940s, tests and classes related to one’s physical abilities (such as swimming) became more common at American universities.
By the mid-1990s, however, only five percent of U.S. colleges required students to take a swim test, and the vast (large) majority required no physical education (sports, exercise) courses at all. My alma mater (university from which I graduated, literally from the Latin meaning “nourishing (one who feeds) mother,” because universities “feed” you knowledge), the University of Minnesota, did not require any physical education classes, for example, which is a good thing for me, since I have zero talent for sports. The few universities that still require a swim test today include some quite famous ones, including Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.), and Notre Dame.
The tests vary (are different) from university to university. At Columbia, you must swim 75 yards (that’s 68.58 meters for the rest of the world), using any style or method (except with a surfboard, I guess). For Dartmouth, it’s 50 yards (45.72 meters), and for Notre Dame, 100 yards (91.44 meters). Most students pass the test, but those who don’t have to take a swimming class in order to (to be able to) graduate.
Is it fair to ask college students to know how to swim in order to get their degree? I’m not sure, although growing up in the “Land of 10,000 Lakes” (Minnesota), I can see how it would be a useful skill to have. Could I have passed such a test had it existed when I was in college? Well, let’s just say I have never been, and never will be, confused with Michael Phelps (the swimmer who won eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics).
California dreamin’ is a song by a group called The Mamas and The Papas (you can find it on YouTube). They were popular in the 1960s, when Jeff was still very young.
This is the time of the year when students who want to study in the U.S. next fall (September) begin to worry about taking the TOEFL.
Visitors to Los Angeles have many tour options. Many people opt for (choose) star tours, which are tours that take visitors to the site of celebrities’ homes (or at least the outside of what are supposed to be their homes). Others like to visit famous Los Angeles sites, such as Disneyland, Universal Studios, and the beaches.
