I DIG ENGLISH - just a cool blog about English

I hope you enjoy reading this blog
half as much as I enjoy writing it for you.
Because I have a ball.


Karola

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

random word of the day: THE BIG THREE-OH + Personal Blog ;)







random word of the day: THE BIG THREE-OH (THE BIG 30) – trzydzieste urodziny (30th birthday)


(1) The BIG Three Oh! Today is the day. 30 years ago my mum brought me into this world – thanks Mum!

(2) My Big Three Oh. OK so if you any of you remember my issues with turning 20, I need you all again as I'm having even bigger palpitations at turning 30!!!!

(3) The big three-oh. I know, it shouldn't be a big deal. It's only a number. It's really no different than 29. I'm still younger than all those 40-year-olds out there driving around in mid-life crisis cars.

(4) Oh, and thanks to everyone who helped me celebrate my big three-oh last weekend. From what I remember, I had a blast.

(5) Hope you have a good one (and your head survives the big three oh party), and keep doing what you do the way you do it.

to have issues with – to have problems with

a mid-life crisis  – kryzys wieku średniego (The point in an adult’s life when they get all concerned /worried/ that they're old and start acting what they think is 'young'.)

to have a blast – świetnie się bawić (to have a great time, to have a lot of fun)

Hope you have a good one. – here: Hope you enjoy your birthday!

keep doing what you do the way you do it – the best compliment ever ?? :D




Hi guys!

It’s my big brother’s birthday today and I’ve got a special message for him:



And just to make today even more special I’ve decided to compile a list of fun facts about us. (It’s not just about Wiktor, because it’s my blog after all. You can’t have the Triwizard Tournament without Harry Potter in it! Can you? :D)

WIKTOR AND I AT A PARTY A FEW YEARS AGO



1.    When we were very little I called him Tito and he called me Nina, because we couldn’t pronounce each other’s names properly.
2.    We also had bunk beds and my brother slept on the top one.
3.    Witkor used to own a teddy bear that he always slept with. My mum had to patch it up a million times because it was so old. He finally got rid of it after being teased about it at a summer camp.
4.    On our first day of kindergarten, my brother supposedly took my hand and said to my crying self: ‘Come on Karolina, we have to go now. Mum needs to get to work.’

to pronounce – wymawiać (to say)
properly – poprawnie (correctly)
bunk beds – łóżko piętrowe (two beds fixed together, one on top of the other)
to patch something up – załatać, poskładać do kupy (to repair something, especially in a basic and temporary way)
to get rid of something – pozbyć się czegoś (to throw something away)
to tease – dokuczać (to laugh at someone or say unkind things about them, either because you are joking or because you want to upset them)
supposedly – podobno (as some people believe or say, although you may not agree with this)

5.    When we were teenagers Wiktor would teach me basketball just to have a laugh because I’m useless at basketball.
6.    My bro can be a sore loser :) When we were younger and we were playing video games (car racing) and I was winning, he would press Escape and passed it off as an error of the system.
7.    Wiktor has a law degree and now studies to become a legal adviser (radca prawny).
8.    He has been to Alaska and spent six months over there.
9.    His biggest pet peeve is probably when someone handles Styrofoam. He hates the sound it makes.
10. Wiktor’s most annoying habit (according to me) is being on the phone constantly.

just to have a laugh – tylko po to, żeby się pośmiać (to see something funny)
be useless at – być w czyś beznadziejnym, słabym (to be really bad at some activity)
be a sore loser – nie umieć przegrywać (when someone can’t accept that they are not the winner)
to pass it off as – przedstawiać coś jako coś innego  (to make something look like something else)
to have a law degree – ukończyć prawo (to have a law school diploma)
a pet peeve – coś, czego nie cierpimy (something that irritates you a lot)
to handle – trzymać, dotykać (to pick something up and touch, hold or move it with your hands)
Styrofoam – styropian (a light usually white plastic used especially for putting around delicate objects inside containers to protect them from damage)

11. His favourite TV shows are probably Family Guy and American Dad.
12. I once did his English homework and everyone in the group, including the teacher, knew about it.
13. Some people tell us that we are very similar, whereas others say that we look nothing alike.
14. We often call each other ‘fatso’ as in ‘Hi, fatso, wassup?’ It’s some kind of a pet name between the two of us.
15. We attended the same kindergarten, primary school, secondary school and university (different faculties).
16. My brother has always been the cool one and I’ve been the nerdy one ;)

to look nothing alike – nie być wcale do siebie podobnym (when two people are not similar lookwise)
a fatso – grubas (a fat person)
a pet name – pieszczotliwe przezwisko (an informal name given to someone by their family or friends)
to attend – uczęszczać do (to go to)
to cover – tu: zaspokajać (to satisfy)
entertainment – rozrywka (something that amuses us)
all in good fun – na żarty, nie na serio (not serious, not to offend anyone but just for fun)

Yep, that’s all. I can’t think of anything else. Hope that covers your entertainment needs for today! Wiktor- please, don’t kill me! It’s all in good fun :)

Have a great day!

Karola


Saturday, January 26, 2013

TV Shows: Suits





 
Hi guys!

For Legal English lessons please go to idiglegalenglish.blogspot.com

If you are on the lookout for a cool TV show to watch, then you should definitely check out Suits, an American legal TV series that runs on USA Network. (In Poland it is available to Cyfra + subscribers under the title: W garniturach. Its first episode aired in June 2011 and since then the show has attracted quite a following, me included :)

to be on the lookout for – poszukiwać czegoś (to be looking for something, to be in search of)
to run – lecieć, być emitowanym (to continue to be broadcast)
to air – być emitowanym (to be broadcast)
a following – grupa fanów (a group of fans, fanbase)

The storyline revolves around a New York law firm and particularly its senior partner, a high-flyer in the cutthroat world of law, Harvey Specter, (Gabriel Macht) and his young associate, Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams). Despite the over 40 minute episodes, the series feels dynamic and fresh. It’s witty and intelligent and it pulls you in right away. To me it combines the best of House M.D. (the jargon, here: legalese), Gossip Girl (the intrigue) and How I Met Your Mother (the funny banter and … suits, duh). Definitely worth watching!

the storyline/ story line – fabuła (the plot, the series of events)
to revolve around – obracać się wokół (to centre around)
a law firm – kancelaria prawna
a high-flyer/ high-flier – osoba zdolna i ambitna (someone who has a lot of ability and a strong wish to be successful and is therefore expected to achieve a lot)
cutthroat – bezwzględny (not involving considering or worrying about any harm caused to others;  fierce)
an associate – współpracownik (an employee of a law firm with the prospect of becoming a partner)
to pull somebody in – wciągać (to make you want to know what happens next)
legalese – żargon prawniczy (language used by lawyers and in legal documents)
banter – przekomarzanie się (conversation which is funny and not serious)
duh – ba (Isn’t that obvious?)





He is a guy who’s always thinking ten steps ahead. He’s very confident. He’s got a lot of swagger and a lot of ease. 

 (Gabriel Macht about his character)


Harvey Specter is someone you want on your side when in a courtroom. He is successful, determined, self-confident, respected and, on top of that, handsome. He is a guy whom you never see sweat under pressure. He takes Mike under his wing and mentors him, giving him a lot of tough love along the way. He has a thing for collector’s items, withholds his advice to Mike till the last minute and is known for settling his cases out of court.

swagger – tu: pewność siebie (confidence, coolness, style)
ease – swoboda, luz (when you experience no difficulty, effort, pain or worry)
a courtroom – sala sądowa (the place where a judge, lawyers and parties to a dispute meet)
on top of that – w dodatku (additionally)
to sweat under pressure – pocić się nerwowo, pod presją (to be so nervous that you become wet under your arms or on your forehead)
tough love – wychowanie oparte na byciu stanowczym i wymagającym zamiast pobłażliwym (when people intentionally do not show too much kindness to a person who has a problem so that the person will start to solve their own problem)
a collector’s item – rzadki okaz  (something rare and interesting to people who collect similar things)
to withhold – wstrzymywać (to refuse to give something or to keep back something)
to settle a case out of court – doprowadzić do ugody pozasądowej (to resolve a dispute before the judge in a court of law does it)





Mike Ross is an unmotivated sort of stoner essentially, who just happens to be brilliant. 

 (Patrick J. Adams about his character)


Mike Ross is a college dropout with a photographic memory. He can not only recite legal handbooks, but his mind also allows him to get out of some tight spots – a perfect combination of book smarts and street smarts, really. He charms with a good-hearted nature and occasional awkwardness caused by being a true rookie in the world of successful grown-ups. He’s also a bit of a looker and you don’t really care that he cycles to work ;) Just kidding. Everyone cares about that :D

a stoner – amator marichuany (someone who smokes pot a lot)
essentially – zasadniczo (basically)
a dropout – osoba, która nie ukończyła szkoły/studiów (a person who leaves school, college or university before finishing a course)
to be in a tight spot – być w opałach, tarapatach (to be in trouble, in a difficult situation)
book smarts – wiedza (the ability to succeed scholastically, and not necessarily in the real world)
street smarts – spryt (the ability to manage or succeed in difficult or dangerous situations, especially in big towns or cities)
awkwardness – niezdarność, niezgrabność (not knowing how to act to what to say in different situations)
a rookie – nowicjusz (a beginner, someone new to something)
 a grown-up – dorosły (an adult)










Have a great weekend!

Karola