英语博客(A cup of English):064 Anyone for chess?

　　Beginners.

Chess is a board game that my whole family likes to play. Even my youngest child likes to move the pieces around the board. She doesn't understand the rules at all, but copying us is fun. My mother bought us a beautiful chess set a few years ago. The board is actually a box, in which you find all of the pieces for both chess and drafts. They are made out of some kind of stone, a beautifully smooth stone that is cool to the touch, - probably soap stone. We spend ages playing against eachother. My husband and I rarely play together; it's usually one of us and the kids. It's a perfect game for long Winter evenings. We have a collection of other board games as well: Monopoly, Scrabble, Taboo 1, and other mathematical type games. Taboo is an interesting game, and great fun. The object of the game is the following: a word is read out loud to the players. It is a real word, though not normally used. Each player must invent a definition secretly. All the definitions are then handed back to the reader; they are shuffled 3, along with the correct definition, and then read out loud. Each person votes for the definition that he or she thinks is the right one. The reader, who knows which one is correct, must have a neutral face, or what we call a 'Poker 4 face' while reading. It's a hilarious 5 game that uses your brain, and reveals a lot about each player.

Grammar notes.

Verbs: to shuffle 2, to define, to play against, to read out loud/ silently, to reveal.

Exs: Before we play cards, could you please shuffle them?

How would you define the sky? Would you call it a place, or gas?

The local rugby team played against the favorites from the capital, and they beat them!

In class we are told to read silently to ourselves; the teacher reads out loud when she teaches.

The archeologists' spade broke through the earth to reveal the handle of a golden sword.

Advanced.

During my recent stay in New Zealand, I had the opportunity of spending time in the center of Christchurch. If you ever get the opportunity to go there, you must. It is like a huge garden town. Right in the center is an enormous park with a botanical garden in it, surrounded by historic buildings. The river Avon works its way through the whole city, and cuts right through the park. If you walk from the park to the cathedral, you will find yourself in a very large square, surrounded by shops, offices, and places to eat. It was here, one day, as I was looking for the tourist information office, that I found an enormous chess set. Each piece was about three feet tall. There were huge tiles on the ground which served as the board. As I approached, I realized that a game was being played; people were standing 6 around watching and waiting. The strategy was very public. From what I could see, a group of three Argentinian young men were playing against a local man. It was their move, but they were stuck. They talked and gestured and moved around pointing to this piece and that piece, but still no ideas came. Because I speak Spanish, I felt comfortable enough to offer some advice which proved to be totally useless. I shouldn't have bothered. But, hey, I tried. So I said a friendly "Adios!" and left thinking, "What a great way to bring people together in a public and beautiful place."

Grammar notes.

Verbs: to approach, to realize, to gesture, to feel.

Exs: A man approached me on the street and asked me to sign a petition.

I needed money immediately, but I realized that the banks were closed.

This awful man made a rude hand gesture as I passed him in the car.

I was feeling confident this morning, but just before the interview, I felt quite sick.