英语博客：Who invented the Garp?

Like many good things, the Garp started out as an idea. A boy had been told by his Science teacher to make an instrument involving specific measurements and the number eight. Well, the idea moved around in the mind of the boy for a few days, changing

英语博客：I'm on Facebook.

Well, everyone, I've taken the plunge and joined Facebook. I signed up months ago, but didn't really start communicating properly with people until a couple of days ago. You can find me under, believe it or not, Acupof English. I had to put in Acupof

英语博客：The cost of teeth is rising.

We've had teeth all over the house recently. My children just happen to be at the ages where they are all losing teeth. For my oldest boys, it's no longer a novelty. They have gaps here and there where teeth are growing in. And the contrast between t

英语博客：Ethanol anybody?

Today's podcast is going to test your knowledge of ethanol. What is it? How is it made? And what are the advantages and disadvantages of using it? I asked myself these questions recently, when I drove past a gas station that had a sign saying 'No eth

英语博客：An intimidating meeting.

Last week, as some of you know, I met with the Superintendent of Wenatchee Schools. I was very nervous, for some reason. I had never met him before, though I had seen him a couple of times in School Board meetings. My intention was to encourage chang

英语博客：Firewood for free.

I was driving down the road the other day, to go to Walmart, when I saw something that really caught my eye. On the left hand side of the road, infront of a house, a huge tree had been cut down. It was so big that it took up all of the house owner's

英语博客：Daily homework.

Did your teacher give you your homework packet? is a question I ask my children often. Every week they get a set of papers that are stapled together, each paper being either a math sheet or a reading and writing sheet. For the longest time, I couldn'

英语博客(A cup of English):017 Keep fit

Keep fit, even when it's cold. Beginners. Winter is just about here in Wenatchee. The air is cold; we have heavy frost most mornings. Thankfully, the days are still quite sunny, even though they are short. What do children do in the afternoons, after

英语博客：Ali Baba

Ali Baba. In a town in Persia there lived a man called Ali Baba. He was a poor woodcutter, and he struggled each day to feed his wife and children. All he ever wanted was to own a shop in the town, sell goods to his neighbors, and have plenty for his

英语博客：Saint George and the Dragon part 3

图片1 Saint George and the Dragon (part 3). The smell as they approached the dragon's den was horrible. George and the princess put George's shield near the sleeping dragon's head to protect themselves from the dragon's fiery snores. They watched t

英语博客：Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.

This tale is of a brave mongoose, named Rikki-tikki-tavi, and his great fight to help a family that saved him. It all took place in the far-off land of India. It began on the first sunny day after many days of darkenss and rain. A young English boy,

英语博客：How small do they get?

Over the weekend, one of my sons had a couple of baseball games in a local park. It's that season again! It was actually a perfect day for the sport as well; it was sunny but cool. There were lots of people sitting and watching the event. In fact, th

英语博客：An eye exam.

At this time of year, the schools have tests of all kinds for the children. Reading and writing tests, math skills tests, and tomorrow, there will be hearing and vision tests for the whole school. If you think about it, the two last mentioned tests a

英语博客：It's here early!

If you have the blog or the app of A Cup Of English handy, you will see from the photo or the video clip just what the 'it' is. Yes, the snow. Last year, we hardly had any at Christmas, and not even a hint of it at Thanksgiving. This year is very dif

英语博客：Stuck in traffic.

I hope that this never happens to you. You're driving along, minding your own business, when suddenly your car stops. It could be because of engine trouble, or because of something in the road that is preventing the car from moving. I spotted this po

英语博客：How much for postage?

Today, I found in my bag forty stamps that I had bought around Christmas time, and not used. I had bought them for mailing Christmas cards, but this year, for some odd reason, I didn't mail out any cards at all. I usually do. I must have just complet

英语博客：A Foxy Chick.

图片1 Beginners. Well, it's time for a new dog. For the past year, we have been a one dog family. But, you know, our dog, Rosie, is a wildly social lady. She goes crazy any time she meets another dog, a cat, a mouse, or a bird, let alone a human. B

英语博客：Fire up the barby!

图片1 Fire up the barby! The good weather is here, minced meat is on sale in the supermarket, and the nights are longer. It's time to clean the outside furniture, put a tablecloth on the table, buy propane for the barbecue, and decide what's for di

英语博客：What's happened to the weather?

The weather is one thing, where I live, that is consistent. It is one of the attractions about living here. The tourist information about Wenatchee talks at once about the 300 days of sun each year, and the regular, consistent four seasons: Spring, S

英语博客：Starting to read.

图片1 Helen the hippo is my friend at the moment. My little girl is learning how to read, and Helen is the type of character that is helping her to do so. It has been wonderful and fascinating to see the transition from knowing the alphabet to putt