DO YOU WANT TO IMPROVE YOUR ENGLISH? (2)
发表于 : 周一 10月 17, 2011 12:38 pm
Write to Uncle Leung in English. You may make mistakes. But Uncle Leung will help you learn from your mistakes and give you suggestions on how you can improve your English. Here is a letter from a Twinkle Star. The letter is well written on the whole. Uncle Leung has given her 15 stars ( * ) for words/phrases well used. That’s quite a lot! But, of course, there is always room for improvement. See how the letter can be rewritten in clear English.
Comments of Uncle Leung:
1. The area where there is a mistake is underlined.
2. My corrections are in red.
3. * = the word/phrase is well used. Do it again.
4. I rewrite the letter in clear English in blue.
A letter from Beautiful Star:
Dear Uncle leung ,
Thank you! You are so kind* and benign*. I like making friends* with you * very much. What a pity * we did not take * photo together last time. So I long to * meet you next time. I tell you an interesting thing. I made* a mistake about* my Newspaper teacher. She has a good command *of English and she speak English very good. I have never seen such an excellent Chinese teacher. She speaks quickly and clearly just like native English speaker. And I admire (1) her very. Just when I was wondering * how she can learn English so well .Then she told us she was an American but her parents were Chinese. And she was brought up * in the USA. Oh, it is really out of my expectation. Then I don't admire her at all (2). But from this, I know (3) that when one exposure himself in the language atmosphere, one can learn it (4) quite well. So I suggest my roommates communicate *with each other * in English everyday. Do you that's right？
Wish you happy (5) in the coming * Mid-Autumn festival
Love , (6)
Beautiful Star
Can you correct the mistakes underlined? Try before you go to Uncle Leung's suggestions and comments underneath.
Dear Uncle Leung ,
Thank you! You are so kind and benign. I like making friends with you very much. What a pity we did not take any photo together last time. So I long to meet you next time. Let me tell you something funny. It was the mistaken admiration I felt for the teacher who teaches us newspaper reading. This lady has a good command of English and she speaks with accurate and clear articulation. I have never seen a Chinese who can speak English so well. She speaks quickly and clearly just like a native English speaker. At that time, I admired her very much. Just when I was wondering how she could learn English so well, she told us she was an American but her parents were Chinese, and she had been brought up in the USA. Oh, what a surprise! I was disillusioned, and felt less admiration for her. But from this, I have learnt that when we immerse in a certain language environment, we can learn that language well. So I suggested to my roommates that we should communicate* with each other in English every day. Do you think that's a good way to learn English?
I wish you happiness in the coming* Mid-Autumn Festival.
Yours truly,
Beautiful Star
Comments
(1) Use past tense as you are telling me how you felt and what happened in the past.
(2) 'At all' = completely. It's too strong here.
(3) 'Know': have information about something.
'Learn': find out information about something by experience, by studying it, by reading, or hearing it from someone.
(4) It is not sure what ‘it’ refers to. People may mistakenly think ‘it’ refers to ‘the language atmosphere’. But it
makes sense only if it means ‘English language’, which is not mentioned in the sentence. So it's better to make it
clear in this way: … when one exposures oneself in a certain language environment, one can learn that language quite
well.
(5) When you say that you hope someone will have good luck, a happy life etc, you say: I wish you a Happy New Year/every
happiness/every success/luck/all the best, etc. (i.e. wish + somebody + something/a noun)
(6) You end with: ‘Love + name/signature’ when you are writing to your lover or a member of you family.
Write to Uncle Leung if you have any other questions.
Comments of Uncle Leung:
1. The area where there is a mistake is underlined.
2. My corrections are in red.
3. * = the word/phrase is well used. Do it again.
4. I rewrite the letter in clear English in blue.
A letter from Beautiful Star:
Dear Uncle leung ,
Thank you! You are so kind* and benign*. I like making friends* with you * very much. What a pity * we did not take * photo together last time. So I long to * meet you next time. I tell you an interesting thing. I made* a mistake about* my Newspaper teacher. She has a good command *of English and she speak English very good. I have never seen such an excellent Chinese teacher. She speaks quickly and clearly just like native English speaker. And I admire (1) her very. Just when I was wondering * how she can learn English so well .Then she told us she was an American but her parents were Chinese. And she was brought up * in the USA. Oh, it is really out of my expectation. Then I don't admire her at all (2). But from this, I know (3) that when one exposure himself in the language atmosphere, one can learn it (4) quite well. So I suggest my roommates communicate *with each other * in English everyday. Do you that's right？
Wish you happy (5) in the coming * Mid-Autumn festival
Love , (6)
Beautiful Star
Can you correct the mistakes underlined? Try before you go to Uncle Leung's suggestions and comments underneath.
Dear Uncle Leung ,
Thank you! You are so kind and benign. I like making friends with you very much. What a pity we did not take any photo together last time. So I long to meet you next time. Let me tell you something funny. It was the mistaken admiration I felt for the teacher who teaches us newspaper reading. This lady has a good command of English and she speaks with accurate and clear articulation. I have never seen a Chinese who can speak English so well. She speaks quickly and clearly just like a native English speaker. At that time, I admired her very much. Just when I was wondering how she could learn English so well, she told us she was an American but her parents were Chinese, and she had been brought up in the USA. Oh, what a surprise! I was disillusioned, and felt less admiration for her. But from this, I have learnt that when we immerse in a certain language environment, we can learn that language well. So I suggested to my roommates that we should communicate* with each other in English every day. Do you think that's a good way to learn English?
I wish you happiness in the coming* Mid-Autumn Festival.
Yours truly,
Beautiful Star
Comments
(1) Use past tense as you are telling me how you felt and what happened in the past.
(2) 'At all' = completely. It's too strong here.
(3) 'Know': have information about something.
'Learn': find out information about something by experience, by studying it, by reading, or hearing it from someone.
(4) It is not sure what ‘it’ refers to. People may mistakenly think ‘it’ refers to ‘the language atmosphere’. But it
makes sense only if it means ‘English language’, which is not mentioned in the sentence. So it's better to make it
clear in this way: … when one exposures oneself in a certain language environment, one can learn that language quite
well.
(5) When you say that you hope someone will have good luck, a happy life etc, you say: I wish you a Happy New Year/every
happiness/every success/luck/all the best, etc. (i.e. wish + somebody + something/a noun)
(6) You end with: ‘Love + name/signature’ when you are writing to your lover or a member of you family.
Write to Uncle Leung if you have any other questions.