The perks of being a wallflower

I have to admit that I really liked this book. Very simple but powerful at the same time. It got my stamp of approval 🙂

perk

1) something extra that someone receives in addition to regular pay for doing a job, usually plural

2) a good thing that you have or get because of your situation, usually plural

One of the perks of being a celebrity is that people often want to give you things.

wallflower

a person who is shy or unpopular and who stands or sits apart from other people at a dance or a party, socially awkward person

WatchMojo.com

I just love WatchMojo.com! Here are Top 10 Cheesiest One-Hit Wonders of the 1990s

or

Watch and enjoy! 🙂

Lily

It was a nice Sunday morning and Lily was having a lie-in. She started planning her day.

“Maybe I’ll have some people round for dinner” – she thought. “But not Bob. I can’t stand him. He’s selfish. And not Andy. He really gets on my nerves. Why must he be such a show-off?”

Lily finally got up and decided to go for a run. She loved running. She always had brilliant ideas after.

She ran past the shop. There was a long queue. “How annoying it is to stand in a queue” – she thought. Then, suddenly, she bumped into a man and fell down.

He helped her stand up.

“Oh, how considerate of you” she said and smiled. He was handsome and she thought for a second that it would be wonderful to grow old with him. Unfortunately, he wasn’t interested in her. He smiled but he walked away. She felt disappointed but went on running.

She came back home and saw a man sitting in front of the locked door. It was Jim, her boyfriend. He always worked overtime to meet deadlines. She was thinking about breaking up with him because he was moody and stubborn. She didn’t recognize him anymore. He had changed a lot since the day they met. Jim looked very scared. She sat next to him.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

He was silent for a moment but then he started talking:

“I think I killed a man today. I came back home after work and I saw a man with a knife there. He wanted to steal the box with my savings. $100,000! So I took the gun from the drawer and shot him”.

“What? I understand you committed a crime but where do you have so much money from?”

“I’ve never told you that but I’ve been working for an illegal organization for the last several years.”

Lily felt confused but also happy with this information. She never thought that Jim was so dishonest. It was very exciting.

“I’ll look after him” she decided and then she said: “Now, I’m taking over”.

She unlocked the door, went inside, packed her suitcase and went out.

“Let’s go” she said. They went downstairs and got inside her car. She slowly drove away.

Vocabulary:

a lie-in – a long stay in bed in the morning (wylegiwanie się w łóżku rano)

have people round for dinner – to invite people to your house for dinner (zaprosić ludzi na obiad)

selfish – concerned chiefly or only with oneself (egoistyczny)

get on sb’s nerves – to irritate (denerwować, grać komuś na nerwach)

a show-off – someone who deliberately behaves in such a way as to attract attention (pozer)

annoying – irritating (irytujący)

bump into sb – to meet by chance (wpaść na kogoś)

considerate – thoughtful towards other people; kind (uprzejmy)

grow old –  to age, become old (starzeć się)

lock – secure by locking, close sth with a key (zamykać na klucz)

overtime –  work at a regular job done in addition to regular working hours (nadgodziny)

meet deadlines – manage to complete sth on time (zmieścić się w terminie)

moody – given to frequent changes of mood  (humorzasty)

stubborn – refusing to comply, agree, or give in; obstinate (uparty)

savings – money saved (oszczędności)

drawer – a boxlike compartment in furniture that can be pulled out and pushed in (szuflada)

commit a crime – do sth illegal (popełnić zbrodnię)

confused –  being unable to think with clarity or act with understanding and intelligence (zdezorientowany)

Learn a new word every day :)

BELL PEPPER

1. A variety of sweet pepper widely cultivated for its edible fruit.

2. The large, crisp, bell-shaped red, yellow, or green fruit of this plant.

Daily routine

Jane is a nice girl. She is tall and slim. She has long brown curly hair and beautiful big blue eyes. She has one brother and one sister. Her brother is also tall and he has short hair, a beard and a moustache. Her sister is short and she has red hair and many freckles.

Jane wakes up at 6 every day. She gets up, brushes her teeth, gets dressed and goes running. She comes back home, takes a shower and has breakfast. She usually eats sandwiches with tomatoes, peppers, some lettuce and a slice of cheese. She drinks green tea.

She does her make-up and goes to work. She always works very hard. She talks to customers, writes and sends e-mails. She talks a lot on the phone.

After work, she comes back home and prepares dinner. After dinner, she cleans her flat, watches tv, plays with her cat and she has coffee with her friends.

In the evening she learns English, takes a long bath and goes to bed. Before sleeping, she reads a magazine or a book.

Jane really likes her life.

Vocabulary:

a beard -the hair on man’s chin, cheeks and throat (broda)

a moustache (AmE mustache) – the hair groning on the human upper lip (wąsy)

freckles – small brownish spots on the skin (piegi)

lettuce – a green vegetable with edible leaves (sałata)

a slice – a thin broad piece cut from a larger object (plaster)

customer – one that buys goods or services (klient)

Annoying habits

I hope you’ll enjoy this story 🙂

Claire looked at her fingernails. She was biting them again. She really should kick this habit. Then, she looked at her colleague sitting beside her and slurping coffee. She knew that whenever he was alone, he picked his nose. She even suspected that he was taking designer drugs but then again, maybe she was getting carried away with her imagination. “Oh man! I can’t stand his B.O. It’s driving me nuts!” she thought “And I will have to deal with him throughout the whole day”. He really got under her skin. “No! You have to concentrate! You shouldn’t neglect your work” she thought. “Without fail, the office is first and foremost the place to work”.

She tried to be calm and not to pay attention to him, even when he poked her, tickled her and patted her shoulder or when he grabbed her bag to see what was inside and thought it was hilarious. All she could see were the germs traveling from his hands to her bag. ”I hope I won’t get any skin inflammation. Why don’t I know anybody who I could air my grievances to? I hate my mom and there is nobody considerate here at work…” she thought, “I always thought that one of the best things about having a job is camaraderie but not in my case, I guess.”

Finally, when the workday was over, she left the office irked and resentful by her colleague’s icky behavior and went to the park. She sat on the bench and started munching chips which she had bought in the morning on her way to work. “Is my whole life going to look like that?” she thought sadly and started to plan her next day.

Difficult words:

kick the habit – stop engaging in a habitual practice (zerwać z nałogiem)

designer drug – a synthetic analogue of a legally restricted or prohibited drug (dopalacz)

get carried away with – lose self-control (dać się ponieść)

B.O. – body odor (naturalny, zazwyczaj nieprzyjemny, zapach ciała)

neglect – not pay proper attention to (zaniedbywać)

first and foremost – most importantly; more than anything else (przede wszystkim)

poke – jab or prod (someone or something) with one’s finger or a sharp object (szturchać)

tickle – lightly touch (a person or a part of the body) in a way that causes mild discomfort or itching and often laughter (łaskotać)

germs – microorganisms, especially ones which cause disease (zarazki)

air one’s grievances to – to complain; to make a public complaint (żalić się komuś)

camaraderie – a spirit of familiarity and trust existing between friends (koleżeństwo)

icky – repulsive or distasteful (wstrętny)

resentful – having or showing a feeling of anger or displeasure about someone or something unfair (urażony)

irked – annoyed (zirytowany)

munch – to chew or eat (food) audibly or with pleasure (przeżuwać, pałaszować)

Learn a new English word every day! :)

Hello!

My name is Anna and I am an English teacher and an owner of Szkoła Językowa “English Hours”.

I started this blog to share my passion for English with you and help you learn. I am going to post new English words every day and all interesting things I’ll come across in the Internet 🙂

Occasionally I will also post short stories which I write for my students to help them learn new words.

I hope you’ll enjoy my blog.

Let’s start!

A word for today: SLURP which means to drink or eat something loudly (siorbać), for example: She slurped her tea.