BBC Message Board

My Question:

I am confused about this grammar, so plaese answer me which one is the correct grammatical usage:
1. she is taller than I am 2. She is taller than me 3. She is taller than I thanks!


BBC's Answer:

They are all correct, Michelle.In 1) and 3) you are using 'than' as a conjunction; in 2) as a preposition.

My refelction of their answer:

I think they make a very simple but good answer. Actually, I have been annoyed by this question for a while, but they just gave me a very simple answer to solve my problem.But I would like to get more explination about the difference among these three usages, such as which one is more colloquial or which one is more suitble in formal writing. All in all, I think this is a very usage board because it provide you a plaftform to help you sovle your English problems even after you gradute from school (when you have no teacher to conduct!). Their response is quick and clear, it is really worth using for English learners.

Reflection of Steve Jobs' talk

After watching the commencement address made by Steve Jobs, the co-funder and chief executive officer of Apple, I cannot but be deeply appealed by his talk. The principal reason why I feel in this way is that his speech, concise and powerful, reveals a unique and significant life philosophy that is inspirational and encouraging.

In the speech, Steve, as one of the most successful entrepreneur in the computer industry, did not flaunt his achievement or talk some sort of cliché that are frequently used in a speech to “spend” the time; instead, with a genuine and sincere attitude, he talked about his early life, his setbacks and his failure. One of the most impressive parts for me in the speech is when he talked about his early life. Partly because of the tremendous financial burden from the tuition imposed on his family and partly because of not knowing what he did desire to learn, Steve became a drop-out of the university. However, this “failure” in the eyes of others did not curve the development of his future career; surprisingly, what he gained from this drop-out experience becomes one of the elements to accomplish the legendary success of Apple. As what he said in the speech, trust the “dots” in your life will somehow connect in you future and it may make all the difference in your life. Indeed, through the course of our life times, we might face some things we learned or we did that were considered no use by us dramatically turn out to be such crucial a point in the future. You can never predict what your future will be. Thus, it does inspire me to cherish and grab the opportunities to learn and to experience things no matter how tiny and petty they look like.

In addition, Steve also mentioned about the attitude to face the thing that you crave for. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma—which is living with the result of other people’s thinking. ” What a compelling quotation it is! Nowadays, in order to “fit” ourselves to the society, we, even on the brink of suffocation, still force ourselves to follow the social trend or to pander public standard blindly. But what do we exactly get from it? Our creativity is suppressed and our happiness is depleted. We should stop get trapped in this situation, and get rid of such an invisible social burden to live for ourselves. As long as we find out things we desire for, we ought to endeavor to pursue then with unfaltering courage and infinite passion rather than focus on how people judge us. “Carpe diem’’—the spirit of seizing the day and enjoying the moment— and meanwhile wok hard for what we want, in my perspective, might be the crucial point to have a successful and desirable life.

Steve Jobs’ speech, like a ripple on the surface of the lake, is till lingering in my mind. It keeps reminding me the value of life and the positive attitude to embrace in the face of ever-changing world.

See what I’ve learned from the ESL podcast!

Thu, 14th, April

ESL Podcast 573 – Discussing Social Class

1. get a rise out of you: to make someone react strongly ;to upset you; to get you angry

2. holier-than-thou: to describe someone who feel that they are better than other, they are superior to others

3. know which buttons to push: to know what will make certain person to react angrily.

4. work up : to get angry; to have very negative reaction

5. class warfare: different groups and different social classes in a country are fighting with each other have

6. down right+ adj.: emphasize, very (usually with negative adjective )

7. we do our share for the poor: to do your share means to do your part to participate in a large project to help others ;to do their part; to help people who are in need

8. has a chip on his shoulder/ to hold a grudge: to have a negative attitude to someone because he/she is still angry at him; cannot forgive someone about something happened in the past to hold a grudge

9. under my own roof: in your home, where you live

The difference between “Big and Large”—personal research

According to my own reaserch by using online concordancers, I conclude that there are two main differences between the usage of "big" and "large".

1. Large is often used to describe "quantity", but its not that often happened in the usage of “big”.

2. “Big” describe something that is not small which is used for a thing or an object.
And “large” is usually used to describe the concept of space or describe lots of things together and then become vey large.

This is MIchelle!

Hola! everyone!

I, a twenty-three-year-old university student, am an optimisitc girl with out-going personality.

In Hoping town, Taichung County, a beautiful and traditional village surrounded by moutains, I was born in a lovely family with five members,including my parents, older sister and a younger brother and me. Growing up in a farming environment, I have learned to cherish what I have had and do my utmost to be a filial daughter at home and a conscientious student in school.

My parents, liberal and friendly, always encourage me to take charge of my life.It is their love and expectation that I have have utter free will to make my own decision and have the chance to develop my interests.

All in all, I am looking forward to meeting everyone here and sharing everything, either schoolwork or personal stuff with you guys!