A New Sherlock for the 21st Century

The new PBS version of Sherlock Holmes is a must-see. The story has been updated to the 21st century, and two young actors have assumed the roles of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. I was skeptical because I am a huge fan of Basil Rathbone and Jeremy Brett as the movie and TV actors playing Sherlock. I am also fond of the Victorian setting of the original stories, which were my son's bedtime readings until he got too old for me to read to him. The 21st century hasn't hurt the compelling stories and excellent performances though. Tune in to PBS 13 on Sundays at 9PM. The game is afoot!

Vocabulary

a must-see (n) -- a place, film, or exhibit that you should see
update (v) -- to bring up to date
assume (v) -- to take on
skeptical (adj) -- not believing
Victorian (adj) -- related to the time in which Queen Victoria was Queen of England (1837-1901)
compelling (adj) -- forceful, persuasive

"The game is afoot." -- a quote that is often said by Sherlock Holmes in the stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and that means that the investigation has begun

Exercise: Fill in the correct word in the blanks:
The love story of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert is ____________. A recent movie about their love was a ____________. It was great! At first, I was ___________ about the quality of the movie but went to see it anyway. It was nice to see ___________ costumes and furnishings. I have ___________ my knowledge of the time by doing some online research, so perhaps I will soon be able to __________ the role of an expert.

Grammar Point:
The present perfect tense is formed by using has/have + the past participle of the verb. Can you find two examples in the paragraph? How is this tense used? Write two sentences using the present perfect form of the verbs.

The Ride

The Ride

(A Poem for a Cured Workaholic)

He’s been on the ride

Fifteen years day and night,

From the mornings in the market keep

To the evenings at the garbage heap.

He does the books and pays the taxes,

Takes not a day off, nay he never relaxes.

He leaves nothing undone, nay not a lick,

Nor pities himself when he’s exhausted or sick.

His work ethic is fine, but his heart is not.

He’s been going through the moves like a rusty robot.

Life soars by in the flutter of a butterfly’s wing,

So his spirit wants the chance to dance and to sing.

Now he has to dismount this head-spinning carousel,

And take stock of himself and his life as well.

He longs to be with family, friends and the like,

But this ride has him zooming down hell’s turnpike.

It’s time that he needs, lest at night come the Thief

To hasten him away before he has breathed

As a free man the verdant pastures of home

And the beckoning breeze of wherever he may roam:

A sojourn in Greece on its dioptase shore,

A climb in Alba* on its lavender mounts,

A stroll in “Peter”* amid lilacs and White Nights,

And through Acadia’s forests a primeval hike.

So the ride must be done, the piper’s game won.

Tomorrow lies fast within his resolute grasp,

And the fifteen years gone during which he has shown

What a fine, daring rider he has been.

*Alba is another name for Scotland, and “Peter” is the Russian nickname for St. Petersburg.

Hope

Hope is a yellow sun,
Radiant and blinding,
With the taste of cheesecake
And the smell of vanilla.

Hope resounds like the peal of church bells
And children's singing.

Hope is a down comforter
Warming us against the winter's cold.

Hope roars like a lion
Driving away faintness of heart with its courage.

Welcome back to college!

Well, a new school year has begun and, with it, many interesting challenges. We will be exploring grammar from new angles and thinking of new ways to teach it.

As for the blogging assignment, you may blog on any topic of interest, from your favorite recipe to your best friend. Everything is fair game, but please write about what you find interesting. I hope that blogging will become part of your teacher tool kit.

To have a look at the blogs from semesters past, scroll down and look to the right. There are many for you to click on and browse through. I will soon be posting your links to the same area. You may also look at my past postings.

I hope that you enjoy the semester ahead! Happy Blogging!

Robin Hood

"Rise and rise again until lambs become lions."

These words represent the theme of the new Robin Hood movie with Russell Crowe and Kate Blanchette. No slender Errol Flynn in tights is he, our once-upon-a-time gladiator! No, in this rendition of Robin Hood, we see a revival of the belief that Robin Hood was the Saxon who wanted to fight off the Normans (French), who had overrun the country. And if you look at that period in English history, you will understand why such a hero was necessary at the very least in spirit and legend if not in reality. The Normans came and destroyed the altars of all the ancient Christian churches. They brought a new language. They ruled instead of the people's own Anglo-Saxon (English) kings. The Normans brought a new order and abolished the old. They were hated and despised, and they left no place for Saxon nobles, some of whom fled to Constantinople to escape their wrath. So enter the new Robin Hood in the imposing form of Russell Crowe. In May we moviegoers will get a fresh look at Robin and his adventures, and I can't wait!

Vocabulary
theme: (noun) an idea that is found throughout a story
slender: (adj.) thin
gladiator: (noun) in Roman times a person who had to fight an animal or other person in front of large crowds to entertain them
rendition: (noun) version
revival: (noun) bringing to life again
despised: (verb) hated greatly
nobles:(noun) people who have high rank or status
wrath: (noun) anger
imposing: (adj.) large and impressive

Fill in this crossword puzzle with the vocabulary words.


Grammar Point: Starting sentences with FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or,yet, so), also known as coordinating conjunctions: Is it permitted? Look at the above paragraph. Can you find any sentences that start with them? Are they wrong?

Curled up with a Good Book

Having a love for reading is a key to language and literacy development. It doesn't really matter what you read -- fiction or nonfiction, novels or newspapers, stories or blogs. It is just essential to want to read and to read a lot. What fiction do you love? What are your favorite novels, plays, and stories? I have listed my favorite novels below. Have you read any of them? When did you last curl up with your favorite reading?

My Top Twenty Novels (in alphabetical order)

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol

Die Verwandlung (The Metamorphosis) by Franz Kafka

Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak

Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin

Faust by Johann Wolfgang Goethe

Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

L’Etranger (The Stranger) by Albert Camus

Lord of the Rings by Tolkien

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Vocabulary

fiction -- (noun) writing that is not true

nonfiction -- (noun) writing that is true, such as a newspaper report

novel -- (noun) a long book that is not true, such as a short story

blog -- (noun) web log, a journal on the internet

essential -- (adjective) important, necessary

curl up -- (verb) lie down in a circular position, often to read

Exercise:

1. To earn money it is ___________________ to work hard.

2. She love writing on the internet and has her own __________.

3. The little girl _________________ on the couch with her favorite book.

4. He reads newspapers online all day because he likes_____________________ better than _______________.

5. When I retire, I want to write a _______________ about people from another planet.

Grammar Point:

Interrogatives are questions. What do you notice about the form of a question in English? Write 3 questions of your own about reading.

Spring, Spring, Wherefore Art Thou?

Despite global warming, this winter has exceeded all expectations for cold and snow. Just this past weekend, Washington DC and points south of New York received record amounts of snow, and the weathermen are promising yet another storm tomorrow night. So more shoveling, icy roads, and downed power lines are on the way.

What about ESL students in the winter? For ESL students from warm climes, a New York winter can be quite challenging. The snow is fun if you can have snowball fights and go sledding down the hills at Bethpage State Park or Cedar Creek. Schools close, and life comes to a standstill beneath winter's white blanket. For ESL students from colder climes, our winters may seem tame, and they may be tempted to join the Polar Bear Club.

Vocabulary

global warming -- (noun) the world becoming warmer
exceed -- (verb) be more than
downed -- (adjective) not standing, knocked down
climes -- (noun) climates, places with certain types of climates
challenging -- (adjective) difficult
come to a standstill -- (idiom) stop
tame -- (adjective) calm, quiet, not wild
tempt -- (verb) to try to get someone do do something wrong
Polar Bear Club -- (noun) a group of people who go swimming in the ocean in the winter

Fill in the blanks with the correct vocabulary words:

When the wind stopped, the air was _________________.
We recycle or reuse things to stop __________________, which is when the world gets warm too fast.
I like cold water, so I want to join the ________________________.
The tornado was to blame for the ___________ radio tower, which was lying on the ground.
In northern ______________ there are four seasons.
Swimming in the Olympics is very _____________.
This year's snow ____________ last year's snow. We had 5 inches more.
Sam tried to __________ me to eat chocolate, but I am on a diet.
When the college is closed, studies _________________________.

Grammar Point
Can you find all the nouns and verbs associated with the winter?
What is winter like in your country? Write a paragraph about it.