Category Archives: Travel
Hoarse Horse 嘶哑的 马
The English word ‘hoarse’ sounds identical to ‘horse’. Hoarse means 嘶哑的 – like when you have a sore throat 喉咙痛 or a cold. It may be difficult or painful 痛苦 to speak … and you can only ‘speak in a whisper’ 轻轻. … Continue reading
Shellfish and Beachcombing
The coast is an interesting place. There’s always something that is ‘thrown up’/cast up by the sea onto the sand or rocks. Many people go ‘beachcombing’. A beach 海滩 is a sandy 沙 part of the coast. Combing .. well .. … Continue reading
The Farting Goose 放屁鹅
Following (after) high/strong winds there’s always a lot of things thrown up or washed-up on the coastline. Tons and tons of kelp 海带 have been ripped/torn/pulled from the seabed and thrown onto the shore. Kelp is is a tall seaweed … Continue reading
Mushroom Soup 蘑菇汤 ?
At this time of the year the local woods are littered 覆盖 / 许多with fungi . Fungi is the plural of fungus 菌类 / 真菌. In English, you could also say that the woodland floor/ground is ‘carpeted’ with fungi. They … Continue reading
High Winds and High Tide
There’s been high 强 (strong/powerful) winds for a couple of days. It has been a north wind – the wind is coming from the north. Here, in the north of England, that means the wind has come from the top … Continue reading
Neighbours from Hell
The term ‘neighbours from hell’ is used to describe a person or family who cause lots of bother 麻烦 to people who live around them 附近. Who knows why some people have to cause ‘hassle’ 麻烦 and aggravation 加重 for … Continue reading
Box Office Hit
Heard the expression ‘Box Office Hit’? If a movie is successful it is described as a ‘box office hit’. A lot of people have gone to the cinema (or theatre) to see it. Cinema and theatre mean pretty much … Continue reading
The Opencast Mine
Near my home, maybe 1km away, they have begun scraping away the topsoil and using mechanised digging equipment to excavate (remove) the underlying clay and shale. ‘They’ being UK Coal. In this part of England there are vast deposits … Continue reading
A Year In Qufu
Well, time passed quickly. September 2009 to July 2010, teaching at a university near Qufu, in Shandong province. The university is 10km from Qufu, where I lived. Qufu is the home city of Confucius, or Kong Zi, as he’s … Continue reading
A baby Seal
There’s many baby seals ‘washed up’ (thrown out of the sea) where I live. A baby seal has a white coat (white fur) – like the baby seal in the photo. This baby seal was probably washed up after the … Continue reading
Teaching in China 