Higher education rates

Here is an interesting of higher education rates among several countries. Can you explain it?

English Grammar Games

A great collection of English Grammar Games
Free. online. Offered by the British Council

Rule Britannia...

http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/grammar/archive/grammar_games_index_page01.html

A man walks into a bar

A man walks into a bar and asks for a drink. The bartender pulls out a gun and points it at him. The man says, "Thank you," and walks out.

(I like this one. It's got a real bizarre feeling to it. Though the answer makes sense... Need a hint?)

Prison Break

Two prisoners are locked in a prison cell. There is an unbarred window high up in the cell. However, even if the two men stand on the bed or one on top of the other they can't reach the window to escape. They decide to tunnel out. After digging for a long time they give up with the tunneling because they realize that it will take too long. Finally one of the convicts figures out how to escape from the cell.

What is his plan?

English Grammar Site

This blog and this blogger is not about English grammar. However, I could not resist posting this link that I discovered recently. It is a plain, text-based on-line English grammar guide / text. No graphics, no advertising, nothing "flashing". Just English.

http://www.fortunecity.com/bally/durrus/153/gramtoc.html

Scotland Quiz

What do you know about the bonnie land to the north of England?

1) What’s the capital city of Scotland?
a) Glasgow b) Aberdeen c) Edinburgh

2) Scotland used to be an independent state. When did it lose its independence and become part of Great Britain?
a) 1507 b) 1707 c) 1907

3) What colour is the Scottish flag?
a) Blue with a white cross b) White with a blue cross c) Green with a white cross

4) What’s the name of the famous lake where a monster is said to live?
a) Loch Monstro b) Loch Grass c) Loch Ness

5) What’s the name of the type of skirt that Scottish men sometimes wear?
a) Kilt b) Scot skirt c) Skilt

6) What’s the national drink of Scotland?
a) Vodka b) Gin c) Whisky

7) What’s the name of the musical wind instrument that is from Scotland?
a) Wind pipes b) Bag pipes c) Scottish sax

8) When did Scotland get its own Parliament?
a) 1899 b) 1959 c) 1999

9) How many languages are spoken in Scotland?
a) 1 b) 2 c) 3

10) What’s the name of Scotland’s national poet?
a) Robert Burns b) Robert Louis Stevenson c) Walter Scot

Logial Puzzle: The Murdered Husband

A woman has absolute proof in court that her husband was murdered by her sister. The judge declares, "This is the strangest case I've ever seen. Though it's a cut-and-dried case, this woman cannot be punished."

Idioms about the body

Match the idiom with its definition

1. You did it. You have to face the music.
2. Yes. You hit the nail on the head.
3. You two don't see eye to eye.
4. You have to learn it by heart.
5. You are an old hand at teaching.
6. That's great! You keep everything under your thumb.
7. You don't want to stick your neck out, do you?

a. You have to memorize it.
b. You're experienced.
c. You have control of the situation.
d. You don't want to take the risk.
e. You have to accept the consequences of you actions.
f. You don't agree with each other.
g. You're absolutely right.

English News

Sources of English news

Japan Times

Daily Yomiuri

BBC – British Broadcasting Corporation


CBC – Canadian Broadcasting Corporation


ABC – Australian Broadcasting Corporation



Learning English – web sites
BBC Learning English

World's Top 100 Cities (according to Businessweek)

Mercer a global HR recruiting company ranks world cities by their livability. A good topic for discussion. Does your city rank? Me? I'm from Vancouver (#3 in the world). Tokyo is #35. How do you think the rankings are done. How many of these cities have you travelled to? Which ones would you most like to visit? How do you think Mercer arrived at these rankings?

Here are the top 10 cities
2007
1 ZURICH Switzerland 108.1
2 GENEVA Switzerland 108.0
3 VANCOUVER Canada 107.7
3 VIENNA Austria 107.7
5 AUCKLAND New Zealand 107.3
5 DUSSELDORF Germany 107.3
7 FRANKFURT Germany 107.1
8 MUNICH Germany 106.9
9 BERN Switzerland 106.5
9 SYDNEY Australia 106.5

http://bwnt.businessweek.com/interactive_reports/livable_cities_worldwide/

10 Famous Movie Quotes

How many of these quotes do you know? Do you know the film that it came from? Have you seen any of these classic American films?

1 Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.
GONE WITH THE WIND 1939

2 I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse.
GODFATHER, THE 1972

3 You don't understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am.
ON THE WATERFRONT 1954

4 Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.
WIZARD OF OZ, THE 1939

5 Here's looking at you, kid.
CASABLANCA 1942

6 Go ahead, make my day.
SUDDEN IMPACT 1983

7 All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my closeup.
SUNSET BLVD. 1950

8 May the Force be with you.
STAR WARS 1977

9 Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night.
ALL ABOUT EVE 1950

10 You talking to me?
TAXI DRIVER 1976

Valentine's Day

Do you want the real story of Valentine's Day or the jaded commercial story?
The jaded commercial story is that modern valentine's day was created by Hallmark- yup, the card company - to sell cards. They did a nice job of it.

For the real story of St. Valentine's Day through out the ages and around the world, visit the Wikipedia entry.