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I hope you enjoyed your Memorial Day holiday. I hope that you had a chance to see the programs that celebrate our service men and women that have passed. One of the widows commented that instead of this being a sad, solemn day, she finds that people who served with her husband reach out and share stories and pictures to remember him.
Thank you for your inquiries about my dad who is in a senior living community due to the pandemic lock down since mid-March. He continues to do well. To date, two employees have tested positive for COVID-19. They were on rotations and had not been to work for a week prior to their tests. None of the residents have tested positive.
Easy English News for June. Here is the link for the last Easy English News. We usually don't get a June edition since our classes end in May. Be sure to let me know if you would be interested in an online version next year.
English
Capitalization is a big deal in English. The first letter of names and titles are always capitalized. All of the letters in acronyms are capitalized (CDC, NASA, USA, etc.). Both letters in the abbreviation for states are capitalized. This is an anomaly.
THE BIG EVENT
What could be better than a flyover? How about a rocket launch by NASA? The launch was scrubbed on Wednesday, but that's ok because it has been rescheduled for Saturday at 3:22. You can watch live on most news networks or make it a day by streaming with NASA. Some questions and their answers:
- Why did the U.S. stop sending rockets into space in 2011? The bottom line is the bottom line. The program was too expensive and since Russia was sending rockets, American scientists hitched a ride. This Newsweek article can tell you more about the U.S. manned space program.
- When will the astronauts return? We don't know. They can stay up there for a maximum of 119 days! This article in Space can explain the variables around the stay.
- Why wait to launch until Saturday? Variables are in play, again. Here is an explanation for people who want to understand how to plan a trip into space.
- Why did Elon Musk name the spacecraft Dragon? According to Wikipedia, he named it after the song "Puff the Magic Dragon" (1963 by Peter, Paul and Mary) in response to critics who said his project was impossible. This version is great for our youngsters.
English
Be careful. Capitalization is an important part of written English. The first letter of sentences, names and titles are always capitalized. Abbreviations of names (NASA, CDC, etc.) are capitalized. Some abbreviations have periods following them (Mr. Jones, Dr. Winston) but states have both letters in their abbreviation capitalized with no punctuation (Indiana=IN, Illinois=IL, etc.)
COVID-19
Carmel has the “wearing is caring” campaign. Cloth coverings are recommended for the general public along with social distancing, frequent hand washing, and wiping down frequently touched surfaces. The CDC has plenty of advice for cloth face covering use and care of your cloth face coverings. When you go out to eat, it is socially polite and responsible to wear your mask when moving around the restaurant (come in, going out, using the restroom, etc.). While you are seated, you will need to take it off to eat. Your server and other attendants should continue to wear a mask.
Back to School Guidelines: no one can accurately predict the future (boy, did we learn that this year!). Here is the CDC current thought on how to return to the classroom.
What is the current thinking about COVID antibodies? In short, we can test for them and produce a serum, but right now we don't know enough to determine how long people are immune.
International Bible Study: Tuesdays, 9:30 on Zoom
We read the Bible story of Palm Sunday. Jesus was going into Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. You can find the story behind the celebration in Exodus. The crowds were delighted and called out "Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."
June 2: We will talk about Mark 11: 12-25 which is a very surprising story about Jesus' character. I am very interested in your take on this story.
International Friends: Tuesdays, 9:30 on Zoom
We had a nice chat. There were only a few of us, but we found out so much about each other.
June 2: Join us to catch up. Let's talk about eating out. Are you eager to get out and have a sit down meal? Where have you gone? Where do you long to go?
Conversation: Wednesdays, 4:30 on Zoom
We hoped for a NASA Dragon watch party, but it was not to be. We talked about people who believe the world is flat (The Flat Earth Society) or do they really? The Flat Earth Movement is a spoof on the misrepresentation of facts (or the pseudoscience) that can be found on the internet.
Somehow we got on the subject of religious beliefs. There are a number of religions: Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Shinto, Hindu just to name a few. We talked about atheistic (people who say there is no God) and agnostic (people who don't have a firm opinion about god or gods). We didn't talk about the terms polytheistic (people who worship multiple gods) or monotheistic (people who worship one god). We talked about people who believe in, talk to, and rely on God, but aren't necessarily sure "who" this god is. Acts (a book of the Christian Bible) identifies the "unknown god" or a non-specific god or the creator god who made everything (the motivation being love for His creation).
English With Children
Let's start a space party that can last at least 119 days! One of the great things about the space program is that it captures the imagination of our children.
- Read about American Hero John Glenn in the Encyclopedia Britannica.
- Make and launch your own bottle rocket using things you have at home.
- NASA Activity Pages can help you grow your skills and space vocabulary.
- Dig deeper with the NASA STEM at Home pages where you can find a curriculum for kids K-12 and host your own space camp as well as find resources us big kids under Higher Education!
- Here is an old cartoon that tells a story about Puff the Magic Dragon. Do you think Elon Musk watched this?
service men and women: people who work in the armed forces
passed: died
widows: women who's husbands have died
mid-March: the middle of the month of March
to date: up until now
senior living community:
rotations: work schedule that isn't continuous
residents: people living in a community
let me know: tell me; e-mail me; text me (the best way); Facebook Message me...
acronym: when the first letters of a title or phrase are used to represent the name (USA=United States of America)
abbreviation: shortening a word for convenience (Mr. for Mister, Dr. for Doctor)
anomaly: not usual or standard
scrubbed: cancelled and/or postponed
manned space program: the organization, plans and results of sending people into space
bottom line: result
bottom line: financial outcome at the end of a balance sheet
variables: element or feature that is likely to change
in play: available to be accessed or used
boy: wow
Bible: the holy book of the Christian religion; this word when referring to the book that contains the Old and New Testament; Bible is always capitalized according to the AP Style Manual
bible: means a comprehensive book or guide to a specific
story behind: origin
hosanna: hurrah! An examination of praise
Lord: when lord is capitalized it means God, English usually only capitalizes the first letter of a word if it is a name or title.
in your take on this story: to know your opinion; to know what you think and know
nice chat: pleasurable conversation
long: strongly desire; wish
watch party: people meeting together to observe an event; now days people host watch parties on line
pseudoscience: something that looks to be factual or based in science, but is really false
rely on: depend on, trust someone
God vs god: God refers to or is the name of the creator god found in the Bible; god refers to a general reference to a deity
His: in referring to God often this pronoun is capitalized
captures the imagination: creates interest
dig deeper: look for more details; go further in depth
curriculum: defined education study
K-12: kindergarten through 12th grade (for all school aged children)
higher education: schooling beyond the 12th grade
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