el_flaco все записи автора When someone is "behind the eight-ball" he is in a difficult, if not impossible situation.
The expression comes from the game of Kelly pool. Pool or pocket billiards, is a table game played with fifteen numbered balls and a cue ball. Players strike the cue ball with the end of a cue, or stick, sending it into one or more of the numbered balls. The idea is knock each of the numbered balls into one of the six pockets around the edge of the pool table.
In one kind of pool game called eight-ball, players try to put the numbered balls into the pockets, with the eight-ball the last to go in. A player loses if he sinks the eight-ball before all the other balls are in the pockets. A player can put his opponent in poor position by leaving the cue ball behind the eight ball. The eight ball blocks his opponent from a shot at any of the other balls.
So, if you are behind the eight-ball, your position is bad. There is almost no way out of the situation. You are in trouble.
A New York newspaper, in a report on a new book, used the expression this way: "An attempt to describe what makes the drawings funny lands you behind the eight-ball." In other words, trying to describe why the drawings are funny may be impossible and you may seem foolish to try.
Someone who is "behind the eight-ball" is usually "in a pickle," or "a pretty pickle." "In a pickle" is another expression that means you are in a difficult or unpleasant situation.
Some experts say this expression comes from an old Dutch saying, "sitting in pickle juice." Sitting in pickle juice indeed would be unpleasant. Pickling was a very common way to keep food from spoiling before days of ice boxes or electric refrigerators. When food is pickled, it is kept in a pickle juice made of salt, vinegar and spices.
There is still another expression in English that means you are in trouble. You are in a "fine kettle of fish." This expression was first used 200 years ago by British writers. One story says that it comes from an early British custom of cooking fish in huge pots or kettles. The cooked fish were served at parties along the river. As the story goes, a cook did something wrong, producing a kettle of fish that no one could eat. That cook was surely in trouble for his "fine kettle of fish."
We still use all these expressions today. In fact, I will be in a "fine kettle of fish," or "in a pretty pickle," and probably "behind the eight-ball" if I don't end this story now.

(c) VoA

Лана_1577 все записи автора Пжл помогите с переводом=)
The process aimed at developing what we would now call a central money-making business took some time because people would sometimes of their own ancestors on their coins.
и если не сложно, покажите скобочками простые предложения внутри самого п-ж.,, чтоб было понятно что к чему относится.
большое спасибо!

el_flaco все записи автора Baloney is a kind of sausage that many Americans eat often, usually in a sandwich. The word also has another meaning in English that is very different. It is used to describe something, usually something someone says, that is false or wrong or foolish.
Baloney sausage comes from the name of the Italian city, Bologna. The city is famous for its sausage, a mixture of smoked, spiced meat from cows and pigs. But Bologna sausage does not taste the same as beef or pork alone.
Some language experts think this different taste is responsible for the birth of the expression "baloney." Baloney is an idea or statement that is nothing like the truth, in the same way that bologna sausage tastes nothing like the meat that is used to make it.
Baloney is a word often used by politicians to describe the ideas of their opponents. A few years ago, during a campaign for the Democratic Presidential nomination, Senator Gary Hart described himself as a leader of the future. He called his opponent, former Vice President Walter Mondale, a candidate of the past. "Baloney," answered Mr. Mondale.
The expression has been used for years. Fifty years ago, a former Governor of New York state, Alfred Smith, criticized some claims by President Franklin Roosevelt about the successes of the Roosevelt administration. Mr. Smith said, "No matter how thin you slice it, it is still baloney."
A similar word has almost the same meaning as baloney. It even sounds almost the same. The word is blarney. It began in Ireland about 1600. The lord of Blarney castle, near Cork, agreed to surrender the castle to British troops. But he kept making excuses for postponing the surrender. And he made them sound like very good excuses. Finally Queen Elizabeth said, of the latest of his excuses, "This is just more of the same blarney."
The Irish castle now is famous for its Blarney stone. Kissing the stone is thought to give a person special powers of speech. One who has kissed the Blarney stone, so the story goes, can speak words of praise so smoothly and sweetly that you believe them, even when you know they are false.
A former Roman Catholic bishop of New York City, Fulton Sheen, once explained, "Baloney is praise so thick it cannot be true, and blarney is praise so thin we like it."
Another expression is "pulling the wool over someone's eyes." It means to make someone believe something that is not true. The expression goes back to the days when men wore false hair or wigs similar to those worn by judges today in British courts. The word wool was a popular joking word for hair. If you pulled a man's wig over his eyes, he could not see what was happening. Today, when you "pull the wool over someone's eyes," he cannot see the truth.

el_flaco все записи автора It is surprising how many expressions that people use every day came from the card game poker.
For example, you hear the expression "ace in the hole" used by many who would never think of going near a poker table. An ace in the hole is any argument, plan or thing kept hidden until needed, especially when it can turn failure into success.
In poker and most card games, the ace is the highest and most valuable card. It is often a winning card. In one kind of poker game, the first card to each player is dealt face down. A player does not show this card to the other players. The other cards are dealt face up with the players betting money each time they receive another card. No one knows until the end of the game whose hidden card is the winner. Often, the "ace in the hole" wins the game.
Smart card players, especially those who play for large amounts of money, closely watch the person who deals the cards. They are watching to make sure he is dealing honestly, that he is not dealing off the bottom of the stack of cards. A dealer who is doing that has "stacked the deck." He has fixed the cards so that he will get higher cards and you will lose.
The expression, "dealing off the bottom," now means cheating in business, as well as in cards. And when someone tells you that "the cards are stacked" against you, he is saying you do not have a chance to succeed.
In a poker game you do not want to let your opponents know if your cards are good or bad. So having a "poker face" is important. A poker face never shows any emotion, never expresses either good or bad feelings. No one can learn, by looking at your face, if your cards are good or bad. People now use "poker face" in everyday speech to describe someone who shows no emotion.
Someone who has a "poker face" usually is good at "bluffing." Bluffing is trying to trick a person into believing something about you that is not true. In poker, you bluff when you bet heavily on a poor hand. The idea is to make the other players believe you have strong cards and are sure to win. If they believe you, they are likely to drop out of the game, leaving to you the money they have bet.
You can do a better job of bluffing if you "hold your cards close to your vest." You hold your cards close to you so no one else can see what you have. In every day speech, holding your cards close to your vest means not letting others know what you are doing or thinking. You are keeping your plans secret.

(c) Voice of America

el_flaco все записи автора Сегодня я решил начать публикацию серии эссе, написанных для радиостанции Voice of America, посвященных истории происхождения некоторых английских идиом.

Данный выпуск посвящен выражению A-Okay.

No one really knows when many of our expressions became popular. But others can be easily dated. One such expression is A-Okay. It means the situation is fine; there is no cause for worry.
A-Okay is a space-age expression. It was used in 1961 during the flight of an American astronaut. John Powers, a spokesman for NASA, the national space agency, used "A-Okay" to tell the world that everything on the space flight was operating perfectly.
Some experts say the expression did not begin with the space age. One story is that it was first used during the early days of the telephone, to tell an operator that his message had been received. The sound of the O in Okay often was lost in the noise on the telephone line. So the sharper sounding "A" was added to the expression, making a more easily understood "A-Okay."
A-Okay is one of several expressions that may have come into the language earlier but became popular only when they were used in the space progam. These expressions quickly became part of everyday speech. This happened because most people had television, and could see and hear all the major events of a space flight. People spent hours watching special TV reports of every space flight.
They could hear the astronauts talk with NASA scientists and engineers. In the first days of space flight, the astronauts seemed to be speaking a new language. But soon, the public accepted and began to use many expressions of this space language.
One such expression is "all systems go." It means everything is ready, let us begin. NASA uses it to mean that all the systems on a spacecraft have been examined and are working correctly. All systems go means the decision has been made to continue with the launch of the spacecraft. It is also used outside the space program to tell someone that you are ready to start a job or activity.
Countdown became a popular word of the space age.
Space scientists would count down the seconds until launch. They counted backwards from 10 seconds, 9,8,7,6,5,4,3, 2, 1 and liftoff. Some language experts say the American people first heard countdowns in the late 1940's during broadcasts of atomic bomb tests in Nevada and on some islands in the Pacific. But countdown did not become a common expression until the space flights of the 1960's.
Another space expression that has become common in recent years is "burnout." It meant that a launch rocket had used all its fuel. Space ships were launched by more than one rocket. The first rocket would lift the ship high above the earth. Then it would "burn out" and a second rocket would fire to carry the vehicle into earth orbit.
Soon, people began to use burnout to describe what happens to a person who works too hard under too much stress for too long. Such a "burned out" person is like a rocket with no more fuel. He has no energy or desire to continue.

Elena_Sharapova все записи автора

Хочу смотреть фильмы на английском и понимать.

Помогите, может мне нужно улучшить фонетику, чтобы нормально воспринимать устную речь?!

Enigmag все записи автора Blonde Passenger
A blonde gets on a plane and goes up to first-class.
The flight attendant tells her that she will have to move back; her ticket is not for first class.
The blonde says, "I'm blond, I'm beautiful, and I'm going to California."
The main flight attendant is brought in and explains that she will have to move.
The blonde says, "I'm blond, I'm beautiful, and I'm going to California."
The attendants tell the pilot. He comes in and looks the situation over. He leans over and whispers something to the blonde and she gets up immediately and moves out of first class.
The attendants are flabbergasted, "What did you say to her?"
"I just told her that this section of the plane doesn't go to California."
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Enigmag все записи автора Надмозги и х/ф Evil Dead


Есть такой художественный фильм, называется Evil Dead.
Название переводили двояко: сперва В объятиях демонов, потом Зловещие мертвецы.

На самом деле его, понятно, зовут Злобная мертвечина.
Но суть, понятно, не в этом, потому что Терминатора раньше тоже исправно называли Киборгом-убийцей.
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-Океана- все записи автора Кому нужен репетитор?Я могу обучать с нуля и до первого курса института(вся школьная программа).Недорого.Только Москва.Пишите

Бука_Грозная все записи автора Пока готовилась к экзаменам по литературе, нашла пару интересных сайтов с критикой произведений и бесплатными эссе. Возможно кому-нибудь понадобится. Такие сайты могут пригодиться не только при сборе информации о произведении, но и когда вам просто необходим совет, что же почитать и стоит ли вообще читать или нет.

http://www.azete.com/ Сайт с огромным количеством эссе по литературе, бизнесу, по социальным вопросам и вопросам касающимся науки. На сайте есть как бесплатные, так и платные эссе, предлагающие для ознакомления пару параграфов. В любом случае, очень большого числа бесплатных эссе хватает, чтобы ознакомиться с темой.

http://www.paperstarter.com/ Если у вас проблемы с выбором темы, то этот сайт может вас выручить. Число произведений конечно же ограничено, но к каждому представленному на сайте есть ряд вопросов, тем и тезисов, помогающих углубиться в роман и возможно посмотреть на него с немного непривычной точки зрения.

http://www.answers.com/ На сайте есть краткое содержание произведений американской и английской литературы, главные темы романов, описания героев, исторический контекст романа и биографии авторов.

http://www.sparknotes.com/ Сайт по содержанию очень похож на предыдущий.

http://www.novelguide.com/ В самом начале придется возможно потерпеть немного рекламы, но зато все эссе бесплатные. Тематика - литература.

http://www.cheathouse.com/ Замечательный сайт для тех, кто не только списывает, но и пишет сам:) Статьи по истории, литературе, праву, бизнесу,общественным наукам. Самое замечательное, что доступ ко всем эссе можно открыть, послав на рассмотрение 3 написанные вами статьи на любые темы (естественно на английском).

http://ayjw.org/ Сайт ассоциации молодых журналистов. Естественно все эссе бесплатные (в данный момент у меня почему-то открываются не все рубрики, но я надеюсь, что это временное явление).

http://www.freebooknotes.com Вводите название нужного вам произведения и поисковик выдает вам все возможные ресурсы с бесплатными эссе и критикой. Крайне полезная вещь! Если вам лень искать по другим сайтам, но этот поисковик сделает за вас всю работу.


http://www.gradesaver.com/ Сайт содержит только литературные эссе. Описания англо-американских произведений, краткое содержание, критика, главные темы и биографии авторов. ПЛЮС: критические вопросы к произведению, возможные тезисы для эссе, а также критика.

И напоследок еще два сайта

http://www.readbookonline.net/ Сайт с короткими рассказами, драмами и эссе английский и американских писателей. Представлена в основном классика.

http://site.girlebooks.com/xs.php?page=ebooks&siteid=223 На этом сайте книг совсем немного, всего 8 страничек с 6 романами на каждой:) Но мне очень понравилось само оформление этих книг! Форман PDF, кликабельное содержание, крупный шрифт. Все романы конечно же можно скачать.

Enigmag все записи автора

                   Набор эмоций:

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People-Hater все записи автора Решил выложить тут парочку английских слов-омонимов. Слова омонимы - это слова, пишущиеся одинаково, но имеющие совершенно разные значения. Думаю, большинство их уже знает, но все же:

bank - банк/берег
ears - уши/колосья
can - мочь(гл.)/жестяная банка
spring - весна/пружина
scale - масштаб/чешуя
light - свет/легкие
yard - ярд/двор

el_flaco все записи автора В процессе лазания по интернету обнаружил вот что: в сети присутствуют довольно-таки неплохие переводы поэзии Владимира Семеновича Высоцкого на английский язык, сделанные, судя по копирайту, Павлом Киселевым.

Предлагаю вниманию всех, кому просто нравится само ощущение поэзии, данные некоторые переводы.

-----------------------------------------------

He who's been with her before

That night, I didn't drink, I didn't sing--
I stared at her and didn't blink,
As though a child, as though a child
But he, who's been with her before
He told me, I should simply go,
He told me, I should simply go,
I'd face denial!

And he, who's been with her before
He talked so coarsely and he swore
But I remembered--I wasn't drunk then
And as I tried to walk away
She told me, "What's the hurry, stay!"
She told me, "What's the hurry, stay,
It isn't late yet!"

But he, who's been with her before
Remembered and did not let go
And once in fall, and once in fall
I'm with my friend, they blocked our lane
They stood together in a chain,
They stood together in a chain--
Eight men in all

With me--my knife and I decide
I won't go down without a fight
Watch out you fools! Watch out you fools!
Why should I wait to be submersed?
And so, I chose to strike them first
And so, I chose to strike them first
Those were the rules

But he, who's been with her before
He planned and plotted a fierce row,
Severe and grave, severe and grave
Right from behind, someone attacked
And Johnny warned me, "Watch your back!"
And Johnny warned me, "Watch your back!"
It was too late

For all eight sins--one resolution
A prison clinic--my conclusion
I lied there flat, I lied there flat
The surgeon cut across and down
He told me, "Man, just hang around!"
He told me, "Man, just hang around!"
I did just that!

The time flew by during my term
She did not wait for my return
But I've forgiven, her--I've forgiven
Yes her, I surely do condone
But him, who's been with her before
But him, who's been with her before
I won't be leaving
With him, who's been with her before
With him, who's been with her before
I will get even

------------------------------------------------------

Morning workout

Inhale deeply, arms--out more,
Do not hurry--three and four!
Grace and pliability are emphasized!
All around conditioning,
And hangover quickening,
If you're still alive and fidgeting-
Exercise!

If you're working out at home,
Do lie down!--three and four!
Correctly go through every single motion!
Lose the tension that you feel,
Get accustomed to the drill!
Inhale deeply right until...
Exhaustion!

Quickly growing 'round the world--
Flu and illness--three and four!
The disease is gradually flourishing!
If you're weak--straight to the grave!
If you want your wellness saved,
With a towel rub yourself,
It's nourishing!

If already you feel spent,
Sit and stand, sit and stand--
Do not fear the Arctic and Antarctic!
Our main scholar Dr. Joffe
Proved to us that booze and coffee
Will be replaced by athletic prophy--
--lactic

All the talking should be stopped
Keep on squatting 'till you drop
Do not be such gloomy creatures!
If you cannot hold your ardor
Rub yourself with something harder
In the water, you can start the
Drilled procedures

We're not scared of doltish talk--
In response we run and walk,--
Amateurs--triumphant from the start!
Beautiful!--right from beginning
No one's losing, no one's winning
Stationary running is bringing
Peace to hearts!

-----------------------------------

A song about a friend

If your friend just became a man,
Not a friend, not a foe,-- just so,
If you really can't tell from the start,
If he's strong in his heart, --
To the peaks take this man -- don't fret!
Do not leave him alone, on his own,
Let him share the same view with you--
Then you'll know if he's true.

If the guy on the peak got weak,
If he lost all his care -- got scared,
Took a step on the frost -- got lost,
Tripped and screamed in exhaust, --
Then the one you held close is false,
Do not bother to yell-- expel, --
We can't take such aboard, and in short
We don't sing of his sort.

If the guy didn't whine nor pine,
He was dull and upset, but went,
When you slipped from the cliff,
He heaved, holding you in his grip;
If he walked right along, seemed strong,
On the top stood like he belonged, --
Then, whenever the chances are slim
You can count on him!

-----------------------------

Leaving the mountains

To the scramble of cities and the crowded streets
We return, for these places have bound us.
We descend from the conquered mountain peaks,
Leaving our hearts in the mountains.

So, I beg you, just stop all the meaningless fights!
Many times I have proven this speech,
And to me, the one thing that is better than heights,
Is the height that I haven't yet reached!

Who would want to be left by all alone in a mix?
To descend when the heart starts to revel?--
Yet, we left from the conquered mountain peaks--
Gods, themselves, desended from heaven.

So, I beg you, just stop all the meaningless fights!
Many times I have proven this speech,
And to me, the one thing that is better than heights,
Is the height that I haven't yet reached!

Beautiful verses in their honor were penned
And the mountains call us to stay.
For a year or forever-- but we have to descend,
We must always return, either way.

So, I beg you, just stop all the meaningless fights!
Many times I have proven this speech,
And to me, the one thing that is better than heights,
Is the height that nobody has reached!

Остальное можно найти здесь: http://www.homeenglish.ru/PoemsVysotsky.htm

SunnyGirl1 все записи автора Спасибо вам огромное, что помогли в прошлый раз...я хочу расширять свои запасы лексики...вот захотелось что-нибудь из слэнга...какие выражения вы знаете?

lol- laugh out loud

bbl - be back later

wuzup - what's up?

asap - as soon as possible

больше я не знаю

SunnyGirl1 все записи автора to eye the cheese

Тень_Хаоса все записи автора Важен художественный, но максимально дословный перевод.

And when, after all the Phantoms have vanished, thou shalt see that Holy and Formless Fire, that Fire which darts and flashes through the hidden depths of the Universe, Hear thou the Voice of Fire!

So therefore first the Priest who governs the works of Fire must sprinkle with the Lustral Water of the Loud Resounding Sea!

Such a Fire exists, extending through the rushings of Air, or even a Fire formless whence comes the image of a Voice, or even a flashing light, abounding, revolving, whirling forth, crying aloud.

Stoop not to the darkly splendid world wherein continually lies a fathomless depth and Hades wrapped in gloom, delighting in unintelligible images, precipitous, winding, a black ever-rolling Abyss, ever espousing a body, unluminous, formless and void.

Заранее благодарю.

Abbildung все записи автора ищу книгу Taboos and Issues (by Richard MacAndrew & Ron Martinez)

и помогите плз подобрать перевод слова засос, в смсылсе на человеке. suction как я поняла это немного не то.

Аноним все записи автора CANADIAN/ EURO STAKES LOTTERY
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я конечно многое поняла..но общий смысл до меня не доходит. что это за лотерея такая? помогите пожалуйста!!!!

AngelSelena все записи автора Test
1. I’m afraid he works… .
a) very much
b) very many
c) very good
d) very plenty

2. I low … that word?
a) does spell
b) you can spell
c) do you spell
d) is spelt

3. What are you cooking? It … .
a) smells well
b) well smells
c) smells good
d) good smells

4. … to get to your office?
a) Do you take it long
b) Does it take you long
c) Do you long take it
d) Does it long take you

5. When … to see us again?
a) will you come
b) you will come
c) you come
d) come you

6. … students in this class passed the examination yesterday.
a) Every
b) All the
c) Each
d) All

7. They have made … progress.
a) a few
b) many
c) little
d) a

8. It’s a long time since I … her.
a) see
b) have seen
c) saw
d) had seen

9. When … ?
a) they arrived
b) they have arrived
c) have they arrived
d) did they arrive

10. I’m going to Paris next week. When I … there. I hope to visit a friend of mine.
a) shall be
b) will be
c) be
d) am

11. He won’t go to the party unless she … .
a) will invite him
b) invited him
c) invites him
d) invite him

12. When I arrived Ann … for me. She was rather angry as I was late.
a) had waited
b) waited
c) had been waiting
d) was waiting

13. She tried to be serious but she couldn’t help … .
a) to laugh
b) laughing
c) herself to laugh
d) herself laughing

14. – Would you like … to the cinema? – Oh, yes. I’d love to. I like … to the cinema.
a) go a) go
b) to go b) to go
c) going c) going
d) went d) went

15. – Did you see the man? – Yes, I saw him … out of the shop.
a) ran
b) to run
c) to have run
d) running

16. I want … this letter.
a) that you type
b) you typing
c) you to type
d) to be typed

17. It’s a pity you couldn’t come. I’m sure you … the concert.
a) would enjoy
b) would have enjoyed
c) had enjoyed
d) enjoyed

18. I took my umbrella, but it didn’t rain, so I … it.
a) needn’t take
b) handn’t to take
c) didn’t need take
d) needn’t have taken

19. His test is the best in class. He … last night.
a) should study
b) should have studied
c) must have studied
d) must have to study

20. … the restaurants we went to was very expensive.
a) Both
b) Neither
c) Neither of
d) Either

21. She didn’t tell … about her plans.
a) nobody
b) anybody
c) somebody
d) none

22. Not … tourists in the group were Spanish.
a) all the
b) the all
c) all
d) every

23. I’m going out for a walk. I need … fresh air.
a) few
b) a few
c) little
d) a little

24. Your English is very good. I wish I could speak … you.
a) as
b) like
c) as if
d) such as

25. I don’t want to go out --- she phones.
a) in case
b) during
c) since
d) because

Vulpes_Zerda все записи автора Опять докучаю вас своими неудачными поисками. Дело в том, что я прочитала рассказ С. Моэма "The Happy Man". Всё, вроде бы, отлично, только вот никак мне не удаётся найти перевод этого рассказа на русский язык. Скажите, возможно, кто-то знает, как точно переводится название ("Счастливый человек" или "Счастливчик") и был ли он вообще переведён. Потому что из "полного" списка произведений Моэма, которые можно везде найти, я не вижу хотя бы что-нибудь похожее.