BELIEVE VS. BELIEVE IN

The word 'believe' means 'accept as true; take to be true' 

Examples: We didn't believe his stories from the War. I believe you. I believe they will arrive shortly.


"To belive in" has the meaning 'to have firm faith (especially religious faith), confidence, or trust'

Examples:  I believe in your ability to solve the problem. I don't believe in ghosts. My children still believe in Father Christmas.

If you believe in an idea or policy, you think it is good or right: We believe in freedom of speech.

IDIOMS:
believe (one's) ears is to trust what one has heard.

believe (one's) eyes is to trust what one has seen.

Can you answer the question now? DO YOU BELIEVE IN ALIENS?

(The image is from www.myhappyenglish.com)

News: Halloween

Hello! This week lots of people of the globe selebrate Halloween. Read an article on 10 idioms with a Halloween theme here.

Our second-year students are going to present us Halloween show! Something of that kind? :)

33 weather idioms and idiomatic expressions by online-english-lessons.eu

The weather in spring changes very quickly here, so it is not easy to choose suitable clothing.

As you know the weather is quite unpredictable in England and  they  have so many idioms and idiomatic expressions relating to the weather in English. Folowing the link you'll get the meaning of 

33 weather idioms and idiomatic expressions.

Mapping Emotions On The Body

A team of scientists in Finland asked people to map out where they felt different emotions on their bodies. To see the map of emotions follow the link: /www.npr.org

Words to know: psychologist, mood disorder, to diagnose, to treat, to feel, excitement, to alter one’s mind, to have the opposite effect, top row, bottom row,  to map out, lead the study, the entire body, nervous system, the chest area, heart rate;

emotions: love, happiness, surprise, neutral, contempt, anxiety, disgust, anger, pride, depression, danger, fear, sadness, shame, envy, scared, tender

Idiom from the article : "butterflies in your stomach". To clear its definition follow www.idioms4you.com

Examples

“On the day of my wedding, I had butterflies in my stomach.”

“James always gets butterflies in his stomach before his basketball games. “

“If you have butterflies in your stomach, you should take a deep breath and try to think calm thoughts.”

Let a smile be your umbrella

From July till September some streets in Águeda (a Portuguese town) are decorated with colorful umbrellas. More than 3000 have been hung with wires.

Today it is rainy here and I'd like steets in our town to be decorated in that way!)

There are some phrases in English with word 'umrella'. For example: under the umbrella. 

I liked 'Let a smile be your umbrella'. The origin of this phrase is a song 'Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella ' (1928).

Idioms. To burn candle at both ends

There is an easy idiom about working hard. try to remember it.

Do you know any idioms with word 'свеча' in Russian?

Idiom. It's a dog's life

Phrase "It's a dog's life" means that the life is difficult, unpleasant and wrecked.
According to yourdictionary.com this expression was first recorded in a 16th-century manuscript and alludes to the miserable subservient existence of dogs during this era. By the 1660s there was a proverb: “It's a dog's life, hunger and ease.” (More information about this phrase on www.wisegeek.com)

Examples:

1. I'm tired of living a dog's life.
2. I don't want to lead a dog's life any more.
3. He is leading a dog’s life since he married the woman who everyone told him not to.

So phrases going to the dogs, dog tired, to die like a dog, dog’s dinner, dogsbody, dog eat dog all refer to a state of affairs best avoided. To get more idioms with a word 'dog' follow the link: www.engvid.com. There you can check your understanding filling in tests.

Now I want you to see a silent film A Dog's Life (1918) written, produced and directed by Charlie Chaplin. In this film The Little Tramp (Маленький Бродяжка - герой Чарли Чаплина) teams up with a winsome mongrel terrier called Scraps.

Questions to the film:

1. Is it the first silent film you have seen? If not do you like silent films and what one is your favourite?
2. If you are asked to act the first dialogue between the Little Tramp and a policeman what phrases will you use? Remeber that the policeman notices The tramp trying to snatch sausages to eat.
3. Is a "loser" the right term to characterize the Little Tramp in the employment office?
4. Does the scene in "the Green Lantern" while The Tramp is stealing buns make you laugh? How many buns to your mind does The Little Tramp eat there? Do you think it is the way The Tramp stuggle to survive?
5. Do you think it is a comic idea to hide his dog in his trousers? And how do you like the dog's tail sticking out of the Tramp's trousers?
6. Does the tramp fall in love with that dance hall singer?
7. Is he impressed by her song?
8. is their dance clumsy or a tender one?
9. Is the Little Tramp lucky to get money from the thieves? Do things take a turn for the better after it?
10. Where do The Tramp and The Singer settle down?
11. Do their dreams come true? Is it his dog who helps him?
12. Do you think it is a happy ending?

Idioms.Parts of human body

from  http://www.tolearnenglish.com 

IDIOM 1: "bad-mouth"-> MEANING: say bad things about someone -> EXAMPLE: The football players are always bad-mouthing their coach. IDIOM 2: "curl one's hair" -> MEANING: shock, frighten, horrify -> EXAMPLE: The movie is very realistic and many of the scenes will curl your hair.  IDIOM 3: "keep one's head"-> MEANING: stay calm when there is trouble or danger -> EXAMPLE: Everyone tried to keep their head during the fire at the hotel. IDIOM 4: "pick the brains of"-> MEANING: get ideas or information about something by asking an expert -> EXAMPLE: We picked the brains of the official who was sent to talk about the pollution problem. IDIOM 5: "keep one's chin up" -> MEANING: be brave, be determined, face trouble with courage -> EXAMPLE: My brother is trying to keep his chin up even though he has lost his job.

Idiom. Tastes differ

Tastes differ.Prov. Different people like different things. 

Fred: Bill always goes out with such stupid girls. I can't understand why. 
Alan: Tastes differ.


You can watch a video with subtitles on http://soraman.livejournal.com/68349.html

Cold Turkey

Quite every person has bad habits. And stopping that bad habits is a very difficult process. Sometimes even  medical help is needed. Follow the link below to make clear the meaning of the English idiom "Cold Turkey":
http://blog.myhappyenglish.com

What bad habits do you suppose to be the most harmful for teenagers? Leave a comment below please