Qu'est-ce que tu as fait le dimanche dernier? Salut! Aujourd'hui je voudrais practiquer "le plus-que-parfait" et aussi les mots ¨avant de" et "après" Pour ça, je vais vous raconter ce que j'ai fait le dimanche dernier. Le dimanche dernier, quand je suis réveillée à dix heures du matin, mes colocataires étaient déjà partis. J'ai pris le petit déjeuner avant de m'habille. Après avoir descendu les escaliers, je les ai remonté parce que j'avais oublié mon portable. Je suis allée au centre commercial pour faire du shopping. J'ai acheté une veste et une robe. Après avoir manger, je suis allée à un cafè pour racontrer une amie. Elle est écossaise mais elle avait estudié le français a l'université. Elle apprend le chinois maintenant. Nous nous voyons une fois par semaine pour practiquer le français et le chinois. Quand je suis entrée au cafè, elle était déjà arrivée. Nous avons demandé quelque chose pour boir avant de commençer à apprendre les langues. Après avoir practiquer le français, je suis alleé au cinema avec mes amis. Quand je suis arrivée à ma maison, mes colocataires étaient déjà allés au lit. Merci beaucoup! :)

À Paris! Bonjour à tous! je voudrais commencer à écrire en français pour ameliorer mon niveau. Aujour d'hui, je veux vous conter que je vais visitar Paris la semaine prochaine! Je suis allé à Paris en 2006. Il y a déjà 10 ans. J'ai des amis qui habitent là et je vais les voir. Je sais qu'il y a beaucoup de villes très jolies en France. Malheureusement, je n'ai pas le temps pour aller à autres villes cette fois. Mais je suis très content égalment parce que je peux parler français là-bas. De puis, je habite à Glasgow, au Royaume-uni, et il fait vraiment froid ici. J'ai besoin du soleil! Je voudrais porter robes d'été! C'est tout pour aujour d'hui. Je vais essayer d'écrire quelque chose plus dificile la prochine fois. Et si vous voulez, dit-moi, quelle est votre ville preferée en France? Merci beaucoup et à bien tôt!

Translation is certainly not an easy job (II) Nevertheless, having no fixed work schedule can turn out to be a disadvantage in some situations. On more than one occasion, I was out when I suddenly received an email from the translation company asking if I could complete a very shot text by the end of the day. Of course I can turn down the offer, but most of the times I simply change my plan and go back home earlier. The second disadvantage is the mental fatigue. Working as a shop assistant during 8 hours is totally different from translating for 8 hours. Like study, translation requires hours of concentration and an excessive mental exertion can leads to increase in simple mistakes. The next and last disadvantage, which is the most intolerable one for me, is the lack of communication with other people during work hours. It is fine to stay at home and translate for several days straight. But when it comes to be weeks or more, a feeling of loneness and isolation starts to overcame me. Of course you can talk to friends or family after work or during meals. However, in my opinion, human beings are social animals, and being able to take advantage of those little blocks of free time at work to interact with others is definetly one of the life's little pleasures. Generally speaking, I think working as a part-time translator is very interesting and challenging. During the process, not only extra money are earned, but also a wide range of knowledge. “As long as human beings speak different languages, the need for translation will continue.” Said Nataly Kelly in her book “Found in Translation: How Language Shapes Our Lives and Transforms the World”.

A backward person? Hi, I would like to know the meaning of ¨backward¨ in the following sentence: ¨And it was there-in Italy-that the Romans, who were then a very backward people, a small city-state around Rome, first met the Greeks and begn to learn from them¨. In which situation would you discribe someone as a backward person? Thanks in advance!

Advantages and disadvantages of being a part-time translator (I) Translation is certainly not an easy job. This is the conclusion I have come to after working as a part-time translator for more than five years. It should be mentioned that I have no formal training in this area. Most I know today was learned by trial and error on my own. Therefore, this article is not going to provide you any advice or tips on translation. However, I do want to discuss here about the advantages and disadvantages of being a part-time translator. From my point of view, there are mainly two positive aspects about this profession. First, you will come into contact with many different areas of knowledge. Certainly there are specializations: legal translation, literary translation, technical translation, etc. However, it´s very common working on some notarized documents one day and the following day on a wine company’s website or an electronic device´s instruction manual. By doing translation, you will learn about a wide range of knowledge. The second advantage of being a freelance translator is time flexibility. Have an medical appointment this morning? Then work harder this afternoon. Have a party tomorrow night? It’s fine. Get up earlier tomorrow and finish the project before going out. Every translator can estimate approximately the time he needs to complete a work according to its length and difficulty and plans his own schedule. Nevertheless, having no fixed work schedule can turn out to be a disadvantage in some situations. I will discuss this and more in the next post. Thanks for reading. Corrections and suggestions are welcomed : )

Chiedere vs Domandare Ciao! Vorrei sapere qual è la differenza tra "Chierede" e "Domandare". Ho questi esempi: 1)Chiedono all'impiegata del terminal dov'è l'ufficio del turismo. 2) Ha chiesto al tassista di fare il più presto possiblile. 3)Domandiamo alla commenssa. Scusi, signorina, può dirmi se c'è una misura più piccola? 4)Siamo in orario? - Domanda una signora. Grazie mile! ^ ^

【to be + Ving】It's impossible to be going on like this much longer. Hello! Thanks for reading my question. "It's impossible to be going on like this much longer." I saw this sentence in a grammar book and found the structure 【to be + Ving】 very difficult to use. I can see it's totally different from 【be + Ving】. However, I haven't found more example even in Google. Please write some similar phrases so that I can have a better idea about how to use it in a sentence. Again, thank you so much!

How to use ¨every bit as...as...¨ Hi! I've come across this sentence "The guys down below in brightly colored team wear are every bit as responsible for the celebrations." (Yeah, the article is about Formula One :P) I think "every bit as..as..." means "equally as...as". But I am not sure. Could you explain its meaning to me and give me a few examples? Thank you very much! :D

I want to be strong enough to get to wherever I want. At this time last year, I was going through a really bad time. It seems common that students feel tired during the last year of study at university. I was not the exception. My classes weren’t interesting to me anymore after four years. The research project I was working on was´t going well and my dissertation had to be presented three months later than I expected. I started to have doubt. I wanted to give up on science. I was unsure about what to do in the future. What is more, some personal problems keep worrying me and forcing me to make very difficult decisions. Eventually, I decided to take a year off. I think everyone at some point in his life needs to slow down, take a break, and find within himself the answer he needs. And that was my moment. Some people may think a gap year is a wast of time. (Specially here in China, where everybody seems to be in a hurry. ) But it isn’t for me. This time for traveling, reading, self-learning, exercising and enjoying any leisure time together with my family actually helps me to discover myself. Now I am more sure about what I can do and what I like to do. Goals are set, and I will do my best. On the personal level, I will try to stop planning everything and just let things happen. No more fear, just do it. I want to be strong enough to get to wherever I want.