Two great films

I love this excerpt from LA GRANDE VADROUILLE, which is a real masterpiece and one of my favourite films.

 

<em>http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTY4MDkyMDQw.html</em>

 

Lefort and Bouvet speak English with such a lovely FRENCHY accent, which is so cute! lol...

 

***

 

Here is another film that I love! 

LADIES IN LAVENDER 

<em>http://www.tudou.com/v/tjxBvQOvTRs/&resourceId=0_04_05_99/v.swf</em>

 

The actress playing Ursula was really fantastic. I was very much moved by the scene where she looked up in the German dictionary, trying to tell Andrea what they were going to have for dinner. Instead of chicken, she said puppy, which made Andrea laugh.  I can totally echo her diappointment and unease when discovering her secret love for Andrea and when her sisiter reminded her that Andrea was too young for her to dream of...

 

The scene where Janet and Ursula attended the concert of Andrea was also very touching. A shining star, Andrea was surrounded by all the upper class crème de la crème guests who attended his concert.  By contrast, being old and humble countryside sisters, who might appear some sort shabby on that occasion, Ursula and Janet finally decided to leave Andrea quietly.  The montage of their leaving was so impressive.  I can feel the disappointment, sadness and even despair they may have had at that moment.

 

C'est la vie. Sometimes, love just arrives at a wrong timing.  However, it is also because of love that one will let go, be it sadly or reluctantly, when the time comes. 

 

I bet that Ursula will always remember Andrea! So will Janet.  And so will Andrea... 

 

I had a black dog, his name was depression

An interesting talk about depression by Matthew Johnstone

 

<em>http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNjQ3NTAxMDIw.html?from=s1.8-1-1.2</em>

 

MATTHEW JOHNSTONE is an artist, writer and exhibited photographer. New Zealand born, he's worked in advertising in Sydney, San Francisco and New York. He lives in Sydney with his wife and daughter.

 

As I'm very keen on telling English accents, I'd like to know if he speaks with a typical kiwi accent? To me, he sounds like an Aussie, esp when he pronounces vast & start. What is general New Zealand accent normally like? I'm just curious...

help do VS help to do

Please have a look at the following 2 sentences:

 

1/ He helped me to carry the suitcases upstairs.

2/ He helped me carry the suitcases upstairs.

 

I've learnt in the grammar book that <em>help to do</em> and <em>help do</em> are slightly different from each other.

 

Take the above 2 sentences for examples:

 

1/ shows that the suitcases were actually carried by myself, and he gave a hand to help me with it. Whilst, 2/ indicates that the suitcases were actually carried upstairs by HIM, not me.

 

Is that so? Please kindly help explain. Thanks.

help! something about the subjunctive mood

Hi friends,

 

I've got some questions on the subjunctive mood.

 

Please have a look at the following:

 

1/ it is (high/about) time that...

eg it is (high/about) time that the children WENT to bed.

my question: would it be grammtically correct to say: it is (high/about) time that the childrend should go to bed?

I've been told that in this case, ONLY past tense should be used.

Please kindly clarify on this. thanks.

 

2/ would rather that... & if only ...

eg I would rather that you wrote to me.

(the fact is that you did not write or you did not write, but came to tell me in person).

 

eg If only you wrote to me!

(the fact is that you did NOT write)

 

My understanding of would rather & if only is that it could be taken as "I wish that... ".  Therefore, the above would be: I wish that you wrote to me. (but in fact, you did not.)

 

Am I right with this? 

 

 

EXCEPT vs EXCEPT FOR

What are the differences between these 2 phrases?

 

Here is the definition given by the dictionary:  <em>except</em> (also<em> except for</em>) used before you mention the only thing or person about which a statement is not true.

Synonym: Apart from

 

eg

1/ We work every day except Thursday. (= except for Thursday?)

2/ They all came except Matt. (= except for Matt?)

3/ I had nothing on except for my socks. (= except my socks?)

 

My question: are <em>except</em> and <em>exccept for</em> used identically? If so, <em>except</em> in examples 1&2 can be subsituted with <em>except for</em>? Likewise, <em>except</em> can substitute for <em>except for</em> in example 3?

 

Am I right with this?

 

As to <em>apart from</em>, the definition given by the dictionary is as follows:

1/ except for

eg I've finished apart from the last question. ( = I've finished except for/except the last question?)

2/ in addition to, as well as

eg Apart from their house in London, they've also got a villa in France.

(So they actually have both a house in London and a villa in France)

 

When used in the 1st sense, my previous examples would be :

1/ We work every day apart from Thursday.
2/ They all came apart from Matt.
3/ I had nothing on apart from my socks.

 

Are these grammatically correct, too?

 

Thanks to share your thoughts with me on this!

My recording

Hello my friends!

 

I just read the poem of Samuel Ullman and recorded it. It's really no easy job. Please give me some pronunciation/accent tips, if you like. Cheers!

 

Here is the link: <em>http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/vvnyWGiHIOo/</em>

 

 

 

Youth by Samuel Ullman

 

Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigour of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life. Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of sixty more than a boy of twenty. Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust. Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being's heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing child-like appetite of what's next, and the joy of the game of living. In the centre of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the Infinite, so long are you young. When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at twenty, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch the waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at eighty.

pronunciation questions

Hello everyone, I'd like to raise a few questions on pronunciation.

 

1/ consonants after /s/

 

the phonetic of transcription of the word SCHOOL is /sku:l/, however, it is acutally pronounced as /sgu:l/, for the consonant /k/ is right after the letter "s", therefore, there is a slight change of pronunciation the /k/ to /g/.  

 

Same case with SPORT (phonetic transcription is /spɔ:t/, however pronounced as /sbɔ:t/.

 

If this is a rule, which applies, do you pronounce the word TRANSPORT as /trænsbɔ:t/  and PASSPORT as /pa:sbɔ:t/ as well?  Actually, these two words are more often pronounced as /træspɔ:t/ and /pa:spɔ:t/ with the /p/ unchanged.

 

My question: Would it be considered wrong to pronounce /trænsbɔ:t/ and /pa:sbɔ:t/?

 

 

2/ /s/ between 2 vowels

Some pronounce the word RESOURCE as /rizɔ:s/, with the /s/ changed to /z/, for it is preceded by /i/ and followed by /ɔ:/, whilest others just pronounce it as /risɔ:s/, with the /s/ unchanged.

 

My question is: is it a rule that /s/ changes to /z/ if preceded and followed by two vowels?

Look at this! How clearly he speaks!

I love his clear RP accent!

 

<em>http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XOTIyNzI1Mjg0.html</em>

 

This is so beautiful!

Happy Chinese New Year

恭祝大家羊年吉祥如意！

Today's the eve of the Chinese New Year. I wish that the Year of the Sheep will bring good luck to you all!  Bonne année de la Chèvre!