Does it sound natural?

Nikita, it means that the girl appeared glad that the surfer approached her and introduced himself to her. She was likely alone on the beach and appreciated his company. Deepak, I wouldn't go as far as to say that she would do anything for him. That's a big assumption at this point in the story! :)

Hi Daler, Passive voice can indeed be difficult at times! There are several good videos on Youtube explaining it in detail. There is also a good article (scroll to the examples) on grammarly. com: https://www.grammarly.com/blog/passive-voice/ It is best to avoid passive voice where possible and to state the subject (who/ what) did the action instead of just saying that the action was done. This makes your speech and writing more precise and less clunky. Of course, there are cases where passive voice will convey the meaning you intend. For example, "Rules are made to be broken" :) It might help to remember that Russian language uses passive voice as well! For example, 'Картина была написана в 1931 году.' (The painting was made in 1931) OR 'Товар будет закуплен.' (The goods will be bought) OR 'Работа сделана' (The work was done/ is done). In these sentences we don't know who painted the picture, who will buy the goods, or who did the work. One way to get comfortable with passive voice could be to practice transforming sentences so the subject/ "the doer" is either unknown or placed after the object and answers the question 'by whom?'. Try these: - Maria loves chocolate. ------> Chocolate is loved by Maria. - Dali made the painting in 1931. --------> The painting was made by Dali in 1931. - Somebody picked up mail at 2PM. --------> Mail was picked up at 2PM. Hope this helps!

I think this phrase sounds natural even if used in a conversation, not only in writing. You could simplify it, of course, by saying: 'The plot of the story/ movie was awful but the music was pretty nice.' OR 'As for the plot, it was awful, but the music was pretty nice.'

I might be terribly wrong in my interpretation but to me this song is about the general taking account of his life in the war. He appears sad and broken by the things he's seen and experienced, the soldiers and friends he's lost. The questions in the chorus sound more like "Whatever happened to you, General? Why isn't your back as straight as a string as before? Is it time to give up?" But the lyrics also communicate the idea of "life will go on"; no one is to blame for the dark nights and the lost souls. The rain will fall. And you may rest, General, lights are off. Tomorrow is another day, even the sun might rise again. Don't give up just yet.

I think another pair of sentences that can be changed slightly is: The pie is a bit dry. I left it in the oven too long. (I removed "a bit" in the second sentence not to sound repetitive but it is grammatically correct).

I found the best way to improve is to practise with those who speak the language, listening, but also reading. I would recommend using audio books with simple language and a printed text as well. That way you can read and listen to the way the language sounds at the same time. Audio books or podcasts with transcripts would be great for that task, as you can slow down the recording and get accustomed to the way the language sounds and the way words connect to form sentences.