Marzia CELI examiner
Italian
Mar 16, 2020
Grazie Chris! E' stata di nuovo una conversazione molto interessante e piacevole, soprattutto perché dimostri sempre voglia di imparare cose nuove.
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Italian
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EnglishNative
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Marzia CELI examiner
Italian
Mar 5, 2020
Grazie per la lezione! E' stato un piacere conoscerti e il tuo livello della lingua italiana è molto buono! Sono sicura che farai ancora molti progressi!
Gloria
Italian
Feb 10, 2019
Noto dei miglioramenti! E spero di risentirti per imparare altri vocaboli in vista del tuo viaggio.
Activities
- 425 - Moving outWhat's the right age to move out of your parents' home?In Italy, it's socially acceptable to move out only after marriage. This is not always true, and many things have changed in recent years, but people tend to think that one should leave their parents' home only when married. I have a completely different idea. One should be free to leave when he or she is ready and/or economically independent. Living in a family built on tight relations is good, especially in difficult times like these. Nonetheless, being resourceful is one of the keys to living an intentional life. Living alone and away from our family is also a way to prove to ourselves that we are morally intact even if away from the judgment of our loved ones. I have met some people that started behaving badly, like drinking or taking drugs, after moving out of their parents' home. That means they were the person that their family wanted them to be. Our behaviors should be determined only by ourselves, not by the environment. Am I describing a utopia?Great bit of writing... nothing really wrong with the vocab/grammar except some bits of odd use that I'll mention:<ul><li>the impersonal "one" isn't used that often in modern UK English unless being very formal. It would usually be replaced by "you".. (so (eg) si puo comprare... = "you can buy..." and only very rarely "one can buy")</li><li>And using it creates some problems for you... eg saying "one should leave their parents' home" doesn't work as should be "one should leave one's parents' home" but that sounds really formal ... so better would be "you should only leave your parents' home"</li><li>Similarly "one should be free to leave when he or she is ready" - switching between "one" and "he/she"... so either "one should be free to leave when one is ready" (v formal) or "you should be free to leave when you are ready" (better and more common)</li><li>Not quite sure what an "intentional life" is... I'm guessing a self-directed one from the context</li><li>It sounds a little bit like the people who started behaving badly all moved out of the same home (after moving out of their parents' home)... not quite sure how to improve it... possibly after moving out of their parents' homes (ie more than 1 home)</li><li>You move a little bit between "one", "our" and "they" which creates a slightly changing focus</li></ul>Minor points though !Hope this helps - thought provoking article anywaybest wishesChris0 votedAugust 1, 20201
- Discrimination against workers with disabilities and family members of people with disabilities.It's hard to believe that nowadays persons (can say this but "people" more usual) with disabilities are still discriminated against. Yet it is so, (strictly probably a semicolon here ";" as two different sentences) I have direct experience. Especially in adolescence (this bit of the phrase doesn't work on it's own... lacks something to refer to - probably better saying "This is true especially in adolescence"), when a person is publicly humiliated for his physical or intellectual abilities, his behavior and his entire personality can change. Forever.There is discrimination if in a course of study that includes compulsory attendance, do (no subject to "do" ... perhaps "the organizers do not" or "the school does not" ) not take into account to (no need for "to"... just "take into account student care needs") student care needs and if there is (as referring to plural "materials" I guess "are" rather than "is") no didactic materials for a specific type of disability.There is discrimination when the use of aids for the execution of the concourse (?course ... concourse = open area in a building) tests are inadequate for people with intellectual disabilities. Statistical surveys show how those who have pathologies (that's a very technical term not used much outside medicine, better would be "conditions" ) with invisible symptoms, has ("have" as refers to "those"=plural) serious fears to ask for the ascertainment of the civil disability, rejecting possible benefits, due to the fact that they have a fear that only "social stigma" may result. (Not quite correct construction... have serious fears about asking for confirmation of civil disability (perhaps)... construction of "have fears about doing something", but also not really "ascertainment" (as that implies more achieving something) and "civil disability" not used in the UK... I'd probably change the sentence completely... "they have serious fears about applying for disability benefits, fearing only social stigma may result")Also, statistical surveys show that daily there are episodes of negative pressure and conditioning against persons with disabilities. In general, discrimination can be defined as all those behaviors that are intended to create an intimidating, hostile, (add "or" or "and" at the end of a list before the last term... in UK English) degrading atmosphere against a person or a group of people.But let’s get to the point: the worker who is a victim of discrimination may have recourse to a lawyer specialized in labor law to obtain the cessation of an unlawful behavior. (just to note a slightly odd combination of tones: "let's get to the point" is quite informal (but fine), the 2nd half of the sentence is elaborate, formal and uses high level vocab like "cessation")In particular, if the overwhelming behavior still persists, law 67/2006 states that "it's possible to obtain the cessation of the behavior, or of the discriminatory act, where it still exists, as well as the removal of its effects".I feel I've been quite picky here - hope you don't mind. It was very understandable and readable, but thought you'd want to know about very minor errors and some slight difficulties given you are clearly working at a very high level of English.Best wishes,Chris0 votedJuly 30, 20201
- essay about sport<s style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">s</s> and education<em>(Just to note that sports (plural) tends to refer to different types of games/activites... the singular sport refers to the concept of this. So in English even though you are referring to perhaps many different activities the singular is better for your article unless you are specifically thinking of some named sports (eg "sports like tennis and cricket are played in summer") and in some places it wouldn't matter so much)</em>Some people think that students should spend more time studying instead of playing sport<s style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">s</s> because sport<s style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">s</s> affects learning ability in the classroom. Actually, <s>they do</s> It does (just to keep it linked with my correction fo sports to sport) but in a positive way.Sport<s style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">s</s> (I'll stop correcting it here !) and health are heavily connected. Firstly, every time sweat goes out from our body by playing sports or physical activities it will throw away <s>toxic</s> toxins (toxic is the adjective) from our body. Exercise helps to burn calories in the body reducing the chances of obesity and heart disease. Secondly, playing sports can help reduce anxiety as well as depression. Sports are the best in fighting stress and can help to improve the cognitive and memory function of the brain.Furthermore, discipline is the key to success in sports. In sports, a student has to follow the rules <s>set</s> (just "rules" works better) and obey his or her coach. With discipline, students can reach their goals. In sports you have to collaborate with other players to win, so students can do the same when they have to study. After school when working on a project, those with teamwork skills achieve their objectives. On the other hand, they can develop confidence and self-esteem because sports (correct to have it as plural here) like football needs each player to combine their personal skills.Moreover, students can strengthen their social skills, because sports bring people together. When students <s style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">playing </s>play in other schools, they get a chance to interact with new people. These social and communication skills later help a student in their future career and relationships.In my opinion, playing sports is useful for students not only for the physical and mental benefits but also because it helps to refresh their mind after spending several hours in class. When students play<s style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">ing</s> sports they have to memorize, repeat, and learn to achieve their goals. All these skills will then be applied in the classroom so in both places they will achieve their goals.<em>(That was great... some complicated sentences and phrases managed without problems. Just a small number of verb corrections and the idea of sport of as a singular concept.)</em>0 votedApril 23, 20201
- 222 - Best place for a trip (M)Finding the ideal place for a trip in not an easy task, especially if this will be the first important one in your life. There are some questions to ask, but the decisive one is: do I prefer historical cities or natural places? Italy is famous for both and this is why many people here believe that before going abroad it should be better to visit it all. Travelling is life-changing for someone, but what really matters is having a home to return to. This is what a very close friend of mine taught me. "It is very nice to travel, but it is even better to go back home after a while", this is what he told me after a long trip. A good advice. Something trivial, yes, but different from what everyone usually says about travelling.Very good and easily understandable. I've just highlighted some aspects above and explained below:It should be better: I think perhaps "would be better"... should be better implies that while you expect it to be better it might not actually be so (the sea should be warmer by now... vs the sea would be warmer by now (which implies a more certain positive outcome)me. "It is.. : these 3 three sentences don't hang together well (partly because there's a bit of repetition in describing the friend telling you). I'd probably condense it to "This is what a very good friend of mine taught me after a long trip: [note the colon connecting the subsequent speech] "It is very nice to travel, but it is even better to go back home after a while" "A good advice: can't say this... can have "some good advice (but not easily as a single sentence unless highlighted as an exclamation. Some good advice !), or "a good piece of advice !)... either way, phrases like that without verbs are quite informal.Hope this was helpful - but overall very impressive !0 votedJanuary 12, 20201
- Would you rather have less work to do or more work you enjoy doing? (conclusion)Coming back to the essay question, if I were to choose between having more work that I enjoy doing and working less in a job I don’t like, I would suggest that there’s a middle-ground solution, which makes it possible to create and mantain a balance between a satisfactory work life and a fulfilling personal and emotional life.In this regard, Burkeman makes another interesting observation: besides planning our work time, we should also carefully plan our leisure time. This may sound nonsesical, as we are used to perceiving leisure time as casual and spontaneous, but the risk we run when we choose not to plan it in advance is waisting it watching TV or engaging in other passive leisure activities, which are highly likely to leave us with nothing but boredom and dissatisfaction.Seriously good... just a couple of spelling problems (or typing)...maintainnonsensicalwasting (waist = la vita / la pancia, waste = sprecare)0 votedNovember 22, 20191
- My best friendYesterday I went to my best friend's house.Her name is Claudia and we have been friends since we were little.We met in kindergarten: (colons aren't used like this... better would be a semicolon ; which is a slight pause between 2 connected sentences - cf colons - used to start a list). I was 4 years old and she three years old.From then to today we continued to frequent each other - this doesn't work I'm afraid - You can "frequent" a place (I frequent that restaurant) but not really a person - and it's very archaic use, hardly heard today. I'd say "continued to see each other".Claudia is that friend who knows you deeply: (as above, ; is better) we don't see each other (needs adding here as in the next bit) often but when we meet it's if we had seen each other the day before.Claudia is really a part of my hearth. Never heard that expression "part of my hearth" in English before - not sure if it's an Italian expression, but doesn't really translate. You could say "part of my life" (but a bit less poetic)... can't think of an equal English metaphorCiao !Spero che io non sia troppo pignolo ! il tuo inglese e' molto buono, e l'articolo e molto facile da capire.Chris0 votedOctober 20, 20190
- COMMENT WASHINGTON SQUAREWashington Square is a really beautiful novel, which <s>involve </s>invites you to read more and more. This novel is not the usual love story with an happy ending, but <s>h</s>is the story of a really brave girl who decided to go against her father only for<s> love someone</s> (several ways of saying this: for the love of someone; for love; for loving someone; because she lowed someone), but later to give <s>up </s> in to her father and totally break the relationship (that's understandable but a bit awkward... probably say " and completely end the relationship") . For me it is a story from which take and realize that in life is important yes love but always with friends and family around you, and family is a group of people big or little that is for who you can do or left everything only for be happy together.OK - that last bit doesn't really make sense so let me try to re-write it (hopefully what you mean):For me, it is a story from which I realize that in life love is important but always with friends and family around you; and family is a group of people, big or little, who whatever you do, or whatever you leave will be happy together.(Not entirely sure you meant that in the last bit but I was struggling a bit with the long sentence where it wasn't really clear which verbs referred to which people - hope it helps).Regarding real/really - I think in American English "real" is sometimes used as an adverb (as in "real good") but not in UK English, and I'm guessing would be relatively informal even in the US.Hope this all helps anyway,Chris0 votedJuly 28, 20191
- Hi - very good and clearly understandable but some notes below:49 - CERNSeven or eight years ago, I don't remember exactly, I visited the CERN, in Geneva. It was a project reserved for the best students of the school. I accepted to go (doesn't really work as an expression in English - I'd probably say "I accepted the place" (ie agreed to go on the trip) as more natural), because it was obviously a unique opportunity, but I was not so enthusiastic. The reason was that I have never been very keen on science, even if I was certainly intrigued. Expectations were therefore not high, but the reality was even worse. The CERN tour lasted three days and was very boring. On the first day there was a lesson, in which we were taught the most important concepts behind the particle accelerator, but it was really overly complex for a teenager, as I was. The remaining days were dedicated to visiting their laboratories, but I found everything too complex to really understand <s style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">something also this time </s>anything at the time. I don't remember what other students said about it, but I am sure that many of them were a little disappointed. (The following isn't actually a proper sentence so you'd either have to have a comma, making it very long, or start with... This was) probably because they had too high expectations and also for the reason that (we don't really use this expression in English... I think this would be "a causa di" in Italian... we just use "because") the particle accelerator was under maintenance. Hence, they only showed us a very small prototype, but not what all of us were really interested in.Have you ever visited CERN?(Haven't visited CERN but sorry to hear you found the trip boring !)bwChris0 votedJuly 20, 20191
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