2011年12月 9日
The Most Expensive Car Accident (Feedback)
Thanks for your comments. I was listening to the BBC again the other day, and they were still talking about this accident! One of the UK newspapers devoted a full page to the story. These guys may have lost a lot of money, but at least they have become famous :-)
Actually, I was thinking that if they all bought their cars at the same dealer, that dealer is going to be a very happy man now because they will all have to buy new cars.
When I was out in my van this morning, I was driving along a narrow road, and there was a big dump truck coming the other way. The driver was doing something on his phone, and I could see as he went past me that he was not even looking at the road. I think there needs to be a change in the law so that any professional driver caught doing this would lose their license. This would mean that they would also lose their job, so I hope it would make them think a bit more carefully about their actions. (I'm thinking particularly about truck drivers, because I see them using their phones all the time.)
Anyway, here is some feedback on your comments:
I have been absented from this blog almost for 2 weeks 'cause of my mothering.
(I have been absent from this blog for almost two weeks because I was taking care of my mother [my children?].)
I've known this supercar accident whereas I do not know in detail.
(I heard about this supercar accident, but I don't know the details.)
I usually picture that car accidents would easily happens if I step my break abruptly when I drive on the expressway.
(I often imagine how easily an accident could happen if I braked suddenly when driving on the expressway.)
I remember that my friend who always drives close behind another, told me why she did like this
(I asked a friend in Hokkaido about this once. I asked him why he was in such a rush to pass the car in front when he could see that there was a long line of slow traffic ahead of us. He said, 気持ちの問題. It's scary that there are so many stupid people about - most of them men, of course!)
I was very surprised when I watched the new on TV yesterday.
(This is okay, but you could also say, "when I saw it on the news yesterday." This implies that you are talking about the TV news, so you don't need to add that.)
if the car drives 80 kilometers per hour, 80 meters
(If the car is traveling at 80 kilometers per hour, the stopping distance is 80 meters.)
See you later, alligator.
(I'm not sure if you are joking here, but this is a very, very old expression. It is not really used in modern English, except maybe by small children. It is probably best avoided.)
I drive a car, but usually only in my neighboring areas.
(...but usually only in my neighborhood.)
I personally think it boils down to one's personal preference.
(Nice sentence, but it's quite formal. How about "I personally think it is a matter of personal preference"?)
I'm ksk. This is my first comment on the blog
(Hi ksk. Nice to have you with us. I think you probably know more about the members of the blog than I do, so please introduce yourself so that we can get to know you too.)
Anyway, as for this week's topic I don't think that owning those supercars should be banned.
(Nice sentence. I agree that they should not be banned. If people start banning supercars, it will not be long before they start banning super bikes too, and we definitely do not want that!)
Oh, isn't it a kind of the way of trying to pressure the driver of the car in front to speed up?
(No, it just means "If you don't want to go any faster, please move over to the left to let the person behind pass you. That is the law in the UK, but many people don't follow it, so other drivers get angry.)
That's it for today. I'm going to go for a walk in the forest now because it's such a nice day. Have a great weekend, and see you again on Monday.
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Comments
Hi David,
Thanks for your feedback.
>I'm going to go for a walk in the forest now because it's such a nice day.
A walk in the forest? That's nice;) Wish I could go too. It rained here in Tokyo this morning, and it's very cold today. I had a busy day, and I couldn't have lunch till around 4 pm.
Have a nice weekend, everyone.
amo
- amo
- 2011年12月 9日 23:22
Hi amo,
I didn't go in the end because I was too busy :-(
Hi Anne,
Which two sentences are you asking about?
davidbarker- 2011年12月10日 00:20
Hi David,
Thank you for your feedback!
>if the car drives 80 kilometers per hour, 80 meters
(If the car is traveling at 80 kilometers per hour, the stopping distance is 80 meters.)
What I was trying to say was that distance between two cars (車間距離). I am sorry I might wrote it vaguely.
>See you later, alligator.
(I'm not sure if you are joking here, but this is a very, very old expression. It is not really used in modern English, except maybe by small children. It is probably best avoided.)
Thank you for the advice. I heard this expression was used between children and a grandpa and a boy. It's a very old expression and not for adult. OK, I will keep that in my mind.
Hi ksk,
Welcome to the blog! Looking forward to know about you.
Fumie
- Fumie
- 2011年12月10日 05:29
Hi David,
I wanted to know the difference in nuance between "neighborhood" and "neighboring area."
>usually only in my neighboring areas.
>usually only in my neighborhood.
Anne
- 匿名
- 2011年12月10日 07:39
Hi David,
Thank you for the feedback, but I couldn't get any corrections as I had expected.
Please feel free to correct my mistakes and unnatural English next time.
Hi Anne, amo, Fumie,
Thank you for words of warm greeting.
To be honest I don’t like self-introduce, but I’ve realized that it’s kind of unfair if I don't introduce myself while I know about you a lot, so let me do some.
I’ve been studying English on and off for over ten years. But my English is still not good, so I need to practice more. I was still wondering what kind of practice I should do.
When I started studying I just wanted to speak fluently, so I didn’t focus on writing.
As you know, some people highly recommend keeping a diary in English, I can guess it helps us a lot to improve our English. But I think I’m too lazy to keep on doing that.
However, talking about some interesting topics here from time to time must be a lot of fun and really work out for my study. That’s why I decided to join in the blog.
By the way, the day before yesterday I went to my junior high school reunion. I live in Tokyo now but am originally from Osaka, so guys there were all Osaka-人. I had a lot of fun but I bet we were really noisy and annoyed other people around us. After that I caught the last train from Shinjuku. I had to change trains on the way, but when I awoke, I found myself carried two stations beyond the stop where I had to transfer.（←Am I making sense? 乗り換えるべき駅を２駅乗り越してしまったといいたいのですが、どう言えばいいのでしょう。上の文章は辞書をひきつつひねり出したものです。Can anyone help me, please?）
Actually the station I got out of the train wasn’t so far from my place, so I could walk back. If I had kept sleeping, I should have spent a lot of money for taking a taxi. I was lucky in a sense.
It’s enough for today, thank you for reading. See you soon.
ksk
- ksk
- 2011年12月10日 13:14
Hi ksk,
I think joining here is a great and fun way to improve English. :)
About your question, how about " fell asleep and missed two stops." I checked 英辞郎。Is that what you are trying to say? But I'm not sure because my English is a mess!
Fumie
- Fumie
- 2011年12月11日 05:27
Hi, ksk,
How about "I passed two stops"?
I sometimes miss my stop,too! For me, trains are good places to think about something. When I realised, doors are just about to close...
I Love Nutella
- I Love Nutella
- 2011年12月11日 12:51
Hi ksk and members,
I also checked 英辞朗, and Fumie's suggestion sounds good. I agree with the idea "pass two stops",too.
Well... here are my versions:
I fell asleep when I was on the train
1. ,and I passed two stops after the station where I was supposed to transfer.
2. ,and I missed my transfer by two stops.
If I were to take a taxi from the station, it cost a lot!
Bye for now,
Anne
- Anne
- 2011年12月11日 14:48
I had a think again about the ksk's question.
How about this...
"I slept on a train, and missed my stop. When I woke, I'd passed two stops."
By the way, I have no idea about today's dinner. I had buffet lunch today. I'm not hungry yet. But if I skip dinner, I will be so hungry later and can't sleep...
- I Love Nutella
- 2011年12月11日 19:34
I think that would just be "I fell asleep and missed my stop. I ended up going two stations too far."
Hi Anne,
Both of those expressions would be okay in your sentence, but I just thought that "neighboring area" would imply a wider range. "Neighborhood" refers only to an area very close to your home.
- davidbarker
- 2011年12月11日 22:56
Hi David,
Thanks for answering my question.
> "neighboring area" would imply a wider range--- I see. I'm glad to know the difference between the two. I don't know why "neighboring area" came to mind first because "neighborhood" is more familiar with me.
>"I fell asleep and missed my stop. I ended up going two stations too far."
---"go two stations too far" It looks simlpe but is difficult for me to express this way! This is the expression I'd like to remember! Thank you.
Bye for now,
Anne
- Anne
- 2011年12月11日 23:28
Hi David,
You didn't go for a walk? That's too bad. Instead you ended up having a busy day? poor you:(
Hi everyone,
How's your weekend? me? I can't say I had a good one, because I've got a cold. I spent all day in bed yesterday. Despite that, I couldn't get rid of it. I was on duty today, so I had a tough day.
By the way, have anyone seen the lunar eclipse last night? As I mentioned, I was in bed so I wasn't able to see it. A friend's husband took a picture of it and it was beautiful:)
Good night and sweet dreams,
amo
- amo
- 2011年12月11日 23:35
Hi Fumie,Anne,I love Nutella and David,
Thank You for sharing my question, I really appreciate it.
そんなにちょくちょく乗り過ごすわけじゃないんですが、
同窓会でやたら楽しい時間を過ごし、気分良く帰途に就いた結果がこうでした。
年末のなにかと慌ただしい時期ですが、
みなさんご自愛ください。
See you soon.
ksk
- ksk
- 2011年12月11日 23:42
Hi David,
Thanks for your feedback!
>in my neighborhood.)---Ahh...,when I wrote this, the word "neighborhood" didn't come to mind. Are there any difference between two sentences in nuance or the use of 'neighborhood' is more natural?
>'boil down' --it's quite formal---I see. Thanks for your advice. Actually, I learned this phrase, so I wanted to use this,but I had no idea about whether or not it's formal. （ちょっとかっこいいと思って。。。） It's a shame because I first wrote the exact sentence that you had corrected!
>it will not be long before they start banning super bikes too, and we definitely do not want that!)----Yes,exactly. It'll be a big problem to you.
Have a lovely weekend, everyone,
Anne