English beginner

Circle of Life
Most women in North America give birth in hospitals. Most women have doctors deliver their babies, although some have midwives help them give birth at home. If they stay in the hospital, they stay for approximately two days after the birth and then they return home. Often, family members will come to the home to help the parents for the first few weeks.
Find the words in the reading that mean the same as the words in parentheses:
1. Most women (have their babies) in hospitals.
2. A (physician) can give you advice about your health.
3. Having a (woman with medical training for births) help deliver a baby is increasingly popular in North America.
4. The average American family has (about) two children.
1. midwife
2. give birth (or "deliver")
3. doctor
4. approximately
ANSWERS: 1.(2) 2.(3) 3.(1) 4.(4)
Where do women give birth in your country? At home or in the hospital? Who helps? How many children does the average family have in your country? Share your comments with us at the Advanced Email English forum or the Advanced Voice and Text Chats!!

Routine
Daily routine is something that gives life structure and discipline. Daily routine is something that one does every day, usually at the same time and place. For example, my father has a daily routine of going out to breakfast with my uncle. Some people have simpler routines such as exercising at a certain time or even simply having a grooming routine that includes bathing, hair styling or shaving.
What is part of your daily routine? What would you miss if your routine had to change?

Letter writing
READING
People hardly ever write letters now. Sarah''s mum always wrote letters to her pen-pal in Europe when she was a teenager but Sarah never writes letters. Sarah uses her computer to send e-mails to friends in other countries; she often uses the computer to send photos too. She sometimes uses chat programs but she doesn''t type very well so she is very slow.
pen-pal = a friend that you talk to but only in letters.
type = write with a machine - not by hand.

Letter writing
GRAMMAR
The missing words in yesterday''s exercise are adverbs which give us information about the frequency with which people do or don''t do things. They usually appear before the important verb in a sentence. They appear after the verb ''to be'' which is different from other verbs.

Circle of Life
Denise: Did I see your son at hockey practice last night?
Cordell: Yes. He just started. He goes to music lessons and hockey three days a week.
Denise: Wow! HeĂ¯s busy! My son Doug is on the hockey team and the swim team. I feel like I spend my whole life in the car taking him to practice and picking him up!
Cordell: While they get fit, we get fat! Maybe we should start a carpool.
Vocabulary
picking him up meeting him at the practice and taking him home
fit strong, healthy
carpool each person takes a turn driving
Many children and teens in North America have ðafter-school activities.ñ Some of these activities are school-related and some are not. Many families pay to have their children involved in activities such as sports and music. What after-school activities are common in your country?

Routine
Evan: I routinely buy the newspaper from that guy there on the corner.
Julie: I routinely get a coffee at the coffee shop next to my office.
Evan: I routinely check the astrological forecast for the day on the web.
Julie: I routinely walk to the subway station on the days when I teach in Boston.
Evan: People say that I run my life in a routine way but I like the things that I do routinely.
Julie: Me too!

Common Idiomatic Expressions
There are many uses for the verb "to get." Many of them are informal. Read this passage, then try to match each "get" to its meaning, listed below.
I''m usually late, but this morning I got up(1) early and got(2) myself some breakfast. Before I got out(3) the door, I had to get(4) the phone and get(5) my papers together. Luckily, I got(6) the bus on time and got(7) to work early. I was excited, but when I told my boss, she said, "Better get(8) to work." She didnĂ¯t get it(9).
1. to catch
2. to obtain
3. to prepare
4. understand
5. answer
6. rise
7. leave
8. arrived
9. begin
ANSWERS: 1.(6) (get up) 2.(3) 3.(7) (get out) 4.(5) 5.(2) 6.(1) 7.(8) 8.(9) 9.(4)

Florida
To be named for (something) or named after (something or someone) is a frequently used _expression in English. Read this paragraph about how the state of Florida got its name.
Florida is the 27th state in the United States. The state was purchased from Spain between the years 1819 and 1821 for the amount of $200,000. The name "Florida" comes from the Spanish word for "flowery." When the Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon first saw the east coast of Florida in 1513 it was the time of the Spanish Easter holiday. He named the very green, beautiful land he viewed "Pascua Florida" or "Flowery Easter."
When we say that a person is named after someone, it means that they were given the name of a relative or another person. I was named after my Aunt Irene. Florida was named for the Spanish words, "Flowery Easter."

Introductions
FIND THE MISSING WORDS
Can you remember the missing words from yesterday''s reading? Number the words below from 1 to 5 in their correct place in the reading:
meet, hello, nice, is, name
John and David are at Stefan''s party.
John: (1), my name is John. What''s your (2)?
David: My name (3) David. I work with Stefan at the bank.
John: I go to school with Stefan at the university.
David: John, I would like you to (4) my friend Nancy.
John: Hi, Nancy. It''s (5) to meet you.
Nancy: Hello, John. It''s nice to meet you, too. Do you want to dance?

Answers: 1. Hello 2. name 3. is 4. meet 5. nice

Common Idiomatic Expressions
Tom and Toby are standing in front of a computer store, looking in the window.
Tom: Did you see Jennifer Lopez in "The Wedding Planner?" She''s hot!
Toby: Hot? It''s not hot. It''s winter.
Tom: No, no, no. I said, "Jennifer Lopez is hot!"
Toby: Oh! That''s true. Sorry, I was distracted by this new computer game.
Tom: Yeah, I know. All the computer magazines say it''s hot.
Toby: Hot? No, no. I''m a little cold.
Tom: You need to clean out your ears, my friend.
What is the misunderstanding between Tom and Toby? Match the sentences to the meaning (use the dialogue to help you!):
1. She''s hot!
2. It''s not hot. It''s winter.
3. This game is hot!
1. ***y or good-looking
2. popular
3. very warm
ANSWERS: 1.(1) 2.(3) 3.(2)