A Document from MySkylines, Express Yourself - Issue 03

Meals
Eating is supposed to be one of the most pleasant things in life. Sometimes we are not sure if we eat to live or live to eat. However, these days, many people are being deprived of regular meals. Some folks claim they are too busy to take the time, or they skip a meal they are dieting. The meal that is most often missed is breakfast, so the eater or fixer can stay in bed longer, even though health experts usually insist this is the most important meal of all. In some cases, this phenomenon is because wives are working outside the home, in others because husbands do not insist on breakfast. More convenient Western ideal about breakfast are becoming popular: eggs, cereal, coffee.
Later in the day, lunches are also becoming more problematic, especially for salaried workers. The variety and quality of food seem to be declining, even as the restaurant themselves become crowded and expensive. After work, it is usually an informal meal and drinks, so a family meal at home is out the question  for a lot of male workers.
--> deprive = take something from someone, especially somrthing thet need or want
--> out of the question = impossible
--> out of question = possible

Comprehension
1. Which meal is considered the easiest to skip? Breakfast.
2. How many reasons are given for not eating? Some people are too busy to eat breakfast. Some skip a meal because they are dieting.  The restaurant themselves become crowded and expensive. There are more and more male workers.
3. What does a Western breakfast consist of?  It consist of eggs,cereals and coffee.

Express yourself
1. Do you uasually have breakfast? Yes, I almost eat breakfast every day except I am drunk or too tired.
2. Who prepares breakfast for you in family? My wife prepares for me or I go to breakfast shop to buy my breakfast then I finish it at office.
3. What do you think about having a modest Western-style breakfast? Sometimes eat Western-style breakfast is not bed ideal and choice, but traditional China-style breakfast also is a good choice.
4. What do you uasually eat for lunch? I usually eat food with less oil and salt, and I also eat much vegetable or fruit. Of course I also eat delicious food but not not very healthy such as Ramen (Japan noodles), fried pork with rice.
5. What do you most look for in a lunch outside the home?  Recently I love Ramen.
6. What do you think about carrying a lunch box to work? I think it's a very good ideal becaus it made by your fmailly, it would be healthy and rich in nutrients.
7. What is your favorit dessert? I like chocolate Brownie cakes.8. Do you usually volunteer to pay for your fellow worker's lunches?
9. What do you think about Dutch treat?
10. Do you think it's a good ideal to take a nap after lunch?
11. Do you think one hour is enough time for lunch?
12. What is your favorit food?
13. Do you like Western food? If so, which?
14. Do you drink coffee after a meal?
15. How many cups of coffee do you drink a day?
16. Do you try to maintain a balanced diet?
17. Do you usually buy fruit in a department store, or in the market?
18. Are you worried about pesticides when you eat fruit?
19. Do you peel your apples? In the past, I will peel the apples before I eat them, but now I do not peel them anymore sicne I found a natural detergent for fruits and vegetables.

Opinion Samples
1. For too long we have thought that common courtesy demands that one person pay for everyone's meals. Oftentimes this leads to an embarrassing struggle over who will pay. Of course, each person is expected to take turns, but the order is not always clear and this may lead to resentment by the others. Meal costs are also constantly rising, so paying for multiple meals at one time is often inconvenient. We could save ourselves a lot of trouble if we would agree to go Dutch--each pays for his own meal.
2. I'm very concerned about getting poisoned by what I eat. I can never be sure if any fruit is pesticide-free, even after I wash it. So I try to peel it before I eat it. As a result, I shy away from some of my favorit food, like strawberries. My health is more important than my palate.

--> take turns = succeed one another in order
--> resentment = a feeling of displeasure or anger because of an insult or other wrong
--> shy away from = drawback; hesitate to do
--> palate = the sense of taste

Usefull Expressions
1. Don't argue at the dinner table. The one who is not hungry always wins the argument.
2. Children who are reared in homes of poverty have only two mealtime choices - take it or leave it.
3. Exercise doesn't make you nearly as hungry as thinking does - especially thinking about food.
4. The best exercise is to exercise discretion at dinner table.
5. More and more food is coming canned or prepackaged - including food for thought.
6. There is a new diet that will reduce weight like nothing else. It's called high price of food.
7. Most kids think a balanced diet is a hamburger in each hand.
8. Eating plenty of onions and garlic will help you live longer, claim dietary authorities - but you will die very lonely.
9. Table manners must have invented by people who were never hungry.
10. Many people seem to be allergic to food for thought.

--> take it or leave it = accept or refuse without changes or conditions
--> discretion = caution or self-control in one's speech or behavior.
--> food for thought (idioms&phrase)= An ideal or issue to ponder 

A Document from MySkylines, Express Yourself - Issue 02

Traffic & Transportation
In modern societies, cars have become indispensable for most people. They are needed for commuting to work,for shopping, and for leisure purpose. However this widespread use also poses many traffic-related problems. For example, since the roads are congested most of the day, the meaning of  "rush hour" is fast disappearing. A lot of drivers complaimed that the police are more interested in "collecting money" from law-breaking commuters than in facilitating the traffic flow. In addition,as more and more "demand presure" is put on gasoline supplies, and as more taxes are added by goverment to regulate usage, prices are rising dramatically.
Worldwide, the automobile is the number-one constributor to the air pollution, and policies designed to protect the environment are expensive. So far, mass transportation such as  subway and buses - and electric or other alternatives to internal combustion engines - have proved inadequate for solving the needs of conveniently moving large numbers of people from place to place.

--> congested : to full or crowded because of too many people or vehicles.
--> rush hour :  a period of heavy traffic
--> commuter : a person who travels regularly between a home in one community and work or school in another.
--> alternatives : choices, more possibilities  from which to choose
--> internal combustion engines : engines which produce energy by burning fuet within themself.
--> inadequate : not adequate : insufficient <inadequate equipment>; also : not capable <was inadequate as a leader>

Comprehension
1. What does "rush hour" mean and why is the expression becoming meaningless?
2. Explain "demand pressure."
3. Why haven't the problem associated with automobile usage been corrected?

Express yourself
1. If you were late for a appointment, would you violate the traffic rules?
2. What traffic rules do you often break?
3. If you were stopped by a police officer for a traffice violation, what do you do?
4. Have you ever tried to bribe a police officer?
5. How do you feel when you get a ticket?
6. if you knew you were only going to be someplace for 10 minutes, would you pay for half an hour of parking or just park illegally?
7. When do you take the subway?
8. When do you take a taxi?
9. When do you talke a bus?
--> associated : connected.
--> bribe : pay money to in change of a faver, especially by doing something dishonest.

Opinion Samples
Yesterday I got my first traffic ticket. I was so angry that I drove away recklessly. Even though I knew this was dangerous behavior, I couldn't help myself. But after nearly(almost) causing an accident, I stopped my car, drank a coffee, and relaxed for a few minutes. I realized that my bad driving was the reason I had the ticket in the first place(first of all), and this helped calm me down. Then I was able to drive the way I know I should.
When I got downtown I never drived. For one thing, it is very dangerous. The roads are crowded with cars all the time, and an accident  or some road construction cause me to be delayed an hour or more. So driving never guarantee on-time arrival for appointment. And gas and parking are both expensive. On the other hand, the subway is safe, cheap, and timely.
--> traffic ticket : a notice given to a driver  for a traffic violation
--> reckless : lacking care or caution ; careless

Useful Expressions
1. Fewer accidents are caused by traffic jams than by pickled drivers.
2. Traffic tickets are like wives. No one complains about them until he gets one of his own.
3. The way traffic is today, it's easier to star on Broadway than it is to cross it.
4. Fast transportation has made us all neighbor-but, unfortunately, not brothers.
5. People seem to have thought up every solution to the traffic problem except staying at home.
6. Doctors tell us that people are living too fast. Traffic statistics show they are dying the same way.
7. A traffic light is a device for trapping you in the middle of the intersection.