Mary Teachins

Dear all, All the latest publications are available here: t.me/...ins

Films, films, films 🎞 Are you in the habit of making New Year's resolutions? If yes, do you ever keep them? In case today's free, you may feel like watching something. Why not Bridget Jones's Diary? It's a 2001 romantic comedy that stars Renée Zellweger as Bridget Jones, a 32-year-old British single woman who writes a diary, which focuses on the things she wishes to happen in her life. However, her life changes when two men vie for her affection, portrayed by Colin Firth and Hugh Grant. The British accent of the leads is truly delightful to listen to.

Greetings! I am delighted to see you all in the new year! ☃️🎄🎅 Sincerely hope some of the wishes have already come true! Personally, I am still looking forward to ❄️ SNOW❄️. 😁 I suppose right now everybody's suffering with a little depression because of the fact that the holidays we'd been longing for so long have come to their end. Modern psychology even has a term "Post Holiday Syndrome". It is commonly understood as the state of mind that has physical and psychological manifestations in which workers and students see the process of adapting to the routine after a period of holidays in a negative way (too much work, obligations, duties and responsibilities, rigid schedules, lack of motivation and/or inspiration, etc). Nevertheless, it is crucial to remember that it isn't a disease but rather a temporary adaptation disorder. Everything passes. So, this will also fade away pretty soon. Meanwhile, let us distract ourselves by doing sth enjoyable this weekend. Your suggestions are as welcome as always. Hugs!

This is what a creative approach to homework looks like 😊 The student has illustrated the four cases of usage of Present Perfect. Well done, Karina! Love the pics ❤️🤭

It is known that 🎁 gifts 🎁 are a quintessential part of the holiday season ☃️🎄❄️. And there are various ways to exchange them. One that is gaining more and more popularity nowadays is a game called SECRET SANTA 🎅. The drill is as follows: A group of people 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 are assigned to buy a present for another person anonymously. The identity of the gift-giver remains a secret until the end when all the Secret Santas are revealed. Have you ever tried it? If yes, did you like what Secret Santa had chosen for you? Shall we play secret Santa 🎅? If yes, leave a comment for me to contact you.

The IDIOM of the WEEK NO USE CRYING OVER SPILT MILK Imagine that you accidentally spilled a glass of milk. Would lamenting over it bring the milk back? No, it wouldn't. The best course of action would be to clean it up and move on. So, the phase means that dwelling on sth that has been done but can't be changed (there's always a situation that's irreversible) is pointless. That is why one should not be upset about past misfortunes. It's more productive to accept what has happened, learn from it and move forward. It's said the term was first coined by James Howell. The proverb “no weeping for shed milk" appeared in his 1659 collection of proverbs. Here are some example sentences: While it’s sad that the results aren't as good as you expected, you should now focus on moving ahead and achieving better ones next term; it is no use crying over spilt milk. 🇬🇧 The coach reminded the team when they lost the championship, "It's no use crying over spilled milk. We'll train harder and come back stronger." 🇺🇸

The PHRASES of the WEEK This week, with the temperature going down, more and more people aren't feeling well. Let's take a look at four phrases that can come in rather handy during the flu season. Be SICK (esp. British English) is to bring food from your stomach/ˈstʌmək/back out through your mouth (= to vomit). Jill was sick three times in the night. Mind, please, that the American "be/get SICK" simply means "unwell" with no nausea /ˈnɔːziə/ connotation. Fall ILL (BrE) is to begin to suffer from an illness or disease; not feel well. Catch a COLD means to become ill with a cold (a common illness that affects the nose and/or throat, making you cough, sneeze, etc.) Come DOWN WITH equals to get an illness similar to the flu (more serious than a cold, but not a deadly disease).

The new pillow has already proved its usefulness. 🤭 Suddenly, in the twinkling of an eye, it has become my cats' favourite spot. 🐈🐈‍⬛ The furry tails adore it when it feels snug. 🤗

Films, films, films 🎞 Good morning, everyone! Why don't we watch something that can teach a lesson this Sunday? Welcome, please, The Shawshank Redemption. It is a 1994 American prison drama based on the 1982 Stephen King novella "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption". The film tells the story of a banker called Andy Dufresne who is sentenced to life in Shawshank State Penitentiary for the murders of his wife and her lover, despite his claims of innocence. Over the following two and a half decades, he befriends a fellow prisoner, contraband smuggler Ellis "Red" Redding, and becomes instrumental in a money laundering operation led by the prison warden Samuel Norton. Over this quarter of a century of his unfair sentence Andy keeps maintaining his innocence and trying to remain hopeful. P.S. Some actual vocabulary items can be found in the last pictures attached to the post.

Feline Social Behavior Of Furry Tails 🐈🐈‍⬛ It's known that cats are solitary animals by nature. But does such a thing as CATS' FRIENDSHIP exist? Cats are finicky animals, slow to warm up to new animals and situations which makes it difficult to integrate a new cat into the household. Some representatives of the species are able to bond with others, forging what we call a “friendship”. Although some cats may warm up to each other within a matter of days or weeks, it typically takes them from 8 and 12 MONTHS to form a bond close enough that they could be considered friends. In some cases, though, two cats may never bond. While this situation usually results in two cats that simply stay out of each other’s way, it sometimes requires one of the cats to be permanently rehomed. Scientists claim that most cats are perfectly content to live in a home with no other cats, however, the research shows that cats that do have partners live longer. Have you got a purring creature at home or is it two/several of them?

The WORDS of the WEEK Dear all, this week I would like you to learn the noun "URGE" (by the way, it is a verb too) and some family words. An URGE is a strong desire to do something. The pattern to use is "URGE TO DO something". I had a sudden URGE to hit him. "TO URGE" means to advise or try hard to persuade somebody to do something. The verb can be used as a synonym for "to recommend". The police are URGING anyone with new information to come forward. URGENT (adj.) equals pressing. Finally, an EMERGENCY is an unexpected and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening of the situation.

Films, films, films 🎞 It being the last day of autumn, it's high time we celebrated the beginning of the coming holiday season. Talking about romantic comedies that create a festive mood, today's is probably the one I love the most. Welcome, please, SURVIVING CHRISTMAS, 2004. It stars Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini, Christina Applegate and Catherine O'Hara. The film will tell you about a lonely, obnoxious young millionaire who pays a family to let him spend Christmas with them. 😍 ☃️ 🎄