| THE CALENDAR | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| The days of the week are : | Sunday | ||
| Monday | |||
| Tuesday | |||
| Wednesday | |||
| Thursday | |||
| Friday | |||
| Saturday | |||
| The months are : | January | July | |
| February | August | ||
| March | September | ||
| April | October | ||
| May | November | ||
| June | December |
In dates, years from 1001 to 2099 are normally expressed in terms of hundred (though the years 1000 and 2000 themselves are generally 'the year one thousand and two thousand', :), thus :
| 1066 | == | ten (hundred and) sixty-six |
| 1900 | == | nineteen hundred |
| 1950 | == | nineteen (hundred and) fifty |
| 2004 | == | twenty (hundred and) oh-four |
| although two thousand and four is equally correct. | ||
Dates may be written in any of the following ways :
- 1 January, 2001 or 1 Jan 01 or 1 Jan'01
2 February, 2002
March 3, 2003
And sometimes :
4th April, 2004
May 5th, 2005.
"In the tenth century" is expressed as in the nine hundreds or between nine hundred and one thousand, and so on.
The letters B.C. (before Christ) are put after dates before the Christian era ; dates after Christ's birth may have the letters A.D. (Anno Domini) after them.
NOTE . The learner is already familiar with the use of the prepositions at, on, and in in connection with time. At this point, however, it may be useful to review these uses, introducing the calendar terms into our examples and referring to particular times of day. It was pointed out in Step 12 that positions in time are thought of, like positions in space, as being at a point, or on a line, or in a circle. We think of a particular second, minute, or hour as being a point of time, of a day (or the morning or night of a particular day) as a line, and of a week, month, season, or year as a circle. Thus we say :
At this second I saw him ; the play will be over at ten minutes past five ; our meal is at seven ; come on Saturday ; she was late on Wednesday morning ; the meeting will take place in the last week of February ; it is generally warm in July ; they go south in the winter ; the 850 words of Basic English were first printed in 1928.
EXERCISES ON THE CALENDAR
1 . Learn this rhyme about the days of the week :
- A sneeze on Monday is a sneeze for danger ;
A sneeze on Tuesday is for something stranger ;
A sneeze on Wednesday is a sneeze for a letter ;
A sneeze on Thursday is for something better ;
A sneeze on Friday is a sneeze for pain ;
A sneeze on Saturday, see your loved one again.
2 . Learn this rhyme about the months :
- Thirty days has September,
April, June, and November.
All the rest have thirty-one,
But for February, my dear,
Which has twenty-eight days clear,
And twenty-nine in the fourth year.
3 . Say these dates rapidly :
- 1481 ; 1600 ; 1807 ; 1916 ; 1555 ; 1120 ; 1945 ; 1963 ; 2000 ; 2012 .
4 . Write these dates as they would normally be written :
- March the first, nineteen hundred and thirty-eight ;
August the tenth, eighteen hundred and forty-four ;
April the fifteenth, nineteen hundred and fifty-three ;
December the twenty-fifth, two thousand and four.
5 . Dates on letters are sometimes written in figures. In Europe the day of the month is given first, then the month, and finally the last two figures of the year.
- 30/12/90 ; 2/11/27 ; 14/6/59 ; 12/1/88 ; 30/9/01 ; 26/10/13 .
- 2/30/04 ; 11/2/27 ; 6/14/59 ; 1/12/88 ; 9/30/01 ; 10/26/13
- 2004/12/30 ; 1927/02/11 ; 1959/06/14 ; 1988/01/12 ; 2001/9/30 ; 2013/10/26
First Voice : Hallo ! Hallo ! Is that the Exchange ?
Telephone Girl : Number, please.
First Voice : I've been waiting on this line for five minutes. I was about to get through to the engineers to see what the trouble was. Will you please get me North 3210 ?
Telephone Girl : North 3210.
[The brrr-brrr-brrr of a telephone bell comes over the line.]
Second Voice : Hallo !
First Voice : Oh, is that you, Sam ? This is Dick here. I was hoping you'd be in. Have you had a good week-end ?
Second Voice : First-rate, old boy. I took my offspring to the seaside. We went out fishing on Sunday and didn't do badly. That is , the boys didn't do badly. I had to keep the boat straight. What's your news ?
First Voice : I'm telephoning to say that we have a position here which might do for that young friend you were talking to me about on Thursday. We are looking for a responsible young man who has some power of organization. Your friend has had some experience of keeping accounts, hasn't he ?
Second Voice : Yes, he was trained in a business school and he has been doing book-keeping for two years. He is very good at mathematics.
First Voice : That's good. If he has been trained, it will not take him long to get used to our special system of book-keeping. He wouldn't get much money at the start but he'd have a chance of working his way up into a better position. Have you any idea of when he would be able to come and see me ?
Second Voice : The work he's doing at present takes him out of town for most of the week. Monday and Tuesday are the only week-days he's here.
First Voice : I haven't much time this week, but I'd be able to give him half an hour on Tuesday of the week after. Let me have a look at the calendar. That's Tuesday, July 11th. I'd be pleased to see him at 12.30. Will you get in touch with him for me and see if it's possible for him to come then ?
Second Voice : Yes, certainly I will. It's very kind of you to take so much trouble about him. He hasn't much polish, but he has a good brain and he's a quick worker. If you give him a chance, I'm certain he'll not let you down.
First Voice : I'll see that he gets a chance if he's the right man for us. I give you my word about that. Oh, I've another bit of news for you.
Second Voice : What's that ?
First Voice : Jackson is offering us a group of new patents in connection with machines for use in mining.
Second Voice : How did that come about ? Last time I saw you, you said it was impossible to do business with him and you'd have nothing more to do with him.
First Voice : So I did. but he went to see the head of the business without saying anything to me and, to my surprise, he has got him interested. The chief has designs for making our position stronger in the overseas market, and Jackson is quite an authority on mining conditions in South Africa. The idea is that if we take up his machines, it will be a help to u in the field. There's probably something in it, but I've no desire to have any further connection with Jackson.
Second Voice : That would certainly be my feeling. However, the chief is a good business man and I see his point. But, in view of Jackson's past record, you'll have to keep an eye on him. He has such a high opinion of himself that he's never happy till he's got control. I had trouble with him myself when he came to me with one of his patents in 1998. Have your seen him about this business ?
First Voice : No. He's to come and have a talk with me on Wednesday. [There is no answer from the other end of the line.] Are you there, Sam ? [There is still no answer.] Hallo ! Hallo ! [Moving the support up and down to get the attention of the girl at the Exchange] Hallo ! Are you there, Exchange ?
Telephone Girl [in a bright voice} : Number, please.
First Voice [angrily] : I was in the middle of talking to someone about some most important business and I have been cut off. Will you please put me through again ? It's shocking how much trouble one has with the telephones these days.
Telephone Girl :What number were you talking to ?
First Voice :North 3210
Telephone Girl : One minute, please. [After a short time] You are through now.
Second Voice : Hallow !
First Voice :Oh, there you are, Sam, at last. We were cut off. I was saying that Jackson is coming to see me on Wednesday.
Second Voice : Good ! Make him put all his cards on the table.
First Voice :That's why I'm seeing him. I am going to get him to put his ideas before me in detail. He didn't give the chief more than an outline.
Second Voice ; If I was in your place, I'd get the opinion of an outside expert before making any decision.
First Voice : Yes, I have that in mind. In fact, it was one of my reasons for telephoning. I was certain you'd be able to give me the name of a good man. Aren't you quite an authority yourself ?
Second Voice ; No, I would be of no use to you. I haven't had anything to do with this branch of engineering for years. It's a little outside my field. The best man for our purpose is undoubtedly Cooper.
First Voice : Isn't he working at the University ?
Second Voice : Yes, that's right. He's at the School of Mines. He's a man of great learning and has done some very interesting work in physics. At the same time, he has a wide experience of industry and is able to see things from the business angle. He's the very person to keep a man like Jackson in order.
First Voice : If I get in touch with him, may I say that you gave me his name ?
Second Voice : Yes, certainly do that. We frequently come across one another at the Club. When I see him again, I'll say that he may be hearing from you. Have you taken any further steps about that agreement you were going to send me a copy of ?
First Voice : The man who does our law business is working on it now. He's changing the wording in one or two places where it isn't as clear as it might be. It will probably be ready in two or three days. The chief isn't very happy about the condition in the agreement increasing your profit after August 2008. He says that you are not giving us enough time. You see, in view of the money we are going to put into advertisements, we will make no profit for the first year or two.
Second Voice : All right. Put off the increase till 2010 if that gets over your trouble, though what he says is open to argument. Are there any other points ?
First Voice : No, nothing important. It's simply a question now of getting it into the right form for purposes of law. By the way, Taylor has had the bright idea that your account of the electric plant we put in for Marshall Brothers in 1999, which was printed in one of the trade papers, might make a good advertisement. Have you the copyright ?
Second Voice : Yes.
First Voice : Would you let us have it ? Naturally we would make a payment.
Second Voice : Certainly.
First Voice : Good. Then I'll put Taylor in touch with you.
Second Voice : Are you coming to the meeting of the Society on Friday ? There's to be a discussion about the program for October, November, and December.
First Voice : My dear man, I'm going to be there reader of the paper.
Second Voice :So you are ! That's a pleasure in store for me. Then I'll see you on Friday.
First Voice : That's right. and come in good time, Sam.
Second Voice : I will, Dick.
NOTES
Hallo ! : a cry used to get someone's attention or on meeting and so on. In North America, this is : Hello !
is that the exchange ? A telephone office at which the connections are made between telephone lines (see under) is an exchange. Of course, telephones are now automatic.
on this line : the line is the wire joining the telephone instrument to the exchange. Take note of the use of on.
North 3210 : This is said as if it was four separate numbers -- ' three, two, one, o'.
week-end : == Saturday and Sunday, the days at the end of the week, when most offices and so on are shut.
first-rate : == very good, of the highest quality.
offspring : == the sons(s) and /or daughters(s) of a person or animal. When talking of more than one, it goes with are and so on. Used of persons, outside science, the word gives a suggestion of humor.
that is, the boys : That is is used when one is about to say something more clearly or give more details than in an earlier statement.
we have a position : Position is used in the sense of 'place for or of a worker'.
a responsible young man : A responsible person is one who will do the tings for which he is responsible without having to be watched or controlled.
power of organization : Organization is used here in the sense of getting an ordered system, or organization' to do something.
book-keeping : The accounts of a business are kept in books, so keeping its accounts is frequently talked of as keeping its books, from which come book-keeping and book-keeper.
our special system of book-keeping : System is used here in the sense of 'regular way worded out for doing something.'
working his way up : Working one's way to some point or position is getting there by hard work.
week-day : any day but Sunday. or, now, Saturday is not a regular work or school day.
let me have a look : Let me is a form commonly used in talk when one is going to keep someone waiting while one does something : it is a sort of request for the time needed.
he hasn't much polish : A person is said to have polish when he has the pleasing behavior and good taste in dress of one who is used to being in good society.
he'll not let you down : To let a person down is not to give him the support or help he has been hoping for, or to do less well than he has been hoping one well. One lets down his high hopes.
I give you my word about that : To give one's word about something is to make oneself responsible for a statement, to put it forward very seriously as true. Such a statement is a person's word. One gives one's word to do or that one will do something, that is, makes oneself responsible for doing it.
come about : The sense of come about is very near to that of take place, but it gives the suggestion that the event or condition is the outcome of a chain of events or chances.
have nothing more to do with == have no further connection with. In the same way, one may have something, much and so on to do with.
the head of the business : Business is here used in the sense of a 'business organization'.
to my surprise == in a way giving surprise to me. To may be used with some other names of feelings, such as disgust and amusement, in the same way.
designs for making our position stronger : An idea for doing something, a purpose which one has in mind, is a design. This is like the designs of a house which are made on paper before building it.
overseas == in or countries over (across) the sea, far away.
an authority on mining : An expert on some question is an authority on it. His special knowledge gives him authority to put forward an opinion.
if we take up his machines : One is said to take up anything -- work, an idea, and so on -- when one makes it one's business, give it one's attention, support.
in this field : A division of knowledge, operation, and so on, is named a field.
there's probably something in it == there's probably some sense in the idea. Statements of this sort are very common in everyday talk. See "There's nothing in it" (Step 34).
in view of == keeping in view in one's mind, taking into account.
Jackson' past record : a person's record is the facts about what he has done in the past, of which others have knowledge.
keep an eye on : Take note of this way of saying 'keep under observation."
I have been cut off : When a telephone connection is broken, the persons who were talking are said to be cut off. More generally, a place or person is said to be cut off (from society, other places) when separated by distance or other conditions making it hard to keep in touch.
it's shocking : One says loosely that something is shocking when it is very bad and one has a poor opinion of it. A thing may be shocking in this sense without causing a shock of any sort.
put all his cards on the table == make clear what his purpose is, keep nothing secret, as if, in playing cards, he let their faces be seen..
in detail == giving all the details.
outline : A thing's outline is its form as it might be pictured with a line marking the outer edge and no details. So the word is used for an account which gives only the chief points about something and not the details.
this branch of engineering : Engineering is the work of an engineer. There is no -ed form, and naturally, no -er form. -- A branch of some field of knowledge is a division or part of it.. Engineered now means "designed".
a man of great learning : Learning is the knowledge which one gets by learning from books.
taken any further steps about :An act done for the purpose of causing some effect is, as one might say, a step taken in the direction of causing it. So such acts are talked of as steps.l
the wording == the words used for saying something.
the condition . . . increasing your profit : By expansion, a condition is something, some condition of things (or the statement of this), on which the taking place of an act is made dependent.
you see : We say this when making something clear to a person.
money . . . put into advertisement : In a business sense, to put money into something is to make use of it for that purpose. -- Advertisement is here used in the sense of 'getting public attention by advertisement and so on.'
if that gets over your trouble : The trouble is in the way, an is looked on as being got over like a wall.
open to argument : A thing is said to be open to argument, doubt, and so on when the facts are uncertain enough for argument or doubts about it to be possible -- that is, when the door is open to let the argument or doubts in. a person is open to reason when he will let himself be reasoned with.
by the way : This is used as a sign that one is about to say something unimportant or having little connection with what has gone before.
trade papers : Any special branch of trade is a trade. A trade paper is a paper which give news about a trade.
the electric plant : A works together with its machines, engines, and so on is named a plant, no doubt because like a natural plant, it is s producing unit, giving us the fruits of industry. From this, the machines and apparatus by themselves come to have the same name, but generally in the sense plant is used without a..
copyright == the right of controlling the printing and putting on the market of copies of a book, picture, and so on for a time fixed by law.
my dear man : A form frequently used, as here, for making clear one's protesting surprise.
the reader of the paper : A bit of writing on some question is a paper. In societies, the reader of a paper is generally the writer of it.
a pleasure is in store for me : something which is waiting for a person, coming to him in the future, is said to be in store for him.
then I'll see you on Friday : then is frequently used in talk, as here, with the sense 'that being so, the facts being what they are.'
TEST
1 . Make use of these in two different senses. It is not necessary to keep the root forms of come , let , get and take.| (a) come about | (d) take steps |
| (b) let down | (e) take up |
| (c) get over | (g) over |
2 . Give a word in your language which has the sense of :
| (a) offspring | (c) outline |
| (b) first-rate | (d) copyright |
3 . In every group of statements there is one word which will make all the statements complete. Put in the right word.
- (a) The _____ has had no water for a week.
The company is ordering some new _____ from America.
(b) My son is good at every _____ of mathematics.
The _____ has been broken by the wind.
The company is starting a new _____ at Birmingham.
(c) The decision of the committee may be changed by a higher _____.
You have no _____ to send that letter.
The book is by an _____ on language.
(d) What a strange _____ that bird's head is in !
This would be a good _____ for a house.
She had to give up her _____ in the store because her mother.
You would probably have done the same if you had been in my _____.
(e) He has done good work in the political _____.
Some pigs have got into the _____ at the back of the house.
This is a new _____ of thought to me.
4 . Make clear, in Basic, the sense of :
| (a) week-end (weekend) | (c) book-keeping (bookkeeping) |
| (b) overseas | (d) week-day (weekday) |
5 . Give, in Basic, a telephone talk between two persons who are having a discussion about when and where they are going to see one another.
6 . Make these statements complete by putting a word in every space.
- (a) This book gives the history of patent law _____ detail.
(b) He might be able to give a better position _____ view _____ his university training.
(c) _____ the teacher's surprise, the boys gave him a gold watch on his birthday.
(d) Serious punishment is _____ store _____ the men who haven't gene back to work today.
(e) That this discovery will have important effects on the future is not _____ _____ doubts.
(f) If your purpose in writing to him is to make a request for money, I will _____ nothing _____ _____ _____ it.
7 . Put into Basic : Teacher Link
8 . Give the answers in Basic :
- (a) What details were given about the young man who was offered a business position.
(b) What did Dick do before saying when h e would be able to see him ?
(c) What did Sam do at the week-end ?
(d) Why was Dick angry with the girl at the exchange ?
(e) What were Dick's tow reasons for telephoning Sam ?
(f) Why was Dick's company interested in Jackson's new patents ?
(g) Who was working on Sam's agreement with the company, and what was he doing ?
(h) Why was the head of the company troubled about the agreement ?
(i) Why was Sam not ready to give an opinion about Jackson's patients ?
(j) What facts did Sam give about Cooper ?
(k) What was the bit of writing of which Sam had the copyright ?
(l) Why was it foolish of Sam to be certain if Dick would go to the meeting of the Society ?
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