Urban Slang - muppet

In the late 1950's puppet master Jim Henson created some puppet characters and called them the Muppets.
Since the 1950's the Muppets have been entertaining children and adults alike with their silly antics.

However in Brittan, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, the word muppet has become a mild term of abuse.

When using muppet as a mild term of abuse the first thing to notice is the difference in spelling, the puppets created by Jim Henson and now owed by the Disney Corporation are spelt with a capital "M", as in The Muppets, and when we call someone a muppet we spell it with a lowercase "m".

When you call someone a muppet (lower case) you are suggesting that they stupid or silly.

For example: "John its six o'clock, you were supposed to be here an hour ago, you muppet!"

Calling someone a muppet should not cause them offensive, and has even been used in street advertising, however as a learner of English, remember if you are going to call someone a muppet, be sure that they have a good sense of humour.

Learn English correctly @ the online language school, SmartLanguageSolutions.com

English Lesson - Bailout or Bail Out

In this mini English lesson I want to look at the phrase bailout, which when used as a noun is one word and when used as an intransitive verb is two words.

Bailout - noun

and

Bail Out - intransitive verb

If you have been following the business news in English over the last few months you will have heard the phrase bailout used as a noun.

Bailout - used as a noun

For example:

" The bank happily took the bailout given to them by the government, but they still are paying themselves big bonuses."

In business English we use the phrase bailout to describe the act of giving money to a bank or company who is danger of financial failure.

When we spit bail out into two different words we are using it as an intransitive verb.

Bail Out - when used as an intransitive verb, has three distinct:

1) To describe the act of parachuting from an aircraft

"I bailed out of the plane with my parachute at 20,000 feet and it took me 4 minutes to land"

2) To describe the act of leaving a harmful or difficult situation

"We bailed out of the bar when the two men started fighting"

In American English when we use bail out to describe the act of leaving a harmful or difficult situation bail out can be shortened to balled.

"I bailed on maths class because I didn't have me homework done."

And 3) to describe the act of removing water from a boat

"It was a nice day so we rented a row boat to go out on the lake, unfortunately the boat was leaking and we had to use our shoes to bail out the water"

So there you have it Bailout or Bail Out, now you know!

If you would like to learn more English go to our website www.SmartLanguageSolutions.com

IELTS – Speaking Module

The IELTS speaking test is about 10 to 15 minutes long, and has three parts.

The test is a one to one interview, just you and the examiner.

Part one
The examiner will ask you about something familiar such you, your family, country and so on.
We recommend that you use this part of the test to relax and get over any nerves you may have.
Listen to the examiner, and only answer the questions that you are asked.

Part two
You will have to talk for about 2 to 4 minutes. The examiner will give you a topic and one minute to prepare a small talk. The topic the examiner will give you will be based on your personal experience.
We suggest that you don’t just list off the words in the question that that examiner has given you.

Part three
This section is a two way discussion, not a question and answer. The examiner will ask you questions broadly linked to the topic you spoke about. You should give long coherent answers. Give reasons for your answers!

There are many self teach books for the IELTS which are very good. However you will need the input of a professional native speaking English teacher who can help you with your speaking and listening.
Smart Language Solutions (www.smartlanguesolutions.com) is the online language school who can help you.

IELTS Listening section

If you are taking the IELTS, the first task of the day is the 30 minute listening test.

There are four parts to the listening test.

Part One: this will be a conversation between two people, the theme of the conversation will either be a social or semi official format.

Part Two: this will be a talk by a single speaker and it will be a non academic situation.

Part Three: this will be a conversation between a number of people, the theme will be academic or course related.

Part Four: this will be a university type lecture.

Before the recordings you will have a chance to see the ten questions for each recording, each recording is then played one time only.

So the key to passing the listening test is:

Read the questions and understand them.
As you listen to the recording make notes on the answer sheet about each question.
Then take the full ten minutes after the listening to transfer your notes onto the answer sheet!

As practice try listening to UK, US, and Irish talk radio online, these are great sources to “tune” your ear to native speakers.

Here are some stations:

BBC: http://bit.ly/jyJte
RTE: http://bit.ly/hjEQN
Newstalk: http://bit.ly/GaMAt
Air America: http://bit.ly/2WIK2
KUDO: http://bit.ly/hDX48

Of course its very important to work with a professional English teacher who will support you in your learning.
That’s why we suggest you contact us at www.smartlanguagesolutions.com and we will support you in your learning.