'I See Fire' Ed Sheeran

'I See Fire' is the hit song from The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. I'm fond of sountracks and film music and this song is really charming!

See Fire

Widzę ogień

O misty eye of the mountain below

Keep careful watch of my brothers’ souls (Strzeż uważnie)

And should the sky be filled with fire and smoke (zwróćcie uwagę na inwersję pierwszego okresu warunkowego - 'If the sky should be filled' zamienia sie na 'Should the sky be filled')

Keep watching over Durin’s sons

If this is to end in fire

Then we shall all burn together (Pierwszy okres warunkowy z shall)

Watch the flames climb high

Into the night

Call them out, Father oh

Stand by me, we’ll (Bądź przy mnie)

Watch the flames burn on and on

The mountainside

And if we should die tonight

We should all die together (A tutaj już pierwszy okres warunkowy bez inwersji)

Raise a glass of wine

For the last time

Call them out, Father oh

Prepare as we will

Watch the flames burn on and on

The mountainside

Desolation comes upon the sky (Tytułowe DESOLATION to spustoszenie, zniszczenie, osamotnienie lub rozpacz)

Now I see fire

Inside the mountain

I see fire

Burning the trees

And I see fire

Hollowing souls

I see fire

Blood in the breeze

And i hope that you remember me

O should my people fall then

Surely I’ll do the same (ponownie inwersja z should)

Confined in mountain halls we (Uwięzieni w)

Go too close to the flame

Call them out, Father oh

Hold fast and we will

Watch the flames burn on and on

The mountainside

Desolation comes upon the sky

Well I see fire

Inside the mountain

I see fire

Burning the trees

And I see fire

Hollowing souls (Trawiący dusze)

I see fire

Blood in the breeze

And I hope that you remember me

And if the night is burning

I will cover my eyes

For if the dark returns then my

Brothers will die (pierwszy okres warunkowy)

And as the sky’s falling down it

Crashed into this lonely town and

With that shadow upon the ground

I hear my people screaming out

And I see fire

Inside the mountains

I see fire

Burning the trees

And I see fire

Hollowing souls

I see fire

Blood in the breeze

I see fire

(Oh you know I saw a city burning)

Fire

And I see fire

(Feel the heat upon my skin)

Fire

And I see fire

Fire

And I see fire burn auburn on (kasztanowy)

The mountainside

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Christmas Jokes

There are a few funny Christmas jokes in English...

- We had Grandma for Christmas dinner.
- Really? We had turkey...

HAD oznacza przyjmować w gości lub mieć coś do zjedzenia

- Who is never hungry at Christmas?
- The turkey - he's always stuffed!

TURKEY to indyk, a STUFFED oznacza nadziewany albo najedzony

- Why are Christmas trees like bad knitters?
- They both drop needles!

KNITTER to dziewiarz, czyli osoba robiąca na drutach, a NEEDLES to igły lub druty

- What did the big candle say to the little candle?
- I'm going out tonight.

GO OUT oznacza zgasnąć lub wyjść z domu

- What do monkeys sing at Christmas?
- Jungle bells, jungle bells...

JUNGLE to dżungla, w oryginale kolędy jest oczywiście JINGLE BELLS ;)

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Santa's got to be a woman!

Hmm... Have you ever wondered that Santa might actually be a woman? All things considered, that's quite a plausible idea...

Santa might be a woman because...

Christmas is a big, warm, organized, nurturing social deal. Could a guy possibly pull it all off?

Majority of guys don't even think about selecting gifts until the last moment, that is until Christmas Eve. They wake up slowly and go to the nearest store where they join other males in a desperate last-minute shopping spree. If Santa was a man, probably everyone in the universe would find a pair of socks under the christmas tree...

It would be a problem for a he-Santa to get anywhere on time... Even if he managed to keep some reindeer alive, he'd still have transportation problems because he would get lost in the snow and clouds and then refuse to stop and ask for directions... Well, ok... he might use a sat nav...

Men can't pack presents... or at least they hate doing it...

Men would rather be dead than caught wearing red velvet

Men don't answer their mail

Men aren't interested in stockings unless somebody's wearing them

Being responsible for Christmas would require a commitment

Well, you decide what gender Santa might be. I guess as long as he/she brings presents on time, his/her gender doesn't really matter, or does it?

:)

Merry Christmas to you all and have a happy New Year!

p.s. if you are interested in some Christmas posts, here is a compilation of what you might take a look at:

Christmas

Luke, Chapter Two

Christmas Songs

Glossary:

all things considered - biorąc wszystko pod uwagę

plausible - prawdopodobne

nurturing - opiekowanie się

guy - facet

pull off - dokonać czegoś

gifts - prezenty

Christmas Eve - wigilia Bożego Narodzenia

shopping spree - szaleństwo zakupów

refuse - odmawiać

sat nav - nawigacja

velvet - aksamit

stockings - pończochy / skarpety na prezenty

commitment - zobowiązanie / poświęcenie

gender - płeć

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13th December 1981

On 13th December 1981 martial law was introduced in Poland...   

Martial law refers to the period of time from December 13, 1981 to July 22, 1983, when the authoritarian government of the People's Republic of Poland drastically restricted normal life by introducing martial law in an attempt to crush political opposition. Thousands of opposition activists were interned without charge and as many as 100 people were killed. Although martial law was lifted in 1983, many of the political prisoners were not released until the general amnesty in 1986.

President Ronald Reagan in his speech on 23rd December 1981 asked Americans to light a candle in support of freedom in Poland. 

martial law - stan wojenny

People's Republic of Poland - Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa

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Give me a break!

Idiom na dziś to GIVE ME A BREAK!

Możemy powiedzieć np. tak:

Stop criticizing me, will you? Can't you see I am still learning?

albo użyć idiomu i powiedzieć tak:

Give me a break! Can't you see I am still learning?

GIVE ME A BREAK! czyli dosłownie 'Daj mi przerwę!' tzn. 'Daj mi spokój!' lub 'Odczep się!'

BREAK to przerwa, np.:

Let's have a break!

Zróbmy sobie przerwę!

I always have a coffee break at work.

Zawsze mam przerwę na kawę w pracy.

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An interview with Mark Zuckerberg - a short listening comprehension

Another short listening exercise for you!

Click here:

An interview with Mark Zuckerberg

and check how much you understood!

Mark Zurkerberg is the co-founder of Facebook. 

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Thanksgivukkah

This is not a spelling mistake! Thanksgivukkah is a real word which has been recently coined. It's an amalgam (a combination of two words) created out of 'Thanksgiving' and 'Hanukkah'.

This year Thanksgiving coincided with Hanukkah, which is a traditional Jewish festival. It doesn't happen too often. It hasn't happened for the last 125 years and it won't happen again for the next 70,000  years! The term Thanksgivukkah was coined by Dana Gitell to sell T-shirts and other memorabilia in an online Jewish gift shop. There is even a Facebook fan page devoted to the festival with more than 13,000 likes. 

Over the years, many Jews have celebrated Thanksgiving in America together with Americans. For many Jews, Thanksgiving is kosher (that is it is allowed by Jewish laws concerning food). The traditional American celebration has always been associated with giving thanks for a new life in America, where all people could practise their religion freely.

Most online discussions about Thanksgivukkah are about the food recipes which combine the two traditions:

potato latkes

cranberry applesauce

rye pumpkin pie

potato latkes

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Architect Sketch - listening comprehension

This is my first time, so it's a bit tongue in cheek. Enjoy!

Architect Sketch - a lesson by ingliszticzer

1. Click on the link above!

2. Watch the video

3. Try to answer the comprehension questions!

4. Have fun!

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Black Friday

I guess some of you might have come across huge black posters while passing an Empik store on Friday, December 29. I have and I was truly surprised. What is Black Friday?

Black Friday is the fourth Friday in November, following Thanksgiving day (which is traditionally celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November). Black Friday is the day of sales in stores all over the USA. It's a shopper's paradise literally. Many shops open up as early as 6 or 8 am to let more people give in to their shopping spree. Black Friday is often a day off for many Americans which also enables many to do the shopping on that day. The name of the day comes from Philadelphia, however, there is a very nice story which, even if it's not true, is very interesting and worth mentioning. 'Black' in Black Friday may come from the fact that during the whole year merchants and shopkeepers were in the red, that is they were short of money and were literally in debt. Black Friday meant that finally they could be in the black which in English means they could have some money.

Notice that today you have learned two new idioms:

BE IN THE RED ( not have money or be in debt )

BE IN THE BLACK ( have some money )

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