Posts tagged reading practice
English Reading Practice: Indie Bands in Brooklyn
Mar 6th
Tea Leaf Green Rockin' Brooklyn
Yunhee is from Korea and has been living in New York since 2008. She enjoys checking out live music while pursuing a career in fashion design here in NYC. I’m happy to have her as a guest author for this post and the photo.
One of the exciting things about NYC is that there are a lot of different types of small and big gigs everywhere. Especially, in Brooklyn, there are a lot of indie bands and up and coming bands playing at night; more on the weekends than weekdays. Anyhow, if you are interested in up-and-coming American music, you should go to Brooklyn. There are a variety live bars and places where all different types of bands play. Well, if you still have no idea where to go, Brooklyn Bowl is one of those places where your weekend night can be thrilling.
I went to Brooklyn Bowl a few weeks ago for the first time to see one of my favorite bands, Tea Leaf Green. As I got in, there were a lot of Yuppies, between their early 20s and late 30s. Moreover, not only the people, somehow, who seemed a bit more different than the people in Manhattan, but also there were totally two different types of places, a bowling alley and a bar with a live bar house in the same one- story building. I really enjoyed each of them in the same night.
First of all, the live bar had a bar, a stage where bands played, and some tables where food is served in the middle between the bowling alley and the live bar. So I was in the live bar, I enjoyed everything: food, drinks, and music. Speaking of the music, Tea Leaf Green’s performance that night was crazy awesome! Everyone danced, and some people sang along. After their two and an half hour concert was over, I walked up to the bowling alley to bowl. It was as dark as the live bar, and there was loud music on. At this point, let me tell you about one thing that might be bad or good. Even though those two places were openly right next to each other, I was not able to walk over to the bowling alley from the live bar. However, when I was in the bowling alley, I could see another performance and hear their music as I approached to the low wall in the middle between the live bar and the bowling alley.
So if you can’t get a ticket for a gig in the bar, you should try to go to the bowling alley! You will be able to enjoy bowling and seeing a gig at the same time! Or you should try both those places if you get a ticket for a gig in the live bar.
Here is some of the key vocabulary for this lesson.
- indie band (n) indie is short for “independent.” An independent band is a music group that doesn’t have a recording contract yet.
- gig (n) a live music performance in a small club or bar.
- up-and-coming (adj) gaining popularity and prominence; soon to be famous.
- yuppie (n) yuppie is a slang acronym for Young Urban Professional. Yuppies are successful, young business people generally between their late 20’s and early 40’s.
Practice Questions Enter your answers in the comment section below!
- Do you listen to any indie bands?
- Have you been to a gig recently?
- Are you a fan of any up-and-coming musician or actor?
- Do you know anyone who is a yuppie?
Thanks for studying with with me today, and thanks to Yunhee for her article.
Hi Everyone!
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There are 11 podcasts, almost 1 hour of audio lessons.
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Download the sample here
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Including…
- The DEFINITION of each phrasal verb.
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- A PRACTICE question to give you the chance to use the phrasal verb.
- ALMOST 1 HOUR of my audio lessons in 11 Podcasts explaining the meaning and giving examples of each phrasal verb!
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//
English Reading Lesson: Beyond a Bowl of Wax Fruit
Oct 26th
I recently had lunch at Onya, the premier Japanese udon restaurant in New York City. If you have never had udon and you are in the New York are, I recommend you take a walk to 47th between 3rd and Lexington and check it out. Aside from good food and friendly service, Onya has something that is quite rare to see in New York – a wax food display.
As you walk into the restaurant your eyes are immediately drawn to a glass display case containing several bowls of udon noodle dishes. At first glance, they look like they just came out of the kitchen. However, when you look closely, you’ll see that the bowls are real, but the contents are not. They are made of wax.
I had a chance to speak with Head Chef Ken Watanabe about the models. He told me that the wax dishes are exact replicas of the dishes he cooks. The wax food company came to the restaurant and took photos and measurements of a variety of freshly prepared dishes. After that, they returned to their workshop where they recreate the bowls of warm noodles out of wax. It is an amazing sight to see, and a far cry from the wax fruit my grandmother used to have on her kitchen table
Homework:
- What is Onya?
- Where is Onya located?
- What is rare in New York City?
- What is in the display case? Is it food?
- Who is Ken Watanabe?
- What does the word “replica” mean?
- How is the wax food made?
Answers are below, but try to answer the questions before checking the answers (^o^)
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Homework Answers
What is Onya? Onya is a Japanese udon restaurant.
- Where is Onya located? Onya is located on 47th Street in New York City.
- What is rare in New York City? A wax food display is rare in New York.
- What is in the display case? Is it food? Wax food is in the display case. It is not real.
- Who is Ken Watanabe? Mr. Watanabe is the head chef at Onya.
- What does the word “replica” mean? Replica means “copy.”
- How is the wax food made? The chef prepares the dishes. Then the wax food company comes to the restaurant to take photos and measurements of the dishes. Then they make the wax food.
Thanks for studying today!
English Reading Lesson: Rediscovering The Beatles
Sep 15th
I just wrote a new article on Poligo.com about The Beatles:
Have you listened to The Beatles? When I was younger I used to listen to The Beatles all the time. They were my favorite group, even though they had long stopped making music together. Their songs have nice melodies and great vocal harmony. They started making music together in the late 1950’s, and had a large number of hits in the 1960’s. Read more…
