Drodzy Słuchacze Akademosa!
Tym razem mamy dla Państwa artykuł przesłany przez naszą lektorkę, pracującą od kilku lat w Chinach, w charakterze nauczycielki języka angielskiego. Jej artykuły publikowaliśmy już wielokrotnie w przeszłości. Natomiast ja chciałbym ponownie zwrócić Państwa uwagę na pewien pozornie prosty wyraz polski, którego pisownia sprawia niejednokrotnie trudności, nawet osobom władającym naszym językiem bardzo dobrze. Z błędem tym stykałem się ostatnimi czasy dosyć często. Może zacytuję przykład wypowiedzi pewnej osoby, która zwróciła się do językoznawców z prośbą o wyjaśnienie swoich wątpliwości:
„Informacji mnóstwo, także od razu przechodzę do meritum:)”. Jak powinno być pisane w tym kontekście słowo także – razem czy oddzielnie?
Odpowiedź prawidłowa jest tylko jedna: osobno, bowiem wyraz pisany razem ma inne znaczenie, a mianowicie również.
Pozdrawiam
Wojciech Gajewski
Why the Rat came first and the Cat didn’t make the cut
Everyone knows about the zodiac signs, but have you heard the story behind the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac?
Well, a long time ago, in a kingdom far away (you guessed it – China!), a meeting was called by the Jade Emperor who said that the years on the calendar would be named for each animal in the order they arrived.
This involved crossing a river.
Without a penchant for swimming, the Cat and the Rat decided to cross the river by jumping onto the back of the Ox. But the sly Rat pushed the Cat off midway and hence became the first animal in the zodiac, leaving the poor Cat to drown in the river.
So what about the Rooster, this year’s key figure?
As you may have predicted, the Rooster didn’t exactly make the podium. Yet, give him his due, he cooperated with two other animals and cleverly spotted a raft which they used to get across.
He came in 10th.
So what does the Year of the Rooster bode for us?
Well, actually in Chinese zodiac it all depends on which animal sign you are. People who are Roosters themselves are predicted not to be lucky in the year of the Rooster. This is the case with all people in their zodiac year as they risk offending the Tai Sui, the God of Age. One of the few things one can do to stop him from seeing red is paradoxically, wearing red, as this will ward off bad luck!
To check which Chinese Zodiac Animal sign you are, check here:
metro.co.uk/2017/01/18/chinese-new-year-find-out-which-animal-you-are-and-what-that-means-6375671/
Good luck in The Year of The Rooster Akademos students! And if you’re looking for a business idea, this might be a good year to export Polish rooster swag to China!
Gung hay fat choy!
Vocabulary
a story behind – the underlying explanation
a penchant – a liking for
key figure – most important person
make the podium – come in one of top three positions
give someone his/her due – give someone credit; acknowledge someone
bode for someone – predict; foretell
predict – tell/state in advance
offend – irritate, make angry
see red – become very angry
ward off – prevent
swag – promotional items