English Language Lesson: Paint a picture to improve your skills

Paint a picture to improve your language skills

You might say I am a little bit lazy when learning new languages. I hate to study and memorize a big list of words every day. I worry that when I try to talk, the wrong word might pop out. I might forget the proper word for a new situation. I hate feeling like my toungue is stuck in mud. Maybe I'll look more foolish than usual. I want it all - I want good language skills with zero effort. Therefore I stumbled on the Lazy Man's guide to increased language skills: Paint a picture with words.

Did you ever notice that some people communicate well with few words? Other people memorize a lot of words, but still cannot talk well. What is the difference? Simple answer: painting pictures with words, using similes and metaphors, is the way to communicate with a small vocabulary. Make an image in people's minds and you can communicate with no problem.

Here is how we paint pictures to communicate ideas:

Difficult English word: Tenacious. Paint the picture: Susan clings to a task like an octopus.

Difficult English Word: Impenetrable. Paint the picture: Ideas bounce off his head like rain on a stone.

Difficult English Word: Perceptive Paint the picture: Her eagle eyes notice everything.

English phrase: increase steadily. Paint the picture: The Chinese economy is rising like a balloon.

English phrase: a beautiful woman. Paint the picture: She is as pretty as a spring day in winter.

As you can see, there is no need to memorize the difficult English words. Just use the few words you know and draw an image or picture.

My friend John is expert at using images to communicate. This really helps him in his ability to be a playboy with many girlfriends. John claims that he only needs to know a few words of any language. He says many charming things like: "Honey, your eyes are bright like the stars in the sky." or "Honey, you are the most beautiful flower in the garden." or, "Honey, your hair is as soft as silk." His girlfriends are so happy at his smooth words that most don't worry about the truth: maybe he says the same 3 or 4 phrases to all attractive women.

John calls all of his girlfriends "Honey"- as a very sweet love. Being called "Honey" makes each girl feel special and loved. John has his own reason for using "Honey" - he wants to avoid calling a woman the wrong name at a bad time. Fortunately his girlfriends each live in different cities, a big help in keeping secrets. Recently, however, John carries this philosophy too far. He calls ALL females "honey" - his many girlfriends, his female coworkers, his sister, his niece, and even his female dog. THAT was too much - his dog Honey quickly became suspicious and jealous. His dog demanded a new name.

After several weeks of debate between man and dog, John reluctantly agreed and called his dog the new name "Jewel." Thinking about it, John decided a simple rule: Women might be as sweet as honey. but a faithful dog is as good as gold.
千女朋友好, 一狗千金