https://www.aimsdaretosuccess.blogspot.com: February 2021

A father had a family of sons who were perpetually quarreling among themselves. When he failed to heal their disputes by his exhortations, he determined to give them a practical illustration of the evils of disunion.

One day he told his sons to bring him a bundle of sticks. When they had done so, he placed the fagot into the hands of each of them in succession and ordered them to break it in pieces. They tried with all their strength and were not able to do it.🌹

✳Father & Sons ✳2

He next opened the fagot, took the sticks separately, one by one, and again put them into his sons’ hands, upon which they broke them easily. He then addressed them in these words:

“My sons, if you are of one mind, and unite to assist each other, you will be as strong as this fagot, uninjured by all the attempts of your enemies, but if you are divided among yourselves, you will be broken as easily as these sticks.”🌹

📜Moral of the Story:-"Unity is strength."⚘

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*⚪Idioms*

⚪ Add Up

💚Meaning:-

◽To make sense; to be consistent (usually negative)

💙 Usage:-

◽John's excuse for not completing his homework just doesn't add up.

⚪ Against The Grain

💜 Meaning:-

◽ Contrary to what is expected or preferred.

🤍 Usage:-

◽Mary has a difficult time getting along with others as she is inclined to go against the grain in everything she does.

⚪ You're on!

💜 Meaning:-

◽ You can say "You're on!" if you want to accept a challenge, a bet or an invitation

💙 Usage:-

◽Batman: "I bet I can do more push-ups than you can, wonder boy!"

Robin: "You're on, Batman!"

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*Idiom*

⚪grease someone's palm

🤍Meaning

If you grease someone's palm, you pay them a bribe

💜For example ⬇️

◽The only way to get a government contract around here is to grease someone's palm.

◽If you want to get out of jail, grease the warden's palm and the guards will let you escape.

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*Idiom*

⚪fresh as a daisy

💜Meaning

If you feel as fresh as a daisy, you feel energetic and lively.

🤍For example ⬇️

◽I might look awful first thing in the morning, but after a cup of tea and a bit of meditation I'm as fresh as a daisy.

◽George looked terrible when he got to work, so Annie said, "Fresh as a daisy this morning, are we?" and George just grunted.

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*Idioms*

⚪Jill of all trades(master of none)

💜A woman who is skilled in or adept at a wide variety of tasks or abilities (i.e., the female equivalent of "Jack of all trades"). If used with "master of none," it implies that while competent in a variety of things, she is not highly skilled in a particular one.

◽I've had all sorts of different jobs through the years, so I consider myself quite a Jill of all trades!

◽Mary just sort of floated between different interests after she left high school—a Jill of all trades, but master of none.

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*Life is a comedy for those who think and a tragedy for those who feel.*

- HORACE WALPOLE

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*⚪VOCABULARY*

✍🏻Piety-quality of being religious or reverant.

👉🏻SYNONYMS-fervor, loyalty, religiosity

👉🏻ANTONYMS-apathy, disbelief, disloyalty

✍🏻Frayed-unravel or become torn at the edge

👉🏻SYNONYMS-Erode, unravel, fade away

👉🏻ANTONYMS-Please, sew

✍🏻Cymbal-a musical instrument

👉🏻SYNONYMS-alarm, bell, signal

✍🏻Untenable-not able to maintain or defend against attack or objection

👉🏻SYNONYMS-Illogical, unsound, flawed, unsupportable

👉🏻ANTONYMS-Certified, validated, verified

✍🏻Masquerading-pretending to be someone who is not

👉🏻SYNONYMS-Attitudinize, disseminate, dissemble

👉🏻ANTONYMS-Unmask, reveal, be honest

*◽PHRASAL VERBS*

👉🏻Wreck havoc-cause a lot of damage

👉🏻In the works-ongoing, happening, occuring

👉🏻lie ahead-be going to happen

👉🏻all bets are off-the outcome is unpredictable

👉🏻In the wake of-as a result of some event

👉🏻Set up-establish, start, begin

*◽IDIOMS*

👉🏻don't put all your eggs in one basket-don't put all your resources in a single thng

👉🏻it's Greek to me-it's not understandable to me

👉🏻Open Pandora's box-to find a source of great problems and troubles

👉🏻Make a face-to show disappointment or displeasure

👉🏻Let the cat out of the bag-to reveal secret carelessly or by mistake.

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⚪✨🤍

*⚪MUST and SHOULD*

✍🏻The difference between MUST and SHOULD

👉🏻Must' and 'should' are both modal verbs.

✍🏻MUST is used when expressing obligation or an unavoidable requirement,

✍🏻whereas SHOULD is more of a recommendation, or simply a desirable goal.

⚪MUST

✍🏻Similar to 'have to' strong obligation.

👉🏻You must abide by the law.

👉🏻You must not smoke indoors, it's illegal.

⚪SHOULD

✍🏻SHOULD is similar to 'ought to’ a suggestion

👉🏻You should try to get some sleep; it's very late, and you have to do a lot of work tomorrow.

👉🏻You shouldn't be so close friend with Hamid, he's just helping you improve your grammar.

Grammar

must_should

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🖊️ Idiom of the Day 🖊️

📚if worst comes to worst

🖊️ Meaning

You can say "if worst comes to worst" before saying what you'll do if your plans don't work out.

❗️For example

🔸I don't worry too much about my business failing, because if worst comes to worst I can always go back to my old job.

🔸Bob says he'll be lucky to find tickets for the match at this stage, but at least it's on TV so if worst comes to worst we can watch it at the pub.

✏️Note

Note that particularly in American English people often say "If worse comes to worst", with the same meaning.

▫️Variety

This idiom is typically used in British and Australian English but may be used in other varieties of English too.

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🖊️ SAYING OF THE DAY 🖊️

📒God moves in a mysterious way

🖊️ Possible meaning

The implication is that God's plan is beyond human understanding. God has a reason for everything, however strange it may seem to us.

✏️Note

mysterious (adj.) = impossible or difficult to understand | This saying is sometimes used to explain or at least justify unpleasant events, whether at a personal or global level.

▫️Origin

This saying is actually the first line of the poem and hymn "God Moves In A Mysterious Way" by the English poet William Cowper (1731-1800):

💭 God moves in a mysterious way

💭 His wonders to perform;

💭 He plants His footsteps in the sea,

💭 And rides upon the storm...

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⚪✨💚

*⚪WORD OF THE DAY*

*⚪EXPOSE* (v)✨

◽ *Forms :*

Exposing - Exposed - Exposed

💜 *Meaning :*

¹To reveal, to uncover

²To make vulnerable, to put in contact with something dangerous

◽ *Example :*

• The journalist*exposed* a bribery scandal in the mayor's office.

• The explosion in the factory *exposed workers to dangerous chemicals.

◽ *Parts of speech :*

n. Exposure, Exposé

Adj. Exposed

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⚪✨💜

⚪ *INTERESTING TIPS :*

(((((A)))))

⚪ *Succeed in + -ing*

❌ ~Paula succeeded to win the prize.~

✅ *Paula succeeded in winning the prize.*

(((((B)))))

⚪ *To be right or wrong, not to have right or wrong*

❌ ~You've right or You've wrong.~

✅ *You're right or You're wrong.*

(((((C)))))

⚪ *Succeed in, not at.*

❌ ~I hope he'll succeed at his work.~

✅ *I hope he'll succeed in his work.*

⚪ _*Note:* A person succeeds to a property, a title, or an office: Queen Elizabeth II succeeded to the throne in 1952. Also one person can succeed another._

(((((D)))))

⚪ *To be busy, not to have work.*

❌ ~I have much work this morning.~

✅ *I'm very busy this morning.*

⚪ *Note :*

_*We can say :* I have a lot of work to do this morning.

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⚪✨◽

⚪ *turn up*

⚪Meaning

to respond to or increase the volume, heat, power, etc. of an appliance by turning a knob or pressing a button

💜For example ⤵️

◽ People turned up in big numbers for presidential election

◽If you can't hear the TV, turn it up a bit.

◽Could you turn up the heater, please? It's getting cold in here.

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⚪✨🤍

⚪ *read into*

⚪Meaning

to believe you've found more meaning in what someone says or does than others have found

💙For example ⤵️

◽read sth into sth You're reading too much into what he said. I don't think he meant to insult you.

◽be read into sth A lot can be read into what someone says, but it doesn't mean that it's all true.

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⚪✨💜

⚪ *keep down*

⚪Meaning

If you keep something down, you stop it from increasing in size or number.

💚For example ⤵️

◽They'll have to keep their prices down if they're going to compete with cheaper imported products.

◽If we can't keep down things like costs and wages, we'll go out of business.

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*⚪Idioms✨:*

*⚪A Fait Accompli*

*◽ Meaning:-*

💚 If something is a fait accompli, it is certain to happen.

*◽ Usage:-*

🤍We know the judge in this case has been paid off by the defendant, so the verdict is a fait accompli.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━

*⚪ (Your) Heart Isn't In It*

*◽ Meaning:-*

💜If your heart isn't in something you're doing, you don't really want to do it.

*◽ Usage:-*

💚 Ali was studying to be a doctor, but his heart wasn't in it so he decided to follow his real dream and study film-making instead.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━

*⚪An Acid Test*

*◽ Meaning:-*

💜 An acid test is something that shows the true worth or value of something or someone.

*◽ Usage:-*

💙 Our new player has been doing well at training and in practice matches, but the acid test will come in her first real match.

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⚪ *ring back*

⚪ Meaning

to return a telephone call or to call again later

💜For example ⤵️

◽I'll ask Mr. Smith to ring you back when he's free.

◽He said he'd ring me back in ten minutes.

▫️Variety

This phrasal verb is typically used in British and Australian English but may be used in other varieties of English too.

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⚪✨💚

*⚪lDIOMS*

*⚪Idioms✨:*

*⚪The Upper Crust*

*◽ Meaning:-*

🤍 If you are one of the upper crust, you are a member of society's highest class.

*◽ Usage:-*

💚 If Laura was really part of the upper crust, she wouldn't need to borrow money all the time, would she?

━━━━━━━━━━━━━

*⚪ No Dice*

*◽ Meaning:-*

💜 No. Not possible. This expression is used to refuse a request, to make it clear that something is not possible.

*◽ Usage:-*

💙 I asked my boss for a promotion and a pay-rise. No dice.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━

*⚪ Fall From Grace*

*◽ Meaning:-*

🤍 If you fall from grace, you do something that results in a loss of respect and support, especially among those who influence your life or career.

*◽ Usage:-*

💚The company's vice-president was expected to take over the company until he fell from grace after being arrested for stealing company funds.

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⚪✨💜

*⚪Vocabulary✨*

⚪ *sleep deprivation :*

the condition of not having enough sleep

⚪ *to sleep in :*

to sleep longer than usual

⚪ *tempers are very frayed :*

get easily angry

⚪ *tetchy* :

to be irritable, easily angered or upset

⚪ *concentration* :

the ability to think clearly and carefully

⚪ *vigilance* :

to pay attention and to notice things, especially possible danger

⚪ *hostile* :

to be unfriendly and likely to be disagreeable

⚪ *obesity* :

the condition of being very overweight or fat

⚪ *practical joke* :

a type of joke which is played at someone else's expense

⚪ *hoax* :

a trick which deceives people into believing something that's not true, usually on a larger scale

⚪ *spoof story* :

a story that's not true, presented as though it were real

⚪ *taken in by* :

to believe something that isn't true

⚪ *gullible* :

describes someone who believes things easily

⚪ *prank* :

a type of practical joke

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⚪✨💙

⚪ *major in*

⚪Meaning

If you major in a field of study at university or college, that field is your main area of study.

💚For example ⤵️

◽major in If you're thinking about studying at university, you'll need to think about what you'd like to major in.

◽major in sth When I studied at university, I majored in English literature and my minor was economics.

❕Nouns often used as objects with major in: English, Japanese, physics, chemistry, music, film.

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*Reading practice*

*Final thoughts*

More than anything else, improving your brain power is about habits, and habits take time to build.

The best approach is to focus on one or two things at a time. Giving your life a complete makeover is going to prove much more challenging, and the habits you attempt to develop may not stick. This is counterproductive.

Not only is balance hard to achieve, often it never is in the life of an entrepreneur. However, constant experimentation and tweaking will allow you to test things out and see what works best for you.

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🌸🌻🌸🌻🌸🌻🌸🌻🌸

Teddy-Bear🧸

♨️ A Lion, a Mouse and a Cat ♨️

Once upon a time, there lived a mighty Lion in a cave on top of a mountain. Whenever he went to sleep, a Mouse used to come out of his hole and nibble at his mane.

As soon as the Lion woke up, the Mouse would run away and slip off into his hole. The Lion was very angry with the Mouse.

The Lion wanted to stop this and thought of an idea. He went to the nearby village and brought a Cat back with him.

The Lion fed the Cat well and let her loose in the cave. The Mouse saw the Cat and was frightened; he would not come out of his hole. The Lion was able to sleep, undisturbed as the Cat stood guard. This went on for some time. Then, one day, the Mouse was very hungry. He decided to risk his life and came out of his hole looking for food. The Cat pounced on him and killed him. When the Lion saw that the Mouse was dead, he stopped feeding the Cat. The poor Cat grew weaker and finally starved to death.

🔥Treat everyone with respect, not only when you need their help.

🏰 🏡 🏜 🏕

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🌹 *TODAY'S THOUGHT*🌹

Two bulls usually fight in a person's mind - Negative Thinking and Positive

Thinking...

Do you know which one wins?

The one you feed the most.

🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳

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Off phrases

📕LIVE OFF → Refers to the source of income or money:

*Due to illness, he has been living off his wife's earnings for some time now.

📗CALL OFF → to cancel something:

*The match was called off due to rain.

📘PUT OFF → To postpone or avoid something:

*She put off her wedding until her father recovered completely.

📙LAY OFF → To discharge/ dismiss workers from their jobs:

*Our company laid off around 300 workers this year.

📙NOD OFF → To fall asleep:

* Sam nodded off during the class.

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🗺 English Vocabulary 🗺

1.Canvassing (N)-the activity of trying to persuade people to support someone or something. पक्षप्रचार, मतार्चन

2.Backlash (N)-a strong negative reaction by a large number of people, especially to a social or political development. प्रतिक्रिया

3.Coalition (N)-a group of two or more political parties working together to win an election or govern an area. गठबंधन

4.Ripples (N)-Sudden instances of a particular emotion. लहर

5.Optimistic (Adj)-hopeful and confident about the future. आशावादी

6.Accrue (V)-to increase in number or amount over a period of time.

7.Vituperative (Adj)-marked by harshly abusive criticism. निंदात्मक

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🌸The Swallow, the Serpent and the Court of Justice

There was once a Swallow, who loved to travel. One day, when the Swallow was on a long journey, she thought, ‘Now I must rest for some time. I will build my nest in this new kingdom.’

The Swallow started to build her nest. While she was working, a few birds came and told her, “You are building your nest in the wall of a Court of Justice. But be careful, this place maybe dangerous.”

The Swallow did not listen to them and kept making her house. Soon, she had seven young nestlings.

Then one day, the Swallow went away to get some food. Just then, a hungry Serpent glided past her nest. He saw the young nestlings in the nest. The Serpent quickly moved towards the nest from his hole in the wall and ate up the young nestlings.

When the Swallow returned, she found that her nest was empty! Just then a Hare came that way. The Swallow said to him, “Woe to me, a stranger, that in this new place where all others’ rights are protected, I alone should suffer wrong.”

🔥We should always listen to advice to be careful and protect ourselves from harm.

@Story_oftheday🏰 🏡 🏜 🏕 ⛪️

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Common Errors with Pronouns – Part II

Common Mistakes in English 👇👇

Incorrect: ❌

The boy who works hard he will win.

Correct: ✅

The boy who works hard will win.

Explanation👇👇

This sentence has two clauses ‘the boy will win’ and ‘who works hard’ and each clause has its own subject. There is no need to use a pronoun when the noun it stands for is already present in the clause.

Incorrect: ❌

Whoever does best he will get a prize.

Correct: ✅

Whoever does best will get a prize.

Incorrect: ❌

Who painted this picture? Myself

Correct:✅

Who painted this picture? I (myself)

Explanation👇👇

An emphatic pronoun (e.g. myself, himself, themselves, yourself) cannot be used as the subject of a sentence.

Incorrect: ❌

I and he are brothers.

Correct: ✅

He and I are brothers.

Explanation👇👇

It is considered conceited to put I first when there are two subjects.

Incorrect: ❌

I with my friends watched the show.

Correct: ✅

I watched the show with my friends.

Incorrect: ❌

He himself hurt due to his carelessness.

Correct: ✅

He hurt himself due to his carelessness.

Explanation👇👇

When a personal pronoun is used as subject it should not be separated from its verb if possible.

Incorrect: ❌

He is taller than me.

Correct: ✅

He is taller than I (am).

Explanation👇👇

The pronoun following than should be in the same case as the pronoun preceding it. Note that this rule is no longer strictly followed and the sentence ‘He is taller than me’ is considered correct.

Avoid errors!

Correct your English!!

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Ways to Say WELL DONE in English👇👇

Bravo

Good

The stuff of champions

Fantastic

I just love it

First class

Good work

Nice job

Far out

You’re doing well

Cool

Wow

Neat

Magnificient

Polished performance

Unbelievable

Super!

Keep it up!

I like that

Way to go

Marvelous

Clever

Good for you

Well, look at you go

Tremendous

I am impressed

Sensational

Felicitation

You did it that time

You are really improving.

You make it look easy.

You rock

Greetings

That is first class work

Keep up the good work

That is better than ever.

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Basic English vocabulary

COOKING VOCABULARY

MELT: to make something become liquid through heating.

Melt the butter before adding it to the mix.

MICROWAVE: To heat up food with a microwave oven.

Remove the food from the metal container before you microwave it.

MINCE: to grind food, normally meat, into small pieces. A machine is often used to do this.

MIX: To combine two or more things using a spoon, spatula, or electric mixer.

Mix the flour, melted butter and sugar together.

OPEN: To remove the top from a can or jar.

PEEL: To remove the skin or outer layer from fruit or vegetables.

Peel the potatoes before boiling them.

POUR: To transfer liquid from one container to another.

Pour the chocolate sauce over the pears.

ROAST: To cook (usually meat and vegetables) in the oven or over a fire.

We are going to roast the chicken and vegetables.

SAUTÉ: To quickly fry food by placing it in hot oil in a frying pan.

SCRAMBLE: To mix the white and yellow parts of eggs together while cooking them in a pan.

Scramble the eggs in a frying pan.

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Word of the day

pelt : /pɛlt/ ( noun) పెల్ట్

(plural : pelts)

వెంట్రుకలు గల మృగం యొక్క చర్మం;

వెంట్రుకల లేదా ఉన్ని కవరింగ్‌తో సంరక్షించబడిన చర్మం.

The skin of a beast with the hair on; a raw or undressed hide; a skin preserved with the hairy or woolly covering on it.

Example:

👉The body of any quarry killed by a hawk.

(humorous) Human skin.

Translations (skin of a beast with the hair on)

Used as Verb 👇👇

pelt

(simple present pelts,

present participle pelting;

simple past and past participle pelted)

👉(transitive) To bombard, as with missiles.

Example:

👉They pelted the attacking army with bullets.

👉(transitive) To throw; to use as a missile.

Example:

👉The children pelted apples at us.

👉(intransitive) To rain or hail heavily.

Example:

👉It's pelting down out there!

👉(transitive) To beat or hit, especially repeatedly.

👉(intransitive) To move rapidly, especially in or on a conveyance.

Example:

👉The boy pelted down the hill on his toboggan.

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🍋Connectors of Comparison🌸

🍓Similarly

🍓In the same way

🍓Likewise

🍓As with

🍓Equally

🍓Just as … so too

🍓A similar x

🍓Another x like…

🍓Just as

🍓In similar way

🍓In similar manner

🍓Resemble

🍓As

🍓Similar to

🍓In common

🍓As well as

🍓Same as

🍓Just like

🍓The same as

🍓As … as

🍓Equal

🍓In comparison to

🍓Also

🍓By the same token

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🌹 *TODAY'S THOUGHT*🌹🍃🍂🍃🍂🍃🍂🍃🍂🍃🍂🍃🍂

Two bulls usually fight in a

person's mind - Negative

Thinking and Positive

Thinking...

Do you know which one wins?

The one you feed the most.

Wishing you a positive day!🍃🍂🍃🍂🍃🍂🍃🍂🍃🍂🍃🍂

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A few and a bit of or a little mean some. Often we feel this amount is enough or more than we expected. We use a few with plural nouns and a bit of or a little with uncountable nouns.

👉I have a few ideas. 👉I've brought a few friends. 👉There's a bit of milk left. 👉It needs a little more work.

We use few and very little to show that we are talking about a small amount. Often we feel this amount is not enough or less than we expected. Few is for countable nouns and very little is for uncountable nouns.

👉Few people came to the meeting. 👉There are few places where you can still see these birds. 👉We have very little time. 👉I have very little money.

Note that you can use little without very, but it is less common and sounds quite formal.

👉She had little water.

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Countable and uncountable nouns

Do you know how to use a few, few, very little and a bit of?

Look at these examples to see how these quantifiers are used with countable and uncountable nouns.

👉I have a few friends, so I'm not lonely. 👉She has few friends, so she's quite lonely. 👉We've got a bit of time before our train. Shall we get a coffee? 👉We've got very little time before our train. Hurry up!

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🍈While and Whereas

🍓Chicken meat is white, whereas that of an ox is red.

🍓My father is wealthy whereas we are poor.

🍓Whereas we did all the job, they enjoyed themselves.

🍓The old system was fairly complicated whereas the new system is really very simple.

🍓The south has a hot, dry climate, whereas the north has a milder, wetter climate.

🍓I am poor, whereas my sisters are very rich.

🍓While you help her, she doesn’t help anyone.

🍓While I like pop music my husband hates it.

🍓While I am lazy, my sister is really hard-working.

🍓He is careful, while I take risks.

🍓While roaming around the city we saw many interesting sights.

🍓While I was studying English, Mary sleeped.

🍓I’II prepare breakfast while you’re having a shower.

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🌸The Cat and the Cock

There was once a very hungry Cat. He kept searching for something good to eat. He said, “Oh! I have to eat something. My stomach is making strange noises.”

Then suddenly the Cat saw a Cock. The Cock was pecking at some grains. The Cat thought, “Ah! There is a good Cock. I wish I could eat him!’

But then he thought, ‘Oh, how can I just eat him? What reasonable excuse should I find to do so?’

After thinking for some time, the Cat had an idea. He went to the Cock and accused him, “You are a nuisance to men. You start crowing in the night time. You don’t let them sleep.”

The Cock was a little surprised. He defended himself by saying, “I crow only to help people. I do it for the benefit of men. I crow so that they might rise in time for their work.”

But the Cat was very hungry. So he replied in anger, “You have given me enough apologies. But I am hungry and I shall not remain supperless.”

The Cock started to run. But the Cat pounced on the Cock and ate him up.

🔥Unnecessary talk with the enemy does not help.

@Story_of the day🏰 🏡 🏜 🏕 ⛪️

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