英语博客(A cup of English):A beautiful advertisement（在线收听）

Beginners.

If you drive around this town, you will see lots of new buildings, and some that are almost finished. The town is growing. There is heavy machinery of all kinds in many places: cranes, backhoes, dump trucks, and bulldozers. As you walk or drive past these busy places, you can hear all the noises of the machines, the workmen, and the automatic tools. It is interesting to see how quickly a neighborhood can be changed by a building. Now, also, there is a rule in Wenatchee that when a building is built there must be landscaping around it. That means that the owners must plant trees, grass, and bushes. It all beautifies the area and makes the new buildings look even better. It helps to sell the new buildings, and it attracts people to new stores. When attractive landscaping is put in, the whole area benefits. Did you know that trees and other greenery reduce crime? The beautiful, natural surroundings help us calm down and forget our problems. A tree here, some flowers there, a group of bushes, all add quality to our lives. That is why it is great to see Wenatchee getting more landscaping. Just a few streets away from where I live, there is a new spot of landscaping that catches everybody's attention. It is a beautiful advertisement for a new development.

Grammar notes.

Useful vocabulary: heavy machinery, crane, greenery, to beautify.

My son loves heavy machinery. He watches the backhoe dig and dig.

Gosh, I didn't know that cranes could be so tall.

This garden looks like a desert. It needs more greenery.

The new fountain really beautifies the center of town.

Advanced.

Boulder Falls is the name of a new waterfall on the corner of a street where new houses are being built. It is quite an eye catcher. There was nothing there a month ago, apart from some weeds and dry ground. Now, with the help of buiders, landscapers, and heavy machinery, the patch of land has become transformed. First the ground was prepared, weeded, smoothed, and pipes were laid. Then plastic was put on top. A natural looking wall of boulders was put in, piece by piece, with a stair step arrangement in the middle. Next, rich topsoil was spread all around the rocks, and the landscapers planted many trees and bushes. Finally, the water was turned on. Everyone who drives past that corner must have been wondering when it would be finished. And now, with the Autumn colors just around the corner, we will be able to enjoy the waterfall until the snow comes. "It's smart," said my husband, as we drove past one day. "It'll help to sell the new houses." I hadn't thought about that until he mentioned it. It's true. What a clever way to advertise new homes: put in a beautiful piece of landscaping that is right next to them. With the credit crisis still looming large in the area, new homes need all the help they can get. The landscaping company also has its name on a sign right next to the waterfall. So it is double advertising.

Grammar notes.

Vocabulary: an eye catcher, to weed, to landscape/ landscapers, just around the corner, to loom large. Present/ past continous of verb 'to be' + adjectives.

The new bill board in town is an eye catcher. It is huge and brightly colored.

The garden had been ignored for months. We had to weed for hours.

The landscapers are quite talented. They landscape most of the businesses in town.

The medical exam was looming large in her mind. It was all she thought about.

Her birthday is just around the corner. She will celebrate it in three days.

Practice of present/ past continous of verb 'to be' + adjectives.

A new statue was being erected in town, so we went to see it.

The village is being bombed, so the people have to escape now!

Three thousand hamburgers are being fried today for the great giveaway.