英語播客 A Cup of English Fire and sugar.

Ah, Spring is here, and we are back to the normal good weather activities. This weekend, we had a couple of the kids' friends over for a 'sleep-over'. You can probably tell by the name what a sleep-over is: the kids come and play in the evening and end up spending the night. It is the latest thing that seems to be extremely important to my children. If only one of them can have a friend over, then it's just not fair, so we have to have at least two to keep everyone happy. The next morning, all the kids were running around outside, playing 'army' and climbing trees. My husband busied himself by mowing the lawn and fixing an irrigation pipe that was broken. I noticed that he was gathering wood and dry brush from the garden, going back and forth, back and forth. What was he up to? It got to late afternoon and he was still out in the back garden. I went to check on the children who were now playing in the front garden, when Hudson suddenly yelled, "Hey look everyone, a fire!" We ran over to the fence that separates the front yard from the back yard, and, sure enough, there was a big fire in the firepit. The plan was to burn a few things in the firepit, and then, as the fire died down, we would sit around it and roast hot dogs and marshmallows. This was cause for a lot of excitement! The idea of fire and sugar always excites the kids. Okay, so,let's get organized. Get the chairs, get the food, and get the long sticks to put the hot dogs and marshmallows on. When we had everything together, we sat around and gazed at the fire, while the kids held their special treats over the flames. The trick with marshmallows is to get them nicely browned, but not burned. If one catches fire, it is done for. So, you hold the stick over the fire, and slowly turn it, to cook the food just right, keeping an eye on it, so it doesn't get overdone. The packet of marshmallows soon ran out, the fire died down, and I could hear people starting to yawn. What a perfect way to spend a Spring evening. Fire and sugar, what a combination!

Grammar notes

Common phrases: to busy oneself, it's not fair, sure enough, to be up to...

1. They busied themselves by setting up camp and preparing the dinner.

2. He has a bigger slice of cake than I do; that's just not fair!

3. The lady wasn't looking where she was going, so, sure enough, she tripped and fell.

4. What are you up to kids? How come the cookie jar is empty? Have you been up to no good?