Doç. Dr. Yalçın İzbul

Hacettepe Üniversitesi eski öğr. üyesi

A Free Bilingual Electronic Ezine

02/07/02 - 0017

Hello, Dear Members!... Against the background of last week's earthquake disaster in the Afyon province, in which nearly fifty people lost their lives,  I have new definitions for two dictionary entries: (1) Rural Conservatism: Incorrigible adherence to time-dishonoured construction materials and methods;  (2) Building Contractor: An obnoxious and utterly irresponsible creature: corrupt yesterday, corrupt today, corrupt tomorrow !!  Well, as the Turkish proverb says: "What do we do but at our lamentable condition?"

Happy Chinese New Year!
Welcoming the Year of the Horse, for all of you that observe the dawn of the new Chinese Year, I wish A Happy Chinese New Year! (You didn't know, did you, that we have two Chinese members on this Mailing List, who are already quite proficient in Turkish?)...

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A Week To Go !!

February the 14th is St Valentine's Day, and LOVE is already in the air... I have decided to dedicate this edition to the spirit of warmth and tenderness, love and compassion... and hope this will help even THE IBLIS himself get into the Valentine mood. Here's some special Valentine content for you to download and send to your sweethearts... izbul 

ENDLESS

"Endless Love"

Time will pass and the world will end
But my love for you will never been be broken
The day might turn out black
But my love for you is deeper than that

Time will come to say goodbye
But my love for you will never die
I may pass away
But my love for you will always stay

Soon we will be apart
But my love for you will never stop
When in heaven I have gone
In my heart, you'll still the one

Dreams might not come true
But in dreams , I'm always with you
And no matter what i guess
My love for you is ENDLESS.

Archangel Corilla Hosoda

Copyright ©2002 Archangel Corilla Hosoda

A SONG OF PARTING

"for Violetta"

I went driving last night on a dark canyon road,

Had the sky to myself but I wasn't alone;

Had the pain of my lifetime for my company

How did it end up like this for you and me ?

When love breaks the promise

the heart has to keep,

It leaves only truth here to find...

When the spirit is crushed

and the hurt is so deep,

between you and I...

Even when love has come and gone

and our hearts have moved along;

I will remember

There was a time we had the trust and that always was enough, I will remember

I will remember you...

As I open my eyes to one more day,

the wind burns my face as it whispers your name

As it's pulling me forward it tears me free

and the only thing left is

the tears for you and me....

I will remember you...

CHUNKS OF WISDOM OR DROPLETS OF BANALITY ?

Just A Week Ago We Had This Column For "That Mysterious Feeling Called Love"

It's Now Time We Covered** The Other Half Of Reality

INFAMOUS** SAYINGS ON LOVE

He who is in love with himself has at least this advantage -- he won't encounter many rivals. -- George C. Lichtenberg, 1742-1799, German Physicist, Satirist (hiciv yazarı)

to encounter = meet, come across, run into = karşılaşmak... "We encountered many a danger on the way." (many a danger = many dangers)... satire (sæ-tayr) = hiciv... satirical (sı-ti-rikl) = hicivsel...

All our lives we search for someone to love, someone who makes us complete. We choose partners and change partners. We dance to a song of heartbreak and hope, all the while wondering if somewhere and somehow there is someone searching for us. -- The Wonder Years

a song of heartbreak = çevirin bakalım: "kırılan bir kalbin şarkısı" mı? "kırık bir kalbin şarkısı" mı? "bir kırık kalp şarkısı" mı? 

Love is the flower of life, and blossoms unexpectedly and without law, and must be plucked where it is found, and enjoyed for the brief hour of its duration. -- D.H.Lawrence

to blossom = çiçek açmak, bahar fışkırmak... to pluck = koparmak, "yolmak" (dikkat: bu fiil hoyrat bir nüans taşır)... for the brief hour of its duration = yaşadığı kısa süre içinde... "hour", burada, "zaman" anlamında... duration = süre...

Love is also like a coconut which is good while it is fresh, but you have to spit it out when the juice is gone, what’s left tastes bitter. -- Bertolt Brecht

coconut = hindistan cevizi... to spit it out = tükürmek ("out" burada bir pekiştirici, eylemin şiddetine işaret ediyor; yoksa, gidip dışarda tükürün demek istemiyor)... bitter = "acı" (daha doğrusu "kekremsi")... Sanırım biliyorsunuzdur: İngilizce ve Türkçenin tad yelpazesi tam olarak örtüşmüyor. [bitter chocolate = şekersiz çikolata; bitter beer = ah, olsa da içsek!] Bizim "acı" dediğimiz şey, onlarda "hot" olarak geçer = ağzımı yakıyor'dan aklınızda kalsın. "Sour" sözcüğü de, şahane bir "ekşi" tad ile berbat bir "ekşimişlik" arasında ayrım gözeten Türk damağı açısından daha çok ikincisini anlatıyor = asidimsi, fermente olarak bozulmuş... Zaten "sour faced" de "ekşi suratlı" demek...

If you cannot inspire a woman with love of you, fill her above the brim with love of herself; all that runs over will be yours. -- Charles Caleb Colton

Abi, ne diyo bu laf? [Baktın pas vermiyo, bol gaz ver, tepeden tırnağa kendine aşık olsun, kıyıdan kenardan taşanlar da senin olur]

Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence. -- Henry Louis Mencken

Çok söylenmiş bu sözün kaynak kişisi Mencken olabilir... Aşk, hayalgücünün zekaya karşı zaferidir. [Ama, bu çeviri aslındaki "alayı" yansıtmadı, çünkü Türkçe'de hayalgücü tümüyle pozitif anlam taşıyor. Belki de "hayal dünyası/alemi" demek daha doğru olurdu]

Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within. -- James Baldwin

Nasılmış bu maskeler? Hem onlar olmadan yaşayamayacağımızdan (20 harf) korkuyormuşuz, hem de bu maskelerle yaşayamayacağımızı biliyormuşuz. İşte aşk bize bu maskeleri çıkarttırıyormuş... Walla, Türkçe ile karşılaştırıldığında, maskeleri İngilizce'de çıkarmak çok daha kolay... 

Like the measles, love is most dangerous when it comes late in life. -- Lord Byron

measles (mi:-zıls) = kızamık... Ama, biliyorsunuz Byron Osmanlılara karşı Yunan çetelerini örgütlerken, 36 yaşında hummadan öldü. Romantik şair işte, no'lcek!

Love built on beauty, soon as beauty, dies. -- John Donne (17. yy başı İngiliz metafizik şairi)

Ah, erkeklerin bir de fikirleri zikirleri gibi olsa...

Never sign a valentine with your own name. -- Charles Dickens

(Haftaya bugün, biliyorsunuz, St. Valentine's Day: Özel sayı mı çıkartsak?)

One good thing about internet dating: you're guaranteed to click with whomever you meet. -- Mungo

Bu Mungo kimdir bilmiyorum, ama kelime oyunu çok kötü sayılmaz: click with = uyuşmak, yani kafaların aynı tiktakta olması... internet dating = internet aracılığıyla tanışıp buluşmak...

**infamous = İngilizce'de, "-in" önekinin (beklentinin tersine) anlamı tersine çevirmediği az sayıdaki örnekten birisi. infamous (in-fımıs) = kötü şöhretli, kötü, lanetli... Diğer örnekler: indifferent = kayıtsız, ilgisiz... flame = alev... to inflame = 1. alev almak, tutuşmak... 2. alevlendirmek, heyecanlandırmak, tutuşturmak... 3. (tıp) iltihaplandırmak... inflammation = tutuşma, alevlenme... (tıp) iltihaplanma... genius = deha, ingenious (in-cın-yıs) =dahiyane, çok yaratıcı... habitable = inhabitable = içinde oturulabilir, yaşanabilir... valuable = değerli... invaluable = benzersiz değerde, çok kıymetli... paha biçilemez...

**Not to be supposed a typing mistake. This is the subjunctive use: It's time + "past" = present.

 Here Is An Intermediate Level Vocabulary Test I have Prepared For You 

Fill In The Blanks, Choosing Your Word From Among the Supposed Alternatives

1. I've seen him ............... at dice a good many times before.

          a. tell lies     b. be shy     c. cheat     d. reveal     e. share equally

2. As a child, he used to be .............. the dark.

          a. astonished with     b. shy of     c. terrified of     d. amazed at     e. sleep in

3. What ............. does this pill have on a person's stomach?

          a. affect      b. defect      c. effect       d. suspect       e. reflect

4. It is .............. that he is currently working of a detective story.

          a. rumoured     b. published     c. humoured     d. censored     e. copyrighted

5. The book is a best-seller. But the real identity of its author still remains quite ............. .

          a. transparent    b. obscure     c. opaque     d. crystal clear     e. troublesome

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Answers A Little Down The Page

You can always mail me, should you have any doubts lingering on your mind.

 And This Is An Advanced Level Vocabulary Test 

Test Yourself And See If You Can Find The Synonyms For : --

(1)...asceticism    (2)...attribute    (3)...atrocity    (4)...delirious    (5)...fastidious    (6)...magnificent    (7)...minute    (8)...precarious    (9)...renowned    (10)...pompous

( ) (a) outrage, brutality, barbarism

( ) (b) raving mad, frenzied, insane

( ) (c) refer to, blame on, ascribe

( ) (d) grand, splendid, noble, superb

( ) (e) uncertain, unsafe, insecure, unstable

( ) (f) austerity, abstinence, Puritanism

( ) (g) meticulous, fussy, squeamish

( ) (h) boastful, self-important, ostentatious, arrogant

( ) (i) small, tiny, little

( ) (j) famous, well-known, celebrated

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Answers A Little Down The Page

You can always mail me, should you have any doubts lingering on your mind.

Bana olan mesajlarınızı İngilizce yazmağa çalışın... Fayda faydadır. Ama, Türkçe de olur, çekinmeyin...

Sorry, folks, but I've been very hard-pressed for time all this week; so, I am unable to run the usual "NOTES TOWARD A COMPILATION OF ENGLISH IDIOMS FOR TURKS" in this issue.

I hope you'll forgive me just putting in a lovely short story instead. A very poignant little story it looks at first, but be warned that it is not all what it seems...

A CHRISTMAS STORY

Late last December, I was rushing around trying to get some last minute shopping done. I was stressed out and not thinking very fondly of the Christmas season right then.

It was dark, cold, and wet in the parking lot as I was loading my car up with gifts that I felt obligated to buy. I noticed that I was missing a receipt that I might need later. So mumbling under my breath, I retraced my steps to the mall entrance.

As I was searching the wet pavement for the lost receipt, I heard a quiet sobbing. The crying was coming from a poorly dressed boy of about 12 years old. He was short and thin. He had no coat. He was just wearing a ragged flannel shirt to protect him from the cold night's chill.

Oddly enough, he was holding a hundred dollar bill in his hand. Thinking that he had gotten lost from his parents, I asked him what was wrong. And he told me his sad story...

He said that he came from a large family. He had three
brothers and four sisters. His father had died when he was nine years old. His mother was poorly educated and worked two full time jobs. She made very little to support her large family.

Nevertheless, she had managed to skimp and save two hundred dollars to buy her children Christmas presents. The young boy had been dropped off, by his mother, on the way to her second job. He was to use the money to buy presents for all his siblings and save just enough to take the bus home.

But, he had not even entered the mall, when an older boy grabbed one of the hundred dollar bills and disappeared into the night.

"Why didn't you scream for help?" I asked. The boy said, "I did." "And nobody came to help you?" I wondered. The boy stared at the sidewalk and sadly shook his head.

"How loud did you scream?" I inquired. The soft-spoken boy
looked up and meekly whispered, "Help me!"

I realized that absolutely no one could have heard that poor boy cry for help. So I grabbed his other hundred and ran to my car.

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FUNNY IDIOMS !!

to spill the beans = bir sırrı açığa vurmak, ağzından kaçırmak... "I hope your little sister doesn't spill the beans."

to drive smb up the wall = çok kızdırmak, çıldırtmak... "Somebody answering back to all I say with a 'That's what YOU think' would really drive me up the wall."

to sell smb short = hafife almak, küçümsemek... "Make sure you don't sell people short; you might get the shock of your life afterwards!"

to sell smb down the river = "satmak"... terketmek... size olan güvenine karşın ihanet ederek çoğu zaman da bir çıkar sağlamak... "He sold his partners-in-crime down the river to get a lighter sentence."

to have the world by the tail = mutlu ve başarılı bir konumda olmak...  to be happy and successful... "Oh, he won the big prize in the national lottery, started his own business and married his dream woman; he certainly has the world by the tail."

to be sitting pretty = imrenilecek durumda olmak, başına talih kuşu konmuş olmak, eh! keyfi de yerinde olmak... "They won the big prize in the national lottery; the whole family are sitting pretty." 

to paint the town red = dışarı çıkıp genellikle alkol eşliğinde  şahane vakit geçirmek, felekten bir gece çalmak... "Yeah, it's great to paint the town red; if only one didn't have a hangover the next morning!"

to buy a lemon = bozuk bir ürün satın almak... "Well, I can see you've bought a lemon; that pc of yours have already been in the repairer's twice." "The pc I bought last month proved a real lemon."

to be in the hole = büyük borç batağı içinde olmak... "Yeah, I bought the house alright and now I'm in the hole." "Ayşe is a hundred million liras in the hole to Fatma..."

to get the ax (axe) = işten atılmak, tırpanı yemek (axe = balta)... What do you expect? He was caught red-handed pilfering from the depot; he got the axe of course."

to get up on the wrong side of the bed = ters tarafından kalkmak, huysuzluğu üstünde olmak... "Stay away from him this morning; he seems to have got up on the wrong side of the bed."

to get the ball rolling = bir işi, girişimi başlatmak... "Their sales manager is really the one who got the ball rolling on this project." "We must get the ball rolling before it is too late."

 RECOMMENDED ONLINE RESOURCES 

 Internet TESL Journal for ESL Students 

Visit this site, where a project with contributions by a large number of teachers from all over the world is maintained by The Internet TESL Journal. There are over 1,000 activities here to help you study English as a Second Language.

(Bu sitede her düzeyden yüzlerce "quiz" bulacaksınız. Öneriyorum.)

[NOT: Bu tanıtımlardan herhangi bir maddi menfaatim bulunmamaktadır]

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 Bu Sayımızda Bir Değişiklik Olsun Diye, Herzamanki ARGO Sütunumuzu İngilizce "Karınca Duası" na Ayırdım: Deneyelim, Bakalım... Umarım Kafamıza Saksı Filan Düşmez...

ANASAYFA  --  TESTLER  --  OKUMA  --  EĞLENCE