Category Archives: Life in the United States

If you stay at a hotel in the United States, you may be sitting in your room and hear someone knock on your door. The person will say, in a loud voice, “Housekeeping!” If you don’t answer the “housekeeping” announcement … Continue reading →

Los Angeles is a big, sprawling (covering a wide area) city. That’s why people have a hard time (difficulty) getting around without cars. Our public transportation system—buses, subways, trains, etc.—just doesn’t reach enough parts of the city. About a year … Continue reading →

A few years ago, I thought I was dying. My body ached (hurt). I couldn’t breathe. I had a high fever (body temperature). I had “the flu.” The flu, short for influenza, is a highly contagious (easy to pass from … Continue reading →

I was back in my home state of Minnesota recently visiting my family there. One day I went into a diner located in a small town just outside Minneapolis. A diner is a restaurant that usually has breakfast food served … Continue reading →

Every city has particular characteristics that shape (change) the people who live there. It may be the size of the city, the culture of the city, the geography (where things are) of the city, the history of the city – all … Continue reading →

  There’s a special connection – we would call it a special bond – between a young boy and his father, just as there often is between a young girl and her mother. In my family, the bond that my … Continue reading →

Two things for you today: First, last week, we announced our new Unlimited English Membership. We’ve had a great response and good feedback from our new members. Thank you for your support! If you haven’t already checked it out, get … Continue reading →

As in other countries, smuggling and trafficking are both serious problems in the United States. Smuggling is the crime of bringing something into or out of  a country illegally (against the law). Trafficking is the selling or trading of things illegally. … Continue reading →

A new year means new plans and new resolutions (promises to yourself to do better). Here are a few words from Benjamin Franklin to inspire you (make you feel you want to do something). (We talked about him in Cultural English … Continue reading →

Nowadays (Currently; These days), Christmas is celebrated by many Americans, whether they are Christian or not. However, that wasn’t always so (true). The first Europeans to settle (move to and make it their home) in what is the United States … Continue reading →