英語(yǔ)播客 A Cup of English A Mother's Day Surprise.

Sunday, May 9th, it's Mother's day! I don't usually give it much thought, apart from choosing what I should buy for my mother and mother-in-law. I always forget that I will receive presents as well. Mind you, I shouldn't forget. There are plenty of reminders all around. The television has countless commercials for shops that have special offers for mums, and the local newspapers also advertise the deals on flowers, chocolates, clothes, and other things. We are actually bombarded with info. about the special day. I was taken by surprise the day before Mother's day when my husband and second son walked in after returning from baseball practice. The door to the garage opened and in walked, what looked like, an enormous, walking bouquet of flowers. All I could see was a pair of legs (still dressed in baseball pants and shoes), and a huge armful of flowers on top. How lovely! It took my breath away. I've never received such a big bouquet before. It has lillies, roses, daisies, and lots of other flowers that I'm not familiar with. It's big enough to divide amongst two or three vases, but for now, I'll keep it in one. Talk about over the top! Then, each of my children handed me their cards that they had made in school. They were even better than the flowers! What could be nicer? And the spelling mistakes in the poems were so sweet. The typical poem is: Roses are red, violets are blue; sugar is sweet, and so are you. But I received the following: Roses are red, vilets are blue; your smile chers me up, and I love you. I'll have to explain to Cass how to spell 'violets'; I hope I'm nothing to do with vile....His picture is a keeper, however. I'm going to frame it and hang it on the wall in the kitchen. He drew a vase of flowers that he painted with watercolors. It is so soft looking and dreamy,- very impressionistic. It's just what I like.

Grammar notes.

Related vocabulary: a reminder, a deal, over the top, spelling.

1. I write on my hand, as a reminder of my appointments.

2. I got a really good deal on my new car; it was such a bargain.

3. That performer is over the top. Her bright pink dress, loud act, and shockingly red lips are all too much.

4. My kids need to practice a list of words for their spelling test.