The Big Freeze
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Our bus fares are now frozen!
For the last two weeks, our newspapers have been full of stories about “the Big Freeze”. Like many other places in Europe, the weather in Britain has been very cold. We have had lots of snow, and the roads are covered with ice. There are shortages of gas, and of salt to put on the roads. As you know, we English love to talk about the weather, or – rather – we love to complain about the weather. So we have had a lot to talk about, and complain about, recently.
When water gets very cold, it “freezes”, that is, it turns into ice. “Freeze” is an irregular verb, and I know how much you love irregular verbs! The past tense is “froze” and the past participle is “frozen”. “Freezing” and “frozen” can also mean simply “very cold” – we can say that the weather is freezing, or that my fingers or toes are frozen.
When the weather gets warmer, the snow will melt, that is it will turn into water. Another word that we can use is “thaw”, which means a slow, gradual melting of the snow and ice. The weather forecast says that the snow in many parts of England will thaw slowly over the next week. Instead of the “Big Freeze”, the newspapers will probably have headlines about the “Big Thaw”.
When you visit a city in a foreign country, you can often learn quite a lot about the language of that country by looking at advertisements, or at notices in shop windows, or at the signs on public transport, and trying to translate them. There is a picture on the website and, I hope, on your iPod screens. It is a picture of a Birmingham bus, and on the front of the bus are the words “Our bus fares now frozen”.
What does this mean? Well, the bus company should have written “our bus fares are now frozen”, but they probably wanted the words to sound like a newspaper headline, and newspapers often leave out words like “is” and “are” in their headlines. But what does it really mean? The heating in British buses is not good, so many of the passengers are frozen, but how can the fares be “frozen”?
Well, as you probably guessed, “to freeze” can have a figurative meaning as well as a literal meaning. Water can move, but when it freezes to become ice, it cannot move. So if we say that something is “frozen”, we often mean that it stays the same, it cannot move or change. So, a shop may say that its prices are frozen, meaning that the prices are unchanged. A company may tell its employees that their pay is frozen, in other words that they will not get a pay increase. And if you are very frightened by something, you may be unable to move, and you can say that you are “frozen with fear”.
And Birmingham’s bus fares? It is a long tradition that the bus company increases its fares every January. Since I arrived in Birmingham 15 years ago, my bus fare into the centre of town has increased by 150%. Train fares throughout Britain also go up in January, every year. It is not surprising that people in this country use their cars so much. But this year is different. This year the bus company has decided not to increase its fares. Its fares are frozen. This is something to be happy about, when we are not complaining about the weather.
Of course, the bus fares will not stay frozen for ever. When they go up again, will there be a notice on the buses saying “Our bus fares now unfrozen”? I don’t think so.
There is a quiz about irregular verbs on the website. Have fun!
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7 April 2010
HI
i am very happy to be with you I try to carry on you to learn english
think for all your efforts
27 February 2010
Hi!!!
I am a newcomer. This page I like a lot. I will try to enter all Saturdays. I think beginners students can learn a lot of expressions and phrases very interesting. I understand that to learn English language in theirs fours skills (reading,listening,writing and speaking) we must keep calm and carry on!.So, we must study every day.
I am very happy to discover this page. Thanks for people who make possible that everybody can enter here. Bye.
21 February 2010
Hi,
I have just discovered this superb site.
I have started downloading the articles to my Mp3 so that I can hear them in the traffic jam on my way to/from work.
From tomorrow on I will have a new and an advantageous way to cope with the chaotic city of São Paulo – Brazil.
Thank you very much for such a great work!
Hope you CARRY ON with that!
19 February 2010
Hi, i' m from Brazil, Sao Paulo. This site is excellent.I found it 2 days ago, im so happy for that. Thanks for everything! kisses!
14 February 2010
Yes, in Spain we hace always increased fares at the beginning of the year. Specially, tobacco, gaz, light…
We are frozen by the weather we are having now, not by the frozen prices.
I find amusing your website, Peter ( i think it's your name).
2 February 2010
I simply loved your site and the teaching.
Keep it up.
28 January 2010
Thank you Peter!
Your podcasts are really interesting and i hope you'll not froze to write them :)
28 January 2010
Thank you Peter!
Your podcasts are really interesting and i hope you'll not froze to write them :)
27 January 2010
We always enjoy listening to your podcasts. Thanks a lot for help=D. It helps me to improve my language skils. We hope to find more podcasts on this website.
17 January 2010
Thanks for your podcasts. I enjoy a lot listen to you because I^m improving my poor English. Thank you again
17 January 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9qPUs8E2UQ&feature=related
17 January 2010
Something about FROOZEN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9qPUs8E2UQ&feature=related
16 January 2010
Dear Peter,
Thank you so much for your incredible work; it helps me a lot to improve my listening and find out more different meaning of the words, especially the figurative once.
Thanks again and bye.
16 January 2010
??? ?? ??? ??? ??????
15 January 2010
In Poland is quite the same like in Brazil. Polish people are very adventurous. Prices get up, wages are frozen but we still spent more than we earn.
There are we see GLOBAL WARMING effect in Poland to. Global Warming means below minus 20 C. Really global warming…........
15 January 2010
I've just found your website. Thank you for offering us free English materials.
14 January 2010
i am souad from morroco,
i found this site very interesting, thank for what ur doing
it helps me to improve my listening and undestanding
thanks
14 January 2010
Dear Peter and mates,
actually, I have seen some unfrozen things here in Brazil such as Taxes and all kind of things we must pay for the government. In the other hand, we can also see some frozen ones such as our salaries and payments….What shall we do? Shall we join in some riots and ask for changes? Do you think community people are involved in solving this problem? No, I don't think so. People are frozen as an ice, but government are unfrozen in increasing, year after year their salaries and income.
Goodbye!
13 January 2010
Hi, Peter
I'm from Vietnam. I am so happy, I found your site less than 2 years ago. Your podcasts have helped me so much. I have improved my listening skill and I have learned so many words and expressions. This time, i understand not only literal meaning but also figurative meaning of the word "frozen". English is so interesting. I love this podcast. You did a very good job. Thank you so much.
13 January 2010
Hi, Peter
I am so happy, I found your site less than 2 years ago. Your podcasts have helped me so much. I have improved my listening skill and I have learned so many words and expressions. This time, i understand not only literal meaning but also figurative meaning of the word "frozen". English is so interesting. I love this podcast. You did a very good job. Thank you so much.
13 January 2010
hi,i am joher,i am from Algeria,i am very happy to find this site it is helpful,its help me to improve my poor English,last month the Algerian people went to swim, it was very hot,what a surprise when the weather change ,a lot of snow and its rain,oh thanks my God .
and also this site help me to improve my listening,and my prononciation,.
bye
13 January 2010
Hi Peter, I love your site. Greetings from Poland :)
13 January 2010
Hi , I am from Algeria (north Africa ) I am very shocked with our last winter here in my country we used to see heavy snow falling donw on our beautiful mountain , but imagine this last december people goes swimming to the see under 33°C that never happen in Algeria meantime the coldest winter was passing over Europe even though this last and Algeria are not far away
13 January 2010
hello am ayoub haddad fom algeria am 25yers tanks for you and this my fone 0213779080341
13 January 2010
Hi,Peter!
Im from Japan n really happy to find ur podcast now.
Im going to be a regular listener on ur site.
Thank u very much n happy new year!
from iphone, sorry with lazy typing.
12 January 2010
here in Spain fares aren't frozen, only the streets by the snow
12 January 2010
Hi, Peter! Unfortunately our fares are not frozen here in Ukraine…This winter Ukrainian talk about the weather a lot too. Our roads are not cleaned, all salt is sold at shops… It seems like a horror film :-)
12 January 2010
Thanks for a really living English. The post sounds like a picture of English life.
12 January 2010
HI, thank you so much for this wonderful site , it helps me improve my listening skills for how real english is sounds
GO on !!
12 January 2010
Hi, I`m from Poland. Your site is excellent and help, very much, all our familly to lern English.