Brush up your english [antikvár]

PREFACE THERE are two important things to be isaid about this book. Firstly, it is not intended foa- beginners, but for those who already know some English. Secondly, it represents the English spoken every day, and not the peculiar language which still figures in a good many grammar books. It is essential for the foreign visitor to England to realize what a great difference there is between the written and the spoken language, and to have plenty of practice in the latter; otherwise, though he may be able to make bimself understood, he will find greal difficulty in understanding what is said to him. Mr. and Mi's. Smith and their friends have not fci-ied to make things easy; that is not the way to learn spoken English, for it is not an easy language. But they have used no expression which is not in common use. Their object has been lo show how people reallij speak. Their only hope is that this book will help the visitor to England to get over that feeling of helplessness which so often afflicts him when he hears normal •conversational English for the fiirst time. The vocabularies at the bottom of the pages do not pretend to be perfect literary translations. They merely give an idea of Avhat Mr. and Mrs. Smith are talking about. Only the more important words and phrases are given, for the reader of this book will profit far more by it if he understands it in English than if he always has his native language present in his mind. I think perhaps I ought to add a word about the vocabularies. •Charles and Mary don't know much Hungarian and German. That's the real reason tliey wouldn't go abroad, not the children's being seasick (see Conversation I). Besides, what they knew they had learned in Switzerland. 1 told them that several friends abroad had pointed out funny expressions in the vocabularies, such as 'Merciere' or 'glätten.' 'But Ave heard that in Switzerland,' they both cried with one voice. 'Besides,' Charles went on, 'Mary was always bad at languages.' Mary gave him a crushing look, then said: 'You see, we didn't want to teach people Hunga- v