Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[jasonlulu_2000]

One day last summer, my friend Rahim Khan called from Pakistan. He asked me to come see him. Standing in the kitchen with the receiver to my ear, I knew it wasn't just Rahim Khan on the line. It was my past of unatoned sins. After I hung up, I went for a walk along Spreckels Lake on the northern edge of Golden Gate Park. The early-afternoon sun sparkled on the water where dozens of miniature boats sailed, propelled by a crisp breeze. Then I glanced up and saw a pair of kites, red with long blue tails, soaring in the sky. They danced high above the trees on the west end of the park, over the windmills, floating side by side like a pair of eyes looking down on San Francisco, the city I now call Home. And suddenly Hassan's voice whispered in my head: "For you, a thousand times over". Hassan the harelipped kite runner.

I sat on a park bench near a willow tree. I thought about something Rahim Khan said just before he hung up, almost as an after thought. "There is a way to be good again". I looked up at those twin kites. I thought about Hassan. Thought about Baba. Ali. Kabul. I thought of the life I had lived until the winter of 1975 came and changed everything. And made me what I am today.

Can you help me understand the two underlined sentences?

Thanks very much indeed!

Jason

[IanT]

"For you, a thousand times over" is not clear from the paragraph. It reads as if the reader is expected to remember it from an earlier part of the book.

It sounds as of the narrator once asked Hassan if Hassan would do something for him. And Hassan said yes in this very strong, affectionate way: he would do it not just once, but a thousand times if necessary.


"almost as an after thought." means: as if he hadn't been planning to say it, and just thought of it that moment. The "almost" says that it's not true, in fact: he had planned it, but just made it sound like he hadn't.

"There is a way to be good again" is encouraging the narrator to return to being a better person. You would need to read the whole book to know why this is necessary.

Hope helps,
Ian
_________________
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[jasonlulu_2000]

Peter has led his club members on similar challenges before but he said this was the most ambitious by far. We did the Kokoda Trail in just over 4 days last year and the year before, raising money for World Vision,�he said.�It�s interesting to see just how strong and how mentally focused people can be when they need to be.�
�We�ve taken on something much larger than we 1 ,�he said.�We�re fit, we train hard, but we�re only training about 2 hours at a time; we�re not used to walking 12 to 15 hours a day.�
1. A. realized B, explored

Does answer B make sense in this blank?

2. Plus, what do you make of the underlined "interesting"? It doesn't seem interesting in that sentence?

Thanks for your help!

Jason

[IanT]

1. No. Only realized is OK there, of those two. Expected or imagined would also be possible.

2. Interesting is quite natural there. The meaning is a bit closer to "pleasantly surprising" than normal uses of interesting, but it's still quite normal.

Hope helps,
Ian
_________________
All my answers refer to British English.

www.EnglishSwearing.com - How to use all the bad words! ... and ... www.throdworld.com - Silly verses to make you happy.

You decide the price for both!