Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[missdaredevil]

1. Does *orientation* mean you are already part of the program and therefore you have to go or, it's a introductory meeting for people to get to know the program before considering signing up for it?

2.South Japan=Southern Japan?

Do they mean the same thing?

3.It's a good place for shoppers to rest their feet and *take in* a snack.
Does that mean other things besides the literal meaning?

4...*top grade* beef is used in this dish....
=high class?
What else can be described as top grade?


Thanks

[CP]

1. Usually it is used to mean familiarizing the new student / employee / admittee with the physical layout and rules and hierarchy of the organization.

2. Usually "South" is part of a name while "Southern" is just a location or part of a territory. So we have North and South Korea, North and South Dakota, etc. But Southern California is just the southernmost one-third of the state, more or less, and the southern provinces of China include places like Guangdong Province.

I'm too lazy to check a map to see whether there is a place called South Japan, but I've never heard of it.

3. It means have a snack, eat something while relaxing.

4. In the U.S., and elsewhere, I'm sure, beef and other meats are inspected and graded for quality by the government before being sold. The top grade would be the highest grade of meat awarded by the inspectors.
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