Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[kerstin]

hi,I have a friend who has gone to New Zealand to learn English and has lived with a host family.Recently ,I have been contacting the family,and I have some problem understanding their expressions.
could you help me to figure those terms out?
1
It's winter here so outdoor activity is* hard*.
=very difficult to carry out.?
I guess the opposite woulbe be *easy*, right?or* ok*,*fine*?
2
I'll try phoning him,he might be *in*.
=in his house or available?
3
In a couple of weeks we hope to *get up* to the snow
=play or walk on?
4
Mohammed has take Jeffery under* his* wing and makes sure he gets to school with him.
what does under one's wing mean?
and what is the "his" refer to,Mohammed or Jeffery?
5
Please you are most welcome to contact our home at any time.
why not to use* the* most ?Isn't* most* a superlative?
can you explain the structure of the sentence to me?
6
how to describe the relationship between the host family and the newcomer.
like "They are my homestay parents."and "He is our homestay (boy)."
?

Thank you

[bud]

1. Yes, and any of your choices would work OK for the opposite.

2. Yes.

3. Travel to where there is snow. (It sounds to me that there isn't any snow "here," but if "we" travel up the nearby mountain, there is snow there.)

4. Jeffrey is under Mohammed's wing. That means Mohammed is watching out for Jeffrey. He's protecting him, guiding him, keeping him out of trouble, acting like an older brother - that sort of thing.

5. I can't explain the grammar, but in this sentence "most" is serving as a modifier. It's synonymous with "very," but probably even a little stronger than that.

6. That sounds good to me, but I don't know if there are "standard" terms for those circumstances.