The Kitchn can’t live without it. Chow hails it. Gourmet mag pays tribute to it. If you are an English-speaking foodie, there is no way you have not heard about it. Microplane.

The career of this piece of kitchen gadgetry began in the early 1990s with a Canadian woman’s frustration with the poor performance of her box grater. Fed up with the inability to properly zest oranges needed to make a cake, she dropped her kitchen tool into a bin, and reached for her husband’s rasp instead. The woodworking tool worked like a charm, bringing finely grated zest with virtually no effort. The rest is history.

Nowadays, Microplane manufactures a whole range of graters and zesters AND woodworking tools. Microplanes are used to grate and zest everything from cinnamon and citruses to cabbage. Their secret lies in chemically-processed surface which makes it extra sharp, as opposed to dull teeth of traditional graters. Microplanes are available in two shapes: the long and thin (looking just like a wood rasp) and short and wide, not to mention the numerous shaving surfaces: fine for turning whole spices into powder, coarse for tiny specks of parmesan, extra coarse and ribbon for slivers of carrot, and shavers for big chunks of chocolate. Add to this being dishwasher-safe and you have a recipe for a mind-blowing success.

VOCABULARY

box grater – tarka wielostronna

chemically-processed – chemicznie przetworzona

dishwasher-safe – można myć w zmywarce

dull – tępy

foodie – smakosz, miłośnik gotowania

gadgetry – gadżety

manufacture - produkować

sharp – ostry

surface – powierzchnia

woodworking tool – narzędzie do obróbki drewna

zest (n.) – skórka cytrusowa

zest (v.) – zestrzeć skórkę

zester – skrobak do cytrusów

Note: The word “microplane” has many uses.

1) It is a brand name:

I got a grater made by Microplane.

2) Any of the kitchen tools made by this company:

I own two microplanes.

3) As other manufacturers introduce products similar to microplanes, the word is starting to denote any extra sharp grater or zester (it is undergoing genericization):

I’ve got an Oxo micloplane.

photo: freepixels.com

No matter how much you would like to avoid it, sooner or later there comes the day when you have to clean your place. Here are some things that will help you make it spick and span:

bin liners – worki na śmieci

broom - miotła

cleaning cloth – szmatka, ściereczka

descaler - odkamieniacz

dishwashing liquid – płyn do mycia naczyć

drain cleaner – kret, środek do uzdatniania rur

laundry basket or laundry bin – kosz na brudną bieliznę, kosz na brudy

mop kit or mop set – mop z wiadrem

multi-surface cleaner – uniwersalny środek do czyszczenia

scourer - druciak

sponge - gąbka

sponge scourer – zmywak kuchenny

toilet cleaner – płyn do WC

vacuum cleaner - odkurzacz

washing powder – proszek do prania

London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has more than 7 million inhabitants and covers an area of around 1.500 square kilometres.

It attracts millions of visitors each year, as it abounds in numerous interesting places to see: historical monuments, royal palaces, art galleries, and museums. London’s West End, the city’s culture and entertainment centre, is many tourists’ favourite district. If you want to see a movie, a theatrical play, or a musical, this is the place to be.

The metropolis consists of 32 boroughs plus the City of London: the oldest part of the city and its main financial district. It is governed by the Mayor, chosen by the Londoners in local election held every 4 years. Currently, the post is occupied by Boris Johnson from the Conservative Party. London is also the centre of British politics. It hosts the British Parliament, located at the Palace of Westminster.

London is a truly multicultural city. For many years, it has been a destination point for thousands of immigrants. You can meet people of all races and religions there. Around 40% of the inhabitants belong to an ethnic minority group, the most prominent being South Asian and Black African. The part of London especially famous for its cultural diversity is East End.

The city is a place that you can’t resist. Hollywood filmmakers know this really well and often choose London as a filming location. It is featured in many well known films, such as Notting Hill, Four Weddings and a Funeral, My Fair Lady, Match Point, and 101 Dalmatians. What is more, it is the location of Britain’s favourite soap opera: EastEnders.

VOCABULARY:

capital – stolica

inhabitants – mieszkańcy

visitors – turyści, goście

metropolis – metropolia

boroughs – dzielnice

mayor – burmistrz

multicultural – wielokulturowe

ethnic minority – mniejszość etniczna / narodowa

diversity - różnorodność

photo: freepixels.com

Every time I go to a supermarket or a drugstore I find dozens of shampoo bottles just dying to be touched, smelled, and taken home. There's hardly a commercial break on TV without glamour celebrities persuading viewers that their hair product is the best in the world. Manufacturers try to convince us that they have a cure for almost any hair-related problem we may think of. Here's a list of issues that may dog you (unless you are bald, that is):

split ends - rozdwojone końcówki

breakage - łamanie się włosów

dandruff - łupież

frizz - puszenie się

thinning hair - włosy łamliwe, wypadające

damaged hair - włosy zniszczone

oily hair - włosy przetłuszczające się

dull hair - włosy matowe

frizzy hair - włosy puszące się

dry hair - włosy suche

fine hair - włosy cienkie

Have you ever wondered why F and J keys on your keyboard have raised bars or dots on them? The answer is: touch typing.

photo: freepixels.com

Touch typing means using computer keyboard without looking at it. Once mastered, it greatly increases one's typing speed. You no longer have to look for keys you want to press. Your brains does the work for you.

How is that possible? Muscle memory, baby. It allows people to perform movements automatically, without thinking about them. In the case of touch typing your brain remembers where certain keys are located on the keyboard. Thanks to this, expert typists reach the typing speed of over 100 WPM (words per minute)!

There is only one way to learn touch typing: practice, practice, practice. The more you practice, the easier it is for you to type. There is a lot of free software allowing to learn how to touch type. You may also buy a special keyboard with blank keys that speeds up the learning process. Learning can be frustrating at times, but it's worth it.

VOCABULARY:

keys - klawisze

touch typing - pisanie bezwzrokowe

keyboard - klawiatura

typing - maszynopisanie, pisanie na komputerze

typists - maszyniści / maszynistki

WPM (words per minute) - słów na minutę

blank - puste, czyste

INTERESTED? TRY THESE:

Touch typing on Wikipedia

Test your typing speed

In English there are plenty of acronyms - words made up from the first letters of other words. Acronyms are cool, because they allow you to say things faster. However, they may give you a headache, if you've never came across them before.

Here is a dose of acronyms:

DUI - Driving Under the Influence - prowadzenie pojazdu w stanie nietrzeźwości

'Terminator Kid' busted for DUI - TMZ.com

'Gość z "Terminatora"' zgarnięty za jazdę po pijaku.

OD - overdose - przedawkować, przedawkowanie

North Middleton woman gave drugs to man who OD'd - Carlisle Sentinel

Kobieta z North Middleton dała narkotyki mężczyźnie który przedawkował.