英语播客 A Cup of English 376 A Yard of Bubblegum.

We had an interesting weekend this past Memorial Day weekend. We went to the town of Monroe which is on the outskirts of Seattle. My son had a baseball tournament. It would have lasted for three days if they had won on both Saturday and Sunday. However, they didn't do so well on Sunday, so we were free to leave. There is a saying in England, 'A change is as good as a rest,' which I think applied to our weekend. We don't often get out of Wenatchee, and although Seattle is only three hours away, it is a totally different environment. The climate is much wetter, so the whole place is green, with trees everywhere. Being from England, it makes me feel quite at home. And it is obviously more populated than our small rural town, so there is a lot more to do. After the last baseball game, we headed into town to have lunch and do some shopping. There is a place that I always try and visit whenever I'm in Seattle. It's called World Plus Imports. The name gives away the theme of the store. It is a very colorful international shop, that has everything from food, to jewelery, to furniture. It's one place where none of my children get bored, so I have enough time to really look at everything. There are also English products that I cannot get in Wenatchee. So, I load up on them whenever I'm there: English style baked beans (the ones over here are really sugary), Digestive biscuits, and Maltesers. Some of you who have been to England, might have tried these. I told my kids, who were scampering everywhere like mice, that they could each choose something. Within a few seconds, one of them was waving a huge, plastic tube of bubblegum in my face, “Can I have this, Mum?” “No!” was my very plain but to the point answer. It was a whole yard of bubblegum. We're talking about three feet. They would never stop chewing if we had bought that! And, I'm sure, the dentist would have plenty to say at their next checkup. What will they think of next?

Grammar notes.

Practice of 'would have', 'could have', and 'should have'.

We could have saved time if we had taken the short cut.

I would have called you if I had known that you were in town.

They should have been here by now; I hope nothing has happened.

I couldn't have driven my car yesterday even if I had wanted to; I dropped my keys down the drain!

If we were able to, we would have helped him.