01/01/12 – A new year has just begun. This is the ideal time to reflect on what we did and did not accomplish during the year that has just ended and to set our goals for the year that started a few hours ago. This is also a good time to meditate on the things we need to change about ourselves. A very common practice is to make resolutions for the New Year. But what is a resolution? A New Year’s resolution is a commitment that a person makes to one or more personal goals, which must be reached by the next New Year. Let’s see some of the most popular resolutions that people make every year:
1. Lose weight and get fit
Especially in this part of the hemisphere, where summer has just started, we are more 
concerned about our looks and having the perfect body since we all want to look our best either on the beach or by the pool. Unfortunately, during this time of the year we don’t have thick sweaters covering our body imperfections. However, regardless of where we live, losing weight and getting fit is a present goal in most people’s minds. Haven’t you ever heard the typical “On Monday, I’ll start.”?
2. Eat healthy food
In the recent years people have become more aware of what they eat either to lose 
weight or to prevent diseases. So, we try to stay away from burgers and fries, red meat, unhealthy snack foods and drinks like soda and bottled juice. Instead, we opt for a diet with more vegetables and fruit (if they are organic, that’s even better), whole grains, white meat, and we try to drink as much water as possible. It is no surprise to see people carrying bottles of water wherever we go.
3. Quit smoking
Smoking stopped being fashionable a long time ago. Due to massive campaigns
showing the serious consequences of this unhealthy habit and to laws forbidding smoking in public places, people are taking this problem more seriously and are willing to quit smoking not only for themselves but also for their family members and friends. However, this is not an easy thing to do. It takes a lot of determination and willpower, but it is not impossible at all.
4. Learn something new
Let’s defy the popular phrase “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” because we believe that it is possible to learn new things at any age. Even on a popular TV show, it was proven that we can actually teach old dogs new things. So, if dogs can do it, why can’t we? If you’ve always dreamt about playing the guitar, dancing like a pro, or sewing your own clothes, this is the year to start learning those things and give yourself a chance. Don’t let age prevent you from pursuing your dreams.
5. Spend more time with family
Life has indeed become pretty hectic for everybody. People’s common phrase is “I 
don’t have time”. Most spend 10 -12 hours a day at the office and some even go to study afterwards. Moreover, work doesn’t stop when we leave the office. It follows us home and we continue working after we have dinner and also on weekends. We strongly believe that we are doing this for our family because we want to provide them with everything they need, but we are not aware that what they really need and want is US. You can always send an email or write a report at any given time, but you won’t always have the chance to see your kid’s first walk.
We, at Go Esling, also have our resolutions for 2012:
– To offer new learning tools
– To increase the number of followers
– To interact more with our followers
And we hope you’ll join us in our journey.
VOCABULARY
1. accomplish (v) : to succeed in doing or completing something Ex: If we work hard, we’ll be able to accomplish our goals.
2. commitment (n) : a promise to do something Ex: We made a commitment to protect animals.
3. disease (n) : an illness affecting humans, animals or plants, often caused by infection Ex: He suffers from a very rare disease.
4. opt (v) : to make a choice or decision. Ex: My grandfather opted for an early retirement
5. whole grains (n) : Foods such as wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley, or products made from these foods that have not been processed and still have all their nutrients Ex: We should eat whole grains every day to prevent some diseases.
6. forbid (v) : to command someone not to do something, to prohibit Ex: The law forbids the sale of alcohol after 11 pm.
7. willpower (n) : the ability to control your mind and body in order to achieve something that you want to do Ex: She doesn’t have the willpower to go on a diet.
8. defy (v) : to oppose or resist openly Ex: The children defied the teacher’s authority and ate gum in class.
9. pro (n) : a professional or an expert Ex: Tom ran the marathon like a pro.
10. pursue (v) : to do something or try to achieve something over a period of time Ex: Mary would like to pursue a career in music.
11. hectic (adj) : very busy or full of activity Ex: I’m very tired because I’ve had a very hectic day.
12. provide (v) : to give something to somebody or make it available for them to use Ex: Don’t take any food because they will provide us with lunch.
Have you ever made resolutions? If so, did you accomplish them? What are your resolutions for 2012?
Send us your comments, opinions and any kind of feedback to goesling.wordpress@gmail.com. You can either write us an email or send us a voice message.
Passive Voice
The passive voice is an easy topic if we remember these statements:
It is used…
- When the action is more important than who or what is performing it.
- When we don’t know the performer of the action.
- When the object of the sentence is more important than the subject. In this case, we can mention the performer of the action using the preposition by.
- When we focus on facts or opinions about something.
Passive voice structure
S+ verb to Be + past participle
We can use the passive in different tenses such as the simple present tense, the simple past tense, etc. We can also use the passive voice with modal verbs.
Let’s see some examples of passive with different tenses.
Present tense
- People eat lots of sugar these days. (active voice)
- Lots of sugar is eaten (by people) these days. (passive voice)
*Notes:
- Here the subject of the active sentence is people and the object is lots of sugar, but in the passive voice the subject is lots of sugar.
- The form of the verb to be is determined by the new subject in the passive statement.
- The tense of the verb to be is determined by the tense in the active statement.
- The past participle is determined by the main verb of the active sentence.
More examples: 
- Cars destroy all the trees around the city.
- All the trees around the city are destroyed (by cars).
Simple past
- Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492.
- America was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492
Future 
- Humans will visit Mars in 20 years.
- Mars will be visited (by humans) in 20 years.
Modal verbs
- The major should control crime.
- Crime should be controlled by the major.
Focusing on opinions or facts (formal English)
When mentioning statements which contain opinions or facts, we can use the passive voice in this way:
- It is said that water freezes at 0°C.
- It is believed that women drive better than men.
- It is thought that the monster of Loch Ness is a dinosaur.
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