Idiom of the day (13)

Don't put the cart before the horse.

No empezar la casa por el tejado.

Vocabulary (4) - environment

bumper-to-bumper traffic

congestion

an open dump

piles of rubbish

bleaches/detergents/cleaning products

toxic

(to) discard

(to) re-use

(to) recycle

deforestation

eco-friendly products

car exhaust fumes

factory emissions

burning fossil fuels

oil spills

overuse of chemicals in agriculture

water/air pollution

carbon dioxide

aerosols that contain CFCs

climate change

global warming

greenhouse gases

Idiom of the day (12)

To call a spade a spade.

Llamar al pan, pan y al vino, vino.

Patterns with get

get + adjective = become

    Things started to get exciting towards the end.

get + noun = obtain/receive

    I got my deegre last summer.

get + to-infinitive = succeed in doing something, have the chance or opportunity to do someting

    I finally got to see the Grand Canyon last year.
    Apparently you can get to be a politician without qualifications these days.

get + ing = start doing something

    Let's get going then, or we'll be late.

get + object + to-infinitive = ask or persuade someone to do something (cause)

    She got her brother to decorate her flat for her.

get + object + ing (result)

    After a long time and a lot of effort I finally got them singing in unison.
    We promise we'll get your computer system running perfectly by this 
    time tomorrow.

get passive -> This use is generally more informal

    He got run over by a car.
    The window got broken by some kids playing football.
    He got his brother arrested.
    I got my photos developed.
    I got my wallet stolen when I was on holiday.