Chapter 1 Page 2

THE AMERICAN ENGLISH EXPRESS Chapter 1 Page 2

Here’s what I mean:

Did you know that every subway car in New York City, has an emergency brake handle that anyone can pull at any time? (It is reserved for an emergency.) Every day, every individual on every train has the power to stop that train at any time. Of course, to pull the emergency brake on the train without an emergency is illegal (it is against the law, a crime) and would cause inconvenience for many people, who would be late to their destinations (and perhaps worse).

Everyday, thousands of subway cars carry millions of people, and no one ever pulls the emergency brake except in a true emergency. Why? Because for any one of us to succeed in society, we must consider each other – we must cooperate.

Another example, familiar to all in America: on every major highway on every road in the United States, there is a white line down the middle. Sometimes it is dotted, sometimes it is solid, and sometimes it is a double solid line. Sometimes the white line is yellow. But that line means that you, as a driver, do not cross. You stay on your side of the road!

Millions of cars, millions of people, take their lives into their hands every day, TRUSTING that everyone else will do the same and stay on their side of the line. Millions of people driving extremely fast resting secure in the knowledge that the other drivers will cooperate and stay on their side of the line. Each of us trusts strangers so completely that we risk our lives. Why?

It is because, as Americans, we depend on each other to cooperate, to act in our own self-interest, and to be loyal to the nation as a whole so that we can all achieve our personal American Dream!

Most importantly, to succeed, we must all obey the law. In America, one of the conditions of life is that everyone is subject to the same laws, rules and regulations. The country was founded on these principles. In the United States, to achieve the American Dream, each individual gives up very little to participate and gains a lot: the opportunity to succeed and achieve the American Dream.

Achieving your American Dream depends on hard work, so you must think as you read!

Learning the language means learning the culture

It is not enough to learn some English vocabulary, some phrases and some grammar. To communicate effectively in the United States, especially in formal situations, one must understand and be able to recognize and use many American cultural references. In this book, along the way, I shall refer to (and teach you) some of the basic references and symbols that will be useful to you in your effort to adapt to and/or understand American society, advance at work and/or pursue a college career.

Right now, we will begin with words, move to word tools, sentences, paragraphs and then essays.