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English with Polish Media

How much do you cost?
February 21, 2007

Someone has recently told me, that Polish doctors are just the most wonderful doctors in the world (ironically, this person was from Lodz, the city of "skin hunters"), and that American doctors are too conventional, too schematic, and they don't use their intuition. Doctor Miroslaw G. must have gone to an American medical school, because he seems to no longer rely on his intuition, but rather on a well developed, schematic pattern which allows him to... no, not treat patients as he should, but rip them off.
As head physician in his hospital, he decided it would be a great idea to put price on people's health according to their social status and wealth. In one case, he managed to steal (yes, steal) seventy thousand zlotys from a family whose member needed a heart transplant. The government will
keep trying to catch those "doctors" red-handed, they will pass new laws and give more warnings. Will it help minimize the problem of corruption? Let's hope so. However, even the best legislature is not capable of repairing people's moral fabric, and that is the challenge for the next generation of Poles. In the meantime, American doctors continue to lead in the medical field, no matter what some people think. If the Polish health care system doesn't get reformed soon, it will drive more doctors away from Poland, where they will make good money and legally.
[based on Fakt]

Noble Prize winners in Medicine in 21st century:
2006 - Andrew Z. Fire and Craig C. Mello (USA)
2005 - Barry J. Marshall and J. Robin Warren (Australia)
2004 - Richard Axel and Linda B. Buck (USA)
2003 - Paul C. Lauterbur (USA) and Sir Peter Mansfield (UK)
2002 - Sydney Brenner (South Africa), H. Robert Horvitz (USA), John E. Sulston (UK)
2001 - Leland H. Hartwell (USA), R. Timothy Hunt (UK) and Paul M. Nurse (UK)

according to - zgodnie z
(to) to catch (someone) red-handed
- złapać (kogoś) na gorącym uczynku
head physician
- ordynator
in the meantime -
w międzyczasie
medical field
- dziedzina medycyny
pattern
- tu: system
(to) rely on -
polegać na
(to) rip someone off - oszukać kogoś
to treat patients
- leczyć pacjentów
wealth
- bogactwo



Sects out!
November 23, 2005

The new Polish Parliament is getting ready to tackle the problem of sects in Poland. Apparently, there are about 1000 sects in our country, and they pose a danger to democracy. Will the Parliament pass the bill? Gazeta Wyborcza writes: "the bill must include the proper definition of a sect." Until now, most Polish people have believed that all non-Catholics must belong to some kind of sect (which would mean that 75% Americans, almost all of the Scandinavians, and millions of other people from other nations have been brainwashed by one sect or another). Perhaps the new bill will help change that perception. Of course, once all the sects are eliminated, things like corruption, domestic violence, soccer hooliganism, and other crimes will disappear, and people will finally be able to enjoy their freedom. Hurray!
[based on Superexpress]

apparently - najwyraźniej
domestic violence
- przemoc domowa
to pass the bill
- uchwalić ustawę
perception -
postrzeganie
to pose a danger
- stanowić zagrożenie
to tackle the problem
- rozprawić się z problemem


Electric Pole
June 29, 2005

Jacek B., from a village near Stalowa Wola, was afraid. He was afraid of the court proceedings that were to take place soon as a result of accusations brought against him by a local teenage girl whom he had been abusing verbally. Apparently, this was not his first court case. People knew he was no angel. In the past, Jacek would try to hurt himself in some way to get an extension, because facing the law had always been harder for him than breaking it. This time he had a similar idea. After having a few beers, he and some friends were walking back from a small event at a neighboring village. All of a sudden, Jacek climbed an electric pole. His friends thought he was just goofing around, but he proceeded to touch the wires. Electric current sent a series of shocks through his body and sent him plunging to the ground. His friends said the right side of his body was charred. He died after a few minutes. All he wanted to do was to get hurt enough to avoid the trial or get an extension. Had he waited one more day, he would have found out that the girl had withdrawn the accusation. He would have walked a free man.
[based on Superexpress]

court proceedings - postępowanie sądowe
accusations
- oskarżenia
to bring accusations against someone - wnieść przeciwko komuś oskarżenia
to abuse verbally - znęcać się słownie
a
pparently - najwidoczniej, wygląda na to, że
court case - sprawa sądowa
extension - przedłużenie
a
ll of a sudden - nagle
electric pole - słup elektryczny
to
goof around - wygłupiać się
to
proceed to (do something) - przystępować do zrobienia czegoś, robić coś dalej
e
lectric current - prąd elektryczny
to plunge - padać. Spadać
charred - zwęglony
trial - rozprawa
had he waited one more day - gdyby poczekał jeden dzień dłużej
to withdraw the accusation - wycofać oskarżenie
to walk a free man - być uznanym za niewinnego

English with Polish Media (13)

Co w polskiej trawie piszczy...
June 8, 2005

Gazeta Wyborcza speculates whether cheating on exams is a sin. As it turns out, most Polish students consider cheating to be a sign of resourcefulness and enterprise, and not of weakness. Only 13 students out of 705 said that they did not cheat. The other 692 bragged about various techniques they used to "achieve" the best possible score on their exams. The Polish Ministry of Education has decided that cheating on exams would be punishable by having the exam canceled. Wyborcza quotes Professor Elzbieta Putkiewicz, who says that "the functioning of the future democratic institutions in Poland will depend on how today's students approach moral and ethical issues". Judging from the statistics and the general attitude of the Polish students, the future looks rather bleak. Meanwhile, www.sciaga.pl remains one of the most popular "educational" web sites in Poland.
[based on Gazeta Wyborcza]

cheating - oszukiwanie
sin - grzech
as it turns out - jak się okazuje
resourcefulness - zaradność
enterprise - przedsiębiorczość
to brag
- przechwalać się
punishable - karane
to approach - podchodzić do
issue - kwestia, problem
judging from - sądząc po
attitude - postawa

bleak - ponuro, ponury
meanwhile - w międzyczasie

Real Clickandbiters do not cheat on exams! Be the minority. Go against the flow. Respect yourself and your teachers. It will all pay off in the end :) Co w polskiej trawie piszczy...
February 5, 2005

Krystyna Janda goes nuts! The famous actress decided to sell her house to establish a new theater in Warsaw. Where is she going to run her new business? In the old movie theater 'Polonia'. She got the idea from Brazil and Germany, where private theaters do very well. Do the Poles have enough romanticism left in them to help the beloved actress avoid bankruptcy? Let's hope so. Clickandbite applauds Janda's brand new venture.
[based on Gazeta Wyborcza]

Ania Dybowska was just another student trying to get to Warsaw to take an exam. She didn't make it. Artur Fołtyn and Dariusz Mioduski, two savages that happened to be on the same train, tortured and killed her to "celebrate the birthday" of one of them. The case in that gruesome murder is taking place this week. The prosecutor promises that he will seek a 25-year sentence or EVEN life sentence. Even life sentence? Please!!! That should be a no-brainer.
[based on Superexpress]

No more visas for Poles? US National Security Advisor, Condoleezza Rice, came to Warsaw with a short visit. Among other things, she and Polish Prime Minister, Marek Belka, discussed the possibility of lifting visas for Polish citizens coming to America. Mr. Belka did not offer any details, but said that there was "progress in the visa situation". Now, if we could only have some progress with the Polish people who already are in America and their unethical attitude toward the US immigration law, we'd be a lot happier, and the US visas would be a lot easier to obtain.
[
based on Teleexpress]

to applaud - pochwalać, przyklaskiwać
to avoid
- unikać
beloved
- ukochany
to establish
- zakładać, ustanawiać
to go nuts
- oszaleć, zwariować
venture - przedsięwzięcie

life sentence - dożywocie
gruesome
- makabryczny, straszny
prosecutor
- prokurator
savage
- barbarzyńca, bestia
she didn't make it
- nie udało jej się
to take place - odbywać się

attitude - postawa
citizen
- obywatel
immigration law - prawo imigracyjne
to lift (visas)
- znieść (wizy)
to obtain - uzyskać
toward
- w stosunku do


Co w polskiej trawie piszczy...
March 14, 2005

Five million Poles live in dire poverty, and twenty three million others struggle to make ends meet, according to Superexpress. This very popular Polish daily newspaper, though often criticized for being overly sensationalistic, strives to seek and help those who are in great need. Such was the case with the Machurski family from Kamienna Góra, who received a lot of help after an article about their tragic situation was published in Superexpress.
[based on Superexpress]

dire poverty - skrajne ubóstwo.
W tym kontekście przypomnę jeszcze zwrot "on the verge of poverty", czyli "na skraju ubóstwa". Myślę, że warto też pamiętać, iż samo słowo poor nie oznacza tylko biedny, ale także słaby, marny, niedobry. Przykłady:

poor performance - słabo wykonana praca
poor excuse - marna wymówka
poor choice - niedobry wybór
poor attempt - nieudana, marna próba
poor show - słabe przedstawienie, słaby program

to struggle - borykać się (z), zmagać się (z)

to make ends meet - wiązać koniec z końcem. Inny podobny zwrot, któremu odpowiada polskie powiedzenie "żyć od pierwszego do pierwszego" to "live paycheck to paycheck". Być może wielu ludziom poza granicami USA wydaje się, że Amerykanie nie znają problemu biedy i niedostatku, ale to bardzo dalekie od prawdy.

to strive to - starać się, walczyć (o coś)


Co w polskiej trawie piszczy...
May 11, 2005

Mr. Lepper never runs out of brilliant ideas. This time his political fraction, Samoobrona (Self Defense) came up with a wonderful way to honor the late Polish Pope John Paul II by proclaiming amnesty for criminals guilty of various misdemeanors and nonviolent crimes. Lepper claims that after the Pope's death, Poles became better people. The fact that this amnesty would cover all those members of Samoobrona whose cases are pending in various Polish courts, is purely coincidental. It has only been a little over a month since the Pope died, and thanks to the Polish politicians, he's been regularly turning in his grave.
[based on Teleexpress]

Uczestnicy obozu w Rabce pamiętają naszą lekcję, na której robiliśmy burzę mózgów na temat zwrotu run out of. Taką przynajmniej mam nadzieję. Kiedy coś nam się kończy, np. chleb, dobre pomysły czy pieniądze, możemy powiedzieć: I am running out of bread / good ideas / money, kiedy zasoby już się zupełnie skończą, wtedy powiemy I've run  out of bread / good ideas / money bądź po prostu I am out of...

To come up with something to dość znany zwrot, który oznacza: wymyślić coś.

Late = niedawno zmarły

Misdemeanor
to występek lub niewielkie i niegroźne przestępstwo (jeżeli takie są).

Słówko cover w tym kontekście znaczy objąć.

Sprawa w sądzie to case, a zwrot case is pending oznacza, że  sprawa jest niejako w zawieszeniu, niedokończona.

Purely coincidental = zupełnie, absolutnie przypadkowy

Polski zwrot przewracać się w grobie ma identyczne zastosowanie w angielskim i brzmi: to turn in his/her grave.

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