英语播客 A Cup of English Designing a special photo for the app.

I love to use my laptop, to play around with different programs, to surf the web, and to edit photos. Today I have been doing that for hours. Now that my app has come out in iTunes, I have been trying to design a really good photo for it. The existing photo of a red cup with flags on it is fine, but I wanted something a little more elegant. So, I have been playing around with a little tea set that I inherited from my grandmother on my father's side. It is a 'tea for two' set which is extra small. It is what we call 'fine bone china', and hand painted. It has a lot of sentimental value for me, as it is my only connection to a grandmother who died when I was just a baby. The idea of a cup of tea is a theme for my work for several reasons. First, I come from a tea drinking nation, England. Secondly, I love the stuff, and even though I try to avoid the stereotype of drinking tea in the afternoon, it is exactly what I do! Thirdly, I love the idea of filling up a cup with knowledge until it overflows. So, the tea cup image will always be in my work. To make just the right photo, I bought a large sheet of red paper, placed the cup and saucer on it, arranged some extra lighting, and held the tea pot over the cup. It would have been perfect if I had had an extra hand, but I just about managed with two. After taking the photo, I then had to edit it. I started by sharpening the picture. That means that I selected a button which adds strength to the edges in a picture. There is a feature in the program that I use which allows you to add text (or writing). What I hadn't realised before is that after writing the words, you can turn them to point in different directions. Perfect! I wrote and arranged lots of words on the photo. The 'look' that I was after was that of English pouring out of the tea pot into the cup. It took me ages to finish. I couldn't bend the words, so I had to reposition the words part by part. When I finished, I was relieved. It had taken a long time. You must check out the new photo and tell me what you think. It should replace the old one on the app in a couple of weeks.

Grammar notes.

Practicing the past participle with related verbs: to edit, to design, to arrange, to select.

1. The photographer edited the wedding photos and made everybody look much younger.

2. The architect designed a beautiful park for the center of the city.

3. The florist arranged the flowers carefully in the vase.

4. Select the undo button in the program if you want to erase what you just did.