[title]Family quotes[/title] [description]Welcome to our family quotes section! Here you'll find some of the funniest (and wisest) quotes on the subject of family life![/description]
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Latest post Sat, Jul 4 2009 9:51 AM by Anonymous. 5 replies.
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Old Eladio  +  222095 Wed, 03 May 06 01:34 PM

Dear friends from EnglishForums. I have translated a curious (to me at least) text from Spanish into English and I would need that you help me in correcting it, please. I don’t know if the length is the proper one for this kind of solicitude and I will understand if you feel reluctant to correct the text.

Anyway, thank you in advance,

Eladio

Can it rain frogs?

The strong whirls of wind and some air currents produced by rain clouds can carry themselves endless and the most dissimilar objects. These objects are caught by the cloud until they precipitate to earth at certain distance from where they were lifted, that can cause the astonishment of the witnesses of the show. There is numerous of these cases reported in noted scientific journals as Monthly Weather Review, Nature or Scientific American. 

 

These reports not only tell us about frog rains, but also of toads, honors, spiders, snails, mussels, scarabs, ants without wings and worms. Besides it is said about even stranger precipitations, as that one it is said that happened in Sicily in 746, when it rained crosses. 

 

The 30th of July in 1838 it is said that in the very London heart, the pedestrians were surprised by a celestial avalanche of frogs and tadpoles. In the summer of 1804, in the proximities of Toulouse, it is said that took place a rain of young toads. The 28th of December in 1857, during a heavy storm, the sidewalks of Montreal, in Canada, were literally covered by hundreds of mussels. The most celebrated fish storm, more concretely of certain river fish, happened in England the 11th of February in 1859. 

 

Conrad Lycosthenes in his work "Prodigiorum ac ostentorum chronicom" says that he saw a toad rain in 1345, and he mentions that a strange precipitation of fish took place in the year 989 in Saxon. Anyway, does not it seem to you that it is very strange that since 1859 people have not reported the occurrence of such events?

Joined on Sat, Feb 11 2006
Havana, Cuba
Full Member 138
Eladio
Mister Micawber  +  222103 Wed, 03 May 06 01:47 PM

You can minimize the presence of dates (which are not really very important here) by writing them as I have.  I have also suggested other changes:



Can it rain frogs?

The strong whirls of wind and air currents produced by rain clouds can carry endless and extremely dissimilar objects. These objects are caught up by the cloud until they precipitate to earth at a distance from where they were lifted, to the astonishment of witnesses to this show.  Numerous such cases have been reported in noted scientific journals like the Monthly Weather Review, Nature and Scientific American.

These reports tell us not only of frog rains, but also rains of toads, honors [wrong word!  what is this supposed to be, Eladio?], spiders, snails, mussels, scarabs, wingless ants, and worms. Even stranger precipitations are also mentioned, such as one that occurred in Sicily in 746, when it rained crosses.

On July 30,1838, it is said that in the very heart of London, pedestrians were surprised by a celestial avalanche of frogs and tadpoles.  In the summer of 1804, in the proximity of Toulouse, a rain of young toads took place. On December 28, 1857, during a heavy storm, the sidewalks of Montreal, Canada, were literally covered by hundreds of mussels.  And the most celebrated fish storm, more precisely of certain river fish, occurred in England on February 11,1859.

Conrad Lycosthenes, in his work, Prodigiorum ac ostentorum chronicom, says that he saw a toad rain in 1345, and that a strange precipitation of fish took place in the year 989 in Saxony.  However, does it not seem strange to you that since 1859 no one has reported the occurrence of such events?



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'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master-- that's all.'
Old Eladio, 3 yr 208 days ago

Thanks a lot, Mister Micawber.

fish instead of honors. I don't know how this word went there!

Eladio

Anonymous, 1 yr 105 days ago
Crosses? What type of crosses?
Philip  +  554767 Thu, 14 Aug 08 03:30 PM
In AmEng we often say that it rains 'cats and dogs'.  I was caught in one such storm a month ago and stepped in a poodle. (:#) Zip it!
Joined on Thu, Jun 23 2005
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Anonymous, 146 days ago
This occurrance is not so rare as you think. It happens occasionally in the US and happened today where I live in Japan.
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