你好呀，欢迎收听：英语考试Cat 🐱🐱🐱🐱
Can you believe Golden Week's already over? I feel like I just packed my suitcase yesterday, but here I am, back to "reality," still replaying bits of my trip in my head.
This year, I did something a little different: I traveled solo. I spent the whole 8 days in a few U.S. states, and half of that time was in San Francisco. Traveling alone, especially in a place where you don't know anyone, really forces you to step up. There's no one to rely on but yourself, your wits, and…well, your English, especially when you're in an English-speaking country.
And I realized, once again, that the fastest way to learn a language isn't reciting 20 words a day (though that does help for some people in certain ways). It's using it, messily, awkwardly, unapologetically. Just speak it, even when you're not sure. Because when you need to order food or drinks, ask for directions, or chat with someone? That's when the words stick.
Today, I want to share a memorable phrase I picked up in a Starbucks. Just a little background: I'm a creature of habit. 99% of the time I walk into a Starbucks, I order the same thing: an iced mocha. When I'm overseas, I usually say something like,“Good morning, can I get an iced mocha, small, with cream please?" Most of the time, they nod, I pay, and I get my drink in minutes. No confusion at all.
This time, though, I was in the Financial District in SF after lunch. The shop was a bit slow, no crowds. I ordered my usual,“Can I get an iced mocha, small, with cream please?" And the barista—super friendly, by the way—looked up and repeated it back,“Iced mocha with whipping cream?”
"Whipping cream." That phrase stopped me for a second. I knew "cream," but not "whipping cream." I just nodded and said, "Yes, that's right,”but as I waited for my drink, I kept thinking: What does "whipping" mean in this context?
Later, back in my room, I looked it up. Turns out, "whipping" here is an adjective. It describes a type of cream that's thick enough to be "whipped", you know, beaten with a mixer until it's fluffy, like the stuff you put on top of pies. So "whipping cream" is that light, airy cream, not the runny kind you might pour in your coffee.
And the word comes from "whip". "Whip" is a noun and a verb. You "whip" the cream to make it fluffy. It makes sense, right? In hindsight, it's a small word, but hearing it in that specific context, needing to understand it to make sure I got my drink right, made it stick way better than if I'd just seen it in a textbook.
That's the thing about language: the words you learn when you have to: when you're ordering coffee, asking for help, or laughing at a joke, those are the ones that stay with you. Why? Because you're not just memorizing a word, you're learning it with the context that gives it meaning. You know when to use it, how it fits into a real conversation, and even what it feels like to hear it in a natural setting. That context turns a random word into something meaningful.
So that's one of my big takeaways from San Francisco:"whipping cream"…and the power of learning words through context.
I hate to repeat myself, but it's worth saying again: if you want to get better at speaking English, whether for IELTS or just casual chats, use it. Don't wait until you know "enough" words. Order that coffee, ask that stranger for directions, fumble through a conversation. It'll probably be messy, but that mess is how you learn. And it's such an effective way to learn because every time you speak, you're not just practicing words, you're building context around them. You'll remember that phrase or sentence structure later because you can link it to a real moment. That context makes the language stick.
That's all for today's episode. I'll be sharing more little lessons from the road later on. Until then, keep practicing!
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