[92] The airport at Salt Lake City in Utah, USA

TRAVEL NEWS WIRE…

The airport at Salt Lake City in Utah, USA, is the fastest airport in the US for connections, security, and general movement. A list of factors from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics were used to determine the ranking. Salt Lake City has high marks for fast clearing of runways in the winter, efficiency of security, and on-time arrivals and departures. The second-fastest was Charlotte, North Carolina; followed by San Diego, California; Tampa, Florida; and Seattle-Tacoma in Washington State.

THIS WEEK’S NATURAL PHRASE

loose cannon

Nancy: Are things going well at work?

Christopher: Absolutely not! My new boss is a jerk. He gets drunk at lunchtime and then makes decisions that are bad for the company. He even fired three of our best marketing people. He’s a real loose cannon.

Explanation: A “loose cannon” is a person who can act differently every day, and can make trouble with others in a group. The idea comes from the days when wooden ships had cannons that sometimes came loose and slid around inside a ship, injuring everyone around them.

THIS WEEK’S MEDICAL PHRASE

varicose veins

Patient: My legs sometimes hurt, and I have these purple lines that are getting thicker.

Doctor Palmer: That’s because your veins are losing their normal shape, and the flow of your blood is worsening. We have some medicines to help you with the varicose veins, and we can also consider some surgical procedures.

Explanation: The term “varicose veins” means the purple veins that are caused by the blood flowing in the wrong direction because the valves in the veins are damaged.

THIS WEEK’S EMAIL PHRASE

back burner

Dear Antonio:

We just got an offer for a big job in Canada! We all need to work hard for the next few months.

I know that you were planning on going on vacation this week, but I’m afraid you’ll have to put it on the back burner for a while. You can go on vacation next year.

Explanation: The phrase “back burner” means that a project has low priority. It is like putting something on the back burner of a cooking stove.