Please help me to read this English sentence:

[YuriTokoro]

Originally Posted by Koir

I would say the first sentence. You're crossing a bridge, which carries the implied meaning that it is over a river or some other obstacle (or height). This obstacle or height would be impossible to cross if there wasn't a bridge across it.

Thank you for your in-depth explanation, Koir!

[Columbine]

Originally Posted by YuriTokoro

Hi.
Could someone help me?

1. I’m about to cross the bridge.
2. I’m about to cross the river.

Just to add to Koir's answer, sometimes you can use 1. if it's a big river and whoever you're talking to knows which river you're talking about. For example, the Thames River runs through london but there are lots of bridges. If I am talking to someone on the other side and it's not important which bridge I take, I would say "I'm about to cross the river".

[YuriTokoro]

Originally Posted by Columbine

Just to add to Koir's answer, sometimes you can use 1. if it's a big river and whoever you're talking to knows which river you're talking about. For example, the Thames River runs through london but there are lots of bridges. If I am talking to someone on the other side and it's not important which bridge I take, I would say "I'm about to cross the river".

Now I think I can use those two expressions as the situation demands.
Thank you!

[YuriTokoro]

Hi.
Could someone answer my question?

What is the difference in meaning between these two sentences?

1. It’s time to get down to business.
2. It’s time to get down to working.

Thank you.

[MissMisa]

Originally Posted by YuriTokoro

Hi.
Could someone answer my question?

What is the difference in meaning between these two sentences?

1. It’s time to get down to business.
2. It’s time to get down to working.

Thank you.

Hi Yuri!

They both mean similar things, however I feel the second sentence is quite awkward and I haven't heard anyone use it.

If you wanted to say 2. correctly, you would say 'It's time to get working!'

In this instance, the difference is that 'Let's get down to business' can mean, 'let's start working,' or it can mean 'let's get down to the serious point of the conversation.'

'It's time to get working!' means only that.

[YuriTokoro]

Originally Posted by MissMisa

Hi Yuri!

They both mean similar things, however I feel the second sentence is quite awkward and I haven't heard anyone use it.

If you wanted to say 2. correctly, you would say 'It's time to get working!'

In this instance, the difference is that 'Let's get down to business' can mean, 'let's start working,' or it can mean 'let's get down to the serious point of the conversation.'

'It's time to get working!' means only that.

Hi, MissMisa.
I see.
There are sentences you don’t say, even if those are grammatically correct.
Thanks!!

[YuriTokoro]

Hi.
Could someone correct my English?
I’m sorry; it’s meaningless drivels.

Dream.

I dreamed this morning.
In the dream, I needed to go. I seemed to be on a big ship or a huge vehicle, and be about to attend a meeting. I decided to visit the bathroom before the meeting starts, when the floor shook badly. I went backward several steps. Then I saw many people coming down the hall. I pushed my way through the crowd with great effort. The ground was keeping shaking and I went backward again. I felt as thought I was a tiny boat in a hurricane.
Next I saw a stairway in front of me. My destination seemed to be on the upper floor.
I walked up the stairs worming because the floor didn’t stop shaking widely. The ship must have been in a huge typhoon. I tumbled down 2 times, and then I was managed to touch the top of the stair steps, but suddenly that became a big vaulting box I had to clear.
Since the floor was shaking that I wasn’t be able to jump, so I swarmed up the box.
Behind the box, there was the door and I rushed at that.
Finally I opened that, when I wake up.
I felt really tired.

Thank you!

[Koir]

Originally Posted by YuriTokoro

Hi.
Could someone correct my English?
I’m sorry; it’s meaningless drivels.

Dream.

I dreamed this morning.
In the dream, I needed to go somewhere. I seemed to be on a big ship or a huge vehicle, and was about to attend a meeting. I decided to visit the bathroom before the meeting starts when the floor shook violently. I stumbled backward several steps. Then I saw many people coming down the hall. I pushed my way through the crowd with great effort. The ground kept shaking and I went backward again. I felt as thought I were a tiny boat in a hurricane.
Next I saw a stairway in front of me. My destination seemed to be on the upper floor.
I crawled up the stairs because the floor kept shaking. The ship must have been in a huge typhoon. I tumbled down twice, and then I managed to touch the top of the stair steps. Except they had become a big vaulting box I had to clear.
Since the floor was shaking I wasn’t able to jump, so I climbed up the box.
Behind the box, there was the door and I rushed at it.
Finally I opened the door, when I woke up.
I felt really tired.

Thank you!

Sounds like a scene from "The Poseidon Adventure", Yuri. Glad you managed to escape the ship, even if it left you tired afterwards.

Most of the revisions were to verb tenses, or changing verbs to more action-oriented ones ("stumbled" or "crawled" instead of walked). The section about the vaulting box had its beginning changed. It was a continuation of the descriptions in the previous sentence that had to be separated to both read easier and provid dramatic impact.

Hope that helps, Yuri. And have a better rest tonight, hm?

[YuriTokoro]

Originally Posted by Koir

Sounds like a scene from "The Poseidon Adventure", Yuri. Glad you managed to escape the ship, even if it left you tired afterwards.

Hi, Koir.

I have a question.
A dictionary online says that “I need to go” means “I need to go to a bathroom” so I didn’t write “to a bathroom” in the second sentence. It’s not “In the dream, I needed to go somewhere”. Should I have written “I needed to go to a bathroom”? I thought that would be too straight.
“My destination” means “a bathroom”.
“The door” means “a door of a bathroom.”
I didn’t escape the ship. I just tried to go to a bathroom.
My English must have been too poor to convey meanings.

Most of the revisions were to verb tenses, or changing verbs to more action-oriented ones ("stumbled" or "crawled" instead of walked).

Yes! They sound lively now. Thank you!

I have one more question. I don’t see what “except” means here.
In the dream, the steps became a vaulting box suddenly.
Can “except” means “suddenly”?

Hope that helps, Yuri. And have a better rest tonight, hm?

Thanks, Koir.

[JamboP26]

The use of 'except' here shows a change that happened, as you said, 'suddenly'. Climbing the stairs is easy, but 'except' shows the reader it became difficult. The exception being the stairs became difficult to negotiate (or climb). It adds a bit of excitement to the story/dream.

Hopes this helps clear things up