Despite, In Spite Of, Although & Even Though.

 Despite and In Spite Of have the same meaning and are used with the same grammar. Despite + Noun not despite of

• Despite the rain, we went to the beach.
• Despite the time, we continued talking.

Colds

“There's some kind of bug going around.”

It's winter. A lot of people that you work with are getting sick with colds and flus. You're worried that you're going to get sick too. You're talking to your wife about it.

There's some kind of bug going around.

some kind of (something)  - The phrase "some kind of ___" can be used when you don't know exactly what you're talking about or you don't want to specify:

What's this? Some kind of stew? 

I hear some kind of siren in the background.

There's (a contagious sickness) going around. 

When a lot of people are sick with a cold, a flu, etc., you can say that it "is going around". For example:

Be careful. There's a flu going around.

 I've noticed a few people sniffling. I hope that there's not something going around.                     a bug  - You can call a slight illness like a cold, a flu, or a stomach virus a "bug".

A: Are you OK?

B: I think I got some kind of stomach bug.

The more common meaning of "bug" is insect, but when you use it this way, "bug" means a virus or bacterial infection.

Red Tape

This is an awesome phrase in spoken English. If there is a lot of  “red tape” it means there is a lot of annoying rules or “paperwork” to do.  When governments have a lot of rules and regulations, we say there is a lot of  “red tape“. The government always wants to make things safe for people, but sometimes in the process of trying to make things safe and fair, they simply make too many rules

A mania for learning English.

Let's talk about manias. Let's start with Beatle mania: hysterical teenagers, crying, screaming, pandemonium. Sports mania: deafening crowds, all for one idea -- get the ball in the net. Okay, religious mania: there's rapture, there's weeping, there's visions. Manias can be good. Manias can be alarming. Or manias can be deadly. The world has a new mania. A mania for learning English.

Strike while the iron is hot!

Meaning: Seize a good opportunity as quickly as possible. Make the most of the chance while it is there!

Note: This proverb comes from metal work. If you are making something from a metal such as iron, you need to hit, or strike, the metal while it is hot if you want to change its shape.

redbrick

redbrick   (adjective)

1. built of red brick

2.often capitalized: of, relating to, or being the British universities founded in the 19th or early 20th century.

Examples:

The round-table forum brought four distinguished Redbrick professors to face off against four renowned scholars from Oxford and Cambridge.

How to Speak English FAST