"I’m better than I used to be. Better than I was yesterday. But hopefully not as good as I’ll be tomorrow."

A 30-day positive affirmation journey with Rose

Day 13

Numbers 1-12, say thank you &amp; the possessive -s.
Paul helps Meili in the university and they look for Anna's office together. They find the office. What will happen when they go inside?

Here's how to get YOUR NAME on the next German Stories episode:
1) Launch the Apple Podcast app on your iPhone / iPad and tap the search icon (on top)
2) Search for “German Stories | Learn German with Stories”, and tap on our podcast
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4) Write us something nice and give us 5 stars :-)

German Stories | Learn German with Stories

3: Wo ist das Büro? | Where is the office?

In this Episode you will learn how yo use 会！

HSK2

Learn how to use 会

A new survey in Japan has shown that many people may be giving up on "happily ever after" when they get older than 35.

A survey by the Nippon Foundation asked 6,000 people, aged 15 to 45, about the country's falling birth rate. Among the 3,935 single participants, 46% said they want to get married, while 33% said they don't.

However, when asked if they really think they will get married, only 27% said yes, while 39% said no.

Younger people were more hopeful about marriage, with about 40% of those aged 15 to 25 thinking they will marry. But over 50% of single people aged 36 to 45 believe they won't get married, suggesting people may give up on marriage as they age.

Of the 1,313 people who said they don't want to get married, 40% said they prefer being single. Other reasons for staying single included not being able to see any benefit to marrying, and wanting to put their own life first. More than 20% didn't have a clear reason or just didn't know why.

For the 267 people who want to marry but think they won't, the top reason for thinking it won't happen is not having chances to meet potential partners, which was mentioned by 49% of these people. Others said they weren't good at getting along with people of the opposite sex, or felt financially insecure.

Where people lived also affected views on marriage. About 30% of people in central Tokyo and big cities thought they would marry, but only just over 20% of those in smaller towns and villages felt the same.

Marriages in Japan have been decreasing for years. In 2023, there were 3.9 marriages per 1,000 people in Japan — down from a high of 12 marriages per 1,000 people in 1947.

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

Japan's Over-35s Giving Up on Marriage

Escucha este audio-artículo y descubre la provincia de Málaga y buenos trucos para viajar por ella disfrutando de los lugares más auténticos.

VIAJAR POR ESPAÑA  "AUDIOS"

Mi España - La Provincia de Málaga

Vidéo du podcast ci-dessous: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qlHDrPzrqE 

French Stories For All

Ecole et vin

CONNIE: Oh! What a beautiful cat. What do you think?
GARY: I think I’d rather get a dog. Dogs are more loyal than cats.
CONNIE: Yes, but they’re so much work! Would you be willing to walk 
it every single day? And clean up after it?
GARY: Hmm. Good point. What about a bird? Or a fish?
CONNIE: We’d have to invest a lot of money in a cage or a fish tank. 
And I don’t really know how to take care of a bird or a fish!
GARY: Well, we’re obviously not ready to get a pet yet.
CONNIE: Yeah, you’re right. Let’s go grab some coffee and talk 
about it.


LANGUAGE NOTES
• Oh! What a beautiful cat “Oh!” is used to show surprise or excitement. “What a …” is 
an expression that means “I think this is a very …” “What a(n) …” is followed by an 
adjective, which is usually emphasized. Notice the emphasis on “beautiful” here.
• Dogs are more loyal than cats. Two things are being compared here (dogs and 
cats). Notice the structure of the sentences: (noun/s) plus “is/are more” plus 
(adjective) plus “than” plus (noun/s). The nouns and the adjective are content words 
here, so they are all emphasized.
• Every single day Notice that each word here is stressed. The speaker wants to make 
a point, so she emphasizes each word equally. “Every single day” is a lot!
• Good point here means “I agree with you.”
• Take care of This phrase is used with animals, people and things. It can mean 
“watch a child while her parents are away,” “feed and house someone or 
something,” or “make sure things work properly.” (I always take care of my baby 
brother./ I take care of my bird by feeding it and cleaning its cage./ I need to take 
care of the broken sink.)
• Yeah, you’re right. Notice the pronunciation of this expression — the words all 
blend together here. This casual expression is used to agree with someone that you 
know well.

English Conversation practice (30-day challenge)

Day 26: At the pet store

IELTS Preparation & Sample Answers. Part 1 - Clothes - 6 New questions.

Q. 1. What kind of clothes do people wear to work in your country? Why?
Q. 2. How have clothes fashions changed in your country over the last few decades?
Q. 3. What is the difference between clothes that young people and old people like to wear?
Q. 4. What influence has the fashion industry had in your country? Why?
Q. 5. What do you think will be the effects of the fashion industry in the next ten years?
Q. 6. How does advertising influence what clothes and dresses people choose to buy? Is this true for everyone?

Please pause, record some ideas and incorporate them into your answers & send me a class request so we can go through your unique challenges so I can prepare you for y our IELTS speaking experience.

