A collection of stories created by ESL students and a creative writer. 

Being a Cloud

We all like to plan ahead and sometimes, especially at work, we have TO WORK TO DEADLINES. 
Deadlines can often seem DAUNTING and stressful, particularly if you have lots of work to complete and the deadline is j JUST AROUND THE CORNER. 
However, not all deadlines are bad! 
At work, deadlines give us a goal to aim for and can push us to achieve far more than we might expect. 
Remember to set yourself daily, weekly and monthly OBJECTIVES to achieve, and perhaps use a smartphone app to track your progress. 
You can then use this information next time you meet with your boss to show how productive you are. You never know, it might also help with a promotion or pay rise! 
While personal plans such as meeting a friend for drinks or playing tennis next weekend involve deadlines, these arrangements are more flexible, so you needn’t be OVERLY worried about the time.  
However, remember that you don’t want to be late for your appointments and keep your friends waiting, so think about what you need to do BEFOREHAND and give yourself enough time to achieve it successfully, with just a little extra time added JUST IN CASE.
Take your next vacation for instance. What do you need to plan? 
Tickets, a hotel reservation, or a taxi to the airport. 
Someone to look after your pets or houseplants while you are away. 
Don’t leave all your planning to THE LAST MINUTE. After all, it’s never too early to plan ahead! 

All Ways Business

Making Plans

小丽：下个月我去旅游，你能跟我一起去么？
小刚：我还没想好呢，你觉得哪最好玩？
小丽：南方啊，我们去年就是这个时候去的。
小刚;南方太热了，北方好一点，不冷也不热。

HSK3

HSK3-1-Text3

蒙蒙读HSK

HSK1-1 你好

That modal verb can seem to be a bit confusing, but worry no more! With clear explanations and examples in this podcast episode, you won't have any problem incorporating that one into your everyday speech! 

All About English and How You Learn It!

How to Use 'Would' In English With Clear Examples

Hello everyone! Today's episode is about an old Japanese tale, the Chinese Zodiac. The Chinese zodiac originally came from China, but now it has become very familiar in Japan. I hope you enjoy it!


皆さん、ごきげんよう！今日は日本昔話の干支のお話です。干支はもともと中国から伝わったものですが、今では日本でもすっかりおなじみになりました。どうぞお楽しみください！


Moekoの日本語ベラベラtime

Epi4 : 日本昔話-干支【Japanese Podcast】

Сегодня читаем отрывок из прекрасного произведения Ремарка. Объясняю некоторые слова и фразы, а остальное, надеюсь, вы поймете сами!

Слова из эпизода:
отры’вок - часть из произведения, книги, речи - fragment, snippet;
това’рищ - человек, близкий по общим взглядам, деятельности, условиям жизни; синоним “друг” - comrade, companion;
слыха'л (просторечие) - слышал - I've heard;
произноси'ли - выговаривали - pronounced;
мимолё'тными - быстро исчезает, проходит, не длительный - fleeting, ephemeral, momentary;
бе'гство - бег, уход от чего-либо, откуда-нибудь - escape, getaway;
отча'яние - состояние крайней безнадёжности -  despair, hopelessness, desolation;
пустота' - когда нет интересов, стремлений - emptiness, vacuum, blank;
полага'ться - надеяться на кого-то, быть должным - rely;
оттого', что - потому что, потому как, благодаря тому что - because;
вду'маешься - внимательно обдумать что-нибудь - ponder;
бесконе'чно - что-либо без конца, завершенности - infinitely, endlessly, eternally;
бу'ря (переносное значение) - о сильном, бурном проявлении чего-либо - storm, windstorm, hurricane;
преобрази'ть - изменить, улучить образ, форму, вид чего-нибудь - transform;
не'что - что-то - something.

Пишите в комментариях, какие произведения или каких авторов вы хотите почитать вместе со мной?

И помните, что чтение по-русски углубляет ваши знания языка! 
Хороших вам книг, друзья!

Reading Russian

Отрывок из "Три товарища" Э.М. Ремарк

LINDA: Hey! How did your physics exam go?
FRANK: Not bad, thanks. I’m just glad it’s over! How about you …
how’d your presentation go?
LINDA: Oh, it went really well. Thanks for helping me with it!
FRANK: No problem. So … do you feel like studying tomorrow for 
our math exam?
LINDA: Yeah, sure! Come over around 10:00, after breakfast.
FRANK: All right. I’ll bring my notes.



LANGUAGE NOTES
• Hey! is a friendly expression meaning “hello.”
• How did your physics exam go? is a way of saying “How was your physics exam?”
• I’m just glad … Notice the stress on “glad.” “Just” is used for emphasis before an 
adjective here.
• How about you … Notice the intonation falls here because the speaker is going to 
follow it up with a detailed question.
• How’d your presentation … Notice the contraction for “How did” sounds like /howdj/ 
and “your” sounds like /yer/.
• Do you feel like here has the meaning of “do you want to.” Notice “do you feel like” is 
followed by an “-ing” verb (studying).
• Come over here has the meaning of “come to my house.”
• Notes Students take notes about what the teacher says during a lecture