Elon Musk在他的推特上发了一篇古诗词《七步诗》，相信很多同学已经知道它的寓意了。但是今天Ben老师要给大家讲一讲这首诗背后的故事，也就是七步诗的故事，希望大家学完会对这首古诗词有更深的见解，我们开始吧！

Chinese with Ben

Learn a Chinese Ancient Poetry with Elon Musk

I Know the Words but I cannot Remember them while Speaking.

If you also feel that way, you need to know what Selective Attention is and how it affects the Language Learning Process. 

All Things English

Effective Listening: Selective Attention and Language Learning

Listening Practice in Turkish

Listening Practice in Turkish-5 (B1 Level)

Nivel de dificultad : B1 y B2
Level : B1 & B2

Chat & eat 🌮 Charlar y comer ⚡ Monday & Wednesday 

CAPITULO 5 : ¿Qué comen los muertos? 💀👻 CHAPTER 5: What do the dead eat?

In this episode we will talk about 【The conundrum of life from 5 to 90 years old】, you will learn how to say 【Beijing drifters,extend,high blood pressure】 ect. The material helps you get used to different voice and accent. 
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It is recommended that you study in the following ways:
Step 1: Gist listening. Listen to get the main idea. (more times if necessary)
Step 2: Read the text to find out words you didn't get, then look up the dictionary. 
Step 3: Listen and imitate as much as you can without looking at the text.
Step 4: Write down what you hear if you want to practise writing.
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大家好，我是Yuli。欢迎收听我的播客。
每个人多多少少都有一些烦恼，不同年龄的人烦恼的事情可能不太一样。这个采访是从5岁到90岁的人在聊他们人生的难题。今天我们来听听50岁到90岁的烦恼。
50岁：（回答：我什么时候可以退休啊？）那按照那个法定的年龄60岁退休嘛。女同志五十周岁（55岁：听说还要延长退休时间）。我家孩子在外面北漂好几年了，我想让她回来.
60岁：你就让孩子去发展去吧，发展得好就让他在那边混，混不好他自然就回来了。我呀，才60岁，就感觉身体啊跟不上了，以后70可咋办呢？
70岁：到70啊，你就到时候把你的孙子叫过来，这孩子也皮实了，你身体也就好了。难题就是我这个老伴儿呢，怕我这个高血压。菜的里头呢，又少油又少盐又少糖，不好吃。
80岁：难吃啊？难吃上我那吃去。我现在就血压高，就经常得上医院去跑，开药去。我就有一个老同志，我春节的时候去看他，住在医院里的，躺在床上相当可怜。八十多了，好几十（朋友）了。走到尽头了。
90岁：你现在呢就说也不要太难过，你也劝劝他到公园转一转。全是咱们老同志，一块儿聊聊大天。侃侃咱们过去，在一块，年轻的时候。在这方面自己想开点，也就舒畅了。我老伴儿三年前去世了。都这么大岁数了，总得要有一个人先走，但是我也很想念她。说到这儿吧。（5岁：老爷爷，您别难过。老奶奶只是睡着了，您以后碰见她，亲她一口她就醒了）你几岁？你的人生难题是什么呢？留言告诉我吧。我们下期见。
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法定	/	fǎ dìng	/	statutory
女同志	/	nǚ tóng zhì	/	female (comrade)
周岁	/	zhōu suì	/	one full year of life
延长	/	yán cháng	/	extend
北漂	/	běi piāo	/	Beijing drifters
混	/	hùn	/	get along
咋办	/	zǎ bàn	/	how to do
皮实	/	pí shí	/	sturdy
老伴儿	/	lǎo bàn ér	/	old husband or wife
高血压	/	gāo xuè yā	/	high blood pressure
老同志	/	lǎo tóng zhì	/	old comrade
尽头	/	jìn tóu	/	the end
劝	/	quàn	/	advise,persuade
侃	/	kǎn	/	talk
想开点	/	xiǎng kāi diǎn	/	think positively
舒畅	/	shū chàng	/	free from worry,comfortable

Yuli's Chinese Channel

人生从5到90岁的难题② The conundrum of life from 5 to 90 years old （Intermediate level）

In this episode, I make some observations about different conversational styles among native and non-native English speakers. I am generalizing, of course, and these are just my thoughts, based on what I've experienced in my life. *

I'd love to hear what YOU think! What have you observed? 

Here are some questions you might want to talk to yourself or write about - as we reflect on the year that has ended. Maybe you want to create a short monologue by recording your thoughts in a voice memo on your phone. Or perhaps you could try writing down your ideas on your phone or on a piece of paper. Do it for 5 or 10 minutes, and don't worry about your grammar or vocabulary. Writing is a great PROCESS - an exercise where you can use your English - anywhere, anytime, without a teacher or a listener. So getting in the HABIT of writing or speaking to yourself is as important as the words you use. Over time, your skills will improve! 

---- QUESTIONS TO ANSWER -----

What does the word SUCCESS mean to you? 
What does SUCCESS LOOK LIKE to you? 
What is something you have SUCCEEDED AT?

Based on YOUR definition of success - what made 2023 a successful year for you?
What will make 2024 a successful year for you? 

And here's a THOUGHT EXPERIMENT and a WRITING EXERCISE.
Imagine it is December 31, 2024. Using past tenses, write about what made 2024 a successful year for you. (This may feel strange, but it’s a great exercise for your English and for your mind! It can be fun and transformative, too!)

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*Note - In this episode, I make the mistake of using the word "American" to refer to people from the US. This is a bad habit that I am (still) trying to break. The truth is that we are all Americans in the whole hemisphere - North and South. But, as they say, "old habits die hard" or existing patterns are hard to change. 

Hear and There

4. How we speak with others & why we should talk to ourselves

Più un blitz da parte delle cicale e della pioggia :(

Bedside Italian

Bedside Italian #38 - Gli Italiani e l'aglio.

CHISTES MEXICANOS

LA COSA FUE AL REVÉS.

Today I’m going to talk about School uniform in Japan.
The school uniform is totally changing recently from my school days. How are they changing? Please listen to today’s podcast! Thank you!
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4月　新しい制服を着て桜の花をバックに写真を撮る親子を何組か見かけました。
日本の中学校、高校では、ほとんどの学校で制服を着ます。私が通っていた中学校では、女子は　冬はジャンパースカートにブレザーとカッターシャツ、夏は吊りスカートに白いカッターシャツを着て、男子は詰襟（つめえり）とスラックスでした。　高校では、冬は紺色のセーラー服に紺のリボンと紺のスカート、夏は白のセーラー服に紺のスカートを着ていました。男子は同じく詰襟でした。私はこの制服が大好きでした。
学校によって制服が違って、制服を見ればどこの学校の生徒かわかるようになっていました。　ですから、「私たちの制服」という気持ちが強かったと思います。
この制服が、最近　どんどん　変わってきています。　以前は、男子はスラックスで、女子はスカートというスタイルが当たり前でした。でも、今は「性別に関係なく着られる制服」を選ぶ学校が増えてきているのです。　ですから、生徒たちは、スカートでもスラックスでも自分が着たいほうを選ぶことができるのです。
さらに、地域共通のブレザーの制服が広まりつつあるそうです。地域全体で同じ制服を着ることには、いくつかメリットがあって、一つは、制服の値段が安くなること。そして、もう一つは、地域内で引っ越したときに、学校が変わっても制服を買い直さなくてもいいということだそうです。
私個人的には、みんな同じ制服だと、学校ごとの個性がなくなって、なんだか寂しいような気がしますが…。
