In this week's  lesson, I share experiences from my childhood with competitive sport.

Teacher Joseph's Podcast

Weekly Lesson Audio:  Competitive Sport

今天是中国的“六一儿童节”（Children's Day）,先祝italki的大朋友、小朋友节日快乐。当然，也祝福顺利解封的上海的小伙伴，在大家迷茫、痛苦的时候，仍然保持“世界以痛吻我，我却报之以歌”的生活态度，永葆童心，心怀希望。今天和大家分享海子的一首诗《面朝大海，春暖花开》


       《面朝大海，春暖花开》

　　                                    海子

　　从明天起，做一个幸福的人

　　喂马、劈柴，周游世界

　　从明天起，关心粮食和蔬菜

　　我有一所房子，面朝大海，春暖花开

　　从明天起，和每一个亲人通信

　　告诉他们我的幸福

　　那幸福的闪电告诉我的

　　我将告诉每一个人

　　给每一条河每一座山取一个温暖的名字

　　陌生人，我也为你祝福

　　愿你有一个灿烂的前程

　　愿你有情人终成眷属

　　愿你在尘世获得幸福

　　我只愿面朝大海，春暖花开。

Chilling Chinese 

面朝大海，春暖花开

Histórias curtas em português básico

Viva a vida!

The exciting short story by Roald Dahl continues, withe new words explained at the end of the podcast.

Stories to Stimulate!

The Umbrella Man - Part two

“I really love the great outdoors, so going for long walks is something I enjoy doing on a regular basis. The one walk that really stands out was actually a spur of the moment idea that turned into a much longer walk than I expected.  It was sometime last March, and the weather was absolutely perfect for some outdoor adventure. 




There's a beautiful national park only a stone's throw from where I live, that is very secluded and a great place to escape the hustle and bustle of the city. The park is full of tracks and trails that go through the jungle, as well as a small  mountain, which is famous for its wild monkeys and other wildlife.




As it was a spur of the  moment decision I decided to go alone, and set off about 6am, as the route I took was really off the beaten track, and was not going to be a walk in the park. Looking at the distance on google maps, I guessed it would take me about 3 hours to complete, but I hit a few snags along the way. The first track I took was completely overgrown, and slowed me down to a snail's crawl, and it took me almost 2 hours longer than I expected to reach the mountain.By the time I reached the mountain I was already dead tired and I remember I had to spend some time sitting under the shade of the trees to catch my breath, and decided the best thing to do was call it a day, and make my way back. It was also now getting very hot, and i was already covered in sweat, which was going to make the walk back even harder.




Although the walk was totally exhausting, and left me dead on my feet, I did in fact enjoy most of it, especially the beautiful scenery, and the feeling of being at one with nature. However , I think next time I should maybe  plan my route a little better, and be better prepared.




Thank you …”

IELTS 85 Speaking

Describe a long walk you had

Una de las alcaldías más verdes de la CDMX y con mucha historia es sin lugar a dudas la Magdalena Contreras. Ubicada al sur poniente del Valle de México, es el hogar de importantes áreas naturales protegidas como el Corredor Ecoturístico los Dinamos y el Parque de la Comunidad de San Bernabé Ocotepec; además de que a través de ella aún fluye la única corriente viva de la ciudad, que es el Río Magdalena.

Tampoco se puede dejar de mencionar la valiosa cultura ferroviaria del lugar, así como el tremendo esfuerzo de los barrios originarios por preservar las tradiciones que les preceden. Alguna vez conocida como “la piedra que bebe agua” –gracias a su imponente belleza natural- la Magdalena Contreras se niega a darle la espalda a sus raíces, en medio de la vorágine capitalina que todo lo devora a su paso.

Aunque muchas de las alcaldías deben su nombre a personajes ilustres de la nación, ese no es el caso de la Magdalena Contreras. Las tribus prehispánicas le conocían como Atlitic (“la piedra que bebe agua”); sin embargo, durante la Conquista arribó un séquito de frailes franciscanos y dominicos, que no tardaron en construir una ermita dedicada a Santa María Magdalena. El título de Contreras, por su parte, viene de la familia de Tomás Contreras quien, en el siglo XVI, fundó un obraje y cuyos apellidos se instalaron permanentemente en la región.  

Dadas sus insuperables condiciones –entre ubicación geográfica, clima y recursos ambientales-; la Magdalena Contreras se consolidó como el epicentro de una de las industrias que más aportaron al desarrollo económico en el siglo pasado: la textil. Después de la fundación del primer batán (fábrica de telas corrientes) en 1543, muchas otras se asentaron en la zona, aprovechando el caudal del Río Magdalena para hacer funcionar sus máquinas. El Águila Mexicana, Tizapán, Santa Teresa, Loreto y La Magdalena fueron algunas, esta última; de las más importantes y modernas de la época llegando a tener hasta 8 mil 400 husos. 



Spanish México

LA MAGDALENA CONTRERAS 1

It is very important to use contractions in your speech. They are not informal, they are always required. I discuss this in today's podcast.

Contractions

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NoeociOVpYLj2xEiI0Pj-W369b-ixfZv/view?usp=drivesdk

More on Motivation (with transcript)

Here are some ideas to motivate you, to clear your personal space ready for the English journey of learning.