Do you think that it is important to have friends?

Listen to how I answer this particular question, and get some short English explanations about some vocabulary and expressions I use in my answer.  Try to answer the questions in the vocabulary examples using the new vocabulary and expressions.

Speak English With Muki

Episode 11: The Importance of Friendship

Greenland's prime minister has said that the people of the mineral-rich Arctic territory don't want to be Americans.

However, he understands the US President-elect Donald Trump's interest in the island given its strategic location, and he's open to greater cooperation with Washington.

The comments from the Greenlandic leader, Múte B. Egede, came after Trump said that he wouldn't rule out using force or economic pressure in order to make Greenland — a semiautonomous territory of Denmark — a part of the US.

Trump said that it was a matter of national security for the US.

Egede acknowledged that Greenland is part of the North American continent, and "a place that the Americans see as part of their world." He said he hasn't spoken to Trump, but that he's open to discussions about what "unites us."

"Cooperation is about dialogue. Cooperation means that you will work towards solutions," he said.

Egede has been calling for independence for Greenland, presenting Denmark as a colonial power that hasn't always treated the Indigenous Inuit population well.

"Greenland is for the Greenlandic people. We do not want to be Danish, we do not want to be American. We want to be Greenlandic," he said.

Trump's desire for Greenland has caused anxiety across Europe. The US is a strong ally of the European Union, and many Europeans were shocked by the suggestion that an incoming US leader could even consider using force against an ally.

Greenland has a population of 57,000. But it is a vast territory possessing natural resources that include oil, gas, and rare earth elements, which are expected to become more accessible as ice melts because of climate change.

It also has a key strategic location in the Arctic, where Russia, China and others are seeking to expand their interests.

Greenland, the world's largest island, lies closer to the North American mainland than to Denmark. 

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

Greenland Open to Cooperation with US, Says Leader

Textile waste is an urgent global problem, with only 12% recycled worldwide, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a fashion sustainability nonprofit.

Nowhere is the problem greater than in China, the world's largest textile producer and consumer, where more than 26 million tons of clothes are thrown away each year, according to government statistics. Most of it ends up in landfills.

The country's clothing industry is dominated by "fast fashion" — cheap clothes made from unrecyclable synthetics. And Chinese e-commerce brands Shein and Temu make the country one of the world's largest producers of cheap fashion, selling in more than 150 countries.

Currently, only about 20% of China's textiles are recycled, according to the Chinese government. And many Chinese consumers are unwilling to buy used items anyway.

Still, among younger Chinese, there is a growing awareness of sustainability and some "remade" clothing businesses have emerged.

Designer Zhang Na's fashion label, Reclothing Bank, sells clothes, bags and other accessories made from materials such as plastic bottles, fishing nets and flour sacks.

The items' labels have QR codes that show their composition, how they were made and the source of the materials.

Reclothing Bank began in 2010 to give "new life to old things," Zhang said of her store in Shanghai. A large used clothes deposit box sits outside the entrance.

Zhang said she has seen sustainability consciousness grow since she opened her store, with core customers in their 20s and 30s.

But recycled garments sold at stores like Reclothing Bank cost much more than fast-fashion brands due to their production methods.

And that's the real problem, said Sheng Lu, professor of fashion and apparel studies at the University of Delaware.

"Studies repeatedly show consumers are not willing to pay higher for clothing made from recycled materials" he said.




26 Million Tons of Clothes Discarded in China Each Year

1. Siete persone competitive nel gioco?
2. Avevate già sentito parlare dell’Ayurveda?
3. Avevate mai paragonato la medicina occidentale con quella orientale?
4. Come gestite la rabbia? Come gestite la competizione? La sofferenza? E l’amicizia?

In questo episodio parlerò dell'ultimo libro di Gianluca Gotto, intitolato "Verrà l'alba, starai bene."

🔤 Vocabolario 🔤

Controllo ossessivo — Obsessive control

Crollo emotivo — Emotional breakdown

Costretta a fermarsi — Forced to stop

Persona persa — Lost person

Colpi di scena — Plot twists

Ayurveda, l’antica scienza della vita — Ayurveda, the ancient science of life

Questionario — Questionnaire

Temi alquanto interessanti — Quite interesting topics

Competizione — Competition

Monaci buddisti — Buddhist monks

Sofferenza — Suffering

Alimenti l’ego — Feeds the ego

Il desiderio, la rabbia, l’ignoranza — Desire, anger, ignorance

Saggio — Wise person / Sage

Fonte di interesse — Source of interest


Puro Parlare

28. Verrà l'alba, starai bene

In this Episode you will learn six vocabulary and two useful sentences.
Leave you comments what you have grabbed after listening this.
You also can leave comments about what you want to know about Chinese!

HSK2

Made Chinese easy!

オノマトペについて、いろいろお話します

にほんご　いろいろ

オノマトペ

👋 Hello, hello, este es un episodio en español donde hablamos de una de mis tradiciones favoritas de Latinoamérica. Si quieres practicar tu pronunciación y leer el texto conmigo este es el link: https://www.gob.mx/inafed/articulos/dia-de-muertos-tradicion-mexicana-que-trasciende-en-el-tiempo.
Gracias por estar aquí, nos escuchamos la próxima semana 🎧🫶



Chismecito en Español ☕️🇨🇴

Día de Muertos en México 🏵️💀🪅|Práctica de lectura A2-B2

This episode is about the time I almost blinded myself.
Book my class https://teach.italki.com/teacher/1947582
Thanks for listening! 



Streetwise English

SWE18 I almost BLINDED myself

El Año Nuevo es una ocasión especial en todo el mundo, y México no es la excepción. Este país vibrante y lleno de cultura tiene sus propias tradiciones únicas para recibir el año nuevo, mezclando la alegría festiva con el folclore que caracteriza a sus celebraciones. Aquí exploraremos algunas de las tradiciones más famosas que los mexicanos adoptan para dar la bienvenida al nuevo año.
Una de las costumbres más arraigadas en México es el consumo de las "uvas de la suerte". Pocos minutos antes de la medianoche, las familias se reúnen alrededor de la mesa con 12 uvas en la mano. Cada uva representa un deseo para cada mes del próximo año. El desafío radica en comer cada uva en el ritmo adecuado, coincidiendo con las campanadas que anuncian la llegada del nuevo año. Este ritual no solo es divertido, sino que también simboliza la esperanza y la buena fortuna para el año por venir.
Otra tradición curiosa y popular es dar un paseo con una maleta en la mano alrededor de la cuadra o la manzana. Este acto simboliza el deseo de viajar y explorar durante el próximo año. Algunos incluso dan un pequeño paseo con la maleta en la mano dentro de la casa. Es una manera única y divertida de atraer la prosperidad y las nuevas experiencias, marcando el Año Nuevo como una oportunidad para la aventura y la expansión personal.
La elección del color de la ropa interior para la noche de Año Nuevo es una tradición que ha ganado popularidad en México. Cada color simboliza un deseo diferente. Por ejemplo, el rojo se asocia con el amor y la pasión, el amarillo con la prosperidad y el éxito, y el blanco con la paz y la armonía. Muchas personas se toman en serio esta tradición y cuidadosamente eligen su ropa interior para asegurarse de atraer lo que desean para el próximo año.
La pirotecnia es una parte integral de las celebraciones de Año Nuevo en México. La gente se reúne en plazas y calles para disfrutar de impresionantes espectáculos de fuegos artificiales que iluminan el cielo nocturno...
