Learn English with The Alphabet of Idioms: The letter S

•Shotgun Wedding
•Snake Oil Salesman 
•Speak of the Devil 


The Jerome Meadows Experience

Idioms with the letter S

Dans ce premier épisode, découvrez le concept de Cher Journal. 


Cher Journal

Episode 1 - Présentation du Podcast

You know, before you dive into any new structure of learning, it’s super important to ask all the WHYS. Be curious! Find out the reasons behind a grammatical rule, a sentence structure, or even the way a word is pronounced. Trust me, when you know the reasons why something is presented the way it is, it becomes so much easier to remember and use in conversation and writing.

Think of it like building a house. You need a solid foundation of bricks even though you might just see the pretty, colorful windows. Behind every beautiful house is a strong foundation of bricks, which once laid, cannot be removed. It’s the same with language. Once you know the reasons behind the rules, you’re stuck with them in a good way!


111 Tips for Learning a Language 

Tip 36 - Ask All the WHYS Before Setting Up Any Structure of Learning

第六课  我会说汉语
一、听力  第一部分
1.说汉语    
2.中国菜    
3.做中国菜 
4.汉语老师

第二部分
5. 男：你们家谁会说汉语？
女：我妈妈会说汉语。
6. 男：你会做中国菜吗？
   女：我不会做，我的好朋友会做。
7. 男：这个汉字怎么写？
女：对不起，我会读，不会写。
8. 女：中国菜好吃吗？
 男：中国菜很好吃。

第三部分
9.我会做中国菜，中国菜很好吃。
   问：他会做什么菜？
10.我的汉语名字是李朋，我会写我的汉语名字。
   问：他的汉语名字是什么？
11.我的好朋友是中国人，他会说汉语。
问：他的好朋友会说什么？
12.我妈妈不会写汉字，我会写汉字
问：谁会写汉字？


hsk1  第六课  我会说汉语

1.太太：tài tai  n Mrs., madam
2.秘书 ：mì shū. n secretary
3.经理：jīng lǐ.n . manager
4.办公室：bàn gōng shì. n office
周太太：喂，你好！请问周明在吗？
秘书：周经理出去了，不在办公室。
周太太：他去哪儿了？什么时候回来?
秘书：他出去办事了，下午回来。
周太太：回来了就让他给我打个电话。
秘书：好的，他到了办公室我就告诉他。

hsk2

hsk 3 在打电话 On the phone 

For more job interview tips or to get interview coaching, go to TanniaSuarez.com.

“I want to say a huge THANKS to Tannia. She helped me to better understand the basics of LinkedIn and how to correctly use the STAR system.

Her courses and consultations help to reconsider approaches on the interview process!" — Anton Gashenko | Russia

Business English with Tannia

EP 1 The Best Way to Prepare for Behavioral Interview Questions

Oggi vediamo la storia della "vespa" il famoso  scooter italiano, brevettato il 23 aprile del 1946, su progetto dell'ingegnere aeronautico Corradino D'Ascanio.


Parte del testo: 
La storia della Vespa comincia nel 1945. È la storia della famiglia Piaggio, ma è anche la storia dell'Italia che rinasce dalla guerra e di un prodotto italiano che conquista il mondo. La Vespa non è solo un mezzo di trasporto, ma è anche uno dei simboli dell'Italia all’estero, uno dei prodotti di design industriale più famosi al mondo al punto di essere esposta nel museo MoMA di New York. Ma facciamo un salto nel tempo. Siamo nel 1945, al termine della seconda guerra mondiale. La fabbrica di aerei militari di Enrico Piaggio a Pontedera, in Toscana, è distrutta e i suoi operai sono disoccupati. Enrico Piaggio ha una grande idea: produrre non più aerei ma un mezzo di trasporto a due ruote piccolo, robusto, semplice ed economico per far ripartire la sua azienda e anche l'economia del Paese. Piaggio chiede all’ingegnere della sua fabbrica, Corradino D’Ascanio, di disegnare il mezzo. Deve essere leggero ma al tempo stesso capace di trasportare persone e qualche bagaglio non troppo ingombrante. Deve essere anche un mezzo adatto alle donne, perché dopo la guerra anche loro lavorano e hanno necessità di spostarsi e di andare in fabbrica o in ufficio. Quando, nel 1946, l'ingegnere Corradino D’Ascanio presenta il nuovo mezzo di trasporto, è Piaggio in persona a inventare il nome Vespa, perché il suono del motore e la forma della carrozzeria assomigliano a un insetto. La moto ha i fianchi larghi per accogliere il guidatore e il vitino stretto per appoggiare le gambe. 


Italiano espresso

La storia della motocicletta italiana "vespa": lettura livello B1/B2

It's no secret that Hawaii is a favorite destination for Japanese tourists. In 2023, the islands welcomed around 573,000 visitors from Japan — the most from any country.

But did you know there's a connection between Japan and Hawaii that goes beyond travel and into clothing?

Aloha shirts, also known as Hawaiian shirts, have roots in Japanese culture, beginning with Japanese immigrants in Hawaii.

In the late 1800s, Japanese immigrants in Hawaii started importing Japanese clothing as well as rolls of fabric to make clothes with.

In the 1920s, locals in Hawaii saw these fabrics and started using them to make casual dress shirts with Japanese patterns on them. These shirts became popular with tourists to Hawaii.

Soon after, aloha shirts were made in bulk, but instead of using fabric made for Japanese clothing, stores in Hawaii started bringing in printed fabrics made just for aloha shirts.

And by the late 1930s, the designs had changed from Japanese patterns to the Hawaiian inspired patterns we're used to today — images of Mount Fuji and Japanese pine trees were replaced with things like coconut trees, surfers and fish.

But even though today's aloha shirts don't look very Japanese inspired, they still remain popular within Japan.

Yosuke Seki, an aloha shirt aficionado who goes to Hawaii every year, told CNN he wears his shirts daily, and hopes to inspire others to try them.

"Right now, I'm wearing a replica of one of the expensive designs," Seki said, adding that his shirt cost between $130 and $200. The more expensive shirts can cost thousands of dollars, he explained.

And for some fans, aloha shirts are not just clothing — they're collectable items, or even considered art.

Yoshihiro Nakano is the brand director of Sun Surf, a Japanese company that has been making aloha shirts for about 50 years. Many customers don't even wear the aloha shirts they buy, and instead just collect them or frame them, Nakano told CNN.

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

From Japan to Hawaii: The History of Aloha Shirts

In this episode we are going to learn a Real Chinese Conversation【 Talking about work 】. 
--------------------------------------------------
Step 1: Listen and catch the words you know already, have a guess about the content.
Step 2: Check the script to learn one by one. 
Step 3: Listen and repeat after it.
Step 4: Practice until you can perform the dialogue. 
--------------------------------------------------
A: 你最近工作忙不忙？
nǐ zuì jìn gōng zuò máng bù máng ？
Have you been busy at work lately?
B: 忙死了，每天都加班。
máng sǐ le ， měi tiān dōu jiā bān 。
Terribly busy, working overtime every day.
A: 怎么这么忙啊？
zěn me zhè me máng a ？
Why are you so busy?
B: 有个项目月底要完成，不加班根本做不完。
yǒu gè xiàng mù yuè dǐ yào wán chéng ， bù jiā bān gēn běn zuò bù wán 。
I have a project to finish by the end of the month. can't finish it at all without overtime.
A: 那等项目做完可以好好休息下。
nà děng xiàng mù zuò wán kě yǐ hǎo hao xiū xī xià 。
Then you can have a good rest when it's done.
B: 是啊，下个月我准备休几天年假，出去玩一下。
shì a ， xià gè yuè wǒ zhǔn bèi xiū jǐ tiān nián jià ， chū qù wán yí xià 。
Yeah, I'm going to take a few days‘ annual leave next month to go on a trip.
A: 不错不错。要注意休息，劳逸结合。
bú cuò bú cuò 。 yào zhù yì xiū xī ， láo yì jié hé 。
That's good. Take care of your rest. Alternate work with rest and rest.
B: 你呢？最近在忙什么呢？
nǐ ne ？ zuì jìn zài máng shén me ne ？
What about you? What have you been up to?
A: 最近忙着找新工作呢。
zuì jìn máng zhe zhǎo xīn gōng zuò ne 。
I've been busy looking for a new job.
B: 为什么？现在的工作不好吗？
wèi shén me ？ xiàn zài de gōng zuò bù hǎo ma ？
Why? What's wrong with your current job?
A: 现在的公司太“卷”了，我想找个轻松点儿的。
xiàn zài de gōng sī tài “ juǎn ” le ， wǒ xiǎng zhǎo gè qīng sōng diǎn ér de 。
The involution in the company is fierce. I want to find a relaxing job.
B: 哎，没办法，很多公司都很卷。
ài ， méi bàn fǎ ， hěn duō gōng sī dōu hěn  juǎn 。
Well, That's the way it is. There's fierce competition in many companies.
A: 找找看吧。
zhǎo zhao kàn ba 。
I will try to look for it.
B: 祝你好运。
zhù nǐ hǎo yùn 。
Good luck.