Writing Assignment for a student The picture shows two men, in suits. On the left is sitting a man speaking. arms folded. He is sitting in a big black tall chair. Behind him there is a plant. Hanging on the wall is a man's picture, perhaps the same man, suggesting he is the big boss. In front of him is a computer screen, some paper, pencil and perhaps a calendar. On the right, seated beside the door, in a low armchair, silent and looking expressionlesss The two men and the man in the picture all wear glasses There is a caption, showing the words spoken by the man on the left. He says they will hire the other man, without pay, as a trial for 20 years, and then they might pay him. So it is obviously a ridiculous joke, and clearly a cartoon. It is probably a job interview, and no one in their right mind would accept such an offer

功课；做作业 - 上海文化活动 昨天下午我们四个人（老师，她的老朋友，和我们俩学生）一起做个到上海七宝古镇的远足。从徐家汇需要坐地铁9号线，六个站后下车，还要走几分钟的路。这个古街其实没有什么了不起的，但是吃了点上海特产，聊聊天，逛街，散步散步。后来到一个茶馆休息，喝茶（两种但是忘记是哪种 -龙井茶？ 和什么什么） - 那里感觉很舒服！。然后去吃羊肉拉面，好吃！吃完了，回家了。那天真的不错， 老师，谢谢你和sherry。

She asks me why he does not say it Though he loves her he does not dare Sometimes it's hard to know the he or she is now or then Why didn't you why don't you is not clear My loves lost seem irrelevant, still I have not the courage And so is she angry and contemptuous That I dare not say such simple words? Yet still I dare not though these simple words like petals on my lips Lie fluttering Yet she knows.

How Correcting a Korean Student's article led me to The Chieftains and WB Yeats I was correcting a short article by a Korean student studying English and Mandarin. She was writing about her passion for an Irish group and asking for some recommended Irish music. That led me to the Chieftains and a collaborative work based on the poem of WB Yeats - the poem is below: NEVER give all the heart, for love NEVER give all the heart, for love Will hardly seem worth thinking of To passionate women if it seem Certain, and they never dream That it fades out from kiss to kiss; For everything that's lovely is But a brief, dreamy. Kind delight. O never give the heart outright, For they, for all smooth lips can say, Have given their hearts up to the play. And who could play it well enough If deaf and dumb and blind with love? He that made this knows all the cost, For he gave all his heart and lost. I don't quite share his disillusion or cynicism. I watched a youtube of the Chieftains playing on ChangCheng

An English reading - Listening exercise: Revolutionary Australian beehive invention Revolutionary Australian beehive invention raises millions Here's a good feel story - such a simple invention! Honey extraction technology. It is on Radio Australia, Radio National Just Google for 'Revolutionary Australian beehive invention raises millions' I give it to some of my students as a listening-reading exercise Be aware that there are two mp3's in the article - one is an excerpt, and the second, lower down in the article, is the full downloadable mp3.

A farewell to Clive James I stumbled across Clive James 'Japanese Maple' published in the New Yorker September fifteenth. He has always had my deepest respect for his wit and his words, and here is his moving farewell. May he see 'the final flood of colours' Clive James http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-17/terminally-ill-clive-james-writes-heartfelt-farewell-poem/5750908 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clive_James Japanese Maple Your death, near now, is of an easy sort. So slow a fading out brings no real pain. Breath growing short Is just uncomfortable. You feel the drain Of energy, but thought and sight remain: Enhanced, in fact. When did you ever see So much sweet beauty as when fine rain falls On that small tree And saturates your brick back garden walls, So many Amber Rooms and mirror halls? Ever more lavish as the dusk descends This glistening illuminates the air. It never ends. Whenever the rain comes it will be there, Beyond my time, but now I take my share. My daughter’s choice, the maple tree is new. Come autumn and its leaves will turn to flame. What I must do Is live to see that. That will end the game For me, though life continues all the same: Filling the double doors to bathe my eyes, A final flood of colors will live on As my mind dies, Burned by my vision of a world that shone So brightly at the last, and then was gone.

北京东站附近 - 路边的餐厅 我坐慢火车从广西玉林 到北京东站（T290次 二十九个小时）， 到过北京已经快晚上了。 我找不到合适的旅馆，没有办法， 只能住在又贵又差的宾馆里。 第一次到过北京东，我不认识这个区 - 但我想吃简单的晚饭。 从旅馆一过路就碰到了这个餐厅。 他们的广告牌菜单包括：（我的作业是认识菜单）： 全天供应 凉皮 - 凉面 - 酸辣粉 兰州牛肉拉面 山东刀削面 <<< 那就是我吃过了! 西红司 西红柿鸡蛋面 酸荚面 ？？？这是什么？ 够了，我好累了！ 老鬼

Laogui's favourite breakfasts in China (4) It's a toss-up between pidan zhou and haixian zhou for my next favourite breakfast in China. 皮蛋瘦肉粥/Pídàn shòu ròu zhōu http://23yearsold.wordpress.com/2008/11/28/recipe-preserved-egg-pork-congee/ http://www.homemade-chinese-soups.com/century-egg-pork-congee.html Congee (Zhou 粥 zhōu) comes in various style from wet and thin and gruel-like to much much thicker porridge consistency; sometimes the unflavoured bland xifan 稀饭 Xīfàn seems to be considered 'congee', but not in my book. xifan is just xifan. I will have it with youtiao or as is - see my doufu nao. Chopped coriander and spring onions may be sprinkled on top, and of course sliced fresh chilli. I have to carry fresh chillis with me or else I may end up just getting one of the horrible chilli sauces from the squeeze-bottle. Haixian Zhou is actually a luxury, that is far better in Sydney than anywhere in China except perhaps HK because of the quality and quantity of best seafood, prawns and scallops and fish pieces. This one I like best with plentiful fine shreds of sliced ginger, some zha cai zhàcài / 榨菜 , and guess what - fresh chilli. http://asian-ingredients.com/zha-cai/ http://www.theydrawandcook.com/recipes/hai-xian-zhou-seafood-rice-soup-by-nicholas-miller-sputnik http://www.atkokken.com/2012/01/25/seafood-rice-congee/ http://www.foodnetwork.co.uk/recipes/mixed-seafood-congee.html (too many ingredients! Keep it simple)

Definitely NOT on Laogui's favourite breakfast-in-China List (3) I was wandering through the old city hutongs here in hot humid Yulin, and emerged onto a busy thoroughfare, then crossed into a local 'wet' market. Hanging in rows were what looked like rats from a distance, but as I drew closer much more closely resembled the deadly enemy of the rat. This is a cat-dog-rabbit stall, I cannot make out the fourth character ... Mao-gou-tu shenme? Oh, maybe it's 'lv' donkey! 猫狗兔驴.Now I can see the picture too, clearly it is Mao-gou-tu-lv. This city is home to the highly criticized Summer Solstice Dog Meat Festival where in 2013 over 10,000 dogs were consumed. I wonder if there is also a cat festival? It was siesta time when I arrived, and back-streets, alleys, markets were all empty.