In this episode for intermediate and advanced English learners, I'll talk about how the Valentine's Day holiday is typically celebrated in the U.S., and at the end, you'll have some listening comprehension questions to answer. (Music by Lesfm from Pixabay)


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Let's Talk About Valentine's Day in the United States

兵法中分析战争胜负，有五个关键步骤：
看土地大小： 先要比较交战双方谁控制的土地更广阔。
算资源多少： 土地的大小，直接决定了哪一方能生产或获取的粮食、物资等资源更丰富。
计兵力规模： 资源是否丰富，又影响着能招募和供养的军队人数有多少。
比整体实力： 军队人数的多寡，是衡量双方整体军事实力谁强谁弱的关键基础。
定胜负结果： 最终，哪一方的整体军事实力更强，哪一方就赢得战争。
这五个步骤紧密相连，形成因果关系：
土地大小决定了资源多少。
资源多少决定了兵力规模。
兵力规模决定了整体实力的强弱。
整体实力的强弱对比，决定了最终的胜负结果。
因此，胜利的一方相对于失败的一方，实力优势极其巨大，就像用很重的“镒”去称量极轻的“铢”，完全不在一个等级上。反过来，失败的一方相对于胜利的一方，实力劣势非常明显，就像用很轻的“铢”去称量很重的“镒”。
当实力占绝对优势的一方指挥军队作战时，其威力就像万丈高山上的积水突然冲破堤坝，奔腾直下，势不可挡。这种由强大实力积蓄而成、一旦发动就不可阻挡的巨大威势，正是军事上制胜的关键所在。

《孙子兵法》

《孙子兵法》13

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大家好，您正在收听中文播客《丹霞说》，我是丹霞。今天我给大家说说白雪的爸爸。

白雪的爸爸叫夏东海，妈妈常常叫他老夏。老夏做的菜很好吃，他有一家饭店。叫“老夏饭店”。饭店不大，可是每天都有很多客人。饭店里有饭，有面条儿，果汁，还有很多菜。

白雪小的时候，每天都跟爸爸妈妈一起去饭店，他们三个人也在饭店吃早饭、午饭和晚饭，每天都很晚关门回家。可以说，饭店是白雪的第二个家。

客人们都很喜欢白雪，喜欢和她说话。白雪有大大的眼睛和小小的嘴巴，很可爱。爸爸妈妈很忙的时候，白雪也能帮忙给客人拿筷子，水和菜单。

白雪六岁的时候开始上学，爸爸每天早上给女儿准备午饭，因为白雪觉得学校的午饭不好吃，她喜欢吃爸爸做的。下午四点多，白雪从学校回到饭店，爸爸妈妈问她今天在学校学习了什么。如果饭店没有人来吃饭，爸爸会看白雪写作业。

这些词语你明白了吗？

客人    kè rén  guest
面条儿 miàn tiáo’er  noodles
菜     cài  dish, vegetable
关门   guān mén to close door
说话   shuō huà  to speak, talk
帮忙   bāng máng to help
拿     ná  to take, to hold
筷子   kuài zi  chopsticks
菜单   cài dān  menu
准备   zhǔn bèi to  prepare; preparation
觉得   jué de  to think, feel
作业   zuò yè  homework


Today I'll tell you about Bai Xue's father.

Bai Xue's father is named Xia Donghai, and his mother often calls him Lao Xia. Lao Xia's cooks very well. He has a restaurant. It's called "Laoxia Restaurant". The restaurant is not big, but there are many guests come every day. There are rice, noodles, fruit juice and many dishes in the restaurant.

When Bai Xue was young, she went to the restaurant with her parents every day. The three of them also had breakfast, lunch and dinner in the restaurant. They closed late every day and went home. It can be said that the restaurant is Bai Xue's second home.


The guests all like Bai Xue and like to talk to her. Bai Xue has big eyes and small mouth. She is adorable. When mom and dad are busy, Bai Xue can also help bring chopsticks, water and menus to guests.


Bai Xue started school when she was six. Her father prepares lunch for her daughter every morning. Because Bai Xue thinks the school lunch is not delicious, she likes to eat what her father makes.

At time past 4 pm., Bai Xue returned to the restaurant from school. Her parents asked her what she learned at school today. If no one comes to the restaurant for meal, dad will watch Bai Xue do her homework.

 HSK3 Vocab Based - Short Story Podcast

02. 白雪爸爸有个饭店 Báixuě bàba yǒu gè fàndiàn Baixue’s dad has a restaurant

There's an old English saying that goes: "Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise."

But according to a recent study, "late to bed and late to rise" may actually be better for your brain — though researchers didn't check if it does anything for your health or your wallet.

A study published in BMJ Public Health looked at data from nearly 27,000 people who reported how long they slept, and whether they were a "morning lark" — someone who wakes up early — or a "night owl," who sleeps late.

The participants, aged between 53 and 86, also did cognitive tests that checked their reasoning, memory, and how quickly they could process information.

It was found that night owls performed best on the cognitive tests — ahead of those who described themselves as neither morning people nor night people. And morning larks had the lowest cognitive scores of all.

People's bodies have times when they naturally prefer to sleep. And Raha West of Imperial College London, the study's lead author, said that while it's possible to gradually shift your sleeping times, it's very difficult to completely change from a morning person to a night person.

However, she also said the results just show the trend, and not the truth for every individual.

The authors also noted that their results, which focused on older adults, contrasted with past research on adolescents, which found that young morning larks actually had better health and better mental well-being.

Speaking to The Guardian, Jacqui-Ann Hanley of Alzheimer’s Research UK, who wasn't involved with the study, also said it isn't clear if being a morning person leads to poorer cognitive results in older adults, or if the weaker cognitive abilities that come with aging just make people get up earlier.

The study also found that people generally got better cognitive scores if they reported sleeping between seven and nine hours each night.

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

'Night Owls' May Have Better Brains

😃💚 Aquí la transcripción Re informal, pero espero les sirva 😃

Aquí un buen consejo, es algo que yo hago, cuando me siento triste, tomo algunos minutos jaja…o a veces cuando lo necesito urgentemente, tomo un par de horas para pensar mi vida y soñar un poco, soñar con que soy más feliz y que las personas que me rodean son más felices y que la humanidad en sí es más feliz.
Eso es sanador. Pero no se puede quedar allí. Porque si no despiertas y te das cuenta que tu realidad y lo que soñaste pues…son cosas muy distintas.
Así que…sí, soñar es sanador, pero…lo que yo diría que sana más es el buscar un camino para SER y estar en el mundo de la forma que tú ves en tus sueños.
Así que…ármate un plan, un plan sobre cómo hacer más corta la distancia entre eso que sueñas y tu realidad actual. Eso es lo sanador. También, obvio, sueña cosas positivas para ti y para todos los que te rodean y sé consciente que hay cosas que sí puedes cambiar y otras que no.

Spanish to improve your life

Dreaming is healing 🌻🌈 (B2C1 Spanish)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/158XjOhltxWG63hzULUEZTf4IfRB3tpN2/view?usp=drivesdk