Basic Chinese/ Useful Chinese/HSK Grammar

JOJO CHINESE

CHINESE STORY中文故事

In this episode, we are going to be discussing the multiple ways of saying, "How are you?", and the ways to use them in a natural English conversation.

The English Chamber

How are you?!


Hello guys. This is Kate Zh. In this episode I am gonna tell you about a strategy to remember new words forever.

I know this is a big problem for everyone when they are learning a new language. Now I am learning a new language which is Korean. To be honest I forgot how hard it is to study words in a language which you don’t know completely. I was completely astounded because I just couldn’t remember new words.

Here is a strategy I use to memorize these Korean words.

Step number 1: look at new words, translate them(if you are a beginner) or find the definition(if you are an old hand.

Step number 2: read the context with new words again. You should always see the context. This is why we easily remember the words from songs and movies.

Step number 3: read other sentences with these words. There are good websites which provide you with a lot of context.

Step number 4: ask your friend to read you the sentence and you have to add the new words.

Step number 5: Write your sentences using new words and talk to your friend or record your speech, again, yes, using new words.

That’s the strategy, guys, I hope it was useful. Come to my lessons if you want to make some progress in your English.

Here are some words from this podcast today:

Astounded
An old hand
Provide with

Please learn them, to be closer to your goal!


Excellent at English with Kate K

NEW WORDS: HOW TO REMEMBER THEM FOREVER

这里是one minute Chinese, 中文一分钟，每天都不同！ 我们一起听一分钟，想一分钟，说一分钟，今天的话题是"如果一个东西坏了"？
如果你的衣服破(po4, worn-out)了，或者你的椅子坏(huai4, broken)了，或者是其他修理（xiu1li3, repair）起来比重新(chong2xin1, again)买一个还贵的东西坏了，你会怎么办？我觉得大部分人都把坏的东西丢掉(diu1diao4, discard)了，从现在越来越多的垃圾(la1ji1, rubbish)就可以看出来。
我记得我很小时候，家里的东西很少，只有床，椅子这样简单(jian3dan1, simple)的家具(jia1ju4, furniture)。家用电器就更少了，冰箱洗衣机都没有，也没有很多衣服，所以家里所有坏掉的东西，爸爸妈妈都要想办法把它修好，比如衣服破了，要把它修补(xiu1bu3, patch)起来，虽然穿起来不是很好看。那时候的生活很少浪费(lang4fei4, waste)，环境(huan1jing4, enviroment)很好。我觉得东西坏了，首先是想办法把它修好，而不像现在，丢了，买新的。我更喜欢过去的方式(fang1shi4, way)，喜欢那种珍惜(zhen1xi1,value)东西的感觉，不知道你怎么认为（ren4wei2, thin）呢？


One minute Chinese

如果东西坏了你怎么办？

Il Natale è la festa più importante per gli italiani, come per molti paesi del mondo occidentale. È una festa spesso dedicata alla famiglia, quindi in quei giorni ci si ritrova insieme a tutti i parenti.
L’albero di Natale si fa qualche settimana prima. In alcune città d’Italia si fa 28 giorni prima del Natale, in altre si fa l’8 dicembre, che è la festa dell’Immacolata.
La festa vera però inizia la sera della Vigilia, cioè del 24 dicembre. In questa occasione le famiglie si riuniscono per il Cenone di Natale. Si imbandisce una tavola piena di cibo tipico, che in Italia cambia da regione a regione! Infatti ogni città ha le proprie tradizioni e i propri piatti e sarebbe impossibile elencarli tutti.
L’unica cosa che tutti gli italiani hanno in comune è l’abbondanza di cibo, di vino e di dolci. Dopo il cenone si scambiano i regali o si gioca a carte o a qualche gioco di società per stare insieme. Le famiglie più religiose a mezzanotte vanno a messa, cioè in chiesa. Le persone più giovani a volte escono con gli amici per farsi gli auguri.
Il giorno dopo, il 25 dicembre, è il Natale. Come festeggiano gli italiani il giorno di Natale? Mangiando di nuovo, naturalmente. Si fa un grande pranzo e si passa il pomeriggio tutti insieme. Alcune persone vanno a trovare i parenti, altre escono a fare una passeggiata. Chi abita nelle città del Nord Italia può andare a visitare i mercatini di Natale, che non esistono al Sud.
Noi italiani abbiamo sempre voglia di festeggiare e così le celebrazioni continuano anche il 26 dicembre, giorno di Santo Stefano. In questa giornata è tipico andare a fare attività fuori casa: andare a pattinare o andare al cinema con gli amici e spesso si mangiano gli avanzi dei giorni precedenti.
// Want to learn more Italian? Check out the link -> https://cocai-italiano.com/

Cocai italiano - Podcast for Italian learners

Il Natale in Italia

In this episode listen in to hear why I am allowed to scream at my mom once a year and use beans to kill some bad vibes. You'll be surprised to learn about this fun holiday that only Japanese people know about.

Crazy Japanese Culture

[Setsubun👹] Throw Beans at the Demons!

Every time you're online, you are bombarded by pictures, articles, links and videos trying to tell their story. Unfortunately, not all of these stories are true. Sometimes they want you to click on another story or advertisement at their own site, other times they want to upset people for political reasons. These days it's so easy to share information. These stories circulate quickly, and the result is … fake news.

There is a range of fake news: from crazy stories which people easily recognise to more subtle types of misinformation. Experts in media studies and online psychology have been examining the fake news phenomenon. Read these tips, and don't get fooled!

1. Check the source
Look at the website where the story comes from. Does it look real? Is the text well written? Are there a variety of other stories or is it just one story? Fake news websites often use addresses that sound like real newspapers, but don't have many real stories about other topics. If you aren't sure, click on the 'About' page and look for a clear description of the organisation.

2. Watch out for fake photos
Many fake news stories use images that are Photoshopped or taken from an unrelated site. Sometimes, if you just look closely at an image, you can see if it has been changed. Or use a tool like Google Reverse Image search. It will show you if the same image has been used in other contexts.

3. Check the story is in other places
Look to see if the story you are reading is on other news sites that you know and trust. If you do find it on many other sites, then it probably isn't fake (although there are some exceptions), as many big news organisations try to check their sources before they publish a story. 

4. Look for other signs
There are other techniques that fake news uses. These include using ALL CAPS and lots of ads that pop up when you click on a link. Also, think about how the story makes you feel. If the news story makes you angry, it's probably designed to make you angry.


The Habits of Highly Effective English Communicators

Reading Practice & Comprehension. How to spot fake news.

Aviator Races to Photograph the World's Glaciers
Garrett Fisher is traveling the world in his little blue-white "Super Cub" airplane, as he tries to document every remaining glacier on Earth.

The 41-year-old Fisher does it for a simple reason: "Because I love them."

However, he does it for another purpose too — the climate is changing, and the planet's glaciers are melting. Fisher believes documenting, archiving, and remembering these changes is important.

According to Fisher, the melting glaciers are the first indication that we're losing something because of climate change. "In 100 or 200 years, most of them will be gone," he says.

That's why Fisher is building an archive of his glacier photos. He believes any record he makes before the glaciers melt could be very valuable to future generations.

In 2021, Fisher started the Global Glacier Initiative, an organization to support and show his work, and he plans to open his archive to the public for research.

Many glaciers are hard to get to or photograph — so Fisher has to make some dangerous journeys. Why does he do it?

He's looking for the perfect picture; one so beautiful it can make people and policymakers act. And if one image isn't enough, then maybe a whole archive will make people come and look, get close and pay attention.

"We can live without [glaciers]. We will live without them," Fisher says. "However, it hurts us to lose them."