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Conversation with my Chinese Good Friend

This is a short Persian podcast for elementary learners about Sarah and Ali that run into each other and have a short talk.

TheFarsiPod

08. Everyday activities: I have a lesson

This episode explains the meaning of the proverb "You can't teach an old dog new tricks" with an example.

American English Proverbs

6 - You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks

Today’s Theme is “紅葉（こうよう）《Autumn colors》”.
This episode is JLPT-N4 level.

I created a quiz on this episode.
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Please use this audio for listening and shadowing practices.

☆Words☆
紅葉狩り（もみじがり / momijigari）：This is a yearly event for many Japanese people in Autumn. The word “Momiji” in Momiji-gari means Autumn colours, and “gari” means hunting.
Japanese people go out to parks and mountains where they can see lots of trees in their Autumn colors – yellows, oranges and reds, and simply enjoy the beautiful change of seasons from Summer to Autumn.

お花見（おはなみ / ohanami）：Ohanami is a traditional Japanese custom in spring. At a cherry blossom viewing party, people get together under cherry blossom trees and enjoy eating and drinking.

嵐山（あらしやま / arashiyama）：Arashiyama is an area in the western part of Kyoto City. The mountain named Arashiyama at an altitude of 382 meters in the western part of Kyoto City, the surrounding mountains, and the foot of the mountain are generally called Arashiyama. At the foot of Arashiyama, there are many historical temples, shrines, and historic sites, making it a famous tourist destination.

上旬（じょうじゅん / jōjun）：at the beginning of the month
中旬（ちゅうじゅん / chūjun）：in the middle of the month
下旬（げじゅん / gejyun）：at the end of the month

日光（にっこう / nikkō）：Nikko is a town located in Tochigi Prefecture. Tochigi prefecture is an inland prefecture located in the northern part of the Kanto region. Nikko has many old-style buildings, and it is registered as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage.

新幹線（しんかんせん / shinkansen）：bullet train

☆Script for this episode
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☆Quiz for this episode


Simple Japanese Listening with Meg（めぐ）Smile

#38  紅葉 / Autumn colors // N4 Level /Japanese listening

A toxic workplace is one of the biggest reasons why people leave their jobs.

It might be a place where staff are stressed, managers bully their employees and people don't trust each other.

"Toxic" usually means something that's poisonous, but we can also use it to mean "very unpleasant." The word is often used to describe a workplace that's so bad it's almost poisonous.

If you work in a toxic place, you'll probably know about it. But how can you tell if a workplace is toxic before you even start a new job?

Career coach Beata Staszkow says the way the manager treats you during the interview might give you an idea about how they'll treat you as an employee.

Look out for bosses who don't seem interested in your answers, she adds, or those who make inappropriate jokes.

A manager showing up late for an interview could also be a bad sign, says jobs expert Mita Mallick, writing in Harvard Business Review.

Mallick says to also watch out for things like the interviewer changing the job description after you've started discussing the job, or putting pressure on you to take the job right away.

It's also good to do some research into how many employees are leaving a company and how many new ones are joining. This is known as "employee turnover."

Sometimes there are good reasons for turnover. But it could be a sign of a toxic workplace. You should be able to find out about it by looking on sites like LinkedIn — and you might also be able to contact someone who used to work at the company.

If you're already in a toxic workplace, you'll probably want to get out of it. But you don't want to jump from one toxic workplace into another!

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

How to Find Out if a Workplace Is 'Toxic'

Although many people can deny it but a good appearance is important. Confidence also comes from a good appearance because it requires discipline to maintain weight and watch what you eat. In this podcast, I will give some tips on how to have a good appearance. Hope it helps.

FLO TALKS 

A GOOD APPEARANCE: BEAUTY TIPS

Today I'm going to talk about wearing a face mask in Japan. The Japan government has announced that people can decide by themselves if they wear or not face masks since March 13th, 2023.  Yes, we don't need wear face masks if we want!  However, I found a lot of people have worn their face masks even when they are outside. Why we, Japanese doesn't take off our face masks?
**********************************************
「マスク、はずしてもいい？」
2023年3月13日月曜日　コロナの緊急事態宣言から2年9か月ぶりに　マスク着用が自由になりました。　つまり、部屋の中でも　外でも、「個人の判断」で　マスクを付けるか付けないかを決められるようになったのです。
「マスク緩和」の宣言がされてから2週間が過ぎましたが、町を歩く人の多くはマスクをしています。コロナが心配というよりは、花粉が多い季節だからかもしれません。私の知り合いも、暖かくなって空気中に飛んでいる花粉の量が多いから、マスクを外せないと言っています。マスクをしていないと、くしゃみ、鼻水がひどくて、仕事どころじゃないそうです。　でも、電車やスーパーマーケットなど人が集まりやすい場所では、ほとんど全員がマスクをしています。　そんなにたくさんの人が花粉症なわけはないので、どうやら花粉だけがマスクをしている理由でもないようです。　
日本人は他の人と違うことをして目立ちたくないと考える人が多いことが、マスクを外さない一番の理由かもしれません。周りの様子を観察して、マスクをしている人が多ければ、自分もしておこうと考えるのだと思います。　みんなと違うことをしていると、何か間違ったことをしてしまったような感覚になってしまうのでしょう。　これから夏に向かって気温が上がって暑くなれば、マスクを外す人も増えてくると思います。そうなれば、マスクをしない人がどんどん増えていくのではないかと思っています。
でも、女の人はマスクを使い続けるかもしれません。　コロナ前のことですが、日常的にマスクをしている人になぜマスクをしているのかという理由を尋ねているテレビ番組を見たことがあります。　その番組では若い女性にマスクをしている人が多いと言っていました。　顔を見せるのが恥ずかしいからマスクで隠していると答えていた人もいました。また、マスクには顔を小さく見せる効果があるので、マスクをしているという人もいました。マスクで自分の顔の欠点を隠したいということでしょうか。　あるいは、すべてを見せない、「隠す」ことに日本人が美意識を感じているからかもしれません。もともとマスクをすることに抵抗がなかった日本人。　まだまだ、マスクを付ける人は減りそうにありませんね。
今日は　マスクについてお話ししました。


やさしい日本語（にほんご）

マスクをはずしてもいい？　”No need wearing face masks？”

Every year in June, there are 2 days that are dead silent in Chinese cities when the most important exam in Chinese teenagers’ life is taking place - the college entrance exam.
In this Chillchat episode, Karen and Baiwei compared education and examination systems in Mainland China and the U.S..