Trump indicates ‘positive’ progress in US-EU trade talks

Wall Street up in early trading after US president commends bloc for calling to ‘quickly establish meeting dates’

The Short And Sweet English Learning Podcast

Trump indicates ‘positive’ progress in US-EU trade talks

You already speak English, but sounding natural is a different skill. Here's what most English learners miss (and how to start changing it).

Real English Skills

Why Your English Don't Sound Natural (Yet) 

中国文化中的谐音文化不仅是人们用来趋吉避凶，也可以在学习中去记忆一些枯燥无味的数字，比如，圆周率。故事中的老师要求学生背诵圆周率小数点后30位，这可难倒了学生。有的学生唉声叹气，死记硬背；有的学生则跑出了教室，去山上玩耍。玩耍的学生来到山上，却看见老师正在和一和尚喝酒聊天，于是学生们……

Learning Chinese culture with Miss Zhang

用来记忆的谐音——山巅一寺一壶酒

🌺 Aloha and welcome to Speak Hawaii: Language, Culture, and Travel! I'm your host, a Native Hawaiian passionate about sharing the richness of Hawaiian life with visitors and language lovers from around the world. 

In this first episode, I’ll share the story behind this podcast, who it's for, and what you can expect in future episodes. From learning everyday Hawaiian and Pidgin phrases to diving into local customs, hidden travel gems, and must-know cultural tips—this podcast is your go-to guide for connecting deeply with Hawaiʻi.

Whether you're planning a trip, curious about life in the islands, or eager to understand Hawaiʻi beyond the beaches, you're in the right place.

Mahalo for joining me on this journey—let’s Speak Hawaii together.

🌈 New episodes every week – be sure to subscribe and say aloha!



🏝 Speak Hawaii: Language, Culture & Travel

“Aloha & E Komo Mai: Welcome to Speak Hawaii!”

大卫（Dàwèi）：Xiǎoshuāng, nǐ zǎoshang jǐ diǎn qǐchuáng?
刘小双（Liú Xiǎoshuāng）：Liù diǎn.
大卫（Dàwèi）：Nǐ qǐ de zhēn zǎo a! Tiāntiān dōu qǐ de zhème zǎo ma?
刘小双（Liú Xiǎoshuāng）：Shì a, Zhōngguó yǒu yì jù huà: “Qǐ de zǎo, shēntǐ hǎo.”
大卫（Dàwèi）：Nǐ zǎofàn chī shénme?
刘小双（Liú Xiǎoshuāng）：Yì bēi dòujiāng, bā ge bāozi, liǎng ge jīdàn.
大卫（Dàwèi）：Nǐ chī de tài duō le!
刘小双（Liú Xiǎoshuāng）：Zhōngguó hái yǒu yì jù huà: “Zǎofàn chī de hǎo, wǔfàn chī de bǎo, wǎnfàn chī de shǎo.”
大卫（Dàwèi）：Yǒu ge Fǎguó rén yě shuōle yí jù huà: “Tiāntiān pútáojiǔ, huó dào jiǔshíjiǔ.”
刘小双（Liú Xiǎoshuāng）：Nǎge Fǎguó rén shuō de?
大卫（Dàwèi）：Wǒ a!

中文每日一练

每日一练

مکالمه های ساده روزمره simple everyday conversations

خرید از سوپر shopping

**This story contains graphic and explicit material it is not recommended for children only for mature audiences**

In this episode The Sick Rat and the Healthy Rat, a healthy lab rat belittles her dying neighbor by claiming that he brought the illness on himself with his "hatefulness and negative energy.

Send me a message me for your free pdf copy of this book and if you would like discuss it.
I hope you enjoy it.
https://www.italki.com/en/teacher/13365914

Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk and other stories from David Sedaris ( Adult 18+) 

The Sick Rat and the Healthy Rat (Adult 18+) 

If robots do take over the world, this one probably won't be the leader.

Less than 5.8 centimeters tall — a little shorter than a lighter — it has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's smallest humanoid robot.

Humanoid robots look and act like humans. For the Guinness record, they must be able to move their shoulders, elbows, knees and hips, and also be able to walk.

Made by a Japanese student named Mitsuya Tatsuhiko, this one is less than half the size of the previous holder of the world record, which was made by students from Hong Kong.

Tatsuhiko is a postgraduate student at Nagoya Institute of Technology, where he researches crawler robots. Crawler robots don't look like humans, however, and they're used to inspect places that are hard to get to.

Tatsuhiko has been interested in robots since he was a child.

According to Guinness World Records, he built his first humanoid robot when he was 10.

He didn't spend as much time making them during high school, but he has returned to his passion as he has gotten older.

It took him a few tries to get his record-breaking robot right, and he worked hard to make it as small as he could.

He applied for the record with his third attempt while he was in the fourth year of his degree. He said he was very happy to have broken the record.

Tatsuhiko hopes to work with robots when he finishes university, but he'll also keep making them at home as a hobby.

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

Japanese Student Makes Smallest Humanoid Robot

In this episode we will talk about 【World Cup】, you will learn how to say 【host venue,Group stage,Knockout rounds】 ect. The material helps you get used to different voice and accent. 
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不管你是不是球迷，接下来这一个多月世界杯这三个字将会充斥在你的耳边。先介绍一下背景，卡塔尔世界杯，世界杯是4年一次，这是第22届。这一次世界杯也创造了历史上的很多第一次。第一次在中东举行，第一次11月份举行，以及第一次花费如此巨大。当然这三件事情是完全关联的。由于主办地在卡塔尔，位于中东地区，气候炎热，正常举办世界杯的六七月份卡塔尔四五十度的天气显然是不适合体育运动的，所以改到了11月份。而卡塔尔为了这一届世界杯特地新建了8座超豪华的球场，100多个新的酒店，一条新的地铁以及新的机场。这让他们的总花费超过了2,200亿美金。这是什么概念呢？4年前的俄罗斯世界杯140亿美金已经是史上之最，而这次的投入直接拉大了一个量级。介绍完背景，再说一个最基础的点。本次世界杯是来自于五大洲32个不同的国家队参加的比赛，所以不同于英超、西甲、欧冠这样子的俱乐部比赛。你可能听说过的曼联、皇马、巴萨、拜仁不会参加世界杯比赛。那么第3个问题就来了，国家队这么多又没有中国队，我应该怎么看比赛呢？作为刚开始看球或者没看过球的朋友来说，那一定是看一些比较精彩的比赛或者关注度比较高的比赛，基本就等同于强队的比赛。这是目前夺冠赔率最高的十支球队，很显然他们的比赛关注度和精彩程度都相对来说会高一点。尤其是德国和西班牙，丹麦和法国还同分一组。这一届世界杯的比赛时间不算很差，当然也不算特别友好。虽然卡塔尔和咱们同属亚洲，但是还是有5个小时的时差。小组赛前两轮，还有一些时间比较友好的比赛，比如6点和9点。从小组赛第3轮开始，比赛时间相对来说就不是很好，都是晚上11点和3点这个时间点。当然了，对于老球迷来说这些时间点并不陌生。如果你只想看非常高水平的强强对话，小组赛里面为你挑出了这5场比赛。很不巧，都是比较深夜的时间，而且刚好是连续三天晚上的深夜。进入淘汰赛，基本上应该都是强强对话了。即使有可能会出现黑马，它的实力当然也会非常不俗。最后到底是哪两支球队站在12月18号的决赛赛场上，我们拭目以待。
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充斥/chōng chì/be full of
主办地/zhǔ bàn dì/host venue
史上之最/shǐ shàng zhī zuì/the most in history
量级/liàng jí/magnitude
英超/yīng chāo/English Premier League
西甲/xī jiǎ/La Liga
欧冠/ōu guàn/UEFA Champions League
曼联/màn lián/Man Utd
皇马/huáng mǎ/Real Madrid
巴萨/bā sà/Barca
拜仁/bài rén/FC Bayern
夺冠赔率/duó guàn péi lǜ/odds to win league
尤其/yóu qí/especially
同属/tóng shǔ/both belong to
强强对话/qiáng qiáng duì huà/games against the top sides
小组赛/xiǎozǔsài/Group stage
淘汰赛/táotàisài/Knockout rounds
黑马/hēimǎ/dark horses
不俗/bùsú/fairly well
拭目以待/shìmùyǐdài/wait and see