Meta invests $15bn in Scale AI, doubling start-up’s valuation

The deal values the data-labelling company at $29bn

Short & Sweet Daily Business English News

Episode 16, Meta invests $15bn in Scale AI

Easy Steps to Chinese Grammar⭐
"不（bù）" is one of the most common negation words in Chinese. Do you know how to use it? I will introduce it in the episode.

Easy Steps to Chinese Grammar 

2. Standard negation with "不（bù）"【A1】

In this episode, I will tell you about my friend Sara. Listen carefully and take the quiz to check your understanding.

Español Práctico 

Mi amiga Sara (Level A2-B1)

Te hablo aquí sobre esta expresión y te cuento una mini historia de amor... escúchalo aprenderás mucho.

Hablar por hablar (Listening)

Una historia de amor

Switzerland is a mountainous country in the center of Europe, roughly the same size as the Netherlands and with a population of around 9 million people. The capital city is Bern, the largest city is Zurich and within those and other cities, several languages are spoken. Switzerland has four official languages: German, French, Italian Romansh. Romansh is a romance language that is traditionally spoken in the southeastern region of Grisons and became an official language in 1996.

The country has long been famed for its neutrality. Sitting out each of the world wars, it has a self-imposed policy that states that they should not become involved in any political or armed conflicts with other nations. In fact, since 1815 Switzerland has not participated in a foreign war. In recent years this neutrality has been questioned due to their close links to Europe, the fact they became a member of the UN in 2002, and that they are the location for the headquarters of many multinational banks and corporations.

Over the past 100 years, Switzerland has gradually become one of the wealthiest countries on earth. This is partly due to the strength gained from their neutral positioning but also periods of prolonged political stability have had an influence. A study commissioned by Credit Suisse in 2020 discovered that 800,000 millionaires live in Switzerland, and in a country of just 9 million that is quite a significant proportion. However, the increased wealth of the country has brought with it hefty living costs, and Switzerland has been described as the most expensive place to live in Europe.

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

Visiting Switzerland 

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. 
--------------------------------------------------
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。
--------------------------------------------------
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

Yuli's Chinese Channel

世界杯 World Cup （Advanced level）

This is an important grammar topic at the intermediate level. This short episode introduces the idea of ergative verbs. 

Ergative verbs are a set of verbs which have a third option besides being active or passive: ergative. This means they are active in form, with the receiver of the verb's action as the subject. The meaning is the same as the passive. 

The examples I use in the episode: 
The store opens at 10. 
The movie will star at 8pm. 
The music stopped. 
The weather changed.
The chicken is cooking. 
The car is reversing. 
The plants grew. 
The window broke. 

I hope you enjoy the episode and find it helpful. Message me with any questions you have. 
Subscribe to never miss an episode. 
See you soon!


English with Eric

Grammar: Ergative Verbs

【北海道Hokkaido生活】
〈#146〉1月7日土曜日　天気/雪　気温/-4℃ 

・あけましておめでとうございます！
・お正月に家族と温泉
・層雲峡温泉/そううんきょうおんせん
・JRに乗って、バスに乗る
・吹雪で1時間くらいJRが止まった
・バスに乗れなかった
・二泊三日
・温泉では、マンガを読んだり、You Tubeを見たり
・吹雪が続いた
・帰りも1時間くらい止まった


［単語］
JR/じぇいあーる…電車の会社
乗り換え/のりかえ…ちがう乗り物に乗ること
吹雪/ふぶき…強い風と雪
二泊三日/にはくみっか…２日泊まって、３日いること。

レッスン待ってます♪


北海道Hokkaido生活 for Japanese learners

〈#146〉1月7日土曜日　雪で電車がとまった！！

I am not Mr. Tanaka.
私は たなかさんでは ありません。

Mr. Miller is not Japanese.
ミラーさんは にほんじんじゃ ありません。

Mr. Schmidt is not a company employee.
シュミットさんは かいしゃいん じゃ ありません。

Mr. Watt is not a student.
ワットさんはがくせい じゃありません。　
