I feel Christmas and New Year's holiday in Japan and north America is opposite. In Japan, Christmas is more like party time, festival feeling, and new years holiday is more holy and family gathering feeling. 
日本のクリスマスとお正月。北米と逆だなと思います。日本はクリスマスはパーティーとかサンタクロースのイメージ。お正月がもう少し神聖な雰囲気で家族でも集まります。

Akari Talks Japan

Christmas and New Year Holidays in Japan 日本のクリスマスとお正月

Southern California is experiencing its most devastating winter fires in more than four decades.

Fueled by powerful Santa Ana winds, fierce wildfires around the Los Angeles area have sent residents fleeing from their burning homes.

Santa Anas are warm, dry northeast winds that blow from the interior of Southern California toward the coast, moving in the opposite direction of the normal winds that carry moist air from the Pacific.

Thousands of firefighters have been battling multiple blazes, from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena, just north of Los Angeles, with new fires breaking out in the Hollywood Hills on the evening of January 8.

One of the fires is already the most destructive in Los Angeles history.

By early morning on January 9, more than 1,900 structures had been destroyed and over 130,000 people were under evacuation orders, with five people reported dead.

The fires have already consumed an area of about 110 square kilometers — nearly the size of the entire city of San Francisco.

Fires don't usually blaze at this time of year. But Santa Anas are happening later and later in the year, and this year's winds are much faster than usual — helping the flames spread faster once they ignite.

California had two extremely wet winters that caused lots of plants to grow, followed by a sudden drought that dried them out — which experts say has provided the perfect tinder for the flames.

AccuWeather estimated damage from the latest fires could reach $57 billion, with the weather company's Jonathan Porter saying "it may become the worst wildfire in modern California history."

Among those who have lost their homes are a number of celebrities, including actor Billy Crystal, who lost his home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood that he had lived in for 45 years.

Another celebrity who lost his home, The Princess Bride star Cary Elwes, wrote on Instagram: "Sadly we did lose our home but we are grateful to have survived this truly devastating fire."

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

Southern California Battles Devastating Winter Fires

CHISTES MEXICANOS

Picadura

Korean Podcast with Naeun

일하고 싶은 곳 | What Really Matters at Work | Korean Podcast for Intermediate

Today we're taking a quick look at the word "upset".

DAILY Business English VOCABULARY builder

This may be a little upsetting

Báinián qián, zǎochá wénhuà jiù yǐjīng shèngxíng Guǎngzhōu, mànmàn yǎnbiàn chéng yīzhǒng xísú, yī zhǒng gēnshēndìgù de chuántǒng.
百年前，早茶文化就已经盛行广州，慢慢演变成一种习俗，一种根深蒂固的传统。
A hundred years ago, morning tea culture has been preveiling in Guanghou, slowly evolved into a custom, a deep-rooted tradition. 

“一盅两件”，广式早茶文化俗称。一壶茶，两笼点心。早茶，早茶，有点醉翁之意不在酒，其包含的不仅仅是茶，更是种类繁多、精美可口的点心，甚至是“老广”慢悠悠消磨一上午的生活方式。
“Yī zhōng liǎng jiàn” ,guǎngshì zǎochá wénhuà súchēng。Yī hú chá, liǎng lóng diǎnxīn。Zǎochá, zǎochá, yóudiǎn zuìwēngzhīyìbúzàijiù, qí bāohán de bùjǐnjǐn shì chá, gèng shì zhǒnglèi fánduō, jīngměi kékǒu de diǎnxīn, shènzhì shǐ "Láoguǎng" mànyōuyōu xiāomó yī shàngwǔ de shēnghuó fāngshì。
'One cup and two pieces' is commonly known as Cantonese morning tea, morning tea, a little drunk weng's meaning is not wine, it contains not only tea, but also a wide variety of exquisite and delicious snacks, and even ' Lao Guang' leisurely spend a morning life. 



Maple's fun Chinese  (Mandarin)

一盅两件 Yī zhōng liǎng jiàn

Today we're talking about some pieces of vocabulary that we can use to talk about numbers, especially finances, going up and down. I hope you find them useful!

If you're like to improve your ability to talk about numbers at work then feel free to book some of my time. I've worked with CFOs and accountants among many other professional groups from around the world to improve their professional communication skills in English. I look forward to meeting you!

Numbers can feel like a rollercoaster!

Today's word is scan. This is a verb that means to quickly read or look at something, usually to find a specific piece of information. Maybe you're scanning a form to find the date that it was written or scanning a page from a book to find out where the story takes place.  

Could you scan this for me please?

In this episode we will talk about 【Chinese style blind date】, you will learn how to say 【urge sb. to get married, become non-single】 ect.
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It is recommended that you study in the following ways:
1st time: listen without looking at the text.
2nd time: look at the text and write down the new words, later look up the dictionary. 
3rd time: listen again without looking at the text.
4th time: repeat after it without looking at the text.
大家好，我是Yuli。欢迎收听我的播客。
今天想和大家聊一聊【相亲】的话题。
在中国，读书的时候父母会反对我们早恋，所以学生时代没有谈恋爱的人很多。等到我们毕业工作，父母就开始催婚。但是因为交际圈很窄，脱单很困难，所以很多人在找对象的时候，可能会选择相亲这种方式。通过相亲可以了解对方的职业，家庭情况等，判断自己是否与对方合适。
最常见的相亲是亲戚朋友介绍，或者同事介绍。见面前先看下照片，了解下对方的情况。如果感兴趣就加个微信聊一聊，然后再见面。也有的是媒人安排大家一起吃个饭，先见个面互相了解一下。这种情况下在场的人很多，相亲的两个人比较不尴尬。
相亲的时候都看什么呢？在中国，谈婚论嫁的时候最讲究的是门当户对。也就是说：男女双方家庭的社会地位和经济状况相当，结婚很合适。因为讲究门当户对，在相亲市场上也就出现了很多歧视。
第一、地域歧视。本地人比非本地人好，因为本地人有相同背景、观念和生活习惯，更重要的是有户口，有房子。
第二、职业歧视。公务员稳定，即使收入不如私企，在相亲市场仍然是香饽饽。
第三、家庭歧视。是不是城市户口？父母有没有退休金？
第四、学历歧视。本科生不如硕士、硕士不如博士。不过有意思的是，女博士反而不吃香，大家会觉得太优秀了不容易找对象。
还有其他的年龄歧视、外貌歧视等等。
有的人觉得门当户对是好事，条件差不多的人才能一起生活。有的人觉得门当户对是把婚姻市场化了，变成了买卖，没有真情实感。你觉得呢？留言告诉我吧。我们下期见。
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早恋	zǎo liàn	puppy love
催婚	cuī hūn	urge sb. to get married
交际圈	jiāo jì quān	Social circle
脱单	tuō dān	become non-single
媒人	méi rén	matchmaker
谈婚论嫁	tán hūn lùn jià	talk about marriage/about to get married
门当户对	mén dāng hù duì	be matched for marriage
歧视	qí shì	discrimination
户口	hù kǒu	registered permanent residence
香饽饽	xiāng bō bo	extremely popular
吃香	chī xiāng	popular