Although I'm from the UK, I lived in China for 15 years, teach a large number of Chinese students, and even have a Chinese girlfriend. In this episode, I share some of my thoughts on the main differences I've noticed between the two cultures. These affect the way we approach education, the way we interact with our friends, and even how we eat our food and choose what to wear.
So what do you think? Do you agree with me? Are there any other differences that you've noticed? I'd love to read your comments.

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Cultural Differences between the UK and China

根据短文的内容，选择适当的答案。 
小测试-1
我的家里有四个人，爸爸，妈妈，妹妹和我。我和爸爸一样，都喜欢运动。爸爸喜欢踢足球和打羽毛球，而我喜欢游泳和打羽毛球。

1）我和爸爸都喜欢踢足球。

2）我不喜欢运动。

3）爸爸也喜欢打羽毛球。     ✔

小测试 – 2
根据短文的内容，选择适当的答案。
妈妈和妹妹都很喜欢打扮，她们经常一起去买衣服和化妆品。妈妈说化妆上班更有精神。妹妹老爱说我运动过后一身臭汗，不像女孩子。

1）我和妹妹一样喜欢化妆。

2）妈妈喜欢化妆上班。        ✔

3）我是一个男孩子。

小测试 - 3
请选出与短文内容不符的一项。 
陪妈妈购物已经成了爸爸的习惯，爸爸常说“不是怕老婆，而是爱老婆”。还说我和妹妹都是妈妈送给他的，用钱也买不到的礼物，所以，要把妈妈的爱好看成是他自己的爱好来对待。

1）爸爸喜欢妈妈的爱好。

2）妈妈要求爸爸陪他购物。      ✔

3）爸爸很珍惜我和妹妹。

小测试 - 4
根据短文内容，选出正确的答案。 
上个周末，我和爸爸一起参加了社区的羽毛球比赛，爸爸参加了个人赛和双打；我只参加了双打比赛，爸爸就是我最好的搭档。

1）我参加了个人赛。

2）爸爸和我参加了足球比赛。

3）爸爸参加的比赛项目比我多。      ✔

小测试 - 5
根据短文内容，选出正确的答案。 
最后，爸爸得了个人赛的季军，我和爸爸一起摘得了双人比赛的银牌。妈妈和妹妹一起来为我们加油，在我们领奖的时候，妹妹和妈妈还高兴得拥抱起来。

1）爸爸个人赛第二名。

2）我没有拿到奖牌。

3）我和妈妈拥抱起来。

4）我和爸爸获得了双打第二名。  ✔


你都清楚了吗? 继续加油，我们下期再见！
 


Correction notebook   错题本 (Mandarin)

阅读理解《我和家人的爱好》的讲解

"不行" (bù xíng) is a more casual and colloquial expression, and it is often used to indicate that something is not feasible or practical. It can be translated as "can't" or "won't work."
"不可以" (bù kě yǐ) is a more formal and polite expression, and it is often used to indicate that something is not allowed according to rules or regulations. It can be translated as "cannot" or "not allowed."
Here are some examples that illustrate the difference between "不行" (bù xíng) and "不可以" (bù kě yǐ):
Example 1:
A: 你能给我五块钱吗？ (nǐ néng gěi wǒ wǔ kuài qián ma?) (Can you give me five dollars?)
B: 不行，我没有五块钱。 (bù xíng, wǒ méi yǒu wǔ kuài qián) (No, I don't have five dollars.)
B: 不可以，这是违反公司规定的。 (bù kě yǐ, zhè shì wéi fǎn gōng sī guī dìng de) (No, it is against company rules.)
In the first example, "不行" (bù xíng) is used to indicate that the person does not have the requested amount of money. In the second example, "不可以" (bù kě yǐ) is used to indicate that giving the money is against company rules.
"不行" (bù xíng) might be more appropriate if the person simply does not have the requested amount of money, while "不可以" (bù kě yǐ) might be more appropriate if there is a rule or regulation that prevents the person from giving the money.

Example 2:
A: 你能把这个盒子放在桌子上吗？ (nǐ néng bǎ zhè gè hé zǐ fàng zài zhuō zi shàng ma?) (Can you put this box on the table?)
B: 不行，它太大了。 (bù xíng, tā tài dà le) (No, it is too big.)
B: 不可以，桌子上没有足够的空间。 (bù kě yǐ, zhuō zi shàng méi yǒu zú gòu de kōng jiān) (No, there is not enough space on the table.)
In the first example, "不行" (bù xíng) is used to indicate that the box is too large to fit on the table. In the second example, "不可以" (bù kě yǐ) is used to indicate that there is not enough space on the table.
"不行" (bù xíng) might be more appropriate if the box is too large to fit on the table, while "不可以" (bù kě yǐ) might be more appropriate if there is not enough space on the table.



Difference between A and B in Chinese with Shanmei

Difference between "不行" (bù xíng) and "不可以" (bù kě yǐ)

4-Year-Old Signs Book Deal to Publish Poems
A 4-year-old boy from the UK has signed a book deal to publish his collection of poems.

Nadim Shamma-Sourgen was discovered by poet and teacher Kate Clanchy, who won the 2020 Orwell Prize for political writing. Clanchy knew Shamma-Sourgen's mother, who teaches the study of poetry at the University of Reading.

Clanchy began sharing Shamma-Sourgen's poems on Twitter, where they became popular with her followers. Speaking to The Guardian, Clanchy said that she didn't share them because they were like an adult's poems, but because they were so much like a child's way of thinking.

The young poet has now signed a book deal with Walker Books, a children's book company, making him one of the youngest writers to get a book deal.

According to Guinness World Records, Dorothy Straight from the US is the youngest female to publish a book. She wrote a book in 1962 when she was 4 years old. It was published in 1964.

The youngest male writer is Thanuwana Serasinghe from Sri Lanka, who wrote a book when he was 4 years and 9 months old. It was published nine days before his 5th birthday.

In an interview with Sky News, Shamma-Sourgen's mother said that he's still learning to read and write, so he speaks his poems out loud and she writes them down for him.

"I like writing poems especially about nature. I feel happy that my poems will be in a book," Shamma-Sourgen told The Guardian. As well as nature, Shamma-Sourgen's poems talk about things like love, being lonely and bugs in his garden.

The book of poems will be published in summer 2021.

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

4-Year-Old Signs Book Deal to Publish Poems

En este episodio aprenderás algunas frases que no se pueden traducir leteralmente del inglés al español y te explicaré la traducción correcta en español

Spanish Shortcut

EP 16. FRASES QUE NO SE TRADUCEN LITERALMENTE

CHISTES MEXICANOS

DENTISTA 4

Today we're talking about the vocabulary "non-negotiables" and "deal breakers". I hope you find them useful!

Don't forget that I'm a full time English coach and tutor, right here on iTalki. So if you use English as a second language at work and you'd like to improve your professional communication skills then feel free to book some of my time and let's get to work!

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In this episode of The Streetwise English Podcast I talk about visiting Yellowstone National Park in a camper van. My teacher profile: https://italki.com/teacher/1947582
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