If you say that a task was "plain sailing" then it's easy to complete. You didn't have any difficulty doing it. Of course, you could also say that a task was not plain sailing, meaning that it was a bit of a challenge!

DAILY Business English VOCABULARY builder

It's a beautiful day to go sailing!

SWAHILI WITH JANE

SWAHILI VOWELS AND CONSONAUTS

FLO TALKS 

Why people can't be themselves?

Being a picky eater can mean a number of different things. It may describe someone who doesn't like to try new foods, or someone who prefers plain meals. It can also refer to someone who eats quite a narrow range of foods.

It's quite common for children to be picky eaters. They may only like their pasta without sauce, or their bread cut in a certain shape.

Parents often feel they're to blame when their children are picky eaters. But according to a new study, picky eating is mostly caused by our genes.

Researchers in the UK looked at data from identical and non-identical twins who had been followed from birth since 2007.

Identical twins share 100% of their genes, while non-identical twins share half, on average. Studying these twins allowed the researchers to compare the eating habits of people who were genetically the same and those who weren't, but still grew up in the same home together.

More than 4,800 twins were included in the study. Their parents completed questionnaires about how picky their children were aged 16 months, then again at the ages of 3, 5, 7 and 13.

Not all parents completed the questionnaires as their children got older, but from the results, the researchers found that the eating habits of identical twins were much more similar than those of non-identical twins.

They also found that genetic variation explained 60% of the differences in food pickiness at 16 months, and 74% between the ages of 3 and 13. Meanwhile, shared environment only explained 15% to 26% of these differences, and the environmental effect was strongest when children were younger.

However, the researchers added that environmental effects are still important: parents can still influence their children's eating habits by eating together as a family, and by offering a wide variety of different foods, for example.

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

Genes Biggest Cause of Picky Eating in Children

Today I’m going to talk about Kanji “一(ichi)”. 
One day one of my students said to me, “Kanji is difficult because they have a lot of way to read. For example, “一（ichi）” is very simple and easy, but it has so many ways to read.”
 I totally agree with her. Even native speakers of Japanese sometimes misread kanji. Then, what kind of reading and meaning does Kanji ”一” have?

日本語の漢字は　一つの漢字に　いくつかの読み方があります。
それが、漢字が難しいと感じる原因になっています。
このあいだも、きょねん　N3に合格した　生徒さんが　こんなことを言っていました。
「一」	はむずかしいです。読み方がとてもたくさんあって、たいへんです。
本当に　たくさん読み方があると思います。
一月（いちがつ）と　一月（ひとつき）は　漢字で書くと同じになってしまいます。ですから、日本人は書くときに　一月は漢字で、ひと月は「一」をひらがなで「ひと」と書いたり、同じ意味の「一か月」と書いたりします。

一年	一月　一日　一番　　は「いち」
一個　一回　一瞬　一品　は「いっ」、「い」に小さい「っ」がつく「「いっ」
一つ　一口　一休み　一言　は「ひと」
唯一　均一　統一　単一　は「いつ」
むずかしい読み方では、「一昨日」と書いて「おととい」　、「一昨年」と書いて「おととし」、「一寸」と書いて「ちょっと」と読むなど　ほかにもいろいろあります。

そして、「一」の意味は「ひとつ」という数を表すだけではありません。
「世界一」の「一」は　最上のもの　一番上のものという意味、
「一瞬」の「一」は、少し、わずかという意味です。
日本によくある100円ショップは100均（ひゃっきん）と言われています。
この100均は100円均一の略で、「均一」の「一」は　一つのまとまり、あつまり、一つのグループという意味です。　だから100均は100円の商品だけをあつめたお店ということになるんですね。
ほかにもいろいろありますが、全部は紹介できないので、興味のある人は辞書で調べてみてくださいね。

ここまで聞いてくれた人の中には、たぶん、漢字の読み方の「覚え方のコツはありますか？」「何か読むときのルールはありますか？」と思っているのではないでしょうか。

残念ながら、こうやれば覚えやすいという方法もルールもありません。
日本人も読み方がわからなかったり、間違えることがあります。
辞書で調べて　確認して、一つ一つ覚えるしかありません。

めんどうくさいかもしれませんが、知れば知るほどおもしろくなるのが漢字の世界だと思います。　ぜひ、楽しんで学習してください。


やさしい日本語（にほんご）

漢字の「一」ってかんたんですか？　Kanji character "一(ichi)  is simple and easy!?

¡En la madre! Creo que se nos olvidaron más expresiones con esta hermosa palabra.
Así es muchachos, la palabra Madre todavía tiene más usos y más expresiones que podemos usar para sonar más como un nativo, es por ello, que con la ayuda del buen Alejandro y yo, hemos grabado esta segunda parte para todos ustedes y que descubran más sobre este tema.
En este episodio, aprenderás a decir cosas como:
 - Cómo usar Madre como sinónimo de Golpear y Golpes
 - Expresar sorpresa o miedo
 - Usar Madre como sinónimo de desorden
 - Y una expresión super importante para los mexicanos que podrás escuchar al final del episodio

Estamos seguros de que más de alguna de estas frases será super útil para ustedes. ¡A darle!
Si deseas leer la transcripción de este podcast para no perderte ni una sola palabra de lo que decimos, puedes hacerlo yendo a este enlace: https://esdeverdad.com/podcast/mas-palabras-con-madre

Es De Verdad

T1 E7 - Más usos de la palabra "Madre" en el español mexicano

Simple conversations are perfect for breaking the ice, and they are perfect for beginners. Talk about everyday situations like shopping, traveling, and dining out.


🗣️ Daily Life Dialogues

A dialogue between two friends who met after long time (Chapter # 3)

Hi guys, in this episode you will learn how you can talk about your house in Hindi.

Indian Lingua (Learn Hindi on the go)

My house 

In only 20 years, cell phones have gone from being an item only a few 'cool people' had to an item nearly everyone has (and can't imagine leaving the house without it)! In this Real English Conversations Podcast episode, Curtis and Amy talk about their first cell phones, and share some funny stories to show how important cell phones are and how they can be used to save the day! 

Learn English On Italki with the host of this Podcast:
Book a lesson with Curtis - https://www.italki.com/teacher/4672521/english