A brief introduction to Halloween traditions in the UK.

English with Nici!

Halloween

❥ 在这个播客中，梅洛朗读了《儿童伊索》，可在网上免费找到：
https://www.read.gov/aesop/001.html
❥聆听并学习每个故事的寓意。
❥ 通过回答问答问题练习听力和/或阅读理解。
❥ 今天的寓言叫"蚊子和公牛"。可以在这里找到：
https://www.read.gov/aesop/008.html
❥今天的寓言故事的寓意是： 
"我们在自己的眼中往往比在邻居的眼中更重要。思想越小，自负越大"。

❥ In this podcast, Melo reads from The Aesop for Children. 
❥ Aesop's Fables are free online at:
www.read.gov/aesop/ 
❥ Listen and learn the moral of each story.
❥ Today's fable is called "The Gnat & the Bull" and can be found here:
https://www.read.gov/aesop/008.html
❥The moral of today’s fable is: 
"We are often of greater importance in our own eyes than in the eyes of our neighbor. The smaller the mind the greater the conceit."

Life Lessons from Aesop's Fables

Episode 7: The Gnat & the Bull

In this episode on Samhain, otherwise known as Halloween, we will briefly look at where this festive holiday came from and learn some new words and phrases in just under 6 minutes.

Philosophical Friday

Samhain or Halloween

There are 6 tones in Cantonese, tone 1 to 6, let's split them into 3 groups.
Group 1: tone1/ Group 2: tone2 and 5/ Group 3: tone3, 4 and 6
Group 1:
Tone 1 is the easiest tone to find, it equals to stressed syllables in English or other Western languages, for example, father has 2 syllables, one is fa, the other is ther, the first one fa is stressed, because it's higher in pitch, this sound exactly equals to tone 1 in Cantonese.For example I want to pronounce: tik1 (means tick in Cantonese), let's pronounce ticking first, ticking has 2 syllables, the first is stressed, so ti is tik1.
Group 2:
Tone 2 and 5 are both rising tones and are the same in question tones, like WHAT? WHERE? WHO? So to find these 2 tones, you just need to pronounce "WHAT?" then you got the correct tones!
However, what are the differences between tone 2 and 5? Well, you want to be very strict, tone 2 is relatively higher compared to tone 5, but actually when local people are speaking, to speak faster, they will omit details while talking in conversations, so you can just treat these 2 tones as the same tone.For example, if you want to pronounce hou2 (means good in Cantonese), we pronounce WHAT? first, then use the pitch of WHAT? you can find hou2 very easily.
Group3:
Similarly, just like tone 2 and 5, because these 3 tones are so close to each other and quite familiar too, so when talking in conversations, they sound just like the same tone. These 3 tones are just like our unstressed syllables, let's take father as the example again. The second syllable ther is not stressed, and this equals to tone 3, 4 or 6 in Cantonses.For example, if you want to pronounce daap3 (means take transportation in Cantonese), you can produce Linda first, Lin is stressed and da isn't, here da is our tone 3 for daap.
try below: 生活 saang1 wut6 Life/的士 dik1 si6 Taxi/啤酒 be1 zau2 Beer/學生 hok6 saang1 Student/老師 lou5 si1 Teacher/屋企 nguk1 kei5 Home/公司 gung1 si1 Company/酒吧 zau2 baa1 Bar/餐廳 caan1 teng1 Restaurant

Ms. NG Cantonese Learning Resources

How to find correct Cantonese tones

一些有趣的对话An interesting conversation

比赛

Elementary Uzbek

Chapter 1, 7-mashq

Part 4. Listening & Comprehension:

Please answer the following questions of understanding:

Question 1:
On what date does Christmas take place?
a The date varies from year to year
b 20th December
c 31st December
d 25th December


Question 2:
Which mythical figure is said to deliver presents on Christmas?
a The Easter Bunny
b Saint Patrick
c Santa Claus
d Christmas Angel


Question 3:
How are children's present requests said to be granted or denied on Christmas?
a Randomly
b Through a specially designed mathematical formula
c Nobody is quite sure
d By reviewing their presence on either the "Good" or "Naughty" List


Question 4:
Which parties are said to help Santa Claus make and deliver presents?
a Elves
b He performs the work himself
c Magical reindeer
d A and C


Question 5:
On Christmas, where are presents typically found?
a Underneath the Christmas tree and in stockings
b In the chimney
c In the mailbox
d Hidden throughout the house


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The Habits of Highly Effective English Communicators

English Daily Listening practice to improve your Listening & Comprehension

It's the area of the Atlantic Ocean that some people think is incredibly dangerous for ships, and people have claimed that giant squids, large storms, and even the ancient underground city of Atlantis are responsible for countless sailors' lives. In this episode we lift the curtain on the mystery of The Bermuda Triangle.