Brief article regarding then president Joe Biden's cognitive health, following weak debate performance against Donald Trump. 

News in Hebrew with David Joseph

 President Biden's Cognitive Health: Selection from Yediot Achronot Israeli Newspaper

Lily's Chinese 对话

20240106凡卡

📩 Aprende una palabra coloquial al día: https://acortar.link/d8H9at


Español coloquial

4 significados del verbo "liarse"

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

“This movie is like 비빔밥(Bibimbap)!”
If you are a fan of thriller and looking for something fresh, 
this movie can take you to a whole new world! 

When his abducted brother returns seemingly a different man with no memory of the past 19 days, Jin-seok chases after the truth behind the kidnapping. It all began that tragic night. Sounds only he hears. Nightmares that seem too real. Doubts about his own memories.

전혀 새로운 스토리로 관객들을 사로잡았던 영화
“기억의 밤”입니다!

그거 봤어? Did you watch it?

18. How reliable is your memory? “Forgotten” (심장 쫄깃 스릴러, “기억의 밤”)

This episode is a preview from my book "The Syrian Encounters" that is published on Amazon. I present some historical facts about how Syrian dialect started. I hope you enjoy it and you can always get the full episode with the book by clicking on these links: 
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C3DBW2JH
*The book's audio:*
https://speakrealarabic.com/course/The-Syrian-Encounters

Beyond Borders: Immersing in Syrian Culture

Syrian Dialect History

In Episode 73 of 111 Tips for Learning a Language, we explore the intersection between emotional regulation and conversational fluency through the lens of the sacral chakra. Drawing from both neuroscience and yogic philosophy, this episode demonstrates how breathwork, pelvic awareness, and emotional expression activate the vagus nerve, reducing amygdala hyperactivity and supporting hippocampal memory consolidation—crucial for vocabulary retrieval and confident speaking (Porges, 2011; Lupien et al., 2009). By cultivating awareness of the emotional body through the sacral region, language learners can overcome anxiety, improve expression, and foster greater ease and authenticity in communication.

111 Tips for Learning a Language 

Tip 73 - How to activate the sacral chakra for language learning

不免 (bù miǎn) and 未免 (wèi miǎn) are both adverbs that are used to indicate that something is inevitable or cannot be avoided. However, there is a subtle difference in their meanings.
不免 (bù miǎn) means "inevitably" or "unavoidably," and it is used to indicate that something is certain to happen or cannot be avoided. Here is the structure when using 不免：objective reason,+不免+result
未免 (wèi miǎn) means "unavoidably" or "unnecessarily," and it is used to indicate that something is unnecessary or excessive. You use it when you can’t agree to something. Here is the structure when using 未免：（scenario, can be omitted in the sentence)，+未免+judgement
Here are some examples to illustrate the difference between the two, with pinyin provided for the example sentences:
不免 (bù miǎn)
* 这种天气下出门，不免有些冷。 (zhè zhǒng tiānqì xià chūmén, bù miǎn yǒuxiē lěng) (It is inevitably a little cold when going out in this kind of weather.)
* 他的职业生涯结束了，不免有些伤感。 (tā de zhíyè shēngyá jiéshù le, bù miǎn yǒuxiē shāngǎn) (His career has ended, and it is inevitably a little sad.)
未免 (wèi miǎn)
* 这道题的难度未免有点大。 (zhè dào tí de nándù wèi miǎn yǒudiǎn dà) (The difficulty of this problem is unnecessarily large.)
* 他的表演未免有些夸张。 (tā de biǎoyǎn wèi miǎn yǒuxiē kuāzhāng) (His performance is unnecessarily exaggerated.)
* 你这么做，未免太过分。 (nǐ zhème zuò, wèi miǎn tài guòfèn) (What you are doing is unnecessarily extreme.)


Difference between A and B in Chinese with Shanmei

Difference between 不免 (bù miǎn) and 未免 (wèi miǎn) 

An example of an interview, to show what is important - how is the employer going to remember you?
If you need to prepare for a job interview, I will be happy to help you.