A small article to introduce the rooms of my house.

Chinese Learning with Lily

我家的房间

Everything about business related phone calls

Business English with Ali

Mastering the Art of Professional Phone Calls

Il festival UMBRIA JAZZ si volge a Perugia.
La città è piccola, pulita, organizzata; è una città gentile e giovane, piena di studenti universitari.
Vi ricordate che lì c’è anche l’UNIStraPG? L’università per stranieri, Gli esami CELI…. 
UJ nasce nel 1973, dopo 20 anni di sperimentazioni e avventure, culminate con un paio di concerti di rilievo, tipo quello di Louis Armstrong e Chat Baker.
Nel 2003, dopo 30 anni, il festival della musica jazz assume l’aspetto che ha adesso: il primo festival, quello dei concerti degli artisti famosissimi all’arena santa giuliana – quest’anno c’è stato anche Lenny Kravitz, ma anche Nile Rodgers….; 
il secondo festival, quello del Teatro Morlacchi, per gli amanti del genere e i virtuosi della musica; completano il tutto la marchin’ band, nel rispetto della tradizione di New Orleans; e  le jam session, cioè le improvvisazioni, le riunioni non pianificate, tra diversi musicisti;
e il terzo festival, quello delle strade, dei vicoli, all’aperto, quello del “non solo jazz”…. Quello che se hai voglia di suonare, lo puoi fare e qualcuno ti ascolterà, quello che se hai voglia di ballare sicuramente lo farai, e se hai voglia di sorridere e battere le mani…. Tutto sarà molto semplice, anche essere elegante e seguire il ritmo della musica.
Io sono stata a UJ solo un paio di volte. La dimensione che preferisco è quella del terzo festival, quindi quella di strada. Ma anche quella dei concerti ai giardini Carducci, dove c’è un panorama sulla valle, tavoli da pic-nic, un palco con concerti coinvolgenti, tanta gente di tutti i tipi, di tutte le età, di tutti i gusti, di tutto il mondo, con cui brindare, ballare, cantare, parlare.
E dove ho conosciuto Giacomo e Loretta, con cui vi lascio a chiacchierare di questi due giorni fuori dalle regole.
Ah, un paio di curiosità: nel 2022 UJ è citato in una puntata dei Simpson;
UJ collabora con l’università di Berklee, a Boston, dove tra l’altro insegna un mio caro studente.


la Rubrica di Simona

UMBRIA JAZZ 2024

‘’Goedemorgen, schaatsen en kaas’’. The Dutch pronounciation is often quite different than the English one. In this podcast series I will walk you in 3 lessons through the pronounciations; the consonants, the short and long vowels, and difficult combinations.   In this episode we will talk about the Dutch vowels. Join me in this podcast to learn about the Dutch language.

Learning Dutch with Jeroen!

1.2 - The Dutch vowels

Phở là món ăn tinh túy của Việt Nam, từ phở dùng để chỉ loại phở được sử dụng trong công thức nấu ăn. Mì gạo cùng với những miếng thịt bò hoặc thịt gà luộc vừa phải trong một món bò kho thịnh soạn. Phổ biến hơn cả trong số hai loại phở được biết đến rộng rãi là phở Hà Nội . Có nguồn gốc từ miền Bắc,  được biết đến bởi nước dùng và chỉ với một miếng chanh và vài lát ớt. phở Nam , có nước dùng thanh hơn và được phục vụ với một vài loại thảo mộc tươi như giá đỗ, húng quế và bạc hà.
Bí quyết để có một bát phở ngon nằm ở nước dùng. Nước dùng thường được ngâm với hoa hồi thơm, đinh hương và quế để tạo vị ngọt tự nhiên cho món ăn. Món ăn này được tìm thấy ở hầu hết các góc phố và thường được bán để ăn sáng mà người nước ngoài không hề hay biết.

phở flat rice noodles.
Phở is the quintessential Vietnamese dish, the word phở referring to the type of noodle used in the recipe. Flat rice noodles with medium-rare slivers of beef or boiled chicken in a hearty beef stock. The more popular of the two widely known varieties is phở Hanoi. Originally from the north, it is distinguished by a clear broth and dressed only with a squeeze of lemon and slices of bird’s eye chili. The southern iteration, phở Nam, has a murkier broth and is served with a few of fresh herbs like bean sprouts, basil and mint.
The secret to a good bowl of phở lies in its stock. The broth is usually infused with fragrant star anise, clove and cinnamon to lend a natural sweetness to the mix. This dish is found on almost every street corner and is actually consumed for breakfast, unbeknownst to foreigners.

up your Vietnamese game

phở

Chinese story
《同学的爱》  The Classmates’ love

在重庆市的一家医院里，有一位女孩儿躺在病床上。她叫小菲，今年十七岁。
There was a little girl lying in bed in a hospital in Chongqing City. She was called Xiao-Fei, aged 17.
二零一二年夏天她还可以在外面跟朋友、同学一起玩儿，但是她现在只能躺在床上，因为二零一二年八月，她发现自己生病了，而且是白血病。
She could still play with friends and classmates outside in the summer of 2012. Now she could only lie in bed, as she found herself sick in August, 2012 and was diagnosed with leukemia.

小菲的高中同学都很难过。为了鼓励她，小菲的高中同学也和她一起做出改变，这让她觉得很多人都在支持她。
Xiao-Fei’s high school classmates all grieved for her. To encourage her, her high school friends also made changes with her to make her feel that many were supporting her.

小菲生病以后，每天都必须早睡早起，锻炼身体。小菲的同学也开始每天早睡早起，锻炼身体。他们让小菲知道，他们正在和她做一样的事。小菲只能喝开水，不能再喝可乐了。小菲的同学也和她一样不再喝可乐。
After getting sick, Xiao-Fei needed to go to bed and get up early to exercise. Her classmates also started to go to bed and get up early. They let Xiao-Fei know that they were doing the same thing. Xiao-Fei could only drink water, but not coke anymore, and her classmates followed suit.

小菲的同学对小菲说：“你不放弃，我们也不会放弃！”
“If you don’t give up, we won’t either,” Xiao-Fei’s classmates told her.

同学们知道小菲需要很多钱治疗，所以大家拿着箱子向路人募捐，最后募到了兩万多元。
Her classmates knew that Xiao-Fei needed lots of money for treatment, so all of them carried boxes to raise money from pedestrians. Eventually, they gathered a total of 20,000.

小菲看到大家这么支持她，她说：“大家这么关心我，我一定会更努力让自己好起来。”
Knowing that all of them were supporting her, Xiao-Fei said: “All of you cared about me so much; I will certainly try my best to get well.”

Yasmine's Chinese Reading - intermediate

同学的爱  The Classmates’ love

One Minute Speaking Challenge: Work/Workload

Of course you'll have plenty to share when it comes to 'work' topic and that's exactly the purpose of one these daily one minute challenges! 

To help you 'dive' into your knowledge bank so you have less excuses and all the time in the word to succeed!

Few idioms regarding the 'work' topic that you can use in your story':

1.Swamped/snowed under: Overwhelmed with work; having too much to do.
2. Up to my neck/eyes in work: Extremely busy; deeply involved in a large amount of work.
3. Drowning in work: Similar to “swamped,” but suggests a feeling of being overwhelmed to the point of despair.
4. Have a lot on my plate: Having many tasks and responsibilities to handle.
5. Wearing many hats: Having multiple roles or responsibilities.

Dive into the recording and practice listening & receive additional questions to help you expand your story even more!

To your success
Anatoly

🎙 One-Minute Speaking Challenge by Anatoly Glazkov – Voice Unlock Method™

One Minute Speaking Challenge: Work/Workload

This is a practical podcast. You will  need to look at the quiz. I introduce the topic, and then give you some exercises. The exercises take the form of a dialogue between A and B. You read what A says, listen to B ( which I read ), and then choose the most appropriate response.

Scott's Podcast

What to Do When Someone Else Misunderstands

On January 1, music magazine Rolling Stone released its list of "The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time," including famous musicians such as Frank Sinatra, Freddie Mercury, and many more.

Rolling Stone first released a list of its "100 Greatest Singers of All Time" in 2008, and has added 100 more artists for 2023.

Aretha Franklin is again number one on the list, with Rolling Stone calling her singing "the most magnificent sound" to ever come out of America.

Next is Whitney Houston at number two, while soul singer Sam Cooke is number three. Jazz singer Billie Holiday is fourth, while pop star Mariah Carey is fifth.



However, some music fans are unhappy that their favorite artists are very low on the list, or aren't included at all.

For example, some Twitter users are angry that Michael Jackson is number 86, while Beyoncé is in the top 10.

Rolling Stone seemed to expect mixed reactions, writing that people should remember that this is the "Greatest Singers" list, not the "Greatest Voices" list.

The magazine said it was looking at things like originality, how many songs someone made and how much they changed music, not just how well they could sing.

Many Twitter users are also angry that Céline Dion was not included on the list — with more than one calling it "a crime against humanity."

The Canadian singer is one of the best-selling artists of all time, with many Grammy awards and even several Oscars for her songs from films, including Titanic and Beauty and the Beast.

Madonna and Justin Bieber are also not on the list, while Ariana Grande and Bob Dylan are.