Today we're talking about the idiom "bells and whistles", we'll also hear the phrase, "nice-to-have". I hope you find today's vocabulary useful!

DAILY Business English VOCABULARY builder

I don't really need these bells and whistles! 

1. Have you ever been on a blind date? How did it go?
2. Have you been on any boring or awkward dates?
3. Do you know any couples who met online? Have they been together long?
4. What are the most romantic places to go on a date in your town or city?

English Corner

Dating Study Asks What Behaviors Lead to Second Dates

DOCTOR: What seems to be the problem?
CATHY: Well, I have a bad cough and a sore throat. I also have 
a headache.
DOCTOR: How long have you had these symptoms?
CATHY: About three days now. And I’m really tired, too.
DOCTOR: Hmm. It sounds like you’ve got the flu. Take aspirin
every four hours and get plenty of rest. Make sure you 
drink lots of fluids. Call me if you’re still sick next week.
CATHY: OK, thanks

LANGUAGE NOTES 
• What seems to be the problem? means “What is the problem?” Notice that the intonation 
falls at the end of the question. The doctor wants information, not a “yes/no” answer.
• Well is used as an introductory word. Notice how the vowel is drawn out, to sound like 
“Weeeeeell …” This can be used as a way to “buy time” while you think about what you 
want to say next.
• A bad cough … a sore throat … a headache: Notice the article “a” before each symptom.
• About is used to mean “more or less.” It’s used here to give an estimate of time.
• Take aspirin … get rest … Make sure … Call me: Notice the doctor uses the simple tense 
here to give instructions. This is the imperative form of the verb.
• Still sick means “continue to be sick.”

English Conversation practice (30-day challenge)

Day 11: At the doctor's office

Tom给Mos介绍他的家人

T：我的 爸爸他的 名字  Thomas。我的  妈妈 的 名字  Maggie。  我的 太太 的 名字  Bella。
M:  Tom, 你   有没有   妹妹？
T:    我 有 妹妹，她的 名字  Abbe。
M：我 也 有 妹妹。我 的 妹妹 的 名字 Melody。
T：我们 都 有 妹妹。
M：你  有没有  房子？
T：有。我 的 爸爸  妈妈 也 有。我 的 妹妹  没有，她 有 房间。
M：我  没有  房子。 你  妹妹  的 房间  大不大？
T：不太大。你 的   房间   大不大？
M：我 的  房间 太小了。

Tom is introducing his family to Mos.
T: My father, his name’s Thomas. My mother’s name Maggie. 
My wife’s name Bella. 
M: Tom, do you have younger sister?
T: I have sister. My sister’s name Abbe.
M: I also have younger sister. My Sister’s name Melody. 
T: Both of us have younger sisters.
M: Do you have a house?
T: Yes. My dad and mom also have. My younger sister doesn’t have,
 she has a room.
M: I don’t have a house. Is your sister’s room big or not? 
T: Not too big. Is your room big or not?
M: My room is too small.





Basic communication conversations

第一课 你好，我的房间   lesson 1 hello, my room

In episode 2 I asked if you sound English when you speak this language.  
What I meant was do you pronounce the silent letters and use other spoken features of the language.  In this episode, I review the silent b and L. 

I also refer you to this dictionary.   www.engdic.org

Accelerate Your IELTS Speaking with Ralph

3 The Silent Letters

给爸爸、妈妈的信！
爸爸、妈妈，你们好吗？我来中国三个月了。我能说汉语了，会写汉字了，还看了一本汉语书。你们听了高兴吗？北京今天下雨了，很冷。你们那儿怎么样呢？我们学校有一个汉语老师。同学们都很喜欢他。老师的家在学校前面。有时候，我们坐出租车去他家玩。他请我们喝茶、吃中国菜。他家的桌子、椅子都是中国风，很漂亮。我的朋友病了。昨天上午，我和他去了医院。医生说，现在天气很冷，你要多喝热水；多吃菜和水果；多睡觉。
我想睡觉了，爸爸妈妈晚安！
你们的女儿。

Gěi Bàba、Māma de xìn ！ 
Bàba、Māma ， nǐmen hǎo ma ？ Wǒ lái Zhōngguó sān gè yuè le 。 Wǒ néng shuō Hànyǔ le ， huì xiě Hànzì le ， hái kàn le yì běn Hànyǔshū 。 Nǐmen tīng le gāoxìng ma ？ Běijīng jīntiān xiàyǔ le ， hěn lěng 。 Nǐmen nàer zěnmeyàng ne ？ Wǒmen xuéxiào yǒu yí gè hànyǔ lǎoshī 。 Tóngxuémen dōu hěn xǐhuan tā 。 Lǎoshī de jiā zài xuéxiào qiánmian 。 Yǒushíhou ， wǒmen zuò chūzūchē qù tā jiā wán ， tā qǐng wǒ men hē chá 、 chī Zhōngguócài 。 Tājiā de zhuōzi 、 yǐzi dōu shì Zhōngguófēng ， hěn piàoliang 。 Wǒ de péngyou bìng le .  Zuótiān shàngwǔ ， wǒ hé tā qù le yīyuàn 。 yīsheng shuō ， xiànzài tiānqì hěn lěng ， nǐ yào duō hē rèshuǐ ， duō chī cài hé shuǐguǒ ， duō shuìjiào 。 
Wǒ xiǎng shuìjiào le ， Bàba、Māma wǎnān ！ 
Nǐmen de nǚér 。


Learn Chinese through stories - HSK1  （more podcast：https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk_Q-vfEdpBJCRJviEEY0KQ）

A letter for Dad and Mum

Neste episódio vamos falar de um tipo de luta popular no Brasil!

Portuguese Audios for Intermediate Advance B2 -Áudios em Português para Intermédios Avançados B2

Lúcia está aprendendo a lutar

In this episode we are going to learn 【Weather】in Chinese. 
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As a beginner, there're some vocabularies that you didn't learn before, and native speaker's speed seems too fast to understand. But don't worry, let's do it step by step. 
1st time: listen and catch the words you know already, have a guess about the content.
2nd time: look at the text to check if you guessed it right. 
3rd time: listen one more time, repeat after it.
4th time: practice until you can speak as the normal speed without looking at the text. 
--------------------------------------------------
最近的天气很奇怪。
zuì jìn de tiān qì hěn qí guài 。
The weather has been weird lately.
今天天气很好，不冷不热。
jīn tiān tiān qì hěn hǎo ， bù lěng bú rè 。
Today the weather is good, neither too cold nor too hot.
昨天天气不太好，太热了。
zuó tiān tiān qì bú tài hǎo ， tài rè le 。
The weather was not very good yesterday, it was too hot.
明天很冷，气温只有10度。
míng tiān hěn lěng ， qì wēn zhǐ yǒu shí dù 。
Tomorrow is very cold, the temperature is only 10 °C.
下个星期下雨，我不会去公园跑步。
xià gè xīng qī xià yǔ ， wǒ bú huì qù gōng yuán pǎo bù 。
It's raining next week and I won't go running in the park.
你在哪个城市呢？
nǐ zài nǎ gè chéng shì ne ？
Which city are you in?
你那里今天是阴天还是晴天呢？
nǐ nà lǐ jīn tiān shì yīn tiān hái shì qíng tiān ne ？
Is it cloudy or sunny where you are today?

Yuli's Chinese Channel

天气 Weather （Beginner）

I talk about the verb to fuel, Earth hour and give some examples.

Transcript https://drive.google.com/file/d/145eB8kYzHPrdwU7aUusvW87dzjAtzk5f/view?usp=drivesdk