分享汉语学习中，国外学生难以理解的知识点、以及汉语考试中的重难点和易错点。
Share the knowledge points that are difficult for foreign students to understand in Chinese learning, as well as the error prone points in Chinese examination.


杨小红的播客

Listen to me reading a short news article about the pros and cons of internet dating, as part of my Conversational English course.

Listen to English with Pip

News article: online dating

        如果问学中文普通话的朋友：哪一部分最难？相信很多人都会说：“声调，四个声调。” 我经常对学生说：“说中文普通话就像唱歌一样，其实不难。” 或许有人会说：你这是：“站着说话不腰疼”，我要说的是：如果您把最困难的“四声”问题解决好了，说好普通话其实还是一件挺愉快的事情。

四季人生（The Four Seasons of Life）

4-四声与四味Four sounds and four tastes

Understanding Change Management
Change management is an essential discipline for organizations facing the ever-changing business environment. It involves a structured approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from a current state to a desired future state. This can include changes in company culture, internal processes, technology, infrastructure, and corporate hierarchy.

There are two primary types of organizational change:

Adaptive Changes: These are incremental adjustments that organizations make to evolve over time. Examples include hiring new team members or implementing work-from-home policies.
Transformational Changes: These are comprehensive shifts that significantly alter the organization’s operations. Examples include launching new products, entering new markets, or undergoing a company-wide restructuring.

Best Practices

Aligning HR Initiatives
Align HR strategies with the organization’s goals and engage stakeholders to ensure buy-in and facilitate smooth transitions.

Facilitating Open Dialogue
Maintain transparent communication to alleviate uncertainty and build trust among employees.

Sharing the “Why”
Provide the rationale behind changes to help employees understand the necessity of decisions.

Enlisting Sponsors
Secure committed sponsors who actively support the change and can influence its success.

Addressing Employee Concerns
Recognize that employees may resist change for various reasons and provide support to manage this resistance.

Using Storytelling
Employ narratives to convey the organization’s culture, values, and vision, connecting emotionally with employees.

Creating Urgency and Feedback Loops
Communicate the need for change compellingly and establish mechanisms to gather feedback and adjust strategies accordingly.

Securing Leadership Support
Ensure that executives are visibly committed to the change, as their support is crucial for encouraging others to follow.


The Global Professional Podcast

Change Management Best Practices   -  Episode 51

A new survey in Japan has shown that many people may be giving up on "happily ever after" when they get older than 35.

A survey by the Nippon Foundation asked 6,000 people, aged 15 to 45, about the country's falling birth rate. Among the 3,935 single participants, 46% said they want to get married, while 33% said they don't.

However, when asked if they really think they will get married, only 27% said yes, while 39% said no.

Younger people were more hopeful about marriage, with about 40% of those aged 15 to 25 thinking they will marry. But over 50% of single people aged 36 to 45 believe they won't get married, suggesting people may give up on marriage as they age.

Of the 1,313 people who said they don't want to get married, 40% said they prefer being single. Other reasons for staying single included not being able to see any benefit to marrying, and wanting to put their own life first. More than 20% didn't have a clear reason or just didn't know why.

For the 267 people who want to marry but think they won't, the top reason for thinking it won't happen is not having chances to meet potential partners, which was mentioned by 49% of these people. Others said they weren't good at getting along with people of the opposite sex, or felt financially insecure.

Where people lived also affected views on marriage. About 30% of people in central Tokyo and big cities thought they would marry, but only just over 20% of those in smaller towns and villages felt the same.

Marriages in Japan have been decreasing for years. In 2023, there were 3.9 marriages per 1,000 people in Japan — down from a high of 12 marriages per 1,000 people in 1947.

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

Japan's Over-35s Giving Up on Marriage

This episode is about 【“Emotion”fruit 】, you will learn how to say 【emotion,anxiety,pun】 ect. The material helps you get used to different voice and accent. 
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It is recommended that you study in the following ways:
Step 1: Gist listening. Listen to get the main idea. (more times if necessary)
Step 2: Read the text to find out words you didn't get, then look up the dictionary. 
Step 3: Listen and imitate as much as you can without looking at the text.
Step 4: Write down what you hear if you want to practise writing.
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男：最近在职场办公桌上“种香蕉”火了，这一段时间水培香蕉，菠萝等水果“爆改”工位的相关内容在网上火爆，被叫做“禁止蕉绿（焦虑）”“动感光菠（波）”的情绪水果成为了年轻人的“上班新搭子”。
女：成段的香蕉，整株的菠萝放到了办公桌上，那这也当然是成为大家一个热议话题，很多网友都在网上发表自己的观点啊。“拒绝焦虑绿植”的话题也多次登上了热搜榜。那么这些所谓的“情绪水果”更是在各大电商平台销量暴增。
男：当这些谐音梗蔬菜上市的时候，那大家都希望着能够用剥开香蕉这种方式拨开焦虑。希望让自己的焦虑能够得到一些缓解。
女：我们用谐音梗表达自己的情感，形成了一个消费的仪式感。关键是这些水果吧，它好看好养也还算有趣，价格还没那么离谱，好像也能带来很多交流的话题啊。
男：当然市场上这类产品用这种独特的情感标签和内涵吸引了很多人的关注。“情绪价值”这个词，这两年很多人都在说，能够带来价值的情绪，能够带来有情绪的价值，那么大家就愿意去消费。市场有需求，那当然商家就有动力了。这其实也是小水果能够撬动大家消费的一个原因。
女：我想其实“情绪水果”归根结底反映的还是大家的一种心理的诉求和一个关注情绪的现状啊。包括我们更加注重自身的心理健康了，更倾向于能够选择代表自己态度和生活方式的一些消费品。这不光是满足最基本的吃饱了喝好了，更是一种情绪的表达。
男：对，我们整个社会越来越关注大家的情绪，这也是一件好事。水果蔬菜谐音梗与营销结合在一块，也给蔬菜水果的走俏、翻红提供了可能。
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情绪 / qíng xù / Emotions
职场 / zhí chǎng / workplace
水培 / shuǐ péi / hydroponics
爆改工位 / bào gǎi gōng wèi / extreme makeover of office cubicle
焦虑 / jiāo lǜ / Anxiety
动感光波 / dòng gǎn guāng bō / Dynamic Lightwave（A skill in the video game）
热搜榜 / rè sōu bǎng / most searched hashtags
搭子 / dāzi / companion
电商平台 / diàn shāng píng tái / e-commerce platform
谐音梗 / xié yīn gěng / pun
剥开 / bāo kāi / peel off
拨开 / bō kāi / clear away
离谱 / lí pǔ / outrageous
内涵 / nèi hán / connotation
撬动 / qiào dòng / pry
归根结底 / guī gēn jié dǐ / get to the bottom of the matter
诉求 / sù qiú / appeal
营销 / yíng xiāo / marketing
走俏 / zǒu qiào / sell well
翻红 / fān hóng / become popular again

Yuli's Chinese Channel

情绪水果 “Emotion”fruit （Advanced level）

There are three different meanings in English for the word "esperar".

Remember to try the quiz questions to check you comprehension.

The Social Evolutionary

Hold on! What does "esperar" mean? (For Spanish students learning English.)

This episode covers basic greetings in Afrikaans and includes an example discussion in Afrikaans using the vocabulary that has been learned. 