《红玫瑰与白玫瑰》张爱玲

也许每一个男子全都有过这样的两个女人，至少两个。娶了红玫瑰，久而久之，红的变了墙上的一抹蚊子血，白的还是床前明月光；娶了白玫瑰，白的便是衣服上沾的一粒饭黏子，红的却是心口上一颗朱砂痣。

Chilling Chinese 

红玫瑰与白玫瑰

白雪公主想和继母一起玩儿。
Báixuě gōngzhǔ xiǎng hé jìmǔ yīqǐ wánr。
Snow White tried to play with her new stepmother.

“走开！” 王后把门关上。
“Zǒukāi!”  Wánghòu bǎ mén guānshang。
"Go away!" The queen slammed her door.

王后看着魔镜。
Wánghòu kànzhe mó jìng。
The queen looked into her magic mirror.

“魔镜啊魔镜，” 她问，
"Mó jìng a mó jìng," Tā wèn, 
"Mirror, mirror on the wall," she asked.

“谁是最美的女人？” 
"Shéi shì zuì měi de nǚrén?"
"Who is the fairest of them all?"

“尊敬的王后，” 魔镜说，
"Zūnjìng de wánghòu," Mó Jìng shuō,
"My Lady," the mirror said.

“您是最美的女人。” 
"Nín shì zuì měi de nǔrén。”
"You are the fairest woman in the kingdom."

一年又一年，白雪公主长大了。
Yī nián yòu yī nián, báixuě gōngzhǔ zhǎngdà le。
Years passed, and Snow White grew up.

她经常路过村庄。
Tā jīngcháng lùguò cūnzhuāng。
She often walked through the village.

她和孩子们一起唱歌。
Tā hé háizimen yīqǐ chàng gē。
She sang songs with children.

她把食物分给穷人们。
Tā bǎ shíwù fēn gěi qióngrénmen。
She gave food to poor people.

大家都非常喜欢白雪公主。
Dàjiā dōu fēicháng xíhuan báixuě gōngzhǔ。
Everyone loved the young princess.

“白雪公主太美了。” 一个女人说。
“Báixuě gōngzhǔ tài měi le。” Yī gè nǔrén shuō。
"Snow White is so beautiful," a woman said.

“要是能跟她结婚就好了。” 一个男人说。
“Yàoshì néng gēn tā jiéhūn jiù hǎo le。” Yī gè nánrén shuō。
"I wish I could marry her," a man said.


Listening & Speaking (Mandarin)

白雪公主与七个小矮人（ 新王后-2）Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs   (HSK 2-3)

Live, raw, and uncut footage of English learners. Can you spot the mistakes?

AngliaEnglish

Living in a city

北海道の札幌味噌ラーメン
福岡の博多とんこつラーメン
そして一般的な普通の醤油ラーメン

スープだけじゃなくて麺も違いがあります。
太い麺　細い麺　細くも太くもない普通の麺。

Japanese "Taka" it easy

僕の大好きなラーメン

More episode on Podcast - Apple podcast/Spotify
Transcript/more exclusive episodes are available only on Patreon

Thinking out loud in Japanese

スタンフォードだいがく１

Is there an art to sharing happiness with eloquence? Smith explores this question. In his insightful discussion, he unravels the intricacies of expressing joy. Through accessible yet refined language, Smith emphasizes the importance of genuine and articulate phrases in conveying happiness, creating meaningful connections, and spreading positivity.

LEARN BY LISTENING

Are You Happy?

In this episode for upper-intermediate and advanced English learners, I’ll talk about my experiences delivering food with DoorDash, and you'll have the opportunity to practice your listening comprehension skills by answering a set of questions at the end of the episode. 

I welcome you to share your answers and other thoughts in the comments!

The idioms I mention near the beginning of the episode are:
- to keep a roof over one's head
- to make ends meet
- to put food on the table

(Music by Lesfm from Pixabay)


Conversations With a Friend

Working as a Restaurant Delivery Driver - English Listening Comprehension

Listen to this interesting article!

University Students Interested in Stress-Reducing Cats
While a number of universities offer students opportunities to play with dogs as a way to reduce stress, little is known about whether cats could help in the same way.

So researchers from the US and Belgium surveyed more than 1,400 students and staff from 19 Belgian universities to see how interested they would be in on-campus cat visiting programs.

Participants were asked seven questions about a possible cat program, including whether they would like to have a cat on campus, if they would find it relaxing, whether they would visit the cat, and whether they would recommend a cat program to other universities. They gave each idea a score out of five.

The average total score was 3.8 in favor of a campus cat.

The researchers found that the people with the most positive feelings about a cat program were women, cat owners, people who were more emotional, and — perhaps surprisingly — people who were interested in dog programs.

The study authors said that previous research has shown that emotional people are more likely to have strong relationships with animals.

However, dog owners, as well as people who were afraid of or allergic to cats, were found to be less interested in a cat program. Some also worried that having a cat on campus would be risky.

According to the researchers, the aim of the study was to find more ways to help people feel less stressed.

They believe cats can help, since including both cats and dogs in these stress-reducing programs could encourage more people to take part, and cats would need less training than dogs to help.

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

University Students Interested in Stress-Reducing Cats

¡Hola! Volvemos a hablar de comida. Sí, me gusta comer. 
Hoy os cuento dónde compro el pan, aprendemos algunas palabras nuevas y mi amigo Javi nos enseña cómo preparar un conejo al ajillo de p*** madre.
¿Preparados? ¡¡Vamos!!
