News with zhe

7min Weekly News

"Good day, everyone, and welcome to our lecture on mastering American English vowel sounds. My name is Tom, and today, we’re going to explore the fascinating world of vowel pronunciation. By the end of this session, you’ll have a deeper understanding of vowel sounds and some practical exercises to improve your pronunciation."
Now, Let's Talk About Vowel Sounds
"First, what are vowel sounds? In simple terms, vowels are sounds produced with an open vocal tract, meaning there’s no significant obstruction of airflow. This openness is what gives vowels their clarity and resonance. In American English, vowels are especially distinctive and can change the meaning of words entirely. For example, compare bit and beat—a small difference in the vowel sound, but it creates two completely different words."


Sounds of American English: https://youtu.be/v5nh8u0zji8

Mastering American English- The Power of Vowel Sounds: https://youtu.be/v5nh8u0zji8

Hoy vamos a hacer un viaje fascinante a través de uno de los aspectos más coloridos del español: ¡sus acentos más raros, curiosos pero igual valiosos!

Porque… ¿Sabías que en ciertas regiones de Colombia el español suena casi como portugués? ¿O que en Argentina muchos dicen que parece que cantan en italiano? Hoy vas a descubrir por qué hablamos tan distinto los mismos hispanohablantes.

Conocerás mucho hoy sobre acentos, variaciones, pequeños ejemplos y datos interesantísimos. Comencemos.


Español con todo 

Los Acentos Más Raros del Español y Dónde Encontrarlos

won’t go ( bú qù ) 
haven’t gone（ méi qù）
don’t go （ bié qù ）

Chinese teacher Lucy

 What's the difference between bù ，méi ，and bié ?

Short story 「手ぶくろを買いに《 Buying Mittens》ep1」
This story is written by Nankichi Nīmi.
He is a Japanese author of children's literature.
Although his life was only 29 years, he left us with many stories to tell.

This episode is JLPT-N3 level.

I created a quiz on this episode.
After listening, please take the quiz!

Please use this audio for listening and shadowing practices.

☆words for this episode
https://note.com/smile_meg/n/naa2ccc6ddaee

☆Quiz for this episode
https://www.italki.com/quiz/set/6171?utm_source=copylink_share&utm_medium=share_content&utm_campaign=share_quiz


Simple Japanese Listening with Meg（めぐ）Smile

#21 Short story /  Buying Mittens ep1 / storytelling // N3 Level

Mum: Hi remember me?

Dad: Oh yeah, aren’t you wait, aren’t you the mother of my children?

Mum: Yes, how are you doing? Haven’t seen you in a while! 

Dad: Now I’ve put them to bed, I’m great! 

Mum: Today was exhausting!

Dad: Tell me about it. What time were you up?

Mum: About 4:30. I need that early morning time to get myself together and actually do some work before it all goes to hell.

Dad: Every night, I tell myself I’m going to do that, and every morning when the alarm goes off, I tell myself I need just a few more minutes of sleep.

Mum: You’re a night owl, I’m an early bird, it’s just how we are.

Dad: But I want to be an early bird and watch TV at night instead of doing the work I need to do. By the way, thanks for helping me out today. I owe you. Tomorrow, they’re mine.

Mum: It’s fine. Apart from when Justin dropped his yogurt, I think it went pretty well.

Dad: Oh, I don’t think anyone even noticed the screaming child while I was presenting – and if they did, they probably didn’t want to say anything in case they have their own children screaming on call in the future.

Mum: I don’t think I’m convinced about this hybrid working situation. Don’t get me wrong, I love not having to commute every day. With my job, that’s easily two hours of the day I get back. But organizing myself and kids and work?

Dad: Yeah, it’s a challenge. Some days I feel on top of it all, but there are days when I feel like I’m a terrible employee, a terrible father and a terrible husband.

Mum: (with joking intonation) Oh honey, don’t think like that. Trust me, you’re a terrible husband EVERY day, not just some days.

Dad: Just for that, I’m not going to tell you where Becky hid the chocolate Nutella.

Mum: I’ll just go and buy more.

Dad: or the car keys

Mum: Fine. You’re a wonderful husband on most days.

Dad: I’ll be wonderful tomorrow while you’re in your meeting. What are you doing again?

Mum: I’m just leading the meeting, but the CEO is going to be there. 

English Conversation/Dialogue

Mixing Responsibilities

Today we're looking at some synonyms of complex, those are some alternative words that mean a very similar thing. 

Todays words are:
complex
complicated
intricate
tricky
involved
convoluted