Many people have not just given up on their New Year's resolution, they've even given up on making a resolution.
Let's have a plan to improve our English, (or anything!) this year.

The Social Evolutionary

5 Minute Plan to Learn English in the New Year.

Learn these 5. 学习这五个。
Deceive	         欺骗               qīpiàn
Decide	         决定               juédìng
Decline	         衰退              shuāituì
Decorate        装饰              zhuāngshì
Decrease	 减少	       jiǎnshǎo
This podcast goes together with Vocabulary & Quiz Set C(14). 
You can go through the Vocabulary flash cards and Quiz Set at Mrs. Malay's teacher page.  


5 Verbs a Day. 每天学习五个动词。

C(14): Deceive, Decide, Decline, Decorate, Decrease

In this 1 minute episode I will be discussing 'British Politeness'.

Please find the transcript of the episode below.

Welcome to this British English podcast. 

In this episode I'll be discussing the topic 'British politeness'.

Brits, which is short for 'British people', are often known for being polite. 

Polite means "showing respect for other people". For example, many Brits often say 'please and thank you'.

In Britain, people often say 'sorry'. They use the word 'sorry' in many different situations. For example,

"sorry I'm late!" or if a person bumps into you, they will often say 'sorry' very quickly. 

 British people are indirect when speaking. For example, a British person wouldn't say
"give me the salt", instead they would say "could you pass me the salt, please?". 

Finally, British people love to queue. 
To queue means 'to wait in line'. They queue for everything! Especially the bus!

1 Minute British English Podcasts

British Politeness

Listen and learn how to buy fruits and vegetables from the greengrocer. The episode focuses on the use of "ne" as a partitive particle.

Cliente: Buongiorno! Vorrei comprare della frutta e della verdura.

Venditore: Certo, signora! Che tipo di frutta e verdura sta cercando?

Cliente: Vorrei delle mele, delle banane e delle arance come frutta. Per quanto riguarda la verdura, mi servono delle carote e dei pomodori.

Venditore: Ottimo! Abbiamo delle mele rosse e verdi. Quante ne vorrebbe?

Cliente: Mi dia per favore quattro mele rosse e due mele verdi. 

Venditore: Certamente. E per le banane, preferisce quelle mature o ancora verdi?

Cliente: Preferisco le banane mature. Me ne dia quattro, per favore.

Venditore: Benissimo. E per le arance, le preferisce dolci o leggermente acide?

Cliente: Preferisco le arance dolci. Posso prenderne cinque?

Venditore: Assolutamente. Ora passiamo alla verdura. Quante carote desidera?

Cliente: Me ne servono due.

Venditore: Perfetto. E per i pomodori, li vuole maturi o ancora un po' acerbi?

Cliente: I pomodori maturi. Ne vorrei quattro.

Venditore: Devo aggiungere qualcos'altro?

Cliente: No, grazie. Penso che sia tutto.

Venditore: Va bene. Ecco a lei le sue mele, banane, arance, carote e pomodori. Il totale è di 12 euro.

Cliente:  Ecco a Lei. Grazie mille!

Venditore: Grazie a lei! Buona giornata!

Italiano Chiaro

Dal Fruttivendolo

In this episode of Everyday English with Teacher Alyse, we’re talking about how to ask and answer the question: “How was your weekend?” or “What did you do over the weekend?”
You’ll learn how to:
•	Use the past simple tense (regular and irregular verbs)
•	Talk about common weekend activities
•	Adjust your answers depending on who you’re talking to—whether it’s a friend, a teacher, or your boss
•	Ask natural questions to keep the conversation going
•	Use casual English to lead into making plans or hanging out
Perfect for ESL students who want to feel more confident in everyday conversations. Practice vocabulary, grammar, and real-world examples all in one short lesson.
🎧 Let’s make small talk a big success!

**Full transcript available upon request.**

Everyday English with Teacher Alyse

How to Talk About Your Weekend

Conoce a esta chica escocesa que tiene mucho que contar de su aventura en España. En esta primera parte de la entrevista, descubrirás quién es Cat y aprenderás la labor tan importante que realiza laboralmente.  

Café con acento

Café con acento - Entrevista con Cat 1 (Escocia)

《匆匆》

作者: 朱自清

　
　　燕子去了，有再来的时候；杨柳枯了，有再青的时候；桃花谢了，有再开的时候。但是，聪明的，你告诉我，我们的日子为什么一去不复返呢？——是有人偷了他们罢：那是谁？又藏在何处呢？是他们自己逃走了罢：现在又到了哪里呢？
　　我不知道他们给了我多少日子；但我的手确乎是渐渐空虚了。在默默里算着，八千多日子已经从我手中溜去；像针尖上一滴水滴在大海里，我的日子滴在时间的流里，没有声音，也没有影子。我不禁头涔涔而泪潸潸了。
　　去的尽管去了，来的尽管来着；去来的中间，又怎样地匆匆呢？早上我起来的时候，小屋里射进两三方斜斜的太阳。太阳他有脚啊，轻轻悄悄地挪移了；我也茫茫然跟着旋转。于是——洗手的时候，日子从水盆里过去；吃饭的时候，日子从饭碗里过去；默默时，便从凝然的双眼前过去。我觉察他去的匆匆了，伸出手遮挽时，他又从遮挽着的手边过去，天黑时，我躺在床上，他便伶伶俐俐地从我身上跨过，从我脚边飞去了。等我睁开眼和太阳再见，这算又溜走了一日。我掩着面叹息。但是新来的日子的影儿又开始在叹息里闪过了。
　　在逃去如飞的日子里，在千门万户的世界里的我能做些什么呢？只有徘徊罢了，只有匆匆罢了；在八千多日的匆匆里，除徘徊外，又剩些什么呢？过去的日子如轻烟，被微风吹散了，如薄雾，被初阳蒸融了；我留着些什么痕迹呢？我何曾留着像游丝样的痕迹呢？我赤裸裸来到这世界，转眼间也将赤裸裸的回去罢？但不能平的，为什么偏要白白走这一遭啊？
　　你聪明的，告诉我，我们的日子为什么一去不复返呢？
　
　　1922年3月28日

Yasmine's Chinese Reading - advanced

《匆匆》 ——朱自清

With summer just around the corner here are 5 great words to use when talking about holidays