Listen to me reading a news article from 2019 about tourism from my Conversational English course.

A Thai beach made famous in a movie called 'The Beach' is to remain closed following a sharp rise in visitor numbers which severely damaged the environment.

Listen to English with Pip

News article: Thai beach closed temporarily due to tourism

italki online Japanese teacher, Tatsuki and I talked about Italy. He lives in Italy now, so we talked about the language, life, etc.

Tatsuki's podcast:
https://tatsukisjapanese.buzzsprout.com 

Akari Talks Japan

Talk about Italy with Tatsuki  イタリアの言語や生活についておしゃべり

https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/wirtschaft/musk-twitter-uebernahme-auf-eis-100.html

Die 44 Milliarden Dollar schwere Übernahme von Twitter durch Elon Musk liegt auf Eis. Das teilte der Tesla-Chef am Freitag mit. 

Tech-Milliardär Elon Musk hat seinen Deal zum Kauf von Twitter an diesem Freitag für vorläufig ausgesetzt erklärt. Musk begründete das mit ausstehenden Informationen zur Zahl der Spam- und Falschkonten bei dem Kurznachrichtendienst aus den USA. Es müsse erst nachgewiesen werden, dass diese weniger als fünf Prozent der Nutzer ausmachten.

German News Reading with Tingting

ep1. Musk legt Twitter-Übernahme auf Eis 

In this episode we’re talking about the flood of solidarity in the aftermath of the horrible tragedy that hit the southernmost state of Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, in early May 2024.

Best Way Portuguese Podcast

The flood of solidarity in the wake of a tragedy

Let's review some basic Spanish! We'll cover basic introductory questions, telling the time, and speaking about your daily routine.

Super Basic Spanish

Learn Basic Spanish: Repaso/Review (presentación, usted vs tú, horas, actividades diarias)

Like many other grandmothers, Daisy likes to knit, and she isn't very good with technology.

Or, at least, that's what she might tell people on the phone.

Daisy also describes herself as "your worst nightmare." But don't worry, she's not talking to you — she's talking to phone scammers.

That's because Daisy is actually an AI chatbot. She was created by UK phone company Virgin Media O2 to speak to scammers on the phone and make them believe they're talking to a real person.

Older people are very vulnerable to scams. In July, a UK study found that about 67% of people over the age of 75 were victims of at least one scam attempt in the six months before the study — with almost 75% being phone scams.

Enter Daisy, who has been trained to have conversations with phone scammers and waste their time.

Virgin Media O2 worked with Jim Browning, a YouTuber who has spent years "scambaiting" — that is, pretending to be a clueless victim to waste scammers' time.

And that's the whole point — Daisy can't stop scammers, but she can slow them down.

"Whenever she's on the phone with a scammer, your parents, your grandparents, your relatives, are not being scammed," Browning told Sky News.

The company says Daisy is already "wasting hundreds and hundreds of hours of scammers' time," and has shared real-life conversations the chatbot has had with scammers.

Some conversations last nearly an hour. She talks about her cat, Fluffy, and people in her family. In some conversations, she gives the scammers what they want — bank details. But of course, they're not real.

Murray Mackenzie from Virgin Media O2 said Daisy is also a reminder that the person you're speaking to on the phone might not always be who they say they are.

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

Meet the AI Grandma Wasting Scammers' Time

CHISTES MEXICANOS

LA MUERTE DE UN LORO.

Intermediate Chinese Listening：年龄和称呼  Age and address

Intermediate Chinese Listening

2024 nián 10 yuè ，dì 136 jiè Zhōngguó jìn chū kǒu jiāoyì huì zài Guǎngzhōu jǔxíng 。
2024  年   10   月，  第 136  届      中国        进  出   口    交易   会   在       广州         举行。

Tā yě bèi chēng wéi  ”Guǎng jiāo huì “。
它  也  被    称       为      ”广     交     会“。

Guǎng jiāo huì fēn wéi sān qī ：
  广       交    会   分   为   三   期： 

Dì yī qī ，10 yuè 15 rì dào 10 yuè 19 rì ，zhǎn chū diànqì 、qìchē děng chǎnpǐn ；
第 一 期，10   月  15  日  到 10  月   19 日，  展    出     电器、    汽车   等     产   品；

Dì èr qī ，10 yuè 23 rì dào 10 yuè 27 rì ，zhǎn chū jiājù ，lǐpǐn děng chǎnpǐn ；
第 二 期,   10  月  23 日  到  10   月  27  日，  展    出   家具，  礼品  等     产  品；

Dì sān qī ，10 yuè 31 rì dào 11 yuè 4 rì,  zhǎn chū fúzhuāng,  yīliáo děng chǎnpǐn ；
第 三 期，   10 月   31 日  到   11  月  4  日，展   出      服  装，     医疗   等        产品；

Guǎng jiāo huì bùjǐn yǒu xiàn xià zhǎn ，tóngshí yě yǒu xiàn shàng zhǎn 。
  广       交    会   不仅    有    线    下    展，      同时     也 有     线      上      展。

Tā shì Zhōngguó dì yī zhǎn 。
它  是    中   国      第  一 展。


词汇 cí huì (words)
1. 届 jiè  (measure word for grand meeting, activity )
2. 进口 jìn kǒu (import)
3. 出口 chū kǒu (export)
4. 交易会 jiāoyì huì (trade fair)
5. 期 qī (measure word for a period, phase)
6. 展出 zhǎn chū (put on display)
7. 电器 diànqì  (electric appliance)
8. 汽车 qìchē (automobile)
9. 家具 jiājù (furniture)
10. 礼品 lǐpǐn ( gift)
11. 服装 fúzhuāng (garment)
12. 医疗 yīliáo (medical treatment)
13. 产品 chǎnpǐn (product)

In October 2024, the 136th China Import and Export Fair was held in Guangzhou. It is also called "Canton Fair".
Canton Fair is divided into three phases:
the first phase, from October 15 to October 19, will display electrical appliances, automobiles and other products;
The second phase, from October 23 to October 27, showcases furniture, gifts and other products;
The third phase, from October 31 to November 4, will show clothing, medical treatment and other products;
Canton Fair not only has offline exhibition, but also online exhibition.
It is the first exhibition in China.

