“What did you say?”
“I didn’t understand that. Could you say that again?”
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ON MONDAY
ESL Podcast 666 – Traveling to Less Popular Sites
In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “to plan out” and “to get lost.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “Travel Writers.”
“Each year, publisher Houghton Mifflin publishes an “anthology” (a collection of small pieces written by many different people) called “The Best American Travel Writing” and each year has a guest editor who writes the introduction…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide
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ON WEDNESDAY
English Cafe 284
Topics: John Audubon and the Audubon Society; Famous Songs: “On Top of Old Smokey”; sign versus signal; figure out versus find out; to beat a dead horse
In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear).
In “What Insiders Know,” you will read about the book and the film The Birds.
“The famous English film director Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980) often directed films based on “novels” (long stories; a book not based on true events). One of his most famous films, The Birds, was based on a “novelette” (short novel) by the English author Daphne du Maurier…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide
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ON FRIDAY
ESL Podcast 667 – Trying to Remember
In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “combination” and “concentrate.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “Popular Mnemonics.”
“Americans use many mnemonics to remember lists of things that should be in a particular order. For example, some people remember the colors in the rainbow as: “Richard Of York “Gave Battle” (fought) “In Vain” (without success)…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide
hi!
How do you do?
Thank you Lucy, once again I have been listening to your clear crystalline voice in the English Cafe 283 telling us who was Margaret Mead, a scientific pioneer woman from last century who opened the eyes of other women to study as much as men in other to be scientific or researchers in whichever scientific field they wanted.
We need to thanks this and other pioneer women who have made such a great effort in favor of all women and men, all these extraordinary women opened our eyes and minds to accept each person for their aptitudes without having any kind of prejudices about their gender.
Thank you Mrs. Mead, I have three daughters and I know how difficult could be for you to reach such position in your time.
It´s really a luxury to have you with our dear Jeff in The English Cafes, thanks a million Lucy.
Your always admirer and friend,
emiliano
Again, sorry
“In order to be a scientific….”
so many mistakes, once we could see our notes….that´s quite useful.
Only to say to all the friends here that writing and seeing our mistakes is one of the best tools to improve our English.
Just write, that´s enough….
All the best.
emiliano
Jeff
Hi
“First row right behind the dug out ”
Where is it In a baseball match
I totally agree with you, Emiliano, just write, that’s enough….
Sometimes I feel very tired of writing, I feel I want to be lazy, but then when I remember reading Donn Kirst’s article “There are no shortcuts to success”, I know that in order to learn one language properly, I need to write something with that language whenever I can.
Yes, thank you very much, Emiliano, for reminding us to write.
*********************************
I now remembered, I was going to write something about the Hong Kong weather in Spring when asked by Emiliano, and then I was distracted by something else.
Hong Kong currently (early March) is getting warmer, about 18 degree centigrade, so not too hot yet.
However, Hong Kong is quite humid between March and September, we have to rely on dehumidifiers and air-conditioners to dry the air in our flats and stop everything (including pianos, clothes and books etc) become mouldy. April is the rainy season for Hong Kong, so not so good for tourists who want to be outside of their hotel rooms as much as possible.
Hong Kong has changed very rapidly since 1949, when The People’s Republic of China – was formed.
I think the natural environment has deteriorated because the population has at least increased sevenfold since 1949. And many skyscrapers were built in order to cope with the demand in housing. The tall buildings are like mountains blocking the fresh air from the sea, and trapped the moist air in between buildings – not at all pleasant.
However, for people who can afford it, some of those skyscrapers offer them very high standards of modern living. We could only dream of living in those concrete tall buildings when we were little. Ironically, low buildings nowadays are something very scarce and the majority of people in Hong Kong have no choice but to live in tall buildings which actually have no character.
That’s all from me today.
And if you want to practice your writing you can always look up topics on which to write articles, or opinion essays. This will help you a lot. And if you have a friends that is better at English you can ask him to check your article. Or an even better idea. Get a pen/email pal. There are websites where people want to connect with other people. This would be fun and you would get to become friends with somebody and maybe you might end u visiting an English speaking country!
Maybe I’ll say something not very pleasant to you. But I’ve wanted to say that for a long time. Why is Jeff so cruel and inhuman? His attitude towards the cats, the dogs, the children… It’s very important for me if the person is kind and love the animals and the people of course. Because the animals are always loyal, loving, funny, kind, …. I wonder how the normal and sane person can not love them. Do you think I’m wrong?
But he is a good teacher anyway
I guess Jeff was joking when he mentioned about the ‘children’, because he seemed to have been saying that all the time, and the ‘children’ must have become adults already, but he still has not changed his tone. So I guess the ‘children’ must be fictitious.
He must also know that the ‘children’ could be listening to him and he would not risk offending the ‘children’.
Only Jeff knows.
Hi Valeri,
nice to read your note and see you have enough character to say your opinion despite it could pleased us or not.
That´s good and it makes the Blog interesting as we all could not be in agreement about so much subjects, also
doubts about the feelings of our teachers what is really very brave of your part.
I don´t know if we have any right to say anything about this matter, my private opinion is NO, but I would like to say
something adding my own point of view to yours.
First of all, sorry Jeff I am going down a road that is not of my incumbency but with your permiss I think I have something
to say about the subject.
Sometimes Peter call me “the senior” here, and it could be the truth as I have been listening to the ESL and writing here since nearly the
beginning.
I can assure you that Jeff is always joking about himself first and after that about lot of things that haven´t anything to do with
the important subjects of life like religion, race, morality, honor, age, beliefs, and so on.
It´s possible that he has more than twenty/or thirty nephews and he has known all of them being children, it´s possible he has also
more children, so I do know he is always making fun about the noisy children in general, as I do frequently too.
Pets?
I don´t really know if he likes pets or not, in fact my wife is the best person I know and she does not like pets till now that I got a cat.
But she have not ever be cruel about any animals or pets, she didn´t like them before but she likes now our cat Gatufo, what is
nice for me.
Of course, a person that doesn´t like pets has all the rights to dislike them, even more if the neighbor´s dog is all day barking
which of course it would be the failure of the neighbor not the poor dog.
Making fun of this subject if it would be true? Absolutely natural and with a lot of good humor as other people react other
very bad way, you know what I mean.
The fact of making some jokes about cats or dogs doesn´t mean cruelty or any kind of bad feelings against the animals , it´s a way of
caricaturing some human actions about their pets and the lack of consideration some of this people use to have to other persons who
could not like their bad educated pets.
Finally I could assure you and other friends that as much as I know Jeff, for nearly five years, I feel him as a really nice tender
person with every creature of the world.
Again, it´s not my business but it´s of justice to say what I really know quite well.
Just a pleasure to have you here Valeri, and don´t worry about this subject, Jeff is one of the most nicer person and teacher I have known for
long, be sure about it as I use to have a very good sight for that.
emiliano
Thank you, Emiliano, for your response and I very appreciate your opinion. But…. Jeff underscores his hatred towards the cats, the dogs etc. almost in every podcast and that barely looks like a joke. I personally can’t understand how someone can hate or don’t like someone who didn’t do anything bad to him. I doubt that the cats hurt Jeff somehow in the past, because they are simply not able to do that. They are God’s creatures and unfortunately they depend on us, people and our kindness and humanism very much. Because in this world they have nobody who can care about them besides us…
Jeff,
Seems like your blog has lost it’s path.
It is totally deviated from all it’s original intents and purposes:)
You didn’t mean it this way
This blog has turned into some kind of chat room:)
Hi Peter,
why do you think so?
By the contrary, I think it´s alive and free.
Just the place where everybody may say what their opinion is about several subjects, not only
the one which is posted by our teachers.
We may agree or not, but I do think all friends here are polite and with good manners.
To me is always good to read some controversial ideas about different topics if they are
exposed with respect.
—–
Thank you Valeri, I think you may be a good contribution to the Blog always, even more
if your views differ from most of the bloggers as it´s necessary some spices now and
then in which ever subject we may touch in future.
Talking about the subject I think that actions speak louder than not good reasons and
I know people here who have a very good speech doing nothing or just the contrary
of what they could say.
Lot of persons take care of a cat or a dog and when they are fed up with the poor
animal they leave the pet in the middle of the field without being responsible of
that so bad thing they are doing.
Thousands of dogs and cats are abandoned here in Spain each season and that´s the
real bad subject of our behavior with the animals.
The animals suffers a lot when they are abandoned by their people but they are not
conscious neither suffers if we could say something funny about them.
They do understand our actions not our comments.
In fact my dear cat Gatufo was abandoned in a Park here in Madrid called “La Casa
de Campo” when he was a baby cat. He was a little thing on a tree afraid of everything
and it´s possible that the person who made that said not any joke about pets.
That´s the point which is important to me.
Real actions not good or bad comments about which ever thing you may think.
Jeff is a friend that I know quite well, better than everyone of you may think.
May be he made some jokes about pets just
in the way of not saying that some pet owners are really stupid people that do not
know how to take care of their animals not disturbing other people who are
living with them.
Walk here around Madrid´s streets and you may see what I am talking about.
It could be just the same about children who are always shouting and not having
any kind of consideration about the other people who may be with them at the moment.
But, children are responsible for this behavior when they are in the street, in your
home or in the restaurant? even at the swimming community pool or in the park
hitting you on the face with the ball?
NO, of course.
Their parents are the responsible of the children, and they don´t use to take
any care about the behavior of their children or not so little children.
At home in the past there was a time that I had five children, my three daughters
and two nephews and their behavior was always good.
We could go any place with the five children without disturbing any body…
Now?
I don´t use to see that, even in my condominium there are four little children
who are always shouting which ever time they are in the house, their flat or
even playing in the entrance or the hall floors.
Some time I can´t even dream, so who are the responsible?
The children? despite some days I think they are devils or I may say something bad in low voice….
Just in that moment I could hate the neighbor children who are shouting beside my door or hitting
it without any consideration.
NO.
Their parents, and I can´t say anything because the explanations is always the same:
They are children, poor children they don´t know what they are doing….., and so on.
Could I be Shrek?, yes I am frequently.
But in fact I love children and pets all my life, not their caretakers frequently.
So, I understand Jeff perfectly well, even he makes me laugh just the moment he said
something about the subject.
All the best friend.
emiliano
Thank you, Emiliano. I think I should believe you about Jeff, because you obviously know him better then I do, and I don’t know him personally. Also I appreciate your kindness, our family often took abandoned cats from the street too and I always grew up with the pets in our house. I know that actions are what is really important. I know a lot of the hypocrites who say a lot of proper and beautiful things, but do nothing matching their words. Also I know how the unmannered children can be annoying and ,in my opinion, it’s totally their parents’ fault. Because the children are total reflection of their parents and everything that their parents have given them. I think these parents are the former children with the same bad upbringing. But anyway the children are the wonderful part of our life, they are our future. 🙂
And I’m sorry, Jeff, if I took something about you the wrong way
In the world that hopes get dashed ,we hope for the best.
We are charmingly naive
We Are ridiculously ……