英语每日一听 | 每天少于5分钟

Todd : So I’m here with Angela and she is a writer and a traveler, a teacher, a businesswoman, and you’re also a mother. Angela : Yes. Twins. Todd : You have twins! That’s amazing! Wow. And so you also are now what’s called an empty nester. Can you explain what that means? Angela : It’s the feeling that you get when you realize that you’ve worked hard for your kids all those years and now the...

Todd : So, Natalie, you were saying that you are a foodie. Natalie : I'm a huge foodie. Todd : And you are now in Bangkok, and Bangkok is famous for its street stall food, but that's changing. Natalie : It is, so this is probably 70% of the reason why I moved to Bangkok because of the street food. So, yeah, the street food scene is changing. It seems like they're trying to take the model that's si...

Todd : I'm here with Natalie and she is working in Bangkok. And how long have you been here? Natalie : I've been here about 10 months. Todd : It's interesting to hear your thoughts on Bangkok because I was an English teacher here over 20 years ago from 1994 to 1998. It was my first teaching job and Bangkok was very different then than it is now. Now I would say it's a pretty amazing cosmopolitan c...

Todd : Well I have to admit, because even English teachers will tell you, and they're lying if they don't admit this, even on tests like the TOEFL, it's very hard for a teacher to get 100%. Not because of knowledge, but because of concentration. Rufei : Yes. Todd : Right? Rufei : Exactly. We have a lot of questions and some of them, they are kind of tricky. Todd : Right. Rufei : Yeah. Todd : So th...

Todd : Rufei, you said that your education system is very strict and you study like 15 hours a day. Rufei : Yes. Todd : Okay so, if you were in charge would you keep the system the same way? Rufei : It depends on the person. I think there should be a place that's as strict as my high school. You can choose to send your children to go there or if the students themselves, they want to go t...

Todd : Rufei, you are from China. In America, Chinese students have a reputation of being very hard-working. Is that true? Rufei : Yes, exactly. In my high school, in one class we have around 70 students in one class and everybody wants to be the top student, so everybody works so hard. I say my high school was kind of like a prison. You have to go to school every day from...

Viyasan :  So Gyri, can you tell me a little bit more about the lifestyle of school in Norway? For example, I've heard you guys don't have homework, don't have standardized tests. Tell me a little bit more about how school is in Norway. Gyri : Yeah. So, we don't have a lot of homework, that's true. When I was little, or in grade school we had homework, but not too much. I think they changed i...

Gyri : So what is your opinion on standardized tests? Viyasan : Standardized tests. Yeah, I've done quite a few standardized tests in Canada. In elementary school, we have the EQAO, so that's English, math, and I think literacy skills as well. But they have standardized tests that all elementary students do in grades three, in grade six, and grade nine. It depends. I think they're a good...

Ben : Hey let's talk about some like celebrities you like, or someone you know. Hana : Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah. My favorite singer is Taylor Swift. Ben : Really? Hana : Mm-hmm. Ben : Wow, why do you like Taylor Swift? Hana : First I like her songs, but mainly I like her look you know. That red lips and white skin and blonde hair. Kind of typical American. Ben : Albino, yeah. Hana : When I saw her...

Hana : Okay, so let's talk about movies. Ben : Okay. Hana : What kind of movie do you like? Ben : Well, my favorite genres are actually, let's see, science fiction, sci-fi, and horror. Hana : Horror? Ben : Yeah. Hana : What was the last movie you watched? Do you remember? Ben : The last movie I watched was a science fiction. It was called The Shape of Water. Hana : Okay. Never heard, never seen, y...

Todd : So, Meg, what do you like to do in your free time? Meg : Actually, I love cooking. I like to try new dishes and I love baking as well. Todd : Oh, nice. That's interesting. Because I hate cooking. Meg : Oh, really? Todd : Yeah. And I don't know anything about baking, but I like cleaning. Cleaning is relaxing. Meg : Really? Is that true? Todd : Yeah. Really, I like cleaning. So, my house is u...

Abidemi : Todd, are you good at saving money? Todd : No, I'm terrible. I waste money. I waste so much money. Abidemi : How? Todd : Well, I don't buy things on sale. I don't use coupons. I buy anything I see. Abidemi : So, when I shop, I don't look at prices. I just see the food or the thing and I get it and I buy it and I pay for it. And, then it's sometimes very expensive, so I just waste money....

Todd : Meg, I'm going to give you a test. Meg : Okay. Todd : It's a personality test. Meg : Uh-oh. Todd : And we want to know, are you a pack rat? Meg : Am I a pack rat? Todd : Right. Do you save things, do you keep things, or are you a minimalist? Do you have very few things in your house? Meg : Well, I think I try to be a minimalist, but I'm a little bit of a pack rat. Todd : Okay. We'll take th...

Todd : So Katie, I want to go to the mall. Katie : Okay. Todd : Have you been to the new mall? Katie : Yeah, I actually went there just yesterday. Todd : Okay. So I want to buy some computer stuff. Is there a computer store? Katie : There are two computer stores. Todd : Really? Ooh, that's good. Katie : There's a computer store on the first floor, and then very close to that there's also a Mac sto...

Ben : Hana, you just told me that one way to help with listening and practicing and understanding idioms is through American television dramas. Right? So, TV shows. Hana : Yes. Ben : Yeah. While you were learning English, what are some shows you watched? Something I wanna tell my  students  they can watch. Hana : My favorite all time is the TV drama called Friends. Ben : Oh, yeah! Yeah....

Ben : Hana, I'm currently teaching English as a Second Language, and I love for my  students  to get confident in producing English or increasing their listening ability. I know that you speak English as a second language, but you do such an amazing job and it's inspiring to me, so I love my students to improve and like it, and so because you're a perfect example, what are some...

Todd : So I'm here with Olga, who's a health coach and a life coach. You've talked a lot about things we should do, but what about stopping doing things or breaking bad habits? That's the hardest thing, right? What's your advice for giving up sugar or alcohol or obsessive behavior, things like that? Olga : Well, actually, I am not suggesting that people fight with themselves, and they avoid or bre...

Todd : So I'm here with Olga, and she's a health coach, and we were talking about the difference between modern trends in nutrition and traditional health and things like that. I thought I would throw out some idioms, and you ... age-old idioms, words of wisdom, and how they apply today. So the first one is: variety is the spice of life. Olga : I totally agree with that, and I see it in clinical p...

Gyri : What are some talents you wish you had? Viyasan : I would say this talent spreads a long time back and it's always something I'm very envious about. I don't have the best memory and so I really wish that my talent was to remember a lot easier or even have a photographic memory. I think that would be very useful, especially as a  student  during exams where we're able to read quite...

Gyri : Okay. Viyasan, have you ever overcome any fears. Viyasan : Okay, that's a good question. I think there's many fears that I've overcome and I'm sure everyone has as well, but the one that sticks out to me the most was attending university after high school. I think the scariest part of that was meeting all the different types of people, different people from different cultures, from dif...

Todd : Rachel, I thought we would talk a little bit about items and their shelf life, like how long will you keep something? For example, like a book or clothing, because yesterday I was talking to my  students  and they were surprised when I admitted that the shirt I was wearing, I had had for over 10 years. Now, they're young and they can't imagine that. Rachel : No, that might be a fu...

Todd : I'm here with Rachel. We were talking about expiration dates. You were saying that you throw out your clothes regularly. Rachel : Fairly regularly. Todd : Yeah. Do you donate them or just toss them? Rachel : I put them in the recycling. Todd : There you go. Rachel : And hope they're going to be remade into something else. Todd : Yeah, I guess, yeah I always take it out on the day that they'...

Todd : So, I'm here with Olga who is a health coach and I thought we would talk about learning, so people have to learn all these new things to be healthy. It might be a big change in their life. What type of advice would you give people for completely adapting to new change and learning new things? Olga : Well, I discovered that the most important things that people can do to be healthy and happy...

Todd : Hello, I am here with Olga, she is from Russia. Olga, can you go  ahead  and introduce yourself? Olga : Yes, sure. I do a lot of things that concern health and happiness. I am concentrating on modalities that allow you to help yourself, so I do a lot of courses of self-healing, so I have a lot of different alphabet soup after my name. HHP, which is  Holistic  Health Prac...

Gyri : What are some superhero skills that you would like to have? Viyasan : There's lots of different types of skills out there that have my attention but I think the most important skill or the most useful skill for me would be to clone myself. There's an anime, Naruto, and coincidentally we're in Japan as well. In Naruto, you're able to clone yourself and when you clone yourself you're able to...