Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show. I have a bit of an announcement to make today: I am moving to Hokkaido. This won’t affect you much at all because I exist in cyberspace and The Daily English Show will continue.
Why am I going to Hokkaido? Well, I’ve always wanted to live on a mountain for a season. So my dream is coming true. I’m going to live in a ski resort and go snowboarding every day.
So I have left my jobs and pretty much finished all my goodbyes.
It is hard to leave – because I really, really enjoyed living in Tokyo. But there are other places that I want to go and things that I want to see so I have to leave sometime.
If any of my students from Tokyo are watching this – I just want to say thank you very much for taking my lessons. Well, if you’re a junior high school or high school students then you didn’t have any choice – so thanks for putting up with me. And if you’re one of my private students, then thank you for choosing to study with me and I really, really enjoyed teaching you.
I’m going to miss my dojo too.
So, I’m leaving Tokyo on Wednesday morning and I’m going to take my time getting to Hokkaido. My boyfriend and I are going to drive there. So, we’re going to drive for a couple of hours every day and do some sightseeing on the way. And I’m going to upload a short video every day showing you where we’ve been.
So from November the first until we reach our destination – The Daily English Show is going to be the special travel version – it’s going to be good – I’m looking forward to showing you a bit of Japan. And it’s a good season for it too – beautiful autumn leaves ... I might even interview some people along the way – if anyone wants to talk to me.
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora, in Stick News today, the cartoonist Scott Adams said he cured his neurological condition with a nursery rhyme. The comic strip Dilbert was first published in 1989. It now appears in newspapers in 65 countries and 19 languages. Scott Adams is responsible for creating Dilbert. He’s also the author of several books. Recently, health problems have been affecting his work. Since 2004, he has suffered from focal dystonia of the hand. This means his fingers move without his control. He has also suffered from spasmodic dysphonia – this means he can’t talk properly. Adams kept trying different methods to cure his condition – and he now says he found the answer – by saying the nursery rhyme: Jack be nimble, Jack be quick. Jack jumped over the candle stick.
Adam’s claims haven’t been confirmed by medical authorities – but he may be the first person in history to recover from this disorder. And that was Stick News for Friday the 27th of October. Kia Ora.
conversations withsarah # 119 Why are you leaving Tokyo?
Kim and Sarah talk about Sarah’s plans. Step 1: Repeat Kim’s lines. Step 2: Read Kim’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
Kim Why are you leaving Tokyo?
Sarah Well, I love living here ... but there are other places that I want to see, so ...
Kim But Hokkaido is so cold!
Sarah Yeah, I know. But that’s the point, I’m going to snowboard.
Kim Are you going to work?
Sarah Yeah, I’m going to work too. Snowboard and work. Hopefully more snowboarding than working.
Kim What are you going to do after Hokkaido?
Sarah Um, I haven’t decided yet. But I’ll definitely come back to Tokyo for at least a couple of weeks to say hello to everyone.
Kim And then go home?
Sarah Maybe. Or go to another country.
Notes
Music on the show used with permission from jamendo.com
Today's questionanswer music: Artist: Popof Album: pomponette Track: musiquette site music at jamendo
Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show. First of all, what is a culture convenience club? This is from Show 174 in case this is the first video you’ve watched. I asked people what they imagine would be sold at a shop called a “culture convenience club”. It was really interesting to see people’s ideas. cleverdjembe and gogololichan were both half right when they said it was a shop selling music or books. Actually, Tsutaya is a video rental shop – so it’s mainly for renting videos and DVDs. But some stores also sell books and music. The one near my place has books and music downstairs and movies upstairs. And no, unfortunately, it doesn’t sell luxury travel, toilets or beer. And now I’m going to give you a suggestion for an improvement on this strange English which I showed you on Tuesday. I have a cat. It’s very pretty and it’s lovely when it purrs. I like all kinds of cats but I like Chinchillas best because they are very fluffy. It feels really nice holding a cat in my arms.
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora, in Stick News today, actor Micheal J Fox is starring in ads supporting American politicians.
Micheal J Fox is an actor. He starred in movies such as Back to the Future. In 1991 he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. Parkinson’s a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. It can affect movement, speech and posture. Fox told everyone he had the disease in 1998. Since then he has supported Parkinson's disease research, including stem cell research. Stem cells are kinds of cells in humans that have the ability to repair the body. Stem cells are used in medical research and some people think these cells could treat cancer, spinal cord injuries, and muscle damage. But some people are against stem cell research because of the issue of where the cells come from. To get stem cells you need to destroy a human embryo or clone the cells. Some people think it is wrong to destroy a human embryo. Some people think cloning cells could eventually lead to cloning humans. Micheal J Fox supports stem cell research and he is now starring in ads for politicians who want to give more money to the research.
Some people have criticized the ads. They say it’s wrong to use Micheal J Fox’s hope for a cure for political gain. And that was Stick News for Thursday the 26th of October. Kia Ora.
conversations withsarah # 118 What’s a slippery slope?
Nana and Sarah talk about stem cell research. Step 1: Repeat Nana’s lines. Step 2: Read Nana’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
Nana Why are people against stem cell research?
Sarah Some people think that it’s a slippery slope that’ll lead to cloning humans.
Nana What’s a slippery slope?
Sarah Well, literally it’s like a wet hill, so if you stand on the top you’ll fall down. And the slippery slope argument means that if something happens then it will definitely lead to something worse.
Nana For example?
Sarah People that are against gay marriage say that it’s a slippery slope that’ll lead to humans marrying animals.
Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show. Yesterday I showed you some strange English. But I didn’t explain why it was strange. So you might not know. So I thought I’d explain one of them today. The one from the socks. First, comfortable and refreshing. Comfortable is OK. But ... refreshing ... In the dictionary it says: Refreshing 1. pleasantly new or different 2. making you feel less tired or hot So, by these definitions – you could say that yes, these socks are refreshing. But this is an issue of collocation. Collocation is a linguistics word which means: The habitual juxtaposition of a particular word with another word or words with a frequency greater than chance. OK... that’s kind of confusing. Basically collocation means which words are used together. For example: high and tall mean the same thing but we say: high mountains and tall trees. Now the bad news is: there are no rules to remember collocations – so you just have to remember them. This is from an article on collocation(s): The native English speaker intuitively makes the correct collocation, based on a lifetime’s experience of hearing and reading the words in set combinations. The non-native speaker has a more limited experience and may frequently collocate words in a way that sounds odd to the native speaker. The good news is – you don’t have to worry about it too much, because it usually doesn’t affect the meaning. For example if you say: that’s a very tall mountain, then everyone will understand what you mean. So, yeah don’t worry about it too much – as you read and listen to more and more English you’ll naturally remember which words go together. Anyway, back to refreshing. What is refreshing? So, here are some examples: A refreshing change, a refreshing drink, a refreshing shower, a refreshing breeze. But socks? No, not refreshing. So, what can socks be apart from comfortable? I had a look on an internet shopping site and I found these adjectives were used to describe socks: breathable, durable, lightweight. Now, solid fablic. Well it should be an r, so that’s just a spelling mistake. But solid? I don’t think fabric is usually described as solid. It could be durable, tough, strong. And finally punctual sewing. Punctual is about time – as in not late – so it doesn’t make sense with sewing. You can have a punctual person, a punctual start. And about sewing, you could talk about the stitching. So you could say: reinforced stitching, strong stitching, flat stitching, double stitching.
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora, this is Stick News. The number portability system started in Japan yesterday. Mobile phone users can now change phone companies and keep the same number.
There are three mobile phone companies in Japan and they have 94 million customers. Docomo has a 56% market share, au has 28% and Softbank has16%. People have been reluctant to change companies because they couldn’t be bothered telling people about their new number. Since Tuesday customers can change companies and keep the same number. But it’s not cheap. People have to pay a switching charge of about 5000 yen – plus they need to buy a new phone. A price reduction war has now started between the phone companies in an attempt to grab a bigger market share.
And that was Stick News for Wednesday the 25th of October. Kia Ora.
conversations withsarah # 117 What kind of phone do you have?
Daisuke and Sarah talk about mobile phones Step 1: Repeat Daisuke’s lines. Step 2: Read Daisuke’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
Daisuke What kind of phone do you have?
Sarah au.
Daisuke Is there any reason you chose au?
Sarah When I first bought a phone, um, I couldn’t be bothered checking all the different plans and deciding which was the best one. So I just bought exactly the same phone as a friend who had just bought a phone. And he said that that was the cheapest bilingual phone available, so...
Daisuke I use DoCoMo.
Sarah Have you always used DoCoMo?
Daisuke I used to use Tuka.
Sarah Why did you change?
Daisuke Tuka’s coverage wasn’t very good. And everyone at work used DoCoMo, so ...
Sarah Oh, OK. So if you changed you could send mail cheaper?
Daisuke Yeah.
Notes
Music on the show used with permission from jamendo.com
Today's questionanswer music: Artist: Galdson From: Ortigueira, Spain Album: Roots Track: Roots site music at jamendo
Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show. In Japan there’s a lot of English writing on products. And some of it’s perfect English and some of it’s a little strange or very strange. Some people call this “Engrish”. The engrish.com site defines Engrish as: the humorous English mistakes that appear in Japanese advertising and product design. I have a few examples to show you from products that I’ve bought. This is from socks. And this is from the cover of a free photo album. There is a popular chain store in Japan called Tsutaya. And on the sign, underneath it, it says “Culture Convenience Club”. I thought that was a slogan but I was just looking on the net and I found out that actually Culture Convenience Club is the name of the parent company. But anyway... it’s kind of strange English I think. So I was wondering when you hear the name culture convenience club what kind of shop do you think it is? Of course if you’re from Japan, you know, but if you’re not from Japan please leave a comment and tell me what kind of shop; you think it is.
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora, in Stick News today a 21-year-old man who punched an 81-year-old woman has been jailed for two years.
Last month this man was riding his bicycle in Tauranga, New Zealand. Witnesses said he was swerving and abusing motorists. He crashed into the back of a car and fell of his bike. He wasn’t hurt, but he was so angry that he punched the driver of the car in the face. She suffered a broken nose, two broken eye sockets and a fractured palate. Newspapers labeled the attack road rage but the crown prosecutor said it was wrong to minimize the serious violence by calling it road rage. He said it was just simple street thuggery. The man had 18 previous convictions.
And that was Stick News for Tuesday the 24th of October. Kia Ora.
conversations withsarah # 116 So the meaning isn't important?
Lisa and Sarah talk about strange English. Step 1: Repeat Lisa’s lines. Step 2: Read Lisa’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
Lisa Why is there so much strange English on things in Japan?
Sarah I think it’s just for design.
Lisa So the meaning isn’t important?
Sarah Yeah. Have you seen the site engrish.com?
Lisa No, what’s that?
Sarah They have lots of photos of examples of strange English.
Lisa From Japan?
Sarah Yeah, most of it's from Japan, but there’s stuff from other countries too.
Notes
Music on the show used with permission from jamendo.com
Today's questionanswer music: Artist: fukufuku Album: self-aaa Track: chemosynthesis site music at jamendo
Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show. On Thursday I was talking about long words in German and in English. And then I did a bit more reading and I found out that the longest English place name in the world is in New Zealand. It’s the name of a hill and the name is: Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu I remember memorizing that word when I was at University for a cool party trick. It’s 85 letters long. So that’s the longest officially recognized place name in an English-speaking country. But there are longer place names in other languages. And the longest place name in the world spelt in English is this: Krungthepmahanakornamornratanakosinmahintarayutthayamahadilokphopnopparatrajathaniburiromudomrajaniwesmahasatharnamornphimarnavatarnsathitsakkattiyavisanukamprasit That’s the full ceremonial name of the city of Bangkok in Thailand. This is the name in Thai: กรุงเทพมหานคร อมรรัตนโกสินทร์ มหินทราอยุธยามหาดิลก ภพนพรัตน์ ราชธานีบุรีรมย์ อุดมราชนิเวศน์ มหาสถาน อมรพิมาน อวตารสถิต สักกะทัตติยะ วิษณุกรรมประสิทธิ์ And this is what it means: "The city of angels, the great city, the eternal jewel city, the impregnable city of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukam."
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora, in Stick News today a New Zealand man has been honored with a Darwin Award.
Charles Robert Darwin was an English man. He was born in 1809 and died in 1882. In 1859 he wrote a book called The Origin of Species. He proposed the theory of natural selection. Natural selection is the process by which individual organisms with favorable traits are more likely to survive and reproduce than those with unfavorable traits. Darwin Awards are named after Charles Darwin. A Darwin Award is given to someone who improves the human gene pool by killing or sterilizing themselves in a stupid way. Wendy Northcutt has written several books on Darwin Awards. Three New Zealanders feature in her latest book. One of them crashed his car after using dishwashing liquid instead of brake fluid.
And that was Stick News for Monday the 23rd of October. Kia Ora.
conversations withsarah # 115 Is it the name of a town?
Miki and Sarah talk about the longest place name in New Zealand. Step 1: Repeat Miki’s lines. Step 2: Read Miki’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
Miki Can you say the longest place name in New Zealand?
Sarah Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu
Miki Wow. Is it the name of a town?
Sarah No, it’s the name of a hill.
Miki What does it mean?
Sarah Something about a man called Taumata who swallowed mountains.
Miki Do people always say the whole name?
Sarah No. They shorten it to Taumata.
Notes
Music on the show used with permission from jamendo.com
Today's questionanswer music: Artist: fukufuku Album: self-aaa Track: solitude site music at jamendo
This is the first book I bought in Japan. It was when reading this book that I discovered something fascinating about the moon. There are rabbits on the moon making mochi! Wow. I was pretty happy to learn that this delicacy was also available on earth. In Japan Mochi is a traditional new year food. It is made by pounding rice with a wooden hammer. Mochi you buy at the supermarket is made with a machine. Mochi is very sticky. Every year some people die eating it when it gets stuck in their throat. There are many ways you can eat mochi. I usually just heat it up in a fry pan and eat it with nori and soy sauce. Before it’s heated up it’s hard. As it heats up it becomes soft and expands. It’s delicious.
Music on the show used with permission from jamendo.com Artist: fukufuku Album: self-aaa Track: 1→2→1’→2' site music at jamendo
Last Saturday I went to a boxing event. It was called Dynamic Glove. It was at Korakuen Hall. It started at quarter to 6, but we got there late and missed the first few fights. I started recording the fight before the main fight. The guy in the white shorts was from Kadoebihouseki boxing gym. The one in the black shorts was from Watanabe gym. The fight was 10 rounds long. The round girl kept us well informed. At the end of the last round, the fighters hugged. Then they bowed to the audience. The guy with the white shorts won. Then it was time for the main fight. First the guy from Watanabe gym came out. Lots of people cheered for him. And some girls gave him some flowers. On the other side of the room people were waving pink towels. Someone gave me one on my way to the bar. It says Watanabe Kazuhisa fan club. And then the champion appeared. This guy is Watanabe Kazuhisa. He’s the Featherweight champion of Japan. Well... he was. He jumped around a lot when he got in the ring. He was wearing a kind of skirt. I stopped recording before the end because my camera ran out of memory. But the defending champion ended up losing. Bummer.
Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show. Today I want to tell you about a YouTuber called KGKGKG. He’s from Kyoto and he’s a musician so some of his videos are of his original music. And a cool thing that he has done is made videos introducing himself in different languages like Russian, Chinese, French, Korean. And he has made some videos teaching a few Japanese words too. I learnt this word from his video: ookini. It means thank you in Kyoto. A few people have asked me if there are dialects in Japan. And the answer is yes. In fact one of my students is a dialect professor. He’s a cool guy and he gave me this book that he has written. It’s a dialect dictionary. It’s an interesting book ... every page has a different word and there is a map – so you can see where the words are used. For example 太陽 たいよう which means sun ... there are a lot of different words for sun.
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora, in Stick News today Microsoft says that in Japan it will take 2 to 3 years for more people to be using Vista than Windows XP.
An OS, or operating system, is ”a software program that manages (the) hardware and software resources of a computer.” Most computers in the world use Microsoft Windows. Windows was released in 1985. Windows 2.0 arrived in 1987. Three years later came Windows 3.0 then Windows 3.1 in 1992. In 1995 Microsoft released Windows 95, followed by Windows 98 in 1998. Windows ME was released in the year 2000. The latest version, Windows XP was released in October 2001. There are now over 400 million copies in use. Now it’s almost time for the new Windows OS. It will be available for business customers next month and everybody else in January.
Microsoft is currently showing off its new OS at a computer industry expo at Tokyo Big Sight. And that was Stick News for Friday the 20th of October. Kia Ora.
conversations withsarah # 114 Are there dialects of Japanese?
Rachel and Sarah talk about Japanese dialects. Step 1: Repeat Rachel’s lines. Step 2: Read Rachel’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
Rachel Are there dialects of Japanese?
Sarah Yeah, there are.
Rachel Can you give me an example?
Sarah Honma or honma ni means really in Kansai.
Rachel So people don’t say that in Tokyo?
Sarah No, they say honto or honto ni. Another example is “I don’t know”. In Kansai they say “wakarahen” but in Tokyo it’s “wakaranai”.
Rachel Ah, honma? That’s interesting.
Notes
Music on the show used with permission from jamendo.com
Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show. So more about German today. Another German YouTuber who I recommend is AericWinter. I think that’s how you pronounce it. In particular his video called: Expression [Instructional]. He teaches a few German words. The first word he teaches is really long. This is him saying it: “Ahh yes, the infamous terrorbekampfungserganzungsgesetz.” Terrorbekampfungserganzungsgesetz. Which means: amendment to the bill proposed to fight terror. Maybe not the most useful word to learn in German. But it got me thinking about long words in English ... like supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora, this is Stick News. Last night the New Zealand music awards were held and for the second year in a row the group Fat Freddy’s Drop won several awards.
Fat Freddy’s Drop is a band from Wellington with seven members. Their music is described as roots, dub, reggae, jazz and soul. They released their first album in 2001. It was a live album recorded at a nightclub in Wellington. Their first studio album was released three years later. Since then Based on a True Story has sold over 90 thousand copies. At the 2005 New Zealand music awards Fat Freddy’s Drop won awards in every category they were nominated for. This year they didn’t do too badly either. They won 3 awards.
And that was Stick News for Thursday the 19th of October. Kia Ora.
conversations withsarah # 113 What’s the longest word in English?
Kim and Sarah talk about the longest word in English. Step 1: Repeat Kim’s lines. Step 2: Read Kim’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
Sarah What’s the longest word in English?
Kim I don’t know.
Sarah Smile, because there’s a mile between each s.
Kim Oh, OK. Seriously though, what is the longest word?
Guten Tag! Welcome to The Daily English Show. Today I watched a video by this YouTuber: Redfrettchen. He’s from Berlin and he has a couple of videos teaching German. In his video called “German lesson No.1 - Greetings and goodbye” he teaches some greetings, so I’m going to give them a go.
hallo hello guten tag hello (more formal) guten morgen good morning guten abend good evening gute nacht good night
That cht sound is really tricky to pronounce. It’s like that Scots word I was trying to pronounce. And in other news ... The Daily English Show is now listed at Podcast Alley, so if you have a spare 5 seconds or so, feel free to go and vote. The Daily English Show has a grand total of 2 votes at the moment. And one of them was me voting for myself ... so that’s a bit sad.
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora, in Stick News today red-light running is rife in Auckland New Zealand, and the local government has announced a 750 thousand dollar project to teach motorists that red means stop.
This is a traffic light. According to the road rules in New Zealand when a driver sees a red light, they should stop. But for many people these days, red means go. An Auckland mayor said it was in the psyche now. And even if people were pulled out of their cars and publicly executed, it would still happen. "When I was growing up, we always went towards the lights and slowed down, but now you speed up”, he said. Despite his pessimism, the three-year project will go ahead. It will involve installing cameras at 11 of Auckland’s most dangerous intersections.
The mayor said he originally ran red lights himself. But when questioned further he changed the colour of his comments, and said he only ran orange lights. And that was Stick News for Wednesday the 18th of October. Kia Ora.
conversations withsarah # 112 How about Japanese?
Tomomi and Sarah talk about languages used on the internet. Step 1: Repeat Tomomi’s lines. Step 2: Read Tomomi’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
Sarah Did you know that German is the fifth most used language on the net?
Tomomi Really? What’s number one? English?
Sarah Yeah. English is number one, then Chinese.
Tomomi How about Japanese?
Sarah Ah, that’s number three. Then Spanish is number four.
Tomomi How about Arabic? That’s spoken in lots of countries.
Sarah Yeah, that’s a bit further down the list ... number 13.
Selemat pagi! Nama saya Sarah. So, continuing on from what I was talking about yesterday, about language ... Today I recommend watching videos by a YouTuber called dandorf. She’s Indonesian, but she lives in the US. And most of her video blogs are in English, but some of them are in Indonesian and in a couple of her videos, she’s teaching bahasa Indonesia which means Indonesian. In her video Indonesian Language 101 you can learn some basic words like: hello, good morning, excuse me, thank you, and some numbers. And I also recommend that you watch another one of her videos called: Video Blog – Pronunciation. In this video she’s talking about some of the pronunciation problems she’s had with English words. And this is really interesting because students from different countries have problems with different words. And I’m used to the problems that Japanese students have with English words – but the ones she talked about I’d never heard before. These are some of the things she has difficulty with: the difference between a sheet of paper and piece of shit. So sheet, shit. And eleven and elephant. And a few other words like Hippopotamus. Canada and Robot. So check out some of her videos. I really enjoy watching them because she seems like a really nice person and she’s really natural on camera.
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora, in Stick News today the New Zealand government has given a final fireworks warning. If people can’t use them safely, next year sales will be restricted and they may eventually be banned.
Guy Fawkes was an English soldier who tried to kill the King of England by blowing up parliament on the 5th of November 1605. This failed plot is now celebrated in the UK, New Zealand, South Africa and parts of Canada. People celebrate by burning effigies of Guy Fawkes and letting off fireworks. In New Zealand the celebrations can be dangerous. Police and firefighters said last year’s celebrations were the worst in 10 years. 1700 tonnes of fireworks were detonated in 2005. During the 10 days fireworks were on sale, firefighters attended more than 700 firework-related incidents and police attended nearly 1200 incidents. The SPCA also received calls about distressed animals and they believe fireworks should be banned immediately. The government says it’s not ready for a complete ban – and this year they’ve settled on a public safety campaign. On its website, people are encouraged to attend a public display. Other helpful advice includes: Fireworks and alcohol/drugs are a dangerous combination. Always let an adult light the fireworks. Point fireworks to the stars, not at your mates.
Guy Fawkes Night is on the 5th of November. The celebration is also known as Bonfire Night in England. And that was Stick News for Tuesday the 17th of October. Kia Ora.
conversations withsarah # 111 Is it a popular event?
Kanako and Sarah talk about Guy Fawkes. Step 1: Repeat Kanako’s lines. Step 2: Read Kanako’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
Sarah Do you know the origin of the word guy?
Kanako No, what is it?
Sarah It comes from the name Guy Fawkes.
Kanako Who’s he?
Sarah He’s the guy who tried to blow up the English parliament with gunpowder. We celebrate it in New Zealand.
Kanako You celebrate that someone tried to blow up parliament?
Sarah Yeah, I think we’re supposed to be celebrating that he failed. When we were kids we used to make a dummy of the guy and then burn it on a bonfire.
Kanako Really? Is it a popular event?
Sarah Yeah, it is. It was fun – but scary ... because there used to be these things called double happies and kids threw them at each other.
Notes
Music on the show used with permission from jamendo.com
Today's questionanswer music:
Artist: Manuzik Album: Nouvelle Shortstories Track: SurfSurLaPlage site music at jamendo
Hi I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show. I have another idea for studying English and that is to watch videos about studying other languages. I have come across a few videos on YouTube of people teaching their native language in English. And I think if you’re going on holiday overseas even if you can speak English it makes your trip a whole lot more fun if you can speak even just a few words of the language. And even if you’re never planning to go there I think learning a few words of another language is fun. But that’s just me ... I love learning languages. But I hope you do to ... because if you’re trying to learn English and you don’t enjoy it, then it’ll be a lot harder than if you do enjoy it. So have fun.
And another great benefit you can get by watching these videos is getting used to (listening to) non-native speakers speak English. This is really important. Especially if you want to work somewhere like an international airport.
Today I want to talk about some videos by this YouTuber: thecheerio. He has several videos teaching Italian.
My favourite one is called lesson of love. You can learn some romantic phrases like: I love you, you’re beautiful, I can’t live without you, you make me happy.
But he also teaches some more practical Italian. In Italian lesson 1 you can learn things like: yes, no, thank you, please, excuse me.
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora, in Stick News today ipods are the latest weapon in the fight against AIDS.
AIDS was first recognized on June 5th 1981. Since then more than 25 million people have died from the disease. 38 million people now live with the disease worldwide. 24 million of them are in Africa. Some people in other countries want to help. Two famous humanitarians are Bono and Oprah. They went shopping together last week. They bought red products. Some of the profits from the sales will go to The Global Fund. This organization fights AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Apple will contribute 10 dollars from the sale of every red ipod to The Global Fund.
Bono said that it was cool that some of the most creative people in commerce were working for the world's poor. And that was Stick News for Monday the 16th of October. Kia Ora.
conversations withsarah # 110 Have you ever been to Italy?
Jane and Sarah talk about Italy. Step 1: Repeat Jane’s lines. Step 2: Read Jane’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
Jane Have you ever been to Italy? Sarah No, but I’d love to go there some day. Jane Me too. I love pasta. Sarah Same. My sister lived in Italy for a year. Jane Really? Where did she live? Sarah I can’t remember ... it was a while ago. Jane What was she doing there? Sarah She was studying at high school. It was on a student exchange.
Notes
Music on the show used with permission from jamendo.com
Today's questionanswer music:
Artist: Galdson From: Ortigueira, Spain Album: Roots Track: Sea heart site music at jamendo
I love Japanese sweets. I usually buy them from the supermarket. But I thought I’d try making some.
I decided on ohagi because it seemed like it would be the easiest.
Ohagi is basically rice, covered with beans and sugar. The rice inside is sticky – about halfway between onigiri and mochi. I followed a recipe which I found on the net.
First I washed the beans. Then I put them in a pot with some water. And I turned on the gas. When it started boiling I tipped out the water and put fresh water in the pot and did the same thing. I did this three times. Then I boiled the beans over a low heat until they were soft.
Then added sugar, a bit of salt and then I crushed the beans with this rice spoon ... until they became anko.
As for the rice. I used 80 percent mochi rice and 20 percent regular rice. Mochi rice is sticker than regular rice. When the rice was cooked I crushed it with a rice spoon, then made it into balls.
I used plastic wrap to attach the anko to the outside of the rice.
It was trial and error so the shapes and sizes were irregular. But they didn’t look too bad for a first attempt.
Notes
Music on the show is used with permission from Jamendo.
Artist: David Schombert Album: Quiet Life vol.2 Track: Small Boat site music at jamendo
In May 2004 I went to Melbourne to go to a wedding. I’d been to Australia once before, but it was the first time that I’d been to Melbourne. The people who were getting married are both from New Zealand, but they moved to Australia.
They got married here. And got the cake here.
I stayed in Melbourne for about 5 days. Apart from the wedding – I spent some time walking around the city.
One of the first things that I noticed was that there was a lot of brick buildings. My friend told me that people build brick houses because of termites. I don’t know if this is true or not.
After living in Tokyo for several years, I kept comparing everything in Melbourne to Tokyo.
These photos are from the “oooh it’s not like this in Tokyo” file: Tables on the footpath. Rubbish bin with only one section. Different train manner rules. Graffiti and rubbish on the train. Strong anti-smoking message on the cigarette machine.
I also saw a “milk bar” for the first time in my life. A milk bar is what we call a dairy in New Zealand.
And I saw a lot of Japanese restaurants.
I liked this place – Federation Square. And I liked these sculptures.
I thought this sign that I saw in a café was interesting: “Management reserves the right to not serve customers who are using mobile phones while ordering. Especially during busy periods. Thank you.” Wow, they must have some pretty rude customers.
And this sign made me smile too: Where is platform 14?
Notes
Music on the show used with permission from Jamendo.
Artist: Saelynh Album: Sensation electronique Tracks: Lennie au pays des merveilles Look the past, look the future site music at jamendo
ハイ、沙羅です。 ザ・デイリー・イングリッシュ・ショーです。 Hi, I’m Sarah and this is The Daily English Show.
今日は少し変えてイントロは、日本語です。 Today I thought I’d do the introduction in Japanese for a bit of a change.
ザ・デイリー・イングリッシュ・ショーを見てくれている日本の皆さん、いつもご覧(ごらん)いただきありがとうございます。 Today I’d like to say hello to all the people from Japan who watch the show.
そしてザ・デイリー・イングリッシュ・ショーのミクシィ・コミュニティーに参加してくれている皆さん、ご参加(さんか)ありがとうございます。 And hello to all the people who are part of The Daily English Show community on mixi.
ザ・デイリー・イングリッシュ・ショーのミクシィ・コミュニティーは現在(げんざい)、５８６名いらっしゃいます。 ワォ。 There are now 586 people in the daily English show mixi community. Wow.
ミクシィユーザーの皆さんから数多く(かずおおく)の暖(あたた)かいメッセージをいただいております。 とてもうれしいです。 ありがとうございます。 A lot of people from mixi have sent me really nice messages. Thank you very much! I always enjoy hearing from you.
その中からミクシィの「ひらっつさん」からいただいたメッセージの一部(いちぶ)を紹介(しょうかい)しますね。 I’ll read you a bit of a message I got recently from Hiratsu from Mixi.
私はアメリカに来ているんだけど、なかなか英語の勉強ができず、日常会話もまだ満足にできないままの状態。ぜひこのプログラムを英語の勉強の一つに加えたいと思います。やっぱり楽しみながら勉強しなきゃね。 I’m now living in the States but my English study isn’t going that well and my conversation ability is not as good I want it to be. I’m definitely going to watch this program as part of my English study. It’s important to enjoy yourself while studying isn’t it?
The Daily English Showで英語の勉強をしている方からのメッセージをいただくと本当にうれしいです。 ありがとうございます。 I’m really happy to hear that people are enjoying studying with The Daily English Show.
これからもThe Daily English Showをどうぞよろしくお願いします。 Thank you very much.
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora, this is Stick News. People all over the world are battling internet addictions. And in Japan the latest condition to raise concern is called mixi chudoku or addiction to mixi.
Mixi is the most popular social networking site in Japan. The name comes from the English words “!” and “mix” referring to the idea that people mix with each other using the service. It’s similar to MySpace – with a few differences. To join mixi you need to be invited. Unlike MySpace, the layout of the page layout can’t be changed. And mixi has a function called “ashimoto” or footprints. This allows users to see who has visited their page. Mixi started in April 2004. It now has over 6 million members. There are almost 1 million communities on mixi. A mixi community is a kind of online forum that any member can start. The average time users spend on the site is 5 hours a week. But some members spend up to 8 hours a day on mixi.
Among those suffering from OSNA (online social networking addiction) is the producer of The Daily English Show. But according to her doctor she’s making excellent progress and yesterday even left the house and spent several hours communicating face-to-face with a live human. And that was Stick News for Friday the 13th of October. Kia Ora.
conversations withsarah # 109 Is it easy to join?
Tom and Sarah talk about Mixi. Step 1: Repeat Tom’s lines. Step 2: Read Tom’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
Sarah Do you use mixi?
Tom No, what’s mixi?
Sarah It’s a social networking site, like MySpace. It’s really popular.
Tom Is it easy to join?
Sarah Yeah, it’s easy if you can read Japanese. You have to be invited to join though.
Tom Invited? Who by?
Sarah Um, by anyone ... by someone who is already a member. I’ll send you an invitation if you like.
Tom OK.
Notes
Music on the show used with permission from Jamendo.
Today's questionanswer music:
Artist: Saelynh Album: Sensation electronique Track: Toucher site music at jamendo
Hi, I’m Sarah and this is The Daily English Show. The other day I was talking about the word hypocrisy. Well I found an example of it being used in a newspaper. It was in The New Zealand Herald. The story starts: Hollywood star Angelina Jolie has accused the West of cold-heartedness and hypocrisy in trying to shut out migrants, including refugees, from Africa and other hotspots. So I guess she’s saying that the West pretends to care about migrants and refugees, but their actions show that they don’t. By the way, a refugee is a person who has been forced to escape their country in order to escape war, persecution or natural disaster. And persecutemeans to treat somebody in a cruel and unfair way, especially because of their race, religion or political beliefs. So, today’s show is mostly about Angelina Jolie.
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora, in Stick News today, Angelina Jolie has criticized the West for not doing enough to help refugees.
Angelina Jolie is an American actor. She has been married twice and has three children. In 2001 she starred in the movie Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. The movie was filmed in Cambodia and Jolie said it was an eye opening experience. "I discovered things about what's happening in the world”, she said. She then visited many refugee camps with the UN and became a UN goodwill ambassador. Jolie has been using the public’s interest in her to promote humanitarian causes through the mass media. Yesterday it was reported that Jolie said it was a scandal that such a rich world was not feeding all people in refugee camps, especially in Africa.
Angelina Jolie is currently in India filming the story of the American Journalist Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped and murdered in Pakistan, in 2002. And that was Stick News for Thursday the 12th of October. Kia Ora.
conversations withsarah # 108 Do you like Angelia Jolie?
Miki and Sarah talk about Angelina Jolie. Step 1: Repeat Miki’s lines. Step 2: Read Miki’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
Miki Do you like Angelina Jolie?
Sarah Yeah, I think she’s gorgeous! Don’t you?
Miki I don’t think she’s that beautiful.
Sarah How can you not think that?!
Miki Her son is cute though.
Sarah Yeah, he’s cool.
Miki And her boyfriend’s not bad...
Sarah Yeah, not bad indeed. And I think it’s great she’s trying to make a positive difference in the world.
Notes
Music on the show used with permission from Jamendo.
Artist: Saelynh Album: Sensation electronique Track: Museum H.M site music at jamendo
Hi, I’m Sarah welcome to The Daily English Show. Stick News today is about Mel Gibson and his anti-Semitic comments. What does anti-Semitic mean? And what does Semitic mean? This is another confusing word. The word Semitic was originally used to talk about a language family – including these languages: Amharic, Arabic, Aramaic, Assyrian, Akkadian,Ge'ez, Hebrew, Maltese, Syriac, Tigrinya, etc. Then ... “the term also came to describe the extended cultures and ethnicities, as well as the history of these varied peoples as associated by close geographic and linguistic distribution” But wait, there’s more ... “the late 19th century term "anti-Semitism" came to be used in reference specifically to anti-Jewish sentiment, further complicating the understood meaning and boundaries of the term.” So anti-Semitism means against Jews ... but not against all Semite people. Wikipedia says: “Anti-Semitism is hostility toward or prejudice against Jews as a religious, ethnic, or racial group, which can range in expression from individual hatred to institutionalized, violent persecution.” So anti-Semitism means anti-jew ... but what is a jew? I find this confusing ... and I mustn’t be the only one because there’s a page on Wikipedia titled: “Who is a Jew?” A Jew can mean a Jewish person or a follower of the religion Judiasm ... or both. So why would Mel Gibson say nasty things about Jews? I don’t know, I guess you’d have to ask him. But I think the trouble all started back in the day with wars between Romans and Jews. And since then Jews have suffered “discrimination, oppression, poverty, and even genocide”.
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora, in Stick News today, Mel Gibson has given an interview talking about the anti-Semitic comments he made after being arrested for drink driving in July. He said the comments were the "stupid rambling of a drunkard."
Mel Gibson is an actor. He has starred in many films, including Mad Max, Lethal Weapon and Braveheart. He is a Christian and is married with 7 children. He also owns an island near Fiji. He has been an alcoholic since he was a teenager. This addiction has caused him many problems. In 1984 he drove a car drunk and then crashed. He was caught drink driving again in 2006. After being caught he shouted abuse at the police officers. He shouted expletives, as well as sexist, and anti-Semitic comments. He has since apologised.
The interview with Mel Gibson will be on TV in America tomorrow and Friday. And that was Stick News for Wednesday the 11th of October. Kia Ora.
conversations withsarah # 107 What did he actually say?
Yosuke and Sarah talk about Mel Gibson’s comments. Step 1: Repeat Yosuke’s lines. Step 2: Read Yosuke’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
Yosuke What do you think about what Mel Gibson said?
Sarah It’s pretty bad.
Yosuke Yeah. He did apologize though.
Sarah What did he actually say to the police?
Yosuke One of the things he said was: “the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world”.
Sarah That’s a terrible thing to say.
Yosuke People often say stupid things when they’re drunk though.
Sarah Yeah, but not that bad. I don’t think being drunk is a very good excuse for anything ... he must actually think like that if that’s what he said when he was drunk.
Notes
Music on the show is used with permission from Jamendo.
Today's questionanswer music:
Artist: David Schombert Album: Quiet Life vol.2 Track: La symphonie du vide site music at jamendo
Hi, I’m Sarah welcome to The Daily English Show. So, google has bought YouTube. You’ve probably heard that the word google has recently been added to some dictionaries. It means: “to use the Google search engine to obtain information on the Internet.” It’s also a verb in Japanese ググる。 But do you know the origin of the word? Google comes from the word googol with means the number 1 plus 100 zeros. As for YouTube ... well tube has many meanings. The underground railway system in London is called the Tube. And in the US tube is an informal word for TV. So that’s where YouTube comes from. By the way, in America this is /tu:b/ but in NZ it’s /tju:b/ the same as England I think and in Japan this is ユーチューブ・
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora, in Stick News today, Google has bought YouTube for 1.65 billion dollars.
YouTube is the most popular video sharing site on the internet. It was founded in February 2005 by Chad Hurley and Steve Chen. Every day 100 million videos are viewed and 65,000 new videos are uploaded. Google started in 1998 and is now the internet’s most used search engine. Google has 8000 employees and lots of money. YouTube has 67 employees and didn’t have much money until yesterday ... now they have 1.65 billion dollars. Wow.
YouTube is the most expensive thing Google has bought in its eight-year history. Last year Google spent 130 million dollars buying 15 companies. It’s not yet known which company Google is planning to buy next. However there is speculation that their next billion dollar purchase will be The Daily English Show. And that was Stick News for Tuesday the 10th of October. Kia Ora.
conversations withsarah # 106 Should I care?
Manabu and Sarah talk about google buying YouTube. Step 1: Repeat Manabu’s lines. Step 2: Read Manabu’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
Manabu Wow. Big news. Google has bought YouTube.
Sarah Oh. Should I care?
Manabu What do you mean: should I care?
Sarah I mean ... will the site change?
Manabu I don’t know.
Sarah Do you think it’s a good thing or a bad thing?
Manabu I think it’s probably a good thing.
Sarah Why?
Manabu Google has lots of money so YouTube will probably get better.
Notes:
Music on the show used with permission from Jamendo. Artist: Saelynh Album: Sensation electronique Track: Inside my heart site music at jamendo
Hi, I’m Sarah welcome to The Daily English Show. There are some words in English which are commonly misused. Which is interesting I think because if a word is misused enough, then that use of the word eventually becomes correct. Which is one of the ways languages evolve.
So one word that is commonly “misused” is “hypocrisy”. This is an example of what people might call hypocrisy. If an adult is smoking tobacco and says to a child: you shouldn’t smoke, it’s bad for your health. Apparently, that’s not hypocrisy after all, that should be called a double standard.
In my dictionary it says hypocrisy is: behaviour in which sb pretends to have moral standards or opinions that they do not actually have.
I read the discussion page of hypocrisy in Wikipedia and people are arguing about whether or not to have example of hypocrisy on the page. There are no examples of hypocrisy there now, because apparently, it’s impossible to prove. These are some of the comments: We can't say "XYZ acted hypocritically", we have to say "ABC said that XYZ acted hypocritically." Proving hypocrisy involves proving that a person's professed beliefs are insincere.
So, in today’s conversation, I’ve used the word hypocrisy in a way that I think is an official “misuse” of the word, but I think it is a common way that people use the word.
So, when you’re studying English, I think it is a good idea to study the common “misuses” of words. Because even if it’s officially wrong – if a lot of people use the word in that way then it does help if you understand what they mean when they use it.
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora, in Stick News today, North Korea said it tested a nuclear weapon.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is a country in Asia with a population of 23 million. It’s well-known for being shy, having a powerful leader, impressive gymnastic displays, and a lack of food. The US president isn’t a fan of the country. In 2002 he said it was part of an “axis of evil”. In Wikipedia’s list of countries by size of armed forces North Korea is in 4th place. Today it tested one of its weapons. The country said the tests were carried out “under scientific consideration and careful calculation”. And would “contribute to defending the peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula”. But many countries aren’t happy about the tests.
An NGO called Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament said that all nuclear weapon states were irresponsible, and said North Korea and other nuclear states should eliminate their nuclear weapons. And that was Stick News for Monday the 9th of October. Kia Ora.
Miwako and Sarah talk about North Korea’s nuclear tests. Step 1: Repeat Miwako’s lines. Step 2: Read Miwako’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah. Sarah North Korea did the test, didn’t they.
Miwako Yeah. It’s scary, isn’t it!
Sarah Is it, though? They’ve tested them, but it doesn’t mean they’re actually going to use them.
Miwako True. But Kim Jong-il seems crazy. No-one knows what he will do.
Sarah Mmm. I’m more worried about the United States president ... he has a lot of weapons of mass destruction and seems to enjoy invading countries willy-nilly.
Miwako Yeah, I guess it is hypocritical for a country to say it’s OK for us to have them, but not you.
Sarah Definitely. It would be a good idea if all countries got rid of all their weapons.
Miwako That’s a great idea.
End
And that was The Daily English Show. So, after reading about the “correct” and “incorrect” uses of the word hypocrisy. I’m still a bit confused about how to use it correctly ... but I’ll give it a go. So if hypocrisy is “the act of pretending or claiming to have beliefs, feelings, morals or virtues that one does not truly possess or practise.” Then if my co-worker got a promotion that I really wanted and I am not happy at all – but I say to her: “congratulations, I’m really happy for you”. Then that would be hypocrisy. I think.
Notes
Music on the show used with permission from jamendo.com Artist: Saelynh Album: Sensation electronique Track: When we comming site music at jamendo
Soy milk is made from soybeans. Apparently, you can make it at home, with traditional kitchen tools or a soy milk machine ... but I’ve never tried this. When I came to Japan in 2001, you could buy soymilk at a tofu shop and there were a couple of different brands available at the supermarket. Then, for some reason, there was a soymilk boom and more and more different types of soymilk started appearing on the shelves. Soymilk is called 豆乳 （とうにゅう tonyu） in Japan. This is the kind I usually buy. It contains organic beans and gaba whatever that is, and you can also make tofu from it – but I’ve never tried that either. It seems like every time I go to the supermarket there’s a new flavour of soymilk. Coffee, tea, cocoa, fruit mix, banana, sesame, black beans. The smallest packet on the shelf is a kind of soymilk called sugoi daizu. Great soybeans. On the back of the packet there is an explanation as to how it comes to be so great. Regular soymilk takes the okara or soy pulp out. Okara contains protein and other useful things. So sugoi daizu leaves it in. Great.
Notes
Music on the show used with permission from jamendo.com
You might recognize some of these places if you have ever been sightseeing in Tokyo. This is the second book I made, after Perci the Persimmon. This is a true story. (Except for the part about the grapefruit being the tour guide). The photos were taken in April 2004. And Mr G really did go to all those places ... the photos haven’t been altered at all.
These questions are all very useful structures for English conversation. So please practice them and then ask someone in English about their weekend : )
Hey Mr G. How was your weekend? It was pretty good. What did you get up to? I took my friend Robbo sightseeing around Tokyo. Oh yeah. Where did you go? First we went to Asakusa. Did you buy any souvenirs? Yes, we bought some Japanese snacks, called “kaminari okoshi”. Where else did you go? We took the ferry to Odaiba. Was that the first time you’d taken that ferry? Yeah, it was. Was Odaiba crowded? No, not really, because it was a weekday. What did you do there? We drank some beer.
Music on the show used with permission from jamendo.com Artist: NeXuS Album: Trance Planet Track: Galactyka site music at jamendo
So Blogger has updated their system and I changed my blog to a beta blog whatever that means ...
And then I found all these comments waiting to be approved – so a few months ago my blog seems to have mysteriously changed to only showing comments if I approve them and then hidden the comments somewhere. Anyway, it was great to come across a bunch of nice comments ... kind of like finding money in the pocket of a jacket that you haven’t worn for ages ...
So, thank you : ) And thank you to everybody who leaves comments.
And now for something completely random ... yesterday when I was editing I came across a crazy shot which looks like I have no head.
Scary.
That was during the part when I was reading the news and I kept stuffing it up and went ahhh and put my head forward in frustration.
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora, in Stick News today, the woman who wants to be the next president in France may be the sister of the man who bombed the Rainbow Warrior. Her brother was a spy at the time of the 1985 bombings and he may have been the person who planted the bombs.
A nuclear weapon is a bomb used to kill thousands of people at the same time. They’ve only ever been used twice in war. In 1945 America dropped 2 bombs on Japan. Since then 7 countries have let off over 2000 bombs for testing or demonstrations. From 1966 and 1996 France blew up its bombs in the South Pacific on an atoll called Mururoa. Many of the people living in the pacific weren’t happy about this. Greenpeace was against the testing. They planned to sail to Mururoa to protest. So the French government sent spies to New Zealand to bomb one of their boats. The Rainbow Warrior was in Auckland when it was bombed by French spies on the 10th of July 1985. One crew member died. France denied having anything to do with it at first. Then two of the spies were caught by the New Zealand police. They pleaded guilty to manslaughter and were sentenced to 10 years in prison. But they didn’t spend much time behind bars – the French government helped them get back to France. And the other spies were never punished.
The Socialist Party candidate said that her brother was involved in a detestable act, but the irony of the story was that she favoured Greenpeace’s actions against nuclear testing. Her brother said he has never spoken whether or not he was involved in the operation and he never will. And that was Stick News for Friday the 6th of October. Kia Ora.
conversations withsarah # 104 Do you want to watch it?
Hisae and Sarah talk about a video on the net. Step 1: Repeat Hisae’s lines. Step 2: Read Hisae’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
The conversation today is about energy drinks. One of the random things that I noticed when I came to Japan in 2001, was that there was no Red Bull. I was a bartender before I came to Japan and Red Bull and vodka is popular in New Zealand so I was used to opening cans of Red Bull every day.
Then I came to Japan, and no Red Bull.
The energy drink market in Japan is a bit different than in New Zealand – instead of coming in a can or a clear bottle they come in these small brown bottles. They look kind of like medicine. And they’re called genki drinks.
This is one of the popular drinks ... and it has a popular TV commercial. So these two guys are rock climbing and one of them slips and his friend grabs hold of him and pulls him up with his great strength after drinking this energy drink and then somebody says faito and ippatsu!
ファイト comes from the English “fight” but it doesn’t mean like: “fight, fight, fight” encouraging people to have a fight like it does in English. In Japanese it’s just used to encourage people in sport. In English you might say: Come on! Give it heaps! You can do it! Dig it in! Or Kia kaha in New Zealand.
So that’s what “faito” means... I’m not too sure about “ippatsu”...
Anyway, anyway a few months ago, I suddenly noticed something in the fridge at a convenience store: Red Bull. So now you can buy Red Bull in Japan. But I don’t know if it’s doing too well ... I noticed that there was some in some convenience stores and then they stopped selling it so ... maybe it’s just a failed test.
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora, in Stick News today, Lesotho has a new flag. The new flag is the third design since the country’s first flag was hoisted in 1966. Lesotho is a land-locked country in Africa with a population of 1.8 million. In 1966 the country gained independence from the United Kingdom and raised its first flag. The flag featured a hat. The hat was missing from the second flag design which was adopted after a military coup in 1986. Now the hat has made a comeback on the county’s third flag design.
BBC News reported that Lesotho says its new flag shows it "at peace with itself and its neighbours". And that was Stick News for Thursday the 5th of October. Kia Ora.
conversations withsarah # 103 Where is Red Bull from?
Sarah and Mana talk about energy drinks. Step 1: Repeat Mana’s lines. Step 2: Read Mana’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
Sarah Do you drink energy drinks?
Mana No, I don’t. How about you?
Sarah I used to in New Zealand.
Mana What kind of energy drinks are there in New Zealand?
Sarah Red Bull is popular, and v.
Mana V? Is that the name of a drink.
Sarah Yeah, I just looked it up on the net actually and apparently V has a 60 percent market share in New Zealand.
Mana Is it made by a New Zealand company?
Sarah Yeah, it is.
Mana Where is Red Bull from?
Sarah Um, it’s made by an Austrian company. They adapted a drink from Thailand. The original drink looks like a Japanese genki drink.
Notes
Music on the show used with permission from jamendo.com Today's questionanswer music: Artist: NeXuS Album: Trance Planet Track: Trance Planet site music at jamendo
The Daily English Show is the world's first daily online English language show. Produced by studio tdes and presented by Sarah - a New Zealander currently based in Auckland, New Zealand.
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