Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Show 58 Tuesday 30 May


Watch today's show at grouper or YouTube.


Introduction

Hi I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show.

The other day I found out how to make these window things.
Oh, there goes a banana. Oh. There goes another one.

Today’s news is about Joan Baez.
When I saw the name Joan Baez it immediately brought back memories of my childhood because my mother loved Joan Baez.

And I have two sisters so whenever we went on car trips anywhere there was always huge battles between my sisters and my parents and me over what music we were going to listen to.

My mother always wanted to listen to Joan Biaz. Whereas I wanted to listen to whatever music I was into at the time.

And I was much more into pop music than folk music.

The first cassette I ever owned was a dubbed Bob Dylan tape. I dubbed it from my father – cause he liked Bob Dylan.

But the first tape I ever bought was a Kylie Minogue tape. Um, yeah, I loved it. And the second one I think was Poison. It was called “Open up and say ahh”. I still like singing some Poison songs in karaoke, like “Every Rose has its Thorn”. It sounds pretty bad when I sing it… but it’s fun.



STICK NEWS

Kia Ora. This is Stick News.
Last week, Joan Baez sat in a tree and sang a song. She was protesting against the planned demolition of a garden in Los Angeles.

Joan Baez is an American folk singer.
In the 1960s she protested against war and for civil rights.
In the early 1970s she helped establish a U.S. branch of Amnesty International.
She also had a relationship with a woman. And supported gay and lesbian rights.
Last week, she decided to sit in a tree.
Another woman sat in the tree too. Her name is Julia Butterfly.
It’s not the first time Julia Butterfly has sat in a tree – she sat in a tree called Luna for two years.
This time Julia and Joan sat in a tree in LA and sang songs.


In late 1962, Joan Baez became romantically involved with Bob Dylan. The pair remained together until early 1965.
However, Bob likes me better.
And that was Stick News for Tuesday the 30th of May. Kia Ora.



conversations with sarah
# 37 What kind of music do they play?

Sarah’s friend John asks her about what music she listened to when she was young.
Step 1: Repeat John’s lines.
Step 2: Read John’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.

John What kind of music did you listen to when you were young?

Sarah When I was about 12 or 13 I loved the New Kids on the Block. Have you heard of them?

John New Kids on the Block? No. What kind of music do they play?

Sarah Well, they aren’t around any more but they were a boy band, so I don’t think they actually played any instruments. They just sang and danced.

John How many people were there in the band?

Sarah Um, five – Jordon, Joey, Jonathon, Danny and Donnie.

John Wow, you can remember all their names.

Sarah Yeah, I spent a lot of time daydreaming about them. I even read a book about them and I had posters of them on my wall.

John Did you see them in concert?

Sarah Yeah, yeah, they came to New Zealand once, so I went to their concert.

John Was it good?

Sarah Yeah, it was great. I screamed a lot.



Ending

And that was The Daily English Show.
While I was reading about Joan Baez and Julia Butterfly for today’s news I found a good site for English study.
So it’s called Big Picture TV and it is: “an online media channel that streams free video clips of global leaders in sustainability.”
So you can watch clips of people talking about interesting things – and the good thing is that a lot of them have transcripts. So that’s really good for students – and good for teachers too, you can use them in your classes.
So, I’ll put a link to that on the blog.
See you tomorrow.



Notes:

Read about today's news here.
Read about Joan Baez.

Watch video clips at Big Picture TV.
Some of them have transcripts - great for studying.
This one has a transcript:
Prince Charles talking about the future of food.

The music on today's show is by Rob Costlow from the United States.
The track is from the album Sophomore Jinx.

You can listen to the album and download it for free here.
This is Rob Costlow's website.

Show 57 Monday 29 May


Watch today's show at grouper or YouTube.


Introduction

Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show, number 57.

The conversation we’re practicing today is from a video which you can watch on the net.

Two guys are having an argument while they’re taking a picture for a present for their mother on mother’s day.

It’s really funny and I think it’s a great video to watch for your English study. So, I’ll put a link to that on The Daily English Show blog – so please check it out.

It has some useful language in it to study – especially useful if you’re having an argument, and I particularly like their use of “fine”.

One of the things that I noticed when I first came to Japan was that when I asked people how they were they usually answered: “Fine thanks and you?”. And the reason why they do this is because that’s what they usually learn, that’s what’s in school textbooks – but I found it a bit odd because in New Zealand – as far as I can remember – um, people usually don’t say “fine thanks, and you”. They usually reply “good” or “not too bad” or “can’t complain”, “alright”.

And when I hear the word “fine” it’s usually in a different context. As in the angry fine. Like when you’re angry but you’re denying it. So... “Oh, what’s wrong?”. “Nothing. I’m fine”.

In this video, when one of the brothers says “fine” he means: OK, I’ll do it, but I’m not happy about it.
So, let’s watch the start of it.

So, that’s the conversation we’re practicing today. Please follow the link to watch the whole thing.
Stick News today is about Arakawa Shizuka.
And the question for questionanswer is: “What did he say?”



STICK NEWS

The woman who won the only gold medal for Japan at this year’s winter Olympics is making her acting debut this week. Arakawa Shizuka will make a guest appearance as a lawyer in TV Asahi’s drama “七人の女弁護士” (Seven Women Lawyers).

Shizuka Arakawa went skating in Italy a few months ago, and came back to Japan with a gold medal. Now, she is famous.
She told some TV producers that she’d always wanted to visit the set of a TV drama and would love to have a part as an extra.
Arakawa was surprised when they gave her a bigger part than they expected.
“I just wanted to show off to my friends,” she said.
The episode will screen this Thursday. Arakawa’s character will play a prosecutor in a murder trial.

Producers have said that Arakawa will also have some scenes in which she skates. It is not clear whether Arakawa will actually be skating inside the courtroom.
And that was Stick News for Monday the 29th of May. Kia Ora.



conversations with sarah
# 36 What picture?

Tucker wants to take a picture with his brother for a mother’s day present for his mum.
Step 1: Repeat Brad’s lines.
Step 2: Read Brad’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.

Tucker Brad we’re taking the picture, now.

Brad  What picture?

Tucker Now. The one for mum. Hello? Now.

Brad  I’m right here Tucker, stop your screaming.

Tucker Hey. Alright. So, I set it up, and ...

Brad  It’s a T-shirt.

Tucker Put on a tie, it’s for mum.

Brad  This is fine.

Tucker It’s for mother’s day.

Brad  Whatever!

Tucker Put on a tie!

Brad  Fine!



Notes:

Read today's news here.

The mother's day video is made by Barats and Bereta productions.
You can watch the video here.
This is their website.

"Mum" is the spelling used in New Zealand. I use New Zealand English spelling - because I am from New Zealand. (New Zealand English spelling is usually the same as British English.)

In American English this word is spelt "mom".
The pronunciation is different too - you can probably notice the difference in the way I say "mum" and the way the guys say it in the video.

The music on today's show is by Kiff'On from France.
The track is from the album Nes Funky.

You can listen to the album and download it for free here.
This is Kiff'On's website.