Saturday, May 31, 2008

Show 749 Saturday 31 May


Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

My Day

(A fictional story)

Today, I went for a drive.

I drove through a tunnel.
I had to stop and wait.
I drove over a bridge.
I drove through a carwash.
I went to the airport.
I went to Sendai.
I walked across a bridge.

I picked an apple.
I saw a toy owl.
I saw a construction worker.

I had some coffee.
I saw a boat.
I saw some jellyfish.
I saw some amazing clouds.

I made lunch.
I saw a bird.
I saw a lake.
I saw a waterfall.
I saw some art.

I went to karaoke.
I looked at a menu.
I ordered two drinks.
I listened to a guy singing in the subway.
I watched the sun set.


music

show start
artist: BrunoXe
album: aprendiendo desde 2004
track: Mandrake
from: Jerez, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site


artist: Cornelius
track: Wataridori2
found music here
artist at Last FM
artist site
Wikipedia

Did you notice a mistake in this script? Please leave us a comment and tell us! We really appreciate people pointing out our mistakes.Thank you.

Have you translated this script - or part of it - into your language for English practice and published it on your blog? Please leave a comment and a link so other people can read your translation. Thank you.

Friday, May 30, 2008

Show 748 Friday 30 May


Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

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

One of my favourite online video producers is DCLugi. His videos are so clever and funny and he’s, he’s just ridiculously talented basically.

And the song we’re studying today is one of his – it’s a parody of the song Yesterday by the Beatles. What he’s done is change all the words in the song to phrases which mean the same thing – and he sings it to the same tune – and he says some funny stuff at the start and at the end about how it’s a really original song.
So I think this is a great song to study with – you can compare the two different songs and you can see two different ways of saying the same thing – excellent for English study.

For example, instead of yesterday he says: the day before today.
Instead of far away, he says: quite a distance from me.
Instead of suddenly, he says: without any real warning.
And instead of now I need a place to hide away, now I can require a geographical location where I can basically keep out of sight.



STICK NEWS

Kia Ora, in Stick News today a roadside toilet stop almost killed a tourist in Australia when a snake bit the end of his penis.

A man was travelling in Queensland, Australia near a town called Laura, when nature called. While relieving himself on the side of the road, a deadly snake emerged from the bush and lunged at his manhood.
The brown snake bit the man’s trouser snake then hastily retreated leaving the victim vomiting and with stomach pain.
According to newspaper reports paramedics wrapped the penis in plastic sheeting and took the man to a nearby hospital where he spent a night recovering.
An ambulance spokesperson said the man was extremely fortunate to be alive but also “shocked and embarrassed” about where he had been bitten.

And that was Stick News for Friday the 30th of May.
Kia Ora.




Word Of The Day

Today’s word is manhood.
Manhood is one of the words that people use to avoid saying penis.
There are many other words like this, such as: member, willy, shlong, thing, one eyed snake, trouser snake.



friday joke

Why did the tomato turn red?
It saw the salad dressing.

I found this joke here.



conversations with sarah
#458 Where is being held?

Step 1: Repeat James’s lines.
Step 2: Read James’s lines and talk to Sarah.

James The G8 summit’s going to be held in Hokkadio soon, isn’t it?

Sarah Yeah, it’s at the start of July.

James Are you going to go and check it out?

Sarah Yeah, sure - just rock on up and join in the meetings, why not?

James Where is it being held?

Sarah It’s in Toyako.

James Is that anywhere near you?

Sarah Yeah, it’s pretty close. It’s about an hour’s drive, I think.



The Day Before Today
by DCLugi

So this is a song that I guess I’ve been working on for maybe, maybe five years or so now and it’s one of those songs that kept coming back to me and just staying, you, you know, you don’t put me away, you have to complete me because this is an important song. This might in fact, I mean this might in fact be your defining song. So I don’t mean to be too heavy, but this is, you know, that kind of song. And as with any song that you come up with originally, it’s influenced by you know other songs, past songs that you’ve heard. But I think this one in unique enough that it stands out as um, you know, ah, an important song for, for me specifically. So, it’s called The Day Before Today.

The day before today,
all the issues I was contending with seemed quite a distance from me.
Now from what I can tell they have no intention of going anywhere.
Oh, I’ve invested all my faith
in the day before today.

Without any real warning
I’m less than 50 percent of the human male I was previously.
There’s an area where direct light from a light source cannot reach due to the obstruction of an object hanging over me.

Oh the day before today,
arrived without any real warning.
For what apparent reason this girl I was seeing felt it necessary to exit,
I’m without knowledge on this matter.
This girl that I was seeing
would not elaborate.

I vocally expressed something other than she wanted to hear.
Now I’m just a big pile of yearning for the day before today.
The day before today,

that mysterious feeling which draws us all together
was such an uncomplicated task to achieve.
Now I can require a geographical location where I can basically keep out of sight.
Oh, I’ve invested all my faith in the day before today.

Yeah, now hearing it, it does sounds similar to, um, classic Tupac. Right because it’s like ... But I guess we steal from the greats, so I’m OK with that.



Yesterday
The Beatles

Yesterday
all my troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though they're here to stay
Oh I believe in yesterday

Suddenly
I'm not half the man I used to be
there's a shadow hanging over me
Oh yesterday came suddenly

Why she had to go
I don't know
she wouldn't say
I said something wrong
Now I long for yesterday

Yesterday
Love was such an easy game to play
Now I need a place to hide away
Oh I believe in yesterday

Why she had to go
I don't know
She wouldn't say
I said something wrong
Now I long for
Yesterday

Yesterday
Love was such an easy game to play
Now I need a place to hide away
Oh, I believe in yesterday

Mm mm mm mm ... yesterday.


links

today's news

or here

today's STICK NEWS pictures

DCLugi site YouTube super deluxe

G8 Summit, Toyako, Hokkaido

music

show start
artist: BrunoXe
album: aprendiendo desde 2004
track: Mandrake
from: Jerez, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

WOD start
artist: DJ iPep's
album: Home Mix 2007
track: Game Toy
from: EVREUX, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

friday joke start
artist: AdHoc
album: Toutes directions
track: Sumbala
from: Annecy, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

cws start
artist: San Sebastian
track: Happy Sad
artist site

qa start
artist: ioeo
album: Groovetracks
track: groovetracks ending
from: Saint Raphael, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

qa bgm
artist: Nokom electro
album: Nokom
track: Bonnobaize
from: grenoble/lyon, France
artist at Jamendo
artist site

Did you notice a mistake in this script? Please leave us a comment and tell us! We really appreciate people pointing out our mistakes.Thank you.

Have you translated this script - or part of it - into your language for English practice and published it on your blog? Please leave a comment and a link so other people can read your translation. Thank you.

Show 747 Thursday 29 May


Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

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

There are a lot of clips on the internet of TV presenters making funny mistakes and one of my favourite ones is when a woman is introducing an interview and she accidentally says gay instead of blind.

This is what she says:

Right after the break we’re going to interview Erik Weihenmayer, who climbed the highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest, but he’s gay ... I mean he’s gay, excuse me, he’s blind ... so we’ll hear about that coming up.

I think that is hilarious. I’ve watched it about 50 times and it still cracks me up. It’s so funny because when presenters make mistakes like that they usually accidentally say another word because it sounds very similar.

For example, if she said he’s blonde instead of he’s blind. That would still be funny but more understandable, just a natural slip of the tongue, because the words are pretty similar. But the word gay sounds nothing like the word blind – so it’s like, how did she mix those two words up?And of course it’s also funny because being gay doesn’t make it hard to climb a mountain.



STICK NEWS

Kia Ora, this is Stick News. Yesterday the Nepalese monarchy was abolished. The monarchy started in 1768 and was the world’s only surviving Hindu monarchy.

The last kind of Nepal was born in Kathmandu in 1947. He became the king when he was just three years old after his father and grandfather ran away to India. A few months later his grandfather came back and became king again. The next king after his grandfather was his father, then his brother who was king from 1972 until he was shot in 2001. In 2001, ten people of the Nepalese Royal Family were shot and killed including the king and the queen. After the king died, the prince, who did the shooting, became king. He was king for three days, then he died and the dead king’s brother became the new king. On the 24th of December 2007, it was announced that the monarchy would probably be abolished in 2008. And on the 28th of May 2008 the monarchy was officially abolished and replaced with a secular federal republic.

And that was Stick News for Thursday the 29th of May.

Kia Ora.





Word Of The Day

Today’s word is blind.

If a person is blind, it means they can’t see because of injury, disease or a congenital condition. By the way congenital means present from birth.

The word blind is used in many idioms, for example:

Blind as a bat which means: not able to see well.
The blind leading the blind.
Turn a blind eye.
Not a blind bit means: not any.
Blind drunk means: very drunk.



conversations with sarah
#457 The blind leading the blind

Step 1: Repeat Jun’s lines.

Step 2: Read Jun’s lines and talk to Sarah.

Jun What does, “the blind leading the blind”, mean?

Sarah It’s used in a situation where somebody who doesn’t know much about something gives advice to another person who also doesn’t know anything about the subject. Do you know what I mean?

Jun No, not really.

Sarah For example, do you know much about hmmm let’s see ... do you how to fix the engine of a car?

Jun No, I have no idea.

Sarah Neither do I. So if I tried to teach you, then it would the blind leading the blind.

Jun Oh, I get it.



links

today's news

or here

Nepalese Monarchy

today's STICK NEWS pictures

music

show start
artist: BrunoXe
album: aprendiendo desde 2004
track: Mandrake
from: Jerez, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

WOD start
artist: DJ iPep's
album: Home Mix 2007
track: Game Toy
from: EVREUX, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

cws start
artist: San Sebastian
track: Happy Sad
artist site

qa start
artist: ioeo
album: Groovetracks
track: groovetracks ending
from: Saint Raphael, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

qa bgm
artist: Nokom electro
album: Nokom
track: Bonnobaize
from: grenoble/lyon, France
artist at Jamendo
artist site

Did you notice a mistake in this script? Please leave us a comment and tell us! We really appreciate people pointing out our mistakes.Thank you.

Have you translated this script - or part of it - into your language for English practice and published it on your blog? Please leave a comment and a link so other people can read your translation. Thank you.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Show 746 Wednesday 28 May


Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

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

Today is mistake day and the mistake I’d like to talk about is ... gonna.
Some students in Japan say gonna on purpose, or even more shockingly, they actually write it.
I’m not exactly sure why they do this, but I think it’s because somebody once told them that it would make them sound more like a native speaker. But I don’t actually think it does. I think it sounds kind of awkward and embarrassing and it makes me cringe when I hear it.
Well, not really, because I’m a teacher so it’s my job to be patient. But, anyway, let me explain.

When native English speakers speak, we naturally run words together – this is called elision. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
So when we say: going to, it often sounds like gonna.

For example: I’m going to do it later.

But, we don’t set out to say gonna, it just naturally happens that way. And there is a difference. If you do set out to say gonna it would and does sound strange.
So when non-native English speakers say gonna it usually sounds strange because the reason why I run words together is because I want to speak faster – because I can because it’s my native language. But if you can’t speak fast, because you’re still learning English, then it sounds really strange to unnaturally run words together.

So, in conclusion, my advice is: if you’re speaking slowly, then say all the words. And as your speed increases then you’ll naturally start running all your words together, so, you don’t need to don’t force it.



STICK NEWS

Kia Ora, this is Stick News. American film director, producer and actor, Sydney Pollack died on Monday. He was 73.

Sydney Pollack was born in 1934 in Indiana in the United States of America. When he was 17 he moved to New York City to study acting. In the 1960s, he directed television shows and he directed his first film in 1965. Pollack directed the film Out of Africa which was released in 1985 and starred Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. The film received seven Academy Awards.According to Wikipedia, Pollack died of cancer at the age of 73 at his home in California, surrounded by family.

And that was Stick News for Wednesday the 28th of May.

Kia Ora.





Word Of The Day

Today’s word is cringe.

Cringe is a verb which means experience an inward shiver of embarrassment or disgust.



conversations with
sarah

#456 That’s such nasty thing to say

Step 1: Repeat Kana’s lines.

Step 2: Read Kana’s lines and talk to Sarah.

Kana Did you read that news about Sharon Stone?

Sarah How she said the earthquake in China was karma?

Kana Yeah.

Sarah Yeah, that’s such nasty thing to say.

Kana Yeah, totally. Who cares what she says, though.

Sarah Mmm, yeah, we don’t need to care ... but still, she knows that people will report what she says, so she shouldn’t go around saying stuff like that in interviews.

Kana Do you believe in karma?

Sarah Mmm, I guess so, kind of, like if you’re mean to people then people will be mean back to you. That’s just common sense. But what she said was just crazy.



links

today's news
today's STICK NEWS pictures

music

show start
artist: BrunoXe
album: aprendiendo desde 2004
track: Mandrake
from: Jerez, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

WOD start
artist: DJ iPep's
album: Home Mix 2007
track: Game Toy
from: EVREUX, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

cws start
artist: San Sebastian
track: Happy Sad
artist site

qa start
artist: ioeo
album: Groovetracks
track: groovetracks ending
from: Saint Raphael, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

qa bgm
artist: Nokom electro
album: Nokom
track: Bonnobaize
from: grenoble/lyon, France
artist at Jamendo
artist site

Did you notice a mistake in this script? Please leave us a comment and tell us! We really appreciate people pointing out our mistakes.Thank you.

Have you translated this script - or part of it - into your language for English practice and published it on your blog? Please leave a comment and a link so other people can read your translation. Thank you.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Show 745 Tuesday 27 May


Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

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

Today we’re going to have a look at another scene from King Kong.

I think one of the interesting things about King Kong is how over the top the sexism is in the film – which I guess reflects the attitudes in American society at the time the film was made.

Not that Hollywood films – or other films - produced these days aren’t sexist, because obviously a lot of them are – but it’s just presented in a different way, I think.

The scene were doing today is near the start of the film. Ann and Jack are having a conversation on the ship and Jack says: this is no place for a girl.

Meaning only men should be on ships – and I guess he means especially in this situation because it’s such a long trip and it’s in a potentially dangerous area and women are weak and useless and get in the way, I guess.

And later on he says: Women can't help being a bother. Made that way, I guess.

So I think those lines are quite interesting, they’re not the kind of lines that you’re likely to hear characters say in films these days.



STICK NEWS

Kia Ora, this is Stick News. A passenger who landed at Narita airport in Tokyo on Sunday had a surprise souvenir in their luggage thanks to custom(s) officials. It was a package of cannabis.

Reuters reported a customs official hid some cannabis in a passenger’s suitcase as part of an exercise for sniffer dogs.
But staff lost track of the drugs and suitcase during the exercise.
Tokyo customs has asked anyone who finds the package to return it.


And that was Stick News for Tuesday the 27th of May.
Kia ora.





Word Of The Day

Today’s word is harp.

In King Kong Ann says to Jack: I wish you wouldn't keep harping on that.

Harp on or harp on about means: talk or write persistently and tediously on a particular topic.

The term has been around for a while. Shakespeare used it in 1603 in Hamlet: "Still harping on, my daughter?"

And I found this on the internet:
Why is the government harping on about smoking?



conversations with sarah
#455 This is no place for a girl

Step 1: Repeat Jack’s lines.
Step 2: Read Jack’s lines and talk to Ann.

Jack Hello, Ann.

Ann Hello, Jack.

Jack Where you been all morning?

Ann Trying on costumes for Mr. Denham. He's going to make some tests of me this afternoon, here on deck, if the light's right.

Jack Tests? Why?

Ann Oh, to see which side of my face looks best, and all that.

Jack Both sides look all right to me.

Ann Yes, but you're not the movie director.

Jack If I was, you wouldn't be here.

Ann Well, is that a nice thing to say!

Jack Ah, this is no place for a girl.

Ann I wish you wouldn't keep harping on that. It's very mean of you. Anybody'd think I'd been a lot of trouble. I haven't! You can't say I've been one bit of trouble to anyone. Have I?

Jack Sure you have. Sure you have.

Ann I don't see ... well, how?

Jack Just being around’s trouble.

Ann Oh dear and I thought everything was going so nicely.

Jack Aw, you're all right. But women can't help being a bother. Made that way, I guess.



links

today's news
today's STICK NEWS pictures

music

show start
artist: BrunoXe
album: aprendiendo desde 2004
track: Mandrake
from: Jerez, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

WOD start
artist: DJ iPep's
album: Home Mix 2007
track: Game Toy
from: EVREUX, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

cws start
artist: San Sebastian
track: Happy Sad
artist site

qa start
artist: ioeo
album: Groovetracks
track: groovetracks ending
from: Saint Raphael, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

qa bgm
artist: Nokom electro
album: Nokom
track: Bonnobaize
from: grenoble/lyon, France
artist at Jamendo
artist site

Did you notice a mistake in this script? Please leave us a comment and tell us! We really appreciate people pointing out our mistakes.Thank you.

Have you translated this script - or part of it - into your language for English practice and published it on your blog? Please leave a comment and a link so other people can read your translation. Thank you.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Show 744 Monday 26 May


Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Hi, I’m Sarah, welcome to The Daily English Show. Today’s guest is Dilip from Nepal.
He’s a rafting guide and he’s working here in Niseko this summer. In the interview he talked about learning English and Japanese and he talked about rafting in Nepal which sounds like it’s a lot of fun.
Before the interview The Daily English Show had a bit of a chat with Dilip in the river. He’d been kayaking all day on his day off and knf, The Daily English Show cameraperson, asked him how the conditions were.

Ah, not bad, everything fine, happy to be doing kayaking after long time, yeah. Having holiday today so I decided let’s go kayaking, yeah.



STICK NEWS

Kia Ora, in Stick News today, for the first time ever a singer from Russia won the Eurovision Song Contest.

The Eurovision Song Contest started in 1956 and is one of the longest-running television programmes in the world. It is also one of the most-watched non-sporting events in the world.Forty nine countries have participated at least once.The country with the most wins in Ireland – they’ve won seven times. This year a 26-year-old pop artist from Russia won the contest. He sung a song called Believe.

And that was Stick News for Monday the 26th of May.
Kia Ora.




conversations with sarah
#454 Do most Nepalese speak English?

Step 1: Repeat Sarah’s lines.
Step 2: Read Sarah’s lines and talk to Dilip.

Sarah How long have you been in Japan?

Dilip I, I work with summer during the summer, so this is my second, second time in Japan. I was here last year, and I went back to Nepal again, then this is my second time.

Sarah When did you start working as a rafting guide?

Dilip I started from 2000.

Sarah Where were you working then?

Dilip Ah, a place called Bhote Koshi which is a very famous river in Nepal for doing rafting, especially kayaking as well.

Sarah You've been in kayaking competitions, haven't you? Tell me about that.

Dilip I used to do participate kayak competition in Nepal. We have the biggest competition in Nepal during the November, which is organize by this life jacket company, the company called Peak UK and those company making all the gears for kayaking and ... which is a very good opportunity for the Nepalese people. So I’m going to participate again.

Sarah Did you win any of the competitions?

Dilip Ah, yes, I win 2004, I win from junior, ah, junior guides, I was second. And this time I’m going to participate from the senior guides.

Sarah How did you learn English?

Dilip I learn English in the school.

Sarah When did you start?

Dilip Ah, when I started to go to school. When I was kids. From four years.

Sarah Do most Nepalese speak English?

Dilip Well, it’s not really common for speak English in Nepal but who those are working with tourism, they must have to speak English. And I got much better to speak English when I started to doing this job.

Sarah Do you speak Japanese?

Dilip Japanese ... ah, it’s fun to speak Japanese. I really want to speak Japanese, because we must have to speak Japanese here. But it’s, I found myself, it is little difficult. Chotto muzukashi ne, Nihongo. (Japanese is a bit difficult, isn’t it?).

Sarah How do you study Japanese?

Dilip Ah, well I haven’t been to a school for a study Nihongo, but I have some books so sometime I read myself.

Sarah How do you like living in Japan?

Dilip It’s really good. It’s very nice to be here. So, I like the Japanese people, they are very helpful, they are very, ah, frank. So, and it’s quite ... I found myself it’s very easy to work with Japanese people here. So, I love Japan and all the Japanese, so that’s why I’m still here.

Sarah You went to Shikoku last season, didn’t you? Tell me about that.

Dilip Yeah, the river at Yoshinogawa is more fun river, more difficult, difficulty river than Shiribetsu. And there was ... when I was in Yoshinogawa I found, I had a really good time with a, with a friend of mine Nozo who was, who took us from here to Yoshinogawa. It was really fun to work there with different, different peoples. And it’s really fun to do. I love to do the different river actually, so it was really fun. And it was a little difficult that ... I, I had ... it’s weather. Because of very hot weather than here. Only that’s different, everything was fine. Yeah, nice people and the company where I work, that’s the company, name of the company is ODSS and those company people who works there are very friend and they are very helpful either and it was a really great time I had there last year.

Sarah What’s rafting like in Nepal?

Dilip Ah, in Nepal we have so many rivers and many choices for the, for the customers, where you can go, easy river or hardest river. And especially the, the great things from rafting Nepal you can go like ten days twelve days trip, where it’s like, you just go, you, you’ve got to carry everything on your raft. Ah, for all the camping equipment and you can go and you camping on the beach, with the biggest forest, deep in the forest, green forest. And it’s really adventurous. So people like to do rafting in Nepal because of that. And you can see the remote village area and people are, how people are surviving in Nepal who are from the remote areas. And you can see like if you go like rafting in Nepal … just like, you will see there are like no roads and no any … trans, like communication, for, like, in Japan, like phone and something like that. It’s a real adventure. We love, I love to do rafting in Nepal.



links

today's STICK NEWS pictures

music

show start
artist: BrunoXe
album: aprendiendo desde 2004
track: Mandrake
from: Jerez, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

cws start
artist: San Sebastian
track: Happy Sad
artist site

qa start
artist: ioeo
album: Groovetracks
track: groovetracks ending
from: Saint Raphael, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

qa bgm
artist: Nokom electro
album: Nokom
track: Bonnobaize
from: grenoble/lyon, France
artist at Jamendo
artist site

Did you notice a mistake in this script? Please leave us a comment and tell us! We really appreciate people pointing out our mistakes.Thank you.

Have you translated this script - or part of it - into your language for English practice and published it on your blog? Please leave a comment and a link so other people can read your translation. Thank you.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

#743 Ramacipan


Watch today's show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Sunday Kitchen #96 Ramacipan

Recently I met a woman in Niseko who makes the most delicious bread.
It's called Ramacipan.
She kindly agreed to show me how to make it one day.
The week before filming this I'd tried some of her pecan and maple syrup bread which was amazing - so I decided I'd like to try making that.
First I had to break some pecan nuts into pieces.
We toasted them in the oven for five minutes.
Then we put some natural yeast in a bowl and added salt, maple syrup, olive oil and flour.
We used two different kinds of flour.
Then we added water.
I mixed it with my hands.
Then I took it out of the bowl and put it on the table and kneaded it for about 15 minutes I think
it was.
Then I rolled the dough out and sprinkled the pecans on it. Oops.
I rolled the pecans up inside the dough.
Then I kneaded it some more.
The next step was to roll it around a bit so that it had a nice smooth layer on top. Like this.
Then I put it in a bowl and put plastic over it.
You normally wait for a couple of hours, I think. But we left it overnight and came back the next day. And it looked like this.
We sprinkled some flour on top. And put it on the table. Turned it over.
And then cut it up into pieces to be used for different sized loaves.
Then we rolled it up into a little loaf - while keeping the smooth layer on the outside intact.
Then we covered all the bread up and left it for a while.
Then it was time for the final shaping.
You roll it out a bit, then fold over the sides, then roll it up, then pinch the bottom together.
It's supposed to look like a sea cucumber, which I'd never heard of before, but I guess it looks
something like this.
Then we put the bread in this warming machine.
Then I prepared the little ones by rolling them around like this and pinching the bottom together.
And I put them in the warmer too.
After a while I took them out and cut the tops with scissors.
Then, finally, it was time to cook them.
After they came out of the oven, they got sprayed with water.
Then we cut the tops of the big loaves and cooked them.






music

show start
artist: BrunoXe
album: aprendiendo desde 2004
track: Mandrake
from: Jerez, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

artist: NarNaoud
album: Green Vision
track: Green Vision
from: Gironde, France
artist at Jamendo
album at Jamendo
artist site

Did you notice a mistake in this script? Please leave us a comment and tell us! We really appreciate people pointing out our mistakes.Thank you.

Have you translated this script - or part of it - into your language for English practice and published it on your blog? Please leave a comment and a link so other people can read your translation. Thank you.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Show 742 Saturday 24 May


Watch today's show on YouTube or BlipTV.


Slow Road
by Steven Dunston


We could take the freeway
It will be quick and easy
Home free before we know it
We could take the freeway

We could take the freeway
Every exit looks the same
They all have a number instead of a name
We could take the freeway

Let the others pass us by
We’ll get where we’re going in plenty of time
Keep a hand on the wheel and one on my thigh
And take the slow road

I know a road
A slow road, a stop-and-go road
It’s a twist-to-and-fro road
I know a road

I know a road
The street lights are few and far
And some of them flicker like halogen stars
I know a road

Let the others pass us by
We’ll get where we’re going in plenty of time
Keep a hand on the wheel and one on my thigh
And take the slow road

Let the others pass us by
We’ll get where we’re going in plenty of time
Keep a hand on the wheel and one on my thigh
And take the slow road



music


show start
artist: BrunoXe
album: aprendiendo desde 2004
track: Mandrake
from: Jerez, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

artist: Steven Dunston

album: Hymns About Her

track: Slow Road

from: Seattle, United States




Did you notice a mistake in this script? Please leave us a comment and tell us! We really appreciate people pointing out our mistakes.Thank you.

Have you translated this script - or part of it - into your language for English practice and published it on your blog? Please leave a comment and a link so other people can read your translation. Thank you.

Friday, May 23, 2008

Show 741 Friday 23 May


Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

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

Today I recommend a song called Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell.

Joni Mitchell is from Canada and she’s a musician, songwriter, and painter.
And she became famous in the late 1960s.

This is what someone said about her: When the dust settles, Joni Mitchell may stand as the most important and influential female recording artist of the late 20th century.

So, she’s pretty famous. But I’d never actually heard of her until I saw Love Actually. In that movie there’s the thing about the Joni Mitchell CD. Anyway, the song Big Yellow Taxi came out in 1970.

And this is what she said about the song:

I wrote 'Big Yellow Taxi' on my first trip to Hawaii. I took a taxi to the hotel and when I woke up the next morning, I threw back the curtains and saw these beautiful green mountains in the distance. Then, I looked down and there was a parking lot as far as the eye could see, and it broke my heart ... this blight on paradise. That's when I sat down and wrote the song.

I like these lines in the song:

Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got
Till its gone


Which I think means that you don’t really appreciate something until you don’t have it anymore.

She mentions something called DDT in the song.
DDT is: one of the best-known synthetic pesticides and has a long, unique, controversial history.

Hey farmer farmer
Put away that DDT now
Give me spots on my apples
But leave me the birds and the bees


Incidentally, I used to hate this song. It’s been covered many times and one of the covers was by Amy Grant. It came out in 1994 when I was working in commercial radio and we used to play it all the time and I didn’t like it. But I do like the original.



STICK NEWS

Kia Ora, in Stick News today, the case of the man who said he lost interest in sex after he found two dead flies in a bottle of unopened drinking water has been dismissed by Canada’s Supreme Court.

Back in 2001, a man was living in Canada with his wife and two daughters. Cleanliness and hygiene were very important to the family and they only drank water delivered by a water purification business.On November the 21st 2001, a bottle of water was delivered to their house. There was a dead fly floating in the bottle. No one opened the bottle, or drank from it, but both parents vomited. Reportedly, the man couldn't put the experience out of his mind.
A judge said: "He became obsessed with thoughts about the dead fly in the water and about the potential implications for his family's health of their having possibly been drinking unpurified water supplied in the past."
The man said he suffered psychological damage, including depression, phobia, anxiety and damage to his sex life.The family sued the water company in 2005 and they won C$340,000 in damages. But the company appealed and yesterday the case was dismissed by the Supreme Court.


And that was Stick News for Friday the 23rd of May.
Kia Ora.




Word Of The Day

Today’s word is slam.
This is from the song Big Yellow Taxi:

Late last night
I heard the screen door slam

Slam is a verb which means: shut or be shut forcefully and loudly.

When people are angry they sometimes slam the door. Other people don’t usually like hearing doors be slammed so they say something like: Don’t slam the door!



friday joke

Dave and Tom were playing golf one Sunday afternoon. Dave was getting ready to take a shot when a funeral procession drove past the golf course. Dave straightened up, held his hand over his heart and stood in silence until the procession had passed.

“Dave I didn’t know you were so sensitive!” said Tom. “That was real respect for the dead, that was!”

“No, it was nothing,” said Dave. “How can one quiet moment compare with the 25 years she and I have had together?”



conversations with sarah
#453 The police cars were yellow?

Step 1: Repeat Taka’s lines.
Step 2: Read Taka’s lines and talk to Sarah.

Taka So the song is basically about her being unhappy with ... development?

Sarah Yeah, with people destroying the environment.

Taka Do they have big yellow taxis in Hawaii?

Sarah I don’t know, but in Wikipedia it says that she’s talking about police cars in Toronto.

Taka The police cars were yellow?

Sarah Yeah.

Taka What does this mean: and a big yellow taxi took away my old man

Sarah It either means that a man left her or that he was taken away by the police.



links

today's news
also here
and here

today's STICK NEWS pictures

music

show start
artist: BrunoXe
album: aprendiendo desde 2004
track: Mandrake
from: Jerez, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

WOD start
artist: DJ iPep's
album: Home Mix 2007
track: Game Toy
from: EVREUX, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

friday joke start
artist: AdHoc
album: Toutes directions
track: Sumbala
from: Annecy, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

cws start
artist: San Sebastian
track: Happy Sad
artist site

qa start
artist: ioeo
album: Groovetracks
track: groovetracks ending
from: Saint Raphael, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

qa bgm
artist: Nokom electro
album: Nokom
track: Bonnobaize
from: grenoble/lyon, France
artist at Jamendo
artist site

Did you notice a mistake in this script? Please leave us a comment and tell us! We really appreciate people pointing out our mistakes.Thank you.

Have you translated this script - or part of it - into your language for English practice and published it on your blog? Please leave a comment and a link so other people can read your translation. Thank you.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Show 740 Thursday 22 May


Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Hi, I’m Sarah, welcome to The Daily English Show.

The video I recommend today is called: Social Injustice: サラリーマンの挑戦

The video is done by Kevin Cooney and Ken Suzuki. And I think it’s really well done – the filming, the editing, the music, the acting ... just the whole idea, it’s very funny.

To understand it you have to know a bit of background: firstly who is Rosa Parks and what is she famous for doing and why did she do it? Go and read about Rosa Parks if you don’t know about her already. Wikipedia’s a pretty good place to start, I think.

Another thing that you might not know is that in Japan on some trains they have some carriages that are only for females. It’s usually just during a certain time, like during rush hour.
Actually I just looked it up in Wikipedia and apparently they have this female-only carriage thing in some other countries too. Like: Egypt, India, Taiwan, Brazil, Mexico and the Philippines and they’re going to be in South Korea soon too aparently.

They started in Japan in 2001 and, as it says in Wikipedia: they were introduced to combat illegal obscene conducts ("chikan") including groping.

Personally, I think it’s absolutely the wrong way of going about solving the problem ... but anyway I do like this video so go and check it out.



STICK NEWS

Kia Ora, in Stick News today, a group of female ski jumpers are not happy about being left out of the 2010 Winter Olympics so they’re suing the Organizing Committee.

Nearly all Olympic sports have both a men's and women's event, but ski jumping only has a men’s event.
The President of the International Olympic Committee says that because so few women compete in the sport including it in the games would dilute the value of medals won in other events.
According to Reuters the female ski jumpers argue that they meet all the technical requirements to qualify, and accuse opponents of being sexist and unwilling to force male ski jumpers to share potential sponsorship money athletes get from being part of the Games.

And that was Stick News for Thursday the 22nd of May.
Kia Ora




Word Of The Day
Today’s word is refuse.

Refuse means to say that you will not do something that somebody has asked you to do.
It also means to say that you do not want something that has been offered to you.



conversations with sarah
#452 Who was Rosa Parks?

Step 1: Repeat Junko’s lines.
Step 2: Read Junko’s lines and talk to Sarah.

Junko
Who was Rosa Parks?

Sarah She was a woman who is famous for refusing to give up her seat on a bus.

Junko Why did she do that?

Sarah Because she was tired of being treated badly I think.

Junko Why did they ask her to give up her seat?

Sarah Um, they used to have racial segregation in the United States.

Junko What does racial segregation mean?

Sarah It means that people were treated differently because of their race, and people with pale skin were treated better. So, for example, if there weren’t enough seats on the bus, the bus driver could ask, ah, an African American to stand up so that a Caucasian person could sit down.

Junko Wow. That sucks.

Sarah Yeah, it did suck and that’s why there was the American Civil Rights movement.



Rosa Parks sat on the front seat of the bus and then she became a civil rights icon.
What if I got on (a) women only train car?
I will stand against segregation by sitting on the train.
I don’t think I’m a hero, I’m just doing what’s right.
We shall overcome, we shall overcome.


notes

car (AmE) = carriage (BrE, NZE)
"I don't think I'm a hero, I'm just doing what anyone would do", (or a version of this) is a typical thing people say to the media when they have done something heroic.
We Shall Overcome is a "a protest song that became a key anthem of the US civil rights movement".



links

today's STICK NEWS pictures

music

show start
artist: BrunoXe
album: aprendiendo desde 2004
track: Mandrake
from: Jerez, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

WOD start
artist: DJ iPep's
album: Home Mix 2007
track: Game Toy
from: EVREUX, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

cws start
artist: San Sebastian
track: Happy Sad
artist site

qa start
artist: ioeo
album: Groovetracks
track: groovetracks ending
from: Saint Raphael, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

qa bgm
artist: Nokom electro
album: Nokom
track: Bonnobaize
from: grenoble/lyon, France
artist at Jamendo
artist site

Did you notice a mistake in this script? Please leave us a comment and tell us! We really appreciate people pointing out our mistakes.Thank you.

Have you translated this script - or part of it - into your language for English practice and published it on your blog? Please leave a comment and a link so other people can read your translation. Thank you.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Show 739 Wednesday 21 May


Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Hi, I’m Sarah, welcome to The Daily English Show.

I have some excellent news – there is now a new site for Vietnamese scripts of The Daily English Show. Someone kindly volunteered to make a site and translate some of the scripts into Vietnamese. So, thank you so much and hello to everyone who is watching in Vietnam.

Today’s mistake is this: my company.

You might not make this mistake yourself, but you might find it interesting anyway.

And it might not even be a mistake ... but it’s something which a lot of Japanese students say and which I find a bit strange.

In Japanese, when you talk about the company you work for, you can say: my company – so I think that’s why a lot of Japanese people say this in English.

But in English, if you say: my company, it usually means you are the owner of the company.
If you just work there, I would suggest saying: the company I work for, or: the place I work.
But, if you’ve already told the listener the name of the company you work for, or they already know, then you usually say the name of the company.

So if I’m an engineer and I work for Honda, and the person I’m talking to already knows that I work for Honda I wouldn’t keep saying: the company I work for, I would just say: Honda.
For example: one of the guys at Honda offered to help me move house.



STICK NEWS

Kia Ora, in Stick News today the Queen of England is investing in the largest wind turbine in the world.

A wind turbine is a rotating machine that converts the kinetic energy in wind into mechanical energy.
The Queen of England’s estate owns most of the seabed off Britain's shores and regularly leases out land to wind farm projects but this is the first time they’ve invested in wind turbines.
A spokesperson said: "This is not something we've ever done before and I think it will raise quite a few eyebrows."


And that was Stick News for Wednesday the 21st of May.
Kia Ora.





Word Of The Day

Today’s word is rotate.

rotate
v.
move or cause to move in a circle round an axis



conversations with
sarah

#451 Have you ever been to Vietnam?

Step 1: Repeat Brian’s lines.
Step 2: Read Brian’s lines and talk to Sarah.

Brian Have you ever been to Vietnam?

Sarah No, have you?

Brian No, I don’t really know much about the country apart from the fact that they had a long war.

Sarah Yeah. We studied the Vietnam War in my history class at high school actually.

Brian Did you write an essay about it?

Sarah No, our teacher got us to do an assignment where we had to choose a movie about the Vietnam War and then compare what happened in the movie to what actually happened according to the information we could find in books.

Brian That sounds interesting. Millions of people died in that war. It’s so sad.

Sarah Yeah, it is, I think it was about two million, more than two million Vietnamese people and people from lots of other countries.



links

today's news
today's STICK NEWS pictures

music

show start
artist: BrunoXe
album: aprendiendo desde 2004
track: Mandrake
from: Jerez, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

WOD start
artist: DJ iPep's
album: Home Mix 2007
track: Game Toy
from: EVREUX, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

cws start
artist: San Sebastian
track: Happy Sad
artist site

qa start
artist: ioeo
album: Groovetracks
track: groovetracks ending
from: Saint Raphael, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

qa bgm
artist: Nokom electro
album: Nokom
track: Bonnobaize
from: grenoble/lyon, France
artist at Jamendo
artist site

Did you notice a mistake in this script? Please leave us a comment and tell us! We really appreciate people pointing out our mistakes.Thank you.

Have you translated this script - or part of it - into your language for English practice and published it on your blog? Please leave a comment and a link so other people can read your translation. Thank you.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Show 738 Tuesday 20 May


Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Hi, I’m Sarah, welcome to The Daily English Show.

Today we’re going to study a scene from the movie King Kong.
King Kong came out in 1933, I’m sure you’ve heard of it, it’s about a massive gorilla called Kong.

Wikipedia says the movie is notable for its ground-breaking stop motion animation.

It says: much of what is done today with CGI animation has its conceptual roots in the stop motion animation that was pioneered in King Kong.

So it was ground-breaking then, but it’s kind of funny for us to watch now because animation has come a long way since then.

The scene we’re going to do today is near the start of the movie.

The movie starts in New York, and there’s a film director and he’s looking for an actress to star in his latest film but he’s having trouble finding one, so he decides to walk around New York looking for a girl. And then he happens to see a girl who is getting caught stealing an apple.
Then the film director pays the shopkeeper and then takes the girl – whose name is Ann – to a café and buys her some food and then he asks her to be in his latest movie.

And the scene we’re doing today is in the café.


STICK NEWS

Kia Ora, in Stick News today Barack Obama raised 31.3 million dollars in April.

Barack Obama is an American politician who wants to be the next president.
Running a presidential campaign in the United States costs a lot of money.
Obama’s campaign has released its financial report for April.
They raised $31.3 million.
The amount was less than the $42.84 million they raised in March.
But the campaign said they had 200,000 new donors in April and 93 percent of the contributions were $100 or less.


And that was Stick News for Tuesday the 20th of May.
Kia Ora.




Word of the Day

Today’s word is shabby.
Shabby is an adjective which is used to describe buildings, clothes, objects etc to mean in poor condition because they have been used a lot.

It’s also used to describe a person who is badly dressed in clothes that have been worn a lot.



conversations with
sarah

#450 It's the thrill of a lifetime

Step 1: Repeat Denham’s lines.
Step 2: Read Denham’s lines and talk to Ann.

Denham Feeling better?

Ann Yes, thank you. You’re very kind.

Denham Don't you fool yourself. I'm not bothering about you just out of kindness.
How did you ever get into this fix?

Ann Bad luck I guess. But then there are lots of girls like me.

Denham Not many with your looks.

Ann I can get by in good clothes, all right. But when a girl gets too shabby ...

Denham No family?

Ann I'm supposed to have an uncle someplace.

Denham You ever do any acting?

Ann I used to do extra work now and then over on Long Island. The studio’s closed now.

Denham What's your name?

Ann Ann Darrow.

Denham Fine. I've got a job for you. The costumes on the ship will fit you. The Broadway shops are still open. I can get some clothes for you there. Come on.

Ann But, but what is it?

Denham It's money, and adventure, and fame. It's the thrill of a lifetime. And
a long sea-voyage that starts at six o’clock tomorrow morning.



notes

fix n. (informal) a difficult or awkward situation

(I don't use this word. I'm not sure how commonly it's used by others.)

get by is a phrasal verb which means: to manage to live or do a particular thing using the money, knowledge, equipment, etc. that you have

eg How's your Italian? It's not great, but I can get by.



links

today's news

today's STICK NEWS pictures

music

show start
artist: BrunoXe
album: aprendiendo desde 2004
track: Mandrake
from: Jerez, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

WOD start
artist: DJ iPep's
album: Home Mix 2007
track: Game Toy
from: EVREUX, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

cws start
artist: San Sebastian
track: Happy Sad
artist site

qa start
artist: ioeo
album: Groovetracks
track: groovetracks ending
from: Saint Raphael, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

qa bgm
artist: Nokom electro
album: Nokom
track: Bonnobaize
from: grenoble/lyon, France
artist at Jamendo
artist site

Did you notice a mistake in this script? Please leave us a comment and tell us! We really appreciate people pointing out our mistakes.Thank you.

Have you translated this script - or part of it - into your language for English practice and published it on your blog? Please leave a comment and a link so other people can read your translation. Thank you.