#841 Home Alone: I'll Give It A Whirl, Prisoner Escapes Using Sheets

Show 841 Tuesday 30 September
Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

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

Today we’re doing a scene from the movie Home Alone which is a comedy that came out in 1990.

I used a few scenes from this movie when I was teaching at a junior high school – it’s a good one to use for younger teenagers because a lot of good movies aren’t really appropriate.

If you haven’t seen Home Alone, it’s about a young boy who accidentally gets left at home by himself when his family goes on holiday. And so the boy, his name is Kevin, has to look after himself until his family gets back.

The scene we’re doing today is when Kevin is at the supermarket. He’s doing some grocery shopping, but he’s only 8, so the checkout woman is suspicious asks him some questions, like:

Where's your mum? Where's your father? What about your brothers and your sisters?

A few points about the language in this scene.

The checkout woman says to the boy: Are you here all by yourself?
All by yourself means the same thing as by yourself – the all is just emphasizing the fact that he’s alone.

And he replies: Mam, I'm eight years old. You think I'd be here alone? I don't think so.

Mam is a word that’s used in the US. It’s a term of respectful address, used for women. It’s like the female equivalent of sir.

I’m not really sure how common it is, or in what situations it’s used … it’s not used in New Zealand – except for in the military - so I’ve only really heard it in American movies.

STICK NEWS

Kia Ora in Stick News today, a prison in New Zealand has introduced sheet counts during cell checks after a prisoner escaped by collecting enough sheets to make a rope.

In May this year a 26-year-old man escaped from Mt Eden prison by climbing over a wall using a rope made of sheets. Today the Department of Corrections released a report about the escape. The report said the escape was "not a simple escape" and very few people would have had the dexterity the man showed. They said that since the escape they’ve changed some of their systems – including the sheet system. Before the classic sheet escape, the prison didn’t do checks on sheet numbers. The sheets are now swapped one for one and guards also do sheet counts when they’re checking the cells.

And that was Stick News for Tuesday the 30th of September.
Kia Ora.

Word of the Day

Today’s word is whirl.

Whirl means: move or cause to move rapidly round and round.

Give sth a whirl is an idiom which means: to try sth to see if you like it or can do it.

I found an example online using this idiom.

This is someone writing a blog entry about hummus:

Earlier in the summer I tried replacing the mint in my hummus recipe with sage, and this time around I thought I’d give rosemary a whirl.

conversations with sarah
#519 Are you here all by yourself?

* On my DVD, this is in chapter 12 (0:50:36)

Step 1: Repeat the checkout woman's lines.
Step 2: Read the checkout woman's lines and talk to Kevin.

Kevin Are those microwave dinners any good?

Woman I don't know.

Kevin I'll give 'em a whirl.
For the kids.
Hold on, I got a coupon for that. It was in the paper this morning.

Woman Nineteen eighty three.

Kevin OK.

Woman Are you here all by yourself?

Kevin Mam, I'm eight years old. You think I'd be here alone? I don't think so.

Woman Where's your Mum?

Kevin My Mum's in the car.

Woman Where's your father?

Kevin He's at work.

Woman What about your brothers and your sisters?

Kevin I'm an only child.

Woman Where do you live?

Kevin Ah, I can't tell you that.

Woman Why not?

Kevin 'Cos you're a stranger.

links

today's news
today's STICK NEWS pictures

music

show start
artist: Boom Tschak
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: More Chocolate, Please
from: Former Yugoslavia
MySpace

cws start
artist: Wolfgang S.
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: Dynamite
from: Belgrade, Serbia, Former Yugoslavia
artist site
MySpace

qa start
artist: ioeo
album: triptracks
track: triptrack2
from: Saint Raphael, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

qa bgm
artist: Ensono
album: Night Culture
track: Wild Mind
from: Vigo, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo

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.

#840 Studying Abroad, Gateway 21 Bankruptcy, Paul Newman

Show 840 Monday 29 September
Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.


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

Today I wanted to talk a bit about an issue with studying abroad. A lot of people in Japan – and in other countries too – use agencies when they go abroad to study. For example, to study languages, like English.

Usually, you pay the agency, and they organize the trip for you – the flights, the place to study, the accommodation.

Anyway, one of these agencies in Japan has just closed down. It’s called Gateway 21. They suddenly closed on Friday and all these people have been writing about it on the internet, on sites like Mixi … with such sad stories. And the story has just come out in the news today.

Apparently, they were accepting money right up until they closed. And then they suddenly closed everything and disappeared – and now their offices are empty, no one answers the phone, and the website is gone. They’re not officially bankrupt yet, but they’re now preparing to file for bankruptcy.

Some people had just handed over all their money – so they might lose it all. And some of them had worked so hard, saving all their money … And for most people, it is a lot of money so it’s really sad. I did a couple of student exchanges when I was a teenager, so I know what it’s like working after school every day and in the holidays, saving all the money that you can to pay for the trip.

So I just wanted to say to those people who have lost all their money and suffered this setback that I hope it all works out and if it doesn’t, remember that every cloud has a sliver lining, so maybe something positive will come of this situation. And if it was your dream to study abroad, then I hope you don’t give up your dream because it’s such a great thing to do.

And if you’re thinking about studying abroad in the future, you might want to think about organizing the trip yourself. Not that all the agencies are going to go bankrupt – I’m sure some of them are great, solid companies. But organizing it yourself might be easier than you think. Especially with the internet, these days it’s a lot easier than it used to be. Before it might have been really important to have the agency for things like emotional support. But now you can get that off the internet. For example, if you’re staying with a host family and you’re having some problems and you’re thinking, “Are they complete freaks, or is it just me? Am I doing something wrong? What should I do?” Then, you can go online and tell your story and ask for people’s advice – and there are so many people out there who have been in similar situations and who are just waiting to help you and support you and give you advice.

STICK NEWS

Kia Ora in Stick News today, a thief in Germany surprised his victims by returning to deliver an apology note and compensation.

A kiosk in Germany was broken into on a Saturday night. Alcohol and cigarettes worth 4300 Euros were stolen. Reuters reported staff were surprised when they turned up to work on Thursday and found an envelope stuffed with 400 Euros. There was also a note which read: “Sorry. To make up for Saturday night.”

And that was Stick News for Monday the 29th of September.
Kia Ora.

Word of the Day

Today’s word is bankrupt.

I always thought that this word came from bank and rupture which means break or burst suddenly.

But I just looked it up and it says here in the Concise Oxford Dictionary that the word comes from the Italian for “broken bench”.

conversations with sarah
#518 Haven’t you heard of Paul Newman?

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

Tim Did you hear that Paul Newman died?

Sarah Paul Newman … who was he?

Tim He was an actor. Haven’t you heard of Paul Newman?

Sarah Mmm … the name sounds kind of familiar. What was he in?

Tim Lot’s of movies. The Sting.

Sarah I haven’t seen that.

Tim You haven’t seen The Sting?

Sarah No.

Tim How about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid?

Sarah No, I haven’t seen that either. I don’t think I’ve seen any of his movies.

link

today's news
today's STICK NEWS pictures

music

show start
artist: Boom Tschak
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: More Chocolate, Please
from: Former Yugoslavia
MySpace

cws start
artist: Wolfgang S.
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: Dynamite
from: Belgrade, Serbia, Former Yugoslavia
artist site
MySpace

qa start
artist: ioeo
album: triptracks
track: triptrack2
from: Saint Raphael, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

qa bgm
artist: Ensono
album: Night Culture
track: Wild Mind
from: Vigo, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo

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.

#839 Mushrooms On Toast

Show 839 Sunday 28 September 2008
Watch today's show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Sunday Kitchen #109 Mushrooms On Toast

Cut up some mushrooms and some spinach.
Put the mushrooms in a frying pan with some olive oil and some soy sauce.
Cook them for a while, then add the spinach.
Cut a couple of slices of bread.
Put them in the toaster and toast them for a few minutes.
Mmm … looking good.
Then get some miso and spread the miso on the toast and put the spinach and the mushrooms on the toast.
And finally grind some pepper on top.
Mmm very tasty indeed.

music

show start
artist: Boom Tschak
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: More Chocolate, Please
from: Former Yugoslavia
MySpace

bgm
artist: Ensono
album: Night Culture
track: Alien Groove
from: Vigo, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo

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.

#838 Niseko Rafting Guides Q+A

Show 838 Saturday 27 September
Watch today's show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Niseko Rafting Guides Q+A
thanks to Scott Adventure Sports


What’s your name? (0:06)

I’m Ram, from Nepal.

My name is Krishna.

Bhum.

Tej Rana.

Mani.

I’m Dil.

Ah, Meet.

Renato Shimizu.

Alex Kilpatrick.

Prabin.


Where are you from? (0:24)

I’m from Nepal.

I’m from Nepal.

I’m from Nepal.

I’m from Nepal.

I’m from Nepal.

Brazil, from Brazil.

Ah, Melbourne, Australia.

I’m from Nepal.


What do you do? (0:37)

My job is rafting guide. I do rafting guide.

My job is rafting guide, river guide.

Um, I’m doing rafting guide, safety kayaker … adventure rafting fields.

Yeah, I’m operation manager of Scott Adventure Sports. And, ah, mainly, I look after the guides, the equipment, finding guides, keeping all the equipment in proper shape. And repair. All these are my job.

Ah, my job is rafting.

Ah, rafting, as a, like a, river guide.

I’m doing rafting here.

Ah, I’m a rafting guide.

I’m a rafting guide here at SAS.

Um, raft guiding and doing some safety kayakers.


How long have you been working at SAS? (1:36)

This is two years.

So, at SAS, this is the second years I’m working here.

Ah, it’s my second year in SAS.

Ah, six years.

Ah, this is my second season in SAS.

Ah, since last year.

Ah, for more than two years.

SAS … six, five months.

Five months.

Um, I start to work in SAS from last 2004, to still now.


How long have you been a rafting guide? (2:15)

Ah, this is my 16 years.

This is 13 years.

Ah, eight years.

Ah, rafting guide, if you say in year, it’s been 20 years about. But actually on the river I worked first 1987, I started, until 1994, actively I did rafting guide. And after that I was more in office and then I worked little bit in jungle as a nature guide. And that more of office.

Well, I started in rafting 1987.

So … I started since 2000.

Over 20 years.

Five months.

Five months.

Ah, I spend my life to doing rafting guide. Already 13 years.


Do you enjoy being a rafting guide? (3:17)

Yes, I do, that’s why I’m doing quite a lot.

Yeah, very much.

Yes, of course I do. Lots of. Many, many.

Yes, I love going on rivers.

Yes, sure, so very enjoy, I’m so glad. I like to very much rafting adventure. Beautiful.

Yeah, very enjoy, yeah. So that’s why I been long time.

Certainly, I do.

Yes, very good, good job. Fun. Always fun.

Yes, I do.

Yes, I do.


What do you like about it? (3:52)

Ah, the customers, many different customers. Every single trip, we have different customers. That’s the best point. We give them, like, enjoyment.

Oh, it’s … it’s fun, myself and job, job is also fun. Every trip we get new people from the different corner of the world. So we can go everywhere. Sometime … we can change the river, like, sometimes Shiribetsu, sometimes go south, everywhere. We can travel a lot in this job as well and meet new people. That’s what I like.

Ah, cause … Rafting is adventure, so I love adventure, and many trips we find different people with different concepts. And we’re chatting each others and we can share our feelings and everything, experience with the customers. So that is a good times and enjoying to do rafting.

It’s a lot of fun because I enjoy with the customers. So … it’s my job to make them happy and I become happy too.

It’s adventure. That’s why I like to join the rafting. For the … good for adventure.

Because I like adventure, so that’s why.

Ah, this is adventure. I like adventure job. So I enjoy with nature.

Yeah, be outside, nature, green, river. Good peoples. That’s nice.

It’s fun. It’s, um, exercise. And it’s different.

I love to play in the water. So … when I was young my hobby to be a raft guide. So I can meet the peoples from different place. So I can talk with them. So that’s why I love to be a raft guide.


When do you think is the best time to visit Niseko? (6:01)

Ah, Niseko, for the family … family is July, August, and for the most, like, adventurous, like, haru, spring, is the best.

Ah, this is the, for the summer, is also good. Rafting and ducky and mountain bike. So … winter is also as well, but I’m not here in winter. I don’t know about. But Niseko is very famous for ski as well, so I think both season is good for visit in Niseko.

Um, maybe for the rafting if you come in April and May, that’s going to be good for rafting. And haru course, spring course. And maybe in December to March you can come for the ski.

Ah, depends ah, on you, what you’re looking for. Like, ah, for those who want exciting rafting I would say springtime is the best. But this … cold water. Otherwise I like summer, in Niseko, it’s all greenery and it’s a perfect home for me. It reminds me of Nepal.

April, April and May the season is good season in Niseko. Haru course. It’s beautiful river. It’s beautiful. Very nice rapids.

I think it’s August month is very best for rafting. But I don’t know about winters. But in the summer, August is best.

Niskeo, people they have different nature, like in winter, if they like to ski or snowboard it’s very good time for them. It’s one of the best snow powder in the world, Niseko powder is. And for rafting, maybe, April is different, it’s high water. And August is good also. Good water level, yeah.

I never been winter in Niseko so I don’t know, but summer is pretty good. Summertime.

Ah, depends what you like, for skiing, definitely winter. But, um, if you like rafting and hiking and mountain climbing, summer.

Um, any time I guess. Because in winter also you can do different stuff, like snowboard or ski. So in summer you can do raft, ducky, paddling on the small boats and kayak. So any time, in Niseko.


What do you do in winter? (8:59)

In winter I look after ski and snowboards. Because almost all of our customers are gaikokujin. So, and also I look after accommodations that SAS runs.

Winter I back to Nepal. I do same job, rafting.

I’ll be working in a bar and doing a lot of skiing.

So, I work in a pension. By myself, I do snowboarding.



filmed on: Sunday 14th September 2008

thanks to:

Ram
Krishna
Bhum
Tej
Mani
Dil
Meet
Renato
Alex
Prabin

links

Scott Adventure Sports (SAS), Niseko, Japan
SAS guides

music

show start
artist: Boom Tschak
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: More Chocolate, Please
from: Former Yugoslavia
MySpace

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.

#837 I Shot The Sheriff, Japan's New PM: Aso Taro

Show 837 Friday 26 September
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 song by Bob Marley called I Shot the Sheriff.
I like this song and I think there is something useful that you can learn from it.
The chorus goes: I shot the sheriff but I didn’t shoot no deputy.
That use of no is a kind of non-standard grammar – it means: the.
I shot the sheriff but I didn’t shoot the deputy.

Hopefully you’ll never need to say this, because shooting a police officer isn’t such a good idea. Actually shooting anyone for that matter.

But you can use this structure to say other things.

I did X but I didn’t do Y.

Shoot is an irregular verb, so the past tense isn’t shooted, it’s shot.

I shot the sheriff but I didn’t shoot the deputy.

I quite often see people make mistakes like: I shot the sheriff but I didn’t shot the deputy.

Like, what happened was in the past, so they want to put all the verbs in the past. But the verb do is in the past tense, so this verb doesn’t also need to be in the past.

So let’s stop shooting the police. And … what else can we do?

Here are some examples:

I went to the bank but I didn’t go to the post office.
I called Kate but I didn’t call Mike.
I saw the highlights on the news but I didn’t see the actual game.
I gave her the house keys but I didn’t give her the car keys.
I ate the carrot but I didn’t eat the broccoli.

STICK NEWS

Kia Ora in Stick News today Japan has a new prime minister.

Aso Taro was born in Fukuoka in 1940. He first went to university in Tokyo. Then went to the US to study at Stanford University. Apparently he was cut off by his family, who feared he was becoming too Americanized. Later on he studied in the UK at the London School of Economics.
After university, Aso spent two years mining for diamonds in Africa. Then he started working for his Dad’s mining company in 1966. He became president of the company in 1973.
Three years later, he went to the Montreal Olympics as a member of the Japanese shooting team.
Aso’s political career started in 1979 when he was elected as a member of the House of Representatives. He has since been re-elected eight times. On Wednesday, he became the 92nd prime minister of Japan.
Taro wasn’t the first politician in the Aso family. His mum was a prime minister's daughter. His dad was a close associate of a prime minister. His wife’s dad was also a prime minister. His younger sister is the wife of a prince who is a first cousin of the Emperor. And Aso Taro is also the great-great-grandson of one of the founders of modern Japan.
Aso is famous for being a manga fan and for saying stupid things like: burakumin can't become prime minister.

And that was Stick News for Friday the 26th of September.
Kia Ora.

Word of the Day

Today’s word is swear.

Bob admits that he shot the sheriff, but he says: I swear it was in self-defence.

Swear is a verb which means: to promise that you are telling the truth.

For example … let’s say there was a piece of chocolate cake in the fridge and it mysteriously disappears. And your flatmate says: Who ate my piece of chocolate cake?

You can say: Wasn’t me!

And then if they look at you like they don’t believe you. You can continue, like this:
I swear it wasn’t me. I didn’t even know it was there. Chocolate cake? What chocolate cake?

friday joke

Police officers lined up a group of robbery suspects. They asked each man in the line-up to repeat the words: Give me all your money or I’ll shoot. One of the men couldn’t control himself and shouted: That’s not what I said!

conversations with sarah
#517 What are they called?

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

Masa What’s the difference between a police officer and a sheriff?

Sarah Same thing, I think. I don’t know, we don’t have sheriffs in New Zealand.

Masa There are no police in New Zealand?

Sarah No, no, there are police in New Zealand, they’re just not called sheriffs.

Masa What are they called?

Sarah Police officers. Or cops, that’s what they’re called informally … among other things …

links

today's STICK NEWS pictures

sheriff at Wikipedia

music

show start
artist: Boom Tschak
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: More Chocolate, Please
from: Former Yugoslavia
MySpace

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: Wolfgang S.
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: Dynamite
from: Belgrade, Serbia, Former Yugoslavia
artist site
MySpace

qa start
artist: ioeo
album: triptracks
track: triptrack2
from: Saint Raphael, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

qa bgm
artist: Ensono
album: Night Culture
track: Anyway
from: Vigo, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo

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.

#836 Comedy, Halls Of Residence, Project 10^100, Surreal

Show 836 Thursday 25 September
Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

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

Today I recommend checking out a video called: What Is Comedy?

This could be a good video to learn some words for different kinds of comedy. I’m sure you know some kinds of comedy, like stand-up comedy, romantic comedy.

And do you know what these mean?

slapstick
satire
situation comedy
improv
sketch
farce

Situation comedy is usually called sitcom. And they are usually TV programs that have recurring characters in a setting like a house or a workplace. Friends is a famous sitcom. And I used to like the show Rosanne. That was a sitcom too.

Sketch comedy is just one short scene – maybe one to ten minutes long. And you can see that on variety shows or comedy shows … or the internet.

Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated physical violence or activities which exceed the boundaries of common sense, such as a character being hit in the face with a heavy frying pan or running into a brick wall.

Children’s cartoons often have slapstick comedy.

And there are many more that I haven’t mentioned. So what kind of comedy do you like?

The Acadia Report

When we visited Acadia University last year we checked out some of the halls of residence. The first one we looked at was called Whitman House – although everyone calls it Tully for some reason.

It looked like a really nice place to live. It was very clean and there were lots of nice lounges, big TVs, a piano, pool table.

Everyone eats in the meal hall – but there are also kitchenettes on every floor that you can use if you want to make a snack or whatever.

There are washing machines, dryers, ironing boards. The toilets looked really clean too.

One girl was kind enough to show us inside her room.

I asked her what she thought of Tully.

Oh, I love Tully. Like I’ve been living here for the past three years and it’s a very homey environment, like the girls are so friendly and like I feel safe and secure in here.
It’s like a home away from home cause I’m from the Bahamas. So it’s like a really good experience and I really do love Tully.
Um, I came to Canada for a different experience because back home is like warm and up here is like so cold and stuff like that. But I also came up here because I heard so much about Acadia and like I heard about the experiences that people got and I was enthused to come, so here I am.

STICK NEWS

Kia Ora in Stick News today Google is giving away ten million dollars.

This month, Google turned 10.
CNN has reported that Google is celebrating its birthday by launching an initiative to solicit, and bankroll, fresh ideas that it believes could have broad and beneficial impact on people's lives.
It’s called Project 10^100 (10 to the 100th).
People have until the 20th of October to submit their ideas.
100 semifinalists will then be chosen and the public will be able to vote online for their favourite ideas.
After the voting a panel will review the top 20 ideas and choose up to five winners.
The ten million dollars will be split between the winners to fund their projects.

And that was Stick News for Thursday the 25th of September.
Kia Ora.

Word of the Day

Today’s word is surreal.

adj. very strange; more like a dream than reality, with ideas and images mixed together in a strange way.

I looked for an example online for surreal and I found an article about some bombings.

A woman had been on a train where a bomb exploded and people had died. And she is quoted as saying: What was running round in my mind was: Am I dreaming? It was surreal.

conversations with sarah
#516 What kind of comedy do you like?

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

Kim What kind of comedy do you like?

Sarah Hmm … many kinds.

Kim Do you like sitcoms?

Sarah Yeah, there are some good ones. There are lots of crappy ones too, though.

Kim How about romantic comedies?

Sarah Mmm … there are lots of terrible romantic comedies too. Some of them are good though. Like, Love Actually. I enjoyed that.

Kim Did you like Notting Hill?

Sarah No, I couldn’t stand that movie. I don’t know why it was so popular.
Black comedy can be pretty funny.

Kim What’s black comedy?

Sarah It’s when serious things that people don’t usually joke about are treated in a comical way. Like Dr Strangelove.

Kim Oh, I haven’t seen that.

Sarah You haven’t seen Dr Strangelove?! You should see it. It’s really good. I thought Very Bad Things was also a pretty funny black comedy.

notes

Mistake: I said reaccuring instead of recurring. Reaccuring is not a word ... although I think it's a common mistake that native English speakers make. If you search "reaccuring" on google, you can see that many people use this word.

Univeristy accommodation:

NZ: halls of residence. Example: Victoria University. Halls for short.
Canada: residence halls. Example: Acadia University. Residence for short.
The US: residence halls Example: University of Chicago or dormitories, or dorms Example.

Dormitory at Wikipedia.

links

today's news
today's STICK NEWS pictures

music

show start
artist: Boom Tschak
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: More Chocolate, Please
from: Former Yugoslavia
MySpace

The Acadia Report start
artist: DJ iPep's
album: Home Mix 2007
track: Concerto
from: EVREUX, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

tar bgm
artist: Ensono
album: Night Culture
track: Waking Dream
from: Vigo, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo

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: Wolfgang S.
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: Dynamite
from: Belgrade, Serbia, Former Yugoslavia
artist site
MySpace

qa start
artist: ioeo
album: triptracks
track: triptrack2
from: Saint Raphael, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

qa bgm
artist: Ensono
album: Night Culture
track: Anyway
from: Vigo, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo

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.

#835 Corruption, Wear Vs Clothes, Anything Vs Something

Show 835 Wednesday 24 September
Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

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

I just wanted to remind you about our member giveaways this month. One is a Super Simple Songs CD – brilliant songs for teaching kids. If you want this send me an email (tdesmember@gmail.com) with your membership number and I’ll be making the draw next week – on Wednesday the 1st of October.

I also have sets of postcards of these beautiful paintings by a local artist called 宮本健 (Miyamoto Ken). One set has gone and I have four more. I got a few emails from people who weren’t members actually – so I don’t think I was clear enough about that last week, so, I’m sorry about that. These giveaways are for members. And you can find out more about tdes membership here. I’ve just updated that page today actually, so now it’s more detailed. It’s still not brilliantly clear and could be written better … but hopefully it will give you an idea of what the membership thing is all about. I’ve talked about it before, but, of course you don’t watch every show … and this may indeed be the first show you’ve ever watched.

By the way, four of these postcards are actually a story about hiking up Yotei-zan at night and watching the sunrise. Yotei-zan is a mountain here in Niseko. We did a show about it a while back, about hiking up and riding down Yotei-zan.

Anyway, today, at the top of the mountain, it snowed for the first time this winter … autumn, it can’t be winter yet. It feels like it was just summer a few days ago. I can’t believe it’s getting cold already.

Moving right along … today’s mistake.
A common mistake in Japan is to say wear instead of clothes.

For example, a student might say: I went shopping on Saturday.
And I’ll say: Oh yeah. What did you buy?
And they’ll say: I bought wear.
And then I’ll say: No … actually, you bought clothes.

In English, wear is usually a verb.
For example: I wore a red dress to the party.

Sometimes it is a noun. That is when you’re talking about clothing that is suitable for a particular purpose or of a particular type.

For example: sportswear, evening wear, kids wear, baby wear, footwear, menswear.

click here

If you ever forget the correct way to write a letter, I recommend this site.
I just love Spinner, the Writing Spider. He’s so cute.

STICK NEWS

Kia Ora this is Stick News. Today it was announced that people think the least corrupt countries in the world are Sweden, Denmark and New Zealand.

Transparency International is an international non-governmental organization. Its mission is to create change towards a world free of corruption. Every year they publish a list called the CPI. On this list, the countries of the world are ranked according to "the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians". This year there were three winners. Sweden, Denmark and New Zealand. Somalia came last.

And that was Stick News for Wednesday 24th of September.
Kia Ora.

Word of the Day

Today’s word is: corruption.

Corruption, as in the Corruption Perceptions Index, means: dishonest or illegal behaviour, especially of people in authority.

There are many kinds of corruption. One is bribery.
For example, if I paid a Japanese politician to introduce a new law that forced all schools in Japan to show The Daily English Show in their English classes. That would be … very strange … and if it actually happened, that would be an example of corruption.

conversations with sarah
#515 Do you have any money?

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

Yuko What’s the difference between something and anything?

Sarah Well, in general, some – or somebody, someone, something – is used in positive sentences and any is used in negative sentences or questions.

Yuko I don’t have any money. Is that right?

Sarah Yes, that’s right. I don’t have any money. Negative. Do you have any money? Question. I have some money. Positive.

Yuko So you can’t say: I have any money?

Sarah Yeah.

Yuko And you can’t say: Do you have some money?

Sarah Actually, you can say that.

Yuko But it’s a question.

Sarah Yeah. For most questions, you use any, but for some questions you can use some.

Yuko When do you use some in questions?

Sarah For example, when you think the answer is going to be yes. Do you have some money? Or when you’re asking for something. Can I have some money? When else? Oh, when you’re offering something, too. Would you like some money?

Yuko Yes, please!

links

today's STICK NEWS pictures

music

show start
artist: Boom Tschak
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: More Chocolate, Please
from: Former Yugoslavia
MySpace

click here start
artist: #NarNaoud#
album: Green Vision
track: Oriental Standing
from: Gironde, France
artist at Jamendo
album at Jamendo
artist site


cws start
artist: Wolfgang S.
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: Dynamite
from: Belgrade, Serbia, Former Yugoslavia
artist site
MySpace

qa start
artist: ioeo
album: triptracks
track: triptrack2
from: Saint Raphael, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

qa bgm
artist: Ensono
album: Night Culture
track: Anyway
from: Vigo, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo

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.

#834 Braveheart: Aye, That’s A Yes, Turkish Philandering

Show 834 Tuesday 23 September
Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

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

Today were going to study a scene from the movie Braveheart.

This movie came out in 1995, but I only just saw it recently. I wasn’t interested in watching it because I’m not really a fan of Mel Gibson or of period dramas and swords … but anyway, I finally ended up watching it and I actually quite enjoyed it.

Today’s scene is very romantic. It’s when William proposes to Murron, I think her name is.

He starts out by saying: running a farm’s a lot of work.

Run is a verb which means: be in charge of or manage or organize.

You can run a farm. You can also run a business, a company, an organization.

William doesn’t propose in the usual way, which is something like getting down on one knee and saying: Will you marry me? And so his girlfriend says: Is that what you call a proposal?

Is that what you call a, means, that’s not adequate or that’s not good enough.

She’s not angry though, she’s kind of joking.

But you could use that structure in another situation where something doesn’t seem adequate.

For example, if someone says they’re going to make you dinner and then all they make you is one piece of toast. You could say: Is this what you call dinner?

STICK NEWS

Kia Ora, in Stick News today, a hotel in Turkey has fired all its male employees for philandering with the guests.

Image hotel is a small hotel in Turkey with 27 rooms. Most of the guests are British and Russian tourists. The hotel used to hire male and female staff. But the male staff repeatedly had affairs with the foreign female guests. The manager said they had been facing the problem for several years, but after the last incident they decided to only hire female staff. "The last straw was when I saw our bartender, who was a very decent man, walk out of the bathroom with a British tourist," she said.

And that was Stick News for Tuesday 23rd of September.
Kia Ora.

Word of the Day

Today’s word is aye.

Murron says: Aye, that’s a yes.

Aye means yes in Scottish, (Note: I think I should have said Scots or Scottish Gaelic) I think. And in Scottish English. And other parts of the world, especially Northern England.

Aye is also used when voting.

All those in favour say aye. Aye.

And aye aye is used on boats when you’re accepting an order.

Aye aye captain.

conversations with sarah
#514 I want to marry you

Step 1: Repeat William’s lines.
Step 2: Read William’s lines and talk to Murron.

William Of course, running a farm's a lot of work, but that will all change when my sons arrive.

Murron So you've got children?

William Well, not yet. But I was hoping that you could help me with that.

Murron So you want me to marry you, then?

William It's a bit sudden, but all right.

Murron Is that what you call a proposal?

William I love you. Always have. I want to marry you. Is that a yes?

Murron Aye, that's a yes.

links

today's news

music

show start
artist: Boom Tschak
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: More Chocolate, Please
from: Former Yugoslavia
MySpace

cws start
artist: Wolfgang S.
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: Dynamite
from: Belgrade, Serbia, Former Yugoslavia
artist site
MySpace

qa start
artist: ioeo
album: triptracks
track: triptrack2
from: Saint Raphael, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

qa bgm
artist: Ensono
album: Night Culture
track: Anyway
from: Vigo, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo

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.

#833 JALT Hokkaido, J. K. Rowling + Politics, Sub, Subprime Loans

Show 833 Monday 22 September
Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

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

I have some very exciting news today. The Daily English Show is going to another conference.
Actually two conferences – well two events, a conference and a workshop that are related.

One is the 25th Annual JALT Hokkaido language teaching conference.
JALT stands for Japan Association of Language Teaching.

And it’s a non-profit organisation dedicated to the improvement of language teaching and learning both within Japan and internationally.

And they have chapters in different parts of Japan – and they have one in Hokkaido, called JALT Hokkaido.

And this year their conference is on Sunday the 19th of October. And the day before that, on the 18th, there’s an event called the CALL Workshop. CALL stands for computer assisted language learning.

We’re going to both days which is very exciting. I’ve been reading the schedules online and there are a lot of interesting presentations. There are professors and instructors from schools and universities in Hokkaido and other parts of Japan coming to give presentations – about things like some of the projects they’ve been doing with their classes, which sound really interesting.

And no doubt they know a lot more about language teaching than I do – so I’m looking forward to hearing what they have to say and I’d like to do some interviews so I can share some of their ideas with you.

I’m actually going to meet a couple of the organizers when I go to Sapporo this week to so I’ll be able to tell you more about it after that.

Anyway, if you’re a language teacher in Hokkaido, then check out this site to find out more about the conference and the workshop and if you’re planning to go then I’ll see you there.

STICK NEWS

Kia Ora, in Stick News today, J. K. Rowling has donated 1 million pounds to a political party.

J. K. Rowling is the British novelist famous for writing the Harry Potter series. She’s also famous for her rags to riches life story. When she started writing Harry Potter she was a single mother living on welfare. She’s now one of the richest women in Britain. She doesn’t keep all her money for herself. Rowling donates money to charities such as a trust she established to combat poverty and social inequality. "I think you have a moral responsibility when you've been given far more than you need, to do wise things with it and give intelligently,” she said. On Saturday Rowling donated a million pounds to the British Labour Party.
“I believe that poor and vulnerable families will fare much better under the Labour Party than they would under a Cameron-led Conservative Party.”

And that was Stick News for Monday the 22nd of September.
Kia Ora.

Word of the Day

Today’s word is sub.

Sub is an informal noun, short for:

submarine subscription substitute subeditor

Sub- is also a prefix meaning below, less than, under, a smaller part of sth

Sub-zero temperatures are temperatures that are below zero.

conversations with sarah
#513 What does subprime mean?

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

Tom What does subprime mean?

Sarah As in the “subprime mortgage crisis”?

Tom Yeah.

Sarah Well, sub means below and prime means best quality. I think a subprime loan is basically … like a dodgy loan.

Tom Dodgy?

Sarah Yeah. The conditions aren’t very good and the fees are higher.

Tom Why would anyone get a loan like that?

Sarah Because they can’t get a better one.

Tom Why not?

Sarah Because the banks don’t trust them, I guess. Because maybe they’ve had financial problems before. Or maybe the banks are racist and they think that they won’t pay the money back because they’re a certain race. I don’t know. Lots of reasons I guess … but anyway, you should probably ask someone else, because I don’t really know much about it.

links

today's news
today's STICK NEWS pictures

music

show start
artist: Boom Tschak
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: More Chocolate, Please
from: Former Yugoslavia
MySpace

cws start
artist: Wolfgang S.
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: Dynamite
from: Belgrade, Serbia, Former Yugoslavia
artist site
MySpace

qa start
artist: ioeo
album: triptracks
track: triptrack2
from: Saint Raphael, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

qa bgm
artist: Ensono
album: Night Culture
track: Anyway
from: Vigo, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo

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.

#832 Miso Daikon

Show 832 Sunday 21 September
Watch today's show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Sunday Kitchen #108 Miso Daikon

Cut some daikon into thick slices. Then cut the slices into strips and boil them in some water and soy sauce.

Put some sugar in a bowl with some of the water that you used to boil the daikon. Add a spoon of miso and some sesame seeds. Mix.

Put the daikon on a plate and put the miso on the daikon.

music

show start
artist: Boom Tschak
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: More Chocolate, Please
from: Former Yugoslavia
MySpace

qa bgm
artist: Ensono
album: Night Culture
track: Wild Mind
from: Vigo, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo

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.

#831 Kutchan Jazz Festival 2008

Show 831 Saturday 20 September
Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Every year in Kutchan there's a festival called the Kutchan Jazz Festival. It started in 1990. This year was the 19th festival and it was held at the start of July at the Hanazono ski area. It was a two day festival and we went along and checked it out on the Saturday. It was a pretty laid back day. Most people were chilling out sitting in their folding chairs. I really enjoyed the music.

There were a few stalls. They were selling food mostly. My favourite was the coffee van. We talked to the guy for a bit and he said they have a coffee shop in Otaru. I asked him what the name of his coffee shop meant.

イタリア語でチアロって書くんですけど、CHI... でキアロって書くんですよね。
In Italian, it’s spelt c-h-i… chiaro.

『明るい』って意味でエスプレッソの用語で使うんですよ。
It means “bright” and it’s a word used to describe espresso.

それでエスプレッソ・メインの車なので、そういうポジティブなイメージ『明るい』とエスプレッソを絡めて。
We mainly sell espresso and this word has a positive image.

I met another guy whose job was going to festivals all over Japan to sell stuff. I asked him how many festivals he goes to in a year.

I cannot count because it’s like 50, 80, sometimes 70, it depends, you know, it depends on the weather …

One of the performers that really stood out for me was this guy. As he said he wasn't exactly playing jazz music. But he was awesome and everyone was really getting into it.

thanks to

Hiro from Hokkaido Tracks

links

Kutchan Jazz Festival
Uzaki Ryudo
Tiffany
Cafe Kiaro

music

show start
artist: Boom Tschak
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: More Chocolate, Please
from: Former Yugoslavia
MySpace

bgm
artist: Caminos del Sonido
album: Las flores del Mal
track: La metamorfosis del vampiro
from: Bilbao, Spain
album at Jamendo
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.