Thursday, December 18, 2008

#919 Forgettable Success, Dress The Snowman, Light Bulbs, Efficient


Show 919 Wednesday 17 December
Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.


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

Today’s mistake comes from a link that someone sent me to a site – they asked me to talk about it on the show. They said that someone had posted the link on Facebook because they said it was funny site. And I think it’s pretty funny too.

It’s a business - based in Singapore I think - that offers translation and interpreting services.

And on this particular page they explain how professional they are and how great their language skills are. I think this is the funniest sentence: We will be happy to discuss with you how we can help you to make your own event a foggetable success.

Firstly, forgettable is spelt wrong.

And it should be unforgettable. If an event is forgettable then it’s not very good. So that’s pretty funny and the whole thing is rather amusing because they’re selling translation services and they’re saying how wonderful they are, but their level of English doesn’t quite match up to what they claim to be.



click here

I was looking around to see if I could find any good Christmas sites, and I came across a page called: Dress The Snowman.
I think this page is brilliant for using as an activity in a class if you’re a language teacher. Or you can try it with friends or family at home.
You need two computers set up so that you can’t see the other person’s screen. Then one person dresses the snowman and then explains to the other person what he looks like. For example: He’s wearing a black hat. He’s holding a cup of coffee in his left hand and a rake in his right hand. Then if the person doesn’t understand or needs to clarify, they can ask questions to check, like:

Did you say the coffee was in the right hand?
No, the left hand.
Oh, OK, left hand.


Then when you think you’ve finished, check the other person’s screen and you can see if your communication was successful.



STICK NEWS

Kia Ora, in Stick News today light bulb lovers in New Zealand are celebrating after the new government announced it won’t be phasing out incandescent light bulbs.

According to Wikipedia, more than 40 countries have announced plans relating to the banning of incandescent light bulbs.
They want people to use new kinds of light bulbs which use less energy.
The former New Zealand government, led by the Labour Party, announced incandescent light bulbs would be phased out.
But the National Party didn’t like the plan. They said it was an example of a “nanny state” controlling people’s lives.
National won the election last month and now they’ve announced they’re stopping the plans to phase out incandescent light bulbs. They say New Zealanders will now be free to buy the light bulbs for as long as they want.

And that was Stick News for Wednesday the 17th of December.
Kia Ora.





TDES Niseko Snow Report
at MSK JR Apartment

I like living on the fourth floor. I can see interesting things when I look out the window.
Like this machine clearing snow.

One day I looked out the window and saw a truck with a crane on the back of it.

Another day I saw some appliances sitting on some blue tarpaulin.
They looked like they were having a picnic. It’s not the right season for a hanami so I thought it must’ve been a bonenkai.



Word of the Day

Today’s word is efficient.
adj.
doing sth well and thoroughly with no waste of time, money or energy

Lot’s of countries are banning incandescent light bulbs because they want people to use new kinds of light bulbs which use less energy. They’re energy-efficient light bulbs.

In Wikipedia it says: Modern energy-efficient appliances … use significantly less energy than older appliances.



conversations with sarah
#573 Is Christmas a religious holiday in New Zealand?

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

Bobby Is Christmas a religious holiday in New Zealand?

Sarah Yeah, for some people, but not for most people.

Bobby So it’s just commercial?

Sarah Yeah, commercial, or a family get-together … I think the family thing is more important than the presents for most people.

Bobby How about in Japan?

Sarah In Japan it’s pretty much just commercial. Department stores and shops celebrate Christmas – they put on a great show with lights and decorations … but not that many people actually do.

Bobby Most people have to work, don’t they?

Sarah Yeah, it’s not a public holiday.



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

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

nsr start
artist: Zeropage
album: Ambient Pills Update
track: Is It Real?
from: Switzerland
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: 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

nsr/qa bgm
artist: Kevin MacLeod
track: We Wish you a Merry Christmas
artist site
YouTube channel

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