Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Show 781 Wednesday 2 July


Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

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

Today’s mistake is: mixing up before and ago.

For example if I offer you a piece of cake and you say: Oh, no thanks, I’m still full. I ate lunch one hour before.
That should be: I ate lunch one hour ago.

Ago is used if you’re counting from now, or the time of speaking, to some time in the past.

She moved here 5 years ago.
He died 6 months ago.


And you use before if you’re counting from some point in the past to another point further back in the past.

The example in this book is:
Napoleon died in 1821, he had lost the battle of Waterloo six years before.

This is an example I found online:
This was way back in the summer of 2002, two years before Google went public.

But if I was speaking in 2006, I could say: Google went public two years ago.
And now I could say: Google went public four years ago.



click here

Today’s site is http://www.manythings.org/

This is one of my favourite sites. I actually talked about it before, but that was quite a while ago, , so I thought it was worth mentioning again.

One of the cool pages is this one which has minimal pair practice.

For example, Japanese speakers often have trouble telling the difference between (the sounds) l and r. So, there’s an exercise which helps you with that.

But of course, everyone is different and people from other countries have no problems with l and r, but have problems with other sounds.

You probably know a lot more about this than I do if you’ve travelled a lot or if you’re a student who has studied in a class with people from many different countries or if you’ve taught people from many different countries.

There’s a great guide in this book on page 141 – by the way this is an excellent book if you’re looking for a book on pronunciation – anyway this guide tells you which speakers have trouble with which sounds.

I also did a really quick search and found a passage about this in a book called: Teaching Science to Language Minority Students

The sounds of spoken English differ from those in some other languages. For example, the 'th' sounds (as in thunder or then) do not exist in Farsi, Japanese, or many of the Indian languages.
Native speakers of those languages may have difficulty pronouncing 'th', thereby substituting a 't', ‘s’, ‘z’, or ‘d’ sound, saying tunder for thunder or den or perhaps zen for then.


* I said therefore by accident – it should be thereby.

So, if you have trouble with the th sound, you might find lesson 18 useful, which is the difference between they and day.



STICK NEWS

Kia Ora, in Stick News today, there’s been a public outcry against an eavesdropping law in Sweden. The associated press reported more than 1 million emails have been sent to politicians.

Sweden’s parliament has passed a bill which will allow officials to eavesdrop on all cross-border email and telephone traffic. The new law is due to be implemented in January.
The Associated Press reports that critics say the law will encroach on privacy and jeopardise civil liberties.
While supporters claim it is needed to fight international crime and terrorism.
A tabloid newspaper has launched a campaign against the law and a parliamentary spokesperson says protesters have sent over a million emails about the law to politicians.


And that was Stick News for Wednesday the 2nd of July.
Kia Ora.




Word of the Day

Today’s word is substitute.

v. use, add, or serve in place of; replace with another

I found this question using the word substitute online:

Can I substitute "all-purpose" flour for "cake flour"?

And the answer was:

Cake flour contains less gluten than all-purpose flour and produces a more tender texture. Though the results won't be the same, in an emergency, you can substitute 7/8 cup of all-purpose flour for one cup of cake flour.



conversations with sarah
#481 What’s your favourite event?

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

Pat Are you looking forward to the Olympics?

Sarah Mmm, yeah, kind of. When are they on?

Pat August.

Sarah The thing about the Olympics though is that there are so many events, that it’s really hard to decide what to watch.

Pat Hmm, I guess so.

Sarah What’s your favourite event?

Pat Probably the sprinting.

Sarah Yeah, the sprinting is cool. I like watching their bodies – they’re like works of art.

Pat Which athletes do you think have the best bodies?

Sarah Mmm. Definitely not marathon runners, they look a bit sick because they’re so thin, and weightlifters look a bit scary, gymnasts look a bit scary too because the can bend so much. Probably swimmers, because they have nice muscles, and they also have a layer of fat which gives a kind of soft effect.



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

click here start
artist: #NarNaoud#
album: Green Vision
track: Oriental Standing
from: Gironde, France
artist at Jamendo
album 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: triptracks
track: triptrack2
from: Saint Raphael, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

qa bgm
artist: ioeo
album: Groovetracks
track: endless
from: Saint Raphael, France
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.

Show 780 Tuesday 1 July


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 Citizen Kane. Which came out in 1941 and was directed by Orson Welles.

Wikipedia says: Citizen Kane is often cited as being one of the most innovative works in the history of film.

Why was it innovative?

This is one of the reasons:

The most innovative technical aspect of Citizen Kane is the extended use of deep focus.
In nearly every scene in the film, the foreground, background and everything in between are all in sharp focus.


The story is about a guy called Charles Foster Kane who works in the newspaper business.
And the conversation we’re doing today is between him and his first wife. He becomes obsessed with the newspaper and his first marriage fails.



STICK NEWS

Kia Ora, in Stick News today, for the first time in 44 years, Spain has won the European Football Championship.

The European Football Championship is a football competition which has been held every four years since 1960.
This year Spain and Germany were in the final. Spain won.
The last time Spain won the tournament was in 1964.


And that was Stick News for Tuesday the 1st of July.
Kia Ora.




Word of the Day

Today’s word is crook.
Crook is an informal word for a dishonest person or a criminal.

This is from Citizen Kane:
He's still Uncle John, and he's still a well-meaning fathead who's letting a pack of high-pressure crooks run his administration.

I searched online for crook and I found a Rolling Stone article by Hunter S. Thompson about the death of Richard Nixon called: He Was A Crook.



conversations with sarah
#480 It isn't just the time.

* Watch this conversation here from 1:21

Step 1: Repeat Charles’ lines.
Step 2: Read Charles’ lines and talk to Emily.

Emily Sometimes, I think I'd prefer a rival of flesh-and-blood.

Charles Oh, Emily I don’t spend that much time at the newspaper.

Emily It isn't just the time. It's what you print - attacking the President.

Charles You mean Uncle John.

Emily I mean the President of the United States.

Charles He's still Uncle John, and he's still a well-meaning fathead who's letting a pack of high-pressure crooks run his administration. This whole oil scandal...

Emily He happens to be the President, Charles, not you.

Charles That's a mistake that will be corrected one of these days.



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

qa bgm
artist: ioeo
album: Groovetracks
track: endless
from: Saint Raphael, France
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.