I get asked about idioms all the time. This is the first part of idioms related to efficiency. Sign-up for a class with me today. https://www.italki.com/en/teacher/8543771 

All American Podcast 

Idioms (efficiency) part I.

『新完全マスター語彙　日本語能力試験N2』（2011年、スリーエーネットワーク） 教科書を1課ずつ読んでいきます。 N2、N1に必要な語彙です。 今日は、第７章２課です。

N2合格

N2 語彙　第7章2課

HSK2

Made Chinese easy!

La risa, pudiese resultar para algunos un tema poco serio. Pero ¿sabías la potencia que posee a nivel físico una buena carcajada como hábito? ¿no te has preguntado antes si es posible vivir sin reír? ¿crees que sirve de algo en tu vida y en tus relaciones la risa? Sigue escuchando

Español con todo 

Beneficios de la Risa

When you think about rainforests, you might think of somewhere with a tropical climate — somewhere like the Amazon or the Congo.

But in fact, a very large rainforest can be found in a country famous for its dreary weather: the UK.

The Eden Project, an attraction in southwest England, calls itself the world's largest indoor rainforest.

Sometimes referred to as the "Eighth Wonder of the World," the Eden Project was created in 2001 from an old clay pit. It's famous for its two enormous biomes, which are designed to look and feel like rainforests and tropical regions from all over the world.


Collage of the Eden Project's iconic biomes seen from the inside and outside.
The Rainforest Biome is about 16,000 square meters in size, and is full of plants found in tropical climates, like sugarcane, pineapples and bananas.

There are rare and unusual plants too, like the titan arum — a flower famous for its terrible smell that only blooms around once a year.

The Mediterranean Biome is a little smaller at 6,540 square meters, but has plants from the Mediterranean and regions with similar climates, such as California, South Africa and Australia.

The Eden Project is not just a place for people to look at plants, though — there is an environmental message behind the attraction, and it aims to teach visitors about the importance of looking after the environment.

As well as activities and workshops that teach visitors about the importance of living sustainably, the Eden Project even offers courses for a university degree!

And there's plenty of other things to see and do, too.

Throughout both biomes, visitors can find art and installations which focus on important topics like climate change.

And every year, the Eden Project hosts the Eden Sessions, a series of outdoor music concerts. Famous artists such as Amy Winehouse, Elton John and Oasis have performed at the Eden Sessions in the past.

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

The Eden Project: The UK's Indoor Rainforest

Narrator: Queen Elizabeth the First was born in 1533. Her father, King Henry the Eighth, was disappointed that his second wife Anne Boleyn had not produced a son and he had Anne’s head cut off when Elizabeth was only two years old. Elizabeth received the same education that a son would have and studied classical and modern languages, history and religion.

Narrator: When Henry died in 1547, Elizabeth’s younger brother Edward briefly became king, but on his death in 1553, her older sister Mary took over. Mary was a Catholic and wanted to bring England back into the Catholic faith after her father had broken with the Catholic Church and the Pope in Rome. She tried to achieve this by force and had 300 Protestants burnt at the stake. When “Bloody Mary” died childless in 1558, Elizabeth became queen.

Narrator: The first challenge Elizabeth faced was to bring the country together after the religious conflicts it had experienced during Mary’s rule. The Church of England that she set up occupied a middle ground between the Catholic and Protestant faiths and allowed some freedom in people’s personal beliefs as long as they attended church regularly. This saved England from further violence, although there were constant threats from both sides.

Narrator: Elizabeth was very skilled at presenting an image. She had many pictures of herself painted wearing expensive clothes and jewelry as well as makeup to make her face look pale, sometimes showing herself as a goddess or other figure from classical myths. She traveled around the country regularly on horseback so she could see and be seen by her people, who were very loyal to her.

Narrator: Elizabeth never married. Many men both at home and abroad wanted to marry her, but she played them off against each other. This meant she could avoid taking sides in various domestic and foreign political and religious conflicts, but it also meant that when she died, there would be no clear heir. She saw herself as married to the country...

Queen Elizabeth the First 

A toxic workplace is one of the biggest reasons why people leave their jobs.

It might be a place where staff are stressed, managers bully their employees and people don't trust each other.

"Toxic" usually means something that's poisonous, but we can also use it to mean "very unpleasant." The word is often used to describe a workplace that's so bad it's almost poisonous.

If you work in a toxic place, you'll probably know about it. But how can you tell if a workplace is toxic before you even start a new job?

Career coach Beata Staszkow says the way the manager treats you during the interview might give you an idea about how they'll treat you as an employee.

Look out for bosses who don't seem interested in your answers, she adds, or those who make inappropriate jokes.

A manager showing up late for an interview could also be a bad sign, says jobs expert Mita Mallick, writing in Harvard Business Review.

Mallick says to also watch out for things like the interviewer changing the job description after you've started discussing the job, or putting pressure on you to take the job right away.

It's also good to do some research into how many employees are leaving a company and how many new ones are joining. This is known as "employee turnover."

Sometimes there are good reasons for turnover. But it could be a sign of a toxic workplace. You should be able to find out about it by looking on sites like LinkedIn — and you might also be able to contact someone who used to work at the company.

If you're already in a toxic workplace, you'll probably want to get out of it. But you don't want to jump from one toxic workplace into another!

How to Find Out if a Workplace Is 'Toxic'

Transcripción para ejercicio de comprensión Auditiva del idioma español.

Durante la época prehispánica, el zócalo formaba parte del islote principal del Templo Mayor. Además, se encontraba rodeado de las nuevas casas de Moctezuma, sobre el que se construyo el Palacio Virreinal (actual Palacio Nacional), y por las viejas casas, antiguo hogar de los tlatoanis.

Tras la caída de México-Tenochtitlán y su posterior destrucción, el trazado de la nueva ciudad estuvo a cargo del soldado español Alonso García Bravo. Para lo anterior, se mantuvieron los cuatro calpullis, pero se reorientó la plaza principal con dirección norte-sur y no oriente-poniente como en México-Tenochtitlán. Dicha estructura base de la ciudad emulaba las antiguas ciudades medievales europeas. Del mismo modo, las calles circundantes fueron trazadas de forma rectangular.

Por su parte, el Templo Mayor y el Palacio de Moctezuma fueron derribados y con los escombros se construyó la Catedral Metropolitana y el Palacio Virreinal. En el otro extremo, se comenzaron a ubicar comerciantes que dieron lugar al Portal de los Mercaderes. Posteriormente se construyó el Palacio del Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca y el Palacio del Ayuntamiento, sede del gobierno de la ciudad desde entonces.

Durante la colonia, los problemas de inundaciones fueron un problema constante en la ciudad. En 1629 una inundación sumergió la Plaza Mayor más de 2 metros. Tras ello, las plantas bajas de los edificios tuvieron que ser reconstruidas.

En 1657 se terminó la nueva Catedral, el centro religioso se redirigió hacia la plaza con una orientación norte-sur. La antigua Catedral había sido dirigida hacia el oriente. Debido a ello, durante el siglo XVII la plaza se comenzó a llenar de comerciantes. El 8 de junio de 1692, un motín de 10 mil personas  intentó quemar el Palacio Virreinal y del Ayuntamiento. Tras la ejecución de los culpables, la plaza se ocupó con el Mercado del Parián.



Spanish México

Plaza de la Constitución II.

How to make boring facts and information cool and interesting.
Angela reads the basic text from this lesson, (transcript available when you take this lesson).

This topic is also available for intermediate and higher-level learners.
