short stories shared for discussion with your friends and family

Story time with Debbie

Let's delve into the word Calm. We will continue with a Q and A, followed by five different sentence variations. Namaste. 

Joy to Our World

I am calm! 

*This story contains graphic and explicit material it is not recommended for children, only for mature audiences*

Today’s story The Cow and the Turkey addresses issues of greed and revenge. I hope you enjoy it. 

Send me a message me for your free pdf copy of this book and if you would like discuss it.
https://www.italki.com/en/teacher/13365914

The cow was notoriously cheap, so it surprised everyone when she voted yes for the secret Santa
scheme. It was the horse’s suggestion, and she backed it immediately, saying, “I choose the turkey.” The pig, who considered himself an authority on all things gifty, cleared his throat. “That’s not actually the way it works,” he said. “It’s secret, see, so we each draw a name and keep it to ourselves until Christmas morning.” “Why do you always have to be like that?” the cow asked, and the duck sighed, “Here we go.” “First you ask me to give someone a Christmas present,” the cow continued, “and then you tell me it has to be done your way. Like, ‘Oh, I have four legs so I’m better than everyone else.’ ” “Don’t you have four legs?” the pig asked. The cow loosed something between a moan and a sigh. “All right, just because you have a curly tail,” she said.


Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk ( Adult 18+) 

The Cow and the Turkey (Adult 18+)

Quest’anno sembra che tutti aspettiamo il Natale in anticipo.
I negozi sono già pieni di prodotti natalizi, dolci tipici come il Panettone e il Pandoro. E le vetrine sono luminose e addobbate.


Irene in Italia

7dicembre2023_Natale in anticipo

Script

おはようございます。日本語だんだんポットキャストのゆかりです。

いま、日本では"クマ"が問題(もんだい)になっています。

クマというと、茶色や黒色の、

あの、大きな動物(どうぶつ)ですね。

日本には山が多いので、もちろん、クマがいます。
私たちとクマは、ちがうところに住んでいます。
なので、それほど問題にはなりませんでした。
でも、最近(さいきん)は、ちょっとちがいます。

まず、クマのエサが少なくなっています。

エサとは動物(どうぶつ)の
食べ物のことです。

クマはクルミなどの、"木のみ"を食べます。

クマのエサが、山に少(すく)ないです。

それから、山と人の町が、とても近くなっています。
町には木や田んぼが少なくなっています。

なので、クマはエサをさがして、
町にきます。
そうして、人がけがをします。

昔から、この問題はありました。
でも、今年は、いま180人かけがをしたり、亡くなったりしています。

国は

"クマに気をつけて"

"一人で山にいかないで下さい"

と言っています。

日本の旅行で、山に行く人は、気をつけてくださいね。

では、今日も最後まで聞いてくれて、だんだん、です。

また明日！

--------------------
Today's Keywords

□クマ(くま)
Bear

□亡くなる(なくなる)
pass away

Japaneseだんだんpodcast

52.クマ(くま)に気をつけて下さい/Travel tips/Japaneseだんだんpodcast

Simplified Chinese version:
《我的家人》
我家有四口人，爸爸、妈妈、妹妹和我。
我爸爸是老师。
他喜欢唱歌和做菜。
我妈妈是动物医生。
她喜欢工作和看电视。
我是学生。
我喜欢动物。
我妹妹安安也是学生。
她也喜欢动物。
但是，动物喜欢我，不喜欢安安。

Traditional Chinese version:
《我的家人》
我家有四口人，爸爸、媽媽、妹妹和我。
我爸爸是老師。
他喜歡唱歌和做菜。
我媽媽是動物醫生。
她喜歡工作和看電視。
我是學生。
我喜歡動物。
我妹妹安安也是學生。
她也喜歡動物。
但是，動物喜歡我，不喜歡安安。

English translation:
My family
There are four people in my family, my father, my mother, my sister and me.
My father is a teacher.
He likes to sing and cook.
My mother is an animal doctor.
She likes to work and watch TV.
I am a student.
I like animals.
My sister An An is also a student.
She also likes animals.
However, animals like me, not An An.

Yasmine's Chinese Reading - beginner

我的家人 - My family

The Nordic countries of Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden are regularly top scorers in world happiness rankings. These countries have placed in the top 10 of the World Happiness Report (WHR) every year since 2013 — so what's their secret?

These five countries score well in all six of the things considered in the WHR: GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity and corruption.

But the WHR has noted that there might be another thing these countries have more of than others — trust.

Trust is very important, says WHR editor John F. Helliwell, a former professor at the University of British Columbia. And he developed a study to test how community trust is linked to better well-being.

In Helliwell's study, he looked at how likely people thought it would be for a lost wallet to be returned to them, and he compared this to their life satisfaction score from zero to 10.

He found that those who expected their wallet to be returned had a higher life satisfaction score.

"We find people are much, much happier if they feel they're in an environment where people are going to watch their back," Helliwell told Euro News.

In a 2023 experiment by Reader's Digest, wallets were actually left for people to find in cities around the world. And where was a lost wallet most likely to be returned? In Helsinki, the capital of Finland.

The WHR has noted that a high level of trust may be among the things that explain Nordic happiness.

However, as Forbes has suggested, it may not be so much about big-smile "happiness" as quieter "contentment."

Rather than always trying for something better, people in Scandinavian countries are more often content with what they have. As a result, few of them will say they are unhappy — which helps these countries do well in world happiness rankings.

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

What's the Secret to Nordic Countries' Happiness?

COMPRENSIÓN DEL IDIOMA ESPAÑOL. NIVEL: "NON PLUS ULTRA".

CHISTES MEXICANOS

ENTREVISTA DE TRABAJO.

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Ready to think like a fluent English speaker? In our debut episode, How to Think in English: Unlocking Fluent Thoughts, Coach Jon shares simple, game-changing tips to stop translating in your head and start thinking naturally in English.  

It’s packed with practical advice, fun challenges, and motivation to help you level up your language skills. Tune in now and take the first step towards fluency! 🎧✨  