Listen to me reading a short news article about the pros and cons of internet dating, as part of my Conversational English course.

Listen to English with Pip

News article: online dating

今日は、日本昔ばなしの中でも特に有名な「傘地蔵」というお話を紹介したいと思います。

⚪︎笠地蔵とは？

笠＋地蔵

・笠（Hat）
雨・雪・日光などを防ぐため、かぶったり、さしたりするもの。
このお話に登場する「笠」は、昔ながらの「笠」です。三角形の形をした帽子です。もう一つの「傘」（英語のumbrella）とは形が違うことに注意してください。

・地蔵＝お地蔵様 （Jizo-）
仏教の神様の石像です。 お地蔵様を正しくは「地蔵菩薩（じぞうぼさつ）」といいます。お地蔵様は仏教という宗教の神様の一つです。日本では、お地蔵様は神社や、道路のわきに置いてあることが多いです。道路のわきにあるお地蔵様は、その土地、その場所を悪いものから守る土地の神さまとして、信仰を集めています。

...という訳で「傘をかぶった神様の石像」についてのお話です。

それでは、物語をゆっくり話していきます。短い物語なので、ぜひ 最後まで聞いてみてくださいね。物語を話した後にいくつかの単語について解説していきます。

Storytelling（にほんご）

かさじぞう（笠地蔵）- Japanese Falktales①

Get ready for the four-day working week
Younger managers are much more open to the idea than their bosses and female leaders like it too. 

I will be discussing the four day working week from a UK prospective. Feel free to comment and let me know what you think about the four day week focusing on the benefits and negatives of the idea. 



Engine English

The Four Day Working Week

दुर्भाग्य : ( durbagya ) Bad luck/ unfortunate 
आशिष् : ( aasish) blessing 
आशीर्वाद :(aashirvaad)  blessing 
भेष: (bhes).  disguise 



Let's talk Nepali 

Blessing in Disguise  | दुर्भाग्य को भेषमा एक आशिष् थियो 

Wozu gibt es Smalltalk? Was können wir beim Smalltalk konkret sagen? Welche Themen sind in Deutschland tabu? 
In dieser Episode erfährst du, wie der Smalltalk in Deutschland funktioniert.  

Deutsch mit Sonia

Smalltalk in Deutschland

Tip, acción para que SUMES A TU RUTINA (¡esto NO necesita tiempo extra!) y aprendas vocabulario de Español mucho más rápido!

Disfruta de aprender

Hace esto para aprender ESPAÑOL más rápido.

One of the questions that many of us have about exercise is "should it hurt?"

Some people agree with the old saying: "No pain, no gain," which means if it's not hurting, you're not improving.

But is that really true?

When it comes to weight training, some experts tell people that they should train "until failure" for best results.

This means they keep lifting or training until their body cannot physically do any more.

However, others say that this approach is not suitable for everyone.

"If somebody wants to increase muscle mass as much as they possibly can, then training to failure is something to consider," said Michael Zourdos, from Florida Atlantic University, who has done research into this subject.

He and his colleagues found that lifting weights "until failure" may build bigger muscles, but isn't needed to increase strength.

He said people who work out hard, but don't push themselves to exhaustion, will still likely improve their fitness.

For the average person just looking to increase their fitness levels, Zourdos said it's easier to get results.

He said that these people would benefit from a hard session that comes within five to 10 repetitions of failure, rather than training to complete exhaustion.

He also said "failure training" often makes people so sore that they miss their next session.

Overdoing it can sometimes be harmful — and people who are planning on doing strenuous exercise should see a doctor first.

James Fisher, a sport science expert in the UK, says that resting muscle groups is an important part of training.

But he agrees that if people want to build muscle, they need to push themselves.

"If you lift a weight you can easily lift 10 times or more, you never really work hard enough," he said.

Still, Fisher said that the best workout is "one that people will actually do," regardless of how hard they push themselves.

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

Does 'Training to Failure' Improve Strength, Fitness?

Pizza is one of the world's most popular fast foods. It's believed that over 5 billion pizzas are sold around the world every year. In the US alone, people buy about 3 billion pizzas each year, which is about 46 slices per person!

But it wasn't always as popular as it is today — in fact, it used to be looked down on, even by Italians!

The modern pizza we know today started in Naples, Italy, in the 18th century. Poor people in the city needed cheap food that was easy to eat as they looked for work. Street vendors sold them pizzas with simple toppings like garlic and tomatoes.

For a long time, pizza was looked down on as food for the poor, and visitors to Naples thought it was dirty and unappealing.

But this changed in 1889, when Queen Margherita of Italy tried pizza and loved it. The pizza with tomatoes, mozzarella and basil was named after her, and pizza started to become a national dish in Italy.

Pizza became a favorite in the US after Italian immigrants brought it with them. It became especially popular in cities like New York, and new styles like Chicago deep dish and Hawaiian were invented.

And it became even more popular with the invention of frozen pizza, which let people make their own pizzas at home.

Today, pizza is enjoyed around the world, with many different toppings and styles. But its basic form hasn't changed very much from all those years ago.



From Poverty to Popularity: The History of Pizza

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oe_s1zfnt1w7iBF2yYSu-W160QaeWFoV/view?usp=drivesdk