Let's talk about the first astronauts and the current space missions.


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Astronauts in Space

Today we're talking about a great adjective for when you want to include a lot of details or be very detailed in what you're saying or writing. Today's word is "granular". I hope you find it useful!

If you want to improve your professional communication skills then don't forget that I'm a full time, professional, business English coach and tutor, right here on iTalki. Feel free to book some of my time and I look forward to meeting you. 

DAILY Business English VOCABULARY builder

This is the most detailed podcast I've ever recorded!

¡Hola a todos!
Mi nombre es Camila, y soy de Buenos Aires, Argentina. En este podcast corto y sencillo, quiero contarles algunas características de mi acento.

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Disfruta de aprender

Mi Acento Español Rioplatense

What do you think is the most expensive place in the world to live? New York? London? Maybe Tokyo?

While Japan has long had a reputation as an expensive place to live, its cities have been getting cheaper in recent years — with some big changes coming just in the last 12 months.

American consulting company Mercer recently released its 2024 Cost of Living City Ranking, which compares the costs of over 200 items in 226 cities around the world. The results are based on a March 2024 survey, and include things like housing and transportation, as well as food, clothing and entertainment.

All five of the world's most expensive cities are unchanged from last year, with Hong Kong and Singapore again in first and second place. These two Asian cities are followed by three Swiss cities: Zurich, Geneva and Basel.

Bern, another Swiss city, has risen from seventh to sixth place, while New York City has fallen one place to seventh.

However, Tokyo has dropped 30 places to 49th — putting it right after San Juan in Puerto Rico. And Osaka has dropped 53 places to 146th — just ahead of Wuhan in China.

However, the biggest drop since last year was for Lagos in Nigeria, which fell 178 places to 225th. And the least expensive city is now Abuja, Nigeria's capital, at 226th.

Mercer wrote that many big drops were caused by changes in exchange rates. Japan's yen dropped to a 34-year low against the US dollar in March — and hit a 38-year low in early July.

The ranking was also affected by inflation — especially in housing prices — as well as increasing political uncertainty around the world.

Mercer says it's important for companies to look at its cost of living ranking when thinking about sending staff to live abroad.




Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

Japan Tumbles on Expensive Cities Ranking

Three Russian tongue twisters specifically designed to make your pronunciation clearer! 
Try repeating after me. First time I’m reading slowly, second time closer to real speech speed.

собирАла маргарИта маргарИтки на горЕ, растерЯла маргарИта маргарИтки во дворЕ. (р,г)

из кУзова в кУзов шла перегрУзка арбУзов. в грозУ в грязИ от грУза арбУзов развалИлся кУзов. (з,в)

в шалашЕ шуршИт шелкАми жЁлтый дЕрвиш из алжИра и, жонглИруя ножАми, штУку кУшает инжИра. (ш,ж)

These tongue twisters focus on various Russian sounds. Try to articulate them as clearly as possible. Let's focus on accuracy rather than speed. Good luck!


Russian with Elina

Russian tongue twisters - part 7 

Para nedir, para çeşitleri ve geçmişten günümüze paranın değişimi. 

Ekonomi

Para nedir, paranın kısa tarihi

46% of US Teens Use the Internet 'Almost Constantly'
We know that teenagers spend a lot of time online, but the Pew Research Center has been finding out a little more about what some of them are doing.

A survey of more than 1,300 young people in the US, aged between 13 and 17, found that 97% use the internet every day. And 46% said they use it "almost constantly" — an increase from 24% in 2014 and 2015.

The new survey, done in April and May 2022, also found that YouTube is now the most popular app among teens, with 95% using the video site, and 19% saying they are on it "almost constantly."

TikTok is the next most popular app, with 67% saying they use it.

Things have changed over the years, however: in Pew's 2014 and 2015 survey, Facebook was the most popular site among teens, with 71% saying they used it. But that fell to just 32% in the 2022 survey.

Twitter has also become less popular — 23% of teenagers say they now use it, down from 33% seven years ago.

There are some differences between the way boys and girls spend their time online.

Pew said that boys are more likely to be on YouTube, Twitch and Reddit, while girls are more likely to use TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat.

It has never been easier for young people to use these sites and apps — 95% of teens said they have a smartphone, while 90% have access to a computer.