In this bilingual podcast we read a Standard Arabic text, translate it and comment on some vocabulary and  grammar points as well as some cultural insights. 

Arabic zone - Esma'ni

Un haut : roupa para a parte de cima, top
Une robe : vestido, dress
Une jupe : saia, skirt
Une mini-jupe : mini saia, miniskirt
Un soutien-gorge : sutiã, bra
Une culotte : calcinha, panties
Un string : fio dental, G-string
Un chemisier : camisa, blouse
Un tailleur : terninho, suit
Une robe de soirée : vestido de festa, evening dress
Un gilet : casaco, cardigan
Un pull(-over) : agasalho, sweater
Un collant : meia-calça, stockings
Un pantalon : calça, trousers


Professeur Maxime

Les vêtements pour femmes

Bedside Italian

Bedside Italian #34 - Torno a imparare il turco!

Story = '2000 most common words in English'. 

It was 10am on a cloudy Friday when Bobby was struck by inspiration.  It was a day like any other. Bobby was sitting on his bed, curled up in a ball and Afsane was nearby reading a new book.

Bobby was deep in thought. His eyes were closed but his mind was active. His little tail was wagging softly. Occasionally he got up, turned around and sat back down again. This was part of his creative process. 

Then Bobby’s eyes shot open. “Yes! That’s it! I’ll… I’ll…” Then he rested his head again on his paws.  “No… it’s gone.” 

Asfane turned her attention back to her book and turned the page. The book was called, How to Live with An Extraordinary Dog. She wanted to better understand Bobby’s gift.

“You’ve done so many projects,” said Afsane. “Why don’t you revisit an old idea and explore it from a different viewpoint?” 

All over Bobby’s room were his photographs. They were all in special frames. He had taken photos of almost everything: parks, sports, markets, transportation, roads—whatever Bobby saw, he snapped a photo. But he didn’t know what to do for his next photography project. 

Bobby needed to refresh his mind. He jumped off the bed and walked over to his food area. On the wall in front of his red drinking bowl was a picture of his previous drinking bowl, a blue one. 

“I’m looking for a special subject, Afsane,” said Bobby after drinking some water. “Something which speaks to my soul. Something which lifts my spirits.” 

Afsane shrugged her shoulders and put down her book. “That sounds very serious, Bobby. Why don’t you just take a photo of… oh, I don’t know, that.” 

Afsane pointed to the open window. 

Bobby felt curious, so he jumped up and looked out the window. He didn’t see much. He watched the traffic and the dark clouds. But then, something caught his eye. 

Bobby barked and howled! “That’s it! That’s it!”

“See, I told you. There’s nothing boring about windows,” said Afsane.

“No. There! Children!”

Being a Cloud

Bobby the Dog

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?

En este segundo episodio de esta edición “Especial Navidad” hablo sobre la Lotería de Navidad en España. El día de hoy también es conocido como el sorteo de “El Gordo”, y es una tradición muy antigua en la que los españoles gastan mucho dinero.
Escucha para aprender un poco más sobre el origen, las costumbres que rodean el sorteo y los premios entre otras muchas cosas.


Blanca to go 

Especial Navidad 2-El Gordo.

I will talk about my trip to Taipei.
This episode is JLPT-N5 level.

I created a quiz on this episode.
After listening, please take the quiz!

Please use this audio for listening and shadowing practices.

☆Words☆
台北（たいぺい）taipei：Taipei
空港（くうこう）kūkō：airport
工場（こうじょう）kōjyō：factory
次の日（つぎのひ）tsuginohi：next day
観光（かんこう）kankō：sightseeing

☆Grammar☆
・～が あります
・adjective（past）
・～たいです

☆Script for this episode
The scripts (URL) are listed in the overview section of the channel.

☆Quiz for this episode
https://onl.bz/t4Zzawx


Simple Japanese Listening with Meg（めぐ）Smile

#11 Trip to Taipei // N5 Level

In this episode we are going to learn 【 Go to the Barber's】in Chinese. 
--------------------------------------------------
As a beginner, there're some vocabularies that you didn't learn before, and native speaker's speed seems too fast to understand. But don't worry, let's do it step by step. 
Step 1: listen and catch the words you know already, have a guess about the content.
Step 2: look at the text to check if you guessed it right. 
Step 3: listen one more time, repeat after it.
Step 4: practice until you can speak as the normal speed without looking at the text.
 --------------------------------------------------
昨天我去理发店了。
zuó tiān wǒ qù lǐ fà diàn le 。
I went to the barber's yesterday.
我打算烫头发。
wǒ dǎ suàn tàng tóu fà 。
I was going to perm my hair.
发型师先帮我洗头、吹头发。
fà xíng shī xiān bāng wǒ xǐ tóu 、 chuī tóu fà 。
The stylist shampooed and blew my hair first.
我的头发又长又多，发型师帮我剪短剪薄。
wǒ de tóu fà yòu cháng yòu duō ， fà xíng shī bāng wǒ jiǎn duǎn jiǎn báo 。
My hair is long and long. The stylist helped me cut it short and thin.
我选了一个最近很流行的发型：大波浪。
wǒ xuǎn le yí gè zuì jìn hěn liú xíng de fà xíng ： dà bō làng 。
I chose a hairstyle that is very popular these days: big waves.
发型师说染棕色很适合我，我决定试试。
fà xíng shī shuō rǎn zōng sè hěn shì hé wǒ ， wǒ jué dìng shì shì 。
The stylist said that dyeing brown would suit me, so I decided to give it a try.
我的朋友看到我的新发型都说好看。
wǒ de péng yǒu kàn dào wǒ de xīn fà xíng dōu shuō hǎo kàn 。
When my friends saw my new hairstyle, they all said it is nice.

Yuli's Chinese Channel

去理发店 Go to the Barber's （Beginner）

At the Coffee Shop (with transcript)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CDdpYDIiEhOpOFqhky_gBzarsEjMAu7s/view?usp=drivesdk