Join Tim for 'Tea, Talk & Textbooks,' where British culture meets English learning. Ideal for B1-B2 learners or British culture enthusiasts. Enjoy narratives, language tips, and a spot of humour.

Tea, Talk & Textbooks: An ESL Podcast

These Pronunciation episodes follow chronologically. They follow a reading on Engoo - with explanations along the way. Go to the website in order to follow along. : https://engoo.com/app/daily-news/article/study-says-reading-fiction-helps-us-understand-others/MsfhnFVrEe22EWf-hDINhQ 

English in 60 Seconds

Pronunciation 4

Как далеко ты от меня! Там, в сказочном Париже, танцуешь на величественной театральной сцене на Елисейских полях. Я хорошо знаю это, и все же мне кажется, что в ночной тишине я слышу твои шаги, вижу твои глаза, которые блестят, словно звезды на зимнем небе. Сегодня твой черед. Танцуй! Я танцевал в широких рваных штанах, а ты танцуешь в шелковом наряде принцессы. Эти танцы и гром аплодисментов порой будут возносить тебя на небеса. Лети! Лети туда! Но спускайся и на землю! Ты должна видеть жизнь людей, жизнь тех уличных танцовщиков, которые пляшут, дрожа от холода и голода. Я был таким, как они, Джеральдина.

После твоего имени – Джеральдина – следует моя фамилия – Чаплин. С этой фамилией более сорока лет я смешил людей на земле. Но плакал я больше, нежели они смеялись.

Джеральдина, в мире, в котором ты живешь, существуют не одни только танцы и музыка!

В полночь, когда ты выходишь из огромного зала, ты можешь забыть богатых поклонников, но не забывай спросить у шофера такси, который повезет тебя домой, о его жене. И если она беременна, если у них нет денег на пеленки для будущего ребенка, положи деньги ему в карман. Но всем другим плати строго по счету. Время от времени езди в метро или на автобусе, ходи пешком и осматривай город. Приглядывайся к людям! Смотри на вдов и сирот! И хотя бы один раз в день говори себе: «Я такая же, как они».
Я хочу, чтобы ты никогда не знала бедности. С этим письмом посылаю тебе чековую книжку, чтобы ты могла тратить сколько пожелаешь. Но когда истратишь два франка, не забудь напомнить себе, что третья монета – не твоя. Она должна принадлежать незнакомому человеку, который в ней нуждается. А такого ты легко сможешь найти. Стоит только захотеть увидеть этих незнакомых бедняков, и ты встретишь их повсюду.

... Не продавай своего сердца за золото и драгоценности. Знай, что самый огромный бриллиант – это солнце. К счастью, оно сверкает для всех. А когда придет время, и ты полюбишь, то люби этого человека всем сердцем.

Русская кассета / Russian cassette

ИЗ ПИСЬМА ЧАРЛИ ЧАПЛИНА ДОЧЕРИ ДЖЕРАЛЬДИНЕ

Poema de Federico García-Lorca del Romancero Gitano

POEMAS DE FEDERICO GARCÍA-LORCA

SAN RAFAEL

June and Yuli have a talk about Chinese Blind Date, this episode is part 2: Why do Chinese parents set their children up on blind dates, you will learn how to say 【intervene,force of public opinion】 ect. (This is casual talk so there're some repetition and unnecessary words, which is also very natural authentic dialogue.)
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It is recommended that you study in the following ways:
1st time: listen without looking at the text.
2nd time: look at the text and write down the new words, later look up the dictionary. 
3rd time: listen again without looking at the text.
4th time: repeat after it without looking at the text.
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June：那刚刚有提到中国的父母喜欢给孩子安排相亲，但是我们知道很多西方国家的父母不太去管，或者是插手孩子的，比如说谈恋爱或者是什么时候结婚这件事。那你觉得为什么中国的父母喜欢给孩子安排相亲呢？
Yuli：我父母他们说是他们觉得这个像一个任务一样，他觉得说把我养大，然后看着我结婚成家，他觉得这个才是他的一个任务的完成。然后我觉得还有一个就是社会大环境是这样，所以是一个舆论压力。他们会觉得说周围的同龄人特别是我们同龄的那些亲戚，还有他们自己的朋友的小孩，这个年纪或甚至是比我年轻的都结婚了，生小孩了，他们就觉得说应该跟别人一样，就别人这样做你也应该这样做。
June：我觉得还有一点就是中国的一个传统观念就是传宗接代，还有一个养儿防老。父母会担心，现在有可能自己一个人过得挺好，但是将来你也有老了的一天或者是你生病了，那等父母都不在这个世界上了，他们希望会有一个人来照顾你，所以我觉得这个就是为什么他们想要给孩子安排相亲（的原因）。
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提到	/	tí dào	/	mention
管	/	guǎn	/	control, discipline
插手	/	chā shǒu	/	intervene
任务	/	rèn wù	/	task
成家	/	chéng jiā	/	get married 
舆论压力	/	yú lùn yā lì	/	force of public opinion
观念	/	guān niàn	/	perception
传宗接代	/	chuán zōng jiē dài	/	carry on the family line
养儿防老	/	yǎng ér fáng lǎo	/	bring up sons to support parents in their old age

Yuli's Chinese Channel

Two Chinese girls talking about "Why do Chinese parents set their children up on blind dates 为什么中国父母要给孩子安排相亲"（Intermediate level）

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.

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

From Poverty to Popularity: The History of Pizza

If you see someone sitting alone in a restaurant, you might assume they're waiting for someone, or perhaps they're grabbing a quick lunch on their break.

But more and more people around the world are purposely dining alone.

Japan has a special word for this: ohitorisama, which refers to people confidently doing things alone without worrying about what others think.

A recent survey found that 23% of Japanese people eat out alone, up from 18% in 2018. And in the US, solo dining reservations have risen 29% over the last two years, according to restaurant reservation site OpenTable.

OpenTable CEO Debby Soo thinks remote work is one reason for the increase, with people looking for a break from their home offices.

The increasing popularity in solo dining comes as more people are living alone. In 2019, the Pew Research Center found that 38% of US adults ages 25 to 54 were living without a partner, up from 29% in 1990. In Japan, single households now make up one-third of the total; that’s expected to increase to 40% by 2040, according to government data.

Growing interest in solo travel — particularly among travelers ages 55 and over — is also leading to more meals alone.

But Soo thinks there could be more to it than that.

"I think there's a broader movement of self-love and self-care and really … enjoying your own company," Soo said.

As a result, many restaurants are redoing their seating, changing their menus and adding other special touches to appeal to solo diners.

But some aren't always happy to seat one diner. A Michelin-starred London restaurant caused a stir last year when it started charging solo diners the same price as two customers. The restaurant, which has 34 seats, offers an eight-course menu costing about $280 per person.

Other restaurants say it's worth seating one person because solo diners will often come back and eat there again.

Party of One: Solo Dining Increasing in Popularity

人気がある屋台の食べ物を紹介しました😉日本で見かけたら、ぜひ食べてみてください🫶

SeikaのPodcast🎧

Ep.41 夏ですね！屋台の食べ物を食べましょう🌞👒

В этом подкасте я рассказываю про эмоциональное выгорание. Приятного прослушивания!