Monkey1 is a native Japanese and Monkey2 has just recently arrived in Japan. We'll be offering you practical tips and views concerning the language, culture, and society of the land of the rising sun!

Two Wise Monkeys Japanese Podcast

Daniel et Julie arrivent à Marseille. Arnaud, un ami de Daniel, vient les chercher. Ils vont ensemble à l’appartement où vit Arnaud. Julie et Daniel ont faim.  Arnaud suggère deux restaurants. Julie va au restaurant de poisson. Daniel prend un bus pour aller au restaurant « La Ratatouille folle ». Daniel s’endort dans l’autobus. Il se réveille à Nice. Son téléphone ne fonctionne pas. Il n’a pas le numéro de téléphone de sa sœur. Alors il appelle sa mère. Il doit passer la nuit dans un hôtel.

Read with me  the book : French stories in French - Olly Richards and Richard Simcott

Chapitre 2 : French stories in French - Olly Richards and Richard Simcott

[ — Audio description, listen and read along for greater understanding. — ]

Ana: Oi, Camila! Tudo bem?
Camila: Oi, Ana! Tudo e você?
Ana: Tudo bem! Quais são os seus planos para o final de semana?
Camila: Ainda não sei... Talvez eu vá ao parque no sábado. E você?
Ana: Eu vou ao cinema com a minha irmã.
Camila: Que legal! Qual filme vocês vão assistir?
Ana: Acho que vamos ver uma comédia. Eu adoro filmes engraçados!
Camila: Eu também! Qual cinema vocês vão?
Ana: No shopping perto da minha casa. Você quer ir com a gente?
Camila: Ah, eu adoraria! Que horas?
Ana: A sessão começa às sete da noite.
Camila: Perfeito! Então nos encontramos no shopping.
Ana: Combinado! Até lá!

PORTUREAD - Listen to small texts and conversations samples in portuguese!

Ana e Camila falam sobre cinema — SMALL TALK A2-B2 LEVEL

3000 Most Common Words

This is a clean and tidy office. A photo is displayed on the wall. It shows the Memory Stationery staff standing proud in front of a new warehouse. Everyone’s face is full of optimism.  But today the company atmosphere is tense. A4, the CEO of the company, is at his desk and on the phone; he is facing out the window at the sky. His facial expression is timid.

“I hear you, Mr. Scissors,” says A4. “But it’s impossible. I can’t take our prices down that low. You’re asking me to sacrifice our entire profit margin.”

A4 sits in silence as he listens to the response. A bead of sweat runs down the CEO’s face. The voice on the other end is frightening him.

“Sir, last month I discounted our products to the bottom line… Yes, but, please, sir, I’m just an
honest wholesaler. I promise I’m not trying to take advantage of you… Other retailers are happy to pay market rate—”

A4 suddenly pulls the phone away from his ear. The voice is furious and aggressive. It is blasting out the tiny speaker. When the harsh noise calms down, A4 puts the phone back to his ear.

“No, please, don’t cut me. Please, sir. You’re right, okay? You’re right. That was rude of me, I’m
sorry… I know. I’m a scrap. You’re right. I’m no better than a tissue. You’re right…”

A4 changes his tone. He isn’t pleading anymore. He sounds like he has given up.

“Mr. Scissors. I’ll look at our margins and call you back. There might be some way we can go down lower…”

A4 hangs up the phone. He leans back in his chair. His eyes are glazed over. He is deep in
contemplation. He imagines the brutal scenario of Mr. Scissors cutting him into a thousand pieces.

Throughout this entire time, A4 has been recording the conversation onto his paper body. This is his natural ability. A4’s unmistakable memory is the reason why he is the CEO.

A4 picks up the phone and dials a number. Life returns to his eyes.

“Backpack, get everyone together in the meeting room. I have an announcement.”

Being a Cloud

A4 the Piece of Paper 

Poema de García-Lorca del Romancero Gitano.

POEMAS DE FEDERICO GARCÍA-LORCA

PRECIOSA Y EL AIRE

3. Offering a new product/service to reach new customers

Your business might be doing well, but there is no growth or development and there is a risk that your competitors might take away some of your customers. Innovation sometimes means developing a new product that targets a different market. Although video games were often played by boys, in 2006, video games giant Nintendo introduced the game console Nintendo Wii, successfully targeting girls and older customers with games like Cooking Mama and Brain Training.  

4. Changing the way you provide a service

By looking at the changes to the customer's lifestyle and needs, we sometimes realise that there might be better ways to serve them. Customers who do not have a lot of time might prefer to have their food or their shopping delivered to their homes, or they might like to do their banking online rather than in an actual bank.

Not all innovation will bring success to our businesses, but it can give us the opportunity to grow and learn more about what we do and what our customers might want.

What is it that keeping you buying from certain companies over others? Is it a price? A service or something special that you don't even know? Explore and let me know :)

To your success!!!

The Habits of Highly Effective English Communicators

Innovation in business Part 2.

Understand the idea of the "past" in the English language.
Learn about the rules for the Past Simple and the Past Continuous tenses and in which situations we use each one of them! 

English Syndicate

English Grammar Lesson: Past Simple and Past Continuous tenses 📖

In this episode we will listen to Lucy Liu's story, you will learn how to say 【ethnic Chinese,widely known】 ect. The material helps you get used to different voice and accent. 
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It is recommended that you study in the following ways:
Step 1: Gist listening. Listen to get the main idea. (more times if necessary)
Step 2: Read the text to find out words you didn't get, then look up the dictionary. 
Step 3: Listen and imitate as much as you can without looking at the text.
Step 4: Write down what you hear if you want to practise writing.
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大家好，我是Yuli。欢迎收听我的播客。
今天要介绍的是美国华裔女演员刘玉玲。她在中国也很有名，特别是2019年她出演的《致命女人》吸引了无数中国粉丝。除了最为人所知的演员身份，她其实还是一名画家、慈善家。我们来听听她的艺术故事吧。
她是好莱坞著名的华裔女星，是大热剧集中的致命女人，但很多人不知道刘玉玲其实还是一个现实中肆意洒脱的艺术家。一副作品卖出17万美元，惊艳众人后才被人得知出自她之手。在父母只关注她的好成绩，期待她成为医生或律师的传统教育下成长，她独自下手改写人生。勇闯好莱坞演戏的同时，挤出时间去专门进修艺术，最终成为家喻户晓、留名好莱坞星光大道的亚裔明星和低调独特的灵魂画手。这一切都是源于她内心深处的自我认同和对人生目标的坚定感。她的作品有的张扬大胆，有的细腻柔软，融合着她自由、真实、坦荡的性格和历经世事的人文关怀。她以形态各异的木头雕塑强调个体的自由，72张看似乱涂的水墨画，展现创作的玩心。以色彩迷人、造型大胆的抽象画，挑战禁忌话题，映射着她在一个避讳谈论“性”的家庭中成长的反思。她曾建议每个人都该努力挣钱，为自己建一个“去你的”基金。也曾说“艺术是教育的一部分，也为人类创造更美好的未来。”她所展现的是一位女性抛开外表仍具有的更迷人的美。我想一直活在一个不对自己设限的世界里。无所畏惧，敢于冒险。
希望她的故事能够给你带来力量。我们下期见。
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华裔/huá yì/ethnic Chinese
致命女人	/zhì mìng nǚ rén/deadly Woman（Why Women Kill）
为人所知	/wéi rén suǒ zhī/be known for
慈善家/cí shàn jiā	/philanthropist
大热剧集	/dà rè jù jí/Hit TV series
肆意洒脱	/sì yì sǎ tuō/free and unrestrained
惊艳众人	/jīng yàn zhòng rén/amaze the crowd
勇闯/yǒng chuǎng/adventure bravely
家喻户晓	/jiā yù hù xiǎo/widely known
灵魂画手	/líng hún huà shǒu/painter that puts soul into painting
自我认同	/zì wǒ rèn tóng/self-identification
张扬大胆	/zhāng yáng dà dǎn/bold
细腻柔软	/xì nì róu ruǎn/delicate and soft
坦荡/tǎn dàng/open-hearted and forthright
形态各异	/xíng tài gè yì	/different shapes and forms
禁忌/jìn jì/forbidden
映射/yìng shè/reflecting
避讳/bì huì/be avoided as taboo
抛开/pāo kāi/despite,apart from
无所畏惧	/wú suǒ wèi jù/fear nothing

Yuli's Chinese Channel

Lucy Liu，a low-key artist 刘玉玲，一个低调的艺术家 （Advanced level）

Christmas Hampers (with transcript)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wCSKBLkmOiYp_VmK0wwykjSCyJpXJgBh/view?usp=drivesdk