short stories shared for discussion with your friends and family

Story time with Debbie

How do you improve your IELTS band score. In this podcast I’m going to give you 1 simple strategy to help you get the band score you need.

The technique I’m going to teach you is paraphrase. Yes, paraphrasing is very important, and it’s something that IELTS examiners listen out for. In the IELTS band descriptors you will see that you can not get a band score 6 or 7 unless you can paraphrase effectively.

Let me give you an example.

Let’s say in part 1 the examiner asks you about your hometown and asks you this question: Is your hometown a popular destination for foreigners?

You should answer the question by choosing a synonym for foreigners, for example, tourists.

You could also choose a synonym  for destination, for example visit.

So, when the examiner asks you “Is your hometown a popular destination for foreigners?” you could answer like this:

Yes, many tourists visit my hometown. 

So, you’ve answered the question using paraphrase.

Instead of foreigners you said tourists and instead of destination, you said visit.

Let me teach you again. If the examiner asks you “Is your hometown a popular destination for foreigners?” you could answer:

Yes, many tourists visit my hometown. 

Book an IELTS speaking exam preparation lesson with me to improve your IELTS score.




IELTS Speaking Practice

1 IELTS strategy to improve your IELTS score - paraphrase

Let's learn words of emotion in Chinese Mandarin together.
高兴/开心gāo xìng /kāi xīn 
伤心shāng xīn 
惊讶jīng yà 
生气shēng qì 
愤怒fèn nù 
害怕hài pà 
担心dān xīn 
怀疑huái yí 
害羞hài xiū 
期待qī dài 
无聊wú liáo 
失落shī luò 
困惑kùn huò

Magic Mandarin Chinese Daily Learning

Words of Emotion in Chinese Mandarin 情绪相关的词语

YouTube link: https://youtu.be/m4zaTjy2kAw

Today we’re talking about “무슨 말인지 알겠어요?”

무슨 literally means “which or what”
Because “말” is “a word” in Korean, 무슨 말 can be “what word” or “which word”.
And “~인지 알겠어요?” can be translated into “do you get it?”

Let’s practice. 
Please take your cue from me. 

“무슨 말인지 알겠어요?”
“네.”

“무슨 말인지 알겠어요?”
“아니요.” 

한 걸음씩(One Step At A Time)

무슨 말인지 알겠어요?(You got it?)

Hi, and welcome back to Captain Seasalt and the ABC Pirates with Teacher Alyse!
Today, we’re going on an adventure to learn words that start with the letter P Are you ready? Listen carefully, repeat after me, and then try reading them on your own.

puddle, pig, penguin, platypus, peacock, pineapple, parrot, panther, piranha, porcupine, puffin

Great job! Keep practicing, and if you’d like free flashcards to follow along, send me a message. You can also watch this Super Simple Songs Captain Seasalt video on YouTube to learn even more!
See you next time—bye for now!

Captain Sesalt & The ABC Pirates

Letter P

In this short episode, you will learn the meaning of  { Wager }   

Examples  : 

"I'll wager you five dollars that it will rain tomorrow."
"Let's make a friendly wager on who can run the fastest."
"He wagers that his favorite team will win the championship this year."
"She wagers a bet with her friend on the outcome of the game."
"We can make a wager on whether or not the movie will be good."
"He's known for always making risky wagers in poker games."

Engsavvy ( 504 Absolutely Essential Words )

Lesson 2 word 12 ( Wager ) 

結婚式に参加したおはなしです。

Natural Nihongo Chat

結婚式ってやっぱり感動しますよね♪

Calling for Help
PETER: Hey! That car just ran a red light and hit that truck!
GAIL: Is anyone hurt?
PETER: I don’t know … let’s call 911. … Hello? I’d like to report
a car accident near the post office on Charles Street.
It looks like a man is hurt. Yes, it just happened. OK, 
thanks. Bye.
GAIL: What did they say?
PETER: They’re going to send an ambulance and a police car 
right away.
GAIL: Good, they’re here. I hope the man is OK.
PETER: I know. You have to be so careful when you’re driving.


LANGUAGE NOTES
• Hey! This expression is used to show surprise. Notice how That car just ran a red light
and hit that truck! is said with a lot of energy.
• Is anyone hurt? This is a yes/no question, so the intonation rises at the end. Notice 
how this question is asked in a worried way.
• 911 is the phone number you dial for emergency services. The person who answers 
will ask you questions about the emergency situation and then send out the necessary 
emergency services, which may include police officers, firefighters and an ambulance.
• I’d like to report a car accident near the post office on Charles Street. Notice how 
the key words “car accident,” “post office” and “Charles Street” are stressed. These are 
the important details that the emergency services need. 
• It just happened is a way of saying “It happened a moment ago.” Notice the stress on 
“just,” which emphasizes that the accident happened very, very recently.
• What did they say? Notice how “say” is emphasized, but the intonation falls at the end 
of the word. This is a “what” question, so the intonation falls at the end

English Conversation practice (30-day challenge)

Day 13: Calling for help

Desde los tacos, ya sean de pastor, de suadero, de longaniza, de canasta ; o ya sean las quesadillas, el caldo tlalpeño, las chalupas, el guajolote hidalguense, las enchiladas, las enmoladas; o simplemente para acompañar el guiso de cualquier mexicano, la tortilla es el alimento primordial.
En una mesa mexicana, a la hora de la comida, se ve el guisado, las aguas frescas para tomar, y un paquete de tortillas, generalmente de un kilo, para ir degustando, con una mano tu platillo en la cuchara, y con la otra un pedazo de tortilla. De esta manera, la tortilla se vuelve esencial en la dieta mexicana. 
¿Cuándo comenzó a servirse de esta manera? ¿Por qué es tan importante en la dieta de un mexicano? ¿Cuál es el origen de la tortilla?
Pues resultó que, la tortilla, es un aditamento gastronómico que nos acompaña desde al menos el año 500 a. C, pues en la región de Oaxaca se han encontrado vestigios de planchas de arcilla para preparar tortillas que datan de esa época.
El maíz, siendo la base principal de alimento para las civilizaciones mesoamericanas, se utiliza al mismo en diferentes formas. Los conquistadores y los frailes que convertían a los indígenas, localizarían a la tortilla como un pan de maíz. Los conquistadores creían que era como un pan cocido, o un pan que no tiene volumen.
Sus técnicas para preparar la tortilla, variaban considerablemente. Por ejemplo, en el caso de las tortillas prehispánicas, la masa era moldeada con las manos limpias, por lo que quedaba con una apariencia poco regular. A lo largo de la primera mitad del siglo XX aparecerán nuevas máquinas, algunas semi-manuales, como las  que diseñaron Salvador Guzmán en 1935 y la fabricación por Félix Rábago en 1936. Ambas consistentes en dos planchas de metal, pero sustituyen la palanca por un rasero que extiende la masa de nixtamal en el agujero circular que se encuentra en la plancha superior, de modo que al levantar esto se obtiene el disco de masa.









