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Verse Ventures - A Journey Through Poetry and Literature

生命之河里的石头
所有父母都会伤害孩子，谁都没法避免。孩子就像洁净的玻璃杯，拿过它的人会在上面留下手印。
父母很少会对他们的孩子放手，所以孩子就对父母放手。他们向前走，他们向远处走。
那些曾经让他们感到自身价值的东西——母亲的赞同，父亲的点头——都已经被他们取得的成绩替代。
直到很久以后，当他们的皮肤变得松弛了，心脏变得衰弱了，他们才会明白：他们的故事和他们所有的成就，都是基于父母的经历建立起来的，就像生命之河里的石头，层层叠叠。

学习重点：比喻
1.生命之河 （人生，生命）
2.孩子就像洁净的玻璃杯，拿过它的人会在上面留下手印。（手印-影响）
3.他们向前走 ，向远处走。（离开父母）
4.父亲的点头。（同意、认同）
5.皮肤变得松弛了，心脏变得衰弱了。（老了）
6.生命之河里的石头。（人生的经历）

边听边说 More than Chinese Listening

第十一集 生命之河里的石头

Aquí vas a aprender mis problemas con 
fregar los platos. Voy a hablar de las 
cosas que me gustan y de las que 
no me gustan. 

Los podcasts de Alex

Fregar o no Fregar

In this episode for upper-intermediate and advanced English learners, I’ll talk about my experiences delivering food with DoorDash, and you'll have the opportunity to practice your listening comprehension skills by answering a set of questions at the end of the episode. 

I welcome you to share your answers and other thoughts in the comments!

The idioms I mention near the beginning of the episode are:
- to keep a roof over one's head
- to make ends meet
- to put food on the table

(Music by Lesfm from Pixabay)


Conversations With a Friend

Working as a Restaurant Delivery Driver - English Listening Comprehension

Students regularly ask me, "How do I know what comes after a verb?" If a verb takes another verb as a complement, it is usually either a full infinitive or a gerund (e.g., "to do" or "doing").  Bare infinitives (e.g., "do") can only be complements for a small number of verbs, but these verbs are very common.  In this article, I take a look at some verbs that take bare infinitives as complements.  

To access the full text of this podcast, please go to https://www.difficultenglishexplained.com/what-comes-after-verb-2/.

Be sure that you read the first post in this series!  You can find it at: https://www.difficultenglishexplained.com/what-comes-after-a-verb-to-do-do-or-doing-part-1/

Difficult English Explained

What comes after a verb? "To do", "do," or "doing"? (Part 2)

This episode gives students of English some advice about how to answer a common question type from Part 3 of the IELTS speaking test. Students will focus particularly on different forms of the "there is"/"there are" structure which will help them to compare advantages and disadvantages (in this case, relating to working from home).

Please send me your own answers to this question, and I'll give you some advice about how to improve.

IELTS-style speaking questions

IELTS Part 3: "What are the advantages and disadvantages of working from home?"

みなさんこんにちは！このエピソードでは、ブリュッセルに住んでいる私が、ブリュッセルの好きなところと嫌いなところをお話します。今回は好きなところをお話しします。

一つ目は、大きな公園がたくさんあるところです。ブリュッセルには広い公園がいっぱいあって、散歩やピクニックにぴったりです。週末には家族や友だちと楽しく過ごす人でにぎわっています。
二つ目は、日本の映画を映画館で見られるところです。ヨーロッパでは日本の映画を見るのがむずかしいかもしれませんが、ブリュッセルではときどき見ることができます。大きなスクリーンで日本の映画を見ると、とてもわくわくします。
三つ目は、フランスパンやケーキがおいしいところです。パン屋さんが多くて、どこでもおいしいパンやケーキが買えます。朝ごはんにクロワッサンを買って、公園で食べるのが私のお気に入りです。
四つ目は、日本の食べ物が簡単に手に入るところです。日本のスーパーやアジア系のお店があって、しょうゆやみそ、だしなどを買うことができます。海外に住んでいても、日本の味を楽しめるのは本当にうれしいです。
五つ目は、空港が近いところです。ブリュッセル空港は市内から電車で約20分で行けます。旅行に行くときや日本に帰るとき、とても便利です。
最後に、マルシェという外の市場がたくさんあるところです。新鮮な果物や野菜、チーズやお花など、いろいろなものが売っています。地元の人と話したり、季節の食べ物を楽しんだりできるのがいいところです。
みなさんの住んでいる町の好きなところはなんですか？よかったら私のレッスンに来て教えて下さい。では、次のエピソードでお会いしましょう。さようなら。

公園 (Park)
映画館 (Cinema/Movie Theater)
パン屋　パンや (Bakery)
日本の食べ物 　にほんのたべもの(Japanese Food)
空港 くうこう(Airport)
市場　いちば　market
手に入る　てにはいる　you can buy and get them
だし　Japanese soup stock
新鮮な　しんせんな　fresh
地元の人　じもとの人　local people




Nihongo Short Story by Noriko

ブリュッセルの好きなところと嫌いなところ（１）

W tym odcinku rozmawiamy o postanowieniach noworocznych. 

Odkryj Polski 

Postanowienia noworoczne 

MARGARET: Mr. Wilson, I’d like you to meet 
Dr. Edward Smith.
MR. WILSON: It’s nice to meet you, Dr. Smith.
DR. SMITH: Pleasure to meet you, too.
MARGARET: Dr. Smith is an economist. He just finished
writing a book on international trade.
MR. WILSON: Oh? That’s my field, too. I work for the 
United Nations.
DR. SMITH: In the Development Program, by any chance?
MR. WILSON: Yes. How did you guess?
DR. SMITH: I’ve read your articles on technical assistance. 
They’re excellent

LANGUAGE NOTES
• Mr. Wilson, I’d like you … Notice the rising intonation on “Mr. Wilson,” which is used 
to address someone. Listen for the “d” in “I’d like.” This means I would like, which is 
very different from I like. (“I’d like” means the same as “I would like” or “I want.”)
• Dr. Smith is an economist. Notice the stress on “economist.” This content word has 
new information, so it is emphasized. There are four syllables in “economist,” with the 
stress on the second syllable (e-CON-o-mist).
• He just finished writing … “just” means the very recent past. “Just” is usually used 
with a simple past verb because the action is complete. However, it can also be used 
with the present perfect (He’s just finished writing …).
• Development program. Since these two words make a compound noun, the main 
stress falls on “development.”
• By any chance? Means the same as “possibly.” Notice the rising intonation, which is 
used in yes/no questions to confirm that something is true.