Super Important for English Fluency:
SLOW Down Your Speech!
One of the first things you’ll notice when learning a language is the speed at which natives speak. Even if you understand words written on the page, when you hear them spoken at full speed by a native speaker you can feel like you’re listening to a confusing collection of random sounds.
Skin Whitening
It is understandable that most women want to have beautiful, clear skin. But when they want to change how they look, that becomes a problem. Over time, the use of skin whitening creams damages skin and makes a person darker. I would be careful even with skin whiteners that claim to be ‘totally natural’ because they may contain a small amount of chemicals.
Cosmetic Surgery: The Search for Beauty
Lim is 20 years old. Doctors have performed an operation on her face. They changed her nose. They also made her face smaller. To do this, they had to cut off some of her jaw bone. The operation took many hours.
“In Korea, you go down the streets, and you see this girl. And you keep walking, and you see that girl again. But it is really a different person.”
Jiro Ono: A Life of Making Food
This man’s name is Jiro Ono. He is an expert sushi maker or chef. His restaurant is called Sukiyabashi Jiro. People from all over the world come to eat here. And they pay $350 for a meal. Many people believe Jiro Ono is the world’s best sushi chef. But Ono’s success did not happen quickly. He has been making sushi for over 60 years. Today’s Spotlight is on Jiro Ono and his life of sushi making.
A School for Husbands
When you think of a school, what do you imagine? Young students, learning math, or science? University students preparing for the future? But there is another kind of school - a school for husbands. These schools in Niger are only for married men. The men go here to learn about reproductive care - care for healthy pregnancy and birth. When husbands know about family planning, it improves their communities. Today’s Spotlight is on the School for Husbands in Niger.
To get any job you have to perform well at a job interview. At an interview meeting the employer will ask the job candidate many questions. Some people say that a job interview is like selling something. In a job interview, the job candidate is selling himself! He is selling the idea that he can do this job better than anyone else. He wants the employer to believe this too. This makes many people worry. Today’s Spotlight is on job interview skills.
A conversation is a way of talking to another person. It is an exchange of ideas. By exchanging ideas, it creates new ideas. Like John O’Donohue says, it brings people into a new place together. Another writer, Thomas Zeldin, describes conversation this way:
“Conversation is a meeting of minds with different memories and habits. When minds meet, they do not just exchange facts. They change them and reshape them. They see different meanings in them and engage in new ways of thought.”
Alone in her room, a young girl sits down and begins reading a book. The book is a very famous one. It is called “Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.” It tells the story of Cassie Logan and her family. They live in the United States in the 1930s. And they are African Americans. In those times, the state of Mississippi had a severe problem with racism. The government allowed people to make life difficult for African Americans, and people with darker skin colour. Often, groups of white men killed black men and women without punishment. It was a very frightening time.
DNA: Where Are You From?
Every cell of every living being contains DNA. This DNA contains information about a person. Each person’s DNA is different. It makes up our genes. We each have two sets of genes, one from each of our parents. So parts of our DNA are passed on from our ancestors. Humans share over 99 percent of their DNA. So, your DNA is over 99 percent similar to every other person’s DNA. But scientists can compare small differences to discover where a person’s ancestors were from. They gather information about different people groups. Then they compare patterns they find in the DNA. These patterns show where people groups have moved.
Today’s Spotlight is on the joy and mystery of experiencing something for the first time. Seeing or doing something for the first time can shape the way we see the world. It does not need to be something big. It can be something simple like standing outside on a dark night and seeing the stars.
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