CNN 10 - May 8, 2018 | Why it's hard to predict when a recent volcanic eruption in Hawaii subside
source: NEWS with Subtitles 2018年5月7日
Returning to daily events coverage, CNN 10 is explaining why it's hard to predict when a recent volcanic eruption in Hawaii will subside. We're also looking into the reasons behind a rise in global oil prices, and we're following a 2017 CNN Hero on his trip to visit a young fan from another state.
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CNN 10 - May 7, 2018 | A look into the U.S. food industry
source: NEWS with Subtitles 2018年5月6日
Today's special edition features a look into the U.S. food industry. Our "Raw Ingredients" report examines produce: With Americans consuming 3 billion pounds of salad a year, what's being done to prevent foodborne illness? How stressed is the U.S. food industry, and to what extent has the practice of importing leafy greens changed? It's all featured this Monday.
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News Words: Recreational
source: VOA Learning English 2018年3月1日
Recreational comes from the word recreation - an activity you do for fun.
Direct, Indirect Speech (Narration) - Reported Speech
source: Learn English Lab 2018年4月10日
In this lesson, you will learn all the rules for direct and indirect speech / reported speech (narration) in English grammar.
Slang and Informal English with NYFA ESL students
source: Simple English Videos 2018年4月6日
We're proud to present a video we made with students studying ESL and filmmaking at the New York Film Academy. (NYFA)
In it you'll learn some slang and informal English expressions: 'stressed out', 'chill out' and 'screw it'.
The students came up with the concept for the video and they were our cast and crew. They were also a joy to work with.
Rise of the machines: Learn to talk about artificial intelligence in 6 minutes
source: BBC Learning English 2018年1月25日
An American company has said its ambition is to achieve an AI that can beat humans at any intellectual task. But can machines ever out-think humans?
Dan and Neil discuss the rise of artificial intelligence and teach you six items of vocabulary.
# materials below: from http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/fea...
This week's question:
The word ‘robot’ as we use it today was first used in a 1920’s Czech play ‘Rossum’s Universal Robots’. But before this, what was its original meaning?
a) forced labour
b) metal man
c) heartless thing
Listen to the programme to find out the answer.
Vocabulary
inevitable: cannot be avoided or stopped
infallible: never failing
surpasses: becomes better than
benevolent: kind and helpful
sentient: able to think for itself
far-fetched: difficult to believe
Transcript
(Note: This is not a word for word transcript)
Dan
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Dan and joining me today is Neil. Hi Neil.
Neil
Hi Dan. What’s with the protective gear and helmet?
Dan
I’m just getting ready for the inevitable rise of the machines. That’s the takeover of the world by artificial intelligence, or AI, which some people predict will happen.
Neil
Inevitable means cannot be avoided or stopped. Rise of the machines? What do you mean?
Dan
It’s our topic in this 6 Minute English. We’ll be talking about that, giving you six related pieces of vocabulary and, of course, our regular quiz question.
Neil
That’s the first thing you’ve said that makes any sense. What’s the question?
Dan
The word ‘robot’ as we use it today was first used in a 1920’s Czech play ‘Rossum’s Universal Robots’. But before this, what was its original meaning?
a) forced labour
b) metal man
c) heartless thing
Neil
I will go for a) forced labour
Dan
We’ll find out if you were right or not later in the show.
Neil
OK Dan. Tell me what’s going on.
Dan
I saw a news article written by BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones about the recent CES technology show in Las Vegas. He interviewed David Hanson, founder of Hanson Robotics, who said it was his ambition to achieve an AI that can beat humans at any intellectual task.
Neil
Surely it’s a good thing! Better AI and robotics could take over many of the jobs that we don’t want to do, or that are so important to get 100% right… like air traffic control. We’d never have another plane crash. It would be infallible because it would be so clever.
Dan
Infallible means never failing. And that’s what bothers me. What happens when its intelligence surpasses ours? Why should it do what we want it to do?
Neil
To surpass something is to do or be better than it. Dan, you’ve been watching too many movies. Robots fighting humanity is a popular theme. Guess what… humanity often wins. And besides, we would programme the computer to be benevolent.
Dan
Benevolent means kind and helpful. But that’s just it, once the intelligence becomes sentient, or able to think for itself, who knows what it will do. We humans are not exactly perfect, you know. What happens if it decides that it is better than us and wants us out of the way?
Neil
Don’t worry. Asimov thought of that. Isaac Asimov was an American science fiction writer who, among other things, wrote about robots. He came up with three laws that every robot would have to follow to stop it from acting against humanity. So we’re safe!
Dan
I’m not so sure. A sentient robot could make up its own mind about how to interpret the laws. For example, imagine if we created an AI system to protect all of humanity.
Neil
Well, that’s great! No more war. No more murder. No more fighting.
Dan
Do you really think that humans can stop fighting? What if the AI decides that the only way to stop us from hurting ourselves and each other is to control everything we do, so it takes over to protect us. Then we would lose our freedom to a thing that we created that is infallible and more intelligent than we are! That’s the end, Neil!
Neil
I think that’s a little far-fetched, which means difficult to believe. I’m sure others don’t think that way.
Dan
OK. Let’s hear what the Learning English team say when I ask them if they are worried that AI and robots could take over the world.
Insert
Phil
Well, it’s possible, but unlikely. There will come a point where our technology will be limited – probably before real AI is achieved.
Sam
Never in a million years. First of all we’d programme them so that they couldn’t, and secondly we’d beat them anyway. Haven’t you ever seen a movie?
Kee
I totally think it could happen. We only have to make a robot that’s smart enough to start thinking for itself. After that, who knows what it might do.
Neil
A mixed bag of opinions there, Dan. It seems you aren’t alone.
Dan
Nope. But I don’t exactly have an army of support either. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
Neil
Speak for yourself. I’ve waited long enough – for our quiz question that is.
Dan
Oh yeah! I asked you what the original meaning of the word ‘robot’ was before it was used in its modern form.
a) forced labour
b) metal man
c) heartless thing
Neil
And I said a) forced labour
Dan
And you were… right!
Neil
Shall we take a look at the vocabulary then?
Dan
OK. First we had inevitable. If something is inevitable then it cannot be avoided or stopped. Can you think of something inevitable, Neil?
Neil
It is inevitable that one day the Sun will stop burning. Then we had infallible, which means never failing. Give us an example, Dan.
Dan
The vaccine for small pox is infallible. The natural spread of that disease has been completely stopped. After that was surpasses. If something surpasses something else then it becomes better than it.
Neil
Many parents across the world hope that their children will surpass them in wealth, status or achievement. After that we heard benevolent, which means kind and helpful. Name a person famous for being benevolent, Dan.
Dan
Father Christmas is a benevolent character. After that we heard sentient. If something is sentient, it is able to think for itself.
Neil
Indeed. Many people wonder about the possibility of sentient life on other planets. Finally we heard far-fetched, which means difficult to believe. Like that far-fetched story you told me the other day about being late because of a dragon, Dan.
Dan
I swear it was real! It had big sharp teeth and everything!
Neil
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that’s the end of this 6 Minute English. Don’t forget to check out our Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages. See you next time!
Dan
Bye!
Neil
Bye.
Bad Dates: Episode 2 - Cheap date
source: BBC Learning English 2018年1月12日
In this episode, Daniel is on a date with someone who really doesn't like spending money. What phrases does he use to move the conversation along? Watch the video to discover some key dating language.
# materials below: from http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/...
Useful dating language:
Complaining politely (subtly)
I was wondering if you were gonna show up.
I’ve had quite a lot of time to look at the menu.
Suggesting an idea
If you’re okay with that.
Finding about your date
Tell me a little bit about yourself.
Changing the subject
I don’t really like talking about money.
Politely disagreeing
Sorry, tip?
Offering a solution
I tell you what, I’ll pay your tip.
Transcript:
Daniel
Hello.
Janet
Hi.
Daniel
How are you doing? I was wondering if you were gonna show up.
Janet
Oh, sorry. I’m a bit late.
Daniel
I’m only kidding. I’m only kidding.
Janet
That was funny.
Daniel
At first, she was about thirty minutes late, which is fine. I can get over that. But she had really nice energy when I first saw her.
Daniel
Right, so I’ve had quite a lot of time to look at the menu.
Janet
Oh great.
Daniel
Yeah.
Janet
Yeah.
Daniel
And I was thinking of getting this, the pasta. Doesn’t that look great?
Janet
Erm… yeah… I have a voucher and I’m not sure that applies? Basically, it’s… it applies to the children’s menu. So you can choose something off that?
Daniel
Oh, it’s just I’m… I’m famished at the moment. I’m really quite hungry. So I was thinking I need quite a big meal.
Janet
Right, okay.
Daniel
So… maybe if I, I’ll just, don’t worry about the voucher… if you go for something on the children’s menu. If you’re okay with that.
Janet
Yeah.
Daniel
Then, we’ll split.
Janet
Okay.
Daniel
So, we’ll both save money.
Janet
Sorry, split what?
Daniel
The bill?
Janet
We’re not gonna split it halfway because obviously the pasta will be more.
Daniel
That’s right, okay.
Janet
Yeah, sure.
Daniel
That was… presumptuous of me.
Janet
No that’s okay, don’t worry.
Daniel
Right.
Daniel
I wouldn’t say it went well. Erm, I think she’s a bit cheap. She kept asking me about how much I earned. There was a lot of squabbling over the menu.
Daniel
So Janet, tell me a little bit about yourself. What do you do?
Janet
Erm, so I’m a sales assistant.
Daniel
Oh wow!
Janet
Yeah, I really like it.
Daniel
Yeah?
Janet
Don’t get paid enough though.
Daniel
I know.
Janet
It’s ridiculous.
Daniel
Tell me about it.
Janet
It’s terrible. Where do you work?
Daniel
Er, I work in advertising.
Janet
Oh right. So, you probably get paid quite a lot.
Daniel
I get… it’s an alright wage, but erm… I don't really like talking about money that much.
Janet
Sure, it’s a bit vulgar, isn’t it?
Daniel
Yeah.
Daniel
So, she didn’t want to pay a tip. I used to work in hospitality and I wasn’t very comfortable about that. I actually ended up paying for the whole meal, which I think was a little bit unfair.
Daniel
So, if we split it, that’s twen…
Janet
Sorry, can I just remind you we’re not splitting it. I’m paying with… a voucher.
Daniel
The voucher, sorry… the voucher.
Janet
You’re paying for...
Daniel
So, let me have a look…er, for you that would be £12 plus tip… that’s 15…
Janet
Sorry, tip?
Daniel
Oh, for the… for the waiter.
Janet
Oh no, that’s discretionary.
Daniel
Oh yeah, but they were so nice.
Janet
Yeah, but I don’t have to pay them tip. I didn’t ask them to be nice.
Daniel
I know you don’t have to. I used to work in hospitality… trust me… they don’t get paid anything. This is, this is how they… make their living.
Janet
Well, then they should have chosen another career.
Daniel
Okay. I tell you what, I’ll pay your tip. It’s fine.
Janet
Oh.
Daniel
I don’t feel that comfortable about…
Janet
Okay, I mean if you feel that strongly about it then… that’s fine. Erm, can I just check you’re also paying for the wine and the garlic bread cos I didn’t order that.
Daniel
You did have quite a lot of the wine.
Daniel
Ah, if she pays for the meal. No, probably not.
Pronunciation – the word THEM | Pronunciation Guide
source: Rachel's English 2018年4月3日
In this video you get a spoken English lesson on the word THEM. If your goal is to speak English fluently, pronunciation of short reduction-heavy words like THEM is crucial. The word them is a great example of why English pronunciation is such a big challenge. It usually gets reduced so much that it’s almost unrecognizable in a sentence. You will get many examples of the reduction of the word them in this video and you can turn the video into an English speaking lesson by listening and repeating the sounds that you hear. You can absolutely speak English fluently but the only way to get there is through speaking English practice. You learn English in the same way that a native speaker learns English when you do it this way.
Because it’s most common to learn English through reading it’s easy to have incorrect pronunciation. But you can quickly improve your spoken English with my step-by-step videos. If your goal is to learn English pronunciation here’s the key: a great pronunciation guide and lots (and lots!) of English speaking practice.
As you use this video for training on the word them you will be actively working to speak English fluently. Working on the pronunciation of the word them might seem like a small or too-specific task for a spoken English lesson. But because you will be immersed in the English language of native speakers throughout the video you will be picking up pronunciation skills almost without trying.
Repetition and training are the only way to speak English fluently. Some people will tell you that it’s just about motivation or a certain mindset. That’s just not right. You can absolutely speak English fluently, but only through focused training on the correct pronunciation. The best way to learn English is to follow an experienced, professional pronunciation guide…and that’s exactly what you’ve got with Rachel’s English!
Why Can't You Understand Native Speakers?
source: Learn English With TV Series 2018年3月10日
Why can't you understand Native Speakers of English? It's not because they speak too fast! In this Fluency Coaching Lesson, you will get resources and recommendations to understand real, native English!
Overcome Your Fear of Speaking English | How to Handle Anxiety
source: Interactive English 2017年6月24日
Become a better English speaker by lowering your anxiety!
After drinking some alcohol, language learning students may sometimes wonder why they feel like a better speaker. In truth, alcohol doesn't help people speak better, it only lowers their anxiety.
In this video, we explore how alcohol may lower people's anxiety and look at the negative effects it may have on our language learning abilities. Then, we'll talk about other ways English learners can lower their anxiety without the use of alcohol.
MORE Collocations with the Word 'MAKE'
source: Gerry English Expressions 2016年1月20日
There are many collocations in English and in this video, Gerry explains some common verb + noun variations with the word 'make'.
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