English Recordings

(Mar 10th 2012）<a cell phone charger for car>
• Just a moment ago, I ordered a cell phone charger for car from an internet shopping site.(/ online retailer) .
• It’s a very convenient item that can charge a cell phone in a car.
• The way of using it is that the one side of the cell phone charger is inserted into a socket in a car, and the other end connected to a cell phone.
• With the charger, when we are driving we can use our cell phones without worrying about dying cell phone charge. (or "about low battery life")
• Moreover, these days, we are using cell phones as GPS devices.
• When we go to unknown places, we can just follow a GPS's instructions/directions and there’s no problem.
• We don’t need to worry about losing our way.
• It has become much more convenient than before.
• In my car there’s no GPS. Oh, no, there was one before,
• just that I didn’t update it , so my husband threw it away.
• So I clicked my mouse and ordered two, and finally bought them.
• The price of one is slightly over ￦5000 won, and the price of door-to-door delivery is ￦2500won, so it casted ￦13000 won in total.
• I used the service of door-to-door delivery, so tomorrow or a the day after I will get them.
• The following is the e-mail that I got when I finished paying by credit card.
• If I translate it into English :
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***고객님! 안녕하세요?
인터파크를 이용해 주셔서 진심으로 감사드립니다.
고객님의 주문이 정상적으로 이루어졌습니다. 아래 내역을 확인해 주세요.----------------
*** customer ，How do you do?
Thank you very much for buying from Interpark internet shopping site.
Please confirm the details below.
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• And the pictures for today are the cell phone charger for cars which I ordered and the one of my e-mail's contents I’ve got today from nternet shopping site.
• I was trying to describe the thing that I ordered through the internet shopping site.
♣ Thank you for reading。I was tried to describe the thing that I ordered through internet shopping site. If you find my mistakes in English, Please let me know them. ♣

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Ps:"convenience" is a noun. "convenient" is an adjective.
*This provides me a lot of convenience. (noun)
*This is really convenient!(adjective)

1. He was beaten to death.
2. The bird beat it wings uselessly.
3. The poor man is beating his brains out.
4. He just beat me to it.
5. If you can't beat them, join them.
6. That beats everything.
7. The drums were beating.
8. The waves beat on the shore.
9. He'll inherit a fortune and become rich.
10. It became known that it was not true.
11. He got out on the wrong side of the bed.
12. They offer bed and board.
13. They followed the dry bed of the river.
14. Life is not a bed of roses.
15. I'm behind with my work.
16. We are all behind him.
17. She has five books behind her.
18. I couldn't believe my eyes.
19. We don't believe in drugs.
20. I can't believe my ears.
21. Uncle Charles was my best man.
22. All the best.
23. I did it for the best.
24. Well, I did my best.
25. You'll have to make the best of it.
26. Better late than never.
27. So much the better for you.
28. She is all the better for it.
29. She thinks she knows better.
30. He thought better of it.
31. They are better off than we are.
32. It's a change for the better.
33. You'll be together for better or for worse.
34. The task is beyond me.
35. Nuclear physics is beyond me.
36. He goes beyond his authority.
37. He bid £100 for the painting.
38. Several companies made bids for the contract.
39. They made a bid for independence.
40. We bade them farewell on the quayside.

1. I have a very bad cold.
2. Business is very bad.
3. That's too bad.
4. I feel very bad about it.
5. He seemed tired and had bags under his eyes.
6. The deal was in the bag.
7. We've got bags of time.
8. He let her have the whole bag of tricks.
9. You have a credit balance in your account.
10. You have a debit balance.
11. We have to balance the budget.
12. The books have to be balanced.
13. He's not exactly a ball of fire.
14. The ball is in your court.
15. Keep your eye on the ball.
16. You have to start the ball rolling.
17. This is a whole new ball game.
18. You have to catch the ball on the bounce.
19. We went to a fancy dress ball.
20. I have the ball at my feet.
21. He was called to the bar.
22. They summoned the prisoner to the bar.
23. They bar foreigners from important posts.
24. Your friend was barred from the club.
25. I've spent three years behind bars.
26. I did it with my bare hands.
27. The trees are bare.
28. The bare thought of it frightens me.
29. He bared his head as he entered the room.
30. We struck a bargain with each other.
31. You drive a hard bargain.
32. I'll make a bargain with you.
33. I like to go bargainhunting.
34. Let's have a bash.
35. I bashed his head in.
36. He was like a bear with a sore head.
37. This affair doesn't bear close examination.
38. The ship is bearing north.
39. He felt borne down by adversity.
40. You will bear me out on that.

I have been hearing criticism about the English curriculumin the Japanese education system for a long time. I'm one person who has beef with it.

Today, I put myself in Japanese English teachers' shoes.

One of the criticisms asks why J-English teachers are still asserting their powers even though there are also ALTs at schools. As you know, ALT is a term that was created by the Japanese Ministry Education of the JET program.

I was wondering why the name still had "assistant" attached to it, and why the Japanese board of education wouldn't allow them to lead the classes. They are native speakers, and it would be ideal if they taught the kids. But today, I'm beginning to understand the reason they don't think it is ideal.

I'm not a qualified teacher, but I tutor several students at my home. One of the students has gotten two native speaker teachers recently while still coming to my house once a week. She can chat with one of them almost every day on Skype if she tries.

I ask myself what my position is. I'm lost. I make English mistakes, my pronunciation is not good, and my grammar is worse. Sigh..If I were an English teacher working at school, and the native speakers had the right to lead their classes, what could I do?

Although it is not the same case as mine though, I am starting to get why theJapanese government still authorizes Japanese teachers to lead their English classes. Otherwise, they would lose their jobs.

The word jeans comes from a kind of material that was made in Europe. The material, called jean, was named after sailors from Genoa in Italy, because they wore clothes made from it. The word 'denim' probably came from the name of a French material, serge de Nimes: serge (a kind of material) from Nimes (a town in France).

At first, jean cloth was made from a mixture of things. However, in the eighteenth century as trade, slave labour, and cotton plantations increased, jean cloth was made completely from cotton. Workers wore it because the material was very strong and it did not wear out easily. It was usually dyed with indigo, a dye taken from plants in the Americas and India, which made jean cloth a dark blue colour.

In 1848, gold was found in California (not too far from San Francisco) and the famous Gold Rush began. The gold miners wanted clothes that were strong and did not tear easily. In 1853, a man called Leob Strauss left his home in New York and moved to San Francisco, where he started a wholesale business, supplying clothes. Strauss later changed his name from Leob to Levi.

A big problem with the miners' clothes were the pockets, which easily tore away from the jeans. A man called Jacob Davis had the idea of using metal rivets (fasteners) to hold the pockets and the jeans together so that they wouldn't tear. Davis wanted to patent his idea, but he didn't have enough money, so in 1872, he wrote to Levi Strauss and offered Strauss a deal if Strauss would pay for the patent. Strauss accepted, and he started making copper-riveted 'waist overalls' (as jeans were called then).

In 1886, Levi sewed a leather label on their jeans. The label showed a picture of a pair of jeans that were being pulled between two horses. This was to advertise how strong Levi jeans were: even two horses could not tear them apart.

In the 1930's, Hollywood made lots of western movies. Cowboys - who often wore jeans in the movies-became very popular. Many Americans who lived in the eastern states went for vacations on 'dude ranches' and took pairs of denim 'waist overalls' back east with them when they went home.

Fewer jeans were made during the time of World War 2, but 'waist overalls' were introduced to the world by American soldiers, who sometimes wore them when they were off duty. After the war, Levi began to sell their clothes outside the American West. Rival companies, like Wrangler and Lee, began to compete with Levi for a share of this new market.

In the 1950's, denim became popular with young people. It was the symbol of the teenage rebel in TV programmes and movies (like James Dean in the 1955 movie Rebel Without a Cause). Some schools in the USA banned students from wearing denim. Teenagers called the waist overalls 'jean pants' - and the name stayed.

In the 1960's many, many university and college students wore jeans. Different styles of jeans were made, to match the 60's fashions: embroidered jeans, painted jeans, psychedelic jeans...

In many non-western countries, jeans became a symbol of 'Western decadence' and were very hard to get. US companies said that they often received letters from people all around the world asking them to send the writer a pair of jeans.

As regulations on world trade became more relaxed in the late 1970's, jeans started to be made more and more in sweatshops in countries in the South. Because the workers were paid very little, jeans became cheaper. More people in the countries of the South started wearing jeans.

In the 1980's jeans finally became high fashion clothing, when famous designers started making their own styles of jeans, with their own labels on them. Sales of jeans went up and up.

I would like to remind you that...

It is wise to avoid...

It is best to avoid...

Please stay with the group at all the time.

Don't forget to purchase some water.

Don't rush across the street.

Please keep on the sidewalk.

Wait for the traffic lights to turn green.

You cross at your own risk.

Walk in a straight line.

Eating and drinking is not allowed.

Keep your voices down.

We recommend carrying only small amounts of cash.

Beware of pickpockets.

Keep an eye on your money and valuables.

Remember to place all rubbish in the bins.

Please, keep your seatbelt fastened.

For your own safety, don't put your arms out of the windows.

I ask you to remain seated until we come to a full stop.

If we get separated, we'll meet...

Has everybody got a clear idea of the rules?

Are there any questions?

Just past Torre di Lupo, the gulf of Saint Eufemia stretches out its long, sandy beaches. We recommend a first stop at Pizzo in Calabria, a splendid town built on a cliff overlooking the sea. One should visit both the little church of Piedigrotta, which is entirely built into the tuff, and the Aragonese manor where in 1815 Joachim Murat, king of Naples, was killed. If you're craving something sweet, the "tartufo di Pizzo" (truffle of Pizzo) and the "nocciola imbottita" (stuffed hazelnut) are for you. Both are homemade ice creams treats the recipes of which have been passed down from one generation to the next. If, on the other hand, you're looking for a taste of a different kind, you should try the tuna in olive oil, a local specialty. And what about the wine? There's nothing better than a glass of Zibibbo, a wine made from the local grape variety by the same name. Farther south you encounter Briatico, where the craggy coastline gives way to small sandy beaches from which divers seeking adventure can reach the remains of an old and mysterious Roman fishing boat. Then there is Tropea and its beaches with an urban layout typical of the 1600s. Finally, if you want to see an unforgettable sunset, go to the ancient hermitage of Saint Mary of the Island. The hermitage is built on a boulder on the beach not far from the center of Tropea.

The Little Productivity Tip of a Zen Master

Post written by Leo Babauta.

A little while back I ran into a friend, Susan O’Connell (Zen Master and Vice President of the San Francisco Zen Center), and she did something old fashioned.
When I said we should have tea sometime, she immediately went to her bag and got out her paper calendar, and suggested we make a date right then.
I said, “No, you’re busy, we can set a date later.”
She said she tries to only deal with something once.
It’s an old-fashioned piece of productivity advice, and something that I’ve done in the past, but it works.
Deal with something once. Do it now. Then it’s off your mind, and you can fully focus on the next matter.
Do most of us do this? We might read a bunch of emails, and say, “I’ll reply to those later. I’ll decide later.” We might see a bill or other piece of mail, and put it aside for later.
We put off small decisions and tasks for later, and they pile up, weighing on us at the back of our minds, pulling on us until we collapse under the weight of “later”.
Try dealing with it immediately.
If you open an email, make a decision on it immediately. Schedule the appointment in your calendar, reply, do a small task it requires, or if it takes too long, then you can put it on a to-do list — but avoid this if possible. David Allen suggests a two-minute rule: if the task can be done in less than two minutes, do it now. I suggest five minutes, even up to 10, as that means you have one less thing to worry about.
At any rate, archive the email once you’ve dealt with it, or delete it. You’re done with that. Move to the next, and repeat.
This applies to everything else: mail, paperwork, phone calls, requests from others. Deal with them immediately, or schedule a date to deal with it later if necessary.
When you are finished using something, put it away immediately and avoid a mess later. This is also how I keep clutter at bay. When you’re cooking, wash the items as you go to avoid a huge kitchen mess.
When your child asks for attention, give it to her now.
When your wife starts talking to you, put away the laptop, iPad or mobile device, and talk to her now.
What this means is that you deal with each thing in the moment, and then move to the next. Your mind isn’t pulled in a million directions at once.
It’s contrary to advice I’ve given before, because what it sometimes means is that you are often moving at the whim of other people’s requests — what they think is important, not you. And this can be a problem. You don’t want to just be reactive. I prefer to do what I think is important.
But a balance can be struck. When you deal with email or other types of communication, do it now. When you decide to work on something important, clear everything else, shut down communication, and just focus on that one important task. Don’t bounce around.
I’ve been doing this, mostly, ever since Susan reminded me of this little productivity trick, and it works beautifully. I’m not perfect — there are a couple tasks I’ve been putting off, mostly because I don’t have the ability to do them immediately, but for the majority of things I’ve been pretty good at dealing with things now.
Try it, and practice throughout your day, and let me know how it works for you.

The Tao of Travel

‘A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.’ ~Laozi
Post written by Leo Babauta.

I’m not the world’s most seasoned traveler, but I have made a number of trips lately and have learned a few things that work well.
This year I’ve traveled to Guam for a month, to Portland, New York City, Las Vegas, London, Paris, Southern California. They’ve all been beautiful trips, and I’ve never taken more than a small backpack.
Travel lightly, with no set agenda, and you’ll have an amazing, stress-free trip.
Traveling doesn’t have to be stressful. It can be simple, if you keep it so.
Essential

Pack little. I take a small backpack, and don’t pack it too heavy either. I’ve found through experience that I just need a pair of jeans, 2-3 T-shirts, 2-3 quick-dry boxer briefs, 2-3 pairs of quick-dry socks, maybe a light sweater. I wash things in the shower if they get dirty and hang them to dry overnight. I bring my laptop so I can work for 30-45 minutes every morning. A paperback novel, maybe a small notebook. Minimal toiletries: deodorant, toothbrush, razor, Dr. Bronner’s liquid soap (for washing clothes in the sink, and shaving), dental floss. I never wait to check my back or get the bag after the flight, and I can pack in 5 minutes.
Have no agenda. I often ask for recommendations from locals, and get a list of incredible things. I’ll also put everything on a Google Map, so I can see where everything is. Then I toss all that out and let the day lead me where it will. Having no set agenda means you aren’t pressured to get anything done each day, which means you can enjoy yourself fully.
Walk a lot. The best way to explore any place is to walk. Walk all over, with no set directions. Get lost.
Eat lightly. Eat anything you want, but don’t eat a lot. I like to mix fruits and veggies in with the heavier stuff, so I don’t feel so heavy.
Find space to relax. Most people try to do too much, and rush around all day. Stroll casually, find good coffee shops or tea shops to relax in, or a good sidewalk cafe with good wine. Find parks and enjoy them. If it rains, walk in the rain. Read a lot.
Be present. Don’t be on your smartphone or laptop all the time. Don’t always think about what you’ll be doing later, or work stuff. Be fully present, and you’ll have a great time.
Smile at people. Talk to the locals. Ask for recommendations. Find out about their lives.
A Few More

Do bodyweight exercises. I do a mix of pushups, squats, lunges, burpees in my hotel room or apartment.
Don’t just stay for a day or two. If you really want to see a city, stay for a week or more. I could have gone to Europe and hit up 10 cities in three weeks, but instead I split that time among just two cities (London & Paris) and really saw those cities.
Get a short-term apartment if you can. If you can stay for a week, get an apartment if you can afford it. It’s cheaper than a hotel and much more comfortable.
Read a good novel.
Bring a metal water bottle. I learned this from my friend Scott: pack an empty water bottle, so you can get through TSA security checkpoints, and then fill up the bottle at the airport water fountain after the checkpoint. I carry the water bottle around everywhere I go so I’m never thirsty.
Keep a journal. Don’t stress over the journal. It doesn’t have to be daily. Just write out your thoughts, impressions when you have some spare time.
Travel locally. For years I never traveled, to save costs. I was content where I was, and that’s still true. Be a tourist in your hometown — see the sights, walk the area, explore and try to find new things you’ve never seen before. You don’t need to spend a lot to travel locally.
‘One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.’ ~Henry Miller

The Amazing Power of Being Present

‘Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.’ ~Thich Nhat Hahn
Post written by Leo Babauta.

How can you bring calm and peace to the middle of a stress-ful, chaotic day?
The answer is simple, though not always so easy to put into practice: learn to be present.
No matter how out-of-control your day is, no matter how stressful your job or life becomes, the act of being present can become an oasis. It can change your life, and it’s incredibly simple.

When I asked people what things prevent them from having a peaceful day, some of the responses:
Work, the internet, my own lizard brain.
Social media and other digital distractions.
For me it’s too many things coming at me all at once. Whether it’s news, or decisions, or work to be done.
My four children.
Dishes, Laundry, Kids.
Needless interruptions.
Lack of control. I work in IT, and often “urgent” things will come up that need to be investigated/fixed right away (their definition, not necessarily mine).
My own monkey mind.
The amazing thing: all of these problems can be solved by one technique. Being Present.
How Being Present Solves Problems

When you look at all of the problems above, you can see if you look closely that the problems are entirely in the mind. Sure, there are external forces at work: an uncontrollable job, the stress of kids and chores and interruptions and digital distractions. But it’s how our mind handles those external forces that is the problem.
If you are completely present, the external forces are no longer a problem, because there is only you and that external force, in this moment, and not a million other things you need to worry about.
If your kid interrupts you, you can stress out because you have other things to worry about and now your kid is adding to your worries or interrupting your calm. Or you can be present, and there is then only you and the child. You can appreciate that child for who she is, and be grateful you have this moment with her.
If your job demands that you focus on an urgent task, you can stress out because you have a million other things to do and not enough time to do them. Or you can be present, and focus completely on that task, and now there is only that one task and you. When you’re done, you can move on to the next task.
Social media and other digital distractions don’t interrupt us if we close them and learn to pour ourselves completely into the present task. And if we need to do email, Twitter, or read blogs, we can set aside everything else and just be present with that one digital task.
Being present becomes, then, a way to handle any problem, any distraction, any stressor. It allows everything else to fade away, leaving only you and whatever you’re dealing with right now.
How to Practice Being Present

The method for being present is fairly simple, but it’s the practice that matters most.
Most people don’t learn to be present because they don’t practice, not because it’s so hard to do.
When you practice something regularly, you become good at it. It becomes more a mode of being rather than a task on your to-do or someday list.
Practice, practice, and being present will become natural.
Here’s how to do it: whatever you’re doing, right now, learn to focus completely on doing that one thing. Pay attention: to every aspect of what you’re doing, to your body, to the sensations, to your thoughts.
You will notice your thoughts, if you’re paying attention, jump to other things. That’s OK — you are not trying to force all other thoughts from your mind. But by becoming aware of that jumping around in your thoughts, you have found the tool for gently bringing yourself back to your present task. Just notice the jumping thoughts, and lovingly come back.
Do this once, then do it again. Don’t worry about how many times you must do it. Just do it now.
It can become tiring at first, if you’re not used to it. Don’t worry about that. Let yourself rest if you grow tired. Come back and practice again in a little while. It’s not meant to be exhausting — instead you should notice how your worries melt away and you enjoy your present task much more.
Be joyful in whatever you’re doing, grateful that you’re able to do that task, and fully appreciate every little movement and tactile sensation of the task. You’ll learn that anything can be an amazing experience, anything can be a miracle.
Practice throughout your day, every day. Little “mindfulness bells” are useful to remind you to come back to the present. Thich Nhat Hanh once recommended that stoplights be your mindfulness bell as you drive. You can find mindfulness bells everywhere: your child’s voice, your co-workers appearing before you, a regular event on your computer, the noise of traffic.
Meditation is a fantastic way to practice, only because it removes much of the complexity of the world and allows you to just learn to be aware of your mind, and to bring yourself back to the present moment. It’s not complicated: meditation can be done anywhere, anytime. A meditation teacher is useful if you can find one.
Practice, repeatedly, in small easy beautiful steps. Each step is a wonder in itself, and each practice helps you to find that calm in the middle of the traffic of your life.
‘Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis
on which the world earth revolves – slowly, evenly, without
rushing toward the future. Live the actual moment.
Only this moment is life.’ ~Thich Nhat Hanh