English Recordings

When people ask what the best way for learning a language is, I say: live in a country where the language is spoken. However, for most people is not possible. They can spend holidays there at most. Then my answer: practise the language you learn, so you do not have the feeling you are studying, but that using it has become part of your life.
I learn languages because is better to read a book in the original language. I learn them by watching foreign TV for the news, since I want to know what is happening first. It is also an interesting way to learn about a country. I learn languages by writing letters to people in other countries. As I want to use them on holiday abroad, I want to learn them. It is true that I learn because I like them and because I am interested in languages. But what is the most positive aspect of all this that now, not only do I know a couple of languages, but that every day new worlds are opened. Languages give me a entrance to areas that were once closed to me because they are a means of communication. In addition, they give me experiences because they are reflections of other ways. Learning languages has given me a passport to new cultural worlds and that’s what learning means to me.

People say that the influence of the cultures of some countries by others due to globalisation is a natural process and I strongly agree with this opinion. In the age of globalization, our societies are subject to change. So as a natural process, the cultures of different countries are blending together and a country is adopting foreign cultures faster than ever.

For example, the use of traditional dresses in Pakistan are declining drastically due to the invention of western culture. And, the culture of some countries like Japan and Korea spreads to all over the world and is loved by the young.

This can be understood because when globalization occurs, everyone has the opportunity to absorb more cultures. Cultural features that are too out of date may be removed. Any good cultural features will be spread widely.The popularity of social media also contributes to the cross-cultural interaction.

This cultural interference can either destroy some of the traditional beauty or increase the cultural diversity. This depends on how governments and people protect their cultures. If the people and the government forget about their traditional culture , the cultural identity will be lost. In conclusion, it is not the globalization that destroys the cultural identity, it is the consciousness of the people that is the key point.

One day when I am President.

One day when I am President,
I'll be the one in charge.
I'll solve a lot of problems.
Problems small and large.

I'll make sure no one litters.
They'll keep our country clean.
I'll make them plant some trees.
We'll make our landscape green.

One day when I am President,
I'll be the one to say,
No one needs to be so mean,
So be nice every day.

I'll make the bad guys stop,
I'll make them do what's right.
I'll take care of everyone.
Our future will be bright.

One day when I am President,
I'll be the one in charge.
I'll solve a lot of problems.
Problems small and large.

Theresa Gaughan

1. We walked to the train station, took a short train ride, then transferred to the Taiwan High Speed Rail.

2. I bought one ticket for me, but my daughter was supposed to be able to ride for free.

Life is Not a Fairy Tale
Author: Rizwan Ahmed Memon

Qasim, a ten-year-old boy, always believed in luck. In last five years, he had won many competitions at his school, including a marathon, singing competition, and a pie-eating contest. His father often told him to be optimistic, but also work hard.

One day, at his school, the principal announced that there would be a quiz show. Hearing that Qasim whispered into his friend’s ear, who was sitting beside him, “And I will be the winner!” “I hope so.” replied his friend. Thinking that the luck would be on his side as always, Qasim did not prepare much for the show. His parents were looking forward to seeing another prize in his hands. “The quiz show is nearing. Are you preparing for it?” said his father. Qasim in an annoyed manner replied, “Oh, come on, Dad! Let me play the video game.” His father said, “What about the quiz?” “I will win. You will see,” said Qasim. “Well, son you better wake up and smell the coffee. Everything doesn’t come without hard work,” said his father.

The competition day came and all the students and their parents gathered. Qasim was nervous, as he was not prepared. The quiz show started and from two teams the team leader was supposed to answer. Qasim was his team’s leader. The questioner asked, “Who gave the speech 'I Have a Dream'?” Qasim had not studied his history book. He remained silent, but his opponent gave the correct answer: Martin Luther King. On most of the questions, Qasim remained silent, for he had not studied. The questions were from different subjects from his syllabus. Everybody laughed at Qasim, and his mom and dad were very disappointed. Qasim lost the quiz program.

At night, Qasim came into his parent’s room and said, “I am sorry.” His father encouraged him and said, “You work hard. Do not rely only on luck.” His mother further added, “Look, son, life is not a fairy tale that has some magic in it, which will fix everything. On the contrary, life is all about action. If you rest, you rust.” Qasim gave his word to the parents and said he would always work hard and would not rely just on luck.

Near future?

Probably what I already have.

Each TV is nothing but a large computer monitor. All my TVs are driven by a computer. Before I cut cable, I used to have a PC/Tuner card that could record 6 HD shows at the same time and I used the PC to watch recorded shows.

Now I just stream/download the shows I want. When my girlfriend comes over (she still has a cable subscription), I stream her subscription to my TV.

She even brought over a DVD once, turns out my computer still has a DVD player so plopped that disk in and still used a computer to watch the show.

Computers are versatile, easy to upgrade (codecs are often automatically updated) and do just about anything you need.

Near far future?

I watched the 3D fad come and go fairly quickly. I remember watching a demo at a store, and they used a piss poor 3D example where a cat was walking and weaving between legs of a chair. Problem was, the cat itself looked 2D (like paper) that was in 3D weaving between the legs. Thing is, getting 3D programming isn’t a simple matter, so I don’t see that taking off.

4K TV - I hear it’s great, but having a 4K TV and using it to watch standard HD is no different than using a blu-ray player to watch a DVD. So this feature depends on the source transmitting the right format, and generally speaking, it’s not overly available (yeah, I hear sat TV carries some channels but I don’t use sat TV and haven’t for years). Bandwidths need to get fatter. I think people for the time being are happy with HD. Hell, my TV blows me away from time to time when I get some high res image displayed.

VR - This one intrigues me. Problem is right now you have to wear something like this:

I wore something like this in the very late 80’s or 90’s that was central to a video game (that I completely sucked at as I couldn’t seem to hold the gun level enough, kept shooting the floor). It was cool, but low res (no surprise, was emerging technology at that time). I’m curious at how good these things may have gotten.

Integrated wall/TV - I was thinking of that scene from Back to the Future:

And I guess I remembered it wrong, my current 80″ LED TV isn’t much different than this (except it doesn’t have a frame) and the multi-window setup isn’t hard to set up since I have a computer that drives it anyway.

What I’m thinking is something closer to this:

Which can migrate further to this:

When not actually in use, it can project an image of a wall, or a wall with a picture, or window. The options are endless.

The hurdle here is getting a video that takes advantage of this and any other user configurations (factoring in dynamic endpoints will be challenging).

Far, far future - long after I’m dead:

Holodecks.

The upper (or left depending how this answer rendered on your screen) pic is closer to reality (and not much of an extension of my last example), no interactive characters (requires serious improvements in holograph technology and force fields, which don’t even exist yet).

The skeletons are out tonight,
they march about the street,
With bony bodies, bony heads
and bony hands and feet.
Bony bony bony bones
with nothing in between,
Up and down and all around
they march on Halloween.

In my school, students are allowed to wear the clothes they want.
It is permitted to use your phone during breaks, but it is forbidden to use it in class.
It is not allowed to smoke or to chew gum.
Drinking or eating in class is tolerated.

Priyanka Chopra was born in 1982 in India. She is an actress, film producer, singer and model. She was crowned Miss World in 2000. She is a former Bollywood Star. She now dominates Hollywood ; she has played Alex Parrish, a former FBI recruit, who becomes a main suspect after a terrorist attack and is arrested for treason, in the series Quantico. Priyanka also advocates social causes such as the environment and women's rights or feminism. She has worked with UNICEF since 2006 and was appointed as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for child rights in 2010 and 2016. Her namesake foundation for health and education provides support to unprivileged Indian children. The actress has been named by the American magazine Time in the list of 100 Most Influential People alongside Mark Zuckerberg and Leonardo DiCaprio. She was one of the lucky celebrities to attend Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding in 2018; she also tied the knot with her lover Nick Jonas in 2018. Her career is definitely a story of success.

Torshavn