English Recordings

Between the years 1861-1865, America fought the bloodiest war in its history. The northern states (Yankees) fought against the southern states (rebels). The southern states left the union because they were controlled by wealthy plantation owners who owned slaves brought by force under terrible conditions from Africa. Many people tried to end slavery peacefully, but to no avail. The war was fought in eleven southern states in many bloody battles. Many more died in POW camps and from disease. The North finally invaded deeply into the South and occupied all of it, winning the Civil War after four years. Slaves were declared free and rejoiced, but at the end in a terrible tragedy, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. After the war for nearly one hundred years, the South was a backward, poverty-stricken part of the country with much racial conflict.

Being a manager would be easy — if only people weren’t so different.

Motivating an introverted employee takes a different touch than, say, rousing a procrastinator or encouraging high-fliers to keep climbing. This week, several LinkedIn Influencers weighed in on managing and motivating different types of employees
Here’s what some of them had to say.
Dr Marla Gottschalk, practice manager at Rand Gottschalk & Associates LLC

Introverts are among the toughest types of employees to manage. Many supervisors hold misconceptions about these quiet types that can lead to bad management decisions, wrote Gottschalk in her post How Not to Manage an Introvert.

“While many people confuse being introverted with shyness, introversion is, in fact, about how an individual handles stimulation and processes information,” she wrote. Introverts “require a slightly different set of workplace conditions to excel,” she wrote. But, becoming more sensitive to their needs isn’t difficult.

Among the things Gottschalk warned managers should keep in mind:

Don’t publicly recognise introverts. “Stop yourself. Really. Many introverts would rather jump off a cliff than have attention shifted in their direction without notice. If they are about to receive an award or accolade, let them know what you are planning ahead of time,” she wrote. “They’ll appreciate the gesture and have time to prepare.”

Don’t assume they have nothing to say. “By nature introverts can be less likely to share their thoughts, which makes it even more important to open the lines of communication regularly. Send them an e-mail, asking how their projects are progressing. Set up a weekly ‘touch base’ meeting. They can reflect on their work and respond fully on their own terms,” she wrote.

Introverts can lead. “Recent research has shown that introverts are more open to differences in opinion than their extroverted colleagues. As a result, they are more likely to make informed decisions,” Gottschalk wrote.

Jack Welch, Executive Chairman at Jack Welch Management Institute

“If you're a leader, you know that lighting a constant motivational fire under your people is one of your biggest jobs,” wrote Welch in his post Four Sure-Fire Ways to Motivate Your People. The obvious and most effective incentive is money, he wrote. But, “what else can you do to keep your people pumped to over-deliver? Plenty,” he wrote.

Welch offered four non-monetary ideas to motivate employees. Among them:

“The first is easy: recognition. When an individual or a team does something notable, make a big deal of it. Announce it publicly, talk about it at every opportunity. Hand out awards,” Welch wrote. But skip engraved plaques. “Plaques gather dust. Checks can be cashed. And employees know the difference in their bones,” he wrote.

Another tool is celebration, wrote Welch.

“We're not talking about celebrating just the big wins,” Welch wrote. “We mean marking milestones, such as an important order or a new way to increase productivity.” Managers should use these small successes “to congratulate the team and boost spirits for the challenges ahead.”

“Celebrations don't need to be fancy,” Welch cautioned. “They're really just another form of recognition, but with more fun involved. Like rolling out a surprise keg one afternoon, tickets to a ball game, or sending a couple of high performers and their families to Disney World.”

One thing a celebration is not? “It's not dinner with you. Almost nothing strikes terror into the hearts of employees more than a boss saying: ‘Great job! I'm taking everyone to Mama Maria's tonight.’"

Gary Vaynerchuk, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Vayner Media

Procrastinators — even if they are superstars in the office — can be a manager’s worst nightmare. Will they deliver? Will it be on time? Will it be quality?

Vaynerchuk offered hints for motivating these slow pokes in his post How to Talk to Procrastinators.

“Ask them the honest questions about what actually motivates them. And don’t judge them solely based on being procrastinators,” he wrote. As a self-proclaimed procrastinator himself, Vaynerchuk wrote that he, himself, did “pretty well”.

“There is a difference between a procrastinator who executes and one who doesn’t,” he wrote. “Judging how someone gets to the finish line is the wrong way to think about it, so long as they’re getting there. Some people enjoy the pressure of cramming the night before the test.”

QUESTIONS:
1. Where was Edgar Allan Poe born?
2. What genre does he belong to?
3. He was considered as the father of...
4. What is the main story of the Black cat?
5. Where is the narrator at the beginning of the story?
6. What was he like at the beginning of his marriage?
7. What bad habit made him change his behaviour?
8. Gradually, he became more and more cruel. What did he do to his cat Pluto?
9. Then, possessed with a fury, what did he inflict to his cat?
10. What happened to his house?
11. How can you interpret this dreadful event?
12. After, the incident, what animal appeared in their life? How different was he?
13. What was visible on his chest?
14. The stain gradually changed and became...
15. What did this sign foretell?
16. What feelings did the narrator have towards the new cat? Give more than 3 synonyms)
17. What happened in the cellar?
18. How did the narrator dispose of the body?
19. Who paid him a visit? Why?
20. How was the dreadful crime finally discovered?

BONUS: Did you like the story? Why? Why not?

ten timid ghosts
ten timid ghosts in a haunted house
A witch moves in and wants them out
One sees a skeleton. He flies to the woods and then there are nine timid ghosts

Nine timid ghosts in a haunted house
a witch moves in and wants them out
One sees a bat. She flies to the woods and then there are eight timid ghosts

Eight timid ghosts in a haunted house
A witch moves in and wants them out
One sees a ghoul and screams
He flies to the woods and then there are seven timid ghosts

Seven timid ghosts in a haunted house
A witch moves in and wants them out
One sees a black cat. She flies to the woods and then there are six timid ghosts

Six timid ghosts in a haunted house
A witch moves in and wants them out
One sees an owl. He flies to the woods and then there are five timid ghosts

Five timid ghosts in a haunted house
A witch moves in and wants them out
One sees a vampire. She flies to the woods and then there are four timid ghosts

Four timid ghosts in a haunted house
A witch moves in and wants them out
one sees a monster. He flies to the woods and then there are three timid ghosts

Three timid ghosts in a haunted house
A witch moves in and wants them out
One sees a spider. She flies to the woods and then there are two timid ghosts

Two timid ghosts in a haunted house
A witch moves in and wants them out
One sees a big rat. he flies to the woods and then there is one timid ghost

One timid ghost in a haunted house
A witch moves in and wants her out
She sees the witch.
She flies to the woods and then there is zero ghost

Ten angry ghosts in the deep dark wood
“That witch is too tricky and just no good! This isn’t fair – We live in the haunted house!”
Let’s scare her away!
One old witch in a haunted house
ten brave ghosts want the old witch out!
BOOO BOOOO. They give her a scare!
The witch sees the ghosts and she screams with fear
“GET ME OUT OF HERE!”

The Ten brave ghosts can now enjoy their Halloween party!

The evening arrived; the boys took their places. The master, in his cook's uniform, stationed himself at the copper; his pauper* assistants ranged themselves behind him; the gruel* was served out; and a long grace* was said over the short commons. The gruel disappeared; the boys whispered each other, and winked at Oliver; while his next neighbours nudged him.
Child as he was, he was desperate with hunger* (…). He rose from the table; and advancing to the master, basin and spoon in hand, said: somewhat alarmed at his own temerity: "Please, sir, I want some more."
The master was a fat, healthy man; but he turned very pale. He gazed in stupefied astonishment on the small rebel for some seconds (…). The assistants were paralysed with wonder; the boys with fear*. "What!" said the master at length, in a faint voice. "Please, sir," replied Oliver, "I want some more." The master aimed a blow* at Oliver's head with the ladle (…).
The board were sitting in solemn conclave, when Mr. Bumble rushed into the room in great excitement, and addressing the gentleman in the high chair, said, "Mr. Limbkins, I beg your pardon, sir! Oliver Twist has asked for more!" There was a general start. Horror was depicted on every countenance. "For more!" said Mr. Limbkins. "Compose yourself, Bumble, and answer me distinctly. Do I understand that he asked for more, after he had eaten the supper* allotted by the dietary?" "He did, sir," replied Bumble. "That boy will be hung," said the gentleman in the white waistcoat. "I know that boy will be hung."
From Oliver Twist, (chapter two), by Charles Dickens,1838

Education Minister José Ignacio Wert has gone back on his decision to only award Erasmus grants to those students with the lowest economic means.

The minister has announced that all students taking part in the European foreign exchange program would keep their grants – at least for this academic year.

Wert said he had taken the “initiative” to reverse the decision following conversations about the controversial measure with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría and the Finance Ministry.

Wert had found himself under pressure from regional governments, universities, opposition parties, as well as leaders from his own governing Popular Party (PP) to repeal the controversial measure, which would have seen students lose funds vital to continuing their studies abroad halfway through the academic year. The minister has become an extremely controversial figure during the PP government's almost two years in office.

Stand up for yourself
Stand up to him.
I’d like to have been able to go.
The water is warmer in the shallow end.
I overspent last month.
We’ve been found out!
Now you come to mention it…
It hailed the whole night long.
The screen’s gone hazy (fuzzy)
If no one comes up with a better idead, we’ll have to go with that one.
My shoe laces have come undone.
He’s shaved (shaven) his beard off.
I’m getting grey hair.
What do you think of men who dye their hair?
What’s all the fuss about?
It was a pebble beach.
It was sleeting.
Pull your socks up!
You have an eye-lash just above your upper lip.
I banged my big toe on the skirting board.
I come out in freckles in the summer.
Roger came out (of the closet) a couple of months ago.
Can I change tables? Mine is wonky.
His hair fell out when he fell out of a tree as a boy.
You like baggy trousers, don't you?

I wouldn’t like to be in his shoes.
Share prices have plummeted recently.
That’s easier said than done!
I heard about it through word-of-mouth.
Keep your cool.
Speaking of the devil…
I have a slight limp.
Don’t give in.
What have you got yourself into?
He’s such a hard-headed guy.
I have a desk job.
I accept my share of blame
I’m all mixed up.
You’re such a smart alec!
They had it all figured out.
Things are getting on top of me.
They lived happily ever after.
What’s up to you?
I love having a lie-in.
Your suit’s totally creased.
Once upon a time.
He’s a real livewire.
I’ve called a meeting on Monday.
We’ll have to put it off until May.
I was gobsmacked.
Sleep on it.
Give me a break!
What a drag!
A chip off the old block.
What have you been getting up to lately?

How would you define perfectness?
Can you name a celebrity that you think is perfect?
What is for you an ideal day?
Do you think that Barack Obama is a genius?
Is it necessary to be the most intelligent in life?
Are you guided by excellence in your own life?
Give an example of someone who embodies/incarnate physical perfection?

Sorry, I can't speak very well.