English Recordings

Traveler : Excuse me I have a slight problem. I left my key in my room.
Clerk : No problem sir. What is your room number?
Traveler : My room number is 203.
Clerk : All right I’ll send someone up there right away.

Bellboy : Here’s your luggage.
Traveler : Thank you. This is a small tip for you
Bellboy : Thank you sir. Do you need anything else?
Traveler : No thanks. Not for the time being.
Bellboy : Have a good evening sir.
Traveler : Good evening.

Clerk : OK This is the key for your room . .
Traveler : Thank you.
Clerk : Shall I have your luggage sent to your room?
Traveler : Yes please It’s a little bit heavy for me.
Clerk: Ok then. The bellboy will show you to your room. Enjoy your stay.
Traveler: Thank you.

Clerk : May I help you sir? ,
Traveler : I’d like to check-in.
Clerk : Do you have a reservation? .
Traveler : Yes I made it in Japan. My name is Takeshi Ikeuchi .. .
Clerk : Just a moment please. Let me check... Yes. Mr Ikeuchi - you are reserved for a single room for five nights. We have you down. Would you fill out this form please?

Do You Suffer from "Sleep Debt"?

Host: Welcome to the Better Life Show. I'm your host, Betty Williams.

Think about all the things you've done in your life.

You may not realize that what you've spent the most time doing is sleeping.

Today, we'll be talking about just how important this seemingly unproductive activity is for us.

I'd like to introduce today's guest, Dr. Lewis Zimmerman. Thank you for joining us.

Dr. Z: It's a pleasure to be here, Betty.

Host: Dr. Zimmerman, we all think we know what sleep is: the time when we are unconscious, resting and dreaming.

However, most of us don't realize just how important sleep is.

Could you tell us more about it?

Dr. Z: Sure. Although it may seem like you're not doing anything while you sleep, your brain is actually working hard.

Researchers think that it reviews, sorts and stores the knowledge you gained during the day.

Therefore, not getting enough sleep makes it harder for your brain to process and remember information.

It also affects your academic abilities by reducing your productivity and concentration.

In addition, too little sleep can have very bad effects on your mental health.

It can cause moodiness depression and even eating problems.

Host: I have a kind of funny question. What happens if you don't sleep for a long time?

Dr. Z: Actually, I have the perfect example for you.

Once, an American high school student managed to stay awake for 264 hours, breaking the previous record of 260 hours.

But he had some disturbing psychological problems along the way.

He saw things that didn't exist by the fourth day, and developed short-term memory problems.

Host: Wow, for 264 hours? That sounds bad.

What about the other side of the situation? How much sleep is enough?

Dr. Z: There's no magic number of hours that a person should sleep.

For one thing, it depends on your age. On average, babies spend about twice as much time sleeping as adults.

This means that there was a time when you slept as many as 18 hours a day!

However, as a teenager or adult, you only require about eight or nine hours of sleep, and some people need as little as seven hours.

How long you should sleep is also affected by your sleep debt;

that is, the amount of sleep you lose due to such things as work, stress and sickness.

This means that if you lose sleep working late during the week, you should make up for the time you lost by sleeping longer on the weekend.

Host: So here's something to tell your parents if they complain that you're wasting the day sleeping in until the afternoon on Saturday.

Just say that you're paying off your sleep debt from studying hard all week.

Dr. Z: Yes, sometimes it's perfectly okay to sleep in.

Another thing to remember is that it's not just about how long you sleep, but also how well.

Getting a good night's sleep requires being as undisturbed as possible.

The things that keep you from getting quality sleep are called "sleep thieves."

Host: How interesting! What are some common sleep thieves?

Dr. Z: Light is one of the most common ones.

Since it is natural for us to be awake when it's light outside, night lights can confuse our body.

Keeping the lights on in your room, or not turning off the TV or computer can prevent you from falling into a deep sleep.

Watching movies or playing video games for too long during the day may also keep you from getting a good night's sleep.

Doing these kinds of activities before going to bed can stimulate your brain too much, making it more difficult to rest.

Lastly, you should make sure to turn off your cell phone before you go to sleep.

Receiving calls or text messages at night is a sure way to disturb your sleep.

There is no doubt that we all need enough sound sleep.

I hope my advice will help you pay off your sleep debt.

Host: We thank you for your great advice. Well, that's all the time we have for today.

I wish all our viewers a good night's sleep.

5과 Better Together

There is a time for everything
a season for every activity nder heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to rebuild.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
A time to search and a time to lose.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be qiet and a time to speak up.
A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace.
What do people really get for all their hard work? I have though about this in connection with the various kinds of work God has given people to do.

An American house. Outside this American house, there is a small front garden. The back garden is bigger. There is a garage by the side of the house. Downstairs there is a living room with a piano, a sofa and an armchair. There's also a family room with a sofa, a rug and a TV. The dining room is on the right. There are bay windows in the living room and the dining room. In the kitchen there are large cupboards between the cooker and the fridge. It's a large kitchen with a breakfast area. On the right next to the kitchen there is the downstairs toilet. There's also a play room. In the hall there's a staircase to go upstairs. On the first floor there are four bedrooms: three for the kids with a single bed, a desk and bookshelves and the parents’ bedroom with a double bed and a big wardrobe. There are also two bathrooms, one with a bath and the other with a shower.

On December 5th it is International Volunteer Day. The United Nations started it in 1985.

Many people do volunteering on this day. There are new volunteers who help the people who do volunteering a lot. Also, people think of new ideas and start new volunteering programmes.

Some people give money on the internet to help them.

International Volunteering Day is a special day for saying “Thank you” to volunteers because they help the world very much. It is also a special day for saying, “Everyone - please help. We need more volunteers.”

I applied for this internship to experience things I never did before. My major is public administration. So, I hope to see the difference between the theories and practice. This internship will be the first stem for my future career.

(April 16,2013)Everyone, how are you?
you’ll have had dinner already, I suppose.These are flowers from a Japanese apricot tree.I found these cute little flowers when I went to the school cafeteria today at noon.In front of the school cafeteria, there's a small flowerbed.
Everyday I pass this place; how I couldn't I have found this before?Today I was a little late to lunch, so I hurried past there, and suddenly came across these small and lovely petals.I immediately turned my back on my lunch and sorted through the petals.How lovely! I took out my cell phone from my pocket, and took some pictures.