Ten Questions ESL Podcast

LnR Black Beauty 4 Our master was a good, kind man. He gave us good food, good lodging, and kind words; he spoke as kindly to us as he did to his little children. We were all fond of him, and my mother loved him very much. When she saw him at the gate she would neigh with joy, and trot up to him. He would pat and stroke her and say, "Well, old Pet, and how is your little Darkie?" I was a dull black, so he called me Darkie; then he would give me a piece of bread, which was very good, and sometimes he brought a carrot for my mother. All the horses would come to him, but I think we were his favorites. My mother always took him to the town on a market day in a light gig.

LnR Black Beauty 3 One day, when there was a good deal of kicking, my mother whinnied to me to come to her, and then she said: "I wish you to pay attention to what I am going to say to you. The colts who live here are very good colts, but they are cart-horse colts, and of course they have not learned manners. You have been well-bred and well-born; your father has a great name in these parts, and your grandfather won the cup two years at the Newmarket races; your grandmother had the sweetest temper of any horse I ever knew, and I think you have never seen me kick or bite. I hope you will grow up gentle and good, and never learn bad ways; do your work with a good will, lift your feet up well when you trot, and never bite or kick even in play." I have never forgotten my mother's advice; I knew she was a wise old horse, and our master thought a great deal of her. Her name was Duchess, but he often called her Pet.

LnR Black Beauty 2 Black Beauty The Autobiography of a Horse  by Anna Sewell, 1877 http://www.cybercrayon.net/readingroom/books/blackbeauty/blackbeauty.html      While I was young I lived upon my mother's milk, as I could not eat grass. In the daytime I ran by her side, and at night I lay down close by her. When it was hot we used to stand by the pond in the shade of the trees, and when it was cold we had a nice warm shed near the grove.      As soon as I was old enough to eat grass my mother used to go out to work in the daytime, and come back in the evening.      There were six young colts in the meadow besides me; they were older than I was; some were nearly as large as grown-up horses. I used to run with them, and had great fun; we used to gallop all together round and round the field as hard as we could go. Sometimes we had rather rough play, for they would frequently bite and kick as well as gallop.

LnR Black Beauty 1 (Replay) This is a series I started 2 1/2 years ago. At the time, I had planned to make YouTube videos out of the recordings, but actually I only made two or three. It takes time to make YouTube videos! Normally these Black Beauty podcast episodes will be about five minutes long. This one is longer because I give a long introduction. ========= Hi everyone, I'm changing the way I do the LnR Classic Literature podcasts. I will now make short recordings of about four minutes and 30 seconds, plus the time for the happy music at the beginning and end of the recording. I'm doing this because I am concerned that some listeners are not interested in listening to longer podcasts. ----------- Black Beauty The Autobiography of a Horse  by Anna Sewell, 1877 http://www.cybercrayon.net/readingroom/books/blackbeauty/blackbeauty.html Part 1 Chapter 1 The first place that I can well remember was a large pleasant meadow with a pond of clear water in it. Some shady trees leaned over it, and rushes and water-lilies grew at the deep end. Over the hedge on one side we looked into a plowed field, and on the other we looked over a gate at our master's house, which stood by the roadside; at the top of the meadow was a grove of fir trees, and at the bottom a running brook overhung by a steep bank.

Hi! Here's another episode from about three years ago. I hope you find it useful. LnR 130 (Casual Language) Praise Good job! Well done! Way to go! Great! Wonderful! Incredible! Outstanding! Excellent! Terrific! Superb! Awesome! Fabulous! Fantastic! Magnificent! Marvelous! Remarkable! Spectacular! Unbelievable! Phenomenal! You did a ______superb______ job on the project. Last night we saw a _____fantastic _____ movie. She's a ____marvelous_____ volleyball player. My friend is a(n) ____outstanding _____ photographer.  

My country is having a very difficult time right now. We have three problems happening at the same time. First, there is very poor leadership at the top. Second, the pandemic. Third, another (another!) black man was killed by a policeman, and protests have broken out all over the country. I support the peaceful protesters, because Black Lives Matter. Yes, I'm a white American, but the vast majority of us believe that all people have value, though blacks (and other minorities) have been treated unfairly at times. This is not right and should stop. Though things are not good in the U.S. now, I have hopes that the race relations will improve, a vaccine will be found for COVID-19, and that there will be a change of leadership at the top in November. In the meantime, here is a podcast episode from almost three years ago. I talk about how hot it it. Right now it's June and not very hot and humid yet. It will be soon, though. In this dialog two women are talking at work about the weather and other things. nancy@missbuswell.com LnR 128 (Casual Language) Hot and Humid A: Hey, is it hot enough for you? B: Yeah, no kidding! I can't believe how hot and humid it is today. I think it'll hit 100 this afternoon. A: I'm sure it will. Most of the time I hate this boring office job, but in the heat of the summer I'm glad that I work in the air conditioning. B: Yeah, it's not a great job, but it pays the bills and keeps us cool in the summer. Speaking of keeping cool, my kids and I are going to the local pool Saturday afternoon. Do you want to come? A: Sorry,  I can't. My youngest has a softball game in the morning then my oldest has a baseball game in the afternoon. Saturdays are always busy for us in the summertime. B: I guess I'm lucky that my kids don't like organized sports. My boy likes to play video games and my girl, believe it or not, loves to read. A: That's nice. Say, I'm free Saturday night. You can bring your kids over to my place and we can cook some hot dogs on the grill. B: That sounds great, but I'm busy Saturday night. Once a month my husband and I have a date night. We go out to eat and see a movie, just like when we were dating years ago. A babysitter comes over to watch the kids and we order a pizza for their dinner. A: Oh, wow, that sounds so good. I wish I could do that, but my husband is working two jobs now to make ends meet and he's so tired when he finally has some free time at home. But that's life. You gotta do what you gotta do (You've got to do what you've got to do.) That's why I'm still working at this terrible job. B: I hear you, sister! We've all got bills to pay.

Hi! This episode is almost three years old. I talk about how I enjoy driving when I'm home for the summer. Of course, things have changed, and now I live at home all the time. I haven't been doing much driving, though, because of the pandemic. I teach English online (Cambly, PalFish, Kouyuxia, and now Amazing Talker) and am just about to launch (that's business vocabulary for "start") a course on how to teach IELTS speaking. If you are an English teacher who is interested in learning how to teach IELTS, contact me at nancy@missbuswell.com for more information. My course is not cheap, but it's not expensive, either. Best wishes to all of you during this COVID-19 time. I hope that you and your family are all well.   LnR 126 (Casual Language) Driving The word I couldn't spell is "demographics"! Dictionary.com says: " the statistical data of a population, especially those showing average age, income, education, etc." A: Hi, Nancy! Are you having a good time at home? B: Oh, yeah. It's great to be home. I love spending time with my mom and her cats. I like being in my country again, of course, and I like driving. A: Driving? Really? B: Yeah, I don't drive in China because I don't need to. Plus, I don't have enough money to buy a car, and it's hard for a foreigner to get a driver's license. A: Ah, makes sense. Is it strange to drive again? B: No, it feels natural. Like a lot of Americans, I've been driving since I was 16. A: Did you take Driver's Ed in high school? B: No, my dad taught me to drive. My sister also helped me. My high school had Driver's Ed as a summer school class, but I didn't take it. I think it's more common now to take Driver's Ed at school. I think the parents get a discount on their car insurance if their teenage children pass the class. A: When did you get your first car? B: I drove my parents' cars when I needed to. I didn't have my own car in high school or college. A: Were you from a poor family? Oh, maybe that's a personal question! B: No problem. No, we were middle class, but with four children Mom and Dad couldn't buy us everything we wanted. We had everything we needed, though, and that's what's important. I bought my own car when I started teaching.

Hi! This podcast episode is from almost three years ago. I made it in July in China, which is why it's about the summertime. Now, in 2020, it's early May and of course I live in the U.S. now. And things are very different than they were three years ago! I am doing well because I live in a small town, with few or no active cases of COVID-19. There are many other places in my country and around the world where people are still struggling against this illness. I hope that you and your family are doing well, wherever you are. I was listening to this recording a few minutes ago. There's a lot of good information in this episode, but I think I may have talked too much! So sorry! LnR 124 (Casual Language) Summer Vacation A: What are you doing for your summer break? B: Well, for my summer vacation I'll be an intern at a local company. I'll get some practical experience to go with all the things I've learned in class. A: Will you get paid? B: No, darn it. It's hard to find a paid internship nowadays. What will you do during your summer holiday? A: As you know, I failed my world history class. I don't like history as much as I like my other subjects, so I slacked off on studying for it and ended up failing the class. My parents said I had to take it again during the first summer school term. B: Oh, that's too bad. A: Yeah, what a bummer. It's only for six weeks, but I've got class for four hours a day. That'll be hard. B: Drink lots of coffee! Or Cokes. A: Yeah, I'll have to do something to stay awake. At least I have free time when the first summer semester ends. I'm going to spend that time relaxing at the local pool, until my family takes our annual summer vacation to California to see Grandma and Grandpa. B: Sounds like a busy summer for you. A: And sounds like a useful summer for you. I hope you learn a lot at your internship. B: And I hope you learn a lot in your World History class. A: Yeah, right.

Hi! Like most smart Americans, I'm staying at home most of the time, just going out to run errands for my mother or go shopping. I live in a small town that has only had five cases of COVID-19. I wear a mask when I go out, but most people don't. I want to be extra-careful because I live with my mother, who is 84. Today's podcast episode is from 2 1/2 years ago, talking about when I went home for the summer. Of course, my life is different now. I live at home full time! LnR 122 (Casual Language) Insomnia A: Hey, are you OK? B: Yeah, so-so. I'm having trouble sleeping. A: Oh, I've had insomnia before. It wasn't fun. B: I seldom have insomnia. I mainly get it if I'm worried about something or if I've had too much caffeine. A: Yeah, I get it when I'm worried or have a lot of stress. So why do you have it now? B: Actually, it's jet lag, not true insomnia. I arrived from China three days ago and still haven't adapted to the time zone here. I can't get to sleep until very early in the morning, and then I’m so tired that I take a long nap in the afternoon. Which, of course, makes it harder to get to sleep at night. It's a vicious circle. A: Oh, I see. That's too bad. But you'll get over it soon, right? B: Yeah, in a few days. I'm glad to be back, though. It's always good to be home. A: What do you miss the most when you're in China? Your mother? B: I call my mother twice a week, so I can't really say that I miss her. What I miss the most are milkshakes and Mexican food. And driving. I really enjoy driving when I'm back home. A: You don't drive in China? B: Are you kidding!? First of all, I don't have enough money for a car. Second, I don't need a car because I live on campus and almost everything I need is close to me. And finally, I'd be too afraid to drive in China! A: But you drove when you lived in Mexico. B: I was younger then. I'm not as brave now.

Hi! This podcast episode is from 2 1/2 years ago, when I was still teaching in China. I've been back in the U.S. for almost a year and a half now, teaching online. If you want to talk with me, go to Cambly and sign up for a free trial. On Cambly I specialize in free talk and in IELTS preparation. Here in the U.S. most people are staying home, if they can, because of the coronovirus pandemic. It's very still very serious in many parts of the world, though the good news is that it seems like China is starting to get back to normal. I hope we can all get back to normal soon. I live in a small town, where we have only three cases of COVID-19. I go out once a week to go grocery shopping. Otherwise, I stay at home like we are supposed to. Best wishes to all my listeners, for health and happiness in this difficult time. ----------- LnR 120 (Casual Language) Heads up! A: Wow, that's amazing! I've never seen a double rainbow before. B: It's a first for me, too. That's why I sent messages to you and my other neighbors. A: Yeah, thanks for the heads up, Nancy. I think I've got some good shots of it. B: Great. I know you like to take pictures and play around with photo-editing software. A: Yeah, I use a free online one now, but I want to buy Photoshop soon. Say, how are your classes going? B: I'm almost finished for the term. I just have to give some oral English exams in a couple of days. A: Lucky.  I've got lots of papers to grade, and then final exams. Speaking of papers, I'd better get back to work. B: OK. Hey, heads up! A car's coming! A: Oh, wow, thanks! I didn't see it.