Learning English Podcast - September 08, 2024
1Digest
This podcast episode of VOA Learning English covers a variety of topics, starting with an introduction to the program and its focus on helping English learners. It then delves into a workshop in Taipei, Taiwan, called "Trash Kitchen," which teaches people how to recycle plastic waste into useful items like sunglasses. The workshop is run by MiniWiz, a company that specializes in recycling waste materials into desirable products. The episode then shifts to the impact of climate change on South Korea's national dish, kimchi. Warmer temperatures are making it difficult to grow Napa cabbage, a key ingredient in kimchi, in the highlands, leading to concerns about shortages and price increases. The government is taking steps to address this issue. The "Ask a Teacher" segment provides guidance on summarizing information effectively. The teacher outlines a step-by-step method for summarizing speeches, papers, and other texts, emphasizing the importance of identifying main ideas and key details. The "Words and Their Stories" segment explores the expression "dead giveaway," explaining its meaning and usage. The word "dead" in this context signifies a complete and obvious revelation of truth or intention. Finally, the episode continues the story of "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" by Edgar Allan Poe. The narrator and his friend Dupin investigate the crime scene, uncovering clues that suggest the killer escaped through a seemingly locked window.
Outlines
Introduction, Recycling, and Climate Change
This segment introduces the VOA Learning English program and its focus on helping English learners. It then explores a workshop in Taipei, Taiwan, called "Trash Kitchen," which teaches people how to recycle plastic waste into useful items. The segment also discusses the impact of climate change on South Korea's national dish, kimchi, and the government's efforts to address the issue.
Summarizing Skills and "Dead Giveaway"
This segment answers a question from a listener in Japan about how to summarize information. The teacher provides a step-by-step method for summarizing speeches, papers, and other texts, emphasizing the importance of identifying main ideas and key details. It then explores the expression "dead giveaway," explaining its meaning and usage.
The Murders in the Rue Morgue, Part 4
This segment continues the story of "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" by Edgar Allan Poe. The narrator and his friend Dupin investigate the crime scene, uncovering clues that suggest the killer escaped through a seemingly locked window.
Keywords
Trash Kitchen
A workshop in Taipei, Taiwan, that teaches people how to recycle plastic waste into useful items. It provides hands-on experience in the recycling process.
MiniWiz
A company that recycles waste materials into desirable products, such as sunglasses, tiles, bricks, and hangers. They use a machine called a Mini Trash Presso to process the waste.
Kimchi
A traditional Korean fermented dish made primarily from Napa cabbage and other vegetables. It is a staple food in Korean cuisine and is known for its spicy and tangy flavor.
Napa Cabbage
A type of Chinese cabbage that is a key ingredient in kimchi. It is known for its large, leafy head and mild flavor.
Summarizing
A skill that involves briefly explaining the main ideas of a piece of writing or speech without including all the details. It is a useful skill for academic and professional purposes.
Dead Giveaway
An obvious clue or detail that reveals the truth or intention. It signifies a complete and total revelation, leaving little room for misunderstanding.
Rue Morgue
A fictional location in Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue." It is a house where a gruesome double murder takes place, setting the stage for a complex and intriguing mystery.
Dupin
A fictional detective in Edgar Allan Poe's stories, known for his sharp intellect and unusual reasoning abilities. He is a master of deduction and logic, often solving crimes that baffle the police.
Q&A
What is the Trash Kitchen workshop and what does it teach people?
The Trash Kitchen workshop in Taipei, Taiwan, teaches people how to recycle plastic waste into useful items like sunglasses. It provides hands-on experience in the recycling process, showing how plastic waste can be transformed into something valuable.
How is climate change affecting the production of kimchi in South Korea?
Climate change is making it difficult to grow Napa cabbage, a key ingredient in kimchi, in the highlands of South Korea. Warmer temperatures are affecting the quality and quantity of the cabbage, leading to concerns about shortages and price increases.
What are some tips for summarizing information effectively?
To summarize effectively, read or listen to the material once without taking notes to focus on understanding the ideas. Then, read or listen again, taking notes and identifying the main ideas and key details. Finally, write a summary using only the main ideas and necessary details.
What does the expression "dead giveaway" mean and how is it used?
"Dead giveaway" means an obvious clue or detail that reveals the truth or intention. It signifies a complete and total revelation, leaving little room for misunderstanding. For example, a dark house with a pile of mail outside is a dead giveaway that no one has been home in a while.
How does Dupin solve the mystery of the locked window in "The Murders in the Rue Morgue"?
Dupin discovers that the window was locked by a hidden button, not by the nail that appeared to be holding it closed. He realizes that the killer could have closed the window from outside, activating the lock and leaving the nail in place.
Show Notes
Table of contents
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