The Wild West

Source: Speak Up

Language: Advanced

Standard: American

Speaker: Chuck Rollando

THE WILD WEST

The Cowboy Poets

The American West covers more than half of the USA and its history forms a big part of American folklore. The country gradually expanded westwards in the nineteenth century and many of the heroes from those wild frontier days were cowboys. Today the 13 western states remain the home of ranching, riding and rodeos.

Real life for generations of cowboys has meant horses, cattle, open country and hard, sometimes dangerous work. But the romance of life in the saddle has been kept alive through music, storytelling – and poetry. Indeed it has been said that the rhythm of poetry reflects that of ridding.

Pat Beard comes from a well-known rodeo and ranching family in the State of Washington. A former national rodeo finalist, he has 35 years’ experience as a cowboy and horseman. He first learned cowboy and poetry from his grandfather, who emigrated from Holland to the American Northwest back in 1902:

Pat Beard

(Standard American accent):

He had saved some money working and bought a horse when he was 14, ran away from home and went to Nevada. And on these ranches that he was working there he had learned these poems. And so, as a small boy he would tell them to me and so I’ve just kept them. And that’s…while I say I’m not into poetry, these are things that, originally, I assume, they were told over campfires and things to pass the time away. And when you’ve got nothing but hours ridding alone, if you’re a little crafty, you rhyme something, and put it together, and a little bit about the romance of the west, whether it was romance or not.

REINCARNATION!

As well as training horses, Pat Beard works as an adviser at Hamley’s outfitters in the nearby town of Pendleton. This historic cowboy store has been selling saddles, boots, hats and clothing for more than 100 years. The current owner, Parley Pearce, took over the business in 2005. He too is form a local ranching family and, as a young cowboy, used to visit Hamley’s with his father. Pearce enjoys cowboy poems which he believes help to preserve western life. There is a lot of humor in cowboy poetry too, says Pearce. To give an example he reads a favorite modern cowboy poem called Reincarnation:

Parley Pearce

(Standard American accent)

What does reincarnation mean?

A cowpoke asked his friend.

His pal replied: it happens when

Your life has reached its end.

They comb your hair, and

Scrub your neck,

And clean your fingernails,

And lay you in a padded box

Anyway from life’s travails.

The box and you goes in a hole,

That’s dug down in the ground

And reincarnation starts in when

You’re planted ‘neath that mound

These clods break down, just like

The box,

And you who is inside.

And then you’re just beginning

On that transformation ride.

And then with time, some grass

Will grow

Upon your rendered mound

Till one day on your moldered grave

A lonely flower is found.

Then say some horse should wander by

And graze upon that flower

That once was you, but’s now become

Your vegetative bower.

This posy that the horse done ate

Up, with his other feed,

Makes bone and fat and muscle,

Essential to the steed.

But some is left that he can’t use

So it passes through,

And finally lays upon the ground

This thing that once was you.

Then say perchance I wanders by

And sees this on the ground,

And I ponders and I wonders

About this object that I’ve found

I think of reincarnation

Of life and death, and such,

And I come away concluding, slim, you ain’t changed all that much!

Cowboy Info

The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering takes place in Elko Nevada, in late January every year. For further information, visit: http://www.westernfolklife.org 

you can read the original poem "Reincarnation" and many other award-winning cowboy poems by Wallace McRae in Cawboy Curmudgeon (Gibbs Smith, 1992 ) ISBN: 0879054638 US$ 12.

For more details on the historic Hamley's store and range of cowboy accessories, visit http://www.hamley.com 

Deep Purple

DEEP PURPLE

Language level: Advanced

Source: Speak Up

Standard: American accent

We Hate MTV!

The British group Deep Purple are a rock legend. First formed in the 1960s, they were one of the most successful bands of the 1970s, when their song “Smoke on the Water” became an anthem. And, like the Rolling Stones, they have enjoyed impressive artistic longevity, even if they have undergone numerous line-up changes over the years. Recently Deep Purple released a new album with Edel, Rapture in the Deep. Lead singer Ian Gillan and bass guitarist Roger Glover, who both joined the group in 1969, have met with Speak Up. They began by talking about one of the new Album’s tracks, “MTV”, which is in fact attacks on the awfulness of classic rock radio in the United States. Roger Glover is the first to speak:

Roger Glover

(Standard: British accent)

It’s changed, you know. When we first went to America, I was amazed at how wonderful it was, the radio was totally free, DJs could play anything they wanted, usually album tracks, or entire albums, it sounded good in the cars, every time you got in a car and you turned on the radio, you got this enormous war, big sound, you could hear the bass. It was free radio, and over the years, it’s changed, it’s become dependent on advertising, the bottom line is the dollar, they get people coming in, tell them what to play and they do these polls, and it’s kind of, it’s changed drastically, and it’s now become so marginalized, you get a radio station playing one particular kind of music and nothing else. And we come from an era where music is everything, there’s all kinds of music around there, we grew up listening to classical music, gospel, blues, jazz, pop, anything, Sinatra, it was all one big thing about music. Now it’s become so thin, that little margin that they work under, and there are some people that listen to just one station, they don’t listen to anything else and it seems a shame to me that on a hard rock station you can’t hear Stevie Wonder.

WEIGHT PROBLEM

Ian Gillan feels that this approach affects the average age of Deep Purple’s audiences when they go on tour:

Ian Gillan

(Standard: British accent):

We play to millions of people around the world every year, in every part of the world, and the average age of our audience in South America, Brazil, Chile, in Central America, Mexico, in Canada, in Australia, in Asia, in most…all over Europe, the average age, right on this next tour, is going to be about 18 years old: in the United States, the average age will be…fat!

UNDERGROUND

And yet research has shown that younger fans, even in the United States, prefer bands like Deep Purple to more contemporary acts:

What’s happening in America is the same as what’s happening as far as Deep Purple is concerned, and quite a few other artists – we started off as an underground band, that’s the only way we could see ourselves because we weren’t played on the radio anywhere, and it was before any musicians of our ilk were played on television, so as fashions have come and as fashions have gone, we are remained underground and I think a lot of kids are looking for something which is a bit more interesting than what is being force-fed, corporate force-fed, down their throats form MTV, classic rock radio and every market(ing) thinks it can package stuff up. As always, the audience has been under estimated.

Words and Their Stories: State Nicknames, Part 4

Source: www.voanews.com

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

Today, we finish telling about the interesting nicknames that have been given to the fifty American states.

The state of Ohio is in the midwest. It is named the Buckeye State after a tree that produces nuts similar to chestnuts.

The Great Plains state of Oklahoma is called the Sooner State. That is because of a sale of land in eighteen eighty-nine. Some people arrived in the territory to claim their land earlier than they were supposed to. They cheated and got there "sooner."

Pennsylvania's nickname is the Keystone State. Just as a keystone holds together a stone arch, Pennsylvania was seen as holding together the young American republic. Pennsylvania is also sometimes called the Quaker State. Its founder, William Penn, and most of his followers, were members of the Protestant Quaker religion.

Rhode Island's nickname is Little Rhody because of its size. The state is smaller than the area around Los Angeles, California.

Tennessee got its nickname -- the Volunteer State -- because of the bravery of its citizens. They volunteered to join Tennessean Andrew Jackson to defend the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, against the British army in the War of Eighteen Twelve.

Texas is called the Lone Star State. It gets its nickname from the single star on its flag. This represents the short time Texas was an independent nation battling Mexico for self-rule.

The Beehive State of Utah has no more beehives than any other state. The nickname is from the Mormon Church's symbol for hard work.

The eastern state of Vermont is proud of its beautiful Green Mountains so it calls itself the Green Mountain State. The southern state of Virginia is called the Old Dominion.

Long ago, King Charles the Second of England added the colony's coat of arms to his shield. It joined his other dominions of England, Ireland, and Scotland.

West Virginia broke away from Virginia in the eighteen sixties. It is called simply the Mountain State for the ancient Appalachian mountains.

And we have saved perhaps the most American nickname for last. The western state of Wyoming was once an area where cattle were transported east. And where there are cattle, there are men -- and now women -- to move them. So Wyoming is the Cowboy State.

(MUSIC)

This VOA Special English program was written by Ted Landphair. I'm Barbara Klein. We hope you enjoyed these programs about states and their nicknames. You can find more WORDS AND THEIR STORIES at 

Thank you Dear Readers

First of all, I have no words to express how much I’m glad, firstly because of you, dear readers, without you, my blog doesn’t make sense, secondly because I recognize my blog have been accessed for Students, Teachers, and readers worldwide. English Tips it turning 1 year and since then over 152 countries have been visited.

Of course, I want to thank you for those partners sprung around the world, that linked my blog. I am also happy with “Living and Learning” project which I develop since last year, I’m sure, to be volunteer is not easy, you may think I’m a dreamer, and I’m sure you are right, because if we have more volunteer in the world available to help someone, not only Teaching English, but donating a little to help someone, this world where we live can be much better. Once, Michael Jackson sung “Heal the world” I dedicate this song for those Teachers and friends who take part of English Tips blog. Promote this blog, if you liked twitting for friends.

Source: www.englishexercises.org

*Michael Jackson*

 

               

 

 

There's a place

in your loveheartbody
and I know that it is lovejoyhappiness
and this place

could be much brighter than yesterdaytodaytomorrow
and if you

really try
you'll find there's no need to findfightcry
in this place

you'll feel there's no hurt or sorrow

There are ways to get there
if you care enough

for the living
make a little space
make a better place...

Heal the world
make it a better place
for you and for me
and the entire human race
there are people dying
if you care enough
for the living
make a better place
for you and for me
If you needwantlike

to know why
there's a love that cannot liefightdie
love is strong
it only cares for joyful giving
if we lookseetry
we shall see
in this bliss we cannot filfealfeel
fear or dread
we stop existing and start living

Then it

feels that always
love's enough for us growing
make a better world
make a better world...

 

Heal the world
make it a better 
for you and for 
and the entire human race
there are  dying
if you care enough
for the 
make a better place
for  and for me

 

 

And the dream we were conceived in
will reveal a joyful gracefaceside
and the world we once believed in
will shine again in gracepeacelove
then why do we keep strangling life
wound this earth crucify its soulheartface
though it's plain to see

this world is heavenly

be God's glow

We could tryfindfly

so high
let our spirits alwaysneversometimes die
in my heart
I feel you are all my sistersfamilybrothers
create a world

with no fear
together we'll cry sadhappytired tears
see the nations

turn their swords into plowshares

We could really get there
if you cared enough
for the living
make a little space
to make a better place...

 the world
make it a  place
for you and for me
and the entire  race
there are people dying
if you  enough
for the living
 a better place
for you and for me (x 3)

 

 

There are people dying
if you care enough
for the living
make a better place
for you and for me (x 2)

 

you and for me / make a better place
you and for me / make a better place

you and for me / make a better place
you and for me / heal the world we live in
you and for me / save it for our children
you and for me / heal the world we live in
you and for me / save it for our children
you and for me / heal the world we live in
you and for me / save it for our children
you and for me / heal the world we live in
you and for me / save it for our children

 

 

 

Britain's Debt problem

Language level: Advanced

Source: Speak Up

Standard: British accent

 

MONEY

Britain’s Debt proble

The British are the biggest borrowers in Europe. Total UK personal debt stands at £ 1.3 trillion and is rising by £ 1 million every four minutes. Average household debt is now over £50.000. Francesca Hopwood Road, who works for the London-based charity Citizens Advice, says that it represents a growing problem.

Francesca Hopwood Road

(Standard: British accent)

Yes, I mean over the last eight years the number of consumer credit debt enquires have doubled. So it’s certainly a growing issue and of growing concern, not just for our bureau, but I think that’s probably reflected more broadly amongst the general population. Debt is increasing. The number of personal bankruptcies is increasing in the general population. So I think she figures that we see are replicated as a trend across the country as whole.

BANKRUPTCY

In the past eight years. Citizens Advice has seen the number of consumer debt enquires double to 1.25 million. Almost two million people owe more than £10.000 on credit cards, overdrafts or other unsecured loans. Around one million households face problems with debt repayments. Bankruptcies rose to a record 26.000 in the second quarter of 2006 – up 66 per cent on the previous year –and mortgage repossessions are at a 13-year high.

It’s not all bad news –some experts say that personal borrowing is simply that personal borrowing is simply the result of an efficient financial market and helps to drive Britain’s economic growth. Interest rates are low and most people meet their repayments without problems. Nevertheless, a new generation is growing up with debt. There are special credit cards for teenagers, students pay fees of up to £3.000 per year to attend university, and more than 200.000 18 to 24-year-olds already owe at least £10.000:

Francesca Hopwood Road:

There’s probably less of a stigma attached to having debt that there was, certainly, for our grandparents’ generation. Now, obviously, student debt is a fact of life for most young people who graduate from university. It’s not unheard of to come out with £30.000-worth of debt. So I think the notion of having debt and that being a part of one’s life is becoming a notion that most people are most at ease with. I think maybe that’s then transferring into having…taking out credit and taking out loans to buy cars or whatever. But I think the notion of having debt is…people are more at ease with, potentially, than they were, say, maybe a couple of generations before.

The British love their plastic: there are now more credit and store cards than people in the UK. Almost one third of Britain’s unsecured debt is on credit cards, compared to just 1.6 per cent in France. Yet credit cards are usually the most expensive way to borrow money. Lack of financial understanding is a major problem for people in debt. One recent survey found that a quarter of British people have no idea how much they spend in a week. Only half know the balance on their credit cards, or what interested rates they receive or pay on savings or debts. The British government is so concerned that in 2003 it began a programme of financial literacy, targeting schools, workplaces, young adults and new parents. Citizens Advice helps to provide training and education as part of the scheme.

BUY NOW, PAY LATER…

In actual fact the British currently spend just 60 minutes or less per week reviewing their finances, the lowest in Europe. They spend twice as long texting or on the phone and six times as long watching TV! So is Britain’s “buy now, pay later” culture ever likely to change?

Francesca Hopwood Road:

I think that’s a very hard question to answer. I can’t see how necessarily we were to switch overnight form that culture to a culture, for example, in some countries in a mainland Europe, where there is very much a…not necessarily an anti-credit culture, but credit culture’s not so pervasive as it is here. Personally, I can’t see it changing, but I think there does have to be a shift in mentality around the way use credit and why we use credit.

Cases Studies

GRAHAM, 45, a carpenter and builder, fell behind with his income tax payments. He borrowed money against his house to settle his tax bills. An injury left him unable to work for tour months, and a bad debtor left him with business debts. He now owes nearly £100.000. Source: PrincewaterhouseCoopers

Max X, 22, built up debts totaling £15.000 on five different credit cards. She got into difficulties after losing her job and could no longer keep up the repayments. Source: Citizens Advices

MARK MACDONALD killed himself in January 2005. Afterwards, he was found to owe a total of £120.000 on loans, two credit cards and a re-mortgage with the bank. He had kept the debt secret from his wife. Source: BBC News

RACHEL, 24, a graduate, left college and travelled with friends, putting the cost on her two credit cards. She got a job and a bank overdraft. After she started work, she was offered a further credit card, and also took out two store cards. She ended up with debts of £35.000, owing monthly interested of more than £450. Source: PrincewaterhouseCoopers

Elllo: Broke in the Big Apple

349 Broke in the Big Apple

Kevin talks about being very young, poor, and struggling to live in NYC.

Source: www.elllo.org

Todd: So Kevin, I thought we would 












So, Kelvintalk I thought we would talk about money today, and you have many interesting stories about being broke

.

Kevin: Yes. I have been broke a number of times. Anything in particular that you would like to hear? I've got quite a bunch

.

Todd: So tell me when was the first time you were really broke?

Kevin: The first time I was really broke was, I was 19, and I moved to New York City. I followed a girl that I met in Glacier National Park, I was working out there as a singing waiter.

Went out to New York, followed her, and I ended up

 living in an apartment with three other people and the share of my rent was $500 a month. Now that was 20 years ago, and $500 a month 20 years ago to a 19 year old kid with no education, no experience... that was a lot.

So I worked three jobs. I worked from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the George Washington Street Bus Terminal and subway stationhanding out flyers

, American Express Moneygram flyers, then I would take the subway to Midtown, to FAO Schwartz, you know the big toy store...

Todd: Oh yeah, right.

Kevin: ...from the movie, "Big"...

Todd: Yeah, it's really famous.

Kevin: ...where he dances on the piano. Yeah, and I was... I would wrap presents there. And then I would work there from 11 to 4, and then I would take the subway back down to The Village

 where I was living, and I would work from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. as a waiter and bus boy.

Todd: That's brutal

. That's pretty harsh.

Kevin: Yeah, it's really brutal. Well, how I ended up being broke was, the restaurant was a New Orleans style restaurant, and I got fired for talking to the customers too much. Truth is

, the customers were interested in the fact that I was from New Orleans and it was a New Orleans style restaurant. And for... I lasted two more months. And I only had enough money everyday to buy a slice of cheese pizza and a pack of cigarettes. And...

Todd: That's it?

Kevin: That's it.

Todd: One slice of pizza and a pack of cigarettes.

Kevin: Well, and a Hostess Fruit Pie lunch. But one time, during lunchtime at FAO Schwartz, I went down to the vending machine and I got my Hostess Fruit Pie and I took a bite in it and it was hollow. There was no fruit in it and I really had a small panic attack

, and I called the toll free number

 on it, and I complained, "You just don't understand how much of my daily nutritional intake

 that pie represented", and all he did was apologize and I was hoping they would send me a case of pies, but they didn't.

Todd: No such luck.

Kevin: That's right. When I went home, I was probably about 30 pounds lighter than before I left. And I was really poor. So that's the first time I was really broke.