Remembering Paul Newman

Remembering Paul Newman

Source: Speak Up

Language level: Advanced

Speaker: Chuck Rollando

Standard: American accent

As you know, Hollywood legend Paul Newman died in 2008 at the age of 83. Yet he was more than just a film star: he was also a racing driver and a political activist who said he felt proud when he learnt that he was number 19 on Richard Nixon’s enemies list. More importantly, he was philanthropist whose “Newman’s Own” food company gave more than $200 million to charity.

As a tribute to him, here are some excerpts from an interview he gave in 2006, when he was promoting one of his last films, the animated feature Cars, for which he provided the voice of Doc Hudson. Newman was asked what was the secret to making a good movie:

Paul Newman

(Standard: American accent)

Well, there are so many ingredients that go into making a film. That’s one of the reasons, incidentally, why I like racing. I mean, it’s a very simple sense of winning. It’s down to a thousandth of a second now, and electronically, and that’s a very uncomplicated conclusion. There’s so many things that go into making a film: the director, the actors that you’re working with, the time that you have to rehearse, whether you catch up with a character in time.

There are so many different ingredients that go into making a performance. It’s pretty hard to tell which performer performed the best. Somebody may have started out with a piece of junk and brought it up to past mediocrity so that it was pretty damn good. And another guy starts out with a beautiful script, a deliciously-defined character, a marvelous director, a comfortable schedule, he’s got everything going for him: I would give the credit to the guy in front of him.

THE EARLY DAYS OF TV

Newman then reminisced about his experiences in the 1950s, when he worked in television:

Paul Newman:

Live television, in those days, was really exciting because you didn’t have a hell of a lost time to work on things, and if there was a mistake made, it was not retrievable by having another take. So I think that working under that kind of pressure was a good experience for any actor; and some funny thing happened, too. Sets felt down. I can remember Walter Cronkite in a thing  called You Are There and Joana of Arc was being burned at the stake and the fire began to crackle and then they cut away to Walter Cronkite in the 20^th century setting and said, “And you were there.” And, little by little, the smoke from the set started to filter into the broadcast room and there was Walter!

GET YOUR KICKS ON ROUTE 66

Newman then talked about the time he and his wife, Joanne Woodward, drove along Route 66, the famous road which provided the setting for Cars:

Paul Newman:

Actually, we started up north and we drove to Las Vegas. And it said “All you can eat for a-buck-and-a-quarter,” I think. And we went into these casinos and the spreads were extraordinary; I mean, fresh shrimp – I’m talking 1951 –fresh shrimp and lobster, and a table laid out lie you’d never seen before. And we had a lovely meal and then Joanne put 160 bucks in the slot machine and I lost about $400 playing blackjack. So that meal was not really a-buck-and-a-quarter!

COMMITMENT

In conclusion Newman was asked what advice he had for the many people who felt disillusioned with politics:

Paul Newman:

Be engaged. I was campaigning at the University of Cincinnati and they admitted with a certain amount of shame that the students there, only 19 per cent of the eligible students had voted in the 2004 election. But they had taken polls, the polls had looked good, but the kids were on cell phones and they weren’t being polled and the figures were going to be staggering because the kids were engaged. Figures came out: 19 per cent. So, if people who have the privilege of voting don’t vote, then you have to ask if…if they’re really getting what they deserve. We have less of a percentage of eligible voters voting then vote in Iraq. I think that’s shameful.

So, if people get engaged, they can make the changes: they don’t get engaged, then we just have a chauffeur up there motoring us wherever he wants to go, instead of us, you know, giving the directions.

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Words and their stories, deep six

Source: http://www.voanews.com/learningenglish/home/words-stories/Words-and-Their-Stories-Deep-Six-117460228.html

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

Sailors seem -- to those of us on land -- to lead exciting, even mysterious lives. Many things are different at sea. Even the language is different.

Simple words like "right" and "left" are not the same. On a ship, "right" is "starboard." And "left" is "port."

Sailors are responsible for many colorful English expressions.

One of these is deep-six. It means to hide something or put it where it will not be found. You can also deep-six, or reject a proposal.

One language expert says that deep six is the bottom of the ocean. "Deep," in this case, means deepest. The "six" in the expression comes from the six feet that make up a fathom -- which is a little less than two meters.

Sailors measure the depth of the water in fathoms. Thus, the deep six is the deepest fathom...the final six feet at the bottom of the ocean.  A sailor who never wants to see something again will give it the deep-six. He will drop it from the ship to the ocean bottom.

You can deep-six something even if you are not a sailor. All you do is throw it away or put it where it will never be found. You might, for example, deep-six an unplesant letter from a former friend.

Another expression linked to sailing is batten down the hatches. That is what sailors do to prepare their ship for a storm at sea.

Battens are thin pieces of wood. Hatches are the openings in the deck. Before a storm, sailors cover the hatches with waterproof material. Then they nail on battens to hold the hatch coverings firmly in place. This keeps rain and waves out of the ship.

Now, people use the expression to mean to prepare for dealing with any kind of trouble.

A news report, for example, might say that people in Washington were battening down the hatches for a big winter storm. Or a newspaper might report that "defense lawyers were 'battening down the hatches' for testimony by someone who observed the crime."

An old expression of the sailors that is still heard is to sail under false colors. Experts on language say the expression was born more than two hundred fifty years ago, when pirates sailed the seas, attacking and robbing trade ships.

Pirate ships often flew the flag of a friendly country as they sailed toward the ship they planned to rob.They sailed under false colors until they were close enough to attack. Then the pirates pulled down the false flag, and showed their true colors. They raised the pirate flag -- with its picture of a skull and crossed bones.

Today, a person, not a ship, is said to sail under false colors. Such a person appears to be something he is not. His purpose is to get something from you. If you are careful, you will soon see his true colors, and have nothing to do with him.

(MUSIC)

This VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, was written by Marilyn Christiano. This is Warren Scheer.

Christmas with the Mafia, Joke

Source: Speak Up

Speak: Chuck Rollando

Language level: Proficiency

THE LAST LAUGH

Christmas with the Mafia

The young son of Mafia loss is sitting at his desk, trying to write a Christmas list to send to Baby Jesus. He begins: “Dear Baby Jesus, I have been a good boy the whole year, so I want a new…”

He looks at the letter, but realises it is no good. So he crumples it up into a ball and throws it away. A few minutes later he gets out a new piece of paper and starts writing again:

“Dear Baby Jesus, I have been a good boy for most of the year, so I want a new…” Again, he looks at the letter and throws it away.

The little boy then gets an idea. He goes into his mother’s room, takes a statue of the Virgin Mary, puts it in the closest and locks the door.

He takes another piece of paper and writes: “Dear Baby Jesus, if you ever want to see your mother again…”

A Question

Question: Santa Claus, one smart and one stupid policeman are walking together when they spot a hundred dollars on the ground. Who will take the money?

Answer: The stupid policeman because Santa Claus and the smart policeman don’t exist. 

Pro-jovem, part 36, Inglês Vip

Source: Inglês Vip, visit the link and find more videos there http://www.ingvip.com/curso-de-conversacao.htm 

Julia: Hi guys! What are you doing here?

Pedro: We are going to have  lunch(1). Do you want to join us(2)?

Julia:  Oh, not now(3). I am not hungry. Besides(4), I need to finish(5) this first. But why you don’t go ahead(6) and I'll meet you there(7) in 30 minutes.

Mariana: You look worried(8) with this project, Julia.

Julia: I am. The goal(9) of this project is to develop a selective recycling(10) at our neighborhood, I have two months to finish it. Otherwise(11), It won’t be working by the end of this year.

Mariana: Why don’t we help you?

Julia:  That would be great!(12)

Pedro: Tonight(13) I will call Lucas and see if he can help us too…

Mariana: Great! Good.

Julia: Hi Guys! It’s so nice to have you here. We will learn a lot(14) with this project. On the other hand(15), I want you to know(16): It’s not going to be easy.

Mariana: Cheer up(17), Julia! We are here to help you.

Lucas: So, What are we going to do?

Julia:  We have two months to go. These are the things we will have to finish by the end of this week. Lucas, you will be in charge of(18) this research here. I’ll help you with that, ok? Pedro and Mariana you can start with this.

Mariana:  I have one idea! Why  don’t we bring some posters to put up(19) around our neighborhood, explaining(20) why recycle is important?

Pedro: That’s a good idea. Even though(21) we will have more work to do, it’s going to be good for the project!

Julia: People, I can’t thank you enough(22). Working with a group can be hard(23) sometimes(24). However(25), we can have other thoughts(26), other views(27) we can count on(28).

Pedro: Julia, I have a friend who works at recycling center. Do you want me to call her(29) and see if she can help us?

Julia: Of course.  That will be a great help.

Pedro: Hello, cousin. How are you doing? My friend and I are going to develop a selective recycling at our neighborhood. Therefore(30), I thought it would be interesting(31) for us to know how the recycling center works…

Cousin: Sure(32), cousin. It’s gonna be a pleasure. We have a lot of interest in project like yours. And it is nice to know the young people, stand up for(33) causes like recycling. Are you free tomorrow afternoon?
Pedro: Ok, we will be there at four. Bye, bye. All set(34), guys.

 

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                                      Vocabulary

 1. Have lunch  = almoçar
 2. Do you want to join us? = Vocês querem se juntar a nós?
 3. Not now = agora não
 4. Besides  = além disso
 5. Finish = terminar
 6. Why don't you go ahead?  = por que você não vai na frente?
 7. I'll meet you there = Eu vou te encontrar lá
 8. You look worried  = você parece preocupado(a)
 9. Goal = objetivo
 10. Selective recycling = reciclagem seletiva
 11. Otherwise = do contrário
 12. That would be great! = Isso seria ótimo!
 13. Tonight = esta noite
 14. Learn a lot = aprender muito
 15.  On the other hand = por outro lado
 16. I want you to know = Eu quero que vocês saibam
 17. Cheer up = anime-se
 18. In charge of = encarregado de, responsável por
 19. put up = colocar, afixar
 20. Explaining = explicando
 21. Even though = mesmo que
  22. Enough = o suficiente
  23. Can be hard = pode ser difícil
  24. Sometimes = às vezes
  25. However = contudo
  26. Thoughts = pensamentos
  27. Views = visões
  28. Count on = contar com
  29. Do you want me to call her? = você quer que eu ligue para ela?
  30. Therefore = portanto
  31. Interesting = interessante
  32. Sure = certo, claro
  33. Stand up for = lutar por
  34. All set = tudo marcado

Yummy, Leeds

Source: 

http://www.mylifeinleeds.co.uk

Yummy Leeds! (no áudio)

The northern city of Leeds is in an unusual position. On the one hand, it is “the gateway” to Yorkshire, England’s largest (and, some people would say, most beautiful) country, And yet Leeds is not really on the tourist trail: the nearby city of York is smaller and more picturesque. In terms of size and history, Leeds is more similar to its Lancashire rivals Liverpool and Manchester, but they enjoy greater cultural recognition (because of their associations with respectively, The Beatles, and the “Madchester” scene).

FESTIVAL FEVER

Leeds is therefore working hard to put itself on the map. This could explain why it organised the “Leeds Loves Food” festival in July. The festival revolved around two main areas: there were entertaining cookery demonstrations (by celebrity chefs” like James Martin, a Yorkshireman) in the city’s Millennium Square, and there as a splendid food fair, organised by the Harvey Nichols department store, in the historic Victoria Quarter. This was a showcase for such Yorkshire delights as seafood (see interview, bellow), beef and ham, but also for more ethnic produce. Kitchen Guru, for example, is a company that makes pre-packaged spices for fans of Indian cuisine. Leeds has many fine Indian restaurants (such as The Bird, near the Royal Armouries) and diversity is one of the strong points of the British culinary experience. One of Leeds’ “hottest” restaurants these days is Casa Mia (in Chapel Allerton), run by an engaging Neapolitan who has made Yorkshire his home.

Source: Speak Up

Language level: Upper intermediate

Speaker: Mark Worden

Standard: British accent

It’ Getting Better!

This summer Speak Up attended the “Leeds Loves Food Festival” in Yorkshire. Britain doesn’t exactly enjoy a good culinary reputation around the world and many continental Europeans might find the idea of a British food festival strange. And yet attitudes to food in Britain have definitely changed over the last few years. We spoke to one of the festival’s participants, Jonathan Batchelor, of the Ramus Seafood emporium in Harrogate. He talked about improving British attitudes towards food:

Jonathan Batchelor

(Standard: English/Yorkshire accent)

The nation has changed, I think, a little bit. People are interested in good food, they might have gone abroad to places like Spain and Italy and France and eaten there and seen the culture over there. Whereby good food is not just something that you do at mealtimes, it’s something that you experience as part of your life and your enjoyment and people have brought that back home with them and also, you know, we’re waking up to the availability of great produce in our own country. You just have to look on television to see the number of food programmes promoting product. I mean, we’re here today promoting seven fantastic British seafood products that we should be absolutely proud of and everybody should be eating and there are things like that, you know, all over the country, you know, little local independent suppliers of this, that and the other, and we should be celebrating the great product that we have in this country and I think more and more we do, people are much more willing to eat and there’s much more of a café culture developing and, you know, it’s changed, I think, dramatically in the last 20 years.

Happy International Women's Day

                                  Me and my Wife

Happy International Woman’s Day 

Early morning I called up to my Wife and of course it is not very common. So, I told her how much I love her, how much she is important to me and I told: I don’t live without her.

The most important thing: I remind her today is The International Women’s Day, but not just a single day to express how much she and women are important in our lives. For many reasons…I am just here ‘cause my mom gave birth a long time ago. (She passed away), because you (women) are different and special, and in conclusion there are many other reason, but I have only word to say to you…I love you honey. To homage Women around the world, continue struggling against racism, violence and discrimination.

Today, 8^th March Happy International Women’s Day, God bless you. Promote this message and "Say no to violence against the Women." Twit this for your friends.