#29 Travelogue Germany: Corona, corona, corona
The virus is back in Uzbekistan and the question is how crazy do we want to be. As crazy as Germany? Read this for a comparison.
Social distancing …
… is everywhere and you notice people almost jumping away from you. I got shouted at by a lady for jumping the queue in a post office. Actually I just didn’t notice any queue because people were standing two metres apart. Supermarkets and shops can only take in a certain number of customers, based on the floor area.
Masks …
… are worn inside public places. Outside it’s okay not to wear a mask unless it’s in a busy city centre where signs tell you to wear one. Even if you pull your mask down just a little bit under your nose you’re in trouble.
Disinfectant …
… is provided everywhere. People use it when entering supermarkets, almost like holy water in a church.
---Vocab---
📍jump the queue = not waiting till it’s your turn but push in before others
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #germany
The virus is back in Uzbekistan and the question is how crazy do we want to be. As crazy as Germany? Read this for a comparison.
Social distancing …
… is everywhere and you notice people almost jumping away from you. I got shouted at by a lady for jumping the queue in a post office. Actually I just didn’t notice any queue because people were standing two metres apart. Supermarkets and shops can only take in a certain number of customers, based on the floor area.
Masks …
… are worn inside public places. Outside it’s okay not to wear a mask unless it’s in a busy city centre where signs tell you to wear one. Even if you pull your mask down just a little bit under your nose you’re in trouble.
Disinfectant …
… is provided everywhere. People use it when entering supermarkets, almost like holy water in a church.
---Vocab---
📍jump the queue = not waiting till it’s your turn but push in before others
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #germany
What helps in the fight against corona?
Anonymous Poll
6%
A hard lockdown.
18%
Mass vaccination.
29%
Social distancing, masks and disinfectant are enough.
24%
None of these. Viruses come and go naturally.
15%
Corona is a political project.
9%
Not sure what to think.
Dear friends,
We have spotted Afandi many times. It’s now time to use our spotting skills for something you hide for us!
How does it work?
1. Choose an item that subscribers to the channel should spot. It could be anything – a shoe, a tomato, a toy, a flower, a shampoo bottle – whatever really.
2. Take a close-up (=from a short distance) photo of it, so we know what we should look for.
3. Hide your item in a picture that you take. Make it not too easy and not too difficult. Take a couple of shots and choose the best one. Your item should be hard to find but still visible in a low resolution on Telegram.
4. Send your close-up and search pictures to @jochenho by 8:30pm tonight.
5. We will try to spot your item at 9pm on the channel.
Get involved & enjoy the buzz!
👉@afandi_english👈
We have spotted Afandi many times. It’s now time to use our spotting skills for something you hide for us!
How does it work?
1. Choose an item that subscribers to the channel should spot. It could be anything – a shoe, a tomato, a toy, a flower, a shampoo bottle – whatever really.
2. Take a close-up (=from a short distance) photo of it, so we know what we should look for.
3. Hide your item in a picture that you take. Make it not too easy and not too difficult. Take a couple of shots and choose the best one. Your item should be hard to find but still visible in a low resolution on Telegram.
4. Send your close-up and search pictures to @jochenho by 8:30pm tonight.
5. We will try to spot your item at 9pm on the channel.
Get involved & enjoy the buzz!
👉@afandi_english👈
Which of these items would you like to spot tonight at 9:30pm?
Final Results
17%
#1 Gulshoda's ring
17%
#2 Temurbek's potato
42%
#3 Aisha's tennis ball
25%
#4 Abdukhalil's piyola
#44 Spot Something: Aisha’s tennis ball
❓ Can you spot Aisha’s tennis ball in this picture?
❗️If you can you might win 5,000 Paynet-soums!
👉@afandi_english👈 #spot_something
❓ Can you spot Aisha’s tennis ball in this picture?
❗️If you can you might win 5,000 Paynet-soums!
👉@afandi_english👈 #spot_something
Congrats to Babyface!!! 👏👏👏 Oh and again some breathtaking designs from Muhammadali, Muhammadayyubxon, Boburshox and Mo'minjon!
#5 brands 2020.jpg
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#5 Infographic: Valuable brands
▶️ Big international companies have a lot of power, sometimes more power than governments. Check out today’s infographics to see what brands were the most valuable in 2020 and which countries they come from. Watch the video to see the value of brands changing over the last 20 years.
Technology brands have become the biggest by far, and it’s pretty much a race between the US and China within the economically dominant world regions North America, Europe and East Asia.
👉@afandi_english👈 #infographic
▶️ Big international companies have a lot of power, sometimes more power than governments. Check out today’s infographics to see what brands were the most valuable in 2020 and which countries they come from. Watch the video to see the value of brands changing over the last 20 years.
Technology brands have become the biggest by far, and it’s pretty much a race between the US and China within the economically dominant world regions North America, Europe and East Asia.
👉@afandi_english👈 #infographic
Audio
#28 Afandi Quiz: Mysterious song
Today’s quiz is about a mysterious song from a mysterious country! Can you guess where it’s from? Pay attention to the language and style.
👉@afandi_english👈 #song_quiz
Today’s quiz is about a mysterious song from a mysterious country! Can you guess where it’s from? Pay attention to the language and style.
👉@afandi_english👈 #song_quiz
Afandi English
This song is from ...
Good job!
👍 Thailand was the correct answer. The style was not quite revealing, but guitar songs are quite popular all over Southeast Asia while playing the guitar is a popular hobby there. Most of you may have guessed it from the language which sounded somehow Asian. Thai language is tonal (=having tones that change the meanings of a word) and just like Chinese is more centred on vowels, diphthongs (=double vowels) and triphthongs (=triple vowels). Thailand is also a forward-thinking (=preparing for the future) nation in love with modernity, hence the use of English in the song.
👎 Haiti was wrong. It’s a French-speaking country in the Caribbean. While the style could fit the Caribbean, the language does not.
👎 Albania was wrong. The style of the song seems unlikely for Southeastern Europe. Albanian language is by the sound of it Eastern European but structurally quite obscure (=mysterious, unclear) actually. It’s Indo-European but not related to any other Indo-European language.
👎 Namibia was wrong. The country is located in Southern Africa and speaks mainly English. Even if the song was in some tribal (=of a tribe, a traditional community) language it still sounds nothing like an African song. For that it is too romantic in a soft way, one might argue.
👍 Thailand was the correct answer. The style was not quite revealing, but guitar songs are quite popular all over Southeast Asia while playing the guitar is a popular hobby there. Most of you may have guessed it from the language which sounded somehow Asian. Thai language is tonal (=having tones that change the meanings of a word) and just like Chinese is more centred on vowels, diphthongs (=double vowels) and triphthongs (=triple vowels). Thailand is also a forward-thinking (=preparing for the future) nation in love with modernity, hence the use of English in the song.
👎 Haiti was wrong. It’s a French-speaking country in the Caribbean. While the style could fit the Caribbean, the language does not.
👎 Albania was wrong. The style of the song seems unlikely for Southeastern Europe. Albanian language is by the sound of it Eastern European but structurally quite obscure (=mysterious, unclear) actually. It’s Indo-European but not related to any other Indo-European language.
👎 Namibia was wrong. The country is located in Southern Africa and speaks mainly English. Even if the song was in some tribal (=of a tribe, a traditional community) language it still sounds nothing like an African song. For that it is too romantic in a soft way, one might argue.
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A moving video with our mysterious song from Thailand.
#20 University Vocab: Credentials
❓ After we complete our studies we will get some kind of paper, right? Degree, diploma, certificate – what’s the difference between these credentials (=proof that someone is qualified; always in plural)?
🔎 Degree is the most valuable of them because it is always academic and you can only get it from a standard university course. There are bachelor, master and doctorate degrees.
🔎 Diploma is something you can get from a college or practical job training, not usually from academic education.
🔎 Certificate is the umbrella term (=general word) for all kinds of degrees, diplomas and everything else. You can get a certificate for anything you participate in, such as competitions, conferences, workshops and so on.
❗️ Most importantly, don’t confuse “diploma” with “degree”, and you’ll be fine!
👉@afandi_english👈 #uni_vocab
❓ After we complete our studies we will get some kind of paper, right? Degree, diploma, certificate – what’s the difference between these credentials (=proof that someone is qualified; always in plural)?
🔎 Degree is the most valuable of them because it is always academic and you can only get it from a standard university course. There are bachelor, master and doctorate degrees.
🔎 Diploma is something you can get from a college or practical job training, not usually from academic education.
🔎 Certificate is the umbrella term (=general word) for all kinds of degrees, diplomas and everything else. You can get a certificate for anything you participate in, such as competitions, conferences, workshops and so on.
❗️ Most importantly, don’t confuse “diploma” with “degree”, and you’ll be fine!
👉@afandi_english👈 #uni_vocab
#64 Our favourite mistakes: Writing
▶️ Which ones are correct?
a) There are many countries in Europe, for example France, Germany and Italy.
b) There are many countries in Europe, for ex France, Germany and Italy.
c) There are many countries in Europe, ex France, Germany and Italy.
d) There are many countries in Europe, e.g. France, Germany and Italy.
e) There are many countries in Europe. F. ex. France, Germany and Italy.
✅ The answer isa) and d)
❓Why?
❗️ For ex is not a recognised abbreviation. It could be misunderstood as foreign exchange. Just ex means former, or as a noun former partner (“I haven’t seen my ex since we got divorced”).
❗️ Use e.g. instead. It comes from Latin, stands for exempli gratia and is perfect for use in writing. But not in speaking.
👉@afandi_english👈 #mistakes #writing
▶️ Which ones are correct?
a) There are many countries in Europe, for example France, Germany and Italy.
b) There are many countries in Europe, for ex France, Germany and Italy.
c) There are many countries in Europe, ex France, Germany and Italy.
d) There are many countries in Europe, e.g. France, Germany and Italy.
e) There are many countries in Europe. F. ex. France, Germany and Italy.
✅ The answer is
❗️ For ex is not a recognised abbreviation. It could be misunderstood as foreign exchange. Just ex means former, or as a noun former partner (“I haven’t seen my ex since we got divorced”).
❗️ Use e.g. instead. It comes from Latin, stands for exempli gratia and is perfect for use in writing. But not in speaking.
👉@afandi_english👈 #mistakes #writing
#21 Tongue twister: Happy birthday
❗️Challenge yourself with this tongue twister:
▶️ Elizabeth's birthday is on the third Thursday of this month.
Translation:
Elizabetning tug’ilgan kuni shu oyning uchinchi payshanbasida.
❗️Pay attention to:
🔘 Pronunciation – The ‘th’ sounds [θ] and [ð] are a constant source of worry for many English learners. Don’t give up just yet, even when you notice that other students or teachers ignore the challenge.
👉@afandi_english👈 #tongue_twisters
❗️Challenge yourself with this tongue twister:
▶️ Elizabeth's birthday is on the third Thursday of this month.
Translation:
Elizabetning tug’ilgan kuni shu oyning uchinchi payshanbasida.
❗️Pay attention to:
🔘 Pronunciation – The ‘th’ sounds [θ] and [ð] are a constant source of worry for many English learners. Don’t give up just yet, even when you notice that other students or teachers ignore the challenge.
👉@afandi_english👈 #tongue_twisters
#30 Travelogue Germany: m/w/d
I saw this truck in Berlin. Someone was delivering parcels. So far so good. But then I saw “Colleagues wanted”, encouraging people to apply for a job with DHL. It took me a long second to realise what “(m/w/d)” stood for – it’s “männlich/weiblich/divers”, i.e. “male/female/diverse”.
Diverse. Who is diverse? Besides men and women who else is there to apply for a job? Animals? No, it’s people with gender issues who feel that they are neither a man nor a woman or both or changed or changing or changeable or… It’s complicated!
Why?
Choice
Westerners accept nothing as fate and want to choose everything. Some of them not only their lifestyle but even their gender.
Pluralism
Minorities of any kind should be respected and never discriminated against.
Decadence
Life in the West is comfortable and people don’t struggle for survival. They have time to think about their gender.
---Vocab---
📍diverse = different from each other
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #germany
I saw this truck in Berlin. Someone was delivering parcels. So far so good. But then I saw “Colleagues wanted”, encouraging people to apply for a job with DHL. It took me a long second to realise what “(m/w/d)” stood for – it’s “männlich/weiblich/divers”, i.e. “male/female/diverse”.
Diverse. Who is diverse? Besides men and women who else is there to apply for a job? Animals? No, it’s people with gender issues who feel that they are neither a man nor a woman or both or changed or changing or changeable or… It’s complicated!
Why?
Choice
Westerners accept nothing as fate and want to choose everything. Some of them not only their lifestyle but even their gender.
Pluralism
Minorities of any kind should be respected and never discriminated against.
Decadence
Life in the West is comfortable and people don’t struggle for survival. They have time to think about their gender.
---Vocab---
📍diverse = different from each other
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #germany