News in Slow English - Episode 8

11/02/17 • 8 min

For the first portion of our program, we are going to dive into this week’s headlines. We’ll start with a discussion on the first criminal charges brought against some of President Trump’s former aids on Monday by Special Counsel Robert Mueller in the Russian meddling investigation. Next, we’re going to talk about the Russian use of social networking platforms Facebook, Google and Twitter to influence the outcome of the 2016 United States presidential election. After that, we’ll discuss the publishing of Stephen Hawking’s doctoral thesis on Cambridge University's website. And finally, we’ll talk about the findings of a study suggesting that drinking alcohol could improve one’s pronunciation when speaking a foreign language.

First charges filed in Russian meddling investigation - Facebook, Twitter, and Google admit to wide-reaching Russian influence - Stephen Hawking’s doctoral thesis crashes its host website - Drinking alcohol improves pronunciation in second language, study shows

As always, the second part of our show will be dedicated to American culture and the English language. In the grammar section of our program, we’ll illustrate the use of today’s topic: Irregular Noun/Verb Agreement. And we’ll close this week’s program with a new English expression: “To bridge the gap.”

Previous Episode

News in Slow English - Episode 7

For the first half of our program, we’re going to look at what’s happening around the world this week. We’ll begin with a discussion of China’s most important political event that ended on Tuesday - the Communist Party Congress. Next, we’ll address the results of Czech elections and the nomination of the Populist billionaire Andrej Babiš. After that, we’ll discuss the discovery by scientists from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) of a 30 mile-long cave on the surface of the moon. And finally, we’ll talk about a rumor that has spread throughout social media this week.

Xi Jinping is China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong
Populist billionaire to become next Czech leader
Cave on moon’s surface could serve as shelter for humans
Melania Trump imposter theory captivates the internet

As always, the second part of our show will be dedicated to American culture and the English language. In the grammar section of our program, we’ll illustrate the use of today’s topic: Countable and Uncountable Nouns. And we’ll close this week’s program with a new English expression: “To go back to the drawing board.”

Next Episode

News in Slow English - Episode 9

For the first part of our program, we’re going to look at what’s happening around the world this week. We will begin with two tragedies that took place in the U.S., one in Texas and the other in New York. Next, we’ll look into the results of the elections in Italy that present an opportunity for former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to re-enter national politics. Following that, we’ll talk about the new iPhone X which went on sale last Friday and drew thousands to Apple Stores around the world. And finally, we’ll talk about the 2017 World Series and the victory of the Houston Astros over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Church shooting, truck attack kill dozens in two separate incidents in the U.S. - Silvio Berlusconi begins political comeback - Crowds worldwide rush to buy latest iPhone - Houston Astros win World Series

As always, the second part of our show will be dedicated to American culture and the English language. In the grammar section of our program, we’ll illustrate the use of today’s topic: Gender Neutral Nouns. And we’ll close this week’s program with a new English expression: “A cock and bull story.”