Pronunciation Challenge【CNN10】Electoral College / Mastodons / WFH

【Transcript】

As you know, Americans do not directly choose their president.They choose electors. Electors are members of the Electoral College who cast the final votes for president. It's getting more attention this time because the results of the 2020 presidential election have been disputed. Former Vice President Joe Biden won the projected vote on Election Day. States were expected to certify his Electoral College win on Monday, and those Electoral College votes will be sent to Congress, which will formally count them next month. Under the Electoral College system, each state gets a certain number of electors based on how many representatives it has in Congress, and those people cast the official votes for president. Historically, electors have voted for the candidate who won the popular vote in their state, but they can have a different decision. And if they do, they're called faithless electors. In some states, faithless electors are fined or replaced with a criminal charge.

So, is Joe Biden officially the president elect? Some experts say yes, a candidate formally gets that title when the 50 states electoral votes are certified. But others say that happens when Congress officially counts them. Either way, the count will be completed by the Congress on January 6th.

Archaeologists found a painting showing humans once lived with mastodons and other giant animals. Mastodons are a type of elephant that lived 10,000 years ago and have been extinct, just like the mammoth discovered in piles of snow. (Yea, like Manny from IceAge). The researchers say the images were likely painted around 12,600 to 11,800 years ago. The paintings are located on rock walls in central Colombia in the Amazon rainforest. The painting serves as a chronological marker for the research on early human beings, which is a great encouragement for Indiana Jones out there to discover more surprises.

As we reach the end of 2020, many of us still haven't returned to the office. We're still on Zoom, Skype, WebEx, Slack. Twitter is one company that's embraced the change and is allowing some employees to choose to work from home permanently. However, productivity is very crucial. 90% of workers surveyed in the UK said they would like to continue working from home often or all the time, but only 70 percent felt they were as productive as before. The shift from office to remote has had a devastating impact on local economies. Cafes, bars and shops are reliant on office workers. Without them buying coffee or drinks, these shops are quickly closed down.

The great WFH, work from home, experiment has sparked long-term change in the way that we work. But, it isn't for everyone, whether it's unsuitable home environments, noisy children, or in some cases, naughty pets that hop onto your desk to join your video conference. Still, a lot of us will be hoping to get back to the office in 2021.
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【Vocabulary】

1. archaeologist
Someone who studies things from the past.

Ex: Chinese archaeologists unearthed the terracotta army of the Qin dynasty in the 1970s.

2. mastodon
A large elephant-like animal with fur that existed on Earth until around 10,000 years ago.

Ex: Fossils of a mastodon were found in Taichung County in 2007.

3. painting
a picture made using paint

Extra vocab：Portrait / Sculpture (three-dimensional) / Carving

Ex: Mona Lisa is probably the most iconic painting in the world.

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【Xmas Song】

"Frosty the Snowman"

Frosty the snowman was a jolly happy soul,
With a corncob pipe and a button nose
And two eyes made out of coal.

Frosty the snowman is a fairy tale, they say,
He was made of snow but the children know
How he came to life one day.
There must have been some magic in
That Old top hat they found.
For when they placed it on his head
He began to dance around.

O, Frosty the snowman
Was alive as he could be,
And the children say he could laugh and play
Just the same as you and me.

Frosty the snowman
Had to hurry on his way,
But he waved goodbye saying,
"Don't you cry,
I'll be back again some day."

Thumpety thump thump
Thumpety thump thump
Look at Frosty go
Thumpety thump thump
Thumpety thump thump
Over the hills of snow


Merry Christmas guys!

^ ^

Thank you, Ken. Have a good one, everyone.

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