Pronunciation ChallengeCNN10: Georgia Vote Count / Tokyo Olympics / Thermopolium Unearthed in Pompeii / Goat Eats Xmas Tree

【Timecode】

00:17-01:30 News: Georgia Vote Count
01:33-02:57 News: Tokyo Olympics
03:00-03:42 News: Thermopolium Unearthed in Pompeii
03:47-04:26 News: Goat Eats Xmas Tree

【Transcript】

--- Georgia Vote Count ---

All eyes were on the State of Georgia on January 5. If the Republicans take at least one seat, they can ensure the majority of the congress. But if the Democrats can win back both seats, they'll manage to create a tie in the US Senate that can always be broken by the vice president, handing Democrats control of not just the US House but also the entire Congress. And now the results are clear, the Democrats have won both seats with Raphael Warnock becoming the first ever African American senate elected from Georgia in US history.

Just as the runoff election came to an end, a never-before-seen riot took place in the Capital Hill. Supporters of President Donald Trump breached one of the most iconic American buildings, engulfing the nation's capital in chaos after Trump urged his supporters to fight against the ceremonial counting of the electoral votes that will confirm President-elect Joe Biden's win. A total of four demonstrators were reportedly killed during the riot.

--- Tokyo Olympics ---

Friday, July 23rd this year is the scheduled date for the opening of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, which was postponed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. It’s name remains the same although it’s now 2021. However, there are new strains of coronavirus that have cropped up (appeared) around the world, and they're causing new troubles in the efforts to fight the disease. Health officials don't know yet if the newly approved emergency vaccines work against the new strains. But as they race to find answers and treatments for all variants of coronavirus, concerns about the disease in Japan are bringing some Olympic sized questions. Olympic organizers have already said that the games will be simplified with shortened opening and closing ceremonies. In Japan, vaccination is not set to begin until February, far behind some countries, but the stakes are very high this year for the games to go forward as planned. Olympic organizers have said that if the games do not go as planned this summer, then it will simply be canceled, not postponed again. Japan has put in an unprecedented amount of money into the Olympics games. And now, because of the postponement and because of Covid-19 prevention measures, that cost has only increased by billions more to now $15.4 billion.


--- Thermopolium Unearthed in Pompeii ---

Archaeologists have unearthed an ancient food stall in the ruins of Pompeii, Italy. Experts say this is their first time finding a complete example of a thermopolium. It’s a hot food deli shop that would serve ancient street food. Pictures of animals were painted on the stall to indicate shoppers what’s on the menu. Traces of nearly 2,000-year-old food were found in terra cotta jars in the shop. The City of Pompeii was home to about 13,000 people when it was destroyed by a volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Let me know in the comment section below if you’ve visited Pompeii before.


--- Goat Eats Xmas Tree ---

You know, some people like to buy real Christmas trees, but what do we do with it after Christmas? It can either become recycled trash, or a big feast for our furry little friends. At a farm in Massachusetts, it's like Christmas morning for the animals who love to eat the old trees. However, it's not just the goats on the property who enjoy the special treat, chickens also love to come for a snack. This all started when the family who owns the farm tried giving their tree to the goats. And after that, more and more families started bringing their trees to the farm for the animals to naturally “recycle” them.


【Vocabulary】

1. organizer
the person or group who plans and arranges an event or activity

Ex: Monica from the TV Show “Friends”, is an example of a great organizer.

2. simply
completely or as much as possible

Ex: You look simply beautiful in that red dress.
Ex: Taking a hot bath after a long cold day is simply the best feeling.

3. postpone
to delay an event and schedule it for a later time

Ex: The trip has been postponed twice.
Ex: It’s been raining all day, I think we’ll have to postpone the tennis game.


【Vocab Smoothie】

Ingredients of the day: organizer / simply /postpone

Our boss simply fired the organizer for the business meeting because she forgot to inform our clients that the meeting has been postponed.


【Epilogue】

Alright that’s all the time we have for today.
Personally, I hope the US can recover soon,
from both the coronavirus and transfer of power that has been tearing the nation apart.
Leave a comment down below to share the cup of vocab smoothie you’ve made.

This is Ken Miao and I’ll see you again next week.

^ ^

Thanks, Ken. Have a good one, everyone.