Pronunciation ChallengeWhy Cockroaches Are So Hard To Kill

“Long after the bomb falls and you and your good deeds are gone, cockroaches will still be here, prowling the streets like armored cars.” - Tama Janowitz

Hello Voicetubers! It’s Hugh, your host for today’s episode! I got an episode that many, if not all, of you listeners can relate to! Cockroaches! They’re the worst! I hated cockroaches growing up in Toronto but when I moved to Asia, I realized how lucky I was to have grown up in the west. The cockroaches I grew up seeing are probably only one tenth the size of the cockroaches I saw in Hong Kong and Taiwan! What’s crazy is that I can even hear the cockroaches in Asia scurry around! (scurry means a small animal or insect moving around in small quick steps) I can hear them move! Not only that but they can fly! Are you kidding me?! If you take any person from the west and drop them in Asia, they’ll be just as terrified as me when they see how crazy the cockroaches in Asia can be. I don’t know how you listeners in Asia, be it, Vietnam, Taiwan, or even Japan do it! Anyways, let’s get to the featured sentence first. When you come back, I have a fun, yet scary, cockroach fact waiting for you!

Today’s featured sentence:
On top of that, this roach has a super-strong immune system that seeks out and kills harmful microbes and fungi, making the most unsanitary environment look like a five-star hotel to the American cockroach.

I’ll say that again.

On top of that, this roach has a super-strong immune system that seeks out and kills harmful microbes and fungi, making the most unsanitary environment look like a five-star hotel to the American cockroach.

Ok, now time for the Pronunciation Tips.


For the first word, we have
immune
Two syllables.
“I” has a short U sound. “MMUNE” because of the E at the end, say that actual vowel name here. In this case, that would be the letter U. MUNE. Immune.

Next up, we have
fungi
Two syllables
“FUN” actually sounds like it has the letter G at the end giving you “FUNG”. “GI” sounds like “guy”, like a man. Fungi.

Lastly, we have,
environment
Four syllables.
“EN” sounds like the word, “in”. “VI” has a long i sound. “RON” sounds like the word “earn” like you have to earn money. “MENT” has a short i sound. Environment.


Moving onto Vocabulary!

The first word is:
1. Immune
Definition
protected against a particular disease by particular substances in the blood
Used in a sentence you could say,
“Some vaccines don’t make you completely immune.”

Next word,
2. Microbe
Definition
a very small living thing, especially one that causes disease, that can only be seen with a microscope
Used in a sentence, you could say:
“Scientists can determine whether a certain microbe can cause disease.”

And lastly,
3. Unsanitary
Definition:
dirty or unhealthy and therefore likely to cause disease
Used in a sentence, you could say:
“The gas station washroom looked very unsanitary.”

Have any of you listeners heard that cockroaches can survive a nuclear bomb? Apparently, it’s not true but a lot of them can still survive. There used to be a show I loved called Mythbusters and they would conduct the craziest experiments. (You can actually find this episode on YouTube still. All you have to do is type “Mythbusters cockroaches”) One of the experiments was to test how much radiation it took to kill cockroaches. I’ll spoil the ending for you. The radiation killed them all right, but it also took a lot of radiation to kill them! They are strong resilient creatures! (Resilient means to be able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult situations)
Alright, I’m getting shivers just from thinking about cockroaches, so I’m going to end today’s episode here. Make sure to get those recordings in! Until the next episode, see ya!

Day 302