Hello and welcome to English with Languissimo®, the podcast in English where I share stories of my week and that of the world with you.
My name is Vanessa Rocket. I’m the founder and CEO of Languissimo®.
Let’s go!
The Voice of April 1st (La voix du 1er avril)
April 1st was April Fools’ Day, the day you make jokes.
Many brands took the opportunity to advertise.
Let me give you 2 examples.
Duolingo announced the release of its musical on ice skates: Duolingo on Ice.
The city of Paris announced that it was possible to stay in Gustave Eiffel’s apartment located on top of the Eiffel Tower.
The Voice of GrowthCon (La voix de la conférence d’affaires)
Every year for the past 9 years, Grant Cardone has been putting on a business conference where he invites several celebrities and businessmen and women who are very successful.
I joined the conference online.
I couldn’t listen to all the interviews but those of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bob Duggan, Tyler Perry and Anthony Scaramucci were very good.
I really enjoyed their powerful messages of anyone having the ability to accomplish great things.
I encourage you to believe in you, in your capacities, in your skills and in your potential.
Don’t listen to those who tell you that you can’t or won’t make it or that your idea is lousy or stupid.
It is one the messages I put in my book “Try and Thrive” (preorders are available on our website languissimo.ca) as I realize that we are all capable of accomplishing great things if we give ourselves permission to.
Unfortunately, too many people give up before even starting so listen to me: try and you will thrive!
I know that I will start investing in real estate as I have been wanting to do this for a very long time.
One step at a time, as the saying goes.
The Voice of Conscience (La voix de la conscience)
Yesterday, April 5th, was International Day of Conscience which promotes a culture of Peace with love and conscience.
The first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood”.
The task of the UN, United Nations, is to save future generations from the scourge of war.
Such a difficult task since human beings can not stop themselves from going to war!
According to Magnus Öberg, director of the Uppsala Conflict Data Program, the number of conflicts has gone up and the number of deaths linked to conflicts has gone up by 97 % just in 2022 with an increase of 400 % since the year 2000.
Pretty huge, don’t you think?
Here are the places where wars rage in the world:
Burkina Faso, Somalia, Sudan, Myanmar, Russia-Ukraine, Israel-Gaza, Nigeria-Syria and Yemen.
So, let’s do our best, like the UN, to create conditions of stability, well-being and peaceful and friendly relations based on respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion!
Let’s fight together for peace and the respect of each and everyone’s rights and freedoms!
Some Study Points
- “April Fools’ Day” means “poisson d’avril”.
- “To make jokes” means “faire des blagues”.
- “A musical” means “une comédie musicale”.
- “To be successful” means “avoir du succès”.
- “Anyone” means “n’importe qui”.
- “To believe in something/someone” means “croire en quelque chose/quelqu’un”. “I believe in you” (Je crois en toi/vous).
- “To be lousy” means “être nul(le)(s)”.
- “Real estate” means “l’immobilier”.
- “I’ve been wanting to do this for a very long time” means “cela fait très longtemps que je veux le faire”. Remember that the present perfect (has/have + been + past participle of verb) or present perfect progressive (has/have + been + verb + ing) is used with “for” + a duration”. Here I have “for a very long time” so I conjugated “to want” in the present perfect progressive “I have been wanting”.
- “As the saying goes” means “comme dit le dicton/proverbe”.
- “Human Rights” means “les droits de l’homme”.
- “To be born” means “naître”. It is conjugated here in the present, but it is mostly conjugated in the simple past: “I was born” (je suis né(e)).
- “Brotherhood” means “fraternité”. It comes from “brother” (frère).
- “Scourge” means “le fléau”.
- “To stop oneself from doing something” means “s’empêcher de faire quelque chose”.
- “Data” is a noun in the plural which means “les données”.
- “To rage” means “faire rage”.
- “Myanmar” means “la Birmanie”.
- “Each and everyone” means “chacun d’entre nous”.
Some Practice Questions
- Which April Fools’ Day commercial did you like?
- Did you watch GrowthCon online?
- Do you think it’s important to promote peace, and the rights and freedoms of each and everyone?
Tada! That’s it for today! I hope you enjoyed this podcast. Subscribe to English with Languissimo®, practice, take care and have a great weekend! Big hugs 😊