Sunday, 28 June 2015

Regular Text - Marty Siwy and a Very Lucky Pig - A day in the forest that had a surprise!

FOR FULL AUDIO/VISUAL PAGE - PLEASE CLICK HERE - OR - ONTO PICTURE OR TEXT!


From Here to the Corner and a very Big Surprise!
Marty Siwy



People who run every day are everyday winners. And, winning when running is reaching a goal. And, Marty Siwy's first goal was from here to the corner, and that was a long time ago. And now, Marty's goals are measured in hours, and 3 hours a day is her minimum. But, of course, running is more than just reaching a point, it's about being alone, too. And, this is a wonderful thing.

But, there can be surprises as well, some good and some bad, and, Marty's surprise was a pig. Not just any normal pig, but a big wild boar! And, Marty almost ran straight into her!

It was early one morning and Marty was out in the woods when it happened. There, standing in front of her was the biggest wild boar that she had ever, ever seen and, it was blocking her path. And, worse still, it was protecting her young. And, stopping just in time Marty froze! And, the boar did the same. Marty, in her bright yellow t-shirt and even brighter red shorts was clearly a threat! And, charging was the boars only option and that she was starting to do! Marty had to act quickly! Without even thinking, she threw up her arms in the air and started to turn! And, surprisingly, that was all that was needed. The boar was now more scared of Marty than Marty of her! And, together with her young, the boar took off at speed in the opposite direction! Marty's luck, we can say, were the colours she was wearing!

But, crossing the line in good time in long distance runs has more to do with hard training than luck. Over the years, Marty has won lots of medals in many city runs and has come home in good time in more than 38 marathons. And, Marty has travelled the word. Her running has taken her from New York to Sydney to Hong Kong and many other exciting places as well. And, along the way she has made many new friends.

And, funnily enough, the wild boar that she met in the forest has become her spiritual friend. All Marty has to do when slowing down in a run is think of her boar and her power and speed soon return.

But, running has one more great advantage, too. It's the best anti-ageing agent there is. So, however old or how young you may be, why not follow Marty's example. Get your running shoes out of the cupboard and go for the corner. And, you, too, will start winning at once. And, the rest and the medals will come in good time! It's all up to you!


Vocabulary

advantage – Vorteil
chargingangreifen
example - Beispiel
froze - frieren (stillstand)
funnily enoughkomischerweise
scared – beängstigt
threatDrohung
wild boarWildschwein





Diarikom's PodcastA985




Friends of Diarikom

Apotheke zur Kaiserkrone
Grosshandel
Mariahilfer Straße 110 A 1070 Wien
Tel: +43 (0)1 526 26 46 111
Fax: +43 (0)1 526 26 46 191
Email: ware@kaiserkrone.at

Diarikom and Lexmatica are sponsored by Mag. Karl Brieber
WirtschaftstreuhänderSteuerberaterUnternehmensberater

The Most Beautiful Beaches in Europe!
Mountains, rivers, lakes and much more.
Wales – Come and visit!
Aber House
Barmouth
Elisabeth Razumovsky

Diarikom.blogspot.com
Texts about people, places and surprises!

More Lexmatica Texts!


.

Wednesday, 24 June 2015

Easy Text (Lexmatica) - Submarines - Underway underwater!

For FULL / AUDIO / VISUAL  TEXT - Please  CLICK HERE - or - onto picture or text!



Lexmatica – Submarines


Submarines are ships that can travel under water. And, they have been around for a very long time.

The first submarine ever was was the Glass Barrel. It was built in Ancient Egypt about 2.300 years ago.

The H.L. Huntley was used in the American Civil War. It was the first sub to sink an enemy ship.

But, submarines are not only used in war. In 1985, the unmanned vessel Argo found the Titanic!


Vocabulary

about – ungefähr
American Civil War – Amerikanische Burger Krieg
enemy - Feind
ever – jemals
sink – versinken (sink/sank/sunk)
travel – reisen/fahren (travel/traveled/traveled)
unmanned – unbemannt
used – verwendet
vessel – Schiff
was built – wurde gebaut


Questions and Points

Where was the first submarine built?

Why are submarines so dangerous?
In which war was the H.L Huntley used?
What did it do?
Would you like to go in a submarine?

What happened in 1985?

Sunday, 21 June 2015

Regular Text - Erich Mullebner - Bird Boxes for Organic Delight - Good wine is nature!

For full AUDIO/VISUAL PAGE - Please click HERE- or - onto picture or text!

 Erich Mullebner - by Nigel A JAMES


Part of the Natural Chain




Erich Mullebner has been managing a workshop, the Werkstätte Baumgarten, for the last 20 years. And, the Werkstätte Baumgarten is special. And, it is so because of the help it gives those who can not keep up with the speed of regular life. And, the workshop offers everything from woodworking to textile design, and much more as well. And, about 2 years ago, Erich Mullebner's workshop became part of the natural chain. And, it started with a phone call.

The phone call was from the owner of an organic vineyard. He was looking for nesting boxes to place amongst his vines. And, could Erich Mullebner's workshop help? The answer was yes. And very soon, Erich Mullebner's carpenters were manufacturing nesting boxes. But, why nesting boxes?

Birds are an indispensable part of organic farming. They do a wonderful job in keeping down the number of dangerous insects, and the nesting boxes which Erich Mullebner's workshop made were needed to attract the right kinds of birds. And, the right entrance holes are important. Different entrance holes attract different birds, and because the nesting boxes have to face east, the entrance holes have to be on the right side of the box!

And, of course, Erich Mullebner has the best of both worlds! He's at the end of the wine chain, too. And, the organic wine that Erich Mullebner drinks has the taste and energy of the earth it is grown in. And, this is the goodness of nature. And, there is one more thing, too. The countryside near Vienna where Erich Mullebner lives is alive once again with the singing of birds. And, this is the nicest of all. And, all because a farmer phoned up and ordered some boxes.





Vocabulary
amongstunter – zwischen
attractanlocken
organic – bio
carpenterTischler
chainKette
hole - Loch
indispensable – unentbehrlich
kind – Art
nesting box – Nestbox
now and again – ab und zu
organic – bio
vinesWeinstöcke
vineyardWeingarten
workshopWerkstätte

More Info -
Lebenshilfe NÖ
Werkstätte Baumgarten


Diarikom's PodcastA985




Friends of Diarikom

Diarikom and Lexmatica are sponsored by Mag. Karl Brieber
WirtschaftstreuhänderSteuerberaterUnternehmensberater

Apotheke zur Kaiserkrone
Grosshandel
Mariahilfer Straße 110 A 1070 Wien
Tel: +43 (0)1 526 26 46 111
Fax: +43 (0)1 526 26 46 191
Email: ware@kaiserkrone.at

The Most Beautiful Beaches in Europe!
Mountains, rivers, lakes and much more.
Wales – Come and visit!
Aber House
Barmouth
Elisabeth Razumovsky

Diarikom.blogspot.com
Texts about people, places and surprises!

More Lexmatica Texts!


Diarikom Essays and texts

Thursday, 18 June 2015

Lexmatica (Easy Text) - Inventions - No inventions - no fun!

For full AUDIO/VISUAL PAGE - Please CLICK HERE - or - onto picture or text!


Inventions






The world is full of inventions. Some good, and some bad, and some are good and bad! Aeroplanes are good examples. They can take us to very nice places, and they can drop bombs on our heads. Good and evil! Night and day!

So, what does Maxi B. Acs say? He says that the best invention ever is the pencil- case, it is a good place for his pencils. And, what does Helga Indra say? Her favourite invention is the mobile phone – she can speak all-day-long to her friends!

But, many people believe that the computer is the most important invention of all. I don't agree. I believe that the wheel is the most important invention of all! Life without it would be impossible!


Vocabulary

agree – zustimmen (agree/agreed/agreed)
all-day-long – den Ganzen Tag
believe – glauben (believe/believed/believed)
day – Tag
ever – jemals
evil – böse
examples – Beispiele
important – wichtig (important/more important/the most important))
impossible – unmöglich
inventions - Erfindungen
many – viele (much – viel)
mobile (phone) – Handy -used mainly without „phone“
night – Nacht
pencil case - Fedepenal
people – Menschen
say – sagen (say/said/said)
some are good – Manche sind gut
without - ohne
zero – Null

Questions and Points for Discussion!

Name four inventions which are good and bad!
What is the most important invention ever?
Why are computers very good inventions?
What have you invented?
Who invented the aeroplane?
What are the most important household inventions?
What do you think of cars?


Diarikom's PodcastA985




Friends of Diarikom

Apotheke zur Kaiserkrone
Grosshandel
Mariahilfer Straße 110 A 1070 Wien
Tel: +43 (0)1 526 26 46 111
Fax: +43 (0)1 526 26 46 191
Email: ware@kaiserkrone.at

Diarikom and Lexmatica are sponsored by Mag. Karl Brieber
WirtschaftstreuhänderSteuerberaterUnternehmensberater

The Most Beautiful Beaches in Europe!
Mountains, rivers, lakes and much more.
Wales – Come and visit!
Aber House
Barmouth
Elisabeth Razumovsky

Diarikom.blogspot.com
Texts about people, places and surprises!

More Lexmatica Texts!


.

Intermediate Text - (IT) - Elizabeth Kramer - A moving story of on-going help!

For FULL AUDIO/VISUAL PAGE - Please CLICK HERE - or - onto picture or text!


Elizabeth Kramer -
Purity of Heart!
A Story of help that came straight from the heart!


Help can sometimes keep flowing forever. And, the help that Elizabeth Kramer gave to a young Ethiopian lad some ten years ago was just that kind of help. It came straight from the heart, was pure, and was given without question. And, it all began at the end of an African day!
Following the Blue Nile, Elizabeth Kramer and her husband Gustav had just driven down from the mountains of Siemen and had reached the town of Baihr Dar on the shores of Lake Tana. For ten wonderful days, they had been living and breathing the feelings of Africa. They had marvelled at the colours of the sun in the earth, and had touched the thatch covered huts of secretive native villages. They had seen an unimaginable world and had got to know the people they met. And now, with this adventure behind them, Elizabeth and Gustav Kramer were back in the modern and visiting Haili Selassie's palace. But, then came the eyes!

Elizabeth felt them first. They were looking at her in a penetrating “asking for help” way, and Elizabeth was unable to ignore them. They were the eyes of sincerity and needing. And, Elizabeth's heart went out to this well dressed young man. And, so it was that she agreed to provide the book he was desperately wanting. And, this young man's name was Johannes.

And the book was the start of something special. Over the years, Elizabeth and Gustav Kramer have encouraged and supported Johannes in every possible way. They were always there for him And, they were happy. For, Johannes had become their Spiritual Son.

And now, Johannes is returning Elizabeth's and Gustav's help in the best possible way. Now happily married and living in Germany, Johannes is passing on this help to those who need it from him – thus - helping this help to continue for ever! And, all because Elizabeth and Gustav Kramer came down from the mountains and found meaning and wanting in two wonderful African eyes.
Vocabulary

breathing atmen
desperatelyverzweifelt
encouraged (encourage/encouraged/encouraged) – ermutigt
feelingsGefühle
flowing - fließen
marvelled – (marvel/marvelled/marvelled) – bewundert
nativeeinheimisch
penetrating – eindringlich
puresauber
secretivegeheimnisvoll
sincerity – Ehrlichkeit
thatchStroh
unimaginableunvorstellbar


Diarikom's PodcastA985


Friends of Diarikom

Apotheke zur Kaiserkrone
Grosshandel
Mariahilfer Straße 110 A 1070 Wien
Tel: +43 (0)1 526 26 46 111
Fax: +43 (0)1 526 26 46 191
Email: ware@kaiserkrone.at

Diarikom and Lexmatica are sponsored by Mag. Karl Brieber
WirtschaftstreuhänderSteuerberaterUnternehmensberater

The Most Beautiful Beaches in Europe!
Mountains, rivers, lakes and much more.
Wales – Come and visit!
Aber House
Barmouth
Elisabeth Razumovsky

Diarikom.blogspot.com
Texts about people, places and surprises!

More Lexmatica Texts!


.

Friday, 12 June 2015

Regular Recording - Charley Steidel's Big Grey Elephant - Saying goodbye to the good times of plenty - A memory!

For full AUDIO/VISUAL PAGE - Please CLICK HERE - or -  onto text or picture!  Good Luck!

Charley Steidel - by Nigel A JAMES


Charley Steidel's Big Grey Elephant!


Farewells are all part of life. And, sometimes these moments are best understood when viewed through the distance of years. And, this is how Charley Steidl still remembers a day from long, long ago.

It was 1939. It was late summer and hot, and Charley Steidel was still very young. And, because of the very fine weather, Charley's father had decided to take the family to the Viennese Prata, an amusement park close to the centre of town. And, the Prata, with its rides, swings and roundabouts, was a wonderful place for a family day out. And, even Charley won an inflatable big grey elephant. Charlie was happy. But, this magical day was not only for riding the fare, there was something else, too. And, this was eating.

To begin with, lunch was spent at Emminger's, a restaurant close to the Prata. Charley still remembers that the meal was good, but can no longer recall that which he had. And then, after eating all they could eat, the party moved on to another restaurant for afternoon coffee and cakes. But, that was not all. With the coming of evening, Charley's father ordered yet another meal, this time roast goose. And, the fun and the eating carried on until late.

And, of course, it was very much later in life that Charley understood the meaning of this eating. His family weren't being greedy, they were simply bidding farewell to the good times of plenty! And, they knew what was coming. Within just a short space of time the dark clouds of hunger had eclipsed the fine days of plenty. The world was at war! There was not enough food and people were hungry. And, the sun and good food were not to come back for a very long time!


Vocabulary

eatery – Restaurant
bidding farewell - (bid/bade/bidden) sich verabschieden
eclipse – in den Schatten stellen
fare – Vergnügungspark
farewells – Verabschiedungen
greedy – gierig
impress - beeinflussen
inflatable – aufblasbar
meaning – Bedeutung
plenty – mehr als Genug
recall (to recall/recalled/recalled) – erinnern
yet - noch





Diarikom's PodcastA985




Friends of Diarikom

Apotheke zur Kaiserkrone
Grosshandel
Mariahilfer Straße 110 A 1070 Wien
Tel: +43 (0)1 526 26 46 111
Fax: +43 (0)1 526 26 46 191
Email: ware@kaiserkrone.at

Diarikom and Lexmatica are sponsored by Mag. Karl Brieber
WirtschaftstreuhänderSteuerberaterUnternehmensberater

The Most Beautiful Beaches in Europe!
Mountains, rivers, lakes and much more.
Wales – Come and visit!
Aber House
Barmouth
Elisabeth Razumovsky

Diarikom.blogspot.com
Texts about people, places and surprises!

More Lexmatica Texts!


.

Monday, 8 June 2015

Intermediate Text (Diariklub) - Erch Lessing - A cold grey photo of early morning life! Budapest 1956

For full AUDIO/VISUAL PAGE - Please CLICK HERE - or - onto picture or text!

The Morning After – The Grey Clouds of Trouble
A photo by Erich Lessing




1956 was a terrible year for Hungary. It was dreadful. It had had the taste of pure freedom, a victory that wasn't a victory, and a revolution that ended in brutal Soviet repression. And, Erich Lessing, the brilliant Austrian photographer succeeded in capturing the jubilations, hardships, sorrows, and bitter defeat of this time. And, this collection of moving portraits of life can be found in Erich Lessing's book, Budapest 1956. But, there's one picture in this collection that says more than it shows!

It's a cold damp Budapest morning. It's October. There's a greyness of dreary depression, and the Szenater (a square near the main railway station) is waiting to be cleared up. It's definitely a “morning after” picture. There’s only a handful of people, and the expressions they are wearing are those of contented success. But, their smiles are thin, the night before must have been violent.

There's the usual litter of bricks and stones, and there's an overturned armoured car. It must have been a very emotional and violent night. But, it's the two railway carriages in the background that clearly demonstrate the desperation and power of the crowd. The railway carriages had been dragged and pushed there from the nearby railway to stop advancing Soviet tanks. But, how was this possible?

How difficult must it have been to push the carriages through the streets? How many people were involved? And, where did their super-human- energy come from? And, who helped them? And, how much time did they have? Railway carriages are very heavy things.

And, this picture is also a study of suffering. Who looked after the injured? And, how many perished? And, those left behind? And, when will the next confrontation be?

1956 was a terrible year for Hungary. But, this very simple picture of the left-overs of battle provides just a very small glimpse of the suffering of then. And, of course, no picture can tell the full story, but, this picture of early morning grey says more than many other photos. And, this is the greatness of Lessing! His photos are amongst the best that there are! And, thanks to him, we have a very clear picture of our own recent past!

Erich Lessing has a small gallery in the centre of Vienna. The address is 1010 Wien,
Weihburggasse 22.


Vocabulary

contendedbefriedigend
dampfeucht
defeatNiederlage
desperationVerzweifeln
dreary – trüb
expressionsGesichtsausdrücke
glimpse – Blick
hardships – Schwierigkeiten
has succeeded – ist gelungen
jubilations – Freude
morning after – Tag der nach
perished (perish/perished/perished) starb
sorrows – Leiden
successErfolg
tank – Panzer
violentGewaltsam

Erich Lessing has a gallery in the centre of Vienna. The address is 1010 Wien,
Weihburggasse 22.

For more information click here,-





Diarikom's PodcastA985




Friends of Diarikom

Apotheke zur Kaiserkrone
Grosshandel
Mariahilfer Straße 110 A 1070 Wien
Tel: +43 (0)1 526 26 46 111
Fax: +43 (0)1 526 26 46 191
Email: ware@kaiserkrone.at

Diarikom and Lexmatica are sponsored by Mag. Karl Brieber
WirtschaftstreuhänderSteuerberaterUnternehmensberater

The Most Beautiful Beaches in Europe!
Mountains, rivers, lakes and much more.
Wales – Come and visit!
Aber House
Barmouth
Elisabeth Razumovsky

Diarikom.blogspot.com
Texts about people, places and surprises!

More Lexmatica Texts!


.

Friday, 5 June 2015

A Poem - The Owl and the Pussy-Cat - by Edward Lear

For FULL AUDIO-VISUAL PAGE -Please click HERE - or - onto text or picture!


Poem – The Owl and the Pussy-Cat
by Edward Lear



The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are,
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!”

Pussy said to the Owl, “You elegant fowl!
How charmingly sweet you sing!
O let us be married! too long we have tarried:
But what shall we do for a ring?”
They sailed away for a year and a day,
To the land where the Bong-tree grows,
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood,
With a ring at the end of his nose,
His nose,
His nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose.

Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
Your ring?” Said the Piggy, “I will.”
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.


Maggy Steiner

  Maggy Steiner had a wonderful childhood.  She went to school in Vienna, and spent her summers with her uncle and aunt and her two cousins ...