Tuesday, March 28, 2017

WeChat ESL Class at 7:30-8:30 AM on April 8, 2017 Beijing Time

A. High-Lights of the Week
B. Short Story: The Barber
A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: "I don't believe that God exists."
"Why do you say that?" asked the customer.
"Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine loving a God who would allow all of these things."
The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and un-kept. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist."
"How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. "I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!"
"No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside."
"Ah, but barbers DO exist! What happens is, people do not come to me."
"Exactly!" affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! What happens is, people don't go to Him."
C. American Idioms

  1. feeling blue
  2. couch potato
  3. down to earth
  4. drive up the wall
  5. plead the fifth
  6. piece of cake
  7. uptight
  8. lighten up
  9. the cold shoulder
  10. hang out

D. Bible Story:
What title would you give to this story?

Then Jacob went on his journey and arrived at the land of the children of the East. And he looked and saw a well in the field, and there were three flocks of sheep lying down by it; for from that well they watered the flocks; but there was a large stone over the well. When all the flocks were gathered there, they used to roll away the stone and water the sheep and then put the stone back in its place over the well. 
Jacob said to the men, "My friends, from where do you come?" They said, "We are from Haran." Then he said to them, "Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?" And they said, "We know him." And he said to them, "Is all well with him?" And they said, "All is well; indeed, this is Rachel his daughter coming with the sheep." And he said, "See, the sun is still high! It is not time for the cattle to be gathered together. Water the sheep and feed them." But they said, "We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and they roll away the stone from the well; then we will water the sheep."

While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep; for she was a shepherdess. When Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, and Laban's sheep, he went up and rolled the stone from the well and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother. Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. And when Jacob told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and that he was Rebekah's son, she ran and told her father.
As soon as Laban heard about Jacob, his sister's son, he ran to meet him, put his arms around him, kissed him many times, and brought him to his home. When Jacob told Laban all about these things, Laban said to him, "Surely you are my bone and my flesh." So he remained with him a whole month.
Then Laban said to Jacob, "Should you serve me for nothing simply because you are related to me? Tell me what shall be your wages?" Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah's eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful. Jacob loved Rachel, and so he said, "I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter." And Laban said, "It is better for me to give her to you than to give her to any other man. Stay with me." So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days, because he loved her so.
Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife, for my time is up, and let me marry her." So Laban gathered all the men of the place and made a feast. In the evening he took Leah his daughter and brought her to him, and Jacob received her as his wife.
When in the morning Jacob found it was Leah, he said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?" Laban said, "It is not the custom among us to give the younger in marriage before the older. Remain with this one during the marriage week, then we will give you the other also for the service which you shall give me during seven more years." Jacob did so: he remained with Leah during the marriage week. Then Laban gave him Rachel his daughter to be his wife, but Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah. So he had to serve Laban seven years more.

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