WeChat ESL Class at Beijing Time 8:00-9:00 am Dec.24 Saturday morning (US 7:00-8:00 pm Dec. 23 Friday night)

A. High Lights of the Week
B. Short Story

Sand and Stone!

A story tells of two friends who were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey, they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, she wrote in the sand:

"TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE"

They kept on walking, until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but her friend saved her. After she recovered from the near drowning, she wrote on a stone:

"TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE"

The friend, who had slapped and saved her best friend, asked her, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand, and now, you write on a stone, why?"

The other friend replied: "When someone hurts us, we should write it down in sand, where the winds of forgiveness can erase it, but when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone, so no wind can ever erase it."

LEARN TO WRITE YOUR HURTS IN THE SAND AND TO CARVE YOUR BLESSINGS IN STONE.

C. Christmas Carols

Silent night, Holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin, mother and child
Holy infant, tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent night, Holy night
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord at thy birth
Jesus, Lord at thy birth.

Silent night, Holy night
Shepherds quake, at the sight
Glories stream from heaven above
Heavenly, hosts sing Hallelujah.
Christ the Savior is born,
Christ the Savior is born.

D. Bible Lesson: Luke 2:1-20

The Birth of Jesus Christ

2 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest,
    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

WeChat ESL Class at Beijing Time 8:00-9:00 am Dec.17 Saturday morning (US 7:00-8:00 pm Dec. 16 Friday night)

A. High Lights of the Week

B. Short Story: A Cheerleader's Dream

Kelly has been cheering since she was in elementary school. She is now in her last year of college cheering for her school's sports teams. She plans to be a professional cheerleader for the Lakers team. That was her dream. Her parents wanted her to do something more normal, like becoming a nurse or working at a law firm. Kelly ignored her parents.

Kelly and her teammates were cheering at their last basketball game. When Kelly stood on top of her teammate's shoulder, she fell down. Everyone was silent. Her teammates checked up on her and asked if she was okay. Kelly had to be taken to the hospital. Her leg was permanently injured. "Can I ever be a professional cheerleader?"she asked. "I'm afraid you cannot," the doctor said. Kelly felt that life was unfair.

Kelly was scared for the future. All of her friends already knew what they wanted to do after college. Kelly had to change her plans. She already canceled her audition with the Lakers cheerleaders. Kelly thought about what she wanted to do for a career. She still wanted to do something related to cheer. After some thinking, Kelly wanted to be a coach for high school cheerleaders.

Discussion Questions:

1. What is your dream career?
2. Can your dream be changed?

C. American English Proverbs:

1. Bad news travels fast.
2. Barking dogs seldom bite.
3. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
4. Beggars can't be choosers.
5. The best things in life are free.
6. Better a live coward than a dead hero.
7. Better late than never.
8. Better safe than sorry.
9. The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
10. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
11. Birds of a feather flock together.
12. Blood is thicker than water.

D. Bible Story: Luke 1:39-56

Mary Visits Elizabeth

39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be[g] a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Mary's Song of Praise: The Magnificat

46 And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
    For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
    and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is for those who fear him
    from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
    he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
    and exalted those of humble estate;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
    and the rich he has sent away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
    in remembrance of his mercy,
55 as he spoke to our fathers,
    to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

WeChat ESL Class on Beijing Time 8:00-9:00 am Dec. 10 Saturday morning (US 7:00-8:00 pm Dec. 9 Friday night)

A. High Lights of the Week
B. Short Story: Find an Apartment

Mike and Maria both lived in a one-bedroom apartment in the city of Pasadena. It had been only a few months that they had been living there. The city of Pasadena was a relatively calm place. Mike had grown up in Pasadena.

He had established a strong bond with the town, and was eager to go back to his childhood residence. Mike had been living in Los Angeles when he was dating Maria. When Mike and Maria decided to move in together, Pasadena was Mike's first choice of location to relocate to. Maria did not have any objections.

She agreed, and they both began looking for apartments. They looked through the newspaper section that listed housings. After a week of searching they came across a nice one bedroom apartment. They called the landlord to set up an appointment to go see the place in person.

C. Idioms 

black and white

hit the books

to chicken out 

eyes are bigger than your stomach

kill 2 birds with one stne

better late than never

a piece of cake

building castles in the air

love me, love my log!

never judge a book by its cover

D. Bible Lesson: Luke 1:

Birth of Jesus Foretold

²⁶ In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. ²⁸ And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” ²⁹ But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
³⁴ And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
³⁵ And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. ³⁷ For nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸ And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

WeChat ESL Class on Beijing Time 8:00-9:00 am Dec. 3rd Saturday morning (US 7:00-8:00 pm Dec. 2 Friday night)

A. High Lights of the Week
B. Short Story: Books Don't Grow on Trees

A local community college professor decided to fight back. "The price of books for our students is just getting higher and higher and, combined with the rising cost of tuition, it's killing these kids," said Peter Jason, Ph.D. "Remember, students are one of the poorest groups of people in America. Almost half of them have at least one part-time job. In fact, one of my students has three jobs. She is a part-time sales clerk at a clothing store three days a week, then works three evenings a week as a pizza cook, and on weekends she does manicures at a beauty salon. And she still manages to have a high GPA and go to school full-time."

Textbook prices are traditionally high. Adding to that problem, many college instructors change textbooks year after year; they either upgrade to a new edition or switch to an entirely different textbook. This further hurts students because if an instructor no longer uses a particular textbook, that book has no resale value.

Dr. Jason decided to make life a little easier and a lot cheaper for his students by writing his own book on public speaking. "Many books have an increased price because of bells and whistles: CD-ROMs, lots of color photographs, and lots of graphics. I talked to my students, and many of them, like me, prefer to keep things simple. So, during a sabbatical a few years ago, I wrote my own textbook. I made sure that it wasn't long-winded. I called it Successful Public Speaking: How To Be Brief, Concise, and to the Point.

"Compared to most other public speaking primers, mine is half the number of pages, and one-third the price. That is, $30 instead of $90. Plus, it is published in a three-ring binder format. So, when I wrote a second edition last year, students only had to buy the 35 new pages and delete 35 of the original pages. For only $7.00, they had upgraded to the new edition. I've had great feedback from my students about this loose-leaf concept. Maybe the word will get out, and more writers and publishers will try it."

C. Idioms 

1. hit the books
2. hit the sack
3. twist someone's arm
4. to be up in the air
5. stab someone in the back
6. lose your touch
7. sit tight
8. pitch in
9. go cold turkey
10. to face the music

D. Bible Lesson: 

a. Matthew 5:2-12 

The Beatitudes

2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons[a] of God.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 

12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

b. Matthew 7:7-11

Ask, and It Will Be Given

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 

8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 

9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 

10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 

11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

WeChat ESL Class on Beijing Time 8:00-9:00 am Nov. 26 Saturday morning (US 7:00-8:00 pm Nov. 25 Friday night)

A. High Lights of the Week
B. Short Story: Little Thought behind "Thoughtful" Gift

Catherine invited Nelson to dinner. The previous semester, she had been a student in Nelson's grammar class, but she had to drop the class because her son Kendall was having a problem in school. The problem was that he wasn't studying. Catherine had decided that Kendall needed more motivation. She provided that motivation by watching him like a hawk. She also restricted his use of his Game Boy. He was allowed to play the computer game only on weekends.

Nelson was getting to be an old man. He had been teaching various subjects for over 30 years. He could have retired several years ago, but he loved teaching. He said his students gave him something to look forward to every day. He said he planned to teach until he dropped dead in the classroom.

Nelson accepted Catherine's invitation. He decided to take a little gift to Catherine to show his gratitude for the invitation. But he couldn't think of what would be appropriate. Opening his kitchen cabinet, he found the perfect gift—an unopened box of tea. In a kitchen drawer, he found some fresh–looking wrapping paper. He wrapped up the box of tea expertly.

Friday evening, he drove over to Catherine's and rang the doorbell. Once inside, he presented his gift. Catherine made a funny face. She said she loved the wrapping paper. Then she unwrapped the tea and made another funny face. She said, "Nelson, I gave this tea to you when I dropped out last semester, and I wrapped it in this paper!"

Nelson gulped. His face turned a little red. He told himself he had better remember to actually buy gifts in the future. He apologized to Catherine. She smiled and said, "it's okay. It's the thought that counts, yes? and, I really like this tea!"

C. American Idioms
A Penny Saved Is A Penny Earned: 

A Picture Paints a Thousand Words: 

A Piece of Cake: 

A Slap on the Wrist: 

A Taste Of Your Own Medicine: 

A Toss-Up: 

Actions Speak Louder Than Words: 

Add Fuel To The Fire: 

D. Bibles Lesson: 

ESL Short Stories

http://eslyes.com/inter/contents.htm

http://www.eslyes.com/

http://homepage.smc.edu/reading_lab/american_english_proverbs.htm


http://elcivics.com/worksheets/reading.html


http://www.eslcafe.com/idioms/id-list.html


http://www.eslcafe.com/idea/index.cgi?display:1028675430-25901.txt

http://www.guy-sports.com/humor/stories/moral_short_stories.htm#The_Wise_Farmer

WeChat ESL Class on Beijing Time 8:00-9:00 am Nov. 19 Saturday morning (US 7:00-8:00 pm Nov. 18 Friday night)

A. High Lights of the Week
B. Short Story: BP: Broken Pipeline, Bitter Public
Millions of gallons of oil were pouring into the Gulf of Mexico. A pipeline had broken. The drilling platform had burned and sunk. Workers had died. The oil poured out of the broken pipe, a mile beneath the surface of the gulf. The oil company tried to stop the flow. It poured golf balls into the pipe. It poured mud into the pipe. It put a steel cap on the pipe. Nothing worked. Oil was on the water. Oil was in the water. Oil was on the beaches. Oil was in the marshes. It was killing fish and birds. It was an environmental disaster. Fishermen stopped fishing. Nobody would buy their fish. Nobody would eat their fish. It was an economic disaster. In May, the oil company said it might be able to stop the flow by September. "Our vacations are ruined," said tourists. "Our livelihoods are ruined," said locals
C. Food Idioms. Make a sentence with each idiom.

1. The "cream of the crop" means it is ___.
   a. the worst
   b. the best
   Answerb
2. To "egg on" means to ___.
   a. encourage
   b. discourage
   Answera
3. If it's "just your cup of tea", it is ___.
   a. perfect
   b. all wrong
   Answera
4. If you are "cool as a cucumber", you are ___.
   a. panicked
   b. calm
   Answerb
5. If you "have a finger in the pie", you are ___ in something.
   a. involved
   b. disinterested
   Answera
6. "Use your noodle" means ___.
   a. act
   b. think
   Answerb
7. "In a nutshell" means ___.
   a. concisely
   b. it is finished
   Answera
8. "In the soup" means ___.
   a. in serious trouble
   b. having a good time
   Answera
9. "A hot potato" is a question which ___.
   a. answers itself
   b. is difficult to settle
   Answerb
10. If you "eat humble pie" you ___.
    a. accept shame
    b. are defensive
    Answera

D. Bible Story: Daniel 6 - Daniel and the Lion

Daniel and the Lions

6 Darius thought it would be a good idea to choose 120 satraps to rule throughout his kingdom. 2 He chose three men to rule over the 120 satraps. Daniel was one of the three supervisors. The king put these men in this position to keep anyone from cheating him. 3 Daniel proved himself to be a better supervisor than any of the others. He did this by his good character and great ability. The king was so impressed with Daniel that he planned to make him ruler over the whole kingdom. 4 But when the other supervisors and the satraps heard about this, they were very jealous. They tried to find reasons to accuse Daniel. So they watched what Daniel did as he went about doing the business of the government. But they could not find anything wrong with him, so they could not accuse him of doing anything wrong. Daniel was a man people could trust. He did not cheat the king, and he worked very hard.

5 Finally, they said, “We will never find any reason to accuse Daniel of doing something wrong. So we must find something to complain about that is connected to the law of his God.”

6 So the two supervisors and the satraps went as a group to the king. They said, “King Darius, live forever! 7 The supervisors, prefects, satraps, advisors, and governors have all agreed on something. We think that the king should make this law and that everyone must obey it: For the next 30 days, whoever prays to any god or man except you, King, will be thrown into the lions’ den. 8 Now, King, make the law and sign the paper it is written on so that it cannot be changed, because the laws of the Medes and Persians cannot be canceled or changed.” 9 So King Darius made the law and signed it.

10 Daniel always prayed to God three times every day. Three times every day, he bowed down on his knees to pray and praise God. Even though Daniel heard about the new law, he still went to his house to pray. He went up to the upper room of his house and opened the windows that faced toward Jerusalem. Then Daniel bowed down on his knees and prayed just as he always had done.

11 Then the supervisors and satraps went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. 12 So they went to the king and talked to him about the law he had made. They said, “King Darius, you signed a law that says, for the next 30 days anyone who prays to any god or man except you, the king, would be thrown into the lions’ den. You did sign that law, didn’t you?”

The king answered, “Yes, I signed that law, and the laws of the Medes and Persians cannot be canceled or changed.”

13 Then they said to the king, “That man Daniel is not paying any attention to you. He is one of the captives[a] from Judah, and he is not paying attention to the law you signed. Daniel still prays to his God three times every day.”

14 The king became very sad and upset when he heard this. He decided to save Daniel. He worked until sunset trying to think of a way to save him. 15 Then the men went as a group to the king and said to him, “Remember, King, that the law of the Medes and Persians says that no law or command signed by the king can ever be canceled or changed.”

16 So King Darius gave the order. They brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May the God you serve save you!” 17 A big rock was brought and put over the opening of the lions’ den. Then the king used his ring and put his seal on the rock. He also used the rings of his officials and put their seals on the rock. This showed that no one could move that rock and bring Daniel out of the lion’s den. 18 Then King Darius went back to his house. He did not eat that night. He did not want anyone to come and entertain him. He could not sleep all night.

19 The next morning, King Darius got up just as it was getting light and ran to the lions’ den. 20 He was very worried. When he got to the lions’ den, he called to Daniel. He said, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God been able to save you from the lions? You always serve your God.”

21 Daniel answered, “King, live forever! 22 My God sent his angel to save me. The angel closed the lions’ mouths. The lions have not hurt me because my God knows I am innocent. I never did anything wrong to you, King.”

23 King Darius was very happy. He told his servants to lift Daniel out of the lions’ den. And when Daniel was lifted out of the den, they did not find any injury on his body. The lions did not hurt Daniel because he trusted in his God.

24 Then the king gave a command to bring the men who had accused Daniel to the lions’ den. The men and their wives and children were thrown into the lions’ den. The lions grabbed them before they hit the floor. The lions ate their bodies and then chewed on their bones.

25 Then King Darius wrote this letter to all the people from other nations and language groups all around the world:

Greetings:

26 I am making a new law. This law is for people in every part of my kingdom. All of you must fear and respect the God of Daniel.

Daniel’s God is the living God;
    he lives forever.
His kingdom will never be destroyed.
    His rule will never end.
27 God helps and saves people.
    He does amazing miracles in heaven and on earth.
He saved Daniel from the lions.

28 So Daniel was successful during the time Darius was king and when Cyrus the Persian was king.

Discussion Questions:

1. Why couldn't the other officials accuse Daniel of misconduct in his work?
2. What kind of trap did they decide to set for Daniel?
3. Why do you think Daniel didn't keep his praying a secret?
4. What did the king say to Daniel before the den was sealed?
5. What might this say about the king's view of Daniel's God?
6. What was Daniel's replay?
7. What was the end result of Daniel's trust in God's faithfulness to him?