This week on Sound Kitchen, we'll answer your questions about Tiananmen Square, we'll have “Listener's Corner,” “Happy Moments” by O'Leah Houghton, and lots of great music. We've got all that, plus a new quiz and a bonus quiz, so click the play button above and enjoy!
Hello everyone! Welcome Sound Kitchen Our weekly podcast is published every Saturday, on our website or wherever you listen to podcasts. Be sure to tune in every week to hear the winner's name announced and the quiz question of the week, as well as all the stuff you know and love: your letters and essays, “things of the day”, quirky facts and news, interviews and great music.
Erwan and I are preparing a special show based on your music requests. Please send in your requests! contact address – Tell us why you like the song too, that makes it even more interesting for all of us!
The ePOP Video Contest has begun!
The ePOP video contest is organized by “Planète Radio”, an RFI division whose mission is to give a voice to the voiceless. ePOP focuses on the environment and how climate change has affected “regular” people. Create a 3-minute video about climate change, the environment and pollution, talking about people who are affected.
You don't need expensive video equipment to participate in the contest – a cell phone will do. And you don't have to be a member of the RFI Club to participate – anyone can participate. And by the way, the prizes are amazing!
To read about past contests, watch past videos and read the rules for entry, please visit our ePOP page. You can also send us an email at thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr and we will forward your email to Planète Radio.
The contest ends on September 12th, but as we all know, “time flies,” so get started now! We're expecting a flood of submissions from English-speaking countries.
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More Technology News: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and type “RFI English” into the search bar! Be sure to subscribe to our channel to see all our videos.
Want to learn French? RFI can help!
On our website “Le Français facile avec RFI” you will find news broadcast in slow, easy French, as well as bilingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to help you practice what you've heard.
Visit our website to get started. Click on “Test Level” at the top of the page. Depending on your score, we will advise you on the activities best suited to your level.
Don't give up! Lidwien van Dixhoorn, head of the “Le Français facile” service, told me: “Just listen to the sounds of the language and you will understand it.” And she knows it: Lidwien is Dutch and when she came to France she could barely say “bonjour” and now she's head of this important RFI department. So, hang in there!
Be sure to check out our awesome podcasts!
We offer breaking news articles with in-depth analysis of current events in France and around the world, as well as several podcasts to whet your appetite for more.
There Parisian perspective, Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, And of course, Sound KitchenThere's an award-winning bilingual series: a classic radio show with actors (!) who help you learn French. 12-year-old boyAnd it's great International Reporttoo.
As you can see, audio is still very much alive and well on the RFI English service. Check our website regularly for updates from our journalistic staff – you never know what surprises we might bring you!
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Teachers take note! I keep postcards and stamps from all over the world and send them to my students. If you want to send stamps or postcards to your students, please send me an email. The address is english.service@rfi.fr If you do not mind to donate Please feel free to send stamps, postcards, etc. The address is listed below.
Another idea for students: Father Gerald Muller, my beloved music teacher at St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas, has since retired and is writing books for young people — and they're free to read! He has a collection of biographies of artists and musicians. Gentle Giantand an excellent biography of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. you To improve my English, I studied French by reading books for young readers. I guarantee this is a good way to improve your language skills. Click here to get Brother Gerald's free books.
Independent RFI English Club: Be sure to include Audrey Iattoni (audrey.iattoni@rfi.fr) RFI Club correspondence will receive emails from the Listener Relations Department. Don't forget to send us a copy (contact address) When you write to her, please let me know what's going on. Note: you don't need to send her the answers to the quiz, it will cause too many emails!
We welcome new members to the RFI Listeners Club: Tamidul Alam Olin is from Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Welcome, Tamidul! We are pleased that you participated!
You too can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club. english.service@rfi.fr Just let us know you'd like to join and we'll send you a membership number. It's that easy. As an RFI Listeners Club member, you'll win great prizes when you win the Sound Kitchen quiz.
This week's quiz: On June 8th, I asked a question about an article I wrote earlier that week about the 35th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing, China. On June 4th, 1989, the Chinese People's Liberation Army broke up pro-democracy student protests at Tiananmen Square. According to various reports, anywhere from hundreds to thousands of students were killed.
One student leader, Wang Dan, was imprisoned twice in China before being allowed to emigrate to the US and now lives in San Francisco, where he runs the think tank Dialogue China.
He visited Paris recently and spoke to RFI for an interview, which can be read in our article, “35 Years Since Tiananmen Square: A Top Chinese Dissident Looks Back.”
In the interview, we asked Wang Dan: “How did June 4, 1989 change China?” What would he answer? That was your question.
The answer is, Wang Dan explained: “June 4th is a turning point in modern Chinese history. There are two eras in China: pre-1989 China and post-1989 China. The main difference is [that] Before 1989, the state and society worked together. That is why we took to the streets. We took to the streets as a representative society and asked the government to work together to advance democracy. There is no difference between “us”. We all think we are “us”. We all have a responsibility to this country.
But after 1989, many Chinese people gave up on this idea. “You” is the government, and “we” are ordinary Chinese people. There is no “we” anymore. There is only “you” and “me.” After 1989, Chinese people abandoned their responsibility for the country's future because they thought they could do nothing themselves, and that it was the government's responsibility, not the people's, to change China.”
In addition to the quiz questions, there were also bonus questions: “What is an ideal relationship?” This was proposed by Debasis Gope of West Bengal, India.
Have an idea for a bonus question? Send it in!
The winners are as follows: Karuna Kanta Pal, an RFI Listeners Club member from West Bengal, India. Congratulations, Karuna!
This week's list of lucky winners also includes Nafisa Khatun, president of RFI Mahila Shrota Sangha Club, West Bengal, India, and Kashif Khalil, member of RFI Listeners Club, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
Last but not least, our RFI English listeners are John Yemi Sanday Turay from Freetown, Sierra Leone, and Rafiq Khondaker, president of the Source of Knowledge Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh.
Here's the music you heard on the show this week: “Take the A Train” by Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington performed by Duke Ellington and his orchestra. “El Bueno y el Malo” composed and performed by brothers Esteban and Alejandro Gutierrez (Hermanos Gutierrez). “Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Kids Corner Claude Debussy's “Happy” performed by the composer himself. Pharrell Williams' “Happy”, and The President's Dance (Foxtrot for Orchestra) Composed by John Adams and performed by Edo de Waart and the San Francisco Symphony.
Do you have any music requests? contact address
Question of the Week … You need to listen to this show to participate. After listening to the show, re-read Jessica Phelan's article “Three factors that make France's election results unusual” – it will help you find the answer.
Entries for this week's quiz are open until August 19th. The winner will be announced on the podcast on August 24th. When you enter, be sure to submit your postcode along with your answer, and your RFI Listeners Club membership number, if you have one.
Please send your responses to:
english.service@rfi.fr
or
Susan Owensby
RFI – Sound Kitchen
80 Rue Camille Desmoulins
92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux
France
or
You can also text your quiz answers to The Sound Kitchen's mobile phone. International access code for your country, or + “, 33 6 31 12 96 82. Please remember to include your mailing address in the text. – Your RFI Listeners Club membership number (if you have one).
Click here to find out how you can win special Sound Kitchen prizes.
To find out how to become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or To form your own official RFI Club, click here.
