(Higher level-Advanced) The Secret Life of the Orchestra

Karl Steven is a local genius who went to the same school as I did. In this extremely informative and enjoyable four-part series Karl explores the four families of orchestral instruments: brass, percussion, woodwind, and strings. Along the way we find out about how they work, their unusual past, and meet some of the players who devote their lives to them.

Listen:

The Secret Life Of

S'il vous plaît

A french café has started charging extra to rude customers.

Read more:

Un café s'il vous plaît

(Higher level-Advanced) The World's Fastest Talking Woman

Fran Capo is the fastest talking woman in the world. She can speak at 11 words per second.

Watch:

The World's Fastest Talking Woman

Guiding questions:

What is a lexicon compressor? What does it do that a tape recorder can’t?

What makes a record attempt “null and void”?

What are Fran’s different jobs?

How does she look at life?

Where is Fran from?

What did she do on the bottom of the ocean?

Why is she in NZ?

Listen again and complete the gaps:

The _________ season

A __________ business

Do a d_______________

Once upon a time _____ ______ _______ ________ pigs. One ____ ____ ______ _____ ______. The _____  little pig ______ _______ _______. _____ _______ ________ pig liked to _____ ______ _______.

Enunciated p___________

Up to ____

Go _________ life

The _________ of the titanic

An ordained ________

___________ talking proof

Maungakiekie

Maungakiekie was the largest and most important Māori pā in pre-European times. The cone and its surroundings are estimated to have been home to a population of up to 5,000. At this time, the Nga Marama chief Kiwi Tamaki held the pa and used its strategic placement to exact tribute from travellers passing from Northland to the rest of the North Island through the rich isthmus. Its position between the Waitemata Harbour to the east (opening upon the Pacific Ocean) and the Manukau Harbour to the west (opening onto the Tasman Sea) offered a wide variety of seafood from the two harbours. The volcanic soil of the slopes of the mountain was highly fertile and easy to defend from raiding parties from other tribes due to its steep sides and imposing palisades. The inhabitants terraced the hill extensively, and it is considered to be the largest prehistoric earthwork fortification worldwide. It is also the largest and most complex volcanic cone/earth fortress known in the Southern Hemisphere.

Watch ethnologist David Simmons talk about the mountain's rich history:

(there's a mihi in Māori first, but the rest is in English)

Maungakiekie

Kuirau Park, Rotorua

The Kuirau Park Flea Market could quite possibly be the only market surrounded by bubbling mud and hot steam, and is one feature that makes Kuirau Park a Rotorua essential.

Read more:

Kuirau Park