Episode Description:
Since 1991, I have told my students stories of two friends and me traveling around the world, including on the legendary Trans-Siberian Railroad. Our trip began and ended in Hsinchu, Taiwan, where we were living at the time. We traveled from Taipei to Hong Kong to Guangzhou to Beijing, where we visited the Great Wall. My friend and fellow-traveler Mr. Terry Racher joins us as a guest. This episode picks up with our departure from Beijing, and then we discuss the six days and nights across Siberia by train, arrival in Moscow on July 4, arrival in the recently reunified Berlin, and our respective trips home and then back to Taiwan.
Word of the Day: Trans-Siberian Railroad (n.) the railroad crossing Siberia, from East to West Word Stem: “trans”: across Other words with the stem “trans”： translation, transition, transportation
Question of the Day: Would you like to take a train trip for six days and night? Would you get bored?
Listen to Episode 11 below.
Listen Here
Check your listening ability.
1. At 0:35, what does Mr. Dreyer mean when he says it’s not rocket science?
2. Between which two islands is Yap Island, where Mr. Racher taught for a bit?
A. Guam and the Philippines
B. the Philppines and Indonesia
C. Singapore and Papua New Guinea
D. Malaysia and Brunei
3. What is the historical significance of the island of Tinian?
4. The only two items the Trans-Siberian train offered the passengers to eat were ________________________ and ________________________.
5. Why did their wheels have to be changed when they crossed the border from China into the USSR?
6. T/F Lake Baikal is the largest lake in the world.
7. At 20:12, how does Mr. Dreyer use the word dilly dally?
A. silly
B. get lost
C. waste time
D. an excellent example of someone
8. Russia reminded Mr. Racher of which US state?
A. Florida
B. Iowa
C. Montana
D. New York
9. Why did the Russian family decide to let “the three amigos” spend the night, although the family had just experienced the death of a loved one?
10. What did Mr. Racher learn from his trip?
Answer Key:
1. He says that this episode is part two of the previous episode. It makes clear sense the second would follow the first. Rocket science is complicated and this is not.
2. A. Guam and the Philippines
3. The planes that bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki flew from Tinian.
4. pork chops and cucumber salad
5. The Soviet Union had been invaded by so many countries, Stalin had all the Soviet Union’s railways narrowed from the international width. This slowed intruders down by causing them to replace their wheels to accomodate narrower tracks.
6. False, it is the deepest lake in the world.
7. C. waste time
8. C. Montana
9. They realized it was an American holiday, the fourth of July.
10. Everyone around the world experiences the same life issues and they all need Jesus. No matter the politics, government, or country, people have common problems.
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Have a question or feedback? Maybe a topic you’d like to hear in a future episode? Please email Scott at lifeapppodcast@gmail.com. We’d love to hear from you! If you enjoy our podcasts, please subscribe, write a review, and share them on social media and by word of mouth! Those are GREAT ways to help more people find our podcasts. Please also visit us at www.DreyerCoaching.com; check out the blog posts at the bottom of the page for more information about life in the USA and the crazy English language.