Dusit Zoo not moving – yet

The Bangkok Post reports today that Dusit Zoo officials have denied rumours that the zoo is about to close

However, they say, there is a plan to relocate the 79-year-old zoo to Pathum Thani to a 300-rai plot of land donated by His Majesty the King.

That could take years, but it will result in a better zoo, officials say.

“We have to accept change as the bigger place means better opportunity for both the animals and visitors,” the zoo’s website said.

officials /əˈfɪʃlz/ people who have the power to make decisions or enforce the law เจ้าหน้าที่ผู้มีอำนาจ
deny /dɪˈnaɪ/ to say that something is not true ปฏิเสธ
rumour BrE /ˈruːmə(r)/ NAmE /ˈruːmər/ a story that people are discussing but which may or may not be true ข่าวลือ

relocate BrE /ˌriːləʊˈkeɪt/ NAmE /ˌriːˈloʊkeɪt/ to move something to a new place ย้ายที่ใหม่

plot BrE /plɒt/ NAmE /plɑːt/ a piece of land used for a particular purpose ที่ดิน, ที่ดินแปลงเล็ก
donate BrE /dəʊˈneɪt/ ; NAmE /ˈdoʊneɪt/ to give something such as money or goods to an organisation, especially to a temple, charity, school, political party, etc. บริจาค
opportunity BrE /ˌɒpəˈtjuːnəti/ NAmE /ˌɑːpərˈtuːnəti/ a chance to do something, or a situation in which it is easy for you to do something โอกาส

A funny story about counting cats: 2+2+2 = 7

Notice that this is not a real situation, so the teacher uses “would”, i.e., If I gave you …., how many would you have?

2+2+2 = 7

Teacher: “If I gave you 2 cats and another 2 cats and another 2, how many would you have?”

Johnny: “Seven.”

Teacher: “No, listen carefully… If I gave you two cats, and another two cats and another two, how many would you have?”

Johnny: “Seven.”

Teacher: “Let me put it to you differently. If I gave you two apples, and another two apples and another two, how many would you have?”

Johnny: “Six.”

Teacher: “Good. Now if I gave you two cats, and another two cats and another two, how many would you have?”

Johnny: “Seven!”

Teacher: “Johnny, where in the world do you get seven from?!”

Johnny: “Because I’ve already got a cat!”

From “sunny skyz”

Slowing things down

The nice thing about this new audio player is that you can slow down the playback speed. Just click on that little clock symbol move the slider back a little. This is great for language learners and it is especially useful for fast speech like in this example. Listen at normal speed first. Then try changing to .8 or .7. Click “X” to come back to the main page of the audio player.

“I thought you were going out. I wanted to go, but I’ve got a report to finish for tomorrow.”