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Feng Shui

Feng Shui

Date: Feb 05 2021

Themes: Featured, Hobbies, How To, Work

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

Do you feel differently based on how you arrange your apartment or house? Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese practice based on the idea that where you place your furniture can affect your health, income and relationships. Lots of Americans are getting into feng shui and some, like Amanda’s mother, are even making a business out of it.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Amanda

Amanda

Marni

Marni

Amanda:  My mom just retired, she was an art teacher, and guess what she’s gonna do?

Marni:  She’s gonna make art!

Amanda:  Close. She’s gonna use those skills, but with her boyfriend, they are gonna start their feng shui landscaping business. Is that not cool?

Marni:  It sounds super cool…I have to admit my ignorance, I don’t exactly understand feng shui.

Amanda:  It’s alright. Feng shui is the concept of placement and direction so that the chi flows the most freely. So whether it’s furniture in a home or lighting or actually if your house is on a hill. You can use the same for landscaping, where a tree is…

Marni:  So are you supposed to arrange things differently according to the direction of your house, if your house faces north…

Amanda:  Yes, and if you have bad feng shui it’s supposed to give you bad luck and I kinda believe in that. I kinda do.

Marni:  So go back and explain the chi. I have to admit, again…

Amanda:  Chi has to be able to freely flow from the front door all the way through your living spaces.

Marni:  Okay.

Amanda:  Yeah. And one point of feng shui for the office is your back should never face the entrance to your cubicle or office. Ever.

Marni:  I thought that was more of a mafia thing, like your back should never face the door because they could come in and shoot you from behind.

Amanda:  That’s true, it’s kind of Sopranos meets feng shui. Yeah.

Marni:  Alright, interesting.

 

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Discussion

When Amanda asks Marni to guess what her mother is going to do now that she retired from being an art teacher, Amanda naturally guesses that she’s going to make art. But it turns out she’s going to start a feng shui landscaping business with her boyfriend.

Marni doesn’t know what feng shui is so Amanda explains that it’s arranging the furniture in your home based on the direction it faces. She says that feng shui can even apply to the trees outside a house, which is what her mother and her boyfriend are going to work with. Amanda says that she believes that bad feng shui brings bad luck.

When explaining feng shui, Amanda used the word “chi.” Marni asks what “chi” means and Amanda skirts the question. She says that chi has to flow from the front door to the rest of the house, but she doesn’t explain what chi is, probably because it’s a pretty hard thing to explain. It basically means “energy” or “life force,” and sometimes it’s spelled “qi.”

Amanda says that according to feng shui, a person’s back shouldn’t face the entrance to an office. Half-joking, Marni says that she thought that rule came from members of the mafia who didn’t want to be shot in the back while sitting at a desk. Amanda agrees and says it’s sort of like a combination of The Sopranos, a television show about the mafia, and feng shui.

Do you put thought into how you arrange your living space or do you just throw everything in there and not worry about it? Do you believe in chi and feng shui or do you think it’s all in people’s imaginations?

 

Comments

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mini-fish

mini-fish

China

as you wish to believe or not,i…....
en.. believe it a little

10:53 AM Jun 20 2007 |

Rigoberta

Rigoberta

Guatemala

that’s true.

09:00 PM Jun 19 2007 |

eadanlin

eadanlin

United States

Feng Shui=風水
風(Feng)=wind
水(Shui)=water

04:24 PM Jun 19 2007 |

joe-sport

joe-sport

China

I dont belive it too.but I can accpet "feng shui" when it menas good~

10:45 AM Jun 19 2007 |

irina Ferum

Russian Federation

I thing Feng Shui has a sense. If you tried somehting and it worked. Why not?  I khow it.s not lucky when the bed reflects in mirror. It.s true!

 

07:20 AM Jun 19 2007 |

Delphin

Delphin

Russian Federation

Actually, I don't believe it. By the way, when I'd moved a frog to corner my room (it means that you'll get a profit) I, really, got a profit. :)Money mouth

07:08 AM Jun 19 2007 |

Delphin

Delphin

Russian Federation

It’s good idea…Try it!

07:04 AM Jun 19 2007 |

abdeeq

abdeeq

Somalia

That’s True….

06:59 AM Jun 19 2007 |

shahriarheydari

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

Opposite of Chi there is Chachi(shachi), it is negative Energy …

06:58 AM Jun 19 2007 |

Nida786

Nida786

Pakistan

Housekeeping and House decoration is totally a ladies task to do..
Nida

06:46 AM Jun 19 2007 |

Everwelwisher

Pakistan

yes… so often i change the position of my house furniture and it's look very nice

after making new decoration arrangements in the house

 

 

Everwelwisher@ Gmail.com 

06:42 AM Jun 19 2007 |

Everwelwisher

Pakistan

Feng Shui =?
probably any Chinese word

06:40 AM Jun 19 2007 |

DAR

DAR

Taiwan

yeah,what I think is that is a feeling.it`s like semiology.you choose the position of furniture` decoration.those little thing hint you and make you feeling better.but I think you ask the teacher who teach feng shui how to put decoration.sometimes.I will beat him.

06:34 AM Jun 19 2007 |

cateyes

cateyes

Thailand

My dad believes in Feng Shui but for me, it's a strategy of enviroment arrangement, such as the entrance of the house, furniture, light, window etc.According to an enviroment effect, you may feel moody because a wrong window which doesn't let wind flows  or a big tree is too near the window of the house which darkens your house in daytime.Laughing

06:06 AM Jun 19 2007 |

DAR

DAR

Taiwan

A taoist priest said somthing.sometimes it`s nonsense.but you feel right,because you have the same feeling…

it`s like anicent emperor did not allow people study astrology.because you think about betraying the emperor when you stare at star.it seem that star tell you betraying the emperor.and the emperor felt people would betray him when he stare at star.

12:33 PM Jun 07 2007 |

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