Hello and welcome to English with Languissimo®, the podcast in English where I share stories of my week with you.

My name is Vanessa. I’m the founder and CEO of Languissimo®. 

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The Voice of Water (La voix de l’eau)

March 22nd is World Water Day.

Canada joins many other countries in highlighting the importance of protecting and conserving our freshwater heritage.

Canada is home to 20 percent of the world’s freshwater reserves so it’s important to keep them healthy at all costs.

This is the reason why Mister Guilbeault, the minister of Environment and Climate Change announced over $800,000 in funding for supporting community projects aimed at improving water quality in the Saint Lawrence River.

Water is a resource essential to our survival and we must take good care of it.

Too many people dispose of their trash in lakes, seas, and oceans.

This lack of respect for nature is unacceptable.

I’m disgusted each time I see the amount of waste that is found in the water or that is thrown away by people on the ground.

Human nature can be so disappointing at times.

We must conserve the environment that surrounds us.

Without water, there is no life on earth.

Let’s stop polluting our waters and let’s try instead to throw away our waste in the garbage or recycling bins.

Water is not an infinite resource so let’s not waste it!

I will always remember the first time I took a shower in Canada.

My roommate thought that I had not showered but I hardly used any water.

I explained to her that in France, unlike Quebec, water is very expensive, so we turn it off while we shower.

It’s simple.

I turn on the water, rinse and turn it off. I wash, turn on the water again and rinse for the second time.

I have noticed that in northern America, people tend to leave the water running while showering.

Northern Americans don’t always realize how lucky they are to have all those resources and unfortunately waste too much water and food.

It’s shocking especially when you see the number of people who have neither.

I hope that people will come to see that by destroying their environment, they are destroying themselves.

That’s why, on this World Water Day, I encourage you to think twice before leaving the water running for no reason.

Some Study Points

-          “Fresh water” means “l’eau douce”. It can be written in one or two words.

-          “At all costs” means “à tout prix”.

-          “This is the reason why” means “c’est pour cette raison”. “That’s why” (c’est pourquoi) is a synonym.

-          “River” in this context means “un fleuve”. It also means “une rivière”. 

-          “To dispose of something” means “se débarrasser de quelque chose”.

-          “Survival” means “la survie”. It comes from the verb “to survive” (survivre).

-          “Trash” means “les ordures/les déchets/la poubelle”. “Waste” is a synonym.

-          “To throw away” means “jeter”.

-          “To be disappointing” means “être décevant” but “to be disappointed” means “être deçu”.

-          “To waste” means “gaspiller”. “Waste” (le gaspillage) is the noun.

-          “To shower “ means “se doucher/prendre une douche”.

-          “ A roomate” means “un/une colocataire”. “Roomie” is colloquial for “roommate”.

-          “Hardly” means “à peine”.

-           “To turn on or off the water” means “ouvrir or fermer l’eau”.

-          “To leave the water running” means “laisser couler l’eau”.

-          “Neither” means “ni l’un ni l’autre”. It’s also pronounced “neither”.

-          “To destroy” means “détruire” but “to destroy oneself” means “se détruire”.

-          “To think twice” means “réfléchir à deux fois”.

Some Practice Questions

-          Do you think that by destroying the environment we’re destroying ourselves?

-          Do you leave the water running while you shower?

Tada! That’s it for today! I hope you enjoyed this podcast. Subscribe to English with Languissimo®, practice, take care and have a great weekend! Big hugs 😊