Audiobooks by Teodor Flonta

A Dictionary of English and Spanish Equivalent Proverbs

This dictionary is organized in sets of proverbs, where the English proverb is followed by one or more Spanish equivalent proverbs. The English proverbs are arranged according to a main word. Equivalent proverbs are those which express the same concept, be it literally or with different words. Proverbs included in this collection come from monolingual, bilingual and multilingual collections, some as old as the 16th century, and it should be accepted that some of them are contradictory, discriminatory, blasphemous or scurrilous and as such they reflect past attitudes and express the idiosyncrasies of a people and their culture through time and history. At the same time, proverbs are based on the practical experience of humankind and show us that we can change and do better. While proverbs are still used today in a traditional way, that is in speech, literature and teaching, they have found a new ever-expanding use in the advertising industry and in the mass media. Proverbs like 'Here today, gone tomorrow' become 'Hair today, gone tomorrow' in the hair-removal industry, while the mass media has a variety of paraphrases such as 'Hear today, gone tomorrow,' 'Heir today, gone tomorrow.' Before the Barcelona Olympic Games, the old proverb 'All roads lead to Rome' became 'All roads lead to Barcelona' in many English language newspapers and magazines. This is a phenomenon encountered in many languages today and is undoubtedly a sign of the proverb's resilience and vitality. As travel has become more frequent than in the past, more people learn foreign languages and proverbs are borrowed from the cultures they come in contact with. It is good, therefore, to be familiar with them. Read by native speakers, the proverbs in this dictionary will allow you to practice the language you are studying, by helping you improve your pronunciation, enrich your vocabulary and become familiar with the structure of the language.

Teodor Flonta (Author), David Daintree, Imma Padilla Mas Hilly, Teodor Flonta (Narrator)

Audiobook

A Dictionary of English and Portuguese Equivalent Proverbs

This dictionary is organized in sets of proverbs, where the English proverb is followed by one or more Portuguese equivalent proverbs. The English proverbs are arranged according to a main word. Equivalent proverbs are those which express the same concept, be it literally or with different words. Proverbs included in this collection come from monolingual, bilingual and multilingual collections, some as old as the 16th century, and it should be accepted that some of them are contradictory, discriminatory, blasphemous or scurrilous and as such they reflect past attitudes and express the idiosyncrasies of a people and their culture through time and history. At the same time, proverbs are based on the practical experience of humankind and show us that we can change and do better. While proverbs are still used today in a traditional way, that is in speech, literature and teaching, they have found a new ever-expanding use in the advertising industry and in the mass media. Proverbs like 'Here today, gone tomorrow' become 'Hair today, gone tomorrow' in the hair-removal industry, while the mass media has a variety of paraphrases such as 'Hear today, gone tomorrow,' 'Heir today, gone tomorrow.' Before the Barcelona Olympic Games, the old proverb 'All roads lead to Rome' became 'All roads lead to Barcelona' in many English language newspapers and magazines. This is a phenomenon encountered in many languages today and is undoubtedly a sign of the proverb's resilience and vitality. As travel has become more frequent than in the past, more people learn foreign languages and proverbs are borrowed from the cultures they come in contact with. It is good, therefore, to be familiar with them. Read by native speakers, the proverbs in this dictionary will allow you to practice the language you are studying, by helping you improve your pronunciation, enrich your vocabulary and become familiar with the structure of the language.

Teodor Flonta (Author), Ana Soares, David Daintree, Teodor Flonta (Narrator)

Audiobook

A Dictionary of English and French Equivalent Proverbs

This dictionary is organized in sets of proverbs, where the English proverb is followed by one or more French equivalent proverbs. The English proverbs are arranged according to a main word. Equivalent proverbs are those which express the same concept, be it literally or with different words. Proverbs included in this collection come from monolingual, bilingual and multilingual collections, some as old as the 16th century, and it should be accepted that some of them are contradictory, discriminatory, blasphemous or scurrilous and as such they reflect past attitudes and express the idiosyncrasies of a people and their culture through time and history. At the same time, proverbs are based on the practical experience of humankind and show us that we can change and do better. While proverbs are still used today in a traditional way, that is in speech, literature and teaching, they have found a new ever-expanding use in the advertising industry and in the mass media. Proverbs like 'Here today, gone tomorrow' become 'Hair today, gone tomorrow' in the hair-removal industry, while the mass media has a variety of paraphrases such as 'Hear today, gone tomorrow,' 'Heir today, gone tomorrow.' Before the Barcelona Olympic Games, the old proverb 'All roads lead to Rome' became 'All roads lead to Barcelona' in many English language newspapers and magazines. This is a phenomenon encountered in many languages today and is undoubtedly a sign of the proverb's resilience and vitality. As travel has become more frequent than in the past, more people learn foreign languages and proverbs are borrowed from the cultures they come in contact with. It is good, therefore, to be familiar with them. Read by native speakers, the proverbs in this dictionary will allow you to practice the language you are studying, by helping you improve your pronunciation, enrich your vocabulary and become familiar with the structure of the language.

Teodor Flonta (Author), David Daintree, Kaira Hachefa, Teodor Flonta (Narrator)

Audiobook

A Dictionary of English and Italian Equivalent Proverbs

This dictionary is organized in sets of proverbs, where the English proverb is followed by one or more Italian equivalent proverbs. The English proverbs are arranged according to a main word. Equivalent proverbs are those which express the same concept, be it literally or with different words. Proverbs included in this collection come from monolingual, bilingual and multilingual collections, some as old as the 16th century, and it should be accepted that some of them are contradictory, discriminatory, blasphemous or scurrilous and as such they reflect past attitudes and express the idiosyncrasies of a people and their culture through time and history. At the same time, proverbs are based on the practical experience of humankind and show us that we can change and do better. While proverbs are still used today in a traditional way, that is in speech, literature and teaching, they have found a new ever-expanding use in the advertising industry and in the mass media. Proverbs like 'Here today, gone tomorrow' become 'Hair today, gone tomorrow' in the hair-removal industry, while the mass media has a variety of paraphrases such as 'Hear today, gone tomorrow,' 'Heir today, gone tomorrow.' Before the Barcelona Olympic Games, the old proverb 'All roads lead to Rome' became 'All roads lead to Barcelona' in many English language newspapers and magazines. This is a phenomenon encountered in many languages today and is undoubtedly a sign of the proverb's resilience and vitality. As travel has become more frequent than in the past, more people learn foreign languages and proverbs are borrowed from the cultures they come in contact with. It is good, therefore, to be familiar with them. Read by native speakers, the proverbs in this dictionary will allow you to practice the language you are studying, by helping you improve your pronunciation, enrich your vocabulary and become familiar with the structure of the language.

Teodor Flonta (Author), Ariella Flonta, David Daintree, Teodor Flonta (Narrator)

Audiobook

Un viitor luminos: Crescut în Transilvania în umbra comunismului

Povestea tânărului Teodor se desfășoară pe fundalul dramei pe care familia și țara sa o trăiesc în zilele cumplite ale anilor 1950 într-o Românie stalinistă. În timp ce țările occidentale sunt angajate în reconstrucția postbelică, regimul comunist, impus românilor de Uniunea Sovietică, îi privează pe cetățenii săi de cele mai elementare libertăți și reduc un popor întreg la foame. Regimul amenință să elimine familia Flonta, declarându-l pe Pavel, tatăl lui Teodor, chiabur, adică „dușman al poporului”. În consecință, Pavel este arestat, întemnițat și torturat. Când valul de persecuție atinge punctul culminant, este forțat să trăiască ascuns. O meserie pe care Pavel o învățase în tinerețe îl salvează: rușii, care extrag uraniu în Carpați pentru bomba lor atomică, îl angajează. Acolo, la mină, brațul lung al Securității, nu poate sa-l ajungă. Și, din moment ce în comunism copiii trebuiau să sufere pentru „păcatele” pe care poliția secretă le atribuie părinților lor, Teodor suferă și el, încă de la o vârstă fragedă, nenumărate abuzuri: meritele sale nu sunt recunoscute în timpul școlii elementare, este expulzat din liceu și nu i se permite să dea exam la facultatea aleasă de el. Când tânărul Teodor termină școala elementară, tatăl său îi face un cadou pe care îl dorea atât de mult. Era un radio cu tranzistori pe care îl va lua cu el peste tot. Într-o zi, în timp ce era la pășunat cu vacile lor, descoperă sunetul unei limbi frumoase: italiana. Din acel moment viața lui începe să se schimbe. În timp ce studiază limba italiană la Universitatea din București, întâlnește femeia viselor sale, Ariella, care îl va salva de comunism. Căderea comunismului îl va găsi pe Teodor „la sfârșitul lumii” în Tasmania, în timp ce tatăl său, ultimul membru al familiei, va fi implicat în recuperarea terenului pe care comuniștii i-l confiscaseră cu zeci de ani mai devreme.

Teodor Flonta (Author), Teodor Flonta (Narrator)

Audiobook

Un futuro luminoso: Cresciuto in Transilvania all'ombra del comunismo

Quando il giovane Teodor finisce la scuola media, suo padre gli fa un regalo che lui desiderava tanto. Era una radiolina a transistor che porterà con sé dappertutto. Un giorno, mentre era con le loro mucche al pascolo, scopre il suono di una bellissima lingua: l’italiano. Da quel momento la sua vita comincia a cambiare. Mentre studia l’italiano all’Università di Bucarest, incontra la donna dei suoi sogni, Ariella, che lo salverà dal comunismo. La storia del giovane Teodor si dipana sul sottofondo del dramma che la sua famiglia e il suo Paese vivono nei terribili giorni degli anni ’50 in una Romania stalinista. Mentre l’Italia e i Paesi occidentali erano impegnati nella ricostruzione del dopoguerra, il regime comunista, imposto ai rumeni dall’Unione Sovietica, privava i cittadini delle libertà più elementari e riduceva un’intero popolo alla fame. Il regime minaccia di eliminare la famiglia Flonta, dichiarando il padre di Teodor un 'nemico del popolo'. Di conseguenza, il padre viene arrestato, imprigionato e torturato. Quando la persecuzione raggiunge il suo apice, è costretto a vivere nascosto. Un mestiere che aveva imparato in gioventù lo salva: i russi, che estraggono uranio nei Carpazi per la loro bomba atomica, lo assumono. Là, nella miniera, il lungo braccio della Securitate, la polizia segreta rumena, non può raggiungerlo. E, siccome nel comunismo i figli dovevano soffrire per i 'peccati' che la polizia segreta imputava ai genitori, Teodor subisce anche lui, sin da piccolo, innumerevoli soprusi: non gli vengono riconosciuti i meriti durante le elementari, viene espulso dal liceo e non gli si permette di accedere alla facoltà di sua scelta. La caduta del comunismo troverà Teodor “alla fine del mondo”, in Tasmania, mentre suo padre, l’ultimo membro della famiglia, sarà coinvolto nel recupero della terra che i comunisti gli avevano confiscato decenni prima.

Teodor Flonta (Author), Teodor Flonta (Narrator)

Audiobook

A Luminous Future: Growing up in Transylvania in the Shadow of Communism

The story of the young Teodor unravels on the background of the drama that his family and his country lived in the terrible days of the 1950s in a Stalinist Romania. While the Western countries were engaged in post-war reconstruction, the communist regime, imposed on Romanians by the Soviet Union, was committed to depriving its citizens of the most elementary freedoms and reducing an entire people to starvation. The regime threatens to eliminate the Flonta family, declaring Pavel, Teodor's father, an 'enemy of the people.' As a consequence, he is arrested, imprisoned and tortured. When the wave of persecution reaches its climax, Pavel is forced to live in hiding. A job Pavel learned in his youth saves him: the Russians, who extract uranium in the Carpathians for their atomic bomb, hire him. There, at the mine, the long arm of the Securitate, the Romanian secret police, cannot reach him. As in communism children were made to suffer for the “sins” the secret police invented for their parents, Teodor goes through a lot of strife while growing up; he is expelled from high school and prevented to undertake studies at the faculty of his choice. The fall of communism will find Teodor 'at the end of the world', in Tasmania, while his father will be involved in the recovery of the land that the totalitarian regime had confiscated from him decades earlier.

Teodor Flonta (Author), Teodor Flonta (Narrator)

Audiobook