Hello all,
If the title of this post reveals your true self, or in case you know someone who feels like that, check out this website by clicking here.
I must admit I like a couple of those songs. What about you?
Best,
Rick
Howdy ho!
Check it out!
[slideshare id=310211&doc=adjectivalisation-suffixes-1205757076515342-4&w=425]
There you go. The PPT used in class.
[slideshare id=309574&doc=present-perfect-vs-past-simple-1205718001339475-2&w=425]
Cheers!
I found this article on Brasília and its problems. It contains fairly useful vocabulary. It has way more to offer, though. It’s really nice for us to see what other countries and cultures have been reading about us. Just click here to read the story. Oh, and there’s a nice listening as well.
This is the headline:
Overcrowding, traffic and crime blight futurist capital, admits legendary architect
Do you agree with what has been said? Have your say!
So, you’ve finally started believing that reading is going to be great for your exams, but would like to read different content? Have a look at this link. It shows some other blogs – supposedly the world’s 50 most powerful blogs.
Happy reading! Oh, and in case you’d like to set up your own blog, I could do it for you on edublogs and help you out as an editor. It’d do wonders for your writing. Think about it, huh?
PS: Probably my last post at the age of 28. 
What’s up, everybody,
Another nice article I came across tonight comes from “The Economist”. I found it particularly nice for you to observe the linking devices between paragraphs. Needless to say, its vocabulary is outstanding. Make sure you observe the way the words are used.
Mar 6th 2008 | SÃO PAULO
From The Economist print edition
SETTLE down at one of São Paulo’s sushi bars and before long you will overhear a discussion about a start-up business making energy from obscure weeds, or some other bright idea for relieving members of the country’s growing middle class of their disposable income. A field study of this kind displays a strong sample bias, but the point is clear: Brazil does not lack go-getters. Yet according to a more thorough survey backed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a sister organisation of the World Bank, Brazilian entrepreneurs are a strikingly different breed to their peers in Russia and China.
Overall, some 82% of entrepreneurs in all three countries came from families with at least one other entrepreneur. They also tended to be taller than the average. But there the similarities end. In particular, Brazilian entrepreneurs seem to have a much lower appetite for risk.
The researchers measured this by offering interviewees hypothetical bets of varying risk and reward, and offering a choice between cash now or more money at a later date. The entrepreneurs in the sample were no more risk-taking than other Brazilians, and were also more likely to retire if offered a windfall than their peers elsewhere.
Perhaps this lack of staying power is because there are many more pleasant things to do in Brazil than work. But why should Brazilians be so risk-averse? Simeon Djankov, one of the study’s authors, hypothesises that in real life Brazilian entrepreneurs run bigger risks than those elsewhere. Starting a business takes 152 days and requires 18 different procedures, according to the IFC’s annual worldwide “Doing Business” study. It takes 2,600 hours for a medium-sized business to keep up with its taxes each year. The same hypothetical business would pay 69% of its second-year profits in tax, if it played by the rules and did not receive special tax breaks.
Brazilian entrepreneurs show an unsurprising willingness to bend the law. “Essentially what determines good entrepreneurship in Brazil is the ability to navigate around the bureaucracy,” suggests Mr Djankov. Eduardo Giannetti da Fonseca, an economist, concurs: “If Bill Gates had started Microsoft in a garage in Brazil, it would still be in the garage.” Harder to explain than why Brazil’s entrepreneurs are as they are is why they exist at all.
So, what’s your take on this?
Take care,
Rick
Hello all,
while browsing through the Guardian Unlimited, I stumbled upon this piece of news which seems quite interesting, especially in terms of comparing what happens in England with what takes place in Brazil. In case you want to read the whole story, click here. Below, I’ll post the bits I found to be good food for thought.
Schools ‘replacing parents’ as moral guide
“Schools are having to provide moral guidance to pupils which should be given by their parents at home, according to a senior headteachers’ leader.
Pupils lack realistic aspirations, are too heavily influenced by what they see as the “easy” lives of celebrities, and some have lost the art of conversation because they rarely sit down for a meal with their parents (…)
… For some children, schools have had to take the place of the institutions that used to set the boundaries of acceptable behaviour – that was, fundamentally, the family and the church (…)
… Never have the values of school been more important in children’s lives. Never has the job of school leaders in articulating those values, day by day, week by week, been so important. For many children, school and its values, its clear boundaries and moral framework, are the only solid bedrock in their lives. (…)
Schools can’t and shouldn’t replace the role of parents (…) It’s perhaps a sad indictment on the present age that we accept the need to help parents to play their part – to rediscover what being a parent means. (…)
Schools play an absolutely central role for children, but we can’t expect them to do everything on their own.”
Have your say on the topic. The “bright side” of this is realising this is a global issue. One which must be handled immediately, if you ask me.
Have a great week!
Rick
Hi there,
Just a quick post on what we did in class and a couple of other things. First of all, I’d like to congratulate you on your performance on the mock test. You all did great on the last paper 1 test. However, make sure you keep studying hard, and the best option is reading. you can visit The Guardian Unlimited or The Economist for that matter. I guess you’ve all realised by now that reading makes a big difference.
Last Friday we went through a couple of idioms and expressions. I’ll just list them all here so that you can keep track of them and maybe try to come up with one or two situations in which you’d use them. Here they go:
There was also a PPT on verb forms and tenses, contrasting Present Perfect and Simple Past tense. In case you want these presentations, send me an email, OK?
Today we had some complicated dictionary work, but I believe it was profitable. There was also the mock test for Paper 3. How did you do?
Homework – Have a look at the mock test, use your dictionary to look up words you may be unsure of. Well, you know the drill.
Take care,
Rick
Hi there everybody,
I hope you all had a nice time correcting your Paper 1 paper and have all realised the mistakes you made. For some of the parts, simply reading a bit more – at least one article every other day – might bring huge benefits. Once again, I’d recommend The Guardian Unlimited for that.
As we discussed in class, part 3 was the thorniest for most of you. One piece of advice I can give you is to look for links between paragraphs as you go through the articles you read. That will probably give you some insights into what to look for when doing that part of the exam.
Today we worked a bit on some idioms and phrases taken from them reading paper. I hope you all remember them. Here goes: (you had to rewrite the sentences using the key word given – no changing it – and no more than 5 words)
He tried really hard to explain really carefully he didn’t mean any harm.
PAINS He ____________________ tell them he meant no harm.
I’ll consider what you said to be the final answer.
TAKE I’ll _________________ the final answer.
The Johnsons didn’t have much money, but they never failed to pay a bill.
ENDS When it came to their bills, the Johnsons could always ___________________ despite having so little money.
The party was a success because he had found the right people to advertise it.
BY The party was a success ___________________ right people to advertise it.
He couldn’t deal with the situation any longer.
DEPTH He felt the situation was ___________________.
He did it because he was afraid of losing her.
FOR He did it ____________________ her.
Peace talks are generally only that – talks!
AND Peace talks, __________________, mean only that – talks!
Fred was alone at home and free do whatever he wanted to.
DEVICES Fred was ___________________.
Apart from that, we also talked about a couple of unusual expressions which had appeared on the test – to harry, well-nigh, etc. Make sure you go over that.
Furthermore, there was the CPE video. I hope the speaking test is clear to you now.
In the second half of the class, there was another mock test – Paper 3. How did you like it?
Homework would be the same as last class’s. Have a look at the paper, go over vocabulary and anything you weren’t so sure of.
Cheers,
Rick
What are your views on this article published in the Guardian Unlimited? In case it interests you, you can read the full story by clicking here.
Polly Curtis, education editor
Monday March 3, 2008
The Guardian
Shakespeare should be taught to children as young as four, before they have become intimidated by the language, the Royal Shakespeare Company will say today.Introducing the works of Shakespeare to teenagers is too late, the RSC will argue.
Jacqui O’Hanlon, head of education at the RSC, said: “We’ve seen teachers working extremely well in reception classes. There’s been a lot of success with four-year-olds.
“With primary school kids there isn’t a fear factor because they’ve never heard of him. What we do with children from the age of eight is unfold the story piece by piece and engage them with key moments of drama and try to get them involved in an empathetic moment of drama.”
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