Wednesday, May 28, 2008

TAPESCRIPT FOR A 108

UNIT 1: THE FIRST DAY OF THE CLASS

Teacher: Okay, Okay, let's begin. Hello, everyone. My name's Karl Roberts, and I'll be your teacher for this class, (1) Intercultural Communication 311.

Uh, to begin with, please take a look at the syllabus in front of you. As you all should know by now, this class meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:15 to 4:50. We will be meeting in this room / for the first half of the course, but we will be using the research lab / every other week on Thursday / in room 405 / during the last two months of the class.


Uh, this is the text for the class, Beyond Language. Unfortunately, the books haven't come in yet, but I was told that you should be able to buy them at the bookstore the day after tomorrow. Again, as you see on your course outline, grading is determined by your (7) work on a midterm and final test, periodic quizzes, uh, a research project, and classroom participation.

My office hours are from 1:00 to 2:00 on Wednesdays, and you can set up an appointment to meet with me at other times as well.
UNIT 2: DO-IT-YOURSELF

I. Listen and answer the questions

Canning and freezing / are not the only ways to keep fish / for future use. Today we have the first of two reports / describing, step by step, how to prepare dried or smoked fish.

Begin with fish that are just out of the water. If the fish are small, leave their heads on. Cut off the heads / if the fish are longer than twenty centimeters / or weigh more than one hundred fifteen grams.

Now clean the freshly caught fish. Cut off the scales / and cut open the stomach. Remove everything inside. Then wash the fish in clean water / and rub salt into them.

Next, put the fish in a container / with a solution of three hundred grams of salt / and one liter of water. This will remove the blood / from the meat.

Keep the fish in the salt water / for about thirty minutes. Then remove them / and wash them in clean water. Now, put the fish in a solution / that has more salt in the water. It should be salty enough / so that the fish / float to the top. If the fish sink to the bottom, add more salt / to the water in the container.

II. Listen and answer the questions

Cover the container with a clean piece of wood.
Hold the wood down with a heavy stone.
Leave the fish there for about six hours.
After that, remove them from the salt water and place them on a clean surface.
Cover the fish with a clean piece of white cloth and let them dry.
But we are not done yet.
We will discuss the next steps in drying fish next week.
We will also describe the smoking process.
Another method of preparing fish is called dry salting.
Wooden boxes or baskets are used for dry salting.
After cleaning the fish, put a few of them on the bottom of the box or basket.
Cover them with salt.
Put more fish on top.
Cover them with salt too.
Continue putting fish and salt in the container until it is full.


III. Listen and dictate

Do not use too much salt / when using the dry salting method.
You should use / one part salt / to three parts fish.
For example, if you have three kilograms of fish, you should use one kilogram of salt.
Remove the fish / after a week or ten days.
Wash them / in a mixture of water / and a small amount of salt / and let them dry.
We have talked a lot about salt.
Keep in mind that doctors advise people / to limit the sodium in their diet. It can raise blood pressure, and some people / have more of a reaction / than others.

Unit 3: SCHOOL ENDS

I. Listen and fill in the blanks

Summer means the end of another school year in America. May and June are graduation season.

Centuries of tradition / explain the special caps and gowns / that students and professors wear / at commencement ceremonies. Top members of the class / and invited guests / offer speeches and advice. Finally the time comes for what everyone has been waiting for: one by one, the names of the students are called.

They go to the front / and shake hands with school officials. They might receive their official diploma that day / or maybe a few weeks later.

Graduations are always emotional events. But in May, at Fort Hays State University in Kansas, a graduate named Nola Ochs / received special attention. Her major area of study was history. Nothing unusual about that. But Nola Ochs is ninety-five years old.


Unit 5: A BUSINESS PLAN FOR SOCIAL CHANGE

I. Listen and fill in the blanks

Starting a business is never easy. But an organization like TechnoServe / can make it easier. A businessman in the American state of Connecticut, Ed Bullard, launched this nonprofit group / forty years ago. The name comes from the idea of technology / in the service of mankind.

TechnoServe looks for business solutions to rural poverty. Or, as it says on its Web site, "social change has a business plan." The group has helped create or improve / more than two thousand businesses / in about thirty countries.

Luba Vangelova works for TechnoServe in Washington, D.C. She tells us / the group has an estimated budget this year / of about forty-five million dollars. She says much of that / will support business training and development programs in Latin America, Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe.

II. Listen and answer the questions

In parts of Central America, for example, TechnoServe is helping coffee producers become competitive / in new and growing markets.
In rural India / the group is assisting farmers / with crop production.
And in Mozambique, TechnoServe is helping develop the travel and tourism industry.
One way it identifies promising entrepreneurs / is through a business plan competition / called Believe Begin Become.
This is an intensive program / that provides technical training / and expert advice.
Winners receive money / to bring their business plans / to reality.
TechnoServe has held nine national competitions in Central America / since two thousand two.
Five competitions have been held in Africa, including one in Tanzania last year.

III. Listen and dictate

SPEAKER: "B.B.B. has been a breakthrough for me.
Finally I am going to own my own business.
And I am going to employ people."
A TechnoServe channel on YouTube / describes Believe Begin Become / and some of the winning business plans.
Luba Vangelova says / TechnoServe also supports entrepreneurship programs / for teenagers and young adults.
Charity Navigator, an independent group / that rates American charities, has given TechnoServe its highest rating.

Unit 6: HOT EXPRESSIONS


I. Listen and fill in the blanks

Every language has its own special words and expressions. And a story / can be told about each of them.

Hot is a simple, easily-understood word. So are most of the expressions / made with the word hot. But not always, as we shall see.

The words hot potato, for example, give you no idea at all to the meaning of the expression, hot potato.

The potato is a popular vegetable in the United States. Many people like baked potatoes, cooked in an oven or fire. Imagine trying to carry a hot, baked potato in your hand. It would be difficult, even painful, to do so.

Now we are getting close to the meaning of hot potato.

Some publicly-disputed issues are highly emotional. The issues must be treated carefully, or they will be difficult and painful if an elected official has to deal with them. As difficult and painful as holding a hot potato.

One such hot potato is taxes.

II. Listen and answer the questions

Calling for higher taxes can mean defeat for a politician.
And yet, if taxes are not raised, some very popular government programs could be cut.
And that also can make a politician very unpopular.
So the questions must be dealt with carefully...the same way you would handle any other hot potato.
Another expression is not so hot.
If you ask someone how she feels, she may answer: "not so hot."
What she means is she does not feel well.
Not so hot also is a way of saying that you do not really like something.
You may tell a friend that the new play you saw last night is not so hot.
That means you did not consider it a success.
A hot shot is a person -- often a young person -- who thinks he can do anything.
At least he wants to try.
He is very sure he can succeed.
But often he fails.
The expression was born in the military forces.
A hot shot was a soldier who fired without aiming carefully.

III. Listen and dictate

Hot is a word that is often used to talk about anger.
A person who becomes angry easily is called a hothead.
An angry person's neck often becomes red.
We say he is hot under the collar.
You could say that your friend is no hothead.
But he got hot under the collar when someone took his radio.
In nineteen sixty-three, hot line appeared as a new expression.
The hot line was a direct communications link between the leaders of the Soviet Union and the United States.
The hot line had an important purpose: to prevent accidental war between the two competitors during the period known as the Cold War.
The American president and the Soviet leader were able to communicate directly and immediately on the hot line.
This helped prevent any conflict during an international crisis.

UNIT 8: STOCK MARKET


Bells sound. Lighted messages appear. Men and women work at computers. They talk on the telephone. At times they shout and run around.


This noisy place is a stock exchange. Here expert salespeople called brokers buy and sell shares of companies. The shares are known as stocks. People who own stock in a company, own part of that company.


People pay brokers to buy and sell stocks for them. If a company earns money, its stock increases in value. If the company does not earn money, the stock decreases in value.


Brokers and investors carefully watch for any changes on the Big Board. That is the name given to a list of stocks sold on the New York Stock Exchange.


The first written use of the word with that meaning was in a newspaper in Illinois in eighteen thirty-seven. It said: "The sales on the board were one thousand seven hundred dollars in American gold."


Investors and brokers watch the Big Board to see if the stock market is a bull market or a bear market.


In a bear market, prices go down. In a bull market, prices go up. Investors in a bear market promise to sell a stock in the future at a set price. But the investor does not own the stock yet. He or she waits to buy it when the price drops.


The meaning of a bear market is thought to come from an old story about a man who sold the skin of a bear before he caught the bear. An English dictionary of the sixteen hundreds said, "To sell a bear is to sell what one has not."


Word experts dispute the beginnings of the word bull in the stock market. But some say it came from the long connection of the two animals -- bulls and bears -- in sports that were popular years ago in England.


Investors are always concerned about the possibility of a company failing. In the modern world, a company that does not earn enough profit is said to go belly up. A company that goes belly up dies like a fish. Fish turn over on their backs when they die. So they are stomach, or belly, up. Stock market investors do not want that to happen to a company. They want a company whose stock they own to earn more profit than expected. This would sharply increase the value of the stock.


Investors are hoping for a windfall. The word windfall comes from England of centuries ago. There, poor people were banned from cutting trees in forests owned by rich land owners. But, if the wind blew down a tree, a poor person could take the wood for fuel. So a windfall is something wonderful that happens unexpectedly.

Unit 9: HOW MUCH DO YOU EARN?


Today we answer a question from a listener / who wants to become a Spanish professor. Orlando Carvajal asks / how much professors earn / in the United States.


We looked in the almanac / published by the Chronicle of Higher Education. It shows that the average salary / for full professors last year / was ninety-nine thousand dollars. For associate professors / it was seventy thousand. And for assistant professors / it was fifty-nine thousand dollars.


Private, independent schools / pay more than public colleges and universities. But how do professors compare with other professions? For that, we turn to the latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.


Assistant professors / earned about the same last year / as workers in business and financial operations. But they earned about ten thousand dollars less than computer programmers, for example.

II. Listen and answer the questons
1. The highest paying group of jobs / in the United States / is in management.
2. The average wage last year / was ninety-two thousand dollars.
3. Next came lawyers and other legal workers, at eighty-five thousand.
4. Orlando also asks about benefits, things like health insurance and retirement plans.
5. Benefits differ from school to school / just as salaries do.
6. The Chronicle Almanac shows / that new assistant professors in foreign language / earned forty-eight thousand dollars last year.
7. That was a little more than the national average / for all education jobs.
8. But averages do not tell the whole story.
9. Sally Hadden / is an associate professor of history and law / at Florida State University / in Tallahassee.
10. She notes that language professors / generally earn less than those in subjects like engineering, for example.

III. Listen and dictate
1. But these days, professors of some languages, including Arabic, can earn much more than Spanish professors.
2. Universities are competing for them / with government and industry.
3. Professor Hadden also notes / that colleges in different areas of the country / pay different salaries.
4. Some states / have strong unions / that have negotiated set increases / in salaries for professors.
5. And different schools / value different skills / in their professors.
6. Community and liberal arts colleges / generally value good teaching skills / more than big research universities do.
7. Salaries can also be tied to something else -- tenure. More about that next week.

Unit 11: KICK EXPRESSIONS


I. Listen and fill in the blanks


From birth to death, the word kick / has been given an important part / in expressing human experience. The proud and happy mother / feels the first signs of life / kicking inside her womb. And that same life -- many years later -- comes to its end / in a widely-used expression, to kick the bucket, meaning to die.


The expression to kick the bucket / is almost two hundred years old. One belief / is that it started / when an English stableman (chan ngua)/ committed suicide by hanging himself / while standing on a pail, or bucket. He put a rope around his neck / and tied it to a beam (xa ngang) in the ceiling, and then kicked the bucket away from under him.


After a while, to die in any way / was called kicking the bucket.

Another old expression that comes from England / is to kick over the traces, meaning to resist the commands of one's parents, or to oppose or reject authority. Traces (day cuong) were the chains that held a horse or mule / (con la) to a wagon or plow (cai cay). Sometimes, an animal rebelled / and kicked over the traces.


II. Listen and answer the questions


1. The word kick / sometimes is used / to describe a complaint / or some kind of dissatisfaction.
2. Workers, for example, kick about long hours / and low pay.
3. There are times / when workers are forced / to kick back / some of their wages to their employers / as part of their job. (tra lai, lai qua
4. This kickback is illegal.
5. So is another kind of kickback: a secret payment / made by a supplier / to an official / who buys supplies / for a government or company.
6. Kick around / is a phrase / that is heard often in American English.
7. A person who is kicked around / is someone who is treated badly.
8. Usually, he is not really being kicked / by somebody's foot.
9. He is just not being treated with the respect / that all of us want.


III. Listen and dictate


1. A person who has kicked around / for most of his life / is someone who has spent his life / moving from place to place.
2. In this case, kicking around / means moving often / from one place to another.
3. Kick around has a third meaning / when you use it / with the word idea.
4. When you kick around an idea, you are giving that idea some thought.
5. There is no physical action / when you kick a person upstairs, although the pain can be as strong.
6. You kick a person upstairs / by removing him / from an important job /and giving him a job /that sounds more important. . .
7. But really is not.
8. Still another meaning of the word kick / is to free oneself of a bad habit, such as smoking cigarettes.
9. Health campaigns urge smokers / to kick the habit.

unit 12: CHICKENFEED

I. Listen and fill in the blanks


Almost every language in the world / has a saying / that a person can never be too rich.


Americans, like people in other countries, always want more money. One way they express this / is by protesting that their jobs / do not pay enough. A common expression is, "I am working for chickenfeed." It means working for very little money. The expression probably began/ because seeds fed to chickens / made people think of small change. Small change means metal coins of not much value, like nickels / which are worth five cents.


An early use of the word chickenfeed / appeared in an American publication in nineteen thirty. It told about a rich man and his son. Word expert Mitford Mathews says it read, "I'll bet neither the kid nor his father ever saw a nickel or a dime. They would not have been interested / in such chickenfeed."


Chickenfeed also has another interesting meaning known to history experts / and World War Two spies and soldiers.

II. Listen and answer the questions

Spy expert Henry S. A. Becket / writes that some German spies working in London during the war / also worked for the British. The British government had to make the Germans believe their spies / were working. So, British officials / gave them mostly false information. It was called chickenfeed.


The same person who protests / that he is working for chickenfeed / may also say, "I am working for peanuts." She means / she is working for a small amount of money.


It is a very different meaning / from the main one in the dictionary. That meaning is small nuts / that grow on a plant.


No one knows for sure / how a word for something to eat / also came to mean something very small. But, a peanut is a very small food.

III. Listen and dictate


1. The expression is an old one.
2. Word expert Mitford Mathews says that as early as eighteen fifty-four, an American publication used the words peanut agitators.
3. That meant political troublemakers who did not have a lot of support.
4. Another reason for the saying about working for peanuts / may be linked to elephants.
5. Think of how elephants are paid / for their work in the circus.
6. They receive food, not money.
7. One of the foods they like best / is peanuts.
8. When you add the word gallery / to the word peanut . you have the name of an area in an American theater.
9. A gallery is a high seating area or balcony / above the main floor.
10. The peanut gallery got its name / because it is the part of the theater / most distant from where the show takes place.
11. So, peanut gallery tickets / usually cost less than other tickets.
12. People pay a small amount of money for them.

Unit 14: A COMMON DISEASE


I. Listen and fill in the blanks

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, (tac phoi) or C.O.P.D., affects more than two hundred million people / around the world. The World Health Organization says / at least five million people died from it / in two thousand five. Ninety percent were in developing countries.

In the United States, C.O.P.D. / is the fourth leading cause of death. But even with these numbers, many people have never heard of it.

The Canadian Lung Association Web site / explains that C.O.P.D. / is the new name for emphysema and chronic bronchitis (viem phoi khi thung). These are the two most common forms of it, and many people with C.O.P.D. have both of them.

The result is progressive and incurable lung damage. The tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs / become partly blocked. This makes it difficult to breathe / and often produces a cough / that will not go away.

II. Listen and answer the questions

People with C.O.P.D. / often have swelling (sung)/ that causes the airways to narrow.
And they often produce more mucus (dich nhay)/ than normal.
This oily substance / protects the airways, but too much of it blocks them.
Smoking is the most common cause of C.O.P.D.
Non-smokers can get the disease / from breathing other people's tobacco smoke.
Air pollution can also cause the disease.
Miners and others who work around some kinds of dust and chemicals / are at higher risk.
And children who repeatedly suffer lung infections / have a greater chance of developing the disease / as adults.
(di truyen)Genetics may also play a part.
Doctors can perform a quick breathing test / with a machine called a spirometer / that can help diagnose C.O.P.D. (dung cu do phe dung)
But experts say / people are often not tested or treated correctly / for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

III. Listen and dictate

Patients may not consider a continuous cough / serious enough / to seek medical attention.
Or doctors may misdiagnose it as asthma / or another infection.
Some of the early warning signs / are a cough that will not go away / and an increase in mucus production.
Another sign is difficulty breathing / after minor activity / like walking up stairs.
There are ways to slow the progress of the disease.
Doctors say / the most important thing is to stop smoking.
There are medicines that can reduce inflammation / and open air passages.
Also, exercise is often advised. If the disease is severe, a doctor may order oxygen treatment / or even operations / to remove damaged lung tissue.

UNIT 15: MONKEY EXPRESSIONS


I. Listen and fill in the blanks


Monkeys are very similar to us in many ways. Most have ten fingers and ten toes, and brains much like ours. We enjoy watching them because they often act like us. In fact, Charles Darwin's (4) theory of evolution says that monkeys and humans share a common ancestor.
Songwriter William Gilbert, in the musical "Princess Ida", wrote:
"Darwinian man, though well-behaved, at best is only a monkey shaved."
His words -- sung to Sir Arthur Sullivan's music -- make listeners smile. Well, monkeys make us smile, too, because they are creatures full of playful tricks.
This is why many monkey expressions are about tricky people or playful acts. One of these expressions is monkeyshines, meaning tricks or foolish acts.
The meaning is clear if you have ever watched a group of monkeys playfully chasing each other: pulling tails, stealing food, doing tricks. So, when a teacher says to a group of students: "Stop those monkeyshines right now!" you know that the boys and girls are playing, instead of studying.

II. Listen and answer the questions

1. You might hear that same teacher / warn a student / not to monkey around / with a valuable piece of equipment.
2. You monkey around / with something when you do not know / what you are doing.
3. You are touching or playing / with something you should leave alone.
4. Also, you can monkey around / when you feel like doing something, but have no firm idea of what to do.
5. For example, you tell your friend / you are going to spend the day / monkeying around with your car.
6. You do not have any job or goal in mind.
7. It is just a way to pass the time.
8. Monkey business usually means / secret, maybe illegal activities.
9. A news report may say / there is monkey business involved in building the new airport, with some officials / getting secret payments from builders.
10. You may make a monkey out of someone / when you make that person look foolish.
11. Some people make a monkey out of themselves / by acting foolish or silly.

III. Listen and dictate

1. If one monkey has fun, imagine how much fun a barrel of monkeys can have.
2. If your friend says he had more fun than a barrel of monkeys at your party, you know that he had a really good time.
3. Monkey suits are common names for clothes or uniforms soldiers wear.
4. In earlier years in many American cities, you would find men playing musical hand organs on the street.
5. Dancing to the music would be the man's small monkey dressed in a tight-fitting, colorful jacket similar to a military uniform.
6. So, people began to call a military uniform a monkey suit.

Unit 17: A YEAR OFF BEFORE COLLEGE


I. Listen and fill in the blanks

In Britain and other countries, young people sometimes take a "gap year," a year off between high school and college. This idea never gained a big following in the United States. Recent news reports have suggested that interest may be growing, though there are no official numbers.

Charles Deacon is the dean of admissions at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He estimates that in the current first-year class of one thousand six hundred students, only about twenty-five / decided to take a year off. He says this number has not changed much over the years.

Mister Deacon says the most common reason / is to have a chance to travel. But he says international students may take a gap year to meet requirements at home for military duty.

II. Listen and answer the questions

Some high school graduates see a year off / as a chance to recover / after twelve years of required education.
But it can also give students a chance to explore their interests.
Students who think they want to be doctors, for example, / could learn about the profession by volunteering in a hospital for a year.
Many colleges and universities support gap-year projects / by permitting students to delay their admission.
Experts say students can grow emotionally / and intellectually / as they work at something they enjoy.
The Harvard admissions office / has an essay on its Web site / called "Time Out or Burn Out for the Next Generation."
It praises the idea of taking time off to step back, think and enjoy gaining life experiences / outside the pressure of studies.
It also notes that students are sometimes admitted to Harvard or other colleges / in part because they did something unusual / with that time.

III. Listen and dictate

Of course, a gap year is not for everyone.
Students might miss their friends who go on directly to college.
And parents might worry that their children will decide not to go to college once they take time off.
Another concern is money.
A year off, away from home, can be costly.
Holly Bull is the president of the Center for Interim Programs. Chuyen tiep
Her company specializes in helping students plan their gap year.
She notes that several books have been written about this subject.
She says these books along with media attention and the availability of information on the Internet have increased interest in the idea of a year off. And she points out that many gap-year programs cost far less than a year of college.

Unit 18: SKIN CARE

I. Listen and fill in the blanks

Even minor cuts can become infected if they are left untreated. Any break in the skin can let bacteria enter the body. An increasing number of bacterial skin infections are resistant to antibiotic medicines. These infections can spread throughout the body.


But taking good care of any injury that breaks the skin can help prevent an infection.
Medical experts say the first step in treating a wound is to use clean water. Lake or ocean water should not be used. To clean the area around the wound, experts suggest using a clean cloth and soap. They say there is no need to use products like hydrogen peroxide or iodine.


It is important to remove all dirt and other material from the wound. After the wound is clean, use a small amount of antibiotic ointment or cream. Studies have shown that these medicated products can aid in healing. They also help to keep the surface of the wound from becoming dry. Finally, cover the cut with a clean bandage while it heals. Change the bandage daily and keep the wound clean.

II. Listen and answer the questions

1. As the wound heals, inspect for signs of infection including increased pain, redness and fluid around the cut.
2. A high body temperature is also a sign of infection.
3. If a wound seems infected, let the victim rest.
4. Physical activity can spread the infection.
5. If there are signs of infection, seek help from a doctor or other skilled medical provider.
6. For larger wounds, or in case bleeding does not stop quickly, use direct pressure.
7. Place a clean piece of cloth on the area and hold it firmly in place until the bleeding stops or medical help arrives.

III. Listen and dictate

1. Direct pressure should be kept on a wound / for about twenty minutes.
2. Do not remove the cloth / if the blood drips through it. (nho giot)
3. Instead, put another cloth on top / and continue pressure.
4. Use more pressure / if the bleeding has not stopped / after twenty minutes.
5. Deep cuts usually require immediate attention / from trained medical providers.
6. Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination / every ten years. (uon van)
7. A tetanus booster shot may be required / if a wound is deep or dirty. (may ban)
8. To learn more about first aid, contact a hospital or local organization like a Red Cross or Red Crescent society. (luoi liem)
9. There may be training programs offered in your area.

unit 2o: VOLUNTEER EXPERTS HELP BUSINESSES


I. Listen and fill in the blanks

Abe Mirza is an American, fifty-nine years old / and retired. He was trained as an accountant. In fact, he has three degrees / in financial record keeping. And he has over twenty years of experience / as a business executive.

After four years of retirement, he decided that it was time to give something back.

On the Internet, he found an economic development organization, the International Executive Service Corps. This private, nonprofit group / links volunteer experts and paid consultants / with local business people / in developing countries. It was established in the United States / in nineteen sixty-four / as a Peace Corps for businesspeople.

In September, the International Executive Service Corps / paid for Abe Mirza / to travel to West Africa. He spent more than two months / preparing for an (chuyen sau) intensive, two-week experience / as a volunteer in Ghana. He went to Accra, the capital, to meet with bankers and businesspeople.

II. Listen and answer the questions


1. From his early meetings he learned that the bankers wanted the businesspeople to keep better financial records.
2. So he taught major accounting methods to eighty businesspeople.
3. These were leaders of medium-sized businesses, like Home Food Processing and Cannery, a seller of palm oil and spices.
4. Another example was All Pure Nature, a maker of shea butter for skin care and other products.
5. The businesses were large enough to be ready to export their goods.
6. But they had not reached the level of record keeping that would permit them to develop a lending relationship with banks.

III. Listen and dictate


1. The owners all had the same need to understand international accounting rules.
2. Accountants in Ghana and other countries /are adopting a new system of financial reporting.
3. Abe Mirza had to provide a lot of information.
4. He says /it was like learning everything for a four-year college degree /in one week.
5. He not only showed the businesspeople /how to present financial statements.
6. He also showed them /how, and why, banks look at the information.
7. Abe Mirza says /he did a lot in his years as a businessman, but nothing compares to the feeling of satisfaction he got /from his short time in Ghana.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Improving Your Lidstening Skills

WHY SHOULD I ACCEPT YOU?

Listen or Download

May first is an important date in the college admissions process in the United States. This is the last day for high school seniors to accept or reject offers of admission in the fall. Offers are sent by April fifteenth.

Acceptance rates at the top colleges were lower than ever this year. No surprise, just more stress from stories of top students getting rejection letters even from less competitive schools.

Numbers tell the story. The Education Department predicts that the number of high school graduates in the United States will reach the highest level ever this year. Three million three hundred thirty thousand students are expected to graduate.

Lucas Morales, a high school senior in New Mexico, sorts through college catalogs and letters of interest at his home

But not only are there more college applicants these days, they are also applying to more colleges. Online and common applications make the process easier. It can mean several acceptances to choose from.

It also means more work for colleges to get the students they accept to accept them.

Many colleges and universities hold visiting days that offer a chance to attend classes and stay overnight; sort of a test drive. Some schools send gifts. At least one college has its international students write letters in the native languages of accepted applicants.

For many families, though, the most important thing colleges can do is show them the money. Lately, top schools with lots of money have increased their financial aid, putting pressure on other colleges to do the same.

Deciding how many students to accept can be difficult. It involves trying to predict the number of applicants who will decide to attend. Students may not like being put on waiting lists, but mistakes can be costly. Some colleges have had to house new students in hotels because a larger than expected number accepted admission offers.

This year, the weak economy has admissions officers nervous that some families may not be able to pay for college as planned. The recent problems that spread from the housing market to credit markets have even affected student loans.

Colleges are also facing changes in the population. The Education Department expects the number of high school graduates to start going down after this year. This will happen as the last of the children of the baby boom generation finish high school.

The number is not expected to start rising again until two thousand fifteen.

From the VOA Special English - Education Repor.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Confusing Words

BRING OR TAKE?


Note that the difference in use between bring and take is similar to that between come and go. We use take to describe movement away from the position of the speaker/hearer and bring to describe movement to the place where the speaker/hearer is, was or will be:



  1. Can you take the car in for its service tomorrow, Jan? I’m going to take the train.


  2. They’re not here. He must have taken them to the club. He’s taken my umbrella too.


  3. These shirts that I bought don’t really fit me. I‘m going to have to take them back.


  4. It’s kind of you to invite me to supper. Is it all right if I bring my boyfriend?


  5. Always remember to bring your calculators when you come to these maths lessons!


  6. I’ve brought you some beans and tomatoes from my garden. I hope you can use them.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Sing To learn

GREEN FIELDS

Once there were green fields kissed by sun.
There were the valleys where rivers used to run.
Once there were blue skied with white clouds high above.
Once there were parts of an everlasting love.
We were the lovers who strolled through green fields.

Green fields are gone now parched by the sun.
Gone from the valleys where rivers used to run.
Gone with the cold wind that swept into my heart.
Gone with the lovers who let their dreams depart.
Where are the green fields that we used to roam?

* I never know what made you run away.
How can I keep searching when dark clouds hide the day.
I only know there’s nothing here for me.
Nothing in this wide world left for me to see.

But I’ll keep on waiting till you return.
I’ll keep on waiting until the day you learn.
You can’t be happy while your heart’s on the roam.
You can’t be happy until you bring it home.
Home to the green fields and we once again.



ĐỒNG XANH



Vietnamese Translation


By Nguyen Hong Anh


1. Language
- used to: diễn tả một sự việc xảy ra trong quá khứ, giờ đây không còn nữa.
- once: thường đi với used to để diễn tả ý nghĩa đã từng.
- Where there were valleys when rivers used to run: Diễn tả sự tiếc nuối về những thung lũng nơi từng có những con song hiền hòa chảy qua.
- to be gone; to have gone: đã ra đi
- To keep on doing s.th; to keep doing s.th: không ngừng làm việc gì

2. Bài dịch tham khảo

Xưa kia chính ở nơi này
Mặt trời ấm áp hôn ngàn cỏ cây
Dòng sông từng chày qua đây
Bên thung lũng nhỏ trời mây ngút ngàn
Đồng xanh chứng kiến muôn vàn
Những đôi trai gái bên đàng yêu nhau.

Giờ đây lòng thấy nhói đau
Đồng xanh đã mất sông sâu đâu còn
Thung lũng kia cũng xói mòn
Như cơn gió lạnh xiết toàn tâm cang.
Chỉ còn ánh nắng chói chang
Bao đôi trai gái lỡ làng tình duyên.

Đâu rồi những phút thiêng liêng
Đồng xanh chứng nhận tình riêng chúng mình
Giờ đây anh vẫn không tin
Điều chi ngăn cản mối tình đôi ta.
Anh không tìm được lối ra
Khi bao giông tố mưa sa trên đời
Che đi bao ánh mặt trời
Để ta cứ mãi muôn đời mất nhau.

Bây giờ anh phải làm sao
Trong một thế giới quá bao la này?
Anh tin rồi có một ngày
Chúng ta lại sẽ sum vầy bên nhau
Quên đi bao nỗi sầu đau
Cùng chung ước nguyện bên nhau trọn đời

Đồng xanh giờ hóa tuyệt vời
Đón đôi trai gái suốt đời bên nhau.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

MOTHER'S DAY


MOTHERHOOD


It's a privilege to be a mother. Motherhood is the greatest blessing any woman can be blessed with. Motherhood is a symbol of love, kindness and forgiveness. A mother's touch is the first human touch in a child's life. A mother's heart is filled with a never-exhausting love for her children. She lives and dies for them.


A mother is the most beautiful woman in the child's eyes. It is a mother's love, pure and unadulterated, which nourishes a child and helps him to see and understand the cruel and the harsh world where he is destined to spend the rest of his life. Only a mother knows how it feels to be a mother.


Mothers shoulder a huge responsibility of instilling the good and the bad in her child's heart. Being a mother is tough. A mother's every action and word is under the deepest scrutiny and therefore she is always over cautious of her conduct. Whether you are a single mother or an ideal mother trying to be a role model for your child, you can benefit from the parenting tips given in the subsequent sections. Here we unleash the secrets of being an ideal mom.


A SONG TO REMEMBER


A RED ROSE ON THE SHIRT


Composer: Phạm Thế Mỹ

Lyrics: Nhất Hạnh
English translation: Nguyen Hong Anh



A rose for you
A rose for me
And a rose for those whose mothers are alive
How happy they are!

Unfortunately, the beloved mother passes way
Like a flower without the sunshine
Like a child without the smile
Adulthood seems to be stopped
Like the sky without stars.

The mother seems to be a gentle stream
The mother seems to be an immortal song
The shade of life, the moon and the torch
When the way is lost

The mother appears to be as sweet as the sugar cane.
The mother seems to be a hand of bananas,
a bunch of areca nuts, the chirp of the cricket in a deep night,
The warm sunshine over the mulberry field, and the love for life.


Then you come back home one afternoon
looking at your beloved mom for a long time
and saying, “Mom! Do you know?”. “What’s up?”
“Do you know I love you so much?”

A red rose has just been pinned on your shirts.
So, you are the happiest in the world.



Nhạc sĩ : Phạm Thế Mỹ
Lời: Nhất Hạnh

Một bông Hồng cho em

Một bông Hồng cho anh

Và một bông Hồng cho những ai

Cho những ai đang còn Mẹ

Đang còn Mẹ để lòng vui sướng hơn


Rủi mai này Mẹ hiền có mất đi

Như đóa hoa không mặt trời

Như trẻ thơ không nụ cười

ngỡ đời mình không lớn khôn thêm

Như bầu trời thiếu ánh sao đêm


Mẹ, Mẹ là giòng suối dịu hiền

Mẹ, Mẹ là bài hát thần tiên

Là bóng mát trên cao

Là mắt sáng trăng sao

Là ánh đuốc trong đêm khi lạc lối


Mẹ, Mẹ là lọn mía ngọt ngào

Mẹ, Mẹ là nải chuối buồng cau

Là tiếng dế đêm thâu

Là nắng ấm nương dâu

Là vốn liếng yêu thương cho cuộc đời


Rồi một chiều nào đó anh về

nhìn Mẹ yêu, nhìn thật lâu

Rồi nói, nói với Mẹ rằng

"Mẹ ơi, Mẹ ơi, Mẹ có biết hay không ?"

-Biết gì ? "Biết là, biết là con thương Mẹ không ?"


Đóa hoa màu hồng vừa cài lên áo đó anh

Đóa hoa màu hồng vừa cài lên áo đó em

Thì xin anh, thì xin em

Hãy cùng tôi vui sướng đi.