Tuesday, December 20, 2011

The Comenius/Grundtvig in-service training grants 2012


Here you will find info mail  about the 2012 Comenius/ Grundtvig in-service training grants sent to me by the director of programmes. I would like to share it with you guys with pleasure if you are interested.


Dear colleagues,

We would like to inform you that the pre-registration for the Comenius/Grundtvig in-service training grants 2012 has been opened for 3 of our courses to be held in the wonderful city of Bruges in Belgium as well as in Amsterdam.
Please, find detailed information about our courses and pre-registration forms by following the relevant links. 
1) EFFECTIVE USE OF WEB-BASED APPLICATIONS IN TASK BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING.  (Comenius/Grundtvig code: NL-2012-266-002). Dates and location: 1st to 8th of July 2012, to be held at the Katholieke Hogeschool Brugge-Oostende, Bruges, Belgium
2) INDUCTION AND GUIDANCE OF NEWLY APPOINTED TEACHERS. (Comenius/Grundtvig code: NL-2012-264-002). Dates and location: 1st to 8th of July 2012, to be held at the Katholieke Hogeschool Brugge-Oostende, Bruges, Belgium
3) DIGITAL AUDIO AND VIDEO IN LANGUAGE TEACHING. (Comenius/Grundtvig code: NL-2012-268-002)
Dates and location: 12th to 19th of August 2012, to be held at the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Please note that the Lifelong Learning National Agencies across Europe scheduled their deadline for summer courses on the 16th of January 2012. Therefore, we strongly advise you and your colleagues to check your National Agency specific procedures and to send us your pre-registration form from now on and as soon as possible. We will check our mails and applications also during the Christmas break!

We would also like to kindly ask you to, please, forward this information to colleagues and friends who might be interested in taking advantage of this opportunity.

Should you have any further questions or should you experience technical problems in opening the above mentioned web pages, please, do not hesitate to contact us at office@amsu.edu or Tel: +31 20 620 0225; Fax: +31 20 624 9368.
Looking forward hearing from you and receiving your application!
We wish you a merry Christmas and a very happy new year!

Yours sincerely,

Handtekening Ruggero Lala
Ruggero Lala
Director of Programmes
T +31 (0)20 62 00 225
F +31 (020)62 49 368
office@amsu.edu
www.amsu.edu

Quiz for Bright People

This circling internet mail was sent by my friend Cheryl.
There are only nine questions.

This is a quiz for people who know everything!
I found out in a hurry that I didn't. These are not trick questions.
They are straight questions with straight answers..

1. Name the one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends.

2. What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backward?

3. Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted every year. What are the only two perennial vegetables?

4. What fruit has its seeds on the outside?

5. In many liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy, with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and ripe, and the bottle is genuine; it hasn't been cut in any way. How did the pear get inside the bottle?

6. Only three words in standard English begin with the letters ' dw' and they are all common words. Name two of them.

7. There are 14 punctuation marks in English grammar. Can you name at least half of them?

8. Name the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form except fresh.* *

9. Name 6 or more things that you can wear on your feet beginning with the letter 'S.'* *




Answers To Quiz:
1. The one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends: Boxing.

2. North American landmark constantly moving backward: Niagara Falls . (The rim is worn down about two and a half feet each year because of the millions of gallons of water that rush over it every minute.)

3. Only two vegetables that can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons: Asparagus and rhubarb.

4. The fruit with its seeds on the outside: Strawberry.

5. How did the pear get inside the brandy bottle? It grew inside the bottle. The bottles are placed over pear buds when they are small, and are wired in place on the tree. The bottle is left in place for the entire growing season. When the pears are ripe, they are snipped off at the stems.

6. Three English words beginning with dw: Dwarf, dwell and dwindle....

7. Fourteen punctuation marks in English grammar: Period, comma, colon, semicolon, dash, hyphen, apostrophe, question mark, exclamation point, quotation mark, brackets, parenthesis, braces, and ellipses.

8. The only vegetable or fruit never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form but fresh: Lettuce.

9. Six or more things you can wear on your feet beginning with 'S': Shoes, socks, sandals, sneakers, slippers, skis, skates, snowshoes, stockings, stilts.

Friday, December 16, 2011

Santa Claus and Your Wishes for the New Year




What would you like to have for 2012 from St Claus if you were asked ?
Today people are more interested in getting the latest model of products with advanced technologies such as iphones, ipods, ipads with diamond stones, laptops, 3D/HD products of all kinds, cars, motorcycles, limitless clothes and shoes…There are endless options on the market.

Do you think you would get  true happiness if you had all of these smashing things? Actually, they are not only teenagers’ but also others’ wishes  from different generations. Even small kids imagine having these instead of toys or games. Their hobbies and dreams have a close relation with technological gadgets. New innovations are the materials that they are after.

Nobody should ever forget the importance of human relations and spending quality time with your close friends, family members and even people that you are getting to know.
We should always bear in the mind that “Life is composed of conversations.” Without sincere conversations and dialogues we go nowhere.

For 2012 I hope all your dreams come true. And strong and happy relationships with people!

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Countries, Nationalities, Official Languages

Here you can find info about the countries,their nationalities and official languages
(taken from learnenglish.de):
Country
Nationality
Official Language(s)
Australia
Australian
English
Austria
Austrian
Austrian
Belgium
Belgian
French or Flemish
Brazil
Brazilian
Portugese
Britain
British
English
Canada
Canadian
English or French
China
Chinese
Mandarin
Denmark
Danish
Danish
Egypt
Egyptian
Arabic
England
English
English
Finland
Finnish
Finnish
France
French
French
Germany
German
German
Greece
Greek
Greek
Hungary
Hungarian
Hungarian
Italy
Italian
Italian
Japan
Japanese
Japanese
Korea
Korean
Korean
Mexico
Mexican
Spanish
Northern Ireland
Irish
English
Poland
Polish
Polish
Portugal
Portugese
Portugese
Russia
Russian
Russian
Scotland
Scottish
English or Gaelic
South Africa
South African
Afrikaans
English
IsiNdebele
IsiXhosa
IsiZulu
Northern Sotho (Sepedi)
Sesotho
Setswana
SiSwati
Tshivenda
Xitsonga
Southern Ireland
Irish
English
Spain
Spanish
Spanish
Sweden
Swedish
Swedish
Switzerland
Swiss
French / German / Italian
The Netherlands
Dutch
Dutch
Turkey
Turkish
Turkish
The UK
British
English
The USA
American
English
Wales
Welsh
English or Welsh
Go to top of page

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Izmir


Izmir is a beautiful city on the Aegean coast in Turkey. It is the third biggest city in Turkey after Istanbul and capital Ankara. It is my hometown not my birthplace, though. I have been living here for a long time. The Bay, where it is located around, gives it gorgeous beauty especially at nights with lots of city lights looking like a pearl necklace. I have seen a lot of beautiful places around the world but I must say that Izmir is by far the most beautiful city in the world in my opinion.

The residents are also very warmhearted people and I believe I am lucky as I live in the best part of the city which is called Karsiyaka. It is for sure that the other parts of the city are also very nice, Bornova, Guzelyali, Hatay, Alsancak, Konak, Bostanli… The ferryboats that carry the passengers from a pier to another are like swimming swans in the bay.

I think all people like their hometowns as they earn their living, challenge and enjoy the life. Izmir is a place where you never think to move from but want to live for ever and wherever you go, you miss it.
They say ‘Never die without seeing Venice or Barcelona or Los Angeles or Las Vegas…’

I would like to add my city to this list:

Never die if you don’t see Izmir, Karşıyaka. It is a city worthseeing with its historical tissue, as well as its modern looking. You can find whatever you look for there.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

A Story of Success


I like all my students and they are always so precious to me and Kaan is one of them. Today, I chose Kaan Bulakeri as a hero in my true life story of success. Let me introduce him to you.

Kaan Bulakeri is studying his Msc, Business Administration, in the areas covered “Innovation and Entrepreneurship” at Twente University in Holland. He is the graduate of Bilkent University, Business Administration, Marketing and Advertising. He was my student at high school. When he was invited to do his high school education in a private school I was working for, he was a promising young boy to be a very successful student except for his lack of English as a foreign language. Mostly in life, the matters we are lacking in or some negative events cause to open new pages in our lives and result in better conditions which lead to new successes. If he had known English well those times, we might not have met and known each other that much.

While we were studying English in one to one tuition, I realised that Kaan was a very smart boy and very good at learning a foreign language so this was only a beginning for him and later on, he succeeded in learning three foreign languages. As many smart people, he is good at not only some subjects such as Maths and Science, but also sports such as basketball and tennis and music. I am very glad to hear that he has taken up innovation and entrepreneurship as I believe he is likely to have opportunities to show his great creativity.

I am very proud of him and wish him luck all his life long. 

Monday, November 14, 2011

The Van Earthquake, Turkey


On Sunday, 23 October 2011 at 13.41 local time, a destructive earthquake struck the city Van and its town Ercis, magnitude 7.2, in the eastern part of Turkey. The earthquake and its aftershocks demolished hundreds of buildings and buried hundreds of people under the rubble. According to AFAD on October 30, 2011, the earthquake killed 604 and 4,152 people were injured  and at least 60,000 people were left homeless as 6,017 out of 11,232 damaged buildings in the Van earthquake  region were uninhabitable.
Erzurum, the neighbouring city was stated to be a hub for the int’l aid sent by plane by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and a center for assistance coming overland was established in Van. 
According to Wikipedia, as of October 27, aid from other countries are as follows: Azerbaijan sent search and rescue team of 145 people, 1,250 tents, 700 beds, 40 generators, 5,000 blankets, 40 pieces of kitchen equipment. 490 tents by France, 200 tents by Italy, 284 tents by Russia, 60 tents, 300 blankets, 300 bed, and 60 stoves by Kazakhstan, 4 general purpose tents by Ukraine, 7 prefabricated houses by Israel and tents for 2000 by Belgium sent. Also Armenian government sent 40 tons of cargo to Turkey, including tents, sleeping bags, blankets and bedding. On 31 October Bulgaria provided 100 tents for winter conditions and will provide 50 more tents, 1,000 blankets and 300 mats. Saudi Arabia sent $50 Million to spend in relief efforts. Also European Union announces that they will release TRY10 million fund for the cause.


Sunday, October 30, 2011

Rewrite Exercises



“Rewrite” exercises are useful to learn more sentence patterns and expressions.

Rewrite the following using the words in brackets without changing the meaning :

1. I have never drunk whisky in my life before. (ever)

2. I haven’t seen him for ages. ( since)

3. He last took a part in a film two years ago. ( for)

4. This is the first time I have ever eaten a lobster. (never)

5. It’s ages since we didn’t have snow here. (for)

6. She hasn’t driven a car for two years. (ago)

7. I have never danced salsa before. (ever)

8. I haven’t met such a boring boy before. (ever)

9. She has never spoken Chinese before.(ever)

10. We have never had such a difficult exam before. (ever)

Answers
1. It is the first time I have ever drunk whisky.
2. It’s ages since I didn’t see him.
3. He hasn’t taken a part in a film for two years.
4. I have never eaten a lobster before.
5. We haven’t had snow her efor ages.
6. She last drove  a car two years ago.
7. It is the first time I have ever danced salsa.
8. He is the most boring boy I have ever seen.
9. This is the first time she has ever spoken Chinese.
10. It is the most difficult exam I have ever had.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Making a Mosaic Project



If you choose to make a mosaic project as a hobby, there are some points that you should take into consideration before you start. First of all, you should try to get a “how to mosaic” book on making mosaics. It will give you a lot of info and tips no matter how old it is. You need to have this sort of a consultation book in which you can find the answers of your questions when you first start making mosaics and while you are improving yourself. Secondly, never ever try making mosaics on a large place, a wall, door, floor at the beginning of your work. Instead, choose small objects like a frame, box, vase because you are just a beginner and you will get the knack of doing this ancient art and get accustomed to the materials such as glue, grout, mosaic pieces and choose the best ones for you. If you try a larger place first, you can’t handle it easily and get a “feel” of the materials and texture much. I usually try to buy mosaics online as it is easier and less time consuming and there are so many good mosaic sites on the internet and my favourite mosaic website is a UK supplier: Mosaic- Direct. If you like, you can visit mosaic- direct and view its pages full of candy-like small mosaic pieces of all kinds.
Try to learn how to make mosaics from the books or internet and create your own work of art having a lot of fun.

 making mosaics, make a mosaic project

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Unreal Past




There are some clauses that are used in the Simple past but refer to Present time or future wishes, regrets, dreams and sometimes facts. Here are some common ones:

1. I WISH…
Wish clauses is always followed by a past tense when they refer to present or future. That’s why past forms of the verbs never refer to real past facts.

I wish you were with me now.(but you aren't )
I wish everybody came to my party this weekend.
I wish I were a rich person . (This is an unreal situation were is used instead of was in order to emphasize this.That means I am not rich but want to be rich.)

You can also use past modals:

I wish I could get a good mark in the exam.


If you want to express your dreams , wishes or regrets about past events, the past perfect tense is used:
I wish I hadn’t met him yesterday. (I am sorry that I met him yesterday.)
I wish I could have visited her.(but I didn’t)

2. It is time …..

The past form of the verb after “It is time…” refers to routine present time activities  or part of a programme or needs.

It is time you studied English.(time for studying Eng.)
It is high time you went to bed.(time for bed)
It is time we practised the songs.

3. As if/ as though

He talks to me as if he were my boss.( In fact, he is not my boss.)
She is looking at me as if she knew me.(She doesn’t know me.)

4. If clauses Unreal present or past, type 2 and 3

If I were a rich man, I would travel all over the world. (I am not rich, this is my dream.)
If I saw him, I would take his photo.

If I had known, I would have helped you.(but I didn’t.)

4. would rather + subject ...

I would rather my child became a doctor.
I would rather she came soon.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

'Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish'

I am saddened to learn of the death of Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, because he was one of the greatest of American innovators . He thought differently and believed that  he could change the world and he carried out his mission in this world as he was talented enough to do it.
He was a visionary and with his great ability he transformed our lives. He proved to have the spirit of American creativity and ingenuity. In his garage with a friend, he built his company which became one of the world’s most successful companies later on  and he exemplified how much he was determined and talented by making computers personal and providing the Internet in our cells, moreover, thanks to him the information revolution was not only accessible, but also intuitive and fun. Steve lived every day like it was his last. He always advised, ’You’ve got to find what you love’ and  'Stay hungry, stay foolish'.
I am very sorry for the world’s loss.
Here I would like to share his famous and amazing Commencement address at Stanford University on June 12,2005,which I first knew him from.

You've got to find what you love,' Jobs says

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.
The first story is about connecting the dots.
I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?
It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.
And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.
It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:
Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.
None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it's likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.
Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.
My second story is about love and loss.
I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.
I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.
I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.
During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.
I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.
My third story is about death.
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.
I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.
This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope it's the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.
Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
Thank you all very much.




Thursday, October 6, 2011

THE PICTURE OF HAPPINESS

 
 
 
 
 


 
Can you draw the picture of “happiness”, Abidin?

Without taking the easy way out of it ?

Not the picture of angel- faced mum breastfeeding her rose- cheeked baby

And nor picture of  the apples on the white cloth

Nor the picture of red fish going around between water bubbles in the aquarium

Can you draw the picture of “happiness” Abidin?

Can you draw the picture of Cuba in the 1961 midsummer?

Can you draw the picture of 

“Thank God, i have lived today too. No matter if i die “, the Master?

 
Nazım Hikmet Ran


Work and Fun




During the recession period all over the world, due to the problems in the economy of the country, people are suffering from finding a job. It is really hard to find a job but somehow if they start a new  job, this doesn’t mean that they are satisfied with the job conditions even if they want it too much. They begin to complain about the working hours or too much tiring and boring work. Instead, they should try to get the pleasure from what they do every day.
Having fun in our private life is very important. We should not consider work problems at home. Let’s try our best to spend quality time with our beloved ones not wasting even a minute of it. This will make us to empty our minds and go to work in a refreshed way so bear in the mind that we can live work and private life full of fun if we want.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

A True Star: Angelina Jolie-Pitt


 
Personal Info
Name: Angelina Jolie (Voight Pitt )
Birthdate: 4 June 1975 (Age: 36)
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, USA
Height: 5' 7"
Awards: Won 1 Oscar and 3 Golden Globes, nominated for 1 BAFTA

Angelina Jolie Voight, Hollywood film star, was born in Los Angeles, on June 4th, 1975 - her name meaning Pretty Little Angel. Her international efforts on behalf of children and refugees have made her the most public-minded superstar since Audrey Hepburn.
Her father, Jon, was already an established superstar, having topped the bill in such classics as Midnight Cowboy and Deliverance.

Angelina Jolie, U.N. envoy traveled to Turkey's border with Syria on Friday, June 17, to draw the World’s attention to the thousands of Syrian refugees who have fled their government's bloody crackdown.
Angelina, the Hollywood celebrity and goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UN HCR) arrived in the Turkish province of Hatay on a private jet to visit the refugee camps.
Turkish television showed Jolie disembarking from the plane in sunglasses at Hatay airport. She directly headed to a camp in the Turkish town of Altinozu, Southeast of Hatay, on the border with Syria.
Jolie spent two-and-a-half hours with the refugees, asking how they were in Arabic and then speaking with them through an interpreter, Turkey's NTV television reported. It said she took notes, showing particular interest in the women and children. She drank a cup of Turkish coffee.
Nearly 10,000 Syrians have sought refuge in camps in Turkey.
Protests first erupted in Syria in mid-March as part of the "Arab Spring" push toward democracy. Syrian President Bashar Assad responded by unleashing the military to crush the street demonstrations. Human rights activists say more than 1,400 Syrians have been killed and 10,000 detained.
Turkish authorities hoisted a 45-foot-long (15-meter) banner near the entrance of the refugee camp to welcome Jolie. It read: "Goodness Angel of the World, Welcome" in English and Turkish. Also a poster that was held by one fan read: "Angelina, kiss me for world peace."

Police kept fans away from the actress at Hatay's airport and cameras were removed from rooftops and high points.

Angelina was amazing. She was a Godgifted person sharing some of her fortune with the poor and people in need. She makes use of her fame to help refugees, women and children. She tries her best for the education of the children who are the future of the world.

 

Saturday, May 28, 2011

On Your Road to Recovery


There have been so many hard times in our lives that we find ourselves wondering if there is anything in life worth living for.  I can tell you from personal experience that I have been in your shoes.First of all, with all your hope and belief, realize that your life can be different... if you want it to be. On your road to recovery, you will decide that  it is finally time to create the life you want and is meant to live.
If you are feeling beaten down, overwhelmed, and lost today, I encourage you to know that there is still hope in sight. There may be men and women out there who feel hopeless and are looking for answers to regain their quality of life. From your hardships, self-reflection, and exhilarating life experiences, you will realize that they will show you the keys to transforming your life today. You cannot reach happiness without living unhappiness. After transforming experience, your road to recovery isn’t necessarily all roses. You can find some healing ways for your recovery, for example, the power of breathing and meditation are mostly very effective. It will give you the chance to tap into your inner fulfillment and live the vibrant life that you were meant to live.
If you want to LOOK good, FEEL good, and GET WHAT YOU WANT FROM LIFE, you can get the tools you need to improve your quality of life step-by-step.
I truly believe that we are all meant to live a life of purpose, fulfillment, and exceptional gratitude.
To begin to live the life that you truly deserve and whether you have hit rock-bottom, or whether you have simply lost your spark and passion for life you can discover how to increase your awareness and relieve chronic stress and reduce anxiety through the power of breathing and how meditation can improve your fitness and health and even help you sleep better at night! Try your best to quit smoking, using drugs, lacking energy and passion for life and beat other powerful addictions and how to finally find freedom from emotional burdens through self-reflection and self-realization.

The power of meditation and breathing will allow you to regain your quality of life and feel like your best self again. If you are feeling empty, flat, and detached in your life, it is time to become an active participant and begin to enjoy your life again!!
The truth is that we have all been created for a special purpose - to live a rich life of fulfillment and prosperity.


Sunday, February 13, 2011

Some Idioms and Definitions

Here Are Some Idiom Definitions for you

1. 'From your lips to God's ears'

When you say this to someone, it means that you hope what they are saying will come true.

2. 'Live and let live'

If you live and let live, you accept other people as they are, although they may have a different way of life.

3. 'Get your skates on'

It means ' Hurry up.'

4. 'On the up and up'

Meaning 1:

If you are on the up and up, you are making very good progress in life and doing well.

Meaning 2:

To say that something or someone is on the up and up means that the thing or person is legitimate, honest, respectable.

5. 'Hush-hush'

If something is hush-hush, it is confidential.

6. 'All ages and stripes'

A shorthand for expressing a diversity of folks in a group

7.'There's a dead cat on the line'

A way of telling people that something suspicious is happening.

8. 'Never say die'

When someone says "Never Say Die", it means that you shouldn't give up hope.

9.  'Stake a claim'

If you stake a claim to something, you announce that it belongs to you.

10. 'Like green corn through the new maid'

If something is very fast, it is like green corn through the new

Saturday, February 5, 2011

By the Time and Future Perfect tense and Future Perfect Continuous Tense

You can use “future perfect tense” (will have V3 or am/is/are going to+have+V3) with “by the time”


Examples:

(I am in London to improve my English. I will come back.)

I will have improved my English by the time I come back from England.

I am going to have improved my English by the time I come back from England.

By the time he gets home, they are going to have cleaned the entire house.


The Future Perfect expresses the idea that something will occur before another action in the future. It can also show that something will happen before a specific time in the future.

Duration Before Something in the Future (Non-continuous Verbs)

With Non-continuous Verbs, we use the Future Perfect to show that something will continue up until another action in the future.(Examples are with verbs of state)

I will have been in London for six months by the time I leave
By Friday, Andy is going to have had my book for a week.


Future perfect tense is used with the verbs such as  “complete, finish, graduate, retire, etc ”

Examples:

(I will graduate from the university in May. I will see you in September.)
By the time I see you in September, I will have graduated from the university.

I will have finished the project by the time you arrive at the office tomorrow morning.
She will have prepared the dinner by the time we get home.
The scientists will have found the cure for cancer by 2030.

The Future Perfect Continuous tense is used with the verbs “learn, lie, live rain, sit, wait and work “which express continuous actions and show that the action will continue in the future.

Examples:

I will start working at 9 a.m. Bill will get to the office at 1 pm. (by the time..)
I will have been working for four hours by the time Bill gets to the office.

They will have been watching the film for 30 minutes by the time we arrive at the cinema.

 I was born in 1975 and it’s 2011 now. By 2040, I will have been living for 65 years.

You can use either future perfect or future perfect continuous to complete the sentence to show that continuous actions will be over in the future.

By the time my dad retires next month, he will have worked  for 40 years.

By the time he retires next March, he will have been working for our company for 30 years.