(Speak Easy) Murder in the classroom

Murder in the classroom

(Student Writing C1.3) The Campus of Knowledge

My favourite part of Basel is the International headquarters of a well known company (which I will not name), known as The Campus of Knowledge, where I may have worked for almost half a decade. 

The Campus of Knowledge is located between the French border and the Rhine river and is essentially a gated city of its own, only accessible to company employees. It has its very own transport system, fire department, hospital, as well as post offices, helicopter landing pads and dozens of restaurants. 

Nearly all the buildings and objects on the Campus were designed and constructed by the most famous architects in the world - Herzog & deMeuron, Gehry, Serra and many more - the old chemical factories being the only exception. Until recently, an internal policy only allowed for buildings of less than 50 Meters in height; thus you will never get the feeling of living in a concrete jungle. The spaces in between the buildings are taken up by white granite streets, which are cleaned twice a day and shine beautifully when the sun is bright. 

On the bank of the Rhine river, they recently built a magnificent promenade spanning from the Dreirosenbrücke (Basel's busiest bridge) to the french border, which is open to the public and features among other things a 2-star-Michelin restaurant. 

In all of Basel and perhaps even in all Switzerland, the Campus of Knowledge is the most cosmopolitan, prestigious place you can be in. Everybody speaks English, and if people do converse in their native tongue, they only do so among close friends. Moreover,  they would most often do so not in German, but in an entirely foreign language such as Hindi, Japanese or another of the 90+ languages spoken by the company' employees. People on the Campus are very open minded and well educated; a result of the company hiring only the most qualified and team-oriented people they can find on the globe. 

The most creepily fascinating thing I've ever seen is the Campus on weekends. This perfect, utopian place, which serves as a workplace for ten-thousand employees during the week is completely empty - no signs of life whatsoever. Nobody lives on the Campus, save for one stray cat and the animals in the laboratories. On top of that, the birds that sing while you walk through the streets aren't real, they're actually just sound boxes hidden in the trees. 

When I first went to the campus on a weekend, I was unwittingly reminded of the "nuke town" scene from the latest Indiana Jones movie as well as the first installment of the Resident Evil franchise; the feeling of being the only sentient being in a flawless, futuristic place that has been abandoned and quarantined by humanity due to an experiment gone wrong. 

Taking a stroll through the Campus on the weekends is just about the coolest thing ever, although you should have a good reason for being there, even if you're an employee, as Security might suspect you of plotting some form sabotage. This has happened at least once before: a frustrated employee once poisoned the former CEO's Aquarium, resulting in a multi million dollar damage.

C2 Writing - Bern

Bern

As soon as you leave the quiet small train station of Bern you find yourself on the very messy station square, where you can hear and see the traffic, a lot of students and business workers. After crossing this square and walking a short distance you reach the government’s house of Switzerland, which is built out of sand brick and has a quiet corroded, and thereby green copper roof. In front of the building there is a square with 26 fountains on it, where, if it’s a sunny day, you can see children enjoy the wet refreshment. Sometimes there are other attractions on this square like a market or an ice rink in winter.

When you continue walking a little bit you are going to reach the Zytglogge (a clock tower); if you wait for the next full hour, you can see a little carrousel on the clock tower turning some spins to the loudly ringing bell. Afterwards you can walk through the arc of the tower to reach the old part off the city, which is entirely built out of sand brick; this creates kind of an old atmosphere and makes you feel like sent back in time. You can enjoy an Italian coffee in one of the many bleaks or just stroll down the main street and be amazed by the look of the old town and listen to the river, which is flowing underneath the street.

At the end of the old town you cross the river Aare and leave the peninsula of Bern, reaching the bear park. The bear is the city animal of Bern; even the name Bern derives from the German word for bear “Bär”. Walking up the hillside, which starts at the bear park, you suddenly stroll into a cherry tree garden. In spring the whole garden is covered in white flowers and if you picnic there you can feel the mild spring sun and enjoy the stunning view over the city of Bern.

At the top of the Hill is the rose garden, a lovely little park with a lot of rosebushes in it. If the season is right there is the beautiful fragrance of thousands of roses in the air. To end your day, you can simply take the bus back to the main train station and mount to the top of the building and surprisingly discover another park. After buying some beers in the next supermarket, you can just sit on the edge of the “roof” of the station building, in front of the University of Bern, another sand brick building, and enjoy the sun vanishing slowly behind the Alps.

Bern

As soon as you leave the quiet small train station of Bern you find yourself in the bustling station square, where you can hear and see the traffic, and countless students and business workers. Crossing this square and walking a short distance you reach the government’s house of Switzerland, built out of sand brick with a slightly corroded green copper roof. In front of the building there is a plaza with 26 fountains, where, if it’s a sunny day, you can see children enjoying the wet refreshment. Sometimes there are other attractions on this square like a market or an ice rink in winter.

Continuing a little way you reach the Zytglogge (a clock tower). If you're here at the hour, you can see a little carousel on the clock tower turning to the loudly ringing bell. Walk through the arc of the tower to reach the old part off the city, which is entirely built out of sand brick, creating an age-old atmosphere that takes you back centuries. You can enjoy an Italian coffee in one of the many bleaks (??) or just stroll down the main street and be immersed in the sights and sounds of the old town. And don't forget to listen to the river Aare, which is flowing underneath the street.

At the edge of the old town you cross the Aare and leave the peninsula of Bern, reaching the bear park. The bear is the city animal of Bern; in fact the name Bern derives from the German word for bear “Bär”. Walking up the hillside, which starts at the bear park, you come upon a cherry tree garden. In spring the whole garden is covered in white blossom, and if you picnic there you can feel the mild spring sun and enjoy the stunning view over Bern.

At the top of the Hill is the rose garden, a lovely little park with many rosebushes in it. If the season is right there is the beautiful fragrance of thousands of roses in the air. To end your day, you can simply take the bus back to the main train station and climb to the top of the building where you surprisingly discover yet another park. Buy some beer in the nearby supermarket, and just sit on the edge of the “roof” of the station building, right by of the University of Bern, another sand brick building, and enjoy the sun sinking slowly behind the Alps.


Donauinsel
The train stops. I am about to step out into my favorite place in 
Vienna, just ten minutes away from the city center. The green lung of 
the city – the Danube Island. Located between the old city center and 
the modern financial area it offers a holiday feel  to Vienna’s two 
million inhabitants. My day trip starts at the train station located on 
the famous Reichsbruecke. This bridge actually spans the island and you 
walk down stairs from it to get on to the island.  Once I’m down on the 
island I start to realise that it doesn’t feel like I’m in a big city 
anymore. It’s like paradise.
The first cyclers are passing me and their airstream refreshes my skin. 
They are followed by joggers, skaters and people on rollerblades. 
Walking on towards the center of the island, violin music is growing 
more distinct. It fulfills me with a sense of home and gets me into 
daydreaming. The street artist plays Mozart. A hard noise brings me back 
to reality. A big ship just passes on the right side. Ducks and swans 
are flying over and my thoughts change immediately to prayers that are 
saying “please don’t shit on me”.
As it is noon now my body tells me that I’m hungry now. Luck me that a 
lot of restaurants are just seconds away. The incomparable smell of 
Schnitzel catches every cell of my body and makes me starving even more. 
I decide to sit down as soon as possible and give my stomach what he 
wants. I order a glass of Almdudler with it, a herbs lemonade which 
reminds me of the alps.
After finishing I am going on with laying down in the fresh grass. In 
the background I can hear diggers and other machines who are building up 
the stadium for the beachvolleyball worldcup, starting in two weeks. 
Fortunately the island is now less crowded and I can enjoy the slight 
breeze on my skin. Bees are buzzing around me while I stare at the St. 
Stephens Cathedral and think about my childhood when my grandparents 
took me there.
When I feel rested enough I start my journey back. While passing a 
playground, a football lands in front of my feet. I give it back to the 
child which responds with a shyly thank you. I smile back and turn my 
head towards the train station. I already feel grumpy that I have to 
leave soon but on the other hand I am looking forward a lot to my next 
time on the island. I put in my earphones and play “Vienna Calling” by 
Falco and so the day goes on.

Donauinsel

The train stops. I am about to step out into my favorite place in 
Vienna, just ten minutes from the city center. The green lung of 
the city – the Danube Island. Located between the old city center and 
the modern financial area it offers a holiday feel to Vienna’s two 
million inhabitants. My day trip starts at the train station located on 
the famous Reichsbruecke. This bridge actually spans the island and you 
descend some stairs to get on to the island.  Once I’m down on the 
ground I start to feel like I’m no longer in a big city . It’s like paradise.

The first cyclists are passing me and their airstream refreshes my skin. 
They are followed by joggers, skaters and rollerbladers. 
Walking on towards the center of the island, the sound of a violin is growing 
more distinct, filling me with a day dreamy sense of home. Mozart. 

A hard noise jolts me back to reality. A big ship passes on the right side. Ducks and swans 

are flying over and my thoughts change immediately to prayers 
saying “please don’t shit on me”.

Around noon my body tells me that I’m hungry. Lucky me that dozens

of restaurants are just seconds away. The incomparable smell of 
Schnitzel catches every cell of my body and makes me feel ravenous. 
I decide to sit down as soon as possible and give my stomach what he 
wants. I order a glass of Almdudler with it, a herbal lemonade which 
reminds me of the alps.

After lunch I go and lie down in the fresh grass. In 
the background I can hear diggers and other machines building up 
the stadium for the beach volleyball world cup, starting in two weeks.

Fortunately the island is now less crowded and I can enjoy the slight 
breeze on my skin. Bees are buzzing around me while I stare at the St. 
Stephens Cathedral and reminisce about my childhood when my grandparents 
took me there.

When I feel rested enough I start my journey back. While passing a 
playground, a football lands in front of my feet. I kick it back to one of the kids 

who responds with a shy thank you. I smile back and turn my 
head towards the train station. I already feel grumpy that I have to 
leave soon but on the other hand I am already looking forward a lot to my next 
time on the island. I put in my earphones and play “Vienna Calling” by 
Falco and so the day goes on.

Speak-Easy: Talk about N-O-T-H-I-N-G

N

O

T

H

I

N

G

Yesterday

Yesterday

Yesterday all my troubles seemed so far away.

Now it looks as though they're here to stay.

Oh, I believe in yesterday.

Suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be.

There's a shadow hanging over me.

Oh, yesterday came suddenly.

Why she had to go?

I don't know, she wouldn't say.

I said something wrong.

Now I long for yesterday.

Yesterday love was such an easy game to play.

Now I need a place to hide away.

Oh, I believe in yesterday.

Why she had to go?

I don't know, she wouldn't say.

I said something wrong.

Now I long for yesterday.

Yesterday love was such an easy game to play.

Now I need a place to hide away.

Oh, I believe in yesterday.

Mm mm mm mm mm mm mm.

How to do a presentation - The Yes Men's consumer waster recycling program

Before listening

Global hunger is a problem. What is the solution?

Watch:

Post Consumer Waste Recycling Program


Which two organisations are the men representing?

What is the stated purpose of the presentation?

How does the main presenter structure the presentation? Does the presentation have a beginning , middle and end?

How are visual aids used to engage the audience?

Did you feel that the presenters had already anticipated the questions and reactions from the audience?

How much of the presentation is rehearsed and how much is spontaneous?

What is going on here? Are these guys who they say they are?

(Advanced) How to make and deliver a Pecha Kucha

First watch this introductory video:

What is a Pecha Kucha?

Where and why did Pecha Kucha originate?

Start with a table or outline; _____ out what you'll say for each s____.

You can also use ____ to help you remember what you want to say.

The key is to get everything down to the _______nce

Pictures should drive home your ____

Try to keep ____ to a minimum

Practice with a stop ____

Revise things down - cut out things that aren't c____

Dos and donts:

-

-

It's all about ____

Use ______

Use ______

Take notes:

Pecha Kucha

Pecha Kucha website

(demo pecha kucha) 10 Nzers