(Kimie's writing) Nuclear power

In Japan, there is a huge earthquake once or twice every few years. There are also over fifty nuclear power plants. As you may know, one of these, Fukushima, was destroyed by a huge earthquake and tsunami in 2011.  The Fukushima plant is still draining dangerous radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean.  Personally, I object to nuclear power plants being used as the main electricity supply because they can easily get out of control.

Many people have learned this through horrible experience. In my case, our family installed solar panels on our family’s house so as to make power via an eco- friendly system. In NZ there are no nuclear plants, so I think there is no need to rely on them in other countries. In Japan, we have faced a huge safety issue about nuclear power plants, but not everyone has been affected to the same degree.

There are various ways to make electricity - all Japanese people have realized this. However, things will not change so easily. A lot of large companies and government are in favour of using nuclear power plants. We are not supposed to publically post our own opinions on social networks if we work in large companies, and many Japanese people do work for these companies.  So comp[anise have a lot of influence over what we say in public.

I feel, as a country, we are in need of empathy and imagination. Without the freedom to use our own word, our life looks like a silent film. I wonder who might act honestly and bravely to solve this problem?

I have something which I want you to see.

Here is the place we live:

Frying Dutchman - Human Error

Connecting ideas

 Linking words examples

Talk about these. Are they convincing arguments?

• 1. All men will die. I am a man. Therefore, I will die.

• 2. If Samantha works hard, then she will get into college.

• 3. All snakes are reptiles. My pet is a reptile. Therefore, my pet is a snake.

• 4. If you care about your family, then you will get up early and cook breakfast.

• 5. This ice cream is either chocolate or vanilla. Since it’s not chocolate, it must be vanilla.

• 6. Ice cream is full of milk. People who are allergic to milk should not eat it.

• 7. All dogs are animals, and all canines are dogs. Therefore all canines are animals.

Cause and effect, reason and result\

The Tale Of Two Pebbles

Many years ago in a small Indian village, a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender. The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer’s beautiful daughter. So he proposed a bargain. He said he would forgive the farmer’s debt if he could marry his daughter.

Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal. So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let providence decide the matter. He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would have to pick one pebble from the bag.

If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father’s debt would be forgiven. If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father’s debt would still be forgiven. If she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.

They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer’s field. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the bag.

Now, imagine that you were standing in the field. What would you have done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you have told her?

Take a moment to ponder this. What would you recommend that the girl do?

 

 

The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.

“Oh, how clumsy of me!” she said. “But never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked.”

The moneylender dared not admit his dishonesty. The girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely advantageous one.

By Edward de Bono

I Need Listening Practice (B2)

Some tips for listening skills development

1. Be an active learner.

If an unfamiliar phrase or usage comes up in a listening. Actively look it up. Write it down.

2. Prepare

Before listening to something, what can you do to get some orientation? 

Read the listening questions carefully - they usually tell you a lot about what you're going to hear.

3. Contextualise

Try to think about the context of the conversation you're listening to. Who is speaking to whom? Where are they? Why are they talking?

4. Slow it down

Sometimes you just need more time. Use the slower speed onYouTube videos to slow the speech down. Or just use the pause button. Stop every few sentences and think about what they're saying.

5. Recycle

Listen multiple times. It's amazing how much language there is to learn in just one listening exercise. Also, go back to something a week or two later and relisten to it. This is really satisfying and motivating in my experience because you realise you have retained a lot of information and you can manage what was a challenging listen much better.

6. Interact

Be bold. Listen and speak at the same time. Find someone who is clearly better at the language than you are and dare to have a full conversation with them. Make lots of eye contact. As you chat, keep asking them to explain words they use that you don't completely understand or find difficult to hear. Ask them to repeat things. Ask them to say something again but slower. Ask them if there's a better word or phrase you could use.

Four useful resources for self-study:

Dictation exercises

Helps you improve at hearing the individual words in each sentence.

 B2 Listening practice

Helps you understand things in a specific situation (family conversation, work conversation, talking to a new person etc...)

Lyrics Training

Use your musical brain to unblock your word brain.

Exam listening practice

Cambridge FCE listening exam practice 

Can, could, be able to (for ability)

Watch this - 6 mins!

BBC Learn English

Now do this quiz

Communication skills = C

Practical skills = P

Thinking / learning skills = T

 

Decide of the skills below are C, P or T (or a mix of them)

learning languages

map reading

spelling

taking care of people

guessing what will happen in a movie

making speeches

following instructions

managing money

remembering names

telling jokes

fixing up broken things

making decisions

solving computer problems

organizing events

explaining things clearly

understanding poetry

cooking for forty people

designing a website

riding a horse

coaching a football team

 

Write down which of the things above you are

I’m… 

(totally) amazing at____________________________________________

(pretty) good at____________________________________________

(just) okay at____________________________________________

(quite) bad at____________________________________________

(absolutely) terrible at____________________________________________

For example: "I'm absolutely terrible at explaining things clearly"

 

Discuss together

 

Speaking in groups

1. How many people in this class can you name?

2. How long can you hold your breath?

3. How many colours can you name?

4. How many sounds can you hear right now at this moment?

5. How languages can you say hello in?

6. Can you whistle Happy Birthday?

7. Can you remember what you dreamt last night?

8. Can you stand on one foot with your eyes closed?

9. How many times can you say

"She sells sea shells by the sea shore"

10. Can you have a conversation speaking backwards?

Practice here

 

Who's more talented?

Ghost Ship

What's going on in the picture?

Here's the first word of the headline:

Skeletons 

What will the second word be?

found 

next word? (preposition)

on 

what?

'ghost ship' 

Phrasal verb?

washed up 

Where?

in Japan

Japanese raiuhoitets are trying to iyentifd eight people whose badly decomposed nreamis were found on a wooden boat that washed up on a beach.

What do you think happened? 
Where might the boat have come from? 
How might the people have died?

How will the Japanese authorities go about establishing the origin of the boat and its unlucky crew?

Focusing on verbs:

The discovery t____  p_____ in the northern Akita prefecture.

It c____ days after a group of men c_____ing to be North Korean fishermen w_____d onshore in the same area.

Crew-less boats or vessels with bodies on board, known as "ghost ships" and t_____  t__  b__ North Korean fishing boats, regularly w____ u__ in Japan.

They have usually b___ f______d on the western coast, which f_____s North Korea.

In the latest incident, Japanese broadcaster NHK s___d the boat, measuring about 7m long, w___ f_____d on a beach near Oga city on Sunday. The vessel w___ m____ing a rotor blade and navigational devices.

On Monday officials f_____d the remains of eight people, some reduced to bones, while i_____ing the boat.

Kyodo news agency r_______d that the coast guard s_______d the boat and its occupants h___ c____ from North Korea.

The discovery is the latest in a string of similar incidents. On Friday, a wooden boat c_____ing eight men - alive and in reasonably good health - w_____d u__ at Yurihonjo city.

The men said they were North Koreans f______g for squid, who h___  e_____d u__ drifting into Japanese waters when their boat e__________d difficulties.

Reuters news agency r______d that two bodies w___ also f_____d over the weekend at Sado island, with a pack of North Korean cigarettes and other belongings with Korean lettering.

Japan regularly s____s North Korean fishing boats s______ing into its territory, and its coastguard has occasionally h___ t__ rescue fishermen.

The appearance of "ghost ships" i__ t_____ t__ b___ a consequence of North Korea's attempts to s______y hunger by d_______ing huge quotas of seafood.

That forces fishermen to b_____d aging ill-equipped vessels and to v_____re far out to sea, with no equipment to issue a distress call if their boats r___ i____ trouble.

Link to article:

Ghost ship

Steve Jobs on management

Watch:


On leadership and recruitment

Early documentary on Apple and management

According to Jobs, what is leadership? 

1. Having 

2. Being 

3. Getting 

1. What does Jobs think of "seasoned professionals"? 

2. What happens when you create a strong core group? 

3. What made Apple choose to recruit someone? 

4. According to Jobs, what kind of people make the best managers? 

5. Which skills of Debbie's mattered more than her lack of experience in manufacturing? 

Detail: Some words are missing can you add them in? 

They need a common vision - and that's what leadership is. 

We wanted people insanely great at what they did, but were not seasoned professionals 

It becomes self-policing who they let into that group 

We agonized hiring 

On Teamwork

Steve Jobs on managing people




1. What does Jobs mean when he says "we're organized like a Start-up"?

2. How often and for how long do the people at the top of Apple meet?

3. What is teamwork really about?

4. What is Apple good at doing as a company?

5. What does Jobs himself actually do all day?

6. What makes people stay with the company according to Jobs?




Listen for detail and discuss:


1. "____ _____ how many committees we have at Apple? Zero."



What is about committees that Jobs dislikes? 

2. "There's ________________ teamwork at the top of the company which _____ down to tremendous teamwork __________ the company."


What skills are needed to work in a team? 

3. "Teamwork is _________ on trusting the other folks to come ______ with their part without watching them ___ ____ ____."

4. "You have to be ___ by ideas - not hierarchy." Do you think this is true for all organisations?

State or Non-action verbs

 

Noun	Verb	Adjective	Adverb
	Be Appear Exist Taste Resemble Depend Matter Weigh Mean Represent     Have Own Belong Include Possess Lack Acquire Contain     Know Believe Recognize Remember Forget Doubt Assume Interpret Guess Judge     Prefer Admire Appreciate Regret Satisfy Fear Desire Love Trust

 

Noun	Verb	Adjective	Adverb
Being  Appearance  Existence  Taste  Resemblance  Dependence  Material  Weight  Meaning  Representation        Ownership  Belonging  Inclusion  Possession  Lack  Acquisition  Containment /container   Knowledge   Belief  Recognition  Remembrance    Doubt  Assumption  Interpretation    Judgment      Preference Admirability Appreciation Regret Satisfaction Fear Desire Love Trust	Be Appear Exist Taste Resemble Depend Matter Weigh Mean Represent     Have Own Belong Include Possess Lack Acquire Contain     Know Believe Recognize Remember Forget Doubt Assume Interpret Guess Judge     Prefer Admire Appreciate Regret Satisfy Fear Desire Love Trust	Apparent Existing Tasty   Dependent Material   Meaningful Representational       Owned   Inclusive Possessive Lacking Acquired Contained     Known/Knowledgeable Believable Recognisable Remembered Forgotten/forgetful Doubtful Assumed Interpretative   Judgemental     Preferential Admirable Appreciated Regretful Satisfied Fearful Desirable Loving Trusting/trustworthy