THIS KIND OF MISDEED CAN HAPPEN TO THE MOST RESPECTABLE FAMILIES

Look attentively at these three photographs.

Did Prince Philip F...?

What do you think?

The expressions are priceless!

Observe Her Majesty's face!

Should the same laws which prohibit the sale and comsumption of heroin be applied to tobacco?

Claudio Caldas Mattos

Firstly, it is important to understand how harmful these two drugs are to humankind. You may think a cigarette cannot kill a person, or it is a harmless drug, or even it is not a “hard” drug like cocaine and heroin. However this is untrue. Tobacco is the common name given to plants from which we extract a substance called nicotin. This name derives from Jean Nicot, a French doctor who, as indian people from South America, back in the sixteenth century, believed that tobacco had healing powers, and used it as medicine back then. Years later, already in the seventeenth century, scientists started to discover the evil deeds provoked to human’s health through tobacco, as well as how nicotin could addict the user. Since then, concerned goverments put restrictions to its use.

Moreover, years ago advertisements on televison used to show a man ridding a horse, happly smoking a cigarette as a symbol of virility, and power. Today there are no ads on tv about tobacco, however after that people thought smoking was a good thing. Being this also, the main reason why kids and young teenagers started to smoke feeling themselves safe and powerful. Unfortunately, many users of tobacco do not understand the risks associated with its use, especially young users. Depending on how much the person smokes, and the time he or she have been using it, the risks can raise, often leading to cancer in the mouth, larynx and lungs as well as heart problems.

In addition, diseases related to tobacco have killed about 440.000 American citizens per year, around 1.205 a day. Meaning that tobacco smoking is qualified as the major cause of death which could be prevented in the world. Scientific researches around the globe have shown that over 16% of the Brazilian citizens are smokers.

These researches also pointed out that even in developed countries; tobacco is the cause of death on man (26%) and on woman (9%).
So, why is tobacco legal? If it jeopardizes the user’s health and people around him or her (passive smokers), why keeping the drug legal? The answer is simple, and yet frustrating. A lot of countries make huge quantities of money charging taxes over the sale of cigarettes. Living in a capitalist universe, the society should already expect this kind of action towards them. However it is not a question of prohibiting or legalizing, because the sale and comsumption of any drug is not going to be restrained by some laws. A more efficient way is to better educate people, to warn them about the consequences, as making a wrong decision at any age could have deadly consequences.

cacaldas2005@gmail.com

WORD OF THE DAY

verify

Pronounced: click here

Function: verb [with object]

Inflected forms:
verifies; verified; verifying

Meaning:
: to prove (something) is true or correct : confirm
Examples:
We could not verify the rumor.
She verified her flight number.

Note: Verify is often followed by that or whether.
Examples:
He verified that the item was in stock.
Can you verify whether I am scheduled to work or not?

Derived forms:
verifiable adjective
Example:
a verifiable claim

verification
Examples:
the verification of her password
He received verification of the deposit from the bank.

TRICK OR TREAT

Halloween is celebrated annually. But just how and when did this peculiar custom originate? Is it, as some claim, a kind of demon worship? Or is it just a harmless vestige of some ancient pagan ritual? The word itself, "Halloween," actually has its origins in the Catholic Church. It comes from a contracted corruption of All Hallows Eve. November 1, "All Hallows Day" or "All Saints Day", is a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints. But, in the 5th century BC, in Celtic Ireland, summer officially ended on October 31. The custom of Halloween was brought to America in the 1840's by Irish immigrants and the Jack-o-lantern custom probably comes from Irish folklore. Nowadays, Halloween is celebrated as a holiday when young costumed children go from home to home “trick or treating”. It is customary to give them some kind of candy or snack. This is called a “treat”. “Tricks” or jokes can be played on others on Halloween evening. Most tricks are not harmful, but sometimes they can be quite damaging to people as well as to property.

References: Charles Panati, Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things, 1987; and Dr. Joseph Gahagan, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Personal Letter, 1997.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

THE PRICE OF GREATNESS IS RESPONSIBILITY.
Sir Winston Churchill

LAUGHTER'S THE BEST MEDICINE

A BLUNDER

Upon finishing examining his cute new patient thoroughly, the obstetrician smiles and says:

- "I've got good news for you, Mrs. Green." The young lady interrupted:

-"Pardon me, it's MISS Green."

- "I see, gulped the doctor, well, Miss Green, I've got bad news for you."

Teaching Tips & Ideas

MAKE GOOD USE OF "ONLY"

Watch These Examples:

ONLY the barber broke his leg.
The ONLY barber broke his leg.
The barber ONLY broke his leg.
The barber broke his ONLY leg.
The barber boke his leg ONLY.

What conclusion can we draw?

We drew the conclusion that, depending on the position of ONLY
in the sentence, it can alter the meaning completely.

SEE OTHER USAGES OF "ONLY:"
1 - Tomara, Oxalá - "If Only"
e.g. "If only I could bear a child," sighed the sterile woman.
"If only it would rain on my kitchen garden," wished the boy.

2 - Quando nada
e.g. I'll take it. I accept the challenge, "if only to retaliate."
She said she was going to gamble again, "if only to try to get her money back.

WORD OF THE DAY

OPPORTUNE

Function: adjective

Comparative and superlative forms: more opportune; most opportune

Meanings:

1 : fit or right for a purpose
Examples:

She was waiting for an opportune [appropriate, suitable] moment to ask for money.
There isn’t a more opportune time to invest in the stock market
an opportune location for the store

2 : done or happening at the right time

Example:
The book’s publication is opportune.[timely]

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"I DON'T DO THE GOOD I WANT, BUT THE EVIL I DON'T WANT IS WHAT I DO!"
Saint Paul

FABULOUS FABLES

THE FOX AND THE GRAPES

A hungry fox was, one day, passing a garden wall, over which hung some very fine, ripe grapes.

- How good those grapes look! They make my mouth water! I'll have some.

Nonetheless, the grapes were so high that the fox couldn't reach them.

She began to jump, but even then, she couldn't reach the grapes. She jumped and jumped, and still, couldn't make it. At last, she had a fall.

Then, she ran away and said:

- Those grapes don't look ripe to me. I don't care. They must be sour. I don't like sour grapes, anyway

Teaching Tips & Ideas

PREPOSITIONS

BEFORE – Antes de. Perante. Diante. Ante. Indica posição em frente a um objeto. Indica também prioridade, precedência em classe, ordem ou sucessão.

e.g.: - I shall be there before 6 o’clock.

The holiday season starts a fortnight before May 1st.

You must mail this letter before that package.

“I’ll have these players play something like the murder of my father before mine uncle”. (Hamlet, Act II. Scene II.)


BEHIND – Atrás. Indica a posição do objeto atrás do outro ou seguindo um outro. Indica que um objeto fica após a remoção de um outro.

e.g.: - He died leaving a glorious name behind him.
I keep leaving my umbrella behind me.


BELOW - Abaixo de. Indica inferioridade de classe, de dignidade etc.

e.g.: - When the Sun sets it goes below the horizon.
An Earl is below a Marquis in rank.
Should I sign my name below the dotted line ?
The city of Recife, people say, is below the sea level.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Never be afraid to try something new just remember that a lone amateur built the Ark and a large group of professionals built the Titanic.

19 POINTS THAT TOOK ME ALMOST 50 YEARS TO LEARN

WHO'S WHO?

David Barry, Jr. (born July 3, 1947) is a bestselling American author and Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist who wrote a nationally syndicated column for the The Miami Herald from 1983 to 2005.

Barry was born in Armonk, New York. He was educated at Pleasantville High School where he was elected class clown in 1965. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Haverford College in 1969.

As the son of a minister and an alumnus of a Quaker-affiliated college, Barry avoided military service during the Vietnam War by registering as a religious conscientious objector.

19 POINTS THAT TOOK ME ALMOST 50 YEARS ...


By DAVE BARRY

1. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

2. If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be "meetings."

3. There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."

4. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.

5. And when God, who created the entire universe with all of its glories, decides to deliver a message to humanity, HE WILL NOT use, as His messenger, a person on cable TV with a bad hairstyle.

6. You should not confuse your career with your life.

7. No matter what happens, somebody will find a way to take it too
seriously.

8. When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that individual is crazy.

9. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

10. Never lick a steak knife.

11. Take out the fortune before you eat the cookie.

12. The most destructive force in the universe is gossip.

13. You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight savings time.

14. You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests that you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.

15. There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age eleven.

16. The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above average drivers.

17. The main accomplishment of almost all organized protests is to annoy people who are not in them.

18. A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person. (This is very important. Pay attention. It never fails.)

19. Your friends love you anyway.

Congo Fighting Threatens Mountain Gorillas

Fierce fighting around the Congo's Virunga National Park has increased concerns for the safety of the park's rare mountain gorillas.

There are an estimated 700 wild mountain gorillas remaining worldwide, with 150 living in the park. 9 gorillas living in the troubled park have been killed this year.

Last week, the gorillas were left unprotected as rangers were forced to evacuate their posts due to the fighting. People fleeing from the conflict are now setting up camps inside or next to the park, placing the gorillas under further pressure. The situation is critical. You can help the gorillas if you act today

excerpet from WWF

Teaching Tips & Ideas

All right everyboby. I have just received the message below. Somebody asks me to send it ahead. That's what I'm doing. H.C.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ana Falcon
Date: 07/09/2007 12:55
Subject: [braztesolpe] September Teaching Sparklers: 21/09/2007 - ELC
To: BRAZTESOLPE


Dear All. Please find below information about September Teaching Sparklers.
We would be grateful if you could forward this message onto your colleagues.
Thank you. And hope to see you there!

BRAZTESOL Team
btesolpe@gmail.com

Poster available from http://groups.yahoo.com/group/braztesolpe/ under FILES > Teaching Sparklers posters
--------------
21 September 2007

1400 1430 | Welcome comments
1430-1530 | Workshop I: How to maximise the use of English in class and still keep our students at ease
1530-1600 | Coffee break
1600-1700 | Workshop II: Differentiated instruction in the English Language classroom

FEES: R$5 (members) $10 (non-members)

ELC | Rua Sá e Souza 655
Boa Viagem Setubal
(opp. the American School)
Tel 3341-0888

How to maximise the use of English in class and still keep our students at ease
PRESENTER | Najin Lima
ABSTRACT | Why do our students fall back on Portuguese? Is it simply laziness? To what extent are we, teachers, responsible for the use of mother tongue in class? Is that legitimate at all? During this workshop we'll try to come up with some answers
for these questions, drawing from research as well as teachers' experience. The aim is to show that simple actions taken in class can give students the support they need to maximise their use of English in class without frustration. If a word were to be chosen to summarise this workshop, that would be strategies! Your own experience in class is more than welcome, therefore join us!
BIODATA | After graduating in languages (Portuguese/English) from UFPE, Najin Lima took CPE. He then took a Master's in Linguistics. He has taught English for 13 years. He worked for Culturas Inglesas in Recife teaching different groups of all ages and levels including Cambridge preparation courses. He has also taught ESP in colleges. He currently works for Pearson Longman as an ELT academic consultant

Differentiated instruction in the English Language classroom
PRESENTERS | Scott Heald and Virginia Sivini
ABSTRACT | This presentation examines the use of differentiated instruction in the classroom as a recognition of the variety of students' needs, abilities or prior knowledge. It is important to understand and apply the principles and practices
of differentiated instruction where students work toward the same ends, but use differentiated content, processes and products to get there.
BIODATA | Virginia is an EFL teacher. She is experienced in teaching young learners. She holds a post-graduate degree in Applied Linguistics.
BIODATA | Scott is a native English speaker with four years of teaching experience in the EFL field. Both teach at ELC and are working on a Master's Degree in International Education. (Framingham State University)

This kind of misdeed can happen to the most respectable families

LAUGHTER'S THE BEST MEDICINE

CLICK GREAT MOMENTS IN PRESIDENTIAL SPEECHES

LAUGHTER'S THE BEST MEDICINE - PART TWO

DEFINITIONS

ACCIDENT: Where presence of mind is good but absence of body is better!

ADAM: A self-maid man!

ALTRUISM: The art of doing unselfish things for selfish reasons!

ALIMONY: The high cost of loving!

AGITATOR: A man who spouts about Capital & Labor but who never has any capital and never does any labor!

JAIL: The best place to find men with convictions!

JOKEBOOK: A jest seller!

JUDGE: A lawyer who knew a politician!

JANITOR: The only man who can make a quick clean-up in Wall Street and get away with it!

TYPOGRAPHICAL ERROR: A misprint that can turn a hat into a cat and a baby sitter into a baby sister!

PRAYER: A message to Heaven, usually sent at night to get the low rate!

ADDRESSEE: The last person to read a post-card!

ALARM-CLOCK: An invention used to awake adults who have no babies!

- From Evan Esar's Comic Dictionary, Bramhall House, New York, 1960 -

This kind of mischief can happen to the most respectable families

AP Associated Press

Sen. CRAIG RESIGNS OVER SEX STING

By JOHN MILLER, Associated Press Sun Sep 2, 6:17 AM ET BOISE, Idaho - USA

- In a subdued ending to a week of startling political theater, Sen. Larry Craig announced his resignation Saturday, bowing to pressure from fellow Republicans worried about damage from his arrest and guilty plea in a gay sex sting.

"I apologize for what I have caused," Craig said, his wife Suzanne and two of their three children at his side with a historic Boise train station as backdrop. "I am deeply sorry."
Craig, 62, said he would resign effective Sept. 30, ending a career in Congress spanning a quarter-century.

Teaching Tips & Ideas

PRONUNCIATION OF VOWEL CLUSTERS

1 - OU

AU - Sour - Azedo
AU - Mount - Montanha
AU - County - Municipio, Condado

à - Journalist - Jornalista
à - Country - Campo, País
à - Harbour - Porto

U - Group - Grupo
U - Youth - Juventude
U - Rouge - Ruge

OU - Soul - Alma
OU - Although - Embora
OU - Dough-nut - Rosquinha

ÓA - Pour - Despejar, Entornar
ÓA - Court - Quadra, Corte

2 - OO

à - Flood - Inundação
à - Blood - Sangue

ÓA - Door - Porta
ÓA - Floor - Assoalho, andar

U - Shoot - Atirar
U - Booth - Cabine telefônica

UA - Poor - Pobre
UA - Moor - Mouro, ancorar

OU - Brooch - Broche

3 - EA

ÉA - Pear - Pera
ÉA - Bear - Urso

IA - Idea - Ideia
IA - Fear - Medo, temor

I - Neat - Limpo, impecável
I - Retreat - Retirar

EI - Steak - Bife, filé
EI - Break - Quebrar, romper

à - Pearl - Pérola
à - Early - Cedo