V šoli angleškega jezika Galluslingua sem bila na individualnih urah – priprave na izpit. Na moji fakulteti sem morala opraviti izpit iz angleškega jezika. Ker sem veliko stvari od mature pozabila, sem se odločila da določene stvari ponovim s pomočjo inštruktorja. Vesela sem bila, ker sem lahko sama določala kaj bi rada predelala, prvič na tečaju sem jaz imela vodilno vlogo glede vsebine. Po 20 urah priprav sem izpit uspešno zaključila. Individualne ure so mi zelo pomagale. Domačih nalog je bilo ravno prav, če pa sem hotela več ali manj, pa tudi ni bil problem. Moj inštruktor Niko je z svojim mirnim, vzpodbudnim in fleksibilnim pristopom meni zelo olajšal delo in umiril moje strahove ki sem mu jih na začetku zamolčala.
Za vedno si bom zapomnila njegov stavek : There are no stupid questions, ask me anything!
Lani sem obiskoval priprave na maturo. V skupini nas je bilo pet. Ker nas je bilo tako malo smo vsi vedno prišli na vrsto, ko smo vadili branje, morali odgovarjati na vprašanja ali sestavljati pisati esej. Tukaj se ne moreš skriti kot v šoli kjer je 30 ljudi v razredu.
Včasih sem imel vsega vrh glave, pa tudi domačo nalogo nisem redno delal, vendar mi učitelj tega ni zameril, ampak mi je skušal dopovedati, da domača naloga koristi samo meni, njemu nič ne pomaga.
Včasih sem celo dobil 20 minut časa na začetku tečaja, da sem jo naredil in potem mi je popravil vaje medtem ko smo vadili slušno razumevanje. Bil je edini učitelj, ki sem ga imel v srednji šoli, ki se ni jezil name zaradi domačih nalog. Maturo iz angleščine sem naredil z oceno 4, kar me je zelo presenetilo. Očitno domače naloge niso tako pomembne. Angleščine sedaj ne sovražim več ampak jo sprejemam kot nekaj kar bom v življenju potreboval, kot nujno zlo.
The eurozone is in grave danger, and something must be done, fast. This is the message I get from various corners of the EU commentariat. Economists are particularly pessimistic. But the immediacy of the crisis is something relative – I’ve heard many macabre predictions many times during the last two years.
So I am more interested in the possible impact of the crisis on the future of the European Union. This may sound like an “unknown unknown”, but to my opinion trying to solve the eurozone crisis without taking into account the impact on the EU institutions and the integration project is useless. So let’s see what the options are.
1. Monetization of debt
The excessive debt of peripheral eurozone countries can simply be monetized by the ECB by using the proverbial printing press. The downsides are clear: the threat of moral hazard and inflation. Moral hazard means that once the ECB starts to monetize debts, every eurozone Member State can point to this precedent and demand equal treatment (i.e. more printing of euros to cover unsustainable debt). This leads to the second danger – elevated inflation, although some claim that this is not very likely due to the recession. If monetization happens, it will obviously be accompanied with a form of fiscal union, because there will have to be very strong guarantees against fiscal profligacy. In the short to medium term this approach can save the eurozone, and the European project as a whole. The problems with this approach are twofold: first, it may lead to unsustainable EU fiscal institutions if Germany and other northern Member States push too hard in their desire to guarantee fiscal discipline; second, in the long term this may also mean that peripheral Member States will become even more uncompetitive if again Germany and other northern Member States fail to reform their economies and stimulate internal demand.
In conclusion this approach may lead to long-term mutations that may transform the European Union into an undemocratic and unjust sovereign. On the good side, it saves us from immediate harm.
2. Credit crunch and disintegration of the eurozone
If the ECB does not monetize peripheral eurozone debt, then we may expect consecutive bank runs, asset sell-offs and overall economic misery in the eurozone periphery. This misery will probably be contagious, spilling over to the eurozone core, the US, Japan, China, and all over the world. Sooner, rather than later, the eurozone periphery will reintroduce capital controls and will effectively pull out of the eurozone. The economic and social consequences cannot be reliably foreseen, but will be very damaging to the global economy. Politically, the EU may disappear.
3. The way forward
It is quite obvious that the eurozone core must be convinced to monetize peripheral debt. This solution will be very difficult to achieve, but it serves all interests. However, it must be done carefully in order to protect the European project from excessive German influence that may in the long term transform the EU into some ugly mutant. The peer pressure of G20, and the US in particular, will be instrumental in achieving this difficult victory over petty short-term interests.
That snow outside is what global warming looks like
Unusually cold winters may make you think scientists have got it all wrong. But the data reveal a chilling truth
George Monbiot
guardian.co.uk,
There were two silent calls, followed by a message left on my voicemail. She had a soft, gentle voice and a mid-Wales accent. “You are a liar, Mr Monbiot. You and James Hansen and all your lying colleagues. I’m going to make you pay back the money my son gave to your causes. It’s minus 18C and my pipes have frozen. You liar. Is this your global warming?” She’s not going to like the answer, and nor are you. It may be yes.
There is now strong evidence to suggest that the unusually cold winters of the last two years in the UK are the result of heating elsewhere. With the help of the severe weather analyst John Mason and the Climate Science Rapid Response Team, I’ve been through as much of the scientific literature as I can lay hands on (see my website for the references). Here’s what seems to be happening.
The global temperature maps published by Nasa present a striking picture. Last month’s shows a deep blue splodge over Iceland, Spitsbergen, Scandanavia and the UK, and another over the western US and eastern Pacific. Temperatures in these regions were between 0.5C and 4C colder than the November average from 1951 and 1980. But on either side of these cool blue pools are raging fires of orange, red and maroon: the temperatures in western Greenland, northern Canada and Siberia were between 2C and 10C higher than usual. Nasa’s Arctic oscillations map for 3-10 December shows that parts of Baffin Island and central Greenland were 15C warmer than the average for 2002-9. There was a similar pattern last winter. These anomalies appear to be connected.
The weather we get in UK winters, for example, is strongly linked to the contrasting pressure between the Icelandic low and the Azores high. When there’s a big pressure difference the winds come in from the south-west, bringing mild damp weather from the Atlantic. When there’s a smaller gradient, air is often able to flow down from the Arctic. High pressure in the icy north last winter, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, blocked the usual pattern and “allowed cold air from the Arctic to penetrate all the way into Europe, eastern China, and Washington DC”. Nasa reports that the same thing is happening this winter.
Sea ice in the Arctic has two main effects on the weather. Because it’s white, it bounces back heat from the sun, preventing it from entering the sea. It also creates a barrier between the water and the atmosphere, reducing the amount of heat that escapes from the sea into the air. In the autumns of 2009 and 2010 the coverage of Arctic sea ice was much lower than the long-term average: the second smallest, last month, of any recorded November. The open sea, being darker, absorbed more heat from the sun in the warmer, light months. As it remained clear for longer than usual it also bled more heat into the Arctic atmosphere. This caused higher air pressures, reducing the gradient between the Iceland low and the Azores high.
So why wasn’t this predicted by climate scientists? Actually it was, and we missed it. Obsessed by possible changes to ocean circulation (the Gulf Stream grinding to a halt), we overlooked the effects on atmospheric circulation. A link between summer sea ice in the Arctic and winter temperatures in the northern hemisphere was first proposed in 1914. Close mapping of the relationship dates back to 1990, and has been strengthened by detailed modelling since 2006.
Will this become the pattern? It’s not yet clear. Vladimir Petoukhov of the Potsdam Institute says that the effects of shrinking sea ice “could triple the probability of cold winter extremes in Europe and northern Asia”. James Hansen of Nasa counters that seven of the last 10 European winters were warmer than average. There are plenty of other variables: we can’t predict the depth of British winters solely by the extent of sea ice.
I can already hear the howls of execration: now you’re claiming that this cooling is the result of warming! Well, yes, it could be. A global warming trend doesn’t mean that every region becomes warmer every month. That’s what averages are for: they put local events in context. The denial of man-made climate change mutated first into a denial of science in general and then into a denial of basic arithmetic. If it’s snowing in Britain, a thousand websites and quite a few newspapers tell us, the planet can’t be warming.
According to Nasa’s datasets, the world has just experienced the warmest January to November period since the global record began, 131 years ago; 2010 looks likely to be either the hottest or the equal hottest year. This November was the warmest on record.
Sod all that, my correspondents insist: just look out of the window. No explanation of the numbers, no description of the North Atlantic oscillation or the Arctic dipole, no reminder of current temperatures in other parts of the world, can compete with the observation that there’s a foot of snow outside. We are simple, earthy creatures, governed by our senses. What we see and taste and feel overrides analysis. The cold has reason in a deathly grip.
1. It’s totally UNDERSTANDABLE (understand) that you stayed home when you were sick.
2. Don’t laugh at his stupid jokes! You’ll only ENCOURAGE (courage) him to say them again.
3. That sidewalk isSLIPPERY (slip), I almost fell!
4. After Monday, I will no longer be a foreigner–I am receiving my CITIZENSHIP (citizen)!
5. Arthur will be very lonely unless you BEFRIEND (friend) him.
6. Every afternoon, the cooks SHARPEN (sharp) their knives in preparation for dinner.
7. I hate being around Mary Lou, she is so so UNFRIENDLY (friendly).
8. The stock market crash of 1929 left my great-grandfather PENNILESS (penny).
9. I have a class at 8:00 a.m. but I always OVERSLEEP (sleep).
10. The groom may UNVEIL (veil) the bride only when their vows have been exchanged.
11. I think we should try something else. That strategy seems way too RISKY (risk).
12. My father’s death left me with a great EMPTINESS (empty) in my heart.
13. George W. Bush is pretending that he attacked Iraq toLIBERATE (liberty) the Iraqis.
14. Americans fought hard to earn their FREEDOM (free) from Britain.
15. When you work at a nuclear power plant, you have to be extremely CAREFUL (care).
16. Every time I think I’ve beaten you, you OUTDO (do) me!
17. I had to take three months off when I was pregnant, but my boss has been very UNDERSTANDING (understand).
18. He will UNCORK (cork) the wine as soon as we are ready for dinner.
19. You need to work on your orthography so you don’t MISSPELL (spell) these words.
20. The weather FORECAST (cast) looks bad for a picnic–rainy and windy!
Write down the appropriate word. It can be a noun, adjective, adverb or verb.
Q: In the centre of the room, clamped to an upright easel, stood the full-length portrait of a young man of __________ (ORDINARY) personal beauty, and in front of it, some little ___________ (DISTANT) away, was sitting the artist himself, Basil Hallward, whose sudden ____________ (APPEAR) some years ago caused, at the time, such public _____________ (EXCITE), and gave rise to so many strange conjectures. As the painter looked at the _____________ (GRACE) and comely form he had so __________ (SKILL) mirrored in his art, a smile of ____________ (PLEASE) passed across his face, and seemed about to linger there. But he _____________ (SUDDEN) started up, and, closing his eyes, placed his fingers upon the lids, as though he sought to ______________(PRISON) within his brain some curious dream from which he feared he might _______________ (WAKE).
Na straneh šole angleškega jezika Galluslingua boste našli veliko stvari za izboljšanje vašega znanja angleškega jezika. Vsak teden bom objavljali različne vrste vaj iz angleškega jezika, ki pa jim bodo sledile rešitve. Vaje bodo primerne za vse starosti. Prebrskajte po kategorijah prispevkov ali pa prelistajte strani naše šole in se prijavite na tečaj.
