Have you heard about the new 7 wonders of the world?
Do you know what are Machu Picchu and Chichen Itza?
If not, you can learn about them using this info (a worksheet which includes listening comprehension based on VOA podcast & other activities) and by watching these videos:
This is the part of "The Bucket List" movie with two wonders of the world. It is a great movie (starring Jack Nicholson & Morgan Freeman) and I strongly recommend you to watch it all. Anyway, this "wonderous" part includes the scenes of the Egyptian pyramids and the Taj Mahal. Download.
It was very early in the morning when the boat got to Iceland. We could see the round body of the Sneffells Yokul volcano going up into the sky through the clouds. It had snow near the top, and it looked like an angry monster waiting for someone to try and climb it... Download audio.
Chapter IV "Inside the volcano"
The mouth of the volcano was one mile wide. We tied a rope around each other and began to climb down,. Hans went first. The inside of the volcano looked like the inside of an ice-cream cone. Its opening became smaller as we went down because of the rocks left there after explosions... Download audio.
Another guru of time management and self-management is Stephen R. Covey. His book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People helps to manage your time and reorganize your life. If you are too busy to listen/read the whole book - watch the video below:
If you know some other good books/authors on time and self-management, please share! :)
Advantages of Time Management: gain time / motivates and initiates / reduces avoidance / promotes review / eliminates cramming / reduces anxiety
BODO SCHEFFER
Bodo Sheffer’s name is well known is Germany today. The Germans talk about ‘the phenomenon pf Bodo Scheffer’. He says the following about himself, ‘Notes had existed long before Mozart, what he created from them for human kind is what matters’. So, Scheffer was named ‘financial Mozart’.
1. The Clock & The Compass
2. Urgent Vs Important
3. A, B, C, D
4. Weekly Planning
5. The Bucket List
6. 5 Spheres Of Life: Health, Job, Finance, Emotions, Family
Hi, everyone! Do this test and find out how well you plan. We'll go on to discuss time management after you have done this!
Add up you points for every question and read the interpretation below.
INTERPRETATION:
6-10:Terrible Planner.You should consider using new tools and processes to help you plan effectively. A great first step would be to take a time management course.
11-15:Below average planner.You may already have a planning system, but using it more effectively will help to reduce the stress and lack of control you feel in your life.
16-20:Average planner.Your planning system is working, but you can do better. You may need help focusing on priorities, dealing with urgent interruptions or writing your daily plan.
21-25:Above-average planner.Your planning system is working well.Keep up the good work, with periodic reviews to be sure you’re planning around what matters most in your life.
26-30:Excellent planner.You have mastered planning and should experience the serenity that comes from taking charge of your life.But make sure you’re in control of your planning rather than letting it control you.
Quiz written for USA WEEKEND by time management expert Hyrum Smith, chairman of the Franklin Covey Co.
A sunny day at the beginning of September, traffic jams, L’viv seems to be quite usual. But have a look at this! People, especially students, flood the city centre. They seem to be excited. Some of them are well-off, some probably have just 3 hryvnias to pay the entrance fee, but they are still going. Ye, that’s a Book Forum in L’viv. The event that gathers and unites all sorts of people who have one thing in common – we all enjoy reading, looking though and smelling quality books.
I personally visit this book fair every year, let me explain to you why:
Behavioural science offers interesting insights into cus-tomer service. Professor Richard B. Chase and Associate Professor Sri ram Dasu from the Marshall School of Business at the University ofSouthern California have developed five principles of customer service that can also be used to deliver customer-focused presentations:
1. Get the bad news out of the way early.Behavioural science suggests*that you should save the best part of a message for last. So, if your presentation contains any difficult messages- for example, on price or service - get them over with near the start. Your audience can then concentrate on the positive aspects of your talk.
1. cutting edge - the newest and most exciting stage in the development of something
2. turnover -the total value of goods or services sold by a company during a particular period of time
3. bounce ideas off somebody - to talk about your ideas with someone in order to get their opinion
4. cracker = hacker
5. downtime - the time when a computer is not working
6. backdoor - in a computer system is a method of bypassing normal authentication, securing remote access to a computer, obtaining access to plaintext, and so on, while attempting to remain undetected.
7. empower - to give someone more control over their own life or situation
8. mind-blowing– informal very exciting, shocking, or strange
9. linkage = formal a link
10. pitfall- a problem or difficulty that is likely to happen in a particular job, course of action, or activity
11. full-blown - having all the qualities of something that is at its most complete or advanced stage: The drop in shares could develop into a full-blown crisis.
12. to tap (into) - to make as much use as possible of the ideas, experience, knowledge etc that a group of people has: Your adviser's experience is there to be tapped.
13. rehearse - to practise or make people practise something such as a play or concert in order to prepare for a public performance
14. adjust = adapt
15. convoluted - complicated and difficult to understand
16. stumble - to hit your foot against something or put your foot down awkwardly while you are walking or running, so that you almost fall
17. acronym - a word made up from the first letters of the name of something such as an organization. For example NATO is an acronym for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
18. ample - more than enough, sufficient
19. ripe- ripe fruit or crops are fully grown and ready to eat
Otto Lidenbrock is the famous Professor of Geology at the University of Hamburg, in Germany. He is also my uncle. He is sixty-five years old, not very tall, with grey hair. He wears small round gold glasses that make him look very serious.
I'm Axel. I'm only nineteen and the Professor's personal assistant. I watch my uncle very carefully when he works. That's why I know so much about our planet -Earth.
My uncle, the Professor, is a hard worker. He spends most of his day in his laboratory at the University, so he never comes home before two o'clock for lunch. But yesterday, he came home very early. This surprised Martha, our cook. The poor old girl did not have the lunch ready and she was a little upset.
