Fruits that fight the flu

What fruits fight the flu? The following website lists five. Guess which five before clicking the link. Well, apples might immediately flashed into your mind because of the saying, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." Bingo! What about the other four?

http://healthyliving.msn.com/diseases/cold-and-flu/fruits-that-fight-the-flu#1

Fruits that fight the flu

 

"Meet the Australian children fluent in Mandarin"--from BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24672295

Meet the Australian children fluent in Mandarin

By Jon Donnison

BBC News, Melbourne

29 October 2013 Last updated at 01:05 GMT

Staying Close to Nature

Guess where I was yesterday afternoon?

An Inspirational Quote

An inspirational life quote found online:

One of the most important keys to success is having the discipline to do what you know you should do, even when you don't feel like doing it.--Unknown

A Happy Gathering

Time: Monday, Oct. 28.

Place: Moon River, in Neihu

Attendees: Shu-jen Yang (楊淑貞老師), Li-chu Chen (陳麗珠老師), Mei-jen Chu (朱美珍老師), and me.

"Travel Photo of the Day"--from CNN

Hallstatt, Austria

(Source: CNN)

"The joy of slang"--from BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24669828

The joy of slang

26 October 2013 Last updated at 00:19 GMT

Slang such as ain't, innit and coz has been banned from a school in south London. Author Charles Nevin celebrates modern slang and revisits phrases that have fallen out of fashion. Cor lummy!

E.B. White on the Future of Reading

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/10/24/e-b-white-on-the-future-of-reading-1951/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews

E. B. White on the Future of Reading: Timeless Wisdom from 1951

by Maria Popova

Food scares ‘heart-wrenching’: premier--from The Taipei Times

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2013/10/25/2003575337

Food scares ‘heart-wrenching’: premier

NEW ROLE: Minister Without Portfolio Simon Chang will lead a task force to reinforce the inspection of food products to determine whether they contain illegal ingredients

By Shih Hsiu-chuan and Mo Yan-chih  /  Staff reporters

Fri, Oct 25, 201

Dream Big--青年論壇／跳出舒適圈 青年請勇敢做大夢

http://vision.udn.com/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=1384&pno=0

青年論壇／跳出舒適圈 青年請勇敢做大夢

記者喻文玟、莊亞築╱台中報導   【2013/10/24 聯合報】

To FB or Not to FB, That Is the Question--臉書世界的魅力

After remaining dormant for more than one year on FB since my father passed away, today I finally put up an FB post, greeting and getting reconnected with my friends. My post looks like this:

"Dear FB friends,

How are you?  It's been a year since I last actively and publicly posted a message on FB. To me, the year 2012 was a year of saying goodbye. In February, a good colleague and friend passed away; in August, I retired from my teaching job, which I loved so; and in October, I lost my beloved father. In mourning for my father, I have remained dormant on FB for the past year. Loss is unavoidable in life, but it's not easy to be able to grab at the moment to say goodbye. I love a sentence told by the protagonist Pi at the end of the movie Life of Pi, "I suppose in the end, the whole of life becomes an act of letting go, but what always hurts the most is not taking a moment to say goodbye." Since we cannot predict when the last moment will come, we may as well cherish the RIGHT NOW.  May you all live happily in the present."

A Way to Tell Natural Fermented Soy Sauce from Chemical Soy Sauce--彰縣衛生局：市售醬油 九成五化學醬油

http://udn.com/NEWS/NATIONAL/NATS3/8249191.shtml

彰縣衛生局：市售醬油 九成五化學醬油


【聯合報╱記者郭宣彣、簡慧珍／彰化縣報導】

2013.10.24 03:18 am

"Education minister condemns shoe-throwing activism"--from The Taipei Times

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2013/10/23/2003575187

Education minister condemns shoe-throwing activism

Staff writer, with CNA

Wed, Oct 23, 2013 - Page 3　

The Child Is Father of the Man

The sight of the caterpillars this morning on my balcony reminded me of William Wordsworth's sentence "The Child is father of the Man" from the poem "My Heart Leaps Up When I Behold."  

Lightened Beauty

On English Listening--英聽拖累 托福 我落後南韓十名

http://mag.udn.com/mag/edu/storypage.jsp?f_MAIN_ID=381&f_SUB_ID=2705&f_ART_ID=481961

英聽拖累 托福 我落後南韓十名

【聯合報╱記者張錦弘／台北報導】2013/10/20

How I Miss You, Daddy!

It's been a year since you left us. How I miss you, Daddy! Are you listening to a concert or playing the piano in another world?

Read What You're Familiar with

A student I taught this summer invited me to watch the movie Training Day. He wanted to know how I felt about it. I don't watch movies often, but since I had promised that I would, I then borrowed the VCDs from the library and finally found time to watch the movie a few days ago.

Ten Commandments for College Students--周偉航：10種大學生通病 「空白人」居首

http://mag.udn.com/mag/edu/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=481164

周偉航：10種大學生通病 「空白人」居首

【聯合報╱記者王涵秋／台北報導】2013/10/15

Words in Art

My dear friend Annie (詹麗馨老師) made my words about the goal of education into a piece of art. I don't even remember in which blog entry the words appear.

One-day Trip with NHSH Retired Teachers

From morning...

Looking for a Sentence Pattern in a Passage

When it comes to learning grammar, it is necessary to know the form of a sentence pattern. I used to ask students to locate the new pattern in a passage and tell me how many of such pattern they could find, for example, relative clauses or passive voice, especially when I taught in junior high school, when students learn most of the English sentence structures. This is a fun activity and students enjoyed it.

International Day of the Girl--October 11

http://mentalfloss.com/article/53110/6-reasons-today-international-day-girl?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews

6 Reasons Today is International Day of the Girl

Chris Higgins  Oct. 11, 2013

"Learning English With Steve Jobs"--by Alexandra Lowe

What a coincidence! When checking TESOL blog yesterday, I found the title very appealing. Then I found out it was written by Alexandra Lowe. This is my third time to post her blog article here.

Judging from the title, I guessed she must have used Steve Jobs' Stanford commencement speech as the teaching material. I used to give this speech to my senior students at NHSH. What did I do with it in class? Well, I asked questions to check students' comprehension and if they had read it. Besides, I invited students to watch the video and had them jot down three to five sentences from the speech that touched them. Two years ago, I even asked students to write a letter to Steve Jobs. I went over all the letters and corrected some mistakes in them; regrettably, we didn't send the letters to him.

Now let's see how Ms. Lowe used Jobs' landmark speech in class.

http://blog.tesol.org/learning-english-with-steve-jobs/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=learning-english-with-steve-jobs&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews

Learning English With Steve Jobs

Posted on 11 October 2013 by Alexandra Lowe

The Beauty of Variety

Taken this afternoon at Chien-kuo Holiday Flower Market. They're all paper flowers!

"2013 Nobel Prize in Literature Laureate Alice Munro on the Secret of a Great Story"--from Brainpickings

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/10/11/alice-munro-on-stories/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews

2013 Nobel Prize in Literature Laureate Alice Munro on the Secret of a Great Story

by Maria Popova

“A story … has a sturdy sense of itself of being built out of its own necessity, not just to shelter or beguile you.”

"Writers on Munro"--from The New Yorker

This post is quite special. It's "Writers on Munro" from The New Yorker. We learned not only comments on the new Nobel laureate from these some writers but how these writers made comments on such a distinguished figure. Those who are interested in writing could get some inspiration.

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2013/10/writers-on-alice-munro.html?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews

October 10, 2013

Writers on Munro

Posted by The New Yorker

"Nobel highlights Syria with Peace Prize to chemical weapons watchdog"--from CNN

So here goes the Nobel Peace Prize.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/11/world/europe/norway-nobel-peace-prize-opcw-syria/index.html

Nobel highlights Syria with Peace Prize to chemical weapons watchdog

By Ben Brumfield and Laura Smith-Spark, CNN

October 11, 2013 -- Updated 1300 GMT (2100 HKT)

"Alice Munro wins Nobel Prize for Literature"--from BBC; "Canada's Alice Munro, 'master' of short stories, wins Nobel Prize in literature"--from CNN

Reading the same event reported by different news agencies gives us the chance not only to review vocabulary but to appreciate the different ways it was told.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24477246

Alice Munro wins Nobel Prize for Literature

10 October 2013 Last updated at 12:51 GMT

An Example of Filial Piety--孝子套招 失智母樂「都免費」; plus Ways to Prevent Dementia

As a teacher, I liked to remind my students of the concept of filial piety. I told my students that even if their parents always nagged them, couldn't afford everything they needed, or had some unbearable quirks, at least they brought them up, feeding and washing them, getting through sleepless nights taking care of them, etc. "So please be nice to your parents," I would add.

Here is a piece of news I read in the Apple Daily yesterday. A true story between a son and his mother who suffers from dementia. Touching! Following the story is an online article on how to prevent dementia.

http://www.appledaily.com.tw/appledaily/article/headline/20131009/35350590/

"Toddler brain scan gives language insight"--from BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24446292

Toddler brain scan gives language insight

By Helen Briggs

BBC News

9 October 2013 Last updated at 00:58 GMT

Getting a Global View--全英語授課≠國際競爭力

http://mag.udn.com/mag/edu/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=479886

全英語授課≠國際競爭力

【聯合報╱記者沈育如、陳智華、 張錦弘／專題報導】2013/10/06

Gathering of Chiehshow's Retired Teachers

 



 

YOU Are a Brand Name--讓自己發光 你就是名牌！

http://udn.com/NEWS/OPINION/X1/8207055.shtml

讓自己發光 你就是名牌！

【聯合報╱李枝桃／國中校長（南投市）】

2013.10.06 03:37 am

"China's first tourism law comes into effect, tourists issued manners guides"--from CNN

Some students are interested in news. They always want to go beyond the textbooks. That's really nice. Here is a piece of news about the new tourism law issued by China recently. The 836-word news story will take you only about 3-5 minutes to read.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/03/travel/new-china-tourism-law/index.html

China's first tourism law comes into effect, tourists issued manners guides

By Karla Cripps, CNN

October 4, 2013 -- Updated 0024 GMT (0824 HKT)

"Doh! 20 biggest travel mistakes"--from CNN

The following article is a little bit scarily long but worth reading. If your reading speed is 300wpm; that is, 5 words per second, you can finish it in less than 7 minutes. Dig in!

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/02/travel/20-travel-mistakes/index.html?iid=article_sidebar

Doh! 20 biggest travel mistakes

By Chuck Thompson, CNN

August 3, 2013 -- Updated 0016 GMT (0816 HKT)

A Very Good Phonics Song

While browsing the Net for some ideas for my "project," I came across this phonics song. It's easy but brilliant, and will definitely help students who have problems with spelling, be they children or adults. Once one is familiar with the letter-sound correspondence in English, spelling is not a headache anymore. Words like "antidisestablishmentarianism" are not hard to spell, as long as you can say them.

At the webpage, after you listen to the song and sing along, why not read on? You can read some comments, which make authentic reading materials.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BELlZKpi1Zs&list=PLC8F3FA98A289F638

Giant duck conquers Taiwan--from CNN

Recently, crowds of people have flocked to Kaohsiung mainly to take a look at the giant yellow duck. The following CNN webpage displays 8 photos along with the article. Click the link, and enjoy the rubber duck!

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/24/travel/rubber-duck-taiwan/index.html?iref=allsearch

Giant duck conquers Taiwan

By Hiufu Wong, CNN

September 25, 2013 -- Updated 0500 GMT (1300 HKT)

Apple passes Coke as world's 'top brand'--from CNN

Surely, students learn a lot from their textbooks. However, they can learn even more if they read extensively, and one of the best reading materials is news stories, which are authentic and closely related to life. In the following news, the idea of "outdoing" is expressed in different ways.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/30/tech/innovation/apple-coke-top-brands/index.html

Apple passes Coke as world's 'top brand'

By Doug Gross, CNN

updated 4:56 PM EDT, Mon September 30, 2013