A Touching Poignant True Story_"Melissa Fleming: A boat carrying 500 refugees sunk at sea. The story of two survivors"_TED

This 19-minute story told by Ms. Fleming was a wake-up call for humanity. It was delivered in a calm but forceful way and won a standing ovation. The question Fleming posed halfway through the story: "Why do refugees like Doaa take this kind of risks?" churned my heart. "Only 11 people survived that wreck, of the 500." "Why is so little being done to stop the wars?" "Every life matters." These sentences have kept echoing in my mind.



Transcript is available. Just click the link below:

快按讚！10個實用臉書粉絲頁，幫你練出好英文

http://www.businessweekly.com.tw/KBlogArticle.aspx?ID=10310

快按讚！10個實用臉書粉絲頁，幫你練出好英文

撰文者VoiceTube看影片學英語

什麼！？上Facebook 也能練好英文？如果你和小編一樣也是臉書愛用者，那就快來看看這些超實用英文學習粉絲專頁，按讚分享，蒐集更多英文線上資源！

一、VoiceTube看影片學英文

首先，當然必推VoiceTube 看影片學英文！每天都會有「午後每日一句」，蒐集佳句之餘也能讓自己的心境更加開闊、心情變的更樂觀喔。

此外，每天也會有兩篇英文相關文章，內容從英文文法教學到日常生活英文用語大解析、英文資源，可以說是應有盡有包羅萬象。大家如果有什麼困惑的英文文法、想要知道的英文知識，快留言告訴我們，我們是英文界的FedEx─使命必達！

My comments: This was an English-learning website I recommended in my speech on how to teach listening in March last year.

Echo Method--"台大外文系教授獨門祕方》每天10分鐘「回音法」練口說，讓你講英文更像外國人"--from Business Weekly

http://www.businessweekly.com.tw/KBlogArticle.aspx?id=14389

台大外文系教授獨門祕方》每天10分鐘「回音法」練口說，讓你講英文更像外國人

撰文者   VoiceTube看影片學英語    2015-10-28

好不容易鼓起勇氣開口說英文，聽到自己的發音卻又默默閉上嘴巴？

每天練習一次「回音法」，只要短短10分鐘的發音練習，用喜歡的影集、影片，就能練出一口人人稱羨的英文，輕輕鬆鬆讓別人以為你是native speaker！

我們都知道，學英文萬萬不能只是紙上談兵。除了背單字、學文法之外，更要去聽、去說、去用。看過VoiceTube影片的人應該了解，影集裡富含大量生活化的用語和最貼近真實情境的英文，是學英文再好不過的資源寶庫。然而，看了一集又一集的影集，你真的有把裡面英文吸收進去嗎？

My comments: Watching videos to learn English is one of the best ways. An NTNU professor shared his experience: When he was in college, he often went to the movies. He watched the same movie twice. (Back then, moviegoers could stay in the theater as long as they liked.) For the first time, he watched it as entertainment, while for the second time, he listened to the movie with his eyes closed.

有了強大的資源，更要用對的方法，才能真正事半功倍。今天，我們要介紹一個如魔術般神奇的學英文技巧— Echo Method（回音法）。

"The benefits of getting older"--from BBC

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20151028-the-benefits-of-getting-older

The benefits of getting older

Most of us dread getting older. But there’s mounting evidence that old age brings happiness, intellect and even better sex.

• By Zaria Gorvett

29 October 2015

“Growing old is great – when you consider the alternative,” as the saying goes.

NHSH, Happy 28th Anniversary!

Nice Chat with Diego

Time: 6pm, Oct. 30, 2015

Place: Chunshuitang, Xinyi Dist., Taipei

This evening, Diego, a former NHSH student who graduated in 2006, invited me to dinner. We chatted until around 10pm! He shared with me what his job is like. Also, as before, he opened my eyes to the technology world. Besides the smartphone, his focus was on the automotive industry.

"If meat causes cancer, what can we eat?"--from CNN

An important article which provides diet guidelines.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/10/26/health/meat-causes-cancer-food-alternatives/index.html

If meat causes cancer, what can we eat?

By Jen Christensen

Updated 1602 GMT (0002 HKT) October 27, 2015

(CNN)You may have just learned that processed meat such as bacon, sausage and ham may cause cancer and unprocessed meat may be "probably carcinogenic to humans," according to a new World Health Organization report. Or that cheese and sugar can be as addictive as a drug. Or that even veggie hot dogs may not be completely meat-free (or even human tissue-free), we recently learned.

My comments: The meniton of "or even human tissue-free" gave me goosebumps. ><

"Processed meats do cause cancer - WHO"--from BBC

This news was the headline of the UDN yesterday.

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34615621?ocid=socialflow_facebook&ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbcnews&ns_source=facebook

Processed meats do cause cancer - WHO

26 October 2015

• From the section Health

Processed meats - such as bacon, sausages and ham - do cause cancer, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

My comments: The impact on related business! Howeve, if  they do harm health, we'd better avoid them.

A Leisurely and "Treeful" Afternoon

Last Friday, Tze-huang, a former NHSH student graduating in 2000, told me he would have this week off  from his internship and asked if he could invite me to lunch. Then we decided to have our gathering this noon. After lunch, instead of staying in an air-conditioned cafe chatting, I suggested we go to Taipei Botanical Garden for fresh air.

"15 Free Resources for Teaching High Frequency Vocabulary"--from TESOL Blog

Ms. Shvidko must have spent a lot of time fishing for and studying/reviewing these 15 vocabulary learning/teaching websites. Great job!

http://blog.tesol.org/15-free-resources-for-teaching-high-frequency-vocabulary/

15 Free Resources for Teaching High Frequency Vocabulary

Posted on 16 October 2015 by Elena Shvidko

And yet another blog on vocabulary resources. Today’s theme is high frequency vocabulary. Below is a list of resources for beginning and low-intermediate level students that can provide teachers with vocabulary worksheets, games, activities, and quizzes.

Hsin-fu & Yi-ting, Happy Marriage!

I attended my former Chiech Show colleague's son's wedding this noon at Amazing Hall, Taipei. Jay's also been my son's friend since their childhood.

We Are Family

Time: 6:30pm, Oct. 23, 2015

Place: Huakang Palace Wedding Party Hall, Taipei

Can you imagine celebrating birthdays together with your junior high schoolmates 40 years after graduation? We did that again yesterday evening!

Use What You Have and Do Your Best

This is so true!
"Some things that are really easy for you are real hard for me."

An Inspiring Video Based on Itzhak Perlman's "Playing on Three Strings" Story

Broken Strings Itzhak Perlman

 

Afternoon Tea with Friends

Afternoon tea with junior high school friends.

Time: 2:30pm, this afternoon

Place: The Landis, Taipei

Attendees: Alsa Lin, Chang-tai Chen, Chang-xin Xie, Ruey-sheng Hsiao.

Precious Photos

I got these two photos via email the other day. They were taken at Pine Garden in Hualien on Oct. 12, 2015 for one of the two groups respectively. We once studied at the same high school. After 40 years, we were taking a trip together. 10 years from now, shall we go on another trip with each other? Most in the photos were from abroad.

At a Former Colleague's Son's Wedding on Oct. 18

Time: 12pm, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2015

Place: Golden China Hotel, Taipei

Really happy to go to Hsu-dong and Pei-ling's wedding. Hsu-dong is my former Chiehshow JHS colleague Ms. Chang's (張文貞老師) son, who was about 6 years old the last year when I taught there. I still remember his big eyes.

Basic Photography Skills--"超詳盡攝影教學！101個新手必學的攝影技巧"

(By Meichu. Even though we were moving, the picture she took is very clear.)

Meichu (陳美珠), a good high school friend who has learned photography for around seven years, just LINEd and shared with me this website. Amazing guidelines! I decided to get familiar with one tip every day. 101 days from now, I will be able to take better pictures.

http://www.fotobeginner.com/14702/101-photography-tips-for-beginners/

超詳盡攝影教學！101個新手必學的攝影技巧

日期：2015年3月25日 • 作者：Alex Tam

The Happiness of Simplicity--"洪蘭／簡單的快樂"--from UDN

http://udn.com/news/story/7340/1257766-%E6%B4%AA%E8%98%AD%EF%BC%8F%E7%B0%A1%E5%96%AE%E7%9A%84%E5%BF%AB%E6%A8%82

洪蘭／簡單的快樂

2015-10-19 01:13:58      聯合報 洪蘭

一位新來的同事的心情常常不好，我們都知道早上不要找她開會，免得掃到颱風尾。熟了以後才知道，她家住郊區，每天早上必須先送女兒去台北上學，才能來上課。她女兒早上起床後，就在廁所對鏡梳頭髮，梳一個小時也不出來，常常弄得來不及吃早飯。為了怕女兒遲到挨罰，她只好開快車，一不小心就超速，每個月的薪水一半繳了罰單。她嘆氣說：真懷念以前有髮禁的日子，大家專心讀書，誰也不嫌誰醜，因為大家一樣醜！說得大家都笑起來。的確，選擇多時，反而煩惱，有實驗發現太多的選擇會增加心智的負擔，減低自我控制的能力。

Even If You Didn't Make the Right Decision--"就算選錯，人生也不會毀了"

An article by Hsiao-yei which I sent to myself via email. I came across it while cleaning out my email inbox. This reminds me of a sentence I told a student. He told me on the phone on the morning of the first day of SAT that he didn't sleep well the night before. Upon hearing it, I replied, "Just because you didn't sleep well last night doesn't mean you can't function well today." He did very well on the SAT, ranking the 5th in school.

http://www.read-life.com/2015/07/07/admin-1418/