Jan - Feb 2014

A. What would you do if you had an extra day?

 

After watching this video, please respond the following questions:

1. What is this video about? Setting, characters, environment, storyline.  Summarize it in 2-3 minutes
2. List the activities that the characters discuss doing if they had an extra day
3. What activities did the characters say they would like to do but they couldn't do?
4. Now it is your turn, what would you do if you had an extra day?  Write a short but detailed essay describing the thing that you would like to do alone, the ones you would do with your family and then ones that you would like to do with friends IF you had an extra day a week

B. Phrasal Verbs with Make

Open up the following doc to review the most important phrasal verbs with MAKE

C. Recognizing and replacing phrasal verbs

Read the following story and identify all the phrasal verbs used and replace them with another verb.

Story 1: Sarah had a problem

For a long time Sarah wanted to go out with a very handsome man called James, and then one day he turned up at her door. Just like that! She asked him in. James took his coat off and sat down. Then he explained that while driving past her house his car broke down. It was outside.

Sarah said James could call out a mechanic and she looked up the nearest garage in the phone book. She offered him a cup of tea. He accepted. But then she realized there was no milk. “We’ve run out of milk” she said and popped out to buy some more.

While Sarah was away the mechanic turned up. He got on with mending the car and James watched. When it was mended James got in his car and drove away.

In the shop Sarah suddenly remembered her little baby sister who she was looking after was at home. She ran back to the house and saw that James had left. Her little sister was crying inside, and she had no keys!

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D. How to express lack of understanding

When you fail to understand what has been said to you you can use these expressions:

• I beg your pardon?
• I beg your pardon, but I don't quite understand.
• I'm not quite sure I know what you mean.
• I'm not quite sure I follow you.
• I don't quite see what you mean.
• I'm not sure I got your point.
• Sorry, I didn't quite hear what you said.
• Sorry, I didn't get your point.
• I don't quite see what you're getting at.

How yo ask for clarification

When you don't understand what someone has said, you can ask for clarification using the following expressions:

• What do you mean by...?
• Do you mean...?
• Could you say that again, please?
• Could you repeat please?
• Could you clarify that, please?
• Would you elaborate on that , please?
• Could you be more explicit?
• Could you explain what you mean by...?
• Could you give us an example?
• I wonder if you could say that in a different way.
• Could you put it differently, please?
• Could you be more specific, please?

Clarifying one's point or idea

To clarify your idea you can use the following expressions:

• Let me explain that...
• Let me explain that in more detail...
• Let me put it in another way...
• Sorry, let me explain...
• In other words...
• To say this differently...
• To put it differently...

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E. Traits of highly successful people

Here are stories of seven of the most successful--and wealthiest--people in the world to illustrate each of those seven principles. 

1. Guy Laliberte, Cirque du Soleil Founder: Do What You Love, But Follow the Money

Guy Laliberte was a high-school-educated circus clown from Quebec when he led a collective of performers to start Cirque du Soleil. Despite government subsidies, indulgent sponsors, and Laliberte's hard work, the circus barely survived for years while evolving its distinctive style. Laliberte's master stroke was to switch Cirque's status from non-profit to for-profit (with himself as one-third owner). Today he's worth $1.8 billion. Even clowning can be a smart career move, as long you're the owner.

2. Suze Orman, Financial Advisor: Save Less, Earn More 

Suze Orman has made a fortune telling people to grow their wealth through frugality, despite having no personal experience in the matter. When Suze was in her mid-30s, she lived high, but was mired in debt. She didn't cut back on luxuries; instead she worked her way out. She did what she loved, followed financial opportunity, and today she is in a situation to spend $300,000 a year traveling the world on private jets. In the end, your time is much better spent seizing opportunities than pinching pennies.

3. Bill Gates, Microsoft Founder: Imitate, Don't Innovate 

Bill Gates built one of the world's largest fortunes--$67 billion, according to Forbes--by licensing operating system software to IBM. In actuality, that software was wholly adapted from someone else's code. Gates' Microsoft lacked the innovative capacity to write it from scratch, so it dressed up some code from another company's software, which Microsoft had bought for $25,000. When Gates delivered the second-hand software to IBM, it was on time, but it was so buggy that IBM engineers had to rewrite it completely. Thirty-three years later, no one remembers or cares. Innovation is seldom as important as timely execution of an adequate imitation.

4. Warren Buffett, Investor: Know-How Is Good, Know-Who Is Better

Warren Buffett arrived at his savvy investment philosophy when he was very young, but his know-how was nearly worthless because he personally lacked enough capital to make large market moves. Buffett didn't get rich until he overcame his shyness, recruited members for his investment partnerships, and led those partners in squeezing stock performance out of corporate managers. Case in point: No one gets rich alone.

5. Adam McKay, Hollywood Producer/Director: Win-Win Is a Sure Way to Lose 

Adam McKay is one of the most successful producer/directors in Hollywood. He's teamed up with Will Ferrell on Talledega Nights, Step Brothers, The Other Guys, and Anchorman. But his movie-making career might never have happened if he hadn't negotiated a sweetheart deal to produce film shorts while on the writing staff at Saturday Night Live. The secret to landing the deal? He didn't try to play a so-called win-win negotiating game. Instead, he told SNL'stop dog Lorne Michaels that having his own film crew was his price for staying with the show, and he was ready to walk away without it. Michaels paid happily.

6. Richard Branson, Virgin Founder: Spread the Work, Spread the Wealth 

Sir Richard Branson suffers from severe dyslexia, but he's come to regard it as his greatest strength. Branson runs his Virgin Group as a venture capital fund that places bets on entrepreneurs with bright ideas that fit the Virgin brand strategy. He's never tempted to micro-manage any of the dozens of Virgin companies because he can't. "If I could read a balance sheet," he once said, "I wouldn't have done anything in life." In sum, work your strengths and get others to work theirs.

7. Steve Jobs, Apple Founder: Nothing Succeeds Like Failure

Steve Jobs had a vision, back in the 1980s, for a three-dimensional imaging computer that would revolutionize the defense, oil, and medical industries. He was wrong about it, and he lost millions of his own dollars before shutting down production of the $125,000 Pixar Imaging Computer in 1991. At the time, Pixar's only profitable unit was a tiny team of animators using Pixar software to make computer-generated TV commercials--a team that would later form the Pixar movie studio that made Toy Story. And when Jobs died in 2011, more than 70 percent of his $8.3 billion fortune came from his stake in Pixar Studios, in an industry he never had any intention of entering.

F. Positive and Negative Traits - a handy list of adjectives to enrich your vocabulary

List of positive Traits

adaptable
adventurous
affable: friendly, easy going and easy to talk to
affectionate
agreeable
ambitious
amiable: showing a friendly and pleasant manner
amicable: friendly
bright
broad-minded
calm
careful
charming
compassionate
conscientious
considerate
convivial: friendly, lively and enjoyable
courageous
courteous
creative
decisive
determined
diligent: hard working
discreet: careful
dynamic
easygoing
emotional
energetic
enthusiastic
exuberant: full of energy and excitement and cheerfulness
fair-minded
faithful
fearless
frank
friendly
funny
generous
gentle
good
gregarious: sociable; fond of company
hard-working
helpful
honest
humorous
imaginative
impartial
independent
intelligent
intuitive
inventive
kind
loyal
modest
nice
optimistic
passionate
patient
persistent
pioneering
polite
powerful
practical
pro-active
quick-witted
quiet
rational
reliable
resourceful
sensitive
sincere
straightforward
thoughtful
tough
understanding
versatile
warmhearted
willing
witty: funny; comical

List of negative traits

aggressive
aloof: cool and distant
arrogant
belligerent: hostile and aggressive
bitchy
bossy
callous: showing or having an insensitive and cruel disregard for others
careless
clinging
compulsive
conservative
cowardly
cruel
cynical
deceitful
detached
dishonest
finicky
foolish
fussy
greedy
grumpy
gullible
harsh
impatient
impolite
impulsive
inconsiderate
inconsistent
indecisive
indiscreet
inflexible
intolerant
irresponsible
jealous
lazy
Machiavellian
materialistic
mean
miserly
moody
narrow-minded
nasty
naughty
nervous
obsessive
obstinate
overcritical
pessimistic
pompous
possessive
quarrelsome
quick-tempered
resentful
rude
ruthless
sarcastic
secretive
selfish
self-centred
silly
sneaky
stingy
stubborn
stupid
superficial
tactless
timid
touchy
thoughtless
truculent: eager to argue
unkind
unpredictable
unreliable
untrustworthy
vague
vain

Assignment: pick 3 or more of each traits (positives and negatives) to describe the list of people below and construct a little story to justify the description of each.

1. Your oldest son/daughter
2. Hollande (president)
3. Your youngest brother/sister
4. Your father
5. Your mother
6. Your wife
7. A well known athlete (your pick)
8. A well known french actor/actress
9. A political figure
10. A friend (pick one)

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G. A manifesto

man·i·fes·to /ˌmænəˈfɛstoʊ/ noun

plural man·i·fes·tos or man·i·fes·toes

[count] : a written statement that describes the policies, goals, and opinions of a person or group
▪ The group's manifesto focused on helping the poor and stopping violence. ▪ a political party'smanifesto

Have you ever heard,read or created one? 

Look and read the following manifesto from an athletic apparel company and let's pluck out some of the interesting words and concepts and discuss them together:

http://static.lululemon.com/files/poster_EN_11x17_2012.pdf

Now some questions:

1. What did you think of it? Is there a central theme in this manifesto?
2. Do you agree, disagree with some of the concepts written in this manifesto?
3. Do you think that people may be incouraged or discouraged to buy from this company after reading the manifesto? Why or why not?

Let's look closely at another manifesto and discuss your observations. 

What do you think of the manifesto?

What do you identify with personally?

What do you like about the manifesto?

Is there anything you don’t like?

Is it a good guide for life?

Is it too simplistic?

What would you change in this manifesto to have it to your liking?