My Teacher -- By Leo

My English teacher's name is Malvina. She's a slender young woman of average height. Her skin is pink-white ,her eyes are green ,and she has golden eyelashes. She has a straight noise and small lips. Also she has pure white teeth that show up when she smile. She has straight brown shoulder length hair.

Today she's wearing an orange shirt, a pair of beige pants, golden flats, and earrings which look like a couple of small fish.

She's usually patient, she organizes the lessons before each classes. She knows what's good for students and gives them the right knowledge. She checks their homework one by one and corrects it. Also she answers students' questions patienty. She helps students progress in English and never complains about her hard job.

She has a white shoulder bag, she uses it everyday, which is made from leather. It's oval and it has a plain design. It's a little folder on the sides, but the decorations are suitable. There are two zippers from one side to the other side, that's decorations, too. The lining is black and white zebra pattern and there are some pockets inside it, so she can carry makeup, note books, pens, and cellphone. I don't know where it's made, but it's soft and pretty. Maybe it is expensice.

My classmate--By Wendy

My classmate's name is Haya.She is a young woman.She comes from Saudi Arabia.She studies English in ALMA.She is married.She has big black eyes,long wavy brown hair,straight nose,and long eyelashes.
Her skin color is hazel.She tweezes her eyebrows and does her make up every day.She likes to listen to music,go to the movies,cook,and go shopping.She likes to eat Chinese food and Mexican food because she likes spicy food.Sometimes she eats in a restaurrant.She likes spring more than summer.Sometimes she travels to other countries and cities with her husband.She likes to talk about her family and country.Sometimes she is interesting.
Today she is wearing a white shirt,blue jeans,a brown floral design vest,a pink scarf,and white shoes.She sometimes wears perfume and wears rings.She is always wearing a big bag and a scarf.
Haya is a serious person.Sometimes she doesn't talk with friends,but she is very talkative in class.She sharse her opinions in class discussions,but she doesn't communicate with other students.She is usually individualistic,most of the time she works by herself and concentrates on her own business.Sometimes she doesn't have an expression on her face.
Haya always wears a scarf every day.Her scarves have many colors,their colors are pink,black,yellow,and white.They're very long and large,their shapes are rectangular.The pink,yellow,and whites' material are 100% cotton and their designs are plain.The black's material is silk and it's design has many English words,their color is white.The scarfs are very soft,like clothes,but I think the scarf's price is more expensive than clothes.Sometimes better material is more expensive.Usually,they are made in China,Vietnam,and Malaysia.Sometimes the scarves look beautiful,bright,and attractive.I think many women really like it.Maybe some women don't like to wear it in summer.

My Favorite Athlete--by Leo

Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal (Shaq) was born on March 6th, 1972 in New Jersey. He has a different childhood from other children. His father was a soldier, so their family moved often from one town to another.
First, he was much taller then other classmates in his school when he was twelve years old. He didn't have any friends, and usually played with his father. His father tought him how to play basketball on his twelfth birthday. After that, he met the third important person in his lift when he was thirteen years old. He was Coach Brown. Next he studied at St.Louis University.
He won two awards for NCCA Best Athlete when he studied at university. He left university when he joined the NBA team in 1992. He plated batter and batter in each game. Finally, he won the award for Best Player in the NBA, and he became a movie star and a singer.

Open Land - A Beach Clease To My House--by Leo

There was a bay which was 6 kilometers long, close to my house. I could go for a long walk along it. The end of the beach was full of "Star Sand". It had been weathered from shells; If you saw the beach, is was very beautiful. Each grain of sand are like a small star.People camped there, had barbecues there, and swam there. Although the town passed a low to protect the beach., still people took away star sand bag by bag.

Constructionworks and the local goverment worked together. The goverment allowed them to build hotels on the center og beach, more people took sand away, and the hotels polluted the ocean. White beaches became dark, and instead of star sand, a lot of garbage was left there; people never traveled there again, so the hotels were all closed. If I go there now, I can't see a white, beautiful beach now.

Chin-Feng Chen--by Wendy

Chin-Feng Chen was born in Tainan in 1977.He was a baseball outfielder.He was the first player born in Taiwan to play Major League Baseball.First,he played for the Los Angeles Dodgers frome 2002 to 2005 but only sparingly.Then,in 2006,Chen tired out with the Japanese Professional League and eventually decided to play in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) in Taiwan.He had the best performance in the second Asian baseball tournament and gained lots of attention from Japanese and Korean baseball clubs.Finally,he rejected the offer from the Japamese team and made the decision to stay on the La New Bears team in Taiwan.

Lifestyle--by Leo

I do several things to stay healthy and keep fit.

What I do is get enough time to sleep every night, but I have only got six to seven hours of sleep each night recently, so I should get two more hours.

Sometimes I ride a bicycle for exercise with Wendy. But I usually work overtime so I can't get exercise every day. I also take enough vitamins in fruit, and the most important thing is to eat fresh food.

Most importantly, I always keep relaxed. That will make me do things more easily.



Week days

During the week, my days are very boring. I wake up at 7:00 every morning. First I cok eggs at 7:20 and cooke toast 20 minutes later. Usually I brush my teeth at 7:35 and finish breakfast at 7:40. Then I go to take the skytrain at 7:50.

When I reach the skytrain, it is almost 8:10, and it tkes me 40 minutes to get to ALMA. At 4:00 PM we are dismissed from class and I come back home to cook dinner. Then I finish homework at 10:30. I usually take a shower after that. When I go to bad. It's 11:00.
===================

Lifestyle--by Wendy

What do you do to keep fit?
I belong to a health club where I usually exercise after classes.I like to ride a bike and walk on the track.I ride a bike two or three times a month.I don't eat lots of chocolate,hamburgers,french fries,cake,or sugar.I usually cook some vegetables for dinner.Sometimes I get enough sleep at night.I don't have any special methods.

Week days
During the week,my days are very boring.I wake up at 7:00 a.m.every morning.I take the skytrain at 8:00 a.m. and go to my first class at 9:00 a.m..I eat lunch at 12:30 p.m..I go home at 4:30 p.m. and buy some thing at 5:20 p.m..I take a shower at 8:00 p.m. and sleep at 11:00 p.m..

My Classmate--by Wendy

My classmate's name is CHIO. She's from Mexico.She speaks English and Spanish and works in a store. She's an attendant. She likes listening to music,surfing the internet,and putting on make up.Her favorite activities are writing e-mails and talking on the phone with her friends.

My Classmate--by Leo

My classmate's name is Mikiko. She She is a nice person and answered me patiently. She's in English 200 but is also a volunteer at ALMA.

She comes from Japan and made up her mind to learn to speak English well. After she finishes her homework she likes to listen to music. There are five people in her family, she said and she always smile s when she speaks. All in all, I think she is a nice person.

Ridiculous Life

Redicioulus Life

Fadi is a clever man and his job is related to crime, but nobody knows what he does exactly. His life is busy and a little bit dangerous. One day, he decided to travel around the world to find the best place to live, but his money was robbed when he was eating lunch in a small restaurant near a country town. Although, he didn’t have money, he didn’t want to go back home. He roamed around the country trying to find a way to earn money for traveling. Then, he heard about Nerd, a stingy and greedy farmer, who had a lot of money. Nerd liked to save money rather than spend it on living or helping poor people in need. He kept his money in a secret place in his house. Fadi wanted to steal the money, so he made a plan including every minute detail and put it in practice meticulously.
He went to Nerd’s house and pretended that his car had broken down. After he had made his clothes dirty and oily, he knocked on the door gently.
“Who’s there?” An irritated voice answered.
“Can you open the door?My car is broken and I need some help,” replied Fadi.
“How can I help you?”asked Nerd after he opened the door.
“ Sorry for bothering you , my car has broken down,” he pointed to his car. “See, I can’t fix it,” he showed his dirty hands to Nerd, “And it’s getting dark, I don’t know the city and I don’t know where I can find a mechanic.Is there a garage around?”asked Fadi pitifully.
“It’s too late to find a garage, you have to wait until tomorrow,” replied Nerd.
“Is there a hotel around?” asked Fadi disappointed.
“There is an inn on the other side of town. Take that street and you can see it on the left side ,” Nerd pointed to the street.
Fadi looked in the direction that Nerd showed him, and then looked at the Nerd pleadingly.
“Is there any chance that I could stay at your home until tomorrow morning?” begged Fadi.
Nerd thought for a while. He thought that he could earn some money by renting his room to this gentleman, but he didn’t have any idea about the price of a room at an inn, and he wanted to get the best price.
“Oh, Um….. I’m afraid that there is no place at my home, as you see it’s small and …… .”
“ Ok, I’ll pay for it. Please, I have nowhere to go,” Fadi inturrupted.
“ I’ll give you my golden watch,” he showed Nerd his watch.
“Oh, Ok. I guess I can find room for one night, come in,” said Nerd with a mishievious smile.
Fadi enterd the home and sat in an old armchair and looked around thoroughly.
“May I have a cup of coffee?” Fadi requested politely.
They talked while they drank their coffee.
“What do you do?” Fadi asked.
“I’m a farmer . I have my own farm, and I grow several kinds of fruits and vegetables. Also, I have a small business,” Nerd answered.
Then he asked, “What about you, what do you do?”
“I’m a businessman. Perhaps we can trade together. Anywasy, your home is cozy and your coffee is excellent,” Fadi changed the subject thoughtfully.
“Sure, it’s a good place. I don’t want to spend my money, I prefer saving money rather that spending it,” replied Nerd directly.
“Ok, I see. I’m tired, and I have to wake up early in the morning to fix my car. Can you show me where I can sleep?” asked fadi with a yawn.
“Sure, come with me. This is my own room, you can sleep here until tomorrow and I’ll sleep on the couch,” said Nerd sympathetically.
“That’s very kind of you. Thank you,” Fadi replied.
In the deep of the night, Nerd thought that Fadi was asleep. He wanted to hide the golden watch, so he went to the secret place where he hid his own money. He didn’t realize that someone was silently following him. He looked around carefully for a while, and dug in the backyard. Nerd finished hiding the money, looked around again, and returned to his home. He was convinced that nobody knew the secret place, so he went to bed happily.
Fadi returned to his room quickly when Nerd came back. Fadi waited until Nerd fell asleep. After a while, he dug up the secret place and the stole farmer’s life saving. After bringing the money to his car, he left town quickly before dawn.

The moral idea is that money is for spending, not for saving.

Kurt and his girlfriends

Kurt is a very famous local police officer. He solved a lot of cases. All the girls want to date him because he is handsome, but there is a person in his heart named Ann. She is an English teacher who works at a high school.
One day after work, Kurt remembered his best friend Bob was going to have a party at his home, Kurt had been invited to his party. Kurt took out his cell phone and called Ann...


“Honey, would you like to go to Bob’s party?” he asked.
“I’d like to go, but I have to work until 8:00pm,”Ann said.
“When you finish work just come meet me there,” he replied.
“Ok, see you later,” Ann said.


When Kurt arrived, people were talking and dancing.
“Hey-yo! It’s so wonderful to see you my brother,” Bob said.
“You too. Who is that beautiful woman?” Kurt asked
“She is my relative, she lived in Russia with her husband, but her husband died last year in an accident. So, she plans to travel all over the world to help forget her sadness. Come on, I’ll introduce her to you.”
“Erin, this is my best friend Kurt,”
“Kurt, this is Erin,” Bob said.
“Nice to meet you,” Kurt said.
“Hi, nice to meet you too,” Erin said.
“I’m going to excuse myself, I have to treat the other guests. Enjoy yourselves,” Bob said.
“Would you like to dance with me?” Kurt asked.
“Of course. Your eyes are so charming, just like my husband’s were,” Erin said.
“Really? Thank you. I’ve never seen a woman as beautiful as you. Can I get you a cup of whisky?”
“Yeah, why not.” Erin said.




Then they sat together and talked. Erin thought that Kurt was a nice gentleman. She remembered her husband, leaned on Kurt’s shoulder and began to cry. After a long time chatting, they looked at each other and then they kissed. Unfortunately, at this moment, Ann came in the room.


“What are you doing?” Ann shouted.
“We are just sitting and talking,” Kurt said.
Then, Erin explained, “Hello, Ann, your boyfriend is so good at listening to me. He is so generous. Do you want to have a drink with us?”


“No, you kissed my boyfriend and fortunately I found you. Would you mind if a person kissed your boyfriend?” she asked.

“I am his girlfriend! If I hadn’t arrived, would you have kissed him for a long time?” Ann said,
“Don’t be angry,” Erin said. “You know I had a bad husband and he died a year ago. I wanted to compare my husband with yours. My husband was a bad man and always drank and fought. Please believe me, nothing happened.”
“Erin, do you know each other?” Bob asked.
“Yeah, we just met.”
“Good, we will have dinner in the kitchen now.” Bob left the room.
While they were having dinner, Ann kept pinching him under the table.


After the party, Ann asked,“Do you like Erin?”
“No,” he replied.
“Why were you kissing her?”
“We just talked and you know her husband has been dead for a year. I think that time she needed a kiss. We were just sitting and chatting. Don’t worry too much. We won’t talk any more.”

“Bad guy, I will never forgive you! I will go to my parents’ home. Don’t call me! I won’t call you! You don’t love me! Get out!”
“Sorry, baby, I was wrong. I will never see her. You are my favourite. I love you more than anyone else.” Then he kneeled down and cried!

“I won’t hurt you. Honey, forgive me. I want you to marry me. Only you are important in my heart! Will you marry me?” he asked Ann and showed her a diamond ring.

She said, “Please give me some time to think.”

Then, he stood up and kissed her for a long time. Her breath stopped and hit his body! A moment later he said, “I LOVE YOU.”
She laughed and said, “I know.”
“That means you agree?”
She nodded her head! He was happy and hugged her! He put the ring to her finger and said ,“ I love you . You are more valuable than any other person in the world!”
Then they were walking in the street and went into their home!


A moment later, Ann said to him, “Baby, I forgive you! But if you do this again, I will kill you!” she warned.

A few days later, Kurt and Erin met secretly on a date. They met at Starbucks occasionally and chatted with each other happily.
At last, Kurt and Ann got married, but Erin and Kurt always had a secret relationship that Ann and Bob didn’t know about!




by Ivan and Bruce

How Stress Effects People's Lives and how to Deal with it

JU-HUI,CHEN (Winnie) (09.04.21)

 

Stress is a serious problem which people get from different situations. According to a report, 50％ of illnesses in America are caused from stress and the government has to spend lots of money on health insurance and benefits because some people are unable to work. Stress can be caused by changes in lifestyle, because people are busier now than in the past. They are worried about their jobs and money. They also have various responsibilities in their own lives. There are three main effects of stress: people have bad health, they lose their self-confidence, or they become isolated.

 

Nowadays, people's modern lifestyles are changing so fast. When people work for long a time sometimes they do not eat on time which increases stress. People deal with stress in different and unhealthy, such as eating too much (or not enough), smoking, and not sleeping enough that all effects their health. Also, they become anxious, sad, and apprehensive. According to an ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) report, people who live with stress for a long time can die earlier because of hypertension. Therefore, people should find healthy ways to reduce stress, for example, do exercise, talk with family and friends, or plan a small trip.

 

Stress not only effects people's health, but it also effects people's self-confidence. When they feel stressed, they think that they can't do anything. For example, when kids learned a new language, they are stressed and their parents are angry with them if they fail. Then, they will lose interest and self-confidence. The best way to help them and to reduce their stress to is to encourage them and they will do better next time. Adults also need to try to reduce stress. They need to find time to relax and calm down. For example, after people finish work, they should listen to music for five minutes in their car before they enter the house. Stress also leads people to become less social and they lose their ability to communicate. For example, some people who are faced with stress don't want to talk with other people and express their thoughts. After that, they are not accustomed to being with people. Therefore, people should notice everyone around them and spend time listening to what is important to them. They can also join community organizations, like stress management where they can share their experiences with each other and find ways to resolve personal problems.

Stress is an invisible disease that can cause all kinds of other illnesses. If people want to have less stress they should eat, sleep and exercise regularly. People should also learn how to plan their work time better. The most important thing they must remember is, "People are not perfect and life is too short". They need to save some time for themselves and their family, and not take their problems with them everywhere. Finally, happiness and health are more important than money and jobs.

The Effects of the Economic Crisis

By Dyana

People all around the world are suffering from the economic crisis. It has been a huge problem and economists have predicted that the world is sinking into recession. There are a variety of causes of this problem. In my opinion, the main reason is that some investors led us to this severe situation be taking loans from financial institutions to fund their businesses. Then, when the financial bubble burst, they weren’t able to pay off their debts. Regardless of who is responsible, now we have a serious problem and it must be resolved. Some of the effects of the economic crisis are unemployment, depression, and the increase in crime.

From economic statistics, we realize that the strongest effect of the economic crisis is unemployment. At first, the problem was limited to a few countries; however, now it’s spreading to reach countries all around the world. Unemployment is considered to be worse for men because they are responsible for themselves and for their families. These circumstances put big pressure on men and make them wonder whether they will be able to feed their children and continue to live at the same level. In addition, economists are worried about the future because they’re expecting job losses to increase in the next few months. Also, because people nowadays are trying to save money, less money is being circulated in the economy, which is making the crisis worse.

Another thing worth talking about during this credit crunch is depression. This condition has increased among different classes of society, depression happens when people are hard on themselves and they feel that they are unable to overcome huge problems. This pressure leads them to become weak and depressed. Recently, we’ve heard about many people who committed suicide because of bankruptcy. Their fears for the future make them think that the sole solution is to run away from their responsibilities. This affects their families badly and is also considered a big problem in the world. Unfortunately, right now people are out of control and they aren’t strong enough to stop themselves from taking such severe actions.

We can also attribute the increase in crime, such as drug smuggling, shoplifting, and fraud to the economic crisis. Everyday we see and hear of hundreds of incidents on TV and in newspapers. These harsh actions plant fears in our hearts, especially after hearing that some gangsters call people at work and threaten to kill them if they don’t give them money. So, people realize that closing their businesses and staying home is better for them. Many other incidents are increasing like kidnapping and blackmail. Nowadays, it’s common to see in some stores people stealing food or drinks. They don’t look like they used to do that before, but the feelings of poverty and starvation are stronger that their beliefs.

We all admit that there is a grim economic situation, which has created an increase in unemployment, depression, and crime. However, some people are optimistic about the future and they expect an improvement in the economic crisis, but it still needs time. The sole solution is for citizens, companies, and governments to cooperate and come together to overcome this crisis.

The Effect of Antibiotic Resistance in People

The Effect of Antibiotic Resistance in People


By Jini
These days, we have many kinds of antibiotics. We have more choices and use them more freely than in the past. The first antibiotic, penicillin, was discovered by a French medical student, Ernest Duchesne, in 1896. When penicillin became widely available during the Second World War, it was a medical miracle, because at the time many soldiers were killed by infectious wounds. Penicillin was assumed to be a good medicine, so it was used far and wide. After that, some bacteria could resist penicillin. The first bacteria to resist penicillin was staphylococcus aurous. This bacteria is common in the human body, so it caused more problems. From that time on, we needed other antibiotics which resisted bacteria and we increased the doses to control infections. Also, many kinds of bacteria became easily resistant to antibiotics. Consequently, resistance to antibiotics spread fast and it caused many problems. There are several effects from the overuse of antibiotics in humans such as, weakened immune system, dose need to be increased, and it becomes more difficult to treat infectious diseases.

Antibiotic resistance can cause immune systems to weaken. When we use antibiotics, they attack bacteria. Medical staff thinks that antibiotics work well and can cure infections, so they keep using them. However, if you use them for a long time, you can create a resistance to antibiotics. If you become resistant, the antibiotics can attack your body, because your body was fighting the bacteria for so long that the immune system might be weak. Finally, they might not work at all anymore and they could cause functional problems in your immune systems.

A second effect of antibiotic resistance is that people need to increase their dose of antibiotics. We use minimal doses of antibiotics at first and they work. However, the effects will disappear gradually if you use them for a long time. Therefore, we need to increase the doses of the antibiotics. Eventually antibiotics might not work anymore. While you use antibiotics, the bacteria can become resistant. Consequently, we need to use different stages of antibiotics to kill bacteria and we might need more than one kind of antibiotic and a higher dose.

Another possible effect of resistance to antibiotics is you develop multiple because antibiotics have similar structures. You can also develop multiple antibiotic resistances. In this case, controlling the infection will be difficult because the bacteria will be resistant to many kinds of antibiotics and your immune system can’t support itself.

These days, many kinds of antibiotic are made to control resistance to antibiotics, but bacteria are stronger than before. People will have serious infections and there is an increased risk of death. Most importantly, we need to use careful when we have infections. We think that antibiotic abuse cause resistance antibiotic. However, we don’t know how we can protect ourselves from them. Actually, we may not protect but we should prevent it. There are several ways to prevent antibiotic resistance. You must avoid antibiotics even if you have an infection. If you don’t have a serious infection, your immune system will treat naturally, and so you just need to eat a balanced diet and rest. Also, you can use naturopathy as alternative medicines. If you use them with direct from medical staff, they can help you improve your health without antibiotics. Also, we need to educate people about antibiotic resistance, so they can avoid it and use antibiotics properly.

How to Make Fried Chicken by Bruce

These are some steps that show you how to cook fried chicken.

First of all, you need someingredients. Forexample: freshchicken, potatoes, mushrooms, green peppers, red peppers, Chinese onion, wild pepper, ginger, garlic, sugar, salt, cooking wine. After you have all the ingredients,cut the chicken,peppers and potatoes into slices.Then put the oil into the pan.When the oil is hot,put 2-3 scoops sugar into the pan.After that put the wild pepper and ginger into the pan and stew approximately 10 minutes,put the potatoes and mushrooms into the pan,and continue to stew.You should stew it for 10-20 minutes,and stir the food.Later put the pepper into the pan.The best way is if you put a little chicken broth it can be more delicious.
Finally,the fried chicken is accomplished.It is my favorite food,I miss it!

HOW TO LEARN ENGLISH by Peter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YkKbOmmGkY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YkKbOmmGkY
http://baike.baidu.com/view/1534652.htm

Almost Here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5NZI8NmBLA

Yesterday Once More (Karaoke)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpBLGTBmTJg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8SPeR60lRI&feature=related u2

My opinions:

A good video is good for learning. So I suggest some websites, such as www.youtube.com or www.baidu.com.You can find some English videos!

For beginners, I think you should choose slow English songs to listen to. Some songs are very slow. You can hear every word the singer sings. It is better for you to listen to the same song again and again. When you can’t hear some words distinctly, you can read the subtitles.

After you have played the songs everyday or maybe 3 months, you can choose some fast-speaking songs and do the same again!

I think a good video with a good singer is good for you to learn because you will be enthusiastic to learn. But when someone gives you a book, I think you will feel too tired to look at these words.

For example, when you watch Friends, I think you will like to watch it because it is so funny. Maybe there are many words you can’t listen to carefully because they speak very fast. You can find a movie with subtitles and learn these words. Don’t hurry. It is difficult for you because you are not really American. You can watch one scene again and again and know what they say. Next you can try to imitate their pronunciation. If you don’t know some words, you can check on the Internet dictionary!

Everyone needs a computer to do anything! Why do we choose videos to learn English? They contain so many interesting things.

How to Wash a Car

How to Wash a Car
Keyvan Fatourehchi

Almost every car owner is passionate about their car, or at least knows that they should care about car maintenance .Car washing is an essential step to car maintenance and you should always keep your car clean and make sure it looks clean. Once you know how to wash a car and know how easy it is to keep your car in good shape and you will feel like you have a new car again .
To wash your car ,first you should rinse it with water to get rid of all the dust and mud that’s on the body,(it is very important to rinse it well because the dust and mud might scratch the paint while scrubbing).Next it’s time to scrub your car. You will need a bucket of soap ready, then start scrubbing the sides from right to left and then reverse. after you’ll move to the trunk and the hood which we’ll brush from top to bottom (this is for avoiding any scratches on the paint).
Next, do the same for the wheels except use a different bucket with wheel acid and soap and a special wheel brush. Once you are done scrubbing the wheels its time to rinse all the soap off with a hose. Start the back of the car (trunk) towards the front and then slowly rinse sides and wheels .
This process shouldn’t take more than an hour of your time. So why not take that time on the weekend and get a nice and shiny car that will make you feel better about your car and impress people on the street.

How to write an essay

Writing is very important when studying English. It's a tool that helps us to express our feelings and our thoughts widely. Also it lets us communicate in English perfectly. There are different kinds of writing such as paragraphs , letters , essays , etc. For example, it's not difficult to write an essay , but we need to organize our thoughts well. The body of a good essay contains three main parts: an introduction , several supporting paragraphs and a conclusion. These are the following steps we take when we want to write an essay.

First of all, we should write the title of the essay. Then, the introduction shouldn't be long. It should only be a few lines to provide background information, to catch the reader's interest and to form the main idea in a thesis statement. We can use different techniques to write the introduction, such as an anecdote or a quotation, ask a question or present facts and general ideas.

After that, we can begin writing the body. It should contain many paragraphs that support your thoughts. In each paragraph, we should explain different ideas by using supporting details, examples or facts. The body will depend on the writer's style. Something we should keep away from is repetition. The best essays don't repeat words or ideas. Instead they use short sentences and adequate information. Therefore, our ideas must be arranged in a logical order.

There are different essay's types. First there is the process essay, which is used to describe the steps of anything, such as the explanation of how to set up weblogs. Second there is the division and classification essay, which is used to depict the article. For example to write about the types of music, we could explain the different categories of music rates. Third there is the comparison and contrast essay. We use this kind of essay to compare between two things or more. For instance, to mention the differences between novels and poets.

Finally, you can write the conclusion. There are several ways to wrap up an essay. You can summarize the main ideas of the essay without repeating the exact vocabulary. Also, you can suggest a solution, make a recommendation or ask questions. It's not necessary to combine all these strategies, we can choose the best according to the essay. By following these steps, your essays will be understandable and well organized for the reader.

How to Make Korean Noodles

How to Make Korean Noodles
Kyung Jin Lee


Have you ever had Korean noodles called ` chapchae’? It is one of the most popular and traditional dishes in Korea. We usually eat chapchae when we have a ceremony like a wedding or birthday. I think that most people will like chapchae, because it is tasty. It is one of foreigner’s favorite dishes. Chapchae is a healthy dish, because it has many healthy ingredients. You can cook it anytime, because the recipe is easy, just follow this procedure.

First of all, you need to prepare the ingredients. You can choose the ingredients according to your tastes like vegetables or meat. We usually use noodles, beef or pork, onions, carrots, mushrooms, spinach, garlic, soy sauce, pepper, sugar and sesame oil. If you want to add other ingredients like sea food you can.

When you have the ingredients you can start cooking. You cook the noodles in boiling water for 10 minutes. When you finish boiling the noodles, rinse them in cold water and cut them into 4-5” length. After cook the vegetables and meat. At the same time, cook the spinach in boiling water for 5 minutes. Then cook the meat and garlic for 3 minutes at medium heat and then cook with vegetables and salt and pepper for 5 minutes.

After that, you need to make the sauce. It is important, because it determines the taste. You need to mix soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil and garlic. A good sauce will be sweet and salty. Then, you need to combine the ingredients. Add the cooked noodles, meat, vegetables, and sauce to sesame oil. Cook for 2 minutes and add some salt or soy sauce.

Finally, serve. If you use a beautiful plate it will be better, because the dish looks more delicious. We have many kinds of noodle dishes, but this one is better than other noodle dishes. Someday you should try it, you will never regret it.

How to Build a Blog

How to Build a Blog JU-HUI,CHEN (Winnie) (09.03.08)

Recently, the most important part of people’s lives is the Internet. You can not only just search for information but you can also shop, talk, watch movies, listen to music and build your own space to share with everybody. Many years ago, people used to write in their diaries with pens on paper and they didn’t want to other people to read them, but now people use weblogs to talk about themselves on the Internet and share them with everyone who wants to read them. If you want to have your own blog, you need to know how to set it up. Then to make it more fun, you can add pictures, videos, and music. Also you can use it in order to introduce yourself to all people around the world. In Taiwan we use a famous blog site called "Wretch"; I will explain how to set up an account.

First, apply for a free membership, enter some information about yourself and you will have your own account and space on the Internet. After, you have to write some basic information and introduce yourself on the user page to let people know about you.

Then, you can post your photos, music, and videos. You can even set up different albums and sort them by yourself. You also have a blog space to write your diary or notes about your life. You can also link this article in your blog to share it for everyone. At last, you can put cool links on your blog and play your favorite album, which is a good way to attract people's attention.

Finally, you have a guestbook page where people can leave messages for you and you can respond after. There is a special function where you can see all the guests who have been on your blog. You can also use a search box to make up the key words so you can find other blogs and build your friend list.

Blogs are very funny and easy to build on the Internet. When you are sad, you can write in your diary and other people will give you suggestions. In Taiwan, we have a lot of bloggers who publish their articles and become famous. For me a blog is not only a space to write something, but also I can share information with my friends. I like blogs! You are welcome to visit my blog and say hello to me! My blog is: http://www.wretch.cc/album/jisy124929.

Lost in Whistler--by Lulu

I went to Whistler with my ALMA friends one month ago.
It was a very nice and fun experience. First, we separated to two groups to get there. One group went by bus and the other went in Clarence´s car. I traveled by bus with Chio and Mabel. After that, when everybody arrived there, we separated in two groups again. The skiers were in group and the snowboarders were in another. Then I went with Mabel, the Chilean girl, to the store for the stuff to ski. Mean while, the other guys began to come up the mountain. Then, Chio called us by cell phone and told us that they were in the first station waiting for us. Mabel and I couldn´t walk so fast, because the ski stuff was very heavy. We rode in the gondola to come up the mountain but we made a mistake because we came down in the second station and not in the first. This time was our first time in Whistler. We didn´t realize that we were on the top of the mountain! We asked ourselves, “What happened, where is everybody?”. Mabel was very worried and she called by cell phone to Chio and Chio told her that they were in the first station in the beginners area and we just can go down skiing. We were very scared because we didn´t know to ski and with this news we almost wanted to cry. After that, we went to the information station and somebody told us that we could go down the gondola. Then we went down to the beginner area and at the same time Chio and her friends came to the top of the mountain. When Mabel and I arrived at the first station we didn´t see anybody again. At this time we decided to enjoy ourselves and we tried to ski. We had a fun time and we fell down many times too. At the end of the afternoon, we went to the top of the mountain and finally found the guys. We enjoyed dinner together with an amazing view. I liked this experience very much.

Luck???--by Austin

The story is about me,”Austin”. The matter happened on Pender St. One day after class Casper, Oscar and I went home together.

Casper’s hobby is smoking so we stood on the street. Casper enjoyed his smoke. Oscar and I chatted about something funny.

Suddenly, I felt something hit my head and glasses from the sky. Casper and Oscar stood to laugh. Immediately I knew what hit me.

It was bird-shit. Although I heard people say that there are many birds in Canada, I never thought that I would meet one.

I was very embarrassed because we stood on the street. I ran quickly to ALMA’s washroom while I thought I should buy a lottery ticket.

In Taiwan, if this happens to you, it means you will have luck.

Valentine's Day Party in ALMA--by Jini

We had the valentine party in ALMA before valentine day.
We brought some foods from the home. ALMA has many countries students. So we could eat many kind of foods as Korean food, Mexican food, Chinese food. It was really various foods. We had a lot of foods, because many people had to bring a lot of foods. The foods looked like delicious.
We set the table and the foods shared together. The foods was really delicious. Everybody liked it. Everybody could have enough. I felt full of stomach. I must have a big paunch.
It was good time, because we could have to use English more than usual. During the party, we had a lot of foods together and we talked about many things as a gossip. We talked about culture, food, shopping... And maribel told me 'Do you go to nightclub tomorrow?' I asked 'I can`t dance. I don`t like nightclub. I have ever been there.' She told 'I will teach you. Try it.' So I had decided. But I had worried about that.
Many people brought a camera. So we could have to take a picture on same position. Maybe I think that we can find same picture in their camera. But I could not bring my camera, because my camera broke after arrived in Vancouver. So I will get the picture from other friends.
Especially I liked to talk with other friend, because I don`t know many people. I had ALMA just for 1 week. So I wanted to make many friends and I wanted to know about the friends. And I must have to make many friends in the day.
Maybe we had the party for 2 hours. But the time was felted short, because the party was funny.
Everyone must have to enjoy the party. I was good time, because I had a lot of foods and I could conversation with many friends.
The party gave pleasure to me. I think that we must have a good time. Actually I don`t like the valentine day, because it`s couple day. So if I don`t have boyfriend, I could be lonely. The party must have to give pleasure to me.

Why is the Coke Sour? by Peter

When you see the title, you will ask what the problem is! Now I will tell you the story.

I was in university, and we would always buy some drinks ,such as Coke Cola ,Sprite and so on especially in the summer we needed a lot because the weather was very hot ! We often ate the instant noodles with vinegar .The smell was delicious! When you eat it, you will feel happy and use up all the sauce!

Always, we would buy these things together! The vinegar filled the bag so we always put it in a bottle or glass.

But somebody always made a mistake with the bottle of the “Coke”!

When we got out off the class, we went to a room and drank some water. Maybe somebody would take some juice to drink, and somebody would take some water, or some coke!

" Coke? Why is the coke so sour? What is the problem with the coke? " Zhang said and then went to the bathroom.. When he came back ,we were laughing all the time then we told him the truth drank the vinegar .

"The vinegar and the Coke are the same color ! We wanted to make a joke with anyone. haha , you stupid fool ! Oh you drank up all our vinegar .So you must buy another one! We will have noodles in the evening ! Go out to buy some!" After we laughed, he had to buy the "sour coke".

We have to remember this problem! When we want to drink Coke, we must smell first and then drink !

Wingsuit BASE jumping in Baffin Island

If you think learning English is scary, watch this!

Eiffel Tower

Thanks Winnie for this picture!

Valentine's Day

We had a big party on Valentine’s Day！All the students could bring their country’s food to join this party. The school also prepared a lot of food for everyone. That is ALMA’s party life which is very friendly and funny. Besides I will go to different restaurants with other students after school or on the weekend. That is a very fun thing. For example, when we ate SuShi some people had to learn how to use chopsticks. It is interesting to learn about different countries and traditions.
BY WINNIE CHEN

The Gang

Maribel--by Ellen

In my school, there is a Mexican girl named Maribel and a teacher named Brian. One day, she asked me, “do you know what Brian’s address is?” I was confused. Why did she ask me about his address? Did she think that I knew his address? I asked her in reply, “why do you want to know his address?” Did she want to mail him some letters in secret? “I need to send my homework to him,” she said. Suddenly, I knew. “You want to know his e-mail address, not his address, don’t you?” I asked her again. She replied, “yes, I want to know his e-mail address. Could you give it to me?” After that, I didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry.

Funny Story--by Dyana

During my studying in Alma, I've made good relationships with many students. Most of the time, we have fun together. The funniest story was between Maribel and me. Once Sarah asked me to sit next to her in order to discuss the story "Day of the Butterfly" together. For a long time we didn't share any kind of exercise. I brought my copy and my pencil and sat next to her. It was a good time to do this exercise together. Then the class finished, I talked with Rocio about something for a few seconds and when I looked at the desk suddenly I couldn't find either my copy or my pencil. I looked for them everywhere and asked the students about them but no one had them. Then Rocio said,"Why don't you ask Maribel?". I searched for her and asked her if she took or knew where my copy was. She was shocked and answered that she didn't know anything about my stuff, but anyway she wanted to be more sure so she looked for them in her bag. Fortunately, they were in her bag. All of us laughed because she took them fast without anyone noticing that and besides they were right in front of me when she took them. The thing that I was thinking about after that was "Where is my pencil?". Anyway I didn't want to ask her about it. I felt embarrassed and it wasn't an important thing for me. After one day, Maribel came to me and said in front of the students "Look what I have". The pencil was with her. All of us laughed a lot, because I knew that it would be with her, but I didn't want to ask about it. It was a funny event and we have a phrase now, "Just sit next to Maribel and she'll be able to take your stuff fast".

Top Ten Best Things About ALMA

by Dyana:

1.Small classes: The classes in Alma are warm and good size to have a few students. Actually, this is the most important thing that makes these classes distinguishable.

2.Many different countries: There are different nationalities at Alma. The students are from all around the world, so you can learn a lot about their cultures. In this case, the students will talk about their countries and traditions.

3.Beautiful and encouraging teachers: The teachers are very nice and patient so they are good at dealing with the students. They're educated and they have high degrees.

4.Cookies: The administration offers coffee, tea and cookies for the students. These drinks and snacks give us energy after one hour and a half of the morning class.

5. Good location: The location of Alma is central. It's downtown and a lot of stores, shops and malls are around it. The biggest shopping mall next to Alma. If you want to go to any place, it'll take 15 minutes from Alma to anywhere.

6. Friendly environment: Everyone in Alma is very friendly. The students help each other. The teachers also care about the students if they need any help. Besides, the director is very kind and he's like a big brother to us.

7. Good up-to-date technology: The materials in Alma are modern. They have good methods which help the students to be in contact with everything modern. In the lab, the students learn on computers by using headphones and microphones which ensure that every lesson is interactive.

8. Student activities: The students in Alma are always busy , because they have a lot of activities. On weekends, they go out together and do sightseeing around Vancouver. They also do farewell party for the students who want to go back to their countries.

9. Good prices: Most people can register in this institute. The fees are reasonable according to the materials and the lab.

10. Parties: Alma celebrates with the students on each occasion, for example, Christmas, Halloween and Valentine parties. These parties let the students feel more comfortable and close to each other.

Welcome

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