Speed Debate Topics

1) The Internet will/will not bring interpersonal relations closer.
2) Athletes have/do not have too much status in our society
3) The students should/should not run the school
4) Art is in the eye of the beholder
5) Privacy is more important than security
6) Love is foolish
7) What costs little is of little worth

Verb Quiz

You should prepare for a quiz on simple past and present verb tenses. To help you get ready, I have found an online quiz. This online quiz uses the same format as the test you will be given next week. The URL for the quiz is here: http://esl.about.com/library/quiz/bl_pastorperfect1.htm. It consists of 30 multiple choice questions. Use your mouse to click on the circle representing the best answer, then click the "next question" box to go to the next question. After you have answered all 30 fill-in-the-blank sentences, the website will provide you with a score and feedback on how to improve. Practice well. If you are able to get a high score on this practice test, you will certainly score high on the exam in class. The text in class will include 10 questions similar to the ones on this practice exam.

Film dialogue/skit (to be performed Nov. 10)

Assignment: Work in a group of 2 or 3 students. Write a dialogue or skit related to what kinds of movies you like/dislike. Your dialogue should be at least three minutes and no more than five. It must include the following eight vocabulary words:

coming-of-age
storyline
film noir
method acting
cult film
closeup
trilogy
comic relief

These are technical words common in discussing movies.

If you need an explanation of any of the words, I recommend this website: http://www.filmsite.org/filmterms1.html.

Business Terms

The following terms are used in managing a business. They will be useful for you if you work for a business in China or abroad where English is used. Please study them--they are likely to be on the exam. Make sure you know 1) what the terms mean in a business context, and 2) how to define them using your available English vocabulary.

appreciation
asset
backup
bonus
breach of contract
browser
cash
closing
cold call
compensation
copyright
corporation
credit rating
default
entrepeneur
FAQs
fair use
firewall
foot traffic
interest
invoice
lease
letter of intent
liability
market share
merger
partnership
patent
pay period
power of attorney
press release
profit sharing
public domain
public relations
salary
sexual harassment
stock option
trademark
venture capital
warranty

"The Pig" by Roald Dahl

In England once there lived a big And wonderfully clever pig. To everybody it was plain That Piggy had a massive brain. He worked out sums inside his head, There was no book he hadn't read. He knew what made an airplane fly, He knew how engines worked and why. He knew all this, but in the end One question drove him round the bend: He simply couldn't puzzle out What LIFE was really all about. What was the reason for his birth? Why was he placed upon this earth? His giant brain went round and round. Alas, no answer could be found. Till suddenly one wondrous night. All in a flash he saw the light. He jumped up like a ballet dancer And yelled, "By gum, I've got the answer!" "They want my bacon slice by slice "To sell at a tremendous price! "They want my tender juicy chops "To put in all the butcher's shops! "They want my pork to make a roast "And that's the part'll cost the most! "They want my sausages in strings! "They even want my chitterlings! "The butcher's shop! The carving knife! "That is the reason for my life!" Such thoughts as these are not designed To give a pig great piece of mind. Next morning, in comes Farmer Bland, A pail of pigswill in his hand, And piggy with a mighty roar, Bashes the farmer to the floor… Now comes the rather grizzly bit So let's not make too much of it, Except that you must understand That Piggy did eat Farmer Bland, He ate him up from head to toe, Chewing the pieces nice and slow. It took an hour to reach the feet, Because there was so much to eat, And when he finished, Pig, of course, Felt absolutely no remorse. Slowly he scratched his brainy head And with a little smile he said, "I had a fairly powerful hunch "That he might have me for his lunch. "And so, because I feared the worst, "I thought I'd better eat him first."

Rules for touch football

Setting Up

Find a large, grassy area to serve as your playing field.
Divide players evenly into two teams.
Have each team decide who will act as its quarterback and receivers.
Set your playing field's boundaries. The playing field should be rectangular, with an end zone at each end. Anything outside the playing area is out of bounds (much like a soccer field).
Decide whether you'll play one-hand touch or two-hand touch.
Choose a method of deciding a winner by limiting either playing time or points scored. For example, the winning team could be the one with the highest score at the end of an hour or the first team to score five points.
Determine if you'll be able to earn new "first downs." Traditionally, teams have four tries, or "downs," to gain at least 10 yards. If they do so, they start over with a new set of downs. Your field may not be long enough for this.
Flip a coin to decide which team will begin playing offense.

Playing the Game

The two teams split up to opposite sides of the field. One team "kicks off" the ball to the other team by throwing it to them. A runner from the other team is then able to pick the ball up and run it back until he/she is touched. If the ball holder drops the ball, any other player can grab it and run to their respective goal.

After a player is down (either touched or run out of bounds), play stops and the ball is set up in the middle of the field until the quarterback calls the next play.

Play pauses for a few seconds while the two teams discuss their strategies.

When the quarterback calls "Hike," play begins again. The quarterback can either hand off the ball to a player behind him/her or throw the ball downfield to a player. The other team can attempt to block a pass, but are not allowed to hit any players while doing so. If the ball is dropped, the play is dead. If a receiver catches the ball, he/she runs until either being touched, run out of bounds, or reaching the end zone (leading to a point for the team). If a player on defense catches the ball, he/she is allowed to run the ball the same way toward the opposite end zone.

After a team scores, they must "kick off," i.e., throw the ball across the field back to the other team.

Continue the game in this fashion until the point or time limit is reached.

"Gypsy" by Suzanne Vega

You come from far away
With pictures in your eyes
Of coffeeshops and morning streets
In the blue and silent sunrise
But night is the cathedral
Where we recognized the sign
We strangers know each other now
As part of the whole design

Oh, hold me like a baby
That will not fall asleep
Curl me up inside you
And let me hear you through the heat

You are the jester of this courtyard
With a smile like a girl's
Distracted by the women
With the dimples and the curls
By the pretty and the mischievous
By the timid and the blessed
By the blowing skirts of ladies
Who promise to gather you to their breast

Oh, hold me like a baby...

You have hands of raining water
And that earring in your ear
The wisdom on your face
Denies the number of your years
With the fingers of the potter
And the laughing tale of the fool
The arranger of disorder
With your strange and simple rules
Yes now I've met me another spinner
Of strange and gauzy threads
With a long and slender body
And a bump upon the head

Oh, hold me like a baby...

With a long and slender body
And the sweetest softest hands
And we'll blow away forever soon
And go on to different lands
And please do not ever look for me
But with me you will stay
And you will hear yourself in song
Blowing by one day

Oh, hold me like a baby...

"Luka" by Suzanne Vega

My name is Luka
I live on the second floor
I live upstairs from you
Yes I think you've seen me before

If you hear something late at night
Some kind of trouble. some kind of fight
Just don't ask me what it was
Just don't ask me what it was
Just don't ask me what it was

I think it's because I'm clumsy
I try not to talk too loud
Maybe it's because I'm crazy
I try not to act too proud

They only hit until you cry
And after that you don't ask why
You just don't argue anymore
You just don't argue anymore
You just don't argue anymore

Yes I think I'm okay
I walked into the door again
Well, if you ask that's what I'll say
And it's not your business anyway
I guess I'd like to be alone
With nothing broken, nothing thrown

Just don't ask me how I am