How stress affects the body

The Tallow Candle by Hans Christian Andersen

The Tallow Candle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Christian_Andersen)

It sizzled and fizzled as the flames fired the cauldron.. it was the Tallow Candle’s cradle - and out of the warm cradle came a flawless candle; solid, shining white and slim it was formed in a way that made everyone who saw it believe that it was a promise of a bright and radiant future – promises that everyone who looked on believed it would really want to keep and fulfil.

The sheep – a fine little sheep – was the candle’s mother, and the melting pot its father. Its mother had given it a shiny white body and an inkling about life, but from its father it had been given a craving for the flaming fire that would eventually go through its marrow and bone and shine for it in life. 

That’s how it was born and had grown; and with the best and brightest anticipation cast itself into existence. There it met so many, many strange creations that it became involved with, wanting to learn about life – and perhaps find the place where it would best fit in. But it had too much faith in the world that only cared about itself, and not at all about the Tallow Candle. A world that failed to understand the value of the candle, and thus tried to use it for its own benefit, holding the candle wrongly; black fingers leaving bigger and bigger blemishes on its pristine white innocence which eventually faded away, completely covered by the dirt of a surrounding world that had come much too close; much closer than the candle could endure, as it had been unable to tell grime from purity – although it remained pristine and unspoiled inside. 

False friends found they could not reach its inner self and angrily cast the candle away as useless.

The filthy outer shell kept all the good away – scared as they were to be tainted with grime and blemishes – and they stayed away. 

So there was the poor Tallow Candle, solitary and left alone, at a loss at what to do. Rejected by the good, it now realised it had only been a tool to further the wicked. It felt so unbelievably unhappy, because it had spent its life to no good end – in fact it had perhaps sullied the better parts of its surroundings. It just could not determine why it had been created or where it belonged; why it had been put on this earth – perhaps to end up ruining itself and others. 

More and more, and deeper and deeper, it contemplated – but the more it considered itself, the more despondent it became, finding nothing good, no real substance for itself, no real goal for the existence it had been given at its birth. As if the grimy cape had also covered its eyes. 

But then it met a little flame, a tinder box. It knew the candle better than the Tallow Candle knew itself. The tinder box had such a clear view – straight through the outer shell – and inside it found so much good. It came closer and there was bright expectation in the candle – it lit and its heart melted. 

Out burst the flame, like the triumphant torch of a blissful wedding. Light burst out bright and clear all around, bathing the way forward with light for its surroundings – its true friends – who were now able to seek truth in the glow of the candle. 

The body too was strong enough to give sustenance to the fiery flame. One drop upon another, like the seeds of a new life, trickled round and chubby down the candle, covering the old grime with their bodies.

They were not just the bodily, but also the spiritual issue of the marriage. 

And the Tallow Candle had found its right place in life – and shown that it was a real candle, and went on to shine for many a year, pleasing itself and the other creations around it.

THE MOST SERIOUS PROBLEM FACED BY THE TEENAGERS!

It is generally accepted that adolescence is the most important periods in the  human life because this period forms the basic principles for the rest of our lives. Also, it is common knowledge that all the teens face a wide range of problems. In my opinion, the most serious problem is bodily changes accompanied by psychological alterations and behavioural problems.

It is very difficult for them to see their body change so fast and to be obliged to accept that  they cannot do anything to stop this procedure if they want to. They feel imprisoned in their body and all this pressure makes them rebel in every occasion without a serious reason. Obviously, for this unpleasant situation hormons are responsible which overwhelm their organism so much that momentarily they feel happy and after a while they are unhappy and nervous without being able to explain what happens iside themselves. they struggle to have a balance but that seems very difficult sometimes. 

As for the ways to tacle this problem, there are a few steps that could be taken. Parents, teachers, relatives and everybody who is around them should be patient, tolerating any rude expression or bad behavior, knowing that it is not their fault  that they cannot manage the problems which appear. The adults who have the experience of this age, ought to understand adolescences and help them with some discussions about how they felt when went through these problems and make them realize that it is a time period which is going to pass by. 

Further more, teenagers should be activated in sports and exercises because in this way they relieve their tension, are calmer and help their body to grow right. Last but not least, school teachers in cooperation with parents should listen what teens talk about very carefully, which their secret thoughts are and what they really feel. Adults usually demand children to obey the rules because this is a convenient and easy way to handle anything, but in reality they ignore teens'  problems. 

All in all, taking all these into account I believe that puberty should be a wonderful age! 

Education diagram

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ArtUaSWiarplRmGafmD7XL7s8ffwmYXXQYbpngHEE-s/edit?usp=sharing

Tense review

http://markaki-students.blogspot.gr/2013/03/tense-review-and-chart-on-aboutcom.html

Relative clause quiz

Choose the relative pronoun to complete the relative clause sentence. Each question has only one correct answer. When you are finished click on the "Next Question" button. There are 30 questions to this quiz. Try to use only 1 minute per question. At the end of the quiz, you will receive quiz feedback.

http://esl.about.com/library/quiz/bl_relative1.htm 

The quiz answers!

European languages quiz answers from Maria Markaki School of Foreign Languages

Quiz

European Languages quiz! 

The prize we earned together!

In Greek: http://markakischool.blogspot.gr/2012/07/20_28.html

In English: THE AWARD OF GOOD DIGITAL TEACHING

ECCE Links

Alice, why don't you also try these Online tests offered by HAU upon registering?


After you have finished that, you can explore all sorts of ECCE links on my blog:


http://markaki-students.blogspot.com/2010/05/useful-ecce-links.html 

Videos for listening practice

These videos seem to be best for upper-intermediate/ advanced adult learners, since most of them combine useful vocabulary, clearly pronounced words and English subtitles.

Facebook, Twitter Revolutionizing How Parents Stalk Their College-Aged Kids

Teaching kids about Global Warming

Youth Crime activity

Real English videos on YouTube


See also that older post on this blog:

What makes you happy?

STOP YOUNG PEOPLE FROM SMOKING!

Dear Editor,

It is tragic that so many young people smoke regularly without realizing how many health problems they will have in the future.This is the reason which I am writing to you; to express my suggestions in order for all of us to deal with this serious problem.

Firstly, I believe that family has the most important role in this case because parents and relatives are in close contact with their children so they know their special features and weakness.In other words, they should explain to them the effects of smoking on their health and they should convince their children that smoking is a bad habit. Parents themselves must be role models for their children, setting the good example of working out in a gym or having some physical activities all together.

Secondly, schools and teachers have a lot to offer to tackle this problem with their educational programs. As I know many schools show some selected films in order to shock the children into an awareness of the problem and encourage them to avoid all the bad influences. In addition, educators know the way to be near the children by discussing their problems and rewarding their efforts. Also, they know how to organize lectures related with young people's problems, like smoking in this tender age, cooperating with different experts, such as doctors and simultaneously informing children's parents about these issues.

I firmly believe that with the cooperation of family and teachers, we can persuade young people that smoking is not cool. I think it will help to try these suggestions.

Sincerely

Aliki

PILATES

The fitness method Pilates took its name from J.H. Pilates who developed and presented a unique exercise system in the beginning of the 20th century.He taught an exercise combination which is executed on the floor in a fixed sequence and with specially designed equipment.

Pilates aims to develop the deeper muscle layers which support the spine, stabilize the trunk and contribute to correct posture and movement. The key element in this method is the emphasis which is given to the" power house" the central body strength. The method of Pilates is holistic without isolating muscle groups. When a part of the body is moved, the rest participates actively, stabilizing and supporting the whole.

It increases the suppleness and muscles and joint mobility. Also corrects asymmetries and chronic weaknesses, bringing balance to muscle groups and reducing aches.However, the biggest advantage of Pilates is that it causes a wide range of changes in posture and body movement which can be incorporated into our everyday life and upgrade it qualitatively.

What makes you happy?

STUDYING ABROAD

Some people believe that choosing to study abroad is better than studying in their home counrties.I think that both aspects have many advantages and disadvantages.

Talking about studying abroad you can say that one advantage is that you can broaden your horizons by seeing how the people live in other counties. In this way, you can understand their culture which helps you to compare different things, to realise who you are and what you want. In addition,attending universities abroad can be an enriching experience because you have to take all the courses in a foreign language so in the end you will speak this language as your native one.

While there are considerable benefits to studying abroad, there are also importand drawbacks that cannot be ignored. First of all, you may feel isolated or homesick. It is very difficult to be alone without your friends, your parents and your relatives next to you. Secondly, it can be a financial burden on your parents because the studies abroad have a high cost. This would be risky because the degree may not be recognized in your country, which means that your effort was for nothing.

On the other hand, talking aboat studying in your country you can say that it is very advantageous. You can study in your mother tongue which makes it easier to understand everything which is provided to you. Moreover, you are close to family and friends which is very supportive and helps you to accomplish your goals. Also, it is not as expensive as studying abroad and this is a relief for parents who probably have other children to take care of.

To sum up, I believe that the best solution would be to study in your country for all the reasons above and there is no doubt in my mind that we all ought to support our county by all means.

NEW REFRESHMENT BAR FOR STUDENTS?

Dear Editor,

I am a parent and I am writing to you to express my opinion about the idea of some schools to providing a new refreshment bar to sell health food and also to install a vending machine.As a parent, I think the best idea would be a refreshment bar which would improve the eating habits of students.

I think that it would be very beneficial fοr the students to have the opportunity to buy healthy food because young people are not health conscious so all of us, parents and teachers ought to teach them what is worthwhile.I believe that teenagers must be aware of the benefits of healthy eating and this is an education which starts from an early age, so when they reach puberty, they will know how to choose food with high nutritional value.However, it is not possible to teach them all these about nutrition, to urge them to improve eating habits, if healthy food is not available in the schools or in stores near the school.

Despite the fact that school officials are concerned that healthy snacks would not be popular enough with students to cover the costs, I insist the refreshment bar be provided because the children are in a very sensitive age with many emotional fluctuations and they usually tend to choose unhealthy snacks so it would be pointless to offer them potato chips, candy bars and soft drinks while we tell them all the time that these are not good for their organism.Another serious reason why I am against vending machines is that teenagers must care about their weight and as far as I know from my experience as a physical education teacher in some schools some years ago, many children face up the problem of obesity. So we ought to convince them about what is the best for themselves.

I hope you will take my opinion into account.

Yours sincerely

TIMES NEW

Dear Mayor,

I am a local resident and I am writing to you to express my opinion about the plan to build a huge shopping mall on a site three miles outside our town.I agree with this plan, and I believe that young people will find there a place of entertainment with many activities.

First of all, this plan will boost our region in many aspects. It will give jobs to many people so in this way families will be able to offer to their children and the other members of them all they need.Secondly, the mall with all these facilities will enhance tourism and money and many people from other parts of the country will have the motive to come and know about our town, our traditions and our culture.It will help us to be more sociable to communicate with different people, to exchange opinions with them. This means that we will have the opportunity to enrich our experiences and to progress in many aspects of our life.

On the other hand, I know that some residents do not agree with this plan because they fear that this could mean the end for small local stores. I disagree with them because I strongly believe that all these people who will come in the mall will have the curiosity to explore the town, to go sightseeing and to taste the traditional food. So they will come in our local stores and I am sure that they will spend enough money on them. I suggest helping all local shop owners to reorganise and to renovate their shops in order for them to be able to come up to the challenge of having a huge shopping mall next to them.

All in all, I hope you take all these into account and I look forward to hearing good news from you. I wish all goes well in the end.

What is your dream job, Alice?

 What do you do for a living? Is that your dream job? What IS your dream job?

PERSONAL QUESTIONS

1) Where are you from?

I am from Crete, an island in the South of Greece. Particularly, I'm from Heraklion which is the capital of island.

2) what's your hometown like?

My hometown is one of the biggest towns of Crete with many facilities because it is the capital of the island, so many services are concentrated there, regarding entertainment and life in general.

3) What do you like about where you live?

What I like about living in Heraklion is that the distances are short, so everything you want to do is easy. Heralion is situated by the sea but at the same time you can go to the mountain and the countryside.In addition,it has many restaurants where you can taste the traditional cousine and many bars and cinemas where you can have fun with your company.

4) Would you like to live anywhere else?

No, I thing that I couldn't live anywhere else because here in my town I can find everything I want.It is the place where I was born and all my relatives, my parents,my friends are here. Everytime I leave the town for a while, and I return after a few days, it's very relaxing to be again in a familiar place, it makes me feel good.

5) What kind of vacation do you enjoy?

I enjoy going to different places and not staying in the same place every time. Even if I go to the same place I like exploring what else is nearby, and every time I find something interesting that I hadn't seen the previous time. I don't like staying only on the beach without doing anything. I prefer to be more active. This means that I swim a lot, play rackets or volleyball on the beach. Towards the end of the day, and after all these activities I like relaxing on the beach.

6) Did you go on vacation last summer?

Yes, I went on vacation last summer with my husband and a couple of close friends too, in a place which is named Ligres in the South of Crete. It was very restful, without stress at all. We had a good time all together and we laughed a lot.

7) What are you planning for your next vacation?

I would like to go abroad, in Romania where I studied some years ago. I am planning to be there for my next vacation because I heard that everything has changed. So I am very curious to see the place where I lived for 5 years and I have so many memories. I look forward to seeing all the classmates too.

8) What are you doing tonight/this weekend?

I don't have any plans for tonight, but for the weekend I would like to go on excursion in Athens to visit some good relatives and to have good time together. We can go to the theatre to see a good performance which I heard that is on now or we can go to a big concert in the music hall.

Halloween, tradition and technology

After surfing the Net and googling certain concepts, answer the following questions:

What is Halloween and what do its celebrations involve?

Is keeping traditions important to a nation? Is knowing about foreign traditions equally important?

How can tradition be combined with cutting edge technology that has radically altered the way we used to live?