Small pleasures

Once upon a time in a country far far away a boy lived, very different from all the others. His name was Eftichis. Everything ran smoothly in his life until one day, many many years ago an incident made him see life from a different perspective. And suddenly, a big secret was revealed.

1) Mention some examples of small pleasures presented in the video.

2) What is the big secret revealed in the end?

3) What is the message sent through this video?

Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address

Hello Alice! Since you liked that video so much, I am reposting it here, also having a few questions to ask you:

1) Which of the two stories impressed you the most in Steve Jobs' speech? Why?

2) 'You've got to find what you love,' Jobs says. What does this mean exactly? Do you agree with this statement?

You can find the speech in written form here. Have a fascinating weekend, Alice!  

ECCE speaking part two

Situation:

Imagine that you have won a scholarship to study at a college in America for three months. You are looking for a place to live while you are studying. The choice has come down to two places.

A. First place: Student dormitory

Student: Could you tell me where the student dormitory is?

Examiner: It is in the campus.

Student: How much will it cost to stay there?

Examiner: It will cost 800$ a month including breakfast and dinner.

Student: Does the student dormitory have any sports or entertainment facilities?

Examiner: Yes it has a TV lounge, a cafeteria, a gym and a fitness center.

Student: It is nice! I am very excited about these facilities. Finally I would like to know how to get to the college from the student dormitory.

Examiner: It is very easy! It is only a 10-minute walk from the lecture halls.

Student: It is very convenient for a student.

B. Second place: room in private house

Student: I would like to know where the house is?

Examiner: It is a big traditional house 4 miles from the campus.

Student: Could you tell me how much it will cost?

Examiner: It will cost 450$ a month for only one room.

Student: Please let me know if the house offers any special facilities.Is it convenient to use public transport from the house to get to the college?

Examiner: Yes, it is very convenient because there is a bus every hour from the house or you could ride your bike to get to the college.

Student: Yes, it sounds good! But I would like to know if this house offers any special facilities.

Examiner: Yes, you can use a shared kitchen, laundry room, but there are no shops or entertainment nearby.

Student: This would be very uncomfortable.

Choosing an Option:

My first choice would be the student dormitory because I think that it would suit me best. I thing that I would have more fun with the company of the fellow students and also there are some facilities which would make my life easier and more entertaining. The distance from the dormitory to the college is convenient and if I go on foot or by bike it's a good way to do exercise every day to keep fit and healthy.I wouldn't probably choose the room in the private house because I think that to stay with a family would be pressing for me and makes me feel very uncomfortable .In addition, the facilities which are offered in a room of a private house don't meet my needs,as the lack of transportation methods would be a problem.

As a result, I'd choose to stay in a student dormitory because it is important to me to feel relaxed and pleasantly.

LETTER OF ADVISE

Dear Troubled

I am writing to give some suggestions about your problem with your roommates.I know what it is like to feel angry and confused because you can't study or sleep because of the loud music and you have to do more chores because of their mess.I had a similar problem when I was your age and I am sure that the situation can be improved.

It might be a good idea to explain to them how difficult it is for you to study with so much noise around and make them understand that you have important exams soon and if they were in your place, you would do everything you could to support their attempt.

Another suggestion is to make a deal with them about the chores, telling that it is not fair to live in a house with other people and undertake all the chores.Everyone has the obligation to do anything they can to make sure things go well. The place which is shared by a lot of people should always be clean and tidy because it is a moral issue to respect the person next to you. By telling all these to your roommates I am sure that they would understand you and your feelings and they would try for the best.

I thing it will help you to try these suggestions. I am sure everything will be fine in the end.

Yours Aliki

What would you like about living in a smart house? Do you thing there are any disadvantages? What do you thing houses will be in 50 years' time?

I would like living in a smart house for awhile, because I thing that it has a lot to offer.Such a house with its techonology, makes the occupant's life easier.Everybody wants to have comfort and convenience in his|her life.

On the other hand, in my opinion,it can have a negative impact on the grounds that by living in a smart house where everything is automatic, your life would be very monotonous as you have nothing to do and this situation makes you be inactive with many negative effects on your health.

Also, there's no doubt in my mind that houses will be more advanced in 50 years' time which means that people probably will have a robot in their position to do everything for them, so I'm certain that this may have destructive consequences on people's life.

How would you feel about living in a igloo for a couple of days?A month or two? Why?

From where I sit, I feel that I wouldn't live in an igloo for a couple of days, because it is a very small home and it seems to me that I wouldn't breathe freely into it. I would have the sense of claustrophobia.

Another thing is that, I can't stand the idea of living on ace even if it is covered in furs. I believe that I'm far away from these living condition despite the fact that if I were in an emergency situation or ran a health risk,I would necessarily live in such a place!

What is your main interest?

I think that I'm a restless person and I have lot of energy to do many things during the day so I have many many interests. This period of time I'm passionate about cycling.

I love my bicycle! First of all, it is a big white bicycle, very comfortable and full of technology. This means that every time I ride it,I enjoy going to my destination with it.

Secondly, I save time which is very valiable in our days, because by bike you can go everywhere without delay.In addition, by cycling I can keep myself healthy because it is one of the best types of exercise and, therefore,I control my weight.

Taking all the above into consideration,I thing that I will use my cycle until I become old.