Thứ Ba, 29 tháng 4, 2014

The power of passion - Richard St. John


The eight traits successful people have in common. Number one: passion.
Successful people love what they do. When I asked Russell Crowe what led to his Academy Award for Best Actor, he said: "The bottom line is I love the actual job of acting. I have a great passion for it". 

Successful people in all of fields love what they do, whether it's astrophysicist Jaymie Matthew, author J. K. Rowling or athlete Michael Phelps. And not just big names. Margaret MacMillan, a history professor, says: "I've spent my life doing what I love". Carlos, a bus driver, sit with at Starbucks says: "I love what I do. I've only missed 3 days in 4 years". And believe it or not, even successful dentists love what they do. Izzy Novak says: "I love dentistry! I can't imagine being anything else."

But what about business? Many of you are in business, and we tend to think business is more about cold numbers than hot passion, more about logic than love, so what surprised me was how often successful business people actually use the words "passion" and "love" when they talk about their work. When Jack Welch was CEO of General Electric, he was asked if he liked his job, he said: "No, I don't like this job. I love this job". 

We can have passion for a profession. Kathleen Lane, chief strategist at WorkCard, says: "I've found a profession I love". She also says: "Stress isn't working 15 hours at a job you like. Stress is working 15 minutes at a job you dislike." 

We can have a passion for people. Nez Hallett III, CEO of Smart Wireless, says: "I used to be in sales, now I'm a CEO. I just love being around people." 

We can have passion for a product. James Dyson, a vacuum cleaner, says: "I love vacuum cleaners and I will love them until the day I die. Yup, when he dies, they just going to cremate him and suck up those ashes with a Dyson vacuum , and place it on the shelf.

We can have passion for a particular field. Anita Roddick, the great founder of The Body Shop, once said: "I love retailing, I love buying, selling and making connections." She also said: "I don't like systems, finalcial sheets or plans." Yes, no matter how much we love what we do, there's always going to be stuff we don't love. The trick is to make sure the stuff you don't love only takes up 20 percent of your time, and stuff you do love takes up 80. If it's the other way around, we're in the wrong job. 

Passion is sometimes mistaken for ambition. People call Donald Trump are ambitious, but he says: "I'm not ambitious. I just love what I do. And if you love what you do, you do a lot of stuff. And then people say: "Oh. You're ambitious"" 

The cold thing about passion is it turns underachieves into superachieves. I have long list of famous underachieves, like Albert Einstein, who people said would go nowhere when he was young. For instance, who said this, besides me? "I was sitting in my room being a depressed guy, trying to finger out what I was doing with my life". Turns out it was Bill Gates. 

Why it pays to work hard? - Richard St. John (P2)


Boy, that was a wake-up call. He says: "I was very disappointed. I started working on my game the day after I was cut." And he soon became the hardest working player in basketball, who made fun of the other players who weren't working hard. And that hard work is what made him the greatest basketball player of all time. So I'd say the real gift isn't talent, it is the ability to work hard. And we tend to underestimate work and overestimate smarts, but in the end work wins over smarts. 
In fact many successful people aren't the smartest. They just work the hardest.  
Francois Parenteau, who Bussiness Week called the top independent analyst on Wall Street, said to me: "I'm certainly not that smart. I can't even remember my own zip code". But he also says: "Work is a bid part of my life. I think about investments pretty much 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 
Nez Hallet III is CEO of Smart Wireless. And I thought, that's ironic because he told me he's not that smart. He says: "I graduated from high school with a C average and college with a C minus average. But now, the smart PhDs are reporting to him. How did he do it? He said: "If you're going to be successful at anything, the key thing is to work hard."
I'm not smart. As proof, here is my actual 12th grade report card. It was the only one my parents ever kept. Don't ask me why they kept it, it's nothing to brag about. As you can see, I was a C student, not an A student. I don't think I'd even make it into the college these days. So how did I achieve some success and wealth? I just worked hard, many 60- to 80 hour weeks. And now, I know I'm not alone.
Thomas J. Stanley studied hundreds of millionares and he discovered most millionares weren't A students, didn't score high on tests and teachers didn't think they'd ever succeed. But they did succeed, because they worked hard. So the good news is if you are not the smartest, if you are a C student, not an A student, the really good news is you can still succeed. Because the word "success" has two C's and no A's. You can still succeed as long as you work hard. And what if you are smart? Well, I'm sorry, there's absolutely no hope for you! Because many smart people don't achieve as much success as they could, unfortunately, because they rest on their smarts and never learn to work hard. 
Jeong Kim president of Lucent Tezchnologies says: "People who are the smartest sometimes don't realize their full potential because things get too easy, so they don't push themselves hard. 
After a talk I gave at one of the world's top-10 bussiness schools, a man came up to me and said: "You know, when I got my MBA here a few years ago, I was one of the smartest people in the class. I thought I had it made. So after I graduated I sat back and I didn't work hard, and I went downhill. And now, at this point in my life, I've gone nowhere. I haven't achieved any success at all". He said: "Thanks for the wake-up call. Now I know what I need to do. I need to work"
So the bottom line is whether you're smart or not, whether you're talented or not, just keep working.  

Thứ Hai, 28 tháng 4, 2014

Formula 10: When was the first/last time you did X?

Speaking part 1: When was the last time you went on holiday?

Answer: 
The last time I went on holiday was about 1 year ago... in April, 2013. My classmates and I went to Nam Dinh for 2 days during the Beach Festival. 
Nam Dinh is an enjoyable place to visit because of the traditional fishing of fishermen in the east of this province.  My classmates and I danced around the fire, ate seefood together and learnt how to scuba dive. I really can't wait to go back there. 

Speaking part 1: When was the last time visitors came to your house?

Answer:
The last time visitors came to my house was just last week. It was my birthday, and my mother secretly arranged for a few close friends to come over for dinner and drinks. Although it was difficult to keep me from finding out. It was quite exciting in a way and certainly a bit of challenge! In the end, everything went to plan and we all had a great time. It was definitely a really enjoyable evening. 

Chủ Nhật, 27 tháng 4, 2014

Why it pays to work hard? - Richard St. John


Eight to be great: The eight traits successful people have in common. Number two: work. 
You know, when I was interviewing all these successful people, they kept telling me how hard they worked. And I remember standing there thinking: " Ah jeez, another comment about work? Why do not they tell me the real secret of their success?" Then finally I realized, hard work is a real secret to their success. All successful people work very hard. 
Martha Stewart said to me: "I'm a real hard worker. I work and work and work all the time" 
Media Tycoon Rupert Murdoch said: "It's all hard work. Nothing comes easily. But I have a lot of fun."
Did he say fun? Yes! Successful people have fun working. That's why I say they are not really workaholics, they are workafrolics.  
Jim Pattison, chairman of the Jim Pattison Group, is a workafrolics. He says: "Business is my recreation. I'd rather go to our factories and meet with our people, than go to the beach. I can tell you that."
Dave Lavery, the NASA whiz, who builds those robots for Mars, said to me: "We work our fingers to the bone. But it doesn't seem like work. It's fun. It's what we want to do. We don't want to put things down and go home.
Bill Gates is a workafrolic. Even after he was a multimillionare. He worked most nights until 10 pm and only took two weeks off in 7 years, and he probably spent them on his computer. 
Oprah Winfrey is a workafrolic. She said: "I would never see daylight. I'd come into work at 5.30 in the morning when it was dark and leave at 7 or 8 when it was dark. 
I am a workafrolic, and over the years, I've gone through many days and even weeks without much sleep, just because I was having so much fun. And I gotta admit, at times like that you say to yourself: "Am I the only one working this hard?" Because there's a myth it comes easy to some people. You turn on the TV. Nobody is working that hard. 
A guy like Chris Rock stands up on stage, tells a few jokes. What's hard about that? But even Chris says: "I wasn't the funnest guy growing up, but I was the guy who worked on being funny the hardest"
Trust me! I've interviewed over 500 successful people, not one of them said it came easy, even though they were doing what they loved. 
And we tend to underestimate and overestimate talent. But in the end, work tops talent. 
Arthur Benjamin, America's best math whiz, said to me: "I think numbers and I have always gotten along. But I'm sure my 'talent' it just due to the time and hours and work that I've put into it"
Many talented people don't achive as much success as they could, unfortunately, because they sit back on their talent and never learn to work hard. That's what happened to Michael Jordan when he first started playing basketball. He had the talent, but he wasn't putting in the work, and the coach actually cut him from  the highschool basketball team. 

The survival of the sea turtles


Sea turtles are miraculuos. 
First, they've been around since the late Jurassic, roughly 150 million years ago. Cohort of the dinorsaurs, sea turtles have survived through the challenges of eons, existing still today, where many others have ended their evolutionary run. 
Second, throughout the centuries and up til today, every living adult sea turtle has overcome the odds, existing as a consequence of chance, skill and capability.
The gauntlet each sea turtle faces in the couse of its lifetime goes thus:
First, deposited as a clutch of leathery, ping pong ball-sized eggs, into a nesting pit dug by it's mother high on the beach. Of the 50 to 200 eggs laid, roughly 20% will never hatch. Roughly a month and a half after having been laid, the surviving eggs hatch, and the young turtles, each small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, squirm to the surface, emerging on the sand en masse and making their desperate dash for the sea. Along the way, debris, pitfalls, crabs, gulls, raccoons and other threats will claim roughly 50% of those who rose from the sand. For those that actually reach the surf, they trade one set of threats for another as they first face the repelling force of the waves, and then find a whole new host of predators awaiting them, various fishs, dolphins, sharks and sea birds as the young turtles come to the surface for air. For their first few days of life should they count themselves amongst living, the vurnerable turles swim frantically forward. Ultimately, they will often look to settle in a patch of flotsam, preferably a patch of floating seaweed. Now, for the next several months, they will seek to avoid those that would eat them, find that which they might eat themselves and not fall to the pressures of challenging weather or unfortunate currents.

Thứ Sáu, 25 tháng 4, 2014

How would you feel if you lost everything? (p2)


That's my sister, she took care of pictures, because I was a big collector of snapshot photography that I believed said a lot. 
And those are some of the pictures that, something was good about the burnt pictures. I didn't know. I looked at that, I said "wow, is that better than the ..." 
That's my proposal on Jimmy Doolitte. I made that movie for television. It's the only copy I had. Piece of it. Idea about women. 
So I started to say: "Hey, man, you are too much! you could cry about this. I really didn't. I just instead said: "I'm gonna make something out of it, and maybe next year.." And I appreciate this moment to come up on this stage with so many people who've already given me so much solace and just say to TEDsters: "I'm proud of me, that I take something bad, I turn it, and I'm gonna make something good out of it, all these pieces. 
That was Arthur Leipzig's original photograph I loved. I was a big record collector, the records didn't make it. Boy, I tell you: film burns, film burns. I mean. 
This was 16 millimeter safety film. The negatives are gone. That was my father's letter to me, telling me to marry the woman I first married when I was 20. 
That's my daughter and me. She's still there. She's there this morning, actually. 
That's my house. My family is living in the Hilton Hotel in Scotts Valley. That's my wife, Heidi, who didn't take it as well as I did. 
My children,  Davey and Henry. My son, Davey, in the hotel 2 nights ago. 
So my message to you folks, from my three minutes, is that I appreciate the chance to share this with you. I will be back. I love being at TED. I came to live it, and I am living it. That's my view from my window outside of Santa Cruz in Bonny Doon, just 35 miles from here. Thank you everybody.    

Thứ Tư, 23 tháng 4, 2014

How would you feel if you lost everything?

I had a fire 9 days ago. My achieve is 175 films, my 16 millimeter negative, all my books, my dad's book, my photographs. I had collected, I was a collector, major, big-time. It's gone. I just looked at it, and I didn't know what to do. I mean, this was - was I my things? 
I always live in the present, I love the present. I cherish the future. And I was taught some strange things as a kid, like: You have got to make something good out of something bad. You have got to make something good out of something bad. This was bad! Man. I was. I cough. I was sick. 
That is my camera lens. The first one, the one I shot my Bob Dyllan film with 35 years ago. 
That is my feature film "King Murray" won Cannes Film Festival in 1970, the only print I had. 
That is my papers. 
That was in minutes - 20 minutes. Epiphany hit me. Something hit me: "You have got to make something good out of something bad". I started to say to my friends, neighbours, my sisters. 
By the way, that is "Sputnik". I ran it last year. Sputnik was downtown, the negative, It wasn't touched. These are some pieces of things I used in my Sputnik feature film which opens in New York in two weeks downtown. 
I called my sister, I called my neigbours, I said "come dig". 
That is me at my desk. That was a deck took 40 some years to buid. You know, all the stuff. 
That is my daughter, Jean. She came. She is a nurse in San Francisco. 
"Dig it up" I said "Pieces, I want pieces, bits and pieces" I came up with this idea "a life of bits and pieces, which I'm just starting to work on, my next project. 

Thứ Ba, 22 tháng 4, 2014

Greeting the world in peace (p2)


In Myanmar, the greetings of "minglarvar" are met by bowing monks as they internalize a message where others add blessing to enhance the auspiciousness of the moment, or by giggling children as they scurry off to school. 
After many hours of hiking through the mountains of Lesotho, surrounded by the tranquility and rugged terrain, you are likely to meet a herdboy who has slept the night in a vacant rondoval and bellows out the greetings of "lumela" or "khotso", which means "peace be with you".
If you took a moment to research further the meanings behind "shalom", or Korean greeting, you would find that they too have deeply-seated connections to peace. However, they have become quick comments made to welcome, greet, and say hello, and in this overuse, have likely lost the focus that was originally intended when put into practice hundreds or thousands of years ago. 
In highlighting this simple evidence ingrained behaviour, we can create the necessary shift in thinking needed to incorporate flexibility and open mindedness in us all when looking at the globalization of the world.     

Cách trình bày ý tưởng:
Dẫn dắt ý tưởng:
Nếu như bạn nghĩ văn hóa như là một tảng băng, chỉ một phần nhỏ (fraction) của nó là nhìn thấy được. Ẩm thực, quốc kỳ và những lễ hội, những thứ thường được nói đến ở các trường học, là những phần nhìn thấy được mà chúng ta  thường ca ngợi. Tuy nhiên, chỉ khi chúng ta nhìn sâu hơn, bên dưới mặt nước, chúng ta mới có thể tập trung vào những giá trị bình thường, cái mà gắn kết chúng ta. 
Nêu bối cảnh và sự bức thiết của vấn đề:
Trong 1 thế giới dường như đang ngày càng (increasingly) có nhiều vấn đề, nơi mà hệ thống xã hội và chính trị đang trở nên căng thẳng, mâu thuẫn nội bộ và giữa các quốc gia đôi khi (at times) trở nên nặng nề (heightened), trong khi nhân quyền bị bỏ mặc, thì khao khát (desire) hòa bình trỗi dậy mạnh mẽ hơn bao giờ hết. Đôi khi chúng ta thấy những giá trị bình thường này hiện ra (emerging) trên bề mặt và trở nên dễ nhận thấy. Ví dụ như, đó là một phần ngôn ngữ hàng ngày được sử dụng khi con người chào nhau và đón chào một ngày mới. 
Đưa dẫn chứng minh họa:
Ở nhiều nơi của đất nước Ả-rập và một phần của Nam Á, như là Băng-la-đét, câu chào "as-salamu alaykum" có thể dịch thành "hoa bình đến với bạn".
Điều tương tự cũng đúng khi bạn đi bộ xuyên qua chợ hoặc đến trường vào mỗi buổi sáng ở Ấn Độ, hoặc Nê-pan, hay Bhutan, nơi những câu chào "namaste", cái mà không chỉ có một thông điệp mạnh mẽ về hòa bình - "linh hồn tôi chào đón linh hồn bạn" - mà còn là cử chỉ (gesture), hai lòng bàn tay chắp lại (brought together) chậm rãi trước trái tim, để trân trọng (honor) nơi đặc biệt trong mỗi chúng ta. 
Ở My-an-ma, câu chào "minglarvar" được nhìn thấy ở các vị sư (bowing monk) như là họ tiếp nhận (internalize) một thông điệp mà người khác cầu nguyện để cầu chúc (enhance) mọi điều tốt lành (auspiciousness), hoặc theo kiểu bọn trẻ cười khúc khích (giggling) khi chúng chạy lon ton (scurry) đến trường. 
Sau nhiều giờ đi bộ xuyên qua những ngọn núi của Lesotho, được bao bọc (surround) bởi sự yên bình (tranquility) và địa hình (terrain) gồ ghề (rugged), bạn sẽ gặp một cậu bé chăn gia súc (herdboy) ngủ qua đêm tại một căn nhà tròn và hét to (bellow) lời chào "lumela" hoặc "khotso", cái mà có nghĩa là "hòa bình đến với bạn".
Nếu bạn dành thời gian để nghiên cứu sâu hơn về ý nghĩa đắng sau từ "shalom", hoặc lời chào của người Hàn Quốc, bạn sẽ tìm thấy rằng nó cũng có liên quan sâu sắc đến hòa bình. Tuy nhiên, chúng trở thành những câu ngắn gọn để chúc mừng hay chào hỏi, và theo kiểu lạm dụng (overuse) này, đã giống như mất đi sự tập trung vào dụng ý (intended) nguyên bản khi được sử dụng hàng trăm hay hàng ngàn năm trước. 
Kết luận và vai trò của vấn đề: 
Nhấn mạnh vào những bằng chứng (envidence) đơn giản về hành vi (behaviour) gốc rễ (ingrained) này, chúng ta có thể tạo ra sự biến chuyển (shift) cần thiết trong suy nghĩ để tạo ra kết hợp (incorporate) linh hoạt và sự tiếp thu (open-mindedness) trong mỗi chúng ta khi nhìn vào tiến trình toàn cầu hóa (globalization) của thế giới. 

Thứ Hai, 21 tháng 4, 2014

Greeting the world in peace

If you think of culture as an iceberg, only a small fraction of it is visiable. Food, flags and festivals, which are often taked about in schools, are the visible parts that we rightly celebrate. However, only when we look deeper, under the water, are we able to focus on the common values that connect us. 
In what seems to be increasingly trouble world, where social and political systems are being stretched, conflict within and between countries is at times heightened, while human rights are being ignored, this disire of peace grows ever stronger. Sometimes we see this common value emerging above the surface and becoming visible. For example, it is part of everyday language used when people greet one another and welcome the new day. 
In many parts of the Arab world and parts of south Asia, such as Bangladesh for example, the greeting of "as-salamu alaykum" can be translated to "peace be with you". 
The same is true as you walk through markets or into schools each morning in India, or Nepal, or Bhutan, where greetings of "namaste", which has not only strong message of peace -"the spirit in me greets the spirit in you" - but also its physical gesture, the palms brought together slowly at the heart, to honor a special place in each of us. 
In Myanmar, the greetings of "minglarvar" are met by bowing monks as they internalize a message where others add blessing. 

Chủ Nhật, 13 tháng 4, 2014

Fomular 5: How often do you do X?

Hôm nay thôi không nói về chuyện ngủ dậy mấy giờ nữa (cảm thấy ngao ngán =.=) Từ mai sẽ khác! =))) Phải quyết tâm thay đổi mới được! 
Bài Speaking Part 1 Chiều nay: Fomular 5: How often do you do X?
Trong bài này lưu ý cách sử dung của một số trạng từ chỉ mức độ như:
Beginning of the sentence
Before the verb
At the end of the sentence
- Always
“I always read the Sunday papers”
- Seldom/rarely
“Jonathan rarely goes to fast-food restaurants”
- Never
“I never read the Sunday papers”
- All the time
“I listen to my MP3 all the time
- Often
“I often listen to music”
“I listen to music often
- Frequently
“I frequently go to bars with my friends”
“I go to bars with my friends frequently” 
- Usually
Usually I play foodball on Sunday”
“I usually play foodball on Sunday”
“I play foodball on Sunday usually
- Sometimes
Sometimes I go to nightclubs”
“I sometimes go to nightclubs”
“I go to nightclubs sometimes
- Occasionally (thỉnh thoảng)
Occasionally Lee reads a newspaper”
“Lee occasionally reads a newspaper”
“Lee reads a newspaper occasionally”                                                      

Tối nay đi gia sư Tuấn Anh, lúc về còn được nhận lương từ cô Hoa, cảm giác nói chung là tuyệt vời ông mặt trời! :) Mua bánh gato tự thưởng cho bản thân vậy. <3

Thứ Bảy, 12 tháng 4, 2014

Formula 4: What do you dislike about X?

Hôm nay vẫn vậy, tôi chào bình minh lúc 11 giờ sáng :-< Thực ra là tôi đã tỉnh dậy lúc 6h30, sau đó lại ngủ tiếp, 7h30 thì dậy một lần nữa để nghe điện thoại của mẹ tôi. Mẹ tôi gọi tôi vào lúc sáng sớm như thế chỉ để hỏi tôi có muốn ăn cá thu, hoặc thịt kho không để mẹ gửi em mang ra (tối mai em họ tôi từ Hà Tĩnh ra). Tất nhiên là được ăn, được chơi, được quà thì tôi thích nhất rồi. Cái gì chứ cá thu mẹ tôi kho thì nhắc đến thôi đã nuốt nước miếng. =)))
Chiều nay tôi đến Chùa Bồ Đề để nhận thông báo và lịch tập huấn cho Vesak. Do nhầm lẫn về phía Ban tổ chức nên khi tôi đến lại không có đại diện bên phía BTC ở đó. Đạp xe hơn 10 cây số nhưng lại nhận được tin như vậy khiến tôi khá thất vọng. Tuy vậy tôi vẫn có một khoảng thời gian thanh thản và yên tĩnh khi đi dạo và ngắm nhìn kỹ hơn về Chùa Bồ Đề. Không gian thanh tịnh ở đây khiến cho tâm hồn con người như được gột rửa và giải thoát. Cực kỳ thoải mái! Cuối ngày tôi nhận được tin trúng tuyển làm TNV chính thức và nhận được lich tập huấn. Dạo lòng vòng phố cổ trong một ngày đẹp trời như hôm nay rồi về Bà Triệu làm 1 bát chè Khúc Bạch cũng đã cứu vớt cho buổi chiều của tôi phần nào. :)
Thời tiết thế này quả thực tôi rất thích, chỉ trừ một điều, nhà cửa lúc nào cũng có cảm giác ẩm ướt, hạ quyết tâm tối nay tôi quyết định tổng vệ sinh: dọn dẹp hết nhà tắm, nhà bếp, rửa bát, giặt quần áo. Tắm giặt xong cảm giác sảng khoái 200%. =)))  
Tối nay tôi học về Speaking Part 1: Formula 4: What do you dislike about X?
Trong bài này lưu ý cách sử dụng của một số cụm từ như:
- Expression + noun:
1. to like + N
2. to enjoy + N
3. be + keen on + N
4. be + a fan of + N
5. be + interested in + N
 6. hate + N
7. can't stand + N

- Expession + V-ing:
1. to like + Ving
2. to enjoy + Ving
3. be + keen on + Ving
4. be + a fan of + Ving
5. be + interested in + Ving
 6. hate + Ving
7. can't stand + Ving

- Express the degree of dislike:
1. I absolutely hate...
2. I don't really like...
3. I thoroughly dislike...
4. I don't really enjoy...
5. I can't stand...
6. I really don't like...
7. I strongly dislike...

- Three rules you must remember:
1. You cannot use "very" before a verb
2. You cannot use "very much" before a verb
3. You can use "very much" after the activity.
Example: 
I like reading romantic novels very much.
I really like reading romantic novels.

NOTE: If you want to sound like a native, we advise you to only use "very much" with short sentences.

Thứ Sáu, 11 tháng 4, 2014

Fomula 3: What do you like to do (in your spare time)?

Hôm nay tôi thức dậy lúc 11h sáng, (quá xấu hổ) mỗi lần như thế này, tôi thấy rất giận vì bản thân đã không vượt qua được sự cám dỗ của cái giường. Từ lâu đến giờ tôi vẫn như vậy, không thay đổi. Hôm nào tôi được nghỉ học, hôm đó chắc chắn tôi dậy muộn. :|
Trưa nay tôi lên cơ quan thực tập và xin được hầu hết tất cả các số liệu cần thiết. Điều này làm cho tâm trạng của tôi tốt hơn rất nhiều. Tôi thực sự cảm thấy may mắn vì nhận được sự giúp đỡ nhiệt tình từ những anh, chị, các bác trong cơ quan thực tập. Tôi thực sự biết ơn vì điều đó. 
Tối nay tôi học về Speaking: Fomula 3: What do you like to do (in your spare time)?
Trong bài này tôi biết thêm và note lại cách dử dụng của một số cụm từ như:

- like + to Verb

- like + V-ing

- enjoy + V-ing  Chú ý: với động từ "practise": I enjoy practising the guitar/ I enjoy to practise

- be quite into + activity/hobby/Ving

- be a fan of + activity/hobby/Ving

- be keen on + activity/hobby/Ving

- be interested in + activity/hobby/Ving 

- Use to be + V-ed when talking about the person who is experiencing the emotion

- Use to be + V-ing when talking about the thing that is causing the emotion

Bài nói Speaking Part 1: What do you like to do (in your spare time)?
Well, I have lots of hobbies I like to do in my free time. I'm a big fan of hip-hop music and I like hanging out with my friends and talking about the latest song of our idol. I'm also keen on reading novels and short stories. What I particularly enjoy doing, though, is playing volleyball - it's so exciting!   

Thứ Năm, 10 tháng 4, 2014

My lovely niece!

Mỗi đứa trẻ sinh ra là 1 điều thần kỳ. Cháu gái tôi dễ thương quáaaaa! <3 :*

YES/NO/NOT GIVEN - CAMB 1 TEST 2

Cambridge 1 - Migratory Beekeeping 
Reading
Question
24. Not Given (Added information)
The Egyptians keeps bees on the bank of the Nile



- bank (n) /bæŋk/: bờ (sông, hồ, kênh, lạch, ruộng...), bãi ngầm (ở đáy sông), đê, ngân hàng




The ancient Egyptians moved clay hives probably on rafts, down the Nile to follow the bloom and nectar flow as it moved toward Cairo.

- ancient (adj)/ ˈeɪnʃənt/: xưa, cổ (trước khi đế quốc La mã tan rã)
the ancients (n) (plural) the people who lived in ancient times, especially the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans
- clay (n) /kleɪ/: đất sét, sét
- hive (n) /haɪv/: tổ ong, đám đông, chỗ đông đúc ồn ào náo nhiệt
- raft (n) /ræft/: bè (gỗ, nứa...), đám gỗ củi trôi trên sông; đám băng trôi
- bloom (n) /bluːm/: hoa, sự ra hoa, (nghĩa bóng) tuổi thanh xuân; thời kỳ rực rỡ, thời kỳ tươi đẹp nhất
- nectar (n) /ˈnektər/: (thần thoại,thần học) rượu tiên, rượu ngon, (thực vật học) mật hoa
25. Yes (Summarizing)
In the 1880s North American beekeepers experimented with the same idea, moving bees on barges along the Mississippi and on waterways in Florida, but their lighter, wooden hives kept falling into the water. Other keepers tried the railroad and horsedrawn wagons, but that didn’t prove practical.

- Experiment (n) /ɪkˈsperɪmənt/: (+ on, with) thí nghiệm, thử, cuộc thí nghiệm, sự thí nghiệm, sự thử
- Barges (n) /bɑːrdʒ/: sà lan, xuồng lớn của ban chỉ huy (trên tàu chiến), thuyền rỗng, thuyền mui
- waterway (n) /ˈwɑːtərweɪ/: đường sông tàu bè qua lại được, đường thủy
- horse-drawn (adj): pulled by a horse or horses
- wagon (n) /ˈɡən/: a railway/railroad truck for carrying goods, a vehicle with four wheels, pulled by horses or oxen and used for carrying heavy loads

First attempts at migratory beekeeping in America were unsuccessful






- Migratory (adj) /maɪˈɡreɪtəri/: di trú, nay đây mai đó, (y học) di động
- Bee-keeper (n) a person who owns and takes care of bees
- attempt (n): sự cố gắng, sự thử
26. Yes (paraphrasing)
In the brood champer below, the bees will stash honey to eat later.

- stash (v) /stæʃ/: cất giấu, giấu giếm

Bees keep honey for themselves in the bottom of the hive
27. No (Wrong information - purpose)
A switch is flipped and the frames begin to whirl at 300 revolutions per minutes; centrifugal force throws the honey out of the combs.

- whirl (v) /wɜːrl/ xoay tít, quay cuồng (đầu óc); chóng mặt
- centrifugal (adj) /ˌsentrɪˈfjuːɡl/: ly tâm
- centrifugal force: lực ly tâm
- throw (v) /θroʊ/: ném, vứt, quăng, quẳng, liệng, lao
- comb (n) /koʊm/: lỗ tổ ong, cái lược

The honey is spun to make it liquid.




- spin – spun – spun (v): làm quay tròn, kéo sợi
- liquid (adj) (n) /ˈlɪkwɪd/: lỏng, chất lỏng, chất nước

Migratory Beekeepers - The hives loaded up in Jeremy's truck ready to make the trip through town to their new spot at Kingsbury Farm 
Source: eatbikenap.blogspot.com

Thứ Ba, 8 tháng 4, 2014

Reading - Yes/No/Not Given Yeahhhhhhhhhh!!!

Hôm nay tôi quyết định học về dạng Yes/No/Not Given và làm quyển Cam 1. Đây là hôm đầu tiên tôi học Reading một cách nghiêm túc để thi, vì trước đây tôi chỉ học kỹ năng này bằng cách đọc báo, đọc truyện... 
Sau khi nhận lại một số kết quả không mấy khả quan từ cách học này, tôi nghĩ đã đến lúc mình phải thay đổi cách học, chuyển sang tập trung luyện dạng đề thi để có được kỹ năng thi hơn. =))) (Nên thực tế hơn một chút)
Bài tập về YES/NO/NOT GIVEN trong Cam 1 tôi đã làm hôm nay! Check và nếu có thể vui lòng cho tôi biết một số ý kiến của bạn về bài tập này nhé! 

Cambridge 1 – Zoo conservation programmes
Reading
Question
16. Yes (paraphrasing)
It distort reality

- Distort (v) /dɪˈstɔːrt//: bóp méo, xuyên tạc

It is dishonest
17. Yes (paraphrasing)
Their suggested involvement with conservation didn’t seriously arise until 30 years ago

Zoos made an insignificant contribution to conservation up until 30 years ago
18. Not Given (Totally new information)
19. No (Contrasting)
This select list might merely be that the zoo is a member of a zoo federation or association

- merely (adv) /ˈmɪrli/:  chỉ, đơn thuần
-  federation (n) /ˌfedəˈreɪʃn/:  liên đoàn,  liên bang
-  association (n) /əˌsoʊsiˈeɪʃn/:  hội, hội liên hiệp; đoàn thể, công ty

Zoos in the WZCS select list were carefully inspected


- inspect (v) /ɪnˈspekt/: xem xét kỹ, kiểm tra, thanh tra
20. No (Contrasting)
This establishment was finally closed down following a damning report by …

No-one knew…
21. Not Given (Totally new information)
Colin Tudge, author…, argues that “if the world”…

Colin Tudge was dissatisfied with the treatment of animal at London Zoo

-  dissatisfied (adj) /dɪsˈsætɪsfaɪd/:  không bằng lòng, không hài lòng, không thoả mãn, bất mãn
22. Yes (paraphrasing)
“Although a number of these can hardly be looked upon as resounding successes"

-  resounding (adj) /rɪˈzaʊndɪŋ/:  vang dội,  nêu lên rầm rộ

“The number of successful zoo conservation programmes is unsatisfactory

- unsatisfactory (adj) /ˌʌnˌsætɪsˈfæktəri/:  not good enough,  không làm vừa ý, không làm vừa lòng,