Improve your grammar

Hey there...

As there is in each of the PCs a grammar section I came up with some advice in order to improve the result in this part. The first and most important aspect is getting a feeling for English grammar through reading. Reading will help to develop a feeling for how English grammar works. It must not necessarily be a complicated academic piece of writing but something enjoyable and interesting for oneself. Secondly be aware of the grammar and common grammar mistakes. Besides having a feeling for grammar one should also know some grammar rules. To achieve this knowledge doing specific grammar exercises will help a great deal. This exercises can be found on the Internet or in special English Grammar workbooks which are available almost in every library. The student has even the possibility to find the solutions as the answer key is included or can be bought as well. The third advice is to find a tutor. This person helps if there is a insuperable grammatical problem and all the studen's tries to solve it failed. These are the main aspects to be considered when trying to improve ones English grammar.

4 amazing places in Vancouver

Hey there…

Have you ever been to Vancouver, Canada?  If not you forfeited a lot of fun. Vancouver is amazing and the most diverse and cosmopolitan city I have ever been to.  I stayed there for about 3 months as my aunt lives there. If you once travel to Canada, remember me and the 4 following places I recommend to visit.

1. Queen Elizabeth Park 

It's placed on a little hill and it will not take more than 20 minutes to get there from Vancouver Downtown by bus. Once you have reached the top of the hill you will have a breathtaking view of Vancouver and the surrounding area. Besides the primary route, a lot of narrow paths will lead you through the beautiful park. There are several attractions included in the park like a modern Celebration Pavilion, some fascinating fountains and an exciting floral conservatory. 

2. The Lookout Tower

It is centrally located in the downtown of Vancouver and facilitates a 360 aerial view from 168,8 metres height. A glass elevator takes you within 40 seconds to the panoramic observation deck, where the unique scenery can be admired.You are above all skyscrapers and you have a clear view of the streets. Everything looks so small like it was a miniature edition of Vancouver. Moreover, the intern restaurant provides the guests with high quality cuisine and the restaurant can be reserved for private events. At night the city changes into a beautiful colorful and lighted place. It is one of the most touristy attractions in Vancouver you should not miss when travelling there.

3. Sunset Beach

As visible from the name, Sunset Beach is famous for its stunning sunsets. Located in the West End of Vancouver, Sunset Beach is a a popular gathering place for all kinds of people. Artists share their music and everybody is invited to join them. There is no beach with such a  welcoming atmosphere except Sunset Beach. In summer the water temperature reaches 16 to 22 degrees Celsius which is suitable to go for a swim. In winter the sand is covered with a layer of snow which gives a special aura.

4. Capilano Suspension Bridge

The Capilano Suspension Bridge is located in North Vancouver and crosses  the Capilano River in a dizzy height of 70 metres. You will need to keep your balance while crossing the 140 long suspension bridge  as it will be very shaky. However, it is a lot of fun. The bridge is the center of a whole adventure park built around it. Other attractions are for example the Treetop Adventure where several trees are linked by small suspension bridges or guided tours through the forest.

book review THE FIRM

Hey there,

I have been reading the really enthralling book The Firm by John Grisham. It is his second novel and  1.5 million copies were sold. The story is about Mitchell McDeere a bright ambitious young man married to his early love Abby Sutherland. After graduating the third in his class at Harward Law School he gets offers from some big and well-known firms in New York and Chicago. However, he rejects these offers in favor of the tax law firm Bendini, Lumbert and Locke located in Memphis. He is not able to resist the large salary, the lease on a new car and the low interest mortgage on a house offered to him.  Just before Mitchell starts at the company two colleagues die in a diving accident.  The senior partners seem to be proud of the fact that nobody has every resigned. The only ones who left the firm did so in coffins. Becoming more and more suspicious Mitchell hires Eddie Lomax a private detective who should investigate the deaths and find out what really has happened. Lomax found out that the deaths of the atternoys happened under suspicious circumstances and no details of their deaths are shown up anywhere. The day Mitchell receive this report Lomax is murdered. After that Mitchell becomes more and more involved in the dubious methods of the firm and find himself in a labyrinth of violence, hate and danger…

I won’t reveal more details. You should read it yourself it is worth!

Enjoy!

Funny Egyptian sayings

ahlak shanaby	هحلق شنبي لو
lit. meaning	I will barber my moustache if
fig. meaning	You say it when you are sure that a person won’t succeed in a particular thing or when you do not allow a person to do something.
example	A student does not study hard for his exams. The mother is sure that he will not pass the exam because he is not studying enough, so she could say: I will give you my beard, if you pass the exam.
orbot el hezam ala batnak	اربط الحزام على بطنك
lit. meaning	fasten/bind your belt around your belly
fig. meaning	You say it to somebody who wastes a lot of money. It is an advice to be more careful and to cut the expenses.
example	A friend of yours goes shopping every day and buys a lot of stuff. So you may tell him: Fasten your belt around your belly and do not waste your money for things you do not need.
Eshrab!	!اشرب
lit. meaning	Drink!
fig. meaning	You say it to a person who did not heed an advice you gave and now they are in trouble.
example	You advised your friend not to lend his girlfriend a huge amount of money because you do not trust her. Nevertheless your friend gave her the money and she eloped. So you would tell him: Drink it!!!!  I told you not to!!!!
ebtesama safra	ابتسامة صفررا
lit. meaning	a yellow grin
fig. meaning	It describes an artificial or an evil grin.
example	Your boss told you off because you did something wrong. You notice that a colleague of yours seem to be satisfied with that and grins maliciously.  You could tell your friend afterwards: My boss told me off and my colleague gave me a yellow grin.
Ibn Imbarah	ابن امبارح
lit. meaning	son from yesterday
fig. meaning	Somebody who does not have any experience.
example	A new employee without any working experience tries to change things at work, suggests unrealistic proposals and is a bossy boots. You tell your friend: The new colleague is such a son from yesterday. He does not know anything.
acher belad el muslimin	اخر بلاد المسلمين
lit. meaning	the last country of the Muslims
fig. meaning	in the middle of nowhere
example	Your uncle owns a house which is very remote and far from the next town or village. You could tell a friend: My uncle lives in the last country of the Muslims. There is nothing around.
Echtaf reglak	اخطف رجلك
lit. meaning	kidnap your foot
fig. meaning	You say it when you ask somebody to go to a specific place quickly.
example	You notice that you have forgotten your key at your sister’s. You could tell your husband or wife: Kidnap your foot and bring the key from my sister’s.
Ashem ala dahr eede?	اشم على ضهر ايدي ?
lit. meaning	Should I smell it from the back of my hand?
fig. meaning	You say it when somebody thinks you know certain information but you don’t because nobody has told you.
example	You are having your lunch break at work as usual. Suddenly your colleague accosts you and asks why you are still having lunch although the break has already finished. He also tells you that the break times has been shortened. You could tell him: Should I smell it from the back of my hand? Nobody told me.
Roh we shoch  3ala torbete  law	روح شخ على طربتي لو
lit. meaning	Go an shit on my grave if…
fig. meaning	You say it when you do not believe that a person you know is really going to do what they said.
example	You arrange a meeting with your friend who comes always late. Your friend tells you: I will be on time. You do not believe it and tell him: You can shit on my grave if you really came on time.
Abe3 nos 3omre	ابيع نص عمري
lit. meaning	I would sell the half of my life
fig. meaning	You say it when you badly want to know something.
example	You hear on TV that the Asian airplane is still missing and there are no hints of what has happened. You could say: I would sell the half of my life and know what has happened to the people on board.
ensa we chod el bensa	انسى و خد البنسة
lit. meaning	Forget it and take the hair clip
fig. meaning	You say it to somebody who asked you to do something but you are not going to do it.
example	A brother asks his sister to become friends with the girl he likes so that he could get in contact with her more easily. The sister does not think that this is a suitable way and tells him: Forget it and take the hair clip. I am not going to do so.

Class system in Great Britain

Hey there,

I came across a topic sentence we were once given and thought it would be A a good beginning for a short summery of the class system in Great Britain and B a good practice for PC3.

Britain has long been a country of haves and have nots. One of the haves is undoubtedly the class system. It has been lasting for decades and in the terms of office of certain politicians like Margaret Thatcher it has even worsen. Until today British society is divided into classes. According to a new survey there are seven classes to distinguish: the elite, the established middle class, the technical middle class, the new affluent workers, the emergent service workers, the traditional working class and the Precariat. The differences between these are the distribution of income and wealth as well as education and occupation. While the upper classes can afford the expensive and good private schools, the lower classes have to struggle with the insufficient public schools. This leads to the unemployment or low positions of the lower classes and furthermore to the high positions for people of the upper classes. As the social mobility in Great Britain is the worst among Europe, it is almost not possible to leave one class and enter another. To summarize there has been a big wealth gap in Great Britain for decades.

first snow

Hey guys…

It is amazing… I woke up to snow today!

It is two days late though. We did not have white Christmas and to be honest I was a little disappointed.  I did not expect to witness snow this winter. However, I am really amazed and happy now.

There is nothing more beautiful than watching the little snowflakes floating down from the grey sky and blanket the whole surrounding. The mountains and houses seem to have a subtle white layer of powdered sugar. The bare trees do not seem bare anymore as the snow covering the branches is sparkling in the sunlight. To complete the perceived idyll the frozen lakes radiate a sense of calm but just until it is discovered as a suitable ice rink. Then you will see little boys and girls with colorful caps shouting and laughing while ice skating on the lake. To tell you the truth, I am a little afraid to go ice skating on a frozen lake because sometimes there are instable parts of the icesheet. I have heard about a lot of accidents happened. Once you break through the icesheet you may get under it as a result of the drift or so. If this happens, you are in big trouble. To put in another way you will die. So be careful!!! Anyway, I like admiring the snowy view from inside and sometimes I think that hibernation would be a great thing. Unfortunately the human species is not made for that. However, sometimes we just have to go out but as soon as we have overcome our weaker self it will be great. Trust me! Once you wrapped yourself well and walked outside you will feel the crunch of snow beneath your feet. I love this magical feeling especially when you waddle through deep snow and admire the white glistening landscape. Moreover there are several things you can do outside.

My favorite activity outdoors used to be catching snowflakes on my tongue. Actually it is great fun to feel the cold for a split second before the snowflake melts. I stopped doing it in public as soon as I realized that I look silly. :/ Another very amusing outdoor activity is to go sledding down a hill. When I was a child I used to spend hours and hours crawling up the hill and then sledding down again. The results were cherry red cheeks, a runny nose and frozen toes. After a long time in the cold it is a big relief to finally get home and toast your toes by the fire or the heater. There is nothing more enjoyable than relaxing in the warmth of the house, sip a big mug of hot chocolate and watching the little snowflakes floating down from the grey sky.

The Pyramids of Giza

Hey there,

I have been organizing old photographs and came across some nice pictures of me with the Pyramids in the background. I thought it would be a nice blog entry with a couple of interesting information.

Egypt is popular for its interesting ancient culture and magnificent old buildings. The probably most common association with Egypt are pyramids.  In fact, there are more than 93 pyramids located at various places all over Egypt. Among these the Three Pyramids of Giza are the mostly well-known ones.  They were built in the 4^th Dynasty (aprox. 2550 B.C) and were used as tombs for Pharaohs. The biggest and tallest Pyramid is the Cheops Pyramid (also Great Pyramid or Pyramid of Khufu) and was initially constructed for Khufu a Pharaoh at this time. It became one of the Seven World Wonders of the Ancient World and is the only one that is still existing today. The other six World Wonders were destructed by wars or natural disasters. With its initially approx. 146 metres (481 feet) height the Cheops Pyramid used to be the tallest building in the world until 1889 when the Eiffel Tower in France was built. Due to erosion its current height comes to approx. 138 metres (455 feet). The second biggest pyramid is The Pyramid of Chephren, (also Pyramid of Khafre). It is named after the pharaoh Khafre who ruled in the  Fourth Dynasty and after entombed in this pyramid. It rises to a height of approx. 136 metres (448 feet) and is lower than the Great Pyramid. However, The Pyramid of Chephren may look taller as it sits on bedrock 10 m (33 feet) higher. The Pyramid of Mycerinus (also Pyramid of Menkaure) is the third and smallest one of the three pyramids of Giza. It was built by Khafre's son, Menkaure who ruled Egypt during the  4th dynasty and is only  62metres (203ft) high. All three pyramids have been plundered a lot of times in the past but also in the modern time. Besides the bodies and funeral goods, the exterior white limestone coverings were removed as well. Nonetheless, the Three Pyramids of Giza still attract flocks of tourists every year. It is worth to visit them!