TiffanyESL

What are the qualities of a good friend? Give yourself 30 minutes to answer this question.  Be specific in your response and try to write at least 300 words.

Here is a creative writing exercise for you.  Please watch the following short film.  Then write the story of this film, from the perspective of the humans or the robots.  Enjoy the film!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dadPWhEhVk

http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/nyregion/1-in-8-million/index.html

The New York Times is currently producing an ongoing series of audio interviews with people living in New York. Each interview is accompanied by a slideshow of photographs. As a listening and writing exercise, please listen to one of the interviews listed below and answer the questions.

Maggie Nesciur: The Walker

1. Why do you think Maggie walks so much?
2. Why does Maggie prefer walking in the city to walking in the country?
3. What happened when Maggie tried to walk to Pennsylvania?
4. What kinds of things does Maggie notice on her walks?
5. Do you like to walk in the city? Why or why not?
6. If you were to take a long walk in the city, where would you go?

Marc Tremitiere: The Baby Deliverer
1. What does Marc mean when he says that men are spectators?
2. What did Marc and his wife do on the morning she had the baby?
3. Why did Marc call a car service instead of calling 911?
4. Why was the baby stuck?
5. What does Marc mean when he says the baby was blue?
6. How many firetrucks, ambulances, and police cars arrived to help the couple?
7. What did they do to help the baby breathe?

To practice your listening comprehension, please watch this hour-long video and post your answers as comments.

http://www.usanetwork.com/series/whitecollar/video/fullep/

1. Briefly summarize the plot of this episode.

2. Why was Neal Caffrey in prison?

3. Why do you think June let Neal move into her house?

4. What do you think Federal Agent Peter Burke thinks of Neal?

Bonus: What does the term "white collar" mean?

The weather is getting colder...do you have heat and hot water in your apartment? If you don't, there is something you can do about it. New York State has strict laws about how much heat and hot water landlords are required to provide.

First of all, hot water must be provided to you all year long, every day, at a constant minimum temperature of 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Celsius).

Heat must be provided to you under the following conditions:

• During "Heat Season": October 1 to May 3

• Between 6:00am and 10:00pm: If the temperature outside falls below 55 degrees Fahrenheit (13 degrees Celsius), the temperature inside your apartment must be at least 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius).

• Between 10:00pm and 6:00am: If the temperature outside falls below 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius), the temperature inside your apartment must be at least 55 degrees Fahrenheit (13 degrees Celsius).

If you don't have heat or hot water, you can dial 311 (no area code needed) to complain. The city asks that you first try to contact your landlord to fix the problem. If that doesn't work, then you should call 311.

The city employs representatives that speak the following languages in addition to English: Spanish, Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese, French, Russian, and Haitian Creole.

When you call 311, you will hear a message in English. If you want to speak to a representative in your language, just continue to hold until you hear the same message repeated in your language.

For more information:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/tenants/heat-and-hot-water.shtml

Please read the questions below and then read the article and post your answers as comments to this blog entry.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20091023/hl_time/08599193175700

1. Do you agree that humans are evolving?
2. Why or why not?
3. If you agree, how will evolution change us? (For instance, what do you think we will look like in the future?)
4. Do you think it is possible that the changes we make to the environment have an effect on our own evolution?
5. Do you think evolution is a good thing and that we should evolve from what we are now?
6. If so, what evolutionary changes would you like to see in humans?