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January 30 Too Cute!Unique Structures of the WorldI just added new pictures of unique bulidings that are being built around the world. Look at the Unique Structures photo album. Below is a summary about all the unique buildings.
Aqua, Chicago, USA Obviously, construction technologies are advancing extremely quickly. couple that with multi-billionaires / deep-pocketed companies trying to outdo each other in the quest for the next standout design and you have a near-future filled with mile-high skyscrapers and buildings that no longer look like buildings.
The 9 strange and unique structures which have either been approved or are in the final stages of approval. some have already been partially constructed.
Welcome to the future landscape!
Aqua, Chicago, USA - From a distance this skyscraper, to be completed in 2009 in Chicago, will seem quite traditional. it'll only be when you get close and look up that you can appreciate the ripple/jelly effect created by variously sized balconies from top to bottom.
Chicago Spire, Chicago, USA - The phenomenal Chicago spire, when completed in 2010, will be the world's tallest residential building and the tallest building of any kind in the western world. seemingly modeled on the image of a giant drill poking through the ground, the 609m structure will dominate the Chicago skyline.
CCTV Headquarters, Beijing, China - At a modest 234m the cctv building isn't going to stand out from a distance. however the design and shape is a crowd stopper to say the least and will be another incredible addition to Beijing's skyline in time for the 2008 Olympics. the shape, described as a 'z criss-cross' results in a very high, seemingly unsupported corner at the front. let's hope there's a glass floor up there.
Regatta Hotel, Jackarta, Indonesia - Taking on a nautical theme, the developers say the 10 smaller towers represent sailing boats whilst the larger building is 'the lighthouse'. it's the lighthouse that steals the show for me, possibly the most incredible looking structure I've seen for a long time. if it ends up looking anything close to these pictures I'll be impressed.
Residence Antilia, India - Construction has begun on residence antilia despite opposition from those who see it as an 'excessive' design in a city where more than 65% of the population live in slums. politics aside and after you recover from the initial shock of seeing a skyscraper that resembles an ikea cd rack, the building actually looks like it may succeed as a stunning, unique, green piece of architecture.
Russia Tower, Russia - Topped with an observation deck over the city of moscow, russia tower will become the tallest building in europe when completed in 2012 and twice the height of the eiffel tower. construction has already started on this angular beast which was designed by foster & partners, also responsible for the gherkin and spaceport america, currently in development. Penang Global City Centre, Malaysia - Following months of speculation and sturdy opposition, this humungous project is in the final stages of approval and apparently construction will start very soon. even so, due to the size of the plan it will take at least 15 years to complete. resembling a sci-fi city, the area will be crowned by 2 x 200m towers and completely transform the small island of penang. Gazprom Headquarters, Russia - This gigantic, 300m tall glass flame of a building will house the gazprom headquarters in st. petersburg, dwarfing all structures in its vicinity. it will apparently change colour up to 10 times per day depending on the position of the sun. the building has already been nicknamed 'corn on the cob' by unhappy locals. Burj, Dubai - This is the big one. when completed next year it will be the tallest man-made structure in the world and the tallest building by a long shot with a predicted height of 818m. note: currently the tallest building on earth, excluding an antenna, is taipei 101 in taiwan which stands at 509m. the photo below is the building's current state: the skyscrapers below the burj dubai used to look tall. January 29 Snow in Ningbo!Woke up this morning, looked outside the window and... It's snow! It only snowed for a few hours, but a nice sight to see. I love the snow! See the pictures of snow in Ningbo! January 28 Download ESL Powerpoint LessonsDownload ESL PowerPoint Presentations On my blog, you can download all of my ESL PowerPoint presentations that I made for my social club classes. On the top right, is banner ad which will take you to all the files which you can download. I add new ESL PowerPoint lessons every week, so bookmark my page. Here's a list of all the ESL PowerPoint presentations.
This is what the banner ad looks like. It's on my main blog home page top right corner. Click it and a new window will pop open. Download the files from there.
(Clicking this picture below will NOT open the file. You must click the banner ad on the home page) Home page - http://fgoningbo999.spaces.live.com
American Football - Learn about the basics of playing American football. Here in China, many people don't know much about American football. Although American football is growing in popularity, soccer is still much more popular. Back in the US, I love watching football. Living in Seattle, WA, my favorite team is, of course, the Seattle Seahawks. In this PowerPoint, you can learn about the basic rules, game play and positions. Football can be a complicated sport with a lot of vocabulary. This presentation gives you a brief look at football. It also contains some information about the Super Bowl, commercials during the Super Bowl, as well as some football jokes.
Chocolate - Everyone loves chocolate! At least, I do! In this PowerPoint, you can learn a little about chocolate history, the cocoa bean, how chocolate is made, myths about chocolate and why chocolate is good for your health. It also has some fun facts about chocolate. Like, chocolate syrup was used to represent blood in the famous 45 second shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's movie, "Psycho" a scene which took 7 days to shoot. Remember, in the cookie of life, friends are the chocolate chips. Download this ESL Powerpoint presentation and learn all about chocolate. A sweet subject!
Christmas - Learn why Christmas is an important holiday all around the world. Who is Santa Claus? Learn about Santa and the different Santas around the world. Learn Christmas Vocabulary that everyone learning English should know, such as mistle toe, holly, wreath, etc. Also in this lesson are the lyrics for Frosty the Snowman, Grandma Got Runover By a Reindeer and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Did you know, Christmas trees are edible! Download this presentation!
Clothes and Fashion – Learn some fashion and clothing vocabulary like the mini-skirt, anorak, poncho and cardigan. This presentation also contains a list of popular clothing idioms.
Election 2008 – Who’s running for U.S. President in 2008? Find out in the PowerPoint Presentation about the presidency. How do you become president? Learn about the Electoral College, the system the U.S. uses to elect their leader. Learn some basic election vocabulary, like debate, caucus, campaign, etc. Are you Republican or Democrat? Find out in this lesson. What’s a lame duck? Hanging chad?
Health and Eating – Are you a junk food junkie? Learn about healthy eating. Why are so Americans getting fat? Find out 5 nutritious habits from the world’s healthiest countries. Improve your diet today, eat better and live longer. Learning all about healthy eating!
Humor – A funny lesson! See funny pictures about toilet humor! Take a fun psychic test! Women always have rules when it comes to men. Well, what are man’s rules? See poor English signs. “Don’t spit too loud!” Pictures of ‘If Women Ruled the World.’ Do you have dementia? Take a test. Watch a humorous strip about corporate America. Funny lines from real resumes, fitness – American style, stupid tech support calls and much more!
Movies – What’s a cliché? Something has been used too often that it has become meaningless. Find out about action movie clichés. Why does the bad guy fire his gun about 100 times, but never seems to hit the good guy? Learn about the major components that make up a movie, like the plot and climax.
Perfume – Do you smell good? Study this presentation and learn about perfume. Learn about perfume history, the making and the materials used. Did you know there are 3 stages in perfume? What’s a ‘nose?’ Also, you’ll find handy tips on wearing perfume. For example, if you apply perfume to your inner wrists, don’t rub them together as this can change the scent. Smell good and learn about perfume!
Political Interviews – This lesson is about how politicians never really answer journalist’s questions. Have you ever watched a press conference? This presentation also contains some dumb President Bush lines. This PowerPoint is short because it is mean to accompany a classroom activity. Divide the class in two groups. One group is the politicians, the other is the journalist. Make up some issues about the politicians. For example, in a speech you gave last week at an Environmental conference, you preached about low emission cars. But later that week, you bought a Ferrari. The journalist will ask the politician to please defend himself. Give some time for each side to organize their arguments. It’s a fun exercise in speaking and practicing English.
Psychology – What is Psychology? Learn about visual perceptions and optical illusions. Why do we see optical illusions? In this PowerPoint lesson, you’ll see many slides of optical illusions. Take a memory test and see how perceptive you are.
Rap Music – Yo Yo Yo! Wassup! Do you know Ebonics? What is that loud bass booming fast talk? Oh, that’s rap music! Learn about popular slang words found in rap music. Like bling bling, front, da bomb, gold digga and much more. Read the lyrics of some rap songs. Do you understand what they’re talking about?
What Do Men and Women Want? – In the ESL PowerPoint lesson, we learn about what men and women really want in a mate. This lesson guides the classroom in an activity that will help people learn about what they really want in a mate. You’ll also learn about ways to attract a man or woman. Read about some unrealistic expectations of a relationship. You’ll also find some cheesy pick up line! Who knows? Maybe those lines will work for you. If you single and actively searching for that special someone, download this lesson.
Warren Buffet - He's the second richest man in world. In a recent interview with CNBC, he said he donated US$31 billion to charity. This short Powerpoint presentation shares Warren Buffet's philosophy on life and business. This PPT was sent to me from a friend. I used it in class because because I thought his philosophies were very inspiring and insightful.
"The HAPPIEST people DO NOT necessarily have the BEST of all.
They simply APPRECIATE what they find on their way”
Seattle - This ESL Powerpoint presentation gives the class a brief introduction to Seattle. Where is Seattle? What is it famous for? The lesson has pictures of popular tourist areas and yearly activities, such as Bumbershoot and Seafair. The lesson gives a brief history of Seattle and introduces famous large companies like Boeing and Microsoft. It also has some information about Bill Gates multi-million dollar home. This lesson also includes lots of vocabulary about water bodies, such as estuary, embayment, etc. Also includes vocabulary about popular Northwest outdoor activities, such as hiking and kayaking. Other slides inlcude, Seattle earthquake, WTO riots, Pike Place Market, Space Needle, Chittenden Locks, Seattle Art Museum, University of Washington, famous graves, Starbucks, Capitol Hill and of course the weather! For those of you who want to teach your class about Seattle, this is a good basic lesson.
Winter Weather - This ESL Powerpoint presentation is a short lesson about winter weather. Mainly the types of snow. Flurries, Blowing snow, etc. A couple of weeks ago here in Ningbo, China it snowed the most in 20 years. A lot of students came to me and asked me how you would describe the snow falling outside. So I just put together a very basic winter weather vocabulary presentation.
All about Perfume!I just added my latest PowerPoint Presentation titled 'Perfume.' It takes a brief look at perfume's history, the making, popular brands, tips on wearing perfume and much more. If you want to learn more about perfume and fragrances, download 'Perfume' by clicking on the Social Club Presentations ad on the top right. Have fun and smell good! January 25 Watch American TVI put a link on the right to download TVU Player. It's a free program from tvunetworks.com you can use to watch TV online. There are channels in many different languages. I use this program to watch American TV channels, such as CBS, Fox New, Spike TV and Nickelodeon. The broadcast is coming from the San Fransciso bay area, so the times are Pacific Standard Time. Right now, the time difference is 16 hours behind Ningbo time. I often go to www.tvguide.com to check what's playing. On TVGuide, you can enter the zip code 94598 or city Walnut Creek, CA, then choose Walnut Creek, Comcast Cable. This will pull up the correct tv listing.
On my blog is the older version of TVU Player. I tried to use the new version, but for some reason it didn't work on my computer. You can try the new one at http://www.tvunetworks.com/.
Have fun! January 23 American Football!January 17 Psychology and Optical IllusionsJanuary 05 What Men and Women WantI just added my last social club topic: What Men and Women Want. It's about what attracts men to women and women to men. It also has some pick up lines for you to try. I didn't get a chance to talk about many of the slides, so you can read them yourself.
So, if you're single and looking for a mate, check out this PowerPoint Presentation.
If you have any questions or comments, please let me know.
On the top right of my blog, there's a banner that say's "Social Club Presentations." Click on it and a window will pop open with all my PowerPoint Presentation files. You can download as many as you like. (all these PowerPoint presentations are used for teaching ESL classes) |
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