周二(7/23)1.你是半杯? 還是一杯? 2.中獎是個詛咒

各位好朋友們:

說吧!英文讀書會， 因某些緣故，聚會地點，暫時移到

地點: 快提café  新北市板橋區文化路一段387巷10號， 對於說吧!英文讀書會， 是一個考驗， 一個英文讀書會的消長， 就靠您的出席率， 在這個時期 ，更需要您出席相助， 其實要在各山頭派別， 殺出一條活路 ，實屬不易， 需要您出席相挺 。

Billy 一直傳達一個簡單概念， 與其在家空轉電視遙控器，  看著無聊的第四台，與人閒聊空談 發呆 ， 或獨自苦讀英文，  不如用英文交談，生活或工作的經歷， 與大家同樂， 在二小時左右聚會時間， 輕鬆笑談，多少有所收穫 ， 用free conversation style 不讓您的英文生鏽 ，這個英文讀書會的平台， 除了英文的練習， 也有助人際交流 ，疏緩一下生活壓力

我輩同是俠義中人， 情義相挺 ， 熱心向學的好友們: 也請推薦您的朋友加入。

對於您的出席支持， Billy 對您的感激有如滔滔江水 綿綿-------------------------

 周二(7/23)1.你是半杯? 還是一杯? 2.中獎是個詛咒
原聚會點 怡客咖啡 暫時改至地點: 快提café  新北市板橋區文化路一段387巷10號
(沿著新埔捷運站1號出口左方向前走約100公尺 經過新埔郵局看到康是美 從信義房屋旁的巷子進入)

連絡電話: 0976217450   Billy

  

你是半杯? 還是一杯?
Is Your Glass Half Full or Is It Half Empty?
 (by John)

Glass Half FullPositive or Negative? Optimist or Pessimist? Does it matter, glass half full perspective or not? Do my thoughts and reactions even influence my day? Does my perception influence my reality? Is an attitude contagious?
Inception, one of my favorite movies had this one basic concept – “Everything in life starts off as an idea”. (Don’t worry…no spoilers ) Later in the movie they need to influence someone’s thoughts and have a choice between picking a positive or negative idea. They pick the positive idea.
Why a positive idea though? Positive thoughts are loving, warm, inspiring and good motivators. Negative thoughts like fear, anxiety, and ungratefulness are negative motivators. Positive motivators inspire you each day to get out of bed, accomplish goals, solve problems and help others. They even help you jump in bed ready to sleep. Negative motivators drag you down and linger in your thoughts. They keep you up at night. They might get you to do something but it will normally be for a selfish reason. They might get you what you want out of others but it’ll normally be out of fear. Positive and negative feelings and attitudes are contagious.
We can’t get ahead of ourselves though and forget that the foundation is laid within ourselves. Our ideas are the cornerstone and the contagious source of influence. If we accept responsibility for our thoughts and ideas, and how we influence others then we’ll really see which direction our lives are going. As men we are often told that we’re responsible for our actions. I say we’re also responsible for our thoughts and ideas that lead to these actions. And the consequences are results of the direction we’re headed down, and when we take a good look at them they will reveal whether we are influencing others’ lives positively or negatively.
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” ~Winston Churchill
The title of this article, this idiom, is a common phrase often used to describe personalities and different perspectives of an event, situation or circumstance. “Are you a glass half full or half empty type of person?” can often be heard or asked. To the point where your answer almost always dictates how you are then perceived by others.

Questions:

1. Are you a glass half full or glass half empty kind of person?
(Are you prone to optimism or pessimism?)

2. How being an optimist or a pessimist affects your life?

3. The benefits of being optimistic?

How to be optimistic and positive?

4. How to motivate and inspire yourself in difficult times?

5. How to avoid negative thinking?

6. How often do you complain?
中獎是個詛咒

 

My £2m lotto win at 16 was a curse  (By Eleanor Harding)

 

At 16 she became Britain’s youngest lottery jackpot winner, but her £1.9million prize proved more of a curse than a blessing.

 

Callie Rogers gave up her job and frittered most of her money on parties, drugs, cosmetic surgery, holidays and gifts.

Ten years on, Miss Rogers has only £2,000 left in the bank – but says she has never felt happier.

For instead of bringing happiness, her riches left her feeling so lonely and vulnerable that she attempted suicide.

Now the 26-year-old is training to be a nurse and shops for bargains in Tesco. The closest she comes to splashing out is ordering a Friday night takeaway.

She lives in a modest £80,000 three-bedroom house in Workington, Cumbria with her partner, fireman Paul Penny, 34, and son Blake, one.

Her new life has not been free from tragedy, however – Blake was one of twins but his brother Mason was stillborn. Miss Rogers, who has two children aged eight and six from a previous relationship, said: ‘I can’t believe ten years have passed since I stood holding that huge cheque.

‘It feels like a lifetime ago. I was too young to win the lottery – I don’t think 16-year-olds should be eligible.

‘It was too much money for someone so young. Even if you say your life won’t change, it does – and often not for the better. It nearly broke me, but thankfully, I’m now stronger.

‘I try to forget the ups and downs I’ve been through and just feel like a normal person.

‘The pressure to splash out and live a glam party life has gone – and I prefer it.’

Beginner's luck: Ms Rogers from Cumbria found that money doesn't buy happiness. She spent £250,000 on cocaine and blew her riches on lavish gifts and designer clothes

She told Closer magazine: ‘I got up late and lived on takeaways. And so-called mates would come over until the early hours to party.

‘Suddenly, I was a local celeb and people would come up to me in pubs as if they were my best friend and I felt pressure to buy them all drinks. I didn’t know who to trust.’

She added: ‘For so long, I drifted with no aims. Now I have a job and my family to care for.’

Question:

1. What do you think about Calli’s story?

Is winning the lottery a happy ending?

2. What to do if you win the lottery?

Unexpected windfall: invest or spend?

3. How to handle people wanting to share in your wealth?

4. The pros and cons of being rich and famous

5. What are the pro's and con's of being poor?

What to do if you're broke?

6 .How to be happy when you have nothing?

Tips on how to be happy when you are poor?  

 

 

 
16歲中8400萬樂透 3度自殺

隆乳吸毒 渾噩10年 剩9萬卻快樂

凱莉16歲中樂透頭彩時，曾表示不會亂花錢，但事與願違。《每日郵報》
【李寧怡╱綜合報導】10年前，16歲美少女凱莉羅傑斯成為英國最年輕樂透頭彩得主，贏得逾187萬英鎊（約8400萬元台幣）彩金。當時她說很知足，不會亂花錢，但後來砸錢整形、吸毒，因空虛3度自殺。現在26歲的她，戶頭只剩2000英鎊（約9萬元台幣），反而比以前快樂。

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
最新一期的英國雜誌《Closer》刊出凱莉羅傑斯（Callie Rogers）專訪。2003年中獎後，已輟學的她辭掉收銀員的工作，打算和男友蓋瑞環遊世界、照顧父母的生活、回學校讀書、成為社工人員幫助孩童。
不久後她發現蓋瑞花她的錢如流水，還在外偷吃，甩掉他後結識新男友羅森。她和羅森同居，砸錢隆胸、買高檔衣飾、度假、送奢華禮物給父母，並染上毒癮，買古柯鹼的支出高達25萬英鎊（約1125萬元台幣）。
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現年26歲的凱莉只剩9萬台幣，比當富婆更快樂。翻攝英國《每日郵報》
「不知該信任誰」
「那時我每天睡到很晚，吃外賣食物，然後所謂的朋友會上門來狂歡。」她成為名流，去夜店會有不認識的人來搭訕，酒錢最後都由她埋單，「我不知道該信任誰。」因為寂寞空虛，她3度自殺未遂，糜爛生活導致羅森與她分手。
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現超市買特價品
3年前她結識消防隊員男友派尼，現在她和派尼與1歲兒子過著簡單生活，一周當兩天看護，準備成為護士。她在平價超市買特價品，想起中獎往事恍如隔世。她說：「16歲不該有中獎資格。對於這年紀，這筆錢太多了。即使宣稱生活不會改變，它就是會變，通常只會更糟。」
台灣彩券及運動彩券的購買年齡限制分別是年滿18歲及20歲。英國滿16歲即可買樂透。

樂透得主 悲慘下場
★美國男子惠特克2002年贏得約94億元台幣頭彩，但最後酗酒、離婚，他每月給25萬元台幣零用錢的孫女，則吸毒致死。
★美國男子小哈瑞爾1997年贏得約9.3億元台幣樂透，用部分彩金買房買車等，其他全被親友借走，2年後破產，自殺身亡。
★美國婦女亞當斯1985及86年兩度中樂透，總共入袋約1億6200萬元台幣。她把錢全都輸在賭場，20年後住在貨櫃屋。
資料來源：《蘋果》資料室

7/19 聚會照片

 

 

 

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周六 7/20聚會1.美麗臉孔漂亮前景 2.going to movies

新消息! 各位會員好朋友們: 周六聚會 將新開張
歡迎好朋友們 隨時加入 給予支持
本周六 7/20聚會 時間: 6:30pm~9:00pm
地點: 快提café  新北市板橋區文化路一段387巷10號
(沿著新埔捷運站1號出口左方向走約100公尺 看到信義房屋旁的巷子進入)
電話詢問 Billy  Tel: 0976217450 (02) 22540821

四階段流程:
Session1. 情境對話: going to movies
Session2.英文諺語介紹: A leopard can't change its spots.
Session3. 英文主題:Hey, good lookin', your job outlook lookin' good
Session4. 中文主題: 達文西給青年的七個忠告

 
 美麗臉孔漂亮前景
Hey, good lookin', your job outlook lookin' good

(By Melissa Stanger)

Beautiful people seen as more valuable employees and harder workers

When interviewing for a job, an attractive jobseeker will generally be more favorably regarded by an employer than a less-attractive candidate.

Studies have shown that attractive people are usually hired sooner, get promotions more quickly and are paid more than their less-attractive co-workers.

Attractive people earn an average of 3 percent or 4 percent more than people with below-average looks, according to Daniel Hamermesh, professor of economics at the University of Texas at Austin and author of the book "Beauty Pays: Why Attractive People Are More Successful."

Researchers have studied the concept of beauty as a factor in a person’s success many times, and in multiple ways. Beautiful people tend to bring in more money for their companies, and are therefore seen as more valuable employees and harder workers, according to an article in Psychology Today  by Dario Maestripieri, a professor of comparative human development, evolutionary biology, and neurobiology at the University of Chicago. A door-to-door insurance salesman is better able to sell to customers who find him attractive, said Maestripieri, because the customers will be more likely to buy if they think it will increase their chances to have sex with him. Maestripieri calls this principle “the pleasure of dealing with good-looking people.”

“Good-looking people are more appealing as potential sex partners,” Maestripieri said, “and (so) other people choose to interact with them, to spend time near them, talk with them, buy insurance from them and hire them as employees.”

However, Hamermesh believes that it's not just sex appeal that makes attractive people more successful. He writesthat attractive people tend to have desirable personality traits, like higher self-confidence — likely a direct result of their good looks — that appeal to employers.

“Beauty may just reflect reflect self-esteem. Perhaps people’s self-confidence manifests itself in their behavior, so that their looks are rated more highly, and their self-esteem makes them more desirable and higher-paid employees,” he writes. “Another possibility is that beauty and the attractiveness of one’s personality are positively related, and that it is the general sparkle of one’s personality, not one’s beauty, that increases earnings.”

Researchers at Rice University and the University of Houston also conducted a study on beauty’s effect on success. They limited their study to how facial appearance affects excellence in a job interview. The study found that people with facial blemishes and “disfigurements” — birthmarks, scars, blemishes — were more likely to be rated poorly by their interviewers. The interviewers tended to recall less information about these candidates, which negatively impacted their evaluations.

“The more the interviewers attended to stigmatized features on the face, the less they remembered about the candidate’s interview content, and the less memory they had about the content led to decreases in ratings of the applicant,” said Juan Madera, a professor at the University of Houston and co-author of the study.

Even with the bias against the less fortunate-looking, Hamermesh said there are still ways to succeed despite one’s looks. “First, don't go into an occupation where looks matter a lot,” he said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. "Don't be a TV broadcaster; be a radio broadcaster. Don't be a movie actor. Most important, go into fields that you enjoy, and that you have an advantage in doing. Accentuate your strengths, and try to avoid those things where you are relatively disadvantaged.”

  Going to movies
Billy : Hi, Tina, I was wondering if you're free tomorrow night.

 

Tina:  Well, Billy , I guess I am. Why do you ask?

Billy:  I have just gotten a pair of pre-sale "Now you see me" movie tickets from a friend and was thinking of inviting you along for the opening premier. Are you interested?

Tina:  Yeah, definitely! Thanks for inviting me!

Billy:  No problem.

Well, let's see. The movie starts at 9 PM. We should get there at least 1 hour earlier because there'll be a big line. I could pick you up at your house at 7, if that's OK with you.

Tina: 7 o'clock? That's fine with me.

Billy:  Okay good.

Tina:  So I'll see you tomorrow at 7 then?

Billy:  Yeah. That's great. I'll see you tomorrow night, Tina.

 

A leopard can't change its spots.

積習難改 / "江山易改，本性難移"

----- The phrase "a leopard can't change its spots" is used to describe a person's character, particularly if they have some bad habits.

Examples:

I doubt very much that marriage will change Aaron for the better.

A leopard can't change its spots.

Jason promised me that he would stay out of trouble at school, but don't believe him. A leopard can't change its spots.

Katie used to have a reputation for gossiping and spreading rumours. I've heard she's changed now, but I don't trust her: a leopard can't change its spots.

A leopard can't change its spots

Meaning:

A person cannot change who they are (their character), no matter how hard they try.

Origin:

This idiom comes from the Old Testament (Jer. 13:23). The Hebrew prophet Jeremiah tries to persuade an evil shepherdess to become good but when he realises that it is impossible to convince her, he says: “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?”

Examples:

The shopkeeper tried to be friendly to his customers but a leopard can’t change its spots and he was still very rude.

Similar idioms:

you can’t teach an old dog new tricks----

something that you say which means it is difficult to make someone change the way they do something when they have been doing it the same way for a long time

Examples:

You're never going to teach your father at the age of 79 to use a computer. You can't teach an old dog new tricks, you know.

 

 

 

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周五(7/19) 1.行銷自己2.坐在哪兒比較安全?

 周五(7/19) Topic1.行銷自己Topic2.坐在哪兒比較安全?    

本周五(7/19) 聚會
因為原聚會點 怡客咖啡 出點小狀況
本周五聚會地點暫時改至

地點: 快提café  新北市板橋區文化路一段387巷10號

(沿著新埔捷運站1號出口左方向前走約100公尺 看到康是美 從信義房屋旁的巷子進入)

各位會員好朋友們   請轉告其他朋友

連絡電話: 0976217450   Billy

        
行銷自己

Ways to Promote Yourself Without Bragging (by C.J. Hayden, MCC)

 

There are a host of very dignified and appropriate ways to let a wider audience know how good you are without ever saying so. Here are a few you might try.

1. Writing articles - Putting your expertise in writing and sharing it with publications your audience reads is a powerful -- and very professional -- way to let more people know about your unique talents. Submit your articles to both print publications and web sites that serve your niche and watch your visibility grow.

2. Public speaking - Appearing as a speaker allows you to broadcast your expertise with three different audiences -- the people who attend your talk, the people who are invited by the sponsoring organization but can't attend, and the people you tell about it before and after.

3. Media interviews - Being interviewed by magazines, newspapers, or on radio and television can spread the word quickly about your capabilities. Landing interviews is not that hard to do if you remember to start small. Begin by approaching easy targets like association newsletters, neighborhood newspapers, and local cable programs or talk radio.

4. Testimonials - Whenever you do a good job for a client, ask them to write you a simple thank you note describing what you did to make them happy. Then make their words available on your web site, brochure, or other marketing materials. Let them tell others about your value, and you won't have to say it yourself.

5. Building a portfolio - It's not just artists that should capture their best work to show off in a portfolio. You can collect photos, examples, and other evidence of your accomplishments and display them on your web site, in a marketing kit, or with a PowerPoint presentation. You don't have to sell people on your abilities when they are seeing for themselves what you can do.

 

Questions:

1. Do you want to become a famous person?

How to promote yourself and become famous?

2. How to Promote Yourself in a Job Interview

3. How to best promote yourself at the workplace or in your own business?(products)

4. Is being famous important for you?

Why is becoming famous so important to some people?

5. How to make yourself famous on youtube? (facebook/ internet?)

 

    

坐在哪兒比較安全?

The safest seats are at the back of the plane

(By Peter Weber | July 9, 2013)

It hasn't been a good week for airlines. Or for airline passengers. A day after Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashed at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday, killing two people and injuring 180 others.

The safest seats are (usually) at the back of the plane

The rear seats of a commercial jetliner are annoying — cramped, near the lavatory, and you're the last one off the plane. But according to a 2007 Popular Mechanics analysis, those seats are also statistically the safest ones on the plane. The magazine studied every commercial-airline crash since 1973, looking at who died and where they were sitting. In 11 of the 20 crashes, rear-seat passengers fared much better; in five, the front-seat passengers had better luck; three were tossups; and the fourth had no seating data.

In all, back-seaters had a 40 percent better chance of surviving a crash, Popular Mechanics found. A 2012 experiment — researchers crashed a Boeing 727 carrying camera-equipped crash-test dummies into the Mexican desert — backed that up, says the Los Angeles Times' Paul Whitefield. Every first-class passenger would have died, while 78 percent of passengers in the rear of the plane would have survived.

You have about 90 seconds to exit a burning airplane

That minute and a half is called "the golden time," says the site How Stuff Works, because people who get out of a downed aircraft in that period have the greatest chance of survival. In those 90 seconds, a burning "airplane cabin can reach temperatures that will melt human skin," says foXnoMad's Polat. You're also better off wearing cotton or other non-synthetic — non-melting — clothes, and keeping your shoes on.

A related point is the "five-row rule," airplane-crash survival expert Ben Sherwood tells TIME. British academic Ed Galea studied more than 100 plane crashes and found that "survivors usually move an average of five rows before they can get off a burning aircraft. That's the cutoff," Sherwood adds. If you're sitting more than five rows away from an exit row — any exit row — your chances of surviving the crash are "greatly reduced."

(Your chances of dying in a plane crash are about 11 million to 1.)

  

 Questions:

1. How to survive a plane crash?

 What should we do in an airplane crash
 

2. In your opinio, which seats are the safest ones on a plane?

3. How can you protect yourself in a plane crash?

  Tips how to not die in a plane crash?

4. How often do you travel (by air)?
Are you satisfied with your air freight services?

5. Are you afraid of taking airplane?
   How to overcome a fear of flying?

6.What airlines do you trust most?Why

  
頭等艙最危險 經濟艙最安全 78%的乘客在墜機事故中可存活，但頭等艙死亡率100% 

 

(北京新浪網)

　　78%的乘客在飛機墜毀後仍可存活，但頭等艙的乘客會全部死亡。該實驗耗資100萬英鎊（約合人民幣1024萬元），除了“頭等艙零存活”的結論外，還有“沒系安全帶的人必死無疑”。

　　據英國《每日郵報》17日報導稱，為了最大限度地還原空難場景，英國研究者用了一架170座的波音727，在墨西哥索諾拉沙漠進行實驗。當駕駛員在飛機升到2500英尺的高空中時，選擇跳傘離開飛機，而另一個駕駛員通過遠程遙控裝置進行接下來的碰撞操作。

　　飛機里用於實驗的三個仿真人在撞擊沖擊波的作用下，身體會發生碰撞和震蕩反應。但這三個“人”分別坐在三個不同的位置，其中有的沒有系安全帶。

 　　在飛機碰撞墜毀的一瞬間，機身前端幾乎徹底粉碎。實驗專家根據毀壞程度檢查判斷發現，坐在頭等艙的仿真人面目全非，經濟艙的衹是頭部受了一點傷，而沒有系安全帶的徹底斃命。

通過這項實驗，專家們預測飛機上78%的乘客將在撞擊沖擊波下存活，但這個存活概率從飛機前端到後部依次增大，坐在飛機越靠後的位置的乘客存活的概率越大，處於機頭部分的頭等艙乘客會因為飛機前端粉碎而全部遇難。

　　專家解析  前座面臨更大沖擊波

　　“飛行記錄數據顯示，座位越向後，越安全﹔越靠前，越危險。因為越靠前面臨的沖擊波越大。”英國航空事故調查局前調查員安妮埃文斯在調查了試驗飛機黑匣子的數據後表示，“這次試驗比美國宇航局進行的試驗要成功很多，很精准地模擬了事故發生的過程和真實情形。這為我們以後改進飛機設計提供了重要的線索：發生碰撞時，電線會掉下來擋住乘客的逃亡出口。”

 

5/6 聚會照片

 

 

 

 

 

 

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原聚會點 改至新地點: 快提café

***新消息!
                          
本周五(7/19) 聚會

因為原聚會點 怡客咖啡 出點小狀況

本周五聚會地點暫時改至

地點: 快提café  新北市板橋區文化路一段387巷10號

(沿著新埔捷運站1號出口左方向前走約100公尺 看到康是美 從信義房屋旁的巷子進入)

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本周五 7/19聚會 時間: 7:00pm~9:00pm

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