The Graceful One

Her name means “Woman full of grace” in Arabic, and, gracefully, she has danced and sung all the way to

the Grammy and MTV Awards. In 2008, her creative talents earned her a nomination for a Golden Glob award for writing the best original song for a film. In short, she has become one of the most popular Latin pop stars-and an international sensation.

Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll was born in Barranquilla, Colombia, on February 2, 1977. She is the daughter of a Colombia mother and a Lebanese father. Shakira’s love for music was evident early on, and she wrote her first song at the age of 8. She learned belly-dancing from her Lebanese grandmother, and she used to love to perform-dancing and singing. According to one story, Shakira was kiched out of a choir because her strong voice drowned out the other singers.

When Shakira was 10, she won he first national talent contest, and she went on winning other talent shows singing and playing the guitar. In 1990, she signed a deal with Sony Music in Colombia and recorded her first album Magia (magic) with songs she wrote between the ages of 8 and 13. As a result, she was chosen to represent her country at the International OTI Song Festival in Spain, allowed to participate. So instead, Shakira recorded a second album of original material, Peligro (Dange) back in Colombia. Then she took a break from music and went back to school.

Two years later, in 1995, Shakira recorded Pies Descalzo (Barefeet), a smash hit, which sold four million copies worldwide. She went on a world tour and performed to sold-out audiences. In 1998, she abandoned the light-pop and rock. The result was another hit: D’onde Est’an Los Ladrone? ( Where Are the Thieves?). The idea to do songs in English first came up during Shakira’s partnership with producer Emilio Estefan and his wife, singer Gloria Estefan. Together they produced Laundry Service. The most extraordinary thing about the album is the way Shakira was able to translate her Latin American sensibility into a new language.

Shakira is the most exciting singer/songwriter to come out of Latin America in years. For the millions that buy her albums, she is already the voice of a new generation. In 2003, she became the youngest ever UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) Goodwill Ambassador. Shakira also runs a foundation to help poor children in Colombia called Pies Descalzos (Barefeet).

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What Are Your Dreams Telling You?

“Last night I had an unusual dream. I dreamed that I was flying. When I moved my arms up and down, I moved higher and higher into the sky. I felt as free as a bird.” Marianne, age 35

“I had a bad dream – a nightmare – that kept coming back. I walked out of my bedroom, and a monster came out and chased me. One night, when the monster was chasing me, I turned back and said, ‘Leave me alone! ’I haven’t had the dream again since then.” Jason, age 14

What do these dreams mean? For thousands of years, people have tried to interpret the meanings of dreams. The ancient Egyptians believed that dreams predicted the future. The ancient Greeks believed that they were messages sent by the gods. Freud believed that they were a window to your subconscious. Many modern dream researchers have come up with many theories about dreams. They consider that dreams tell us what is going on in our lives.

Usually flying is a positive symbol in a dream. Flying in dreams means success, control, confidence, and “being on top of it all.” So Marianne, the person who had the first dream, may be in love or may have success at work.

Monsters in dreams often represent fears. For Jason, the monsters may represent the adults who control his life. Or, they may represent his fears about growing up. But Jason showed that he was able to conquer his fears.

Here are some common symbols in dreams:

Snakes: If you dream about snakes, there will be good changes in your life. For the ancient Greeks, dreams with snakes were the most positive ones. And dream interpreters still say the same today.

Teeth: If you dream that your teeth fall out, you may be worried about your appearance. Or it might mean that you have dental problems!

Big waves: Water in dreams often means emotional concerns. A big wave probably means an emotional worry. If you can guess the problem, you’ll be able to solve it and be happier.

Falling: If you dream that you are falling, you may feel that your life is out of control. Slow down, and figure out how to solve your problems.

So what are your dreams telling you?

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CELL PHONE OBSESSION: NEGATIVE OR POSITIVE?

Yakkity, yakkity, yak. All around, you hear ring tones of cell phones, and you see people who are talking on the phone in public or sending text messages. This use of cell phones may signal more than normal communication with friends and family. For some teenagers, this craze may be a sign of unhappiness and anxiety.

Cell phones are definitely part of today’s youth culture. Sixty percent of U.S. teens have cell phones, and soon over 50 percent of kids ages 8 to 12 will have them, too. Students in grades 7 through 12 spend an average of an hour a day talking on their cell phones. That’s about the same amount of time that they devote to homework.

The majority of cell phone usage is for text message, and heavy users check for replies frequently. The heaviest users check their phones approximately every 10 minutes. They often become irritated when other people don’t respond to their messages quickly. Heavy reliance on a cell phone can become a problem-and an obsession.

According to the Los  Angeles Times, a survey of 575 high school students in the United States showed that two-thirds of the students who use their cell phones more than 90 times a day do so because they are unhappy or bored. They score higher on tests that measure depression and anxiety compared to students who use their phones less. However, when they were examined, the frequent users were not found to be clinically depressed-that is, they were not actually in a state of depression that was severe enough to require medical help. The researcher who conducted the study said, “The young people may be unhappy because of a problem in their lives or anxious about their social status. They are trying to make themselves feel better by reaching out to others. Communicating via cell phone makes the ‘addicts’ fell popular.”

For teenagers, cell phones are not just objects for communication. They are extensions of themselves. They are tools for keeping in touch. Many teenagers don’t agree with the study from the United States, and they say that people who are anxious or depressed wouldn’t be sending out messages or making calls. For them, a lot of cell phone use shows that a person is popular and has a lot of friends. What do you think?

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The Biggest Disaster

A:   Hello! Tom. What natural disasters do many countries in the world face?

B:   Hi! Jerry. A lot of countries in the world face flood water, volcano explosion, earth quakes, droughts and famines.

A:   What is the disaster which worries people in the world?

B:   The disaster which worries people in the world is flood water, because it has several bad influences on the people.

A:   Why do countries have many floods?

B:   Because they are cutting down the forests. They want to make money, wood is expensive. 

A:   Are forests important for our world?

B:   Yes, they are. Without forests, the rivers will flood easily. I think that all counties around the world must have riles and stop people who want to cut down the trees in the forests. Without these rules, people and animals will not e safe.

A:   Does your country have flood every year?

B:   Yes, it does. It is bad for people who live in some provinces and along the river. In the rainy season, the sky is cloudy and soon it rains a lot for long. At the same time, the wind blows, and a lot of houses are under the water, so people have to escape from the flood to the hills. Most of their pet animals die in the disaster. Furthermore, nearly all of their crops are damaged during the flood.

A:   Do the Gov't and NGOs help them every year?

B:   Yes, they do. They always go to help the people such as tents, rice food, medicine and other things.

A:  Is it a tragedy for the people when it has such natural disaster?

B:   Yes, it is. When there is flood, every thing is damaged. Plant a tree is the best way to help our world. Forests are important for people and animal to live.

A:   What is the importance of forests?

B:   Forests are oxygen producer that make the atmosphere clean and it is comfortable for people to breathe. Forests can stop increasing the heat of the earth. They absorb lot of rain and keep land fertile which are important for people to plant rice and other crops to support their lives. If we cut down a lot of forests, their will be a lot of natural disasters like storm, drought, floods, etc.

Forests can create wonderful views for tourists. the most important point is that forests are used for building and making luxurious furniture and they are the homes of all kind of animals, so we have to prevent an plant more and more.

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What Are You Crazy Of?

A:   Hello! Tom. What are problems that spouses cannot get along with each other?

B:   Hi! Jerry. As I know, first wife to second wife or mistress, discord, jealousy, low education, low living      standard, revenge, looseness of law enforcement, injustice in judgments in judicial system, spread out of drugs and infiltration of foreign evil culture, intolerance of each other, tragic legacies of civil war, bitter experience in the past, etc. all of these can make spouses have a lot of problems.

A:   Among of four kinds of madness: gambling, love, alcohol and power, which madness have you ever had?

B:   I used to be crazy of love when I was 20.

A:   What are you crazy of now?

B:   I am crazy of alcohol, and most of Cambodian people are too.

A:   Do you think drunkenness of alcohol takes one or two days, but drunkenness of love takes for life?

B:   I don't know either.

A:   Between wife and husband who makes argument first? Why?

B:   Generally, in Khmer society and according to my survey, husbands or men make argument first because men or husbands themselves always consider that husbands or men are the big or important ones in families and always think that they have more rights than wives or women in families.

A:   What are the consequences of women in the society?

B:   Women, families, communities and nation waste much money in pubic expansion such as medicines, hospital care, policies, local authorities and legal system. Moreover, women who are injured or threatened not able to participate in development programs, fail to repay loans in credit programs and cannot further the education of their children. In addition, they have impact on health pregnancy, children and family planning.

A:   How do victims feel after having violence?

B:   Victims fell ashamed, hopeless, helpless and scared. as you are aware shame is the dominant emotion among victims. Victims live with the real fear that their husbands will kill them. Victims show signs of mental disorders and memory loss and several attempted or committed suicide.

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Taking About Drug

Talking About Drug

A:      Hello! Tom. If you want to dismantle drug, what should you do?

B:      Hi! Jerry. If we want to dismantle drug, we need to abolish the usage of drug first. We must together find out the original source of drug markets and drug trafficking.

A:      Why do you need to dismantle the market first, but not the source of production first?

B:      Because it is the developing country where is suffering from the rich countries where have a lot of high technologies and science in or order process drug for the usage. And because they need to buy , that is the market opened.

A:      So what is your proposal to the rich countries?

B:      They must have more responsibility and pay attention to the usage of drug. The rich nations must uphold morality in their own professional skills. If not, their immorality technology will destroy and create many consequences to the developing countries.

A:      Do you mean that they need to abolish the market of drug first?

B:      Exactly, when there is no market of demand, then the production will automatically disappear.

A:      Is your country a drug production area?

B:      Of course not, we are trying and fighting everyday against the planting of these OPIUM trees.

A:      What do you need the most in order to enforce its law in the struggle against the drug trafficking?

B:      We are now lacking everything, we need 1) Training, 2) Lab Equipment, 3) Money for operation, 4) Cooperation between all international organs, 5) Permanent assistance and 6) Centers of treatment.

A:      Can I ask you the last question? Why is your leader unable to arrest any men who are planting Marijuana on the area of hundreds of hectares in this country?

B:      We are now working very hard for this scandal. Thank you!

A:      Thanks for your replying and clarification!

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