Universidad Europea de Madrid

Do you have a "green thumb"? Giant pumpkins from...

Can you take a seed and make it grow?

"Giant pumpkins--from little pumpkin seeds grow!"

Have you ever heard the expression: 'Mighty oaks from little acorns grow'? -Geoffrey Chaucer-1374

Over 150 members of the UEM community planted pumpkin seeds this spring. Some have been very successful. Others have not. When someone is a good gardener we say that he has a "green thumb". Gardening, like everything else in life, is a learning experience.

Some of our participants have watched their seeds grow into little plants, and some of those plants now have flowers and little pumpkins. How exciting!

Antonio Huete, who works for Dima at the UEM, definitely has "a green thumb". Look at the size of those leaves! And this little plant was once a miniature pumpkin seed. I'm still hoping for a flower....and some beautiful miniature pumpkin.

UEM Farmers! Remember to water and fertilize your plants ! Impress your friends and neighbors!

And don't forget about the GIANT & Miniature PUMPKIN CONTEST. It's the last week of October, just in time for Halloween.

Vocabulary:

green thumb: pulgar verde/ tener mano para las plantas
pumpkin: calabaza
seed: semilla
grow: crecer
mighty: big and strong
oak: roble
acorn: bellota

spring: primavera
successful: tener éxito
gardener: jardinero
everything else: todo lo demás
take care of: cuidar

Have a happy summer! And take care of your plants!

Wendy

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UEM LAB REPORTERS around the World

Are you on vacation? Where are you now?

In front of the Eiffel Tower, on the beach in Cadiz or right next to the Blue Mosque in Istanbul? Maybe you are looking at the Taj Majal in Agra or on top of a mountain in Peru or in the Highlands of Scotland. You might be discovering the rainforest in Costa Rica, climbing up the Teide or having a great time with your friends at home. Where are you now?

Wherever you are, you could become a UEM Lab Reporter right now!

1. Print out the LOGO attachment.

2. Have someone take your picture holding up the LOGO in front of an interesting place.

3. Send the picture to me, wendy.frankel@uem.es . Don't forget to include your name, degree program and the place in your e-mail.

4. We will put your picture on our map and also in the photo album on the UEM Lab webpage.

Let's see how many of you participate!

Check out UEM Lab Reporters around the World on this blog in September. And you can see last year's particpants at
http://comunidad.uem.es/shakespeare/2009/9/25/england-ireland-scotland-canada-and-the-usa

Practice your English wherever you go. And have a great summer.

Wendy

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Don't Play with Fire!

Summer has come and everything is dry.People are heading for the countryside and forests,for day-long picnics and camping trips. Smokers carelessly flick their cigarettes off the trail. Campers leave their barbecues unattended or don't put out their campfires completely. Be careful! You don't want tobe responsible for starting a fire.

As children in the US we were taught to be careful with matches and to watch out for forest fires. Adults didn’t need to tell us because Smokey the Bear did the job for them. He was and still is the national symbol for fire prevention. Smokey is a brown bear in blue jeans who wears a ranger’s hat and carries a shovel. He reminds us to watch out for forest fires. One time we were traveling through a forested area in California. We pulled off the road in a small clearing by a lake. As we approached the water we saw a campfire pit. The fire had been put out recently, but the wood in the pit was still smoldering. When we went to get water we noticed smoke coming up out of the ground in several places. The fire was spreading under the fallen pine needles, but hadn’t yet flamed. This was before cell phones so we got water from the lake, stomped out what we could, and quickly drove back to the nearest town to call the Forest Service fire department. We saved the forest!

"ONLY YOU---CAN PREVENT FOREST FIRES," said Smokey.

At home, we need to be careful too. Kitchen fires flare up in a moment. What should you do when your frying pan turns into a blaze? Watch the video about kitchen fires. Then go back and look at the vocabulary and script below.

Wendy

Don't play with fire-------------------No juegues con el fuego.
Dry---------------------------------------Seco
Heading for-----------------------------Dirigiendose a
Countryside-----------------------------el campo
Forests-----------------------------------bosques
Flick--------------------------------------tirar rápid y sin pensar
Trail---------------------------------------sendero
Put out-----------------------------------apagar un cigarro/fuego/cerrilla
To be careful with----------------------tener cuidado con
Matches----------------------------------cerillas
Watch out for----------------------------tener cuidado con/estar pendiente de
Blue jeans--------------------------------vaqueros
Wears-------------------------------------llevar puesto
Ranger-------------------------------------guardabosques
Shovel-------------------------------------pala
Pulled off---------------------------------salir de la carretera/apartarse de
Clearing-----------------------------------un espacio abierto en el bosque
Approached------------------------------acercarse
Fire pit-------------------------------------hoyo para un fuego controlado en el campo
Wood--------------------------------------madera
Smoldering-------------------------------ardiendo lentamente
Ground------------------------------------tierra
Spreading---------------------------------extendiéndose
Fallen pine needles----------------------hojas caídos de pino
Flamed------------------------------------hacer llamarada
Stomped out------------------------------pisoteado
Saved---------------------------------------salvado
Flare up------------------------------------hacer llamarada
Frying pan---------------------------------sartén
Turn into-----------------------------------llegar a ser/reformarse/volver
A blaze-------------------------------------una llamarada

Vocabulary from the Video Transcription:

Chip-----------------------------------------patatas fritas(British)
Run a cloth----------------------------------pasar un trapo
The Tap--------------------------------------el grifo
Ring it out-----------------------------------escurrirlo

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Mr. Becker welcomes Recep Tayyip Erdogan

President and CEO of Laureate Education, Inc., Doug Becker, was on campus to welcome the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, at his Doctor Honoris Causa ceremony on May 18th, 2010.

The ceremony is on the UEM web page, but I transcribed his speech and thought some of you would like to see it.

Wendy
----------------------------------------------------------

May 18, 2010 Doctor Honoris Causa Recep Tayyip Erdogan

It is a great honor, Prime Minister, for us to welcome you here to Madrid and to the Universidad Europea de Madrid. And I’d like to spend just a few minutes speaking about leadership, because it is your great leadership that has inspired us and the opportunity to invite you and honor you on our premises today.

Leadership is a combination of dreams and the ability to make them happen, the vision to decide where to go and the energy and ability to get there, and to bring others along with you. And it’s this example of leadership that you’ve shown in your personal leadership of Turkey and in Turkey’s leadership in the world. The dreams that you’ve expressed about Turkey’s participation in the European Union and specifically in creating in Turkey truly a powerful force in the world, these are dreams that are being backed up by energy, and passion, and policy and progress.

In our own small way this university here is an example of what leadership can achieve. A dream of building a top university in Spain and to make it a truly international institution, but it started just from an empty piece of land where we are today. And today it has become one of the most beautiful campuses in Spain. We’re here today only in one small building in this fantastic campus and really a symbol I believe for what can be accomplished with hard work and passion and dreams. UEM has become the largest and fastest growing and most innovative university, private university in Spain.

Now UEM was also the birthplace of Laureate and based on our success in Spain we set out to create other leading universities all joined together in a global network. Our shared principles were internationality, innovation and a focus on employability, ensuring that our students achieve the future that they set out and are able to accomplish their own individual dreams. Now we’ve created, or partnered with more than 50 universities in 21 countries that makes up the Laureate network from the United States and Latin America, to Europe and the Mediterranean to Asia. We now have 600,000 students on over 100 campuses just like you see here today. And this has allowed us to become the largest international higher education organization in the world.

The significance of Turkey to the Laureate family is immense. We see Turkey as an emerging global powerhouse and we believe that it can truly become a major center for university students from throughout central Europe and the Middle East. We’ve partnered with Istanbul, Bilgi University, a sister institution to this one here, which was one of, itself one of the early leaders amongst Turkey’s private universities. And we hope to contribute to Turkish society and to Turkey’s leadership position in the world. Mr. Prime Minister, we are honoring you for the leadership example that you set but we are honored by your presence here today. With our own mission of creating the young leaders of the next generation, we know that they will be inspired, as are we, by your example. Thank you for honoring us with your presence.

And congratulations on receiving our most prestigious award, the Doctor Honoris Causa. Thank you.
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Vocabulary:

leadership: liderazgo
our premises: nuestras instalaciones
truly:verdaderamente
powerful:poderoso
backed up by: apoyado
achieve: lograr
growing: creciente
joined together: unidos
shared: compartido
ensuring: asegurando
award: premio

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The Lost Generation

How is your attitude these days? Are you usually up, or are you often down in the dumps. Are you taking the world by storm, getting prepared for whatever comes your way, or just complaining about everything? Maybe you're in your 20s, studying a lot and looking for a job. Maybe you're in your 30s and don't have the money for a mortgage, or in your 40s, trying to do a balancing act between work and family. You could be in your 50s worrying about your adult kids and your aging parents. And then come your 60s and your retirement fund, if there is one. Wherever you are on the wheel of life, I'm sure you're active and busy and wondering what the future holds.

In the US there is an association for retired people called AARP, American Associaton for Retired People. They set up a contest called "U @ 50" meaning "You at age 50" and surprisingly a 20 year old girl won second place. Her video is very simple, and at the same time brilliant. Read along with her, all the way through. You'll discover that this is a palindrome--you can read it forwards and then backwards as well. Pay attention. The meaning changes completely. The Lost Generation
Is your generation apathetic and lethargic? -Wendy

Vocabulary:

Are you up?: estás animado
Down in the dumps: con depresión
Taking the world by storm: comiendo el mundo
complaining: quejandose
mortgage: hipoteca
balancing act: actuación de equilibrio
worrying: preocupándose
wondering: preguntándose
kids: hijos, niños, críos, chavales
aging parents: padres ancianos
retirement fund: pension, jubilación
wheel: rueda
holds: trae, tiene, sostiene
set up: montar, organizar
pay attention:presta atención
meaning: significado

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Non-stop train rides of the future

Looking for an alternative to air travel? How about non-stop fast trains?

The Chinese are working on this new concept.

There are 30 stations between Beijing and Guangzhou, 30 stops with a minimum of 5 minutes per stop. That's an extra 2.5 hours of train time.

Some of you may remember the trains in Spain in the 1970s and 80s. Few people had cars and though hitchhiking was still an acceptable practice, students used to get around the country mostly by bus or train. Taking the mail train, the "Correo", or the fast train, the "Rápido", or the express train, the "Expreso", for long distance travel in Spain challenged your patience. The trains stopped in every station and the trip was interminable. Then the Talgo appeared and train travel was pleasant, though too expensive for most budgets. The AVE came in next but again the price was high. This Spanish bullet train is very efficient and many business travelers are opting for this means of transportation, leaving the delays, cancelations and lost luggage at the airports for the budget travelers. Yes, the times have changed. It's often cheaper to fly, but faster to take the train.

What's the next step?

The Chinese are working on a bullet train which never stops. It slows down at the stations but the passengers are already on board a connector cabin which then slides onto the top of a bullet train as it cruises through the station. Another connector cabin slides off the back of the train with the arriving passengers on board. Why not? Sounds interesting. Look at this 1 minute film. It's in Chinese which you just might not speak, but the graphics are very clear and self expanatory.

Wendy
Vocabulary:
hitchhiking: ir de auto-stop
get around: moverse, ir de aquí para allá
challenged: desafiar
pleasant: agradable
budget: presupuesto, bajo gasto
bullet train: alta velocidad (bala)
delays: atrasos
luggage: equipaje, maletas
slides: desliza

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A dot on a globe in the known universe

Who are we? We are but a dot on a globe, a tiny insignificant sphere cruising through time and space. We are but a small, minuscule member of the Milky Way Galaxy, one of many galaxies.

I'd like you to see this fabulous digital representation of THE KNOWN UNIVERSE as presented by the AMNH, the American Museum of Natural History. It shows us just where we are in the afterglow of the Big Bang. You will see our planet with our artificial satellites and our moon, our sun and beyond.--Wendy

Vocabulary:

a dot: un punto

beyond: más allá

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Volcanic Ash falls on Iceland

A volcano erupted in Iceland and the ash cloud headed east. Chaos in the airports as European flights were canceled. Planes were grounded, leaving passengers stranded both here and abroad. Some of our near and dear had to find alternative means of transportation: a ferry out of Liverpool, a bus with 30 kids returning from a now-prolonged tour of Wales... And the stories started to circulate. We worried about Europe and flights and friends, but what about the Icelanders and their livestock. How did they handle the eruption and falling ash?

Could this be similar to what happened to the dinosaurs?

Ashes in Iceland from the Eyjafjallajokull Volcano.

Vocabulary:

ash: ceniza
headed: se dirijió
flights: vuelos
grounded: se quedaron en tierrra
stranded: atrapados/tirados
abroad: en el extranjero
our near and dear: amigos y familiares
means: medios
worried: nos preocupamos
livestock: ganado
handle: llevar/ (manejar)

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How good is your memory?

Do you remember people when you see them again? You may not remember their names, but do you remember if you've seen them before and when you saw them?
? ? ? ? ?
Try this test. You have to pay attention!1. Look at the faces and try to remember them.

2. Look at a 2nd group of faces and try to remember them.

3. Answer the questions:

• Have you seen the faces before?
• Were they in the first group or the second?

I was very surprised. I know that I'm terrible at remembering names and I assumed that I was just as bad at remembering faces. However I got a perfect score, 100% on the first part: recognizing faces, and 92% on the second part: when I'd seen them. Let's see how well you do.

Wendy http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/sleep/tmt/instructions_1.shtml

Vocabulary:

Try: probar

Pay attention: prestar atención

try to: intentar

score: puntuación

I remember faces! ? ? ?

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"The Transition": the car-plane of the future

What do you think about this car-plane the "Transition" which is expected to be available in 2011? Terrafugia has completed its flight testing of the Transition POC (Proof of Concept). It's a plane that you can land at the airport, fold up the wings and drive home. Great idea! 20 years from now will we all have "Transitions"? Just think of the traffic jams in the sky! Check out Terrafugia.

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