What Stephen Hallett talked about:
1).One plus one cultural exchange centre
2).How westerner, including himself go to China helping with the disabled people.
3).Disabled Chinese do not expose themselves in public places, and they hide at home, said a Chinese lady during the free talk session. In this case, people around these disabled Chinese have no clue how to help them out.
4).Sichuan earthquake left hundreds of thousands people disabled. What the Chinese government do to help improve their condition? What the westerners do to help improve their conditions?
5).Apart from China Vision, other western organisations in China's activities.
6).Disabled girl was in a hurry to be married off by her parent.
7).Implement anti-discrimination law for disabled people – the law in China right now is deemed to be controvercial from western point of view.
8).Importing western remedy to help disabled Chinese – Victorian Era institutionalism
9).Chinese healthcare service
10). Golden Key – first NGO in China for disabled people.
Saturday 31 October 2009
Tuesday 27 October 2009
Humble cocoa trade flourishes in the recession (second copy)
By Ariadne Zanella and Yixiang Zeng
The latest economic forecast for Britain’s economy suggests the green shoots have wilted but trade in the humble cocoa bean is flourishing.
High-end bespoke chocolate sales have skyrocketed according to chocolatiers who gathered at the UK’s first Chocolate Show yesterday.
The Lauden Chocolatier said since the recession more people choose to buy raw chocolate ingredients cooking home-made gourmet desserts instead of dinning out in an expensive restaurant or consuming luxury trip within the UK or abroad.
Companies like Sir Hans Sloane, whose customers include the King of Spain, have reported profit increases by 30% while start up companies are expanding after only a year in operation.
The reason behind the boom is in the mood-enhancing properties and consumer desire for the “warm hug” that the rush of endorphins give consumers, says Hans Sloane chocolatier Bill McCarrick.
A bar of luxury chocolate at Hans Sloane can fetch £2.50 but punters are happy to part with their cash.
Emma and Lydia, from Bromley spent £14 at the Lauden Chocolate stand, Emma said: “I always love to try different kinds of chocolate, this particular one gets passion fruit as its ingredients."
Lydia then added: “The recession does not affect our desire to buy chocolate. It is healthy with no artificial colourings and flavours in it."
At a time when competition is fierce and companies face economic ruin there is a strong collegiate approach among the bespoke chocolate makers.
Businesses refer customers to their competitors if they feel the customer’s requirements would be better served there.
The reasons behind the conviviality are not entirely altruistic: they are united by the desire to edge out foreign companies and promote local business.
The latest economic forecast for Britain’s economy suggests the green shoots have wilted but trade in the humble cocoa bean is flourishing.
High-end bespoke chocolate sales have skyrocketed according to chocolatiers who gathered at the UK’s first Chocolate Show yesterday.
The Lauden Chocolatier said since the recession more people choose to buy raw chocolate ingredients cooking home-made gourmet desserts instead of dinning out in an expensive restaurant or consuming luxury trip within the UK or abroad.
Companies like Sir Hans Sloane, whose customers include the King of Spain, have reported profit increases by 30% while start up companies are expanding after only a year in operation.
The reason behind the boom is in the mood-enhancing properties and consumer desire for the “warm hug” that the rush of endorphins give consumers, says Hans Sloane chocolatier Bill McCarrick.
A bar of luxury chocolate at Hans Sloane can fetch £2.50 but punters are happy to part with their cash.
Emma and Lydia, from Bromley spent £14 at the Lauden Chocolate stand, Emma said: “I always love to try different kinds of chocolate, this particular one gets passion fruit as its ingredients."
Lydia then added: “The recession does not affect our desire to buy chocolate. It is healthy with no artificial colourings and flavours in it."
At a time when competition is fierce and companies face economic ruin there is a strong collegiate approach among the bespoke chocolate makers.
Businesses refer customers to their competitors if they feel the customer’s requirements would be better served there.
The reasons behind the conviviality are not entirely altruistic: they are united by the desire to edge out foreign companies and promote local business.
Sunday 25 October 2009
Humble cocoa trade flourishes in the recession
The latest economic forecast for Britain’s economy suggests the green shoots have wilted but trade in the humble cocoa bean is flourishing.
High-end bespoke chocolate sales have skyrocketed according to chocolatiers who gathered at the UK’s first Chocolate Show yesterday.
Companies like Sir Hans Sloane, whose customers include the King of Spain, have reported profit increases by 30% while start up companies are expanding after only a year in operation.
Point about people buying quality raw ingredients and using it to cook homemade gourmet desserts.
LINKING SENTENCE
The reason behind the boom is in the mood-enhancing properties and consumer desire for the “warm hug” that the rush of endorphins give consumers, says Hans Sloane chocolatier Bill McCarrick.
A bar of luxury chocolate at Hans Sloane can fetch £2.50 but punters are happy to part with their cash.
Emma and Lydia, from Bromley spent £14 at the Lauden Chocolate stand, Emma said: “I always love to try different kinds of chocolate, this particular one gets passion fruit as its ingredients."
Lydia then added: “The recession does not affect our desire to buy chocolate. It is healthy with no artificial colourings and flavours in it."
At a time when competition is fierce and companies face economic ruin there is a strong collegiate approach among the bespoke chocolate makers.
Businesses refer customers to their competitors if they feel the customer’s requirements would be better served there.
The reasons behind the conviviality are not entirely altruistic: they are united by the desire to edge out foreign companies and promote local business.
High-end bespoke chocolate sales have skyrocketed according to chocolatiers who gathered at the UK’s first Chocolate Show yesterday.
Companies like Sir Hans Sloane, whose customers include the King of Spain, have reported profit increases by 30% while start up companies are expanding after only a year in operation.
Point about people buying quality raw ingredients and using it to cook homemade gourmet desserts.
LINKING SENTENCE
The reason behind the boom is in the mood-enhancing properties and consumer desire for the “warm hug” that the rush of endorphins give consumers, says Hans Sloane chocolatier Bill McCarrick.
A bar of luxury chocolate at Hans Sloane can fetch £2.50 but punters are happy to part with their cash.
Emma and Lydia, from Bromley spent £14 at the Lauden Chocolate stand, Emma said: “I always love to try different kinds of chocolate, this particular one gets passion fruit as its ingredients."
Lydia then added: “The recession does not affect our desire to buy chocolate. It is healthy with no artificial colourings and flavours in it."
At a time when competition is fierce and companies face economic ruin there is a strong collegiate approach among the bespoke chocolate makers.
Businesses refer customers to their competitors if they feel the customer’s requirements would be better served there.
The reasons behind the conviviality are not entirely altruistic: they are united by the desire to edge out foreign companies and promote local business.
Friday 9 October 2009
True Blue co-author says it is worse being married (second copy)
Newly edited one:
A new book was launched at the Cobden Club, near Westbourne Park, last night by co-authors Chris Horrie and David Matthews.
Writing "True Blue, Strange Tales from a Tory Nation" was no easy ride. Two left leaning journalists - a white and a black – joined Tory campaigns and pretended to be party members just for narrating what the Tory Nation is all about.
David admitted co-authoring was a challenging experience. “We were fighting all the time, it was so hard for both of us narrating the book in a consistent tone,” he said, “it is worse than being married.
As a result of such problems, Chris Horrie, eventually wrote the book alone.
Despite their differences, the pair were fascinated by the Tories. Back in 2004, the political campaigns and election processes made such an impression on them that they even imagined creating their own political party. Eventually they joined the Tory campaigns and attended meetings, from where they got to know people's attitudes, mentality and political thinking.
Some guests showed confidence in David's work. Damien Wilson from Islington said: “I have read David's other books and really enjoyed them. The author is good at putting himself into the picture, though fundamentally he is outside of the story.”
When talking about how their journalistic background help them write a book, David said it is good for being a writer starting from a journalist, because you have got lots of skills already.
A new book was launched at the Cobden Club, near Westbourne Park, last night by co-authors Chris Horrie and David Matthews.
Writing "True Blue, Strange Tales from a Tory Nation" was no easy ride. Two left leaning journalists - a white and a black – joined Tory campaigns and pretended to be party members just for narrating what the Tory Nation is all about.
David admitted co-authoring was a challenging experience. “We were fighting all the time, it was so hard for both of us narrating the book in a consistent tone,” he said, “it is worse than being married.
As a result of such problems, Chris Horrie, eventually wrote the book alone.
Despite their differences, the pair were fascinated by the Tories. Back in 2004, the political campaigns and election processes made such an impression on them that they even imagined creating their own political party. Eventually they joined the Tory campaigns and attended meetings, from where they got to know people's attitudes, mentality and political thinking.
Some guests showed confidence in David's work. Damien Wilson from Islington said: “I have read David's other books and really enjoyed them. The author is good at putting himself into the picture, though fundamentally he is outside of the story.”
When talking about how their journalistic background help them write a book, David said it is good for being a writer starting from a journalist, because you have got lots of skills already.
True Blue co-author says it is worse being married
This story was interviewed on 30/09/2009 evening
A new book was launched at the Cobden Club, near Westbourne Park last night by co-authors Chris Horrie and David Matthews.
"True Blue, Strange Tales from a Tory Nation" was not born in an easy ride. Two left leaning journalists - a white and a black – joined Tory campaigns and pretended to be party members just for narrating what the Tory Nation is all about.
When speaking with some of the guests invited to the book launch night, Damien Wilson, from Islington said: “I have read David's other books and really enjoyed them. The author is good at putting himself into the picture, though fundamentally he is outside of the story.”
Back at the end of the 2004, David and Chris found the political campaigns and election processes were extremely fascinating. The pair even imagined to create their own political party. Eventually they joined the Tory campaigns and attended meetings, from where they got to know people's attitudes, mentality and political thinking.
Back at the end of the 2004, David and Chris found the political campaigns and election processes were extremely fascinating. The pair even imagined to create their own political party. Eventually they joined the Tory campaigns and attended meetings, from where they got to know people's attitudes, mentality and political thinking.
David also admitted it was a challenging experience working with the other author to produce the same book. He said: “we were fighting all the time, it was so hard for both of us narrating the book in a consistent tone. It is worse than being married. ”
The book was eventually depicted by Chris Horrie only, purely for consistency reason, David said.
When talking about how their journalistic background help them write a book, David said it is good for being a writer starting from a journalist, because you have got lots of skills already.
(257 words)
A new book was launched at the Cobden Club, near Westbourne Park last night by co-authors Chris Horrie and David Matthews.
"True Blue, Strange Tales from a Tory Nation" was not born in an easy ride. Two left leaning journalists - a white and a black – joined Tory campaigns and pretended to be party members just for narrating what the Tory Nation is all about.
When speaking with some of the guests invited to the book launch night, Damien Wilson, from Islington said: “I have read David's other books and really enjoyed them. The author is good at putting himself into the picture, though fundamentally he is outside of the story.”
Back at the end of the 2004, David and Chris found the political campaigns and election processes were extremely fascinating. The pair even imagined to create their own political party. Eventually they joined the Tory campaigns and attended meetings, from where they got to know people's attitudes, mentality and political thinking.
Back at the end of the 2004, David and Chris found the political campaigns and election processes were extremely fascinating. The pair even imagined to create their own political party. Eventually they joined the Tory campaigns and attended meetings, from where they got to know people's attitudes, mentality and political thinking.
David also admitted it was a challenging experience working with the other author to produce the same book. He said: “we were fighting all the time, it was so hard for both of us narrating the book in a consistent tone. It is worse than being married. ”
The book was eventually depicted by Chris Horrie only, purely for consistency reason, David said.
When talking about how their journalistic background help them write a book, David said it is good for being a writer starting from a journalist, because you have got lots of skills already.
(257 words)
Wednesday 7 October 2009
Critique of BBC learning Enghlish site
My first impression of the BBC Learning English website, in general, is that it is good.
However, I would prefer the colour level of the homepage to be a bit brighter and more colourful, as learning a foreign language sometimes can be extremely hard and tedious.
The site colour needs to be more eye-catching and stunning just to strike the browsers' attention . In addition, brighter colours usually lift a reader's spirit.
Having said this, I do understand that it is a corporate website which must be in compliance with the BBC's design guidance, so probably that is why the site looks fairly moderate.
Another point I want to refer to is that the page layout is inconsistent with recommended lay out standards. For example, at the bottom of the page, the three column lengths differ – some are shorter than the other. The leading web usability consultant Dr Jakob Nielsen lists this point as his top 10 Mistakes in Web Design.
One of the reasons I find this site absolutely useful, is because as English is my second language, I realise how someone can learn so many new words and expressions from the site.
I like the sections of “Words in the news” and “Specials – English for Journalist” because I am actually studying Broadcast Journalism – specialising Online journalism, currently I am also doing NCTJ newspaper certificate.
In terms of entertaining, I do realise the site tries hard to expand its multimedia dimension for interacting with its audience. For example, there are lots of listening materials online, as well as available for downloading.
There are the audio slide shows – The Flatmates teaches English learners casual English while entertaining them. Readers are able to leave comments which definitely follows web 2.0 concept.
I think it would be a good idea to get more interactivity online. For example, we could watch an English film and someone would explain us the interesting or important phrases and expressions in the film.
This could also apply for song lyrics, news and TV shows' from an English learning point of view. Audiences will enjoy the English learning process while being entertained.
In addition, I think these learning subjects should be expanded into a wider spectrum, such as travelling, literature and arts.
They could prove to be entertaining topics while being produced for English learning purpose. These subjects can be under an umbrella theme, for example let us say Britain is this month's umbrella theme, then design English learning programmes on British arts, British literature, and travelling in Britain.
Regarding the community section, my idea is to set up different foreign communities profiles under “Community”. For example the Polish, French and Japanese communities and so on.
Each week the editor Paul Scott or producers can decide one hot topic, such as religion, multiculturalism, diversity, politics, business, anything that is controversial and interesting, just let all the communities discuss it and debate on it.
People who participate in the debate must write in English. Mr Scott even can invite experts to give their views on each topic.
Different communities could be encouraged to update their profile in English, for example, someone from the Irish community may talk about his opinion on Irish voters backing the EU Lisbon treaty.
Someone from the Chinese community may update an article on how Chinese people celebrate the country's 60th anniversary, or maybe someone from the French community can upload a video of how he/she cooks a French cuisine and he/she explains it in English.
Another suggestion I want to make for the Community section is online blog must not have long paragraphs, they should be all short paragraphs with around 25 words each to comply with user-friendly rule of writing for the web.
These are my main thoughts on the BBC Learning English website, hope you find my suggestions helpful.
However, I would prefer the colour level of the homepage to be a bit brighter and more colourful, as learning a foreign language sometimes can be extremely hard and tedious.
The site colour needs to be more eye-catching and stunning just to strike the browsers' attention . In addition, brighter colours usually lift a reader's spirit.
Having said this, I do understand that it is a corporate website which must be in compliance with the BBC's design guidance, so probably that is why the site looks fairly moderate.
Another point I want to refer to is that the page layout is inconsistent with recommended lay out standards. For example, at the bottom of the page, the three column lengths differ – some are shorter than the other. The leading web usability consultant Dr Jakob Nielsen lists this point as his top 10 Mistakes in Web Design.
One of the reasons I find this site absolutely useful, is because as English is my second language, I realise how someone can learn so many new words and expressions from the site.
I like the sections of “Words in the news” and “Specials – English for Journalist” because I am actually studying Broadcast Journalism – specialising Online journalism, currently I am also doing NCTJ newspaper certificate.
In terms of entertaining, I do realise the site tries hard to expand its multimedia dimension for interacting with its audience. For example, there are lots of listening materials online, as well as available for downloading.
There are the audio slide shows – The Flatmates teaches English learners casual English while entertaining them. Readers are able to leave comments which definitely follows web 2.0 concept.
I think it would be a good idea to get more interactivity online. For example, we could watch an English film and someone would explain us the interesting or important phrases and expressions in the film.
This could also apply for song lyrics, news and TV shows' from an English learning point of view. Audiences will enjoy the English learning process while being entertained.
In addition, I think these learning subjects should be expanded into a wider spectrum, such as travelling, literature and arts.
They could prove to be entertaining topics while being produced for English learning purpose. These subjects can be under an umbrella theme, for example let us say Britain is this month's umbrella theme, then design English learning programmes on British arts, British literature, and travelling in Britain.
Regarding the community section, my idea is to set up different foreign communities profiles under “Community”. For example the Polish, French and Japanese communities and so on.
Each week the editor Paul Scott or producers can decide one hot topic, such as religion, multiculturalism, diversity, politics, business, anything that is controversial and interesting, just let all the communities discuss it and debate on it.
People who participate in the debate must write in English. Mr Scott even can invite experts to give their views on each topic.
Different communities could be encouraged to update their profile in English, for example, someone from the Irish community may talk about his opinion on Irish voters backing the EU Lisbon treaty.
Someone from the Chinese community may update an article on how Chinese people celebrate the country's 60th anniversary, or maybe someone from the French community can upload a video of how he/she cooks a French cuisine and he/she explains it in English.
Another suggestion I want to make for the Community section is online blog must not have long paragraphs, they should be all short paragraphs with around 25 words each to comply with user-friendly rule of writing for the web.
These are my main thoughts on the BBC Learning English website, hope you find my suggestions helpful.
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