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Letters to the Professor

I would like to ask you a question on how to use a noun in the role of an adjective in front of another noun. The point at issue here is the number of the first noun. Let me give you an idea what I have on my mind. I have many a time come across the phrase "profit percentage" on one hand, and "profits percentage" on the other. Is there any significant difference between these two expressions? If so, what is it?

2004

The Art of Bad Taste: The British Tabloid

12 million people everyday read The Sun newspaper in Britain. Infamous for it's page three topless models, its obsession with the private lives of the rich and famous, and its innovative way with the English language, Britain's most popular newspaper is just one of many tabloid titles that you can find at the newsagent's. But why are tabloids so popular in Britain?

2002

Only Joking!

The Smiths were proud of their American family tradition. Their ancestors had arrived in America on the Mayflower. Their family included senators and Wall Street wizards.

They decided to compile a family history, a legacy for their children and grandchildren. They hired a fine author. Only one problem arose: how to handle great-uncle George, who had been executed in the electric chair. The author said he could handle the story tactfully.

2001

The Right to Bear Arms.

Since the Columbine school massacre last year Americans have been asking themselves what the law can do to prevent such horror ever happening again. Has the time finally come to break with a tradition that many see as an integral part of the constitution?

2000

Just who is St Andrew?

Everyone knows that St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. But you may not be aware that up in heaven, Scotland, Wales and England are equally loved and watched over by their own patron saints.

2002

Mini's Major Rebirth

The end of the millennium saw the end of the line for the world famous Mini, but where did it all begin? And will there be more than just the name and the memory to the Mini Cooper soon to be re-launchedby BMW?

2001

End of a Decade, End of an Era

There won't be many waves of Volunteers before the Poles will have caught up...This will be one of the world's great and limited engagements. Poland will not need us for long. - E. Timothy Carroll, Peace Corps Country Director 1991-1994

2001

Peace Corps: An American Adventure.

"It was a fantastic experience!" was the general consensus of the eight students who participated in a cultural exchange to California and Nevada in the USA.

For two weeks, from February 24 to March 9, 2000, a group of Polish high-school students lived with American host families, provided by Faith Lutheran High School in Las Vegas, Nevada. They had the opportunity to experience the daily lives and culture of their families, as well as share their own Polish culture.

2000

Christmas Around the Globe

The Christmas holiday is among the world' s most widely celebrated festivals. Let' s take a look at some of our planet' s customs during this season of good cheer.

1999

Business Ethics - a Contradiction in Terms?

"Business is business", "Time is money", - but is it right that "Anything goes"?

"Where there's muck there's brass" is an old northern English expression. It simply means that people will make money where there are raw materials - dirty, of course - such as coal. But what about the expression: "Where there's ethics there's brass"? It doesn't have quite the same ring. If such expressions are any guide, Anglo-Saxon societies clearly tend to think of business as a necessary but essentially dirty activity.

2001

What a Wonderful World.

Many students take a "gap year" between finishing school and starting university. Many go and work in another country and get some experience of the world outside the classroom. Prince Harry is no exception. He is spending a few months in Australia and is working on a sheep farm in Queensland as a jackaroo - a farm labourer. On a 39,000-acre farm in somewhere called Tooloobilla, Harry is rolling up his sleeves and helping put the sheep through the sheepdip.

2003

Irish Quotes

Continuing our Irish theme, here is a selection of quotations from a few great men of the Emerald Isle. No doubt you'll be familiar with some of them - perhaps you've even thought the same thing yourself.

I always pass on good advice. It is the only thing I ever do with it. It is never of any use to oneself. - Oscar Wilde

Take care to get what you like or you will be forced to like what you get. - George Bernard Shaw

The intellect of man is forced to choose
Perfection of the life, or of the work. - W.B. Yeats

2000

The Peace Corps: Putting Women in the Picture

This year the Peace Corps' Women In Development committee initiated a photographic competition to show the value of Polish women in society, and help a good cause along the way.

2000

From Wheat Field to League Field

The Little League Baseball European Training Center in Kutno, Poland, is putting the finishing touches to a five-year project that germinated back in 1996 and will live on for years to come.

It seems like only yesterday that I made my first visit to Kutno, Poland. In fact it was in January 1996. During my stay town officials drove me to a large wheat field on the outskirts of town. That day, snow blanketed the field that was to be the future site of the Little League Baseball European Training Center.

2001
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Baseball

Finally, the Beginning

On 19th May 1999 the USA saw the biggest madness since Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic. " The Phantom Menace" had its opening in over three thousand cinemas across the States. Fans had been queuing for over a month in hot sun and cold rain because the tickets were not sold in advance. The introduction of the film was preceded by hype in the mass media and mass hysteria unseen since the times of Rudolf Valentino. Traders of Star Wars toys were already booking holidays in the Seychelles and ordering new Cadillacs.

1999

Get a Diet, Get Fat

In the all-American health kick, it's not sport but food that's at the center of the obsession with healthy living. But have they got it all wrong?

2001

R U An SMS Poet?

Millions and millions of text-messages are sent everyday worldwide. Its use is so common that the SMS form of shorthand English has entered the language's most respected dictionary, parts of the Bible have been rewritten in SMS, and now people are even writing poetry this way. Now it is your turn to see if you can become the Shakespeare of the text-message.

2003

UCLES Exams

This is the first in a series of articles outlining the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES) exams. Here we describe all the different tests offered by the organization, the extent to which they are recognized and how to take them. In future issues, The World of English will give an in-depth look into the structure of each of the exams and provide advice on how to study for them.

2000

Celebrations World-Wide

One thing all nations have in common is celebrations of one kind or another. Some are of religious origin, others are secular. Nearly every country has its national day or independence day, celebrated throughout the land, as well as local observances, restricted to certain regions or even individual villages. Typically such occasions include parades or processions, marching bands or folk musicians, and nearly always there is food, music, games and general merriment.

1999

Call to CALL

Mr. Deji Akala found us through our Internet pages. He told us an interesting story of how he had become a leader of a discussion group for EFL teachers in Central and Eastern Europe. He has suggested four subjects about computers which we thought would be interesting for our readers. Here is the second one.

Teachers and students of EFL who are interested in having fun during the teaching/learning process might consider entering the adventure-filled world of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL).

1999