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AMAZING EFL APPS

A Letter Of Complaint

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to express my dissatisfaction about the summer sports camp, where I spent two weeks, after seeing your brochure.

According to your advertisement, a range of sports would be offered, but instead I realised that the only option available was tennis. Although I enjoy playing tennis, I would prefer something more vigorous. In addition, private rooms did not exist. I am very frustrated for having to share my room, which was not spacious enough, with two strangers.

To make matters worse, the meals included in the price were too small, indeed. Therefore, I was obligated to get takeaways. On top of everything, not only was I disappointed with the lack of evening activities, but I was also shocked by the organisers' behavior. Unfortunately, they were completely indifferent to my complaints.

I request a full refund of my disastrous holidays, as I could have spent my money on splendid holidays. I hope action will be taken to rectify these problems, though. I look forward to hearing from you. 

Yours faithfully,
 Marina Konstantinou. 

A report

To: Mr Dixon
From: Eva Chrisostomaki
Date: 3 August 2014
Subject: Skills and qualifications for students working at KoolKids

Introduction
The purpose of this report is to recommend the skills and qualifications the foreign students will need to have to work at KoolKids summer camp.

Facts about KoolKids
Kool Kids is an international summer camp with lots of activities for children all over Europe. It is a quite big and relaxing place with a lot of greenery and many facilities. The camp offers hospitality to approximately 250 to 300 children and it also provides accommodation in large and comfortable dormitories. There is a big amount of activities such as dancing, martial arts, extreme sports, etc. Also, the beach is near the camp. That means that a lot of water activities are provided. Now, I would like to suggest the skills and qualifications that students will need to have.

Suggested skills and qualifications
You do not need any special qualifications for a position at the summer camp, but you have to have secondary school education. You also need to be a team player and have good communication skills. Moreover, it would be great if tou are an enthusiastic and sporty type of person and (of course) love children.

Conclusion
To conclude, I can strongly recommend the KoolKids as a place to work. You will have a great time and a positive experience. I am sure you will not regret it.

Chess Boxing

Chess Boxing

Nowadays, because of the increased need for new, innovative creations, more and more strange extreme sports are being invented. Some of them may seem a bit ridiculous and funny, but every single one of them has something unique, mysterious and unprecedented about it, and these are the reasons they attract so many people from all the age groups. After conducting some research, I'd like to introduce you to one of the most weird, but actually incredibly interesting and difficult, sport in the world! It is called; chess boxing.

Chess boxing is an alternative, hybrid sport that combines chess and boxing. Although it was first  invented in the late 1970s, its big debut hapenned in 2000, when championships started being held too.

 Structure an rules

A full match consists of eleven rounds: six round of chess, each three minutes long, and five rounds of boxing, each three minutes long (sometimes four minutes under amateur rules ). The match begins with a chess match and alternate with boxing until the end of the match. There is also a one-minute break between evry challenge, during which competitors cool out and change gear.

In relevance with the special kit, the competitors wear special boxing costumes and closed-back headphones, while playing chess, in order to focus on the game and avoid hearing comments from the spectators and instructors.

Required skills

In order to participate in an annual championship you must, not only be an experienced boxer, but also be at least Class A strength as chess player ( professional level ).

... So if you are interested in chess boxing, you'd better start working out because it needs countless hours of working out in order to be good at it! Hoever, in my opinion, it'll be worth it, since chess boxing is one of the few sports, that actually combines physical exercise and mental exercise. That's why I highly recommend it to all of you!

This is a video of the first chess boxing championship! I hope you enjoy this!!!

Despicable Me 2

DESPICABLE ME 2

Activity 1I completed the online quiz and I was very satisfied with my score which was 27 out of 30.

Activity 2 
The definition of the idioms:

1. Hold the horses = slow down, hold on, wait
2. Take a while = spend some time doinf sth
3. Drown my sorrows = dealing with your problems or anxiety by consuming usually alcohol
4. More to us than meets the eye = more weird or interesting than sb/sth before
5. For a worthy cause = for sth good and important
6. Have a lot going on = being very busy
7. Figure it out = deal with, handle, work on
8. Working on = trying to improve
9. Hold tight  = grip
10. Oh! Goodess! = phrase usually used on extremely impressive or terrifying situations
11. Care to join me? = to invite sb to come, sit, chat with you
12. Sleep tight! Don't let the bedbugs bite = sleep well
13. A nut job = crazy and foolish person
14. Go about your business = stick to your own job 

Examples:

1. Please stop worrying about me and go about your business! It can be really annoying!
2. I really need to figure it out... I am a little cautious about this...
3. This might take a while, but it's a very important step if you want the work to be done carefully and properly so you should wait!

Activity 3
First of all, I have to admit that Despicable Me 2 - to my surprise - was much better than the first one and I had the time of my life watching it. All the movie was hilarious and full of adventure and mystery. However, although there was a wide range of scenes that completely stood out, I still cannot choose my favourite one... I undoubtly laugh a lot when Pollito attacked Lucy and Gru and also, when Gru went on a date with an annoying woman and Lucy helped him to get rid of her! This one was for sure one of the best! Moreover, minions stood out again with their foolish and chilidish character and made the movie even more entertaining, hilarious and unique!

Despicable Me 2!

Activity 1:  I completed the online quiz and I scored 29 out of 30! I guess it's a good score, so I'm satisfied with my memory.

Activity 2:

Here are the definitions of the idioms:

•  Hold the horses!(or Hold your horses) = hold on, wait

• Take a while = spend a lot of time doing sth

• Drown my sorrows =to handle your problems by consuming a substantial quantity of alcohol

• More to us than meets the eyes = more interesting or complicated than sm or sth appears at first

• For a worthy cause = for sth that is important (like a charity)

• Have a lot going on = be busy

• Figure it out = work out 

• Working on = trying to improve

• Hold tight = clasp, grip 

• Oh! Goodness! = we use that phrase when we can't stand a situation 

• Care to join me? = Would you like to come with me?

• Sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite. = Sleep well

• A nut job = a crazy and foolish person 

• Go about your business = to continue doing what you usually do

Examples:

1. I quarelled with my best friend and I want to apologise to her, but I haven't found the best way, yet. I've been trying to figure it out  for the last 2 weeks.

1. While my family were having lunch, I was working out a very difficult math problem. I had already told them that it might take a while, so I didn't care to join them.

1. When I grow up, I would like to raise money for a worthy cause. That is, I would like to raise it for charity. 

Activity 3:  The funniest scene:

To begin with, "Despicable Me 2" was a hilarious animation film! As a comedy, it has many funny scenes from which I cannot choose (I'm definitely indecisive!).  Of course the Minions take pride of place in the film and the scenes, where they appear, become even more splendid. I can't imagine the film without them! Apart from that, the Minions have become so popular that a game has been invented, called The Minion Rush. So I believe all the Minions scenes are my favourites, because I believe they're kind of friends to me! 

By the way, here's a video of all their scenes in the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5VQ6MowYm0



To be honest, I have another favourite funny scene and it's Antonio's (El Macho's son) and Margo's (one of Gru's daughters and actually the oldest one) dance. While the two tender aged individuals are dancing, Gru decides to watch after his daughter, as he doesn't really like Antonio. Well, even in animation films, father's habits never stop to exist! Gru is basically a classical father in that scene!

I hope you enjoy the videos! 

The activities on the film!

http://markaki-students.blogspot.gr/2014/08/despicable-me-2-post-viewing-activities.html

A Report

To: Mr Dixon

From: Marina Konstantinou

Date: 30 July 2014

Subject: Skills and qualifications for students working at Koolkids

Introduction

  This report is intended to recommend the skills and qualifications that foreign students will need to have in order to be taken on at Koolkids. 

Facts about Koolkids

  To begin with, Koolkids is a spacious and coastal international summer camp, which offers a wide variety of activities (for instance, water sports and crafts). Moreover, this particular camp  provides a range of facilities, such as pools and courts. Koolkids is the ideal way for teenagers to find employment. So, I would like to suggest the specific skills and qualifications, which are required.

Suggested skills and qualifications

  First of all, students are obligated to have secondary school education. Furthermore, not only should students be qualified with team spirit, but they should also have good communication skills, as they will cooperate with other successful applicants. In addition, a love for children and responsibility are called for, because employees are going to deal with tender aged individuals too.

Conclusion

  To conclude, I can highly recommend working at Koolkids if the applicants have the skills and qualification already mentioned. I am assured that students will definitely cope with employment in this extraordinary working environment.

Zorbing

  Have you ever wanted to imitate a hamster? Well, you can experience it by trying zorbing (or the hamster ride, as I call it). Zorbing is an actual sport of rolling downhill inside a giant, lightweight ball made of flexible plastic. Orbing, or Zorbing entered the Concise Oxford English Dictionary in 2001, where it is defined as: "a sport in which a participant is secured inside an inner capsule in a large, transparent ball, which is then rolled along the ground or down hills". Apart from that, zorbing is performed at commercial locations, where the thrill-seekers pay a fee for each ride, or for day's activity.  The first zorbing site was established in Rotorua, New Zealand by Dwane van de Sluis and Andrew Akers, in 1994. Later, the orb (= the plastic ball) manufacturing company was taken over by the two Akers brothers, that is, Andrew and David. 

Here's a video about zorbing in New Zealand!

  It seems really fascinating and hilarious, but once you enter the orb, there is no turning back. The long-haul distance ride takes only a few seconds to finish, as the speed is high, indeed. So, although zorbing is fun if the safety rules are not observed, the effects are extremely serious. Plenty of individuals, who have tried it, have been injured. In order to avoid being hurt, as far as I'm concerned, the sport's rules should change. In spite of these objections, zorbing is fine not only for daredevils, but also for ordinary people.Finally, would you take the risk and try zorbing, or would you like to play it safe?

Phrasebook!

Some of the notes that I have written 

in my Phrasebook!

Listening links

http://eflinks.wikispaces.com/listening

Charles Dickens's biography

                             A very interesting book!

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens is one of the most famous writers in Britain. He was born in 1812 near Portsmouth on the south coast of England and he died on 9 June, 1870. As a child, he and his family were living in poor and he didn't have a lot of happy memories. His father was in prison because of the debts that were not paid.
                                           
       His novels

   He has wonderful written skills! By his novels, not only did he present his strong feelings, but he also defended the people who suffered by poverty. He always supported his opinion and his books are controversial. "Christmas Carol", "Oliver Twist", "David Copperfield" and other world-famous mastrerpieces have a very important message for all of us.

My opinion

At first glance, I don't like the idea of reading a biography due to the fact that I think that it might be boring, but we mustn't forgot the phrase: " Don't judge a book by its cover." Then I came round to my teacher's way of thinking. Never had I been fascinated so much by a book! I definitely recommend it! While I was reading this book, I also noticed that there are more to biographies than meets the eye! And I am ready to run a mile in order to read another biography like this. 

An extreme sport!

                                       Bossaball

   What's the funniest, craziest and ( I nearly forgot)... the "easiest" sport you can think of? Do you believe that there is a sport that players are bounce on a trampoline to strike the ball and to pass it over a net? In fact, this sport exists and it is called bossaball. It began in Spain by Belgian Filip Eyckmans.
     

 In this sport, the player has to pass the ball by using any body part in order to score by landing the ball in the opposing team's court.
       
     This sport requires a lot of training! Due to the fact that during you do acrobatics, quite often you might get seriously injured for instunce to fall down and to get bruised! On the other hand, it is an absolutely interesting, funny and spectacular sport.
     
      To sum up, I really believe that bossaball will get more popular. However, I wouldn't like to try it but I really recommend it you if you are an adrenaline junkie because there is more in this sport than meets the eye!  

For further information you can visit the site:

http://www.bossaballsports.com/

Parkour

 

What's the craziest sport you can think of? How about jumping off cars, buildings or anything that pops into your mind? In fact, parkour was invented by David Belle during the late 1980s and was developed in France. Nowadays, parkour is very popular.

  
Last week I had a chance to go and see some parkour training. The first thing I noticed was the bravery of all these teenagers and adults. They were jumping off buildings and doing tricks in the air. They used things that they are not very important to us, such as barrels or walls, but for parkour athletes these are really important and useful. They were surprisingly fast and careful.

  However, there is one big disadvantage. It is very easy to get hurt or bruised. Coaches train the teenagers to be careful with their tricks.

  I think the sport will stay/ remain popular in the future because it is very enjoyable. Anyone who wants to participate must be strong, both mentally and physically. I would like to try it one day if I have the chance.

Internet and social networking

INTERNET:

Advantages:

 Nowadays the Internet use is the most convenient way to find information not only about school assignments, but also about the latest news in our world. Apart from that, the Internet is a very chip solution to a problem, which is called entertainment. By surfing the Net, we can find a wide variety of applications and online websites, which will help us watch movies and series and listen to music too. Moreover, we can't forget the online shopping! Millions of people prefer buying online to shopping down town, in the city's hustle and bustle. Lastly, another advantage of Internet is the communication. (READ LATER!) 

Disadvantages:

  On the other hand, though, the excessive use of the Internet may be harmful to us (-because of the computer - for instance it might damage our eyes, it is extremely bad for our posture). What is more, the tender aged individuals might get addicted to it and neglect their homework seriously. Another disadvantage of the Internet, is getting misinformed while conducting a survey. Not everything on Internet is 100% trustworthy.

Conclusion: 

  To sum up, if we misuse the Internet, we won't broaden our horizons as we are supposed to.

SOCIAL NETWORKING:

Advantages:

  As for social networking, first of all, it is really useful as it gives us opportunities to communicate not only with relatives or friends who are far away, but also with people who are close to us. Apart from that it is free and we can have access to it easily. Furthermore, chances to meet new people are provided. 

Disadvantages:

  However, making new friendships, or giving personal details  is not always safe. The danger of meeting hazardous people who want to harm is increasing. Moreover pupils might get obsessed with social networking  and be restricted from the society, their family and not concentrate on their homework. 

Conclusion:

  On balance, if we use the social networking system safely, we won't get any harm.

FINAL CONCLUSION:

  Taking all these into consideration, as far as I'm concerned,  it is not in our best interest to spend a lot of hours using the Internet and the social networking system. That's because both of them hide dangers. So, parents should supervise their children to study harder. Apart from that, both can make us become isolated and they can destroy our best relationships. Last but not least, if we use them wisely, we could reap the benefits of both!

Internet and social networking

 Everybody now is using the computer. Peοple have at least one kind of new technology at home or in their working place. But is the interet and social networking safe?
   To begin with, children and especially teenagers spend too many hours in front of the computer screen. That might damage their eyes orcause them to have some other health problems. Also, the passionate net users might be unsociable because they spend most of their time chatting than talking to other people outside. They "become" part of the computer and they may lose their real friends. Their parents advise their children to stop, but they only thing that they succeed in is to make their children angry with them.
   However, the internet has its bright side. For example, some children cannot express their feelings face to face and chatting with friends is a way to achieve that. Moreover, they can look up information and improve their language. Every person wants to keep up with everyone's news and that's why they turn to the social networking places.
   Taking all this into consideration, I think that parents should let their children be at (use) the computer for some hours because it is good to talk with their friends or learn new things by surfing on the internet.It must be noted that children and teenagers must be responsible so that they avoid health problems or losing their real friends.