LTC Summer Institute

Thursday, July 8, 2010

conversation group

Caroline's Conversation Group is going to be meeting today (Friday, July 9) at Voyageur's Dream across the street from the LANG and Auditorium buildings. We will meet there at 12:30pm and go till 1:30pm.

If you didn't sign up for a conversation group, come along anyways! We would love to have you join us!

Caroline

hitchhiking and the dangers

When faced with little money, dodgy bus timetables and a schedule to keep, what's a LTC/UAEM student to do but hitchhike, right? Wrong! Though hitchhiking has long been romanticized in books and films as the adventure of a lifetime, what these warm and fuzzy presentations forget to mention is what happens when the adventure ends. While missing persons and murder are at the very far end of the danger spectrum, it remains a fact that hitchhiking puts travellers at the mercy of others. Rather than putting yourself in this position, spend your summer in Denton traveling safely on public transportation, registered taxis, or by arranging rideshares from LTC/UAEM staff or volunteers.

Hitchhiking Nightmares
There are very few statistics gathered on the safety of hitchhikers in any given country, but even without numbers to quote it remains obvious that hitchhiking:

Is illegal in many countries and punishable by fines or imprisonment.
Increases your risk of injury at the roadside.
Possibly exposes you to dangerous drivers.
Requires you to stay alert to your surroundings.
May leave you stranded in deserted and/or unfamiliar areas.
May subject you to verbal or other harassment.
May lead to physical danger.

Alternatives to Hitchhiking
There are a variety of affordable and often accessible options to hitchhiking. Though they may not all be available in each of your destinations, with a little patience you will often be able to find at least one acceptable alternative to hitchhiking. There are many modes of transport on which to travel if you're looking to go off campus such as; public or private buses, registered taxis, bikes, rideshares arranged by LTC/UAEM staff or volunteers, and rental cars.

Emergency Alternatives
Often travelers only consider hitchhiking if they encounter an emergency, such as being robbed and stranded with no access to cash. To eliminate this possibility:

Keep your cash in several separate locations.
Consider wearing a money belt.
Carry a mobile phone at all times.
Memorize your credit card information.
Know the emergency contact numbers for your host country.
Remember that you can always reverse the charges on a call for help.

Hitchhiking Safety
No matter how many warnings they hear, many people will still hitchhike if they find themselves short of cash or during an emergency. If you find yourself in a similar situation, take care to:

Turn down any ride with which you do not feel comfortable.
Observe the make, model and registration of the car before getting in.
Do not accept a ride in a car full of strangers.
Try to sit up front in the passenger seat.
Make sure that there are no child safety locks on before you get in a car.
Keep your bags with you at all time.
Keep cash and your passport and travel documents on your person.
Travel with at least one other person. Safety comes in numbers.

Even in the most dire of circumstances, hitchhiking is never an advisable option for responsible travellers. If you find yourself in a position that causes you to consider hitchhiking, whether it be from boredom, lack of cash or impatience with the public transport system, ask yourself if your safety or indeed your life is really worth the risk.

present perfect

We form the present perfect tense with the conjugated auxiliary verb “have”= have/has + the past participle. There are several different uses of the present perfect tense and several ways to identify when to use it.

1)We use it to describe an event that started in the past and has either just been completed or is being referenced up until this point.

a. Ex: Since yesterday, I have been to 5 different grocery

stores! (Notice it started yesterday and I am

describing what I have done from yesterday up until this point.)

b. Ex: I have learned English every summer for the

past 4 years now. (When did the event start? 4 years ago)

c. Ex: I still haven’t found his teddy bear.

d. Ex: How long has it been since you’ve sung that

song? (you’ve= you have)

--Oh, it’s been a long time! (it’s= it has)

e. Keywords: Since, just, up until now, still, for, so far,

How long?

2)We use it to describe new info that has just happened or has been received.

a. Ex: Guess what? There has been a horrible car accident!

b. Ex: I just heard on the news 5 people have won an

award for outstanding citizenship.

c. Keywords: Just, recently

3) We use it when there is an unspecified time frame.

a. Ex: -Have you ever been to Mallorca?

-No, I have never been to Mallorca?

b. Ex:-Have they been skydiving before?

-Yes, they have been skydiving before?

c .Ex: I have jumped out of a building before. (Note I

didn’t say when specifically. I just said I have done

it before. If it is specific, you have to use a different tense)

d. --Have you started dinner yet?

-- Yes, I have already started dinner. (I want to

know if the action has started.)

e. Keywords: Ever been, been, before, already and yet.

4)We use it with open time frames that started in the past and haven’t been

finished at the time of speaking.

a. This could be during this millennium/century/decade

/year/season/month/week/weekend/day/morning/hour etc.

As long as the time frame is open, you use present

perfect.

b. Ex: I have watched 10 movies this year. (Not last

year, but THIS year)

c. Ex: This week I have eaten 2 apples, two containers

of yoghurt, a steak, 1 hamburger, some carrots, and a

popsicle. (This week is your keyword)

d. Ex: Have you taken a holiday this month?

e. Ex: These last ten years have been so hard on my

family financially. (This one can be tricky because it

has the word last, but remember the action started in

the past and is describing the time up until this point.)

f. Ex: -What have you done today?

- Today I have written a few emails, called my

girlfriend, and cleaned my kid’s rooms. (Note I don’t

need to add the auxiliary verb in front of “called” or

“cleaned” because I have it at the beginning of the

sentence and it is a list of things I have done. )

i.WARNING: Today is a tricky word because English

speakers often use the simple past with today when

they are asked a question about their whole day.

1. Ex: What did you do today? (Notice it is asked in

the simple past)

- Today I read a little, watched some TV, and ran

around the park. (Answer is in simple past because it

was asked in the simple past.)

g. Keywords: This/These, last few (days, weeks, years…)

5) We use it when describing the ___ time something has happened.

a. Ex: This is the first time I have been to the United

States.

b. Ex: Caroline has lost her passport again for the

second time.

c. Ex: This is the fourth time you have called me this

week! Stop calling!

d. Keyword: ___time

6) We use it when talking about an action in the past that has an effect on now.

a. Ex: Where is your purse? I don’t know. I have lost

it. (I don’t have it now)

b. Ex: I’ve forgotten whether or not we are supposed to

do our homework today or tomorrow. (I can’t remember

now what was said then.)

c. Ex:–Where has Sara gone?

--Sara has gone to the grocery store. She will be

right back. (She is at the store now and is on her way

back.)

d. Ex:–Hi Sara, where have you been?

--Oh, I have been to the grocery store. (Meaning she

was at the grocery store and she just got back from

it. She is not there anymore. Note: Native speakers

will also often answer the question “Where have you

been?” with an answer in the simple past such as “Oh,

I went to the grocery store.”)

e. Keywords: gone, been

I do not pretend that I could cover all the exceptions to these rules, but I have tried to show some common ones that are tricky. This is a good basic list that I have used before to explain the Present Perfect tense and it will help you get a good foundational grasp on understanding when to use this tense. Please let me know if you have any questions!

Caroline

art and jewelry exhibitions at unt

Different Tempers: Jewelry and Blacksmithing

Jul 6, 2010 - Sep 18, 2010

@ UNT Art Gallery — Art Building

Curated by Suzanne Ramljak and organized by The Center for Craft, Creativity and Design, a regional center of the University of North Carolina

Different Tempers explores the distinctions and commonalities between jewelry and blacksmithing, two realms of metalsmithing that rarely interact despite their shared medium, including 40 objects by 14 national artists. Together these objects reveal the engaging range of work arising from both the jeweler's bench and the blacksmith's forge, spanning wearable ornament to large-scale sculpture. The full spectrum of metals will be represented, including gold, platinum, fine and sterling silver, pewter, iron, and stainless and mild steel, in combination with other materials such as optical lenses, nail polish, and hair. At UNT, the exhibition will be accompanied by academic and public programs exploring the methodologies and the state of craft criticism. Look for program information soon!

Information
Telephone: 940-565-4316
Email: GALLERY@UNT.EDU
Web: HTTP://GALLERY.UNT.EDU/SHOWEXHIBIT.PHP?EXID=379

Exhibition: Brent Phelps - Images from the Lewis and Clark Trail
Jun 10, 2010 - Aug 13, 2010
@ UNT on the Square
UNT Professor Brent Phelps's extensive photographic survey of the trans-Mississippi route explored by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark will be on display June 10 through Aug. 13 at UNT on the Square, 109 N. Elm St. on Denton's historic courthouse square.

Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday with extended hours from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Information
telephone: 940.369.8257
email: NATALIEGM@UNT.EDU

film screening tonight (thursday)

Film students from UNT will be showing documentary films they made over the summer tonight. If you would like to go here is the information:

Date: Thursday, July 8, 2010
Time: 7:00pm - 8:30pm
Location: RTVF Building, room 184
Description: The Summer Documentary Workshop class is having a free film screening of all of the documentaries produced during the class. 9 groups of 2 had 5 weeks to plan, film and edit an 8-10 minute documentary, ranging from all different topics: from birth, to marriage, to bed bugs and hobos!

All students are encouraged to go see these documentaries on Thursday, July 8 at 7 - 8:30 p.m. in the RTVF building, room 184, on UNT campus. RTVF is across from the BUSI building.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

intermediate class blogs

entertainment for marta

Hi all,

Marta, the student with the chicken pox, is in quarantine and has no form of entertainment. If anyone has a spare radio/TV/laptop/magazine(s) (anything entertaining) that she could borrow or know where we could find some, please contact Cheryl at CherylHarrell@my.unt.edu or let us know in the comments section.

Thank you!

LTC/UAEM Team

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