Archive for March, 2010
LA Guide to the Oscars
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010On May 16, 1929 , the first Oscar Awards were given out. he first Best Actor winner was Emil Jannings, who won for his performance in two 1929 movies, “The Way of All Flesh” and “The Last Command.” Fourteen other Oscars were awarded that night. Presented at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, that first-year ceremony was open to the public, who could attend for the whopping price of $5 per ticket. Venues have changed often throughout the years, and have included presentations at Shrine Auditorium, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, RKO Pantages Theatre and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. In 2002, the Oscars moved to the Kodak Theatre. The award show has been televised since 1953. This year marks the 82nd Academy Awards, and the Oscars will be held on March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California.
You don’t need a designer gown, a best-actor nomination or a wrist weighed down with diamonds to experience the excitement of the Oscars. Even though only Academy members get coveted seats inside the Kodak Theater, with a little planning you can immerse yourself in all the star-studded glamour — and avoid any logistical snafus — of Hollywood’s biggest night.
Discover Los Angeles Guide here
Learn more about the Oscars and how you can roll out the red carpet at home here
The 26th Annual Academy Awards, held on March 25, 1954 from the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood.
The 81st Academy Awards took place at Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre on Feb. 22, 2009
A video of every best actor winner at the Academy Awards, from 1928 to 2007. The winners are here
Take your place on the Red Carpet here
CNN Student News: Tuesday 2 March
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010March 2 – Today’s show begins with reports on the aftermath of two natural disasters: a powerful earthquake in Chile and heavy flooding in France. Then, they explain the U.S. political procedure of reconciliation, and they hear some opinions about using it to pass a health care bill. And finally, they travel to Savannah, Georgia to hear a historic church’s views on the importance of the census.
Build your Vocabulary Visually!
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
Weboword is a visual vocabulary site that aims to help you to build your vocabulary through hand-drawn, situation specific cartoons, drawings and sketches. Here’s an example:
Other resources on the site include a weekly crossword puzzle and Weboword Connect, an online community for vocabulary lovers. If you like the Weboword approach, you might like to subscribe to Weboword Express, a monthly PDF pack which combines Weboword’s daily visual vocabulary and weekly crossword with premium content to aid vocabulary development and English language learning. You can view a sample here.
Thanks to Jeffrey Hill at the English Blog for this great finding.
How to Contribute to Disaster Relief in Chile
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010Over 700 are reported dead in Chile’s 8.8-magnitude earthquake. The devastation varies across the country, as authorities attempt to survey the damage. Read transcript.
MORE RESOURCES
How to Contribute to Disaster Relief in Chile
The Best Sites To Learn About The Earthquake In Chile (Larry Ferlazzo)
The New China
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010How did China transform itself from a poor country to one of the largest economies in the world in just 30 years?
To answer that question, American futurist John Naisbitt and his wife, Doris, established the Naisbitt China Institute in that country’s Tianjin Province in 2006. Doris Naisbitt says, “they understood well that communism did not serve them, that central planning couldn’t bring China out of poverty. They were extremely poor and backward 30 years ago. They had to put in the market capitalism, to give the people the opportunity to do what they are talented in and to get China’s economy going.” That’s what the Naisbitts call the ‘emancipation of mind’, one of the eight pillars of China’s new society described in their new book, “China’s Megatrends”.
China’s Megatrends: The 8 Pillars of a New Society
Words and Their Stories: Where Did ‘OK’ Come From?
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
Millions of people all over the world use the word OK. In fact, some people say the word is used more often than any other word in the world. OK means all right or acceptable. It expresses agreement or approval. You might ask your brother, “Is it okay if I borrow your car?” Or if someone asks you to do something, you might say, “Okay, I will.” Still, language experts do not agree about where the word came from. Continue reading here
Listen to the story here
