English Conversation Course

Many of Dubai’s projects are now recognized all over the world. In terms of modern Dubai there is one thing, which can’t be skipped. The Downtown area, which is a home for one of the world’s biggest shopping centers, the Dubai Mall, with its enormous aquarium and an Olympic size skating rink, as well a traditional Souk Al Bahar and a famous Dubai fountain, which can shoot water 150 meters into the air. However the downtown is being dominated by of course the world tallest building Burj Khalifa. The Burj Khalifa reached its peak in 2010 and with over 828 meters in height has beaten the last record. The high-speed lifts deliver visitors to the top with 40km/h speed (and it’s still not enough to be the fastest in the World, the record is around 60 km/h – Taipei 101). At 124th there is an observation deck, which offers 360* views over the whole city. Looking out from it is an unforgettable experience available only in Dubai – until someone will build a bigger building ;) Nowad...

UAE is ranked as one of the safest places in the world: Is number one for the lowest level of violent crime* Has the lowest homicide rate* Almost 90% of people living in UEA are immigrants To me, two above facts are strongly connected. Being in UEA you feel safe. Women are treated with great respect. Pickpocketing, stealing, assaults, rapes etc are not common as sharia is strict. All foreigners, without exception, are severely punished, so people do not want to risk. On the other hand, UEA men citizens are usually treated with privilege. Even if they commit a serious crime they get inadequate low punishment. UEA taboo is “modern slavery” Has the lowest undernourishment rate* In UEA we can observe what people often call modern slavery. And it’s not about Arabic women, but about immigrants. There is a huge number of people from Asia working on lowest paid jobs over a doze hours a day. They live in poor conditions, are often intimidated and humiliated, with no prospects for better f...

Dubai is the city of contrasts: sand dunes and skyscrapers, camels and luxurious cars, tradition and a modern life style, wealth and unfulfilled dreams. In Dubai you can find everything, which is the tallest, the longest, the best… However this extremely fast growing (even if slow-down because of economic crises) city has also its dark side. Despite Dubai being a modern and cosmopolitan city, the emirate is still rooted in traditions. Camel racing, dhow sailing, and falconry as well traditional music, art and dance are still popular. Islam is an official religion in Dubai and is widely practiced. However there are people of different religions and nationalities (over 150) working and living together – only around 15% of Dubai population is Emirati. Despite this fact it is easy to see locals wearing traditional outfits on the street. Although it is Islamic, Dubai is really a tolerant emirate, which is hard to believe for people who haven’t been there. UEA comparing to other Ara...

What is your association with the word „puppets”? Are you in that huge group of people who connect the word with children rather than with adults? Well, thanks to “the Muppet Show” that group is smaller. I hope that if you are in that group you'll change your mind after reading the article, and if you're not you'll have fun reading it. Muppets introduction :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHYpBPQKyxM Maybe you don't consider muppets to be a good example of a show „for adults” because the puppets are so colorful and funny, but most of topics which are brought up in the show are connected with politics or culture. There are shows strictly about politics. A great example of such a show is „Splitting image” - a show created in UK : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo_kxFceq7s Such satirical shows arouse from the tradition of comedy dell'arte. A different kind of performances with the use of puppets are closer to theater rather than to TV shows...

Do you realize that a big part of visual effects which we know from movies is still connected with lots of work with real models? 3D technique plays an essential role as far as deformations, disintegration of an object or complicated camera movements are concerned. Lots of unrealistic characters are still created by mixing recorded models and postproduction in the 3d technique. First unrealistic monsters I've seen in a movie were characters from “Return of Jedi”. What's interesting ,the same artists who created Muppets, created also Jabba character. A few actors were responsible for moving the Jabba's puppet huge body, just see the link below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEBqxLsGbaw You may think that using puppets in movies is history, and you're not entirely right. The actors who animated puppets like Jabba or an Alien https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi7aQ8f7oyw are partly replaced by robots , like in “Pan's labyrinth” production : ...

When we turn the light on, we don’t think where electricity comes from. Creators of new technologies try to combine effectiveness in energy production, ecology, and interesting looks. Italian architects designed Solar Wind – a bridge that combines wind and solar power plants. There are wind turbines built into the bridge’s arches, and solar panels above the road. The bridge is supposed to produce energy non-stop. Photo by F H Mira/ flickr CC A solar-powered houseboat is another example of utilizing natural energy. The boat can sail safely through open seas, and act as a functional home for the people on-board. It moves thanks to solar energy. The boat is round and its half remains under the surface of water. On its top, the designers planned a greenhouse – a place to rest and relax. On the bottom floor there are engines and other essential machinery. The boat uses the ocean’s natural currents as well as engines powered by renewable energy. This g...

                Buying food is our everyday activity needed to let us live. Usually we don’t analyze it in detail, but I think we should read  the ingredients. It would be better for our health and life to get to know some facts about food.                               There is no need to write about fast food’s bad influence on our body, I guess. Wherever we go, whatever city it is, there are always McDonald’s and KFCs all around us and this is just because we want it! There would be no money for such business if we didn’t buy that kind of ‘food’. I know personally a girl addicted to junk food and I know that this is a serious problem.                               We can hear abou...

Everyone heard about marihuana- on TV, from friends, from the internet or even from his/her experience, but do all of us know what it really is? We are being bombarded by a huge amount of contrary information about it.  Let’s try to learn the truth.                              It is said to affect the delayed development of young people- causes concentration and memory problems. National Institute of Drug Abuse proved that only 3 for 100 regular smokers reported lack of motivation during 3-8 years. On the other hand, a psychotherapist Robert Rejniak disagrees with that opinion and says most of his patients suffer from stupor and lack of desire to live. Who should we believe?                          Another aspect of weed is its social impact. Especially on TV we can often se...

Living alone- what dio you think?                              I left my parents’ home about 1,5 year ago and I rented a flat by myself. I was sure I needed  space just for me and I haven’t changed my mind at all. Of course, sometimes there are bad days, but after all I think everyone should try it at least for a short period of time. The fact is that there are 2 types of people: lonely-lovers and those, who need another person by their side.                 Some people feel like they can’t live alone, they are getting tired staying all alone and they feel uncomfortable when there is no one in the house. That is understood, as it is said we are gregarious animals. In group of other people we feel safer, we can laugh, cry, work, cook, relax and so one and it makes us happy. Contact with dif...