Speed Debate Topics

1) The Internet will/will not bring interpersonal relations closer.
2) Athletes have/do not have too much status in our society
3) The students should/should not run the school
4) Art is in the eye of the beholder
5) Privacy is more important than security
6) Love is foolish
7) What costs little is of little worth

You should prepare for a quiz on simple past and present verb tenses. To help you get ready, I have found an online quiz. This online quiz uses the same format as the test you will be given next week. The URL for the quiz is here: http://esl.about.com/library/quiz/bl_pastorperfect1.htm. It consists of 30 multiple choice questions. Use your mouse to click on the circle representing the best answer, then click the "next question" box to go to the next question. After you have answered all 30 fill-in-the-blank sentences, the website will provide you with a score and feedback on how to improve. Practice well. If you are able to get a high score on this practice test, you will certainly score high on the exam in class. The text in class will include 10 questions similar to the ones on this practice exam.

Film dialogue/skit (for Nov. 10)

Assignment: Work in a group of 2 or 3 students. Write a dialogue or skit related to what kinds of movies you like/dislike. Your dialogue should be at least three minutes and no more than five. It must include the following eight vocabulary words:

spaghetti western
script
special effects
director
thrill
scene
suspense
surreal

These are technical words common in discussing movies.

If you need an explanation of any of the words, I recommend this website: http://www.filmsite.org/filmterms1.html.

Business Terms

The following terms are used in finance and business. Please study them--they are likely to be on the exam. Make sure you know 1) what the terms mean in a business context, and 2) how to define them using your available English vocabulary.

appreciation
asset
backup
bonus
breach of contract
browser
cash
closing
cold call
compensation
copyright
corporation
credit rating
default
entrepeneur
FAQs
fair use
firewall
foot traffic
interest
invoice
lease
letter of intent
liability
market share
merger
partnership
patent
pay period
power of attorney
press release
profit sharing
public domain
public relations
salary
sexual harassment
stock option
trademark
venture capital
warranty

Rules for Kickball

The rules for kickball are closely related to those of baseball. The main difference is that kickball involves a large bouncing ball. The ball is about the size of a soccer ball.

Kickball is played on a field with 4 bases arranged on the corners of a diamond-shaped "infield". Player positions are also similar to those of baseball. There is an "infield" (with defensive players near the bases) and an "outfield" (with defensive players beyond the bases to catch the ball if it is kicked far).

Game play goes as follows: the ball is rolled towards home plate, and the player who is up ( i.e., kicking ), tries to kick the ball. If the ball is caught in the air, the kicker is out, and he or she sits down. A player is also out if the ball is thrown at them, and hits them while they are not touching a base. If a thrown ball misses them, they may only run to the next base, which is known on the kickball field as the "one base on an overthrow" rule. Also similar to baseball, if the ball is thrown to the first baseman, and it is caught by the first baseman while he or she is touching first base, the player running to first base is out. This is known as a "forced out" in that the runner was forced to run to that base. A "forced out" can occur on any base that a runner is forced to run to.

Once a team gets 3 outs, the teams switch sides. A team gets one point for having a runner make it all the way around the bases and back to home base. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.

The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me)
by Tom Waits

The piano has been drinking, my necktie is asleep
And the combo went back to New York, the jukebox has to take a leak
And the carpet needs a haircut, and the spotlight looks like a prison break
Cause the telephone’s out of cigarettes, and the balcony is on the make
And the piano has been drinking
The piano has been drinking, and the menus are all freezing
And the light man’s blind in one eye and he can’t see out of the other
And the piano tuner’s got a hearing aid, and he showed up with his mother
And the piano has been drinking
The piano has been drinking
As the bouncer is a sumo wrestler, cream-puff Casper Milktoast
And the owner is a mental midget with the IQ of a fence post
Cause the piano has been drinking
The piano has been drinking
And you can’t find your waitress with a Geiger counter
And she hates you and your friends and you just can’t get served without her
And the box-office is drooling, and the bar stools are on fire
And the newspapers were fooling, and the ashtrays have retired
Cause the piano has been drinking
The piano has been drinking
The piano has been drinking
not me
not me
not me
not me
not
me

"Guitar Town" by Steve Earle

Hey pretty baby are you ready for me
It's your good rockin' daddy down from Tennessee
I'm just out of Austin bound for San Antone
With the radio blastin' and the bird dog on
There's a speed trap up ahead in Selma Town
But no local yokel gonna shut me down
'Cause me and my boys got this rig unwound
And we've come a thousand miles from a Guitar Town

Nothin' ever happened 'round my hometown
And I ain't the kind to just hang around
But I heard someone callin' my name one day
And I followed that voice down the lost highway
Everybody told me you can't get far
On thirty-seven dollars and a jap guitar
Now I'm smokin' into Texas with the hammer down
And a rockin' little combo from the Guitar Town

Hey pretty baby don't you know it ain't my fault
I love to hear the steel belts hummin' on the asphalt
Wake up in the middle of the night in a truck stop
Stumble in the restaurant wonderin' why I don't stop

Gotta keep rockin' why I still can
I gotta two pack habit and a motel tan
But when my boots hit the boards I'm a brand new man
With my back to the riser I make my stand
And hey pretty baby won't you hold me tight
We're loadin' up and rollin' out of here tonight
One of these days I'm gonna settle down
And take you back with me to the Guitar Town