How to Spot a Fake at CNBC

Wine

An increasing number of wealthy collectors are investing in art, rare collectibles and even wine. But when buying rare, trophy bottles, even the most educated connoisseur can get duped. Jamie Ritchie, President of Sotheby's Wine in the U.S. and Asia, explains how to spot a fake.

ART

Did you know the world's most valued treasures are vanishing in a multibillion-dollar black market business? 

From artwork and counterfeit wine to valuable pieces of history -- we'll take you inside the business that is 'Ripping off the Rich.'

===

cnbc -fakes   Published: Monday, 11 Mar 2013 

By: Colleen Kane  

Some fake paintings have been so convincing, they've made it all the way into auctions at Christie's and Sotheby's auction houses.

A lot of the fakes and forgeries today — Warhols, Da Vincis and more — are made in China. In this clip from the CNBC reality series "Treasure Detectives," art detective Curtis Dowling, says that famous artworks are copied by the thousands in places like Shenzen.

In an age of perfect digital reproductions that can be doctored to look like valuable original paintings, there are a few factors buyers can consider to determine a painting's authenticity.

First, Dowling says, potential buyers need to know the artist and their body of work. Look at the signature and the frame to see if anything is off. Look at the colors in the painting – not all paint colors were available in the past. That's why savvy buyers will bring a color chart to see if they spot a color that wasn't possible in the era the painting was made. 

But don't just look at the front. Flip that painting over. What surface is it painted on, and how does it sit on that? How does it feel and does it look aged enough? Considering these aspects are a few ways to avoid paying too much for a copycat.

Check out the clip and see if you can learn how to spot a fake.

(Read More: Slideshow: Fakes and Forgeries That Fooled the Experts)

the news behind the lines - Politics of the NEWSROOM

the newsroom -quotes 

Q1. What is the first question Jenny asks?
Q2. What are the first two answers to her question?
Q3. How does the moderator react when Will snaps " The New York Jets"?

Q4.  When the moderator  insists on a straight answer with 

 I'm not letting you go back to the airport without answering the question." 

what does Will say about 

US Constitution .............  

James Madison ................... and 

 The Declaration of Independence  ........................

Q5. How does Will emphasize the US are NOT 

the only ones in the world who have freedom? 

Q6. How does Will states that there is NOT

 evidence to support her initial  statement?

world figures in these concepts: 

 literacy 

 math 

 science

life expectancy. 

 infant mortality. 

 median household income

labor force exports. 

Q7. Which are the only three categories the US excell?

Q8. How does he emphasize the sentence 

"you are a member of the worst generation" 

Q9. Why does Will say "Yosemite?"?

Q10. How can you solve a problem according to Will

Explain what is his real idea about his country.

............................................

.............................................

............................................

.............................................

............................................

KEY: 

Q1. Jenny:  Can you say in one sentence or less...what... you know what I mean:

“Can you say why America is the greatest country in the world?”

Sharon: Diversity and opportunity.

Louis: Ah freedom and freedom, let’s keep it that way.


Q3. Debate Moderator: No, I’m gonna hold you to an answer on that. 

Q4. our Constitution is a masterpiece. 

James Madison was a genius. 


The Declaration of Independence is for me

the single greatest piece of American writing....

Q5. (to Lewis): And with a straight face, you tell students that America is so star-spangled awesome that we're the only ones in the world who have freedom? Canada has freedom. Japan has freedom. The U.K. France. Italy. Germany. Spain. Australia. 

BELGIUM has freedom. (laughs) out of 207 sovereign states in the world, like,  180 of them have freedom.

Q6. We're seventh in literacy. Twenty-seventh in math. Twenty-second in science. Forty-ninth in life expectancy. A hundred and seventy-eighth in infant mortality. Third in median household income. Number four in labor force and number four in exports. 

Q7. We lead the world in 

Number of incarcerated citizens per capita, 

number of adults who believe angels are real, 

and defense spending, where we spend more than the next twenty-six 

countries combined, twenty-five of whom are allies.

Q8.  you nonetheless are without a doubt a member of the worst, period, generation, period, ever, period. 

Q9 . Physical empty space !! Ironic

Q10. First step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one. 
America is not the greatest country in the world anymore



For a full activity on accuracy homework, visit  119eng.com

soothsayers had the very best

Don't go West young man. (Advice to Columbus.)

I. A Voyage to Asia would require three years.
II. The western Ocean is infinite and perhaps   

         unnavigable.
III. If he reached the Antipodes he could not get back.
IV There are no Antipodes because the greater part 

   of the globe is covered with water, and because 

  St. Augustine said so.
V. Of the five zones, only three are habitable.
VI. So many centuries after the Creation,

    it is unlikely that anyone could find unknown lands      of any value.

- Report of the committee organized in 1486

 by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella  to study Columbus' plans

Aeroplanes and fear of flying

Samuel Langley's experiments with airplanes

Comment in the New York Times one week before the successful flight of the Kitty Hawk by the Wright brothers:

"...We hope that Professor Langley will not put his substantial greatness as a scientist in further peril by continuing to waste his time and the money involved, in further airship experiments. Life is short, and he is capable of services to humanity incomparably greater than can be expected to result from trying to fly....For students and investigators of the Langley type there are more useful employments."

Source: New York Times, December 10,1903, editorial page

I confess that in 1901 I said to my brother Orville
that man would not fly for fifty years.
Two years later we ourselves made flights.
This demonstration of my impotence as a prophet
gave me such a shock that ever since
I have distrusted myself and avoided all predictions.

- Wilbur Wright (1867-1912) 

[In a speech to the Aero Club of France (Nov 5, 1908)]

Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value.

- Marshal Ferdinand Foch, French military strategist, 1911. He was later a World War I commander.

Space travel

• A rocket will never be able to leave the Earth's atmosphere.

The New York Times, January 13, 1920.
The Times offered a retraction on July 17, 1969, (Apollo 11)

 Nuclear energy

There is not the slightest indication that [nuclear energy] 

will ever be obtainable. It would mean that 

the atom would have to be shattered at will.

- Albert Einstein, 1932.

 

manufacturing cars

• With over fifteen types of foreign cars already on sale here, 

• the Japanese auto industry isn't likely to carve out a big share of the market for itself.           Businessweek, August 2, 1968.

Computers

There is no reason for any individual 

to have a computer in their home.

- Kenneth Olsen, president of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977.

The planet in numbers: urban life outgrows rural life

A new vision for the city of the future

As the world population expands, cities will have to transform to meet the challenge. Here come foldable cars and flexible apartments.

By Alex Konrad, reporter

FORTUNE -- A small vehicle that looks like a Jetsons version of a smart car rests in a room at MIT's Media Lab. Here's how it works. When parking, the rear of the electric CityCar slides under the chassis, allowing the body to fold up into a compact shell. Once folded, the CityCar will fit into a space just one-third the size of a standard parking spot. A single door on the front of the car pops open, allowing the driver to step out onto the sidewalk.

The CityCar is just one example of how MIT's Changing Places group envisions the urban lifestyle of 2022. In October the world population hit 7 billion, and now for the first time in history more than half of the world's population lives in urban centers. MIT is studying how to house and move all those people in ways that will make urban living still bearable. Says Kent Larson, the program's director: "We're focusing on more efficient uses of resources, on ways to lower costs and energy use and at the same time increase personal space."

                      Debate 

Agree and disagree

Arguments Against:

• Large modern cities are too big to control.
• Trains are packed; streets are crowded; busses are full. There are bus queues and traffic jams everywhere.
• Unforeseen events (e.g. power-cut, heavy snowfall, etc.) can cause conditions of utter chaos.
• City-dwellers are barely conscious of seasons. 
• The cost of living is higher in big cities.
• Cities breed crime and violence; houses are burgled; bicycles stolen.
• Tension in big cities shortens people's lives.
• Pollution in big cities is becoming dangerous to your health.
• City people are not a warm-hearted and friendly as country people.
• The country is a better place for children and much safer.
• People lose too much time getting to work.
• Contagious diseases become a serious health hazard.
• Too many temptations present potential trouble for young people.
• Too many evil people flock to the cities for better opportunities for their crimes.

Arguments in Favor:

• Modern man is too sophisticated for simple country pleasures.
• Commuting does not affect those who live in cities; it is only a small inconvenience.
• People easily adapt themselves to city life; noise, traffic, etc. are hardly noticed.
• there are more places for entertainment.
• Life is never dull; there is always something to do.
• There are better schools and services in big cities.
• There is a greater range of jobs and the pay is higher.
• There is more opportunity to succeed in life.
• There is more opportunity to meet a variety of interesting people.
• The educational level is higher; it is a better place for children.
• There is more choice of schools.
• The shopping has a wider variety and prices are better.

B2 -tests links

Try these three links to train for the B2 tests

Cambridge First Certificate in English - FCE

oficial site CAE

Sample papers and other materials are available for all the exams listed on the page. 

The FCE has samples of Speaking performance. These enable you to hear what a typical learner at that level can achieve in terms of spoken communication

1. English Tests

2 Full Tests here

2. Exam English ✓

What is the FCE test like?

The test has five sections. Try these three:

1. Reading - 60 minutes
2. Use of English - 45 minutes
3. Listening - 40 minutes 

Those tapas away from home at El Mediterraneo

16-22 August 2013 #669   Nepali Times Buzz

El Mediterraneo    Time to savour those tapas

The first time I stepped into El Mediterraneo was for an evening of beer with friends. Food clearly wasn’t the focus of the night. However, chef and owner Bibushan Raj Joshi kept pouring yummy complimentary tapas and even a baked apple. By the end, I was convinced that I had to put it on my review list. This week I finally got around to going in again.

El Mediterraneo has a simple and inviting decor, white walls, blue ceiling, and wooden furniture, with a bar on the side. The menu was quite refreshing, sans the long list of regular Nepali favourites along with Chinese, Thai, and Italian as dished out by most restaurants in Kathmandu. 

But El Mediterraneo is what it says it is: a Spanish restaurant with tapas.

PICS: PM

• With gazpacho (Rs 220) on the list, we decided to forgo drinks and order straight. In simple terms gazpacho is a tomato-based soup, served cold. We were very impressed by El Mediterraneo’s gazpacho - cold, refreshing, and smooth. The tomato, vegetables, and herbs had been puréed to a smooth consistency and the flavours blended well in every spoonful. The start was good.
• Next we had tortilla de patatas (Rs 220), Spanish omelette with potatoes and onions. The eggs had been beautifully layered with potatoes and cooked just right. There wasn’t much to complain about the dish, although personally I would have preferred a side of salsa or sauce to add a bit of spice to the bland combination.

For the mains we ordered seafood paella (Rs 480) and vegetarian fideos (Rs 400). Although we were wowed by the starters, the mains didn’t excite us much. 

• When our seafood paella (like Biriyani, it says on the menu) arrived, it looked like the cook had simply dropped a dollop of rice on a white plate without any effort to improve its appeal. The dish certainly tasted better than it looked and I could feel the ingredients of the sofrito as I took a mouthful. But since the rice had not been cooked in seafood broth it lacked that specific flavour. I should also mention, I almost had to fish for the seafood in my seafood paella.
• Our vegetarian fideos looked even less appealing than the paella and unfortunately this time we were correct to judge the food by its cover. The noodles had been broken into inch-long pieces and cooked fine, but the dish lacked flavour. And I understand if the restaurant had to be stingy with seafood, but vegetables? The fideos could have used a little more.

• The mousse de lima (Rs 170) or lemon mousse was the saving grace. It had been beautifully set in a glass and set to a fine consistency. The sweetness was just right and you could taste the delightful lemon flavour of the mousse. Highly recommended.
• We also tried natillas, a Spanish custard made with milk and eggs, and topped with a biscuit. The custard hadn’t set very well but the flavour was quite good. However, I think the restaurant was supposed to add the biscuit only at the time of serving. Our biscuit had spent a while in the fridge with the custard. It was soggy and didn’t add anything to the dessert.

• Our beginning and end at El Mediterraneo was great, but the mains were disappointing. 
• The restaurant has a unique positioning and can garner a niche if it pays attention to the details of a dish. 
• Also, Chef Joshi would do well to train his staff in hospitality skills, which was the reason that bought me here in the first place. 
• And a side note to diners: specify what kind of water you want, otherwise you will end up paying for an expensive mineral water. 

Buena suerte!

Detroit, the case of the shrinking city

A case in point, DETROIT

All sorts of things are happening in Detroit that don’t seem to be happening in many, if any, other places.

The best-known of those is the city’s depopulation trend. That’s been happening for a while now, but over the first decade of the 21st century, just as we started to read stories about how Detroit had turned a corner after 40 years or so and was finally ready for a comeback, the bottom fell out. 

• In 1950, it had nearly 1.9 million people and was the fifth-largest city in the US. 
  • In 2000, the city had just under a million residents and was the tenth-largest city in the US by population. 
  • By 2010, Detroit’s population cratered to 713,777 – a 25% decline in a single decade.
  
  One thing about this data that catches my eye is that the population of the larger Detroit region doesn’t change that much between 1970 (about 4.5 million) and 2010 (about 4.3 million). 
  I don’t really see how a city can lose 25% of its population and be healthy. It’s possible that Detroit is now at its optimal size, but I’m going to wait for some concrete results before I’ll believe that the city has finally risen, phoenix-like, from the ashes.

REACTIONS. Defend them

The Telegraph visits the abandoned skyscrapers of Detroit, USA, 

 Alastair Good meets the residents who are searching for solutions.

•  Everyone has left the city, and the government remains. Has it ever occurred to anyone that the problem is government? 
• I have been telling the people that I have the solution for Detroit: Lease Detroit  to the chinese for 99 years. They would transform it into an emporium of manufacturing, financial mecca and a mega distribution neural center.
• That GM, Ford and all of the other companies that used to reside here are now gone because of rules, regulations and policies implemented by government? 
• I wonder what would happen if the Detroit government relocated somewhere? 
• I can only imagine the industriousness that would return, once all of the barriers to entry were dismantled and free enterprise/free reign on ideas was allowed to flourish. 
• Liberals wince and foam at the mouth at a notion like that. However, that is what this nation was founded upon. 
• Maybe we could create a 'private property/free enterprise zone' within Detroit.....ONLY Detroit.....and watch and wait to see what happens. If it fails, the city would be no worse off than it is now. If it succeeded, Michigan could slowly extend this zone out to encompass larger and larger areas and become a powerhouse.

New trends: changes in populating cities Lisbon and Birmingham (US)

The biggest trends: metropolis and con-urban areas and shrinking cities.

1- Europe:  Abandoned Lisbon

A recent piece written in El País talks about how Lisbon has lost 100,000 people per decade for the last 30 years.  The reasons they list include:

•  poor condition of public services like schools and hospitals, 
• and the fact that property in Lisbon costs 3 times more than in surrounding municipalities. 

It is such factors that have landed both Lisboa and Portugal’s second city, Porto, in the EU’s top ten most quickly shrinking cities.

Speaking with neighbors and friends, you hear the frustration that something more isn’t being done to renovate, restore, or above all – make use of these spaces somehow.  Through the eyes of someone who has seen the beauty of Amsterdam’s squat movement, or Copenhagen’s Christiania, there is a lack of creativity is this legendary capital city when it comes to reclaiming abandoned and forgotten spaces. But what is being done on a small or large scale in Lisbon? And why can’t more be done? Why not get radical and yes, a little crazy, when it comes to policies regarding abandoned property 

2. USA -The rust belt
Medium size towns  BIRMINGHAM (USA)

The population drained from a peak of 340,887 in 1960 to about 231,000 today.

Birmingham is one of the nation's fastest-shrinking cities, yet it has an ever-growing, world-class medical center. The metro area's growth lags, but many suburbs prosper. Middle-class flight has left pools of concentrated poverty.   By Jeff Hansen

On any given weekday, the corner of University Boulevard and 20th Street South is jammed with people and traffic. The bustling intersection is the doorstep of the University of Alabama at Birmingham -- and the heartbeat of the region's economy.

Just four miles away, in Birmingham's Ensley neighborhood, abandoned homes and businesses scar block after block. At 20th Street Ensley and Pleasant Hill Road are the remains of the Ensley Works, furnaces where thousands of people once made steel. Today, 18 rusting smokestacks stand sentry above fields of waist-high grass, the lost heart of a community whose population has plunged more than any other in the city.

Both intersections show the realities of life today in metropolitan Birmingham: 

• One hails the best hopes for the future of Alabama's largest urban region -- a robust economic center built around a cutting-edge medical center and university. 
• The other exposes the poverty and abandonment that is the Rust Belt of the South.

Between these extremes is Birmingham's struggle to thrive as a city and region.

Of the 15 American cities that have lost the largest share of their populations since 1960, 14 are in the industrial Northeast and upper Midwest -- areas traditionally known as the Rust Belt. No. 15 on that list is Birmingham

emphasizing emphasis You need love

em·pha·sis  (mf-ss)

n. pl. em·pha·ses (-sz)

1. Special forcefulness of expression that 
gives importance to something singled out.

Study how the  Beatles do the Fronting syntax device:
Love is all you need

The only thing you need is love = 
   ALL you need is love

Study these other ways:
1-Adverb: 
You need love. Absolutely
You need love. Exactly

Absolutely is perhaps the strongest. 
If you use exactly, you are emphasizing that what someone has said is 100% correct

2- Reflexive pronouns: 

You yourselves need love 

3-Inversions:
Never should you be deprived of your need for love

4-Cleft Sentences: It

Sentences introduced by 'It is' or 'It was' are often used to emphasize a specific subject or object. The introductory clause is then followed by a relative pronoun.

 Example: It is you who need love 
                  It is love what you need

5- Cleft Sentences: What

Sentences introduced by a clause beginning with 'What' are also used to emphasize a specific subject or object. The clause introduced by 'What' is employed as the subject of the sentence as is followed by the verb 'to be'.

Example: What you need is a good long love. 

Other forms:

You need to be loved. It's true.

You need love, you do.

You DO need love

You need love, and only love.

Love and only love is what you need

• How to emphasize a situation/element (forum.wordreference.com) :
• One must highlight  we all need love
  it must be underlined the fact that you need love
  You must draw your attention to the bare fact that you need love

Collocations on emphasis

▪  add, give, lay, place, put, shift

Future of food

watch TEDTALKS

Andras Forgacs: 

Leather and meat without killing animals

Two other ideas:

1- Vertical Organic Farming and Its Challenges - 

Published on Mar 7, 2013

Check out some Home made energy Product :
http://www.dailysmartstuff.com/2013/0...

Source : http://www.dailysmartstuff.com/2013/0...

Rice on the seventh floor. Wheat on the twelfth. And enough food within an 18-story tower to feed a small city of 50,000 PEOPLE.

This IS Vertical farming . Vertical farms, where staple crops could be grown in environmentally friendly .

2- A high-tech portable vegetable farm 

it was designed and built in Japan will soon be heading to Qatar.

The innovative project is part of an effort by the desert gulf state to find ways to tackle its food security problem and grow more at home.

Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett reports from Tokyo.

challenges and changes

Generation X

Facing challenges and changes as we get older is a part of life. How we deal with those challenges and changes reflects on who we are and how we will continue to grow.

Generation X has always been the generation that does not accept doing things a certain way just because that’s how they have always been done. We resisted that as teenagers; we drove our parent’s crazy with our insistence on doing things our own way. Are we still resisting conformity? How do you handle life’s challenges? Here are 10 “challenges/changes” quotes that I find inspiring; I hope you will as well Xers.

"Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful." -Joshua J. Marine
 

"The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own. No apologies or excuses. No one to lean on, rely on, or blame. The gift is yours - it is an amazing journey - and you alone are responsible for the quality of it. This is the day your life really begins.” -Bob Moawad
 

"If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it." -Mary Engelbreit 

"Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm." -Abraham Lincoln 

"The most effective way to do it is to do it."
-Amelia Earhart

"Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are." -Bernice Johnson Reagon 

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." -Eleanor Roosevelt

It is never too late to become what you might have been." -George Eliot 

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I... I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." - Robert Frost
 

Is English really a global language?

Discuss in groups (2+2) 

and justify your answer 

with examples answers in detail

- See more at this link: 

1- some place just show disinterest in adopting English as the "global language" They keep to their mothertongue and show less interest in educating their young English. i.e. Germany, Japan, France  

2- English has become a global language.  To a great extent, it always had been.  The dominance of England around the globe as a colonial power followed by the emergence of America as a world power had always put English as a language that had been on the world's stage for some time.  I would say that with the growth of the internet and the free exchange of ideas through technology, English has become an even more global language because the world has become more global.  The issue here is the term "global."

  The globalization that has occurred has taken down much of the traditional barriers.  Along with the fashion and the temperaments, the language has become appropriated.  Certainly, there are some areas where English is not going to be spoken.  Yet, I truly do believe that in an overall and global sense, English has become more present throughout the world and has become a global language, where more of the world citizens are cognizant of it than other languages.  If one goes to an airport, signs are written in local languages and English.  This is something to be expected and would suggest its global nature. 

3- the international language of business has been English for quite some time, reflecting the 20th century dominance of the American economy.  With the United States being such a huge market for goods from around the world, it became necessary and efficient for exporter countries to use English as the language of trade.

True, there are places where English would get you nowhere.  Much of Africa, some of Latin America, parts of Asia and Eastern Europe still do not have English widely spoken or used in business or otherwise.  I don't think that changes the fact that English is a global language.  It just means it's not a universal one.

-

4- English is very much an international language, as it is the most commonly used language for communication between people speaking different native languages. This includes cases in which English is not the native language of any of the communicating parties.

It is quite true that there are many languages which are native language for far greater number of people than English. But none of these languages have as many non-native speakers as English. Thus those languages in spite of being most widely spoken languages do not qualifuy as global languages. They continue to be just native languages.

5- As a traveler in Europe, I'm often ashamed at how well most Europeans speak English and how poorly I speak any of their languages.  When I have a chance to talk with any of them for any length of time, I realize how woefully inadequate our foreign language education is.  Many of them begin learning other languages in elementary school, which explains their proficiency as adults.  

Twice on sleeper trains traveling through Europe I had interesting language experiences.  Once I was in a cabin with a couple who, upon learning I was an American, immediately brought their twenty-somethingdaughter in and made her talk with me.  She told me they wanted to see if all the money they spent for her to become fluent in English was worth it.  They just sat and listened most of the time, but they seemed pleased that she could communicate in English pretty well.  Another time I was in a cabin with a mother and her three sons, ranging in age from probably 20 to 14.  The oldest son spoke some English, and we spent hours learning and practicing (and laughing at, of course) each other's language.  Foreign exchange students are the same way--eager to learn English.  What these experiences say to me is that whether or not anyone wants it to be, English is a preferred language in many placed all over the world.  -

6- I think that English is spoken in many countries througout the world, but in Asia, I found out that it is NOT the case in Japan except in cities like Takayama or others. 

On my first trip here, I got lost in OSaka and went to the police box called a koban. I told them I was lost, but not one policman there, spoke the language. I was there for about 1.5 hours until they could find another policeman that spoke English and he told them clearly what was the problem. After that, I was on my way. I have found that in my travels to Japan, not many Japanese speak English here. But I have encountered many Chinese here that do speak English quite well. My other language is Spanish..but that of course is even spoken less than English here!!