Award-winning original fiction for learners of English. At seven levels, from Starter to Advanced, this impressive selection of carefully graded readers offers exciting reading for every student's capabilities. Alexandria, Egypt. Anika and Zaphira are sitting at a seafront café. Suddenly, there is a huge explosion which knocks them over and changes their lives for ever. Both teenage girls learn a lot about each other as they struggle to survive, and to understand what has happened and why. And their combined strength is a surprise to the men they come up against. This paperback contains Audio CDs with complete text recordings from the book.
Following the first volume of Remembering the Kanji, the present work provides students with helpful tools for learning the pronunciation of the kanji. Behind the notorious inconsistencies in the way the Japanese language has come to pronounce the characters it received from China lie several coherent patterns. Identifying these patterns and arranging them in logical order can reduce dramatically the amount of time spent in the brute memorization of sounds unrelated to written forms. Many of the “primitive elements,” or building blocks, used in the drawing of the characters also serve to indicate the “Chinese reading” that particular kanji use, chiefly in compound terms. By learning one of the kanji that uses such a “signal primitive,” one can learn the entire group at the same time. In this way, Remembering the Kanji 2 lays out the varieties of phonetic pattern and offers helpful hints for learning readings, that might otherwise appear completely random, in an efficient and rational way. Individual frames cross-reference the kanji to alternate readings and to the frame in volume 1 in which the meaning and writing of the kanji was first introduced. A parallel system of pronouncing the kanji, their “Japanese readings,” uses native Japanese words assigned to particular Chinese characters. Although these are more easily learned because of the association of the meaning to a single word, the author creates a kind of phonetic alphabet of single syllable words, each connected to a simple Japanese word, and shows how they can be combined to help memorize particularly troublesome vocabulary. The 4th edition has been updated to include the 196 new kanji approved by the government in 2010 as “general-use” kanji.
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • For anyone who wants to learn a foreign language, this is the method that will finally make the words stick. “A brilliant and thoroughly modern guide to learning new languages.”—Gary Marcus, cognitive psychologist and author of the New York Times bestseller Guitar Zero At thirty years old, Gabriel Wyner speaks six languages fluently. He didn’t learn them in school—who does? Rather, he learned them in the past few years, working on his own and practicing on the subway, using simple techniques and free online resources—and here he wants to show others what he’s discovered. Starting with pronunciation, you’ll learn how to rewire your ears and turn foreign sounds into familiar sounds. You’ll retrain your tongue to produce those sounds accurately, using tricks from opera singers and actors. Next, you’ll begin to tackle words, and connect sounds and spellings to imagery rather than translations, which will enable you to think in a foreign language. And with the help of sophisticated spaced-repetition techniques, you’ll be able to memorize hundreds of words a month in minutes every day. This is brain hacking at its most exciting, taking what we know about neuroscience and linguistics and using it to create the most efficient and enjoyable way to learn a foreign language in the spare minutes of your day.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is the premier public resource on scientific and technological developments that impact global security. Founded by Manhattan Project Scientists, the Bulletin's iconic "Doomsday Clock" stimulates solutions for a safer world.
Whether you want to take up Spanish from scratch or brush up on your existing skills, this practical, easy-to-follow guide is for you! Inside you'll find helpful lessons, cultural facts, handy references and much more, including a Spanish-English mini-dictionary and common verb lists. Learn how to use your skills in a variety of everyday contexts, and discover common expressions, important holidays and phrases that'll make you sound fluent. Spanish For Dummies is your one-way ticket to speaking mainland Spanish with confidence. Spanish For Dummies includes: Part I: Getting Started Chapter 1: You Already Know a Little Spanish Chapter 2: The Nitty Gritty: Basic Spanish Grammar Part II: Spanish in Action Chapter 3: Hola! Hello! Greetings and Introductions Chapter 4: Getting to Know You: Making Small Talk Chapter 5: Dining Out and Going to Market Chapter 6: Shopping Made Easy Chapter 7: Going Out on the Town Chapter 8: Enjoying Yourself: Recreation Chapter 9: Talking on the Phone Chapter 10: At the Office and Around the House Part III: Spanish on the Go Chapter 11: Money, Money, Money Chapter 12: Dónde Está? (Where Is It?): Asking Directions Chapter 13: Checking into a Hotel Chapter 14: Getting Around: Planes, Trains, Taxis, and More Chapter 15: Planning a Trip Chapter 16: Help! Handling Emergencies Part IV: The Part of Tens Chapter 17: Ten Ways to Speak Spanish Quickly Chapter 18: Ten Favourite Spanish Expressions Chapter 19: Ten Holidays to Remember Chapter 20: Ten Phrases That Make You Sound Fluent in Spanish Part V: Appendixes Appendix A: Spanish-English Mini Dictionary Appendix B: Spanish Verbs Appendix C: Spanish Facts
Executive Summary for a report which gathers & collates the best national data available to provide a reliable & comprehensive overview of American reading today. This report relies on large, nat. studies conducted on a regular basis by U.S. fed. agencies, supplemented by academic, foundation, & business surveys. Although there has been measurable progress in recent years in reading ability at the elementary school level, all progress appears to halt as children enter their teenage years. There is a general decline in reading among teenage & adult Americans. Both reading ability & the habit of regular reading have greatly declined among college grad. The declines have demonstrable social, economic, cultural, & civic implications. Charts & tables.
