notefull world issue 1 pdf

NoteFull WorldIssue 1 September 2013

NoteFull World Table of Contents:

School Shooting Thwarted 2New Malaria Vaccine 3Fall TV Preview 3Celebrate Labor Day 5Compose the Perfect Email 6Go Local with Yelp 8All About the TOEFL 9Fun With English 10

Congratulations

Vanan Saravanan!

August Student of the Month

Welcome!We have created this great, newstudent magazine to introduceyou to the NoteFull community,further challenge you in yourTOEFL and ESL studies, entertainand inform you, and enhanceyour overall NoteFull experience.We hope you enjoy it.~Leah Watt & The NoteFull Team

This is our “Congratulations” section for students that have passedthe TOEFL and can say “good-bye” to it once and for all.

If you would like to be included in this section of an upcoming issueof NoteFull World, please send an email to

[email protected] with “NoteFull World” in the sub-ject line. Please tell us your name and a short comment about your

TOEFL experience. Here are a couple of examples:

Jack Richards – “I rocked the TOEFL with 116!”

Mohammad – “I got my 26 in speaking! Good-bye, TOEFL.”

TOEFL Success!

Note News…Stop by NoteFull.com to check out our awesome NEW:

● Free TOEFL Training Program● Motivation page with personal counseling and support● Success Stories page, featuring our new Student of the

Month● Meet the Staff page (coming soon!)

Questions? Concerns? Comments? Send an email to:[email protected]… We’re here to help.

As you read the following news piece, you will notice that certain words are in bold. These are defined at the endof the article. Also following the article, there are several questions about what you read. We encourage you touse these questions to practice your writing and speaking skills. You do not need to send us your answers,although we are always more than happy to hear from students and invite you to submit feedback anytime.

A school bookkeeper, who single-handedly preventeda school shooting, is being hailed as a hero. Shots werefired but no one was hurt when 20-year-old MichaelBrandon Hill entered Ronald E. McNair DiscoveryLearning Academy in Decatur, GA on August 20,carrying an AK-47 and nearly 500 rounds of ammuni-tion.

Antoinette Tuff, who works in the front office, encoun-tered the suspect shortly after he entered the elementaryschool. Working quickly to deescalate the crisis, Tuffbegan talking to Hill, divulging personal struggles andeven revealing her own suicide attempt. In a calmmanner, she acted as a go-between, relaying Hill'sdemands to a 911 dispatcher and the police. Mean-while, she signaled the crisis to other school employ-ees, who alerted teachers. The school's 870pre-kindergarten to fifth grade students were safelyevacuated. Tuff encouraged Hill to surrender and evenoffered to walk outside with him so that the policewouldn't shoot. When Hill agreed to turn himself in,Tuff said that she loved him and was proud of what hewas doing.

During the crisis, Hill admitted to being mentally un-stable and says that he should have gone to a mentalhospital instead of the school. He said that he didn'twant to hurt the children, but wanted the police. Ac-cording to Tuff, “He said he don't care if he die. Hedon't have nothin' to live for.” His brother, TimothyHill, told CBS News that Michael Hill suffers frombipolar disorder and is schizophrenic.

Tuff's calm handling of the situation is nothing short ofimpressive and has made her a nationwide hero, espe-cially when the country is still in shock from last year'selementary school shooting in Connecticut, which

claimed the lives of twenty children and six adult staffmembers. President Obama even called Tuff personallyto relay his family's gratitude.

Helpful Words:

hailed: verb; to acclaim; approve enthusiastically

ammunition: noun; the material fired, scattered,dropped, or detonated from any weapon

deescalate: verb (used with object); to decrease in inten-sity or magnitude

divulging: verb; to disclose or reveal

(911) dispatcher: noun; a person who filters emergencycommunication

bipolar disorder: noun; an affective disorder character-ized by periods of mania alternating with periods ofdepression, usually interspersed with relatively long in-tervals of normal mood.

schizophrenic: adjective; a person who suffers fromschizophrenia (noun), a severe mental disorder charac-terized by some, but not necessarily all, of the followingfeatures: emotional blunting, intellectual deterioration,social isolation, disorganized speech and behavior, delu-sions, and hallucinations.

Questions to Consider:

What was your impression of the events surroundingthis crisis?Do you consider Antoinette Tuff's actions heroic? Didshe handle the situation appropriately?



How do you define “hero”? Who has been a hero inyour life?How do you think you would respond to a similar crisis?Has your community ever experienced a tragedy likethis one? How did people respond?Have you ever deescalated a crisis? What happenedand what did you do?What was your reaction to the news of the Connecticutschool shooting in December 2012?Do you think this tragedy necessitates gun control re-form?How should schools equip their staff to deal with suchcrises?

Last month U.S. researchers reported a break-through in the search for a malaria vaccine. Malar-ia is a mosquito-borne disease that sickens anestimated 200 million every year, killing about 1million. About 3.3 billion people live in at-riskareas throughout the world.

A trial, which spanned from October 2011 toOctober 2012 involved 57 human subjects, 40 ofwhom received a vaccine produced using samplesof Plasmodium falciparum, the single-celled para-site that causes malaria. The vaccine, which wasadministered intravenously, showed 100% suc-cess in protecting subjects from the disease. Moretesting is required, but these results are very prom-ising.

The vaccine was produced by the Maryland-basedcompany, Sanaria Inc., and tested by the NationalInstitute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, theWalter Reed Army Institute of Research, and theNaval Medical Research Center.

DadsFoxPremieres: Tuesday, September 17 at 8/7c

A new comedy from SethMacFarlane, Dads starsSeth Green and GiovanniRibisi as video game de-velopers whose dads movein with them; hilarity en-sues.

The Million Second QuizNBCPremieres: Monday, September 9 at 8/7c

Hosted by Ryan Seacrest,this almost too-bizarre-to-believe reality show filmscontestants from an hour-glass-shaped structure inManhattan, where they liveand compete 24/7 for 12days.

Autumn is just around the corner. For TV buffs thatmeans the release of some of this year's most anticipat-ed new television shows. Here are a few of the new TVshows -sitcom, drama, thriller, or otherwise- hittingthe major networks this fall:

Sleepy HollowFoxPremieres: Monday, September 16 at 9/8c

Starring Tom Mison asIchabod Crane, SleepyHollow is yet another re-telling of the classic tale byWashington Irving but thistime with a modern twist.

New FallTV


DraculaNBCPremieres: Friday, October 25 at 10/9c

The OriginalsCWPremieres: Thursday, October 3 at 9/8c

Back in the GameABCPremieres: Wednesday, September 25 at 8/7c

This heartwarming, base-ball-centered comedy starsJames Caan and MaggieLawson as father-daughterLittle League coaches.

Lucky 7ABCPremieres: Tuesday, September 24 at 10/9c

Lucky 7 follows sevenlucky (or not-so-lucky?)Queens gas station em-ployees, who win the lot-tery.

Cold JusticeTNTPremieres: Tuesday, September 3 at 10/9c

A new reality show fromDick Wolf, former prose-cutor Kelly Seigler andformer crime-scene inves-tigator Yolanda McClary,attempt to solve unsolvedsmall-town murders.

In this suspense thriller, arogue FBI agent kidnapsthe family of a surgeonwho is hired to operate onthe President of the UnitedStates. Lives are threat-ened lest the surgeon killthe president.

A quirky comedy frommembers of the team thatcreated the cinema cultclassic, The Office, HelloLadies follows the come-dic romantic woes of anEnglish web designer inLos Angeles.

More Shows Premiering This Fall:

On Fox:Almost Human (Monday, Nov. 4 at 8/7c)Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Tuesday, Sep. 17 at 8/7c)Enlisted (Friday, Nov. 8 at 9/8c)Masterchef Junior (Friday, Sep. 27 at 8/7c)

Hello LadiesHBOPremieres: Sunday, September 29 at 10/9c

If tales of the headlesshorseman don't interestyou, then how about a re-vamping of Bram Stoker'sclassic vampire tale? Jona-than Rhys Meyers starts asDracula, a revenge-seekingvampire in London.

HostagesCBSPremieres: Monday, September 23 at 10/9c

Fans of The Vampire Dia-ries should appreciate thisspin-off, which follows theoriginal vampire family asthey return to New Orleansto reign over an army ofwitches and vampires.


More Shows Premiering This Fall:On NBC:The Blacklist (Monday, Sep. 23 at 10/9c)Ironside (Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 10/9c)The Michael J. Fox Show (Thursday, Sep. 26 at9/8c)Sean Saves the World (Thursday, Oct. 3 at 9/8c)Welcome to the Family (Thursday, Oct. 3 at8/7c)

On ABC:Betrayal (Sunday, Sep. 29 at 10/9c)The Goldbergs (Tuesday, Sep. 24 at 9/8c)Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Tuesday, Sep.24 at 8/7c)Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (Thursday,Oct. 10 at 8/7c)Super Fun Night (Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 9/8c)Trophy Wife (Tuesday, Sep. 24 at 9/8c)

On CW:Reign (Thursday, Oct. 17 at 9/8c)The Tomorrow People (Wednesday, Oct. 9 at9/8c)

On CBS:The Crazy Ones (Thursday, Sep. 26 at 9/8c)The Millers (Thursday, Sep. 26 at 8/7c)Mom (Monday, Sep. 23 at 9/8c)We Are Men (Monday, Sep. 30 at 8/7c)

On Lifetime:Witches of East End (Sunday, Oct. 6 at 10/9c)

Which shows do

you want to see?

CulturalCorner

(September 2; observed annually on the first Mon-day in September)

If you're living in the United States, then chancesare Labor Day did not go unnoticed. It is an Ameri-can holiday that celebrates the contributions ofworkers to American industry and society. It wasinitially celebrated by some thirty individual statesbut was declared a national holiday in 1894 shortlyafter the Pullman Strike, a nationwide railroadstrike, which resulted in the deaths of thirty workersat the hands of U.S. military and U.S. Marshals.

Since it is a national holiday and a day to celebrateworkers, all banks and federal offices close, as wellas most businesses and corporations. Several retail-ers remain open, however, tempting the large num-bers of consumers available to shop with sales andpromotions. As such, many “celebrate” Labor Dayby shopping, making it one of the biggest sales daysin America (second only to Black Friday).

Other Labor Day celebrations include parades andfestivals honoring American workers. Because La-bor Day is also the symbolic “end of summer” andmarks the start of the school season, many Ameri-can families take advantage of this final opportunityto barbecue, swim, boat, camp, and indulge in othersummertime activities. The holiday also marks thestart of the American football season and is the lastday of the year when it is fashionable to wear white.

What unique holiday does your country observe? Sendan email to [email protected] with the subjectline “NoteFull World Cultural Corner” and tell us thename of your country, the holiday, and a short descrip-tion of how you celebrate.

Since many NoteFull students are either currently living in North America or applying for schools and employ-ment opportunities within the United States, we offer this special section devoted to all things American. This isan opportunity for you to learn about American culture and customs.

Today we begin with a lesson on how to compose theperfect email. Knowing how to construct an email isimportant, especially in professional situations. Ifyou're applying for a job, an email is your introductionto a potential employer, so it's crucial that his or herfirst impression of you not be spoiled by a poorlywritten email. Moreover, unless you're correspondingwith a family member or close friend, it's important tofollow a defined format in composing an email. Even ifyou have an established relationship with the emailrecipient, such as with a colleague, employer, profes-sor, or family doctor, it's still important to observecertain formalities in order to convey your profession-alism and respect. Follow these few simple rules andyou'll be composing awesome emails in no time.

Writing the Perfect Subject Line

Always include a subject line when sending an email.This should reflect the content of the email and be asspecific as necessary. For example, if you are sendingan email to colleagues letting them know that a meetingtime has changed, a strong subject line might read,“Weekly meeting changed from 2:00 to 4:30,” whereasa vague subject reads, “Meeting.” Although the bodycontent of the email might elaborate, such as to thereason for the time change or who is expected to beabsent, the subject line conveys enough information forotherwise-busy coworkers to register the importantfacts.

Avoid using overly strong language that suggests anemergency in the subject line. The definition of anemergency varies from person to person. So, while youmight be struggling and require assistance, the personthat you're emailing might not agree that your situationwarrants a subject line like “Emergency!” or “Urgent.”Again, take advantage of the subject line to restate the

content of the email; if the person you're correspondingwith agrees that your “emergency” warrants an immedi-ate reply, he or she will comply. Instead of writing“HELP ME NOW” in the subject line of an email to yourcompany's tech support team, try saying, “Please help meinstall the new OS so I can finish my reports.” Also,always avoid using CAPITALS in both the subject lineand body of the email.

If it is the first time you're sending an email to a personor company, use the subject line to introduce yourself.This is especially important if you are sending applica-tion materials to a university or potential employer. Forexample, try writing, “Sarah Stevenson MBA Applica-tion Materials,” instead of “Application” or worse still,“app.”

Here are a few more examples:


Weak Subject Lines Strong Subject Lines

“tomorrow's appointment” “A quick reminder aboutour 1 PM appointment on

Tuesday”

“HELP!” “Our water heater is bro-ken”

“Report” “Here is the report on voterdemographics you request-

ed”

“Birthday” “Robert's 30th BirthdayParty!”

“Pics” “Photos from Jim & Sue'sHoliday in Paris”

American Immersion

Writing the Perfect Body Content

In today's world of instant communication, emails areoften confused with cell phone text messages, tweets,and instant chat messages (IM). Although emails do notalways require the same formalities as a handwrittenletter, it is still important to follow a basic format,especially when writing professional emails.

Your email should begin with a greeting, “Dear Mr.Clark.”If you do not know the name of the recipient,you may write “To Whom It May Concern”or, in thecase of a potential job opportunity, “Dear Employer.”Ifyou do not know whether the person receiving youremail is a man or a woman, avoid using “sir”or“madam.”If you choose the wrong gender-specific title,you risk offending the recipient. Also, if the emailrecipient has a title (Dr., Professor, Governor, Dean,Judge, Mr., Mrs., etc.), be sure to include it before hisor her name.

Similarly, you should always strive to attach a properclosing to your email. To do this, choose a word orphrase that reflects the email, capitalize the first letterof the first word, add a comma, then restate your name.Be sure to capitalize the first letters of your first and lastname. If you have a title, add that as well. Here aresome examples:

Thank you for your consideration,George Hendricks

Looking forward to your reply,Dr. John RichardsonSenior Analyst, Global Research, Inc.

Sincerely,Katie MillerCEO, Pet Town

Best regards,Aunt Kathy and Uncle Mike

If you're including a postscript (PS:) make sure to put

it after your name:

Best regards,Aunt Kathy and Uncle Mike

PS: We can't wait to see you at the spring recital!

As for the content of the body email, here are someimportant tips:

● Be sure to introduced yourself clearly: “Goodafternoon. My name is John Richardson, and I amthe Senior Analyst at Global ResearchInc.”Especially if your email address is some-thing obscure ([email protected]), it is crucialthat you let the recipient know right away whothe email is from.

● Again, an email is not the same as a text or IM,so avoid fragmented, “text-like”sentences.

● Keep your message focused; avoid tangents orunnecessary rambling.

● Write in short paragraphs that are separated byline spaces.

● Unless you're emailing someone who knows youwell, avoid using abbreviations and emoticons;instead of “LOL luv the joke mr ;-)”try writing,“Dear Mr. Clark, Thank you for the sending thejoke. It was very funny."

● Be respectful; avoid using informal greetings like“Hey”and inappropriate language.

● Try not to overuse exclamation points (!!!); yourexcitement is conveyed with just one (“John'sParty!”), so there's not need to overdo it (“John'sParty!!!!!!!!!!”).

● Do not make demands. Carefully construct youremail so that your needs are clearly stated, thenbe patient and wait for a response. Just like thesubject line, “HELP ME NOW,”you want toavoid strong language like “respond ASAP”and“ need a response now”in the body of your email.

● Proofread your email! Like any form of commu-nication, an email is a reflection of you, yourcharacter, and your professionalism. Typos occurfrom time to time, but an email that is filled withspelling, punctuation, and grammar mistakes re-flects poorly on its author.


Ready to Practice?

The NoteFull Team is committed to creating a community, not just helping you prepare for your exams.Regardless of where you live, you will always be a part of something great and have the support you need righthere at NoteFull. However, we want to help expand your knowledge of your own physical communities, not justthis virtual one, as well. That's why we're devoting a section of NoteFull World to “Local Learning.”This sectionwill provide you with the resources you need to further explore the community in which you live. We will let youknow about certain major events in cities across North America, as well as help you access information aboutwhere to go and what to do around the world.

If you haven't heard of Yelp.com, you're in for a treat. Considered one of Time magazine's “10 essentialsites,”Yelp allows you to search for information on local businesses and services that span a wide range ofcategories, from dining and dancing hot spots to automotive and real estate companies.

Registered users, called “Yelpers,”may also submit reviews of local businesses; currently, Yelp has compiledmore than 36 million reviews. So if you're feeling a little skeptical about that new taco truck or hair salon, enter itinto Yelp to see what others are saying. If you're ready to become a Yelper you can easily create a free account topost reviews, receive updates from businesses, and talk to other Yelpers.

Another great feature of Yelp is that you can search by name or type of business, or within an entire city or state.You can also search for places nearest to a specific address, so if you're on vacation and want to try a good localrestaurant or if you're just hoping for a new experience close to home, head to Yelp and type in an address for alist of nearby spots.


What local businessesdo you support?


Practice under TOEFL conditions... Everyone prefers taking exams in quiet environ-ments with few distractions, but unfortunately this is not the case with the TOEFL.The environment can be a little daunting, especially for first-time test takers, withothers around you finishing at different times and walking around the testing center,or with multiple voices simultaneously recording speaking tests. That's why it isimportant to prepare yourself mentally for these conditions. You can do this by takingyour practice tests in a public place, like a café or diner, where you can expect a lot ofnoise and movement around you. Be sure the place you are going has wireless Internetaccess, and don't forget to bring along your laptop, adapter, paper and pencils, and aheadset. Good luck!

Review for mastery... Consistently reviewing the mate-rial you've learned is great practice and we encourageyou to spend time reviewing every day. However, morethan just being good practice, it is the act of reviewingthat leads to a mastery of the material. It is not until youtruly master the strategies outlined in NoteFull's TOEFLstudy systems that you will be fully equipped with theskills necessary to conquer the TOEFL and say “good-bye” to it forever.

Take breaks... It is important to take a 5 to 15 minutebreak every 45 to 55 minutes while you study. Espe-cially if you're feeling overloaded or frustrated withyour studies, a short break will help clear your mindand mentally prepare you for the next task. Spend thistime doing something soothing that you also enjoy(listening to music, practicing an instrument, playingwith the kids, or taking the dog for a walk). Also, it'sno secret that sitting down for long periods of time isdetrimental to your health, so try using your breaktime to do some much-needed stretching, too. What-ever you decide, incorporate breaks into your studyroutine; this will help you stay calm and focused.

Here's an example:1. Lunch break: 12:00 – 1:002. 30 minutes to eat; study 12:30 – 1:003. Use laptop in work conference room; focus onstrategies4. May 3 – Review Note-taking strategies5. Avoid break room! Ask coworkers for privacy.Turn off cell phone.

“I'm too busyto study!

What shouldI do?”

We hear this from students a lot and rightly so. Many ofyou are professionals with families or are working stu-dents. Even though the TOEFL is important, sometimesit's hard to imagine taking time away from other aspects ofour lives to study. However, it is crucial that you spendtime studying every day even if it's just for a short time. Aswith all learning, it is the act of repetition –daily study andreview –that leads not only to memorization but also tomastery. Chances are you have at least a few minutes ofdowntime in your daily schedule; this is the time you needto utilize.

Follow these simple rules for getting started:1. Briefly outline your daily schedule, noting any pointsin the day when you normally have downtime (such asthat 30 minutes in the morning when you like to read thenewspaper, the 15 minutes on your lunch break spenttalking to friends, or that hour before bed when youwatch TV)2. Schedule your study sessions into these periods oftime; don't just think about it... Commit!3. Write down where and how you're going to study4. At the end of your study session, write down exactlywhat you're going to focus on the following day5. Make a note of what you're going to do to stay on trackin case you get distracted

Advice from NoteFull's master instructors on how totackle the TOEFL


FUN WITH ENGLISH!With autumn just around the corner,what better way to prepare than withan autumn word scramble? All of thewords in the puzzle are somehow re-lated to the fall season. However, wedon't want you to get too distracted

from your studies with daydreams ofapple cider and cinnamon donuts, sowe've also included a school-related

riddle for you to solve.

Unscramble each of the followingword clues, then copy the letters in

the numbered cells to other cells withthe same numbers below.

Your answer will solve this riddle:

Why did the Cyclops stopteaching?

In Greek & Roman mythology, acyclops was a giant with a singleeye in the middle of its forehead.

NoteFull World content by Leah Watt, NoteFull.com

Autumn Word Scramble

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