Book report: The Hobbit

Introduction
These last couple of weeks I have read 'The Hobbit' by Tolkien. I chose this book because it saounded interesting when the librarian told me about it, and I appreciate fantasy books.

Summary
'The Hobbit' is about a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins. One day thirteen dwarfs and one wizard visit, and talk him into joining an adventure that will put their lives in danger. Little did the dwarfs know that  Bilbo would save their lives several times.

What I liked, and why?
I like the world in which the story takes place. I really enjoy fantasy and magical worlds, and this is no exeption. I like the way Tolkien describes the surroundings and the creatures. I also liked that there are some drawings and maps in the book. It makes it easier to imagine the world he is talking about.

What I didn't like, and why?
I didn't really like the old language. The order of the words is often weird; and made it hard to follow the story sometimes. It was easy to fall out when I read, I was reading, but did not know what I had just read when I stopped.

What I would change to make it better?
I would probably change the language a bit so it would be easier to follow. There were a lot of songs at the end, so I would removed a few of them. I also wouyld have given all the dwarfes other names, then it would have been eastier to tell them apart.

Which book I would like to read next
I would like to read 'The Lord of the Ring' series. I have seen the movies, and enjoy them a lot. After reading this book, it made me realize that I would like to read the following story and see how Tolkien wrote that.

At least 10 words I learned from the book

1. Mutters - to complain or grumble morosely
2. Devours - to eat up greedily
3. Torch - something that serves to illuminate, enlighten, or guide
4. Repent - to feel remorse, contrition, or self-reproach for what one has sone or failed to do
5. Cram - to force, press, or squeeze into an insufficient space
6. Threshold - a piece of wood or stone placed beneath a door
7. Jostling - to makes one's way by pushing or elbowing
8. Squabbles - to angage in a disagreeable argument, usually over a trivial matter
9. Prod - to jab or poke, as with a pointed object
10. Pondered - to reflect or consider with thoroughness and care

The differences and similarities between Austria and Norway

Introduction
The purpose of this report is to look at differences and similarities between Austria and Norway. Two coutries that are very mush alike yet so different.

Population, size and currency
Austria has 8.4 million people in the country with the space of 83,855 km2. Norway has an area of 385,155 km2 and only 4.9 million people living there. Norway is almost five times larger then Austria, but still Austria has almost doulble the amount of people. Austria is a part of the EU, os they have the euro as their currency. Norway is stubborn and will not agree to be a part of the EU, so NOrway has the currency of NOK. 1 euro is a total 7.6 NOK.

Nature and winter sports
Both Austria and Norway have lovely nature, and have a lot of mountains. Three-quarters of Austria is dominated by the alps. Alpine skiing is a prominent sport, but snowboarding and ski-jumping are aslo widely popular sports. Austria has many ski athletes that are considered som of the greatest alpine skiers of all time. Norway loves winter sports as well, asnd some of the most populare ones are cross-country, biathlon, alpine skiing ands ski-jumping. Norwegian athletes have traditionally raised internationally in these sports in competitions.

Food
The two countries have very different traditional foods. Austria food looks very good, but the Norwegian ones do not look that appeling. Both of them probably taste fantastic. The most known dish from Austria is called Wiener Schnitzel. This is made with boneless meat, mostly pork, thinned with a hammer, then coated with bread crumbs and fried. It is usually served with a slice of lemon and either potato salad or potatoes with parsley and butter. The most traditional dish in Norway is called fårikål, that literally means "mutton in cabbage". And that is what it is, pieces of mutton with bone, cabbage, whole black pepper and a little wheat flour. This dish has to be cooked for several hours in a boiled in their skin. Another famous dish in Norway is called Smalahove, this dish is half of a ship head. The skin and fleece of the head is torched, the brain removed, then the head is salted, somthimes smoked and dried. The head is then boiled or steamed for about three hours and served with mashed rutabaga and potatoes. In some cases the brain is cooked inside the skull and then eaten with a spoon or fried. It was mostly eaten by the poor, but today it is considered a delicacy.

Conclusion
I would recommend taking trips to both Austria and Norway, breath and taste the coutures. You will have the opportunity to experience a lot of beautiful nature, and with a lot of wonderful mountains. The food is a very interesting part of the countries, and are something that you should taste for yourself.

Formal letter

Dear Sir,

I assist the committee of the Medieval Society which organized the medieval fair last Sunday. We read your newspaper report and want to address some of the things you wrote about the fair. In your article you stated that the archery display was rather tedious and that visitors were unimpressed by the medieval dancing display, but we received emails telling us otherwise. Kids loved the archery display, and we received positive comments about the dancing. There were few parking spots, and we are truly sorry about that. The people that were able to get a parking spot enjoyed themselves. You also stated that there was a small number of demonstrations pertaining to traditional cookery and craft skills. Unfortunately we did not have enough space to host much of this, but what we did provide got a good response from the audience.

We would like to ask you to print another article about the medieval fair addressing these issues.

Regards
Marit C. S. Reinertsen

Nightmares

Dear Heidi

Lovely to hear from you. I'm sorry to hear about your problem with nightmares latley. Reading your letter actually got me thinking about the subject.

When I was about seven years orl I watched the movie 'The Exorsist'. My friend had seen it several times, and it was one of her favorite movies. I did not share her opinion. That must have been one of my worst days, I was shaking.

After telling my parents about the movie, we agreed that I should sleep in their bed that night. When I went to bed I had a creepy feeling that someone would crawl over me. At last I was able to fall asleep, and the dream I had is inked into my memory. I'm in a totally white place, and suddenly massive white walls are coming from nowhere and accumulates to a house. Suddenly I woke up, I was sweaty and very scared.

I really don't know why I thought that dream was so scary, because it was a really nice house. Anyway, when I got your letter and read about the nightmares you have been having, I thought about the nighmare I had. I noticed different patterns in our dreams and I started to google mightmares. I found a case written by professor Erik Harald Schultz, and his theory is that there are three different kinds of anxious dream stages. The first one is anxiety dreams, the second one is nightmares and the third one is night terrors. Anxiety dreams are the stage as normal dreaming, you are then in the lightest sleep. The dreams you have in this stage can be very uncomfortable, but you don't wake up. Nightmares are the kind of dreams that wake you up, you will then be sitting with the feeling of fright and anxiety. Nightmares occur between teh deepest dream stage and the dreamless sleep. Night terror am I not going into since it is caused by a sleeping sickness.

As you said in the letter, you do ot wake up from your dreams, but that you sleep so restless that you do not get into the deepest sleep. It sounds to me that you are having anxiety dreams. Dreams like this can often be caused by stress. I can be caused by any kind of stress. This kind of dreaming is stressful by it self. I read that many find calmness in yoga and meditation.

I hope this can be a little helpful in your struggle.

Write back soon and let me know how things are going.

Best wishes
Marit

My secret ambition is concealed with a MAC brush

My secret ambition is to become a makeup artist. To play with makeup and be creative on peoples faces. Makeup has been a passion of mine since my teens, in that time I have learned a lot.

To become a makeup artist you need to be highly devoted to your goals, this is not a profession that is easy to find success.

Colors is a important part of makeup, you need to know about primary colors and secondary colors. In addition, to know about theory. You also need to be willing to try different colors together, even though they may not fit well together. Who knows? Maybe they actually do.

To become a good makeup artist you need to be a daredevil and be willing to try out things that nobody ever has before. You need to be able to step out of your comfort zone and dare to take chances.

I believe that I have these qualities to become a makeup artist. I enjoy experimenting with makeup and trying out different techniques.

I would love to do my passion for a living, if I got the chance I will work my hardest to accomplish my dream.

Synthetic elements, so functionable

A synthetic element is a chemical element that is handmade and will not occur naturally in nature. We have many different types of synthetic elements around us in our life, and the most common types are synthetic fibers, synthetic rubber and plastic.

About half of all fibers we use are synthetic fibers, and the four dominating synthetic fibers in the market are nylon, polyester,acrylic and polyolefin. A big part of clothes in the market have a certain percentage of synthetic fiber in it in addition to natural fiber. There are a lot of different kinds of synthetic fibers, but most of them have the same common properties; they are heat-sensitive, resistant to most chemicals, resistant to most insects, fungi, and rot, and they are flame resistant.

In world war ll, nylon was used for was equipment, such as parachutes because the fiber is so strong. The material was wanted by women for stockings, but it was too expensive. The middle class and the lower class women would draw a black line down the back of their legs so it would look like they were wearing nylon stockings. Now nylon stockings are more common and more available. Women can use nylon stockings when ever they please.

Synthetic rubber and plastic are also materials we see all around us in our everyday life, and some of us will maybe not realize how much of it we use everyday. Rubber is a very strong and elastic material, and it is water repellent. Rubber is often used for shoe soles and rubber boots because of it's way to resist water and its way to easily bend. Rubber doesn't breathe, so when you use rubber boots, you will easily feel sweaty and warm on your feet. Rubber is also used as tires because it is so strong. Plastic is typically seen as water bottles, containers and wrapping for food. Even CD's are made of plastic. Plastic comes in many variations, from oft to hard, from paper clips to spaceships. It has in time displaced many traditional materials such as; wood, stone, leather, paper, metal, glass and ceramic. These materials are not good for the environment, such as plastic that contains contains nurdles, which are raw materials that all plastics are made of. They are tiny pre-plastic pellets that kill large numbers of fish and birds that mistake them for food.

This all leads me to the conclusion that synthetic materials are such a big part of the 21st century that we will have a hard time to put it aside and not use it in the future. There will be invented a material that is environmentally friendly and serves the same abilities. Let's hope so.

Why am I taking cambridge?

I came here to EF New York to improve my english and had no plans to take an exam. When I came here I learned about the cambridge exam, and there was no question for me, that is an exam I will take.

For me it is important to expand my CV, and I think it would be a waste of money to go here for 9 mounths and have nothing to show for it. A cambridge exam is a paper that will be there for the rest of my life and will help me get into a good course of study. Even though I don't know what I want to study when I come home to Norway yet, I know that I want to study in english. This year will make it easier for me to do that, and I belive that the cambridge will help me to get in to a study in english.

I think these 10 weeks will be very hard, but also very helpful when it comes to take the exam. This will definitley be different from the english classes I have had this far. More structure and more strict classes will help me to consentrate and pay attention. I am a person that easily get unconsentrated, so I think this will make a big different.

This is an exam that will help me a lot, and I will do my best to get a good score.

Copenhagen Fashion Week is held twice a year in Copenhagen, Denmark. It consists of a market week with 3 big fairs at the locations Bella Center, Oekshallen and Forum, and a diverse range of fashion shows at City Hall and a myriad of different locations, as well as showrooms and events all over town.

Copenhagen Fahsion Week also offers a programme open to all, for consumers, citizens and tourists. This open part of the week, Copenhagen Fashion Festival, is developed in collaboration between Wonderful Copenhagen, Copenhagen City Center and Copenhagen Fashion Week.

The first actual fashion week was held in 2006, then organized by Danish Fashion Institute. Prior to that, fashion fairs have been held since 1981. Today the event takes place in February and August, and is the Nordic region's largest fashion event with more than 1,600 exhibition and 2,800 branded collections, in addition to 35-40 runway shows on the official show schedule.



Copenhagen Fashion Week is organized by the company Copenhagen Fashion Week and Danish Fashion Institute, which aims to promote Danish fashion in international markets. Among the fashion houses that stand out in Copenhagen Fashion Week are Ivan Grundahl, Bruuns Bazaar, By Malene Birger, Munthe plus Simonsen, Rützou, Baum und Pferdgarten and Day Birger et Mikkelsen.

Utopia

When I search Utopia on google.no I got 67 700 000 results. I found two links that caught my attention, one about a music festival called Utopia, and one about a hotel called Utopia World Hotel.

Utopia Music Festival is a festival placed in Hawrelak Park in Edmonton, Canada. It is an annual music festival in the summertime. Last year it was in the middle of June, but the information for 2012 hasn't come out jet. The festival have some known and some unknown artists playing, such as Ani DiFranco, LIGHTS, David Usher and Suzie McNeil. The range of music genres a wide, with folk, reggae, electronic and acoustic pop. Utopia is open for all ages, and to addition to music you will also find gourmet cuisine, The Utopian Village and market to find earth, animal and friendly items. There is something for everybody at Utopia who's focus in unity, diversity and love.

This is a festival I would love to attend, especially last year when LIGHTS was there. I like what I read, and want to experience as many festivals I can, and Utopia is now on my list.

Utopia World Hotel is a five star hotel in Syedra, Turkey. The hotel contains 559 rooms in total, and 1118 beds. Utopia offers a aquapark and spa, the aquapark contains many pools, one with 300 meters of length and countless water slides. The spa is there for you and offers a fitness center with a sea view, jacuzzi, a indoor pool, Turkish bath, a sauna, steam room, masseurs, and much more. If you can't get your relaxation on this trip, it's not the hotels fault. The hotel don't only provide for relaxation, if you feel a little restless, they have a big range of activities you can do.

They have a tennis court, mini football,volleyball field, mini basketball, table tennis, water polo, aerobics, billiards, motorized water sports and non-motorized sports.

They also have offers for night activities, live music one night a week and special night parties.

Utopia World Hotel looks like a very nice hotel, with a lot of stuff to do. I would love to go there once.

My home, Lørenskog

I come from a town called Lørenskog, 20 minutes with train from Norway's capital, Oslo. I've lived there since I was four, and I don't remember that much from that time, but what I remember is that there were old buildings, not that many of them, and a lot of family houses. A lot have changed in Lørenskog since that time.

Lørenskog don't have a city status, something that the mayor desperately want. Lørenskog is getting bigger every year, with extended malls, upgraded and new schools, a new culture house, new buss terminal, a new public park, a new hospital, and this only in a few years. It is getting discussed if we are getting the metro from Oslo all the way out to Lørenskog too. In addition to all of this, it has also been build a lot of new houses, residential areas and a lot of people are rebuilding their houses to big "Hollywood" houses.

The people has also changed a lot, when my family moved to Lørenskog, we were three families with children in the street. A lot of the older people have moved to smaller apartments and sold their houses to new families with children. My family is one of the old ones in the street now. I live in a perfect place to race children, ten minutes walking distance to the primary school, lower secondary school, and one of many upper secondary schools. We live in between the train station and the center of Lørenskog, with the malls and buss terminal. We also have a big forest on the edge, it's a nice place to take a bike trip, and in the winter we get ski tracks.

I like to live in Lørenskog, I'm not the biggest fan of all the building, but it makes it easier to get around.

Here are the view from my bedroom - you can also see one of the big new houses to the left

The Lives They Lived

Miracle on Ice
You can read the article here

1. Who is the main subject about?
     Them person that is the main subject in this artical is Robert Ettinger. lie-lay-laid. lay-laid-laid

2. What details, anecdotes and accounts from other people illustrate the subject's personality?
     Robert was a very brave person who listened more to his head and heart than what he was told. His son tells about him during the war, when he didn't lie down when he was told. A lot of people that lay down were killed, but he was not. He liked the thought about extending life, and was very determined to get an answer to make it happen, his hope is to be woken up one day and live longer.

3. What overall impression do you have of the person from the article? What gives you that impression?
     Robert seemed like a very kind and fair person. He fought for his country and risked his life, as an answer to this, he went in to study and research cryonics.

4. Why do you think this article was published in The New York Times?
     I think this story about Robert was pubklished in The New York Times because he desided to be frozen after death.
5. If you were to write more in-depth profile or obituary for the person which details from this article would you include? What additional information would you need to find out? Which people do you think you would interview to get this information?