Part I:

Halloween Traditions

Halloween is thought to have originated among the ancient Celtic Druids. The Druids believed that on that evening, October 31 - the day preceding the Christian feat of All Saints Day, Saman, the lord of the dead, called forth evil spirits.

In modern times, Halloween has become a fun-filled secular holiday which focuses on ghoulish things like skeletons, cemeteries, warlocks, goblins and more. It is celebrated on October 31 in some English speaking countries including the USA and Canada. Some favorite Halloween traditions include children who go trick-or-treating. Young children dress-up in costumes as ghosts, witches, monsters and other imaginative things and go door-to-door saying "Trick or Treat". In other words, either you give me a treat or I play a trick on you. Of course, this is just tradition, and adults all hand out a treat to the children. Treats are usually little pieces of candy or candy bars.

Adults also like having wild parties on Halloween. Many times these parties are costume parties with some people wearing pretty strange costumes! One of the favorite activities at these parties is "bobbing for apples" - a game during which participants try to fetch apples out of a container of water using only their mouths.

In the United States, most homes also have a carved pumpkin, called a Jack-o-lantern, in front of the house. These pumpkins are usually hollow with a funny or frightening face carved into the pumpkin and lighted from inside by candle.

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Part II:

Halloween Vocabulary

Study the following vocabulary related to Halloween.

·Bobbing for apples
Noun (game) - This is a traditional Halloween game. You put apples in a barrel of water and people try to take the floating apples out of the water using only their mouths.
·Cackling
Adjective - An evil, wild, other worldly laughing sound
·Carve
Verb - (regular: carve - carved - carved) to cut with a knive, in the context of a pumpkin to cut a face into the pumpkin.
·Evil
Very bad behaviour with cruel intent.
·Haunted
Location containing evil spirits or ghosts, usually a house or castle.
·Ghost
Noun - the spirit of a dead person which appears again. Ghosts at Halloween are usually dressed in white sheets.
·Hideous
Adjective - Something so ugly you cannot look at it.
·Horrified
Adjective - very frightened, afraid or scared.
·Jack-o-lantern
Noun - A carved pumpkin usually with a candle burning inside to illuminate the pumpkin.
·Pumpkin
Noun - A large, orange vegetable in the squash family associated with Halloween.
·Skeleton
Noun - The bone structre of a body without the flesh.
·"Trick or Treat"
Saying - Used by children when going from house to house asking for candy. The phrase also means that if you don't give me a treat I will play a trick on you!
·Wicked
Adjective - the same as evil.
·Witch
Noun - A woman with magic powers (usually evil).

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Here is a list of common letter combinations with silent letters. This list contains most of the silent letters that give English as a second language students difficulties.

Silent B
B is not pronounced when following M at the end of a word.
climb
crumb
dumb
comb

Silent C
C is not pronounced in the ending "scle"
muscle

Silent D
D is not pronounced in the following common words:
handkerchief
sandwich
Wednesday

Silent E
E is not pronounced at the end of words and usually makes the vowel long.
hope
drive
gave
write
site

Silent G
G is not often not pronounced when followed by an N
champagne
foreign
sign
feign

Silent GH
GH is not pronounced before T and at the end of many words
thought
through
daughter
light
might
right
fight
weight

Silent H
H is not pronounced when following W. Some speakers whisper the H before the W.
what
who
when
where
whether
why

Silent H
H is not pronounced at the beginning of many words. Use the article "an" with unvoiced H. Here are some of the most common:
hour
honest
honor
heir
herb

Pronounced H
H is pronounced at the beginning of these common words. Use the article "a" with voiced H.
hill
history
height
happy
hangover

Silent K
K is not pronounced when followed by N at the beginning of a word.
knife
knee
know
knock
knowledge

Silent L
L is often not pronounced before L, D, F, M, K.
calm
half
salmon
talk
balk
would
should

Silent N
N is not pronounced following M at the end of a word.
autumn
hymn

Silent P
P is not pronounced at the beginning of many words using the suffix "psych" and "pneu".
psychiatrist
pneumonia
psychotherapy
psychotic

Silent S
S is not pronounced before L in the following words:
island
isle

Silent T
T is not pronounced in these common words:
castle
Christmas
fasten
listen
often
whistle
thistle

Silent U
U is not pronounced before after G and before a vowel.
guess
guidance
guitar
guest

Silent W
W is not pronounced at the beginning of a word followed by an R.
wrap
write
wrong

Silent W
W is not pronounced with these three pronouns:
who
whose
whom

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Individuals often describe themselves through their musical taste, wearing particular clothes and using certain types of slang but the new study explains how music taste can solely reflect a person's character.

Broken down by genre, here is what your musical tastes say about you, the person:

Rock'n'roll: High self-esteem, creative, hard-working and at ease with themselves, but not very kind or generous.

Indie: Low self-esteem, not hard-working, kind or generous, but creative.

Rap: High self-esteem, outgoing.

Blues: High self-esteem, creative, outgoing and at ease with themselves.

Classical: High self-esteem, creative and at ease with themselves, but not outgoing.

Metal: Creative and at ease with themselves, but not very outgoing or hard-working.

Reggae: High self-esteem, creative, outgoing, kind, generous and at ease with themselves, but not very hard-working.

Country: Hard-working and outgoing.

Dance: Creative and outgoing, but not kind or generous.

IDIOMS

Blow your own horn – If you blow your own horn, you boast about your achievements and abilities.

example: I hate to blow my own horn, but I am a really fantastic cook.

Change your tune – If someone changes their ideas or the way they talk about them, they change their tune.

example: They'll change their tune when they see that their advice is making people angry with them.

Music to my ears – If something someone says is music to your ears, it is exactly what you wanted to hear.

example: The news of his resignation was music to my ears.

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drink, drank, drunk, drinking

I drink.
I drank.
I have drunk.
I have been drinking.

He drinks.
He drank.
He has drunk.
He has been drinking.

They drink beer.
They drank beer.
They drank all the beer.
They have drunk the beer.
They have been drinking beer.

You drink.
You drank.
You have drunk.
You have been drinking.

What have you been drinking?
What did you drink?

I drink coffee in the morning.
I drank coffee this morning.
I have drunk coffee before.
I have never drunk whiskey.
I have been drinking coffee all morning.

Q: Where is the soda I was drinking?
A: Sheila drank it. She was thirsty.

I drank the orange juice last night.
I have drunk mugs of strawberry Kool-Aid.
I drank water from the tap.
I have drunk beer in the past.
Sheila has been drinking.
I drank a cup of tea.

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ABASH

ABASHED is an adjective, not a verb.
meaning: is embarrassed, uneasy, feeling bad about the bad thing you just did.

example: Jen was ABASHED...

"Jen was abashed when her teacher saw her cheating on the test."

"When Jen looked in the mirror and saw how drunk she was, her dirty hair, her torn clothes, she was abashed and swore she would never drink this much again."

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Many reasons can be listed for committing crime such as lack of education, poverty and peer pressure. Social structure plays a major role and forces people to commit crime at times. Most people feel that crime is a personal choice and those who choose to commit crime should be punished and be accountable for their behavior.

Many who commit crime either have not thought of the consequences of their actions or think that they are too smart to get caught. They also may have minimized the consequences.


CRIME DISCUSSION

· Are some parts of Seoul or Pusan considered more dangerous than others? Which parts?
· Are there any places you are afraid to visit because of the high crime rate? If so, where?
· Are there problems with drugs where you live?
· Are you apprehensive about walking outside after dark?
· Do you always lock your apartment? How about your car?
· Do you know someone who has been a victim of a violent crime?
· Do you think abortion is a crime?
· Do you think people who use illegal drugs should be put in jail?
· Do you think that the death penalty would prevent crime in your country? Why (not)?
· Do you think there is a link between drugs and crime?
· Do you think your country is a safe place to live? Why or why not?
· Do you walk alone at night in your home city?
· Have you ever done anything illegal? If so, what did you do?
· Have you ever had something stolen from you?
· Have you ever witnessed a crime?
· How can you avoid having things stolen from you?
· Is child abuse a problem in your country?
· Is drunk driving a crime where you live? If so, what is the punishment?
· Is it ever O.K. to break the law? If so, when?
· Is prison an effective punishment? (Why? or Why not?)
· Under what situations would you think of committing a crime?
· What are some things people can do to protect themselves from crime?
· What are some things that are legal that you personally think should be illegal?
· What crimes do you think will decrease in the future?
· What crimes do you think will increase in the future?
· What crimes have you heard about recently in the news?
· What do you think is the worst crime a person could commit? Why?
· What gangs exist in this country and in your home country?
· What are the characteristics of these gangs?
· What is the punishment for murder in your country?
· What is the punishment for stealing in your country?
· What kinds of crime are most common in your country? What are the penalties for these crimes?
· What makes some people become criminals? Is it poverty, upbringing, lack of education, unemployment or something else?
· What would you do if you heard a burglar in your house?
· Why do you think crime is more prevalent in some societies than in others?
· Why do you think people steal things?

CRIME IDIOM:

Crime doesn't pay: something that you say which means if you do something illegal, you will probably be caught and punished. Police arrests are being given maximum publicity as a reminder that crime doesn't pay.

Partners in crime (humorous): If two people are partners in crime, they have done something bad together. She'd kept watch and made sure no one saw us while I actually took the bike so we were partners in crime.

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Men are naturally funnier than women. This is the claim of a UK male professor, Sam Shuster. He conducted research on 400 different people as he cycled around his town. He observed the reaction of onlookers and discovered that men made more jokes about him than women, and that men’s jokes were more aggressive. He said three-quarters of male “jokers” mocked him and made nasty comments, while most women tended to tease him with a smile. He said: "The difference between the men and women was absolutely remarkable and consistent." Professor Shuster believes the male hormone testosterone is the cause of men being funnier. He found that teenage boys were aggressive in their humor and this aggression changed with older men into a funnier form of joking.

Earlier research suggests women and men use humor differently. One study said women tend to tell fewer jokes than men and male comedians outnumber female ones. Another showed men look more for a punchline. Men also use people they know as the subject of their jokes, often in a negative way. Married men seem to like hearing and making jokes about mothers-in-law. British comedian John Moloney disagreed with Professor Shuster’s findings. He said that in his 21-year career in comedy, he had never noticed that men were funnier than women. He stated: "The difference is that if a group of women were together and the conversation lulls, they don't automatically start telling jokes, which men do. It then becomes a bit of a competition, but that doesn't mean to say men are funnier."

HUMOR DISCUSSION:

• What did you think when you read the headline?
• Do you agree that men are funnier than women?
• How do you think men and women use humor differently?
• Are the subjects of men and women’s jokes different in Korea?
• What kind of comedy do you enjoy?
• Who is your favorite comedian?
• What is your favorite type of entertainment? Movies, books, tv, sports? Is humor involved?
• Are you good at telling jokes? Tell me one! (if not a joke, try a funny story!)
• Do you think different nationalities have different senses of humor?
• Do you laugh at jokes told in English?
• How would you characterize Korean humor?

TALKING ABOUT HUMOR

appreciate: What kind of humor do you appreciate?
like: In life I like playfulness, in fiction I like mature humor.
enjoy: I really enjoy the humor the author used to lighten up the mood of the book.
find: Within our expat community, I found similar humor.
add: You seem tired today, so I will add a little humor.
see: He told me a joke, but I didn't see the humor!

Some related IDIOMS

“pulling your leg” = making a joke. He is pulling your leg.
“in bad humor” = in a bad mood. He’s in bad humor today.
“over the top” = too excessive. That comedian is over the top.
“go over like a lead balloon” = to be received badly by an audience.

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“If you are going through a time of discouragement,

there is a time of great personal growth ahead.”

~ Oswald Chambers

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Jimjilbang



A Jimjilbang is a kind of huge dry sauna facility, but it is different from typical saunas in that people absorb directly-radiated heat from rocks such as elvan, germanium, jade or yellow mud there, which is supposed to be good for their health.

People wear cotton shorts and T-shirts, and enter one room after another, and each room is filled with different radiating rocks. There are large and luxurious jimjilbangs with diverse facilities including cafeterias, massage rooms, nail salons, Internet facilities and health clubs, and open round the clock.

These facilities have made jimjilbangs popular among all groups of people, from senior citizens, housewives and families to couples on a date and office workers. Some male and female customers spend all night there, sleeping on open floors together. Of course, bathrooms are separate for males and females.

Ondol

The Ondol is a Korean traditional heating system in which a big stone constituting the room floor is heated by hot air circulating underneath it.

This unique heating system dating back to the Goguryeo Kingdom (37 B.C-A.D. 66 made Koreans adopt a “sitting culture.” They would take their shoes off and sit on the floor and sleep on the floor, instead of using chairs or beds.

Wood or holed briquettes were used to heat the room. The modern version of Ondol uses pipes embedded in the floor of the room, through which heated water circulates and warms the floor. Korean construction companies now export the system to other Asian countries.

Jeon-se

Korea has a unique housing rental system called Jeonse, which is very unusual for most foreigners. Instead of paying a monthly rent, the tenant hands over a large sum of deposit money, sometimes as much as 50 percent of the housing price, to the homeowner. The owner puts the money into a bank account to earn interest, invest in stocks, or do whatever he or she wants. The tenants get back the full amount of the deposited money when the contract ends.

This system has been popular as the high interest rate guaranteed the homeowner an income equivalent to monthly rent, without worrying about the delayed payments by the tenants, who were happy to get the full deposit money back when the contract expires.
An increasing number of people, however, are turning to monthly rent these days due to falling interest rates.

Adultery as a Crime

Korea is one of the few countries that legally prohibit extramarital sexual relations. Those committing adultery can face up to two years imprisonment upon complaint from the spouse along with a divorce suit.

It was introduced to protect women, who often were left unprotected in the male-oriented Confucian society that overlooked misconduct by men.

However, an increasing number of people are calling for abolishment of the law, saying it is an outdated intervention in private affairs. The debate is heating up again recently, as a judge solicited the Constitutional Court to rule it unconstitutional.

Envelope Culture (Marriage, Funerals, Births)

Koreans would help each other in joys and sorrows of life, preparing food together for wedding ceremonies or helping serving mourners. The busy modern society, however, made more people make do with “an envelope of cash.”

From weddings and funerals to baby’s first birthday party and grandpa’s 60th birthday, guests are expected to share the financial burden of the party or funeral with cash, placed in a clean, white envelope with one’s name written on it. This has become quite a burden to many, especially in the “wedding season.”

Private Tutoring Heat

Korea is definitely the land of private tutoring. Other countries also have cram schools that help get a high score in tests, but Korea boasts a wide variety of private institutes. Children not only learn English and math or violin, but also philosophy, storytelling, debating, chess, or drawing through private tutoring.

Parents can find just about anything they want. Each English institute, for example, has specialties, such as conversation, listening, grammar, reading, essay writing, or TOEFL studies.

The private tutoring isn’t over even when one goes to college. College students often rely on these private institutes to learn English, computer use, make-up, skills for a job interview or make a presentation. Private tutoring is estimated to be a 20 trillion won business here.

Beating the soles of the groom

After the wedding ceremony, friends of the groom take off his socks, tie a rope around the ankles, and beat his soles with dried yellow corvina.

There are various explanations regarding why this custom started, but the most convincing one is that it helps strengthen stamina of the groom, so that the newlyweds could have a wonderful honeymoon night.

Baby’s First Birthday Party

The first birthday party is special for any baby around the world, but Korea has a unique tradition of putting various things on the table in front of the baby and letting the baby pick one of these to tell the future of the baby.

On the table are usually money, thread, rice and pencil. The baby will be rich if it picks money, will live long with thread, and be a scholar by picking a pencil, which reflects Confucian tradition. Rice means that the baby will have enough food throughout his or her life, which was a huge blessing when people often suffered from famines.

The tradition is changing. Now some parents put a microphone on the table, which means the baby will become an entertainer, or a golf ball, wishing that the baby will be a famous golf player.

Delivery Service

Koreans don’t like waiting. They want everything ready right away. This “hurry up” temperament has made Korea boast of a widely available delivery service that includes not only pizza, Chinese meals and fried chicken, but virtually any menu one can think of.

One can get DVDs delivered to the house within 30 minutes, and there’s no need to visit a laundry to get back dry-cleaned clothes. Not only are milk and yogurt delivered in the morning these days, but some businesses get salads and breakfasts at the door every morning.

With the introduction of cell phones, Koreans often order food to eat in the park, and the Korean deliveryman never misses.

Sharing Liquor Glass in Rounds

Koreans have a unique custom of sharing a glass when drinking. After drinking up one’s glass, he or she fills it with the beer or whatever liquor is being drunk and passes it to a colleague, who does the same thing after drinking it.

This was regarded as the symbol of friendship and close ties between the two, but it also involves hygiene problem. A number of companies and organizations have started a campaign to get rid of this drinking custom.

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Everyone whether they know it or not, has some sort of fear of something.

According to the American Psychiatric Association, a phobia is an irrational and excessive fear of an object or situation. In most cases, the phobia involves a sense of endangerment or a fear of harm. For example, those suffering from agoraphobia fear being trapped in an inescapable place or situation.

Types of Phobias

There are three types of phobias:
1. Social phobias—fear of social situations.
2. Agoraphobia—fear of being trapped in an inescapable place or situation.
3. Specific phobias—fear of a specific object (such as snakes).

There are four major types of specific phobias:
1. The natural environment—fear of lightening, water, storms, etc.
2. Animal—fear of snakes, rodents, spiders, etc.
3. Medical—fear of seeing blood, receiving injections, visiting a doctor, etc.
4. Situational—fear of bridges, leaving the home, driving, etc.


This Phobia list offers a glimpse of the many phobias that can have a serious impact on an individual's life.

Fear of darkness
Fear of heights
Fear of open spaces or crowds
Fear of injections
Fear of riding in a car/ accidents
Fear of men/women
Fear of thunder and lightening
Fear of imperfection
Fear of failure
Fear of being alone
Fear of marriage
Fear of speaking in public
Fear of blood
Fear of death or dead things
Fear of gaining weight
Fear of fire
Fear of strangers or foreigners
Fear of animals

Discussion Questions:

1． What do you think is the worst phobia on this list?
2． Do you have any phobias? If so, which one?
3． Do you think that everyone has phobias of something?
4． Why do think people have phobias?
5． What are the most common phobias in Korea?
6． What do you think is the best way to deal with a phobia? Get rid of it? Live with it?
7． Can you think of other phobias that are not on this list?
8． Name one positive aspect of having a phobia and one negative aspect.

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How do you feel?

happy
okay, fine
great, wonderful
terrific, fantastic
tired, sleepy
comfortable
calm, relaxed
all right

He/She is . . .

hurt, upset, lonely

The situation is . . .

boring
interesting
exciting
embarrassing
amazing
shocking
surprising
scary
frightening
confusing
puzzling
frustrating
overwhelming
disgusting
depressing
irritating

I feel . . . / I'm . . .

unhappy, sad
sick, ill
terrible
awful, horrible
rested, (wide) awake
uncomfortable
nervous, stressed out
strange, weird
bored

interested

excited, ecstatic

embarrassed

amazed

shocked

surprised
scared, afraid
frightened
confused
puzzled
frustrated
overwhelmed
disgusted
depressed
irritated

We/They are . . .

angry, mad

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Darryl and Donna have different opinions aboutlearning a 2nd language.

Who thinks Second Languages are important? He or she? Why?

83b-SecondLang-Clip-4-Subtitled ( Donna and Darryl )
Uploaded by realdogswimming

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The SoBe Interviews "SoBe" is short for "South Beach' which is at the southern part of Miami Beach, Florida. It's a great place to videotape and meet people. It's one of those special places where you can feel the creativity in the air:

This topical clip is for Intermediate students.

Real English 55 - Women
by realdogswimming

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Ga$


Real Life
Intro


It’s all over the news in the US. But Americans don’t need the news to tell them that gas is more expensive than it ever has been. They can see it at every fuel station.But what Americans haven’t seen yet is fewer cars on the road. It will take time for people to adjust to the high price of gas (although fuel in Europe is still more expensive than it is in the US) and for cities to provide more public transportation. At the moment, people are feeling the increased costs, and everyone’s talking about it.

Jason: If I see one more headline with the phrase “at the pump” in it, I’m going to shoot somebody.
Beren: “At the pump”? Like, “Prices at the Pump…
Jason: “Prices at the Pump”
Beren: ...Blowing up”
Jason: “Pinched at the Pump.”
Beren: “Pinched at the Pump.” What’s another one?
Jason: It’s like, yeah, gas is expensive, I know. I’ve been buying gas, I can see that it’s expensive.
Beren: What’s kind of mind boggling though is that gas is so expensive but it doesn’t seem to be…at least here, it doesn’t seem to be affecting who’s driving. I see just as many cars now as I did before.
Jason: Back when it was half as much a few years ago, you’d see just the same amount of cars.
Beren: Yeah, it’s weird. Especially since you’d think people would be like, “Oh, this is perfect opportunity to start biking or using public transportation.” Because it’s so expensive. I put $10 in my car which usually, like before this, used to get a quarter of a tank. Like, I’d drive to work and home or whatever. And now it lasts me a day, if that, if I’m driving. $10!
Jason: And like…what is it going to take? Like how expensive is it going to have to get for driving to taper off a little bit?
Beren: I don’t know. Like I feel like the people that drive a lot probably can’t afford to in a sense so maybe they’re cutting out other things. Like, “I want to drive so I guess we won’t eat out as much.” I don’t know. It’s weird.
Jason: A lot of people don’t have a choice. We really kind of messed up here because we built an infrastructure that pretty much makes it impossible to not drive in a lot of cities.
Beren: Yeah.


Discussion

Jason says that he’s tired of reading news about gas prices. He says he’s aware of how expensive it is because he has to pay for it all the time.Beren is surprised that she doesn’t see fewer cars. She spends as much as $10 a day on gas right now and wonders how many people can afford to drive at all.But do they have a choice? Jason thinks it’s a shame that US has built its entire transpiration system around cars, so much so that there aren’t other options for getting to certain places.Has the cost of fuel gone up where you live? What’s the main form of transport you use? Why?


Grammar Point

Beren says she “put $10 in her car.” That means she put $10 worth of fuel in the tank.

mind boggling adj.
*difficult to comprehend; hard to imagine but true
Example:The size of their company is mind boggling. They have thousands of employees in hundreds of offices.

infrastructure n.
*the facilities and services that serve a country
Example:A country's infrastructure is often much improved a few decades after it's destroyed by a war.

pinch v.
*to burden a budget
Example:Ever since the family sent their son to college, their cash flow has been a little pinched.

blowing up expr.
*increasing quickly
Example:The city has been blowing up for a few years now. It's population is twice what it was a few years ago.

feeling v.
*experiencing something difficult
Example:We've really been feeling the budget cuts in our department. It's been hard to get anything done.

all over expr.
*everywhere, in many places
Example:There are McDonald's restaurants all over the U.S.

cut out v.
*get rid of; stop spending money
Example:We need to cut out some of our expenses so we can hire a new employee.

taper off v.
*decrease slowly; lessen over time
Example:CD sales started to taper off when Mp3s became popular.

if that expr.
*if even that much; or perhaps even less
Example:Oh I only exercise twice a week if that.

public transportation system n.
*buses, subways, trolleys, trams
Example:The public transportation system in Washington D.C. is really great! You can get anywhere you need to go using the Metro or the busses.

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(PARTICIPATING in a meeting)

Interrupting
May I have a word?
If I may, I think...
Excuse me for interrupting.
May I come in here?

Giving Opinions
I (really) feel that...
In my opinion...
The way I see things...
If you ask me,... I tend to think that...

Asking for Opinions
Do you (really) think that...
(name of participant) can we get your input?
How do you feel about...?

Commenting on Other Opinions
I never thought about it that way before.
Good point!
I get your point.
I see what you mean.

Agreeing with Other Opinions
Exactly!
That's (exactly) the way I feel.
I have to agree with (name of participant).

Disagreeing with Other Opinions
Up to a point I agree with you, but...
(I'm afraid) I can't agree

Advising and Suggesting
We should...
Why don't you....
How/What about...
I suggest/recommend that...

Asking for Repetition
I didn't catch that. Could you repeat that, please?
I missed that. Could you say it again, please?
Could you run that by me one more time

Asking for Clarification
I'm afraid I don't quite understand what your are getting at.
Could you explain to me how that is going to work?
I don't see what you mean. Could we have some more details, please?

Asking for Verification
Do you mean that...?
Is it true that...?

Asking for Spelling
Would you mind spelling that for me, please?

Asking for Contributions for Other Participants
What do you think about this proposal?
Would you like to add anything, (name of participant)?
Has anyone else got anything to contribute?
Are there any more comments?

Correcting Information
Sorry, that's not quite right.
I'm afraid you don't understand what I'm saying.
That's not quite what I had in mind.
That's not what I meant.

Keeping the Meeting on Time
Well, that seems to be all the time we have today.
Please be brief.
I'm afraid we've run out of time.
I'm afraid that's outside the scope of this meeting.
Let's get back on track, why don't we?
That's not really why we're here today.
Why don't we return to the main focus of today's meeting.
We'll have to leave that to another time.
We're beginning to lose sight of the main point.
Keep to the point, please.
I think we'd better leave that for another meeting.
Are we ready to make a decision?

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(to) fast track a project

to make a project a high priority; to speed up the time frame of a project

Example: Let's fast track this project. We've heard rumors that our competitors are developing similar products.

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Types of kimchi differ from region to region, depending on harvest and weather conditions. Each family also has its own recipe handed down from generation to generation. The number of specific kimchi types can not be easily counted. However, the Korean Food Academy has categorized over 100 different types.

The flavor depends on ingredients, condiments, the amount of salt, and level of spice used in each region. Korea's various regions produce different types of agricultural products, and this is reflected in each region's type of kimchi. The southern provinces (North and South Cholla Provinces and North and South Kyongsang Provinces) tend to use more salt and seafood so the taste is stronger and sweeter. To the north, kimchi tastes less salty and is very mild.

Various Types of Kimchi

Gat Kimchi
(Mustard Leaf)
Baech'u Keot'cheoli
(Cabbage)
Oi Sobaki
(Cucumber)
Muuch'ae Kimchi
(Thin-Sliced Radish)
Nabak Kimchi
(Square-Sliced Radish)
Bossam Kimchi
(Wrapped Cabbage)
Ch'ongak Kimchi
(Ponytail Radish)
T'ong Baegu'u Kimchi
(Whole Cabbage)
Bae Kimchi
(Cabbage Without Pepper)
Goldulbbaegi Kimchi
(Korean Lettuce)
P'a Kimchi
(Green Onion)
Ggaktugi
(Cubed Radish)

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A study has found that Korea's suicide rate is the highest among the 30 member countries of the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development). According to an OECD report on Sunday, Korea's suicide rate stands at 24.7 cases per 100,000 people, the highest in the group. Hungary followed with 22.6, then Japan with 20.3 and Belgium with 18.4. The U.S. recorded 10.2 suicides per 100,000, less than half Korea's figure. Korea's suicide rate also grew fastest during the last 25 years, an annual average of 5.01 percent since 1982. During the same period, other countries have reported growth in their suicide rates of around 2 percent on average, while Australia, Norway and Greece have reduced their rates.

In 1982, Korea's suicide rate stood at 6.8 cases per 100,000, one of the lowest in the world, along with Mexico at 2.3, Greece at 3.3 and Spain at 4.8.

Experts blame the increase on the culture of fierce competition in Korean society. "Research shows that 80 percent of people who kill themselves suffer from psychiatric problems like depression. The biggest factor is stress," said Yoon Se-chang, a professor of neuropsychiatry at Samsung Medical Center. "High competition since elementary school explains the high suicide rate in Korea."

The suicide rate among young people is especially high in Korea. According to statistics for 2005 from the National Statistics Office, the leading cause of death for people in their 20s and 30s was suicide. For people in their 20s, the rate is 17.7 suicides per 100,000, and for the people in their 30s it's 21.8.

"The increasing suicide rate is related to the rapid socioeconomic decline such as the increasing rates of unemployment and divorce since the financial crisis of 1997," said Lee Hong-shik, the president of the Korean Association for Suicide Prevention. "In the past, families served to ease such shocks. But these days, without the family protection, people feel more despair and more impulse to kill themselves."

Experts from home and abroad who attended a symposium on suicide at the World Psychiatric Association's 2007 Regional Meeting in Seoul said suicide is rapidly increasing among industrialized Asian countries like Korea. To solve the problem, the experts say communities should set up systems to identify the problem at the earliest possible stage.

(englishnews@chosun.com )

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Actress Choi Found Dead in Apparent Suicide

The late actress Choi Jin-silBy Park Si-sooStaff Reporter Actress Choi Jin-sil was found dead in her home in Seoul in an apparent suicide, police said Thursday, amid rumors linking her demise to the death of an actor last month.

The 40-year-old Choi has been a national heartthrob for the past two decades appearing in numerous box-office hit films, dramas, and commercials.

According to Seocho Police Station, Choi's mother found the actress hanging by an elastic bandage in a shower stall at her home at 6:15 a.m. and reported it to them at 7:34 a.m.

An investigation is under way into the exact cause of her death, but currently police are leaning toward suicide since Choi sent a text message to her makeup manager hinting that she would kill herself. In the message, she said ``My dear, I hope you take care of my children if something happens to me.''

An autopsy was conducted at Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital that night, with results due within days.

``Taking the evidence and testimony into consideration, we believe she apparently committed suicide,'' Yang Jae-ho, a chief investigator said. ``We will continue to look into the case to clarify the cause and other details.''

Investigators said Choi drank with her manager last night and returned home at around midnight. Crying before her mother, she said ``I am disappointed in people who allege I pulled strings behind the death of (actor) Ahn Jae-hwan. I had nothing to do with his suicide.'' Then, she entered the bathroom and locked the door.

Waking up at around 4 a.m., her mother entered her room and learned Choi was still in the bathroom. As there was no reaction to her knock, she called a maintenance man to open the door at 6 a.m.

Ahn, the husband of popular comedian Jung Sun-hee, was found dead inside his car in early September also in an apparent suicide using toxic fumes generated by burning charred briquettes.

Rumors have since circulated on the Internet that Choi had lent billions of won to Ahn, who was reportedly shouldering huge debts due to his faltering business. Rumors also said Choi pressured and even threatened Ahn to get her money back.

Choi had asked police to investigate the origins of what she called groundless stories, and a securities company official was arrested this week on suspicion of spreading the rumor that Choi lent 2.5 billion won ($2.5 million) to the late actor.

On Wednesday, the actress went to a studio to shoot a commercial, but this was canceled halfway through due to her poor health. Choi's partner at the shoot, Sohn Hyun-joo, said she looked very weary. ``Her face looked really bad and she found it difficult to continue and had to stop after two hours,'' Sohn said.

Born in Seoul on December 24, 1968, the all-smiling Choi jumped to stardom in the 1990s after appearing in a TV commercial for a Samsung video tape recorder.

Despite her professional success, her personal life was tough. Her manager Bae Byung-soo was killed by Choi's driver in 1994, and Choi was called to testify in the case. In 2000, Choi married Cho Sung-min, then a popular baseball player, but this ended in an ugly divorce in 2004. She is survived by her two children.

pss@koreatimes.co.kr

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