ENGLISH, TRAVEL and MY LIFE

In a world where inexpensive disposable ballpoint pens are the norm. There are still discriminating people who prefer using a deluxe writing instrument. A fancy high quality ballpoint pen is as stylish as it is functional. It's often paired with a matching pencil, in an elegant gift set. Silver - plated, alligator leather chainmail, rose gold with crystals. Pen casing designs are endless. This model is decorated with lacquer made from the resin of a particular tree grows only in China. They apply it using a special brush - made of human hair. Coating the recessed areas of a brass pan casing create the effect of black stripes running the length of the pen. Once the resin dries, they washed the pens several times. And with a cotton wheel and some polishing compound they buff the lacquer to a high - gloss shine. Here's another model with an etch design - a computer guided machine engraves the fine intricate pattern with a diamond chisel. The casing is brass but they...

IS IT SAFE TO EAT MOLDY BREAD? With cheese, definitely yes!. No. The mold on our bread is a fungus. The green visible parts on the bread are just spores of the fungus. Its invisible branches called hyphae actually spread deep into the bread, creating an extensive networks. Now, as fungi don't have chlorophyll, they cannot prepare their own food. Hence, they rely on other sources. Bread is one of their best options, because it contains nutrients as well as moisture. Now it is neither recommended to eat moldy bread, nor it is safe to scrap off the mold and eat the rest. Why? Because some molds can produce mycotoxins that can be harmful for humans. Also, as bread is a soft food, the hyphae can easily penetrate deeper. Making scrapping or cutting worthless. TOPIC: RANCIDITY. Why is a bag of chips half full? Looks like you don't believe me. Open the bag. See, I told you. A bag of chips is indeed half full. Why is that so? It is mainly because of a concept called...

WHY DO WE BLINK? To look adorable and innocent. No. An average person blinks about 10 to 20 times per minute. Blinking helps spread water, oil, mucus, etc across our eyes and wipe out dust. However, this is not the only purpose of blinking. Experts noticed that the exact moments when we blink are not random. While reading, we tend to blink at the end of sentences. While listening, we blink when speaker takes pauses. Hence, using f-MRI scanners, experts observed the brains of some individuals.  The analysis showed that while blinking mental activity dipped in areas which control attention. While the activity spiked areas called Default Mode Network. This network operates when mind is in a state of wakeful rest. Based on these observations, experts hypothesize that blinking acts as a tiny mental break. Thus allowing us to pay more attention when we open our eyes again. WHAT IS THE BIG BANG THEORY? Many of us wonder how everything, that is humans, trees, planets, star...

By Edith Warton Chapter 1: BEGINNINGS Winter in Starkfield If you know Starkfield Massachusetts, you know the post office there. If you know the post office, you have probably seen Ethan Frome driving up to it in his buggy; and you have probably wondered who he was. It was there that, several years ago, I saw him for the first time. He was a noticeable figure. His tall, strong body was badly twisted, and much shorter on the right side than on the left. He moved slowly and painfully, pulling himself along. Just a few steps from his buggy to the post office were clearly difficult for him. His face has a sad, grim look. It was the face and body of an old man, and I was surprised to hear that that he was only fifty-two. I learnt this from Harmon Gow, a man who knew all the families around Starkfield. "He's been like that since his bad accident, nearly twenty-four years ago", said Harmon. "But Fromes don't die young, Ethan'll live to a hundred, probab...

The provided bar chart illustrates the proportion of accommodation owners and renters in England and Wales over a 93 - year period. The data is given in percentages, not absolute numbers. In general, there was a dramatic shift from renting to owning for virtually the entired period. However, that pattern broke down over the final 10-year period as house ownership began to decline. At the outset, in 1918, home owners made up barely more than 20 per cent of households. That number increased sharply and consistently until 2001. The two groups reached absolute parity in 1971, as each were 50 per cent. The trend continued unabated for the next 30 years, as home ownership reached a peak of nearly 70 percent. The final chart, by contrast reveals a break in the trend line which had moved in only one direction for more than 80 years. That 2011 chart showed a decline in home ownership and a slight rise in rental households.. Overall, a dramatic longterm trend in home ownersh...

It is widely believed that living in a foreign country, where you cannot speak your mother tongue, might cause both severe social issues and practical difficulties. Nowadays, living abroad is not uncommon. Therefore, it is absolutely essential to discuss some challenges, as well as solutions, for this situation. A vast majority Vietnamese people believe that living overseas is a serious challenge. Miscommunication is perhaps the worst problem. Some of my friends have related their experiences, when they first went to study in America. At the beginning, it was like a nightmare for them. The enormous cultural differences between two nations shocked them and almost detroyed their confidence. Therefore, in the first several months, they could neither make friends nor open their mind to others. Moreover, there could be some practical problems. My friend, Thu, probably illustrates this beautifully. She went to Japan five years ago in an exchange student program. One day, she had t...

The two provided maps illustrate the accessibility to a city hospital in two different years: 2007 and 2010. In general, there were many important modifications in road access to the hospital by 2010. The primary difference involved intersections upgrades and the improvement of parking space and bus facilities. The most striking change is the appearance of two roundabouts. The first one was constructed at the three-way conjunction of the Hospital Road and the Ring Road, which encircles the hospital. Whereas the second one was built at the four-way intersection of the Hospital Road and the City Road. Another crucial modification is the enlargement of the parking space. Notably, a new public car parking area was constructed right beside the hospital on the East. It is also connected to the Ring Road. On the other hand, the old car park is slightly smaller and became a parking area for staff only. Finally, the six bus stops along the Hospital Road were displaced by a larg...