Reading time!

Amazing new story on our wiki: The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde

http://markaki-reading.wikispaces.com/The+Selfish+Giant 

Some Christmas reading

A Christmas Carol (simplified) from Maria Markaki School of Foreign Languages

Save money or enjoy life?

Finding the Balance

Many of us spend the most of our money having a good time or buying many things that we don't really need.However, (comma) if accidently something happens and we immediately need money, we would will (1st conditional) be in a very difficult position. Although saving money could be something very useful, (comma) we shouldn't overdo (one word) it because then if we spend the most of our day trying to save money, we would will not be able to enjoy life .

Saving money is something really important because you can avoid problems that otherwise you couldn't. For example, if you have a health problem and you need money, you can give up your savings, so then you wouldn't need to get into debt. Also, you could save up money to offer them it to your children or grandchildren, (commas) like many people do, to make their lives easier.

On the other hand, you should also enjoy life, (commas) as well, in order to be healthier and happier. You could spend your money to make the quality of your life better, (comma) like learn a language or an instrument. It's also true that many people need wish the money to go travelling to other countries.It's really important for people to have fun and spend their time constructively.

To sum up, I don't really think that we should only focus on saving money or on enjoying life. Both of them must be in balance because that way we can avoid many problems and also enjoy life and then we'll be happier.

Content and Development	Organization and Connection of Ideas	Linguistic Range and Control	Communicative Effect
3	4	3	3

Your average mark is 3/5, Chris (C). And I was lenient! Be more careful next time and avoid short forms in essays.

ECCE Speaking and some more thoughts

Could you tell me who is the person in that picture?
Of course.She is my little sister.

 Your sister looks very angry.What problem does she have?

Well, she wants to go travelling but she doesn't have the money, so she asked me to lend her.The problem is that I don't know if I should lend her the money she needs.

What are the options you have?
On the one hand I could lend her the money she needs but I don't know if she's going to pay me back someday. On the other hand, if I won't lend her the money, she's going to sell our grandmother's necklace which has big sentimental value for the family and that would be a shame.

I think that the best thing to do is to lend her the money.You are a family afterall and in a family all should help each other.You could also make her promise you that she'll return the money as soon as possible and I think that she'll keep her word .You also mentioned that the necklake has a sentimental value for the family so it would be a pity if she sells it and that's something that no one wants.



Thoughts about the Internet

Chat can help much people who want to learn a language and also meet and make friends around the world.There are million of people around the world who want to learn new languages and explore the world.Many of them offer some time to offer help to everyone who want to learn their native language.

Nowadays, it's very usual for people to go travelling and arrange where they're going to stay on the Internet. Also many people could offer you a place to live when you are going to travel in their country and in exchange you could , if you are asked to, return the hospitality they show you.

If you have an idea or something that you want to share, you can just post it on the internet so your friends can see it. The Internet can also be very useful if you want to study.Many students work on the Internet and their video courses. So it doesn't matter if you lose a lesson because the other morning when you wake up you are going to watch what you've missed, enjoing your coffee.

Information s and news are posted every day and they can be posted by anyone.You can have any service you want,like buying clothes or checking before your flight.You can also watch movies and play your favourite games any time of the day because the Internet is never closed/ never stops working!

So the Internet has revolutionised the way we communicate. On the Internet you can work,shop or have fun anytime.You can also learn and post about anything and the only equipment you need to have is a computer.

Although the Internet has so many advantages, it has also many disadvantages. The Internet has traps for everyone who is not careful or doesn't know how to use it safely. There are lot of times that people have disappeared when they are going to a meeting with someone they don't know or cases which nazi groups organised their attacks by using the social media.

The police has made many statements about the dangers of the Internet. Guns and drugs deals have been arranged on the Internet as well and many people have killed themselves because they were told to do so by someone unknown. Of course, the Internet has its own police which investigates crimes and deals online, but this is not enough.There are no laws on the Internet, so everyone can do whatever they want.

So the Internet can be a great tool for someone who knows how to use it and a great nightmare for these who don't.As it is, all the users of the Internet should be informed and alarmed for the dangers of it.I hope I've helped you to understand what the Internet is and how to utilize it well.