Customized wallpaper

Here is a fun web site where you can build your own reef, then save it and download it as a wallpaper for your desktop. It starts out empty, like this:

You add fish, sea turtles, different kinds of reefs, bubbles, color, etc.

Here is an example of what you can do.

Another winner for our Summer Reading Program

Congratulations to the second winner of our Summer Reading Program: Marco Guayasamín. Marco won a copy of the grammar practice book How English Works by Michael Swan and Catherine Walter, a $25 value!

How can you win? Just read something in English this month and fill out a short form (available in the CEC library) telling us what you read and whether you liked it or not. Give the form to Isabel, the librarian, and get entered in the drawing (prizes will be drawn every Friday and awarded on Monday).

Good reading and good luck!

And the winner is...

Congratulations again to Anthony for being the winner of a Spanish-English dictionary during our Summer Reading Pogram!

Summer Reading Program Successfully Launched!

Thanks to all the teachers and students who visited the CEC library yesterday and checked out books. We had an amazing response - over 300 students came to see us, ask questions, and browse the stacks. Don't forget to read, read, read all this cycle, and fill out the comment form for each thing you read in Enlgish in order to be eligible for the drawings every Friday!

Winners will be posted here, as well as in our three buildings: EPN (Civil Engineering, 5th floor), Edif. Araucaria (Baquedano 222 y Reina Victoria) and Veintimilla (Veintimilla y 6 de diciembre, next to Tienda Rossa).

UPDATE: And the winner is...
ANTHONY BRYANT SALAZAR YANEZ!!!! (Beginner, 2-4).

Anthony has won a brand new Cambridge University Press Spanish-English dictionary, a $25 value!

Download Free E-books for More English Practice

Want to read in English but English books are too expensive? Well, if you haven't been using the Internet already, do so! On the Internet you have access to news items, entertainment news, and just about anything you could possibly want. Most of the information on the web is non-fiction, however, and it might seem difficult to find fiction in English. There are a number of web sites that offer free fiction e-books, many of them classics, that you can download to your computer. Try these:

• Classic Bookshelf
• The Gutemberg Project
• The Online Books Page
  

Common Particles in Phrasal Verbs: OFF

Off has various meanings when it is used as a particle* in a phrasal verb. While some of these meanings are literal, many are figurative. Here we will look at a few of these meanings and some examples.

Meaning 1
go away, leave a place or position

• lift off: We watched as the giant rocket lifted off.
• take off: Ed took three days off of work this week.
• veer off: After the small car hit the pothole, it veered off the road and into the ditch.
• make off: My ex-husband made off with all of the money in my bank acocunt.
• run off: Jackie ran off with her high school sweetheart, leaving her family behind.

Meaning 2
remove or get rid of something

• cut off: Michelle cut off the tags on her clothes before she wore them.
• work off: Iris gained five pounds on vacation. Now, she is working that extra weight off at the gym.
• take off: If it is too hot, feel free to take off your jacket.
• fall off: The pictures fell off the wall in the quake.
• cross off: I've already crossed several items off of my to-do list.

Meaning 3
start happening or start doing something

• kick off: The game kicked off a few minutes late.
• get off: We got off to a bad start, but now we are becoming better friends.
• spark off: The mayor's decision sparked off rioting in the poorer parts of town.

Meaning 4
finish or complete something

• carry off: I don't know if she'll be able to carry off the baby shower. It is in one week and she hasn't even sent out invitations yet!
• log off: Did you log off the computer before you left? If not, someone else could use your account.
• finish off: John finished off all the food in the refrigerator - and he's still hungry!
• round off: We're going to round off the trip with a visit to the Panecillo and a light lunch at Pim's.
• turn off: Please turn off the TV when you are finished.

Meaning 5
separate something from someone or something else, in order to keep it private, stop people entering it, etc.

• block off: The police blocked off the area while they were searching for the suspect.
• close off: The road was closed off because of the flooding.
• fend off: She carries a fly swatter to fend off mosquitoes and bees.
• fight off: I'm fighting off a cold.
• scare off: Jenny scares off all her boyfriends by talking about marriage and babies on the first date.
• laugh off: Clay just laughed off his mistake, but his boss didn't think it was funny.
• brush off: She's an expert at brushing off criticim. It doens't seem to bother her at all.

Meaning 6
get out of a bus, train, plane, etc. or let someone do this

• let off: You can let me off at the next corner.
• get off: When you get off the bus, check to make sure that you are at the right stop.
• drop off: You can drop off the books after 10 am. Alana will be expecting you.

*A particle is the second part of a phrasal verb (sometimes called a two-part verb) and is either a preposition (with, from) or an adverb (away, out).

Adapted from: Macmillan Phrasal Verbs Plus Dictionary.

Food, Music, Prizes, Books, and More!

Join us at the CEC library for a day of books and fun on Wednesday, August 29, from 9 am to 5 pm. We will be officially celebrating the opening of the library and kicking off the summer reading program: "Ahhh! The Power of Reading". There will be food, music, movies, and more, so stop by (Veintimilla y 6 de diciembre next to Tienda Rossa) and check out a book.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Door Prizes:
There will be a drawing for a prize for all students who check out a book on the 29th. Ask Isabel, the librarian, for recommendations of books appropriate for your level.
Movies:
Stop by the library during the day and catch a movie with your friends. (The movie schedule will be posted next week.)

Participate in the Reading Program: "Ahhh! The Power of Reading"
For every book you read in English during Cycle 4, fill out a short form and get your name entered in the prize drawings. The more you read, the better chance you have of winning. Drawings will be held on Fridays at 2 pm each week.