The Academy News - September 20, 2013 by Jessica Stern

The Academy News V O L U M E

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 Find your Language Labs on page 2-3

 Have vou been

Welcome Picnic with Italian Flavor

cheated by an online purchase? Askhat gives you some advice on p. 4. Let the buyer beware!

 How much cafeeine is in your coffee? See p. 5 for details.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Language

Labs Language

Labs Cheap Cell

The first week of Fall Semester 2013 was very busy for students, staff, and faculty. There were adventures in finding classrooms on campus and getting to know classmates and roommates. Students were asked what surprised them about Los Angeles. One student from Taiwan said, “It’s always sunny!” Another from Saudi Arabia said, “There are so many homeless people!” On Friday after Oral Skills class, everybody went to the Jefferson Courtyard for a Welcome Picnic. Italian food was served: pasta of different kinds with delicious sauces. Coming to a new country is both exciting and confusing. One student said that the

Continuing students and new students, teachers, and staff had a plateful of pasta and mingled at the Welcome Picnic on Friday.

sales tax surprised him. “I always pay more than the price on the tag,” he said. “I have to get used to that.” There are many other

things to get used to. “Homework,” said another student. One thing is for sure: Los Angeles is full of surprises.

Phones? Caffeine in

Your Coffee? California

Quiz Calendar of Events

UPCOMING ACTIVITIES Los Angeles County Fair

Movies at Citywalk

Friday, September 20, 2013

Friday, September 27, 2013 4:00PM-10:00PM ($5) Come watch a movie at Universal CityWalk Hollywood, an entertainment, dining, shopping promenade. There are many places to eat, a 19-screen movie theater featuring IMAX®, indoor skydiving and more than 30 stores. Sign-up today at 12:00pm in the JEF Courtyard. Bring $5 cash.

12:00PM—8:30PM ($10) Meet at JEF Courtyard Join Language Academy at the fair for a day of fun! Enjoy the horse races, circus shows, animal shows, fair food, and carnival rides and games! Bring spending money for food and attractions. See Silvia in JEF 200B to find out if tickets are still available!

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Time

Location JEF Courtyard JEF Courtyard

11-12pm

JEF Courtyard JEF Courtyard GFS 114

12-1pm

THH 219 THH 115 JEF Courtyard JEF Courtyard JEF Courtyard JEF Courtyard THH 115

1-2pm JEF Courtyard JEF Courtyard JEF Courtyard JEF Courtyard

Time

Location JEF Courtyard JEF Courtyard

11-12pm

JEF Courtyard JEF Courtyard JEF Courtyard

12-1pm

JEF Courtyard JEF Courtyard JEF Courtyard JEF Courtyard

1-2pm JEF Courtyard JEF Courtyard JEF Courtyard JEF Courtyard

Monday, September 23, 2013 Description Conversation Level 1 Conversation Level 2 Conversation Level 3 & 4 Conversation Level 5 & 6 Reading Power (Level 1 & 2) Building English Skills (Levels 1 & 2) Grammar Q & A (Levels 4 - 6) Conversation Level 1 & 2 Conversation Level 3 Conversation Level 4 Conversation Level 5 & 6 Grammar Q & A (Levels 1 - 3) Conversation Level 1 Conversation Level 2 Conversation Levels 3 & 4 Conversation Levels 5 & 6 Tuesday, September 24, 2013 Description Conversation Level 1 Conversation Level 2 Conversation Level 3 & 4 Conversation Level 5 & 6 Conversation Level 1 & 2 Conversation Level 3 Conversation Level 4 Conversation Level 5 & 6 Conversation Level 1 Conversation Level 2 Conversation Level 3 Conversation Levels 4 Conversation Levels 5 & 6

Facilitator Demetri USC Student Belen USC Student Rachel USC Student Liza USC Student Jennifer Parker Faculty Michael Laib Faculty John Esposito Faculty Belen USC Student Narineh USC Student Liza USC Student Demetri USC Student Michael Laib Faculty Luke USC Student Demetri USC Student Liza USC Student Belen USC Student

Facilitator Belen USC Student Luke USC Student Demetri USC Student Blaire USC Student Demetri USC Student Sheena USC Student Belen USC Student Luke USC Student Sheena USC Student Belen USC Student Luke USC Student Demetri USC Student Liza USC Student

Reading Power (Levels 1 & 2): Do you want to become a better, faster reader? Attend this lab to get tips and tricks on how to improve your reading skills. Building English Skills (Levels 1 & 2): Do you want to pronounce words better when you read aloud in class? Do you want to have beautiful handwriting? Do you want to improve your spelling and basic grammar? This lab will focus on handwriting, spelling, reading aloud, and sentence grammar. GRE/GMAT Preparation (Levels 4-6): Find out the best ways to succeed on the new exam Grammar Q & A: Do you want to improve your grammar? All your grammar questions will be answered in this lab. IELTS Prep Lab (Levels 2 -5): Learn important skills and strategies to perform well on the IELTS exam.

Conversation Groups: Practice speaking English by level with USC students. This is an interactive discussion in which you will participate in groups about several interesting topics. This is your opportunity to practice and to ask questions to native English speakers. To sign up, go to www.usc.edu/langacad  Click on “Student Information”  Click on “Current Students”  Click on “Language Labs”

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Time

Location JEF Courtyard JEF Courtyard

11-12pm

JEF Courtyard JEF Courtyard GFS 114

12-1pm

THH 219 THH 115 JEF Courtyard JEF Courtyard JEF Courtyard JEF Courtyard GFS 114

1-2pm JEF Courtyard JEF Courtyard JEF Courtyard

Time 11-12pm

Location JEF Courtyard JEF Courtyard JEF Courtyard

12-1pm

JEF Courtyard JEF Courtyard JEF Courtyard

1-2pm JEF Courtyard JEF Courtyard

Wednesday, September 25, 2013 Description Conversation Level 1 Conversation Level 2 Conversation Level 3 & 4 Conversation Level 5 & 6 IELTS Prep GRE/GMAT Prep (Levels 4 - 6) Grammar Q & A (Levels 1 - 3) Conversation Level 1 & 2 Conversation Level 3 Conversation Level 4 Conversation Level 5 & 6 Reading Power (Levels 1 & 2) Conversation Level 1 & 2 Conversation Level 3 & 4 Conversation Levels 5 & 6 Thursday, September 26, 2013 Description Conversation Level 1, 2 & 3 Conversation Level 4, 5 & 6 Conversation Level 1 & 2 Conversation Level 3 & 4 Conversation Level 5 & 6 Conversation Level 1 & 2 Conversation Level 3 & 4 Conversation Levels 5 & 6

Facilitator Rachel USC Student Narineh USC Student Blaire USC Student Demetri USC Student James Hutzell Faculty Barbara Holmes Faculty Michael Laib Faculty Narineh USC Student Demetri USC Student Blaire USC Student Liza USC Student Jennifer Parker USC Student Luke USC Student Liza USC Student Blaire USC Student

Facilitator Demetri USC Student Belen USC Student Luke USC Student Demetri USC Student Sheena USC Student Sheena USC Student Liza USC Student Luke USC Student

IMMUNIZATIONS FOR NEW STUDENTS!!! Thank you to all new students who attended the mandatory immunization session on Wednesday, September 18th! If you did not attend, you must go to the health center (room 145) no later than Monday, September 23rd before 3:00pm. All students must comply with the university immunization requirement. If you do not comply, you will not be allowed to attend classes. For questions, see Silvia in JEF 200B.

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Welcome Velkommen Bienvenue Bienvenidos Benvenuti Bem-vindo 歡迎 환영 ようこそ ยินดีต้อนรับ Қош келдіңіз! Xush kelibsiz ‫مرحبا بكم‬ Добро пожаловать Courtesy of Google Translate

How to Buy a Cellphone Without Being Cheated By ASKHAT MUSSIN ____________________________

I was recently asked by my friend to buy a new cell phone for him from Craigslist LA. The Craigslist was chosen by him for one main reason: it was cheaper than in a store. Being a good friend, I could not refuse his request, so I started looking for a good deal. I was told about the particular model of the cell phone, so I knew what I was looking for, although I was not familiar with this particular make. After searching and comparing dozens of offers online, I stopped on some of them, making calls and negotiating about the price. After I got the appropriate offer, I made an appointment and went to meet the seller in order to make a deal. It was nice woman with a credible face. She gave me the phone, and I checked if it worked well and gave her the money. Finally, I got a deal. Everybody was happy. When I gave my purchase to my friend, I felt like I

did a great job and had the right to relax and unwind… But when he saw what I just bought, he screamed so loudly. After that I realized that this phone was a fake. It was not an original device, although it was very similar with one. I was shocked. I couldn’t say anything to justify myself. I just threw away my friend's money for nothing. I tried to dial the seller's number, but she didn't answer. “Off course,” I thought. I tried to remember her, but I didn’t know anything about her. How could I find her? Why did this happen? So many questions appeared in my mind. But my friend, being a good friend too, told me, “I don't blame you, I know that greed pays twice..” Then I decided to use my last chance to cancel the deal and get the money back. I wrote a message saying that I knew her car model and license plate number (of course I didn’t), so I could easily find her, and if she saw me with a couple of police officers behind, she would be very surprised.

She called me right after that message saying that it was a gift from her friends, and she had no idea about that device either. I hope it was true. Here are important clues: 1. You have to know what you are buying. What does it look like? What is the particular qualities of the product? 2. Feel free to ask the seller as many questions as you like about the purchase. 3. Protect yourself by discussing possible dealbreakers. 4. You can search online about how to recognize fake products. 5. Try to know more about the seller, his coordinates, etc. 6. Make sure you have your witnesses with you. It could be your friends or even some strangers (in that case, make sure you have their phone numbers, etc). And always remember, “Greed pays twice.”

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How Much Caffeine Is in Your Coffee? By ZIJUN (MIKE) LU ___________________

much for the regular customer. On the other hand, the coffee from McDonald’s is like drinking some kind of water. Top Recommended Regular Coffee

Caribou Coffee 15 mg/ oz.

Starbucks 20.6mg/ oz.

Dutch Bros 12.8mg/ oz. Peet’s Coffee 16.7 mg./oz.

Answers to “California Quiz” 1. C 2. C 3. A 4. C 5. B 6. B

When you are trying to stay up in the late night in order to finish your homework, the most common approach you probably use is drinking a cup of coffee. Caffeine, a stimulant. That is the real secret in the coffee. A moderate supplement with caffeine will help us get rid of fatigue, and enhance the ability of memory. It also has the function of antidepressant, controlling weight and promoting digestion. But be careful, overly dosed caffeine also will be detrimental to your health. Caffeine intoxication, caffeine-induced sleep disorder, caffeine-induced anxiety disorder and caffeine-related disorder are four of the most common sideaffects when you overdose it. Normally, 200-250mg of caffeine a day is suggested. Someone will mistake assumption that the taste of coffee depends on the amount of caffeine, whereas the taste only would be determined by the kind of coffee seeds, the extent of the coffee roasted, and the proportion of the water. So what kind of coffee brand would you normally choose? Let’s check out the amount of caffeine in each brand of coffee, and find out if you are drinking the coffee in a healthy way. According to Center for Science in the Public Interest, the “Death Wish Coffee” which contains 54.2mg caffeine in 1 fl oz coffee wins the title of “strongest coffee”, but it probably too

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California Quiz

USC Language Academy Rossier School of Education

3. The capital of California is — . A. Sacramento B. San Francisco C. Los Angeles

4. The governor of the state is —. What do you know about Cali- A. Antonio Villaraigosa fornia? B. Arnold Schwarzenegger 1. When the Europeans came to C. Jerry Brown America, California was first settled by the —. 5. California is called —. A. English A. The Sunshine State B. French B. The Golden State C. Spanish C. The Orange State

Phone: 213-740-0080 Fax: 213-740-0088 Web: www.usc.edu/ langacad Check out The Academy News online at www.usc.edu/langacad.Go to “Student Information” and then click on “The Academy

The Academy News is a weekly newsletter produced by students in the Journalism Elective of the USC Language Academy. All students in the Language Academy Program are encouraged to send news stories and photos to Sonja Lovelace at slovelac@usc.edu.

2. California became a state in 6. The population of California —. is—. A. 1803 A. 25 million B. 1835 B. 37 million Answers C. 1850 C. 75 million on p. 5

Events Calendar: September 20-27 MOVIES America, America Tuesday, September 24, 2013 7:00pm to 10:00pm SCA 108 Free RSVP

open to the public. Please bring a valid USC ID or print out of your reservation confirmation, which will automatically be sent to your e-mail account upon successfully making an RSVP through http:// cinema.usc.edu/events/event.cfm? id=13720 Doors will open at 6:30 P.M.

not guaranteed based on RSVPs. The RSVP list will be checked in on a first-come, first-served basis until the theater is full. Once the theater has reached capacity, we will no longer be able to admit guests, regardless of RSVP status. DISCOUNT MOVIE TICKETS

The Student Union sells discounted movie tickets for all major All SCA screenings are OVERBOOKED to ensure seating capacity movie theaters, such as Edwards and At the end Regal Cinemas. Tickets for movies of the 19th century in a small village in the theater, therefore seating is that have just been released are more in Turkey, when oppression against expensive than those that have been FREE EVENTS the Greek minority increases, a fain theaters for two weeks or more. Enjoy free events on campus durther, plotting his family's escape, The Student Union (STU) is located ing the semester. Please go to the sends his young son to ConstantinoArts and Events Calendar for next to the Tutor Campus Center. ple to make money and get the famimore details at http://webSave some money with your USC ID ly to join him. But the son's own app.usc.edu/ws/eo2/calendar/32/ and see top movies on a budget! dream is different. This screening is free of charge and