Armenian traditions

1. Salty biscuits

Step aside St. Valentine. St. Sargis (Surb Sarkis) is the Armenian patron saint of love and youth. And in his name, the key to the Armenian heart lies in a salty biscuit.

On the eve of 14 February, Armenian singletons eat a specially prepared salty biscuit (known as aghiblit) and abstain from drinking water.

Legend has it that they will dream of their future partner bringing them a cup of water to ease their thirst. And if not, better luck next year. 

2. Getting drenched at Vardavar

Water scarce Armenia allows itself just one day a year to waste this precious resource. But only because of its power to cleanse inside and out. Vardavar dates back to pagan times and is an enduring nod to Astghik, the goddess of water and purity.

Expect to get properly drenched on this day in July. The Armenians think nothing of pouring water over anyone who doesn’t look thrilled to be alive. And they’re undiscerning about it too. You could be a complete stranger only to find your unsuspecting self liberally doused with a bucket of water thrown from the balcony above. 

3. The Blessing of the Grapes

Perhaps blessed grapes are tastier. Perhaps it has simply become common practice not to sample their juicy goodness before a holy hand has touched them. Either way, local Armenians eagerly await the annual grape blessing, having abstained from sampling the fruits of their grape harvest until mid-August when the Armenian Church celebrates this ritual. The locals start to make their delicious Armenian wines only once the grapes have been blessed.

They Came from Outer Space — Reading Exercise

Complete the science fiction story with the words below.

drew    earth    fiction    find    from    had    look    mean    office    said    talk    took    wanted    was    went    were 

Miss Chapman was Clint’s new English and Geography teacher. She was the daughter of the school’s new headmaster. In the Art lesson Clint drew a picture of a spaceship. In the next lesson Clint’s class had English. Clint wrote a science fiction story. In this story people from outer space came to the earth. They came in blue spaceships and didn’t look like normal people. They were very bad and wanted to take over the world, but they weren’t able to do it and wentaway again.
Clint told the story Miss Chapman. The next day she said, “That’s a very interesting story. My father wants to talk to you after the lesson.” Clint was very proud. He went to the headmaster’s office. “That’s an interesting story. People from outer space want to take over the world.” “Yes, Sir,” Clint said. How did you find out that we are here?” “I don’t know what you mean,” Clint answered.
The headmaster took his hand out of his pocket. His fingers were green . . .

Lesson 10

excel – գերազանցել
feminine – կանացի
mount – լեռ
compete – մրցակցել
dread – վախենալ
masculine – տղամարդկային, արական
menace – սպառնալիք
tendency –
underestimate – թերագնահատել
victorious – հաղթանակ
numerous – բազմաթիվ
flexible – ճկուն

Words in Use
Read the following passage to see how the new words are used in it.

Bet on the Blond

Can women excel as jockeys in big-time horse racing? Years ago the feminine touch was kept out of racing, but now at tracks all over the country women mount horses and compete with men, many of whom dread the whole idea. Their masculine image, they feel, may be threatened.* Also, some offer the weak argument that females are a menace on the track. But, as we all know, we should resist* the tendency to underestimate the power of women. A few female jockeys have been victorious in numerous races, and this is probably what has put the male jockeys in a rage.* It would be wise if the men were more flexible in their attitudes toward women athletes.

Fill in the Blanks
Place one of the new words in each of the blanks below.

1. The massive* tree on the corner was a -menace – to traffic.
2. At parties, the shy girl would -dread- being asked to dance.
3. My uncle has a -tendency- to repeat the same story over and over again.
4. The modest man used to -underestimate- his own strength.
5. No person can ever -excel- in all things he does.
6. Being -flabby- is far better than being stubborn.
7. We went to the beach on -numerous- occasions last summer.
8. Playing with dolls is traditionally* a -feminine- pastime.
9. Only the brightest students were invited to -compete – for the prize.
10. Carole was ten years old before her parents finally let her -mount- a horse.
11. The amateur* tennis player completed many matches without being -victorious-. 
12. When Stuart started growing a mustache, it was obvious* he was becoming more -masculine-.

Do you have right mindset?

Think back to when you were in a classroom, maybe a maths classroom, and the teacher set a difficult problem. (That could have been any time between this morning or a few years ago.) Which of the two following responses is closer to the way you reacted?

A:Oh no, this is too hard for me. I’m not even going to seriously try and work it out.

B:Ah, this is quite tricky but I like to push myself. Even if I don’t get the answer right, maybe I’ll learn something in the attempt.

Early in her career, the psychologist Carol Dweck of Stanford University gave a group of ten-year-olds problems that were slightly too hard for them. One group reacted positively, said they loved challenge and understood that their abilities could be developed. She says they had a ‘growth mindset’ and are focused on what they can achieve in the future. But another group of children felt that their intelligence was being judged and they had failed. They had a ‘fixed mindset’ and were unable to imagine improving. Some of these children said they might cheat in the future; others looked for someone who had done worse than them to boost their self-esteem.

Professor Dweck believes that there is a problem in education at the moment. For years, children have been praised for their intelligence or talent, but this makes them vulnerable to failure. They become performance-oriented, wanting to please by getting high grades, but they are not necessarily interested in learning for its own sake. The solution, according to Dweck, is to praise the process that children are engaged in: making an effort, using learning strategies, persevering and improving. This way they will become mastery-oriented (i.e. interested in getting better at something) and will achieve more. She contends that sustained effort over time is the key to outstanding achievement.

Psychologists have been testing these theories. Students were taught that if they left their comfort zone and learned something new and difficult, the neurons in their brains would form stronger connections, making them more intelligent. These students made faster progress than a control group. In another study, underperforming school children on a Native American reservation were exposed to growth mindset techniques for a year. The results were nothing less than staggering. They came top in regional tests, beating children from much more privileged backgrounds. These children had previously felt that making an effort was a sign of stupidity, but they came to see it as the key to learning.

So, back to our original question. If you answered B, well done – you already have a growth mindset. If A, don’t worry; everyone is capable of becoming mastery-oriented with a little effort and self-awareness.

English

I. What do the phrases highlighted below mean in your own words? Is there a translation in your language?

The average age of the population for many nations around the world has been in decline in recent decades creating a situation where young people have become the world’s largest demographic, particularly in developing nations. Although there are decided drawbacks to this phenomenon related to expertise in the workforce, it is still a positive development because it will lead to booming economies in the coming years.

The most frequently cited drawback to having a predominately young population is the lack of skilled workers in many important industries. A great example of this can be seen in Vietnam, which has one of the youngest populations in the world. Vietnam currently has very few leaders in important areas like engineering and technology. When it came time for Ho Chi Minh city to build a subway system, there were not enough skilled engineers to accomplish the feat. They had to hire a huge number of specialists from Japan and Thailand to ensure the quality of the project. The potential engineers for this project are still in school in Vietnam or studying abroad and it may be another decade before they are ready to design and execute large, complex infrastructure. It is not uncommon for developing countries with young populations to require outside assistance for national projects to the detriment of their own workers.

Despite this drawback, the advantage of a young population is that it brings many future benefits to a country and is a key indicator of future economic prosperity. Japan famously has one of the oldest populations in the world and this has led them into a deep economic recession over the last 20 years as it becomes increasingly apparent that the nation will have to assume responsibilities related to healthcare and a dwindling workforce. Contrast this with the so-called ‘Tiger Economies’ of Southeast Asia that include Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore. These countries have some of the youngest populations in the world, which, coupled with a growing middle class and better education, means that they will enjoy upward economic growth for decades to come. The middle class will expand because well-educated graduates will be able to get good jobs and this middle class will become a consumer class that feeds the economy. Overall, this is why having a young population is desirable for any nation.

In conclusion, I fully believe that a younger population indicates a country is going to be successful in the future. The key element for all young populations is education and governments should focus on this in order to fully exploit the benefits of their demographics.

2. 1. in decline 2. demographic 3. decided drawbacks 

The end of life on Earth?

It weighed about 10,000 tons, entered the atmosphere at a speed of 64,000km/h and exploded over a city with a blast of 500 kilotons. But on 15 February 2013, we were lucky. The meteorite that showered pieces of rock over Chelyabinsk, Russia, was relatively small, at only about 17 metres wide. Although many people were injured by falling glass, the damage was nothing compared to what had happened in Siberia nearly one hundred years ago. Another relatively small object (approximately 50 metres in diameter) exploded in mid-air over a forest region, flattening about 80 million trees. If it had exploded over a city such as Moscow or London, millions of people would have been killed.

By a strange coincidence, the same day that the meteorite terrified the people of Chelyabinsk, another 50m-wide asteroid passed relatively close to Earth. Scientists were expecting that visit and know that the asteroid will return to fly close by us in 2046, but the Russian meteorite earlier in the day had been too small for anyone to spot.

Most scientists agree that comets and asteroids pose the biggest natural threat to human existence. It was probably a large asteroid or comet colliding with Earth which wiped out the dinosaurs about 65 million years ago. An enormous object, 10 to 16km in diameter, struck the Yucatan region of Mexico with the force of 100 megatons. That is the equivalent of one Hiroshima bomb for every person alive on Earth today.

Many scientists, including the late Stephen Hawking, say that any comet or asteroid greater than 20km in diameter that hits Earth will result in the complete destruction of complex life, including all animals and most plants. As we have seen, even a much smaller asteroid can cause great damage.

The Earth has been kept fairly safe for the last 65 million years by good fortune and the massive gravitational field of the planet Jupiter. Our cosmic guardian, with its stable circular orbit far from the sun, sweeps up and scatters away most of the dangerous comets and asteroids which might cross Earth’s orbit. After the Chelyabinsk meteorite, scientists are now monitoring potential hazards even more carefully but, as far as they know, there is no danger in the foreseeable future.

Types of space rocks
Comet – a ball of rock and ice that sends out a tail of gas and dust behind it. Bright comets only appear in our visible night sky about once every ten years.
Asteroid – a rock a few feet to several kms in diameter. Unlike comets, asteroids have no tail. Most are too small to cause any damage and burn up in the atmosphere. They appear to us as ‘shooting stars’.
Meteoroid – part of an asteroid or comet.
Meteorite – what a meteoroid is called when it hits Earth.

Rock

The history of rock music has been volatile and unpredictable as the genre has constantly redefined and reinvented itself since its emergence in the late 1940s. Not surprisingly, then, it can be difficult to apply a straightforward definition to such a restless musical format.

But while people might quibble over specifics, rock music can generally be described as hard-edged music performed with electric guitars, bass, and drums and usually accompanied by lyrics sung by a vocalist. That sounds simple enough, but a closer look at the evolution of rock suggests how different styles and influences have shaped its development over the years.

Rock’s Origins (1940s-1960s) 

Rock’s origins can be traced to the late 1940s, when the popular styles of the day, country music and blues, morphed into a new sound aided by electric guitars and a steady drumbeat. Pioneering rock artists of the 1950s such as Chuck Berry leaned heavily on classic blues structures while demonstrating a flair as natural-born entertainers. In contrast to the safe pop music of the era, rock’s aggressive attack suggested a sexual freedom that was shocking during that conservative age.

By the early ’60s, Berry’s followers, most notably the Rolling Stones, expanded rock’s scope by transitioning from singles artists into musicians capable of producing cohesive albums of songs. Embracing sex and youthful rebellion in their music, the Stones courted controversy but also elevated rock to new cultural heights.

Sleep deprivation

Sleep deprivation is a general term to describe a state caused by inadequate quantity or quality of sleep, including voluntary or involuntary sleeplessness and circadian rhythm sleep disorders.

Sleep is as important to the human body as food and water, but many of us don’t get enough sleep. Insufficient sleep, inadequate quality of sleep or disruptions to the sleep-wake cycle (such as those that occur with shift work or travelling to a different time zone) have consequences for how we function in the daytime, causing sleepiness and fatigue.

A sleepy fatigued person is accident prone, judgement impaired and more likely to make mistakes and bad decisions. Staying awake for 24 hours leads to a reduced hand-to-eye coordination that is similar to having a blood alcohol content of 0.1. This is why sleep deprivation contributes to road accidents and work injuries.

Lack of sleep can also affect a child’s school performance and could be linked to increased risk of emotional problems such as despression.

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