Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci

                I think it would be really hard to find someone who has never seen the painting of Mona Lisa and I‘m sure the creator of this painting needs no introduction. It‘s Leonardo da Vinci. The reason I‘ve chosen to talk about him is because not only was he a brilliant painter and a sculptor, but also an amazing architect, anatomist and an inventor.

            So, what do we already know about him? His full name is Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci and he was born in the present-day Italy in 1452. He lived for 67 years and died in 1519. Leonardo was, and still is, renowned primarily as a painter. Among his works, the Mona Lisa is the most famous and most parodied portrait and The Last Supper is the most reproduced religious painting of all time. Leonardo's drawing of the Vitruvian Man is also regarded as a cultural icon, being reproduced on items as varied as the euro coin, textbooks, and T-shirts and his Lady with an Ermine is also one of the most famous paintings in the world.

            However, the most amazing thing about Leonardo da Vinci is his technological ingenuity although he was homeschooled and lacked a formal education.  He drew sketches of a working flying machine, a tank, concentrated solar power and an adding machine. And did you know that In December 2000, skydiver Adrian Nicholas landed in South Africa using a parachute built from one of Leonardo's designs? Leonardo was also the first to explain why the sky is blue - it's because of the way air scatters light. You might also be surprised to hear that being a paranoid dyslexic, Leonardo could draw forward with one hand while writing backwards with the other, producing a mirror-image script that others found difficult to read—which was exactly the point.

            I’m sure you’ll agree that Leonardo was not an ordinary man: he enjoyed purchasing caged birds so that he could set them free and he dug into graveyards at night to steal corpses and study human anatomy. He was also a vegetarian for humanitarian reasons. But what‘s really fascinating is that despite being a left-handed dyslexic and procrastinating perfectionist he managed to become so successful.

            There’s so much more I could tell you about Leonardo da Vinci, but I think it’s enough for now. Let me just finish by saying that this man, who died almost 500 years ago was a person that you can truly call a genius.

The younger generation knows best

The younger generation knows best

Many people believe that knowledge depends on age. But, I think, that age doesn’t have such a big influence on person’s intelligence. In my opinion, the younger generation knows better, because they are better educated, it’s easier for them to adapt to the new changes and they have better connections with actual problems.

To begin with, the younger generation has better education than their grandparents and they are able to adapt faster to the new changes than the majority of elders. Younger people are using newest technologies on day to day basis, so because of this they can quickly learn about what is happening around the world or about what they need to have personal opinion, which will be based on different points of view. Moreover, because of better education, the younger generation is more open-minded. Some older people have their personal opinion, which is outdated, but they won’t change it, because they were brainwashed by their government or other institution to believe that it is the only way in life.

Secondly, younger people are closer to the actual problems. Old men and women have safe and quiet life. They are not interested in problems, which do not concern them. But the younger generation is more active, because they have more strength to stand up for themselves and new ideas to fight for.

On the other hand, some people claim that older generation knows best, because they have more experience. Younger generation usually listens to their intuition, while aged individuals listen to their mind. They make decisions, which are more studied and responsible. Moreover, because of experience, they know what can happen if you choose one or the other path in your life. Because of this they make les mistakes.

To sum up, although some people say that older generation knows best, because of the experience they have, I believe that younger generation knows better, because they are more open-minded, closer to the actual problems and because they have modern technologies as their friend.

Presentation: Louis Pasteur

There have been many great scientists in humankind’s history, who were successful in different fields of science. The reason I have chosen Louis Pasteur, a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization, is, because he was a great man who saved millions of people by devoting his life to chemistry and physics, but only a small group of individuals know him. I hope you’ll learn a few things about Louis Pasteur from my presentation.

So what do we already know about his life?  Well, he was born on December 27, 1822, in Dole, Jura, France, in a Catholic family of a poor tanner. Also, he was an average student in his early years, and not particularly academic, as his interests were fishing and sketching. Moreover, in 1848, he became a professor of chemistry at the University of Strasbourg, where he met his wife Marie Laurent. They were married on May 29, 1849, and had five children together, only two of whom survived to adulthood; the other three died of typhoid. You won’t be surprised to hear that these personal tragedies were his motivation for curing infectious diseases.

As for his career, Louis Pasteur was appointed to the Chair of Chemistry in the faculty of sciences of the University of Strasbourg. Also, in 1854, he was named dean of the new faculty of sciences at Lille University. In 1856, he moved back to Paris, because he was feeling homesick, as the director of scientific studies where he took control from 1858 to 1867 and introduced a series of reforms.  His examinations became more rigid, which led to better results, greater competition, and increased prestige. Louis Pasteur raised the standard of scientific work, leading to two serious student revolts. Furthermore, in 1862, he was appointed professor of geology, physics, and chemistry until his resignation in 1867. And finally, in 1887, In Paris, he established the Pasteur Institute and was its director for the rest of his life.

And now, when you know a little bit more about this great scientist, you are probably wondering, what are his achievements, right? Well, he is remembered for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and preventions of diseases, and his discoveries have saved countless lives ever since. He, also, reduced mortality from puerperal fever, and created the first vaccines for rabies and anthrax. And the interesting fact about his vaccine is that it had been tested only on 11 dogs before its first human trial. And the first patient who was injected with Louis Pasteur vaccine was a 9-year old boy! But he is best known to the general public for his invention of the technique of treating milk and wine to stop bacterial contamination, a process now called pasteurization.

There’s so much more I could tell you about this man, popularly known as the "father of microbiology", but I think it’s enough for now. Let me just finish by saying that Louis Pasteur had a big influence on today’s chemistry and medicine and I’m sure you’ll agree that he was a very successful scientist.

Nikola Tesla: The best inventor of all time

There have been a lot of well-known extraordinary people who were obsessed with many different fields of our world and they left a mark in humankind’s history. But today I want to talk about a man who invented today’s world and hadn’t got his recognition until recently.

This man is a Serbian American Nikola Tesla. He was an inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, physicist, and a futurist best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current electricity supply system.  Nikola Tesla devoted his life to make the world a better place to live in. There are about 300 patents for his inventions which took about 50 years for humankind to understand how they work and how to use them but none of them have a patent protection. Nikola Tesla gave permission to other scientist to use his patents for their research. He succeeded in making X-rays, radars, wireless transmissions and even Death ray, which he destroyed, because he knew that it could have handed world domination to whoever held it. Because of these devices Nikola Tesla has gained reputation as a “mad scientist”. Another interesting action in Nikola Tesla’s life was when he ripped apart a contract, when he found out that, because of that contract a person will lose his business, and all of his employees will lose their jobs.

Although Nikola Tesla was a good man and in my opinion the best inventor of all time he died poor and alone, except for the pigeons which he loved. But despite that he had forgiven everyone their ignorance and literally made the world a better place to live in.

Letter: Grandmother issues

Dear Agne,

Thanks for your last letter. It was great to hear from you and I symphatise with you. Sorry, that i haven't wrote earlier - I've been very busy for the past few days.

First of all, if I were you, I would try to expalin to my grandmother, that I'm a grown up already. Also, you should explain to her, that you are on diffrent wavelenghts about life, because of the generation gap. Things have changed since her day, so did the fashion and even behaviour at school. I think then she'll understandhow you feel about her behaviour and if she doesn't, you should ask your parents for help to finding the solution to this problem. Explain them how you feel about beeing critized by your own grandmother in front of your friends. I reassure you, they'll definetelly help you.

I hope my advise helps. Write me as soon as you know how it goes. I'm looking forward to it.

Lots of love,
Jimmy

Dialog roommate

S: Hello, I haven't seen you for a long time. How are you?

M: Hi. I'm fine. How are you?

S: I'm fine too, thanks. I got this new roommate, Chris, I think you should know her. She said you used to live next door and go to school together when you were thirteen. Do you remember her?

M: Yes, I remember. When I was thirteen we went to school together.

S: Oh, can you tell me more about her?

M: Yes, sure. She used to wear a blue  uniform. Her hair was orderly tied into the pancreas.

S: Really? I guess she's changed a lot since then. Now her hair is short and messy most of the time and she never leaves the house without her black leather jacket. Did she use to play the guitar back then?

M: Yes. She used to play the guitar very well.

S: Well, she does play very well, but it's really tiring sometimes.. What about her habits? So far I've only noticed that she is leaving the top off the toothpaste every morning and it's so annoying!

M: I remember that she used to talk behind someone's back. I hope she break oneself of a habit, because it's very rude.

S: Really? I would've never guessed that. She seems so nice and friendly to me. Are you still friends with her?

M: Not exactly. We sometimes meet and talk about childhood.

S: I see. Well, could you tell me something more about her? Because she's so reserved, I feel like I don't know anything about her.

M: She used to like animals and watch films. She also liked sports. She had joined the gymnastic club.

S: Well, she still watches lots of films, but I don’t think she’s still interested in sports. She’s mentioned that she goes to a drama-club twice a week. Anyway, thanks for telling me about her.

M: You're welcome. I hope you two will become friends.

S: I hope so too. Well, I have to go, I've promised to meet someone. See you later!

M: Bye!

Habits

Five years is quite a long time and I think that everybody changes in that time. Five years ago I was only twelve years old and since then I have grown up and changed quite a lot. First of all, I used to be very shy back then, especially around new people and now I feel much more confident about myself. Moreover, I used to read a lot of books and now I spend more time browsing on the Internet instead of reading. My style has also changed – I used to wear baggy clothes and look like a boy a little bit but now I understand that I’m a girl and I should act like one.

In the last five years I’ve also made some new friends and some people who are now very close to me, were only strangers back then. I think that I’ve also become closer with my family members and even though I’m a teenager now, we talk more with each other and I think my parents understand me better.

I don’t think there’s a huge generation gap in my family, because my parents are trying to be modern and as I said, they understand me and my behavior most of the time. However, I do know some families where generation gap is really visible and not only age difference but also teenagers are guilty for that because they want to be independent and smarter than everyone else. That kind of behavior definitely has a negative effect on the family because teenagers start arguing about almost everything with their parents and that never solves anything. However, this problem could be solved by both sides working with each other like equals and, of course, a little bit of tolerance for the different opinion would help a lot.