Meet The Line

 

 Saudi Arabia’s 106-Mile City of the Future

Imagine a city that isn’t spread out with neighborhoods, streets, and parks as you know them, but instead, a single, massive building stretching for miles and miles. This might sound like something out of a science fiction movie, but it's not. It’s real, and it’s being built in Saudi Arabia. This incredible project is called "The Line," and it’s part of a bigger plan called Neom, which aims to transform a vast desert into a futuristic oasis.

What Is The Line?

The Line is unlike any city you’ve ever seen or heard of. Instead of spreading out horizontally, like the cities you know, The Line goes straight up and down. Imagine two parallel skyscrapers, each one stretching 106 miles (170 kilometers) long and 1,640 feet (500 meters) high. To give you some perspective, that’s taller than most of the tallest buildings in the world! These two skyscrapers will be only 656 feet (200 meters) wide and will have a shiny, mirrored exterior that reflects the surrounding desert and sky.

Inside these buildings, everything you need for life will be stacked vertically. That means homes, schools, parks, offices, and shops will all be layered on top of each other. You could walk from your house to a park or a classroom in just a few minutes without ever leaving the building!

A City Like No Other

One of the coolest things about The Line is how it’s designed to work. Because it’s so tall and narrow, getting around won’t involve cars or buses. Instead, there will be a high-speed train that zooms from one end of the city to the other in just 20 minutes. So, if your friend lives 106 miles away, you could visit them in the time it takes to watch an episode of your favorite show.Everything in The Line is planned to be super convenient. No matter where you live, you’ll be just a five-minute walk from anything you need, whether it’s a store, a school, or even a park. And speaking of parks, The Line will have lots of green spaces and nature woven right into the city. There’s even talk of including things like waterfalls and an artificial moon that you can look at every night.

A Green and Clean City

One of the big goals for The Line is to be environmentally friendly. Unlike most cities, there will be no roads, no cars, and no pollution. Instead, The Line will run entirely on clean energy. This is part of Saudi Arabia’s bigger plan, called Vision 2030, to create a more sustainable future.

Vision 2030 and The Line

So, when will people actually start living in this futuristic city? The first residents are expected to move in by the year 2030. That might seem like a long way off, but in the world of city-building, it’s just around the corner. The Line is part of a huge project called Neom, which is designed to attract millions of visitors every year and make Saudi Arabia a top travel destination, competing with popular places like Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Neom isn’t just about The Line, though. It will also include airports, green energy plants, and other high-tech developments. The idea is to create a “country within a country,” where people from all over the world will want to live and work.

Why Not Everyone’s Excited

Even though The Line sounds amazing, not everyone thinks it’s a good idea. Some people are worried that building a city like this might not be the best way to solve problems like pollution and overcrowding. For example, one scientist pointed out that a straight-line city might not be the most efficient shape for getting around. If you live in The Line and want to visit someone far away, it could still take a long time to get there, even with a fast train.

Others are concerned that Saudi Arabia might be focusing too much on tourism and not enough on other important areas, like education and research.

What Do You Think?

The Line is one of the most ambitious projects the world has ever seen. It’s a city that could change the way we think about urban life and the environment. But like all big ideas, it has its challenges. As students and future leaders, it’s important to think critically about projects like this. What do you think about The Line? Would you want to live in a city like this? Or do you think there are better ways to create the cities of the future?

slang 1

Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language exclusive to the members of particular in-groups in order to establish group identity, exclude outsiders, or both. 

Popularized in English during the mid-18th century, “slang” referred specifically to the lexicon of tramps and thieves. It is most likely Nordic in origin, derived from the old phrase slengja kjeften, which literally meant “to sling the jaw” (κρεμάω το σαγόνι) but which carried the implication “to abuse with words.”

What's the meaning of the phrase 'Roly-poly'?

 

In modern-day language 'roly-poly' is most often used to refer to a short and stout person :

or roly-poly pudding:

However, there are other meanings:

1. A worthless person; a rascal.
2. Games which feature the rolling of a ball, especially roulette.
3. A plump person, especially a child.
4. A type of lively dance.
5. A steamed or baked pudding made from suet pastry and jam, formed into a roll,
6. Australian plants which form a ball and roll around in the wind, like tumble-weed.

7. A coil of hair.

 

8.An American bug that coils itself into a ball.

 

The first time that roly-poly is encountered in print, which we assume is the original meaning, is number one on the above list. Ben Jonson uses the expression in his poem Poetaster, 1602:

How now, good man slave? What, rowle powle? All rivalls, ras∣call? Why my Master, of worship, do'st heare? Are these thy best projects? Is this thy desseignes and thy discipline, to suffer knaves to bee competitors with commanders and gentlemen? Are wee paralells, rascall? Are wee paralells?

All of the early reference to roly-poly in print, which appear in several spellings, (Rowle Powle, rowle-powle, rowley powley, rowly powly) have a more specific meaning. A 'rowly powly' was not so much a worthless rascal but a buffoon with delusions of grandeur and who does not know his place.

It is possible that the term was coined as a reference to the actor William Rowley, who often played the part of a deluded clown. He played at Paul's playhouse, which was also called Powles. So, Rowley of Powles could have become Rowley Powley. That's speculation but the circumstantial evidence appears to support it.

The 'short stout person' meaning didn't emerge until the 19th century and doesn't appear to be connected with the earlier. The buffoon/rascal meaning of roly-poly had died out by the end of the 17th century and it's likely that later meanings were independently coined.

The first example of the later form of roly-poly is found in the London Magazine. November 1808:

The eye has its fire and consequence correspondent with the fierté belonging to a man of rank; the good-humoured rolly-polly which gave the appearance of twinkling stars to those organs, is no more.

The 'pudding' name came about soon afterwards. The first example I know of is in the English writer Isaac Hurlstone's novel Fatal Interview, 1835:

I have heard such puddings called blankets and sheets, and a hunting pudding; but commonly we call it a rolley polley.

 

Proverb Origin Stories part 1

 

A proverb is a short sentence that people often quote, which gives advice or tells you something about life. (Απόφθεγμα ονομάζεται μία σύντομη πρόταση ή φράση, η οποία περιέχει συμβουλές ή κρίσεις από πρόσωπα αδιαμφισβήτητου κύρους και θεωρείται μία αιώνια αλήθεια.)

The study of Proverbs is called Paremiology and we can trace the origin of proverbs as far as the times of the great Philosopher Aristotle. But the authors of most of the proverbs are still unknown.

Today's proverb is  " A bad workman always blames his tools."

But how has this proverb come about?

Kumar and Ravi were two farmers who were neighbors. Both owned a pair of oxen (singular:ox/plural:oxen - βόδι/βόδια) each with which they plowed (άροτρο / οργώνω) their land. Kumar worked hard all day long in order to get a good yield (σοδειά / αποδίδω/ λυγίζω) and looked after his oxen very well since he knew that they were very important for his farming activity.

Ravi on the other hand was very lazy and a miser (τσιγκούνης / παραδόπιστος) who never fed his oxen properly but extracted maximum work from them and kept complaining that they were not doing a good job.

As a true friend Kumar advised and pointed out to Ravi that it was cruel to ill-treat (κακομεταχειρίζομαι) the animals which were helping him make a living. Ravi paid little heed to Kumar’s words. He soon bought a tractor to plow his land and chased the oxen away, since he no longer needed them. Taking pity on the poor animals Kumar took them under his wing (παίρνω κάτω απο την εποπτεία μου) although he could ill-afford to maintain them.

The monsoon (μουσώνας) soon arrived and it was time for cultivation. Kumar’s land was well plowed and ready for cultivation – thanks to his oxen. Ravi in his miserly fashion had not maintained his tractor well and it kept giving him trouble. As a result, he could not get his land ready for cultivation on time. He lamented and blamed it all on bad luck not realizing that it was he who was responsible for his miserable state. Ravi not only lost out on a good yield by his laziness but also spent more money than required to repair his tractor due to poor maintenance.

Despite having better equipment, Ravi was unable to get the best results, whereas Kumar was a good workman and hence (επομένως) was able to succeed with the limited resources that he had.

Video source:

Idioms that express emotions

Happy

1. Flying high

Meaning: very happy.

She’s flying high after the successful product launch.

2. Pumped up

Meaning: very excited about something.

He’s pumped up for his first half-marathon race this weekend.

3. Fool’s paradise

Meaning: a situation when someone is happy because they’re ignoring a problem or fail to realize its existence.

He’s been living in fool’s paradise since he started trading stocks, expecting to make millions even though he doesn’t have investing experience.

Sad

4. Be down in the dumps

Meaning: to feel unhappy or without hope.

I always feel down in the dumps when I go back to work after a long weekend.

5. Be at the end of your rope (American); Be at the end of your tether (British)

Meaning: to feel very upset because you’re no longer able to deal with a difficult situation.

Helen is at the end of her rope after looking for a job for months without any luck.

6. Grief-stricken

Meaning: extremely sad.

After his partner died in a car accident, he was left grief-stricken.

Angry

7. Bite someone’s head off

Meaning: to respond with anger to someone.

I just asked one question to confirm his request, and my boss bit my head off.

8. Black mood

Meaning: to be irritable, angry or depressed.

She’s scared to ask for a day off as her boss is in a black mood today.

9. Drive up the wall

Meaning: to annoy or irritate someone.

His constant whining drove me up the wall, so I left.

Scared

10. Have/get/feel butterflies in your stomach

Meaning: to feel very nervous or excited about something that you have to do, especially something important.

I’m going to have the first meeting with a big client tomorrow, and I’m feeling butterflies in my stomach.

11. Afraid of your own shadow

Meaning: very easily frightened.

After reading “Dracula,” she became afraid of her own shadow.

12. Petrified of

Meaning: extremely frightened, especially so that you cannot move or decide what to do.

In the “Harry Potter” series, Ron Weasley is petrified of spiders.

Confused

13. Feel out of it

Meaning: to not feel in a state of one’s normal mind.

He just woke up from a night of heavy drinking and felt so out of it.

14. Puzzle over

Meaning: to think carefully about someone or something for a long time and try to understand them.

I puzzled over the assignment for a few days before I decided to ask my professor for clarification.

15. Ambivalent about

Meaning: feeling two different things about someone or something at the same time, for example, that you like them and dislike them.

He’s ambivalent about quitting his job to start his own business; he wants his freedom, but there are risks.

EDUCATION VOCABULARY & IDIOMS

EDUCATION

VOCABULARY REVIEW

Graduate απόφοιτος To graduate αποφοιτώ Graduation αποφοίτηση	To complete a first university degree successfully
	I graduated from the University of Salford in 2009. My graduation ceremony was in 2009.
Curriculum Πρόγραμμα μαθημάτων CV – Curriculum Vitae Βιογραφικό σημείωμα	The group of subjects studied in a school, college, etc.
	Schools must ensure they have an excellent curriculum.
Qualification Προσόν/δεξιότητα To qualify Πληρώ τις προυποθέσεις Qualified πιστοποιημένος	An official record showing that you have finished a training course or have the necessary skills, etc
	Good qualifications are really important if you want to get a well-paid job. I am qualified to teach English.
Coursework Σύνολο μαθημάτων Course μάθημα	Regular work done by students as part of a course, but assessed independently of formal exams.
	The coursework on my degree was really difficult.
Co-educational Μεικτό σχολείο Θηλέων-αρρένων	When male and female students are taught together in the same school or college rather than separately
	Co-educational schools prepare students for their future better than single-sex schools.
To Cheat Κάνω σκονάκι/κλέβω Cheater Αυτός που κλέβει/απατεώνας Cheating husband Άπιστος σύζηγος	To behave in a dishonest way in order to get what you want
	He did really well in his exams but he cheated. He copied from a friend. Cheating on exams is not recommended.
Literacy Αλφαβητισμός literate μορφωμένος literature λογοτεχνία Literally κυριολεκτικά	The ability to read and write.
	Literacy rates have declined considerably in Western countries over the last decade. However, most children are literate.
Illiterate Αναλφάβητος Illiteracy αναλφαβητισμός	Unable to read and write
	Many children in the poorest countries are illiterate.
Primary (elementary) school  Or Education Δημοτικό σχολείο Ή πρωτοβάθμια εκπαίδευση	First years of formal education from around age 5 to 11.
	A good primary education is crucial for a child's development.
Secondary (middle) school  or Education Γυμνάσιο Ή δευτεροβάθμια εκπαίδευση	Education during the time as a teenager.
	I loved it at my secondary school as I had so many friends.
High school Λύκειο Higher (Tertiary) Education Τριτοβάθμια Εκπαίδευση	Non-compulsory education after finishing school, such as university, as well as vocational education and training at colleges.
	60% of children now go into higher education after they finish school.
To Concentrate συγκεντρώνομαι Concentration συγκέντρωση concentrated συγκεντρωμένος	To direct your attention or your efforts towards a particular activity, subject or problem
	It is difficult to concentrate on my work if there is a lot of noise. I keep losing concentration due to the noise.

Education Idioms

 

A/A	English Idiom	Greek Explanation
1	Bookworm	Βιβλιοφάγος
2	To brainstorm	Κατεβάζω ιδέες
3	Copycat	Μιμητής, αντιγραφέας
4	To hit the books	Μελετώ σκληρά
5	To pass with flying colors	Περνάω τεστ με επιτυχία
6	To skip class	Κάνω κοπάνα
7	A for effort	Παίρνω 10΄για την προσπάθεια
8	Above average	Πάνω από τον μέσο όρο
9	To catch up on / to cover a lot of ground	Καλύπτω την διαφορά
10	To drop out of school / to flunk out	Παρατάω, διακόπτω το σχολείο
11	Eager beaver	δουλευταράς
12	Ivy league school	Ομάδα 8 διάσημων κολεγίων Η.Π.Α. (πχ Harvard)
13	To take attendance	Παίρνω απουσίες
14	The three R’s	Βασικές γνώσεις: Writing, reading, arithmetic.

Sources: 

31/07/18 - https://www.ieltsbuddy.com/education-vocabulary.html

31/07/18 - https://www.myenglishteacher.eu/blog/english-idioms-related-to-school/