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Square Dance

João loved Teresa who loved Raimundo

who loved Maria who loved Joaquim who loved Lili

who didn’t love anyone.

João went to the United States, Teresa to a convent,

Raimundo died in an accident, Maria became a spinster,

Joaquim committed suicide, and Lili married J. Pinto Fernandes,

who had nothing to do with the story.

(Carlos Drummond de Andrade translated by

Richard Zenith in “Multitudinous Heart”

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The Literary Influences of Superstar Musician David Bowie

BY JOHN O'CONNELL ON 10/31/19 AT 5:00 AM EDT

David Bowie was a pop star for most of his career from the 1960s until his death in 2016. He was known for his flamboyant style, songwriting and the ability to artistically turn on a dime. But Bowie, who died of cancer at 69, was more than a multi-platinum rock and roller. He was also one of the more literate composers in the business.

So much so, in fact, that in conjunction with a career retrospective in 2013 at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, Bowie issued a list of the one hundred books he considered the most important and influential. British music columnist John O'Connell linked this list to Bowie's prolific music. The result? A book called Bowie's Bookshelf out this month from Gallery Books.

William S. Burroughs first made the link between Bowie's lyrics and T. S. Eliot's poetry. In a Rolling Stone interview, Burroughs asked if Hunky Dory's "Eight Line Poem" had been influenced by Eliot's "The Hollow Men." Bowie's reply: "Never read him." But Bowie was definitely exposed to Eliot's influence. "Goodnight Ladies" on Transformer, the album Bowie produced for Lou Reed in 1972, is a riff on the end of the second section, "A Game of Chess," from Eliot's poem "The Waste Land." Eliot, for his part, is deliberately quoting Ophelia's "Good night, sweet ladies" speech from Hamlet. Eliot's method established a new protocol for artistic theft—the modern poet in dialogue with his or her predecessors. Bowie, too, was candid about how much he took from other artists. "You can't steal from a thief," he said when LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy admitted to stealing from Bowie's songs.

Avaiable in : https://www.newsweek.com/2019/11/15, accessed on February 20th, 2020. Adapted. 

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Lessons for Americans, From a Chines Classroom

Observing how Chinese 2- and 3-year-olds navigated a second language, I wondered whether I could have done this for my children.

SHANGHAI — We sat in toddler-size wooden chairs around an orderly circle of Chinese 2-year-olds, busy with circle time. As a parent of three children who collectively spent 15 years in American day care, I am very familiar with circle time.

But I was in this Shanghai classroom as a professor, with college students from many different countries in a class I’m teaching here on children and childhood.

We were observing in a private kindergarten, designed to provide young children — starting at age 2 — with a carefully structured, fully bilingual curriculum, especially important because English language skills are vital for educational success in China.

Visits to Chinese educational institutions allow the college students in my course to get a look at real children and the ways that they learn, while also thinking about Chinese society today. They get windows onto certain slices of this complex country: a high-end private bilingual program that starts with toddlers; a city high school for academically gifted students; a middle school created for the children of the rural migrants who have come by the millions from China’s poorer provinces to work in Shanghai, but whose rights to social benefits are severely limited in the city.

These visits offer the college students insights into many of the social issues facing China, and we spend time in class discussing questions like the huge role that the annual gaokao college entrance exam plays in determining a child’s educational destiny (English is one of the required subjects), the pressures on families that create a culture of cram schools, and the controversies over reserving spots in colleges for kids from rural areas.

But all of those questions have powerful resonances when you think about the issues of childhood education and child development, which have to be addressed in every country. As my college students discuss the different facets of childhood around the world, visiting the Chinese schools also helps them in remembering and thinking about what children look like at different ages, and how they play and interact and learn.

Available in : https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/20/, accessed on February 26th, 2020. Adapted

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How being bilingual can boost your career

Whether you’re fresh out of college or a seasoned executive, insiders agree that fluency in a second language can not only help you stand out among prospective employers, it can also open doors to opportunities that those without foreign language skills might miss. 

In today’s global economy, the ability to communicate in another language has become a significant advantage in the workforce. Research has found that people who speak at least one foreign language have an average annual household income that’s $10,000 higher than the household income of those who only speak English. And about 17 percent of those who speak at least one foreign language earn more than $100,000 a year. 

A recent survey found that nearly 9 out of 10 headhunters in Europe, Latin America, and Asia say that being at least bilingual is critical for success in today’s business environment. And 66 percent of North American recruiters agreed that being bilingual will be increasingly important in the next 10 years. 

“In today’s global economy you really have to understand the way business is done overseas to maximize your potential. A second language equips you for that,” says Alister Wellesley, managing partner of a Connecticut-based recruiting firm. “If you’re doing business overseas, or with someone from overseas, you obtain a certain degree of respect if you’re able to talk in their native language.” 

Language skills can also be key for service industries. At the Willard InterContinental Washington, a luxury hotel a few blocks from the White House, a staff of about 570 represents 42 nations, speaking 19 languages. The Willard’s front-of-house employees such as the concierge speak at least two languages. Bilingualism is not an absolute requirement, but it is desirable, according to Wendi Colby, director of human resources. 

Workers with skills in a second language may have an edge when it comes to climbing Willard’s professional ladder. “The individual that spoke more languages would have a better chance for a managerial role, whatever the next level would be,” Colby says. “They are able to deal with a wide array of clients, employees.” 

So which languages can give you a leg up on the job market? Insiders agree the most popular – and marketable – languages are Spanish, German, French, Italian, Russian and Japanese, with a growing emphasis on Mandarin, given China’s booming economy. So let’s learn Mandarin!

“We see demand from a full range of industries,” says Wellesley. “Actually it depends on which company you’re working for and the country in which they’re located.” 

Adapted from: LATHAM-KOENIG, Christina & OXENDEN, Clive. American English File 5. 2nd edition. Oxford: OUP, 2018.