Special math equipment
	calculator	set square	protractor	compass
Special science equipment
	bunsen burner	beaker	flask	funnel	test tube

	Ladies Clothing Shop or Boutique
	Mens Clothing Shop or Tailor's
	Shoe Shop or Cobbler's
	Jeweller's
	Electrical Store
	Toy Store
	Record Shop
	Book Shop
	Newsagent's
	Ironmonger's
	Optician's
	Haberdasher's
All or most of the above	Department Store
	Butcher's
	Fishmonger's
	Greengrocer's
	Baker's
	Delicatessen
	Grocer's
	Off Licence
	Florist's
	Post Office
All or most of the above	Supermarket

Bluesky

The British have the smallest homes in Europe

An English man's home is his castle? Well not quite, it's official that British homes are the smallest in Europe, in fact they are downright pokey, with only an average usable floor space of 76m sq according to a new report by Bradford & Bingley. The Italians lead the rest of Europe with the most space - an average of 92m sq per dwelling, over a fifth larger than us Brits enjoy.

The report undertaken by the Centre for Economics & Business Research for Bradford & Bingley compares the UK property market to Germany, France, Italy and Spain. It reveals British living space per home is 12 percent smaller than the average Spanish home, 14 percent smaller than in Germany and 16 percent smaller than in France.

Moreover, the gap between the UK and the continent is widening with new homes in France, Germany and Spain getting bigger. On average, newly built homes in France and Germany have over 100m² of usable floor space, while in Spain modern homes have 95m². In Britain, new homes remain the same size as existing properties at 76m².

These figures are more surprising when the types of properties are taken into account as over four-fifths of British households prefer to live in a house. The report reveals that 82 percent of British families live in a house and only 15 percent live in a flat. This is in stark contrast to families on continental Europe where flats are more popular. In Spain, Italy and Germany more than 50 percent of families live in a flat and France is not far behind with 41 percent. Yet almost bizarrely the average British family home has the least usable living space of the countries surveyed.

Nickie Aiken of Bradford & Bingley Estate Agents commented on the findings: "It is interesting that the UK is trailing the continent in terms of living space, particularly when you take the fact that we tend to live in houses rather than flats into account. Quality of life is not only about income and spending, comfort is a core component. Hopefully the Government is aware of these figures as it tackles the increasing demand for new housing in the UK."

Owning your own property is popular to differing degrees and despite the widely held perception to the contrary, Britons aren't Europe's most prolific homeowners. The Spanish (80%) own more of their homes than the Brits and Italians (69%). The French (54%) and Germans (43%) own less.

Despite the right to buy initiatives of the Thatcher governments, Britain still has the highest number of 'social housing', namely council or housing association dwellings (22%). France has the second highest provision of social housing with 18% living in social owned homes. Whilst Spain barely has a social sector at all with only 1%.

Compared to our counterparts on the continent, the UK has the least developed rental sector with less than 1 in 10 (9%) British homes being rented privately. This contrasts sharply with the staggering 46% in Germany - over five times the UK level. This news is surprising given the recent surge in popularity of buy to let mortgages in the UK.

Bluesky

If you want a high return, you'll have to accept a high degree of risk.

Maybe you're in the lucky position of making a little more money than you need to live on. Or maybe you've just received some cash you're not planning to spend for a long time, allowing you to stomach the ups and downs of, say, a tech investment.

In either case, putting a portion of your resources into a high-risk investment may make sense. Just make sure you're ready for the downside as well as the upside.

If you want to take on risk, we have seven strategies for you to consider:

1) Concentrate.

Diversification is great because it reduces risk. But at some point, you might want to build on your nicely diversified core with a big chunk of risk concentrated in one sector.

"If you're looking to do better than the average return, the only way is to reduce your diversification," says Jordan Kimmel, author of Magnet Investing and president of Magnet Investment Group in Randolph, N.J.

Concentration will increase your risk, and Kimmel says that's good, in the right circumstances.

"You have to be willing to accept short-term volatility as the prerequisite for making money," he says. "The investments that have the smallest volatility also have the smallest end returns."

2) Leverage up.

One quick way to increase your risk and your potential return (as well as your downside) is to borrow money for your investment, usually through a margin account at a brokerage firm.

Tim Phillips of Phillips & Co., a wealth-management firm in Portland, Ore., suggests that moderate leverage is a way for clients to enhance their returns. But they need to be careful.

It's true that leverage can generate a return on money you don't have, but it generates an outsized risk as well. Pay attention now, get-rich-quick fans: Users of margin loans need to be keenly aware that a drop in the value of an investment can result in a margin call, requiring additional capital. Investors who can't pay can be wiped out.

3) Hunt for bargains.

As Chicago Cubs fans know, loving the underdog can be painful, but sometimes it pays off big. (Maybe this year? Nah.) That's why Phillips recommends that investors consider distressed securities, such as bonds

mj has been copyed from :www.articles.moneycentral.msn.com

 ‌Bluesky

addr.	address
aka	also known as
aob	any other business
approx.	approximately
asap	as soon as possible
asst.	assortment
b/c	because
btw	by the way
c. or ca.	circa, about c.1800
C19	nineteenth century
cd.	could
cf.	compare this with...
Ch.	chapter
c/o	care of
cob	close of business
compl.	complete
ct.	contrast
ctrl.	control
dept.	department
devt.	development
diff.	difference
diy	do it yourself
edn.	edition
educ.	education
e.g.	for example
eob	end of business
esp.	especially
eta	estimated time of arrival
etc.	and the rest

Bluesky

Sports Vocabulary

Common Sports

Badminton	Cricket	Cycling	Darts
Football	Golf	Horse Racing
Snooker	Squash	Table Tennis	Tennis

Contact Sports

Boxing	Judo	Rugby	Wrestling

Water Sports

Angling	Canoeing	Kayaking
Rowing	Sailing	Water Skiing

Winter Sports

Curling	Ice Skating	Skiing

Less Usual Sports

Croquet	Fencing	Hockey
Lacrosse	Polo	Skeet

Parts of clothes

Naturally Speaking Does it fit? It's too big. It's too small. It's too loose. It's too tight. It's too long. It's too short.

Bluesky

 ‌‌Bluesky

Eating Out

Places to Eat Out Cafe Snack Bar Fast Food Restaurant Pub Bistro Restaurant Hotel Restaurant Parts of a Menu Starters/Appetizers/Entrees/Hors D'oeuvres Soups Main Courses (Meat/Fish/Vegetarian) Desserts Beverages (Coffee etc.) Wine/Drinks List (sometimes on a separate menu)

Naturally Speaking Booking a Table Placing Your Order Complaining I'd like to reserve / book a table for four at 8pm, please. I'd like to reserve / book a table for a party of six at 8pm, please. I'd like to book a table for two at 8 in the name of Hand, please. Could we have a table by the window, please? Could we have a non-smoking table, please? Could we have a table away from the kitchen/toilets, please? Could we have a booth, please? Could you make sure it's a quiet table, please? I'd like the .............., please. For starters I'll have the soup and for the main course I'd like the roast beef. Could I have chips instead of new potatoes, please? What is the house special today? Is there anything you would recommend? Could I see the wine menu, please? I'll have a bottle of the South African Cabernet Sauvignon. I'll have a glass of house red/white, please. Which wine would you recommend? Excuse me, but my meal is cold. Excuse me, we've been waiting for over half an hour for our drinks. I'm sorry but I ordered the side salad not the vegetables. Excuse me this steak is over done, I ordered rare. I'm afraid this wine tastes corked. Excuse me this wine isn't chilled properly. Arriving at the Restaurant During/After the Meal Paying Good evening, the name is Hand. I have a table booked for six. Do you have the menu in English/German/French ..., please? Do you have a high chair for young children, please? Could we have a table over there, please? I'm sorry but I asked for a table by the window. Could we have an extra chair, please? Could we have some more bread, please? Do you have a pepper mill? Could I have some dressing, please? Could you pass me the salt, please? That was delicious. My compliments to the chef. Could I have the bill, please? Do you take Visa? We'd like separate bills, please. Is service included? No, please. This is on me. (When you wish to pay for everyone.)

SEATTLE - One of the richest men in the world is getting a new job.

Bill Gates today ends his tenure as a top leader at Microsoft, the software giant he co-founded, to devote himself full-time to his huge charitable foundation.

Instead of working to solve problems in the information technology business, he’ll now be working to solve the world’s health problems and other major challenges.

Gates is officially leaving Microsoft as of Friday, although he will remain the company’s non- executive chairman.

Since Microsoft’s start in 1975, Gates has piled nearly all its hats on his head: genius programmer, technology guru, primary decision maker and ruthless leader. He served as chief executive and later chief software architect, and is credited with being a key decision-maker on both business strategy and technical issues.

Analysts and scholars also credit him with changing software into a money-making enterprise, rather than a pastime for hobbyists.

For Microsoft, the challenge on Monday morning will be how to deal with problems even Gates couldn’t solve, including competition with Google.

Recent remarks indicate the company won’t even try to find a replacement for Gates but will divide his functions among whole groups of employees.

mj has been copyed from : www.msnbc.msn.com

Most Popular Languages

The 10 Most Popular Spoken Languages in the World

By Matt Rosenberg, About.com

Here's a listing of the ten most popular languages spoken worldwide, along with the approximate number of primary or first language speakers for that language.

1. Mandarin Chinese - 882 million
2. Spanish - 325 million
3. English - 312-380 million
4. Arabic - 206-422 million
5. Hindi - 181 million
6. Portuguese - 178 million
7. Bengali - 173 million

8. Russian - 146 million
9. Japanese - 128 million
10. German - 96 million

There are two reasons why English is almost certainly going to be the world language of the future, even though two other languages, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish, have more native speakers than English. The first, and major, reason is that English became the main language of science and technology at about the turn of the century. At that time it was possible that German might have taken the lead, taking over from English and French but, by this time, the Americans were already beginning to forge ahead as the major industrial nation and thus, as a consequence, the progenitor of most scientific papers and technological know-how.
The second reason is a consequence of the first in that English is now not only the language of science and technology but also of all the cultural and managerial offshoots that occurred during the remainder of the twentieth century, such as the media, telecommunications, multinational corporations, international freight and air transport, and international tourism, banking, politics and sports.

Most spoken language worldwide:
The result of all this is that the global status of English has nothing to do with the number of people who speak it as a native language -- a mere 300 million -- but of the other billion who speak English as a second language and of a further billion or more who are likely to do so well within a generation.

Bluesky