French News Vocabulary ~ Le vocabulaire de l'actualité

The French you learn in classes and grammar books is not always enough when dealing with the real world. This list of French vocabulary related to current events will help you understand news in French.

à la une    on the front page
les achats de précaution    panic buying
l'actualité, les actualités    news
affolé (adj)   panic-stricken
allégué (adj)   alleged
un appel    appeal, call
une arme    weapon, gun
une arme blanche    knife
les armes de destruction massive
   weapons of mass destruction
assassiner    to murder
un attentat    attack
un attentat-suicide    suicide bombing
l'avortement    abortion

la banlieue    suburb
un bilan    appraisal, assessment, death toll
blessé (adj)   injured, wounded
une bombe    bomb

la canicule    heat wave
un cas de force majeure    disaster (natural or man-made)
les Casques bleus    UN peacekeeping forces
un casseur    rioter
une catastrophe aérienne    air disaster
une catastrophe écologique    environmental disaster
une catastrophe naturelle    natural disaster
un cessez-le-feu    cease-fire
le chômage    unemployment
un collecte au profit des sinistrés    disaster fund
une coupure de courant    power outage
le crime    crime
un criminel, une criminelle    criminal
une crise    crisis
un cyclone    cyclone, hurricane

des dégâts    damage
le deuil    bereavement, mourning
un désastre financier    financial disaster
un désastre politique    political disaster
les drogues (fem)   drugs

un éboulement    rockslide
une élection    election
une émeute    riot
une enquête    investigation
une épidémie    epidemic
extrader    to extradite

un feu    fire
un flic (informal)   cop

la garde à vue    police custody
   être mis/placé en garde à vue   to be kept in custody, held for questioning
le gaz lacrymogène    tear gas
un glissement de terrain    landslide
une grève (faire la grève)    strike (to be on strike)
la guerre    war
la grippe aviaire    bird flu
la grippe porcine    swine flu

hexagonal    French
l'Hexagone    France
   (more synonyms for French and France)

un immigrant, un immigré    immigrant
les impôts (masc)   taxes
un incendie    fire
une inondation    flood
inonder    to flood
un insurgé    insurgent
des intempéries    bad weather
IVG    abortion
   (French acronyms and abbreviations)

le kamikaze    suicide bomber

la loi    law
la lutte (literal/figurative)   struggle, fight

une manifestation    demonstration
le meurtre    murder
la mondialisation    globalization

une navette spatiale    space shuttle

un obus    explosive shell
opération escargot    rolling blockade
un ouragan    hurricane

une panne d'électricité    blackout, power cut
la peine de mort    death penalty
la pénurie    shortage, lack
la police    police
un policier    police officer
la politique    politics, policy
le politique    politician
poursuivre en justice    to sue
le pouvoir d'achat    buying power
présumé (adj)   alleged
un procès    trial

le rechauffement de la planète    global warming
la région sinistrée    disaster area
une réplique    after-shock, counter-attack
la retraite    retirement

un scrutin    ballot, election
un séisme    earthquake, upheaval
selon (prep)   according to
un sinistré, une sinistrée    disaster victim
un soldat    soldier
un sondage    poll
le suicide assisté    assisted suicide
un syndicat    union
le système de santé publique    health care system

un témoin    witness
une tempête    storm
le terrorisme    terrorism
tirer (sur)    to shoot (at)
les titres    headlines, headline news
une tornade    tornado
les transports en commun    public transit
un tremblement de terre    earthquake
une trêve    truce
tuer    to kill

un vaccin    vaccine
une victime    victim
   (Note that this word is always feminine, even when referring to a man)
voter    to vote

Source:  http://french.about.com/od/vocabulary/a/news.htm

WHY LEARN FRENCH LANGUAGE

Knowing French will allow you not only to function but to compete effectively in the global economy of the future.

In many europeans countries, a second language is introduced in primary school and a third language, in middle school. International job applicants who are proficient in at least two languages will be at a distinct advantage in the global market.

When you know French, you can be a part of communications and transactions occuring daily in French on every continent.

Learning French will increase your job opportunities and salary potentials. And also increases your apreciation from other people, and from other countries, the traditions, the history, the culture, and you can meet new people and understand them without any problem. Something that is not well know if that Learning French will improve your vocabulary in English, this is because 40 to 50% of English vocabulary comes from French, to learn French will also enhance your grammar skills, and willl greatly improve your scores on the verbal section.

Learning French develops your critical and creative thinking skills, because progress is very easy to measure, you can quickly take pride in your new abilities. Proficiency in French will significantly improve your chances of being accepted to the university and to graduate school.

And the best part is that you can travel to Canada, the Caribbean, Europe and Africa and use your French for knowing more about these countries, France is the most visited tourist destination in the world. When you speak French you can ask for an address or comment about your trip or meet new friends. French is the language of culture, opening your door to art, music, cinema, dance, cuisine and fashion. 

Source:  http://www.learnfrenchguide.com/french/language/why.asp

El cortisol, la hormona del estrés

 

El cortisol es considerado la hormona del estrés pues el organismo la fabrica ante situaciones de emergencia para ayudarnos a enfrentarnos a los problemas. 

 

En situaciones normales las células de nuestro cuerpo utilizan el 90% de la energía en actividades metabólicas tales como reparación, renovación y formación de nuevos tejidos.
Pero cuando se produce una situación de alarma y estrés nuestro cerebro envía un mensaje a las glándulas adrenales para que liberen cortisol, esta hormona hace que el organismo libere glucosa a la sangre para enviar cantidades masivas de energía a los músculos.

De esta forma todas las funciones anabólicas de recuperación, renovación y creación de tejidos se paralizan y el organismo cambia a metabolismo catabólico para resolver esa situación de alarma.

Cuando la situación de estrés es puntual, una vez superada la emergencia los niveles hormonales y los procesos fisiológicos vuelven a la normalidad, pero cuando el estrés es prolongado, como es muy frecuente hoy en día debido al ritmo de vida que llevamos, se disparan en el organismo los niveles de cortisol, y al ser el único proveedor de glucosa del cerebro tratará de conseguirla por diferentes vías, bien sea destruyendo tejidos, proteínas musculares, ácidos grasos y cerrando la entrada de glucosa a lo otros tejidos.

Los primeros síntomas de niveles elevados de cortisol son

Cambios del comportamiento
• Falta de sentido del humor.
• Irritabilidad constante.
• Sentimientos de ira.
• Ganas de llorar.

Síntomas físicos
• Cansancio permanente aunque no hagamos nada.
• Dolores de cabeza.
• Palpitaciones.
• Hipertensión.
• Falta de apetito o gula desmesurada.
• Problemas digestivos.
• Orina frecuente, diarrea o estreñimiento.
• Dolores o calambres musculares.
• Infertilidad e interrupción de la menstruación.
• Perdida de memoria debido a que los niveles altos de cortisol daña la conexión entre células cerebrales.
• Disminución de las defensas.

Pautas para controlar el cortisol

Aunque hoy día resulta un tanto complicado controlar el cortisol, hay varias pautas que nos ayudaran a mantener los niveles adecuados.

• Dieta: debemos suministrar al organismo todos los nutrientes necesarios para prevenir cualquier deficiencia, proteínas de alta calidad, ácidos grasos esenciales, carbohidratos complejos, vitaminas y minerales. Ya que una disminución en la ingesta calórica es un aumento de los niveles de cortisol.
• Es aconsejable tomar alimentos: como los huevos, leche, cereales integrales que son ricos en triptófano, un aminoácido que estimula la producción de serotonina, la hormona del bienestar.
• Evitar: el consumo de bebidas excitantes café, colas y alcohol. También debemos eliminar los edulcorantes artificiales, sobre todo aspartamo que estimula en exceso el funcionamiento de las glándulas suprarrenales.
• Dormir bien: es muy importante dormir ocho horas por la noche para que nuestro organismo ponga en marcha el mecanismo renovación y recuperación celular.
• Relajación: practicar con regularidad yoga, tai-chi, ejercicios de relajación, meditación, técnicas de respiración para contrarrestar los periodos de tensión.

Suplementos

• Fosfatidilserina tiene propiedades supresoras del cortisol.
• Vitamina C por sus propiedades antioxidantes atenúa transitoriamente los incrementos del cortisol.
• Vitamina A ayuda a minimizar los niveles de la hormona del estrés.
• Zinc participa en la producción de hormonas esteroides como el cortisol.
• Té verde contienen L-teanina mejora la producción de ondas alfa del cerebro.
• Ginseng actúa sobre el cerebro y las glándulas suprarrenales para que dejen de producir las hormonas del estrés.
• Regaliz ayuda al buen funcionamiento de las glándulas suprarrenales.

En todos los casos le recomendamos consultar con su médico, terapeuta u otro profesional de la salud competente. La información contenida en este artículo tiene una función meramente informativa. 

 

Fuente:  http://www.enbuenasmanos.com/articulos/muestra.asp?art=40

Thinking in different languages

A friend who was visiting from the United States listened to me speaking Turkish with merchants in the Grand Bazaar and then translating our negotiations in Turkish into English for his benefit. “How do you talk in one language and then translate into another one so quickly?” he asked. “What language do you think in while you're talking?”

Until he asked me this, I had not given much thought to which language I function in while speaking. I explained that when conversing in Turkish, I think in Turkish, and when using English, I think in English. Because my friend is monolingual, he found it intriguing that people who speak two or more languages are able to think in a language that is not their native tongue. My son and I both were raised speaking two languages at home, so for both of us, as bilinguals from the start, it is normal to think in the language we are using. There is no conscious switching over to another language, but rather, it is an automatic action. Even though I am still far from fluent in Turkish, I often have internal dialogues in Turkish instead of English. I have noticed my son does the same thing, sometimes talking to himself in English, sometimes in Turkish. Both of us also dream in different languages -- my son in Turkish and English, while I dream in English, Spanish, Turkish and sometimes even Arabic. I spoke about this phenomenon with a friend who is a linguist and he explained that this is completely normal and in fact, the desired goal when studying a new language. There is not set amount of time or fluency level that needs to be reached before a student begins to think in another language. It varies from person to person and depends on how much time and effort students put into immersing themselves into the language. For instance, within a few months some students may begin thinking in a new language instead of translating in their head into their native tongue. Other students will take longer. There is no set timeframe, but depends on each individual. When I speak English to the Turkish students in my son's fifth grade class, I can tell that some of them are beginning to think in English, while others are still listening to the English and translating it into Turkish before responding. The students are also now learning German and Mandarin. If they continue with their studies, eventually all the students should be able to switch between all four languages as they become more confident and fluent. It is interesting to watch my son as he begins learning the two new languages. As he grasps new words and phrases in German and Mandarin, he is starting to see objects in different ways. It will be interesting to see how long it takes before he begins to think in another language. Learning a new language is not just about learning the words. Instead, one is required to think with a new set of labels for everything around them. Recognizing this, many language courses use pictures and symbols to illustrate the meanings of new words instead of handing out vocabulary lists with translations into one's native language. Using pictures or symbols to teach words helps students to gradually change the labels they have for the world around them. For instance, when I began learning Turkish, I put notes on items throughout the house with the Turkish name written on it. By seeing the notes every day, I began to think of different objects by the Turkish name without translating it first from English. A table automatically became “masa,” the cupboard became “dolap.” This was my first step in not only learning the vocabulary in Turkish, but also the beginning of thinking in Turkish. Learning to think in a different language is a process that cannot be rushed. It takes time for the mind to adjust to a new language. However, with effort and perseverance, it will happen. Over the many years that I have studied foreign languages, I have felt a sense of accomplishment when I suddenly realized that I was communicating without translating back and forth between my native tongue and the new language. I had found that eventually I not only think in another language, but I begin unconsciously employing the facial expressions and body motions used by native speakers as well. My monolingual friend found it hard to grasp the idea that people can think as well as speak in different languages, but it is a natural occurrence. While I still struggle daily with Turkish, I know that slowly I understand more of what goes on around me. Learning to think in Turkish was a major step in communication.

Source: http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist-260565-thinking-in-different-languages.html

La educación en Chile (laguia2000.com)

En cuanto a calidad educativa, Chile, según el informe de la UNESCO de 2008, donde se evaluó a alumnos de primaria de tercero y sexto grados, es el cuarto país en América Latina, luego de Cuba, Uruguay y Costa Rica. Logró superar a México y a Argentina, y están escolarizados en la enseñanza básica el 99,7 % de la población. Influyen en el nivel escolar según dicho informe, el clima escolar y el nivel económico-social y cultural.

 

La educación chilena es gratuita, laica en los establecimientos públicos, no discriminatoria y pluralista; se rige por la Ley General de Educación (2009) que distingue entre educación formal, no formal e informal, y los siguientes niveles en la ecuación formal: el nivel parvulario (no obligatorio, entre los 85 días y 6 años de edad); el nivel básico o EGB (obligatorio, destinada a la formación integral del ser humano. Está dividido en dos ciclos de cuatro años cada uno). El nivel secundario o enseñanza media (para profundizar y expandir su formación integral, como ser individual y social, tendiente a crear ciudadanos responsables, aptos para continuar estudios superiores o incorporarse al mundo laboral, es obligatorio, de cuatro años de duración, con orientaciones Científico-Humanista, Técnico Profesional y Artística) y nivel Superior (no obligatorio, constituido por Centros de Formación Técnica, Institutos Profesionales y Universidades, tradicionales o privadas). La nueva ley contempla a partir del 2017 reducir el ciclo básico a seis años e incrementar en dos el secundario.

Existen también educación de adultos y educación especial, para aquellos que requieran recursos y ayuda adicionales, contando con escuelas especiales y proyectos de integración.

Fuente: http://educacion.laguia2000.com/general/la-educacion-en-chile