Pandora's Box

There are many stories about the infamous Pandora's Box and what it holds. However, despite this infamous object's fame, very few people know much about Pandora's Box and its origins. Look no further for this post will aim to inspire you and inform you about the mystical mystery (yeah, I went there) of Pandora's Box. Pandora's Box is an artifact in Greek Mythology, taken from the myth of Pandora's creation in Hesiod's Works and Days which I think is some Greek mythology story. The "box" is actually a large jar which was given to Pandora and it contained all the evils of the world. You can see how such an object would appeal to such a wide variety of people and how it can be a source of great story telling. A popular phrase (that I have never heard of) which is "to open Pandora's box" means to do a little innocent action that has far-reaching and severe consequences. I do not know why that is important but it is, so deal with it.

Source: http://www.insanelymac.com/_/osx86/news-pandoras-box-beta2-is-out-r1000

In Greek mythology, Pandora was said to be the first woman on Earth. Zeus ordered Hephaestus, the god of craftsmanship, to create her and so he did. Athena then clothed her, Aphrodite gave her beauty and Hermes gave Pandora speech. In retaliation of Prometheus stealing fire from heaven, Zeus gave Prometheus' brother, Epimetheus, Pandora. In doing so he also gave Pandora a jar with strict instructions not to open it under any circumstances. Of course, due to her curiosity, Pandora opened the jar and all evil contained within escaped and spread over the Earth. Before Pandora had the chance to shut the jar, all of the evil had already escaped leaving only the one thing that lay at the bottom: the Spirit of Hope named Elpis. Then even Hope escaped into the World. So after this the world was full of every kind of evil, but it was also full of Hope. Pandora's Box has become something of a modern obsession for story-tellers due to its rich history and the possibilities it holds. Some people see the evil as truth and so that by opening the box an unimaginable number of truths, some good and some bad, would be let free into the world. Others see Pandora's Box as something which contains all the secrets of our world and existence and once found and opened our new lives can begin. The point of Pandora's box, however, is not the story. Rather, Pandora's Box is merely a vessel in which the ancient Greeks believed that evil and hope entered the world. It is a nice story.

I do not know how I got onto this topic, see you tomorrow!

Getting the Most out of Language Perfect

It's halfway through the Language Perfect World Championships and there has already been more than 70 million questions answered! Today I just want to write about how you can get the most out of this awesome resource. There are many things you can do to get the most out of Language Perfect in your studies, with your friends and for recreation. Language Perfect really is an awesome resource for all LOTE students and I recommend it to all schools to get involved. It actually does improve test scores and it becomes a competition between students to a point where they forget that they are actually learning. Language Perfect really is your unfair advantage.

Image Source: http://www.languageperfect.com/

Studying for a LOTE subject? Language Perfect is the site for you. There are so many different languages on this site so whether you are studying Japanese, Chinese, French or Italian there are lists for you to study. Often if you have a school that signed you up you will have the words from your textbook loaded under your language and so if you have a test you can often just study the lists for these subjects. However, there are times when you may only need to know a few words from this list and so on the home page where it tells you your scores there is a yellow box that says edit lists and from here you can search for the words you need to learn and add them to your own list which you can name and save. This way you can study only the words you need to know and not the extra vocab that you would find in the textbook. I use this a lot when I am studying for vocab tests in French and it helps me so much that I rarely get more than two words wrong and usually get full marks. So next time you want a fun technique to study, look no further than Language Perfect.

Image Source: http://www.languageperfect.com/

Language Perfect is also a great resource to use with friends. My own friendship group actually use Language Perfect a lot and it is one of the things that link us together. It is something that we can talk about such as who is beating who and who has done which list. It has just become something that we have become accustomed to. The best way to use Language Perfect with friends is to set goals for each to achieve such as earning 1000 points and the first person to do this will win. Another way to do this is to set a list and the first person to finish it wins. Working with friends is also a good thing because you enjoy yourself so much that you actually forget that what you are doing is study. At first, Language Perfect seemed more of a tedious task but since working with friends it has become a lot more enjoyable. It just goes to show that doing things in groups can be a whole lot better than individually.

Image Source:

 http://footage.shutterstock.com/clip-2525333-stock-footage-two-female-friends-with-modern-laptop-in-outdoor-bar.html

Language Perfect is not just a study tool but also something to be used for recreation. Look at all the people already on 18, 000 points in just 4 days! These people must really enjoy Language Perfect and they are not alone. I too use Language Perfect for recreation and it really is just fun to get that extra thousand points and a certificate for the trouble. It can be so fun that you do not even realise you are learning new vocabulary. Just through trying to get points I have learnt just as many new words as I have revised old ones. To get the most out of recreation on Language Perfect I suggest having a look around at all the different languages to find one you might enjoy learning. It doesn't have to be the one you are studying in class. Just this year I have looked at Italian, Japanese, Maori, Latin and French when I only actually study one of these at school. So do not forget that just because something sounds like a study tool does not mean it cannot be used for fun as well.

Image Source: http://www.languageperfect.com/

May the odds be ever in your favour, see you tomorrow!