Latin Music and Salsa

Latin music is very common in countries where people speak Spanish and Portuguese. However, now people all over the world can enjoy it. This music comes from Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. "Salsa" is one kind of Latin music. Big cities like Miami, New York, San Juan, Havana, or Panama City have their own kinds of salsa. Latin music is a mixture of European music and African music. It has a strong beat. Many years ago people played Latin music mostly on guitars with drums, but now whole orchestras with lots of other instruments play it. Latin music sounds very emotional. Composers of Latin music express their feelings in their music. Sometimes they are very happy, and sometimes they are sad. Ruben Blades and Juan Luis Guerra are two famous modern Latin American composers. They perform their own music with their own orchestras. People can play Latin music and salsa at home or when they visit their friends.

Grammar Practice for Upper Intermediate Students

Title: Grammar Practice for Upper Intermediate Students

Author Name: Elaine Walker & Steve Elsworth

Published Year: 2000

Fotmat: PDF

Pages: 209

Size: 3.6 MB

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Grammar Practice for Intermediate Students

Title: Grammar Practice for Intermediate Students

Author Name: Elaine Walker & Steve Elsworth

Published Year: 2000

Fotmat: PDF

Pages: 174

Size: 1.5 MB

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Love Song: I Want You to Need Me

"I Want You to Need Me" By: Celine Dione

I want to be the face you see when you close your eyes
I want to be the touch you need every single night
I want to be your fantasy
And be your reality
And everything between

Just for Laughs, Part 04

Just for Laughs, Part 03

Just for Laughs, Part 02

Just for Laughs, Part 01

Love Song: If Tomorrow Never Comes

"If Tomorrow Never Comes" By: Ronan Keating

Sometimes late at night
I lie awake and watch her sleeping
She's lost in peaceful dreams
So I turn out the lights and lay there in the dark
And the thought crosses my mind
If I never wake up in the morning
Would she ever doubt the way I feel
About her in my heart

Love Song: So You Don't Have To Love Me Anymore

"So You Don't Have To Love Me Anymore" By: Alan Jackson

I'll be the bad guy,
I'll take the black eye,
When I walk out,
You can slam the door,
I'll be the S.O.B,
If that's what you need from me,
So you don't have to love me anymore.

Love Song: I'd Love You All Over Again

 "I'd Love You All Over Again" By: Alan Jackson

Has it been ten years
Since we said "I do"
I've always heard marriage made one seem like two
But you're looking better than you did back then
You still make this old heart give in

NGOs: Developments and Challenges

The Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations has been under fire from civil society. Prime Minister Hun Sen said in late December 2011 that the government decided to wait until 2014 for the creation of that law: "The government has to pay attention to all the NGO's activities and deems those NGOs as a crucially important part of the country's development." According to an article published by the Post on August 29, 2011, Em Tha, a spokeman and deputy director of the press unit at the Council of Ministers, the Kingdom had become a "safe haven" for 3,000 NGOs and associations. Those NGOs are working on various issues ranging from health, education and infrastructure to environmental protection and governance, registered with the Ministry of Interior. NGOs play a key role in greatly contributing to the betterment of the Kingdom since they have been working in the deprived and challenged communities of remote areas in the provinces.

Drama: Sisters & Brothers, Part 21

Should Nightclubs be Banned Near Schools and Universities?

The growing number of young people in Cambodia has drawn strong interest from many businesspeople. Because of strong competition in the battle for target audiences, businesspeople believe entertainment places could be a marketing strategy to target young people. After seeing this significant interest, the number of entertainment places in Phnom Penh, especially nightclubs, has been growing rapidly. But it’s worth noting that some of these nightclubs are located near places of study that generate human resources that are crucial for our nation’s development.

It you travel post some schools and university in Phnom Penh, you will see that several nightclubs are built close to study places.

We as a Nation Need to Develop a Culture of Helping Others

Developing countries always face challenges because there are not enough social-services resources for people, especially the poor, who need to access them for free. In Cambodia, many people think only about their personal benefits rather than social ones. Is that an ideal situation in a post-war country that desperately needs people to work for the public interest?

Human resources are the basic foundation of social development, and young Cambodians should participate as much possible in community work. They should initiate social projects to fulfill people’s requirements, especially those in rural areas.

Grammar Practice for Pre-intermediate Students

Title: Grammar Practice for Pre-Intermediate Students

Author Name: Elaine Walker & Steve Elsworth

Published Year: 2000

Fotmat: PDF

Pages: 182

Size: 1 MB

Download Available: Click Here

Beggars from the Provinces Have Become a Blot on Our Society

Along the main roads in Phnom Penh, especially near the Russian Market and the Central Market, you will always see beggars and street people, both young and old, asking passers-by for money. If you take cash from your pocket and give it to one beggar, a crowd of beggars will immediately surround you. In that situation, what do you do? Do you give all of them money, or simply ignore them? This is a very difficult question, and many people have no answer to it.

San Pharen, the project manager of World Vision Cambodia, says: “Giving alms to beggars or the needy is not a bad thing; it’s an act of sharing and helping others. It is, however, harmful to give alms to beggars in certain situations.” Sharing comes naturally to Cambodians, but some people believe it can be a bad thing for beggars. Figures from the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation show that in 2009, there were about 12,000 orphans and street children in the Kingdom. But the problem is not only street children; many older people sleep beside the roads and outside pagodas. During Pchom Ben, you will see beggars of all ages asking for money or food near stupas and monasteries.

Why Young People are not Interested in Khmer Sculpture?

“If culture dies, so does the nation. If culture is splendid, so is the nation.”

That Khmer proverb, well known by Cambodian people, recognizes that the way a country develops depends on its culture. And human resources are a key factor in enhancing the Cambodian culture. Sculpture is an art form that plays an important role in developing culture. But because it’s not offered as a major for young people today, it faces an uncertain future. Sa Piseth, a sculpture professor at the Royal University of Fine Arts, says some students don’t like to study it because most of them think it offers few job opportunities and not much money. These factors lead some graduates to choose a different career path from the one they have studied at university, he says.

Foreigners Appreciate Khmer Classical Arts More Than Cambodians Do

Classical arts, such as the dances of Apsara, Chunpor, Tepmonorom and Sovanmuchar, and visual arts, such as painting, are careers that are difficult to find a market for. How can we make people interested in these fields and promote our Khmer culture? The word “art” has a broad meaning; basically, it’s what a person does to express their talent as an individual. But in this piece, I will focus on classical dancing and visual arts. Students who have just gained their Baccalaureat II are likely to study information technology, management, law, accounting, banking, tourism or the English language – subjects they hope will make it easier for them to find a job.

Drama: Sisters & Brothers, Part 20

Drama: Sisters & Brothers, Part 19

Grammar Practice for Elementary Students

Title: Grammar Practice for Elementary Students

Author Name: Elaine Walker & Steve Elsworth

Published Year: 2000

Fotmat: PDF

Pages: 178

Size: 2 MB

Download Available: Click Here

Drama: Sisters & Brothers, Part 18

Mount St. Helens

Mount St. Helens, a volcano in the state of Washington in the United States, erupted on May 18, 1980. Sixty-two people died due to the eruption. No one was surprised by the eruption on Mount St. Helens. Scientists had been predicting that an eruption was likely for almost two years before it happened.

In March 1980 a small eruption occurred and in April one side of the mountain started to swell and crack. The scientists issued warnings and asked people to clear the area. On May 18 the mountain exploded. Hot gases burst out, followed by hot ash, which ran down the mountain slopes burning everything in its path.

Islands

The world's ten largest islands (drawn to scale)

Islands	Ocean
Greenland New Guinea Borneo Madagascar Baffin Island Sumatra Honshu Great Britain Victoria Ellesmere	Arctic Pacific Pacific Indian Arctic Indian Pacific Atlantic Arctic Arctic

Michael Faraday

During the last 400 years, most scientists have relied on mathematics in their development of their inventions or discoveries. However, one great British scientist, Michael Faraday, did not make use of mathematics. Faraday, the son of the poor blacksmith, was born in London in 1791 and had no education beyond reading and writing.

In 1812 Faraday was hired as a bottle washer by the great chemist Humphry Davy. Later, Faraday become a greater scientist than Davy, making the last years of Davy's life embittered with jealousy.

Faraday made the first electric motor in 1821, a device that use electricity to produce movement. Then Faraday became interested in the relationship between electricity and magnetism. In 1831 he discovered that when a magnet is moved near a wire, electricity flows in the wire.

American Indian Smoke Signals

The smoke signals used by American Indians did not convey the complex messages seen in Hollywood movies. Smoke signals were in fact used among the seminomadic tribes of the Great Plains. However, their content was limited to a few simple messages whose meaning had been agreed upon in advance. For example, Piman warriors in Arizona who had just finished a successful raid might send up a column of smoke, and the village would reply with two columns of smoke. Smoke signals were most commonly used to broadcast news of victory in battle, or to warn of sickness in a camp or dangers such as approaching enemies.

Distant Galaxies

The development of the radio telescope has led to two of the most important discoveries in modern astronomy: the identification of the most distant galaxies and the smallest stars ever seen. Before these discoveries were made, new large telescopes had to be built.

The most distant galaxies are called quasars. They were discovered in 1963 when astronomers noticed strong radio signals coming from small points in the sky. When the radio astronomer Maarten Schmidt from Mount Palomar Observatory looked at these points, he saw faint galaxies that could be seen only because they were shining brightly. These galaxies, or quasars, were the most powerful objects ever discovered, and are the most distant objects even seen. Some are over 13,000 million light-years away. They get their power from a huge black hole at their center.

Land Art

The land art movement first appeared in the U.S. in the late 1960s. Most of the work was created in a landscape setting, using whatever materials the artist came across. Part of its appeal is that in many cases the artist's work is quickly changed by the forces of nature. For example, Robert Smithson built a vast spiral jetty from earth and stones in the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Now deposits of salt and sulphur have completely changed the way it looks.
Some land artists welcomed such impermanence, because it meant their work could not be owned. As land art is often in wild, out-of-the-way places, it is rarely seen by the public.

Love Song: I Love You, Good Bye

"I Love You, Good Bye" By: Celine Dion

Wish I could be the one
The one who could give you love
The kind of love you really need
Wish I could say to you
That I'll always stay with you
But baby that's not true
You need someone

Violins

For 100 or more years the violin was looked down on as a lesser musical instrument; music was not composed especially for it except in overtures to court pageants or background music for aristocratic drawing rooms. However, beginning around 1680 into the nineteenth century a succession of Italian violinist composers created and enormous amount of music for the violin-people such as Corelli, Vivaldi, Pugnani, Paganini, and Viotti.

The violin is the principal member of the violin family. The other members are the viola, the cello, and the double bass. The full-size violin, which is the smallest and highest pitched of the stringed instruments played with a bow, has a body size of fourteen inches. The viola is slightly larger than the violin, and it has a slightly richer but less brilliant tone. It is really an alto violin, and it fills the gap between the violin and the cello.

The Soya Bean's Industrial Uses

Soya is not only used in the manufacture of food for human and animal consumption but also in a variety of industrial processes. These range from the manufacture of adhesives and plastics to dynamic and waterproofing preparations.
For many years soya bean oil has been used in the manufacture of paints, both for domestic and industrial use. It is also used in the printing industry in printing inks, adhesives, and paper. In the United States the soya bean is used in the brewing industry to help the yeast ferment and enhance the flavor of beer.

Vitamin C

In the past people suffered from a disease called scurvy. Their gums bled, their skin became rough, their wounds did not heal, and their muscles wasted away. The cause of these symptoms was a lack of vitamin C; people ate preserved meats and foods and could not get fresh vegetables and fruits.

The best sources of vitamin C are oranges, lemons, grapefruit, cantaloupes, strawberries, and fresh vegetables. These fruits must be fresh because vitamin C is destroyed by heat, storage, or exposure to air.
Although today more people take vitamin C pills than any other supplement, some people still have scurvy, including some of the elderly, alcoholics, and the chronically ill.

Love Song: Wonderful Tonight

"Wonderful Tonight" By: Eric Clapton

It's late in the evening; she's wondering what clothes to wear.
She'll put on her make-up and brushes her long blonde hair.
And then she asks me, "Do I look all right?"
And I say, "Yes, you look wonderful tonight."

Love Song: Livin On Love

"Livin' On Love" By: Alan Jackson

Two young people without a thing
Say some vows and spread their wings
Settle down with just what they need
Livin on love

Love Song: Remember When

"Remember When" By: Alan Jackson

  

Remember when I was young and so were you
And time stood still and love was all we knew
You were the first, so was I
We made love and then you cried
Remember when

Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin was an American politician, inventor, and scientist. He was born in 1706 and at the age of ten set to work in his father’s candle and soap business. However, his disliked his work and two years later he went to work for a printer. He eventually became a successful printer, producing a weekly newspaper and popular books. He also became a politician and help the United States become free from British rule. His inventions included a smokeless stove, bifocal lenses, and new types of fertilizer.

Computers

It is relatively easy for computers to speak. A computer that says “please” and “thank you” in the right places is no miracle of science, but recognizing the words that make up normal, continuous human speech is another matter. Not until now have computers been programmed to react to a range of spoken commands. Until recently it was thought that computers would have to be programmed to the accent and speech habits of each user, and only then would be able to respond accurately to their master’s or mistress’s voice. Now rapid progress is being made with systems programmed to adapt easily to each new speaker.

Asbestos

Asbestos is a type of mineral found in rocks that has a fibrous structure and so can be woven. Unlike other flexible woven material, it is capable of withstanding very high temperatures, and at the same time deflecting heat. Woven metal wire, for example, might do the first job, but would not do the second. For this reason, asbestos gloves, suits, and shields have been vital for protection in fire fighting. There are hundreds of uses for asbestos in industry and construction. Asbestos can be mixed with other materials, such as rubber, graphite, paint, and cement, for special purposes that demand extra flexibility, slipperiness, coating quality, or hardness. Asbestos is so useful that it was once found in almost all modern buildings and machines. Modern industry has also benefited from its uses as a material for electrical and sound insulation.

The Postage Stamp

Before the invention of the postage stamp, it was difficult to send a letter to another country. The sender paid for the letter to travel in his or her own country. Then the person in the other country paid for that part of the trip. If a letter crossed several countries, the problem was worse.

Rowland Hill, a British teacher, had the idea of a postage stamp with glue on the back. The British post office made the first stamps in 1840. They were the Penny Black and the Twopence Blue. A person bought a stamp and put it on a letter. The post office delivered the letter. When people received letters, they didn't have to pay anything. The letters were prepaid.
Postage stamps became popular in Great Britain immediately. Other countries started making their own postage stamps very quickly.

Pencils and Pens

No one knows who invented pencils or when it happened. A Swiss described a pencil in a book in 1565. He said it was a piece of wood with lead inside it. (Lead is a very heavy metal.) Pencils weren't popular, and people continued to write with pens. They used bird feathers as pens.
Then in 1795 someone started making pencils form graphite and they became very popular. Graphite is a kind of coal. (Coal is black, and we burn it for heat and energy.) Today people make pencils in the same way. They grind the graphite, make it into the shape of a stick, and bake it. Then they put it inside a piece of wood. One pencil can write 50,000 English words or make a line 55 kilometers long.

The Brain

The brain can store 100 trillion pieces of information. In each second the brain receives more than 100 million nerve messages from the body. The brain loses 1,000 cells per day, which are not replaced, and yet memories are maintained. The brain cannot feel pain. If a surgeon operates on the brain, the patient feels no pain. During the first six months of a baby's life, its brain doubles in size.

The human brain weighs about 3.5 pounds. A man's brain is heavier than a woman's brain. The brain weighs one-fiftieth as much as the body, but uses one-fourth (25 percent) of the body's oxygen. The left side of the brain controls the right side of the body; the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body.

Why Do We Need to Keep Our Environment Clean?

After a year of working long days, many people enjoy taking a holiday and traveling to other countries. On weekday evenings, Wat Butom Vatey park, Hun Sen’s park and other public parks along the river are crowded.  People in Phnom Penh enjoy getting some exercise, doing some sightseeing and relaxing at those places, just as foreigners do. Besides those in the capital, there are many places in the provinces where local and international tourists can see wonderful attractions. They can visit the ancient Angkor Wat temples, climb a mountain to see the waterfall at Chambok or swim in the sea at Sihanoukville.

“Clean city, clean resort, good service” is the slogan produced by Ministry of Tourism, but Cambodia still faces some challenges before it can live up to that motto. Litter in the streets is one of the most important issues the government needs to take action on. Local people think nothing of throwing their rubbish on the roadway as they travel along; they seem not to care about spoiling the beauty of our capital city.

Smarter Advertising Can Boost Cambodia's Tourism Sector

Cambodia, with its unique mixture of culture and nature. Tourism has become one of the three most important contributors to the Kingdom’s economy according to Cheam Yeap, Chairman of the Commission on Economy, Finance, Banking and Audit of the National Assembly. The Ministry of Tourism, in collaboration with many other institutions, is working hard to maintain that situation. High-quality advertising is the key to luring more foreign visitors to Cambodia, which is why the Ministry of Tourism is trying to boost advertising through mass media.
Statistics show the number of international tourists increased by 14 per cent in the first six months of this year. This is a good omen for the nation’s economy.

Answers to all TOEFL Essay Questions

Title: Answers to All TOEFL Essay Questions

Author Name: ToeflEssay.com

Published Year: N/A

Fotmat: PDF

Pages: 518

Size: 10 MB

Download Available: Click Here

Country Western Music

Country western music is very old. It came from the United States, Canada, Ireland, and Great Britain. Country western music is a mixture of music from all of these places. In the American West, cowboys had to take care of the cattle. They had to watch them all day and all night because the cattle were nervous and sometimes ran away. A cowboy's life was lonely and dangerous. When he was alone in the desert with the cattle, he drank strong coffee with lots of caffeine to stay awake at night. He also sang music to the cattle to calm them. He sang about the stars and the moon, about his family and his friends. The caattle listened to the cowboy and went to sleep.

Rock and Roll

Rock and roll came from jazz and blues during the 1950s. One of the first rock and roll songs was Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock." One of the first very famous rock and roll singers was Elvis Presley. Others were Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry. Now, almost every country has many rock and roll bands and singers. Sometimes performers call their music by different names, like "rap" or "punk." They sing and play mixtures of rock and roll and talking or other sounds. "Rap" and "punk" both came from rock and roll, or "rock music." 

Some fans who like rock music think classical music is boring. Many fans play rock music very loudly. They forget about the people who enjoy soft music. Loud music can make these people nervous. Many fans also like to dance to rock and roll.

Most Poor Residents Complain about the Service of State-Run-Hospitals

Health care professionals bear a tremendous amount of responsibility and stress. Most of the time, they work with a high volume of sick patients. It is their sworn duty to serve those suffering from illness. However, medical ethics is still a hot issue surrounding public hospitals across the Kingdom. Some doctors ignore, or fail to deliver, care to their patients below the poverty belt.

Cambodian medical school graduates pledge to follow a high ethical studard before becoming a professional doctor.

Common Mistakes in English

Title: Common Mistakes in English

Author Name: T. J. Fitikides

Published Year: 2002

Fotmat: PDF

Pages: 110

Size: 3 MB

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Check Your English Vocabulary for Living in the UK

Title: Check Your English Vocabulary for Living in the UK

Author Name: Rawdon Wyatt

Published Year: 2006

Fotmat: PDF

Pages: 81

Size: 400 KB

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The History of Phnom Penh-CAMBODIA

The Origin of the Phnom Penh's Name,

Long ago in 1372 A.D., there was a wealthy elderly woman named Penh living near the banks of the four river fronts. Her house was built on a plateau east of a hill. One day, heavy rains flooded the area. Daun Penh (Grandma Penh) went down to the dock and saw a koki tree floating towards the river bank. The strong fronting tides kept the koki tree floating nearby that particular river bank.

The Bigger, The Better

Teens today are fond of make-up and dressing in a sexy way to attract others - another trend as the Kingdom opens its gates to new cultures, East and West. Many young Cambodians feel inadequate with their natural looks knowing that there are alternatives, and look towards expensive products and plastic surgery to enchance their appearance and chase what they believe is "beautiful". 

According to an article published in the Post Khmer on January 20, Cambodian superstarts and idols are flocking to Thailand for breast implants. This handful of celebrities is choosing surgery for bigger breasts, which they believe will lead to more fame. Kol Davy, a famous actress, confessed that she, too, travelled to Thailand for a breast augmentation.

English Grammar for Dummies

Title: English Grammar for Dummies

Author Name: Geraldine Woods

Published Year: 2001

Fotmat: PDF

Pages: 388

Size: 10 MB

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The Olympics

The word “Olympic” comes from the name of the town Olympia in Greece, where the ancient Olympic Games were always held. The first recorded Olympic Games were held in 776 B.C; the Games took place every fourth year after the date until they were abolished by a Roman emperor in A.D. 394.

It was not until 1875, when archeologists discovered the ruins of the Olympic Stadium in Greece, that interest in the Games was renewed. Baron Pierre de Coubertin, a French scholar and educator, proposed that the Games should be revived as an international competition to encourage both sport and world peace.

Drama: Sisters & Brothers, Part 17

Drama: Sisters & Brothers, Part 16

Phyllis Wheatley

Phyllis Wheatley was kidnapped from Africa at the age of eight. She was brought to Boston in 1761, a sickly child only able to speak Senegalese. At the age of thirteen she wrote her first poem. In 1773 her first book of poems was published, the second volume of poetry published by a woman in America.

At the Boston slave market, Phyllis was purchased by John Wheatley, a tailor whose wife, impressed by the child's aptitude, taught her to speak, read, and write English. In a few years Phyllis had also learned geography, history, and Latin and had developed a liking for classical poets such as Horace and Virgil. Her first poem, a translation from the Latin of Ovid, so amazed the literary circles in Boston that they had it published.

Penguins

There are eighteen different kinds of penguins, and they all live south of the equator. The largest are the emperor penguins, which live in Antarctica. They lay their eggs about fifty miles from the coast. There the penguins have nothing to make a nest out of, but the eggs cannot be laid directly on the ice, or they would freeze. The emperor penguins have to take care of their eggs in a special way.

The female produces one egg. As soon as she lays her egg, the male penguin rolls it on top of his feet. A special fold of skin on the bottom of his stomach comes down over the egg to protect it from the cold. For two months the male penguins stand together to protect themselves from the cold with their eggs on their feet. They cannot move or eat.

The female goes to find food as soon as she lay her egg. Finally, after two months she returns and takes the eggs from the male. The male penguin, which now has had no food for two months, return to the sea.

The Zipper

The zipper is a wonderful invention. How did people ever live without zipper? They are very common, so we forget that they are wonderful. They are very strong, but they open and close very easily. They come in many colors and sizes. In 1890s, people in the United States wore high shoes with a long row of buttons. Women's clothes often had rows of buttons too. People wanted an easier way to put on and take off clothes.

Whitcomb L. Judson invented the zipper in 1893. He was an engineer in Chicago. He called the zipper a slide fastener. However, it didn't stay closed very well. This was embarrassing, and people didn't buy many of them. Then Dr. Gideon Sundback from Sweden solved this problem.
A zipper has three parts; 1. There are dozens of metal or plastic hooks (called teeth) in two rows.

Drama: Sisters & Brothers, Part 15

Drama: Sisters & Brothers, Part 14

Blues and Jazz

People from Europe and America brought Africans to America as slaves before and during the nineteenth century. These Africans brought their music with them. After the American Civil War (1861-1865), the African-American people in the United States were not slaves. Their African-American music became famous. It started in the South, in Louisiana and Mississippi. Then it traveled to the North. This music became blues and then jazz.

Blues and jazz became very popular in the twentieth century. A person who "sings the blues" feels sad. Usually, he or she lost something - a person or maybe money or a job. Blues express sad feelings, sometimes in a funny way. People played blues first with only one or two instruments, for example, a guitar, a harmonica, or sometimes a piano. Sometimes they sang without any instruments.

Saint Valentine's Story

Let me introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived in Rome during the third century. That was long, long ago! At that time, Rome was ruled by an emperor named Claudius. I didn't like Emperor Claudius, and I wasn't the only one! A lot of people shared my feelings.

Claudius wanted to have a big army. He expected men to volunteer to join. Many men just did not want to fight in wars. They did not want to leave their wives and families. As you might have guessed, not many men signed up. This made Claudius furious. So what happened? He had a crazy idea. He thought that if men were not married, they would not mind joining the army. So Claudius decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was cruel. I thought it was preposterous! I certainly wasn't going to support that law!

The History of Saint Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day started in the time of the Roman Empire. In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honour Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia.

The lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. However, one of the customs of the young people was name drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl's name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry.

Drama: Sisters & Brothers, Part 13

Drama: Sisters & Brothers, Part 12

Greatness

The foolish assume themselves to be great, not realizing that they are the dust of unbounded nature. Little and temporary creatures are they.

The clever recognize nature's greatness, and  sacrifice to her; they leave the inexplicable event in His hands.

The wise recognize purity as the greatest state, knowing that all of mankind and all creatures are heading toward the real purity.

Ignorance and Intelligence

The foolish think they are smart, and ignore any self-improvement, Eventually becoming the permanent hosts of stupidity.

The clever often assume themselves to be ignorant, and pretend to be what they think; gradually, they succumb to ignorance.

The wise perceive hidden ignorance and intelligence, and evolve along the path to a greater state of wisdom. Gradually, they free themselves from ignorance and cleverness.

Make Love and Do Business

Valentine's Day is on the horizon and young Cambodians across the Kingdom anxiously await this fun holiday. Boyfriends and girlfriends are gearing up to surprises, and are hitting the shops for roses and cute souvenirs. Meanwhile, some bunisess savvy youth are looking at Valentine's Day as an entrepreneurial endeavour. 19-years-old Ngoun Sony, a student at University of Management, hatched a business plan to start selling flowers and small gifts the week of Valentine's Day at Sisowat High School. "I have my group of seven, and we put in 10 dollars each. It was the first time for us in terms of doing business," she said. Ngoun Sony added that she knew the small business venture would be successful as soon as her group started, when they gained more than just profit. "It's not just for the money," she said. "Actually, we don't even make that much profit, since there are eight of us and we split it.

The Valentine and the Virgin

What are young women thinking about?

Globalisation has mixed tradition with modern development in Cambodia, and it's not slowing down any time soon. From Christmas to Chinese New Year, and now Valentine's Day, a cultural whirlpool of West and East is moulding the future of the Kingdom. In the past few years, LIFT has hit the streets and found that most young Cambodians were buying gifts for their boyfriends and girlfriends. 

This year, it seem there's a new rising trend in Cambodia's young generation: waiting for Valentine's Day to confess and consummate their love. And because of this jump to bed, guest houses across Phnom Penh are cashing in. "Teens are more likely to check into guest houses located on the city's outskirts or on small blocks, where not many people can recognise them," said Ket Thearith, the owner of Victoria Guest House.

Classical Music

All over the world people listen to classical music. Classical music is difficult to describe. It means different things to different people.

Some famous classical composers were Bach, Vivaldi, Haydn, and Mozart. In their music, they did not tell a story or show strong emotion. They wanted to make a beautiful, interesting design. They wanted to write lovely sounds. Then composers started to interpret ideas.They told stories about wars, armies, and soldiers. They wrote about religion. Sometimes they composed music for holidays. They told love stories and showed strong emotion. Some of these composers were Beethoven, Schumann,