Developing exercises to improve short term memory for english maors at vinh university

Acknowledgment For completion of this study, I have received invaluable help and encouragement from many people First of all, I should like to express my deepest thanks to my supervisor, Mrs Nguyen Thi Lan Phuong, M.A for her indispensable assistance, excellent suggestion, precious advice and detailed critical comments, without which I would have not completed the work In addition, I am greatly indebted to Foreign Languages Department for offering me a great opportunity to carry out my study, to all teachers of the Foreign Language Department for their support and encouragement I would also extend my sincere thanks to the students from class 47B English for their enthusiasm when participating in my survey and their contributive ideas to my work My warmest thanks are due to my parents for their unconditional love, support and encouragement Finally, I would like to thank all my friends who gave me a lot of useful ideas, good advices, encouragement and spiritual support Vinh, May, 2010 Nguyen Thi Hoai Abstract Interpreting is a demanding and challenging job A professional interpreter must possess an ability of combining many skills in order to perform the task of orally transferring the text from one language into another one Those skill are listening, note-taking, memorizing, public speaking, etc Among these skills, memorizing (especially STM), is a crucial key which decides the success of the interpreting task Recognizing the importance of STM in interpreting, the author has carried out the study with a small survey to investigate the factual state of students’ use of STM as well as difficulties they encounter when applying STM in interpreting The findings of the survey show that most of students still have many problems when applying short-term memory in interpreting Thus, some exercises have been proposed as models for students to practice with the hope to contribute a modest part in improving STM for interpreting students in Vinh university Table of content Page Acknowledgement i Abstract ii Table of contents iii List of figures and tables iv List of abbreviations v Part i introduction Justification of the Study Aims and Objectives of the Study Methods of the Study Scope of the Study Design of the Study Part ii development Chapter theoretical background 1.1 Interpreting 1.1.1 Definition of Interpreting 1.1.2 Modes of Interpreting 1.1.3 Stages of Interpreting 1.2 Short-term memory 1.2.1 Definition 1.2.2 Characteristics of Short-term memory 1.2.3 Differences Between short-term memory and Long-term memory 1.3 Short-term memory and Interpreting 1.3.1 Role of STM in Interpreting 1.3.2.Short-term memory and Consecutive Interpreting 1.3.3 Short-term memory and Simultaneous Interpreting 1.4 Memory Exercises 1.4.1 Types of Memory Exercises 1.4.2 Characteristics of Memory Exercises 1.4.3 Effects of Memory Exercises on Short-term Memory 1.5 Types of Memory Exercise to Improve STM in Interpreting 1.5.1 Retelling in Source Language 1.5.2 Shadowing 1.5.3 Mnemonic to Memory 1.5.4 Exercises with Interference 1.5.5 Memory Games 1.5.5.1 Story Telling 1.5.5.2 Pexeso: Matching Pair 1.6 Summary Chapter the survey 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Aims and Objectives 2.3 Subject of the Survey 2.4 Instrument 2.5 Procedures 2.6 Findings and Discussion 2.6.1 The Factual State of Vinh University Students’ Use of STM 2.6.2 Difficulties Encountered When Using STM as an Interpreting Skill 2.6.3 The Students’ Practice of STM Improvement 2.6.4 The Role of Teacher in STM Application for Students’ Interpreting Skill 2.7 Summary Chapter Some suggested exercises for improving short-term memory Introduction Suggested Primary Methods for STM Enhancement 1.1 Auditory STM Improvement 1.1.1 Comprehensive Listening 1.1.2 Intensive Listening 1.2 Visual STM Improvement Suggested Advanced Methods for STM Enhancement 2.1 Retelling in Source Language 2.2 Shadowing Memory Games 3.1 Storytelling 3.2 Matching Pair Summary Part iii Conclusion Summary Suggestions for Further Studies References Appendix Appendix List of Figures and Tables Figure 1: Difference types of memory Figure 2: Major headings of LTM Figure 3: Gile’s Model Effort for Consecutive Interpreting Table 1: Average time of storing source language utterance Table 2: Average length of information that can be remembered best Table 3: Percentage of information that remembered after the first listening Table 4: Percentage of information that remembered after the second listening Table 5: Percentage of information that remembered after the third listening Table 6: Way of remembering the source information Table 7: Time needed to rearrange information before interpreting Table 8: Time spent to forget information Table 9: Common situations encountered when applying STM in interpreting Table 10: Self-evaluation of interpreting work Table 11: Types of information causing difficulty to remember Table 12: Reasons of difficulties when using STM in interpreting Table 13: The frequency of practicing STM in interpreting Table 14: Methods adopted to practice STM in interpreting Table 15: The aids supporting for STM when interpreting Table 16: The kinds of memory exercises usually used in class Table 17: The effectiveness of memory exercises Table 18: the reasons choosing the exercise to improve STM Table 19: The effectiveness of STM training measures Table 20: Teacher’s role in improving students’ memorizing skill List of abbreviations SI: Simultaneous Interpreting CI : Consecutive Interpreting STM: Short-term Memory LTM: Long-term Memory Part I introduction Justification of the Study In the age of global integration, the need of mutual understanding among countries in the world is increased However, there exist communicative barriers between them because of different languages Being considered as bridge of human communicative interaction, the profession of interpreter is an effective mean to break these barriers Thus, interpreting is now becoming an attractive and potential career However, the work of interpreting is not simple and always demanding and challenging Interpreting consists of such phases as listening, decoding, storing, transferring and delivering the information These process are supported by some interpreting skills such as note-taking skill, memorizing skill, public speaking skill etc If one process in this chain does not go smoothly, the interpretation will be unsuccessful Among these skills, memorizing is an important one which help the interpreters store particular data in their mind and then recall when interpreting It decides the success of interpreting task Therefore, it is understandable when some interpreters who are very skillful at listening, note-taking public speaking, etc fail to transfer the source language text into the target language due to bad memory In interpretation, short-term memory is more helpful than long-term memory It allows interpreters to hold amount of information in mind and readily available state for a short period of time That is the reason why at the first term of interpreting course, the interpreting students in Vinh university are taught about short-term memory’s characteristics and the way to improve it However, with the limited time of practice in training curriculum, students haven’t had many chances to practice and improve their STM and many students desire to have more chance to practice and improve their short-term memory Recognizing the importance of short-term memory to interpreting, and the need to improve short-term memory to meet requirement of interpreting task, the author chooses topic: “Developing exercises to improve short-term memory in consecutive interpreting for English majors at Vinh university” Aims and Objectives of the Study This graduation thesis aims at developing exercises to improve students’ STM In order to achieve that aim, the research attempts to: - Investigate the factual state of Vinh university students’ use of short-term memory - Analyze difficulties they encounter when using short-term memory in interpreting - Evaluate short-term memory practice and improvement of students - Propose some kinds of memory exercise to improve short-term memory Methods of the Study To complete the study, quantitative approach was employed with the use of the survey questionnaire Besides, the author also utilize the following methods: - Collecting information from reference books, internet, etc - Consulting the supervisor, other teachers in the Foreign Language Department and classmates - Consulting the graduation thesis of former students Scope of the Study Within the scope of a graduation thesis, the author only focuses on some exercises of STM which is believed to be in accordance with the need of selected students Further research may be needed in order to reach a generalization Design of the Study The study consists of three main parts: Part I: Introduction This contains the justification, aims and objectives, methods, scope, and the design of the study Part II: Development with chapters: Chapter 1: Theoretical Background The chapter provides the definition of interpreting, its modes and phases The part also introduces the definition of short-term memory, its characteristics, the differences between short-term memory and long term memory, the definition of memory exercises, their characteristics and suggests some kinds of memory exercises to improve short-term memory in interpreting Chapter 2: The Survey This investigates factual state of students’ use of short-term memory, difficulties encountered when using short-term memory in interpreting, students’ practice to improve short-term memory and the role of teacher in improving students’ short-term memory Chapter 3: Some suggested exercises to improve short-term memory This part proposes some kinds of exercise to improve short-term memory Part III: Conclusion The part includes the summary and the suggestions for further studies The paper also contains Acknowledgement, Abstract, Table of Contents, List of Tables and Figures, List of Abbreviation, References and Appendices Part II: development Chapter 1: Theoretical background 1.1 Interpreting 1.1.1 Definition of Interpreting There are different definitions of interpreting Each definition views interpreting from different corners According to Adolfo (1996:5), interpreting means “the oral transfer of message between speaker of different languages is thus one of the oldest of human activities, and the role of interpreters is arguably one of the oldest of profession “ Ginori and Scimone (1995:11) define “Interpreting is to transfer orally a text from a language to another” It is necessary to distinguish interpreting and translation so that the definition of interpreting is clarified There are some differences between interpreting and translation The first difference is that interpreting is the spoken transference while translation is the written transference This means that interpreter occurs in real time with the presence of the parties for whom the interpreter renders an interpretation On the other hand, translation is the transference of meaning from text to text The second difference is the time Translators have more time to consider and revise each word and sentence by accessing to resources such as dictionaries, glossaries, etc before delivering their translation Whereas interpreters have a very short period of time to listen, analyze, transfer and reconstruct before their interpretation in the target language is delivered As a result, the accuracy in translation is higher than in interpreting Translators have time to cover all details of source language text while interpreters try to achieve total accuracy at all times, so details of the original speech can be omitted from the interpretation into the target language, with a pause 1.1.2 Modes of Interpreting There are two basic modes of interpreting, consecutive mode and simultaneous mode In consecutive interpreting (CI), the interpreter starts to deliver his interpretation after the source-language speaker has finished a segment of speech which is usually a paragraph (from 5-7 sentences) and may last from a few seconds to several minutes CI is usually used in high level political talks, press conferences, speeches for welcoming address, speeches for banquets, two language negotiations for industry or business, drafting committees, court interpreting and tourism with the aim to help people overcome the language barrier In CI, because the interpreter does not need to split his attention between receiving the message and monitoring the output, as required in simultaneous, all his attention is paid to analysis and reformulation of the text thereby producing a more accurate and equivalent interpretation As Seleskovitch (1978:28) points out “In consecutive interpreting, the interpreter has the advantage of knowing line of the argument before he interprets” There fore, he can easily understand meaning of the message and the standard of accuracy is higher In simultaneous interpreting (SI), the interpreter renders his interpretation while still receiving the source utterance This means that the interpreter works at the same time with the source language speaker who speaks continuously into a microphone The simultaneous interpreter, sitting 10 References I Reference books Adolfo, G (1996) Liaison Interpreting Melbourne: Melbourne University Press Duong, Tran Thuy (2006) How to Improve Short-term Memory in Interpreting Hanoi: Hanoi University Gile, D (1995) Basic Concepts and Models for Interpreter and Translator Training Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins Gile, D (1992) Basic Theoretical Components in Interpreting and Translator Training In Dollerup, C and Loddegaad, A (eds), 185-194 Jones, L (Ed.) (2004) Let's Talk Ho Chi Minh City: Ho Chi Minh press Jonnauton (Ed.) (1993) Think First Certificate United Kingdom: longman La, Nguyen Thi (2009) Graduation Paper: Problems Facing Third-year English students at Vinh University in Consecutive Interpreting Vinh: Vinh University Lambert, S & Mose-Mercer, B (1994) Bridging the Gap: Empirical Research on Simultaneous Interpreting Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins Mahmoodzahed, K (1992) Consecutive Interpreting: Its Principles and Techniques In Dollerup, C and Loddegaard, A (eds.), 231-236 10 Mc Clintock, J & Sterrn, B (Ed.) (2003) Let's Listen Hai Phong: Hai Phong Press 11 Phelan, M (2001) The Interpreter's Resource Clevedon, Buffalo, Toronto, Sysney: Multilingual Matters Ltd 12 Smith, F (1985) Reading Without Nonsense NY's Teacher's College Press 13 Zhong, W (2001) "Simultaneous Interpreting: Principles and Training" In China Translators Journal, 39-43 II Newspapers Los Angeles Time News, Volume 352, Friday, November 4, 2005 Vietnam News, Volume X, Wednesday, November 8, 2000 Tien Phong, Volume 14, Wednesday, January 14, 2009 Tien Phong, Volume 16, Friday, January 16, 2009 Tien Phong, Volume 257, Saturday, September 13, 2008 Tap Chi Truyen Hinh, Volume 69, January, 2006 GD&TD Chu nhat, Volume 323, Sunday, November 6, 1998 An Ninh The Gioi, Volume 791, Wednesday, September 17, 2008 III Websites: Www.voanews www.bbc.co.uk 61 APPENDIX 1: QUESTION NAIRE What is the average length of information that you can remember? A sentence B 2-3 sentences C a paragraph (5-7 sentences) Which percentage of information that you can remember after the first listening? A 10% B 20-50% C 70% D 100% Which percentage of information that you can remember after the second listening? A 20-50% B 50-70% C 100% Which percentage of information that you can remember after the third listening? A 20-50% B 50-70% C 100% How you remember the information? A Key words B Every word How long you need to rearrange information before interpreting? A 1-3 seconds B 4-5 seconds C more than seconds How long you forget information after interpreting? A 1-5 seconds B 6-10 seconds C 10-30 seconds D more than 30 seconds Have you been in these situation? A You remember all main ideas but in incorrect order B After listening a sentence or paragraph, you only remember the last part but forget the first part C After listening, you remember nothing How exact is your interpreting work? (Self-evaluation) A 30% B 50% E 100% C 70% D 90% 10 What types of information you feel difficult to remember? A Numbers, private names, dates B List C Signal/ Abbreviation C Terminology 11 Which factor you think has the most influence in your memorizing skill? A Brain structure B Psychological factors C External environment D Concentration ability 12 How often you practice to improve STM? A Often B Sometimes C Only in class D Never 13 Which methods are adopted to practice STM in interpreting? 62 A Object listing B Story summarization C Peer interpreting practice D Tape interpreting 14 What are the aids for STM when interpreting? A Glossary (on topic) B Outline (delivered before start) C Pre-discussion D Note 15 Which kinds of memory exercises are usually used in the class?( can choose more than answer) A Retelling in source language B Shadowing C Memory games 16 Which one you think is the most effective way to improve STM? A Retelling in source language B Shadowing C Memory games 17 Why you think this kind of exercise is the most effective one? A Because it is interesting and easy to practice B Because it helps students improve STM in a short time C.Your answer:……………………………………………………………… 18 How effective are your STM training measures? A Very effective B Effective C Not very effective D Ineffective 19 How are the teachers important in improving students’ memorizing skill? A Very important, as an instructor, a guider B Only important in some cases C Not very important, students make progress by themselves 63 APPENDIX EXERCISES Exercise 1: The windshield wiper was invented in 1930 by Mary Anderson, a women from Alabama, USA While Anderson was riding a street car during a trip to New York city, she noticed that the driver often had to get out to wipe snow from the windshield She quickly drew an idea for mechanical windshield wiper in her sketchbook Later she tried to sell her idea to a Canadian Company, but the company decided that the invention wouldn’t be successful Anderson gave up on trying to sell her invention and never made any money from it (Cited from Let’s Talk – Leo Jones, page 179) Exercise 2: Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen This is Captain Anderson speaking On behalf of myself and the crew, I’d like to welcome you on board this Air Magnesia flight to London May I apologize for the short delay in our departure This was caused by a problem with one of our tires but everything’s all right now and we should be able to make up for the lost time We shall be flying at an attitude of 30,000 feet and our estimated time of arrival is 19.30 local time Weather condition are good but we may experience a little turbulence for the first 30 minutes so I would suggest you keep your safety belts fastened During the flight, dinner will be served and our cabin crew will… (Cited from Think first Certificate – Jonnaunton, page 176) Exercise 3: Police have stepped up their hunt for eight-year-old Neil Graham who’s been missing since Friday when he left St Mark’s Primary school to walk home Neil was wearing jeans, a dark blue pullover and a red anorak and was carrying a yellow satchel The police have issued a description of a man they would like to interview The man, who was seen in Castle Street getting into a yellow Renault with a child answering Neil’s description shortly before half past four on Friday, is described as being in his early forties, white, balding and of medium height and wearing a leather jacket, jeans and mental framed spectacles Police are appealing to anyone with information to come forward (Cited from Think first Certificate – Jonnaunton, page 181) 64 Exercise 4: I spent the week with my grandparents in the country They live um… on a big farm, and they have chickens and lost of animals and fruit trees and fresh vegetable, and it’s really, really beautiful and peaceful when I was there …Um… the apples were in season, and we went picking And the neighbors came, and they helped pick the apples, and we packed them, and it was so much fun And then at the end of the day, my grandma would cook a big meal, and we would just sit around and eat and eat and talk, and everything was delicious It was so good And I thought I’d be bored because they don’t have a TV or anything, but I wasn’t It was …it was a lot of fun (Cited from Let’s Talk – Leo Jones, page 165) Exercise 5: I know a man who is very fond of food In fact, he can eat more food than anyone else I know His name is Bill and he is quite fat Bill’s problem is that he likes to eat a lot of food but he does not like to work One morning, Bill was out in the country when he met a farmer “Are you looking for a work?”, asked the farmer “Yes”, said Bill because he was very hungry and had no money to buy food “Alright”, said the farmer, “you can come and work for me” “Just a moment”, said Bill “First I must have a good lunch.” “Well”, said the farmer, “What would you like?” “Vegetable soup”, said Bill, “to start with” “Anything else?” asked the farmer “Yes, I’d like a big steak and peas, and lots of potatoes”, Bill went on hungrily “Is that all?”, asked the farmer “Almost”, said Bill, “I’d like to finish with a nice cup of tea and a big bit of cake” “Listen”, said the farmer, “you don’t need a job, you need a restaurant.” (Cited from Let’s Listen – John McClintock and Borje Stern, page 68) Exercise 6: Well, there was an emotional reunion today at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, when Stacy Baxter from Seattle, Washington, met Alicia Carson of Northfield, Illinois The two women are twin sisters, but they had never met They were born forty-five years ago and were adopted by two separate families Four years ago, Ms Baxter found out she was a twin and began to try to find her sister She finally found out Ms Carson name and address last month Ms Baxter called her sister, and the twins met for the first time today (Cited from Let’s Talk – Leo Jones, page186) Exercise 7: 65 And here the prize in the lottery Has every got their ticket? Good, well the seventh prize is ticket number 115, a hundred and fifteen The sixth prize is number 1770, one thousand seven hundred and seventy The fifth prize goes to ticket number 19, nineteen Now let’s see who’ll win the fourth prize Mmm… It looks like, yes, number 309, three hundred and nine is the lucky number Now, we have three more prizes Ok, the third prize goes to ticket number 59, fifty-nine Right, and the second prize goes to ticket number 1990 who has ticket number one thousand nine hundred and ninety in second place? Finally, the first prize The lucky first prize winner is ticket number 40 Number forty wins the first prize (Cited from listen Carefully – Jack C Richard, page 62) Exercise 8: List of words: Piano Broke Orange juice Considerable Cell phone White Overweight Work Exercise 9: Journal Travel Straight Accommodation Particularly Glasses Cook Even 8…………………… 6…………………… 4…………………… 5…………………… 2…………………… 1…………………… 7………………… 3…………………… Exercise 10: Ngời nhà nạn nhân xung đột với bệnh viện Sáng 12/1, địa bàn xà Nghi Vạn, huyện Nghi Léc, tØnh NghƯ An, xe « t« biĨn xanh 49B-1094 chạy theo hớng Nam Bắc va chạm với xe máy anh Nguyễn Phú HảI (43 tuổi Thanh Hóa) điều khiển, làm anh HảI chấn th- 66 ơng nặng Đợc đa đI cấp cứu BV 115 Nghệ An, song đến 20 ngày anh HảI tử vong Theo ngời nhà anh HảI, sau đa anh HảI vào BV 115 Nghệ An cấp cứu, they anh HảI có chiều hớng xấu đI, gia đình xin chuyển nạn nhân Hà Nội, song phó BV cho biết anh HảI bị nhẹ nên giữ điều trị Vì thế, sau anh Hải tử vong, ngời nhà anh Hải bệnh viện đà xảy xung đột (Cited from Tien Phong Newspaper, Wednesday, 14/1/2009) 67 Exercise 11: Héi chợ Xuân 2009 Diễn từ tối 16 đến cuối ngày 24/1, Trung tâm hội chợ Triển lÃm Việt Nam (Giảng Võ Hà Nội) Hội chợ Xuân 2009 Bộ VH-TT-DL UBNNTP Hà Nội chủ trì Trong điều kiện KT-XH khó khăn năm trớc, có 800 gian hàng (nhiều năm trớc 50 gian) gần 500 đơn vị tham gia Trng bày bán hàng tiêu dùng Tết Nhiều lơng thực, thực phẩm, hàng may mặc Có nhiều đặc sản vùng miền, sản phẩm gốm sứ, thủ công mỹ nghệ, nhiều chơng trình lễ hội, văn nghệ, thể thao dân gian, đại, khu trng bày hoa, cảnh (Cited in Tien Phong Newspaper, 16/1/2009) Exercise 12: H¬n 10.000 tØ đồng cho công trình trọng điểm Ngày 5/1, UBND TP Hồ Chí Minh cho biết vừa định giao tiêu kế hoạch đầu t xây dựng đợt năm 2009 nguồn vốn ngân sách thành phố vốn viện trợ phát triển (ODA) với tổng vốn 10.859 tỉ đồng Số vốn phân bố cho hạng mục chính, kinh phí bồi thờng giải phóng mặt xây dựng tuyến đờng Tân Sơn Nhất- Bình Lợi, vành đai tuyến Metro Bến Thành Suối Tiên xa lộ Hà Nội 3.780 tỉ đồng, vốn ODA vốn đối ứng cho dự án ODA 2.343,59 tỉ đồng; đầu t giáo dục y tế 695,813 tỷ đồng; phân cấp vốn cho quậnhuyện 240 tỷ đồng; công trình khởi công 523,56 tỷ ®ång (Cited from Tien Phong Newspaper, Friday, 16/1/2009) Exercise 13: Hơn 50% hộ dân tái định c có mức sống giảm so với nơi cũ Qua khảo sát, điều tra sơ 771 hộ gia đình ngời dân thuộc diện di dời, tái định c khu kinh tế Dung Quất đời sống điều kiện sinh hoạt, có 50% số hộ dân có mức sống giảm so với nơi cũ Về nhà có 25 hộ xây dựng nhà kiên cố, 648 hộ có nhà bán kiên cố 78 hộ có nhà cấp Về mức sống số hộ dân có mức sống giảm so với nơi cũ chiếm tỉ lệ 18.15%, nơi cũ 25,16% có mức sống giảm so với nơi cũ chiếm 56.67% Từ có KKT Dung Quất đến nay, tỉnh Quảng NgÃi đà thực 215 phơng án bồi thờng, thu hồi 2300 đất, tổ chức di dời bố trí tái định c cho 1700 hộ dân, 30.000 mồ mả cho loại với tổng kinh phí chi trả 400 tỉ đồng Trong đó, từ đầu năm 2008 đến đà chi trả 80 tỉ đồng (Tien Phong, Sartuday, 13/9/2008) 68 Exercise 14: Chamber of Commerce and Industry to meet in Ho Chi Minh city The 18th Conference of the Confederation of Asia – Pacific Chamber of Commerce and Industry will be held in HCM city on November 31 and December The conference, organized by the Asia-Pacific Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CACCI) in co-ordination with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), will gather two hundred delegates from the Vietnamese Government, the management of CACCI and the representatives of the 22 CACCI member who represent more than three million businesses in the region Cited from Vietnam News, Volume X, Wednesday, November 8, 2000) Exercise 15: 30-year Mortgage Rate Rises to 6.31% Mortgage giant Freddie Mac said the nationwide average for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages rose this week to 6.315, up from 6.15% last week Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing a home mortgage, averaged 5.85%, up from 5.69% last week One-year adjustable rate mortgages rose to 5.09%, up from 4.91% last week Rates on five-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages averages 5.75%, up from 5.63% last week The nationwide averages for mortgage rates not include add-on fee known as points The average fee nationwide for all four categories of mortgages last week was 0.5% of the loan’s value (Cited from Los Angeles Times Business, Friday, November 4, 2005) Exercise 16: Population Growth is Dropping in Industrialized Nations and Increasing in some Develop one The Chinese government said its one child policy has led to fast economic growth Yet, some people believe it has created a troubled economic future Wang Feng is an expert on Chinese population is issues at the university of California , Irvine in the United States He says fewer people will be entering the Chine se work force in coming years But most people over age sixty-five will be demanding retirement payments from the government So he say a smaller workforce could have been had effects on the economy Experts believe China’s one-child policy has affected the country in other ways Chinese society values sons over daughters Some parents choose to end a pregnancy if the fetus is a girl So more boys than girls are born in China As a result, experts say about forty million Chinese men will not be able to find women to marry with in the next 15 years Experts say this could lead to kidnappings and more trafficking of women and girls 69 (Cited from www.voasnews.com) Exercise 17: US unemployment rises but more jobs created The US unemployment rate rose in April, even though more jobs were created than in any month in the past four years The jobless rate increased to 9.9%, up from 9.7% in March However, an extra 290,000 jobs were created in April, mainly in manufacturing, healthcare and hospitality, the Labor Department said The reason that overall unemployment rose was because more people started looking for work, boosting the size of the labour force The total number of people unemployed in April was 15.3 million 'Employment growth' The government hired 66,000 extra workers during April to help conduct the 2010 Census, which helped to boost the jobs total The manufacturing sector employed an additional 44,000 workers, while the leisure and hospitality industry took on 45,000 workers The Labor Department also revised up its new job figures for February and March "I think we are moving into this very reassuring range of strong employment growth It is consistent with the way the economy is going," said Kurt Kar at Swiss Re in New York President Barack Obama has declared that job creation would be his top priority for 2010 However, analysts expect US unemployment to remain high for the rest of the year as the economy continues to recover from a long recession, during which millions of Americans lost their jobs (Cited from BBC News, Friday, May 7, 2010) Exercise 18: British Parties Seek Partners After Inconclusive Election Negotiations to form the next British government are underway following parliamentary elections in which opposition Conservatives gained the most seats, but not enough to immediately take power With nearly all the votes counted, Conservatives have won just over 300 seats in the 650-seat parliament, while Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Labor party is trailing at 255 Both are far short of the 326 seats needed for an absolute majority That 70 means the third-place Liberal Democrats, who have secured 56 seats, have become a sought-after coalition partner The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg, said the Conservatives should have the first chance to try to form a government since they have won the most votes Conservative leader David Cameron acknowledged policy differences with the Liberal Democrats, but offered to work together with the party on areas of agreement Prime Minister Brown said if talks between the two parties not succeed, he too would be willing to work with Clegg and the Liberal Democrats He also promised to introduce legislation to reform the electoral system - one of their major demands With no clear winner, Britain faces its first "hung parliament" - one in which no political party has an overall majority - since 1974 Conservative leader Cameron said Friday he believes the Labor government has "lost its mandate" to govern and that Britain is ready for a change of leadership The new government will have to lead Britain's recovery from the global economic crisis and develop a plan for cutting the country's record $236-billion deficit Some analysts fear a political stalemate could delay action on the deficit and hamper recovery efforts Separately Friday, Britain's election commission said it will investigate reports of hundreds of people waiting in line to vote being locked out of polling stations when they closed In 1974, Prime Minister Harold Wilson led a minority government for the Labor Party in Britain He called a second general election later that year That election gave Mr Wilson's government a majority of three seats in parliament (Cited from BBC News, Friday, may 7, 2005) Exercise 19: Strong earthquake rocks Sumatra A strong earthquake has struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra, but there are no immediate reports of any casualties or damages The quake rocked the island of Nias Where almost 1000 people were killed in an earthquake in March The magnitude six quake struck at depth of 30 km (18.6 miles) off Sumatra’s western coast The region has experienced many small tremors since the tsunami-including earthquake on 26 December 2004 Sumatra is still reeling from the quake, which had a magnitude of 9.3 the resultant tsunami is thought to have killed some 220,000 people on the island 71 The US Geological Survey said the epicentre of Tuesday’s earthquake was located 255 km south-west of Medan, Sumatra It struck at 08:52 local time (01:52 GMT) Indonesia’s geophysical and meteorological agency said The quake took place on the same fault- line as December’s tremor, and struck the already fragile island of Nias, where thousands of buildings and homes were destroyed after the March earthquake (Cited from BBC News, Friday, May 7, 2010) Exercise 20: Đêm giao thừa Bangkok, hỏa hoạn xảy tòa nhà hai tầng hộp đêm Santika, làm chết 61 ngời, bị thơng 200 ngời Trong số ngời thiệt mạng bị thơng, có nhiều ngời nớc Vụ hỏa hoạn xảy lúc phòng hộp đêm đầy khách hàng tới đón năm 2009 Bớc đầu xác định lửa phát cháy bén từ sân khấu có ngời đốt ph¸o hoa cj¸y s¸ng (Cited from Tien Phong Newspaper, Friday, 2/1/2009) Exercise 21: Phát gần môt cá nhập lậu Ngày 14/1, trạm thu phí cầu BÃi Cháy TP Hạ Long, Phàng Cảnh sát MôI Trờng (PC 36)-CA QuÃng Ninh vị phối hợp với Đội Quản lý thị trờng số phát hiện, bắt giữ xe ô tô biển kiểm soát 14M-5526 vận chuyển trái phép 973 kg c¸ nhËp lËu tõ Trung Qc vỊ ViƯt Nam tiêu thụ, gồm: 189 kg cá trắm đông lạnh, 600 kg cá kình trắng 184 kg cá sống Lô hàng giấy tớ chứng minh nguồn gốc cha qua kiểm dịch Điều khiển xe Hoàng Văn Hùng (SN 1981), trú Kim Động, Hng Yên (Cited from Tien phong Newspaper, Friday, 2/1/2009) Exercise 22: Mexican boy glues hand to bed to avoid school A 10-year-old Mexican boy dreaded returning to school after Christmas break so much that he glued his hand to his bed Sander Palacios spent nearly two hours last Monday morning trying to free her son Diego’s hand with water, oil and nail polish remover before calling authorities “I didn’t want to go to school because vacation was so much fun”, Reforma newspaper quoted the boy as saying 72 Palacios said Diego sneaked into the industrial glue, which he then slathered on his right hand She didn’t hear him get up, but later awoke and found him watching TV with his hand stuck to the bed (Cited from Vietnem News, January 13, 2008) Exercise 23: Cơn lốc xoáy (phim Mỹ) Hai vợ chồng Jo Bill làm việc đài khí tợng thủy văn Sau gặp tiến sĩ Melisa, bill đà có cảm tình với cô nàng tiến sĩ Bill cố ép Jo ký vào đơn ly dị để dễ dàng đI lại với Melisa Tuy Bill Jo cặp trùng họ nhóm khoa học đuổi theo bÃo tìm cách khống chế chúng Trong lúc hai ngời theo dõi lốc xoáy, Bill Jophát họ thiếu họ lại bắt đầu hành trình (Cited from Tap Chi Truyen Hinh, volumne 69,1/2006) Exercise 24: Th¬ Targore Rabindarath Targore (1861- 1941) nhà thơ lớn, nhà văn hóa lỗi lạc nớc ấn Độ Tác phẩm ông nhiều bao gồm đủ mặt: thơ, văn, kịch, nhạc, họa, giáo dục, triết học trị Tinh thần nhân đạo, chủ nghĩa lòng yêu tạo vật mênh mang, lòng yêu nớc nồng nàn, tinh thần chống thực dân đế quốc, chống chiến tranh, lòng yêu hòa bình điểm bật làm chotên tuổi ông lừng lẫy khắp ấn Độ giới Năm 1913, ông nhận giải thởng Nobel về thơ trở thành niềm kiêu hÃnh ấn Độ toàn giíi (Cited from GD&T§ Chu nhat, Volume 323, Sunday 6/11/1998) Exercise 25: 16 c¬ quan an ninh Mü chèng khđng bố sử dụng mạng Internet Dự kiến từ ngày 22-9-2008, điệp viên tình báo thuộc 16 quan an ninh Mỹ, quan trọng CIA, FBI, quan tình báo quốc gia (NSA), Bộ an ninh nội địa, tay đẻ vừa ngăn chặn khủng bố AlQuaeda lợi dụng địa Youtube mạng Internet để thông báo kế hoạch khủng bố gây quỹ, vừa từ thông tin khai thác tìm nơi 73 trú ẩn tay khủng bốđà bí mật xâm nhập lÃnh thỗ Mỹ tên giả Sau biết đợc thông tin, an ninh Mỹ báo cho đồng minh Anh, Đức, Pháp, Pakistan, ảrập Xêút, Nhật Bản, Hàn Quốc, lính Mỹ NATO bên Afganistan Iraq nhanh chóng tìm cách vô hiệu hóa âm mu đánh bom tự sát rải hóa chất ®éc Theo phơ t¸ gi¸m ®èc an ninh qc gia Michael Wertheimer, việc tình cờ biết đợc âm mu khủng bố Al-Queada xâm nhập địa mạng Youtube, Facebook Myspace từ tháng 3/2008 điệp viên thấy nội dung thông tin khủng bố quyên tiền quỹ hai địa Youtube Facebookthông qua album A Venged SevÌnold vµ phim Jessica Alba (Cited from An Ninh The Gioi, Volume 791, Wednesday, 17/9/2008) Exercise 26: Đôi điều góp ý với dự thảo luật giáo dục Cần phải cô đọng rút gọn phần điều trùng Ví dụ: Chơng III: Hoạt động phổ thông mục mục điều 39 điều 49: tổ chức trờng tiểu học, trung học sở, trung học toàn phần điểm 1,2,3,4,5 trùng Điều 40 50: trách nhiệm quyền hạn giáo viên tiểu học trung học phổ thông điều 1,2,3,4,5 trùng nhau,vv Cần nghiên cứu rút gọn lại Điều 23: Giải thích thuật ngữ Điểm 3: Thuật ngữ nhà giáo ghi nh dự thảo loại nhiều giáo viên có trình độ tay nghề khá, giỏiđang làm quan quản lý giáo dục cấp Vì cần sửa điểm điều 23 : Nhà giáo ngời làm nhiệm vi\ụ giảng dạy quản lý hoạt động giáo dục cỏ sở giáo dục quan quản lý giáo dục cấp (Cited from GD&T§ Chu Nhat, Volumne 322, Sunday,6/11/1998) Exercise 27: Six killed in Kashmir gun battle Two soldiers and four militants have been killed in a gun battle in Indianadministered Kashmir, the army says The fighting broke out in the Hapatnar forests in the Baramulla district It was the second such incident in northern Kashmir this week - on Tuesday, two Indian soldiers were killed in Bandipora district There has been a spate of clashes in the recent months along the Line of Control that separates Indian- and Pakistani-administered Kashmir Cited from Voa News, Friday, May 7, 20210 Exercise 28: 74 Stepping into Sawasdee Restaurant, you will first notice several life-like clay figures of wasp-waisted Thai dancers, a delightful introduction to the city's newest Thai restaurant Located near 23 September Park in the centre of Sai gon, the Sawasdee is only 100 m from Ben Thanh Market and 50m from the New World Hotel Before choosing a balcony table for dinner or one of the impressive VIP rooms, take a walk around the restaurant to absorb the gallery-like atmosphere "Our restaurant is like a mini-museum of Thai anti-facts, where you can dine amid the beauty of a Thai royal palace in a quite, cozy atmosphere It's the place to enjoy top-notch Thai cuisine", Kent Trung, the restaurant's manager, said (Cited from "Sawasdee spices up Sai Gon dinning scene) 75 ... need to improve short- term memory to meet requirement of interpreting task, the author chooses topic: ? ?Developing exercises to improve short- term memory in consecutive interpreting for English. .. characteristics of short- term memory and the differences between short- term memory and long -term memory The focus of the study is developing exercise to improve short- term memory Therefore, the author... is ? ?Developing exercises to improve shortterm memory in CI for English majors at Vinh university? ?? Thus, it is clear that the subject of the study is fourth-year interpreting students in Vinh university