Search results for 'tag:Paragraphs tag:Negatives' matching tags 'Paragraphs' and 'Negatives'

Re: Could you please help me with my (250 words) reflection?

AlpheccaStars — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 23:09:46 GMT

Sugar:

It is much much better!!!

I still think you can add more of your personal reflections, rather than a literal description of what happened. It is your opinion, so use the first person (I), rather than third person (the author). Did the teacherspecifically request that you write in third person?

For example, I would start with an introductory sentence, for example.

I and 10 (or whatever the number was) other students formed a work group in order to create a report together on the topic of "***". Reflecting on how we worked as a group, I saw that from the start, the person with the most knowledge of the topic took over as the leader. This made the group very effective and efficient because.... However, it set up some negative dynamics where ...

Next describe how you worked in the group, and how you felt about your learning in the group.

My role was team player, and .... some of my suggestions were accepted, but some others, which I thought.... were not. The group setting helped me learn because..... On the other hand, believe that the group would have worked better for me if.....

Finally, give your conclusion. Don't mix the ideas for the second paragraph (how you worked in this particular group) in the conclusion...

Re: The Callan Method

Anonymous — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 18:20:08 GMT

Hi everybody,

I strongly disagree with the views mentioned on behalf of the Callan Method. Just because it promises to get the student where he or she wants to, doesn't mean the Method deserves criticism. I've been teaching English both the traditional way and the Callan Method way for about a year and a half now and I find that the Callan Method is much more productive (great emphasis on 'much') because it forces the student to cope with real language and real life situations, not just nonsensical vocabulary (words like 'juggle' or 'juggler', etc which I believe are to be found in almost all elementary books, not the Callan ones, though).

The Method completely fulfills every single promise it gives to the student provided that a skilled and well-educated teacher (not necessarily a native speaker) holds the classes. The problem is that many language schools actually applying the Callan Method do not have well-trained teachers. To make matters worse, many teachers who claim to be teaching the Callan Method way are no more than common frauds who are likely to fit into the groups they are teaching - but not as teachers, as ordinary students who have great gaps in their knowledge. Their only goal is to make money. Thus, they knowingly bring shame on their well-qualified colleagues and the Method itself.

As far as the qualifications of lectors teaching the Callan way are concerned, I must emphasize the great need that is placed on their in-depth knowledge and practical understanding of grammar as well as vocabulary. Every time a non-professional teacher is confronted with the grammar in the Callan Books, they find out they are not suitable for the position of a teacher. In short, they do NOT understand what defective verbs are, they have difficulty in comprehending the various nuances of the verb have - used either as stative or dynamic, for that case, with or without DO-support, using the marginal modal auxiliary verb DARE, keeping pace with Robin Callan's explanation of the sentence structure which is broken down into sentences - clauses - clause elements - phrases - words and phonemes (which is, by the way, something that is an acknowledged fact supported by Quirk and Greenbaum and other leading grammarians), etc. As a result, they commonly give up teaching English the Callan way and turn towards teaching the traditional way because there they are not required to understand any such 'high' grammar, ie they are limited to simple terms which put as little effort on the part of the teacher as possible. Laughable, wouldn't you say?

To comment on the vocabulary used in the books, I personally find it well chosen, though I'd fill in some more lexical items in the higher stages, mostly in the stages 11 and 12. Apart from that, the vocabulary is often witty and easy to remember. I've grown to like the way it is proportioned in the books, though I still find that stage 1 is quite difficult for beginners who start learning English from the scratch. Nevertheless, what one might describe as sexual harassment or hatred towards women, I consider a witty and hilarious approach to teaching. I've asked my students on many an occasion about their personal feelings when being confronted with such chunks of language and ALL of them agreed that it was something unusual but not in the negative sense. As the words and phrases are groupped together in witty sequences, it was easy for the students to remember the words not only for a couple of hours or days but for long periods of time - without learning them at home again (!!!) which is something students normally do after finishing a course which uses the traditional approach of teaching.

So much to my comments, though I could still write much more than just those few paragraphs.

To conclude, for those students who are still thinking whether to take up learning English the traditional way or rather try the 'English-in-a-quarter-of-the-time' method ... well, I'd go for the latter.

Help editing this paragraph.

xpistonsx — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:01:23 GMT

This paragraph is part of a compare/contrast essay. I am comparing one character from Animal Farm and one from either Julius Caesar or Lord of the Flies. The two I chose are Napoleon and Jack. Some guidelines I have to follow are: Only a max of 2 "to be" verbs per paragraph and use present tense. I don't think my second example (about the limitations) is the best, so if you can come up with a better one please suggest it. Also, I need some help restating my thesis for my conclusion paragraph. Any help would be appreciated. Here is my contrast paragraph:

Thesis: Both William Goldingâs Lord of the Flies and George Orwellâs Animal Farm, illustrate that people are hungry for power.

Napoleon, a pig, and Jack, a human, differ in their hunger for power. One example is how they use their power to get their respective societies to do what they dreamed about. Napoleon uses his power to keep the animals in check and to take care of the farm. Napoleon forces the animals to work most of the week to build the windmill and to harvest the land for food. He also uses it to direct the animalsâ attention from the growing shortages and inadequacies on the farm. Jack, on the other hand, uses his power to turn his group of boys into blood-thirsty savages. He turns the groupâs focus to killing pigs and dancing around campfires. Both charactersâ actions prove to be costly and lead to negative effects. Second, different limitations are another example of how the characters could use their powers. Napoleon is looked up to as a leader, which practically gives him the power to mostly do whatever he wants because the animals think he is always right. But he still must follow the commandments which he secretly changes, though, through Squealer to give him more power. In contrast, Ralph appoints Jack a leader position at first as head of the hunters. His power is limited by Ralph because most of the society will listen to him. Since Jack wants more power, he makes the decision to leave Ralphâs group and form his own. This gives him more freedom and ultimately unlimited power. The limitation each character has on their powers affects their decisions and ultimately the end result of their societies. Both characters fail to utilize their powers for the good of the societies and cause destruction and mayhem.

Re: grammar check!

AlpheccaStars — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 17:03:57 GMT

Ellisa:

This is a very long passage, and your other post seems to be even longer.

The editor at this web site makes it difficult to make corrections to long passages. Also, many teachers do not want to devote a long time working on a single post. If you post only one paragraph at a time, then different teachers can work on them and you will get your corrections faster.

Ellisa

Hello teachers!
I'm summarising a book which is about teaching methods.
I guess there are millions of errors.
Please ~~check those to right one~~ suggest corrections to my sentences.!
Thanks in advance!

13. Teaching grammar

There are two main ways to teach~~ing~~ grammar.(or you can say "ways of teaching grammar". The word "teaching" is a gerund, and must be used as a noun. In this example, it is object of the preposition "of")
One way is ~~both~~ planning grammar teaching in advance and relying on the coursebooks which can help us teach grammar. The other way is teaching grammar as a result of other work. In other words, it is ~~has~~ done as a peripheral activity. In this chapter, we will look at the various different ways to teach grammar. We will look at the range of activities which satisfy not merely efficiency but also ~~appropriacy~~ (not a word; you can use the adjective forms - a range of activities which are efficient as well as appropriate). . Lastly, we will discuss grammar books and their usages.

(You need to be consistent in using imperative versus declarative sentences)

A. Introducing grammar

The following ~~1 to 4~~ examples (, numbered 1 to 4,) are activities which represent a range of possibilities for introducing new grammar.

Ex1) It's making sentences using the present simple in the third singular. First, the teacher holds up a number of flashcards which are about a specific job. Then (? subject - the students )make sentences in ~~contained~~ present simple tense for ~~the~~ each pictures. It consists (or The exercise consists of) of three affirmative and three negative sentences. Then (? subject - the teacher )makes the students guess what kind of job it is. Once students are confident in ~~with~~ these sentences, the teacher asks them to think of one profession and make 6 sentences. Now, they can do activities guessing what profession is being described.

Ex2) It's using texts which contained (present tense) what the students are being taught (past simple irregular verbs). While the students read the text, they come across blanks that they must fill in with the past tense form of certain verbs. Then, (? subject - the teacher )makes them write these past tense verb forms down in the blanks and also write them phonetically using ~~which are shown~~ ~~their~~ phonemic symbols.

Ex3) This is aimed to show the differences between ~~reporting~~ direct speech and reporting things that were said in the past. The teacher draws ~~Draw~~ two people on the board. One, whose name is Jack, is holding a phone and smiling ~~whose name is Jack~~. The other is just standing. The teacher gives the ~~Give~~ students the information that Jack is talking to a girl who he met in the school canteen. Then, the teacher asks the students what Jack tells his friend while taking on the phone. The answers might be in the present form such as ' She says I'm really nice'. In this process, the teacher makes sure that the students understand how 'you' changes to 'I'. The teacher now tells the students that Jack is back home and he was spurned by the girl. He is telling to his mother that 'She said I was really nice' which is past form. The teacher can write both past and present forms on the board to help students.

Ex4) Here, the language which the students are ~~were~~ going to study is ~~was~~ embedded in the texts which they read. The teacher makes the students read the story first. After confirming that they ~~are~~ fully understanood the story by asking comprehension questions, the teacher asks them to make bad or insensible statements using the story. Then, the ~~get~~ students to come up to the board and write the sentences. ~~so that T~~he sentences have to use the modal auxillary "should," such as ~~ncluding~~ 'Should have p.p.' or' Shouldn't have p.p'.(especially here.)

Re: simple past tense vs present perfect

Fandorin — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 20:14:06 GMT

Hi there. Welcome to EF.

guzhao67

Hello, everyone: I don't understand the following paragraph, cited from a grammar book, could you help me please?
"there is an idiomatic exception to the rule that the simple past tense indicates definite meaning: this is the construction with "always" illustrated by
"I always said he would end up in jail; Timothy always was a man of peace".
it is simply a colloquial variant of the present perfect with 'state verbs', and can always be replaced by the equivalent present perfect form. there are equivalent question and negative forms with "ever" and "never": "Did you ever see such a mess? I never met such an important person before."
what's the point here? And what would be the equivalent present perfect form of
"I always said he would end up in jail; (he's in jail now)
I've always said he ends up in jail. (I keep on repeating this because it's likely for him to be jailed and I'm sure of that)
Timothy always was a man of peace"? (Now he isn't. He might be die change his mind)
thank you.

The differense between them happens to be interchangeable in some informal way or in narratives. We use Past Simple along with Present Perfect when we're talking about events happened in the past, but Present Perfect points that event may occur in the present again.

He has written three novels (He perhaps will write another one)
He wrote three novels. (He won't write, because he is gone).

If the situation has changed we use Past Simple.

I have owned three restaraunts. ( I own now )
I owned three restaraunts now (Now I don't, because I've sold them).

Sometimes in papers and news we can see Past Simple is used along with Perfect Tense without changing the gist. The event is introduced by Present Perfect and another background is described by Past Simple.

The famous artist John Cramp has died of cancer. He was 50 and had two children. (the children are alive)

simple past tense vs present perfect

guzhao67 — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:25:41 GMT

Hello, everyone: I don't understand the following paragraph, cited from a grammar book, could you help me please?
"there is an idiomatic exception to the rule that the simple past tense indicates definite meaning: this is the construction with "always" illustrated by "I always said he would end up in jail; Timothy always was a man of peace". it is simply a colloquial variant of the present perfect with 'state verbs', and can always be replaced by the equivalent present perfect form. there are equivalent question and negative forms with "ever" and "never": "Did you ever see such a mess? I never met such an important person before."
what's the point here? And what would be the equivalent present perfect form of "I always said he would end up in jail; Timothy always was a man of peace"?
thank you.

Re: Can someone check the gammar, please?

Pjlusk83 — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 23:57:43 GMT

Hello,
I am going to put my suggestions and corrections next to your words, but they will be in bold, in paraenthese, and on the right side of the word(s) so you know which word and what my suggestion is. Is that ok with you? Tell me what you think. Also, in case you did not notice, you seem to writing an article, so this needs to be kept in second or third person. I will not correct but a few tenses of first to second or third because I feel you would understand better if you studied that better yourself, and I am not an English major and am afraid of leading the wrong path, but I will do what I know without hesitation. I hope this helps you out with whatever you are doing.
Penny

sebayanpendam

Health is indisputably(eminently) important to all of us (most individual instead of "all of us" using "all of us" is considered wordy). Good health enables us(people) to carry out our(their) daily routine with a positive view of life. There are many ways we can do to keep good health(a number of ways to keep in good health).

First, we should practise(practice) good eating habits and do not overeat.(take out and do not over eat, instead write something like: First, we should practice good eating habits, such as eating in moderation/ or watching our food intake) We must drink lots of water so that we will not get exhaustion easily(here is an idea:Second, drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration and early exhaustion) Drinking water does not mean we need to drink eight glasses a day.(remove the period, add a semicolon ;) It depends on how much we need to spend our energy on things that we do. Besides, it is advisable to drink fruit and vegetable juices.(remove the period, add a semicolon ;) These juices provide essential nutrients such as vitamins and minerals. As a result, our immune systems will strengthen too(remove too) and our bodies can resist many diseases.

Another way to (suggestion: remove "Another way to" and replace with: Third,)maintain our healthy bodies is exercise regularly. Exercise is very important to keep us fit. Aside from burning off fat, exercise helps make(remove make) our blood circulation (circulate)better. (This small paragraph is completely out of place, you are jumping from eating and drinking, to exercise then back to eating and drinking. Move this paragraph under your paragraph about smoking because it fits nicely with your last sentences.)

There are things that we must avoid when it comes to food. Do not take food that have(suggestion: ...when it comes to food. Try not to ingest a lot of food that is high in...) high fat, sugar and salt content such as fried chicken, junk food, carbonated (adding the word beverages will make more sense here). Taking too (Ingesting too)much of unhealthy food can lead to diseases like(such as) heart disease and diabetes. (add this paragraph just after the final sentence of your second paragraph: As a result, our immune systems will become stronger and our bodies can resist many diseases)

(suggestion: Finally, avoid...)Avoid smoking because it contains nothing but harmful nicotine.(remove nothing but harmul nicotine, in this place put something like: because it contains over a hundred harmful chemicals) This property(habit) can destroy our lungs and even worse causes(remove the 's') cancer. Not only, smoking produces bad effects to smokers, but also harms non-smokers who are near them. (suggestion: ...cancer; smoking is also nearly as harmful to non-smokers through second hand smoke because the non-smokers catch half of the chemicals and also produce negative results to the non-smoker's body)

Healthy people can have longer lives and are more energetic (suggestion: Healthy people can live longer, more energetic lives). If we(you) really love ourselves(yourself), we should start change our eating habits and take exercise right now before it is too late. (then watch your habits for any need of change and begin living health today!) (suggestion, a quote about living healthy by anyone famous, try this google search http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS288&q=famous+health+quotes

Thanks

chossing correct tense/tense consistency

MaxMaximus — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:08:59 GMT

Greetings,

I have a pretty big favour to ask.

I've been struggling with this topic for quite awhile now.It goes without saying that my English "leaves something to be desired".

Having in mind the subtle differences that occur from using particular tenses, I have often wondered how the authors of following exercises expect anyone to choose the correct form, without providing sound and unambiguous references.

I've uploaded 2 exercises that I stumbled upon :

1. http://rapidshare.com/files/138835945/HP.txt.html
and
2.http://rapidshare.com/files/138835946/redundancy.txt.html

I have converted them into .txt files to ease moderators' job.

They present the essence of my inability to comprehend and do right.

First text:
1. First sentence, adverb "always" stands before the verb (author did not bother to put it in the brackets (always/be)). If she is dead (we don't know that until we have finished reading) or if she is not "a fighter" anymore (we are clueless about that either), - we could use Past Simple. Of course, Present Perfect is more likely choice, but the position of adverb puzzles.

2."But, prior to..." - Past Continuous or Past Perfect?

3.The sentence : "it (be)__ slow to notice..".I'm not sure whether Past Simple or Past Perfect should be used here.There is no strong reference whether this "slow noticing" occurred prior to her arrival or about the time when she came on board.

4."Those three years are not over..". The starting point is present time, but, that has nothing to do with the moment when she realized how things stand, which I know nothing about.Even the Present Simple is possible if she keeps realizing everyday that things are harder than she expected.For the rest of the paragraph I'm not certain whether Present Perfect should be used.

5."Above all,.." - from Present Simple (finds, is trying, is going to embark)...to Present Perfect (has found, has tried/has been trying, has embarked)...The tenses chosen in these sentences determine the tenses of the last paragraph in the text.

Second text:
1. First sentence: we could use Future Simple as well as Present Simple for the verb "have to"?

2. "Although no business or industry..". If there was a recent survey - do interviewed subjects still claim what they have said - or the use of Past Tense is obligatory? The word "any" is used in interrogative or negative sentences - but here, no question is being asked nor it is possible to be negative. Instead, "some" should have been used, I think.

3. "Those who have..." - Present Continuous or Present Simple? Former is more likely choice although the latter is possible also.

4. "In the past.." - as far as I know this presents the "indefinite moment in time". The Present Perfect could be used - but the position of adverb "always" confuses, again.

I would be more than grateful to anyone who can shed some light on these issues.
If I could reach to any other decent credible source I wouldn't ask for help in this way.

Thanks in advance,
Georgie.

Memos show Clinton turmoil

Jackson6612 — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:05:10 GMT

Memos show Clinton turmoil

Question: I would have written ''Clinton's turmoil''. Why didn't the author use apostrophe?

BY CRAIG GORDON AND TOM BRUNE | <email addresses removed by mod.>
August 13, 2008

Question: Why is semicolon used instead of comma to separate the email addresses above?

WASHINGTON - In a fresh postmortem (=an examination of a plan or event that failed, done to discover why it failed, =autopsy) on Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential bid (=attempt to obtain or do something), newly published staff memos (=a short official note to another person in the same company or organization) and e-mails reveal a campaign hobbled (=to hobble something or someone means to make it more difficult for them to be successful or to achieve what they want) by internal rivalries (=a situation in which two or more people, teams, or companies are competing for something), faulty planning, bloated (=more than needed, =excessive) spending - and perhaps most important, Clinton's own failure to make the hard decisions.

Clinton offered herself to voters as a hyper-competent (=extra competent) executive ready to be president from day one. But atop (=on top of something) her own campaign, she was a hesitant leader, who allowed bitter infighting (=when members of the same group or organization argue, or compete with each other in an unfriendly way) to fester (=If an argument or bad feeling festers, it continues so that feelings of hate or dissatisfaction increase) among staffers over whether to go negative against Barack Obama, according to the Atlantic magazine.

The most bare-knuckled (=characterized by disorderly action and disregard for rules) lines of attack came from Clinton's chief strategist, Mark Penn, who urged Clinton to highlight Obama's "lack of American roots" due to his upbringing in Indonesia and Hawaii - saying he could only win if he faced Attila the Hun ((?406-453 AD) a king of the Huns (=an ancient people from Asia) who attacked and took control of large parts of the Roman Empire. He is famous for being violent and cruel).

But Clinton didn't embrace Penn's flag-waving (=the expression of strong national feelings, especially when these feelings seem too extreme) approach (=way of doing something), which campaign aides (=someone whose job is to help someone who has an important job, especially a politician) insist was never seriously considered.

Question: Clinton didn't embrace Penn's approach because she did not consider it seriously. Therefore, what campaign aides were saying is redundant.

The article also says that Clinton at times grew frustrated and short-tempered - including on the morning after her stunning third-place finish in Iowa in January, when aides on a call were silent. Clinton's camp dismissed the story as "inside-the-Beltway gossip" and "old news." And former campaign aides sharply disputed the notion of Clinton as an indecisive leader, with one campaign veteran saying, "Nobody seems to want to remember the fact that we had so many successes and come-from-behind victories in this campaign ... and they are due in large part to Senator Clinton's leadership."

Question: What does the line including on the morning...when aides on a call were silent mean? If she finished third place, then why would the author describe it as stunning? What does call mean in when aides on a call were silent?

Question: What does the phrase inside-the-Beltway gossip mean?

Question: What does the line Nobody seems to want to remember...to Senator Clinton's leadership'' mean?

But the e-mails and memos offer vivid (=very clear and detailed) new details about what had long been reported - that Clinton's headquarters was beset (=to make someone experience serious problems or dangers) by caustic (=bitter) internal battles involving Penn and former President Bill Clinton, who wanted to forcefully attack Obama, and others who wanted the New York senator to take a more positive tack (=method, =way of doing something). At one point, it was Bill Clinton - and not Hillary - who approved the famed 3 a.m. phone call ad.

Question: what had long been reported is passive past perfect tense. Am I right?

Question: I think headquarters should take plural verb. What do you say?

Question: Why are the hyphens used in -and not Hillary-? I believe commas would do instead?

Adding to the turmoil was the fact that the campaign had little strategy and no money left to seriously compete in the post-Super Tuesday contests - having (=the form having with a past participle can be used to introduce a clause in which you mention an action which had already happened before another action began) burned through $106 million before Iowa. That allowed Obama to win 12 straight contests and effectively wrap up (=to finish a job, meeting etc) the nomination.

Question: What does burned through mean?

In the end, the campaign's strategy came to reflect some of the internal turmoil, as Clinton veered (=changed course) from attacking Obama to emphasizing her personal side.

Question: What does her personal side mean?

Penn did offer some advice in March 2007 that proved on the mark - Clinton's path to victory lay with women and lower- and working-class voters.

Question: What does proved on the mark mean? I couldn't find it in the dictionary.

But by the time Clinton finally settled on that strategy to win the later primaries, it was too late.

Excerpts from the memos

"All of these articles about his boyhood in Indonesia and his life in Hawaii are geared towards showing his background is diverse, multicultural and putting that in a new light ... It also exposes a very strong weakness for him - his roots to basic American values and culture are at best (=even when considered in the most positive way) limited. I cannot imagine America electing a president during a time of war who is not at his center fundamentally American in his thinking and in his values." Strategist Mark Penn, from a March 19, 2007, memo to Hillary Rodham Clinton advising her to attack Barack Obama for his "lack of American roots."

Question: What does centre mean in the above context?

"The right knows Obama is unelectable except perhaps against Attila the Hun, and a third party would come in then anyway." Penn, from the same memo.

Question: Does right refer to right wing in the above context?

"This has been a very instructive call, talking to myself." Clinton, before angrily hanging up on a staff conference call the day after coming in third in Iowa in January. "She complained of being outmaneuvered (=to gain an advantage over someone by using cleverer or more skilful plans or methods) in Iowa and being painted as the establishment candidate," according to the Atlantic - but was met with near-silence.

Question: I would have written This has been..., talking to me. Why did she use myself?

Question: What is a conference call? Is it some kind of telephone call which address many poeple?

Question: Why is in used in coming in third?

"STOP IT!! I have help my tongue for weeks. After this morning's WP story, no longer. This makes me sick. This circular firing squad that is occurring is unattractive, unprofessional, unconscionable, and unacceptable ... It must stop." Robert Barnett, a Clinton lawyer and Washington insider, from a March 6, 2008, e-mail to campaign staff after a Washington Post story detailed the infighting.

Question: What does I have help my tongue for weeks mean?

Question: What does This circular firing squad mean?

Question: Were the comments in the last paragraph made by Robert Barnett?

Re: would you please check my IELTS Writing Task 2 introduction paragraph[Thanks!]

bmatt — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:50:45 GMT

RayH
International tourism is increasingly popular nowadays because of the highly developed world transportation system, commercialization and many other factors. But at the same time, controversy has arisen over whether international tourism has more benefits than drawbacks. Some assert that international tourism can ~~usually~~ often bring ~~more~~ positive results. Speaking for myself, I agree with this proposition, with certain qualifications.

Comments:
I deleted "usually" because it doesn't fit with the context of the paragraph, "often" is a much better fit to what you seem to be saying.
"more" doesn't have any reference in the rest of the paragraph. Presumably you mean "more positive than negative results" but from the paragraph alone that is not clear.
There is something not quite right about the overall paragraph. It seems like it dances all around its point but never really makes its point. Maybe some actual examples of good and bad results of international tourism would help.

Dear Ray,

many thanks for your help! And great point! I done some modificatios according to your comments..

HTML clipboardInternational tourism is increasingly popular nowadays because of the highly developed world transportation system, commercialization and many other factors. But at the same time, controversy has arisen over whether international tourism has more benefits than drawbacks. Some assert that international tourism can often bring more positive results than negative ones, and it could benefit many areas such as economy with less trade-off to make. Speaking for myself, I agree with this proposition, with certain qualifications.

I tried to fit in an example..however, even myself will not buy my introduction paragraph..I will think about it harder and make more improvements.

again, thanks for your help, and let me know if the modified version OK?

Lei