A Monthly Publication of the USA Mission to Poland. Warsaw • Krakow • Poznan
Volume II. Issue 21.
December 2005
‘TIS THE SEASON
"'Tis the season to be
jolly, Fa-la-la-la-la, la-
la-la-la!" - sound
familiar? The time
before and during
Christmas in the
United States is
indeed the season to
be joyful, to decorate
the Christmas tree,
send and enjoy
received Christmas
cards, as well as to
buy and wrap
Christmas gifts for
family and friends.
However,
controversies also
surround Christmas
in the United States.
Some people fear the
holiday has become
commercialized with
shops being
decorated with
Christmas ornaments
from the end of
November to lure
more customers.
Others wonder
perhaps whether the
large number of
Americans who
embrace religions
other than
Christianity do not
feel excluded from
such an omnipresent
celebration. Zoom
asked some
Americans what they
felt was most
important about
Christmas. Read
their answers on the
right.
For me, the most important things about
Christmas are being with family and celebrating
our traditions. In my family, we always put on
our pajamas on the night of December 24th
and open our gifts. On Christmas day,
we prepare the same foods every year - my
favorite is baking and decorating Christmas
cookies, in the shapes of Santa Claus,
Christmas trees, and stars. My sisters and I
have made these cookies at Christmas
for as long as I can remember.
Rachel
Since my father is Jewish and my
mother is Unitarian, Christmas was
not a major holiday for us. When we
were small, we lit the menorah
during Chanukah and hung
stockings on Christmas eve for
Santa to fill. As an adult, I still
think of Christmas as primarily a
children's holiday - a time to give
and receive presents from
friends and family. It is also a
time to think about those
less fortunate and to help
the needy by
participating in various
charitable activities.
Anna
The emphasis on family and giving
are most important to me.
This holiday helps us to reflect on
years past and welcome the future
side by side with people who are
important to us.
Karen
Skiers and snowboarders dressed as
Santa Claus ride up the ski lift, Dec. 7,
2003, at Sunday River in Newry, Maine.
Dozens of skiers turned up dressed as
Santa to ski for free and raise money for
a local charity. (©AP/WWP/Joel Page)
In This Issue: Peace, Happiness, IPod?, A Visit from St. Nick, Win a Prize! ZOOM in on America
ZOOM Page 2
Peace, Happiness, IPod?
When asked by polling institutions, Americans reveal that what
they wish for most in the holiday season 2005 is peace,
happiness and good health. Then, however, a much longer list
of purchasable items follows. Let's see what electronic tools and
gadgets are objects of desire by many Americans this season.
According to some surveys, every third American hopes to get
an item in the category of consumer electronics with the MP3
player being the hottest seller. Following the MP3 player, the
wish list for the respondents
included, in order of
preference: plasma television,
digital camera, laptop PC, big
screen TV, desktop PC, video
game system, high-definition
television, DVD recorder and
home theater speakers or
system.
The average lifespan of the
most popular and already
iconic MP3 player around the
world - the iPod - is about 1.5
years. Older models are most
often handed down to family
members or friends, but they
can also be sold or traded-for
a new one. Some people
actually hunt out-dated
models at Internet auctions
because they like their by
now "retro" look.
The IPod or other MP3 player
owners can use services such
as Apple's iTunes and
Napster for fee-based digital
downloading. They pay per
month for an unlimited
number of songs or for each
track. In 2004 consumers
purchased over 91 million
digital tracks, a 376%
increase from the year before!
Over 35% of Americans aged
12 and older have paid to
download music.
What's in the future for the
electronic gadgets?
According to an article in
Wired magazine, the gadgets of the future will be simpler, that is they will no
longer combine dozens of functions as most people look for just a few in one
product. This applies not only to portable devices but also to computer
software. Moreover, mobile phones are likely to influence our social lives to
an even greater extent. We can expect mapping programs that show us
whether any of our friends are nearby, reference software to look up the
restaurant where we might have a meal, and better functioning voice-
recognition applications.
The RipFlash Pro, left, a flash memory
based combination MP3 player/recorder
and voice recording device, and the
Flipster, a multimedia player from PoGo!
Products, are shown. The Flipster allows
users to watch full motion videos on a full
color display, store and listen to MP3 audio,
view high resolution still mages, record
voice memos and play games. (AP Photo/
Richard Drew)
A player tries ActiVisions Tony Hawks Pro Skater video game
release on the "N-Gage," Nokia's hybrid phone. The Tri-band
EGSM 900/GSM1800/GSM 1900 phone included features:
Bluetooth, digital music player and recorder, stereo FM radio,
MP3, AAC, Midi, WAV ringing tones, and WAP over GPRS.
(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
The Creative Zen Portable Media Center sports 20 gigabytes
of memory and plays loads of multimedia file types, including
WMV, ASF, MPG, AVI, MP3, JPG and a host of others.
(AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
Workers at the Samsung booth of the Consumer Electronics
Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center adjust the world's
largest plasma television, a 102-inch screen prototype, Jan.
5, 2005. The trade show, which attracts 120,000 attendees,
began with a keynote address by Microsoft's Bill Gates.
(AP Photo/Joe Cavaretta)
Kodak's prototype digital camera built in
1975 by Eastman Kodak engineer Steven
J. Sasson, is shown next to Kodak's latest
digital camera, the EasyShare One, at
Kodak headquarters in Rochester, N.Y.,
Aug. 17, 2005. Soon after joining Eastman
Kodak Co. out of college, engineer Steven
J. Sasson spent 10 largely uninterrupted
months in a research lab creating the
world's first digital camera. (AP Photo/David
Duprey)
ZOOM Page 3
A Visit from St. Nick
Below find four (out of six) stanzas of a famous Christmas poem by Clement Clark Moore, an American
educator - “A Visit from St. Nick”, also known under the title "The Night Before Christmas.”
Before the poem became popular, in 1820s, ideas about St. Nicholas varied considerably across the United
States. The poem "created" the contemporary St. Nick, or Santa Claus, who is chubby, enters homes via the
chimney on the night before Christmas and brings toys to children.
12 Christmas-related words are missing from
the poem. Insert them back, selecting from
the alphabetical list below.
chimney chubby
Christmas elf
fur hoof
reindeer shutters
sleigh stockings
toys whistle
Language tip!
Could you have guessed that Americans send
nearly 2 billion holiday cards each year? This
provides them a way to connect with friends and
family who often live very far away. For busy
people American companies have begun to offer
such services online. You can order your cards
online, have the company print your name and
holiday messages, and even address the cards
and mail them for you! It is however considered
proper to at least sign all the cards personally if
not add a little note besides the printed greetings.
When you send a card to someone of a different
religion, choose one with a secular design
(without religious figures or symbols) and neutral
text, such as "Season’s Greetings" or "Happy
Holidays."
Some other possible simple wordings of your
Christmas greetings:
Neutral:
Greetings of the Season and Best Wishes for
the New Year
For those who celebrate Christmas:
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
or why not use a quote from a song:
Wishing you a Merry Little Christmas...
If you contact your friends mostly via e-mail, you
can send them an e-card from many popular
websites including www.amazon.com or
www.yahoo.com .
A Visit from St. Nick
T'was the night before Christmas,
when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring - not even a mouse;
The _______ were hung by the _______ with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the _______ and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature _______, and eight tiny _______,
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of _______, and St. Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little _______.
As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in _______, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
He was _______and plump, a right jolly old _______,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a _______,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy _______ to all, and to all a good-night."
Clement Clark Moore (1779-1863)
ZOOM Page 4
Activity Page
Win a Prize!
To win a prize answer
this question:
What percentage
of Americans over
12 years of age
have paid for
downloaded
music?
Send your answer to
.
Give your name and
address.
The deadline is
December 31.
Good Luck!
The winners from the
previous issue will soon
receive their prizes
by mail.
About ZOOM
Zoom is online at
www.usinfo.pl/zoom/
Subscription issues
www.usinfo.pl/zoom/
subscribe.htm
Contact us at
American Information
Resource Centers
Warsaw
Ambasada USA
ul. Piękna 14, 00-540
Warszawa
Krakow
Konsulat Generalny USA
ul. Stolarska 9,
31-043 Krakow
Moving Around
Find answers to activities on this page at www.usinfo.pl/zoom/
Glossary
adjust - to regulate
application - here: computer
software
charitable - relating to charity
to embrace - to take up
gadget - a small modern
specialized device
jolly - cheerful
keynote - the fundamental or
central fact or idea
lifespan - length of life
menorah - a candlestick with
seven or nine candles used
in Jewish religion
omnipresent - present everywhere
out-dated - no longer current
purchasable - available to buy
stanza - distinctive part of a poem
survey - a poll
track - a recorded piece of music
In “A Visit from St. Nick” there are many words describing movements of the whole
body or its parts. Some are used as verbs and some as nouns. In the exercise below
we converted some nouns into verbs. Match the words in the first column and their
meaning in the second column.
to stir to turn something
to wink to move oneself or something abruptly
to nod to jump up or forward quickly
to spring to move the head down and up quickly, usually to signal agreement
to twist to make a small movement with the whole body
to jerk to close and open an eye quickly, usually to give a signal
Discuss
What differences between a Polish and an
American high school are you aware of:
- do you think teenagers need mobile cell phones?
What for? At what age should you be allowed to
have a mobile phone?
- are mobile phones allowed at your school? What
do you think about people talking loudly on their
phone on a bus or in a restaurant?
- who pays for your phone? Should teenagers
earn money to pay their phone bills?
- do you have an MP3 player? Do you have legal
music on it? If not, why?
- do you think downloading unauthorized music
from the Internet is different from stealing a
magazine from a supermarket? Why or why not?
- what do you wish most for - from things you
cannot buy - this Christmas? Why?
- what would be your dream Christmas present?
Why? What would you buy your best friend for
Christmas? Why?
The world of electronics just LOVES acronyms. Complete below missing words from
the explanations of acronyms.
GSM Global System for ________ Communications
PC ________ Computer
DVD ________ Video Disk
MP3 ________ audio layer 3
WAP ________ Application Protocol
GPRS General Packet ________ Service
JP(E)G Joint ________ (Experts') Group
Acronyms
