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diff --git a/test-items/2002-11-15 writing thank-you notes/2002-11-15.smil b/test-items/2002-11-15 writing thank-you notes/2002-11-15.smil deleted file mode 100755 index 53d9bea..0000000 --- a/test-items/2002-11-15 writing thank-you notes/2002-11-15.smil +++ /dev/null @@ -1,85 +0,0 @@ -<?xml version="1.0"?> -<!DOCTYPE smil PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD SMIL 2.0//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/ns/SMIL"> -<smil xmlns="http://www.w3.org/ns/SMIL"> -<head> - <layout> - <root-layout width="1200" height="900" background-color="black"/> - <region xml:id="textregion" - top="100" - width="800" - height="600" - left="100" - textMode="scroll" - textRate="6px" - textColor="black" - backgroundColor="white" - /> - <region xml:id="audio"/> - </layout> -</head> -<body> - <par> - <audio region = "audio" src = "2002-11-15.mp3" dur = "300s"/> - <smilText xml:id="CapF0" region="textregion" dur = "295s" begin="5s"> -<span textColor="black" textFontSize="xx-large" textFontStyle="normal" textFontFamily="serif" textFontWeight="bold"> -<p/> -RS: And I'm Rosanne Skirble, and this week on Wordmaster: Some advice -on how to write a thank-you note, as many people will do in this season -of holiday gift giving. <p/> AA: Laura Kimoto is an instructor in -the Intensive English Program at Hawaii Community College. She's been -teaching her students from Asia what Americans learn about writing -thank-you's -- which is, above all, give details about what you're -saying thanks for. <p/> Laura Kimoto points out the need for -students to vary their writing. For instance, instead of using the word -"kindness" several times, she offers synonyms like "hospitality," -"generosity" or "thoughtfulness." <p/> RS: Some things, though, are harder to teach, like the social customs that make some words better left unsaid. <p/> KIMOTO: "For example, a girl used the word 'cute' to refer to this elderly couple: 'You are a cute elderly couple.'" <p/> AA: What's wrong with being called a "cute elderly couple"? <p/> -RS: Well, Americans generally avoid calling attention to age. And, to -refer to an older couple as "cute" might seem a little condescending. <p/> AA: Of course the student had no idea! She was just trying to thank a nice couple she had met. <p/> RS: You even have to be careful with your closing salutation. <p/> AA: "Do you not end a thank-you note with love? Is that not a good idea?" <p/> KIMOTO: "I would say that is not a good idea, depending on who the person is you are writing to, but most likely not." <p/> -RS: This time of year, Laura Kimoto suggests to her students at Hawaii -Community College: "Wishing you health and peace for the New Year." <p/> -AA: A phrase worthy of a professional greeting card -- which is what -Sandra Louden has written lots of over the years. She says a thank-you -should be "sincere" and "heartfelt" -- and, again, big on specifics! <p/> -RS: Sandra Louden says that even if a person gives you a gift of money, -you should tell the giver how you plan to use it. <p/> LOUDEN: "You -always remember, in any type of note you write, especially a thank-you -note, it should have that me-to-you quality. In other words I am -writing this note to specifically thank you, so I have you in mind when -I am writing this. So that me-to-you voice is always very nice, very -heartfelt, very successful, it makes for a very successful thank-you -note." <p/> RS: Sandra Louden says she likes to add a touch of -humor, but knows that some people are afraid to include it, afraid -that, as writers, they're too serious to be funny. If that's you, -consider this: <p/> LOUDEN: "It's really not as hard as you think, -if you think in a certain way, and one of those ways that I talk about -in classes that I teach, is to think literally. You might try something -like 'thanks a bunch' and on the front maybe draw a bunch of grapes and -have yourself smiling and sitting in those bunch of grapes, and that -would be 'thanks a bunch.' <p/> AA: "(laughing) I never thought of that!" <p/> -LOUDEN: "And if you want to do 'thanks a bunch' again, just think of -anything with a bunch. You could do a bunch of bananas. Now if you want -to get into another expression, then you say like 'thanks a million,' -maybe you want to tack some fake money on the front of the card you -make. You want to hand make a card and you get some of those -one-hundred-thousand-dollar bills that they sell in novelty shops, and -you tack that on the front of your card and you say 'thanks a ... -thanks a million.'" <p/> RS: And, she says, you can even employ humor on thank-you cards in a business setting. <p/> -LOUDEN: "For a lawyer for instance, 'There is no reasonable doubt, we -thank you very much.' Or for an accountant, 'when we tally our -blessings, we count you among them. Thank you for your patronage.' I -find that humor is a state of mind -- it cuts across age, gender, what -have you. Everyone appreciates a good laugh and a smile. And with a -thank you card, another component is to keep it very short and to the -point, and if it's based on a pun or a play on words, even if it's very -corny, it gets the message across and it adds that little extra punch -that people remember." <p/> AA: Sandra Louden is author of the book -"Write Well and Sell Greeting Cards." She also teaches an Internet -course at www.writerscollege.com. <p/> RS: And we'd like you to -remember our e-mail address: it's word@voanews.com. Or write us at VOA -Wordmaster, Washington DC 20237 USA. Oh, and thank you in advance! <p/> AA: With Rosanne Skirble, I'm Avi Arditti. -</span> - </smilText> - </par> -</body> -</smil> |