Kirjahaku

Answers to FAQs about business English based on questions sent to "Dear Ken", a popular column in Spotlight magazine. Many of the questions are from German-speaking learners (and teachers) but the topics they raise and the answers given are of relevance to anyone who is working in English.

Self-study business English for second-language learners

Many ancient, even prehistoric, monuments and temples around the world show an amazingly sophisticated understanding of the heavens. They reflect this sacred knowledge in celestial alignments – to the eternal cycles of the sun, moon, stars and planets. The ceremonies performed at sites such as Stonehenge in England or Teotihuacan in Mexico are now lost to us. But the time-worn stones and structures remain, and archaeoastronomers (experts in ancient astronomy) have studied how their sightlines relate to astronomical phenomena such as midwinter or midsummer sunrise or the rising of the Pleiades star cluster. Within, Ken Taylor dives into the fantastical: The principles of astronomy – the seasons, the solstices and equinoxes, the rising and setting of stars, the “lunar standstills” Solar alignments – the language of light and shadow, and the life-giving shows of the sun Lunar alignments – the drama of the eclipse and the mysterious energies of the night Alignments to stars and planets – reaching out to the immensity of the cosmos In exploring such connections, in words, superb photographs and clear explanatory artworks, Celestial Geometry opens a whole universe of mystery and wonder, and a window on the inner life of ancient civilizations.

Burnt Away is an unapologetic look into the landscape of Black urban life with a universal appeal. Its commentary criticizes, compliments, and analyzes everyday life with unique pictures, insightful storytelling, and thought-provoking poetry. Its striking black and white photographs provide an obvious metaphor for the straight forward unvarnished style of writing. Burnt Away severs all connections to virtual networks and bridges the gap between the feel of a book in your hands and the blue light of a computer screen.Burnt Away can be read in any order or sequence. The book is a counter balance to cellphones, social networks, and abbreviated messaging. It's a creative alternative to the pervasive encroachment of virtual spaces. Burnt Away's compelling stories, pictures, and poems, provide a real-life oasis to been joyed by all who venture on to its pages.

Lucy and Tusker Smalley have stayed on in India after Independence in 1947. Given the chance to return to England after Tusker's retirement as a Colonel in the Indian Army, they have chosen instead to remain in the small hilltop town on Pankot, with its eccentric mix of the new order and the archaic rituals left over as a legacy from the Raj. Twenty-five years later the pattern of their lives has begun to crumble, as the winds of change sweep through modern India. Tusker's great friend Franky Boolabhoy protects them from his ruthless wife, who wants to evict them from the Lodge in which they live, and attempts to bridge the gap between the colonial glories of their past and the present realities of the new India.