came into my mind. What is a

Day-pass, a 7-Day pass or a 30-

day pass? What’s the differ See Fresh Eyes on p. 3

By TIAN LUN, RANRAN LI,

WEIWEI YU, and JINGYI

WANG

Never taking everything

for granted, fresh eyes can

always discover the beauty

neglected by local citizens.

When our brand new Tro-

jans arrived in LA, not only

was the crazy heat wave

waiting ahead, but the me-

tropolis was also there to be

explored.

Possessing fresh eyes,

Tian Lun, Ranran and Wei-

wei are all ready to share

their stories with you on

how has LA impressed them

in the very first week.

Friendliness

Every newcomer in LA

needs a Tap card first, and

so do I. As I faced the Tap

card machine in USC Metro

Station, lots of questions

Kayaks on the Water Friday, July 12, 2013 1:00PM-6:30PM, $10 payment If you signed up for kayaking this week, please meet at JEF Courtyard at 1:00pm. If you have not checked in by 1:15pm we will give your ticket to a person on the wait list. Life jackets will be supplied. Please wear comfortable clothes that you do not mind getting wet and do not bring valuables that may get damaged by water.

Orange County Fair Saturday, July 20, 2013 8:30AM-5:00PM, FREE The OC Fair shows the rural side of the county right in the city of Costa Mesa. There are livestock shows and competitions, pig races, vegetable and garden exhibits, and equestrian events. There are also home arts and crafts, circus acts, carnival rides and lots of fair food. This is a great American sum-

mer past time! Sign up today at 12:00pm in JEF Courtyard. This activity is FREE!

L. A with Fresh Eyes

I N S I D E

T H I S I S S U E :

Language

Labs

2/

3

Blend in at the

Lyon Center

4

Airline Safety

Travel Tips

5

Flagships

Theaters

6

NBA Howard

Leaves Lakers

7

Choosing an

English name

7

Pics of the

Week

8

UPCOMING ACTIVITIES

The Academy News J U L Y 1 2 , 2 0 1 3 V O L U M E 5 6 , I S S U E 2

Check out The Academy News online: www.usc.edu/langacad.Go to “Student Information” and then click on “The Academy News.”

Blending in on campus. See p. 4

Traveling during the summer break? See p. 5 for tips.

Language Academy students celebrate July Fourth at the Hollywood Bowl.

IELTS Preparation: Test Overview—In this lab, you’ll have the opportunity to learn tips and tricks on how to ace the IELTS test. This week we’ll discuss the overview of the test. Conversation Practice—Practice

speaking English by level with USC students. This is an interactive discussion in which you will participate in group discussions about several interesting topics. This is your opportunity to practice speaking and to ask questions.

Statement of Purpose

Workshop (Levels 4-6): Learn how to write an amazing SOP for graduate school. Grammar Q & A—Are

you confused by the rules of English grammar? Come to the Grammar Question and Answer lab for help with your grammar questions! GRE/GMAT

Preparation (Levels 4-6): Find out the best ways to succeed on the new exam

Tuesday, July 16th

Time Location Description Facilitator

12:30-1:30pm

KAP 150

IELTS Prep Lab (Levels 2-5)

James Hutzell Faculty

12:30pm-1:30pm

THH 107

Statement of Purpose (Levels 4, 5 & 6) Limited to 1 time per week

Marisa Garcia-Crocker Faculty

12:30pm-1:30pm

VKC 204 Grammar Q & A (Levels 1, 2 & 3)

John Esposito Faculty

12:30pm-1:30pm

JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 1

Demetri USC Student

12:30pm-1:30pm

JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 2

Blaire USC Student

12:30pm-1:30pm

JEF Courtyard

Conversation Level 3

Jay USC Student

12:30pm-1:30pm

JEF Courtyard

Conversation Level 4

Liza USC Student

12:30pm-1:30pm

JEF Courtyard Conversation Levels 5 & 6

Lucy USC Student

1:30pm-2:30pm

KAP 150 GRE/GMAT Prep Lab (Levels 4, 5 & 6 )

Jeminah Jones Faculty

1:30pm-2:30pm

JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 1

Liza USC Student

1:30pm-2:30pm

JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 2

Jay USC Student

1:30pm-2:30pm

JEF Courtyard

Conversation Level 3

Rachel USC Student

1:30pm-2:30pm

JEF Courtyard

Conversation Level 4

Demetri USC Student

1:30pm-2:30pm

JEF Courtyard Conversation Levels 5 & 6

Blaire USC Student

P A G E 2

P A G E 3

Fresh Eyes Continued from p. 1

ence? Which is better? I was totally lost.

I needed help.

Having heard of the so-called Cali-

fornia style before, I was prepared to

“greet” the impatience and indifference

from those passengers. However, they

were more willing to give me a hand.

A girl with many earrings turned out

to be super-friendly and patient. ”If you

do not use transportation a lot, just put

some money inside the card, and use it

whenever you need.” She continued, “If

you take trains a lot, say, for a whole

week, then you can buy a 7-day pass. If

you take trains a lot only for one single

day, then a day-pass meets your needs.

You’d better know how much you would

use the train.” Well, I could understand

that. But these questions solved, others

rose again. How does Metro-to-Muni

Transfer work? Can money be stored if

not all spent? How to add value? She

kept explaining things clearly and pa-

tiently till I fully understood and got my

own Tap card.

It did take her a really long time there.

But she was really nice to me, as a

stranger. I thanked her a lot; she simply

replied a “Cool” and smiled away. Well,

this time, I thought I knew what Califor-

nia style was. Read the second part of this series next week

Thursday, June 20th

Time Location Description Facilitator

12:30-1:30pm

KAP 150 GRE Prep Lab (Levels 4, 5 & 6)

Peter Guekguezian Faculty

12:30pm-1:30pm

THH 107 Statement of Purpose (Levels 4, 5 & 6) Limited to 1 time per week

Marisa Garcia-Crocker Faculty

12:30pm-1:30pm

VKC 204 Grammar Q & A (Levels 4, 5 & 6)

John Esposito Faculty

12:30pm-1:30pm

JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 1

Liza USC Student

12:30pm-1:30pm

JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 2 Lucy

USC Student

12:30pm-1:30pm

JEF Courtyard

Conversation Level 3 Demetri

USC Student

12:30pm-1:30pm

JEF Courtyard

Conversation Level 4 Blaire

USC Student

12:30pm-1:30pm

JEF Courtyard Conversation Levels 5 & 6 Rachel

USC Student

1:30pm-2:30pm

JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 1 Lucy

USC Student

1:30pm-2:30pm

JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 2 Demetri

USC Student

1:30pm-2:30pm

JEF Courtyard

Conversation Level 3 Rachel

USC Student

1:30pm-2:30pm

JEF Courtyard

Conversation Level 4 Liza

USC Student

1:30pm-2:30pm

JEF Courtyard Conversation Levels 5 & 6 Jay

USC Student

IELTS Preparation: Test Overview—In this lab, you’ll have the opportunity to learn tips and tricks on how to ace the IELTS test. This week we’ll discuss the overview of the test. Conversation Practice—Practice

speaking English by level with USC students. This is an interactive discussion in which you will participate in group discussions about several interesting topics. This is your opportunity to practice speaking and to ask questions.

Statement of Purpose

Workshop (Levels 4-6): Learn how to write an amazing SOP for graduate school. Grammar Q & A—Are

you confused by the rules of English grammar? Come to the Grammar Question and Answer lab for help with your grammar questions! GRE/GMAT

Preparation (Levels 4-6): Find out the best ways to succeed on the new exam

P A G E 4

By MINGXU (MATTHEW) SUN

Till now, all the students be-

long to language academy have

settled down at USC. They must

have had a tense week due to

trivia such as house renting, shop-

ping and time differences.

Considering human nature, I

suppose that it is a good time now

for the students to look for some

entertainment and sports. How-

ever, as a freshman here, most of

them have no friends and family

to hang out with. Though there are

many interests in LA, they still

cannot go without a car which is

too early to buy. So we strongly

recommend The Lyon Center on

campus.

The Lyon Center features the

Main Gym, for basketball, bad-

minton, volleyball; the Klug Fam-

ily Fitness Center; the Robinson

Fitness Room and so on. Going to

The Lyon Center gradually be-

comes the best choice for fresh-

men. Not only because it is all set

free and really not far from our

house but it also helps us to start a

brand new life at USC in LA.

Why is that? I think the rea-

sons are twofold. For one thing,

The Lyon Center helps us to build

friendship with our new friends.

On July 8, Mike, a Language

Academy student from China,

asked his roommates Matthew and

Patrick to go play basketball in

The Lyon Center. They were on

the same team fighting against

another group of players which

consisted of Europeans and

Americans. “I feel that playing

basketball with my new friends is

the best way to get familiar with

them. When I pass the ball to

them, a trust has been built among

us.” Mike said so during the inter-

view. In fact, sports do enable us

to stand together.

For another thing, joining in

the activities at The Lyon Center

helps us gain it is easy for us to feel

homesick when we first arrive at an

unfamiliar environment, especially

studying abroad in LA. Personally

speaking, the main reason we feel

hopeless and helpless is that we

have a lack of confidence. How-

ever, if you start exercising in the

fitness center or finish an excellent

shot in a basketball game, you will

feel better about yourself because

sports leaves a positive effect on

our mental health. According to a

small survey conducted by The

Academy News, 67.7% of the girls

in MSPR (Master of Science in

Public Relations) are willing to go

to Lyon Center now and 75% of the

boys in MSPR have already played

a basketball game in it.

All in all, if you want to start

a brand new life at USC at the be-

ginning of your arrival, just go to

The Lyon Center with your friends.

Do not hesitate to contact the new

friends you meet here, it is the best

choice for you to blend in at USC.

First Choice to Blend in at USC

The Lyon Center offers classes and has many places to work out and have fun.

P A G E 5

By ZIJUN (MIKE) LU

and MEIYI (CANDICE) YU

Asiana Airline Flight 214 de-

parture from Incheon International

Airport, South Korea crashed when

it attempted to land at its destina-

tion, San Francisco International

Airport, United States, on July 6,

2013.

San Francisco Fire Depart-

ment Chief Joanne Hayes-White

confirmed that this fatal crash killed

two passengers and 183 were in-

jured. Those two young Chinese

passengers we lost, Jialin Wang and

Mengyuan Ye, were on their way to

attend a West Valley Christian

School summer camp.

As we mourn over the loss of

the two students, we should notice

that both of their bodies were found

outside the aircraft, which implied

that they probably had not fastened

their seat belts when the airplane

was landing. Whenever we travel in

a domestic flight or fly back to our

homeland, it is always important to

keep in mind the basic rules for fly-

ing safely.

Here are ten airline safety 101 tips*

we should remember when we are

on a flight. These tips are taken

from Wikipedia.

1、Fly on Nonstop Routings

Most airliner accidents happen dur-

ing the takeoff, climb, descent, and

landing phase of the flight, so the

easiest way to reduce your chance of

getting in an accident is to take

flights with fewer stops.

See Airline Safety on p. 6

AIRLINE SAFETY 101

By SCARLETT CHEN and YUAN FENG

There is a two-week break after

the end of the Summer B session. It

will be a great time to relax and get

prepared for the coming fall semester.

Some people may have already

started to plan trips in the U.S. No

matter what the plans are, it is better

to schedule ahead of time. Here are

some traveling tips, since many of the

Academy students are new to the U.S.

Students can find cheap airfares on

travel guide websites when they’ve

decided where to go. It’s easy to navi-

gate those websites by typing in the

city of departure, destination and

travel date. The website will list all

the possible deals. Students can com-

pare different airlines and pick the

one that fits their schedules well.

To save trouble, students can also

find travel packages on those web-

sites. It is convenient because the

package will offer both flight and ho-

tel sales information. If students have

valid U.S. driving licenses or equiva-

lent international driving licenses,

they can also find rental car informa-

tion on those websites.

Traveling is not just sightseeing. It

is also a time to enjoy local food. With

various online search engines, students

can easily find out the names of local

food. But if they want to read other

peoples’ reviews, to get great deals,

and even to see some pictures of the

food, food recommendation websites

are good places to check.

After entering the city’s name, the

websites will provide a list based on

customers’ rate. Students will be able

to find different kinds of exotic food

that suits their needs. Moreover, stu-

dents can also make reservations

online, especially for some popular

restaurants.

Before leaving for the trip, stu-

dents should also make sure they’ve

packed everything they need. It’s im-

portant to check the local weather and

bring the right clothes. In addition,

wearing comfortable shoes is also nec-

essary for a trip.

Last but not least, students should

have their passports with them at all

times. If they are traveling to another

country, they should make sure they

have enough time to get the visa and

take their I-20 Forms before they leave

the U.S. territory.

TRAVEL TIPS FOR YOU

PLANNING YOUR TRIP Traveling guide websites:

Bing.com/travel

Expedia.com

Princeline.com

Food and restaurant websites:

Yelp.com

Urbanspoon.com

Places for short excursions:

San Diego San Francisco Yosemite Seattle Yellowstone National Park

P A G E 6

2、Choose Larger Aircraft

Currently, aircraft with more

than 30 passenger seats were all

designed and certified under the

strictest regulations. Also, in

the unlikely event of a serious

accident, a larger aircraft pro-

vides a better chance for pas-

senger survival.

3、Pay Attention to the Pre-

flight Briefing

Although the information

seems repetitious, the locations

of the closest emergency exits

may be different depending on

the aircraft that you fly on and

seat you are in.

4、Keep the Overhead Stor-

age Bin Free of Heavy Arti-

cles

Overhead storage bins may not

be able to hold very heavy ob-

jects during turbulence, so if

you or another passenger have

trouble lifting an article into the

bin, have it stored elsewhere.

5、Keep Your Seat Belt Fas-

tened While You Are Seated

Keeping the belt on when you

are seated provides that extra

protection you might need to

help you avoid injuries from

flight turbulence.

6、Listen to the Flight Atten-

dants

The primary reason flight atten-

dants are on an aircraft is for

safety, so if one of them asks

you to do something like fasten

your seat belts, do it first and

ask questions later.

7、Don't Bring Any Hazard-

ous Material

There are rather long lists of

hazardous materials that are not

allowed, but common sense

should tell you that you should-

n't bring gasoline, corrosives,

poisonous gases, and other such

items on the aircraft unless they

are allowed by the airline and

shipped in a proper container.

8、Let the Flight Attendant

Pour Your Hot Drinks

Flight attendants are trained to

handle hot drinks like coffee or

tea in a crowded aisle on a

moving aircraft, so allow them

to pour the drink and hand it to

you.

9、Don't Drink Too Much

The atmosphere in an airliner

cabin is pressurized to about

the same altitude as Denver, so

any alcohol you consume will

affect you more strongly than at

sea level.

10、Keep Your Wits about

You

In the unlikely event that you

are involved in an emergency

situation such as a precaution-

ary emergency evacuation, fol-

low the directions of the flight

attendants and flight crew and

exit the aircraft as quickly as

possible.

Reference:

Wikipedia

*Airsafe.com http://

airsafe.com/ten_tips.htm

By XI (SILVIA) KANG and YATING (EVELYN)

ZHAO

Movie lovers have a place nearby to see first-run films with their friends.

The Flagship Thea-

tres, located on 3323 South Hoover Street, is the most convenient cinema for USC stu-dents. It is in University Village, and it is only five minutes’ walk from Entrance 5 of USC.

Students can have a discount with their stu-dent card. Typically, a student ticket costs six dollars, which is much

cheaper than the cost of tickets in other thea-tres.

This cinema is open seven days a week, and it shows several of the latest films. For in-stance, recently it showed the movie “World War Z”,” Mon-sters University” and “Despicable Me 2”.

On each Tuesday the theatre may change one of those films to another one, so that the audience can have more choices. People can watch films there as early as 11 a.m., and its closing

time depends on the length of the movie shows in the evening. This cinema does not allow people to bring in food or drink, but it is quite easy to buy foods or beverages at the concession stand of the theatre.

Jiamin Wu, a new USC student majoring in signal processing, says that he knows about the Flagship Theatres and although he has not watched a film there be-fore, he would like to have a try in his spare time later. He thinks the price is very attractive.

Many other USC students being inter-viewed on campus agree that it is a good place to go since it can save them a lot of time compared to watching a film in the downtown area of Los Angeles.

Editor’s Note: Students can get discount movie tickets at the Student Union. They can find out which cinema chains they want to go to—Regal, Edwards, etc.—and ask for tickets for these chains by showing their USC ID. Stu-dent discount tickets for mov-ies that have been out for two weeks cost only $6. The stu-dent union is located near the Tudor Student Center.

Flagship Theaters: A Good Place to Go

Airline Safety 101 continued from p. 4

P A G E 7

By VALERIA WEI

After a week-long deliberation,

on July 7, Dwight Howard, the most valued player on this year’s NBA free agents market, rejects his for-mer employer Lakers’ higher offer and joins the Houston Rockets with a 4-year, 88 million dollar contract.

Howard has mentioned many times in previous interviews that what he is looking for in the coming seasons is the chance to win and to have fun. In that case the Rock-ets is indeed the better place for him. In Los Angeles Howard never seemed truly comfortable during his season because he was having difficulties adjusting to D’Antonio’s tactics and was constantly out-shined by Lakers’ leader and soul player Kobe Bryant. But in the Rockets, a team that is built around the center, Howard is going to be the biggest persona who gets all the attention and has his own fran-chise to lead.

I randomly interviewed some students of the Language Academy about their opinions on this trade, and most of them are in favor of

Howard’s choice. Allen Tian says Howard with Jeremy Lin and all-star player Harden on the side is going to deliver great team collabo-ration; Mike Lu says Lakers’ trian-gle is not suitable for a traditional center like Howard, leaving the team

actually gives himself a new start and gives Lakers an See Howard on p. 8

opportunity to bring in new blood to rebuild the team.

But one thing is for sure: Hous-ton’s executives and fans are thrilled to have Howard. Before Howard made his final decision, the Rockets fans were seeking every possible

way to rope him in, including some celebrities, for example Jim Par-sons, the leading actor in the hottest TV series Big Bang Theory, who made a video hoping to persuade Howard to join the Rockets. Houston is better with Howard, but still has a very long way to go before reaching the championship. And for Lakers, with one of its most valuable players’ departure and Kobe Bry-ant’s injury, the upcoming season is going to be tough. So Lakers’ fans, go to the Staples Center and show

them your support! STAPLES CENTER - Home to the Lakers and Clippers: 1111 S. Figueroa Street · Los Ange-les, CA 90015

Life in L. A.

Sports News

Dwight Howard Chooses Rockets over Lakers

Three Tips in Choosing English Names By PEINYANG SHI and SHANGYI CHENG

Most of the students in Language Academy come up with their Eng-lish names, trying to make it easier for international friends to pro-nounce them. Peiyang Shi, a stu-dent from China, firstly used his initials “SPY” in Chinese Pinyin (phonetic transcription) as his Eng-lish name. Soon he discovered that everyone remembered him quickly

yet in an unexpected way. Now he longed for another name other than Stephan or Damon, which have been so widely used since the re-lease of The Vampire Diaries.

How can we come up with an ideal English name? There are three tips for you. First, try to find an Eng-lish name with similar pronunciation to your name in your mother tongue. For example, Lianjie Li, a world-known Chinese Kungfu star, calls himself Jet Li in English. Secondly, if your name possesses a certain meaning in your language, you could

choose an appropriate English trans-lation, which might make your name distinctive from others’. Finally, you can also refer to your constellation. In particular, a series of names are suitable for Leo boys, such as Robert, Carl, and Scott.

Don’t worry if you still don’t find a good English name after reading the three tips. After all, whether your name gets attention or not, it is your character and temperament that truly impress other people.

USC Language

Academy

Rossier School of

Education

Phone: 213-740-0080

Fax: 213-740-0088

Web: www.usc.edu/langacad

Pics of the Week

The Academy News is a weekly newsletter pro-duced by students in the Journalism Elective of the USC Language Academy. All students in the Lan-guage Academy Program are encouraged to send news stories and photos to Sonja Lovelace at slove-lac@usc.edu.

Check out The Academy News online at www.usc.edu/langacad.Go to “Student Informa-

tion” and then click on “The Academy News.”

P A G E 8 J U L Y 1 2 , 2 0 1 3

THE ACADEMY NEWS STAFF

Editor: Valeria Wei

Assistant Editor: Leo Wu

Reporters: Faisal Almutairi, Zhiqi (Scarlett) Chen, Shangyi Cheng, Fitsum Fanta, Yuan Feng, Xi (Silvia) Feng, Ranran Li, Zijun (Mike) Lu, Peiyang Shi,

Zhaka Shulenbayeva, Mingxu Sun, Lun (Allen) Tian, Jingyi Wang, Yumeng

(Valeria) Wei, Daojun (Leo) Wu, Meiyi Yu, Weiwei (Vivian) Yu, Yerkanat Zaitov, Assyl Zhakupov, Yating (Evelyn) Zhao

In, the first week of the

journalism elective, students

prepared their stories for this

week’s newsletter. Many ideas

were floated about what kinds

of stories Language Academy

students would be interested in.

This week’s stories are the

result of intense brainstorming

and writing under deadline.

The journalism class

elected the new editor for this

term. Valeria Wei brings a

background in journalism to

the job. Assistant Editor Leo

Wu also has extensive broad-

cast journalism experience.

Look for a variety of sto-

ries in the weeks to come, and

tell us what you would like to

see in the newsletter for Sum-

mer Session B.

Summer B Journalism Elective Students

Launch First Issue of The Academy News

Language Academy stu-

dents enjoyed the music,

food and fireworks on the Fourth of July at the Hol-

lywood Bowl. See more

pictures on Language Academy Facebook.