The Truth About Caffeine

The Truth About Caffeine
How many of you here consider yourself caffeine addicts? How much coffee do you drink a day? One cup? Two cups? More? How about caffeinated sodas?
Caffeine is pervasive in our society these days and every few months we hear about how a study has shown that it is bad for us or good for us. What are we to believe?
Today I'd like to give you some of the facts about caffeine and its effects on your body. It may not cause you to change your coffee consumption but at least you'll be better informed about what you are putting into your body.
I'm going to talk about the beneficial effects of caffeine, the negative effects and discuss what are considered safe levels of caffeine consumption.
Let's start with the good news. Caffeine, which comes from the leaves, seeds and fruits of about 63 different plants, is well known as a stimulant. That's why people drink it, right?
Caffeine does help you wake up and feel more alert and it has been shown to increase attention spans. This is a beneficial effect for people who are driving long distances and for people who are doing tedious work. Calling this a health benefit may be stretching it, though staying awake while you are driving a car is definitely a benefit to your well-being!
Caffeine also contains antioxidants which have been shown to have cancer prevention qualities.
The negative effects of caffeine are largely dependent on how much you consume.
When consumed in small quantities like, for example when you have one cup of coffee or one soda, caffeine can cause your heart rate to increase, you urinate more which can cause dehydration, and your digestive system produces more acid.
In larger amounts, caffeine can cause you to have headaches, feel restless and nervous, be unable to sleep, and even, in very large quantities to have hallucinations.(Don't try that at home!) When larger amounts of caffeine (over 600 mg per day) are used over long periods of time you can develop sleep problems, get depressed and have problems with your digestive system.
According to a Medline article on the National Institutes of Health website, having caffeine in your diet is not of any benefit to your health but moderate consumption is also not considered harmful.
They say that having up to 3 eight ounce cups of coffee a day or 250 mg of caffeine is considered (quote) "average or moderate". 10 cups of coffee a day is considered excessive. Also, remember that the amount of caffeine per cup can vary greatly depending on the type of beans that are used and the strength of the brew.
Most sodas with caffeine, unless they are specially enhanced like "Jolt" or something like that, have about 35 mg of caffeine per 8 ounces so you don't have to worry too much unless you are drinking several 2 liter bottles per day. Also, the effect of caffeine on you personally will depend on a number of factors like your weight, general health, mood and personal sensitivity to caffeine.
You can see that caffeine can have both positive and negative effects on our health and well-being but the bottom line is that if you drink your coffee or sodas in moderation, you don't have to worry too much.
So, the next time you are wondering whether you should have that second cup of coffee to perk you up, relax. At least now you know what it is and isn't doing to you!
End of Sample Informative Speech
Grab a pen and paper or your laptop, make yourself a cup of coffee and write yourself an amazing informative speech to teach and impress your audience!

Cramped Quarters

Karen is living in residence at university. She shares her room with one other person, Tanis. They live on the 7th floor. On their door, there is a small whiteboard. At the bottom it says, "Karen and Tanis live here. Leave a message!". Karen's bed is against the north wall. She uses the space under her bed for storage. Tanis' bed is against the opposite wall. Between the two beds there is a space about 6 feet wide. Karen's desk is next to her bed. On her desk she has a computer. There is a reading lamp beside the computer. She has another light above her bed that she can use when she is reading in bed. On the floor beside the desk, there is a kettle. To the right of the desk, stands a book case which they share. They also share a small fridge which is in the corner. There is one window in the west wall whch looks out on the grounds. The bathroom is down the hall. There are laundry facilites on the second floor. They have their meals in the dining hall; they have to stand in line, but the food is reasonable. At the front of the building, there is an Intercom so their friends can buzz them. Karen and Tanis get along quite well. The only thing Karen doesn't like is that Tanis leaves the light on when she studies at night. That makes it hard for Karen to sleep.

Concise ESL Support

Conditional and Hypothetical Constructions

Usage	“If” clause verb form	Main clause verb form
	“If” event ‘A’ occurs	then event ‘B’ happens*
Generally true	simple present e.g. If I feel hungry	simple present I eat
True for the future	simple present e.g. If I feel hungry (later)	simple future I will eat
Untrue now and future (hypothetical) I am not hungry now, but this is what I would do if that were the case.	simple past If I were hungry	would + verb name I would eat
Untrue in the past (hypothetical) I was not hungry in the past, but this is what I would have done if that were the case.	past perfect If I had been hungry	would + present perfect I would have eaten

* Clause order can be reversed. Event ‘B’ happens if event ‘A’ occurs—note the change in punctuation.

Conditionals

“If” is the most common word used to introduce adverbial clauses of condition (conditionals); other words that introduce these clauses are:

• Constructions with ‘if’;                 even if / only if
• Unless (means except if . . .)
• Whether or not
• Providing/provided (that)
• In case/in the event (that)

Hypothetical constructions

Usage	Wish	Clause
Wish + a noun clause	simple present + (that) e.g. I wish (that)	simple past I had more of money.*
Generally true	simple present + (that) e.g. I wish (that)	simple past I exercised more.
Statement referring to the past	simple present e.g. I wish (that)	past perfect I had paid attention to the teacher.
A promise, certainty, possibility or ability	simple present e.g. I wish (that)	modal (would/could) + verb name I would be a better student. I could study more effectively.

more or less

Symbols for other components may be more or less standard, or be invented as desired to show how the component operates.

prevent from

This prevents negative pressure ( vacuum ) from siphoning water from the system when supply pressure is removed, as in figure.

to prevent air from blocking circulation of water

are similar to, in that

Vacuum relief valves are similar to check valves in that they are one-way valves which close under system pressure to prevent water escaping, but open to allow air into the system when the pressure is removed.

flush with

If one object or surface is flush with another, they are at the same height or distance from something else, so that they form a single smooth surface. Adjective v-link ADJ
Synonym level
Make sure the tile is flush with the surrounding tiles. + 'with'
If you are flush with money, you have a lot of it, usually only for a short time. Adjective v-link ADJ usu ADJ 'with' n informal
At that time, many developing countries were flush with dollars earned from exports.
If we're feeling flush we'll probably give them champagne.