PORTFOLIO ADVANCED

ESSAY-UNIT 1 NATURE VS NURTURE

1.What is one special talent or ability that you have? When did
you first become aware of it? Did it come naturally , or did you
have practiced a long time to perfect it? explain.
Some people are more proficient at some tasks than others because each one of us is a unique
person with unique abilities. For some people, some abilities are passed down to them and
some develop with lots of practice. For example, my principal ability is the management of
emotions, such as stress. This ability was acquired through active learning, and later evolved
into expertise through effort, hard and smart work, useful feedback and achievements in the
long run. However, some people don’t know how to handle their emotions. Because of this,
they stress out so much that they start to have problems with their environment. Even thought
,they could have handled the situation quietly.
Since I was a child, I always had the ability to perceive, understand, manifest and manage
emotions in a positive way. Even if I had a bad day, I identified my emotions and learned to
control them. In addition, I lived in a dynamic and flexible environment in which I was
developing these skills to adapt to the different situations presented in my daily life, it did
not matter how the situations emerged.
On one end, as I said before, some people are better at some tasks than others, because each
one of them is an amalgam of inherited genetic material that is affected by external influences
(personal experiences). On the other end, some experts estimate that people can be born with
the right genes but in the wrong moment. In other words, if they grow up in a negative
environment and do not have access to educational opportunities, they may not develop
themselves rightfully. All of this influence emotional intelligence. Some people can be a bit
on the edge because of sudden critical events. This people without emotional control or
without the correct environment do not know how to overcome difficult situations. However,
to fix their problems and progressively achieve emotional intelligence, they could talk with
someone about how they feel and even find that the other person´s words may contain the
solution.
To conclude, everyone has a unique set of skills and talents, and that is what makes each one
of us special. In my case, I consider myself to have a developed emotional intelligent. For
instance, I can manage my emotions and adapt to stressful situations. However, the vast
majority cannot develop this ability because they had a different environment to grow up in.
Nevertheless, it is important to know that each one of us can practice to achieve mastery in
different abilities with the right environment, even with soft skills such as emotional
intelligence. This specific ability is important to practice, because it plays a crucial role in
how we conduct our daily lives and personal relations.
VOCABULARY LOG UNIT 1
Word Synonyms Antonym
1. Interaction Interplay Divorce
2. Assimilate Understand Misunderstand
3. Savant Academic Amateur
4. Transform Convert Remain
5. Predictable Expected Unexpected
6. Expertise Ability Inability
7. Benefit Profit Disadvantage
8. Emerging Appear Disappear
9. Anxious Concerned Calm
10. Compensate Pay Penalized
11. Disabled Handicapped Healthy

REFLECTION PAPERS-UNIT 1
The topic of Nature or Nurture always seemed to me to be a great topic of debate among
people, because there are people who work hard to achieve great heights, even though there
are some people who do not work as hard, yet still manage to be successful. In other words,
there is a debate about what are the key factors to be successful: hard work or talent.
Personally, I recognize that both nature and nurture play key roles in human development. In
my personal experience I consider myself to have achieved a high level of emotional
intelligence through a combination of these two factors, as I said in a previous essay.
However, in these unit, I learned the meaning of these concepts. On one hand, nature is
fundamental in setting up the foundation of one’s talent. As was showed in the case of the so-
called savant people (Daniel Tammet), destiny can benefit us with particular genes that
influence our personal development. On the other hand, the nurturing of a person is also
crucial in our own growth. The emergence of success starts from the transformation of talent
into expertise through persistence hard work.
Finally, I still continue with a confusing question: are we born like this or do we behave
according to our life experiences? The debate between nature and nurture continues.
However, it is a fact that we have traits that are predetermined by our genes, although we can
choose who we want to be throughout our lives.
 ESSAY-UNIT 2 OBSTACLES
2.There are many different kinds of obstacles: physical and
economic are 2 examples. What are some other examples of the
kinds of obstacles that people face?
When we are unhappy with some aspects in our life , we want to set goals. In other words,
we want to yearn for good relationships with friends, job, etc. and improve our lifes. All
these goals motivate us and make us feel hopeful. However, there will always be obstacles in
the journey of our lives. One type of obstacle is the social barrier, which is born from social
and economic barriers. It is best known to all of us as ¨Social Discrimination¨, which is used
to point out the inequalities these exist between different individuals in a society. These
differences are caused because of several reasons, such as socioeconomic status, religion,
race, ethnicity, and gender. Social barriers are created by the culture of the community and
are greatly influenced by the behavior of the people. Arrogance, and even disrespect could
occur because one group of people believe that they are superior and better than other groups.
The superior group doesn’t wish to forge a link with the group that they consider inferior,
and this causes problems between them and takes the form of social barriers.
First of all, one social barrier takes the form of gender discrimination. It is the infringement
of one's rights and lack of opportunities based on the differences of gender differences .For
example, a manifestation of such type of discrimination is the pay gap gender. The pay
gender is when men and women are not considered equal in public life and the workplace.
This is why in almost all the companies and business organizations females are paid less than
their male counterparts even if they are hardworking as them in the .
Second of all ,another significant social barrier that is very common nowadays is related to
racism. It is defined the oppression of people of color based on skin color, hair type, facial
form and eye shape. This is built on a socially constructed racial hierarchy that privileges
white people. Racism is a conduct that either directly or indirectly asserts that one group is
inherently superior to others. It can be openly displayed in racial jokes and slurs or hate
crimes , but it also could be more deeply rooted in attitudes, values and stereotypical beliefs.
In some cases, these are unconsciously held and have become deeply embedded in systems
and institutions that have evolved over time. In other words , Racism operates at a number of
levels, in particular, individual, systemic and societal.
To sum up, people can set goals to improve their quality of life. Unfortunately, People
experiment obstacles in their way. For instance, racism and gender discrimination remain a
persistent reality in the society. Previously ,these social barriers to manifest as the pay gender
gap or racial slurs. If we don’t want to live a meager society, this fact must be acknowledged
as a starting point to effectively address and better our world . What is more , every day,
each and every one of us can stand up against racial prejudice and disrespectful attitudes.
VOCABULARY LOG UNIT 2
Word Synonym Antonym
1. Abandonment Desertion Constraint
2. Meager Insufficient Adequate
3. Misery Discomfort Comfort
4. Yearn for Aspire to Not want
5. Torment Confused Peaceful
6. Dilapidate Run down Intact
7. Poverty Indigence Wealth
8. Hopelessness Desperation Happiness
9. Shame Humiliation Honor
10. Sordid Disreputable Respectable
11. Defeated Overcome Victory

REFLECTION PAPER-UNIT 2
The second unit was very interesting to me, because I was able to understand and identify the
basic knowledge about problem-solving in adverse situations. Also, I was surprised to see the
cases outstanding figures who were able to overcome the adversities of life and how they
were able to move ahead towards their goals, such us Frank McCourt and Marla Runyan.
Personally, I could recognize certain traits that differentiated them as resilient individuals.
First, I could observe that the results they obtained were partly thanks to their
competitiveness, hard work and perseverance. Second, it was imperative to work through
each of these obstacles individually and to take control of your thought patterns in order to
stay positive: their perception of abandonment was fought with self-reliance. Finally, I was
surprised by their endurance and achievements: not only was it because of their extended
continuous practice, but also because of their mental fortitude. The struggle was not a reason
to give up.
To conclude ,

VIDEO-UNIT 3 MAKING MEDICAL DECISION

2.Ethical reasoning in health priority-setting: Animated Presentation
of recurring dilemmas.
There are people who work in the field of medicalcare.However, the healthcare field is
complex. Each decision, from the type of care a patient receives to the resources a health unit
needs, can lead to conflicts. In many cases, these decisions require ethical judgments, and
decision-makers have a responsibility to think these through as carefully as possible.
In all three cases, the video shows three dilemmas that are elements of health prioritization
choices in a wide variety of environments. The first case shows a story, although the half of
those with the disease need to take two pills and the other half just need one pill, here we are
faced with a dilemma because we don’t have the number of pills that are needed to be able to
rescue the 100 patients who have this deadly disease. However, one of the expressed to give
to those who need a pill, and my opinion , it seems to me the most sensible and fast option,
because what is urgently needed is to save everyone´s life, but if they do not have all the
necessary medicines, they must find a way to save them, and in this case, it would save the
lives of those who need 1 pill, because then, they could wait for the next shipment, so they
could complete the another dose of pills needed by the other group of patients. Second,

explains us that people´s lives are endangered by the limited supply of pills that exists

VOCABULARY LOG UNIT 3

WORD SYNONYM ANTONYM
1. Interpret Explain Misinterpret
 2. Impact Collision Eradicate
3. Reliable Dependable Corrupt
4. Revolutionized Reconstituted Degenerated
5. Advocate lawyer Enemy
6. Environment Climate Unnatural
7. Linked Connect Disconnected
8. Potential Possible Helpless
9. Interaction Communication Divorce
10. Risk factor Stakes risk Protection
Guard

REFLECTION PAPER-UNIT 3

WORKSHEETS
1. GENIUS
Since Alonzo was a child, he showed a strange ability when it came to modeling animal
figures that he hardly knew. It was a talent that only a genius would possess, but nevertheless
Alonzo was unable to do his things on his own, because he suffered a severe brain injury as a
child that left him with a developmental disability, but also left him with the ability to create
very accurate animal sculptures out of Day. He could create a lot of sculptures whose number
is difficult to estimate and which are made with amazing speed, great accuracy in form and
artistic beauty.
He had such good foresight that he could handle any complication before it emerged, because
he never had anxiety or any problem. On the contrary, his intelligent and perseverance helped
him move forward. For over twenty years he continued to practice his art in obscurity until
the early 1980's, when the movie Rain Man, which featured Dustin Hoffman in the role of a
disabled man with remarkable skills of memory, brought international media attention to a
phenomenon known as the Savant Syndrome. This media exposure gave him the opportunity
to gain worldwide recognition for his art. From his youth, Clemons had not only the genius
for his art, but has shown an inner vision to become successful with it, and those dreams are
truly continuing to unfold in his life.
In 1986, he had a premiere exhibit in Colorado. His works have sold for as much as $45,000.
Clemons began sculpting in school, where he would sit silently in the back of the classroom,
molding bits of clay into tiny animals. When his teachers took the day from him, he began
scraping bits of pliable tar from the pavement around his school and working on sculptures in
his room at night. Now, Alonzo is considered a top sculptor. He creates incredibly realistic
sculptures of animals (mostly horses, antelopes, and bulls) after seeing an image for only a
few seconds. According to his mother, he can see or imagine an animal and sculpture that
animal in half an hour. This expertise qualifies him to lead all his projects.
His success as a person is a credit to himself and to the family, friends and helpers who
through the years have allowed him to blossom in both his artistic skills and personal
development. While his savant nature undoubtedly provides him skills which contribute
greatly to his genius as an artist, Alonzo's personality, artistic sensibility, and love for his
subjects are also expressed in his beautifully rendered sculptures, and show how everybody
must develop cooperation and persistence to achieve their dreams.

2. McCourt and Runyan

Each one of us has our own obstacles, and we have to face them. However, it is not easy to
deal with. Therefore, there are cases of two people, such us Frank McCourt and Marla
Runyan, who win over their disabilities successfully and compare their obstacles that they
faced , and some personal values that help them face their obstacles.
McCourt lived in a poor environment when he was a child. Although he was interested in
read books and write poems, because of poverty, he had to work to help his family after the
eighth grades. And Runyan was diagnosed with stargate’s disease, which caused her
progressive vision loss and the specialist told her to lower her expectations because of her
disease. Nevertheless, they never lose their confidence, or sense of humor and they had the
support of people who did not expect.
McCourt and Runyan´s story borders on the tragic and misery, but it is an example of
overcoming. An example of how to make tragedy something to live with, something to bear
in order to end up shaping it.
 WRITINGS AND CORRECTIONS
Daniel Levitin states that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to achieve true world-class
expertise. Nevertheless, many people have put in that amount of practice in their fields
and still have not achieved world-class expertise. Why do you think they were not
successful? What makes the experts different from the others who have also put in
10,000 hours of practice? Explain.
Since the 10,000 hours rule was popularized by Malcom Gladwell, some savant people are
proof that intensive practice leads them to achieve mastery of complex skills. For example,
this rule helped the Beatles become world famous musicians by having the opportunity to
perform live as a group in Hamburg, Germany over 1200 times between 1960 and 1964.
Although they initially started at strip clubs, they accumulated more than 10 000 hours by
playing nonstop. However, some people have put in that amount of practice in their fields
and still have not achieved world-class expertise. A few things we know for sure are that not
all learning or practice is equally helpful and not everyone starts from the same point. In this
essay I will be arguing that there are factors that influence the success of the people who
achieve expertise in 10 000 hours of practice and those who not. This difference comes from
factors such as the intensity of the practice and what is referred as "deliberate practice", and
the motivational and emotional components.
First, to achieve real success, one has to make quality out of the hours of practice by
including an intensity factor. Some experts estimate that achievement is driven more by hard
practice that it is by innate talent. For example, there is a very specific way of high-intensity
practice referred as ¨deliberate practice¨, which involves constantly pushing oneself beyond
one’s comfort zone. This is done by following training activities designed by a mentor to
develop specific abilities, and using feedback to identify weaknesses and work on them. This
specific type of practice is effective because it helps us improve and correct ourselves, by
gaining a better understanding about our mistakes and how to correct them. Even though ,
deliberate practice is important to get intensity and effectiveness in practice, there are still
cases where people don’t achieve success. This practice is so challenging, it’s impossible to
do it all day long and, for this, reason some people can’t sustain their mental energy.

There is an emotional component that influences the success of practicing. The vast majority
of people work for a great quantity of hours and some of them can get their mental energy to
engage in deliberate practice for more than eight hours a day. Additional hours often result in
diminishing negative returns, meaning more practice makes performance worse because it
results in burnout and there is no reasonable mechanism by which our genes directly encode
skills like how to play the violin, or solve an algebraic equation. On the contrary, all human
expertise depends on a satisfactory experience and training. We reach this goal with a more
accurate understanding of the development of high achievement, that should inspire people to
push beyond their perceived ceiling, and to reach heights they never would have imagined
possible. One critical reason to keep practicing is motivation. Without sustainable motivation,
the practice loses focus, or we drop it entirely. Another reason is the management of their
emotions and mental health. Indeed, people who attained expertise had such good foresight
that they could handle any complications before it emerged. Because they never had anxiety
or any problem, their intelligence and perseverance helped them move forward. In brief,
practice becomes meaningful and relevant when the goal is connected to purpose and long-
term values and emotions.
It is important to not abandon the notion that hard work leads to a wonderful end point and
that it could create a much more meaningful relationship with one's occupation. We must
know that passions are not discovered but created. Even after thousands of hours, there's
always more that we can learn if the hobby or profession is loved for its own sake. This way,
we can engage in high-intensity practice and also endure the difficulties of the journey with a
better understanding of our emotions.

COMMENTS:

Perfect!
congratulations, I really liked you essay.
Keep up the good work!

OTHER ASSIGMENTS
1.Biography
Pierina Grozo is a Peruvian business intelligence analyst and German teacher. She was born
on September 19, 1996, in Lima, Peru. Pierina's father had served in the military, specifically
in the Armed Forces. Her mother is a kindergarten teacher, and her sister studied commercial
aviation. On her part, Pierina studied international business at UPC university.
At the age of 10, Pierina had an accident and because of that, she couldn't walk, she couldn't
dance anymore.Pierina liked to practice ballet a lot and she wanted to be a professional ballet
dancer, but unfortunately her legs would not be so lucky. In consequence Pierina become
very wild and unruly during this time. She would scream when she was angry, and giggle
uncontrollably when she was happy. Furthermore, She tormented and inflicted raging
tantrums on her parents. Many family relatives felt she should be institutionalized in a
reformatory. However, the only one who was on the side of Pierina was her grandmother. She
tried to persuade Pierina´s parents to take her to physical rehabilitation. Her grandmother
helped her to progress tremendously with her ability to walk. Even though Pierina could not
continue with her dancing career after rehabilitation. She attendanted university, graduating
in 2018. What is more during that time, she received some honors in recognition of her
accomplishments.
In 2019, Pierina continued her successful career. For instance, she traveled to Nevada ,US.
She wanted to open a line of communication between customers and companies to start and
develop business projects. There, she acquired over 3 years of experience in both the private
and the public sectors. For one thing, she developed skills in management consultation, team
building, professional development, strategic implementation, and company collaboration.
And for another, she learned the importance of applying business techniques to modern brand
strategies from experts in the field. Pierina faced obstacles that destroy her dreams. However,
she had the grandmother´s support to overcome them and find a new path. Nowadays, she is a
young successful professional in her area, and continues to search for new challenges.

2.READING QUIZ 1
Is Intelligence Based on Nature or Nurture?
The hotly debated question between two rival camps. The first is the nature group, who
believe prodigies possess innate genetic brilliance. The second group – the nurture camp –
lean towards family environment, hard work, practice, and social background as being bigger
factors in producing these precociously beautiful minds.
How do the 19 children on SBS’s Child Genius do it? Is their startling intelligence inherited
or just a quirk of nature?
It is tricky to establish. Take Peter – the chubby-faced boy wonder from Darwin who skipped
three grades in school and is now in Year 9 at age 11. He not only spells pipistrelle right but
sesquipedalian, achieving a perfect five out of five in the spelling test. He runs wild through
the mind-bendingly difficult anagram challenge that knocked down others. (1) His father
Henri is a chemical engineer and has encouraged and exposed his son to all kinds of
enriching academic experiences from young.
So, nature or nurture?
Increasingly, researchers are taking a more fluid, less binary approach to the question of
intelligence. Researchers David Henry Feldman and Lynn Goldsmith concluded that the
prodigy phenomenon is the result of a lucky “coincidence” of factors: a complex soup made
up of everything from healthy social/emotional development, birth order and gender,
education, and cultural support, to access to training resources and family support.
Class and socio-economic background also play a part, as research from Stanford University
on the “lost Einsteins” of the US education system has shown.
Hard work and practice – (2) Einstein’s famous maxim of “99 per cent perspiration and 1 per
cent inspiration” – comes up as a particularly potent variable, backed by everyone from
Malcolm Gladwell to psychologist Angela Duckworth who says old-fashioned grit and
perseverance often counts for just as much as natural intelligence when it comes to success in
life.
(3) As Larry Vandervelt has written, “whether they are child prodigies or not, gymnasts must
practice, pianists must practice, stone-tool makers (in anthropology classes) must practice.
Everybody must practice to get good at anything, and the cerebellum is the key.”
Still, this more organic model of intelligence has been disputed in recent studies, including
twin studies that have suggested that between 40 and 80 percent of the variance in IQ is
linked to genetics. It suggests that genetics may play a larger role than environmental factors
in determining individual IQ.
1.What is the main idea of the article?
Two ways to explain intelligence
2. Based on the reading, who can spell the word 'Hemorrhage' correctly?
Peter
3. What do David Henry Feldman and Lynn Goldsmith conclude in the third
paragraph? Prodigies are the result of many unexpected factors.
Prodigies are the result of many unexpected factors.
4. What can be assumed from Einstein's maxim in paragraph 5? People just need to
work hard to be successful.
People just need to work hard to be successful.
5. Who is speaking in number 3 above? Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell

READING QUIZ 2
Facing Life’s Challenges
By Dr. TRK
Life itself is a series of challenges, whether large or small. How do we habitually respond to
daily life? Do we easily panic and become frantic, or do we stay positive and energetic? Do
we make small problems big, or do we make big problems small and dissolve them into
nothing? How we face the normal events of each day is generally how we will face the bigger
challenges.
Let us look at some of the qualities of people who become negative and panic versus people
who respond positively and energetically. Panicky people do not have control over their
mental energies. Because their minds are unfocused, they exaggerate events. Their confusion
complicates things and even small challenges appear to be big problems.
Giving in to negative emotional states creates nothing but more negative reactions, such as
jealousy, hatred, blame, fear, and depression. That helps neither us, the situation, nor the
people around us. The moment negative emotions hit us, we have to see the urgency of
generating some positive energies, instead, and start doing something good for the
environment and others.
We cannot afford to be frantic. There is nothing, great or small, that is worth getting nervous
or agitated over. Rather than creating mental problems, we should deal with life both
energetically and peacefully. That is why we need to make a practice of always keeping our
mind focused on consciousness and taking care of things on time, both big and small. By
training ourselves to have a clear vision of the consequences of our actions (or non-actions),
we can stay ten steps ahead.
If we want to successfully face life's challenges, we need a positive mindset, based on
wisdom. With our minds focused, balanced, and aware, we can respond to any situation or
daunting task from that state. By perceiving and acting through clear perception and wisdom,
rather than through feelings, we can objectively examine a situation in the moment and set
the right energy in motion. Creative and positive people never buckle under when a challenge
arises or hesitate to do what needs to be done.
We, too, can have the confidence to tap into our inner inspiration. Inspirational quotes can
have a place, so we have to say to ourselves, "Accentuate the positives and forget the
negatives. Focus on uplifting thoughts and doing something good."
1. What is the main idea of the text?
What people should do when facing challenges
2. According to the second paragraph, why do people panick?
They make a big problem out of something small.
3. According to the fourth paragraph, how should people react to problems?
Having a clear vision will helps us face big problems.
4. What does the phrase 'daunting task' mean in this reading?
A challenging task
5. What is another term for 'uplifting' in the last paragraph?
Inspirational

3.similarities and differences between the genetic testing story and Norman
cousin´s story.
In the last few years ,there has been couple of new treatments and tests in the science of
medicine. Clearly these two are genetic testing and laughter therapy. Although they have
some minor similarities and differences . they are both in a medical operation . the difference
between genetic testing is not a treatment but laughter therapy is.
First ,both of them are used in a response to potential or exiting illness. For instance, Genetic
testing can confirm or prevent a suspected genetic condition or help determine a person’s
chance of developing or passing on a genetic disorder whereas laughter therapy improves
one’s overall well-being by relieving the pains and stressors of one’s life. Both are new
techniques of medical choice to treat some type of illness.
Another difference between these is that based on a cutting-edge science and Norma’s story.
In 2003 there was aa Human Genome project identified the 20,000 to 25,000. However,
Experts have continued to identify those who play a role in diseases and that is why Genetic
testing for newly diagnosed survivors, it will help them identify the anticipated 20~25% of
patients who could benefit from early treatment. On the other hand ,in the case of Norman
who did many tests and he was diagnosed with a severe illness and he always was interested
in medicine, so he read a book that discussed about how body chemistry and health can be
damaged by emotional stress and negatives vibes. For this reason, he decided to accumulate
his positive emotions as a remedy to heal the symptoms and in this way improve their quality
of life. In other words, they do not have to involve the doctor.
To conclude , these alternative therapy methods are vital health care of the human body, they
relate to health care of the body, mind and spirit and because people prefer take different
alternatives to a disease.