MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

tidings = news

TWELVE FACTS ABOUT NELSON MANDELA

Image:  South Africa The Good News / www.sagoodnews.co.za

TWELVE FACTS ABOUT NELSON MANDELA

1.  His original first name was Rolihlahla.

2.  A teacher gave him the name Nelson.

3.  His father was a Mvezo chief.

4.  He had 13 brothers and sisters.

5.  At university he studied law and he continued these studies when he was in prison.

6.  He wanted equal rights for all people in South Africa. He fought to end apartheid, a cruel system of racial segregation under which black people could not vote or own land.

7.  He spent 27 years in prison because of his political activism.

8.  Nelson Mandela's prison guard, Christo Brand, became his friend.

9.  After his release from prison, Nelson Mandela became South Africa's first black President and the country's first democratically elected President.

10. He believed that education and sport, as well as politics, could change the world.

11. He is sometimes known as Madiba, a Xhosa [tribe] title of respect.

12. Nelson Mandela received over 250 honours, including the Nobel Peace Prize, during his life.

Nelson Mandela, 18th July 1918 - 5th December 2013

TWELVE FACTS ABOUT PRESIDENT KENNEDY

Tomorrow sees the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th President of the United States.  Here are twelve facts about him:

1.   He was one of nine children.
2.   He had lots of childhood illnesses and passed the time reading.
3.   He published his first book when he was 23.
4.   In the Second World War he served in the US Navy.
5.   He was the first person born in the 20th century to serve as President of the United States.
6.   He founded the Peace Corps.
7.   He wanted the United States to be the first country to send a man to the moon [which happened six years after his death].
8.   He believed in equal rights for everybody.
9.   As President, he always made time for his children.
10. When the Kennedys visited Paris in 1961, the President's wife Jacqueline was such a success that he joked, "I am the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris - and I have enjoyed it!"
11.  In 1962 he reached agreement with Premier Khrushchev of the Soviet Union to save the world from nuclear war over the Cuban Missile Crisis.
12.  An eternal flame burns at President Kennedy's grave in Arlington National Cemetery.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE TIPS

I am pleased to be able to tell you that students enrolling on courses at London Town - Centro Linguistico Internazionale, Modica will receive, free of charge, my booklet,
A-Z English Language Tips - come evitare gli errori più comuni nell'uso della lingua inglese.

GRATIS  per chi s'iscrive a un corso di inglese a London Town - Centro Linguistico Internazionale, Modica: il mio libretto,
A-Z English Language Tips - come evitare gli errori più comuni nell'uso della lingua inglese. 

Piace a tutti!

GUY FAWKES NIGHT WORDSEARCH

Guy Fawkes

The 5th November is Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire Night in Britain. We remember the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when some conspirators led by a man called Guy Fawkes tried to blow up [far saltare] Parliament. We have bonfires [dei falò] and eat hot food like soup, jacket potatoes and sausages. We also eat a spicy cake called Parkin. You can read more here.

GUY FAWKES NIGHT WORDSEARCH

C N N N F L Q J J F C R P N S

L O S O B O N F I R E E A I O

T D N O I F W R E B S T R K U

T R Z S A S E B M R A A L R P

M I E W P W O E N W U E I A M

A S K A O I V L S V S F A P O

R E L R S O R Y P O A E M Z R

S A K E N O T A Y X G E E U Z

J S A P P X N A C R E B N D H

T E K C A J P E T Y E Z T T M

R E D W O P N U G O Q U F C L

P E N N Y F L E J L P I A I Y

Z D G L T F Z O Q H F K H S Q

A N D G U M P G T B E H T K W

A J G Y U G K J L P T O O R S

BEEFEATER

BONFIRE

CAKE

CONSPIRACY

EXPLOSION

FAWKES

FIFTH

FIREWORKS

GUNPOWDER

GUY

JACKET

NOVEMBER

PARKIN

PARLIAMENT

PENNY

PLOT

POTATO

SAUSAGE

SOUP

TREASON

Beefeaters or Yeomen of the Guard.
They search Parliament for gunpowder [polvere da sparo]
every year before the Queen opens the session.
Image - Wikipedia

WHICH WORD DO YOU PREFER?

Image: WP Clipart

Did you know that autumn is often called fall in American English?  This is probably because the leaves fall from the trees in autumn.  Which word do you prefer?

When writing English, remember that days and months are written with a capital first letter but seasons are not [unless they come at the beginning of a sentence or are part of a title]:

Monday; Tuesday; October; November; autumn; fall; summer.

James Taylor - You've got a Friend

Cheryl Wheeler - When Fall Comes to New England

IS HE WORTH IT?

Image: Jacoplane
Wikimedia Commons

At the weekend the football player Gareth Bale was sold to Real Madrid for around €100 million. Do you think he is worth it?

To be worth it = to merit the value given; valere

The expression can also mean that an action is justified;  valere la pena.
In this case it is often used with the -ing form:

"The free concert in the park finishes at 11 pm. It's already 10.30 so it's not worth going."

We sometimes use the word worth to indicate a person's wealth:

"He is worth £3 million" = "He has £3 million."

"How much is it worth?" = "What is its value?"

Someone or something can be worth their weight in gold = extremely valuable or useful.

"I love cooking and my mum's recipes [ricette] are worth their weight in gold."
"He helped me with my homework and I got top marks. He's worth his weight in gold."

The expression for what it's worth is used to indicate that what the person is going to say may not be useful:

"This is what I think, for what it's worth."

Finally, do you know this proverb?

"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."  The equivalent in Italian is, "Meglio un uovo oggi che una gallina domani."

NEW WEBSITE FOR A NEW SCHOOL YEAR

A new school year is fast approaching and I am pleased to be able to announce that, to greet it, London Town Modica - Centro Linguistico Internazionale has a new website. Do take a look and, if you are on facebook, some "likes" on the site would be much appreciated. There is a facebook "like" button in the footer bar. Thank you.

http://londontownmodica.wix.com/london-town-modica

"I HAVE A DREAM"

Fifty years ago today, Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. made the "I have a dream" speech in Washington.

Here is the speech with Italian subtitles:

"I have a dream"

BABY IDIOMS

Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the birth of their son, His Royal Highness, Prince of Cambridge. The baby is third in the line of succession to the British throne, after his grandfather, Prince Charles, and father, Prince William [the Duke of Cambridge].

As everybody's thinking of babies this week, here are some baby idioms [1 - 6] for you to match up with their meanings [a - f].  You can see the answers at the end of the quiz:;

1.  as soft as a baby's bottom

2.  leave someone holding the baby

3.  sleep like a baby

4.  a baby boomer

5.  throw the baby out with the bathwater

6.  wet the baby's head

Image: WP Clipart

a.   Someone born between 1945 and 1965, the Postwar Era when a lot of babies were born.

b.  to discard something useful with something useless

c.  to sleep very well

d.  very smooth to touch

e.  [In British English]:  to celebrate the arrival of a baby by drinking alcohol [usually quite a lot!]

f.  To let someone else take the blame for a problem you have caused or for something you have done wrong.

To see the answers, please highlight the space below:

1. d  2. f  3. c  4.a  5. b  6. e

4TH JULY QUIZ

A quiz for 4th July. We take this opportunity to wish all our friends in the USA a happy day!

The answers are at the end of the quiz.

1.  4th July is - - - - - - - - - - - - Day in the USA.

2.  On the flag of the USA, the 50 stars represent the 50 - - - - - - .

3.  On the flag of the USA, the 13 stripes represent the 13 British - - - - - - - - which declared independence from Great Britain on 4th July 1776.

4.  Lots of people celebrate this day outside, with p - r - - - - ,  c - - c - - - - , p - - n - - - , b - r - - - - - - and f - - - - - - - - in the evening.

5.  The main reason why the American colonists were angry was that they had to pay unjust  t - - - - to the British government.

6.  On 4th July 1884 France presented the - - - - - -  of  - - - - - - - to the USA.

7.  The Liberty - - - - in Philadelphia is tapped, but not rung, 13 times on 4th July.

8.  A salute of one gun for each state is fired at US military bases at midday on 4th July. This is called a "salute to the - - - - - ".

9.  It is estimated that 150 million hot - - - - are eaten in the USA on this day.

10. "The Star-Spangled  - - - - - - " is the national anthem of the USA.

Highlight the space below to see the answers:

1. Independence  2. states  3. colonies  4. parades, concerts, picnics, barbecues, fireworks.  5. taxes  
6. Statue of Liberty  7. Bell  8. Union  9. dogs  10. Banner

"ENGLISH FUN WEEK" A MODICA!

LONDON TOWN

CENTRO LINGUISTICO INTERNAZIONALE

MODICA

Via Resistenza Partigiana 25/b, 97015, Modica [RG]

Tel: 0932 905642 / 366 119 6467

ENGLISH FUN WEEK FOR CHILDREN

SETTIMANA DI DIVERTIMENTO E GIOCHI IN INGLESE

PER BAMBINI dai 7 - 11 ANNI

8 – 12 LUGLIO 2013, DALLE 10.00 – 12.00

  

PROGRAMMA

DAY 1 / 1° GIORNO         BEACH DAY – SIMULAZIONE DI UN GIORNO ALLA SPIAGGIA!

DAY 2 / 2° GIORNO         JEWELLERY DAY – FABBRICHIAMO DELLA GIOIELLERIA!

DAY 3 / 3° GIORNO         FRUIT DAY – IL GIORNO DELLA FRUTTA!             

DAY 4 / 4° GIORNO         PAINTING DAY – CI DIVERTIAMO CON LA PITTURA!

DAY 5 / 5° GIORNO         DRESSING UP DAY – CI VESTIAMO A FESTA!

Per prezzi e ulteriori informazioni rivolgersi al Centro:

0932 905642 / 366 119 6467   Email:  londontownmodica@gmail.com

  

Images / immagini [ apart from logo / tranne logo]: WP Clipart

SUMMER WORDSEARCH

Try our summer wordsearch!

T Y Y S Y C B F E T M N B A F 
N W L L E I E H K A H O O E G 
L C P U K I T D E F A L Q S I 
P D I I J A R R A T G E N U J 
S A N D B C C R I P Z M W X D 
W I E N O A H I E P S R U S E 
I A U B O U P B V B X E M W I 
M S H C A E B O U K W T D A X 
Q X V S R F U Y O C U A I C E 
A A Q G Q X H Z Z L K W R N I 
U L B H H O L I D A Y E H T H 
G E X U S J Q X X M J R T A S 
U R F E M F F A Z T P A K K D 
S A V E Z G A B E M J G D D A 
T P O Y L A N Q Z R R Y A Z Y 

AUGUST
BEACH
BIKINI
BOAT
BUCKET
CREAM
HOLIDAY
ICE
JULY
JUNE
POOL
RELAX
SAND
SEA
SPADE
STRAWBERRIES
SUN
SUNBATHE
SWIM
WATERMELON

JUNE QUIZ

Hello again! We're back, after a break, with a June quiz:

Flaming June
by Sir Frederic Leighton
Image: Wikipedia

1.  June 14th is - - - - Day in the United States.

2.  June 2nd 2013 is the 60th anniversary of the - - - - - - - - - - of Queen Elizabeth 11.

3.  The zodiac signs for people born in June are - - - - - - and  - - - - - - .

4.  Italy's 2nd June holiday is called - - - - - - - - Day in English.

5.  June 6th 1944 is known as - Day in English.

6.  In Britain a ceremony called the Trooping of the - - - - - - is held on a Saturday in June to celebrate the monarch's official birthday.

7.  The birthstones associated with the month of June are the Alexandrite, the moonstone and the - - - - - .

Image: By tanakawho
on Flickr via Wikipedia

8.  On 4th June 1913 British suffragette Emily - - - - - - - stepped in front of the King's horse at the Epsom Derby race and was killed.

9.  In the northern hemisphere, the summer - - - - - - - - occurs between June 20th and June 22nd.

10. On June 26th 1498 the Chinese invented the - - - - - - - - - - for cleaning your teeth!

Image: WP Clipart

To see the answers, highlight the space below:
1. Flag  2. Coronation  3. Gemini and Cancer  4. Republic  5. D-Day  6. Colour  7. pearl  8. Davison  9. solstice  10. toothbrush

HAPPY ST DAVID'S DAY

Welshcakes for everybody with Welsh ladies looking on!

Here is a St David's Day wordsearch for you:

H S L E W D C N R S S B C L C 
L E E K G A B C O E H I L W A 
D D K I S H L D K G S E F A R 
O C I T L E C A A U A U E C D 
F K L S T H C D M F W R U P I 
D E H M W H E I F A F W D P F 
D A Q Y S L O V E S P O O N F 
E V F L A D Q A L V T Q D Z A 
T F E L I J R D R U G B Y I W 
S W W A N G E A Q A G J S A L 
I E E C T P N E B X T Q L J C 
E H Y W K C Q S V W P E D O D 
X C O W X C Z L O R S O X M R 
B C X K B W S X A N B Q K G D 
F G B V E M J H F J G I Z H S 

BARD [poet]
CARDIFF
CASTLE
CAWL  [a Welsh stew with lamb - spezzatino di agnello]
CELTIC
DAFFODIL [narciso]
DAVID
DRAGON
EISTEDDFOD [a competition of music, dance and poetry]
HARP
LEEK [porro]
LOVESPOON [il cucchiaio d'amore - read about them here.]
MUSIC
RUGBY
SAINT
SHEEP [there are a lot of them in Wales!]
SONG  [Wales is "the land of song."]
WALES
WELSH
WELSHCAKES

ST VALENTINE'S DAY WORDSEARCH

H T N I A S K R Z E S T G O P

E T M N X D O I N W E T W K X

D Q N V U S I I S J T M A J F

E K C E E U T P O S A R W I J

C N P Y E N H C U I L O O F R

T H B R E T F H M C O M R Z V

D Y X L O P R P V T C A R A L

C Y A D B P P U R B O N A N F

A V L O V E O A O Y H C U L V

R I O F D X E S O F C E O H A

D G V X A H T Y A Z W W I X Z

I V F B I J C D L L E L Y J J

F E B R U A R Y W R I Y B Z Q

W O B W P O U J S T H G F P A

I J J D S C R B B C R A J Z B

ARROW

BOW

CARD

CHOCOLATES

CUPID

FEBRUARY

FLOWERS

FOURTEENTH

HEART

KISS

LOVE

PROPOSAL

ROMANCE

ROSE

SAINT

VALENTINE

PANCAKE DAY WORDSEARCH

Pancake with red orange juice

Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday and in 2013 it is on Tuesday 12th February.  Shrove is the past simple of an archaic verb which means “to confess”.

People had to use up all the cooking fat in the house before Lent [quaresima] so they made pancakes.  You make them in a frying pan and you have to toss and catch them!

In some parts of Britain there are special pancake races on this day. People have to run and toss the pancakes in their frying pans at the same time!  The most famous pancake race in Britain takes place in Olney in Buckinghamshire and it has been held since 1445.

W E M U E S I F G E F G R N G

N E B E K U B X G S T T I Y N

Y L D Y R G B G F U S S O T I

W R A N T A S C E V O R H S Y

Q D E G E R Z S M L F A T N R

V T X T H S D T R L E G G B F

P T A A T A D P Y R R M R W B

W A V N Y U C A T C H U O C Y

G W N M P F B N Y K O Y A N I

T Y R V Z K H C G L Y E S A D

U N H D P I I A F H H C H Y M

A Z E N B T S K B T A A B R B

Z A Q L Z Z R E Q F T R L M F

G N V X L J F H X R P M Q P Q

C M Z W R M D J L M Q N H H M

ASH

BUTTER

CATCH

DAY

EGGS

FAT

FLOUR

FRYING

LEMON

LENT

PAN

PANCAKE

RACE

SHROVE

SUGAR

TOSS

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

BONE IDIOMS

Richard lll

With no offence intended to England's last Plantagenet king, Richard lll, whose skeleton, it has been confirmed, was found under a Leicester car park, here are some bone idioms for you to match with their meanings:

1.  bone dry

2.  to make no bones about it

3.  to be all skin and bone

4.  to be bone idle

5.  to bone up on something

6.  to have a bone to pick with someone

7.  [to say something that is] close to the bone

8.  to be like a dog with a bone

a.  to stubbornly refuse to stop talking about something

b.  to study or revise [ripassare] something quickly, possibly for a test

c.  to say something that hurts or offends someone because the person is particularly sensitive about it

d.  to be absolutely clear and insistent about what you think

e.  to need to speak to someone about something they have done which has made you angry

f.  not wet at all

g.  to be very thin

h.  to be very lazy

To see the answers, highlight the space below:

1f, 2d, 3g, 4h, 5b, 6e, 7c, 8a.

WHO WAS JANE AUSTEN?

28^th January 2013 is the 200^th anniversary of the publication of Pride and Prejudice but who was its author?

Jane Austen [16th December 1775 – 18th July 1817] was an English writer of romantic novels set in the world of the land-owning and middle class families of her time.  She is admired for her writing style, gently ironic wit and acute observation of the mores of the period.  For many people, she is the “perfect writer”.

She lived a quiet life with her family and we know little about her because most of her letters were destroyed after her death. She was born in Steventon [Hampshire] and had little formal education.  However, she read a lot and began writing stories for her family at an early age.  She refused her only proposal of marriage.

In 1800 the Austen family moved to Bath, a spa town and important social centre of the period.  Jane didn’t really like Bath but she set many scenes in her novels there, making fun of the manners and intrigues of the city’s rich visitors.

After the death of Jane’s father, the family moved to Chawton [Hampshire].  Jane published four novels while living there and these were well received but did not enjoy sensational success because they did not conform to readers’ expectations;  they wanted exciting romance and pathos.

Jane died at the age of 41, possibly from Addison’s disease or Hodgkin’s lymphoma.  Recent research suggests that she may have died from bovine tubercolosis.

It was not until the twentieth century that Jane Austen was hailed as a genius and Pride and Prejudice [1813] is generally regarded as her masterpiece. There have been many television serialisations and film versions, including a 2005 film starring Keira Knightly.  The novel’s independent Lizzie Bennet is every woman’s heroine!

NOVELS BY JANE AUSTEN

Sense and Sensibility – 1811

Pride and Prejudice – 1813

Mansfield Park – 1814

Emma – 1815

Northanger Abbey – 1818  [published posthumously]

Persuasion – 1818  [published posthumously]

You can visit the Jane Austen House Museum at Chawton and the Jane Austen Centre in Bath, UK.

WHO WAS ROBERT BURNS?

Robert Burns [25^th January 1759 – 21^st July 1796], also known as Rabbie Burns, is the national poet of Scotland. 

He wrote in the Scots language and dialect as well as in English.Some of his poems use a mixture of Scottish dialect and English.  He also collected Scottish folk songs and many of his poems have been set to music.

His poem Auld Lang Syne, in which days gone by and old friends are remembered, is sung at Hogmanay [New Year] celebrations in Scotland and all over the UK.  His best known love poem, My Love is Like a Red Red Rose, has also been set to music.

Burns Night is celebrated on 25^th January.  People eat Scottish food, including haggis [a savoury pudding] which is “piped” into the dining room [brought into the room to the sound of bagpipes].  The guests then recite poems by Burns and finally sing Auld Lang Syne.