CHRISTMAS QUIZ

See if you can do our Christmas quiz! Answers at the end.

Christmas Quiz 2014

1.  What name do we give to the 24th December?
2.  What name do we give to the 25th December?
3.  What name do we give to the 26th December?
4.  A Christmas religious song is called a Christmas - - - - - .
5.  The answer to question 4 is also the title of a famous book about Christmas by Charles - - - - - - - .
6.  In Britain and the USA people usually eat roast - - - - - - on Christmas Day.
7.  After the meat course people eat a dessert called Christmas - - - - - - - .
8.  We send Christmas  - - - - - to all our friends, neighbours and colleagues.
9.  At 3 pm on Christmas Day the  - - - - - speaks to the British nation and the Commonwealth.
10. What name do we give to the 31st December?
11. What name do we give to the 1st January?
12. What is the New Year celebration called in Scotland?
13. Who wrote the traditional poem Auld Lang Syne, which is sung to welcome the New Year?
14. Which famous children's book opens with the words, "Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents"?
15. A special carol service takes place on Christmas Eve at King's College in - - - - - - - - - , UK.
16. Who says, "Ho, ho, ho!" at the beginning of every sentence?
17. What will probably happen if you stand or sit under the mistletoe [vischio] ?
18. Can you complete this song line? "We - - - - you a merry Christmas, we - - - - you a merry Christmas..."
19. Mince - - - - are traditional Christmas sweet pastries.
20. New Year's - - - - - - - - - - - are promises that we often break.

Merry Christmas!

Please highlight the space below to see the quiz answers:

1. Christmas Eve  2. Christmas Day  3. Boxing Day  4. carol  5. Dickens  6. turkey  7. pudding  8. cards  9. Queen  10. New Year's Eve  11. New Year's Day  12. Hogmanay  13. Robert Burns  14. Little Women  15. Cambridge  16. Father Christmas / Santa Claus  17. Someone will kiss you! 18. wish  19. pies  20. resolutions

NEW CHRISTMAS BOOKLET - NUOVO LIBRETTO PER NATALE

We have a new Christmas booklet at London Town, Modica - Centro Linguistico Internazionale. It contains Christmas vocabulary, information about British Christmas and New Year traditions, a puzzle and a Christmas quiz:

Nel libretto troverete: un vocabolario natilizio inglese, informazioni sulle tradizioni natilizie britanniche, un gioco di parole nascoste e un quiz.  Chi s'iscrive avrà il libretto!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2014

Today is the THANKSGIVING holiday in the USA. You can read about its origins and some of its traditions here.

At London Town Modica, Centro Linguistico Internationale, we've got mini pumpkin pies!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE!

NEW BOOKLET

In linguistics, a "false friend" is a word, in the language you are learning, which looks or sounds like a word in your own language, but the meaning is different. Students registering for courses at London Town Modica, Centro Linguistico Internazionale will receive Pat's Little Book of False Friends for Italian Learners of English.

Sai cos'è un "falso amico" in linguistica? È una parola di una lingua straniera che assomiglia a una parola della tua lingua, ma il significato è tutto diverso. Chi s'iscrive da London Town, Modica, Centro Linguistico Internazionale avrà il nuovo libretto di Pat!

Cross-posted at Sicily Scene.

GHOSTS AND GHOULS

At London Town Modica, Centro Linguistico Internazionale we've got marshmallow ghosts and ghouls today! Do you think they're scary?

Thank you, the Activity Village for the idea.

Cross-posted at Sicily Scene.

THE SCOTTISH REFERENDUM EXPLAINED IN 11 POINTS

The Scottish Independence Referendum

The Saltire

1.  What is it?

A referendum to decide whether Scotland will become an independent nation.

2.  When is it?

On Thursday, 18th September 2014.

3.  What will be the question in the referendum?

"Should Scotland be an independent country?"

People will have to vote "Yes" or "No".

4.  Why is there going to be a referendum?

Scotland has been in a parliamentary Union with England since 1707 but, although the country also has a devolved Parliament, many Scots think that Scotland should be able to make all its own decisions and control all its own wealth.

5.  Who can vote?

People aged 16 or over who live in Scotland and are British, EU or Commonwealth citizens with permission to remain in the UK. Therefore Scots who live in other parts of the UK cannot vote. Members of the UK armed forces and UK government personnel serving overseas and who are normally registered to vote in Scotland can also vote in the referendum but other Scots living abroad cannot.

6.  What will happen if the result is "Yes"?

There will be a timetable for independence.  Scottish Independence Day has been scheduled for 24th March 2016.

7.  What will happen if the result is "No"?

Scotland will remain part of the UK but the British government has promised to quickly grant more powers to the Scottish Parliament [greater devolution or "devo-max"].

8.  If the result is "Yes", will Scotland still have the Queen?

Alex Salmond, the First Minister of Scotland, has indicated that he would like the Queen to remain as head of state. Her title in Scotland may be changed to "Elizabeth, Queen of Scots".  But there may be another referendum at a later date to decide about the monarchy.

9.  If the result is "Yes", will Scotland still be in the EU?

Almost certainly yes, but Scotland will have to reapply for membership as an independent nation.

10.  If the result is "Yes", what will happen to the Union Jack [the UK flag]?

The Union Jack is made up of the Scottish Saltire [sometimes known as the cross of St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland], the cross of St. George [the patron saint of England] and the Irish Saltire or cross of St Patrick [the patron saint of Ireland], so the flag will have to change if there is a"Yes" vote. We don't know in what way it would change.

11.  Who will win?

We don't know!

Update

On 18th September 2014 the people of Scotland voted "No" to independence.

NEW SCHOOL YEAR - NUOVO ANNO SCOLASTICO

London Town Modica

 Centro Linguistico Internazionale

 Nuovo anno scolastico 

Prezzi bloccati!

Se t'iscrivi entro il 30 settembre 
non paghi l'iscrizione!

Offriamo corsi di inglese Trinity, KET, PET, FCE, CAE, TOEFL e corsi per professionisti; corsi di italiano per stranieri - Italian courses for English speakers.

Come and talk to Pat! 
Passa dal Centro Linguistico e parla con Pat!

Quest'autunno, impara l'inglese!

 Visita il nostro sito per ulteriori informazioni.

A presto!

A SUMMER RECIPE

If you like cooking, it isn't usually difficult to follow a recipe in the language you are learning so why not try this one?

Summer pudding

All cultures have ways of using up leftover bread [i resti del pane] and here is a British one:  Summer pudding is a traditional British dessert and it's very simple to make. This version is a little bit Sicilian because I've used whortleberries [mirtilli] and added the juice and rind of an orange! If you prefer, you can use forest fruits [frutti di bosco] instead of the whortleberries and raspberries.

Note / Nota:  if you are a child, ask an adult to help you;  se sei un bambino, chiedi aiuto ad un adulto.

You need:

300 gr frozen whortleberries [mirtilli]
300 gr frozen raspberries [lamponi]
About 12 slices pan carré if you are in Italy or 8 slices stale white bread. [Note: slices of pan carré are smaller than slices of packaged white bread in the UK.]
1 vanilla pod [bacca di vaniglia]
juice and grated rind of 1 orange
150 gr sugar
a little butter


You also need an 850 ml pudding basin, which looks like this:

Lightly butter [imburra] the inside of the pudding basin.

Cut the crusts [le croste] off the bread and use the bread to line the pudding basin. The base and sides of the basin should be completely covered with bread.

Put the fruits in a saucepan with the vanilla pod, orange rind and juice and sugar and cook over low heat, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Take the vanilla pod out and let the fruit cool.

When the fruit has cooled, pour it into the basin.  Save a little juice to pour over the pudding at the end.

Cover the top of the pudding with slices of bread, too.

Now put a saucer [piattino] which fits the basin exactly on top of the pudding and put a weight [un peso] on top of that. [I used an unopened pot of jam, turned on its side.]

Leave the pudding in the fridge overnight.

When you are ready to serve the pudding, loosen it around the edges with a knife and quickly and fearlessly [senza paura!] turn it out onto a plate.

Pour the reserved juice over the pudding, decorate it with berries and / or mint and slice the pudding to serve.

Enjoy your summer pudding!  Some British people serve this with cream [panna] or ice cream.

INDEPENDENCE DAY WORDSEARCH

Happy INDEPENDENCE DAY to all our American friends!

Here is an INDEPENDENCE DAY wordsearch for you:

E A S U N C X O F Q S B J I V

D N C Z N C O I P T N U P N H

A E G I I I R N A B L V Y D U

R G T N R E O T C Y M T F E N

A Y C U W E E N X E R T F P I

P I A O L S M T P E R E U E T

P S R D S A X A B S R T F N E

D K S T A R S I B E Y D E D D

S Q L L D N L V L P B L L E B

H T R U O F G B L I Z S E N V

C C D W K E D J O R X Z I C V

B T O Q I Y C Y R T K N F E F

O E U C E B R A B S C O H C L

L Y Z S Q P N H O T D O G S A

P O D J H K G G E I V P V J G

AMERICA

BARBECUE

BELL

CONCERT

DAY

FIREWORKS

FLAG

FOURTH

HOTDOGS

INDEPENDENCE

JULY

LIBERTY

PARADE

PICNIC

SALUTE

STARS

STATES

STRIPES

UNION

UNITED

You will find an INDEPENDENCE DAY quiz here.

ARE YOU A FRIGGATRISKAIDEKAPHOBE?

If so, today is probably not a good day for you, as friggatriskaidekaphobia means fear of the date Friday 13th of any month. In Britain and some other western countries, Friday 13th is considered an unlucky day. Frigga was the Norse goddess who gave her name to Friday and triskaidekaphobia means fear of the number 13.

Nobody knows the reason for this superstition but it may be linked to the fact that 12 is considered a "good" number, for there were twelve apostles in the Bible and there are twelve months in a year and so on, while 13 seems irregular.

If you are also a selenophobe, someone who is afraid of the moon, today is definitely not your day, for there is a full moon too!  Some people believe that a very bright moon makes everyone behave strangely.

But don't worry:  tomorrow is another day - or night!!

Images for this post - WP Clipart

OFFERTE - CORSI ESTIVI 2014

IMPARA L’INGLESE QUEST’ESTATE!  

LEARN ENGLISH THIS SUMMER!

OFFERTE CORSI ESTIVI

Prezzi bassi a partire da €160!

Corso di 12 ore

Luglio, agosto o settembre, 3 ore alla settimana

Livelli: principianti o intermedio

Minimo:   gruppo di 3 persone

Corso di 36 ore

Luglio, agosto e settembre, 3 ore alla settimana per 12 settimane

Livelli: principianti o intermedio

Paghi 2 mesi e avrai un mese GRATIS!!

Minimo: gruppo di 3 persone

Le iscrizioni per i corsi delle offerte estive devono essere effettuate entro la fine del mese di giugno 2014.

Via Resistenza Partigiana 25/b, Modica

Tel: 0932 905642 / 366 119 6467

Please also visit our website.

NEW ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS FOR FOREIGN DOCTORS IN UK

From 25th June 2014 medical doctors from the EEA and Switzerland will have to prove that they have the necessary English language skills to be able to practise professionally in the UK. The GMC [General Medical Council] will have the right to ask the doctors to take an English language test.

Dal 25 giugno 2014 i medici  provenienti dalla AEE e la Svizzera e desiderosi di praticare la loro professione nel Regno Unito dovranno dimostrare che hanno le competenze necessarie nell'uso della lingua inglese. Il General Medical Council della Gran Bretagna potrebbe chiedere ai dottori di sostenere un esame di inglese.

In Sicilia, vi possiamo aiutare da London Town Modica - Centro Linguistico Internazionale.

From 18th June 2014 medical doctors from outside the EEA and Switzerland will have to take an English language test and pass both parts of the PLAB [Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board] test. This consists of a language test and a medical skills test. It is possible that the pass mark for these tests will be raised. In order to register with the GMC and be granted a licence to practise in the UK, doctors from outside the EEA and Switzerland will have to gain an overall score of 7.5 in the IELTS exam. [Exceptions may be made in certain circumstsnces, for example if the doctor attended an institution where the language of instruction was English.]

You can find more information here and here.

In Sicily,we can help doctors to improve their English language skills at London Town Modica - Centro Linguistico Internazionale.

EASTER WORDSEARCH

Can you find the Easter words?

G N I R P S Q N C H S O E Y K

T T B H L A J H K A U S A R C

V E I U P R O U Q M L D O Y I

F D N M N C R N Y N N U B R H

E R H N O S E T H U W K N V C

T U I L O W T S S U V P M U T

I G A D U B S M O N D A Y P N

V T G A A X A E V O D R Y X H

E W X E R Y E G O O D A Y B Z

U T A B T I X B S Z H D O W N

A O P C V F Z I Q Q U E N I S

J H G W F W M J E T D B X Q K

H L A H W N H F X L M K Q N L

H M P I E M R Z T A T N V H F

E B E L Y Z B L L S C L F B Q

BONNET

BUNNY

BUNS

CHICK

CHOCOLATE

CROSS

DOVE

EASTER

EGG

FRIDAY

GOOD

HIDE

HOT

HUNT

LAMB

MONDAY

PARADE

SIMNEL

SPRING

SUNDAY

Notes:

Easter bonnet - a special hat worn by women in the Easter parades in London and New York.

Good Friday - the Friday before Easter; venerdì santo

Easter Sunday - Pasqua

Easter Monday - Pasquetta

Easter egg hunt - a traditional game in which parents hide Easter eggs in the garden and children try to find them.

Simnel cake - a traditional cake made at Easter

Hot cross buns - traditional cakes, a bit like brioches, made at Easter. They have the form of the cross on top.

bunny - a small or baby rabbit

dove - colomba 

hide - nascondere

lamb - agnello

a chick




Traditional song - Hot Cross Buns

PET SPEAKING EXAM - USEFUL EXPRESSIONS

In part 2 of the Cambridge PET speaking exam, the examiner explains a situation and gives you some visual material. With a partner, you have to decide what to do in the situation.

Here are some useful expressions to help you begin, maintain the conversation and end this part of the test:

USEFUL EXPRESSIONS FOR PET SPEAKING PART 2

Beginning

OK, we need to decide what to buy / get / do /where to go / what we should take [objects on a journey]

So, which of these are the most important / are the best / are the most useful?

So, which of these would he / she like?

Saying what you think

I think we should / he should + infinitive

In my opinion, we should + infinitive

It would be a good idea to + infinitive because…….

I think it would be better to + infinitive than to + infinitive

I think he’d / she’d like ….

Making suggestions

Why don’t we …? + infinitive

We could / she could + infinitive

How about…? + - ing form

What about the…. ? + object. What do you think about that?

Let’s + infinitive

I’d like to + infinitive. What about you?

……. would be useful. Do you agree?

Asking what your partner thinks

Do you agree?

How about you? Do you agree?

What do you think?

Agreeing

Yes, I agree.

Yes, that’s a good / great idea.

That sounds good.

Disagreeing

No, I don’t think so because….

I don’t think that’s a very good idea because…

That’s not a bad idea but….

That’s true but….

I’m sorry, I don’t agree.

Im not sure about that. What about….?  + object / + - ing form

Preferences

[Specific occasion] I’d rather + infinitive + than + infinitive

[Specific occasion] I’d prefer to + infinitive

[In general] I prefer + noun + noun

[In general] I prefer + - ing form + to + - ing form

Concluding

So, we think …. and … are the most important things. Is that right?

So, we’re going to take [objects on a journey] / get / buy / go to  …. and …. . Is that right?

Yes, let’s take / get / buy/ go to…..

So we think he should + infinitive…

So we think he’d like + object / + to + infinitive

Yes, I think he’d really like that.

Yes, I think that would be best.

Yes, that would be really good.

QUIZ: HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT WALES?

This Saturday, March 1st., is St David's Day. St David is the patron saint of Wales.

Do the quiz to find out how much you know about Wales!  The answers are at the end of the quiz:

1.  Wales is

a region
a state
a country or nation

2.  The capital of Wales is

Swansea
Cardiff
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

3.  Which of the following is not a symbol of Wales?

onion
leek
daffodil
dragon

4.  What is the most popular sport in Wales?

cricket
football
rugby

5.  Who is not Welsh?

Cerys Matthews
Shirley Bassey
Sean Connery
Anthony Hopkins

6.  The current Prince of Wales is

Prince William
Prince Charles
Prince Harry

Prince of Wales's Feathers

7.  Which of these mountains is not in Wales?

Snowdon
Ben Nevis
Caerphilly Mountain

8.  An eisteddfod is

an arts festival
a cake
a musical instrument

9. Which is the traditional instrument of Wales?

piano 
accordion
harp

10. Dylan Thomas was

an actor
a poet
a singer 

11.  Welsh rarebit is

cheese on toast with other ingredients
a cocktail
an animal


12.    In English, the Welsh national anthem is called

Land of Song
Land of My Fathers
Land of Wales

To see the answers, highlight the space below:

1. a country or nation  2. Cardiff  3. onion  4. rugby  5. Sean Connery 6. Prince Charles  7. Ben Nevis  8. an arts festival  9. harp  10. a poet  11. cheese on toast with other ingredients  12. Land of My Fathers