QUEEN QUIZ

On the occasion of Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee, here is a quiz that you might enjoy:

 

1. The Queen's full name is Elizabeth - - - - - - - - - Mary - - - - - - - .

2. She now resides mainly at - - - - - - - Castle.

3. She had a sister called - - - - - - - - .

4. Her husband was Prince Philip, Duke of - - - - - - - - - .

5. Her eldest son and heir apparent to the throne is Charles, Prince of - - - - - and Duke of
- - - - - - - - .

6. The Queen is a - - - - - - - - - - - - - - monarch.

7. She is Queen of the United - - - - - - - and the Commonwealth - - - - - - .

8. She has reigned for - - years and is now celebrating her - - - - - - - - Jubilee.

9. She became Queen in 1952 but was crowned in - - - - (year).

10. She was crowned in - - - - - - - - - - - Abbey.

11. Her first Prime Minister was Sir Winston - - - - - - - - - .

12. - - (number) Prime Ministers have served during her reign.

13. During the Second World War she served in the British military and qualified as a - - - - - - - - .

14. Her favourite dogs are - - - - - - and - - - - - - .

15. At Christmas she speaks to the people on radio and television and this broadcast is called “The Queen's Christmas - - - - - - -” .

16. At the annual State Opening of Parliament she reads a speech called “The Queen's Speech” but it is written by the - - - - - / - - - - - - - - .

17. The Royal - - - - - - - - is a flag (different from the Union Jack, which is the flag of the UK) depicting symbols of the United Kingdom and is flown on buildings such as Buckingham Palace when the Queen is there, on buildings while she is visiting them and on her car or plane. This flag is never flown at half-mast because it represents the continuity of the monarchy.

18. The annual military parade held in London to celebrate the monarch's official birthday is called “The - - - - - - - - of the Colour”.

19. If you meet the Queen and she speaks to you, you address her as “- - - - / - - - - - - -” in your first reply and after that as “- - ' - -”.

20. She was escorted to the 2012 London Olympics Opening Ceremony by “- - - - - / - - - -” in a helicopter. Then she parachuted into the arena (but not really!)

Highlight the space below for answers:

1. Alexandra, Windsor  2. Windsor  3. Margaret  4. Edinburgh  5. Wales, Cornwall  6. constitutional  7. Kingdom, realms  8. 70 Platinum  9. 1953  10. Westminster  11. Churchill  12. fourteen  13. mechanic  14. corgis, dorgis  15. Message  16. Prime Minister  17. Standard  18. Trooping  19. Your Majesty, ma'am 20. James Bond

Happy Platinum Jubilee, Your Majesty! 

A VERY SPECIAL BIRTHDAY PARTY

At London Town, Modica - Centro Linguistico Internazionale, we had a party yesterday to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday. Many thanks to Cicara Caffeteria and Delizie D'Autore.

When the "birthday girl" arrived, our students had some questions for her:

[Cardboard cutout of the Queen]

These included the most important question of all which is, of course, about food!

We hope you had a very happy birthday, Ma'am!

QUEEN QUIZ

To mark the British monarch's 90th birthday this Thursday, here is a quiz about Queen Elizabeth II. You will find the answers at the end of the post.

1.  Queen Elizabeth's given names are

• Mary Elizabeth Charlotte
• Elizabeth Alexandra Mary
• Elizabeth Katherine Maria 

2.  The surname most commonly used by her family is

• Windsor
• Buckingham
• Battenburg

3.  Her sister's name was:

• Margaret Alexandra
• Margaret Rose
• Mary Margaret

4.  The Queen was educated

• at home
• at private school, then university
• at a British state school

5.  During World War II she trained as

• an air traffic controller
• a nurse
• a driver and mechanic

6.  She was preceded as monarch by

• King George VI
• King Edward VIII 
• King George V

7.  The heir to the throne is

• Prince William
• Prince George
• Prince Charles

8.  How many children does the Queen have?

• Two
• Four
• One

9.  Her main official residence is

• Windsor Castle
• Sandringham
• Buckingham Palace

10.  In her position as Queen, she has only three rights.  What are they?

• To be consulted by the Prime Minister, to encourage certain actions and to warn against others. 
• To order the Prime Minister to take certain actions, to refuse to sign certain Acts of Parliament and to declare war.
• To express her opinion directly to the people and to Parliament and to draft Acts of Parliament.

11.

The Queen's Coronation took place in which year?

• 1952
• 1960
• 1953

12.  She was crowned in

• St Paul's Cathedral
• Westminster Abbey
• Westminster Cathedral

13.  In 2012 she celebrated her

• Diamond Jubilee
• Silver Jubilee
• Golden Jubilee

14.  During the 2012 Olympics Ceremony she became

• a great-grandmother
• an empress
• a Bond girl

15.  Why does the Queen have a "real" birthday [21st April] and an official birthday [in June]?

• so that she can have more presents
• because the British weather should be better in June
• because there are more tourists in London in June

16.  If you meet the Queen you should call her

• "Your Royal Highness"
• "Your Majesty" at first, then "Ma'am"
• "Queen Elizabeth"

17.  The Queen wears the Imperial State Crown

• every day
• for all State occasions
• for the State Opening of Parliament

18.  The dogs the Queen likes best are

• corgis
• Yorkshire terriers
• dachshunds

19.  How many State visits abroad has the Queen undertaken in her reign?

• 50
• 224
• 117

20.  Which of the following can the Queen NOT do?

• express a political opinion in public
• vote
• drive a car with no vehicle registration plate [number plate]

Highlight the space below to see the answers:

1.  Elizabeth Alexandra Mary
2.  Senior members of the British Royal Family do not have to use a surname but "Mountbatten-Windsor" or "Windsor" are often used to refer to the family as a whole.  Prince William and Prince Harry often use the surname "Wales" as their father, Prince Charles, is the Prince of Wales.
3.  Margaret Rose
4.  At home.
5.  The Queen, as Princess Elizabeth, trained as a driver and mechanic in the ATS [Auxiliary Territorial Service].
6.  The Queen was preceded by her father, King George VI.
7.  Prince Charles, Prince of Wales
8.  The Queen has four children:  Prince Charles, Prince of Wales;  Princess Anne, Princess Royal;  Prince Andrew, Duke of York;  Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.
9.  Buckingham Palace
10.  The Queen's rights are to be consulted by the Prime Minister, to encourage certain actions and to warn against others.
11.  1953
12.  Westminster Abbey
13.  Diamond Jubilee [60 years as Queen].
14.  The Queen famously, and briefly, played the role of a Bond girl with the actor Daniel Craig at Buckingham Palace. She did not jump out of the plane, though!
15.  This is becaue the British weather shoulod be better for parades and ceremonies in June.
16.  You should call the Queen "Your Majesty" at first and then "Ma'am".
17.  British monarchs wear the Imperial State Crown when leaving Wetminster Abbey after their Coronation and for the annual State Opening of Parliament.  It's a very heavy crown!  The monarch is crowned with St Edward's Crown at the Coronation.
18.  Corgis
19.  The Queenn has undertaken117 State visits abroad to date [two of these in her role as Queen of Canada].
20.  The Queen cannot express a political opinion in public or vote.

ST DAVID'S DAY 2016

It's St. David's Day again and here is Miss Katherine Jenkins to sing the Welsh national anthem:

Over at London Town, Modica - Centro Linguistico Internazionale, we've been making some really scary dragons and of course we've got daffodils and Welshcakes!

You can do a quiz to see how much you know about Wales here.

HAPPY ST DAVID'S DAY, EVERYBODY!

IS IT YOUR CUP OF TEA?

Is it your cup of tea?

2015 saw the 150th anniversary of the publication of Alice in Wonderland.

Can you match these “tea” expressions with their meanings? – Sai abbinare queste espressioni idiomatiche con i loro significati? Riguardano tutti il té!

1.    It’s not my cup of tea

2.    Not for all the tea in China

3.    A storm in a teacup

4.    As good as a chocolate teapot

5.    Put the kettle on

     a. To put water on the hob to boil – fare bollire l’acqua [per il té] nel bollitore

b.    A dramatic reaction to something unimportant – una tempesta in un bicchier d’acqua

c.    I don’t like this type of thing – non è di mio gusto / questa cosa non è per me

d.    Not for any price or reward – a nessun prezzo / per niente al mondo

e.    Useless – inutile / utile come il fumo negli occhi

Have you put the kettle on?

Highlight the space below to see the answers: 

1c, 2d, 3b, 4e, 5a.

CONGRATULATIONS, YOUR MAJESTY

Today Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II becomes the longest-reigning monarch in British history. Previously, the record was held by her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria [1819 - 1901].

At London Town, Modica - Centro Linguistico Internazionale we've got cake to celebrate!

Here are some similarities and differences between Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Victoria:

1.  They were both very young when they came to the throne.  Queen Victoria was 18 and Queen Elizabeth II was 25.

2.  Queen Victoria was very much in love with her husband, Prince Albert and Queen Elizabeth II remains very much in love with her husband, Prince Philip.

3.  Queen Victoria had a lonely childhood and her mother was strict. Queen Elizabeth II and her sister, Princess Margaret, had a very happy childhood.

4.  Queen Victoria's only job was being Queen! Queen Elizabeth II, as Princess Elizabeth, served in the ATS [the then women's branch of the British Army] during World War II.

5.  Queen Victoria had nine children and Queen Elizabeth II has four.

6.  Both queens were educated at home.

7.  Both queens survived assassination attempts.

Queen Victoria

8.  Queen Victoria's reign saw the Industrial Revolution in Britain;  Queen Elizabeth's reign has seen the Technological and Digital Revolutions.

9.  During Queen Victoria's reign, the British Empire expanded. The reign of Queen Elizabeth II has seen its end but many of Britain's former colonies are now members of the Commonwealth of Nations.

10.  Queen Victoria only travelled in Europe and often these were private visits. Queen Elizabath II, however, has visited 126 countries, 116 of these on official trips.

11. Queen Victoria loved, and Queen Elizabeth II continues to love, Scotland.

12. Both queens celebrated diamond jubilees, Queen Victoria in 1897 and Queen Elizabeth II in 2012.

ST DAVID'S DAY 2015

Sunday is St David's Day and we're ready early at London Town, Modica - Centro Linguistico Internazionale:

Thanks to Delizie d'Autore for the spectacular dragon cake.   Pat made the traditional Welshcakes.

You will find a St David's Day wordsearch here and a quiz about Wales here.

HAPPY ST DAVID'S DAY, EVERYBODY!

BURNS NIGHT WORDSEARCH

January 25th is Burns Night, when people commemorate the Scottish poet Robert Burns. Can you do the Burns Night wordsearch? 

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

BAGPIPES
BURNS
GRACE
HAGGIS
JANUARY
LADDIE
LASSIE
NIGHT
PIPER
POEM
POET
POETRY
ROBERT
SCOTLAND
SCOTTISH
SELKIRK
SONG
SUPPER
TOAST
WHISKY

Notes:

The Selkirk Grace is a grace [preghiera prima dei pasti] attributed to Burns but it is probably older.

lassie - a Scottish word for a girl or young woman

laddie - a Scottish word for a boy or young man

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!

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.

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

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

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

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