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

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!

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.

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.

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

"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"

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

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

ELECTION DAY WORDSEARCH

E B F L R P G G Y E O C S T U

J T P Z A Q O V T A O T W I U

T P A R X K H A G N A F I X D

Z G T B H S D G S T N O N E E

T Y W S E I H T E Z Q V G A M

W N B J D D I S E F Q Y U S O

E Q E N W T R G R F M O T E C

N L A D U N A C I L B U P E R

F C E E I C A M P A I G N E A

I I N C T S H O U S E L T G T

N C R A T O E Y D A L I F L L

Y Q V S L I V R A O H L A K U

B U V R T E O Y P W F F U O S

B T Z R E Q D N T O L L A B E

Z B Q H N N D K M W T B G T R

BALLOT

CAMPAIGN

CANDIDATE

CONSTITUENCY

DEBATE

DEMOCRAT

ELECTION

EXIT

FIRST

HOUSE

LADY

PARTY

POLL

PRESIDENT

REPUBLICAN

RESULT

STATES

SWING

VOTE

WHITE

4th JULY WORDSEARCH

Wishing all our American friends a very happy 4th July!

4th July Wordsearch

I C A C B S G K S D I V Q Z N

I O J N Y A C K O M Z F K U O

N L O T J D O K U S A I I M I

Y O E C N E D N E P E D N I T

T N I R U T F P I S D C A P U

R I B T N N I F S L O T A Q L

E S S E A R I E E N K R G E O

B T R N T R N T G R A N F W V

I A A S I I A R E D S I A M E

L T T X P Q E L E D L O I R R

Y E S P P S Q I C A E R N L F

R S A T S X F I R E W O R K S

D H E U C E B R A B D I Q X J

C I N C I P J N R I G H T S G

M S P Z U O B X D L B K T R K

ADAMS*

BARBECUE

COLONIST

CONGRESS

DECLARATION

FIREWORKS

FRANKLIN*

HAPPINESS

INDEPENDENCE

JEFFERSON*

LIBERTY

LIFE

PARADE

PICNIC

REVOLUTION

RIGHTS

STARS

STATES

STRIPES

UNITED

*John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were among the signatories to the Declaration of Independence in 1776.