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."