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.