COMMONWEALTH DAY - 11 MARCH 2013

‘Opportunity through Enterprise’ – the Commonwealth theme for 2013

This year, Commonwealth Day will be 

celebrated across the world on Monday, 11 

March. Since 1977, Commonwealth Day has 

been celebrated on the second Monday in 

March each year – a day when schools are 

open in all Commonwealth countries – and is 

an opportunity to promote understanding on 

democratic values, the dignity of citizens and opportunities for youth across the 

Commonwealth.

In 1958, Commonwealth Day replaced Empire Day, which had been celebrated on 24 May since Queen Victoria's reign. On that day school children would wear red, white and blue, the colours of the Union Jack.

In the United Kingdom, Commonwealth Day is marked by a multi-faith service in Westminster Abbey, normally attended by Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth, with the Commonwealth Secretary-General and Commonwealth High Commissioners in London.

Commonwealth Countries

Presently, there are 54 states that are members of the Commonwealth of Nations.

Three members are in Europe, twelve in North America, one in South America, nineteen in Africa, eight in Asia, and eleven in Oceania (including one suspended member, Fiji). There are six former members, four of which no longer exist.

More information link http://www.thecommonwealth.org/

CHIMNEY ATTACHED TO SISTINE CHAPEL ROOF

Work crews in harnesses negotiated the roof of the Sistine Chapel to install a chimney, which will be used to indicate when a new pope has been selected. Deborah Gembara reports.

 

TRANSCRIPT

REPORTER: With days to go before cardinals begin the conclave to elect a new Pope, teams are hard at work to make sure the Sistine Chapel is ready. Today's task --- attaching a chimney to the roof. Workmen in safety harnesses spent the morning negotiating the steep incline to put the small unit in place, making adjustments as needed. The chimney, specifically the smoke coming from it, is how the conclave will signal their progress to the outside world. Twice a day, cardinals will burn their ballots in a cast iron stove that dates back 1939 while a second more modern stove will be use to send up the smoke. White smoke, as seen here in 2005, means they've chosen a new Pope. Black smoke means they're still working on it. Inside the chapel, custom built tables and chairs are being in put in place as well as a special walkway. Vatican Press Secretary, Father Thomas Rosica. 

FATHER THOMAS ROSICA, PRESS SECRETARY OF THE VATICAN: "The reason why there is an elevated floor is because the Sistine Chapel has an uneven pavement. There are two, if not three different levels plus the steps going up to the church. To facilitate a dignified procession and taking into account that people walk in, there's construction that goes on so that the whole section where the tables are, be level." 

REPORTER: One hundred and fifteen cardinals will participate in the conclave which kicks off on Tuesday.

PET SPEAKING PARTS

FCE SPEAKING PARTS

FCE USE OF ENGLISH PAPERS_ INTERACTIVE EXERCISES

The First Certificate in English (FCE) is  one of the examinations available from University of Cambridg ESOL Examinations in England. Its possession proves one's adquacy in the English language, and its successful completion means that one is able to interact socially efficiently.

On the following link, click on the image, you'll find  interactive exercises for the Cambridge First Use of English papers. 

FCE SPEAKING PRACTICE TEST

If you've signed up for the First Certificate in English exam and need help with the Speaking test, then this page is here to help.

I hope you'll find it useful.

SONG: 93 MILLION MILES - JASON MRAZ

Link on the image and fill the gaps in the exercise which helps you to learn some words and practise your listening skill.

Enjoy it!

POPE BENEDICT XVI - FINAL GENERAL AUDIENCE

Pope Benedict XVI, who will be called "pope emeritus" when he steps down as the head of the Catholic Church, held his final general audience in front of thousands of pilgrims in St Peter's Square, the eve of his resignation. 

The emotional, historic farewell delivered Wednesday 27th February  before an admiring crowd  may have been the last public appearance by the pontiff.

Earlier in the day, the Pope arrived for his sendoff in the open-sided “popemobile,” passing through tens of thousands that had crowded into a Roman piazza. He stopped several times to bless and kiss babies and children.

Pope Benedict XVI assured a huge, cheering crowd at the Vatican Wednesday that he was not abandoning the Catholic Church, saying he would remain at its service through prayer.

OSCARS 2013: ADELE WINS BEST ORIGINAL SONG

BEST ORIGINAL SONG: SKYFALL

A clearly emotional Adele thanked songwriting partner Paul 

Epworth for "believing in me all the 

time.” She also gave a shoutout to husband Simon Konecki 

between sobs, saying “my man, I love 

you baby.”

Adele, the first female singer in history to top the Billboard 

artist, album and singles list in the same 

year, already took home a Golden Globe for the title track 

from the James Bond film earlier this 

year.

Adele had performed the song on stage earlier in the evening - part of an Oscar telecast heavily 

honoring music in movies.

OSCARS 2013 _ "ARGO" WINS FOR BEST PICTURE

ARGO

 Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck and George Clooney, Producers

FILM SYNOPSIS

When six Americans take refuge in the Canadian embassy in Tehran during the 1979 hostage crisis, U.S. government agent Tony Mendez turns to Hollywood for help.  Working with a producer and a makeup artist, he devises a rescue mission that centers on the creation of a fake film production company scouting locations in Iran.

ENGLISH IS NOT PHONETIC

Some languages are "phonetic". That means you can look at a written word and know how to pronounce it. Or you can hear a word and know how to spell it. With phonetic languages, there is a direct relationship between the spelling and the sound.

It is important to understand that English is not a phonetic language. So we often do not say a word the same way it is spelled.

Some words can have the same spelling but different pronunciation, for example:

• I like to read [ri:d].
• I have read [red] that book.

Some words have different spelling but the same pronunciation, for example:

• I have read [red] that book.
• My favourite colour is red [red].

You can listen to these four sentences here.

Students sometimes ask: "Why is English so difficult to pronounce?" This is really the wrong question. The right question would be: "Why is English so difficult to spell?"

All languages are spoken first and written second. If you only speak English, it is very easy to pronounce. The difficulty comes when you write English and then try to speak it the same way as you write it. When you practise pronunciation, try to forget about written English. Think only about the sound of the words.

To illustrate this point, we say that the spelling "ough" can be pronounced with seven different sounds. But this is the wrong way to put it. It would be better to say that the seven different sounds can be represented in writing by the same spelling. So you see that it cannot help at all to think about "ough". It's much more helpful to think about the seven sounds:

1. though (like o in go)
2. through (like oo in too)
3. cough (like off in offer)
4. rough (like uff in suffer)
5. plough (like ow in flower)
6. ought (like aw in saw)
7. borough (like a in above)*

Think and practise the sounds of English. Afterwards, you can say how silly the spelling is. It is English spelling that causes the difficulty, not English pronunciation! By Josef Essberger

POPE BENEDICT XVI RESIGNS

Pontiff, 85, who has arthritis, says he will step down on 28 February after nearly eight years as head of Catholic church

Pope Benedict XVI stunned the world and left the Catholic church reeling when he said on Monday that he would resign – the first pope to do so since the middle ages.

The move, announced without warning, will take place on 28 February and leave the papacy vacant until a successor is chosen.

A Vatican spokesman said the pontiff's aides were "incredulous" when he told them he would step down because he was too weak to fulfil his duties. The pope summoned a meeting of cardinals to tell them of "a decision of great importance for the life of the church".

His successor is expected to be elected by the end of March and possibly for the beginning of holy week on 24 March. Pope Benedict will honour public commitments and engagements until the date of his resignation, after which he will move to a summer residence near Rome and then to a former monastery within Vatican territory.

Benedict, who became the 265th pope in 2005, has arthritis, particularly in his knees, hips and ankles. He had been due to travel to Brazil, the largest Catholic country in the world, in July for a youth festival, but concerns had been raised among Vatican observers about whether he was fit enough.

A voluntary papal resignation is rare – certainly in recent centuries. Pope Celestine V exercised his right to abdicate in 1294. Pope Gregory XII resigned in 1415 to end the western schism.

CHINESE NEW YEAR: LONDON PARADE

Thousands of people have turned out in the rain to celebrate the Chinese New Year in central London.

A parade, starting at Trafalgar Square, saw floats and beating drums head through the city towards Chinatown.

About 100 world-renowned acts, including singers, dancers and musicians, performed in the square to welcome in the Year of the Snake.

People were also treated to a Flying Lion Dance in front of the National Gallery.

Chinatown hosted a number of activities with traditional craft stalls and food stands lining the streets.

SONG: WHAT MAKES YOU BEATIFUL _ ONE DIRECTION

Liam:
You're insecure
Don't know what for
You're turning heads when you walk through the door
Don't need make up
To cover up
Being the way that you are is enough

Harry:
Everyone else in the room can see it
Everyone else but you-ou-ou

Chorus:
Baby you light up my world like nobody else
The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed
But when you smile at the ground it aint hard to tell
You don't know (oh oh)
You don't know you're beautiful!
If only you saw what I can see
You'll understand why I want you so desperately
Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe
You don't know (oh oh)
You don't know you're beautiful!
(Oh oh)
That's what makes you beautiful!

Zayn:
So c-come on
You got it wrong
To prove I'm right I put it in a so-o-ong
I don't why
You're being shy
And turn away when I look into your eye eye eyes

Harry:
Everyone else in the room can see it
Everyone else but you

Chorus:
Baby you light up my world like nobody else
The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed
But when you smile at the ground it aint hard to tell
You don't know (oh oh)
You don't know you're beautiful!
If only you saw what I can see
You'll understand why I want you so desperately
Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe
You don't know (oh oh)
You don't know you're beautiful!
(Oh oh)
That's what makes you beautiful

Bridge:
Nana (chant)

Harry:
Baby you light up my world like nobody else
The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed
But you when smile at the ground it aint hard to tell
You don't know (oh oh)
You don't know you're beautiful!

Chorus:
Baby you light up my world like nobody else
The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed
But when you smile at the ground it aint hard to tell
You don't know (oh oh)
You don't know you're beautiful!
If only you saw what I can see
You'll understand why I want you so desperately
Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe
You don't know (oh oh)
You don't know you're beautiful!
(Oh oh)
You don't know you're beautiful!
(Oh oh)

Harry:
That's what makes you beautiful!

INFINITIVE OR GERUND

INFINITIVE-GERUND EXERCISES 1

INFINITIVE-GERUND EXERCISES 2


INFINITIVE-GERUND EXERCISES 3

INFINITIVE-GERUND EXERCISES 4

INFINITIVE-GERUND EXERCISES 5

INFINITIVE-GERUND EXERCISES 6

INFINITIVE-GERUND EXERCISES 7

INFINITIVE-GERUND EXERCISES 8

JANE AUSTEN_ 200TH ANNIVERSARY "PRIDE AND PREJUDICE"

 "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife"

Two hundred years since the publication of Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen’s most famous novel, readers continue to be entertained and illuminated by her work.

Austen’s novels brilliantly combine drama with humour as they explore the enduring truths about the ways in which we look for happiness and a sense of belonging. The novels dramatise issues of class and the expectations and conventions of the time during which the books were written.

Jane Austen’s novels provide us with rich examples of the uses of language to describe behaviour and the ways in which we all think and feel. Even though her novels are now two hundred years old, they remain relevant and resonant in our lives today in many ways.

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE- 200th ANNIVERSARY

Two centuries after the publication of Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen's fans believe her work is still as relevant today as it has ever been.



On January 29 1813, Jane Austen wrote to her sister Cassandra to tell her the good news that Pride and Prejudice, which was to become her most famous novel, had been published.

"I want to tell you that I have got my own darling child from London," she wrote.

"Her own darling child of course means her book," explained Louise West, curator of Jane Austen's House Museum in Chawton in Hampshire.

"This tells you exactly what Jane thought of her books. They were her children. She had no children of her own and these where she poured all her maternal feelings I suppose."

Two centuries later, Austen's work remains popular both in the UK and around the world.

Jill Webster, secretary of the Kent branch of the Jane Austen Society, said it was easy to see why: "They are very simple plots, they're about love and marriage and money and power and small, domestic family settings.
"I think they're applicable to any time and any age".

PEACE DAY - COMMERCIAL

ORAL ENGLISH ONLINE

Learning Oral English Online is an online conversation book for ESL learners who want to practice and improve their listening and speaking skills. 

ENGLISH GRAMMAR REVISION FOR YOU

Choose from 4287 random sentences to practise the different tenses according to your level of English. You have to form positive and negative sentenses and questions.

DAYS OF THE WEEK EXERCISES AND SONG

Here you can practice the days of the week. Enjoy it!

Now listen the song " Friday I'm in love" by the Cure and try to fill the gaps. 

FRIDAY I'M IN LOVE The Cure I don't care if  's blue 's grey and  too  I don't care about you It's  I'm in love  you can fall apart ,  break my heart  doesn't even start It's  I'm in love  wait and  always comes too late but  never hesitates... I don't care if  's black ,  heart attack  never looking back It's  I'm in love  you can hold your head ,  stay in bed or  watch the walls instead It's  I'm in love  wait and  always comes too late but  never hesitates... dressed up to the eyes it's a wonderful surprise to see your shoes and your spirits rise throwing out your frown and just smiling at the sound and as sleek as a shriek spinning round and round always take a big bite it's such a gorgeous sight to see you in the middle of the night you can never get enough enough of this stuff it's  I'm in love And I don't care if  's blue 's grey and  too  I don't care about you It's  I'm in love  you can fall apart ,  break my heart  doesn't even start It's  I'm in love

LONDON FIREWORKS 2013

THE QUEEN'S SPEECH 2012

For the first time, the Queen's message will be broadcast in 3D - a technological advance the Queen was happy to embrace.

GANGNAM STYLE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

After becoming the most watched youtube video ever and after hundreds of spin-offsand parodies, ‘Gangnam style’ is  now inspiring amazing Christmas light displays.  A house in Perth, Australia, has been decorated with 41,000 bulbs which flash in time to the famous tune.  It is part of a project to raisemoney for the local community.  A video of the display has had over 60,000 views on you tube.  Its creator says that the neighbours love it and that it only adds 10$ per week to his electricitybill.

SONG:JINGLE BELLS WITH LYRICS

Believe it or not Jingle Bells, one of the most famous American Christmas songs, was originally written for Thanksgiving! The author and composer of Jingle Bells was a minister called James Pierpoint who composed the song in 1857 for children celebrating his Boston Sunday School Thanksgiving. The song was so popular that it was repeated at Christmas, and indeed Jingle Bells has been reprised ever since. The essence of a traditional Christmas is captured in the lyrics of Jingle Bells and the sound effects using the bells have become synonymous with the arrival of Father Christmas or Santa Claus to the delight of children of all ages!

POPE BENEDICT XVI JOINS TWITTER

Pope Benedict XVI has launched an official Twitter account with the handle @pontifex. But he won't tweet before Wednesday, Dec. 12, according to the Vatican.

The move was announced in November, when a Vatican official said the Pope (or, more precisely, whoever handles his Twitter account) would be tweeting fairly infrequently, with his tweets "not veering far from his texts."

The Pope's account currently doesn't have any tweets. It follows 7 other accounts, which are all versions of the same account in different languages: German, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Italian, French and Arabic.

The new account is not the Pope's first encounter with Twitter; last year, he sent a tweet from the Vatican's official account, coinciding with a new Vatican information site, news.va.