SNOOPY FOR EVER
CULTURE
TOURIST INFORMATION READING COMPREHENSION
Have a look at the following sites, which will link you to interesting reading and some checking of comprehension.
http://www.castles-of-britain.com/
You'll find lots of interesting information here. Good luck!
VIRTUAL TOURS
TOWER OF LONDON
http://www.toweroflondontour.com/
http://www.toweroflondontour.com/kids/
VIRTUAL TOUR OF LONDON AND ITS LANDMARKS
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/virtual_tour_of_london.htm
PHOTO TOUR OF LONDON
http://www.explore-london.co.uk/
VIRTUAL TOURS OF NEW YORK
HAUNTED PLACES
http://www.hauntedamericatours.com/buildings/
http://www.castles-of-britain.com/castle94.htm
http://www.ghost-pictures.org/search-find-ghost-pictures.htm
FANTASY ICE CREAM LOAF
I once won a newspaper competition with an easy dessert like this.
You'll need some plain ice cream (chocolate, vanilla, strawberrry, or a combination of any kind), some biscuits, which can be chocolate, vanilla,etc, and if you wish, chocolate for melting over it.
Soften the ice cream at room temperature for a while. Meanwhile, put some plastic wrap or aluminium foil into a long cake tin, leaving some of the foil or wrap hanging over the sides (to cover the dessert when the tin is full). Spoon some softened ice cream into the cake tin, then sprinkle some crushed biscuits on it. After this, spread some more ice cream over the biscuits, then sprinkle more biscuits on the ice cream, and so on until the tin is full. Finish off with a layer of biscuits. Bring the extra wrap or foil up and cover the dessert. Compact it well, so no air bubbles remain. Place in the freezer until firm. If you wish, you can unmold it when it is frozen and spread melted chocolate over it and place it in the freezer again, covering with film or foil when the chocolate is firm (a few minutes). This recipe can be varied by using different types of ice cream, nuts, raspberries or chopped strawberries instead of the biscuits. To serve, place unmolded ice cream loaf on a dish and slice like a cake. Enjoy yourself!
NEW SEVEN WONDERS COMPETITION
http://www.natural7wonders.com/
If you click on the following link, you'll be directed to the new competition page of New Seven Wonders, but this time of the New Natural Seven Wonders. The competition is in the process of receiving nominations for a future voting process. You can suggest possible natural wonders to be included in the voting. Read the instructions and send your nominations! For example, you could include our Torres del Paine, or the Atacama Desert, or Fray Jorge Park... Use your knowledge of our country to suggest possibilities. You can also include other places in the world, for example, the Grand Canyon of Colorado, Niagara Falls, etc...
GRAND CANYON
NIAGARA FALLS
IGUAZU FALLS
TOMORROW IS THE DAY!
Tomorrow is July 7th (the seventh day of the seventh month of the seventh year) and we shall finally know the final results of the competition which has taken place over several months. I hope our Easter Island statues earn a well-deserved place in the voting. At the moment I am writing this, there is only one hour left. Good luck to us!
ONLY THREE DAYS LEFT...VOTE NOW!
Only three days left for the opportunity to vote...What are you waiting for?
Click on http://www.new7wonders.com/index.php?id=351&L=0 and then submit your selection. You will receive an e mail link to confirm your vote. Do it NOW!
Thank you! Your 'favourite' teacher...
PETER, PAUL AND MARY
This group probably doesn't exist nowadays, but this song has always been one of my favourites.
JONI MITCHELL
Joni Mitchell is one of my favourite folk singers . I have always liked her style.
I hope you enjoy it too.
REMEMBER TO VOTE!
I have so busy lately that I haven't had time to keep up to date. REMEMBER TO VOTE FOR EASTER ISLAND (NINE days left) http://www.new7wonders.com/index.php?id=409
GOOD REASONS FOR LEARNING ENGLISH
Why learn English
Learning to speak English well may be the best thing you can do to improve your life. That's right. Do you think it would be fun to have access to information that other people can't get? Talk and write letters to interesting people that others can't communicate with? Impress people around you whenever you opened your mouth? Make big jumps in your career, leaving others miles behind? You can get all this if you speak English well.
Get access to knowledge
What are you interested in? Is it science? Music? Computers? Health? Business? Sports? Today's media — such as the Internet, television, and the press — give you almost unlimited access to knowledge about your favorite subjects. After all, we live in the information age, don't we? There's only one problem. Most of this knowledge is in English. Here are some examples of knowledge you can use if you know English:
· Most pages on the Web. That's over a billion (1,000,000,000) pages of information! It's amazing that learning just one language gives you access to almost all knowledge on the Internet.
· Books — on any subject, from all over the world. Read books by British or American authors, and books translated from other languages. Whatever you're interested in, you can read about it in English!
· The press. Only English-language magazines and newspapers can be bought in every part of the world. You don't have to search for Time, Newsweek, or the International Herald Tribune!
· Science. English is the key to the world of science. In 1997, 95% of the articles in the Science Citation Index were written in English. Only about 50% of them were from English-speaking countries like the USA or Britain.
· News reports. Watch international television networks, such as CNN International and NBC. They broadcast news much faster, and more professionally, than smaller, national networks. And you can watch them everywhere in the world.
Communicate with people
We like to call English "the language of communication". Why? Because it seems all the people in the world have agreed to use English to talk to each other.
· About 1,500,000,000 people in the world speak English. Another 1,000,000,000 are learning it.
· 75% of the world's letters and postcards are written in English.
· Almost all international conferences and competitions are conducted in English. For example, the Olympics and the Miss World contest.
· Diplomats and politicians from different countries use English to communicate with each other. English is the main language of organizations like the United Nations, NATO, and the European Free Trade Association. If you can communicate in English, you can:
· Contact people from all over the world. Talk about your ideas and opinions on Internet discussion groups. Send e-mail to interesting people. Learn about their life and culture.
· Travel more easily. Communicate with people wherever you go — English is spoken in more than 100 countries. Ask directions, have a conversation, or... ask for help. Who knows, maybe English will save your life someday!
Push your career forward
If you want a good job in business, technology, or science, get out of that armchair and start learning English now! (If you already have a good job, start learning before you lose it!) Knowing English will let you:
· Put "excellent knowledge of English" on your CV. Get your dream job, and earn more money.
· Gain technical knowledge. English is the language of technology, especially high technology like computer science, genetics, and medicine. If you're going to read about technology, you'll probably have to do it in English.
· Learn computer science. Read technical articles without difficulty. Or write your own articles!
· Be a world-class businessman (or -woman). It's simple. International business is done in English. And all business today is international. So if you want to play, you have to know English — to contact other businesspeople, go to conferences, read international business newspapers and magazines, etc.
· Become a better scientist. Contact scientists from other countries, go to international conferences, visit academic centers abroad. Learn about new scientific discoveries by reading papers, books, and magazines.
Use your computer more effectively. Most computer applications are in English, so you will understand them better — and become a better employee.
· Learn new skills for your job. The section "Get access to knowledge" explains how English helps you learn.
Enjoy art like never before
English lets you feel the culture of the world like no other language. With a good knowledge of the English language, you can do wonderful things:
· Watch American and British films in the original. Once you try it, you'll never go back to dubbed versions!
· Read great books. Every famous book was written in English or it was translated into English. There is an amazing number of titles — from classic plays like Hamlet to modern thrillers like Jurassic Park.
· Enjoy English-language music more. Believe us: music is much better if you can understand the words.
English is easy to learn
English is not only the most useful language in the world. It is also one of the easiest languages to learn and to use:
· Simple alphabet — no special symbols such as é or ä. Type in sweet, part, film on your computer. Now try süß (German), (Polish), (Russian). Which is easier?
· Easy plurals — simply add s to a word. One car, five cars; one telephone, two telephones... There are very few exceptions.
· Words are easy to learn.
In French, it's la fille and le chien.
In German, it's das Mädchen and der Hund.
In English, they're just a girl and a dog. And that's all you need to know.
· Short words. Most of the basic words are short: run, work, big, go, man. Long words are often shortened: sitcom = situational comedy, fridge = refrigerator, OS = operating system. Speaking English saves you time. :-)
· Words don't change. But in many languages, one word has many forms:
English: The man is blind.
German: Der Mann ist blind.
English: This is a blind man.
German: Das ist ein blinder Mann.
English: I see a blind man.
German: Ich sehe einen blinden Mann.
· Call everybody "you". You can say "Do you speak English?" to your friend or to your teacher. In other languages, you have to use the right word for the right person. In English, everybody is equal. :-)
· English is everywhere. You can easily access English-language television, music, websites, magazines, etc. You don't have to learn from boring textbooks. You can learn and use your English at the same time. Using your English is especially important because it increases your desire to learn.
Get satisfaction
English is not only useful — it gives you a lot of satisfaction:
· Making progress feels great. We'll never forget the moment we discovered we could speak with Americans or watch TV in English.
· You will enjoy learning English, if you remember that every hour you spend gets you closer to perfection.
· Using English is fun, too, because every sentence you speak or write reminds you of your success. English makes you a more powerful, happier person. It is not difficult to imagine some situations where knowing English gives you a great feeling.
(Taken from Wikipedia)
WOMEN IN ART
This has nothing to do with English, but I found it so good that I couldn't resist putting it on my blog! I've already watched it several times and enjoyed it more each one. I hope you enjoy it too.
THE ABC OF A FRIEND
Look at all the things a friend is to you. Friends are forever, so care for them and cherish them. Real friends don't come easily.
VIEWS OF EASTER ISLAND (HAVE YOU VOTED YET?)
THE NEW SEVEN WONDERS OF THE MODERN WORLD (only 34 days left)
If you have already voted for the new seven wonders of the world, good for you! If you haven't, there is still time to do it. Just go to the following link, http://www.new7wonders.com/index.php, and click on VOTE ONLINE, which will direct you to another page where you'll have to register your e mail and following that, you will receive via e mail a site to vote for seven of the twenty-one options. Please consider voting for our national option, the Easter Island moais. Remember, a chance like this will not be given for the next 2,000 years.
Statues of Easter Island (10th - 16th Century) Easter Island, Chile
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Discovered on Easter Sunday, 1722 by Dutch explorer Jakob Roggeveen, this collection of 25 meter-high stone sculptures still puzzles historians and archaeologists as to its origins. It is believed that a society of Polynesian origin settled here in the 4th century and established a unique tradition of monumental sculpture. Between the 10th and 16th centuries, they erected the enormous stone figures, known as the Moai, which have long fascinated the entire world and endowed this island with a mythical atmosphere.THE EARTH AT NIGHT
What a wonderful photo! But... are you helping your planet to save energy? Do you remember to turn off lights when you're not using them? Who knows what the future holds for you and your descendents. Let's try to do our bit in the conservation of energy and energetic resources.
I hope everyone had a wonderful day at the beach!
HAND-PAINTED EASTER EGGS
EASTER IS HERE
Happy Easter to everyone!
With love from
ME
REMEMBER TO VOTE FOR EASTER ISLAND MOAIS
If you haven't done so yet, please take a few minutes to vote. Follow the link http://new7wonders.com and vote online. You will be sent a mail with the link to where you can vote.It's free, and you will be doing your country a service, promoting tourism to Easter Island. You won't be alive for the next opportunity to vote, which will be in 2,000 years in the future. So it's now or never!