Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho hopes Chelsea win the UEFA Champions League after seeing his side knocked out by Bayern Munich on Wednesday night.
The Spanish giants, trailing 2-1 from the first leg, raced into to 2-0 lead inside 15 minutes at the Bernabeu thanks to a double from Cristiano Ronaldo, but Bayern levelled the tie through Arjen Robben's penalty just before the half hour mark.
Neither side could then break the deadlock as the game drifted into extra-time and finally penalties and after Ronaldo, Kaka and Sergio Ramos had all missed for the hosts, Bastian Schweinsteiger rattled home his spot-kick which means Bayern will become the first side to host a Champions League final on their own ground when they face Chelsea on May 19th.
With his side out of the running, Mourinho hopes the Blues can conquer Europe for the first time, having previously spent three seasons in charge at Stamford Bridge.
The Portuguese boss praised his former club for their stout defensive performance against Barcelona at Camp Nou on Tuesday and was scathing of those who criticised their tactics. (Sky Sports)
Fabregas - Result was unfair / Barca ace insists they should have won
Cesc Fabregas congratulated Chelsea for making the UEFA Champions League final, but insisted Barcelona should have won.
The English side came from behind at the Camp Nou to draw their semi-final second leg 2-2 and send them into the final.
Fabregas and his team-mates toiled against ten-men for the whole of the second half after John Terry was sent-off - but they could not find another goal.
The former Arsenal star insists that Barca should have gone through.
"First of all we congratulate them, they are in other final and we wish them all the best," he told Sky Sports News.
"If we had to lose we wanted to lose like this, we played our style of football."
"We created a lot of chances and we deserved to go through but football sometimes is not fair and on this occasion Chelsea went through and we will see what happens." (Sky Sports)
The example letter below shows you a general layout for a formal letter.
Rules for Writing Formal Letters in English
In English there are a number of conventions that should be used when writing a formal or business letter. Furthermore, you try to write as simply and as clearly as possible, and not to make the letter longer than necessary. Remember not to use informal language like contractions.
Addresses:
1) Your Address The return address should be written in the top right-hand corner of the letter. 2) The Address of the person you are writing to The inside address should be written on the left, starting below your address.
Date:
Different people put the date on different sides of the page. You can write this on the right or the left on the line after the address you are writing to. Write the month as a word.
Salutation or greeting:
1) Dear Sir or Madam, If you do not know the name of the person you are writing to, use this. It is always advisable to try to find out a name. 2) Dear Mr Jenkins, If you know the name, use the title (Mr, Mrs, Miss or Ms, Dr, etc.) and the surname only. If you are writing to a woman and do not know if she uses Mrs or Miss, you can use Ms, which is for married and single women.
Ending a letter:
1) Yours faithfully If you do not know the name of the person, end the letter this way. 2) Yours sincerely If you know the name of the person, end the letter this way. 3) Your signature Sign your name, then print it underneath the signature. If you think the person you are writing to might not know whether you are male of female, put you title in brackets after your name.
Content of a Formal Letter
First paragraph The first paragraph should be short and state the purpose of the letter- to make an enquiry, complain, request something, etc.
The paragraph or paragraphs in the middle of the letter should contain the relevant information behind the writing of the letter. Most letters in English are not very long, so keep the information to the essentials and concentrate on organising it in a clear and logical manner rather than expanding too much.
Last Paragraph The last paragraph of a formal letter should state what action you expect the recipient to take- to refund, send you information, etc. (Using English.com)
The World Book Day is a day organized by UNESCO to be held at international level in order to promote reading, publishing and the protection of intellectual property through copyright.
Why April 23rd?
You should know that the choosing of April 23rd as World Book and Copyright Day, comes from the coincidence of the deaths of three essential writers in the history of literature such as Miguel de Cervantes, William Shakespeare and "The Inca" Garcilaso de la Vega on the same date, April 23rd, 1616.
Although we could add a small rider about it, since the three deaths really did not happen on the same day, because the Shakespeare's death date belong to the Julian calendar, which would be May the 3rd in the Gregorian calendar and Cervantes died on the 22nd and was buried on 23.
In addition, April the 23rd also happens to be the date of the death of William Wordsworth (1850) and Josep Pla (1981). The proposal was presented by the Unesco International Publishers, with the aim of promoting culture and the protection of intellectual property through copyright. On November 15th, 1995 the UNESCO General Conference approved the proposal in Paris, from which on April 23rd would be the "International Day of Book and Copyright." (Fundación de la Lengua Española)
The Spanish omelette is one of the most famous recipes in Spain, with lot of variations. Usually we make the “tortilla española” with eggs, potatoes and olive oil, but sometimes we use also onions, peppers or even “chorizo” (red sausage).
Ingredients: 4 pers.
1kg. potatoes, 6 medium sized eggs, salt, olive oil.
20cm round non stick frying pan
Preparation:
Peel the potatoes and cut into medium sized squares. Sprinkle with salt and fry in hot olive oil until they begin to go golden. It’s better if they are not well cooked and are almost boiled in the oil, so that the omelette is moister. Drain and set aside.
Lightly beat the eggs with a little salt. Mix with the potatoes. Place a small amount of oil in the frying pan and heat. Pour the mixture into the pan and cook on a low heat for 15 minutes or until you see it going golden. Do not overcook as it will dry up.
When it is ready on one side, with the help of a plate of the top of a saucepan, turn it around and cook the other side. When cooked place on a serving dish. Serve immediately, cut into triangles.
You can accompany it with either mayonnaise or tomato sauce. You can also serve cold as an aperitif at any time or take on a picnic. There are many variation of the Spanish omelette. I like to make it with potatoes and onions but it can also be prepared with peppers, beans, asparagus etc… (PepeKitchen)
A group of builders in Russia's Chechnya are claiming to
have unearthed the 'world's biggest dinosaur eggs.'
The discovery was made as the men were blasting through a mountainside to
create a new road.
A team of geologists looked at the smooth, oval rock-like forms and it was
not long before they began to believe they were staring at huge fossils.
The eggs range from 25 centimetres to one metre in size and more than 40 have
been found so far.
However, not everyone is so
convinced.
One Russian dinosaur expert,
or palaeontologist as they are also know, doesn't think the eggs are real.
"Unfortunately, it's not true.
Dinosaurs laid small eggs and they did not lay eggs while jumping about like
mountain goats" she said.
Dinosaurs have been extinct
for 65 million years, but new discoveries of their bones and eggs are still made
today. (CBBC Newsround)
Easter is a spring festival that celebrates the central event of the Christian faith: the resurrection of Christ three days after his death by crucifixion. Easter is the oldest Christian holiday and the most important day of the church year. All the Christian movable feasts and the entire liturgical year of worship are arranged around Easter.
Easter Sunday is preceded by the season of Lent , a 40-day period of fasting and repentence culminating in Holy Week, and followed by a 50-day Easter Season that stretches from Easter to Pentecost.
Name of Easter
The origins of the word "Easter" are not certain, but probably derive from Estre, an Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring . The German word Ostern has the same derivation, but most other languages follow the Greek term used by the early Christians: pascha, from the Hebrew pesach (Passover).
In Latin, Easter is Festa Paschalia (plural because it is a seven-day feast), which became the basis for the French Pâques, the Italian Pasqua, and the Spanish Pascua. Also related are the Scottish Pask, the Dutch Paschen, the Danish Paaske, and the Swedish Pask. (ReligionFacts)
Peter Fechter was shot by GDR border guards on 17 August 1962 as he and a coworker attempted to climb over the Wall to West Berlin. Severely wounded, he fell back onto the border strip at the base of the Wall, and lay there without medical assistance as he bled to death. West Berlin police were not permitted to intervene, nor did the border troops of the western Allies at Checkpoint Charlie get involved. He was not carried away by GDR border guards until almost an hour later. His coworker was able to escape over the Wall unhurt.
West Berliners who had witnessed his death laid flowers and wreaths at the site along the Wall that same day and set up a memorial that still exists today. Berliners and members of the government gather here every year on August 13, the anniversary of the Wall’s construction, to honor the memory of the victims of the Berlin Wall. (Berlin.de)
The notion of younger children doing homework is under attack. New research
suggests that homework for younger children does not really provide any benefit
and teachers only give it because parents want it. Professor Richard Walker of
Sydney University said that elementary (primary) school children do hours of
homework every week but it has minimal, if any, effect on their test grades or
level. He said the situation was little better for junior high school kids. He
suggested: “I don't think anyone except senior high school students should be
doing a couple of hours of homework.” Dr Walker said: “A little bit of homework
is probably OK at all ages, if part of the reason is to help kids become
self-directed learners.”
The study from Sydney University comes days after calls by parents in France
to boycott homework and read a book instead. Jean-Jacques Hazan of the French
Parents Association said: “If the child hasn't succeeded in doing the exercise
at school, I don't see how they're going to succeed at home.” He added that
schools were pushing the responsibility of teaching onto parents, which causes
family friction. “We're asking parents to do the work that should be done in
lessons,” he said. A teaching spokeswoman agreed, saying: “Not all families have
the time or the necessary knowledge to help their offspring.” French primary
schools still give homework despite a five-decade-long ban on it. (Breaking News English)
Norman Rockwell was born on February 3, 1894 in New York City. When he was 14 years of age, Rockwell began studying art at The New York School of Art. Realizing that he wanted to be an artist, he left high school at age 16 to attend the National Academy of Design, shortly afterwards moving to the Art Students League where he was taught by Thomas Fogarty and George Bridgman.
Rockwell’s talent was recognized by others while he was still in his teens. At only 15, he painted his first commission (four Christmas cards). Then, at 19, he was hired as the art director of Boys' Life, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) publication. His first published magazine cover, Scout at Ship's Wheel, appeared on Boys' Life September 1913 edition.
When he was 21, Rockwell moved to New Rochelle, New York. While there, he shared a studio with Clyde Forsythe who worked for The Saturday Evening Post. At Forsythe’s urging, Rockwell submitted a cover painting to the Post. Boy with Baby Carriage was published on May 20, 1916. It was the first of over 300 covers painted by Norman Rockwell that graced The Saturday Evening Post over the next 47 years. Rockwell's success on the cover of the Post led to covers for other magazines of the day, including The Literary Digest, The Country Gentleman, Leslie's Weekly, Judge, Peoples Popular Monthly and Life magazine.
1916 was memorable for Rockwell in that not only did he paint a Post cover, but he also married Irene O'Connor. Unfortunately, the marriage was not a success and they divorced in 1930. Later that year, he married Mary Barstow, a schoolteacher, and fathered three sons, Jarvis, Thomas, and Peter. The family moved to Arlington, Vermont, in 1939, and Rockwell's work began to reflect small-town American life.
While in Arlington, Rockwell painted his famous Four Freedoms paintings - Freedom of Speech, Freedom to Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear. These toured the United States and, through the sale of war bonds, raised more than $130 million for the war effort.
The fifties and sixties were decades of tremendous change in Rockwell’s personal life. In 1953, the Rockwell family moved from Vermont to Massachusetts. Six years later, Mary Barstow Rockwell died unexpectedly.
In 1960, Rockwell published his autobiography, My Adventures as an Illustrator, in collaboration with his son, Thomas. Excerpts from the best-selling book were printed in eight consecutive issues of The Saturday Evening Post, with Rockwell's famous Triple Self-Portrait on the cover of the first.
In 1961, Rockwell married Molly Punderson, a retired teacher. In 1963, Rockwell left The Saturday Evening Post and began to work for Look magazine. During the next ten years, Rockwell painted pictures illustrating contemporary issues such as civil rights, America's war on poverty, and the exploration of space.
In 1973, Rockwell established a trust to preserve his artistic legacy by placing his works in the custodianship of the Old Corner House Stockbridge Historical Society (now known as the Norman Rockwell Museum at Stockbridge). In 1976, knowing he was in failing health, Rockwell had his studio and its contents added to the trust.
In 1977, Rockwell received the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Norman Rockwell passed away on November 8, 1978 from emphysema. He was 84 years of age.
In 2000, the New York Times stated that Rockwell was “the greatest artist of the last century,” and the art journal Apollo, used a Rockwell image on its millennium issue cover. His retrospective ‘Pictures for the American People’ traveled for two years across the USA ending at the Guggenheim Museum (bastion of abstract expressionism) - a major tribute to both Rockwell and the illustration. Today, Rockwell himself is recognized as an icon with such timeless phrases as, “it is as American as apple pie, baseball and Norman Rockwell.” (Norman Rockwell Bronze)
It's 100 years since the Titanic set sail from Southampton on its famous journey to New York.
More than 1,500 of the ship's crew and passengers died when it hit an iceberg and sank, five days into its trip across the Atlantic.
It was the biggest, fastest and most luxurious passenger ship of the time.
Many of the cruise liner's staff were from the city of Southampton, where a special ceremony took place.
Southampton remembers
More than 650 descendants of the crew members and 600 local schoolchildren took part at the dock where the boat set sail.
A minute's silence was held to remember those who died, and people threw wreaths into the water.
The schoolchildren paraded through the streets, each holding pictures of the ship's crew.
The parade finished at the new SeaCity Museum, which was formally opened by Olympic rowing champion James Cracknell.
Cruise follows Titanic's original route
As well as the ceremony, a memorial cruise has also set sail to mark the anniversary.
The Titanic memorial cruise set off on Sunday and is taking some of the family members of those who sailed on the original boat on a special journey to New York.
The MS Balmoral will follow the same route as the Titanic, even visiting the spot where the liner sank. (CBBC Newsround)
Spain celebrates Easter Week much more than most European countries. During the whole of Semana Santa, (Holy Week), street processions are organised in most Spanish towns each evening, from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday.
People carry statues of saints around on floats or wooden platforms, and an atmosphere of mourning - which can seem quite oppressive to onlookers - and the Easter week processions end with Easter Sunday, a day full of light and colour when church and cathedral bells are heard ringing throughout the country.
In some of the processions, marchers wear clothes reminiscent of the Klu Klux Klan. In fact, their clothes are meant to depict the Nazarenos, people from Nazareth. The religious fraternities and brotherhoods are responsible for carrying the statues and organising the penitents and musicians. The Nazarenos follow the people who carry the floats bearing sculptures and models of biblical scenes.
The people who carry the weight of the floats are called "costaleros" and are expected the carry these "thrones" with solemnity and grace. They use a small cushion, "costal" to protect themselves from getting sores from the wood rubbing against their skin during the long processions.
The most famous Easter celebrations are held in various Andalusian towns, Valladolid, Toledo, Segovia, Burgos, Zamora and Cuenca. (Euroresidentes)
Make your own Easter bunnies with this chocolate rabbit recipe. Easy to make, you can also pop an Easter egg inside the bunny before you seal the rabbit together for an extra Easter surprise! Ingredients:
400g dark, milk or white chocolate, chopped
Method: You will need four rabbit (or egg or chicken) moulds for this recipe.
Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (bowl shouldn’t touch the water). Or in the microwave on medium heat in 30 second intervals. Coat the inside of each mould with chocolate – use the back of a spoon, a pastry brush or a clean paintbrush. Keep the edges of the mould smooth. Refrigerate for 10 minutes until set, then do another ‘coat’. Refrigerate for an hour. Carefully press the rabbit halves out of the moulds and use some melted chocolate to join them together. (Kidspot Kitchen)
Scientists from the German Institute of Human Nutrition say they have found proof that the beer belly is a myth.
By studying the hip and waist measurements of nearly 20,000 people over nine years and charting how much beer they drank each day, they found that beer drinking caused overall weight gain rather than causing excess fat in just the stomach area. (BBC News)
at Camp Nou on Tuesday and was scathing of those who criticised their tactics. (Sky Sports)
