Stonehenge

Stonehenge
Stonehenge, England

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Thursday 30 October 2014

Halloween Quiz

 
 
Surf the Net and try to answer these questions
1. When is Halloween celebrated?
2. Which terrible creature is also known as lycanthrope?
3. What is another name for Halloween?
4. The Romans called Halloween "Pomona Day". Who or what was Pomona?
5. Before they happened upon the pumpkin, the Irish carved  Jack o' Lanterns out of what?
6. How much did the world's largest pumpkin weigh?
7. According to the phobia list, which phobia is the fear of Halloween?
8. What is a male which known as?
9. When was the first Halloween  greeting card made?
10. What does the old English  word "hallow" mean?
11. People in which country celebrate their culture's Halloween by eating candy skulls?
12. A popular Halloween drink in the 18th century Ireland was called "Lamb's Wool". It was made with roasted, crushed ... and milk.
13. In what year can we accept to have a full moon on Halloween night?
14. Where do pumpkins grow?
15. What name is given to a group of witches?
16. What priests first celebrated what we've come to know as Halloween?
17. At Halloween parties, guests traditionally "bob" for ...

 

Tuesday 28 October 2014

29th October 1975: Franco's 36-year reign ends

General Franco's dictatorship has effectively ended with the announcement heir designate Prince Juan Carlos will take over as provisional head of state for Spain.

The move comes as a result of the general's continuing illness. He has suffered a massive series of heart attacks and internal bleeding in the last three weeks. The 37-year-old prince has been groomed for the role since he was named heir designate in 1969, continuing an agreement between General Franco and the Prince's father. The urgent need of a leader for the country persuaded the prince to take over on a provisional basis, something which he had been reluctant to repeat. (BBC - On This Day)

Web full of energy but also has 'dark side'


The Internet's founder, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has spoken about it 25 years after he created it. He said it is a force for good, but it has a negative side. He told the BBC: "Everywhere I look I see a mass of energy…and also in some places, they are using the web for organised protests." He was sad at the amount of trolling and negativity. He was shocked that normal people, "suddenly become very hateful instead of very loving".
Berners-Lee was at London's Science Museum for a new 'Information Age' exhibition. It has the server that hosted the first ever website, which still has a note on it that Berners-Lee wrote about not switching it off. Berners-Lee is a director of the World Wide Web Consortium, which looks after the Web's development. He hopes people will build more web-based tools that will help us collaborate for positive change, rather than fight. (Breaking News English)


Halloween Quiz

Choose the correct answers.
1) When is Halloween celebrated?
13 October

31 October

1 November

2) What are the special colours of Halloween?
purple and orange

white and orange

black and orange

3) What is a Jack-o-Lantern made of?
melon

pumpkin

cucumber

4) The festival of Halloween marks
the end of summer

the end of autumn

the end of winter

5) A witch flies on a
board

broom

cat

6) Who brought Halloween to America?
English immigrants

German immigrants

Irish immigrants

7) What aren't supernatural creatures?
princesses

fairies

witches

8) What do children say when the knock at the door on Halloween?
Trick or Treat

Trick or Money

Trick or Beat

9) Which creatures abound during Halloween?
black rats

white mice

black cats

10) What is potion?
a liquid with magic powers

a mixture of dried flowers

something to eat

 

To check your answers: http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/countries/halloween.htm

Thursday 16 October 2014

Malala Yousafzai wins Nobel Peace Prize


The girls' rights activist Malala Yousafzai, 17, has won the Nobel Peace Prize for 2014. She was one of two Nobel laureates. The other is the children's rights activist Kailash Satyarthi. Malala got the accolade two years and a day after a Taliban gunman shot her in the head on her school bus. She recovered in a British hospital and toured the world speaking for the rights of girls to go to school. She told reporters that school, "is like walking through a magic door to your dreams". Malala is the youngest ever winner of the prize. She is the second Pakistani to scoop the award.

Ms Yousafzai and Mr Satyarthi won the prize, "for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people, and for the right of all children to education." Pakistan's Prime Minister congratulated Malala. He said she made Pakistanis proud. He added that: "Her achievement is unparalleled and unequalled." He urged all children to follow her. Mr Satyarthi said his award was for the, "many voices of children who are victims…across the world". He said it was important, "for a Hindu and a Muslim, an Indian and a Pakistani, to join in a common struggle for education". (Breaking News English)