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 ...

 

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

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)

European Day of Languages

At the initiative of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg, the European Day of Languages has been celebrated every year since 2001 on 26 September.

Throughout Europe, 800 million Europeans represented in the Council of Europe's 47 member states are encouraged to learn more languages, at any age, in and out of school. Being convinced that linguistic diversity is a tool for achieving greater intercultural understanding and a key element in the rich cultural heritage of our continent, the Council of Europe promotes plurilingualism in the whole of Europe.

On the occasion of the day, a range of events are organised across Europe: activities for and with children, television and radio programmes, language classes and conferences. National authorities and the various partners are given a free hand to organise activities. To coordinate the activities organised at national level, the Council of Europe asks participating countries to nominate "National Relay Persons" for the day. (edl.ecml.at)

 

Scotland decides: The independence referendum explained

In nine days time, people across Scotland will face a massive choice - whether or not to become an independent country, separate from the United Kingdom.

A referendum asks you to vote yes or no to a question or proposal.

The people of Scotland will be asked the simple question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?"

Scotland has been part of the UK for more than 300 years, so the vote is a huge moment for the country. (CBBC Newsround)

Food crime is an international problem

There is a new and growing danger with the food we eat. Criminal gangs are selling billions of dollars of fake food to supermarkets around the world. The food could be very dangerous. In the past few years, there have been some high-profile scandals. In Britain, tons of horse meat ended up in products that were labeled as beef. British police recently found a product that used cheaper peanut powder instead of almond flour. This could seriously harm or kill people with peanut allergies. In 2008, six babies died in China after gangs made and sold fake milk powder. Gangs can make a lot of money from fake food. It is also safer than selling drugs for the gangs because the penalties are lower.

The assistant director of Interpol, Michael Ellis, told the BBC that food crime is very similar to the drugs trade. He said: "In my experience, the patterns used by criminals involved in counterfeiting are very similar to those used in the dealing of drugs." He said police in 33 countries showed that food crime is a serious international problem. The police found children's candies that were dyed with a poisonous chemical, 430,000 litres of fake drinks and 22 tons of long-grain rice that was labeled as high-quality basmati rice. The British government said it was a difficult problem to tackle. It said that using technology might be the only way to beat the criminal gangs. (Breaking News English)