HOW TO PREPARE FOR AN EXAM?

Hi everyone!
     We are finishing May and it's time to pass the final exams to have a relaxing and happy holidays (and of course, don't think about the retaking exams in September!). Here you can watch a video to prepare exams, some of the tips are very interesting! I hope you like it! ;)
                                                                   

SAVOIR AIMER... APPRENDRE À AIMER

Bonjour!

     Vous avez ici une belle chanson en français. ;)

WOMEN'S DAY

What is it?


     
     International Women's Day (IWD) was originally called International Working Women's Day and it is marked the 8th of March. It is a celebration of respect for women's achievements in relation to economy, politics and society.


Why do we celebrate this day?
    
     The first International Women's Day commemorated a demonstration by women workers in New York in 1857 but what established the modern celebration was the was a fire  at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory (N.Y) on  25th March, 1911. It was provoked and killed 146 women workers, most of them immigrants.


     LOOK AT THE VIDEO AND ENJOY SOME WOMEN'S CONTRIBUTIONS:

WHITNEY HOUSTON

ANECDOTES:

SAVING FACE:

     Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown were known to have a turbulent relationship. Once, they took a romantic cruise around the island of Capri and shortly Whitney was hospitalized with a gash on her face. Houston said she had cut herself after swimming INTO a rock. It was a way to adress the rumours that Brown had caused her the injuries.

Finally she admitted the truth "When we are fighting, it's like that's love for us".


THE USURPER:


    West Midland's police arrested a 46 year old man after she got up on stage pretending to be Whitney Houston at Birmingham's LG Arena.
The woman fooled the audience for a few minutes as she walked on stage to a standing ovation. However, the audience members realised something wasn't quite right after she sang the first line of "I Will Always Love You" and got the words in incorrect order. Several members of the audience members had got up and left complaining of perforated ear drums due to the deafening noise.


       

CHARLES DICKENS

     Charles John Huffam Dickens was born in Portsmouth, England (7th February, 1812) and died in Gads Hill Place (9th June, 1870). He was a famous English novelist. He was one of the best-known writers of universal literature, and the most important one in the Victorian period.

     He was well-known during his lifetime and nowadays he remains popular.  Many of his writings were originally published serially, in monthly instalments (Dickens himself helped popularise).  He combined mastery when narrating, humour, tragic feeling as well as irony. He criticized  the society where he lived and brought his readers with an intense description of people and places.

     He condemned publically the brutal exploitation of children in England, and thanks to his involvement with society, many consciences awoke with the reality of the time. He was highly talented and extremely energetic, he fought for social reforms, he taught his thoughts about intellectual property or against slavery in the United States...

     Some important quotes of Dickens are:

• "A loving heart is the truest wisdom".
• "A day wasted on others is not wasted in one's self".
• "Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts".
• "Every failure teaches a man something new he needed to learn".

                                                                                   

More famous quotes:

• "Charity begins at home, justice begins next door"

What did he want to say?

THE GROUNDHOG DAY

                                                                 

Grounhog day is a holiday celebrated on February the 2nd in the United States and Canada. It is a folkloric event to make a weather broadcasting according to the groundhog's performance:
If it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, spring will come early. If it is sunny, the groundhog will supposedly see its shadow and retreat back into its burrow; that means that the winter weather will last at least two more weeks.
The largest Groundhog celebration is held up in Punxsutawney; Pennsylvania.

Now, pay attention to important images and vocabulary about the celebration:

What is "a groundhog"? Also known as a whistle-pig, woodchuck, or land-beaver is a rodent, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as "marmots".

What is "a burrow"? It is a hole or tunnel dug into the ground by an animal to create a safe and suitable space for habitation or refuge. Some animals that usually make burrows are groundhogs, rabbits, cobayes, mice...

What is "weather broadcasting"? It is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a given location. Weather forecasts are made from collecting data about the current state of the atmosphere and using scientific understanding processes to project how the weather will evolve.
Nowadays we can find computer-based models to predict the weather, but this is something that human beings have been doing informally for millennia, using methods that have to do with folklore more that with science. Some of these methods are: groundhogs (in North America and Canada), Cabañuelas (in La Mancha, Spain), etc.

Tongue twister:

HOW MUCH WOOD WOULD A WOODCHUCK CHUCK IF A WOODCHUCK COULD CHUCK WOOD? (If you can pronounce it properly, you'll get an extra point!!! hehehe)    ;)   ;P

TRAVELLING... AROUND THE WORLD

Hi students!
     Here you can find some important and useful tips for travelling. You may think they are obvious but when planning a trip, it's sometimes easy to forget these considerations. Read these tips and think about them:


1. Leave copies of your important documents such as: tickets, drivers license, passport, visas, medical documents, presciptions and so on with a friend just in case you need a back-up sent to you in an emergency. Also, leave a copy of your itinerary with family or friends at home so that you can be contacted in case of an emergency.


2. Familiarise yourself with any local laws and customs of the coun tries to wich you are travelling. You must know the laws about exchanging money and deal only with authorised agents when you exchange money or purchase art or antiques. Remember, while you are in a foreign country, you are subject to its laws.


3. Never leave your luggage unattended in public areas especially in airports and never accept pacjages from strangers.


4. Put identifying markings on the suitcases you check through such as bold coloured tape in a recognisable design. Don't put all your valuables in luggage you check. E.g. jewelery, cameras, watches.


5. Make sure you hav e a signed, valid passport (and any visas, if required). Most countries require you to have a full 10 year passport. Your passport should be valid for at least six months after your expected date of return, if not, get a new one.


6. Do not carry excessive amounts of money or unnecessary credit cards. Carry only enough cash to make it through the day and leave the rest in the hotel's safe. Do not carry your passport around, leave it in the safe in your hotel. A photocopy will suffice if local law states that you need to.


7. Avoid travelling alone. Always be aware of what is going on around you. Try to look as if you know where you are going, this may not be so easy if after all it is the first ever time in that country, but even still look confidents as IF you know.


8. Stick to the main roads and avoid taking shortcuts down narrow alleys and poorly lit streets. Carrying maps around looking perplexed, and stopping to look at monuments or buildings, obviously shows that you are from out town, and may attract the wrong type of attention.


9. Don't under any circumstances get involved with or take drugs. Some countries have severe penalties for drug misuse including the death penalty. You could get to stay a long time in that at the government's expense if you are caught even with a very small amount.


10. Wherever you travel it is always worthwhile making a note of where your local embassy is. Your embassy is your connection to your home country while on holidays and are there to assist if you lose your passport or are in a trouble. You will normally find your embassy in the capital city of a country, thowgh other major cities might have consulates or consulate offices.








Enjoy your trip!


Rosa.    ;)




HOMEWORK: Prepare and plan a trip to any destination. Write some tips and make a short presentation  (in the class) about the interesting things to visit there. Here, in the blog, you can add comments.