Curiosity

After the most daring and complex landing of a robot on another planet, the search for evidence of life on Mars enters a new era.

Nasa's Curiosity rover is now sitting inside Gale Crater, a vast depression close to the Martian equator.

Also known as the Mars Science Laboratory, the one tonne machine is the most sophisticated science robot ever placed on another world.

• (A) Curiosity will trundle around its landing site looking for interesting rock features to study. Its top speed is about 4cm/s
• (B) This mission has 17 cameras. They will identify particular targets, and a laser will zap those rocks to probe their chemistry
• (C) If the signal is significant, Curiosity will swing over instruments on its arm for close-up investigation. These include a microscope
• (D) Samples drilled from rock, or scooped from the soil, can be delivered to two hi-tech analysis labs inside the rover body
• (E) The results are sent to Earth through antennas on the rover deck. Return commands tell the rover where it should drive next

Over the coming years Curiosity will climb a mountain at the crater's heart, gathering evidence on one of science's greatest questions – was there ever life on Mars?

The $2.5 billion project will discover whether Mars once had conditions suitable for the evolution and survival of life.

BBC Space specialist Jonathan Amos talks to mission scientists about where Curiosity is going and what it will do as it trundles up Mars' Mount Sharp.

Use the following link to listen to the programme.

Blue Moon

When someone says "Once in a Blue Moon," you know what they mean:  Rare, seldom, even absurd. This year it means August 31^st.

For the second time this month, the Moon is about to become full.  There was one full Moon on August 1^st/2^nd, and now a second is coming on August 31^st.  According to modern folklore, whenever there are two full Moons in a calendar month, the second one is "blue."

Watch the following video by the NASA and answer the following questions:

• What do blue moons symbolize in literature?
• In which occasions can the moon turn blue?
• When does the moon turn red?

Now watch the following video by the BBC to learn some more idioms related with the colour 'blue'.

The Olympic Games

During this year the Olympics have been held in London. But to learn a bit more about the history of the Olympic Games have a look at this site and search for the information to answer the following questions on the different sections you will find on the left:

• When and where did the modern Olympics begin?
• Why was important the 'sacred truce'?
• What was the price for the winner?
• How did the Games end?
• What was the punishment if anyone was caught cheating?
• What was the Heraia?

Do you know which sports have been included in the 2012 Games? Find out in the following sites:
London 2012 Olympics
London 2012 Paralympics
Click on the different sports to learn more about it, participants, results, etc.

To have some fun play the following game. You have to listen to the commenataries and match them with the pictures.

Now answer the following questions:

1. Do you do any sport at school? Which one?

2. Which sports are you good at? Which ones are you not good at?

3. Which Olympic events did you watch?

4. Which events would you like to compete in?

5. In your opinion, what is the most exciting Olympic event? What is the most interesting?

6. Do you have any sports heroes? Who are they?

May Day

How did you spend May Day? Did you know that the English word Mayday has two completely different meanings? Firstly, Mayday is a holiday. Secondly, it's the international distress radio signal. The original phrase was French - "m'aider" which means "help me". You know the English word "aid" as in "first aid". The French word is "aider."
On the 1st May, the International Workers' Day is celebrated. Listen to this audio about labor day and complete the following text.

Animation réalisée sur le site http://www.komcitiz.com

Labor Day is an annual holiday celebrated _________________. It originated from the eight-hour day movement in the nineteenth century. Labor _________________ hours for work, eight hours for play, and eight hours for sleep. It then became a reason for workers to celebrate their social and economic progress _________________ twentieth century. Today, people are happy it is a day off work and perhaps _________________ of this important holiday. Most countries celebrate this day on May 1. In some countries it is called May Day _________________ known as International Workers’ Day. More and more countries are moving the day to the first Monday in May, _________________ -day weekend.

People around the world celebrate Labor Day _________________. In China it marked the beginning of a seven-day holiday called Golden Week. People _________________ country traveled to their hometowns or visited resorts. However, in 2008, the Chinese government went _________________ public holiday. Indians have celebrated Labour Day since May 1, 1927. There are many festivals and processions organized by different labour organizations and people _________________ for huge parties. Italians celebrate the day with a huge, free music concert in Rome. Up to one million people attend the spectacular. For most people, it _________________ enjoy the nice weather and have a picnic with family, friends and co-workers.

What kind of May Day protester are you? Do the following quiz.

If you want to learn more about May Day celebrations and traditions in the UK such as the Maypole, Morris dancing or Jack in the Green visit this website.

Fair Trade

What's fair trade? On the 12th May the World Fairtrade Day is celebrated. Watch the following video of the campaign.

Do you have any fair trade product at home? which one?

Make an advertisement campaign for one of these products (remember to include a logo, a slogan and a description of the product).

One of the tools to improve poor countries situation is microfinace. To learn more about it watch the following videos.

  

Education is the key

Education is the key to solve most of the world's problems and two teenagers from Glasgow have created a campaign to make the world leaders aware of this reality and spread the message about the importance of the millenium goals. With this campaign they have won the Steve Sinnott Award for Young Campaigner.

Read the following article by The Guardian and have a look at their campaign.

Eilidh Naismith and Billy Davidson, from Glasgow, are the Send My Friend to School Young Ambassadors for 2012.

They will be helping to get UK kids involved in the campaign, reminding world leaders of their goal of getting all children in school by 2015.

Eilidh and Billy, both aged 15, travelled to Malawi in February 2012 to meet children in and out of school, and find out for themselves about what stops young people getting an education.

They'll be helping to spread the word, speaking in Parliament and at conferences, and encouraging schools and youth groups to take part in Send My Friend to School’s ‘Go for Gold!’ activities this year.

With 67 million children still missing out on school world leaders need to Go for Gold! to meet their target of getting all children an education by 2015. Young Ambassadors, Yas and Nav, introduce Send My Friend to School's Olympic-inspired theme for this year, and show what they learned on their visit to Guatemala last year.

Of these 67 million children more than half are girls. Watch the film to find out what you can do to help and join the campaign to give every child the chance to get an education.

Look at me

This video is an adaptation from Todd Alcott's poem. Can you imagine a title for it?

Then watch the video again and pay attention to the images you see, are they familiar to you? Make a list of the items you see.

Are you supersticious?

Have you realized that yesterday it was Friday 13th? Has anything special happened to you?

Does this date fill you with fear, anxiety and foreboding - or is it simply another day on the calendar? Whether you're superstitious or not, try to find out why Friday the 13th is such an infamous date.

Listen to this audio and answer the questions you will find in this website. Then try to learn the useful words and expressions that you will find here to talk about superstitions and Friday the 13th and do this quiz.

Finally, learn about some other superstitons with this slideshow by The Independent.

April Fools' Day

Listen to the following podcast by the BBC and answer the questions below:

Animation réalisée sur le site http://www.komcitiz.com

• When is April fools' day celebrated?
• What does it consist of?
• Until what time are people in the UK allowed to play jokes?
• Learn the following vocabulary:

practical joke - hoax - spoof story - taken in by - gullible - prank

The origins of April Fools Day are not clear but it is known that the tradition of practical joking and mischief-making dates back to Ancient Roman times. It would appear that the festival is closely related to the coming of Spring.
Ancient Romans and Celts celebrated a festival of practical joking at about the time of the Vernal Equinox, as do millions of India's Hindus.
The French also mark 1 April but instead of April Fools they call it Poisson d'Avril (April Fish).
 
Now watch two of the most famous hoaxes broadcasted by the BBC.
 

 
 

 
If you want to play a practical joke on a friend here you have some ideas...
 

 
This is the video if you want to make the Emotion Test.
 

International Women's Day

On March 8th we celebrate the International Women's Day.

Watch these videos and prepare a brief speech expressing your own point of view. You can use the following questions to think of some ideas.

• Why women's day?
• But is there really inequality between men and women? (access to education, health care, working conditions...)
• Why is it that women's equality is said to be important for all peoples and not just an issue for women?
• Is the head of state/government in your country a man or a woman?
• Has a woman ever been the head of state/government in your country?
• What is the highest office held by a woman in your country?
• Can you name a woman head of state currently in office?
• Why do you think there are and there have been so few women in positions of power?
• As heads of state, would women take different decisions than men?
• Would it make a difference in the world -- in the poverty, violence and inequality that afflict the world -- if there were more women in parliaments and other national and international bodies?

Leap Day

On the 29th February we had a leap day. An extra day in life. Do you know why? Follow this link to learn about leap day traditions.

Now listen to this audio by the BBC about what special things people do on days like this.

What would you do on a leap day?

Technology

Let's see how new technologies have changed our lives...




I've seen it in partner's blog and I decided to share with you. Thank you Mercedes.
Have fun!

Maewyn Succat

Do you know who was Maewyn Succat? Watch the following video and answer the questions.

1. When do we celebrate Saint Patrick's day?
2. What happened to him when he was a child?
3. What did the pirates do when they arrived in Ireland?
4. Which religion did Druids practice? What did it consist of?
5. What were Maewyn tasks as a slave?
6. How many days were the men walking after landing in France?
7. What did Maewyn dream about after going back to England?
8. What did it mean for him to become a bishop?
9. What does the shamrock represent?
10. When did he die? How old was he?

Why green?

 Then see how do we celebrate this day around the world.

Komcitiz

Animation réalisée sur le site http://www.komcitiz.com

Pancakes Day

Pancakes Day is celebrated in the UK on the last Tuesday before Lent. Listen to the followig audio by the BBC and do the activities below.

Pancakes Racing

-    What’s shrove Tuesday?

-    Define the following terms:

o   Feast:

o   Lent:

o   Fasting:

-    Complete the following sentence:

o   Pancakes are flat thin cakes made of __________, _________ and __________ which are usually fried and everyone loves eating them with ___________, ___________, ___________, ____________ or all other kind of things on Pancakes Day.

o   One of the big challenges of pancake making is __________ them: throwing them up in the air and caching them in the _________.

-    What strange tradition in the UK is associated to Shrove Tuesday? _______________.

-    Choose the correct answer:

o   There’s 2 / 4 / 10 people in every team

o   There’s about 30 or 40 / 20 or 30 / 40 or 50 yards stretch

o   Each member has to run up these yards carrying a flying hat / big bag / frying pan with a pancake inside it.

o   On the way they have to flip the pancakes at least once / twice / three times.

o   When they get to the end they have to pass the frying pan on to the next partner who then throws it back / jumps / runs back.

o   If you drop the pancake you have to pick it up and put it back in your frying pan / you are no longer part of the competition.

o   Unless you finish the race with a pancake in your frying pan, anybody’s pancake, it doesn’t have to be your team’s pancake, you are classified / disqualified / unqualified.

-    There are two reasons why the pancake race is held, what are they?

-    Why is the winning team called ‘Team Harris’?

 

Now watch and listen to this news clip and then complete these sentences with the missing words.

-   Lent is a time for ______ things.

-   Shrove Tuesdays is the day for cleaning out the _______.

-   Pancake races appeal to people’s ________ nature!

-   Everyone’s got ‘a _________ tooth’!

-   People in Britain have been celebrating Pancake Day for ________ years.

-   The tradition started in ________ when a woman ran to church holding a ______________!

Pronunciation

Here you have the link to a very useful tool: a Phonemic chart to improve your pronunciation or become familiar with difficult sounds. If you click on the different symbols you will hear the sound and by clicking on the top right hand corner you will get the pronunciation of sample words containing this sound. You can download it to use on your PC or iPad. Try it, listen and repeat each example, then record yourself saying them. You can try it as many times as you want.

Once you are familiar with the different sounds try to find more examples for each of them. You can use your dictionary or an online dictionary like wordreference.

Valentine's Day

Listen to the following podcast by the BBC about the history and traditions of this day.
Then do the following activities:

1. Reading Quiz

• Are these sentences true or false? Or is the answer not given in the text? Choose the correct answer.

1. St Valentine was a famous Roman Emperor who was famous as a romantic. True / False / Not given
2. The very first Valentine’s card was sent over 500 years ago. True / False / Not given

3. Disappointed Korean men who have received no Valentine's cards eat a special dish in April. True / False / Not given

4. Some Valentine’s cards are now sent through cyberspace. True / False / Not given
5. Lonely policemen in Liverpool are looking for love by sending out many Valentine’s cards. True / False / Not given

2. Love idioms: guess their meanings!

• See if you can match these commonly used idioms connected to love with the correct definition:

1. to be head over heels in love

2. to fall for

3. to tie the knot

4. to have a crush on someone

a. to be attracted to someone without publicly showing it
b. to get married
c. to fall in love to with somebody
d. to be very much in love

• Now try and complete the following sentences using one of the above idioms in the correct form:

1. My fiancée and I have been engaged for nearly a year so we’re going to ________ in the summer.

2. I ________ one of my workmates but I’m too shy to tell him.

3. She is __________ in love with her new boyfriend. She talks about him all the time. It’s getting quite boring now.

4. I ________ my girlfriend the first time I saw her and I’m still crazy about her now.

Dickens 2012

Have you read 'A Christmas Carol' or 'Oliver Twist'? So now you know something about Dickens. The year 2012 marks the bicentenary of his birth. To learn a bit more about his life and work watch the following video and answer the following questions:

1. What were the names of Dicken's parents?
2. How many siblings were they?
3. When did the family move to London?
4. How many hours a day did he work in the Blacking Factory?
5. What was his job in 1827?
6. When did Dickens begin his journalistic carreer?
7. Write the title of three of his works.
8. Which was his pet?
9. Where did Charles and Catherine land when they travelled to America?
10. What caused the end of his marriage to Catherine?
11. When and how did Dickens die?