Tuesday, 21 December 2010
Thursday, 22 April 2010
Sunday, 8 November 2009
Tuesday, 1 September 2009
Sunday, 7 June 2009
Listening Activity.
Let's prepare for exam. Click on here.
This activity has been created using website www.ekk.edu.ee
Tuesday, 5 May 2009
Sunday, 26 April 2009
Sunday, 12 April 2009
Friday, 10 April 2009
Good Friday (Holy Friday)!
What happened on Good Friday?
Jesus was arrested and. He was handed over to the Roman soldiers to be beaten. A crown of long, sharp thorns was thrust upon his head.
Jesus was forced to carry his own cross outside the city to Skull Hill. He was so weak after the beating that a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, was pulled from the crowd and forced to carry Jesus' cross the rest of the way.
Jesus was nailed to the cross. A sign above Jesus read "The King of the Jews."
Good Friday Superstitions
There are a number of superstitions relating to Good Friday:
A child born on Good Friday has the gift of healing.
Many fishermen will not set out for catch on Good Friday.
Bread or cakes baked on this day will not go mouldy.
Eggs laid on Good Friday will never go bad.
The planting of crops is not advised on this day, as an old belief says that no iron should enter the ground (i.e. spade, fork etc.).
Hot cross buns baked on Good Friday were supposed to have magical powers. It is said that you could keep a hot cross bun which had been made on Good Friday for at least a year and it wouldn't go mouldy.
Hardened old hot cross buns are supposed to protect the house from fire
Sailors took hot cross buns to sea with them to prevent shipwreck.
A bun baked on Good Friday and left to get hard could be grated up and put in some warm milk to stop an upset tummy.
Having a hair cut on Good Friday will prevent toothaches the rest of the year.
What happens on Good Friday today?
Good Friday today is still a public holiday in much of the UK. This means that many businesses are closed.
Many churches hold a special service. This may be a communion service in the evening or a time of prayer during the day, especially around 3 o'clock as that is about the time of day when Jesus died.
Churches are not decorated on Good Friday. In some churches, pictures and statues are covered over.
Traditional Food
It is traditional to eat warm 'hot cross buns' on Good Friday.
Hot Cross Buns with their combination of spicy, sweet and fruity flavours have long been an Easter tradition.
The pastry cross on top of the buns symbolises and reminds Christians of the cross that Jesus was killed on.
The buns were traditionally eaten at breakfast time, hot from the oven.
It is traditional to eat fish on Good Friday instead of meat.
Good Friday Traditions
Traditionally Good Friday was the day when everything was cleaned and whitewashed in preparation for Easter Sunday.
Thursday, 2 April 2009
Tuesday, 31 March 2009
Happy April Fool's Day!
April Fool’s Day
April Fool’s Day is a fun day when people play tricks and practical jokes on each other. It is very popular in Britain as well as in many countries across Europe and Asia.
For centuries, one of the most popular read more...
jokes of April Fool’s Day has been to send someone out on a “fool’s errand”. The idea behind this is that in order to succeed, the person on the “fool’s errand” has to ask others for help on the way. However, everyone else usually recognizes the trick before they do!
No one really knows where or why April Fool’s Day originated but many think it may be a relic of an old Roman festival that used to be held in early April. This festival arose from the myth of Persephone. Legend has it that the God of the Underworld carried off Persephone. Her mother, Demeter, heard her calling just before the gates of the Underworld closed. Demeter went in search of her daughter but couldn’t find her anywhere. Demeter’s search was the first “fool’s errand.”
Of course, young people in particular love April Fool’s Day and teachers in Britain know to be on their guard throughout the day!
Many adults also enjoy the fun; on one now famous occasion in Britain, a serious news programme managed to convince many people that spaghetti grows on trees in Italy!
Sunday, 22 March 2009
Let's play game!
Check your knowledge. You can play alone or with your friend. Good luck. Click on here.
Monday, 16 March 2009
Saint Patrick's Day.
The History of the Holiday
St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17, his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over a thousand years.
On St. Patrick's Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon.
Today, in order to minimize environmental damage, only forty pounds of dye are used, making the river green for only several hours.
Thursday, 12 March 2009
Some Well-Known Pangrams
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
This is undoubtedly the best known pangram. It contains all 26 letters of the alphabet (as it must do in order to be a pangram) and is 35 letters long. That means that is not particularly economical with 9 surplus letters.
However, either of them may be exchanged for the much shorter indefinite article, a, thus saving on 2 letters:
The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.
This is 33 letters in length. That can be beaten with the following, which has just 32 letters:
Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs.
Sunday, 8 March 2009
Sunday, 1 March 2009
Shrovetide
In the UK, Shrove Tuesday is also known as Pancake Day (or Pancake Tuesday to some people) because it is the one day of the year when almost everyone eats a pancake.
Pancake Day (also known as Shrove Tuesday) is the last day before the period which Christians call Lent. It is traditional on this day to eat pancakes, toss pancakes and take part in pancake races. Pancakes are eaten on this day because they contain fat, butter and eggs which were forbidden during Lent.
Today everyone celebrates Pancake Day regardless of religion. An English pancake is a thin, flat cake, made of batter and fried in a frying pan. A traditional English pancake is very thin and is served immediately from the frying pan. Caster sugar (superfine sugar) is sprinkled over the top and a dash of fresh lemon juice added. The pancake is then rolled. Some people put golden syrup or jam on their pancakes.
Pancake races are held all over England. The object of the race is to get to the finishing line first whilst flipping a pancake in a frying pan a pre-decided number of times. The skill lies not so much in the running of the race but in flipping and catching the pancake, which must be intact when the finishing line is reached.
The most famous pancake race takes place at Olney. According to tradition, in 1445 a woman of Olney heard the shriving bell while she was making pancakes and ran to the church in her apron, still clutching her frying pan.
The Olney pancake race is now world famous. Competitors have to be local housewives and they must wear an apron and a hat or scarf.
Each contestant has a frying pan containing a hot, cooking pancake. She must toss it three times during the race that starts at the market square at 11.55 a.m. The first woman to complete the winding 375-metre course (the record is 63 seconds set in 1967) and arrive at the church, serve her pancake to the bell ringer, and be kissed by him, is the winner. She also receives a prayer book from the vicar.
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
Thursday, 19 February 2009
World Math Day 2009 - March 4
Would you like to take part in Maths competition? You have to play against each other in arithmetic games in real time at home or at school. You play against three students at the same time. Each game lasts for 60 seconds and you can play as many games as you wish. The official competition runs for 48 hours on March 4. Students of any ages can participate in it.
