St. George's Day

It's saint George's day yet again so we're going to put on our clogs (wooden shoes) and have a go at the traditional Morris dance! George is the patron saint of England, despite never actually having visited the place. 

April the 23rd is also international book day due to the fact that both Shakespere and Cervantes died on this date (however not on the same day as Spain and England were using different calendars) Let's see what you know about world literature... Answers will be posted by the end of the week.

Saint George’s day Literature quiz.

Ancient Literature.

The story of the famous Trojan horse appears in which epic poem?

The Iliad, Homer

The works & Days, Hesiod

The Aeneid, Virgil

Which of the following was not a writer?

Aristotle

Socrates

Plato

Which text was written to guide the human soul through the afterlife?

The Tibetan Book of the Dead

The Egpytian Book of the Dead 

The Dead Sea Scrolls

Which Gospel starts "In the beginning was the word..."

Matthew

Luke 

John

Which is the earliest version of the Flood?

Dekelion 

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Genesis

The Upanishads are the sacred literature of

Tibet

India

Arabia

English Literature.

"Better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven" are the famous words from which poet?

John Milton
William Shakespeare
Geoffrey Chaucer

What is the premise of George Bernard Shaw's Man and Superman?

Hell is where the good people go
Heaven is impossible to attain
There is an open door between Heaven and Hell

Which of the Bronte sisters wrote Jane Eyre?

Charlotte 

Emily

Anne

Which book was written by D.H Lawrence?

Bleak House

Lady Chatterley’s Lover

Sense and Sensibility

In which of Shakespeare’s works do we find the famous speech, “All the world is a stage”?

As You Like It

Othello

Hamlet

What do we learn from Oscar Wilde's novel “The Portrait of Dorian Gray”?

That power corrupts

That death comes to us all

That works of art cannot moralize

French Literature.

Who said that “Hell is other people”?

Emile Zola

Charles Baudelaire

Jean Paul Sartre

The protagonist in Albert Camus’ novel L’etranger is condemned to death because...

He has commited murder

He doesn’t follow the conventions of society

He doesn’t believe in god

Russian Literature.

Which of the following was written by IvanTurgenev?

War & Peace

Fathers & Sons

Crime & Punishment

Which novel by Dostoyevsky contains the famous dictum “If god doesn’t exist then everything is permitted”?

The Brothers Karamazov

Notes from underground

Crime & Punishment

Italian Literature.

What does Machiavelli proclaim in “The Prince”?

That professional soldiers are the most loyal

That a leader should lie if necessary

That Kings are better leaders than Popes

Which Renaissance painter also wrote the lives of his fellow artists?

Giorgio Vasari

Michelangelo Buonarotti

Benvenuto Cellini

German Literature.

Which German composer influenced the early writings of the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche?

Richard Strauss

Ludwig Van Beethoven 

Richard Wagner

Who wrote a ficticious account of the life of the Buddha?

Thomas Mann

Herman Hesse

Gunter Grass

In Franz Kafka’s short story The Metamorphosis, what creature does Gregoryfind himself transformed into?

A beetle

A fly

We don’t know

In Wolfgang Von Goethe’s Faust, to whom does Doctor Faust sell his soul?

Mephisto

Satan

Lucifer

Spanish Literature.

In Jorge Luis Borges short story, what is special about the book of sand?

It contains everything ever written

It is infinite

It represents the readers dreams

There are many different versions of architypical character Don Juan. Whose version has a happy ending?

Tirso de Molina’s

Jose Zorilla’s

Lord Byron’s

Who wrote La Vida del Buscon/ Paul the Swindler?

Francisco de Quevedo

Luis de Gongora

Lope de Vega

What is the oldest known literary work in the Spanish language?

El Conde Lucanor

El Libro de Buen Amor

Poema del Mio Cid

Catalan Literature

Who is the survivor of the sea battle at the beginning of L'Atlantida?

Hernando Cortes
Christopher Columbus
Miguel Cervantes

What was Ramon Llull's position towards Islam?

Destroy the infidel
Peaceful co-existance
Understand your enemy

Easter!

Wishing everyone a very happy easter, after a long term of hard studying! See you all next term... in the meantime have a go at this easter quiz!

1. Ecumenical
a. Pertaining to religious inspiration.
b. Of worldwide scope; universal.
c. Belief in the immaculate conception.
d. Relating to the Pope's honorary bodyguard .

2. Presbyterian
a. Relating to government by church elders.
b. A Scotsman who joins the Anglican church.
c. A manse or lodging for a priest.
d. A 'no-frills' Roman Catholic church.

3. Ecclesiastical
a. A priest.
b. A religious philosophy expounded by George Eccles.
c. Relating to the organization or government of the church.
d. Relating to church rituals.

4. Episcopal
a. Of or relating to a bishop.
b. Dealing with the last part of the sermon.
c. Related to church security.
d. A chalice or decanter for wine that has been blessed.

5. Pentecost
a. A small dish used during communion.
b. The seventh Sunday after Easter.
c. The last five books of the bible.
d. A stipend paid to choir members.

6. Evangelical
a. Having wings like an angel.
b. Describing gospel music.
c. Of churches which believe in the sole authority of the Bible.
d. Relating to "an eye for an eye".

7. Eucharist
a. A two-wheeled gilded chariot.
b. Bread as the symbolic body of Christ.
c. A card game played by the Pharisees.
d. The act of giving thanks; thanksgiving.

8. Easter
a. The name of an egg-bearing rabbit.
b. An April wind blowing from west to east.
c. An ancient Greek term meaning "resurrection".
d. A goddess of light or spring.

9. Canon
a. A robe worn by a priest.
b. A country mentioned in the Bible.
c. The books of the Bible.
d. A ceremonial staff.

10. Epiphany
a. A Christian prophet.
b. A story illustrating a moral or religious lesson.
c. A Christian feast celebrated on January 6th.
d. A native or inhabitant of ancient Ephesus .

10 Slang phrases

Here's some more British slang for you. See if you can make your own sentences with them. The best way to remember new vocabulary is to use it in context.

to take the mickey out of someone / something - to make fun of someone / something

to go on a pub crawl - to go repeatedly from one drinking establishment to another

to go pear shaped - to go badly wrong

grub - working class food

to whinge about something - to complain about something

a fluke - by chance

to be a piece of cake - to be very easy

to put a sock in it - to shut up / be quiet

a snog - a long and passionate kiss

to waffle on about something - to talk about something of no importance

See if you can complete the following sentences with the correct slang:

1. The boss at work has no idea what he's doing. The company has gone completely _________!

2. I'm sick of always having to hear your problems! Why don't you ____________!

3. On their first date nothing happened, but the second time they had a __________ outside the restaurant!

4. Kids can be so cruel, they're always ____________ out of students who are different.

5. Did you pass the exam? 

    Yeah. It was a _____________.

6. My favourite sort of _________ is fish and chips.

7. He never stops _____________ on about philosophy!

8. He won his first game of poker, but it was a complete _____________.

9. The students were very drunk because they'd been on a long _____________ all night!

10. Stop ___________ like a baby! Other people have problems too you know!

Answers:

1. pear shaped 2. put a sock in it 3. snog 4. taking the mickey 5. piece of cake 6. grub 7. waffling 8. fluke 9. pub crawl 10. whinging

The Environment

It's clil (content and language integrated learning) week at the school, and this term's subject is the environment. Have a look at a video project produced by some of the kids!

Idus Martiae

"Beware the Ides of March!"


These are the words spoken by a soothsayer warning Julius Caesar of his immenent death on the 15th of March, in William Shakespere's famous play.

Extract taken from Julius Caesar Act 1, Scene 2:


Soothsayer

Caesar!

CAESAR

Ha! who calls?

CASCA

Bid every noise be still: peace yet again!

CAESAR

Who is it in the press that calls on me?
I hear a tongue, shriller than all the music,
Cry 'Caesar!' Speak; Caesar is turn'd to hear.

Soothsayer

Beware the ides of March.

CAESAR

What man is that?

BRUTUS

A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March.

CAESAR

Set him before me; let me see his face.

CASSIUS

Fellow, come from the throng; look upon Caesar.

CAESAR

What say'st thou to me now? speak once again.

Soothsayer

Beware the ides of March.

CAESAR

He is a dreamer; let us leave him: pass.

Sennet. Exeunt all except BRUTUS and CASSIUS

Of course nobody believes soothsayers! So obviously Caesar went on to meet his fate. It is said that Caesar was murdered at Pompey's theatre, located in a small archeaological site in the middle of present day down town Rome. I took some pictures of (what I thought at the time) were some quite uninspiring looking ruins... not suspecting until later the true significance of the sight!

Fawlty Towers

Fawlty Towers was a 1970's British comedy, still considered to be one of the all time classic series. The main characters are Hotel manager Basil Fawlty, played by John Cleese (above) and the Spanish waiter Manuel, played by John Sachs. Here are some classic scenes from the series for your viewing pleasure!

In this scene Basil tries practicing his Spanish with Manuel. When the situation seems hopeless he says "I learnt classical Spanish, not the strange dialect that he seems to have picked up!" Burro means butter in Italian.

In this scene Manuel is practicing his English... with very funny consequences!

In this scene Basil has bet (put money) on a horse race... but he has to keep it a secret from his wife. Watch him try to explain this simple fact to Manuel!

In this scene there is an old woman staying in the hotel, who is deaf. Nobody wants to deal with her so Manuel is left to explain!

"I'm from Barcelona!"

Crumpets

What is a great British breakfast? Forget bacon, eggs and sausages... the English food that I miss the most is crumpets! What are they? Well, they're quite difficult to descibe so it's best that I let the pictures do the talking!

Crumpets are deliciously soft bread products, which should be toasted, served hot and covered with melting butter. Mmmmmm!

This is marmite, a yeast extract rich in vitamin B12. Some people love it... others hate it! Marmite is especially good to spread on crumpets or any other kind of bread or sandwich. Be careful, it has got quite a strong taste!

Crumpets are sold in all bakeries and supermarkets in the UK. So next time you are visiting, why not try them? The next best thing is to have a go at making them yourself! Check out the recipe on this youtube video. Enjoy!

Britain has many such bread related things that you can eat for breakfast or lunch. Crumpets are by far the tastiest, but you should also try toasted muffins. They are good with butter and marmite too!

Education

'Experts' in education have many different ideas about what it actually is. Look at three definitions and decide which you most agree with and why:

1. Teaching the young the culture and traditions of society.
2. Introducing the young to sensible and productive ways of thinking and doing.
3. Helping the young to develop their natural personal talents.

Which school subject would you expect to find the following questions in? Do you know any of the answers?

1. When did the Second World War end?
2. What is the capital of Columbia?
3. Who wrote Bleak House?
4. How many kilobytes are there in a megabyte?
5. Who invented the theory of relativity?
6. What's 5 times 18 divided by 4?
7. How many legs does an insect have?
8. What is water made of?

This is a clip from a British TV show, in which students have to go to a 1950's boarding school. How well do you think they did at 1950's exams? How well do you think that you would do?

As much as students complain about their teachers, remember... things could always have been worse! Imagine being taught by this guy...

Education vocab:

behave                                 

cheat

do

fail

learn

leave

pass

revise

start

study

take

boarding school

graduate

head master

nursery school

primary school

private school

pupil

professor

religious school

secondary school

state school

student

As usual let's end with a song. This is Pink Floyd performing Another Brick in the Wall. It contains the famous line 'We don't need no education' (the double negative shows that obviously they do need some education!)

The song is not actually against education as the following line 'We don't need no thought control' clearly shows. The title of the song compares teachers to bricks in the wall of the establishment, whose job is to install the values of that society into their students.

Answers:

1. 1945 2. Bogota 3. Charles Dickens 4. 1,024 5. Albert Einstein 6. 22 1/2 7. six 8. hydrogen and oxygen

Q&A

Here's a list of not so obvious questions from a Guardian newspaper interview. Read through them quickly and decide which ones you consider either:

personal
boring
original

1. When were you happiest?
2. What is your greatest fear?
3. What is your earliest memory?
4. Which living person do you most admire, and why?
5. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
6. What is the trait you most deplore in others?
7. What was your most embarrassing moment?
8. Aside from a property, what's the most expensive thing you've bought?
9. What's your most treasured possession?
10. What is your favourite smell?
11. Have you ever said "I love you" and not meant it?
12. Which living person do you most despise, and why?
13. What is the worst job you've done?
14. What has been your biggest dissappointment?
15. If you could edit your past, what would you change?
16. If you could go back in time, where would you go?
17. How do you relax?
18. What is the closest you've come to death?
19. What makes you depressed?
20. What do you like/ dislike most about your appearance?
21. What is your most unappealing habit?
22. What would be your fancy dress costume of choice?
23. What is your guiltiest pleasure?
24. What do you owe your parents?
25. Whom would you most like to say sorry to, and why?
26. What does love feel like?

Choose one of the questions that you considered the most original and see how much detail you can answer it in. Posted answers below are welcome!

Source: www.guardian.co.uk