World Animal Day

Do you like animals? If your answer is yes, October 4th is a day for you to celebrate.

World Animal Day was started in 1931 at a convention of ecologists in Florence as a way of highlighting the plight of endangered species. Since then it has grown to encompass all kinds of animal life and is widely celebrated in countries throughout the world. October 4 was chosen as World Animal Day as it is the Feast Day of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.

It is intended as a day of celebration for anyone in the world who cares about animals. It is not restricted to any one nationality, creed, religion, political belief or ideology.

MISSION STATEMENT for WORLD ANIMAL DAY:
- To celebrate animal life in all its forms
- To celebrate humankind’s relationship with the animal kingdom
- To acknowledge the diverse roles that animals play in our lives – from being our companions, supporting and helping us, to bringing a sense of wonder into our lives
- To acknowledge and be thankful for the way in which animals enrich our lives

(Information taken from the World Animal Day official website)

Selectivitat

To practise your reading and improve your listening skills at the same time, try these two sites:

http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/
A news article with an audio file. You can do a number of comprehension exercises as well.

Learning resources
Another news article with audio or video and some interactive comprehension exercises.

Posa't a prova
English readings at 4 different levels of difficulty (but no listening!) and all the other Selectivitat subjects.

The Poet's corner

St George's day is coming. To celebrate the festivity, you're going to write some poems. To make things easier for you, try this:
Instant poetry forms.

It's Easter!

April Fool's Day

April the 1st

The first of April, some do say, April The 1st
Is set apart for All Fools' Day.
But why the people call it so,
Nor I, nor they themselves do know.
But on this day are people sent
On purpose for pure merriment.
-- Poor Robin's Almanac (1790)

Today is April Fool¡s Day, the day in which people play hoaxes and practical jokes on friends, family members and other people in general. Newspapers and the media also have their share in the celebration. Most of them publish fake articles or give fake news on television.
Here you have some articles taken from different British newspapers. Can you tell which is the REAL one?

• Honda demonstrates robot controlled by mind power
• Twitter switch for Guardian, after 188 years of ink
• Ryan Giggs launches groundbreaking jumpers for goalpost technology
• It's the Mona Greasa!

Happy St Patrick's day

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

As you listen, answer the following questions:

1. What basic elements will you need?
2. Step 1. What should you wear?
3. Step 2. Where should you go? At what time?
4. Step 3. What special words must you say (the English translation!)?
5. Steps 4 & 5. What 3 dishes must you cook?
6. Step 6. What will you drink?
7. Step 7. How will you spend your day? Mention the 2 most important things.
8. Step 8. What the last thing you must do on St Patrick's Day? What's the superstition with a four-leaf clover?
9. Americans who claim to be of Irish descent now number more that 34 million. That's how many times the population of Ireland?

Red Nose Day

Red Nose Day is the main way in which Comic Relief, a British charity, raises money. It is held in the spring every second year and is often treated as a semi-holiday, with, for example, schools having non-uniform days. The day culminates in a live telethon event on BBC One starting in the evening and going through into the early hours of the morning, but other money-raising events take place all over the country.

To raise money on Red Nose Day, you just have to do something funny, like wearing plastic/foam red noses which are available, in exchange for a donation, from many shops. People are encouraged to wear the noses to help raise awareness of the charity. The design of the nose has been changed each year, beginning with a fairly plain one, which later grew arms, turned into a tomato and even changed colour. Over 50 million Red Noses have been bought over the years. Other funny things may be wearing something funny, or waxing a part of your body, selling articles or organizing competitions. There are plenty of ideas if you run short of them.

Red Nose Day has become very popular in Britain, with thousands of people involved. It has even spread to other countries like New Zealand. Since the Charity started in the 1980s, Comic Relief has raised over £600 million.