Tippexperience 2

The story of the hunter and the bear continues with a surprise...



Type in different years from the past (you can include years BC with a - before the number) or even the future.

Write a comment explaining what happens in each case, e.g. In the year 1789, ...

Enjoy!

Tippexperience

Have fun with the Tippexperience.

 

Type in different verbs and see what happens!

Write a comment with the verbs you tried and explain what happens.

Fairytale of New York

 "Fairytale of New York" is an Irish folk style ballad by the Celtic punk group The Pogues, released in 1987. It has frequently been cited as the best Christmas song of all. The song follows an Irish immigrant's Christmas Eve reverie about holidays past while sleeping off a binge in a New York City drunk tank. When an inebriated old man also in the cell sings a passage from the Irish ballad "The Rare Old Mountain Dew", the narrator (MacGowan) begins to dream about the song's female character. The remainder of the song (which may be an internal monologue) takes the form of a dialogue between the couple, their youthful hopes crushed by alcoholism and drug addiction, as they reminisce and bicker on Christmas Eve.

Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf

Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, read by Roald Dahl himself.

Roald Dahl Day

September 13th is Roald Dahl Day.

Watch, read and listen to his version of Little Red Riding Hood, included in Revolting Rhymes.

More Selectivitat listenings

Gourmet garbage

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Butter, bread and green cheese...

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A better world

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Selectivitat listenings

"Michael Palin, the travelling comedian".

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  "The best seller connection".

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Groundhog day

On February 2, the groundhog Punxsutawney Phil comes out of his burrow on Gobbler's Knob (Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania) - in front of thousands of followers from all over the world - to predict the weather for the rest of winter. 

According to legend, if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather. If he does not see his shadow, there will be an early spring. 

After Phil emerges from his burrow, he speaks to the Groundhog Club president in "Groundhogese" (a language only understood by the current president of the Inner Circle). His proclamation is then translated for the world. 

Today, Punxsutawney Phil, once again appeared at sunrise at Gobbler's Knob in the Pennsylvania Wilds to make his annual prediction. Watch the video and answer these questions:

• did Phil see his shadow?
• what does it mean if Phil sees his shadow (or if he doesn't!)?
• what is his prediction, then?

Watch Phil's prediction below:

• What do we celebrate on Feb 2nd in Catalonia?
• What is the connection with Groundhog Day?
• What will the weather be like here for the rest of the winter?

Answer all these questions as a comment to this post.

Learn more about Groundhog Day

Australia Day

January 26th is Australia Day. That was the day in 1788 when Captain Arthur Phillip, commander of the First Fleet of eleven convict ships from Great Britain and the first governor of New South Wales, arrived at Sydney Cove. Before that, in 1770, Captain James Cook raised the Union Jack (the British flag) on what is now called Possession Island to claim the eastern half of the continent as New South Wales for Great Britain.

Read a bit more about it here.

Read more about the smallest continent and the Aussies here.

Christmas is coming!

It's almost Christmas time, and what better way to celebrate it than by listening to a carol?
Here's the last song by Coldplay, a beautiful Christmas song. I hope you like it!




Lyrics | Christmas Lights lyrics

A hunter shoots a bear

Watch the video and follow the instructions.



One of the cleverest and funniest ads I've ever seen!

International Day of Peace

The International Day of Peace, observed each year on 21 September, is a global call for ceasefire and non-violence. It is observed by many nations, political groups, military groups, and peoples. The first year this holiday was celebrated was 1981.

To celebrate the day, there are millions of people in countries around the world participating in parades, concerts, dance celebrations, exhibitions and educational events. You can see what they're doing in the Peace Day Global Broadcast, a multimedia event which started on September 17 with the ringing of the Peace Bell from UN Headquarters by the Secretary General, and continues through September 21, the official International Day of Peace.

Segments in this year’s broadcast will feature Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Stevie Wonder, Bono, Annie Lennox, Alanis Morissette, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Dr. Jane Goodall, James Cameron, “The Elders” - Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Jimmy Carter, Mary Robinson, and Kofi Annan and many other prominent people.

You can watch the Peace Day Global Broadcast live below:

To learn more about this day, visit the International Day of Peace's official UN page.

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.

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?

The Oscars

The Oscars were awarded last night in the Kodak Theater of Los Angeles. Watch this video to learn about the winners.

or see the full list of nominees.
Have you seen any of the films in this list? Choose a film and prepare a two-minute talk about it: the plot, the actors, your opinion about it and if it got an Oscar, did it deserve it or not?

Martin Luther King's Day

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It is a United States holiday marking the birthdate of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., observed on the third Monday of January each year, around the time of King's birthday, January 15.

King was the chief spokesman of the nonviolent civil rights movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law (at his time, for example, coloured people had to sit at the back of the buses, or had to give their seat to the whites, and there were segregated toilets for coloured and white people). He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. He was assassinated in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.

His most famous words were a speech he delivered in 1963, which goes "I have a dream..."


Try to complete his words as you listen to the speech.

It's Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Day is a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. It is primarily a North American holiday which is celebrated with all the family gathered around a traditional dinner of turkey.
Watch this video to learn the origins of this celebration. Then you can try and do this quiz!

American elections

Tomorrow all the world's eyes will be set on the US, as they're electing their president for the next four years.

The presidential election process is quite complicated. Read All about Electing a President of the United States or watch this animated video (click on cc for the transcript) to get the hang of it.

If you get stuck with some of the vocabulary, try this Electionary.

Make sure you understood it all by doing this test.

Who will win the election? We'll know in a few hours. In the meantime, watch this video and decide who's best:


or find a winner by playing this game:

McCain Vs Obama Risk it all and use superior tactics to win the Presidential Election

Play this free game now!!

International Day of Peace

The International Day of Peace is on September 21st of each year and calls for a full day of peace and ceasefire throughout the world.

In this event, the "Peace Bell" is rung at UN Headquarters. The bell is cast from coins donated by children on all continents, and considered a symbol of global solidarity. It was given as a gift by Japan, and is referred to as "a reminder of the human cost of war." The inscription on its side reads: "Long live absolute world peace."

Observance of the annual International Day of Peace is widespread across the globe. Celebrations now take place in every country.

(Wikipedia, 21-09-2008)

Learn more about this celebration at http://www.internationaldayofpeace.org/

And enjoy what is probably the most famous song about peace: Imagine, by John Lenon.

Pen spinning

Some of my former students (you know who I'm talking about) had the strange habit of doing tricks with their pens while listening - to help their concentration, they said. By chance, I just found out that this is called pen spinning, and there are thousands of experts at it out there. In fact, there are so many that BIC, the pen company, is organizing a competition!

If you are good enough at it, why don't you try and enter the competition? The prize is a trip to Japan! More details at pen pinning academy. You'll need to hurry up: the deadline is July 31st!

If you're not good enough yet, here's a tutorial:


For extra practice and tricks, type pen spinning in YouTube and you'll find over 6000 more examples and tutorials!