Please.. be vigilant.. stay safe

revising a bit!

I love minions

worth a look!

Merry Christmas!!!

Brilliant quotes!

Yay!

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Conan Doyle is most famous as the inventor of Sherlock Holmes, but he had a varied career as a writer, journalist and public figure.

Arthur Conan Doyle was born on 22 May 1859 in Edinburgh into a prosperous Irish family. He trained as a doctor, gaining his degree from Edinburgh University in 1881. He worked as a surgeon on a whaling boat and also as a medical officer on a steamer travelling between Liverpool and West Africa. He then settled in Portsmouth on the English south coast and divided his time between medicine and writing.

Sherlock Holmes made his first appearance in 'A Study of Scarlet', published in 'Beeton's Christmas Annual' in 1887. Its success encouraged Conan Doyle to write more stories involving Holmes but, in 1893, Conan Doyle killed off Holmes, hoping to concentrate on more serious writing. A public outcry later made him resurrect Holmes. In addition, Conan Doyle wrote a number of other novels, including 'The Lost World' and various non-fictional works. These included a pamphlet justifying Britain's involvement in the Boer War, for which he was knighted and histories of the Boer War and World War One, in which his son, brother and two of his nephews were killed. Conan Doyle also twice ran unsuccessfully for parliament. In later life he became very interested in spiritualism.

Conan Doyle died of a heart attack on 7 July 1930.

what an awesome way to say goodbye Mandela...

Please spend 4 precious minutes to watch it.. and then.. an entire life to think about it!

let your greatness blossom!

Nelson Mandela: to honour him we must preserve his memory

·         Why is Nelson Mandela famous?

A leader of his people
Nelson Mandela was the first black President of South Africa. He spent 27 years in prison for trying to overthrow the pro-apartheid government. After he left prison, he worked to achievehuman rights and a better future for everyone in South Africa.

When did he live?
Nelson Mandela was born in 1918. He was in prison from 1962 to 1990. He became President of South Africa in 1994, and retired in 1999. Nelson Mandela died on 5 December 2013 following a lung illness.

Why is he famous?
Nelson Mandela became famous for his long fight against bad government andracial prejudice. He became a hero to people all over the world. As South Africa's President, he was respected for his courage and wisdom in bringing people together to live in peace.

South Africa's history
Most South Africans are black. There are also people of European and Asian backgrounds, and people of mixed race.

Dutch people set up the first whitecolony in South Africa in 1652. Later British settlers came. Dutch farmers called themselves 'Boers', from a Dutch word meaning 'farmers'. They spoke a language called Afrikaans. Most other white settlers spoke English. Black people spoke Bantu languages such as isiNdebele and isiZulu.

Britain and South Africa
Britain took over the Dutch colony in 1815. South Africa became part of theBritish Empire. Gold was found in 1886. With gold and good farmland, the country was rich.

But it was not peaceful. Whites and blacks fought over the land. There were wars between the Boers and the British. The Boers wanted their own country.

How South Africa was ruled
When Mandela was growing up, black people had little say in how South Africa was run. The government was whites-only. Most black people were poor. They worked as servants. They worked on farms, and in factories and gold mines.

What was the ANC?
In 1944, Nelson Mandela joined the African National Congress or ANC. The ANC wanted black South Africans to have the same human rights as whites.

In 1948, the South African government made new laws to keep white people and black people apart. The new system was called 'apartheid'.

What was apartheid?
Apartheid (say A-PART-HITE) forced white and non-white people to live in separate areas. Non-white people meant black people, people from Asia and people of mixed race.

A white person and a black person could not marry. Black people and white people could not share a table in a restaurant, or sit together on a bus. Black children and white children went to different schools. Sports teams were all-white or all-black, never mixed.

Mandela makes a stand
Mandela and Oliver Tambo set up South Africa's first black law firm. Poor people came to them for help.

Mandela led young people in the ANC. Many white people, as well as black people, spoke out against apartheid. Mandela admired Gandhi, who had used peaceful protest in India. Perhaps peaceful protest could get rid of apartheid, without fighting?

But to speak out was dangerous. In 1956, Mandela and 155 other people were arrested for treason. After a trial lasting five years, he was set free in 1961.

What happened at Sharpeville? 
In 1960, people held a demonstrationagainst apartheid at Sharpeville, near Johannesburg. The police shot dead 69 black people. The government blamed the ANC, and banned it.

Mandela became leader of a secret army, known as Umkhonto we Sizwe or 'Spear of the Nation'. He was hunted by the police, and had to hide and use disguises. He travelled to other countries to ask for help.

Mandela goes to jail
In 1961 South Africa left theCommonwealth. Millions of people in other countries supported the anti-apartheid movement. Many nations stopped trade with South Africa. Sports teams and entertainers refused to go there.

Still the government refused to change. In 1962, Nelson Mandela was arrested again. He was accused of sabotageand plotting to overthrow the government. In 1964, aged 46, he was given a life sentence.

Robben Island
Mandela was sent to the prison on Robben Island. Other ANC leaders in prison there included Walter Sisulu. Oliver Tambo had left South Africa to live abroad.

Mandela spent 18 years on Robben Island. He had to do hard labour. He was allowed one visitor every 6 months. He was later moved to another prison.

Free Nelson Mandela!
Mandela became the most famous prisoner in the world. He did not give up. Even the prison guards admired him.

At last, in 1988, the South African government began to make changes. One change was to let black students into 'white' universities. From around the world, the calls got louder. Free Nelson Mandela!

Mandela leaves prison
In 1990, South Africa's new President FW de Klerk set Nelson Mandela free. Mandela and de Klerk agreed: no more fighting. Mandela called on all South Africans to work together in peace.

Mandela becomes President
In 1991, Mandela became leader of the ANC. In the 1994 elections, all black people in South Africa were able to vote for the first time. The ANC won the election. A new government took over. In May 1994, Nelson Mandela became South Africa's first black president.

Rest in peace Madiba..

fall....

what's the difference between prepositions and conjunctions?

How the Grand Canyon formed...

You just have to clik on the following link... enjoy the video!!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/earth/natural_disasters/flood#p00h1f3t

What would you like to have?

can't you feel it coming?

Santa's coming..

curiosities about the English language!

In the English language, …

…the shortest word containing all five main vowels is ‘eunoia’, meaning ‘beautiful thinking’ or a state of normal mental health.

…the longest word with only one vowel is ‘strengths’ (9 letters long).

…there are only 4 words that end with ‘-dous’: ‘tremendous’, ‘stupendous’, ‘hazardous’ and ‘horrendous’.

…the oldest word is ‘town’.

…the longest one-syllable word is ‘screeched’.

…the longest word with all the letters in alphabetical order is ‘almost’.

…the only two words that end ‘-gry’ are ‘hungry’ and ‘angry’.

…the longest word without the main vowels is ‘rhythms’.

…the dot on top of the letter ‘i’ is called a ‘tittle’.

…the most commonly-used word in conversation is ‘I’.

enjoy this!

Here's a little tour of 21 accents in one take. Love the fun challenge of switching between them fluidly. Props to All of these places and their multi-accented people!

How do u feel today?

never worry too much;)

linkers!

awesome!

ask yourself..

Rihanna- Diamonds... May you all shine like diamonds:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SADoyWxGRV4

How about you?

Intermediate - BEOWULF

Beowulf is the longest poem written in Old English. Old English poetry uses alliterative meter, meaning that the stressed words in a line begin with the same sound. A line of Old English poetry has two halves, with a brief pause, called a caesura, in the middle of the line. The two halves of a line are linked by the alliteration (repetition of an initial consonant); at least three words in a line alliterate. Old English poetry also useskennings, compressed metaphors like "heaven's candle" for the sun, or "whale's road" for the sea, or calling a woman married in an effort to gain peace a "peace weaver."

Beowulf was probably created by a scop, a professional Anglo-Saxon poet. Much like bards, scops created poems to preserve the myths and histories of their people. These poems would be performed from memory at feasts or other public gatherings as part of an oral story-telling tradition. Sometime in the eleventh century, two scribes preserved Beowulf in writing, creating the single manuscript of Beowulf we have today. The original poem and the poet were pagan, but the scribes were Christian and added Christian details to the poem: the poem now calls God the ultimate judge and ruler and even refers to events in the Old Testament.

Beowulf exists in a single damaged manuscript in the British Library. The manuscript was probably written in England in the early eleventh century, though the poem itself was probably first written down in the eighth century, and was passed on orally before that.

The story told in Beowulf occurs around 500 A.D., and many of the characters in the story can be directly related to real historical figures. It is known that the historic Hygelac, for instance, died around 521 A.D. More generally, Beowulfemerges from the Germanic/Scandinavian culture that flourished in Northern Europe during the last centuries of the Roman Empire and after.

IMPROVE YOUR VOCABULARY:)

Fluffy pancakes!

Ingredients

• 135g/4¾oz plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 130ml/4½fl oz milk
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tbsp melted butter (allowed to cool slightly) or olive oil, plus extra for cooking

To serve

• Maple syrup

Preparation method

1.     Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and caster sugar into a large bowl. In a separate bowl or jug, lightly whisk together the milk and egg.

2.     Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and, using a fork, beat until you have a smooth batter. Any lumps will soon disappear with a little mixing. Let the batter stand for a few minutes.

3.     Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add a knob of butter. When it's melted, add a ladle of batter (or two if your frying pan is big enough to cook two pancakes at the same time). It will seem very thick but this is how it should be. Wait until the top of the pancake begins to bubble, then turn it over and cook until both sides are golden brown and the pancake has risen to about 1cm (½in) thick.

4.     Repeat until all the batter is used up. You can keep the pancakes warm in a low oven, but they taste best fresh out of the pan

5.   Serve with lashings of real maple syrup

Other ways to say....

Useful everyday expressions

visit London!

Have a look! Whenever you want to virtually visit London...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7rDMy9Ql_A

"Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford."
— Samuel Johnson
"Signore, non troverai un singolo uomo, soprattutto un intellettuale, che voglia lasciare Londra. No, Signore, quando un uomo è stanco di Londra è stanco della vita, perchè Londra offre tutto ciò che la vita possa offrire"

I LOVE LONDON <3

Welcome everybody!:)

Welcome everybody! The posts you'll find here will help you to improve your English... but they are also meant to entertain you and make u smile:) hope u'll find it useful!