Planning a summer getaway? going on a trip?….. and you will need to use English

TRAVEL ENGLISH

If you're planning a trip, and would like to learn/practice common English phrases used by travellers, this is the right place to find exercises that will help you do this.

This is much more than a simple English phrasebook - It's a collection of interactive exercises designed to assist you in a wide variety of possible travel-related situations: from Airports and Airplanes, Hotels and Accommodations, Restaurants, Bars and Eating out, Transportation, Sightseeing, Meeting and Talking to people, to Health and Safety.

Start practicing English before you take your trip!


http://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/travelenglish/index.html

http://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/vocabulary/esl-travel-tourism1.html

And now, watch this video to revise and reinforce vocabulary at the Airport

and learn about a day in the life of a Fight Attendant

http://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/vocabulary/esl-travel-tourism1.html

Friday the 13th and friggatriskaidekaphobia

Next Friday it will be 13th. Are you superstitious? If not, it may be your lucky day.

Friday the 13th occurs when the thirteenth day of a month falls on a Friday, which superstition holds to be a day of bad luck. In the Gregorian calendar, this day occurs at least once, but at most three times a year. Any month's 13th day will fall on a Friday if the month starts on a Sunday.

The fear of Friday the 13th is called friggatriskaidekaphobia, frigga, meaning "Friday" and triskaidekaphobia, or paraskevidekatriaphobia, a word derived from the concatenation of the Greek words Paraskeví (meaning "Friday"), and dekatreís (meaning "thirteen"), attached to phobía (meaning "fear"). The word was derived in 1911 and first appeared in a mainstream source in 1953.

One theory states that it is a modern amalgamation of two older superstitions: that thirteen is an unlucky number and the Friday is an unlucky day.

In numerology, the number twelve is considered the number of completeness, as reflected in the twelve months of the year, twelve signs of the zodiac, twelve hours of the clock, twelve tribes of Israel, twelve Apostles of Jesus, twelve gods of Olympus, etc., whereas the number thirteen was considered irregular, transgressing this completeness.

To know more about 13th Friday:
http://theunexplainedmysteries.com/friday-the-13th.html

Friday the 13th Myths:

• If you cut your hair on Friday the 13th, someone in your family will die.

• A child born on Friday the 13th will be unlucky for life.

• If a funeral procession passes you on Friday the 13th, you will be the next to die.  

Tasks:

Answer the following questions :

1. Which British superstition are similar to those in your country?

2. Which are different?

Hello and Goodbye

How many ways of saying hello and goodbye do you know?.

I´d never imagined there were so many till I first met Mr. Ducan, my favourite English teacher.

I´m inviting you to meet him and I´m sure you´ll soon like to follow another of his interesting, funny and different lessons. You´ll like him as much as I do. 

Sports in Canada

Sports in Canada consists of a variety of games. Although there are many contests that Canada value, the most common are ice hockey, Lacrosse, Canadian football, basketball, soccer, curling and baseball.

Ice hockey, referred to as simply "hockey", is Canada's most prevalent winter sport,^[1] its most popular spectator sport, and its most successful sport in international competition. It is Canada's official national winter sport.^[1] Lacrosse, a sport with Native American origins, is Canada's oldest and official summer sport.^[1] Canadian football is Canada's second most popular spectator sport,^[2] and the Canadian Football League's annual championship, the Grey Cup, is the country's largest annual sports event.^[3] While other sports have a larger spectator base, association football, known in Canada as soccer in both English and French, has the most registered players of any team sport in Canada.^[4] Professional teams exist in many cities in Canada. Other popular team sports include curling, street hockey, cricket, rugby and softball. Popular individual sports include auto racing, boxing, cycling, golf, hiking, horse racing, ice skating, rodeo, skateboarding, skiing, snowboarding, swimming, tennis, triathlon, track and field, water sports, and wrestling.

As a country with a generally cool climate, Canada has enjoyed greater success at the Winter Olympics than at the Summer Olympics, although significant regional variations in climate allow for a wide variety of both team and individual sports. Major multi-sport events in Canada include the 2010 Winter Olympics. Great achievements in Canadian sports are recognized by Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, while the Lou Marsh Trophy is awarded annually to Canada's top athlete by a panel of journalists. There are numerous other Sports Halls of Fame in Canada.

Source: Wikipedia

After learning a bit more about Sport in Canada, it´s time for some sports puzzles:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/24725659/Biod_me_of_Montreal_Puzzle.htm

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/24725659/Canadian_sports_album.htm

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/24725659/Hockey_Players_Statue_Puzzle.htm

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/24725659/Lacrosse_Equipment_Panel.htm

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/24725659/Montreal_District_Picture_Puzzle.htm

I´m giving you another bite of the cherry to learn idioms...

Idioms make a language more interesting and vibrant and knowing them improves your skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing native English. So, if you watch the fruit idioms video which is a real peach, all your efforts finally will begin to bear fruit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2g--OWe5iI

What are phrasal verbs and idioms?

An idiom is a phrase with a meaning that is often difficult to understand by looking at the individual words.

A phrasal verb consists of a verb (e.g. put, take, give, get, etc.) and one or two particles (e.g. off, out, by, up, etc.).

There are thousands of phrasal verbs and idioms in English. One of the best ways to learn them is by studying them in the context of a particular topic. In this lesson the topic is neighbours.

Phrasal verbs: move in/out; get along (with sb); get on (with sb); help (sb) out; lock sb in/out

Idioms: next door (to sb/sth); break the ice; have sth in common; lend sb a hand; give sb a lift; all by yourself; on your own; get out and about; keep sb company

Getting on with the neighbours

We live next door to a young family. When we first moved in we invited them for tea to break the ice, and, since then, we’ve got along well. We have a lot in common, and they’re always willing to help  out. One day I got locked out, and Millie, the wife, gave me a lift to my husband’s office to get a spare key.

On the other side there’s an old lady living all by herself who doesn’t get out and about much. It’s so sad; she needs someone to keep her company.

next door (to sb/sth): in the next house or flat.

move in: start living in a new house or flat. OPP move out.

break the ice: say or do sth that makes people feel more relaxed, e.g. at the beginning of a party.

get along: have a friendly relationship (also get along with sb). SYN get on well (with sb).

have sth in common: have similar interests (also have sth in common with sb).

help (sb) out: help sb in a difficult situation. SYN lend sb a hand.

lock sb out/in: lock a door so that sb cannot get out or in.

give sb a lift: take sb somewhere in your car.

all by yourself: completely alone (‘all’ adds emphasis). SYN on your own.

get out and about: go to places where you can meet people.

keep sb company: go or be with sb so that they are not alone.

Source: Oxford University Press

Now, it´s your turn. Here you have some tasks to do:

1 Good or bad? Write G or B.

1  We have a lot in common.        

2  You get along with your neighbour.   

3  Someone gave you a lift.       

4  You got locked in.

5  Your friend offers to keep you company.     

6  A noisy neighbour has just moved in.                      

7  You can’t get out and about for 

8  Someone helps you out with your studies.

2 Complete the questions.

1  Do you live all ............. yourself? If not, who with?

2  What do you have ..............common with the people next .............. to you?

3  How would you break the ...................if you had new neighbours?

4  Do you have any elderly neighbours? Do you ever .............them company?

5  Have any of your neighbours .................. you a lift? If so, where to?

6  Have you ever got ................... out of your house and asked a neighbour for help?

7  Which of your neighbours do you get ................... well with, and why?

8  Do your neighbours ever lend you a .................. with things?

 
3  Write a short essay about the topic using phrasal verbs and idioms:
    "You and  your niighbours. Do you have a good relationship with them?"

Royal gossip, the perfect excuse to learn vocabulary and visit Westminster Abbey

Bride-to-be Kate Middleton arrived at Westminster Abbey today for her last rehearsal ahead of her wedding

She was joined by best man Prince Harry, as well as the bridesmaids and pageboys and members of her family for the preparations just one day before the much-anticipated royal wedding ceremony.

It is the last time Kate Middleton or a member of the Royal Family will be at the abbey before the service gets under way tomorrow, St James's Palace said.

Miss Middleton and Prince Harry left the abbey at around 10.50am after the last-minute rehearsal.

A convoy of blacked-out cars drove away from the west door and down Victoria Street accompanied by a police motorbike escort.

Yesterday Prince William and his bride-to-be looked anything but a couple who are about to take their vows in front of two billion people as they adopted a distinctly low-key approach to their preparations. 

Source: The Telegraph

Westminster Abbey Tour: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12819684