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sexta-feira, 4 de maio de 2012

Book of the Week - The Raven

"The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow descent into madness. The lover, often identified as being a student, is lamenting the loss of his love, Lenore. Sitting on a bust of Pallas, the raven seems to further instigate his distress with its constant repetition of the word "Nevermore". The poem makes use of a number of folk and classical references.




To read the poem in a PDF file, go to the link below:
http://www.ibiblio.org/ebooks/Poe/Raven.pdf

If you want to do some interpretation of it with your students, here are some exercises:
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson411/RavenWorksheet.pdf

To listen to it, go to:
http://librivox.org/the-raven-by-edgar-allan-poe/

My Trips 11 - Luxor

Luxor - Egypt

Most people who go to Egypt do so to visit the Pyramids, in Giza; however, they would be just the tip of the iceberg, as this country has so much more to offer to its visitors. 700km south of Cairo, Luxor is a blend of town by the Nile River and a huge variety of ancient sites and catacumbs, among many, the famous Tutankamon lies in the Valley of the Kings, which was found unspoiled. The Karnak Temple makes it certainly worth the train trip, which may last between 9 and 10 hours.

 Karnak Temple

 Karnak Temple Entrance



 Karnak Temple Pool



 Colossus of Memnon

Ramesseum

domingo, 29 de abril de 2012

Jokes in English - 22

The First 3 Years of Marriage

  • In the first year of marriage, the man speaks and the woman listens.
  • In the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens.
  • In the third year, they both speak and the neighbors listen. 


A man inserted an 'ad' in the classifieds: "Wife wanted".
The next day he received a hundred letters. They all said the same thing: "You can have mine."


Tips on English Pronunciation

10 Tips on English pronunciation and accent improvement!

 

1. The pronunciation of ‘Rs’, ‘Ts’, ‘Ds’ is not clear or hard to understand/distinguish:
‘T’ sound almost like ‘D’:
T in some parts of American speech is supposed to be less crisp. It should sounds more like a ‘d’ in many cases, especially between vowels. Katie is pronounced almost like KaDie, water like waDer.
R’ pronunciation: There are varying observations on the sound of ‘R’:
-Let the sound of R flow; don’t put too much stress on this sound especially in the middle or in the end of a word.
-Don’t totally chewing up the sound of ‘R’ in other cases. Practice the stress on this sound, and listen to how your American/English friends use it. In ‘Robert’, the stress is on first R; let the second ‘r’ flow, without any pronounced stress.

2. ‘Vs’ and ‘Ws’ sound: This is a common problem for many Asians and Europeans, so don’t take it personally. There is a clear difference between ‘w’ and ‘v’ sounds. Even though most of Indians understand the difference, the distinction is often not carried out in spoken English. Let us try this:
-For the sound of ‘v’, place lower lip gently on the upper teeth and say the word. Don’t press it hard, you should be able to exhale through, while making the sound. Most of us find this hardest to get used to.
-For ‘w’ sound, it’s a different than ‘v’, the lips are supposed to be rounded and puckered like when we say ‘u’, and with no contact between the teeth and tongue. Move your lips in the forward direction as you vocalize the sound.
-The key distinction between the w/v sound and the ‘B’ sound is the fact that the lips are closed when we start to vocalize ‘B’.


3. ‘S’ and “sh’ pronunciation: Some of the new comers have this issue. The problem is not how to make the sound what when to use what sound. Learn the difference in pronunciation.
-The difference in the sound of ‘Sue’ and ‘Shoe’ should be easy to follow.
-‘s’ as ‘s’ or as ‘z’:  ‘S’ in Sam (the sound is ‘s’), or in ‘is’ (the sound is like ‘z’).

4. ‘Th’ should not sound like ‘da’: Not a problem of speaking, but a habit. Put your tongue between your teeth to make ‘th’ sound.



5. The vowels are VERY important to pay attention to: If you are having difficulty with vowels, make sure to correct it. Buy a good book on pronunciation, or find some local or online resources to learn the pronunciations aspect. For example, the long vowels are supposed to take longer to vocalize compared to the short ones.

Short vowels: rat, leg, pig, Rob, bus: Don’t park on them, move on to next sound.
Long vowels: rate, he, side, robe, tune: Hang in there, don’t rush.
See the difference in ‘i’ sound in Sid (quick) vs. Side.

6. Not too fast or too slow: Speak slowly, but not too slow. The right pace comes with practice. Don’t chew up the words by going too fast.

7. Open the mouth properly while speaking: Let the sound come out properly while speaking. Don’t speak through the teeth or with half open mouth.

8. Syllable stress matters: Understand which parts of a word should take the stress and which ones not. This comes with listening and practicing.


9. Practice is a must: A regular practice- over and over- is very helpful. The best way to get rid of so-called ‘thick accent’ is by speaking and imitating local (American or English) style and slang. A few ways to practice are:
- Speak out loud, speak out often, and as much as possible
- Practice in front of a mirror, or with a friend. Make a game out of it.
- Watch TV to get exposure to the local dialects and speech mannerism.
- Record your audio, listen to it, and then practice to improve the pronunciation.
- Avoid false or fake accent


10. Relax, look at the bigger picture: Well, not a tip, but a word of advice! Everybody has some sort of accent. We are all supposed to. It is the way we are raised, it is the way they speak in our neighborhood. So don’t lose your sleep over this. Instead, understand the issue, get some feedback from your friends on which areas you may need improvement on (if at all), and work on it accordingly. While it may take a long time to lose the accent completely, we can improve it significantly over short period of time if we really try.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/


sexta-feira, 20 de abril de 2012

Songs of the Week - Adele

Rolling in the Deep






Someone Like You



Set Fire to the Rain

Recipe of the Week - Special for Mother's Day

Italian Omelet


Ingredients


•3/4 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
•2 tablespoons chopped onion
•2 teaspoons olive oil
•1 tablespoon butter
•3 eggs
•3 tablespoons water
•1/8 teaspoon salt
•1/8 teaspoon pepper
•1/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
•1/4 cup marinara sauce or spaghetti sauce, warmed

Directions

•In a small nonstick skillet, saute mushrooms and onion in oil until tender. Remove from skillet and set aside.
•In the same skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Whisk the eggs, water, salt and pepper. Add egg mixture to skillet (mixture should set immediately at edges).
•As eggs set, push cooked edges toward the center, letting uncooked portion flow underneath. When the eggs are set, spoon mushroom mixture on one side and sprinkle with cheese; fold other side over filling. Slide omelet onto a plate. Serve with marinara sauce. Yield: 1 serving.

Nutritional Facts

1 omelet (calculated without marinara sauce) equals 523 calories, 40 g fat (16 g saturated fat), 681 mg cholesterol, 830 mg sodium, 14 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 29 g protein.

Prep/Total Time: 20 min.  Yield: 1 Servings

domingo, 15 de abril de 2012

Videos of the Week - National Anthems in English

America's National Anthem




British National Anthem




Canadian National Anthem




Australian National Anthem