Sunday, February 28, 2016

The Fonix 2.016: The Die Is Cast

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That is! The Fonix exam has already been done. We can only wait for the results next April the 9th. Hope our students will have luck.

Unfortunately, 4th ESO student, Hizer, hasn't taken part in the exam as expected due to illness. We all wish he gets better soon!

Enjoy some pics taken before and after the exam:



Leap Day

Leap Day is February 29, which is an extra day added during a Leap Year, making the year 366 days long – and not 365 days, like a common year. Nearly every 4 years is a Leap Year.

leap year (or intercalary or bissextile year) is a year containing one additional day in order to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical or seasonal year.




A person born on February 29 may be called a leapling or a leaper. In common years they usually celebrate their birthdays on February 28 or March 1. In some situations, March 1 is used as the birthday in a non-leap year since it is the day following February 28. People born on February 29 are all invited to join The Honor society of Leap Year Day Babies.

Folk traditions:

  • In Britain and Ireland, it is a tradition that women may propose marriage only on leap years.
  • In Denmark, the tradition is that women may propose on the leap day, and that refusal must be compensated with 12 pairs of gloves.
  • In Finland, the tradition is that if a man refuses a woman's proposal on leap day, he should buy her the fabrics for a skirt.
  • In Greece, marriage in a leap year is considered unlucky. One in five engaged couples in Greece will plan to avoid getting married in a leap year.
  • In Scotland, it used to be considered unlucky for someone to be born on Leap Day.

The Most Frequent Collocations in Spoken English


A collocation is two or more words that often go together. These combinations just sound "right" to native English speakers, who use them all the time. On the other hand, other combinations may be unnatural and just sound "wrong". 

Why learn collocations?

  • Your language will be more natural and more easily understood.
  • You will have alternative and richer ways of expressing yourself.
  • It is easier for our brains to remember and use language in chunks or blocks rather than as single words.

Saturday, February 27, 2016

"The Chaos" by Dr. Gerard Nolst Trenité

If you can pronounce correctly every word in this poem, you will be speaking English better than 90% of the native English speakers in the world

After trying the verses, a Frenchman said he’d prefer six months of hard labour to reading six lines aloud, and we’ll be honest with you, we struggled with parts of it.

Dearest creature in creation,
Study English pronunciation
I will teach you in my verse
Sounds like corpse, corps, horse, and worse.
I will keep you, Suzy, busy,
Make your head with heat grow dizzy.
Tear in eye, your dress will tear.
So shall I! Oh hear my prayer.
Just compare heart, beard, and heard,
Dies and diet, lord and word,
Sword and sward, retain and Britain.
(Mind the latter, how it’s written.)
Now I surely will not plague you
With such words as plaque and ague.
But be careful how you speak:
Say break and steak, but bleak and streak;
Cloven, oven, how and low,
Script, receipt, show, poem, and toe.
Hear me say, devoid of trickery,
Daughter, laughter, and Terpsichore,
Typhoid, measles, topsails, aisles,
Exiles, similes, and reviles;
Scholar, vicar, and cigar,
Solar, mica, war and far;
One, anemone, Balmoral,
Kitchen, lichen, laundry, laurel;
Gertrude, German, wind and mind,
Scene, Melpomene, mankind.
Billet does not rhyme with ballet,
Bouquet, wallet, mallet, chalet.
Blood and flood are not like food,
Nor is mould like should and would.
Viscous, viscount, load and broad,
Toward, to forward, to reward.
And your pronunciation’s OK
When you correctly say croquet,
Rounded, wounded, grieve and sieve,
Friend and fiend, alive and live.
Ivy, privy, famous; clamour
And enamour rhyme with hammer.
River, rival, tomb, bomb, comb,
Doll and roll and some and home.
Stranger does not rhyme with anger,
Neither does devour with clangour.
Souls but foul, haunt but aunt,
Font, front, wont, want, grand, and grant,
Shoes, goes, does. Now first say finger,
And then singer, ginger, linger,
Real, zeal, mauve, gauze, gouge and gauge,
Marriage, foliage, mirage, and age.
Query does not rhyme with very,
Nor does fury sound like bury.
Dost, lost, post and doth, cloth, loth.
Job, nob, bosom, transom, oath.
Though the differences seem little,
We say actual but victual.
Refer does not rhyme with deafer.
Foeffer does, and zephyr, heifer.
Mint, pint, senate and sedate;
Dull, bull, and George ate late.
Scenic, Arabic, Pacific,
Science, conscience, scientific.
Liberty, library, heave and heaven,
Rachel, ache, moustache, eleven.
We say hallowed, but allowed,
People, leopard, towed, but vowed.
Mark the differences, moreover,
Between mover, cover, clover;
Leeches, breeches, wise, precise,
Chalice, but police and lice;
Camel, constable, unstable,
Principle, disciple, label.
Petal, panel, and canal,
Wait, surprise, plait, promise, pal.
Worm and storm, chaise, chaos, chair,
Senator, spectator, mayor.
Tour, but our and succour, four.
Gas, alas, and Arkansas.
Sea, idea, Korea, area,
Psalm, Maria, but malaria.
Youth, south, southern, cleanse and clean.
Doctrine, turpentine, marine.
Compare alien with Italian,
Dandelion and battalion.
Sally with ally, yea, ye,
Eye, I, ay, aye, whey, and key.
Say aver, but ever, fever,
Neither, leisure, skein, deceiver.
Heron, granary, canary.
Crevice and device and aerie.
Face, but preface, not efface.
Phlegm, phlegmatic, ass, glass, bass.
Large, but target, gin, give, verging,
Ought, out, joust and scour, scourging.
Ear, but earn and wear and tear
Do not rhyme with here but ere.
Seven is right, but so is even,
Hyphen, roughen, nephew Stephen,
Monkey, donkey, Turk and jerk,
Ask, grasp, wasp, and cork and work.
Pronunciation (think of Psyche!)
Is a paling stout and spikey?
Won’t it make you lose your wits,
Writing groats and saying grits?
It’s a dark abyss or tunnel:
Strewn with stones, stowed, solace, gunwale,
Islington and Isle of Wight,
Housewife, verdict and indict.
Finally, which rhymes with enough,
Though, through, plough, or dough, or cough?
Hiccough has the sound of cup.
My advice is to give up!!!

Sunday, February 14, 2016

From Your Valentine

Saint Valentine was a bishop who lived in the third century in Rome who fight against Emperor Claudius II who banned marriages.

The History Of Saint Valentine's Day - Animated Narration

2000 years ago, the most powerful army in the world belonged to the Romans. The Romans were so strong that they conquered almost all of Europe, and parts of Asia and Africa. Then they began to grow rich and a little bit lazy. Life in the army was harsh, and many of the soldiers longed for the comforts of home. They wanted to get married and set up families. The Emperor, whose name was Claudius the Second, was worried that his army was growing soft; so he made a law that no soldier was allowed to get married.

By that time, many of the Romans were Christians – and one of their leaders was a Bishop called Valentine.

He believed that if a man and woman fell in love with each other, they should get married – and so he decided to let soldiers get married in his church, even though it was now against the law. The soldiers’ weddings were meant to be kept secret, but as you know, all secrets are hard to keep, and soon the word got out. Valentine was arrested and brought before the emperor who demanded that he stop helping soldiers to marry, and instead that he pray to the gods of Rome. When he refused, the emperor sentenced him to death.

While Valentine was in prison, the jailer’s daughter used to bring him his food. She was a young woman who unfortunately was blind. She and Valentine used to spend long hours talking to each other, and they fell in love. One day, Valentine put his hand through the bars of his cell and touched the lids of her closed eyes. When she opened them again, she could see. It was a miracle.

Valentine’s execution was set for February the 14th. On his last night on earth, he wrote his final message to the girl. He signed his love letter, “From your Valentine”. This took place in the year 270, and ever since, lovers have sent each other messages on February the 14th with the same signature.



Monday, February 08, 2016

Invention-related Vocabulary

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Inspiration 
Definitionsomething that moves a mind to create
ContextMany times a dream acts as inspiration for an inventor, a novelist, or a painter.

New-fangled
DefinitionNew and maybe needlessly novel
ContextOne elderly person complained that the remote control device was new-fangled; the other elderly person appreciated the convenience of the device.

Patent
DefinitionA document that gives an inventor the exclusive rights to manufacture or sell the item.
ContextThe expression patent pending on an object means that the inventor has applied for the right to be the only person who can make and sell the object.

Serendipity
DefinitionA fortunate accident in which a person finds something valuable or pleasing when he or she was not looking for it
ContextThe inventor did not want to admit the invention came about by serendipity; he wanted the world to think he had carefully designed the invention


Sunday, February 07, 2016

Inventions and Discoveries: Online Activities


1. Theory: 


2. Online Activities:



More about Inventions and Discoveries




List of Inventions and Discoveries (XIIIth to XXth Centuries)


Some of the most important inventions of the world.

Date
Invention or Discovery
Inventor or Discoverer
Nationality
1250
Magnifying glass
Roger Bacon
English
1450
Printing press
Johann Gutenberg
German
1504
Pocket watch
Peter Henlein
German
1590
Compound microscope
Zacharias Janssen
Dutch
1593
Water thermometer
Galileo
Italian
1608
Telescope
Hans Lippershey
Dutch
1625
Blood transfusion
Jean-Baptiste Denys
French
1643
Barometer
Evangelista Torricelli
Italian
1656
Pendulum clock
Christiaan Huygens
Dutch
1668
Reflecting telescope
Isaac Newton
English
1671
Calculating machine
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
German
1683
Bacteria
Anton van Leeuwenhoek
Dutch
1687
Motion, Laws of
Isaac Newton
English
1714
Mercury thermometer
Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit
German
1717
Diving bell
Edmund Halley
English
1725
Stereotyping
William Ged
Scottish
1775
Submarine
David Bushnell
American
1780
Steel pen
Samuel Harrison
English
1780
Bifocal lens
Benjamin Franklin
American
1783
Balloon, hot-air
Montgolfier Brothers
French
1784
Threshing machine
Andrew Meikle
British
1791
Gas turbine
John Barber
British
1795
Hydraulic press
Joseph Bramah
English
1796
Smallpox vaccination
Edward Jenner
British
1800
Electric battery
Count Alessandro Volta
Italian
1804
Steam locomotive
Richard Trevithick
British
1810
Printing press
Frederick Koenig
German
1814
Railroad locomotive
George Stephenson
British
1816
Bicycle (no pedals)
Karl D. Sauerbronn
German
1819
Stethoscope
Theophile & Laennec
French
1820
Hygrometer
J.F. Daniell
English
1821
Electric motor
Michael Faraday
British
1823
Electromagnet
William Sturgeon
British
1824
Portland cement
Joseph Aspdin
British
1829
Typewriter
W.A. Burt
American
1829
Braille printing
Louis Braille
French
1831
Dynamo
Michael Faraday
British
1834
Electric streetcar
Thomas Davenport
American
1835
Pistol (revolver)
Samuel Colt
American
1837
Telegraph
Samuel Morse
American
1839
Photography
Louis-Jacques Daguerre 
French
1839
Bicycle (with pedals)
Kirkpatrick MacMillan
British
1846
Nitroglycerin
Ascanio Sobrero
Italian
1849
Reinforced concrete
F.J. Monier
French
1849
Safety pin
Walter Hunt
American
1849
Water turbine
James Bicheno Francis
American
1852
Elevator (with brake)
Elisha Graves Otis
American
1852
Gyroscope
Jean Bernard Foucault
French
1855
Hypodermic syringe
Alexander Wood
Scottish
1861
Machine gun
Richard Jordan Gatling
American
1861
Kinematoscope
Coleman Sellers
American
1866
Dynamite
Alfred Bernhard Nobel
Swedish
1868
Dry cell
Georges Leclanche'
French
1868
Typewriter
Glidden & Sholes
American
1876
Telephone
Alexander Graham Bell
American
1877
Talking machine (phonograph)
Thomas Alva Edison
American
1877
Microphone
Emile Berliner
American
1878
Cathode ray tube
Sir William Crookes
British
1879
Cash register
James J. Ritty
American
1879
Light Bulb
Thomas Alva Edison
Sir Joseph Wilson Swan
American
British
1884
Fountain pen
Lewis Edson Waterman
American
1885
Automobile
Benz and Daimler
German
1885
AC transformer
William Stanley
American
1887
Gramophone (disc records)
Emile Berliner
American
1888
Adding machine
William S. Burroughs
American
1888
Photograph camera
George Eastman
American
1891
Motion picture camera & viewer(Cinetograph)
Thomas Alva Edison
William K. L. Dickson
American
British
1893
Diesel engine
Rudolf Diesel
German
1895
X-ray
Wilhelm K. Roentgen
German
1895
Wireless telegraph
Guglielmo Marconi
Italian
1903
Airplane
Wright Brothers
American
1903
Electrocardiograph
Willem Einthoven
Dutch
1911
Air conditioning
W.H. Carrier
American
1911
Vitamins
Casimir Funk
Polish
1911
Neon lamp
Georges Claude
French
1914
Gas-Mask
Garrett Morgan
American
1923
Autogiro
Juan de la Cierva
Spanish
1923
Three-way Traffic Signal
Garrett Morgan
American
1926
Aerosol can
Erik Rotheim
Norwegian
1928
Penicillin
Sir Alexander Fleming
British
1933
Frequency modulation (FM)
Edwin H. Armstrong
American
1935
Radiolocator (radar)
Sir Robert Watson-Watt
British
1938
Ballpoint pen
Georg and Ladislao Biro
Hungarian
1939
Helicopter
Igor Sikorsky
American
1942
Guided missile
Wernher von Braun
German
1942
Nuclear reactor
Enrico Fermi
American
1945
Atomic bomb
U.S. scientists
American
1946
Digital computer, electronic
J. P. Eckert & J. W. Mauchly
American
1947
Holography
Dennis Gabon
English
1947
Bathyscaphe
Auguste Piccard
Swiss
1947
Microwave oven
Percy L. Spencer
American
1948
Transistor
Bardeen, Brattain & Shockley
American
1950
Color television
Peter Carl Goldmark
American
1950
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
Felix Bloch & Edward Purcell
American
1952
Hydrogen bomb
U.S. government scientists
American
1955
Optical fibers
Narinder S. Kapany
Indian
1956
Videotape
Charles Ginsberg, Ray Dolby
American
1958
Communications satellite
U.S. government scientists
American
1959
Integrated circuit
Jack Kilby, Robert Noyce
American
1960
Laser
Charles Hard Townes, Arthur L. Schawlow, and Gordon Gould
American
1962
Light-emitting diode (LED)
Nick Holonyak, Jr.
American
1964
Liquid-crystal display
George Heilmeier
American
1967
Human heart transplant
Christiaan Neethling Barnard
S. Africa
1969
Internet (initially "ARPAnet")
Leonard Kleinrock
American
1971
Microprocessor
Ted Hoff
American
1972
Electronic pocket calculator
J.S. Kilby and J.D. Merryman
American
1975
CAT (computerized axial tomography) scanner
Godfrey N. Hounsfield
British
1975
Fiberoptics
Bell Laboratories
American
1976
Computer (personal)
Steve Wozniak
American
1979
Compact disc
Joop Sinjou
Toshi Tada Doi
Dutch
Japanese
1982
Artificial heart
Robert K. Jarvik
American