A Russian couple was walking down the street in St. Petersburg the other night, when the man felt a drop hit his nose. "I think it's raining," he said to his wife.
"No, that felt more like snow to me," she replied. "No, I'm sure it was just rain, he said." Well, as these things go, they were about to have a major argument about whether it was raining or snowing. Just then they saw a minor communist party official walking toward them. "Let's not fight about it," the man said, "let's ask Comrade Rudolph whether it's officially raining or snowing."
As the official approached, the man said, "Tell us, Comrade Rudolph, is it officially raining or snowing?"
"It's raining, of course," he answered and walked on. But the woman insisted: "I know that felt like snow!" To which the man quietly replied: "Rudolph the Red knows rain, dear!"
White Christmas England has only known seven white Christmases in the entire twentieth century. According to the records of the Meteorological Office in London, snow fell on Christmas Day only in 1938 and 1976. (The definition of a white Christmas in England is when one snowflake falls on the roof of the London Weather Centre.) Christmas Food An old wives' tale says that bread baked on Christmas Eve will never go mouldy. The Christmas turkey was imported to France by the Jesuits and it is still known in some French dialects as a 'Jesuite'. Christmas pudding was first made as a kind of soup with raisins and wine in it. Christmas Pudding originates from an old, Celtic dish known as 'frumenty'. Christmas Day December 25th was not celebrated as the birthday of Christ until the year AD 440. The Queen's Christmas speech was televised for the first time in 1957. Christmas crackers were invented by Thomas Smith. He had imported some French novelties to sell as Christmas gifts, but these were not popular until he wrapped them up and added a snapper. Decorations Each year between 34-36 million Christmas trees are produced to cope with the holiday demand. Electric tree lights were first used just 3 years after Thomas Edison has his first mass public demonstration of electric lights back in 1879. Thomas Edison’s assistant, Edward Johnson, came up with the idea of electric lights for Christmas trees in 1882. His lights were a huge hit. It took quite a few years, however, before they would be made available to the general public. In 1895 Ralph Morris, an American telephonist, invented the string of electric Christmas lights similar to the ones we use today. The actual strings of lights had already been manufactured for use in telephone switchboards. Morris looked at the tiny bulbs and had the idea of using them on his tree. Christmas Banned In 1647, the English parliament passed a law that made Christmas illegal. Christmas festivities were banned by Puritan leader Oliver Cromwell, who considered feasting and revelry on what was supposed to be a holy day to be immoral. Anybody caught celebrating Christmas was arrested. The ban was lifted only when the Puritans lost power in 1660. Christmas Cards and Christmas Post In 1843, the first Christmas card was created on the instructions of an Englishman, Sir Henry Cole. J.C. Horsley designed the card and sold 1000 copies in London. Postmen in Victorian England were popularly called "robins". This was because their uniforms were red. Victorian Xmas cards often showed a robin delivering Xmas mail. In the nineteenth century, the British Post Office used to deliver cards on Christmas morning. The first Christmas stamp was released in Canada in 1898. Father Christmas Father Christmas has two addresses, Edinburgh and the North Pole. Letters addressed to 'TOYLAND' or 'SNOWLAND' go to Edinburgh, but letters addressed to 'THE NORTH POLE' have to be sent there because there really is such a place! Father Christmas' reindeers are called Rudolph - the leader who lights the way with his bright red nose - Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Donder, Blitzen, Cupid and Comet. (Donder is also known as Donner.) Christmas Carols St Francis of Assisi introduced Christmas Carols to formal church services. The word comes from the ancient Greek choros, which means "dancing in a circle," and from the Old French word carole, meaning "a song to accompany dancing." The first instrument on which the carol "Silent Night" was played was a guitar. The popular Christmas song "Jingle Bells" was composed in 1857 by James Pierpont, and was originally called "One-Horse Open Sleigh." It was actually written for Thanksgiving, not Xmas. Twelfth Night
It is not until Twelfth Night that the figures of the Three Kings are supposed to be added to the Christmas crib. In Germany, Twelfth Night is known as 'Three Kings Day'. The "Twelve Days of Christmas " gifts: A partridge in a pear tree, two turtledoves, three French hens, four calling birds, five gold rings, six geese laying, seven swans swimming, eight maids milking, nine ladies dancing, ten lords leaping, eleven pipers piping, and twelve drummers drumming. There are 364 gifts altogether, one for everyday of the year. The poem commonly referred to as "The Night Before Christmas" was originally titled "A Visit From Saint Nicholas." This poem was written by Clement Moore for his children and some guests, one of whom anonymously sent the poem to a New York newspaper for publication.
The Beatles were one of the most influential music groups of the rock era, and many consider them the best musical group on Earth. Initially they affected the post-war baby boom generation of Britain and the U.S. during the 1960s, and later the rest of the world. Certainly they were the most successful group, with global sales exceeding 1.1 billion records.
While they were originally famous for light-weight pop music (and the extreme hysterical reaction they received from young women), their later works achieved a combination of popular and critical acclaim perhaps unequaled in the 20th century.
Eventually, they became more than recording artists, branching out into film and — particularly in the case of John Lennon — political activism. They achieved an iconic status beyond mere celebrity, with far reaching effects difficult to exaggerate.
The members of the group were John Lennon, (James) Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey), all from Liverpool, Merseyside, England. Original drummer Pete Best was asked to leave the group just before it started recording. Stuart Sutcliffe was with them in Hamburg but also left.
Beatlemania began in the UK and exploded following the appearance of the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show in the United States, on February 9, 1964. The pop-music band became a worldwide phenomenon with worshipful fans, hysterical adulation, and denunciations by culture commentators and others such as Frank Sinatra.
Some of this was confusion over the sources of their music (a similar confusion was evinced in 1956 over Elvis Presley by commentators who were unaware of the tradition of blues, R&B and gospel out of which Presley emerged), and some of it was simply an incredulous reaction to the length of their hair. At any rate, it was regarded by the band members with both awe and resentment
Answer the questions about the text.
1. They were the best selling group in history. a) True b) False c) don’t know 2. All the members were from Liverpool. a) True b) False c) don’t know 3. They appeared on TV on February 9, 1964. a) True b) False c) don’t know 4. There was some confusion about the sources of their music. a) True b) False c) don’t know 5. Their music was copied by Elvis Presley. a) True b) False c) don’t know 6. Frank Sinatra didn't like the Beatles too much. a) True b) False c) don’t know
No one knows. And that, say some groups, is the problem. The near-ubiquity of wireless networks has led to concerns over an "electronic smog" of radio waves that stretches from the home to Starbucks and the classroom; anywhere, in fact, that a computer can connect to the internet without wires. The rapid spread of the networks has been accompanied by negligible research into the potential risks.
Last night, the Professional Association of Teachers wrote to Alan Johnson, the education secretary, requesting a scientific inquiry into the potential health risks of Wi-Fi networks, and recommended that schools stop installing them until research declares them safe. Eight out of 10 secondary schools and half of primary schools have the equipment.
Fears over Wi-Fi networks run parallel to those over mobile phones and the masts they speak to. Sir William Stewart's report in 2000 concluded there was no firm evidence to show mobile phone radiation was a health risk, but as a precaution recommended children use them sparingly, because their brains are still developing.
There are reasons to believe Wi-Fi networks are safer than mobile phones. Because they only have to transmit a few tens of metres, Wi-Fi networks run at much lower power. The Health Protection Agency says a person sitting within a Wi-Fi hot spot for a whole year receives the same dose of radiowaves as a person using a mobile phone for 20 minutes.
Graham Philips of the pressure group Powerwatch remains concerned "We're seeing levels of behavioural problems increase in the classroom. We need research into whether these networks are causing these or other problems."
Philip Parkin at the Professional Association of Teachers said other countries are acting to reduce Wi-Fi exposure to children. "Here, these networks are being installed unchecked and unassessed."
Adapted from The Guardian.
Question 1 Indicate whether these sentences are true or false. Justify your answers with evidence from the text:
a) There has been a thorough study into the dangers of Wi-fi connections.
b) Schools shouldn’t set up Wi-fi networks.
c) There is a study proving that mobile waves are a real danger.
d) The shorter the devices transmit the safer they are.
Question 2 Answer these questions in your own words:
a) a) Why shouldn’t children be exposed to radio waves? How does it affect them at school?
b) What has the Professional Association of Teachers asked for?
Question 3 Find a word or phrase in the text that means the same as:
a) Worry par.1
b) Definite par. 3
c) Contact par. 6
Question 4 Rewrite the following sentences without changing the meaning
a) The rapid spread of the networks has been accompanied by negligible research into the potential risks.
Negligible ………………………………………………………….
b) There was no firm evidence to show mobile phone radiation was a health risk, but the report recommended children use them sparingly as a precaution.
Although ……………………………………………………..
c) Graham Philips said “We're seeing levels of behavioural problems increase in the classroom”
Graham Philips stated that …………………………………………………………………
Question 5 Write a short essay (120-150 words) on the following topic:
Governments put warnings on products like tobacco and alcohol. Do these warnings work? Should there be warnings on other things too?
Somos un grupo de profesores de Cantabria: Carmen A., Lorena B., María B., Blanca D., Belen G., José Ramón L., Inés O. y Lola R.
Nos reunimos cada dos semanas para subir al blog las actividades y materiales que vamos elaborando y que están dirigidos al alumnado de Secundaria y de Bachillerato.
Esperamos que lo encontréis útil para vuestras clases.
