OH POOR ELENA! THE CAT ATE HER PIGEON!

Elena was happy. She had a good husband, Edward, and two perfect children, a girl and a boy. She used to have a good job, but she gave it up. She left it because the family had enough money. Edward was an early riser so he got up early every morning and made the children’s breakfasts. He helped them get dressed and then he drove them to school before going to the office. Elena stayed in bed and watched TV. However, the news was all bad and she worried about bombings, murders and the problems in the Middle East. She spent a lot of time with her beautiful cat Mamie. Mamie wasn’t an ordinary cat, oh no! Elena told everyone how special the cat was – like a human being; like a third child! How she fussed and faffed with that cat! When Elena looked into her cat’s eyes, she knew they had a really special relationship.

Elena also had a pet woodpigeon. It didn’t live in the house, of course. It lived in her garden. Every morning, Elena put sunflower seeds out for it and it always came for them. Elena loved the white ring round its neck and the way it fluttered its wings. Mamie never bothered that bird – she knew how much it meant to Mummy Elena. She really did.

Until one day when Mamie came in the house with feathers in her mouth. She wouldn’t! She couldn’t! No, she never would! Elena cried out and ran into the garden. Oh no, she had! There was the beautiful pigeon, dead. Killed and chewed on by Mamie, none other.

Elena screamed and started to cry. Then she ran back into the house to face the murderous cat who had betrayed her. Elena looked at the cat as if it was a strange, unknown creature. Mamie licked her paws, rolled over and purred.

‘Look, she’s just a cat!’ Edward said when he got home. ‘That’s what they do, sweetheart. Cheer up, it was only a pigeon! Oh and by the way, we need a receptionist at work. Would you be interested?’

‘Oh! Oh, well maybe I would…’ answered Elena. Perhaps it was time she went back to work. Life as a housewife was far too stressful.  

Answer in full sentences.

1)     Why did Elena give up work? She ….

2)    Why did Edward sort the children in the mornings? He…..

3)    Do you think that Elena should have got up to make the children’s breakfasts and get them ready for school? Was she being fair?

4)    What things did Elena worry about? Why do you think she worried about these things?

5)    How did Elena view her cat Mamie? Do you think her relationship with the cat was healthy and normal?

6)    How did Elena care for the woodpigeon?

7)    Why did she think the cat wouldn’t harm the pigeon?

8)    What happened to the pigeon? Who do you blame?

9)    How did Elena react to the pigeon’s fate?

10)  How did she view the cat after the ‘murder’?

11)   How did Edward react to the sorry tale of the pigeon?

12)  Do you think Elena should consider the job? Why or why not? 

58% Eat At A Restaurant At Least Once A Week

Most Americans continue to eat out at least one time each week.

Fifty-eight percent (58%) of American Adults now say they are dining out at least once a week, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. That’s virtually unchanged from January and includes 40% who say they typically go out to a restaurant once a week, 14% who go out two or three times a week and four percent (4%) who dine out more than three times a week. Thirty-nine percent (39%), on the other hand, rarely or never eat at a restaurant.

 1- What is the text about?

___________________________________________________________________.

2- Do most Americans like to eat out, according to the survey?

___________________________________________________________________.

3- Check T for True and F for False:

    a) Many Americans go out to a restaurant more than three times a week. (       ).

     b) Few Americans like to dine out. (       ).

     c) Almost forty percent never eat out . (       ).

4- Do you go out to a restaurant?

___________________________________________________________________.

5- How often do you eat out?

a) Always (      )

b) Usually (     )

c) Every week (      )

d) Often (       )

e) Sometimes (       )

f) Rarely (      )

g) Never (       )

6- What do you like to eat at the restaurant?

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________.

a) What food you always eat out?_______________________________.

b) What food you sometimes eat out? __________________________.

c) What food you never eat out? ________________________________.

7- The food you eat out is healthy food or junkie food?

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________.

8 - Is going out to a restaurant a typical habit where you live?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________.

Andy´s Story

My name is Andy.  I am 12 years old.  I live in California.  I want to sail a boat.  I like to go to the beach and swim.  My dad wants to build a house. My mom wants to travel around the world.

My name is Kate.  I live in Australia.  I am 14 years old.  I want to climb a mountain.   I want to go to Switzerland and climb a big mountain.  My brother wants to design a video game.  My dad wants to go to a baseball game.

My name is Scott.  I am 13 years old.  I live in Brazil.  I want to go to a soccer game.  I play soccer at school and I like to watch soccer games on TV.  My sister wants to drive a car.  She is 17 years old.  My dad wants to design a video game.  My mom wants to go to Tokyo Disneyland. 

My name is Jenny.  I am 14 years old.  I want to play tennis.  I like to play tennis with my friend, Sue.  My sister wants to fly an airplane.  She wants to be a pilot.  I want to be a tennis player.

1.   

2.   Does Andy want to sail a boat?                                                       .

3.   Does Kate want to go to a baseball game?                                      .

4.   What does Jenny want to do?                                                          .

Does Scott’s sister want to drive a car?                                             

GROWN UPS

READ AND ANSWER

In 1978 five friends won the school basketball championship. Their coach told them to live their lives as a team.

Thirty years later, they are still friends but have different lives.

When the five friends found out their coach died, they return to New England with their families to go to Buzzer´s funeral.

So Lenny rents the lake house to spend the 4^th July weekend together.

They have a lot of fun, just as when they were kids.

Who rents the house in the lake?

Where do they go for the funeral?

When did they win the championship?

Chocolate

Part One: Introduction....
The name seems to fit the commodity - the word "chocolate"
sounds firm, brittle, with the "crack" of breaking chocolate before melting into the "l" sound.
While thinking about the word's ancestry, it's necessary to
recall that most of the world now thinks of chocolate always being combined with sugar and made into a confection.
This was not always so. Unknown outside America until the mid 16th century, the flavor of the cacao bean infused in hot water was rather bitter, which was how Spanish explorers first encountered it and subsequently took the beans to Spain.
Variations developed there - adding cinnamon or vanilla, sometimes sweetening and sometimes not. The popularity of this hot drink spread widely throughout Europe. Adding condensed milk and firming fats did not begin until the 19th century, when solid confectionery chocolate as we know it now, was developed.


Part Two: Where did the word 'chocolate' come from?

Some scholars believe that in its place of origin the ancient name for

chocolate was xocoatyl meaning "bitter water," originating from the Aztec language called Nahuatl.

But there is dispute about this - since the Nahuatl language appears not to contain that exact word. Chocolate historians Sophie and Michael Coe believe that Spanish conquerors living in America loved to drink chocolate but resisted the Spanish pronunciation of the Aztec word.

Spoken in Spanish it had a "caca" sound at the beginning - reminiscent of the universal children's word for excrement, thus rather unwelcome in elegant society... especially when describing something brown.

To overcome this social disability, a sound from another American language - Mayan - drifted into use to make the original Nahuatl word somewhat more respectable-sounding. 'Choco,' (Mayan for 'hot') slid into use to replace the sound 'caca,' (Nahuatl for 'bitter')

Here are some general knowledge questions.

1. Which are the top three chocolate eating countries in the world (per capita)? Choose from these countries.

1. The USA	2. Norway	3. Germany
4. Brazil	5. Switzerland	6. Belgium	7. The United Kingdom

2. What did the Aztecs add to their hot chocolate drink?

1. sugar                        2. chili                   3. vanilla

3. How many cups of hot chocolate a day did the Aztec emperor Montezuma drink?

1. 5                               2. 15                     3. 50

4. When did the first hot chocolate cafe open in London?

1. 1657                         2. 1757                  3. 1857

Daily routine

              Hello,  I’m Paul. I’m  11 (my birthday is on July 10th ). I go to school from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. My favourite subject is Science. I like Maths, too.  On Saturdays I play basketball in a small club with my friends. On Sundays my family and I visit my grandparents. I play basketball in the school team, too. There are different competitions in spring and summer and we usually play against other school teams. What about you?

 Time:

 Subjects:

 Days of the week:

 Sports:

 Seasons:

1. Paul  is eleven. How old are you?
2. Paul’s birthday is on July 10^th. When’s your birthday?
3. Paul goes to school from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

       What about you?

4. Paul’s favourite subject is  Science.

    What’s your favourite subject?

5. Paul’s plays basketball.

      What do you do/ what’s your    

      favourite sport?