Sport Quiz

What do you know about two greatest sport events in Great Britain and the USA?
Read the text about the Super Bowl and Wimbledon in your Student`s Books and do the quiz.

Also think about the greatest annual sport events in Belarus.

Good Luck!

        

Belarusian Customs and Traditions

The roots of Belarusian culture come from the pre-Christian times and have a lot in common with traditions of other European cultures Traditional rites (ритуалы), music and art elements are widely used in cultural life at present, and they illustrate the connection between the old and young Belarusian culture.

Like other countries Belarus has its own holidays. They are divided into traditional, religious and national.

In Belarus people widely celebrate such popular Christian holidays as Christmas - both Catholic and Orthodox, and Easter. On these days believers go to churches and temples, gather together with their families and eat traditional dishes like pudding made of barley (ячмень), pancakes, Easter Cakes and goose stuffed with apples. Traditionally dinner table should be first covered with hay and then with a table cloth and the food, after having meals family takes straw out and decides who has the longest and the strongest one - this person will be lucky during the year. 

On Christmas people living in villages also go from home to home dressed as animals or other fairy characters, sing songs and dance that is called - Koliada.

One of the most important holidays in Belarusian culture is Kupalle - a holiday of nature with its roots deep in ancient times and connected with the solstice (солнцестояние). Many people take part in this holiday demonstrating a special repertoire of music and dance, spectacular rites. The celebration goes through the whole night, when people jump over the bonfire and try to find a fern flower (цветок папоротника) - a mysterious flower, which is seen only once a year only on Kupalle. People believe that the person who finds this flower will become wealthy This custom shows the importance of traditions in today`s culture.

In Belarus people celebrate such national holidays as the New Year, the 8th of March - women’s day, the 1st of May - labor’s day and the 9th of May - the Victory day, also the 3d of July - the Independence day, the 7th of November - the day of October Revolution and the day of the city, which is celebrated in a different day in each city, traditionally it is a day when a city or a town was first mentioned in the history. 

As you see people in Belarus have a lot of traditions and customs connected with celebration of holidays, also Belarusians are fond of holidays as they bring fun and excitement and help families to spend more time together, share wonderful moments and become closer.

Tourism and Traveling

Заканчивается очередной учебный год, и хочется поразмышлять о наступающем лете, а также о путешествиях и туризме, которые раскрашивают нашу жизнь яркими красками, не давая увязнуть в рутине повседневности. Давайте сделаем над собой усилие и серьезно поразмышляем на тему "Tourism and Traveling".

Tourism and Traveling

The scientific and technological progress of the 20^th century has allowed people to overcome time and distance, to cover in the twinkling of an eye (в мгновение ока) the vast space of our planet. The whole world is open now. The limits and frontiers of the previous period have stopped to exist. We can choose any place on the planet and go there on business or on holiday.

Tourism is travel away from a person’s usual place of residence for a period longer than twenty-four hours, primarily for pleasure or recreation (развлечение, восстановление сил), and frequently to multiple (разнообразный) destinations. It may be a resort, but it may also be a large city.

Usually people travel for entirely different purposes. Ones – for the purpose of recreation or pleasure; they are those on holiday. Others travel for reasons of health. Some travel to visit their friends or relatives, a reason that has become more important because of increasing mobility throughout the world. Still others travel in order to educate themselves because travel is mind broadening. All of them are generally considered tourists since the primary reason for their trips is recreation.

There are several ways of traveling. Some people travel by car, some – by bus or by train, another think that the best way of traveling is on feet with a backpack on their shoulders, the most luxurious way of traveling is considered a ship, having a romantic cruise, but the most comfortable and popular transport still remains a plane. Anyway all this means of transportation have their advantages and disadvantages and each person makes his choice according to plans and resources.

As for me there is no matter which transport I choose but a good company and positive spirit plays the main role in my tour. This people and mood can make each event a real adventure. Of course the main aim of traveling is to distract from everyday life, meet new people, get acquainted with culture, architecture, cuisine and history, and all this things make our life richer and more adventurous. But there is one more sufficient thing that tourism does – it helps us to learn something new about ourselves. When we see magnificent sites of Machu Picchu, or the landscapes of New Zeeland, architecture of Prague or ancient Greece, frescoes (фрески) on the walls of the Vatican we start to realize ourselves as leaving intelligent creatures with consciousness (сознание) and a lot of complicated things in our mind that gives us an opportunity to be called human beings.

So, to sum everything up I should say that tourism and traveling are important for our well-being, they stimulate our imagination, train our senses, broaden our minds and give us unforgettable experience that is better to share with someone.

Хороших каникул и незабываемых путешествий!

Venice

Poznan

Vienna

Berlin, inside Berliner Dom

                   

Our trip to Budapest 2015

полезный сайт с аудиоприложениями к учебникам по английскому языуку

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British National Cuisine

Британская национальная кухня... Что Вы представляете? Жаренные яйца с беконом? Рыбу в панировке?
На самом деле традиционная британская кухня не ограничивается этим. Трудно представить англичанина, который не пьет чай в пять часов и не лакомится йоркширским пудингом или мафинами, а в выходные не собирает свою семью за столом, чтобы отведать воскресное жаркое с картофелем и вареными овощами.

Для того, чтоб немного развеять стереотипы, сложившиеся у учащихся о традиционных блюдах Британии, рекомендую прочитать тему, приведенную ниже. В ней есть вся необходимая информация о ежедневном меню среднестатистического британца, а также о самых традиционных блюдах их национальной кухни. В конце темы можно найти рецепт настоящего йоркширского пуддинга с травами. И, кто знает, возможно, кто-то решится не только прочитать, но и попробовать кусочек Британии.

 

Удачи.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National cuisine in Britain has remarkably changed in recent decades. It is caused by the fact that people come there from all over the world and bring with them their culinary secrets, their new recipes, their food and sauces.

British cuisine has traditionally been limited in its international recognition to the full breakfast, fish and chips, and the Christmas dinner. English light breakfast consists of toasts with marmalade, tea or coffee, plus scrambled eggs with beacon, sausages, porridge or cereals with orange juice and tea.

 

Next meal is between 12 and 14 o’clock. It’s time for a substantial meal – lunch. At this time they have a cup of tea and some tasty cookies which are sold in on London streets in small kiosks. As a rule lunch consists of sandwiches. That’s why at this time of the day the British go to fast-food restaurants where they have hot-dogs or fish in chips (fish filet in bread crumbles with sauce), and French fries and pickles as a garnish. Between 15.00 and 18.00 they have tea, which is an English tradition. They drink Traditional English tea in offices, at home, in cafe confectioner’s shops, and they always drink it with scones and muffins. Scones are small round biscuits that are usually cut in halves and eaten with butter or cream.

For dinner the British prefer to have something like chicken soup with onion, soup with mutton with vegetables or soup with meat. For a garnish the British have traditional Yorkshire pudding. All Englishmen consider Yorkshire cuisine the best in the country and are really proud of it.

Other famous British dishes include the Sunday roast, steak and kidney pie, shepherd's pie, and bangers and mash. British cuisine has many regional varieties within the broader categories of English, Scottish and Welsh cuisine. Each have developed their own regional or local dishes, many of which are geographically indicated foods such as Cornish pasties, the Yorkshire pudding, Cumberland Sausage and Welsh cakes.

The Sunday roast is a traditional British and Irish main meal that is served on Sundays but can be eaten on any day of the week, consisting of roasted meat, roast potato or mashed potato, with accompaniments such as Yorkshire pudding, stuffing, vegetables and gravy.

 

 

The Yorkshire pudding is an English side dish made from batter consisting of eggs, flour, and milk. The dish is always served with beef, but may also be served as a dessert. To make the Yorkshire pudding you need 3 eggs 1,5 cup of milk and the same amount of flour, 3 tablespoons of fresh mixed herbs, salt, pepper and half full cup of melted butter. Preheat the oven to 230 degrees С and place a baking dish in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, beat the eggs until foamy and light. Whisk in the milk until combined. Add the flour, herbs, a big pinch of salt, and some pepper, beat just until the batter is smooth. Place it all into the oven for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 175 degrees C and continue baking for 15 to 20 minutes until the pudding is puffy and brown.

 

 

 

 

Christmas Traditions in the UK

Перед Рождеством и Новым Годом у учителя иностранного языка всегда есть отличная возможность включить в уроки видео по страноведению. Так, предлагаю Вам просмотреть данное видео, рассказывающее о самых главных, в чем-то серьезных, а в чем-то смешных и нелепых традициях празднования Рождества в Великобритании. После просмотра можно прочитать текст, также рассказывающий об этих традициях и найти слова, которые Вы могли не расслышать или не понять.

If you know some other christmas traditions or you want to share your family traditions of christmas celebration, please, leave them in comments. 

Enjoy and have fun! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Many American Christmas traditions trace back to England, like the main staples of decorating your home, putting up a tree, exchanging presents and having a mid-day dinner. Why not British it up a bit more this year? 

1. LettersIt is very common for school age children to write letters to Santa Claus. But, the Brits take it a step further and burn the letters in the fireplace so the ashes fly up the chimney and Father Christmas can read the smoke. If, like many, you don’t have a fireplace/chimney … surely you can find alternative means. Just be safe!

2. StockingsRather than hanging stockings above the fireplace, British children hang them at the end of their bed hoping they will be filled by Christmas morning. That would be a nice surprise to wake up to. At the same time it might be difficult for “Santa” to fill without waking the wee ones.

3. Crackers
The cracker is a paper tube, covered in foil, twisted at both ends. It’s shaped like a large sweet with hidden treasures inside. Each person crosses their arms, using their right hand to hold their cracker, and pulling their neighbor’s cracker with their left. POP! The cracker will make a bit of a  bang with the contents spilling out which usually is a joke to be read at the dinner table, a small trinket and a paper crown.

4. CrownEveryone is a king on Christmas! The paper crowns are made of tissue paper and unfold into an actual crown. Adults and children alike don the crown making it a colorful sight. The paper hat was added to the crackers in the early 1900s and the tradition has carried on.
 
5. Mid-Day Dinner Christmas dinner is similar to that of the U.S. with a roast turkey, goose or chicken and trimmings. But, there are some specialty items that aren’t as common such as parsnipswhich are a root vegetable similar to a carrot. It’s a familiar taste but it’s fun to incorporate a new veggie to the table. Brits love their pudding but Yorkshire Pudding isn’t pudding-pudding like you would think. It’s more like a flakey, deflated biscuit with the center just waiting to hold your gravy. Does a trifle sound familiar? Oh boy, Rachel on Friends tried to make a traditional English trifle but the recipe pages stuck together and she mixed together a trifle with sheperd’s pie. It is indeed a layered cake but strictly no beef.

6. WassailWassa-what? Wassail literally means “good health” or to “be healthy” and in this case is a hot, mulled drink. There are different ways to serve it like a hot cider but it may also be made with a base of wine. It was originally topped with slices of toast as sops (piece of bread to soak up the liquid.) Mmm, wonder why wine drenched bread went out of style? Well, Brits may question Americans’ craving for eggnog over the holidays.

7. Royal Christmas MessageThe tradition of sending out a Christmas Message to the public began in 1932 with George V. Current day the Queen gives a speech on Christmas Day at 3pm in England. You can gather around the tele with your loved ones and watch it on BBC America … that’s about prime Christmas present opening time on this end with the time difference. BBCA will air it later in the day to allow family time. Check your listings for exact times as the day approaches.

8. TeaChristmas tea usually rolls around 6pm and it is round two of a sit down with family and treats. Pretty much, any proper English event involves tea. Mince pies or sausage rolls might accompany the tea party. Rather than breaking out the Lipton, which would be spat at by any visiting Brit, we suggest PG Tips that originated in the UK in the 1930s. If you can’t find them at a local shop you can do a quickie order fromAmazon.com.

9. Boxing DayBoxing Day follows Christmas day and is a nationally recognized holiday in the UK, also called a bank holiday. It was originally the day for servants and tradesman to receive presents from their employers but it’s now basically a big shopping day for Brits. It’s similar to Black Friday in the U.S. Your boss may wonder why you didn’t go into the office as it’s not an official holiday in the U.S. Maybe celebrate this one after work and get your shop on?

10. Next YearBrits say you need to take your tree and decorations down within 12 days of Christmas or you’ll have bad luck for the next year. Don’t be that house on the street with blinking lights that go on through Valentine’s Day! Get that stuff down and get on with the New Year!

Fashion and Clothes

 

Очень часто учителя английского языка сталкиваются с тем, что учащийся просто не понимает, что можно ответить на тот или иной вопрос даже на родном языке, что уж тут говорить об иностранном. В таких случаях учитель дает ученику возможность воспользоваться информацией из учебника, интернета, справочников.

Одной из самых сложных тем для понимания, как ни странно, оказывается тема "Fashion", поскольку мужская часть учебной группы попросту не понимает, что можно рассказать на заданную тему.

Используя учебник для 9 класса школ и гимназий с углубленным изучением английского языка, можно составить несложную к пониманию, но, тем не менее, полную необходимой лексики устную тему.

В пунктах 1-6 учащемуся предлагается дополнить тему собственными правилами стиля, которые он может найти в учебнике или интернете.

 

Желаю удачи!

 

 

Fashion

    Most people believe that it's important to look nice. However, some people say that we place too much importance on appearance and fashion. One will hardly disagree that it is pleasant to look at a person who is neatly and beautifully dressed. A person usually chooses clothes, their style and material according to his or her age, social class, financial position and occupation. For example materials can vary from cotton and silk to leather and fur. People also choose clothes according to their preferences and character, because it is very hard to imagine an old man dressed in a polka-dotted coat with floral pattern hood and large decorative buttons and zips or a young girl in a baggy or loose blouse which looks very plain and unoriginal.

    To my mind, if a person wants to produce a good impression and to be successful, he or she must look nice. When people speak to you, they always pay attention to your appearance and your outfit. If you look sloppy and untidy, they will try to avoid you, and on the other hand if you have some original items in your look they will remember it like a sign of your personality. There is a saying that "good clothes open all doors" and I quite agree with it. But some people place too much importance on their appearance. They spend much money on expensive fur coats and sometimes they look ridiculous trying to be fashionable.           

    However, we know that people should follow few tips to dress fashionable, and here are they:

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In conclusion, I'd like to say that nowadays fashion becomes even more influential than it was in the past. It effects and moulds public taste. I believe that people should follow fashion and pay attention to their appearance, but it should never become a kind of obsession.