ICT Activity - April

It's time to revise and consolidate all the things learnt on unit 7. Go to www.mac-english.com/mvc and do all the exercises (vocabulary, grammar, reading, listening, video & quiz) on unit 7.

World Book Day

World Book Day is a yearly event on 23 April, organized by UNESCO to promote Reading, publishing and copyright.

The connection between 23 April and books was first made in 1923 by booksellers in Spain as a way to honour the autor Miguel de Cervantes who died on that day.

In 1995, UNESCO decided that the World Book and Copyright Day would be celebrated on this date because of the Catalonian festival and because the date is also the anniversary of the birth and death of  William Shakespeare and the death of Miguel de Cervantes.

To celebrate this day Cervantes' Don Quixote is read during a two-day "readathon" and the Miguel de Cervantes Prize is presented by the King in Alcala de Henares.

In Catalonia, since 1436, St. George’s Day has been 'The Day of the Rose', where the exchange of gifts between sweethearts, loved ones and respected ones occurs. It is analogous to Valentine's Day. Although the World Book and Copyright Day has been celebrated since 1995 internationally, the first time that books where also exchanged in 'The Day of the Rose' in Catalonia was in 1926 to commemorate the death of Cervantes.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Stratford-upon-Avon - April 23rd, 1564
Stratford-upon-Avon - April 23rd, 1616

MIGUEL DE CERVANTES SAAVEDRA
Alcalá de Henares - September 29th, 1547
Madrid - April 23rd, 1616

Exchange

This week we welcome our Swedish friends in Vigo. We're looking forward to their visit. For further info visit our blog stenungsundvigo.blogspot.com/

ICT activity - April

April was the month Titanic sank in the Atlantic Ocean, so let's have a look at its history.

Titanic was a British passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after colliding with an Iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, UK to New York City, USA. The sinking of Titanic caused the deaths of 1,502 people in one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disaster in modern history. The Titanic was the largest ship afloat at the time of her maiden voyage. On her maiden voyage, she carried 2,224 passengers and crew.

Her passengers included some of the wealthiest people in the world, as well as hundreds of emigrants from Great Britain and Ireland, Scandinavia and elsewhere throughout Europe seeking a new life in North America. The ship was designed to be the last word in comfort and luxury, with an on-board gymnasium, swimming pool, libraries, high-class restaurants and opulent cabins. Though she had advanced safety features, she lacked enough lifeboats to accommodate all of those aboard. Because of outdated maritime safety regulations, she carried only enough lifeboats for 1,178 people—slightly more than half of the number travelling on the maiden voyage, and one-third her total passenger and crew capacity.

Since its discovery in 1985, thousands of artifacts have been recovered and put on display at museums around the world. Titanic has become one of the most famous ships in history, her memory kept alive by numerous books, songs, films, exhibits and memorials.

For further info visit www.rmstitanic.net and www.titanicmovie.com

April Fool's Day!

April Fools' Day is celebrated in many countries on April 1st every year. Sometimes referred to as All Fools' Day, April 1st is not a national holiday, but is widely recognized and celebrated as a day when people play practical jokes and hoaxes on each other.

In Italy, France and Belgium, children and adults traditionally tack paper fishes on each other's back as a trick and shout "April fish!" in their local languages.

In Scotland, April Fools' Day is traditionally called Hunt-the-Gowk Day ("gowk" is Scots for a cuckoo or a foolish person), although this name has fallen into disuse. The traditional prank is to ask someone to deliver a sealed message requesting help of some sort. In fact, the message reads "Dinna laugh, dinna smile. Hunt the gowk another mile". The recipient, upon reading it, will explain he can only help if he first contacts another person, and sends the victim to this person with an identical message, with the same result.

This day is equivalent to the one we, Spaniards, celebrate on December 28th (Day of the Holy Innocents – Día de los Santos Inocentes).

See you tomorrow. Spring break is over! And that’s not a hoax!