Old Times. Gone With The Wind

Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable in Gone with the wind .

Gone with the Wind is a film directed by Victor Fleming in 1939.The film is an adaptation of Margaret Mitchell’s Pulitzer-winning novel of the same name, published in 1936. Gone with the Wind is probably one of the most successful films in the history of Hollywood in particular and of cinema in general, being the winner of 10 Academy Awards, a record surpassed 20 years later by Ben-Hur. Starred by Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland and Hattie McDanield, it tells the story of a turbulent love affair (Gable and Leigh) in the American South during the American Civil War (1861-1865) and the Reconstruction.

The film was the longest American sound film of the period, lasting  (durando)  3 hours and 44 minutes, plus a 15 minute intermission (intermedio) , and was among (entre) the first shot in Technicolor. According to The Movie Times, the film has made $400 million in theatre tickets since its release, equivalent to approximately $2,984 million when adjusted for inflation, making it the highest grossing  film (película más taquillera) of all time.

The film premiered in Atlanta, Georgia, the city where it is set (ambientada) , on 15 December 1939. Bergen Meyer from The New York Times reported that thousands of people stood on the streets as “the parade (desfile) of limousines carrying stars from the film exceeded anything in Atlanta’s history for noise, magnitude and excitement”

"As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again!"

How much do you know about Easter ?

Test your knowledge with this Easter Quiz:

1. The English word "Easter" comes from the word... 

(A) the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre

(B) Eos, the Roman goddess of the dawn. 

(C) Eostur-monath , the Anglo-Saxon word for April.

2. Easter is a Christian festival. What does it commemorate?

(A) The birth of Jesus Christ. 

(B) The resurrection of Jesus Christ . 

(C) The death of Jesus Christ.

3-Many people eat chocolate Easter____

(A) eggs . 

(B) buttons . 

(C) trifle .

4. On which day did Jesus Christ die on the cross?

(A) Good Friday.

(B) Easter Sunday .

(C) Awful Friday .

5. Traditionally the Easter Season lasted for... 

(A) fifty days.

(B) forty days.

(C) thirty days.

6. Which animal is said to deliver coloured Easter Eggs ?

(A) A bunny.

(B) A hen .

(C) A fox .

How did you do ?   Key: 1-A, 2-B,3-A,4-A 5-B, 6-A 

Easter Food

Easter is an essential part of the Christian tradition, and the principal celebration after Christmas. There are certain foods associated with this time of year that are common to many European countries. They have a symbolic meaning, often pagan in origin which is adapted to the most important events of Easter: the Crucifixion and the Resurrection of Jesus. Before Christianity, we celebrated spring as the time when everything came to life after the long winter months. We have eaten the same foods – eggs, cakes, lamb – at what is known as Easter for a very long time.

Easter Eggs

The first thing we associate with Easter is the egg. In ancient times they were symbols of fertility and spring, and Christians saw them as symbolizing the tomb that Christ came from during the Resurrection. In Northern Europe, people began painting eggs in bright (llamativos) colours and gave them as presents to their friends. In Germany they are painted in green and in Slavic countries they are red as a symbol of the blood (sangre) of Christ. They are often painted with elaborate and colourful patterns.(dibujos) Silver and gold are the most popular colours.

Chocolate Eggs

The most common Easter eggs in Northern Europe are made of chocolate. These eggs originated in France and Germany in the nineteenth century, and were later developed by the English chocolate maker John Cadbury. When chocolatiers perfected the difficult task of making hollow (huecos) eggs, the result were larger eggs using less chocolate. In Britain, children usually receive a chocolate egg from their parents, grandparents, uncles and aunties and family friends. Small eggs with a white and yellow filling (relleno)  are also popular snacks – the famous Cadbury’s Cream Eggs. They are so popular that they usually arrive in the shops in January even though Easter is along way off.

       

Easter Buns (bollos) and Cakes

Chocolate eggs are not the only sweet food made during Easter. In Britain people eat Hot Cross Buns, another pagan tradition that still exists. Saxons ate buns marked with a cross (cruz) in honour of the goddess (diosa) Eostre (possibly the origin of the word “Easter” in English). The cross initially represented the four quarters of the moon, but now it symbolizes the cross of Christ. Many countries have Easter cakes. In Russia, for example, families bake kulich, which is made with candied fruit (fruta confitada) and taken to church to be blessed (bendecidos) by the priest.(sacerdote)

The Most Beautiful Words

Mother is the most beautiful word in the English language, according to a survey of non-English speakers. 

To mark its 70th anniversary, the British Council asked more than 40,000 people in 102 countries to come up with  (pensar) the most beautiful words in the English language. Mother, passion, smile, love and eternity were the top five choices - but father did not even make it into the list of 70 words.

Here are the results…

70 most beautiful words in the English language
1	mother	2	passion	3	smile
4	love	5	eternity	6	fantastic
7	destiny	8	freedom	9	liberty
10	tranquillity	11	peace	12	blossom
13	sunshine	14	sweetheart	15	gorgeous
16	cherish	17	enthusiasm	18	hope
19	grace	20	rainbow	21	blue
22	sunflower	23	twinkle	24	serendipity
25	bliss	26	lullaby	27	sophisticated
28	renaissance	29	cute	30	cosy
31	butterfly	32	galaxy	33	hilarious
34	moment	35	extravaganza	36	aqua
37	sentiment	38	cosmopolitan	39	bubble
40	pumpkin	41	banana	42	lollipop
43	if	44	bumblebee	45	giggle
46	paradox	47	delicacy	48	peek-a-boo
49	umbrella	50	kangaroo	51	flabbergasted
52	hippopotamus	53	gothic	54	coconut
55	smashing	56	whoops	57	tickle
58	loquacious	59	flip-flop	60	smithereens
61	oi	62	gazebo	63	hiccup
64	hodgepodge	65	shipshape	66	explosion
67	fuselage	68	zing	69	gum
70	hen-night

What do you think is the most beautiful word in the English language ?

Fairy Tales and Nursery Rhymes (2)

Little Red Riding Hood
A hungry wolf is watching Little Red Riding Hood, who is going to her grandmother’s house with a basket of food. The wolf decides to disguise himself as the grandmother and hide in her bed. But Little Red Riding Hood is suspicious and says:

What big ears you have!

And the wolf replies:

All the better to hear you with.

Then she says:

What big eyes you have!

And the wolf answers:

All the better to see you with!

When she says:

What big teeth you have!

The wolf jumps out of bed shouting:

All the better to eat you with!

Don’t worry, though! As in most fairy tales, the hero or heroine is always saved in the end!

     

Nursery Rhymes

No childhood would be complete without these rhymes, many of which are extremely old and have their roots in historical events. Some rhymes, with their nonsensical words, are simply a way of keeping children amused (entretenidos) while teaching them the days of the week or how to count. Other rhymes have specific music or may be chanted, often with actions to accompany the words. The rhymes can help you with your English pronunciation and intonation, especially as many of the words are repeated.

Oranges and Lemons

 This rhyme refers to the chimes (repiques) of the bells of some of the old churches in London. Children living in London originally sang it.

“Oranges and lemons” say the bells of St. Clement’s
“You owe me five farthings”(cuartos de penique) say the bells of St. Martin’s
“When will you pay me?” say the bells of Old Bailey
“When I grow rich” say the bells of Shoreditch
“When will that be?” say the bells of Stepney
“I do not know” say the great bells of Bow
“Here comes a candle to light you to bed

 Here comes a chopper (hacha pequeña) to chop off your head!”

Counting Rhymes

One, two, three, four, five

Once I caught a fish alive,
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten,

Then I let it go again.

Why did you let it go?

Because it bit my finger so.

Which finger did it bite?

This little finger on the right.

This rhyme has no historical background; it simply helps children learn to count and differentiate right from left.

One, two, buckle my shoe

Three, four, knock at the door

Five, six, pick up sticks

Seven, eight, lay them straight

Nine, ten, a big fat hen

Eleven, twelve, dig and delve (escarbar)

Thirteen, fourteen, maids a-courting

Fifteen, sixteen, maids in the kitchen

Seventeen, eighteen, maids in waiting

Nineteen, twenty, my plate’s empty

Months of the year and days of the week

Thirty days hath (tiene) September,

April, June and November;

All the rest have thirty-one

Except for February, which has twenty-eight days clear!

(And twenty-nine each leap year)(año bisiesto)

Angels - Robbie Williams.

Escucha la canción y completa los espacios . Listen to the song and  fill in the gaps  ! 

I sit and wait

Does an angel contemplate my _________ ( destiny )
And do they know
The places _________ we go
When we're ________ ( an adj.) and _________ .(not young)
'Cause I've _______ ( past participle: be) told
That salvation lets their wings ___________ .
So when I'm _________ ( put your body in a resting position) in my bed
___________ ( ideas produced by thinking ) running through my head
And I feel that love is __________ ( not alive )
I'm loving angels instead.
Chorus
And through it all she _________ ( proposes) me protection
A lot of ________ ( = hate ) and __________ ( kindness )
Whether I'm _________ ( write / right ) or __________ ( not correct )
And down the waterfall
____________ it may take me
I know that life _________ (want / won't) break me
When I come to call, she won't __________ ( abandon ) me
I'm loving angels instead.
When I'm feeling __________ ( not strong )
And my ________ ( suffering ) walks down a one way street
I _________ above
And I know I'll always _____ ___________ with love
And as the feeling _________ ( increases )
She breathes _______ (the skin of the human body) to my _________ ( hard parts that form the skeleton)
And when love is _________ ( not alive )
I'm loving angels instead
Chorus
And through it all she _________ ( proposes) me protection
A lot of ________  and __________ ( kindness )
Whether I'm _________ ( write / right ) or __________ ( not correct )
And down the waterfall
____________ it may take me
I know that life _________ (want / won't) break me
When I come to call she won't ___________ (abandon) me
I'm loving angels instead

(Repeat chorus)                Click HERE to check your answers !

Fairy Tales and Nursery Rhymes

The dictionary definition of a fairy tale is: “A children’s story about fairies or about fantastic events, mythical beings, etc.” Vocabulary in the magical world of fairy tales is slightly different from the words we have learned up to now. The same goes for nursery rhymes:(lo mismo pasa con las canciones infantiles) “a simple traditional song or story in rhyme, intended for children”. Many of these rhymes are very old and some of the vocabulary seems nonsensical (sin sentido) but that just adds to their charm.(encanto) Let the words wash over you (déjate llevar por las palabras) and enjoy being transported back into your childhood for a while!

 

Read me a story, mummy!

Some children won’t go to bed unless someone reads them a story. They settle down to sleep once they hear those well-known opening lines – “Once upon a time…”(Érase una vez) or “There was once a beautiful princess in a far off land (tierra lejana)…” Fairy tales, however, are not only about fairies. Some of the following characters appear in the stories, in varying combinations; a bewitched (hechizado) prince or princess, a wicked stepmother,(madrastra malavada) a talking animal, a giant and so on. Also varied is the range of adjectives used to describe them. A stepmother is often “wicked”, never just simply “bad”. Stepsisters (hermanastras) are cruel. Princesses are usually “fair”(bellas) or “beautiful”; they are seldom (pocas veces) ugly, although they may be proud and haughty (altivas). Princes are usually handsome. A giant is not simply “big” but may be “huge”or “enormous” and very often “stupid” or “simple”. The country where these characters live is invariably “far away”.

       

Comparatives and superlatives

If you have seen the cartoon film Shrek (which I highly recommend), you will know that the story is about a princess who is held captive by a dragon. She is waiting for her Prince Charming (Príncipe azul) to come and rescue her. Shrek tells us that princesses are always held prisoner in the highest tower and that the tower is often surrounded by an enchanted forest. In Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, (Blancanieves y los Siete Enanitos) the wicked stepmother has a magic mirror that she repeatedly asks:

Mirror, mirror on the wall,

Who’s the fairest of them all?

Imagine her fury when the mirror replies: “Snow White is more beautiful than you”. So the stepmother orders a huntsman (cazador) to take Snow White into the forest and kill her. The huntsman, however, is too kind-hearted and cannot obey the order. He sets Snow White free and the seven dwarves rescue her. The name of each dwarf matches his personality: we have Grumpy (Gruñón), Happy, Sleepy, Dopey, (Tontito) Doc (short for doctor), Sneezy (Constipado) and Bashful.(Vergonzoso) You will notice that many of the names of the characters in fairy tales “match” their appearance or activities. Snow White has beautiful white skin. Cinderella gets her name from the cinders (cenizas) in the fireplace that she so often has to clean out. The origin of names like Sleeping Beauty and Little Red Riding Hood are easy to guess.

       

Cinderella

This is the story of a rich merchant and his daughter. After his first wife dies, the merchant marries a widow (viuda) who has two daughters. The widow’s daughters are not as pretty as the merchant’s daughter. The stepmother and stepsisters are so jealous of Cinderella that they hide her in the kitchen and make her do all the housework. However, Cinderella’s fairy godmother (hada madrina) feels sorry for her; she knows that Cinderella wants to go to the prince’s ball. With the words “You shall go to the ball!”, she transforms Cinderella’s rags (harapos) into a beautiful ball gown and changes a pumpkin into a coach and some mice into horses to take her there. But Cinderella must return home before midnight because that is when the magic spell (conjuro mágico) wears off (se desvanece) and everything goes back to normal.