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Thursday, September 22, 2011

Mythical stories

A myth is a story with a purpose. It tries to explain the way the world is.  Myths also try to explain the relationship between gods and humans. Even though the events in a myth are usually impossible, they try to send a message that has an important social or religious meaning.
The Man Who Couldn’t Die
http://dimdima.com/images/story_image/die.jpgEos, Goddess of Dawn fell in love with a youth named Tithonius, and the two spent many happy years together. But while Eos being a goddess retained her youth, Tithonius began to age. He asked his beloved to grant him immortality. She couldn’t do it on her own so she pleaded his case with Zeus, the supreme deity. Zeus reluctantly granted the boon.
The story unfortunately does not have a happy ending. Tithonius had forgotten to ask for eternal youth. So though he could not die he could age. As his age advanced he became wrinkled and hunchbacked and revoltingly ugly. He pleaded with Eos to help him. She could not take back the gift of immortality nor could she give him back his youth. But she could change his form. She turned him into a grasshopper.

The Best Artist
http://dimdima.com/images/story_image/best_artist.jpg
A despotic sultan who was blind in one eye invited three artists to paint his picture.
“If you do a bad portrait, I will punish you,” he warned, “ but if you do a good one I will reward you. Now start!”
The first artist produced a picture that showed the sultan as he was: blind in one eye.
The sultan had him executed for showing disrespect to his monarch.
The second artist showed him with both eyes intact.
The sultan had him flogged for trying to flatter him.
The third artist drew him in profile, showing only his good eye.
The sultan, pleased, rewarded him with gold and honours.

An Old Joke
http://dimdima.com/images/story_image/joke.gif
An elderly man went to a doctor with multiple complaints.
"I see spots before my eyes," he said.
"It's due to old age," said the doctor.
"No food agrees with me," said the man.
"That too is due to old age," said the doctor. "The digestive system becomes weaker as we grow older."
"My back is giving trouble," persisted the man. "Sometimes the pain becomes unbearable."
"Old age," said the doctor.
This was too much for the man.
"Why do you go on saying 'old age, old age'," he screamed. "If you cannot cure me, say so. I'll go elsewhere."
"See how easily you lost you temper," said the doctor.
"That is another characteristic of old age."

Thursday, September 8, 2011

--- Modals Verbs ---

Modals are special verbs which behave very irregularly in English.



1. Modal verbs do not take "-s" in the third person.
Examples:
  • He can  speak Chinese.
  • She should  be here by 9:00.
2. You use "not" to make modal verbs negative, even in Simple Present and Simple Past.
Examples:
  • He should not be late.
  • They might not come to the party.
3. Many modal verbs cannot be used in the past tenses or the future tenses.
Examples:
  • He will can go with us. Not Correct
  • She musted study very hard. Not Correct

Common Modal Verbs

Can
Could
May
Might
Must
Ought to
Shall
Should
Will
Would


Modals verbs table  
normal verbmodal verb
affirmativehe workshe can work
negationhe does not workhe cannot work
emphatiche does work hardhe can work hard
questiondoes he work here?can he work at all?
negation + questiondoes he not work here?can he not work at all?

Thursday, August 25, 2011

the cycle of life of a star

A star is a really hot ball of gas, with hydrogen fusing into helium at its core. Stars spend the majority of their lives fusing hydrogen, and when the hydrogen fuel is gone, stars fuse helium into carbon.


Larger stars have more fuel, but they have to burn (fuse) it faster in order to maintain equilibrium. Because thermonuclear fusion occurs at a faster rate in massive stars, large stars use all of their fuel in a shorter length of time. 


This means that bigger is not better with respect to how long a star will live. A smaller star has less fuel, but its rate of fusion is not as fast. Therefore, smaller stars live longer than larger stars because their rate of fuel consumption is not as rapid.


Thursday, August 18, 2011

Constellations

what is a contelation?


Is a group of celestial bodies



common constelations:

  • Orion: The story of Orion dates all the way back to 1200 BC.(Dibon-Smith) Greek stories state that Orion was known as the “dweller of the mountain”.(Dibon-Smith) He was most known for his ability to hunt, but also as a lover.(Dibon-Smith)
  • Aquila: The Greeks saw this constellation as an eagle. This eagle is said to have to belonged to Zeus.(Miles) In the Roman version, Aquila helped Jupiter in the battle for the universe against the titans.(Miles)
  • Gemini: Gemini is a constellation the represents the twin brothers Castor and Pollux.(Bell) According to Greek myth, Castor was mortal, and Pollux was immortal.(Bell) When Castor died, Pollux begged Jupiter to allow him to join his brother in the heavens.
Constelations!!


Thursday, August 4, 2011

Anne Frank

Annelies Marie Frank (12 June 1929 – early March 1945) is one of the most renowned and most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Acknowledged for the quality of her writing, her diary has become one of the world's most widely read books, and has been the basis for several plays and films.

The Frank family moved from Germany to Amsterdam in 1933, the year the Nazis gained control over Germany. By the beginning of 1940, they were trapped in Amsterdam by the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. As persecutions of the Jewish population increased in July 1942, the family went into hiding in the hidden rooms of Anne's father, Otto Frank's, office building. After two years, the group was betrayed and transported to concentration camps.

Anne Frank and her sister, Margot, were eventually transferred to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where they both died of typhus in March 1945.
Otto Frank, the only survivor of the family, returned to Amsterdam after the war to find that Anne's diary had been saved, and his efforts led to its publication in 1947.

Anne Frank

On 3 May 1957, a group of citizens, including Otto Frank, established the Anne Frank Stichting in an effort to rescue the Prinsengracht building from demolition and to make it accessible to the public. The Anne Frank House opened on 3 May 1960. It consists of the Opekta warehouse and offices and the Achterhuis, all unfurnished so that visitors can walk freely through the rooms.

a statue of Anne Frank in Amsterdamm