SHARPFOKUS.com/ENGLISH
Sherlock Holmes
Part 2
"The case has been an interesting one," remarked Holmes when our visitors had left us, because it serves to show very clearly how simple the explanation may be of an affair which at first sight seems to be almost inexplicable.
Nothing could be more natural than the sequence of events as narrated by this lady, and nothing stranger than the result when viewed, for instance, by Mr.
Lestrade of Scotland Yard."
"You were not yourself at fault at all, then?"
From the first, two facts were very obvious to me, the one that the lady had been quite willing to undergo the wedding ceremony, the other that she had repented of it within a few minutes of returning home. Obviously something had occurred during the morning, then, to cause her to change her mind. What could that something be?
She could not have spoken to anyone when she was out, for she had been in the company of the bridegroom. Had she seen someone, then? If she had, it must be someone from America because she had spent so short a time in this country that she could hardly have allowed anyone to acquire so deep an influence over her that the mere sight of him would induce her to change her plans so com-pletely.
You see we have already arrived, by a process of exclusion, at the idea that she might have seen an American. Then who could this American be, and why should he possess so much influence over her? It might be a lover; it might be a husband. Her young womanhood had, I knew, been spent in rough scenes and under strange conditions.
So far I had got before I ever heard Lord St. Simon's narrative. When he told us of a man in a pew, of the change in the bride's manner, of so transparent a device for obtaining a note as the dropping of a bouquet, of her resort to her confidential maid, and of her very significant allusion to claim-jumping_-which in miners' parlance means taking possession of that which another person has a prior claim to--the whole situation became absolutely clear. She had gone off with a man, and the man was either a lover or was a previous husband the chances being in favour of the latter."
"And how in the world did you find them?"
"It might have been difficult, but friend Lestrade held information in his hands the value of which he did not himself know. The initials were, of course, of the highest importance, but more valuable still was it to know that within a week he had settled his bill at one of the most select London hotels."
"How did you deduce the select?"
By the select prices. Eight shillings for a bed and eightpence for a glass of sherry pointed to one of the most expensive hotels. There are not many in London which charge at that rate. In the second one which I visited in Northumberland Avenue, I learned by an inspection of the book that Francis
H. Moulton, an American gentleman, had left only the day before, and on looking over the entries against him, I came upon the very items which I had seen in the duplicate bill. His letters were to be forwarded to 226 Gordon Square; so thither I travelled, and being fortunate enough to find the loving couple at home, I ventured to give them some paternal advice and to point out to them that it would be better in every way that they should make their position a little clearer both to the general public and to Lord St. Simon in particular. I invited them to meet him here, and, as you see, I made him keep the appointment."
"But with no very good result," I remarked.
"His conduct was certainly not very gracious."
"Ah, Watson," said Holmes, smiling, "perhaps you would not be very gracious either, if, after all the trouble of wooing and wedding, you found yourself deprived in an instant of wife and of fortune. I think that we may judge Lord St. Simon very mercifully and thank our stars that we are never likely to find ourselves in the same position.
Draw your chair up and hand me my violin, for the only problem we have still to solve is how to while away these bleak autumnal evenings."
How does Holmes describe this case ?
What were the two key facts?
Why must the person she saw have been American?
Why did she drop her bouquet?
What is ‘claim jumping?
This meant the man was probably what?
How did Holmes know it was a ‘select’ hotel?
What advice did Holmes give the young couple?
How does Holmes suggest to judge St Simon?
Part 2
"The case has been an interesting one," remarked Holmes when our visitors had left us, because it serves to show very clearly how simple the explanation may be of an affair which at first sight seems to be almost inexplicable.
Nothing could be more natural than the sequence of events as narrated by this lady, and nothing stranger than the result when viewed, for instance, by Mr.
Lestrade of Scotland Yard."
"You were not yourself at fault at all, then?"
From the first, two facts were very obvious to me, the one that the lady had been quite willing to undergo the wedding ceremony, the other that she had repented of it within a few minutes of returning home. Obviously something had occurred during the morning, then, to cause her to change her mind. What could that something be?
She could not have spoken to anyone when she was out, for she had been in the company of the bridegroom. Had she seen someone, then? If she had, it must be someone from America because she had spent so short a time in this country that she could hardly have allowed anyone to acquire so deep an influence over her that the mere sight of him would induce her to change her plans so com-pletely.
You see we have already arrived, by a process of exclusion, at the idea that she might have seen an American. Then who could this American be, and why should he possess so much influence over her? It might be a lover; it might be a husband. Her young womanhood had, I knew, been spent in rough scenes and under strange conditions.
So far I had got before I ever heard Lord St. Simon's narrative. When he told us of a man in a pew, of the change in the bride's manner, of so transparent a device for obtaining a note as the dropping of a bouquet, of her resort to her confidential maid, and of her very significant allusion to claim-jumping_-which in miners' parlance means taking possession of that which another person has a prior claim to--the whole situation became absolutely clear. She had gone off with a man, and the man was either a lover or was a previous husband the chances being in favour of the latter."
"And how in the world did you find them?"
"It might have been difficult, but friend Lestrade held information in his hands the value of which he did not himself know. The initials were, of course, of the highest importance, but more valuable still was it to know that within a week he had settled his bill at one of the most select London hotels."
"How did you deduce the select?"
By the select prices. Eight shillings for a bed and eightpence for a glass of sherry pointed to one of the most expensive hotels. There are not many in London which charge at that rate. In the second one which I visited in Northumberland Avenue, I learned by an inspection of the book that Francis
H. Moulton, an American gentleman, had left only the day before, and on looking over the entries against him, I came upon the very items which I had seen in the duplicate bill. His letters were to be forwarded to 226 Gordon Square; so thither I travelled, and being fortunate enough to find the loving couple at home, I ventured to give them some paternal advice and to point out to them that it would be better in every way that they should make their position a little clearer both to the general public and to Lord St. Simon in particular. I invited them to meet him here, and, as you see, I made him keep the appointment."
"But with no very good result," I remarked.
"His conduct was certainly not very gracious."
"Ah, Watson," said Holmes, smiling, "perhaps you would not be very gracious either, if, after all the trouble of wooing and wedding, you found yourself deprived in an instant of wife and of fortune. I think that we may judge Lord St. Simon very mercifully and thank our stars that we are never likely to find ourselves in the same position.
Draw your chair up and hand me my violin, for the only problem we have still to solve is how to while away these bleak autumnal evenings."
How does Holmes describe this case ?
What were the two key facts?
Why must the person she saw have been American?
Why did she drop her bouquet?
What is ‘claim jumping?
This meant the man was probably what?
How did Holmes know it was a ‘select’ hotel?
What advice did Holmes give the young couple?
How does Holmes suggest to judge St Simon?
Abject
Abruptly
Absurd
Absurd
Abundance
Abuse
Accomplishment
Act
Aftermarket
Age
Aggressive
Aim
Allowance
Ambitious
Amusements
Annoy
Appalling
Apparatus
Arms
Array
Aside
Attainment
Attribute
Author
Avow
Bad apple
Baffled
Bailout
Balcony
Balustrade
Bang average
Banish
Banish
Barren
Bathing
Be struck
Belch
Beset
Bestowing
Bite my lip
Bitter
Blame
Blazing
Bleak
Blessing
Blight
Bolt
Boosted
Break
Breathing space
Breathtaking
Broadening
Bumptious
Burden
Burglar
Cack handed
Calm
Candor
Cap
Captivated
Cast aside
Category
Cause
Causeway
Certainly
Challenge
Character
Cheer
Chirp
Chronic
Citadel
Citizen
Claw
Coerce
Coin
Comedy
Comparison
Complex
Complicated
Comrade
Conceive
Conflict
Conscience
Consecrate
Consider
Consistency
Contagion
Contemporaneous
Contrary
Convince
Convoy
Cot
Counsel
Courtesan
Crept
Critic
Cruel
Crumble
Curse
Dampen
Dare
Daunted
Dearest
Debate
Decipher
Decoration
Decry
Deeds
Delightful
Demolish
Denounce
Depredation
Descent
Designating
Desolate
Despair
Detached
Devotion
Devout
Dialogue
Dignitary
Dire
Direct
Discord
Discourse
Disgusted
Dismal
Dismissed
Disqualified
Dissent
Distribute
Ditch
Diverse
Doleful
Dominate
Dowry
Drag
Drastically
Dreadful
Dubious
Duplicity
Dwell
Eagerly
Enclosed
Endeavor
Endure
Entire
Epoch
Errand
Espionage
Essential
Estimate
Euphoria
Exceptional
Exclaim
Exist
Expense
Expose
Exposure
Fair
Faith
Falter
Fanciful
Farewell
Fatal
Feast
Febrile
Fed up
Feeble
Fellow
Fetch
Fewer
Fidgety
Filth
Flag (v)
Flash
Fling
Flowing
Foe
Foolishness
Forefather
Forge
Forlorn
Fortres
Fortunate
Frail
Frank
Fringes
Frothing
Frowning
Fruitful
Gather
Gentle
Glance
Gleam
Glimpse
Globe
Glow
Gnaw
Go forth
Go swimmingly
Good books (in)
Good times roll
Gossip
Graft
Grant
Grasp
Grave
Guide
Guidelines
Guilt
Gulf
Hallow
Hammering
Harmony
Hassle
Hasty
Heap
Hearty
Henceforth
Hideous
Honest
Honor
Host
How in the world
Hue
Humble
Hysterics
Icon
Imitator
Impostor
Impregnated
In sync
In the red
In vain
Incarceration
Inclination
Incredulity
Indeed
Indication
Indignant
Indignation
Inevitable
Inherit
Inspire
Interrupt
Intervene
Intimacy
Intimate
Intruder
Ironical
Irrepressible
Jealousy
Journey
Joy
Knave
Lackluster
Lantern
Levitating
Liberation
Liberty
Linger
Lingering
Literary
Liverish
Loath
Loathing
Lofty
Longed
Lounging
Loyalty
Loyalty
Ludicrous
Luggage
Lukewarm
Lurk
Magnet
Malnourishment
Margin
Marsh
Melancholy
Menace
Metric
Mighty
Mind scape
Misfortune
Mist
Mistaken
Mob
Moderate
Mooted
Mournful
Mucky
Myth
Native
Neglect
Noisiest
Nonchalant
Notoriety
Notwithstanding
Nuisance
Nursing
Obsess
Occur
Odious
On the contrary
On the line
Optimist
Ordeal
Out of the way
Outclassed
Outcome
Outstrip
Overwhelmed
Pace
Pack
Pal
Palette
Palimpsest
Paralysis
Particle
Passage
Peaceably
Peak
Peculiar
Peep
Perform
Perish
Persistency
Pertaining
Picturesque
Pile
Pillage
Pious
Pitch
Pithy
Plain
Pledged
Plentiful
Pluck
Poem
Point
Polished
Pop
Portray
Possess
Practically
Preliminary
Preserve
Prevail
Pricey
Pride
Privilege
Proclaim
Prohibition
Prominent
Prophecy
Protege
Prove
Pullover
Pungent
Puny
Purse
Pursue
Pursuit
Quadrangle
Quantifiable
Quicksand
Radical
Rage
Rallying
Readily
Refresh
Reinvented
Reject
Rejoice
Reluctant
Remarkable
Remind
Repair
Repentant
Reputation
Requisite
Reshape
Resolution
Resolve
Resource
Returned
Righteous
Rivulets
Role
Rotate
Rubbing salt in
Rubble
Rumble
Sacked
Sacrifice
Sanctimonious
Savage
Scale
Scalp
Scapegoat
Scarcity
Scatter
Scene
Scent
Scold
Scrupulously
Season
Seduction
Seething
Self esteem
Sentiment
Settle
Shame
Shrill
Shrink
Shrivel
Shy
Sights
Sinew
Slain
Slimy
Sloppy
Slung
Smudge
Sobbing
Sobriquet
Solace
Solidify
Somber
Sound
Specimen
Specter
Speculation
Spell
Spew
Spike
Spurred
Stage
Start
Starving
Stick by
Stigma
Stigmata
Stinking
Stock
Stoop
Stop
Stride
Strip
Stroll
Subjugate
Succor
Summon
Sundry
Superlative
Surreal
Surrender
Swift
Systemic
Taint
Task
Tempting
Tenacity
The common touch
Theme
Theoretically
Thereabouts
Thicket
Thief
Thrilling
Tight lipped
Timeless
Tiptoe
Tract
Tragedy
Tremble
Tribulation
Trickery
Twilight
Tyranny
Ultimate
Undaunted
Unease
Unforgiving
Unpack
Unpredictable
Urge
Utilize
Utmost
Vandalism
Various
Vast
Victim
Vile
Vow
Wager
Wallowing
Watchword
Weak
Wealthy
Weep
Weird
Wilderness
Will
Wisdom
Wise
Woeful
Worthy
Wound
Wrangling
Yawn
Yearning
Abruptly
Absurd
Absurd
Abundance
Abuse
Accomplishment
Act
Aftermarket
Age
Aggressive
Aim
Allowance
Ambitious
Amusements
Annoy
Appalling
Apparatus
Arms
Array
Aside
Attainment
Attribute
Author
Avow
Bad apple
Baffled
Bailout
Balcony
Balustrade
Bang average
Banish
Banish
Barren
Bathing
Be struck
Belch
Beset
Bestowing
Bite my lip
Bitter
Blame
Blazing
Bleak
Blessing
Blight
Bolt
Boosted
Break
Breathing space
Breathtaking
Broadening
Bumptious
Burden
Burglar
Cack handed
Calm
Candor
Cap
Captivated
Cast aside
Category
Cause
Causeway
Certainly
Challenge
Character
Cheer
Chirp
Chronic
Citadel
Citizen
Claw
Coerce
Coin
Comedy
Comparison
Complex
Complicated
Comrade
Conceive
Conflict
Conscience
Consecrate
Consider
Consistency
Contagion
Contemporaneous
Contrary
Convince
Convoy
Cot
Counsel
Courtesan
Crept
Critic
Cruel
Crumble
Curse
Dampen
Dare
Daunted
Dearest
Debate
Decipher
Decoration
Decry
Deeds
Delightful
Demolish
Denounce
Depredation
Descent
Designating
Desolate
Despair
Detached
Devotion
Devout
Dialogue
Dignitary
Dire
Direct
Discord
Discourse
Disgusted
Dismal
Dismissed
Disqualified
Dissent
Distribute
Ditch
Diverse
Doleful
Dominate
Dowry
Drag
Drastically
Dreadful
Dubious
Duplicity
Dwell
Eagerly
Enclosed
Endeavor
Endure
Entire
Epoch
Errand
Espionage
Essential
Estimate
Euphoria
Exceptional
Exclaim
Exist
Expense
Expose
Exposure
Fair
Faith
Falter
Fanciful
Farewell
Fatal
Feast
Febrile
Fed up
Feeble
Fellow
Fetch
Fewer
Fidgety
Filth
Flag (v)
Flash
Fling
Flowing
Foe
Foolishness
Forefather
Forge
Forlorn
Fortres
Fortunate
Frail
Frank
Fringes
Frothing
Frowning
Fruitful
Gather
Gentle
Glance
Gleam
Glimpse
Globe
Glow
Gnaw
Go forth
Go swimmingly
Good books (in)
Good times roll
Gossip
Graft
Grant
Grasp
Grave
Guide
Guidelines
Guilt
Gulf
Hallow
Hammering
Harmony
Hassle
Hasty
Heap
Hearty
Henceforth
Hideous
Honest
Honor
Host
How in the world
Hue
Humble
Hysterics
Icon
Imitator
Impostor
Impregnated
In sync
In the red
In vain
Incarceration
Inclination
Incredulity
Indeed
Indication
Indignant
Indignation
Inevitable
Inherit
Inspire
Interrupt
Intervene
Intimacy
Intimate
Intruder
Ironical
Irrepressible
Jealousy
Journey
Joy
Knave
Lackluster
Lantern
Levitating
Liberation
Liberty
Linger
Lingering
Literary
Liverish
Loath
Loathing
Lofty
Longed
Lounging
Loyalty
Loyalty
Ludicrous
Luggage
Lukewarm
Lurk
Magnet
Malnourishment
Margin
Marsh
Melancholy
Menace
Metric
Mighty
Mind scape
Misfortune
Mist
Mistaken
Mob
Moderate
Mooted
Mournful
Mucky
Myth
Native
Neglect
Noisiest
Nonchalant
Notoriety
Notwithstanding
Nuisance
Nursing
Obsess
Occur
Odious
On the contrary
On the line
Optimist
Ordeal
Out of the way
Outclassed
Outcome
Outstrip
Overwhelmed
Pace
Pack
Pal
Palette
Palimpsest
Paralysis
Particle
Passage
Peaceably
Peak
Peculiar
Peep
Perform
Perish
Persistency
Pertaining
Picturesque
Pile
Pillage
Pious
Pitch
Pithy
Plain
Pledged
Plentiful
Pluck
Poem
Point
Polished
Pop
Portray
Possess
Practically
Preliminary
Preserve
Prevail
Pricey
Pride
Privilege
Proclaim
Prohibition
Prominent
Prophecy
Protege
Prove
Pullover
Pungent
Puny
Purse
Pursue
Pursuit
Quadrangle
Quantifiable
Quicksand
Radical
Rage
Rallying
Readily
Refresh
Reinvented
Reject
Rejoice
Reluctant
Remarkable
Remind
Repair
Repentant
Reputation
Requisite
Reshape
Resolution
Resolve
Resource
Returned
Righteous
Rivulets
Role
Rotate
Rubbing salt in
Rubble
Rumble
Sacked
Sacrifice
Sanctimonious
Savage
Scale
Scalp
Scapegoat
Scarcity
Scatter
Scene
Scent
Scold
Scrupulously
Season
Seduction
Seething
Self esteem
Sentiment
Settle
Shame
Shrill
Shrink
Shrivel
Shy
Sights
Sinew
Slain
Slimy
Sloppy
Slung
Smudge
Sobbing
Sobriquet
Solace
Solidify
Somber
Sound
Specimen
Specter
Speculation
Spell
Spew
Spike
Spurred
Stage
Start
Starving
Stick by
Stigma
Stigmata
Stinking
Stock
Stoop
Stop
Stride
Strip
Stroll
Subjugate
Succor
Summon
Sundry
Superlative
Surreal
Surrender
Swift
Systemic
Taint
Task
Tempting
Tenacity
The common touch
Theme
Theoretically
Thereabouts
Thicket
Thief
Thrilling
Tight lipped
Timeless
Tiptoe
Tract
Tragedy
Tremble
Tribulation
Trickery
Twilight
Tyranny
Ultimate
Undaunted
Unease
Unforgiving
Unpack
Unpredictable
Urge
Utilize
Utmost
Vandalism
Various
Vast
Victim
Vile
Vow
Wager
Wallowing
Watchword
Weak
Wealthy
Weep
Weird
Wilderness
Will
Wisdom
Wise
Woeful
Worthy
Wound
Wrangling
Yawn
Yearning
Sherlock Holmes
THE ADVENTURE OF THE NOBLE BACHELOR
The Lord St. Simon marriage, and its curious termination, have long ceased to be a subiect of interest in those exalted circles in which the unfortunate bridegroom moves.
Fresh scandals have eclipsed it, and their more piquant details have drawn the gossips away from this four-year-old drama. As I have reason to believe, however, that the full facts have never been revealed to the general public, and as my friend Sherlock Holmes had a considerable share in clearing the matter up, I feel that no memoir of him would be complete without some little sketch of this remarkable episode.
It was a few weeks before my own marriage, during the days when I was still sharing rooms with Holmes in Baker Street, that he came home from an afternoon stroll to find a letter on the table waiting for him.
I had remained indoors all day, for the weather had taken a sudden turn to rain, with high autumnal winds, and the Jezail bullet which I had brought back in one of my limbs as a relic of my Afghan campaign throbbed with dull persistence.
With my body in one easy-chair and my legs upon another, I had surrounded myself with a cloud of newspapers until at last, saturated with the news of the day, I tossed them all aside and lay listless, watching the huge crest and monogram upon the envelope upon the table and wondering lazily who my friend's noble correspondent could be.
Here is a very fashionable epistle," I remarked as he entered.
"Your morning letters, if I remember right, were from a fishmonger and a tide-waiter."
"Yes, my correspondence has certainly the charm of variety," he answered, smiling, "and the humbler are usually the more interesting. This looks like one of those unwelcome social summonses which call upon a man either to be bored or to lie."
He broke the seal and glanced over the contents.
"Oh, come, it may prove to be something of interest, after all."
"Not social, then?"
"No, distinctly professional."
"And from a noble client?"
"One of the highest in Eng-land."
"My dear fellow, I congratulate you."
"I assure you, Watson, without affectation, that the status of my client is a matter of less moment to me than the interest of his case. It is just possible, however, that that also may not be wanting in this new investigation. You have been reading the papers diligently of late, have you not?"
"It looks like it," said I ruefully, pointing to a huge bundle in the corner. "I have had nothing else to do."
"It is fortunate, for you will perhaps be able to post me up. I read nothing except the criminal news and the agony column. The latter is always instructive. But if you have followed recent events so closely you must have read about Lord St. Simon and his wedding?"
"Oh, yes, with the deepest interest."
"That is well. The letter which I hold in my hand is from Lord St. Simon. I will read it to you, and in return you must turn over these papers and let me have whatever bears upon the matter.
This is what he says:
" 'MY DEAR MR. SHER-LOCK HOLMES: Lord Backwater tells me that I may place implicit reliance upon your judgment and discretion. I have deter-mined, therefore, to call upon you and to consult you in reference to the very painful event which has occurred in connection with my wedding.
Mr. Lestrade, of Scotland Yard, is acting already in the matter, but he assures me that he sees no objection to your co-oper-ation, and that he even thinks that it might be of some assistance.
I will call at four o'clock in the afternoon, and, should you have any other engagement at that time, I hope that you will postpone it, as this matter is of paramount importance. Yours faithfully,
" 'ST. SIMON.'
"It is dated from Grosvenor
Mansions, written with a quill pen, and the noble lord has had the misfortune to get a smear of ink upon the outer side of his right little finger," remarked Holmes as he folded up the epistle.
"He says four o'clock. It is three now. He will be here in an hour."
——-
What kind of person is St Simon?
Which of the character is married at the time & which is married afterwards?
What is the relationship between Dr Watson & Sherlock Holmes?
Explain why Dr Watson stayed indoors all day.
What did he do all day?
Why is the letter interesting to Watson?
Why is it interesting to Holmes?
How is the letter connected with the newspapers?
Who recommends Sherlock Holmes & what does he do?
How long do they have until St Simon arrives?
THE ADVENTURE OF THE NOBLE BACHELOR
The Lord St. Simon marriage, and its curious termination, have long ceased to be a subiect of interest in those exalted circles in which the unfortunate bridegroom moves.
Fresh scandals have eclipsed it, and their more piquant details have drawn the gossips away from this four-year-old drama. As I have reason to believe, however, that the full facts have never been revealed to the general public, and as my friend Sherlock Holmes had a considerable share in clearing the matter up, I feel that no memoir of him would be complete without some little sketch of this remarkable episode.
It was a few weeks before my own marriage, during the days when I was still sharing rooms with Holmes in Baker Street, that he came home from an afternoon stroll to find a letter on the table waiting for him.
I had remained indoors all day, for the weather had taken a sudden turn to rain, with high autumnal winds, and the Jezail bullet which I had brought back in one of my limbs as a relic of my Afghan campaign throbbed with dull persistence.
With my body in one easy-chair and my legs upon another, I had surrounded myself with a cloud of newspapers until at last, saturated with the news of the day, I tossed them all aside and lay listless, watching the huge crest and monogram upon the envelope upon the table and wondering lazily who my friend's noble correspondent could be.
Here is a very fashionable epistle," I remarked as he entered.
"Your morning letters, if I remember right, were from a fishmonger and a tide-waiter."
"Yes, my correspondence has certainly the charm of variety," he answered, smiling, "and the humbler are usually the more interesting. This looks like one of those unwelcome social summonses which call upon a man either to be bored or to lie."
He broke the seal and glanced over the contents.
"Oh, come, it may prove to be something of interest, after all."
"Not social, then?"
"No, distinctly professional."
"And from a noble client?"
"One of the highest in Eng-land."
"My dear fellow, I congratulate you."
"I assure you, Watson, without affectation, that the status of my client is a matter of less moment to me than the interest of his case. It is just possible, however, that that also may not be wanting in this new investigation. You have been reading the papers diligently of late, have you not?"
"It looks like it," said I ruefully, pointing to a huge bundle in the corner. "I have had nothing else to do."
"It is fortunate, for you will perhaps be able to post me up. I read nothing except the criminal news and the agony column. The latter is always instructive. But if you have followed recent events so closely you must have read about Lord St. Simon and his wedding?"
"Oh, yes, with the deepest interest."
"That is well. The letter which I hold in my hand is from Lord St. Simon. I will read it to you, and in return you must turn over these papers and let me have whatever bears upon the matter.
This is what he says:
" 'MY DEAR MR. SHER-LOCK HOLMES: Lord Backwater tells me that I may place implicit reliance upon your judgment and discretion. I have deter-mined, therefore, to call upon you and to consult you in reference to the very painful event which has occurred in connection with my wedding.
Mr. Lestrade, of Scotland Yard, is acting already in the matter, but he assures me that he sees no objection to your co-oper-ation, and that he even thinks that it might be of some assistance.
I will call at four o'clock in the afternoon, and, should you have any other engagement at that time, I hope that you will postpone it, as this matter is of paramount importance. Yours faithfully,
" 'ST. SIMON.'
"It is dated from Grosvenor
Mansions, written with a quill pen, and the noble lord has had the misfortune to get a smear of ink upon the outer side of his right little finger," remarked Holmes as he folded up the epistle.
"He says four o'clock. It is three now. He will be here in an hour."
——-
What kind of person is St Simon?
Which of the character is married at the time & which is married afterwards?
What is the relationship between Dr Watson & Sherlock Holmes?
Explain why Dr Watson stayed indoors all day.
What did he do all day?
Why is the letter interesting to Watson?
Why is it interesting to Holmes?
How is the letter connected with the newspapers?
Who recommends Sherlock Holmes & what does he do?
How long do they have until St Simon arrives?
Famous 5
CHAPTER ONE
A great surprise
"MOTHER HAVE you heard about our summer holidays yet?' said Julian, at the breakfast-table.
Can we go to Polseath as usu-
al? 'I'm afraid not.' said his mother. "They are quite full up this year.'
The three children at the breakfast-table looked at one another in great disappointment. They did so love the house at Polseath. The beach was so lovely there, too, and the bathing was fine.
"Cheer up,' said Daddy. I dare say we'll find somewhere else just as good for you. And anyway, Mother and I won't be able to go with you this year.
Has Mother told you?'
'No!' said Anne. 'Oh, Mother
- is it true? Can't you really come with us on our holidays?
You always do.'
'Well, this time Daddy wants me to go to Scotland with him,' said Mother. All by ourselves!
And as you are really getting big enough to look after yourselves now, we thought it would be rather fun for you to have a holiday on your own too. But now that you can't go to Polseath, I don't really quite know where to send you.'
"What about Ouentin's?' suddenly said Daddy. Quentin was his brother, the children's uncle. They had only seen him once, and had been rather frightened of him. He was a very tall, frowning man, a clever scientist who spent all his time studying. He lived by the sea - but that was about all that the children knew of him!
"Quentin?' said Mother, pursing her lips. "Whatever made you think of him? I shouldn't think he'd want the children messing about in his little house."
"Well,' said Daddy, 'I had to see Ouentin's wife in town the other day, about a business matter - and I don't think things are going too well for them. Fanny said that she would be quite glad if she could hear of one or two people to live with her for a while, to bring a little money in.
Their house is by the sea, you know. It might be just the thing for the children. Fanny is very nice - she would look after them well
"Yes - and she has a child of her own too, hasn't she?' said the children's mother. 'Let me see - what's her name - something funny - yes, Georgina! How old would she be? About eleven, I should think.'
"Same age as me,' said Dick.
'Fancy having a cousin we've never seen! She must be jolly lonely all by herself. I've got Julian and Anne to play with - but Georgina is just one on her own. I should think she'd be glad to see us.'
'Well, your Aunt Fanny said that her Georgina would love a bit of company, said Daddy.
"You know, I really think that would solve our difficulty, if we telephone to Fanny and arrange for the children to go there. It would help Fanny, I'm sure, and Georgina would love to have someone to play with in the holi-days. And we should know that our three were safe."
Modal
Past present future
Continuous perfect
—--
What type of holiday are they talking about?
Is there space at Polseath?
What do the children like to do in Polseath?
Where do the mother & father have to go?
What relation is Quentin to the children?
What does Quentin do?
What is the name of Quentin’s daughter?
What relation is she to the children?
What are the 3 children’s names?
——-
Adventure
What kind of adventure did you do as a child?
How old were you then?
Where did you go?
How did you get there?
Who did you go with?
Where did you stay?
What did you do there?
How long did you stay?
Did you like it?
Would you do the same for your children?
CHAPTER ONE
A great surprise
"MOTHER HAVE you heard about our summer holidays yet?' said Julian, at the breakfast-table.
Can we go to Polseath as usu-
al? 'I'm afraid not.' said his mother. "They are quite full up this year.'
The three children at the breakfast-table looked at one another in great disappointment. They did so love the house at Polseath. The beach was so lovely there, too, and the bathing was fine.
"Cheer up,' said Daddy. I dare say we'll find somewhere else just as good for you. And anyway, Mother and I won't be able to go with you this year.
Has Mother told you?'
'No!' said Anne. 'Oh, Mother
- is it true? Can't you really come with us on our holidays?
You always do.'
'Well, this time Daddy wants me to go to Scotland with him,' said Mother. All by ourselves!
And as you are really getting big enough to look after yourselves now, we thought it would be rather fun for you to have a holiday on your own too. But now that you can't go to Polseath, I don't really quite know where to send you.'
"What about Ouentin's?' suddenly said Daddy. Quentin was his brother, the children's uncle. They had only seen him once, and had been rather frightened of him. He was a very tall, frowning man, a clever scientist who spent all his time studying. He lived by the sea - but that was about all that the children knew of him!
"Quentin?' said Mother, pursing her lips. "Whatever made you think of him? I shouldn't think he'd want the children messing about in his little house."
"Well,' said Daddy, 'I had to see Ouentin's wife in town the other day, about a business matter - and I don't think things are going too well for them. Fanny said that she would be quite glad if she could hear of one or two people to live with her for a while, to bring a little money in.
Their house is by the sea, you know. It might be just the thing for the children. Fanny is very nice - she would look after them well
"Yes - and she has a child of her own too, hasn't she?' said the children's mother. 'Let me see - what's her name - something funny - yes, Georgina! How old would she be? About eleven, I should think.'
"Same age as me,' said Dick.
'Fancy having a cousin we've never seen! She must be jolly lonely all by herself. I've got Julian and Anne to play with - but Georgina is just one on her own. I should think she'd be glad to see us.'
'Well, your Aunt Fanny said that her Georgina would love a bit of company, said Daddy.
"You know, I really think that would solve our difficulty, if we telephone to Fanny and arrange for the children to go there. It would help Fanny, I'm sure, and Georgina would love to have someone to play with in the holi-days. And we should know that our three were safe."
Modal
Past present future
Continuous perfect
—--
What type of holiday are they talking about?
Is there space at Polseath?
What do the children like to do in Polseath?
Where do the mother & father have to go?
What relation is Quentin to the children?
What does Quentin do?
What is the name of Quentin’s daughter?
What relation is she to the children?
What are the 3 children’s names?
——-
Adventure
What kind of adventure did you do as a child?
How old were you then?
Where did you go?
How did you get there?
Who did you go with?
Where did you stay?
What did you do there?
How long did you stay?
Did you like it?
Would you do the same for your children?
Tambora
Did a Volcano Defeat Napoleon at Waterloo?
published September 05, 2018
Napoleon's historic defeat at Waterloo may have been spurred by a volcano that erupted two months earlier, and nearly 8,000 miles (13,000 kilometers) away.
During the decisive battle on June 18, 1815, in what is now Belgium, mucky, wet conditions mired Napoleon's armies and lent a strategic advantage to his foes. But the heavy rainfall that flooded Europe during May and June that year may have resulted from a significant atmospheric disturbance in April, when an Indonesian volcano named Mount Tambora erupted, according to a new study.
Erupting volcanoes can spew towering ash plumes into the stratosphere, the second layer of the atmosphere, which extends to 32 miles (50 km) above the surface of Earth. Over time, gases from the eruption can create aerosols — air particles — that diffuse solar radiation, which can temporarily affect global climate.
But exceptionally powerful eruptions can also generate electrical forces that propel ash particles even higher — into the cloud-forming ionosphere, from 50 to 600 miles (80 to 1,000 km) above the Earth's surface, Matthew Genge, a senior lecturer in the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at the Imperial College London in the U.K., reported in the study, which was published online Aug. 21 in the journal Geology
Once in the ionosphere, electrically charged particles can further disrupt Earth's climate. And that's exactly what happened after the Mount Tambora eruption — it swiftly "short-circuited" the atmosphere and shaped weather in Europe, bringing Napoleon's army to its knees within months, Genge wrote in the study.
Mount Tambora's four-month-long eruption, which began on April 5, 1815, is the biggest volcanic eruption in recorded history; it killed approximately 100,000 people on the island of Sumbawa, and deposited enough ash on the ground to collapse nearby buildings, according to the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).
Scientists have long known that Tambora's eruption dramatically affected the global climate. The ash and airborne particles that it belched into the stratosphere circulated around the planet, leading to a drop in the average global temperature of 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit (3 degrees Celsius) during the following year.
The gloomy, cold weather lasted for months in Europe and North America, and 1816 became known as "The Year Without a Summer," NCAR reported.
But it took months for those airborne particles to affect global weather, and it was previously thought that the unusually wet conditions in Europe during the spring of 1815 were unrelated to the volcano, Genge reported.
However, his recent findings about electrical forces in eruptions suggest otherwise. In simulations, Genge demonstrated that strong negative charges in a volcano's plume and in the particles would repel each other, pushing ash into the ionosphere.
"The effect works very much like the way two magnets are pushed away from each other if their poles match," Genge said in a statement.
Global weather data from 1815 is scanty, making it difficult to connect the 1815 eruption to subsequent meteorological disturbances, Genge wrote in the study.
But more complete weather records from another powerful volcanic eruption in 1883 — Krakatoa, also in Indonesia — showed signs of ionospheric disturbance and weather disruption shortly after the volcano erupted, Genge reported.
Electrically charged, levitating ash following Tambora's 1815 eruption thus might have affected weather in Europe within weeks, long before ash particles in the stratosphere darkened European skies during the summer of 1816, according to the study.
Which battle did Napoleon lose?
Which country was the battle in?
What caused him to lose?
How high above earth is the Stratosphere?
How high is the ionosphere?
What pushed the ash higher?
How long did Tambora erupt for?
How many people died?
—-
How did your parents meet?
How did they get to where you were born?
What happened at school?
What happened after school?
What did you study?
What was your first job?
How did you come to this place?
How did you get to this job?
Did a Volcano Defeat Napoleon at Waterloo?
published September 05, 2018
Napoleon's historic defeat at Waterloo may have been spurred by a volcano that erupted two months earlier, and nearly 8,000 miles (13,000 kilometers) away.
During the decisive battle on June 18, 1815, in what is now Belgium, mucky, wet conditions mired Napoleon's armies and lent a strategic advantage to his foes. But the heavy rainfall that flooded Europe during May and June that year may have resulted from a significant atmospheric disturbance in April, when an Indonesian volcano named Mount Tambora erupted, according to a new study.
Erupting volcanoes can spew towering ash plumes into the stratosphere, the second layer of the atmosphere, which extends to 32 miles (50 km) above the surface of Earth. Over time, gases from the eruption can create aerosols — air particles — that diffuse solar radiation, which can temporarily affect global climate.
But exceptionally powerful eruptions can also generate electrical forces that propel ash particles even higher — into the cloud-forming ionosphere, from 50 to 600 miles (80 to 1,000 km) above the Earth's surface, Matthew Genge, a senior lecturer in the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at the Imperial College London in the U.K., reported in the study, which was published online Aug. 21 in the journal Geology
Once in the ionosphere, electrically charged particles can further disrupt Earth's climate. And that's exactly what happened after the Mount Tambora eruption — it swiftly "short-circuited" the atmosphere and shaped weather in Europe, bringing Napoleon's army to its knees within months, Genge wrote in the study.
Mount Tambora's four-month-long eruption, which began on April 5, 1815, is the biggest volcanic eruption in recorded history; it killed approximately 100,000 people on the island of Sumbawa, and deposited enough ash on the ground to collapse nearby buildings, according to the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).
Scientists have long known that Tambora's eruption dramatically affected the global climate. The ash and airborne particles that it belched into the stratosphere circulated around the planet, leading to a drop in the average global temperature of 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit (3 degrees Celsius) during the following year.
The gloomy, cold weather lasted for months in Europe and North America, and 1816 became known as "The Year Without a Summer," NCAR reported.
But it took months for those airborne particles to affect global weather, and it was previously thought that the unusually wet conditions in Europe during the spring of 1815 were unrelated to the volcano, Genge reported.
However, his recent findings about electrical forces in eruptions suggest otherwise. In simulations, Genge demonstrated that strong negative charges in a volcano's plume and in the particles would repel each other, pushing ash into the ionosphere.
"The effect works very much like the way two magnets are pushed away from each other if their poles match," Genge said in a statement.
Global weather data from 1815 is scanty, making it difficult to connect the 1815 eruption to subsequent meteorological disturbances, Genge wrote in the study.
But more complete weather records from another powerful volcanic eruption in 1883 — Krakatoa, also in Indonesia — showed signs of ionospheric disturbance and weather disruption shortly after the volcano erupted, Genge reported.
Electrically charged, levitating ash following Tambora's 1815 eruption thus might have affected weather in Europe within weeks, long before ash particles in the stratosphere darkened European skies during the summer of 1816, according to the study.
Which battle did Napoleon lose?
Which country was the battle in?
What caused him to lose?
How high above earth is the Stratosphere?
How high is the ionosphere?
What pushed the ash higher?
How long did Tambora erupt for?
How many people died?
—-
How did your parents meet?
How did they get to where you were born?
What happened at school?
What happened after school?
What did you study?
What was your first job?
How did you come to this place?
How did you get to this job?
Is Credit Suisse, the bad apple of European banking, really 'too big to fail, too big to be saved'?
Crisis sends shockwaves across the City as speculation of a Swiss bailout swirls.
On a day when all attention would usually be focused on Westminster, the Square Mile had more pressing issues to deal with than Jeremy Hunt’s Budget.
“Credit Suisse has dominated everyone’s attention on the trading floor,” says one City trader. “The Budget failed to garner any attention.”
For years, Credit Suisse has been the bad apple of the European banking industry. A series of costly and cack-handed blunders had cost it billions and seen its share price slide almost continuously.
But on Wednesday, what had been a slow-burning mess exploded into an acute crisis that triggered a scramble across City trading floors.
What triggered the panic was two words: “Absolutely not”.
Credit Suisse’s share price plunged as much as 30pc after its biggest investor said it will not stump up any more cash to backstop the struggling bank. Ammar Al Khudairy, chairman of the Saudi National Bank, ruled out any further support, saying there were "many reasons" not to put any more money in.
Market sentiment was already febrile following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and amid lingering concerns about Credit Suisse. Al Khudairy’s words were like a match thrown into gasoline.
Investors frantically sought to figure out how bad things were and what it meant for the wider economy. The result was wild swings in prices of everything from oil to gold and government debt.
The bank's credit default swaps, which investors buy to protect themselves from a company defaulting on their debts, surged to a new record high as speculation swirled that it could be forced into a bailout.
Banking stocks across the world fell, while the price of oil dropped to its lowest level in over a year on concerns about possible recession.
The euro slumped nearly 2pc against the dollar as traders fretted about what it could mean for the eurozone’s economy.
The price of gold spiked and the yield on US government debt dropped sharply as investors rushed to put their money into safer assets.
Nouriel Roubini, an economist known as “Dr Doom”, raised the spectre of a Credit Suisse default becoming a “Lehman moment”.
He told Bloomberg TV: “The problem is that Credit Suisse, by some standards, might be too big to fail, but also too big to be saved.”
Early on Wednesday, Credit Suisse's chairman had ruled out government support as he sought to reassure investors.
Axel Lehmann, Credit Suisse’s chairman, said the bank “already took the medicine” when it announced its radical restructuring plan late last year.
Systemic concerns
Yet as its share price tumbled, Credit Suisse reached out to the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to ask for a public show of support.
Some in the market believe more radical intervention is now inevitable. The City trader said: “It doesn’t look like there’s much Credit Suisse can do from here to change the narrative themselves.
"Investors are eagerly waiting for a potential nationalisation scenario from the SNB to avoid it becoming systemic.”
While regulators in Switzerland and the UK were keeping tight-lipped on Wednesday evening, the European Central Bank (ECB) was reportedly contacting other banks to ask about their exposure to the embattled Swiss lender.
Gary Greenwood, a banking analyst at Shore Capital, said: “A failure of a bank of this size would clearly raise systemic concerns."
However, he added: "Given its woes have been known about for some time, you would hope that other banks, including those in the UK, would have been appropriately managing their counterparty risk.
“We may find out sooner rather than later whether all the new tools that have been put in place by regulators post-financial crisis to allow for an orderly failure of a large bank without causing massive contagion actually work.”
Losses would destroy Switzerland’s reputation'
Analysts at Exane said they thought a bailout by the SNB and financial regulator Finma, possibly with one or more other banks, was the "most likely scenario" if Credit Suisse needed an emergency lifeline.
As a first step, regulators could provide liquidity support – effectively a supply of money – to ease the pressure from continued withdrawals from the bank.
Pressure on the bank's share price eased slightly as the US woke up. Credit Suisse shares rallied in mid-afternoon and ended the day in Zurich down 25pc, having as much as 30pc in the red earlier. Shares traded in New York eased back to a loss of 14pc.
Yet the crisis is far from over. Octavio Marenzi, an analyst at Opimas, told the Financial Times: “It is looking inevitable that the SNB will have to intervene and provide a lifeline.
“The SNB and the Swiss government are fully aware that the failure of Credit Suisse or even any losses by deposit holders would destroy Switzerland’s reputation as a financial centre.”
Late on Wednesday, the SNB and regulator FINMA issued a joint statement meant to reassure investors. The pair said Credit Suisse remained well capitalised and pledged to support the bank with extra liquidity if needed.
While well short of a bailout, the statement helped Credit Suisse stock rally in the aftermarket in New York. The bank will face a further test when Zurich’s stock market opens on Thursday.
What was city traders’ attention supposed to be on yesterday?
What has been happening to the share price of Credit SUISSE?
Who is CS biggest investor?
What kind of assets are investor buying now?
What might the failure of the bank cause in the markets?
Who did CS reach out to for help?
How many percent did the shares fall by the end of European yesterday trading?
What then happened overnight in New York?
—///
Write about money
What is money?
Is it good for bad & why?
Would you like more?
What would you do with it if you had more?
How much money would you like to have?
What didyour parents teach you about money?
What’s the best advice you heard about money?
Crisis sends shockwaves across the City as speculation of a Swiss bailout swirls.
On a day when all attention would usually be focused on Westminster, the Square Mile had more pressing issues to deal with than Jeremy Hunt’s Budget.
“Credit Suisse has dominated everyone’s attention on the trading floor,” says one City trader. “The Budget failed to garner any attention.”
For years, Credit Suisse has been the bad apple of the European banking industry. A series of costly and cack-handed blunders had cost it billions and seen its share price slide almost continuously.
But on Wednesday, what had been a slow-burning mess exploded into an acute crisis that triggered a scramble across City trading floors.
What triggered the panic was two words: “Absolutely not”.
Credit Suisse’s share price plunged as much as 30pc after its biggest investor said it will not stump up any more cash to backstop the struggling bank. Ammar Al Khudairy, chairman of the Saudi National Bank, ruled out any further support, saying there were "many reasons" not to put any more money in.
Market sentiment was already febrile following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and amid lingering concerns about Credit Suisse. Al Khudairy’s words were like a match thrown into gasoline.
Investors frantically sought to figure out how bad things were and what it meant for the wider economy. The result was wild swings in prices of everything from oil to gold and government debt.
The bank's credit default swaps, which investors buy to protect themselves from a company defaulting on their debts, surged to a new record high as speculation swirled that it could be forced into a bailout.
Banking stocks across the world fell, while the price of oil dropped to its lowest level in over a year on concerns about possible recession.
The euro slumped nearly 2pc against the dollar as traders fretted about what it could mean for the eurozone’s economy.
The price of gold spiked and the yield on US government debt dropped sharply as investors rushed to put their money into safer assets.
Nouriel Roubini, an economist known as “Dr Doom”, raised the spectre of a Credit Suisse default becoming a “Lehman moment”.
He told Bloomberg TV: “The problem is that Credit Suisse, by some standards, might be too big to fail, but also too big to be saved.”
Early on Wednesday, Credit Suisse's chairman had ruled out government support as he sought to reassure investors.
Axel Lehmann, Credit Suisse’s chairman, said the bank “already took the medicine” when it announced its radical restructuring plan late last year.
Systemic concerns
Yet as its share price tumbled, Credit Suisse reached out to the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to ask for a public show of support.
Some in the market believe more radical intervention is now inevitable. The City trader said: “It doesn’t look like there’s much Credit Suisse can do from here to change the narrative themselves.
"Investors are eagerly waiting for a potential nationalisation scenario from the SNB to avoid it becoming systemic.”
While regulators in Switzerland and the UK were keeping tight-lipped on Wednesday evening, the European Central Bank (ECB) was reportedly contacting other banks to ask about their exposure to the embattled Swiss lender.
Gary Greenwood, a banking analyst at Shore Capital, said: “A failure of a bank of this size would clearly raise systemic concerns."
However, he added: "Given its woes have been known about for some time, you would hope that other banks, including those in the UK, would have been appropriately managing their counterparty risk.
“We may find out sooner rather than later whether all the new tools that have been put in place by regulators post-financial crisis to allow for an orderly failure of a large bank without causing massive contagion actually work.”
Losses would destroy Switzerland’s reputation'
Analysts at Exane said they thought a bailout by the SNB and financial regulator Finma, possibly with one or more other banks, was the "most likely scenario" if Credit Suisse needed an emergency lifeline.
As a first step, regulators could provide liquidity support – effectively a supply of money – to ease the pressure from continued withdrawals from the bank.
Pressure on the bank's share price eased slightly as the US woke up. Credit Suisse shares rallied in mid-afternoon and ended the day in Zurich down 25pc, having as much as 30pc in the red earlier. Shares traded in New York eased back to a loss of 14pc.
Yet the crisis is far from over. Octavio Marenzi, an analyst at Opimas, told the Financial Times: “It is looking inevitable that the SNB will have to intervene and provide a lifeline.
“The SNB and the Swiss government are fully aware that the failure of Credit Suisse or even any losses by deposit holders would destroy Switzerland’s reputation as a financial centre.”
Late on Wednesday, the SNB and regulator FINMA issued a joint statement meant to reassure investors. The pair said Credit Suisse remained well capitalised and pledged to support the bank with extra liquidity if needed.
While well short of a bailout, the statement helped Credit Suisse stock rally in the aftermarket in New York. The bank will face a further test when Zurich’s stock market opens on Thursday.
What was city traders’ attention supposed to be on yesterday?
What has been happening to the share price of Credit SUISSE?
Who is CS biggest investor?
What kind of assets are investor buying now?
What might the failure of the bank cause in the markets?
Who did CS reach out to for help?
How many percent did the shares fall by the end of European yesterday trading?
What then happened overnight in New York?
—///
Write about money
What is money?
Is it good for bad & why?
Would you like more?
What would you do with it if you had more?
How much money would you like to have?
What didyour parents teach you about money?
What’s the best advice you heard about money?
The past participle
What is it?
In terms of its function, the past participle is used to indicate a completed action or state that happened in the past, and it can also be used to form the passive voice in sentences where the subject is not the doer of the action.
Examples of past participles in sentences include
"I have eaten breakfast already,"
"She had written the essay before the deadline,"
"The book was written by J.K. Rowling."
Let’s name some past participles:
Infinitive Past simple Past participle
To be Was/were Been
To come
To do
To eat
To make
To see
To take
To write
Last summer, I had the opportunity to take a trip to Europe with my family. It was an amazing experience that I will never forget.
We visited four different countries: France, Italy, Germany, and Switzerland.
When we arrived in France, we were exhausted from the long flight, but excited to explore the city.
We stayed in a beautiful hotel that had a stunning view of the Eiffel Tower. We spent our days visiting museums, walking along the Seine River, and trying all kinds of delicious French food.
By the end of our stay, we were feeling much more rested and ready to move on to the next destination.
Next, we traveled to Italy, where we spent most of our time in Rome. We visited the Colosseum, the Vatican, and the Trevi Fountain, among other famous landmarks.
We also tried a lot of different types of pasta and pizza, which were all delicious. We even took a cooking class and learned how to make our own pizza!
After Italy, we went to Germany, where we visited Munich and Berlin. In Munich, we visited the famous Hofbräuhaus beer hall and ate traditional German sausages.
In Berlin, we learned about the city's history and visited the Berlin Wall.
Finally, we ended our trip in Switzerland, where we spent most of our time in the picturesque city of Zurich.
We walked around the city, admiring the beautiful architecture and scenery. We also took a boat tour of Lake Zurich, which was breathtaking.
Overall, our trip was an incredible experience. We saw so many amazing things, tried so many delicious foods, and made so many wonderful memories.
I feel incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to take such an unforgettable trip with my family.
Now it’s time to identify the past participles in the reading.
Writing:
What did you do last summer and what will you do this summer.
Last summer I…
Afterwards…
Next summer I want to…
Because…
What is it?
In terms of its function, the past participle is used to indicate a completed action or state that happened in the past, and it can also be used to form the passive voice in sentences where the subject is not the doer of the action.
Examples of past participles in sentences include
"I have eaten breakfast already,"
"She had written the essay before the deadline,"
"The book was written by J.K. Rowling."
Let’s name some past participles:
Infinitive Past simple Past participle
To be Was/were Been
To come
To do
To eat
To make
To see
To take
To write
Last summer, I had the opportunity to take a trip to Europe with my family. It was an amazing experience that I will never forget.
We visited four different countries: France, Italy, Germany, and Switzerland.
When we arrived in France, we were exhausted from the long flight, but excited to explore the city.
We stayed in a beautiful hotel that had a stunning view of the Eiffel Tower. We spent our days visiting museums, walking along the Seine River, and trying all kinds of delicious French food.
By the end of our stay, we were feeling much more rested and ready to move on to the next destination.
Next, we traveled to Italy, where we spent most of our time in Rome. We visited the Colosseum, the Vatican, and the Trevi Fountain, among other famous landmarks.
We also tried a lot of different types of pasta and pizza, which were all delicious. We even took a cooking class and learned how to make our own pizza!
After Italy, we went to Germany, where we visited Munich and Berlin. In Munich, we visited the famous Hofbräuhaus beer hall and ate traditional German sausages.
In Berlin, we learned about the city's history and visited the Berlin Wall.
Finally, we ended our trip in Switzerland, where we spent most of our time in the picturesque city of Zurich.
We walked around the city, admiring the beautiful architecture and scenery. We also took a boat tour of Lake Zurich, which was breathtaking.
Overall, our trip was an incredible experience. We saw so many amazing things, tried so many delicious foods, and made so many wonderful memories.
I feel incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to take such an unforgettable trip with my family.
Now it’s time to identify the past participles in the reading.
Writing:
What did you do last summer and what will you do this summer.
Last summer I…
Afterwards…
Next summer I want to…
Because…
Krakatau
Natural History Museum
August 1883 saw the world tremble with the eruption of Krakatau, a volcano in the Sunda Strait connecting the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean.
The Krakatau eruption had an explosive force of a 200-megatonne bomb, killing more than 36,000 people and cooling the entire Earth by an average of 0.6°C for months to come.
The awakening of Krakatau in 1883 was one of the deadliest volcanic eruptions in modern history, second only to the eruption of Tambora in 1815, which killed 60,000 people.
Its effects were felt all over the globe and even seemed to reach far into the stratosphere, making the Moon appear blue at night.
The eruption released sulfur dioxide and other particles such as ash into the air, which filtered the colours of the sunlight reaching the Earth.
Different colours have different wavelengths, with red being the longest, violet the shortest and the others somewhere in between, following the order of a rainbow.
The volcanic particles were smaller than a micron, which is about a hundred times smaller than the thickness of a human hair.
But they were slightly wider than the wavelength of red light, so once scattered, they absorbed the red light while allowing other colours to pass through. This resulted in surreal landscapes and many blue Moons.
'The eruption of Krakatau is a striking example of the irrepressible force of nature,' says Dr Martin Mangler, a research assistant in Earth Sciences at the Museum.
'Within a heartbeat, volcanic eruptions can reshape the entire planet in many different ways, blue Moons probably being the most picturesque and least dangerous.'
While the Krakatau eruption over a century ago affected the world's climate and colour palette for many years, its results have ceased. So why do we still see blue Moons?
The answer is that other volcanoes have erupted since, and sometimes they release particles of the same size as Krakatau's.
Some forest fires can produce the same combination of sulfur dioxide and ash, therefore having the same effect.
Depending on how intense the cause is, such particles can be carried across countries and create a blue Moon for people on the other side of the world.
When was the Krakatau eruption?
How many people died?
By how much did it reduce the temperature?
What is the effect on the moon called?
What did the eruption release?
How many times smaller than a human hair were the particles?
What else can produce the same effect on the moon?
What is Indonesia famous for?
Volcanoes
Bali
Mata Hari
Equator
Nasi Goreng
Batik
Spices
Natural History Museum
August 1883 saw the world tremble with the eruption of Krakatau, a volcano in the Sunda Strait connecting the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean.
The Krakatau eruption had an explosive force of a 200-megatonne bomb, killing more than 36,000 people and cooling the entire Earth by an average of 0.6°C for months to come.
The awakening of Krakatau in 1883 was one of the deadliest volcanic eruptions in modern history, second only to the eruption of Tambora in 1815, which killed 60,000 people.
Its effects were felt all over the globe and even seemed to reach far into the stratosphere, making the Moon appear blue at night.
The eruption released sulfur dioxide and other particles such as ash into the air, which filtered the colours of the sunlight reaching the Earth.
Different colours have different wavelengths, with red being the longest, violet the shortest and the others somewhere in between, following the order of a rainbow.
The volcanic particles were smaller than a micron, which is about a hundred times smaller than the thickness of a human hair.
But they were slightly wider than the wavelength of red light, so once scattered, they absorbed the red light while allowing other colours to pass through. This resulted in surreal landscapes and many blue Moons.
'The eruption of Krakatau is a striking example of the irrepressible force of nature,' says Dr Martin Mangler, a research assistant in Earth Sciences at the Museum.
'Within a heartbeat, volcanic eruptions can reshape the entire planet in many different ways, blue Moons probably being the most picturesque and least dangerous.'
While the Krakatau eruption over a century ago affected the world's climate and colour palette for many years, its results have ceased. So why do we still see blue Moons?
The answer is that other volcanoes have erupted since, and sometimes they release particles of the same size as Krakatau's.
Some forest fires can produce the same combination of sulfur dioxide and ash, therefore having the same effect.
Depending on how intense the cause is, such particles can be carried across countries and create a blue Moon for people on the other side of the world.
When was the Krakatau eruption?
How many people died?
By how much did it reduce the temperature?
What is the effect on the moon called?
What did the eruption release?
How many times smaller than a human hair were the particles?
What else can produce the same effect on the moon?
What is Indonesia famous for?
Volcanoes
Bali
Mata Hari
Equator
Nasi Goreng
Batik
Spices
The Past Tense
Past Simple:
Action done in the past
R
When using regular verbs:
Using -ed
&
Using -ied
Examples:
* Lisa went to the supermarket yesterday.
* Sam cooked a tasty dinner yesterday.
* My brother saw a movie yesterday.
* Last year, I travelled to France.
* I washed the dishes.
* My mother bought a dress for me.
"Last weekend, I went on a hiking trip with some friends. We decided to climb a nearby mountain that we had heard was challenging but had great views.
We started our journey early in the morning, and it took us about two hours to reach the top.
As we climbed higher, the air became cooler, and we had to put on our jackets. We saw many beautiful wildflowers and heard the sound of birds chirping.
We took breaks and snapped some photos of the stunning views. When we finally reached the top, we were exhausted but thrilled.
We could see the whole town from up there, and it was a breathtaking sight. We stayed for a while, taking in the view and enjoying some snacks we had brought with us.
After spending some time at the top, we started our descent. It took us a bit less time to get back down, but our legs were sore from all the hiking.
When we finally reached the bottom, we were happy and proud of ourselves for completing the challenge.
Overall, it was a fantastic experience, and I can't wait to go on another hiking trip soon."
Make these sentences the past simple:
1. I___________(brush) my teeth this morning.
2. I___________(watch) a movie yesterday.
3. They ___________ (talk) all day long.
4. He___________(ask) to use the restroom.
5. She___________(answer)the telephone.
6. We___________(dance)allnight.
7. I___________(climb) Mount Everest last year.
Time Phrases for writing:
Last weekend…
Afterwards…
Past Simple:
Action done in the past
R
When using regular verbs:
Using -ed
&
Using -ied
Examples:
* Lisa went to the supermarket yesterday.
* Sam cooked a tasty dinner yesterday.
* My brother saw a movie yesterday.
* Last year, I travelled to France.
* I washed the dishes.
* My mother bought a dress for me.
"Last weekend, I went on a hiking trip with some friends. We decided to climb a nearby mountain that we had heard was challenging but had great views.
We started our journey early in the morning, and it took us about two hours to reach the top.
As we climbed higher, the air became cooler, and we had to put on our jackets. We saw many beautiful wildflowers and heard the sound of birds chirping.
We took breaks and snapped some photos of the stunning views. When we finally reached the top, we were exhausted but thrilled.
We could see the whole town from up there, and it was a breathtaking sight. We stayed for a while, taking in the view and enjoying some snacks we had brought with us.
After spending some time at the top, we started our descent. It took us a bit less time to get back down, but our legs were sore from all the hiking.
When we finally reached the bottom, we were happy and proud of ourselves for completing the challenge.
Overall, it was a fantastic experience, and I can't wait to go on another hiking trip soon."
Make these sentences the past simple:
1. I___________(brush) my teeth this morning.
2. I___________(watch) a movie yesterday.
3. They ___________ (talk) all day long.
4. He___________(ask) to use the restroom.
5. She___________(answer)the telephone.
6. We___________(dance)allnight.
7. I___________(climb) Mount Everest last year.
Time Phrases for writing:
Last weekend…
Afterwards…
Supporter
Fever Pitch
Nick Hornby
I think we Arsenal fans know, deep down, that the football at Highbury has not often been pretty, and that therefore our reputation as the most boring team in the entire history of the universe is not as mystifying as we pretend: yet when we have a successful side much is forgiven.
The Arsenal team I saw on that afternoon had been spectacularly unsuccessful for some time.
Indeed they had won nothing since the Coronation and this abject and unambiguous failure was simply rubbing salt into the fans' stigmata.
Many of those around us had the look of men who had seen every game of every barren season.
The fact that I was intruding on a marriage that had gone disastrously sour lent my afternoon a particularly thrilling prurience (if it had been a real marriage, children would have been barred from the ground): one partner was lumbering around in a pathetic attempt to please, while the other turned his face to the wall, too full of loathing even to watch.
Those fans who could not remember the thirties (although at the end of the sixties a good many of them could), when the club won five Championships and two FA Cups, could remember the Comp-tons and Joe Mercer from just over a decade before; the stadium itself, with its beautiful art deco stands and its Jacob Epstein busts, seemed to disapprove of the current mob even as much as my neighbours did.
I'd been to public entertainments before, of course; I'd been to the cinema and the pantomime and to see my mother sing in the chorus of the White Horse Inn at the Town Hall. But that was different.
The audiences I had hitherto been a part of had paid to have a good time and, though occasionally one might spot a fidgety child or a yawning adult, I hadn't ever noticed faces contorted by rage or despair or frustration.
Entertainment as pain was an idea entirely new to me, and it seemed to be something I'd been waiting for.
It might not be too fanciful to suggest that it was an idea which shaped my life. I have always been accused of taking the things I love - football, of course, but also books and records - much too seriously, and I do feel a kind of anger when I hear a bad record, or when someone is lukewarm about a book that means a lot to me.
Perhaps it was these desperate, bitter men in the West Stand at Arsenal who taught me how to get angry in this way; and perhaps it is why I earn some of my living as a critic
- maybe it's those voices I can hear when I write.
You're a WANKER, X? The Booker Prize? THE BOOKER PRIZE? They should give that to me for having to read you.'
Questions
Where did Arsenal play?
What reputation do Arsenal have?
How many championships did Arsenal win in the 30s?
Does the writer describe fans as happy?
What is one of the emotions the writer says the fans feel?
What is the writers’ job?
Writing
What kind of people are supporters
What do supporters do
Are supporters happy?
Fever Pitch
Nick Hornby
I think we Arsenal fans know, deep down, that the football at Highbury has not often been pretty, and that therefore our reputation as the most boring team in the entire history of the universe is not as mystifying as we pretend: yet when we have a successful side much is forgiven.
The Arsenal team I saw on that afternoon had been spectacularly unsuccessful for some time.
Indeed they had won nothing since the Coronation and this abject and unambiguous failure was simply rubbing salt into the fans' stigmata.
Many of those around us had the look of men who had seen every game of every barren season.
The fact that I was intruding on a marriage that had gone disastrously sour lent my afternoon a particularly thrilling prurience (if it had been a real marriage, children would have been barred from the ground): one partner was lumbering around in a pathetic attempt to please, while the other turned his face to the wall, too full of loathing even to watch.
Those fans who could not remember the thirties (although at the end of the sixties a good many of them could), when the club won five Championships and two FA Cups, could remember the Comp-tons and Joe Mercer from just over a decade before; the stadium itself, with its beautiful art deco stands and its Jacob Epstein busts, seemed to disapprove of the current mob even as much as my neighbours did.
I'd been to public entertainments before, of course; I'd been to the cinema and the pantomime and to see my mother sing in the chorus of the White Horse Inn at the Town Hall. But that was different.
The audiences I had hitherto been a part of had paid to have a good time and, though occasionally one might spot a fidgety child or a yawning adult, I hadn't ever noticed faces contorted by rage or despair or frustration.
Entertainment as pain was an idea entirely new to me, and it seemed to be something I'd been waiting for.
It might not be too fanciful to suggest that it was an idea which shaped my life. I have always been accused of taking the things I love - football, of course, but also books and records - much too seriously, and I do feel a kind of anger when I hear a bad record, or when someone is lukewarm about a book that means a lot to me.
Perhaps it was these desperate, bitter men in the West Stand at Arsenal who taught me how to get angry in this way; and perhaps it is why I earn some of my living as a critic
- maybe it's those voices I can hear when I write.
You're a WANKER, X? The Booker Prize? THE BOOKER PRIZE? They should give that to me for having to read you.'
Questions
Where did Arsenal play?
What reputation do Arsenal have?
How many championships did Arsenal win in the 30s?
Does the writer describe fans as happy?
What is one of the emotions the writer says the fans feel?
What is the writers’ job?
Writing
What kind of people are supporters
What do supporters do
Are supporters happy?
Activity:
Turn the following verbs into the present simple tense:
Example: Run (You)
Answer: You run
Eat (We)
Cook (He)
Swim (You guys)
Turn the following verbs into the present continuous tense:
Example: Run (You)
Answer: You are running
Eat (We)
Cook (I)
Leave (She)
What are you going to do after university?
When I finish university I want to do lots of things! I am going to travel abroad to spend some time in France.
I want to improve my French and I think I will improve if I spend a few months living in a small town in the South of France.
I am going to practice the guitar every day because I won’t have to study every day.
It is going to be so great! I am going to go to the beach every morning and swim in the sea.
I am going to spend a lot of money there but I think I will be okay.
When I come back from France I will get a job in my area here in Dublin.
I would like to work for a big company and I will make a lot of money.
I am going to rent a big apartment and have big parties with all my friends. We are going to have so much fun.
I am going to miss my family when I go to France so I am going to invite my parents to my new apartment for dinner every weekend. It is going to be so cool!
Questions:
What is the first thing I am going to do after I finish university?
What are some bad things about going to France?
Write about what you’re going to do this year.
Are you going somewhere?
Will you leave Jakarta? or move anywhere?
Are you going to change your style? Why or why not?
Will you learn anything new or take classes?
Is Persita going to make it to the Indo finals this year?
Will Persita beat Bali United this year?
Turn the following verbs into the present simple tense:
Example: Run (You)
Answer: You run
Eat (We)
Cook (He)
Swim (You guys)
Turn the following verbs into the present continuous tense:
Example: Run (You)
Answer: You are running
Eat (We)
Cook (I)
Leave (She)
What are you going to do after university?
When I finish university I want to do lots of things! I am going to travel abroad to spend some time in France.
I want to improve my French and I think I will improve if I spend a few months living in a small town in the South of France.
I am going to practice the guitar every day because I won’t have to study every day.
It is going to be so great! I am going to go to the beach every morning and swim in the sea.
I am going to spend a lot of money there but I think I will be okay.
When I come back from France I will get a job in my area here in Dublin.
I would like to work for a big company and I will make a lot of money.
I am going to rent a big apartment and have big parties with all my friends. We are going to have so much fun.
I am going to miss my family when I go to France so I am going to invite my parents to my new apartment for dinner every weekend. It is going to be so cool!
Questions:
What is the first thing I am going to do after I finish university?
What are some bad things about going to France?
Write about what you’re going to do this year.
Are you going somewhere?
Will you leave Jakarta? or move anywhere?
Are you going to change your style? Why or why not?
Will you learn anything new or take classes?
Is Persita going to make it to the Indo finals this year?
Will Persita beat Bali United this year?
Oliver Twist
Charles Dickens
“Going to London?' said the strange boy, when Oliver had at length concluded.
'Yes.'
'Got any lodgings?'
'No.'
'Money?'
'No.”
“The strange boy whistled; and put his arms into his pockets, as far as the big coat-sleeves would let them go.
'Do you live in London?' inquired Oliver.
'Yes. I do, when I'm at home,' replied the boy. 'I suppose you want some place to sleep in to-night, don't you?'
'I do, indeed,' answered Oliver. 'I have not slept under a roof since I left the country.'
'Don't fret your eyelids on that score,' said the young gentleman. 'I've got to be in London to-night; and I know a 'spectable old gentleman as lives there, wot'll give you lodgings for nothink, and never ask for the change—that is, if any genelman he knows interduces you. And don't he know me? Oh, no! Not in the least! By no means. Certainly not!'
The young gentleman smiled, as if to intimate that the latter fragments of discourse were playfully ironical; and finished the beer as he did so.
“This unexpected offer of shelter was too tempting to be resisted; especially as it was immediately followed up, by the assurance that the old gentleman referred to, would doubtless provide Oliver with a comfortable place, without loss of time. This led to a more friendly and confidential dialogue; from which Oliver discovered that his friend's name was Jack Dawkins, and that he was a peculiar pet and protege of the elderly gentleman before mentioned.
“Mr. Dawkin's appearance did not say a vast deal in favour of the comforts which his patron's interest obtained for those whom he took under his protection; but, as he had a rather flightly and dissolute mode of conversing, and furthermore avowed that among his intimate friends he was better known by the sobriquet of 'The Artful Dodger’.
“As John Dawkins objected to their entering London before nightfall, it was nearly eleven o'clock when they reached the turnpike at Islington. They crossed from the Angel into St. John's Road; struck down the small street which terminates at Sadler's Wells Theatre; through Exmouth Street and Coppice Row; down the little court by the side of the workhouse; across the classic ground which once bore the name of Hockley-in-the-Hole; thence into Little Saffron Hill; and so into Saffron Hill the Great: along which the Dodger scudded at a rapid pace, directing Oliver to follow close at his heels.
Although Oliver had enough to occupy his attention in keeping sight of his leader, he could not help bestowing a few hasty glances on either side of the way, as he passed along. A dirtier or more wretched place he had never seen. The street was very narrow and muddy, and the air was impregnated with filthy odours.
There were a good many small shops; but the only stock in trade appeared to be heaps of children, who, even at that time of night, were crawling in and out at the doors, or screaming from the inside. The sole places that seemed to prosper amid the general blight of the place, were the public-houses; and in them, the lowest orders of Irish were wrangling with might and main.
Covered ways and yards, which here and there diverged from the main street, disclosed little knots of houses, where drunken men and women were positively wallowing in filth; and from several of the door-ways, great ill-looking fellows were cautiously emerging, bound, to all appearance, on no very well-disposed or harmless errands.
Oliver was just considering whether he hadn't better run away, when they reached the bottom of the hill. His conductor, catching him by the arm, pushed open the door of a house near Field Lane; and drawing him into the passage, closed it behind them.
'Now, then!' cried a voice from below, in reply to a whistle from the Dodger.
'Plummy and slam!' was the reply.”
“This seemed to be some watchword or signal that all was right; for the light of a feeble candle gleamed on the wall at the remote end of the passage; and a man's face peeped out, from where a balustrade of the old kitchen staircase had been broken away.
'There's two on you,' said the man, thrusting the candle farther out, and shielding his eyes with his hand. 'Who's the t'other one?'
'A new pal,' replied Jack Dawkins, pulling Oliver forward.
'Where did he come from?'
'Greenland. Is Fagin upstairs?”
Charles Dickens
“Going to London?' said the strange boy, when Oliver had at length concluded.
'Yes.'
'Got any lodgings?'
'No.'
'Money?'
'No.”
“The strange boy whistled; and put his arms into his pockets, as far as the big coat-sleeves would let them go.
'Do you live in London?' inquired Oliver.
'Yes. I do, when I'm at home,' replied the boy. 'I suppose you want some place to sleep in to-night, don't you?'
'I do, indeed,' answered Oliver. 'I have not slept under a roof since I left the country.'
'Don't fret your eyelids on that score,' said the young gentleman. 'I've got to be in London to-night; and I know a 'spectable old gentleman as lives there, wot'll give you lodgings for nothink, and never ask for the change—that is, if any genelman he knows interduces you. And don't he know me? Oh, no! Not in the least! By no means. Certainly not!'
The young gentleman smiled, as if to intimate that the latter fragments of discourse were playfully ironical; and finished the beer as he did so.
“This unexpected offer of shelter was too tempting to be resisted; especially as it was immediately followed up, by the assurance that the old gentleman referred to, would doubtless provide Oliver with a comfortable place, without loss of time. This led to a more friendly and confidential dialogue; from which Oliver discovered that his friend's name was Jack Dawkins, and that he was a peculiar pet and protege of the elderly gentleman before mentioned.
“Mr. Dawkin's appearance did not say a vast deal in favour of the comforts which his patron's interest obtained for those whom he took under his protection; but, as he had a rather flightly and dissolute mode of conversing, and furthermore avowed that among his intimate friends he was better known by the sobriquet of 'The Artful Dodger’.
“As John Dawkins objected to their entering London before nightfall, it was nearly eleven o'clock when they reached the turnpike at Islington. They crossed from the Angel into St. John's Road; struck down the small street which terminates at Sadler's Wells Theatre; through Exmouth Street and Coppice Row; down the little court by the side of the workhouse; across the classic ground which once bore the name of Hockley-in-the-Hole; thence into Little Saffron Hill; and so into Saffron Hill the Great: along which the Dodger scudded at a rapid pace, directing Oliver to follow close at his heels.
Although Oliver had enough to occupy his attention in keeping sight of his leader, he could not help bestowing a few hasty glances on either side of the way, as he passed along. A dirtier or more wretched place he had never seen. The street was very narrow and muddy, and the air was impregnated with filthy odours.
There were a good many small shops; but the only stock in trade appeared to be heaps of children, who, even at that time of night, were crawling in and out at the doors, or screaming from the inside. The sole places that seemed to prosper amid the general blight of the place, were the public-houses; and in them, the lowest orders of Irish were wrangling with might and main.
Covered ways and yards, which here and there diverged from the main street, disclosed little knots of houses, where drunken men and women were positively wallowing in filth; and from several of the door-ways, great ill-looking fellows were cautiously emerging, bound, to all appearance, on no very well-disposed or harmless errands.
Oliver was just considering whether he hadn't better run away, when they reached the bottom of the hill. His conductor, catching him by the arm, pushed open the door of a house near Field Lane; and drawing him into the passage, closed it behind them.
'Now, then!' cried a voice from below, in reply to a whistle from the Dodger.
'Plummy and slam!' was the reply.”
“This seemed to be some watchword or signal that all was right; for the light of a feeble candle gleamed on the wall at the remote end of the passage; and a man's face peeped out, from where a balustrade of the old kitchen staircase had been broken away.
'There's two on you,' said the man, thrusting the candle farther out, and shielding his eyes with his hand. 'Who's the t'other one?'
'A new pal,' replied Jack Dawkins, pulling Oliver forward.
'Where did he come from?'
'Greenland. Is Fagin upstairs?”
Where has Oliver been sleeping?
What is John Dawkins nickname?
What time did they reach Islimgton?
How was the smell?
What is the name for bars?
What kind of people were in the bars?
What does ‘plummy & slam’ mean?
What is John Dawkins nickname?
What time did they reach Islimgton?
How was the smell?
What is the name for bars?
What kind of people were in the bars?
What does ‘plummy & slam’ mean?
What’s London like?
Where is it
How do you travel there
Who lives there
What does it look like
How big is it
What’s some famous places
What’s the weather like
Where do people live
What’s it famous for
What do people do there
Where is it
How do you travel there
Who lives there
What does it look like
How big is it
What’s some famous places
What’s the weather like
Where do people live
What’s it famous for
What do people do there
Tenses
Present simple
What does this mean?
Something that is generally true eg. “the moon orbits the earth”
A routine or habit eg. “I usually play tennis every Monday”
Tom’s Morning routine
Tom works at a bank. He is the manager. He starts work every day at 8:00 am. He finishes work every day at 6:00 pm. He lives very close to the bank. He walks to work every day. His brother and sister also work at the bank. But, they do not live close to the bank. They drive cars to work. They start work at 9:00 am. In the bank, Tom is the boss. He helps all the workers and tells them what to do. He likes his job. He is also very good at his job. Many customers like Tom, and they say hello to him when they come to the bank. Tom likes to talk to the customers and make them feel happy. Tom really likes his job.
Present continuous
What does this mean?
Action in progress at time of speaking eg.
“I am listening to the radio”
Future arrangements
“I am meeting John at the cinema”
Here are some examples:
I am eating my favorite meal
Are you enjoying this episode of friends?
We are doing our laundry
My auntie is driving to work
The sun is shining
Is this present simple or present continuous?
I usually work on weekends.
I am working right now.
I am sitting in a comfy chair.
I like it when octopus is grilled.
My mind is wondering about food again.
Writing template
In the morning …
Afterwards …
On my way to work …
At lunch time …
After Lunch I …
On my way home from work …
When I get home …
For dinner …
Before bed …
Present simple
What does this mean?
Something that is generally true eg. “the moon orbits the earth”
A routine or habit eg. “I usually play tennis every Monday”
Tom’s Morning routine
Tom works at a bank. He is the manager. He starts work every day at 8:00 am. He finishes work every day at 6:00 pm. He lives very close to the bank. He walks to work every day. His brother and sister also work at the bank. But, they do not live close to the bank. They drive cars to work. They start work at 9:00 am. In the bank, Tom is the boss. He helps all the workers and tells them what to do. He likes his job. He is also very good at his job. Many customers like Tom, and they say hello to him when they come to the bank. Tom likes to talk to the customers and make them feel happy. Tom really likes his job.
Present continuous
What does this mean?
Action in progress at time of speaking eg.
“I am listening to the radio”
Future arrangements
“I am meeting John at the cinema”
Here are some examples:
I am eating my favorite meal
Are you enjoying this episode of friends?
We are doing our laundry
My auntie is driving to work
The sun is shining
Is this present simple or present continuous?
I usually work on weekends.
I am working right now.
I am sitting in a comfy chair.
I like it when octopus is grilled.
My mind is wondering about food again.
Writing template
In the morning …
Afterwards …
On my way to work …
At lunch time …
After Lunch I …
On my way home from work …
When I get home …
For dinner …
Before bed …
Mata Hari
She refused a blindfold and by some accounts even smiled at her executioners. Margaretha Zelle, a.k.a. “Mata Hari,” an exotic dancer and convicted spy, met her end at age 41 at the hands of a firing squad outside Paris 105 years ago on Oct. 15, 1917.
She’s been portrayed as a femme fatale archetype and one of history’s greatest spies, and her life has inspired films, musicals, a ballet and books, including Paulo Coelho’s recent The Spy: A Novel of Mata Hari.
However, some contend that — regarding military matters — she was little more than a gossip with a thing for officers on both sides of the WWI battlefront. In the view of Russell Warren Howe, author of Mata Hari: The True Story, “The legend far surpasses the woman.”
Born in 1876 in the Netherlands, she was the daughter of a once-prosperous hat merchant who went bankrupt. At age 18, she married an officer in the Dutch colonial army. Together they lived at his military post in Indonesia (then called the Dutch East Indies), where they had two children — one of whom died soon after birth — during their unhappy, mutually unfaithful, and at times physically abusive marriage.
Upon heading back to Europe in 1902, the couple separated and ultimately divorced. Migrating to Paris, the divorcee reinvented herself as a striptease dancer who claimed to be of Far Eastern descent. She called herself Mata Hari (“eye of the dawn” in the Malay language).
Starting in 1905, she captivated crowds in Europe’s cultural capitals. Her career lasted about a decade until she lost ground to younger and more athletic imitators. But she still possessed abundant charm and was fluent in several languages, and was able to find success as a courtesan, seducing the wealthy and powerful from multiple nations, including high-ranking government officials.
Because her home country remained neutral during World War I, she was allowed to cross borders with comparatively little hassle. However, her travels and lifestyle would attract attention: Before the War, her behavior might’ve met with mere moral disapproval. But during the War, it also elicited suspicion of espionage.
Among her lovers was Major Arnold Kalle, a German military attaché. Whether he began to regard her as a nuisance or a liability, he sought to dispose of her. So, using a code that he knew the French had already cracked, he transmitted a message easily identifying her as a spy.
Mata Hari was arrested in a luxury Paris hotel in February 1917, and her closed-door trial took place five months later. Though the prosecution blamed her for the deaths of 50,000 French soldiers, no specific evidence or explanation was provided as to how she caused these fatalities.
In fact, “no one ever identified any specific defeat or leak of information that could be blamed on her,” wrote Pat Shipman in Femme Fatale: Love, Lies, and the Unknown Life of Mata Hari, which described her legacy as a “rich mélange of myth and legend that still persist.”
Although her amorous life wasn’t loyal to any particular side, no evidence existed that she provided militarily useful information to anyone.
But by 1917, the French military was war-weary; morale was low and some military divisions had even begun to mutiny. Shipman contends that the Allied side, and the French especially, “needed someone to blame, to punish – to defeat.” So they found a perfect scapegoat in this “immoral foreigner with a sensuous walk who had shamelessly seduced men from all armies.”
On July 25, 1917, the French military government found her guilty of espionage. The Dutch government did not intervene to any significant degree on behalf of its citizen, who was executed after having spent months enduring malnourishment and incarceration in vermin-infested conditions.
The mythmaking began immediately after her date with the firing squad.
Rumors circulated that the French executioners had fired blanks, enabling her to escape.
The truth was far less romantic: After she was shot dead, her remains were donated for dissection to the University of Paris medical school. For all the demand her body had previously inspired, nobody wanted it once she had died.
In the view of Julie Wheelwright, author of The Fatal Lover: Mata Hari and the Myth of Women in Espionage, Mata Hari “symbolized women’s danger, their treacherous desires hidden beneath their rallying cry as mothers of the nation or self-sacrificing nurses.”
And so, however dubious her real-life espionage career was, her legacy became that of the quintessential female spy, and her name evoked mystery, seduction and duplicity. Movie portrayals involving such stars as Greta Garbo only added to the Mata Hari legend.
However the public chose to remember her, the German government exculpated Mata Hari in 1930. But the nation that executed her has shown more reluctance to revisit her story: Though some French papers pertaining to her case have been declassified, it remains to be seen whether the future will further her notoriety as a spy or solidify her tragedy as a scapegoat.
What year was Mata Hari executed?
Where did she live after marriage?
She reinvented herself as what?
Where was she arrested?
The rumor was at her execution the soldiers fired what?
Which actress played her in the movie?
Do spies exist?
What are spies for?
What types of spy are there?
Where do they work?
What do they do?
What makes a good spy?
Would you be a good spy?
She refused a blindfold and by some accounts even smiled at her executioners. Margaretha Zelle, a.k.a. “Mata Hari,” an exotic dancer and convicted spy, met her end at age 41 at the hands of a firing squad outside Paris 105 years ago on Oct. 15, 1917.
She’s been portrayed as a femme fatale archetype and one of history’s greatest spies, and her life has inspired films, musicals, a ballet and books, including Paulo Coelho’s recent The Spy: A Novel of Mata Hari.
However, some contend that — regarding military matters — she was little more than a gossip with a thing for officers on both sides of the WWI battlefront. In the view of Russell Warren Howe, author of Mata Hari: The True Story, “The legend far surpasses the woman.”
Born in 1876 in the Netherlands, she was the daughter of a once-prosperous hat merchant who went bankrupt. At age 18, she married an officer in the Dutch colonial army. Together they lived at his military post in Indonesia (then called the Dutch East Indies), where they had two children — one of whom died soon after birth — during their unhappy, mutually unfaithful, and at times physically abusive marriage.
Upon heading back to Europe in 1902, the couple separated and ultimately divorced. Migrating to Paris, the divorcee reinvented herself as a striptease dancer who claimed to be of Far Eastern descent. She called herself Mata Hari (“eye of the dawn” in the Malay language).
Starting in 1905, she captivated crowds in Europe’s cultural capitals. Her career lasted about a decade until she lost ground to younger and more athletic imitators. But she still possessed abundant charm and was fluent in several languages, and was able to find success as a courtesan, seducing the wealthy and powerful from multiple nations, including high-ranking government officials.
Because her home country remained neutral during World War I, she was allowed to cross borders with comparatively little hassle. However, her travels and lifestyle would attract attention: Before the War, her behavior might’ve met with mere moral disapproval. But during the War, it also elicited suspicion of espionage.
Among her lovers was Major Arnold Kalle, a German military attaché. Whether he began to regard her as a nuisance or a liability, he sought to dispose of her. So, using a code that he knew the French had already cracked, he transmitted a message easily identifying her as a spy.
Mata Hari was arrested in a luxury Paris hotel in February 1917, and her closed-door trial took place five months later. Though the prosecution blamed her for the deaths of 50,000 French soldiers, no specific evidence or explanation was provided as to how she caused these fatalities.
In fact, “no one ever identified any specific defeat or leak of information that could be blamed on her,” wrote Pat Shipman in Femme Fatale: Love, Lies, and the Unknown Life of Mata Hari, which described her legacy as a “rich mélange of myth and legend that still persist.”
Although her amorous life wasn’t loyal to any particular side, no evidence existed that she provided militarily useful information to anyone.
But by 1917, the French military was war-weary; morale was low and some military divisions had even begun to mutiny. Shipman contends that the Allied side, and the French especially, “needed someone to blame, to punish – to defeat.” So they found a perfect scapegoat in this “immoral foreigner with a sensuous walk who had shamelessly seduced men from all armies.”
On July 25, 1917, the French military government found her guilty of espionage. The Dutch government did not intervene to any significant degree on behalf of its citizen, who was executed after having spent months enduring malnourishment and incarceration in vermin-infested conditions.
The mythmaking began immediately after her date with the firing squad.
Rumors circulated that the French executioners had fired blanks, enabling her to escape.
The truth was far less romantic: After she was shot dead, her remains were donated for dissection to the University of Paris medical school. For all the demand her body had previously inspired, nobody wanted it once she had died.
In the view of Julie Wheelwright, author of The Fatal Lover: Mata Hari and the Myth of Women in Espionage, Mata Hari “symbolized women’s danger, their treacherous desires hidden beneath their rallying cry as mothers of the nation or self-sacrificing nurses.”
And so, however dubious her real-life espionage career was, her legacy became that of the quintessential female spy, and her name evoked mystery, seduction and duplicity. Movie portrayals involving such stars as Greta Garbo only added to the Mata Hari legend.
However the public chose to remember her, the German government exculpated Mata Hari in 1930. But the nation that executed her has shown more reluctance to revisit her story: Though some French papers pertaining to her case have been declassified, it remains to be seen whether the future will further her notoriety as a spy or solidify her tragedy as a scapegoat.
What year was Mata Hari executed?
Where did she live after marriage?
She reinvented herself as what?
Where was she arrested?
The rumor was at her execution the soldiers fired what?
Which actress played her in the movie?
Do spies exist?
What are spies for?
What types of spy are there?
Where do they work?
What do they do?
What makes a good spy?
Would you be a good spy?
Quake
My hometown Antakya in Turkey has been destroyed. The city was hit by two massive earthquakes in the middle of the night on the 6th of February, and it is still affected by countless aftershocks.
When I see photos from my Antakya, I hardly recognise it. The tremors have transformed blocks of multi-storey apartment buildings on the street that I grew up to heaps of gravel overnight.
Scores of buildings along the main shopping streets have collapsed, the school I went to has become a ruin, and the century’s old inner city has been devastated. Many people I know are desperately calling for help as they look for their loved ones.
The damage caused by these earthquakes is, however, far more widespread. Around 22 million people live in south-eastern Turkey and northern Syria. Turkish authorities report that over 6,000 buildings have been destroyed, and experts have estimated that 180,000 people may be buried in the rubble of their former homes across an area that is roughly as large as the UK.
The Mayor of Gaziantep (a city of two million) recently stated that 30,000 individuals were missing in just one neighbourhood. The region is also, to compound the problem, experiencing unusually cold weather. Temperatures are in some cases dropping to -3c, with snow and rain obstructing rescue efforts.
I am fortunate, as my parents were able to take cover in their car for the past two days. Many others have not been so lucky. The official death count across Turkey and Syria is now over 11,000, and this figure is likely only the tip of the iceberg.
The WHO has warned that fatality counts typically rise drastically in the week that follow the initial earthquake, and some experts predict that over 34,000 people may die as a result of the tremors.
It’s crucial that we act swiftly to prevent more people from dying, and to make sure that survivors receive the help that they need. The resources available are dwarfed by the task ahead of us. There are woefully few rescue teams operating in Antakya, and it took them a long time to arrive.
The situation is also dire in Syria, where critical infrastructure was badly damaged by the war and disputes over territory are hampering aid efforts. While the UK has sent teams to assist in the rescue efforts, more is needed. There is a critical lack of everything from food and water to heavy equipment and generators.
We, as citizens, can also act. There are many organisations that are doing their best to rescue people and provide disaster aid, and which are calling for more funding to continue and scale up their work in this critical window.
In Turkey, local charities Ahbap and the AKUT search and rescue association are doing their best to assist victims, alongside UK-based charities like the British Red Cross. In Syria, The White Helmets, Unicef, and Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) are at work treating and rescuing victims. Please consider donating what you can – it’s sorely needed.
When did the earthquake hit?
Which 2 counties were affected?
How many people live in the area?
What is the weather like now?
What is likely to happen to the number of casualties & why?
What’s the name of the famous British charity?
My hometown Antakya in Turkey has been destroyed. The city was hit by two massive earthquakes in the middle of the night on the 6th of February, and it is still affected by countless aftershocks.
When I see photos from my Antakya, I hardly recognise it. The tremors have transformed blocks of multi-storey apartment buildings on the street that I grew up to heaps of gravel overnight.
Scores of buildings along the main shopping streets have collapsed, the school I went to has become a ruin, and the century’s old inner city has been devastated. Many people I know are desperately calling for help as they look for their loved ones.
The damage caused by these earthquakes is, however, far more widespread. Around 22 million people live in south-eastern Turkey and northern Syria. Turkish authorities report that over 6,000 buildings have been destroyed, and experts have estimated that 180,000 people may be buried in the rubble of their former homes across an area that is roughly as large as the UK.
The Mayor of Gaziantep (a city of two million) recently stated that 30,000 individuals were missing in just one neighbourhood. The region is also, to compound the problem, experiencing unusually cold weather. Temperatures are in some cases dropping to -3c, with snow and rain obstructing rescue efforts.
I am fortunate, as my parents were able to take cover in their car for the past two days. Many others have not been so lucky. The official death count across Turkey and Syria is now over 11,000, and this figure is likely only the tip of the iceberg.
The WHO has warned that fatality counts typically rise drastically in the week that follow the initial earthquake, and some experts predict that over 34,000 people may die as a result of the tremors.
It’s crucial that we act swiftly to prevent more people from dying, and to make sure that survivors receive the help that they need. The resources available are dwarfed by the task ahead of us. There are woefully few rescue teams operating in Antakya, and it took them a long time to arrive.
The situation is also dire in Syria, where critical infrastructure was badly damaged by the war and disputes over territory are hampering aid efforts. While the UK has sent teams to assist in the rescue efforts, more is needed. There is a critical lack of everything from food and water to heavy equipment and generators.
We, as citizens, can also act. There are many organisations that are doing their best to rescue people and provide disaster aid, and which are calling for more funding to continue and scale up their work in this critical window.
In Turkey, local charities Ahbap and the AKUT search and rescue association are doing their best to assist victims, alongside UK-based charities like the British Red Cross. In Syria, The White Helmets, Unicef, and Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) are at work treating and rescuing victims. Please consider donating what you can – it’s sorely needed.
When did the earthquake hit?
Which 2 counties were affected?
How many people live in the area?
What is the weather like now?
What is likely to happen to the number of casualties & why?
What’s the name of the famous British charity?
Dogs make better pets than cats
Pets have been a part of humans lives for centuries. Dogs have been known as a “man's best friend” for good reason.
Dogs are loyal to the pack and that is why they will protect their family and their home. Studies show that dog owners laugh more than cat owners (Business Insider, 2016).
Other studies show that they help you make friends and can even find cancer. A dog’s sense of smell can be useful to save lives and even conduct jobs.
Dogs are also known to be very loyal to their owners. Dogs are playful and engage their owners in different activities to help them stay active.
Owning a dog is like having a loyal friend to talk to, laugh with, and take short walks in the evening. It’s because dogs are more loyal and loving than cats can ever be.
Furthermore, Dogs can also fulfill guard roles by protecting us within our homes. Dogs are much better house guards than burglar alarms and security cameras.
Dogs are also smarter than cats, they can understand gestures through voice tone and body language. Most importantly, dogs bring real joy and share a bond of unconditional love with the owner and the whole family.
Dogs enjoy to be played with more than cats. Although cats enjoy to be played with at times; cats are much more nonchalant and antisocial.
Cats enjoy sleeping and roaming on their own free will, and are much less attracted to playing with their owner.
Especially as they get older, cats would not make a good pet for kids. On the other hand; a dog’s favourite thing to do is to play with its owner, and this is primarily why dogs make better companions with younger people.
Younger kids love to play, and a dog can serve as a best friend to younger kids. A younger kid can play fetch with a dog for hours and have a great time, whereas a cat would not enjoy to play for long periods of time.
Cats are not very big, or loud. If in the case of an intruder, a cat would not be much help as it could not be loud enough to either scare the intruder away or to wake the owner.
What are dogs known as?
What is owning a dog similar to?
Dogs can even find what according to recent studies?
Why are dogs a better pet for younger kids?
Why would a cat not be helpful in case of an intruder?
Pets have been a part of humans lives for centuries. Dogs have been known as a “man's best friend” for good reason.
Dogs are loyal to the pack and that is why they will protect their family and their home. Studies show that dog owners laugh more than cat owners (Business Insider, 2016).
Other studies show that they help you make friends and can even find cancer. A dog’s sense of smell can be useful to save lives and even conduct jobs.
Dogs are also known to be very loyal to their owners. Dogs are playful and engage their owners in different activities to help them stay active.
Owning a dog is like having a loyal friend to talk to, laugh with, and take short walks in the evening. It’s because dogs are more loyal and loving than cats can ever be.
Furthermore, Dogs can also fulfill guard roles by protecting us within our homes. Dogs are much better house guards than burglar alarms and security cameras.
Dogs are also smarter than cats, they can understand gestures through voice tone and body language. Most importantly, dogs bring real joy and share a bond of unconditional love with the owner and the whole family.
Dogs enjoy to be played with more than cats. Although cats enjoy to be played with at times; cats are much more nonchalant and antisocial.
Cats enjoy sleeping and roaming on their own free will, and are much less attracted to playing with their owner.
Especially as they get older, cats would not make a good pet for kids. On the other hand; a dog’s favourite thing to do is to play with its owner, and this is primarily why dogs make better companions with younger people.
Younger kids love to play, and a dog can serve as a best friend to younger kids. A younger kid can play fetch with a dog for hours and have a great time, whereas a cat would not enjoy to play for long periods of time.
Cats are not very big, or loud. If in the case of an intruder, a cat would not be much help as it could not be loud enough to either scare the intruder away or to wake the owner.
What are dogs known as?
What is owning a dog similar to?
Dogs can even find what according to recent studies?
Why are dogs a better pet for younger kids?
Why would a cat not be helpful in case of an intruder?
Aus open
Daily Telegraph
One peculiar aspect of the Djokovic phenomenon is the way his dominance tends to be portrayed as cold, clinical and predictable.
For has there ever been a man such a magnet for controversy and rage? Yes, he might have won five of his past 10 grand-slam tournaments.
But in three of the others, he has been disqualified, deported and banned. Wherever he goes, a flood of righteous indignation rushes in behind.
Djokovic has had to bite his tongue on returning to the scene of last year's ludicrous circus. He made one revealing remark shortly after landing in Australia, admitting he would "never forget" the five nights he was forced to spend in a detention centre, but has otherwise stayed scrupulously diplomatic.
Even in his speech on court, where he ranked this win among his greatest "in the circumstances", he kept his counsel, describing how he owed his resilience to his humble Serbian origins, with no home-grown heroes to emulate.
In truth, the picture is more complex than this. If Djokovic's tenacity in becoming a 10-time champion seemed exceptional, even by his standards, it is because the circumstances were exceptional.
While he avoided dwelling in public on his ordeal the year before, he recalled it only too keenly, using the memory to summon the harshest answer for his detractors.
It was no coincidence that his most one-sided win came against Australia's Alex de Minaur, who had been vocal in blaming him over the vaccination saga, laughing in a press conference when informed that Djokovic had been thrown out of the country.
Djokovic was left seething by that response, swatting him aside this year for the loss of just five games. "I don't have any relationship with him," he told Serbian reporters. "I don't have any communication with him. He showed in 2022 what he thinks about me."
Djokovic is never more savage than when rousing himself in reaction to a personal affront. In Australia, he had the perfect fuel, turning a scene of bleak humiliation into one of joy unconfined. It was the ultimate platform for his me-against-the-world mentality. Where Roger Federer won 20 majors being universally adored, Djokovic has won 22 being about as popular as Banquo's ghost.
His battle against absurd Covid officialdom rumbles on. As it stands, Djokovic is banned from Indian Wells or Miami in March. Given the Biden administration's continued prohibition of unvaccinated foreigners, he could yet be frozen out of the US Open again.
Still, Djokovic proved with this latest masterclass that he could prevail not just over any opponent, but over any of the sanctimonious critics who once revelled in his misfortune. Only a fool would decry him as the villain now.
Djokovic is portrayed as cold, clinical & ….
How many nights did he spend in a detention center?
How many times has Djokovic won the Aus Open?
What nationality is Djokovic?
How many majors has Djokovic now won?
Djokovic is still banned from Miami &?
Daily Telegraph
One peculiar aspect of the Djokovic phenomenon is the way his dominance tends to be portrayed as cold, clinical and predictable.
For has there ever been a man such a magnet for controversy and rage? Yes, he might have won five of his past 10 grand-slam tournaments.
But in three of the others, he has been disqualified, deported and banned. Wherever he goes, a flood of righteous indignation rushes in behind.
Djokovic has had to bite his tongue on returning to the scene of last year's ludicrous circus. He made one revealing remark shortly after landing in Australia, admitting he would "never forget" the five nights he was forced to spend in a detention centre, but has otherwise stayed scrupulously diplomatic.
Even in his speech on court, where he ranked this win among his greatest "in the circumstances", he kept his counsel, describing how he owed his resilience to his humble Serbian origins, with no home-grown heroes to emulate.
In truth, the picture is more complex than this. If Djokovic's tenacity in becoming a 10-time champion seemed exceptional, even by his standards, it is because the circumstances were exceptional.
While he avoided dwelling in public on his ordeal the year before, he recalled it only too keenly, using the memory to summon the harshest answer for his detractors.
It was no coincidence that his most one-sided win came against Australia's Alex de Minaur, who had been vocal in blaming him over the vaccination saga, laughing in a press conference when informed that Djokovic had been thrown out of the country.
Djokovic was left seething by that response, swatting him aside this year for the loss of just five games. "I don't have any relationship with him," he told Serbian reporters. "I don't have any communication with him. He showed in 2022 what he thinks about me."
Djokovic is never more savage than when rousing himself in reaction to a personal affront. In Australia, he had the perfect fuel, turning a scene of bleak humiliation into one of joy unconfined. It was the ultimate platform for his me-against-the-world mentality. Where Roger Federer won 20 majors being universally adored, Djokovic has won 22 being about as popular as Banquo's ghost.
His battle against absurd Covid officialdom rumbles on. As it stands, Djokovic is banned from Indian Wells or Miami in March. Given the Biden administration's continued prohibition of unvaccinated foreigners, he could yet be frozen out of the US Open again.
Still, Djokovic proved with this latest masterclass that he could prevail not just over any opponent, but over any of the sanctimonious critics who once revelled in his misfortune. Only a fool would decry him as the villain now.
Djokovic is portrayed as cold, clinical & ….
How many nights did he spend in a detention center?
How many times has Djokovic won the Aus Open?
What nationality is Djokovic?
How many majors has Djokovic now won?
Djokovic is still banned from Miami &?
The Woman In Black
Susan Hill
“Somewhere away in the swirling mist and dark, I heard the sound that lifted my heart, the distant but unmistakeable clip-clop of the pony’s hooves and the rumble and creak of the trap.
So Keckwick was unperturbed by the mist, quite used to travelling through the lanes and across the causeway in darkness,
and I stopped and waited to see a lantern – for he must surely carry one – and half wondered whether to shout and make my presence known, in case he came suddenly upon me and ran me down in the ditch.
Then I realised that the mist plays tricks with sound as well as sight, for not only did the noise of the trap stay further away from me for longer that I might have expected but also it seemed to come not only from directly behind me,
straight down the causeway path, but instead to my right, out on the marsh. I tried to work out the direction of the wind but there was none.
I turned around but then the sound began to recede further away again. Baffled I stood and waited, straining to listen through the mist.
What I heard next chilled and horrified me, even though I could neither understand nor account for it. The noise of the pony and trap grew fainter and then stopped abruptly and away on the marsh was a curious draining, sucking, churning sound,
which went on, together with the shrill neighing and whinnying of a horse in panic, and then I heard another cry, a shout, a terrified sobbing – it was hard to decipher –
but with horror I realised that it came from a child. I stood absolutely helpless in the mist that clouded me and everything from my sight, almost weeping in an agony of fear and frustration,
and I knew that I was hearing, beyond any doubt, the appalling last noises of a pony and trap, carrying a child in it, as well as whatever adult – presumably Keckwick – was driving and was even now struggling desperately.
It had somehow lost the causeway path and fallen into the marshes and was being dragged under by the quicksand and the pull of the incoming tide.”
1. What did the narrator hear through the mist?
2. What did the narrator think of doing when he first heard the pony and trap?
3. What did the narrator hear that horrified him?
True or false?
Keckwick was accustomed to travelling through the lanes and across the causeway in the darkness
The narrator Heard the sound of the pony and trap going further away
The narrator realised the pony and trap had fallen into the marshes and was being dragged
Susan Hill
“Somewhere away in the swirling mist and dark, I heard the sound that lifted my heart, the distant but unmistakeable clip-clop of the pony’s hooves and the rumble and creak of the trap.
So Keckwick was unperturbed by the mist, quite used to travelling through the lanes and across the causeway in darkness,
and I stopped and waited to see a lantern – for he must surely carry one – and half wondered whether to shout and make my presence known, in case he came suddenly upon me and ran me down in the ditch.
Then I realised that the mist plays tricks with sound as well as sight, for not only did the noise of the trap stay further away from me for longer that I might have expected but also it seemed to come not only from directly behind me,
straight down the causeway path, but instead to my right, out on the marsh. I tried to work out the direction of the wind but there was none.
I turned around but then the sound began to recede further away again. Baffled I stood and waited, straining to listen through the mist.
What I heard next chilled and horrified me, even though I could neither understand nor account for it. The noise of the pony and trap grew fainter and then stopped abruptly and away on the marsh was a curious draining, sucking, churning sound,
which went on, together with the shrill neighing and whinnying of a horse in panic, and then I heard another cry, a shout, a terrified sobbing – it was hard to decipher –
but with horror I realised that it came from a child. I stood absolutely helpless in the mist that clouded me and everything from my sight, almost weeping in an agony of fear and frustration,
and I knew that I was hearing, beyond any doubt, the appalling last noises of a pony and trap, carrying a child in it, as well as whatever adult – presumably Keckwick – was driving and was even now struggling desperately.
It had somehow lost the causeway path and fallen into the marshes and was being dragged under by the quicksand and the pull of the incoming tide.”
1. What did the narrator hear through the mist?
2. What did the narrator think of doing when he first heard the pony and trap?
3. What did the narrator hear that horrified him?
True or false?
Keckwick was accustomed to travelling through the lanes and across the causeway in the darkness
The narrator Heard the sound of the pony and trap going further away
The narrator realised the pony and trap had fallen into the marshes and was being dragged
Thinking
If you think you are beaten, you are
If you think you dare not, you don't,
If you like to win, but you think you can't
It is almost certain you won't.
If you think you'll lose, you're lost
For out of the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow's will
It's all in the state of mind.
If you think you are outclassed, you are
You've got to think high to rise,
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.
Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man,
But soon or late the man who wins
Is the man WHO THINKS HE CAN!
If you think you are beaten, you are
If you think you dare not, you don't,
If you like to win, but you think you can't
It is almost certain you won't.
If you think you'll lose, you're lost
For out of the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow's will
It's all in the state of mind.
If you think you are outclassed, you are
You've got to think high to rise,
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.
Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man,
But soon or late the man who wins
Is the man WHO THINKS HE CAN!
I vow to thee my country
I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,
Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love;
The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,
That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.
And there’s another country, I’ve heard of long ago,
Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;
We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;
Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;
And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,
And her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace.
I Vow to Thee, My Country" is a British patriotic hymn,[1] created in 1921, when music by Gustav Holst had a poem by Sir Cecil Spring Rice set to it.
The music originated as a wordless melody, which Holst later named "Thaxted", taken from the "Jupiter" movement of Holst's 1917 suite The Planets.
The origin of the hymn's text is a poem by diplomat Sir Cecil Spring Rice, written in 1908 or 1912, entitled "Urbs Dei" ("The City of God") or "The Two Fatherlands".
The poem described how a Christian owes his loyalties to both his homeland and the heavenly kingdom.
In 1908, Spring Rice was posted to the British Embassy in Stockholm. In 1912, he was appointed as Ambassador to the United States of America, where he influenced the administration of Woodrow Wilson to abandon neutrality and join Britain in the war against Germany.
After the United States entered the war, he was recalled to Britain. Shortly before his departure from the US in January 1918, he re-wrote and renamed "Urbs Dei", significantly altering the first verse to concentrate on the themes of love and sacrifice.
This was changed from "the noise of battle" and "the thunder of her guns", creating a more sombre tone in view of the dreadful loss of life suffered in the Great War.
‘I Vow to Thee, My Country’ remains one of the most popular British hymns to this day.
It was first sung at St Paul’s Girls’ School in Hammersmith, London, where Holst taught, and later became their official school hymn.
Now, it is most strongly associated with Remembrance Day, being performed at services across the UK and the rest of the Commonwealth.
It has been used at various state and other high-profile funerals, including those of former prime ministers Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher, and more recently that of Captain Sir Tom Moore, in February 2021.
The hymn was also a personal favourite of Diana, Princess of Wales. She requested that it be sung at her 1981 wedding to the Prince of Wales, and in 1997 it was played at her funeral, as well as at a 10-year memorial service in 2007.
I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,
Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love;
The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,
That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.
And there’s another country, I’ve heard of long ago,
Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;
We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;
Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;
And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,
And her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace.
I Vow to Thee, My Country" is a British patriotic hymn,[1] created in 1921, when music by Gustav Holst had a poem by Sir Cecil Spring Rice set to it.
The music originated as a wordless melody, which Holst later named "Thaxted", taken from the "Jupiter" movement of Holst's 1917 suite The Planets.
The origin of the hymn's text is a poem by diplomat Sir Cecil Spring Rice, written in 1908 or 1912, entitled "Urbs Dei" ("The City of God") or "The Two Fatherlands".
The poem described how a Christian owes his loyalties to both his homeland and the heavenly kingdom.
In 1908, Spring Rice was posted to the British Embassy in Stockholm. In 1912, he was appointed as Ambassador to the United States of America, where he influenced the administration of Woodrow Wilson to abandon neutrality and join Britain in the war against Germany.
After the United States entered the war, he was recalled to Britain. Shortly before his departure from the US in January 1918, he re-wrote and renamed "Urbs Dei", significantly altering the first verse to concentrate on the themes of love and sacrifice.
This was changed from "the noise of battle" and "the thunder of her guns", creating a more sombre tone in view of the dreadful loss of life suffered in the Great War.
‘I Vow to Thee, My Country’ remains one of the most popular British hymns to this day.
It was first sung at St Paul’s Girls’ School in Hammersmith, London, where Holst taught, and later became their official school hymn.
Now, it is most strongly associated with Remembrance Day, being performed at services across the UK and the rest of the Commonwealth.
It has been used at various state and other high-profile funerals, including those of former prime ministers Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher, and more recently that of Captain Sir Tom Moore, in February 2021.
The hymn was also a personal favourite of Diana, Princess of Wales. She requested that it be sung at her 1981 wedding to the Prince of Wales, and in 1997 it was played at her funeral, as well as at a 10-year memorial service in 2007.
Story 1
My family has a lot of Christmas traditions. My mom bakes an assortment of cookies every year, but the staple always seems to be cornflake wreaths, which my mom grew up on herself.
I personally make an effort to watch as many Christmas classics as possible, from “A Charlie Brown Christmas” to “Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh.”
My family and I have driven around since I was little, listening to Christmas music and looking at Christmas lights. It is truly the happiest time of the year.
Story 2
Every time Christmas rolls around, my family and I usually get together and call our extended family overseas in Nigeria to talk about who got what on Christmas and how things have been this year.
This usually happens after we open all the gifts and rest for a bit, but it is a fun tradition we have.
Also, if the snow is not too bad the next day, we go over to our grandmother’s house with our aunties and cousins and eat, watch a movie and chill for the rest of the day.
Story 3
One of my favourite traditions is the routine of Christmas morning. Once I coerce my parents to finally get up, we sit on the floor all around the tree before we even eat breakfast.
My mom then plays her old Christmas record from, I believe, the 1960s (which she always makes sure to take note of), and we open our gifts.
Story 4
According to legend, there is a tradition in Germany that involves putting a pickle ornament (it used to be a real one, reportedly) somewhere on your Christmas tree, among all the other decorations.
The child who finds it first gets an extra present, and according to lore, the adult who spots it first (clearly the adult who put it up is disqualified) gets good luck for the next year.
Story 5
In the UK, everybody gets one cracker before their Christmas meal, then you cross arms, and grab one end of your cracker and the end of your neighbours cracker on either side of you,
so everybody around the table holds two ends, and pulls. They open with a bang and out falls a paper hat which you put on, a small gift, and a silly joke which you read out to all.
Story 6
the book flood is the loveliest of the traditions. It involves not only everybody giving each other books, but also reading them together.
There are two told origins of this tradition, one dating back to the 1930s, when the Reykjavik Library wanted to encourage people to read more;
while the other is earlier, dating to the 1800s, when only 50 percent of Icelanders were found to be literate and were thus encouraged to read.
So, today, people give each other books for Christmas and spend an evening curled up with their new books, often reading them to each other.
My family has a lot of Christmas traditions. My mom bakes an assortment of cookies every year, but the staple always seems to be cornflake wreaths, which my mom grew up on herself.
I personally make an effort to watch as many Christmas classics as possible, from “A Charlie Brown Christmas” to “Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh.”
My family and I have driven around since I was little, listening to Christmas music and looking at Christmas lights. It is truly the happiest time of the year.
Story 2
Every time Christmas rolls around, my family and I usually get together and call our extended family overseas in Nigeria to talk about who got what on Christmas and how things have been this year.
This usually happens after we open all the gifts and rest for a bit, but it is a fun tradition we have.
Also, if the snow is not too bad the next day, we go over to our grandmother’s house with our aunties and cousins and eat, watch a movie and chill for the rest of the day.
Story 3
One of my favourite traditions is the routine of Christmas morning. Once I coerce my parents to finally get up, we sit on the floor all around the tree before we even eat breakfast.
My mom then plays her old Christmas record from, I believe, the 1960s (which she always makes sure to take note of), and we open our gifts.
Story 4
According to legend, there is a tradition in Germany that involves putting a pickle ornament (it used to be a real one, reportedly) somewhere on your Christmas tree, among all the other decorations.
The child who finds it first gets an extra present, and according to lore, the adult who spots it first (clearly the adult who put it up is disqualified) gets good luck for the next year.
Story 5
In the UK, everybody gets one cracker before their Christmas meal, then you cross arms, and grab one end of your cracker and the end of your neighbours cracker on either side of you,
so everybody around the table holds two ends, and pulls. They open with a bang and out falls a paper hat which you put on, a small gift, and a silly joke which you read out to all.
Story 6
the book flood is the loveliest of the traditions. It involves not only everybody giving each other books, but also reading them together.
There are two told origins of this tradition, one dating back to the 1930s, when the Reykjavik Library wanted to encourage people to read more;
while the other is earlier, dating to the 1800s, when only 50 percent of Icelanders were found to be literate and were thus encouraged to read.
So, today, people give each other books for Christmas and spend an evening curled up with their new books, often reading them to each other.
Extract from ‘A Handmaid’s Tale’ by Margaret Atwood
We slept in what had once been the gymnasium. The floor was of varnished wood, with stripes and circles painted on it, for the games that were formerly played there; the hoops for the basketball nets were still in place, though the nets were gone.
A balcony ran around the room, for the spectators, and I thought I could smell, faintly like an afterimage, the pungent scent of sweat, shot through with the sweet taint of chewing gum and perfume from the watching girls, felt-skirted as I knew from pictures, later in mini-skirts, then pants, then in one earring, spiky green-streaked hair.
Dances would have been held there; the music lingered, a palimpsest of unheard sound, style upon style, an undercurrent of drums, a forlorn wail, garlands made of tissue-paper flowers, cardboard devils, a revolving ball of mirrors, powdering the dancers with a snow of light.
I remember that yearning, for something that was always about to happen and was never the same as the hands that were on us there and then, in the small of the back, or out back, in the parking lot, or in the television room with the sound turned down and only the pictures flickering over lifting flesh.
We yearned for the future. How did we learn it, that talent for insatiability? It was in the air; and it was still in the air, an afterthought, as we tried to sleep, in the army cots that had been set up in rows, with spaces between so we could not talk.
We had flannelette sheets, like children’s, and army-issue blankets, old ones that still said U.S. We folded our clothes neatly and laid them on the stools at the ends of the beds. The lights were turned down but not out. Aunt Sara and Aunt Elizabeth patrolled; they had electric cattle prods slung on thongs from their leather belts.
No guns though, even they could not be trusted with guns. Guns were for the guards, specially picked from the Angels. The guards weren’t allowed inside the building except when called, and we weren’t allowed out, except for our walks, twice daily, two by two around the football field which was enclosed now by a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire.
The Angels stood outside it with their backs to us. They were objects of fear to us, but of something else as well. If only they would look. If only we could talk to them. Something could be exchanged, we thought, some deal made, some trade-off, we still had our bodies. That was our fantasy.
We learned to whisper almost without sound. In the semi-darkness we could stretch out our arms, when the Aunts weren’t looking, and touch each other’s hands across space. We learned to lip-read, our heads flat on the beds, turned sideways, watching each other’s mouths. In this way we exchanged names, from bed to bed:
Alma. Janine. Dolores. Moira. June.
We slept in what had once been the gymnasium. The floor was of varnished wood, with stripes and circles painted on it, for the games that were formerly played there; the hoops for the basketball nets were still in place, though the nets were gone.
A balcony ran around the room, for the spectators, and I thought I could smell, faintly like an afterimage, the pungent scent of sweat, shot through with the sweet taint of chewing gum and perfume from the watching girls, felt-skirted as I knew from pictures, later in mini-skirts, then pants, then in one earring, spiky green-streaked hair.
Dances would have been held there; the music lingered, a palimpsest of unheard sound, style upon style, an undercurrent of drums, a forlorn wail, garlands made of tissue-paper flowers, cardboard devils, a revolving ball of mirrors, powdering the dancers with a snow of light.
I remember that yearning, for something that was always about to happen and was never the same as the hands that were on us there and then, in the small of the back, or out back, in the parking lot, or in the television room with the sound turned down and only the pictures flickering over lifting flesh.
We yearned for the future. How did we learn it, that talent for insatiability? It was in the air; and it was still in the air, an afterthought, as we tried to sleep, in the army cots that had been set up in rows, with spaces between so we could not talk.
We had flannelette sheets, like children’s, and army-issue blankets, old ones that still said U.S. We folded our clothes neatly and laid them on the stools at the ends of the beds. The lights were turned down but not out. Aunt Sara and Aunt Elizabeth patrolled; they had electric cattle prods slung on thongs from their leather belts.
No guns though, even they could not be trusted with guns. Guns were for the guards, specially picked from the Angels. The guards weren’t allowed inside the building except when called, and we weren’t allowed out, except for our walks, twice daily, two by two around the football field which was enclosed now by a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire.
The Angels stood outside it with their backs to us. They were objects of fear to us, but of something else as well. If only they would look. If only we could talk to them. Something could be exchanged, we thought, some deal made, some trade-off, we still had our bodies. That was our fantasy.
We learned to whisper almost without sound. In the semi-darkness we could stretch out our arms, when the Aunts weren’t looking, and touch each other’s hands across space. We learned to lip-read, our heads flat on the beds, turned sideways, watching each other’s mouths. In this way we exchanged names, from bed to bed:
Alma. Janine. Dolores. Moira. June.
True or False? Or Not given?
Matthias Classen is unsure about the possibility of monster's existence.
Kraken is probably based on an imaginary animal.
Previous attempts on filming the squid had failed due to the fact that the creature was scared.
Giant squid was caught alive in 2004 and brought to the museum.
Jon Ablett admits that he likes Archie.
According to Classen, people can be scared both by imaginary and real monsters.
Werner Herzog suggests that Kraken is essential to the ocean. You
Monsters
"This inhuman place makes human monsters," wrote Stephen King in his novel The Shining. Many academics agree that monsters lurk in the deepest recesses, they prowl through our ancestral minds appearing in the half-light, under the bed - or at the bottom of the sea.
"They don't really exist, but they play a huge role in our mindscapes, in our dreams, stories, nightmares, myths and so on," says Matthias Classen, assistant professor of literature and media at Aarhus University in Denmark, who studies monsters in literature. "Monsters say something about human psychology, not the world."
One Norse legend talks of the Kraken, a deep sea creature that was the curse of fishermen. If sailors found a place with many fish, most likely it was the monster that was driving them to the surface. If it saw the ship it would pluck the hapless sailors from the boat and drag them to a watery grave.
This terrifying legend occupied the mind and pen of the poet Alfred Lord Tennyson too. In his short 1830 poem The Kraken he wrote: "Below the thunders of the upper deep, / Far far beneath in the abysmal sea, / His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep / The Kraken sleepeth."
Most likely the Kraken is based on a real creature - the giant squid. The huge mollusc takes pride of place as the personification of the terrors of the deep sea. Sailors would have encountered it at the surface, dying, and probably thrashing about. It would have made a weird sight.
"It has eight lashing arms and two slashing tentacles growing straight out of its head and it's got serrated suckers that can latch on to the slimiest of prey and it's got a parrot beak that can rip flesh. It's got an eye the size of your head, it's got a jet propulsion system and three hearts that pump blue blood."
The giant squid continued to dominate stories of sea monsters with the famous 1870 novel, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne. Verne's submarine fantasy is a classic story of puny man against a gigantic squid.
The monster needed no embellishment - this creature was scary enough, and Verne incorporated as much fact as possible into the story, says Emily Alder from Edinburgh Napier University. "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and another contemporaneous book, Victor Hugo's Toilers of the Sea, both tried to represent the giant squid as they might have been actual zoological animals, much more taking the squid as a biological creature than a mythical creature." It was a given that the squid was vicious and would readily attack humans given the chance.
That myth wasn't busted until 2012, when Edith Widder and her colleagues were the first people to successfully film giant squid under water and see first-hand the true character of the monster of the deep. They realised previous attempts to film squid had failed because the bright lights and noisy thrusters on submersibles had frightened them away.
Another giant squid lies peacefully in the Natural History Museum in London, in the Spirit Room, where it is preserved in a huge glass case. In 2004 it was caught in a fishing net off the Falkland Islands and died at the surface. The crew immediately froze its body and it was sent to be preserved in the museum by the Curator of Molluscs, Jon Ablett. It is called Archie, an affectionate short version of its Latin name Architeuthis dux. It is the longest preserved specimen of a giant squid in the world.
And so today we can watch Archie's graceful relative on film and stare Archie herself (she is a female) eye-to-eye in a museum. But have we finally slain the monster of the deep? Now we know there is nothing to be afraid of, can the Kraken finally be laid to rest? Probably not says Classen.
"We humans are afraid of the strangest things. They don't need to be realistic. There's no indication that enlightenment and scientific progress has banished the monsters from the shadows of our imaginations. We will continue to be afraid of very strange things, including probably sea monsters."
Matthias Classen is unsure about the possibility of monster's existence.
Kraken is probably based on an imaginary animal.
Previous attempts on filming the squid had failed due to the fact that the creature was scared.
Giant squid was caught alive in 2004 and brought to the museum.
Jon Ablett admits that he likes Archie.
According to Classen, people can be scared both by imaginary and real monsters.
Werner Herzog suggests that Kraken is essential to the ocean. You
Monsters
"This inhuman place makes human monsters," wrote Stephen King in his novel The Shining. Many academics agree that monsters lurk in the deepest recesses, they prowl through our ancestral minds appearing in the half-light, under the bed - or at the bottom of the sea.
"They don't really exist, but they play a huge role in our mindscapes, in our dreams, stories, nightmares, myths and so on," says Matthias Classen, assistant professor of literature and media at Aarhus University in Denmark, who studies monsters in literature. "Monsters say something about human psychology, not the world."
One Norse legend talks of the Kraken, a deep sea creature that was the curse of fishermen. If sailors found a place with many fish, most likely it was the monster that was driving them to the surface. If it saw the ship it would pluck the hapless sailors from the boat and drag them to a watery grave.
This terrifying legend occupied the mind and pen of the poet Alfred Lord Tennyson too. In his short 1830 poem The Kraken he wrote: "Below the thunders of the upper deep, / Far far beneath in the abysmal sea, / His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep / The Kraken sleepeth."
Most likely the Kraken is based on a real creature - the giant squid. The huge mollusc takes pride of place as the personification of the terrors of the deep sea. Sailors would have encountered it at the surface, dying, and probably thrashing about. It would have made a weird sight.
"It has eight lashing arms and two slashing tentacles growing straight out of its head and it's got serrated suckers that can latch on to the slimiest of prey and it's got a parrot beak that can rip flesh. It's got an eye the size of your head, it's got a jet propulsion system and three hearts that pump blue blood."
The giant squid continued to dominate stories of sea monsters with the famous 1870 novel, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne. Verne's submarine fantasy is a classic story of puny man against a gigantic squid.
The monster needed no embellishment - this creature was scary enough, and Verne incorporated as much fact as possible into the story, says Emily Alder from Edinburgh Napier University. "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and another contemporaneous book, Victor Hugo's Toilers of the Sea, both tried to represent the giant squid as they might have been actual zoological animals, much more taking the squid as a biological creature than a mythical creature." It was a given that the squid was vicious and would readily attack humans given the chance.
That myth wasn't busted until 2012, when Edith Widder and her colleagues were the first people to successfully film giant squid under water and see first-hand the true character of the monster of the deep. They realised previous attempts to film squid had failed because the bright lights and noisy thrusters on submersibles had frightened them away.
Another giant squid lies peacefully in the Natural History Museum in London, in the Spirit Room, where it is preserved in a huge glass case. In 2004 it was caught in a fishing net off the Falkland Islands and died at the surface. The crew immediately froze its body and it was sent to be preserved in the museum by the Curator of Molluscs, Jon Ablett. It is called Archie, an affectionate short version of its Latin name Architeuthis dux. It is the longest preserved specimen of a giant squid in the world.
And so today we can watch Archie's graceful relative on film and stare Archie herself (she is a female) eye-to-eye in a museum. But have we finally slain the monster of the deep? Now we know there is nothing to be afraid of, can the Kraken finally be laid to rest? Probably not says Classen.
"We humans are afraid of the strangest things. They don't need to be realistic. There's no indication that enlightenment and scientific progress has banished the monsters from the shadows of our imaginations. We will continue to be afraid of very strange things, including probably sea monsters."
Shakespeare
A Little about Shakespeare
Is knowing about William Shakespeare important in the 21st Century or is it Much Ado About Nothing (the title of one of his famous plays)? William Shakespeare lived in England from 1564 until his death in 1616.
Shakespeare did not come from a prominent family; his father was anglove maker. As was typical of the times, Shakespeare left school at age fifteen and began working for his father.
Shakespeare married when he was eighteen and ten years later he was making a living as a well-known actor and playwright in the London theatre.
The plays he wrote were hugely successful in his lifetime. Thirty-eight of his plays are published today, nearly 400 years after they were written and first performed.
Experts expect that Shakespeare wrote more plays but copies no longer exist. Since the plays were new, only copies for the actors were made.
Many historical records and copies of plays were destroyed when the theatre Shakespeare worked with burned in 1613.
Shakespeare’s thirty-eight existing plays fall into several major categories. The histories are based upon historical events focused on kings, wars and power struggles among the ruling class of England.
Three historical plays are known as the Roman plays because they are about rulers of Ancient Rome; one play is entitled Julius Caesar and another is Antony and Cleopatra.Twelve of Shakespeare’s plays are classified as comedies.
These comedies are not like the light-hearted comedy movies we watch today. Shakespeare’s comedies utilise mistaken identity, love at first sight, or some form of trickery as the comedic theme but also contain tragic parts set in complicated plots.
The comedies are still performed frequently, especially for summertime theatres.The tragedies are Shakespeare’s most powerful works;
each tragedy centers around one major character who has a fatal human flaw like jealousy or pride. Macbeth, Hamlet, and Romeo and Juliet continue to be favourites even now
. Actors and actresses find it a challenge to play these well-known characters. Shakespeare remains popular because his plays center on the flaws of human nature and timeless conflicts.
1. Shakespeare lived in…
a. England
b. France
c. Spain
d. Italy
2. Shakespeare’s education included…
a. Greek and Latin
b. Studying the great Greek plays
c. Attendance at the university
d. None of the above
3. Besides being a playwright, Shakespeare was also a well-known…
a. Comedian
b. Glove maker
c. Actor
d. Musician
4. Shakespeare’s histories are focused on…
a. Ordinary people
b. Kings
c. Romance
d. All of the above
5. A common theme in Shakespeare’s comedies is…
a. Sight gags
b. Mistaken identity
c. Riddles
d. None of the above
6. Shakespeare’s tragedies are focused on…
a. Death of family members
b. Natural disasters
c. A major character flaw
d. War
A Little about Shakespeare
Is knowing about William Shakespeare important in the 21st Century or is it Much Ado About Nothing (the title of one of his famous plays)? William Shakespeare lived in England from 1564 until his death in 1616.
Shakespeare did not come from a prominent family; his father was anglove maker. As was typical of the times, Shakespeare left school at age fifteen and began working for his father.
Shakespeare married when he was eighteen and ten years later he was making a living as a well-known actor and playwright in the London theatre.
The plays he wrote were hugely successful in his lifetime. Thirty-eight of his plays are published today, nearly 400 years after they were written and first performed.
Experts expect that Shakespeare wrote more plays but copies no longer exist. Since the plays were new, only copies for the actors were made.
Many historical records and copies of plays were destroyed when the theatre Shakespeare worked with burned in 1613.
Shakespeare’s thirty-eight existing plays fall into several major categories. The histories are based upon historical events focused on kings, wars and power struggles among the ruling class of England.
Three historical plays are known as the Roman plays because they are about rulers of Ancient Rome; one play is entitled Julius Caesar and another is Antony and Cleopatra.Twelve of Shakespeare’s plays are classified as comedies.
These comedies are not like the light-hearted comedy movies we watch today. Shakespeare’s comedies utilise mistaken identity, love at first sight, or some form of trickery as the comedic theme but also contain tragic parts set in complicated plots.
The comedies are still performed frequently, especially for summertime theatres.The tragedies are Shakespeare’s most powerful works;
each tragedy centers around one major character who has a fatal human flaw like jealousy or pride. Macbeth, Hamlet, and Romeo and Juliet continue to be favourites even now
. Actors and actresses find it a challenge to play these well-known characters. Shakespeare remains popular because his plays center on the flaws of human nature and timeless conflicts.
1. Shakespeare lived in…
a. England
b. France
c. Spain
d. Italy
2. Shakespeare’s education included…
a. Greek and Latin
b. Studying the great Greek plays
c. Attendance at the university
d. None of the above
3. Besides being a playwright, Shakespeare was also a well-known…
a. Comedian
b. Glove maker
c. Actor
d. Musician
4. Shakespeare’s histories are focused on…
a. Ordinary people
b. Kings
c. Romance
d. All of the above
5. A common theme in Shakespeare’s comedies is…
a. Sight gags
b. Mistaken identity
c. Riddles
d. None of the above
6. Shakespeare’s tragedies are focused on…
a. Death of family members
b. Natural disasters
c. A major character flaw
d. War
Drawing conclusions means figuring something out for yourself.
To draw conclusions, you need to think about what makes the most sense.
Making Inferences is using what you already know in addition to what the story says.
Drawing conclusions and making inferences helps you understand a story better.
As you read the story, think about what you already know in addition to what the
story says. Try to figure out what the story means by thinking about what makes the most sense.
The Kingly Lion
The animals of the field and forest had a Lion as their King.When anyone had a problem, he took it to the Lion King, and the Lion King helped to solve it. When anyone had an argument, they took it to the Lion King, and he helped to settle it.
The Lion King never made demands that were in his own interest. He wanted only what was best for each and every animal.Day after day, the Lion King thought about nothing but the animals who were his subjects.
Then he sat down and wrote out a Royal Order. He called all the animals to come before him. He stood on a hilltop and watched the animals come together from far and near. He waited for them to settle.
“Hear ye, hear ye!” the Lion began, in his deep and rumbling voice. “I have written out my orders for a new way of doing things that will be better for all. From this day forward, the Wolf and the Lamb shall agree to live in peace.
The Panther and the Goat shall live in peace. The Tiger and the Deer, and the Dog and the Rabbit— all shall live together in perfect peace and harmony.
The Rabbit said, "Oh, how I have longed to see this day, in which the weak shall take their place without fear, by the side of the strong." And after the Rabbit said this, he ran for his life.
Use what you already know and what the story says to make inferences:
1. Why did the animals bring their problems to the Lion?
A. The animals knew the Lion was powerful.
B. The animals knew the Lion was fair.
C. The animals feared that the Lion would punish them.
2. Why did the Lion write a Royal Order?
A. The Lion wanted the best for each and every animal.
B. The Lion was tired of the animals bringing their problems to him.
C. The Lion wanted to be King of the field and forest.
3. Why did the Lion call all the creatures together to hear the Royal Order?
A. The Lion wanted to show off his power.
B. The Lion wanted to punish the strongest of the creatures.
C. The Lion wanted every creature to hear the new rules.
4. What was the purpose of the Lion’s Royal Order?
A. Natural enemies would live together in peace.
B. Natural enemies would live in different places of the forest.
C. Natural enemies would have to settle their own differences.
Think about what makes the most sense, to draw a conclusion:
The Rabbit said, "Oh, how I have longed to see this day, in which the weak shall take their place without fear, by the side of the strong." And after the Rabbit said this, he ran for his life.
5. This is probably because:
A. The Rabbit was afraid that the Lion was trying to trick all the creatures.
B. The Rabbit did not think the Lion’s new rules would work.
C. The Rabbit did not want to be friends with the Dog.
To draw conclusions, you need to think about what makes the most sense.
Making Inferences is using what you already know in addition to what the story says.
Drawing conclusions and making inferences helps you understand a story better.
As you read the story, think about what you already know in addition to what the
story says. Try to figure out what the story means by thinking about what makes the most sense.
The Kingly Lion
The animals of the field and forest had a Lion as their King.When anyone had a problem, he took it to the Lion King, and the Lion King helped to solve it. When anyone had an argument, they took it to the Lion King, and he helped to settle it.
The Lion King never made demands that were in his own interest. He wanted only what was best for each and every animal.Day after day, the Lion King thought about nothing but the animals who were his subjects.
Then he sat down and wrote out a Royal Order. He called all the animals to come before him. He stood on a hilltop and watched the animals come together from far and near. He waited for them to settle.
“Hear ye, hear ye!” the Lion began, in his deep and rumbling voice. “I have written out my orders for a new way of doing things that will be better for all. From this day forward, the Wolf and the Lamb shall agree to live in peace.
The Panther and the Goat shall live in peace. The Tiger and the Deer, and the Dog and the Rabbit— all shall live together in perfect peace and harmony.
The Rabbit said, "Oh, how I have longed to see this day, in which the weak shall take their place without fear, by the side of the strong." And after the Rabbit said this, he ran for his life.
Use what you already know and what the story says to make inferences:
1. Why did the animals bring their problems to the Lion?
A. The animals knew the Lion was powerful.
B. The animals knew the Lion was fair.
C. The animals feared that the Lion would punish them.
2. Why did the Lion write a Royal Order?
A. The Lion wanted the best for each and every animal.
B. The Lion was tired of the animals bringing their problems to him.
C. The Lion wanted to be King of the field and forest.
3. Why did the Lion call all the creatures together to hear the Royal Order?
A. The Lion wanted to show off his power.
B. The Lion wanted to punish the strongest of the creatures.
C. The Lion wanted every creature to hear the new rules.
4. What was the purpose of the Lion’s Royal Order?
A. Natural enemies would live together in peace.
B. Natural enemies would live in different places of the forest.
C. Natural enemies would have to settle their own differences.
Think about what makes the most sense, to draw a conclusion:
The Rabbit said, "Oh, how I have longed to see this day, in which the weak shall take their place without fear, by the side of the strong." And after the Rabbit said this, he ran for his life.
5. This is probably because:
A. The Rabbit was afraid that the Lion was trying to trick all the creatures.
B. The Rabbit did not think the Lion’s new rules would work.
C. The Rabbit did not want to be friends with the Dog.
Brasil
Wall Street Journal
Riot police beat back the mobs who stormed Brazil’s Congress and Supreme Court on Sunday, and the near-universal denunciation of the rioters is a welcome sign of democratic resilience. An equal test will be how well the country’s political leaders and courts handle the fallout.
Government offices in Brasilia were largely empty, and President Luiz Inácio da Silva, known as Lula, was traveling. Police had mostly restored order by Sunday evening, but not before the vandals did considerable damage.
Thousands of supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro have been demonstrating near military bases since Mr. da Silva was declared the narrow winner of the Oct. 30 runoff election. They want the military to stage a coup.
The Sunday rioters seemed to be somewhat organized but with no clear idea of what they’d do if they controlled the offices. Brasilia’s security forces need to explain why the capital wasn’t better protected.
The good news is that military leaders have shown no inclination to intervene, and Lula’s inauguration on Jan. 1 was uneventful. The most important figures on the Brazilian right have accepted the election result and denounced the riot.
Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas, the new governor of Brazil’s largest state, São Paulo—and a former minister of infrastructure for Mr. Bolsonaro--wrote on Twitter Sunday that “Demonstrations lose legitimacy and reason from the moment there is violence, depredation or curtailment of rights.”
He added that “debate must be about ideas and the opposition must be responsible, pointing out directions,” and violence can’t be tolerated.
Romeu Zema, governor of the state of Minas Gerais, offered similar sentiments: “In any manifestation, respect must prevail. The vandalism that occurred today in Brasilia is unacceptable. Freedom of expression cannot be mixed with depredation of public bodies. In the end, who will pay will be all of us.”
Mr. Bolsonaro, who was in Florida at the time of the riot, also criticized the violence. He had instructed his government to cooperate with the transition, though he never gave a concession speech, even as his supporters continued to demonstrate. The assault by his supporters will damage his legacy.
Lula has vowed to investigate the riot and those who supported it. But an equal test for his government will be whether it respects the right of peaceful dissent and the opposition even as it prosecutes law-breakers.
The riots will discredit the radical right, but some in Lula’s Workers’ Party will want to use the event to indict the entire opposition. The Supreme Court, which tried to control political speech during the election, also bears watching for politicized rulings.
Defending against violence is one test of democratic institutions but another is not abusing the law to stifle or punish legitimate debate.
Wall Street Journal
Riot police beat back the mobs who stormed Brazil’s Congress and Supreme Court on Sunday, and the near-universal denunciation of the rioters is a welcome sign of democratic resilience. An equal test will be how well the country’s political leaders and courts handle the fallout.
Government offices in Brasilia were largely empty, and President Luiz Inácio da Silva, known as Lula, was traveling. Police had mostly restored order by Sunday evening, but not before the vandals did considerable damage.
Thousands of supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro have been demonstrating near military bases since Mr. da Silva was declared the narrow winner of the Oct. 30 runoff election. They want the military to stage a coup.
The Sunday rioters seemed to be somewhat organized but with no clear idea of what they’d do if they controlled the offices. Brasilia’s security forces need to explain why the capital wasn’t better protected.
The good news is that military leaders have shown no inclination to intervene, and Lula’s inauguration on Jan. 1 was uneventful. The most important figures on the Brazilian right have accepted the election result and denounced the riot.
Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas, the new governor of Brazil’s largest state, São Paulo—and a former minister of infrastructure for Mr. Bolsonaro--wrote on Twitter Sunday that “Demonstrations lose legitimacy and reason from the moment there is violence, depredation or curtailment of rights.”
He added that “debate must be about ideas and the opposition must be responsible, pointing out directions,” and violence can’t be tolerated.
Romeu Zema, governor of the state of Minas Gerais, offered similar sentiments: “In any manifestation, respect must prevail. The vandalism that occurred today in Brasilia is unacceptable. Freedom of expression cannot be mixed with depredation of public bodies. In the end, who will pay will be all of us.”
Mr. Bolsonaro, who was in Florida at the time of the riot, also criticized the violence. He had instructed his government to cooperate with the transition, though he never gave a concession speech, even as his supporters continued to demonstrate. The assault by his supporters will damage his legacy.
Lula has vowed to investigate the riot and those who supported it. But an equal test for his government will be whether it respects the right of peaceful dissent and the opposition even as it prosecutes law-breakers.
The riots will discredit the radical right, but some in Lula’s Workers’ Party will want to use the event to indict the entire opposition. The Supreme Court, which tried to control political speech during the election, also bears watching for politicized rulings.
Defending against violence is one test of democratic institutions but another is not abusing the law to stifle or punish legitimate debate.
New year resolutions
Millions of people spend the final days of December coming up with ambitious tasks for the new year. In 2023, resolve to take something off your plate instead.
Physical and mental health—including eating habits, self-care, exercise and weight loss—are among the most common focuses for resolutions. But nearly two-thirds of people who set New Year’s resolutions abandon them within the first month, according to research published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
Part of the problem is that designating vague goals often sets us up for failure, physical- and mental-health professionals say. Consciously removing some of them from your mental to-do list can help alleviate stress and improve focus, says social psychologist Jessica Ayers.
“By taking off one of those big, lofty goals, you’re giving yourself the freedom to actually pursue the goals that are most important to you,” says Dr. Ayers, who is based in Boise, Idaho.
Here are four antiresolutions that will help you enter 2023.
Stop Worrying About Being Night Owl
If you are one of the many people whose bedtimes shifted later during the pandemic, you might be resolving to go to bed earlier. Getting more sleep is a worthy goal, but being a night owl isn’t necessarily the problem, according to sleep researchers.
People have individual chronotypes, or natural tendencies for waking early or sleeping in. When it comes to sleep health, quality, quantity and consistency are the most important metrics, sleep experts say.
If you go to bed at midnight but get between seven and nine hours of good-quality sleep, there is probably no need to worry about moving your bedtime up, says Shelby Harris, a Westchester, N.Y.-based clinical psychologist specializing in behavioral sleep medicine.
Dr. Harris says she has noticed a stigma around being a night owl, compared with morning larks, who are often viewed as more productive and in sync with the nine-to-five schedule. She tells patients they should only embark on the often difficult work of shifting their circadian rhythms, which she says can cause anxiety and insomnia in the early stages, if they are suffering from sleep deprivation.
Stop Weighing Yourself
Many people resolve to lose weight in the new year only to end up obsessing over the number on the scale or give up altogether, doctors and dietitians say.
For those whose doctors have urged them to monitor their weight at home, including people working to prevent or manage chronic conditions, patients undergoing cancer treatments and certain people who are underweight, it is a good idea to keep the scale handy, according to health experts.
Otherwise, consider ditching the scale altogether, says Gregory Dodell, an endocrinologist in New York City who sees many patients for weight-related matters. Self-weighing has been associated with weight loss, but also lower levels of self-esteem and higher levels of stress, according to a meta-analysis of 23 studies published in the journal Health Psychology Review in 2016.
“Stepping on a scale without any other health markers is not very impactful,” says Dr. Dodell.
He recommends giving priority to healthy behaviors, such as incorporating more movement into your day and eating enough protein, fruits and vegetables, which can improve health indicators even if they don’t affect weight. Patients who like tracking health metrics might want to focus on other quantifiable characteristics such as blood pressure and blood-sugar levels, he says.
Caroline Susie, a registered dietitian in Dallas, says she has focused on celebrating what she calls nonscale victories with clients, which can include sleeping better, having regular bowel movements, or feeling more energetic.
Stop Worrying That You Don’t Have Enough Friends
Many resolution-setters aim to meet new people and make new friends, but when it comes to friendships, psychologists say, quality matters more than quantity.
We have a limited amount of time and energy to invest in our relationships, says Dr. Ayers, the social psychologist. Keeping a smaller circle of friends allows us to invest more time into meaningful conversations with them, she says.
“Think of deepening instead of broadening,” says psychologist Marisa G. Franco.
As we age and become aware that the end of our lives is drawing closer, we tend to care less about having more friends, a phenomenon known in the field of social science as socioemotional selectivity. To start forging closer bonds, increase the amount of time you spend with your close friends. That can mean scheduled dates, such as weekly dinners or book clubs, but should also include last-minute hangouts, says Dr. Franco.
“It’s a sign of intimacy when we believe people won’t reject us,” she says.
In a 2020 study of women published in Adultspan Journal, those who visited with close friends a couple of times a week felt younger and had significantly higher levels of life satisfaction than those who visited with theirs a couple of times a year or not at all.
Stop Wasting Money on Fitness
Planning to join a pricey health club or fitness program this year? Don’t rely on the price tag to motivate you.
“Meaningful, lasting, positive change doesn’t come from shame, blame and guilt,” says Darlene Marshall, a personal trainer and wellness coach in Valley Falls, N.Y.
Before you hit “subscribe” on a membership you might not make the most of, ask yourself what you are hoping to get out of it. For many, the answer goes beyond losing weight or looking good in their jeans, says Ms. Marshall. Getting outside, even for short periods, can provide mental and physical health benefits.
“If the question is, ‘Which is going to help with my well-being: the walk in the park or 20 minutes on the StairMaster?’ The walk in the park is going to have a better outcome,” she says.
About 20 minutes of daily moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity, which could include a brisk walk or pushing a lawn mower, provides the same health benefits as running for 60 to 75 minutes a week, according to guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine.
Outdoor activities, such as group walks, hiking or biking, became more popular during the pandemic, according to the ACSM’s 2023 fitness trends report.
“Outdoor activity doesn’t take any technology and they don’t have to rely on an instructor instructing them from who knows where,” says Dr. Walt Thompson, former president of the ACSM and author of the report.
Millions of people spend the final days of December coming up with ambitious tasks for the new year. In 2023, resolve to take something off your plate instead.
Physical and mental health—including eating habits, self-care, exercise and weight loss—are among the most common focuses for resolutions. But nearly two-thirds of people who set New Year’s resolutions abandon them within the first month, according to research published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
Part of the problem is that designating vague goals often sets us up for failure, physical- and mental-health professionals say. Consciously removing some of them from your mental to-do list can help alleviate stress and improve focus, says social psychologist Jessica Ayers.
“By taking off one of those big, lofty goals, you’re giving yourself the freedom to actually pursue the goals that are most important to you,” says Dr. Ayers, who is based in Boise, Idaho.
Here are four antiresolutions that will help you enter 2023.
Stop Worrying About Being Night Owl
If you are one of the many people whose bedtimes shifted later during the pandemic, you might be resolving to go to bed earlier. Getting more sleep is a worthy goal, but being a night owl isn’t necessarily the problem, according to sleep researchers.
People have individual chronotypes, or natural tendencies for waking early or sleeping in. When it comes to sleep health, quality, quantity and consistency are the most important metrics, sleep experts say.
If you go to bed at midnight but get between seven and nine hours of good-quality sleep, there is probably no need to worry about moving your bedtime up, says Shelby Harris, a Westchester, N.Y.-based clinical psychologist specializing in behavioral sleep medicine.
Dr. Harris says she has noticed a stigma around being a night owl, compared with morning larks, who are often viewed as more productive and in sync with the nine-to-five schedule. She tells patients they should only embark on the often difficult work of shifting their circadian rhythms, which she says can cause anxiety and insomnia in the early stages, if they are suffering from sleep deprivation.
Stop Weighing Yourself
Many people resolve to lose weight in the new year only to end up obsessing over the number on the scale or give up altogether, doctors and dietitians say.
For those whose doctors have urged them to monitor their weight at home, including people working to prevent or manage chronic conditions, patients undergoing cancer treatments and certain people who are underweight, it is a good idea to keep the scale handy, according to health experts.
Otherwise, consider ditching the scale altogether, says Gregory Dodell, an endocrinologist in New York City who sees many patients for weight-related matters. Self-weighing has been associated with weight loss, but also lower levels of self-esteem and higher levels of stress, according to a meta-analysis of 23 studies published in the journal Health Psychology Review in 2016.
“Stepping on a scale without any other health markers is not very impactful,” says Dr. Dodell.
He recommends giving priority to healthy behaviors, such as incorporating more movement into your day and eating enough protein, fruits and vegetables, which can improve health indicators even if they don’t affect weight. Patients who like tracking health metrics might want to focus on other quantifiable characteristics such as blood pressure and blood-sugar levels, he says.
Caroline Susie, a registered dietitian in Dallas, says she has focused on celebrating what she calls nonscale victories with clients, which can include sleeping better, having regular bowel movements, or feeling more energetic.
Stop Worrying That You Don’t Have Enough Friends
Many resolution-setters aim to meet new people and make new friends, but when it comes to friendships, psychologists say, quality matters more than quantity.
We have a limited amount of time and energy to invest in our relationships, says Dr. Ayers, the social psychologist. Keeping a smaller circle of friends allows us to invest more time into meaningful conversations with them, she says.
“Think of deepening instead of broadening,” says psychologist Marisa G. Franco.
As we age and become aware that the end of our lives is drawing closer, we tend to care less about having more friends, a phenomenon known in the field of social science as socioemotional selectivity. To start forging closer bonds, increase the amount of time you spend with your close friends. That can mean scheduled dates, such as weekly dinners or book clubs, but should also include last-minute hangouts, says Dr. Franco.
“It’s a sign of intimacy when we believe people won’t reject us,” she says.
In a 2020 study of women published in Adultspan Journal, those who visited with close friends a couple of times a week felt younger and had significantly higher levels of life satisfaction than those who visited with theirs a couple of times a year or not at all.
Stop Wasting Money on Fitness
Planning to join a pricey health club or fitness program this year? Don’t rely on the price tag to motivate you.
“Meaningful, lasting, positive change doesn’t come from shame, blame and guilt,” says Darlene Marshall, a personal trainer and wellness coach in Valley Falls, N.Y.
Before you hit “subscribe” on a membership you might not make the most of, ask yourself what you are hoping to get out of it. For many, the answer goes beyond losing weight or looking good in their jeans, says Ms. Marshall. Getting outside, even for short periods, can provide mental and physical health benefits.
“If the question is, ‘Which is going to help with my well-being: the walk in the park or 20 minutes on the StairMaster?’ The walk in the park is going to have a better outcome,” she says.
About 20 minutes of daily moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity, which could include a brisk walk or pushing a lawn mower, provides the same health benefits as running for 60 to 75 minutes a week, according to guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine.
Outdoor activities, such as group walks, hiking or biking, became more popular during the pandemic, according to the ACSM’s 2023 fitness trends report.
“Outdoor activity doesn’t take any technology and they don’t have to rely on an instructor instructing them from who knows where,” says Dr. Walt Thompson, former president of the ACSM and author of the report.
Tom Brown Schooldays
"You see," said his friend, as they strolled up towards the school-gates, in explanation of his conduct, "a great deal depends on how a fellow cuts up at first.
If he's got nothing odd about him, and answers straightforward, and holds his head up, he gets on.
Now, you'll do very well as to rig, all but that cap. You see I'm doing the handsome thing by you, because my father knows yours; besides, I want to please the old lady.
She gave me half a sov. this half, and perhaps'll double it next, if I keep in her good books."
There's nothing for candour like a lower-school boy, and East was a genuine specimen- frank, hearty, and good-natured, well-satisfied with himself and his position, and choke-full of life and spirits,
and all the Rugby prejudices and traditions which he had been able to get together in the long course of one half-year during which he had been at the School-house.
And Tom, notwithstanding his bumptiousness, felt friends with him at once, and began sucking in all his ways and prejudices, as fast as he could understand them.
East was great in the character of cicerone. He carried Tom through the great gates, where were only two or three boys.
These satisfied themselves with the stock questions, "You fellow, what's your name? Where do you come from? How old are you?
Where do you board?" and, "What form are you in?"
And so they passed on through the quadrangle and a small courtyard, upon which looked down a lot of little windows (belonging, as his guide informed him, to some of the School-house studies), into the matron's room, where East introduced Tom to that dignitary;
made him give up the key of his trunk, that the matron might unpack his linen, and told the story of the hat and of his own presence of mind: upon the relation whereof the matron laughingly scolded him for the coolest new boy in the house; and East, indignant at the accusation of newness, marched Tom off into the quadrangle,
and began showing him the schools, and examining him as to his literary attainments; the result of which was a prophecy that they would be in the same form, and could do their lessons together.
"And now come in and see my study- we shall have just time before dinner; and afterwards, before calling over, we'll do the close."
Tom followed his guide through the School-house hall, which opens into the quadrangle. It is a great room, thirty feet long and eighteen high, or thereabouts, with two great tables running the whole length, and two large fireplaces at the side, with blazing fires in them,
at one of which some dozen boys were standing and lounging, some of whom shouted to East to stop; but he shot through with his convoy, and landed him in the long, dark passages, with a large fire at the end of each, upon which the studies opened. Into one of these, in the bottom pas-sage,
East bolted with our hero, slamming and bolting the door behind them, in case of pursuit from the hall, and Tom was for the first time in a Rugby boy's citadel.
He hadn't been prepared for separate studies, and was not a little astonished and delighted with the palace in question.
"You see," said his friend, as they strolled up towards the school-gates, in explanation of his conduct, "a great deal depends on how a fellow cuts up at first.
If he's got nothing odd about him, and answers straightforward, and holds his head up, he gets on.
Now, you'll do very well as to rig, all but that cap. You see I'm doing the handsome thing by you, because my father knows yours; besides, I want to please the old lady.
She gave me half a sov. this half, and perhaps'll double it next, if I keep in her good books."
There's nothing for candour like a lower-school boy, and East was a genuine specimen- frank, hearty, and good-natured, well-satisfied with himself and his position, and choke-full of life and spirits,
and all the Rugby prejudices and traditions which he had been able to get together in the long course of one half-year during which he had been at the School-house.
And Tom, notwithstanding his bumptiousness, felt friends with him at once, and began sucking in all his ways and prejudices, as fast as he could understand them.
East was great in the character of cicerone. He carried Tom through the great gates, where were only two or three boys.
These satisfied themselves with the stock questions, "You fellow, what's your name? Where do you come from? How old are you?
Where do you board?" and, "What form are you in?"
And so they passed on through the quadrangle and a small courtyard, upon which looked down a lot of little windows (belonging, as his guide informed him, to some of the School-house studies), into the matron's room, where East introduced Tom to that dignitary;
made him give up the key of his trunk, that the matron might unpack his linen, and told the story of the hat and of his own presence of mind: upon the relation whereof the matron laughingly scolded him for the coolest new boy in the house; and East, indignant at the accusation of newness, marched Tom off into the quadrangle,
and began showing him the schools, and examining him as to his literary attainments; the result of which was a prophecy that they would be in the same form, and could do their lessons together.
"And now come in and see my study- we shall have just time before dinner; and afterwards, before calling over, we'll do the close."
Tom followed his guide through the School-house hall, which opens into the quadrangle. It is a great room, thirty feet long and eighteen high, or thereabouts, with two great tables running the whole length, and two large fireplaces at the side, with blazing fires in them,
at one of which some dozen boys were standing and lounging, some of whom shouted to East to stop; but he shot through with his convoy, and landed him in the long, dark passages, with a large fire at the end of each, upon which the studies opened. Into one of these, in the bottom pas-sage,
East bolted with our hero, slamming and bolting the door behind them, in case of pursuit from the hall, and Tom was for the first time in a Rugby boy's citadel.
He hadn't been prepared for separate studies, and was not a little astonished and delighted with the palace in question.
As Blakely reached the back of the car he screamed “Clive” and ran towards him.
Some of the blood from his wounds stippled the two rear grey doors of the van.
Blood spotted the chromium bumper and smudged the dark green paint of the two-tone colour scheme.Still carrying the gun the blonde chased the wounded man round the car;
Gunnell was motionless. “Get out of the way, Clive” she shouted. Blakely had reached the bon-net, rounded it, and was again running uphill.
The blonde fired again. By now Gunnell had recovered from the paralysis of the unexpected and followed the pair round the bonnet of the Vanguard.
He saw the woman standing over Blakely, who was lying face down on the pavement. His head pointed uphill, just level with the row of newspaper bill-boards outside the shop next door to the pub.
The irreparable damage had been done to Blakely and the blood was rivuleting from his mouth on to the pavement.
Here it mixed with the frothing remains of the beer flagon to which Blakely had somehow clung during the chase.
Unmoved by the channel of red froth that moved past her down the hill, and the moaning of the man on the pave-ment, the blonde repeatedly clicked the now empty gun.
In her left hand she held a black handbag by the strap. There was no blood on her grey two-piece suit nor on the green roll-topped pullover she was wearing. The man was quiet now.
A spectator loosened the Old Salopian tie from the throat of the unmoving body on the pavement. A customer from the saloon bar pushed his way to the woman;
it was the man who had noticed her face at the bar window earlier. Without emotion and without turning her head she said to him: 'Phone the police. It was one of those moments when life outstrips the efforts of the best dramatists.
There were no tears and no hysterics from the woman; everyone just stood waiting for the ambulance and the police car.They arrived about four minutes later and ambulance men loaded Blakely inside.
He was dead when the hospital doctor examined him. (The other casualty, Mrs Yule, had already been taken to hospital by a reluctant taxi driver who ‘didn't want no trouble’.)
After the ambulance had gone, the woman, who was still silent, was taken to Hampstead police station in a police car.Here they offered her the inevitable cup of tea and a cigarette. In exchange she identified herself.
The time was about 11 pm, Sunday, 2 April, 1955. She was unbelievably calm and detached. After her arrest Ruth Ellis wrote this account of her reactions immediately before and after she shot David Blakely.
By this time she had heard what the main prosecution witnesses had said at the preliminary hearings at Hampstead Magistrates Court;
the euphoria of the killing had gone, she knew her life was desperately compromised.
Some of the blood from his wounds stippled the two rear grey doors of the van.
Blood spotted the chromium bumper and smudged the dark green paint of the two-tone colour scheme.Still carrying the gun the blonde chased the wounded man round the car;
Gunnell was motionless. “Get out of the way, Clive” she shouted. Blakely had reached the bon-net, rounded it, and was again running uphill.
The blonde fired again. By now Gunnell had recovered from the paralysis of the unexpected and followed the pair round the bonnet of the Vanguard.
He saw the woman standing over Blakely, who was lying face down on the pavement. His head pointed uphill, just level with the row of newspaper bill-boards outside the shop next door to the pub.
The irreparable damage had been done to Blakely and the blood was rivuleting from his mouth on to the pavement.
Here it mixed with the frothing remains of the beer flagon to which Blakely had somehow clung during the chase.
Unmoved by the channel of red froth that moved past her down the hill, and the moaning of the man on the pave-ment, the blonde repeatedly clicked the now empty gun.
In her left hand she held a black handbag by the strap. There was no blood on her grey two-piece suit nor on the green roll-topped pullover she was wearing. The man was quiet now.
A spectator loosened the Old Salopian tie from the throat of the unmoving body on the pavement. A customer from the saloon bar pushed his way to the woman;
it was the man who had noticed her face at the bar window earlier. Without emotion and without turning her head she said to him: 'Phone the police. It was one of those moments when life outstrips the efforts of the best dramatists.
There were no tears and no hysterics from the woman; everyone just stood waiting for the ambulance and the police car.They arrived about four minutes later and ambulance men loaded Blakely inside.
He was dead when the hospital doctor examined him. (The other casualty, Mrs Yule, had already been taken to hospital by a reluctant taxi driver who ‘didn't want no trouble’.)
After the ambulance had gone, the woman, who was still silent, was taken to Hampstead police station in a police car.Here they offered her the inevitable cup of tea and a cigarette. In exchange she identified herself.
The time was about 11 pm, Sunday, 2 April, 1955. She was unbelievably calm and detached. After her arrest Ruth Ellis wrote this account of her reactions immediately before and after she shot David Blakely.
By this time she had heard what the main prosecution witnesses had said at the preliminary hearings at Hampstead Magistrates Court;
the euphoria of the killing had gone, she knew her life was desperately compromised.
England need to match USA's intensity
England know they will be through to the knockout rounds if they beat USA tonight, while Wales find themselves in the peculiar position of cheering them on.
Everything has gone swimmingly so far for Gareth Southgate and his players, with the 6-2 victory over Iran one of the most complete performances in the tournament and one cast in a better light by Iran's performance against Wales today.
Things can turn quickly though, and USA are one of the few nations with the personnel and attributes to play at Premier League intensity. They pride themselves on an aggressive approach out of possession, with Tyler Adams and Winston McKennie providing youthful energy in midfield.
Whether they possess requisite quality once they're on the ball is another matter, and a lack of pace between centre-back pairing Tim Ream and Walker Zimmerman is another potential weakness.
A Rob Green error helped USA earn a draw the last time these two nations played in a competitive match at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
England have been boosted by the news that Harry Kane is available after turning his ankle against Iran, and the captain is looking to get off the mark in his quest for another World Cup golden boot.
There is no obvious reason for Southgate to make changes after such a polished and fluent performance, even if a system change is mooted when England play more potent opposition.
One of the incentives for England and Southgate tonight is to earn the chance to rotate for the final group match against Wales, and ensure those on the fringes of the squad get a taste of World Cup action. Marcus Rashford, Jack Grealish and Callum Wilson all made positive contributions from the bench against Iran.
YAWN IN THE USA England 0 USA 0: Harry Kane misses last-gasp chance as lacklustreThree Lions flop to boring World Cup stalemate
SO which was the real England - the one which demolished Iran or the one made to look bang average by the United States?
We will find out in the knockout stage and the good news is that Gareth Southgate’s men are effectively through to the last 16 now.
Because however sloppy and uninspired England were here, they are not bad enough to lose 4-0 to Wales and that is what would be needed for the Three Lions to fall at the first hurdle.
With the exception of Harry Maguire, outstanding as he won his 50th cap, and Declan Rice, who prevented England from being overwhelmed in midfield, this was dismal.
But England usually throw in a stinking 0-0 in a group stage - remember Algeria, Slovakia, Scotland?
And in tournament football, nobody plays like the Harlem Globetrotters every time.
Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling, all so sparkly against Iran, were flat here.
Harry Kane, who has been nursing an ankle problem, looked shy of peak sharpness.
Full-backs Kieran Trippier and Luke Shaw showed little adventure.
And for long spells of both halves, the States were the better side.
Southgate is too level-headed to get angry about it - it wasn’t as if Jordan Pickford had to make a single save of note.
It was the sort of game previous England sides might even have lost.
And it will dampen down the elements of over-optimism which crept in after that 6-2 hammering of Iran.
England know they will be through to the knockout rounds if they beat USA tonight, while Wales find themselves in the peculiar position of cheering them on.
Everything has gone swimmingly so far for Gareth Southgate and his players, with the 6-2 victory over Iran one of the most complete performances in the tournament and one cast in a better light by Iran's performance against Wales today.
Things can turn quickly though, and USA are one of the few nations with the personnel and attributes to play at Premier League intensity. They pride themselves on an aggressive approach out of possession, with Tyler Adams and Winston McKennie providing youthful energy in midfield.
Whether they possess requisite quality once they're on the ball is another matter, and a lack of pace between centre-back pairing Tim Ream and Walker Zimmerman is another potential weakness.
A Rob Green error helped USA earn a draw the last time these two nations played in a competitive match at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
England have been boosted by the news that Harry Kane is available after turning his ankle against Iran, and the captain is looking to get off the mark in his quest for another World Cup golden boot.
There is no obvious reason for Southgate to make changes after such a polished and fluent performance, even if a system change is mooted when England play more potent opposition.
One of the incentives for England and Southgate tonight is to earn the chance to rotate for the final group match against Wales, and ensure those on the fringes of the squad get a taste of World Cup action. Marcus Rashford, Jack Grealish and Callum Wilson all made positive contributions from the bench against Iran.
YAWN IN THE USA England 0 USA 0: Harry Kane misses last-gasp chance as lacklustreThree Lions flop to boring World Cup stalemate
SO which was the real England - the one which demolished Iran or the one made to look bang average by the United States?
We will find out in the knockout stage and the good news is that Gareth Southgate’s men are effectively through to the last 16 now.
Because however sloppy and uninspired England were here, they are not bad enough to lose 4-0 to Wales and that is what would be needed for the Three Lions to fall at the first hurdle.
With the exception of Harry Maguire, outstanding as he won his 50th cap, and Declan Rice, who prevented England from being overwhelmed in midfield, this was dismal.
But England usually throw in a stinking 0-0 in a group stage - remember Algeria, Slovakia, Scotland?
And in tournament football, nobody plays like the Harlem Globetrotters every time.
Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling, all so sparkly against Iran, were flat here.
Harry Kane, who has been nursing an ankle problem, looked shy of peak sharpness.
Full-backs Kieran Trippier and Luke Shaw showed little adventure.
And for long spells of both halves, the States were the better side.
Southgate is too level-headed to get angry about it - it wasn’t as if Jordan Pickford had to make a single save of note.
It was the sort of game previous England sides might even have lost.
And it will dampen down the elements of over-optimism which crept in after that 6-2 hammering of Iran.
Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, children, brewers,
pawnbrokers, unmarried people, and students in various cities and countries around Europe.
His reputation evolved among the pious, as was common for early Saints, and his legendary habit of secret gift-giving gave rise to the traditional model of Santa Claus
Nicholas was born in the city of Patara, a port on the Mediterranean Sea, in Asia Minor in the Roman Empire, to a wealthy family of Greek Christians.
After his parents died, Nicholas is said to have distributed their wealth to the poor.
In his most famous exploit, Nicholas heard of a devout man who had once been wealthy but had lost all of his money.
The man could not afford proper dowries for his three daughters.
This meant that they would remain unmarried and probably, in absence of any other possible employment, be forced to become prostitutes.
Hearing of the girls' plight, Nicholas decided to help them, but, being too modest to help the family in public (or to save them the humiliation of accepting charity)…
….he went to the house under the cover of night and threw a purse filled with gold coins through the window opening into the house.
The father immediately arranged a marriage for his first daughter, and after her wedding, Nicholas threw a second bag of gold through the same window late at night.
After the second daughter was married, the father stayed awake for at least two "nights" and caught Saint Nicholas in the same act of charity toward the third daughter.
The father fell on his knees, thanking him, and Nicholas ordered him not to tell anyone about the gifts.
The scene of Nicholas's secret gift-giving is one of the most popular scenes in Christian devotional art, appearing in icons and frescoes from across Europe.
Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, children, brewers,
pawnbrokers, unmarried people, and students in various cities and countries around Europe.
His reputation evolved among the pious, as was common for early Saints, and his legendary habit of secret gift-giving gave rise to the traditional model of Santa Claus
Nicholas was born in the city of Patara, a port on the Mediterranean Sea, in Asia Minor in the Roman Empire, to a wealthy family of Greek Christians.
After his parents died, Nicholas is said to have distributed their wealth to the poor.
In his most famous exploit, Nicholas heard of a devout man who had once been wealthy but had lost all of his money.
The man could not afford proper dowries for his three daughters.
This meant that they would remain unmarried and probably, in absence of any other possible employment, be forced to become prostitutes.
Hearing of the girls' plight, Nicholas decided to help them, but, being too modest to help the family in public (or to save them the humiliation of accepting charity)…
….he went to the house under the cover of night and threw a purse filled with gold coins through the window opening into the house.
The father immediately arranged a marriage for his first daughter, and after her wedding, Nicholas threw a second bag of gold through the same window late at night.
After the second daughter was married, the father stayed awake for at least two "nights" and caught Saint Nicholas in the same act of charity toward the third daughter.
The father fell on his knees, thanking him, and Nicholas ordered him not to tell anyone about the gifts.
The scene of Nicholas's secret gift-giving is one of the most popular scenes in Christian devotional art, appearing in icons and frescoes from across Europe.
Thanksgiving
The Desolate Wilderness
So they left that goodly and pleasant city of Leyden, which had been their resting-place for above eleven years, but they knew that they were pilgrims and strangers here below, and looked not much on these things, but lifted up their eyes to Heaven, their dearest country, where God hath prepared for them a city (Heb. XI, 16), and therein quieted their spirits.
When they came to Delfs-Haven they found the ship and all things ready, and such of their friends as could not come with them followed after them, and sundry came from Amsterdam to see them shipt, and to take their leave of them. One night was spent with little sleep with the most, but with friendly entertainment and Christian discourse, and other real expressions of true Christian love.
The next day they went on board, and their friends with them, where truly doleful was the sight of that sad and mournful parting, to hear what sighs and sobs and prayers did sound amongst them; what tears did gush from every eye, and pithy speeches pierced each other’s heart, that sundry of the Dutch strangers that stood on the Key as spectators could not refrain from tears.
But the tide (which stays for no man) calling them away, that were thus loath to depart, their Reverend Pastor, falling down on his knees, and they all with him, with watery cheeks commended them with the most fervent prayers unto the Lord and His blessing; and then with mutual embraces and many tears they took their leaves one of another, which proved to be the last leave to many of them.
Being now passed the vast ocean, and a sea of troubles before them in expectations, they had now no friends to welcome them, no inns to entertain or refresh them, no houses, or much less towns, to repair unto to seek for succour; and for the season it was winter, and they that know the winters of the country know them to be sharp and violent, subject to cruel and fierce storms, dangerous to travel to known places, much more to search unknown coasts.
Besides, what could they see but a hideous and desolate wilderness, full of wilde beasts and wilde men? and what multitudes of them there were, they then knew not: for which way soever they turned their eyes (save upward to Heaven) they could have but little solace or content in respect of any outward object; for summer being ended, all things stand in appearance with a weatherbeaten face, and the whole country, full of woods and thickets, represented a wild and savage hew.
If they looked behind them, there was a mighty ocean which they had passed, and was now as a main bar or gulph to separate them from all the civil parts of the world.
And the fair land
Any one whose labors take him into the far reaches of the country, as ours lately have done, is bound to mark how the years have made the land grow fruitful.
This is indeed a big country, a rich country, in a way no array of figures can measure and so in a way past belief of those who have not seen it. Even those who journey through its Northeastern complex, into the Southern lands, across the central plains and to its Western slopes can only glimpse a measure of the bounty of America.
And a traveler cannot but be struck on his journey by the thought that this country, one day, can be even greater. America, though many know it not, is one of the great underdeveloped countries of the world; what it reaches for exceeds by far what it has grasped.
So the visitor returns thankful for much of what he has seen, and, in spite of everything, an optimist about what his country might be. Yet the visitor, if he is to make an honest report, must also note the air of unease that hangs everywhere.
For the traveler, as travelers have been always, is as much questioned as questioning. And for all the abundance he sees, he finds the questions put to him ask where men may repair for succor from the troubles that beset them.
His countrymen cannot forget the savage face of war. Too often they have been asked to fight in strange and distant places, for no clear purpose they could see and for no accomplishment they can measure.
Their spirits are not quieted by the thought that the good and pleasant bounty that surrounds them can be destroyed in an instant by a single bomb. Yet they find no escape, for their survival and comfort now depend on unpredictable strangers in far-off corners of the globe.
How can they turn from melancholy when at home they see young arrayed against old, black against white, neighbor against neighbor, so that they stand in peril of social discord.
Or not despair when they see that the cities and countryside are in need of repair, yet find themselves threatened by scarcities of the resources that sustain their way of life. Or when, in the face of these challenges, they turn for leadership to men in high places—only to find those men as frail as any others.
So sometimes the traveler is asked whence will come their succor. What is to preserve their abundance, or even their civility? How can they pass on to their children a nation as strong and free as the one they inherited from their forefathers? How is their country to endure these cruel storms that beset it from without and from within?
Of course the stranger cannot quiet their spirits. For it is true that everywhere men turn their eyes today much of the world has a truly wild and savage hue. No man, if he be truthful, can say that the specter of war is banished. Nor can he say that when men or communities are put upon their own resources they are sure of solace; nor be sure that men of diverse kinds and diverse views can live peaceably together in a time of troubles.
But we can all remind ourselves that the richness of this country was not born in the resources of the earth, though they be plentiful, but in the men that took its measure. For that reminder is everywhere—in the cities, towns, farms, roads, factories, homes, hospitals, schools that spread everywhere over that wilderness.
We can remind ourselves that for all our social discord we yet remain the longest enduring society of free men governing themselves without benefit of kings or dictators. Being so, we are the marvel and the mystery of the world, for that enduring liberty is no less a blessing than the abundance of the earth.
And we might remind ourselves also, that if those men setting out from Delftshaven had been daunted by the troubles they saw around them, then we could not this autumn be thankful for a fair land.
The Desolate Wilderness
So they left that goodly and pleasant city of Leyden, which had been their resting-place for above eleven years, but they knew that they were pilgrims and strangers here below, and looked not much on these things, but lifted up their eyes to Heaven, their dearest country, where God hath prepared for them a city (Heb. XI, 16), and therein quieted their spirits.
When they came to Delfs-Haven they found the ship and all things ready, and such of their friends as could not come with them followed after them, and sundry came from Amsterdam to see them shipt, and to take their leave of them. One night was spent with little sleep with the most, but with friendly entertainment and Christian discourse, and other real expressions of true Christian love.
The next day they went on board, and their friends with them, where truly doleful was the sight of that sad and mournful parting, to hear what sighs and sobs and prayers did sound amongst them; what tears did gush from every eye, and pithy speeches pierced each other’s heart, that sundry of the Dutch strangers that stood on the Key as spectators could not refrain from tears.
But the tide (which stays for no man) calling them away, that were thus loath to depart, their Reverend Pastor, falling down on his knees, and they all with him, with watery cheeks commended them with the most fervent prayers unto the Lord and His blessing; and then with mutual embraces and many tears they took their leaves one of another, which proved to be the last leave to many of them.
Being now passed the vast ocean, and a sea of troubles before them in expectations, they had now no friends to welcome them, no inns to entertain or refresh them, no houses, or much less towns, to repair unto to seek for succour; and for the season it was winter, and they that know the winters of the country know them to be sharp and violent, subject to cruel and fierce storms, dangerous to travel to known places, much more to search unknown coasts.
Besides, what could they see but a hideous and desolate wilderness, full of wilde beasts and wilde men? and what multitudes of them there were, they then knew not: for which way soever they turned their eyes (save upward to Heaven) they could have but little solace or content in respect of any outward object; for summer being ended, all things stand in appearance with a weatherbeaten face, and the whole country, full of woods and thickets, represented a wild and savage hew.
If they looked behind them, there was a mighty ocean which they had passed, and was now as a main bar or gulph to separate them from all the civil parts of the world.
And the fair land
Any one whose labors take him into the far reaches of the country, as ours lately have done, is bound to mark how the years have made the land grow fruitful.
This is indeed a big country, a rich country, in a way no array of figures can measure and so in a way past belief of those who have not seen it. Even those who journey through its Northeastern complex, into the Southern lands, across the central plains and to its Western slopes can only glimpse a measure of the bounty of America.
And a traveler cannot but be struck on his journey by the thought that this country, one day, can be even greater. America, though many know it not, is one of the great underdeveloped countries of the world; what it reaches for exceeds by far what it has grasped.
So the visitor returns thankful for much of what he has seen, and, in spite of everything, an optimist about what his country might be. Yet the visitor, if he is to make an honest report, must also note the air of unease that hangs everywhere.
For the traveler, as travelers have been always, is as much questioned as questioning. And for all the abundance he sees, he finds the questions put to him ask where men may repair for succor from the troubles that beset them.
His countrymen cannot forget the savage face of war. Too often they have been asked to fight in strange and distant places, for no clear purpose they could see and for no accomplishment they can measure.
Their spirits are not quieted by the thought that the good and pleasant bounty that surrounds them can be destroyed in an instant by a single bomb. Yet they find no escape, for their survival and comfort now depend on unpredictable strangers in far-off corners of the globe.
How can they turn from melancholy when at home they see young arrayed against old, black against white, neighbor against neighbor, so that they stand in peril of social discord.
Or not despair when they see that the cities and countryside are in need of repair, yet find themselves threatened by scarcities of the resources that sustain their way of life. Or when, in the face of these challenges, they turn for leadership to men in high places—only to find those men as frail as any others.
So sometimes the traveler is asked whence will come their succor. What is to preserve their abundance, or even their civility? How can they pass on to their children a nation as strong and free as the one they inherited from their forefathers? How is their country to endure these cruel storms that beset it from without and from within?
Of course the stranger cannot quiet their spirits. For it is true that everywhere men turn their eyes today much of the world has a truly wild and savage hue. No man, if he be truthful, can say that the specter of war is banished. Nor can he say that when men or communities are put upon their own resources they are sure of solace; nor be sure that men of diverse kinds and diverse views can live peaceably together in a time of troubles.
But we can all remind ourselves that the richness of this country was not born in the resources of the earth, though they be plentiful, but in the men that took its measure. For that reminder is everywhere—in the cities, towns, farms, roads, factories, homes, hospitals, schools that spread everywhere over that wilderness.
We can remind ourselves that for all our social discord we yet remain the longest enduring society of free men governing themselves without benefit of kings or dictators. Being so, we are the marvel and the mystery of the world, for that enduring liberty is no less a blessing than the abundance of the earth.
And we might remind ourselves also, that if those men setting out from Delftshaven had been daunted by the troubles they saw around them, then we could not this autumn be thankful for a fair land.
Around the world in eighty days
"Certainly," returned Ralph. "I agree with Mr. Fogg. The world has grown smaller, since a man can now go round it ten times more quickly than a hundred years ago.
And that is why the search for this thief will be more likely to succeed."
"And also why the thief can get away more easily."
"Be so good as to play, Mr. Stuart," said Phileas Fogg.
But the incredulous Stuart was not convinced, and when the hand was finished, said eagerly: "You have a strange way, Ralph, of proving that the world has grown smaller.
So, because you can go round it in three months-"
"In eighty days," interrupted Phileas Fogg.
"That is true, gentlemen," added John Sullivan.
"Only eighty days, now that the section between Rothal and Alla-habad, on the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, has been opened. Here is the estimate made by the Daily Telegraph:
From London to Suez via Mont Cenis and
Brindisi, by rail and steamboats 7 days
From Suez to Bombay, by steamer
13
From Bombay to Calcutta, by rail
.............. 3 "
From Calcutta to Hong Kong, by steamer . . ...
13
From Hong Kong to Yokohama (Japan), by steamer
From Yokohama to San Francisco, by steamer ... ......
22
From San Francisco to New York, by rail
.. 7 "
From New York to London, by steamer and rail
. 9
Total
80 days."
"Yes, in eighty days!" exclaimed Stuart, who in his excitement made a false deal. "But that doesn't take into account bad weather, contrary winds, shipwrecks, railway acci-dents, and so on."
"All included.," returned Phileas Fogg, continuing to play despite the discussion.
"But suppose the Hindoos or Indians pull up the rails," replied Stuart; "suppose they stop the trains, pillage the luggage-vans, and scalp the passengers!"
"All included," calmly retorted Fogg; adding, as he threw down the cards, "Two trumps."
Stuart, whose turn it was to deal, gathered them up, and went on: "You are right, theoretically, Mr. Fogg, but practically -
"Practically also, Mr. Stuart."
"I'd like to see you do it in eighty days."
"It depends on you. Shall we go?"
"Heaven preserve me! But I would wager four thousand pounds that such a journey, made under these conditions, is impossible."
"Quite possible, on the contrary," returned Mr. Fogg.
"Well, make it, then!"
"The journey round the world in eighty days?"
"Yes."
"I should like nothing better."
"When?"
"At once. Only I warn you that I shall do it at your
expense."
"It's absurd!" cried Stuart, who was beginning to be annoyed at the persistency of his friend. "Come, let's go on with the game."
"Certainly," returned Ralph. "I agree with Mr. Fogg. The world has grown smaller, since a man can now go round it ten times more quickly than a hundred years ago.
And that is why the search for this thief will be more likely to succeed."
"And also why the thief can get away more easily."
"Be so good as to play, Mr. Stuart," said Phileas Fogg.
But the incredulous Stuart was not convinced, and when the hand was finished, said eagerly: "You have a strange way, Ralph, of proving that the world has grown smaller.
So, because you can go round it in three months-"
"In eighty days," interrupted Phileas Fogg.
"That is true, gentlemen," added John Sullivan.
"Only eighty days, now that the section between Rothal and Alla-habad, on the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, has been opened. Here is the estimate made by the Daily Telegraph:
From London to Suez via Mont Cenis and
Brindisi, by rail and steamboats 7 days
From Suez to Bombay, by steamer
13
From Bombay to Calcutta, by rail
.............. 3 "
From Calcutta to Hong Kong, by steamer . . ...
13
From Hong Kong to Yokohama (Japan), by steamer
From Yokohama to San Francisco, by steamer ... ......
22
From San Francisco to New York, by rail
.. 7 "
From New York to London, by steamer and rail
. 9
Total
80 days."
"Yes, in eighty days!" exclaimed Stuart, who in his excitement made a false deal. "But that doesn't take into account bad weather, contrary winds, shipwrecks, railway acci-dents, and so on."
"All included.," returned Phileas Fogg, continuing to play despite the discussion.
"But suppose the Hindoos or Indians pull up the rails," replied Stuart; "suppose they stop the trains, pillage the luggage-vans, and scalp the passengers!"
"All included," calmly retorted Fogg; adding, as he threw down the cards, "Two trumps."
Stuart, whose turn it was to deal, gathered them up, and went on: "You are right, theoretically, Mr. Fogg, but practically -
"Practically also, Mr. Stuart."
"I'd like to see you do it in eighty days."
"It depends on you. Shall we go?"
"Heaven preserve me! But I would wager four thousand pounds that such a journey, made under these conditions, is impossible."
"Quite possible, on the contrary," returned Mr. Fogg.
"Well, make it, then!"
"The journey round the world in eighty days?"
"Yes."
"I should like nothing better."
"When?"
"At once. Only I warn you that I shall do it at your
expense."
"It's absurd!" cried Stuart, who was beginning to be annoyed at the persistency of his friend. "Come, let's go on with the game."
JF Kennedy Inauguration speech
In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty.
The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.
Now the trumpet summons us again--not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need--not as a call to battle, though embattled we are-- but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation"--a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself.
Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility--I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation.
The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it--and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you.
With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.
In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty.
The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.
Now the trumpet summons us again--not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need--not as a call to battle, though embattled we are-- but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation"--a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself.
Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility--I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation.
The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it--and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you.
With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.
Any given Sunday
I don’t know what to say, really. Three minutes till the biggest battle of our professional lives all comes down to today.
Now either we heal as a team or we’re gonna crumble, inch by inch, play by play, 'til we’re finished.
We’re in hell right now, gentlemen, believe me. And, we can stay here -- get the shit kicked out of us -- or we can fight our way back into the light. We can climb outta hell one inch at a time.
Now, I can’t do it for you. I’m too old. I look around. I see these young faces, and I think -- I mean -- I made every wrong choice a middle-aged man can make. I, uh, I pissed away all my money, believe it or not. I chased off anyone who’s ever loved me. And lately, I can’t even stand the face I see in the mirror.
You know, when you get old in life things get taken from you. I mean that's...part of life. But, you only learn that when you start losing stuff.
You find out life’s this game of inches. So is football. Because in either game, life or football, the margin for error is so small -- I mean one-half a step too late, or too early, and you don’t quite make it. One-half second too slow, too fast, you don’t quite catch it.
The inches we need are everywhere around us. They’re in every break of the game, every minute, every second.
On this team, we fight for that inch. On this team, we tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces for that inch.
We claw with our fingernails for that inch, because we know when we add up all those inches that’s gonna make the difference between winning and losing! Between livin' and dyin'!
I’ll tell you this: In any fight, it’s the guy who’s willing to die who’s gonna win that inch. And I know if I’m gonna have any life anymore, it’s because I’m still willin' to fight and die for that inch.
Because that’s what livin' is! The six inches in front of your face!!
Now I can’t make you do it. You got to look at the guy next to you. Look into his eyes! Now I think you’re gonna see a guy who will go that inch with you.
You're gonna see a guy who will sacrifice himself for this team because he knows, when it comes down to it, you’re gonna do the same for him!
That’s a team, gentleman!
And, either we heal, now, as a team, or we will die as individuals.
That’s football guys.
That's all it is.
Now what are you gonna do?
I don’t know what to say, really. Three minutes till the biggest battle of our professional lives all comes down to today.
Now either we heal as a team or we’re gonna crumble, inch by inch, play by play, 'til we’re finished.
We’re in hell right now, gentlemen, believe me. And, we can stay here -- get the shit kicked out of us -- or we can fight our way back into the light. We can climb outta hell one inch at a time.
Now, I can’t do it for you. I’m too old. I look around. I see these young faces, and I think -- I mean -- I made every wrong choice a middle-aged man can make. I, uh, I pissed away all my money, believe it or not. I chased off anyone who’s ever loved me. And lately, I can’t even stand the face I see in the mirror.
You know, when you get old in life things get taken from you. I mean that's...part of life. But, you only learn that when you start losing stuff.
You find out life’s this game of inches. So is football. Because in either game, life or football, the margin for error is so small -- I mean one-half a step too late, or too early, and you don’t quite make it. One-half second too slow, too fast, you don’t quite catch it.
The inches we need are everywhere around us. They’re in every break of the game, every minute, every second.
On this team, we fight for that inch. On this team, we tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces for that inch.
We claw with our fingernails for that inch, because we know when we add up all those inches that’s gonna make the difference between winning and losing! Between livin' and dyin'!
I’ll tell you this: In any fight, it’s the guy who’s willing to die who’s gonna win that inch. And I know if I’m gonna have any life anymore, it’s because I’m still willin' to fight and die for that inch.
Because that’s what livin' is! The six inches in front of your face!!
Now I can’t make you do it. You got to look at the guy next to you. Look into his eyes! Now I think you’re gonna see a guy who will go that inch with you.
You're gonna see a guy who will sacrifice himself for this team because he knows, when it comes down to it, you’re gonna do the same for him!
That’s a team, gentleman!
And, either we heal, now, as a team, or we will die as individuals.
That’s football guys.
That's all it is.
Now what are you gonna do?
King Henry V, William Shakespeare
What’s he that wishes so?
My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin: If we are mark’d to die, we are enough To do our country loss; and if to live, The fewer men, the greater share of honour. God’s will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host, That he which hath no stomach to this fight, Let him depart; his passport shall be made
And crowns for convoy put into his purse: We would not die in that man’s company That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is called the feast of Crispian: He that outlives this day, and comes safe home, Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named, And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age, Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours, And say ‘To-morrow is Saint Crispian:’ Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars. And say ‘These wounds I had on Crispin’s day.’
Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot, But he’ll remember with advantages What feats he did that day: then shall our names. Familiar in his mouth as household words Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter, Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester, Be in their flowing cups freshly remember’d.
This story shall the good man teach his son; And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by, From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be remember’d;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile, This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed Shall think themselves accursed they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap while any speaks That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.
Gettysburg address, Abraham Lincoln
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war.
We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.
It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground.
The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.
The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.
It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion --
that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom --
and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
World War 2, Winston Churchill
I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once more able to defend our island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone.
At any rate, that is what we are going to try to do. That is the resolve of His Majesty's Government – every man of them. That is the will of Parliament and the nation.
The British Empire and the French Republic, linked together in their cause and in their need, will defend to the death their native soil, aiding each other like good comrades to the utmost of their strength.
Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail.
We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.
And even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.[8]
Cold War, John F Kennedy Inauguration
In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty.
The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.
Now the trumpet summons us again--not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need--not as a call to battle, though embattled we are-- but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation"--a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself.
Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility--I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation.
The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it--and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us hear the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you.
With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.
What’s he that wishes so?
My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin: If we are mark’d to die, we are enough To do our country loss; and if to live, The fewer men, the greater share of honour. God’s will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host, That he which hath no stomach to this fight, Let him depart; his passport shall be made
And crowns for convoy put into his purse: We would not die in that man’s company That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is called the feast of Crispian: He that outlives this day, and comes safe home, Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named, And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age, Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours, And say ‘To-morrow is Saint Crispian:’ Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars. And say ‘These wounds I had on Crispin’s day.’
Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot, But he’ll remember with advantages What feats he did that day: then shall our names. Familiar in his mouth as household words Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter, Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester, Be in their flowing cups freshly remember’d.
This story shall the good man teach his son; And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by, From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be remember’d;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile, This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed Shall think themselves accursed they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap while any speaks That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.
Gettysburg address, Abraham Lincoln
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war.
We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.
It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground.
The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.
The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.
It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion --
that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom --
and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
World War 2, Winston Churchill
I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once more able to defend our island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone.
At any rate, that is what we are going to try to do. That is the resolve of His Majesty's Government – every man of them. That is the will of Parliament and the nation.
The British Empire and the French Republic, linked together in their cause and in their need, will defend to the death their native soil, aiding each other like good comrades to the utmost of their strength.
Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail.
We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.
And even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.[8]
Cold War, John F Kennedy Inauguration
In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty.
The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.
Now the trumpet summons us again--not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need--not as a call to battle, though embattled we are-- but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation"--a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself.
Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility--I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation.
The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it--and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us hear the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you.
With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.
Alice’s adventures in wonderland
I returned from the City about three o'clock on that May afternoon pretty well disgusted with life.
I had been three months in the Old Country, and was fed up with it.
If anyone had told me a year ago that I would have been feeling like that I should have laughed at him; but there was the fact.
The weather made me liverish, the talk of the ordinary Englishman made me sick.
I couldn't get enough exercise, and the amusements of London seemed as flat as soda-water that has been standing in the sun.
'Richard Hannay,' I kept telling myself, 'you have got into the wrong ditch, my friend, and you had better climb out.'
It made me bite my lips to think of the plans I had been building up those last years in Bulawayo.
I had got my pile not one of the big ones, but good enough for me; and I had figured out all kinds of ways of enjoying myself.
My father had brought me out from Scotland at the age of six, and I had never been home since; so England was a sort of Arabian Nights to me, and I counted on stopping there for the rest of my days.
But from the first I was disappointed with it. In about a week I was tired of seeing sights, and in less than a month I had had enough of restaurants and theatres and race-meetings.
I had no real pal to go about with, which probably explains things. Plenty of people invited me to their houses, but they didn't seem much interested in me.
They would fling me a question or two about South Africa, and then get on their own affairs.
A lot of Imperialist ladies asked me to tea to meet schoolmasters from New Zealand and editors from Vancouver, and that was the dismalest business of all.
Here was I, thirty-seven years old, sound in wind and limb, with enough money to have a good time, yawning my head off all day.
I had just about settled to clear out and get back to the veld, for I was the best bored man in the United Kingdom.
I had been three months in the Old Country, and was fed up with it.
If anyone had told me a year ago that I would have been feeling like that I should have laughed at him; but there was the fact.
The weather made me liverish, the talk of the ordinary Englishman made me sick.
I couldn't get enough exercise, and the amusements of London seemed as flat as soda-water that has been standing in the sun.
'Richard Hannay,' I kept telling myself, 'you have got into the wrong ditch, my friend, and you had better climb out.'
It made me bite my lips to think of the plans I had been building up those last years in Bulawayo.
I had got my pile not one of the big ones, but good enough for me; and I had figured out all kinds of ways of enjoying myself.
My father had brought me out from Scotland at the age of six, and I had never been home since; so England was a sort of Arabian Nights to me, and I counted on stopping there for the rest of my days.
But from the first I was disappointed with it. In about a week I was tired of seeing sights, and in less than a month I had had enough of restaurants and theatres and race-meetings.
I had no real pal to go about with, which probably explains things. Plenty of people invited me to their houses, but they didn't seem much interested in me.
They would fling me a question or two about South Africa, and then get on their own affairs.
A lot of Imperialist ladies asked me to tea to meet schoolmasters from New Zealand and editors from Vancouver, and that was the dismalest business of all.
Here was I, thirty-seven years old, sound in wind and limb, with enough money to have a good time, yawning my head off all day.
I had just about settled to clear out and get back to the veld, for I was the best bored man in the United Kingdom.
Alice was beginning to get
very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do:
once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it,
'and what is the use of a book, thought Alice 'without pictures or conversation?'
So she was considering in her own mind (as well as she could, for the hot day made her feel very sleepy and stupid),
whether the pleasure of making a daisy-chain would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking the daisies,
when suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her.
There was nothing so VERY remarkable in that; nor did Alice think it so VERY much out of the way to hear the Rabbit say to itself,
'Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!' (when she thought it over afterwards, it occurred to her that she ought to have wondered at this,
but at the time it all seemed quite natural); but when the Rabbit actually
TOOK A WATCH OUT OF ITS WAISTCOAT-POCKET, and looked at it,
and then hurried on, Alice started to her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it,
and burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it, and fortunately was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge.
In another moment down went
Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again.
very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do:
once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it,
'and what is the use of a book, thought Alice 'without pictures or conversation?'
So she was considering in her own mind (as well as she could, for the hot day made her feel very sleepy and stupid),
whether the pleasure of making a daisy-chain would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking the daisies,
when suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her.
There was nothing so VERY remarkable in that; nor did Alice think it so VERY much out of the way to hear the Rabbit say to itself,
'Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!' (when she thought it over afterwards, it occurred to her that she ought to have wondered at this,
but at the time it all seemed quite natural); but when the Rabbit actually
TOOK A WATCH OUT OF ITS WAISTCOAT-POCKET, and looked at it,
and then hurried on, Alice started to her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it,
and burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it, and fortunately was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge.
In another moment down went
Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again.
Alex Ferguson Autobiography
Nearly three decades before this moment, I had walked through that tunnel and onto the pitch for my first home game, feeling nervous and exposed.
I had waved to the Stretford End and been introduced from the centre circle as Manchester United's new manager.
Now, I strode onto the same pitch, full of confidence, to say goodbye.
The control I was able to exert over
Manchester United was a privilege few managers will be lucky enough to know.
However sure I felt of my abilities on the move south from Aberdeen in the autumn of 1986, there could have been no way of knowing it would turn out this well.
After the farewell in May 2013, winning that FA Cup third-round tie against Nottingham Forest in January 1990, in which a Mark Robins goal sent us on our way to the final….
… was when my job was supposedly on the line; going through a whole month without winning a game, which gnawed away at my confidence.
Without the FA Cup victory over
Crystal Palace nearly four years after my arrival, grave doubts would have been raised about my suitability for the job.
We will never know how close I was to being sacked, because the decision was never forced on the United board. But without that triumph at Wembley, the crowds would have shrivelled. Disaffection might have swept the club.
Bobby Charlton would have opposed any move to dismiss me. He knew the work I was doing, the ground we were making up on the youth development side, the graft I was putting in, the hours I spent reforming the football operation.
The chairman Martin Edwards knew it too, and it reflects well on those two men that they had the courage to stick by me in those dark days.
Martin would have received plenty of angry letters demanding that I be cast aside.
Winning the 1990 FA Cup allowed us breathing space and deepened my sense that this was a wonderful club with which to win trophies.
To win the FA Cup at Wembley made the good times roll. But on the morning after our victory, one newspaper declared:
'OK, you've proved you can win the FA Cup, now go back to Scotland.' I never forgot that.
I had waved to the Stretford End and been introduced from the centre circle as Manchester United's new manager.
Now, I strode onto the same pitch, full of confidence, to say goodbye.
The control I was able to exert over
Manchester United was a privilege few managers will be lucky enough to know.
However sure I felt of my abilities on the move south from Aberdeen in the autumn of 1986, there could have been no way of knowing it would turn out this well.
After the farewell in May 2013, winning that FA Cup third-round tie against Nottingham Forest in January 1990, in which a Mark Robins goal sent us on our way to the final….
… was when my job was supposedly on the line; going through a whole month without winning a game, which gnawed away at my confidence.
Without the FA Cup victory over
Crystal Palace nearly four years after my arrival, grave doubts would have been raised about my suitability for the job.
We will never know how close I was to being sacked, because the decision was never forced on the United board. But without that triumph at Wembley, the crowds would have shrivelled. Disaffection might have swept the club.
Bobby Charlton would have opposed any move to dismiss me. He knew the work I was doing, the ground we were making up on the youth development side, the graft I was putting in, the hours I spent reforming the football operation.
The chairman Martin Edwards knew it too, and it reflects well on those two men that they had the courage to stick by me in those dark days.
Martin would have received plenty of angry letters demanding that I be cast aside.
Winning the 1990 FA Cup allowed us breathing space and deepened my sense that this was a wonderful club with which to win trophies.
To win the FA Cup at Wembley made the good times roll. But on the morning after our victory, one newspaper declared:
'OK, you've proved you can win the FA Cup, now go back to Scotland.' I never forgot that.
Peter Pan
“All children, except one, grow up. They soon know that they will grow up, and the way Wendy knew was this. One day when she was two years old she was playing in a garden, and she plucked another flower and ran with it to her mother. I suppose she must have looked rather delightful, for Mrs. Darling put her hand to her heart and cried, "Oh, why can't you remain like this for ever!" This was all that passed between them on the subject, but henceforth Wendy knew that she must grow up. You always know after you are two. Two is the beginning of the end.”
Peter Pan
James Matthew Barrie
Telll us a story from when you were young
“All children, except one, grow up. They soon know that they will grow up, and the way Wendy knew was this. One day when she was two years old she was playing in a garden, and she plucked another flower and ran with it to her mother. I suppose she must have looked rather delightful, for Mrs. Darling put her hand to her heart and cried, "Oh, why can't you remain like this for ever!" This was all that passed between them on the subject, but henceforth Wendy knew that she must grow up. You always know after you are two. Two is the beginning of the end.”
Peter Pan
James Matthew Barrie
Telll us a story from when you were young
If by Rudyard Kipling
“ If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!
If by Rudyard Kipling
Tell us a lesson you learnt about life
“ If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!
If by Rudyard Kipling
Tell us a lesson you learnt about life
A Tale Of Two Cities
By Charles Dickens
It was the best of times,
It was the worst of times,
it was the age of wisdom,
it was the age of foolishness,
it was the epoch of belief,
it was the epoch of incredulity,
it was the season of Light,
it was the season of Darkness,
it was the spring of hope,
it was the winter of despair,
we had everything before us,
we had nothing before us,
we were all going direct to Heaven,
we were all going direct the other way
— in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
There were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a plain face, on the throne of England;
there were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a fair face, on the throne of France.
In both countries it was clearer than crystal to the lords of the State preserves of loaves and fishes, that things in general were settled for ever.
It was the year of Our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five. ”
By Charles Dickens
It was the best of times,
It was the worst of times,
it was the age of wisdom,
it was the age of foolishness,
it was the epoch of belief,
it was the epoch of incredulity,
it was the season of Light,
it was the season of Darkness,
it was the spring of hope,
it was the winter of despair,
we had everything before us,
we had nothing before us,
we were all going direct to Heaven,
we were all going direct the other way
— in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
There were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a plain face, on the throne of England;
there were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a fair face, on the throne of France.
In both countries it was clearer than crystal to the lords of the State preserves of loaves and fishes, that things in general were settled for ever.
It was the year of Our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five. ”