Learning English can be fun!

Hi! I created this blog because I want to help people who wish to learn English in a relaxed and fun way. In this blog we can also share ideas, experiences about teaching/learning English and everyone is welcome to make suggestions.

Bye

sexta-feira, 5 de fevereiro de 2010

Our Mother, the Earth



Read the following poem written by an unknown Native American poet.

My Grandfather Is The Fire

My grandfather is the fire
My grandmother is the wind.
The Earth is my mother
The Great Spirit is my father
The World stopped at my birth
and laid itself at my feet
And I shall swallow the Earth whole when I die
and the Earth and I will be one
Hail The Great Spirit, my father
without him no one could exist
because there would be no will to live
Hail The Earth, my mother
without which no food could be grown
and so cause the will to live to starve
Hail the wind, my grandmother
for she brings loving, life-giving rain
nourishing us as she nourishes our crops
Hail the fire, my grandfather
for the light, the warmth, the comfort he brings
without which we be animals, not men
Hail my parent and grandparents
without which
not I
nor you
nor anyone else
could have existed
Life gives life
which gives unto itself
a promise of new life
Hail the Great Spirit, The Earth, the wind, the fire
praise my parents loudly
for they are your parents, too
Oh, Great Spirit, giver of my life
please accept this humble offering of prayer
this offering of praise
this honest reverence of my love for you.



Now, compare the poet's devotion to Mother Nature with the way white people have disrespected the environment throughout the years. Who are the "civilised" people after all?


If you want to read other beautiful Native American poems, here's the link:
http://opossumsal.homestead.com/nap.html

segunda-feira, 1 de fevereiro de 2010

Complete the lyrics of the song "Earth Song"

While you listen to the song "Earth Song" by Michael Jackson, complete the lyrics below with the given words. The song is very long but really worth listening...



What about ____________________
What about rain
What about all the things
That you said we were to gain.. .
What about killing fields
Is there a ____________________
What about all the things
That you said was yours and mine...
Did you ever stop to notice
All the ____________________ we've shed before
Did you ever stop to notice
The crying Earth the weeping shores?

What have we done to the ____________________
Look what we've done
What about all the ____________________
That you pledge your only son...
What about flowering fields
Is there a time
What about all the ____________________
That you said was yours and mine...
Did you ever stop to notice
All the children dead from ____________________
Did you ever stop to notice
The crying Earth the weeping shores

I used to dream
I used to ____________________ beyond the stars
Now I don't know where we are
Although I know we've drifted far

Hey, what about ____________________ (What about us)
What about the seas (What about us)
The heavens are falling down (What about us)
I can't even ____________________ (What about us)
What about the bleeding ____________________ (what about us)

Can't we feel its wounds (What about us)
What about nature's worth
It's our planet's womb (What about us)
What about ____________________
We've turned kingdoms to dust (what about us)
What about elephants (What about us)
Have we lost their trust (What about us)
What about ____________________ whales (what about us)
We're ravaging the seas (What about us)
What about forest trails
____________________ despite our pleas (What about us)
What about the holy land (What about it)
Torn apart by creed
(What about us)
What about the common man (what about us)
Can't we set him free (what about us)
What about children _______________________ (what about us)
Can't you hear them cry (what about us)
Where did we go wrong
Someone tell me why (What about us)
What about babies (what about it)
What about the days (what about us)
What about all their _____________________ (what about us)
What about the man (What about us)
What about the crying man (What about us)
What about Abraham (What about us)
What about death again
Do we give a damn



DYING / ANIMALS / JOY / BURNT / DREAMS / PEACE / WAR / YESTERDAY

SUNRISE / EARTH / WORLD / GLANCE / CRYING / BREED / TIME / BLOOD


Earth song

Let's talk about something really serious now... Environmental problems.It's time to STOP and THINK about the problems that affect the life of all beings on Earth.
Watch this fabulous videoclip of the song "Earth song" by Michael Jackson. Pay attention to the images and to the lyrics of the song and think about what Jackson says: "What have we done to the world?"

The United Kingdom - quiz



Find information about the country "United Kingdom". You can search for information in an on-line encyclopedia, for example Wikipedia. Here is the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/



Choose the correct option.

1. What is the name of the Queen?

a) Queen Ann b) Queen Elizabeth c) Queen Victoria



2. What is the name of the flag of the United Kingdom?
a) Union Jack b) Stars and Stripes c) Blue and Red


3. What colour are the taxis in London?
a) black b) yellow c) green

4. What's the capital of the United Kingdom?
a) Washington D.C. b) Paris c) London

5. What is the name of the British currency?
a) dollar b) Euro c) Pound



6. What's the official residence of the Royal Family in London?
a) White House b) Houses of Parliament c) Buckingham Palace




7. What is the name of the famous clock on the left?
a) Big Ben b) Small Ben c) Big Jack




8. The countries that make part of the United kingdom are...
a) England and Scotland b) England and Wales c) England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland