2nd Year

 


   Halloween traditions date back to the Celts. 2000 years ago, on November 1st, the Celts celebrated the start of winter and the new year.
    The last night of October was special. It was called Samhain (end of Summer). They celebrated a big party, with lots of food, bonfires, dancing and singing. It was a goodbye party for the sun and the light; in Winter the days were cold and short. 


 But it was also a party for the dead. Celts believed that on Halloween night ghost could come back. On that night, the travellers carried scary vegetable lamps (Jack o'lanterns) to frighten bad spirits.





   In year 835 the Christian church made November 1st a church holiday to honor all the saints. This day was called "All Saints' Day". 
   The Halloween celebrated today in the USA and other countries includes the influence of the Celt celebration of Samhain (black cats, magic, bad spirits, ...) and the Christian celebration of All Saints'(ghosts, skeletons, ...)

 

 Do you want to know more about PUMPKINS?

Welcome back to school!

A new school year has started. This year we will learn a lot of things together. This space is intended for sharing all the things we do in class and suggesting things you can do to improve your English. Let´s start...




Amar (All Great Achievements Require Time)




WHO IS THE MOST TYPICAL PERSON IN THE WORLD?

Right now, the most typical person in the world is a male, right handed person of Chinese descent.  There are nine million people who match that description, more than any other on the planet. He is 28 years old and has a cell phone but does not have a bank account.
That will change in a few years, as the Indian population will pass China. 


We are already 7 billion people on our planet 

The population of our planet will reach 7 billion people this year. National Geographic created this fantastic video outlining some key facts about what 7 billion people mean to the world. Here are some highlights:
  • 5 people are born every second and 2 people die.
  • In 1800, the world’s population was 1 billion.
  • In 2010, the average person lived 69 years. In 1960 it was 53.
  • In 2008, more of us lived in cities than rural areas for the first time ever.
  • In 1975, there were 3 cities with a population greater than 10 million. Now there are 21.
  • 5% of us consume, 23% of the world’s energy. 
  • 13% of us don’t have clean drinking water.



 Do you want to know how things are right now? click here and you will see.

 7 billion is a big number!

  • By the way...did you know that when we say 7 billion in English it really means 7 thousand million (7,000,000,000)?

Let´s practice big numbers!

 

 

READ THIS ARTICLE ON HOW WE READ BIG NUMBERS:


Writing and Saying Large Numbers
We don't normally write numbers with words, but it's possible
to do this--and of course this will show how we say the numbers.
In writing large numbers, American English uses a comma (,)
to separate thousands, millions, etc. American English also uses
a hyphen (-) to separate "tens" words (twenty, fifty, etc.) and
"ones" words (one, three, six, etc.)
Examples:
Group 1
written

said
1,011

one thousand eleven



21,011

twenty-one thousand eleven



721,011

seven hundred twenty-one
thousand eleven
Group 2
written

said
1,256,721

one million two hundred fifty-six
thousand seven hundred twenty-one



31,256,721

thirty-one million two hundred
fifty-six thousand seven hundred
twenty-one



631,256,721

six hundred thirty-one million
two hundred fifty-six thousand
seven hundred twenty-one
 Group 3
written

said
1,492,638,526

one billion four hundred ninety-two
million six hundred thirty-eight
thousand five hundred twenty-six



41,492,638,526

forty-one billion four hundred
ninety-two million six hundred
thirty-eight thousand five hundred
twenty-six



941,492,638,526

nine hundred forty-one billion
four hundred ninety-two million
six hundred thirty-eight thousand
five hundred twenty-six
_________________________________________________
 Special Notes:
1.

In American English, the order of large numbers is
thousand, million, billion, trillion, etc. (1,000; 1,000,000;
1,000,000,000; 1,000,000,000,000; etc.)
In American English a thousand million is a billion.
British English has now adopted the American figure,
so that a billion equals a thousand million in both varieties of English.

2.

When saying large numbers, do not make thousand,
million, billion, trillion, etc. plural.
Not this:
*twenty thousands dollars; *five millions people
But this:
twenty thousand dollars; five million people



3.

In American English, use commas to separate
thousands, millions, etc.
Not this:
21.011
31.256.721
941.492.638.526
But this:
21,011
31,256,721
941,492,638,526



4.

People often say "a" instead of "one" before
hundred, thousand, etc. and they often add
"and" before the last number:
a hundred and twenty-one
a thousand and eleven / etc.





Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)