CONFESSIONS OF A LATIN TEACHER, PART III

Source: Speak Up
Language level: Upper Intermediate
Standard: British accent
Speaker: Justin Ratcliffe

CONFESSION OF A LATIN TEACHER PART III BY WILLIAM SUTTON

The title of Peter Jone’s book, Vote for Caesar: How the Ancient Greeks and Romans Solved the Problems of Today, is self-explanatory. He believes that, if we study the Greeks and Romans, we can be great like them. Greek and Latin are often cited as the best languages: they are more complete and accurate than modern languages. The claims are nonsense. The Romans and Greeks had as many problems as we do. They were greedy, genocidal and cruel to animal. Perhaps that is why we like them: their errors, as well as their achievements, are familiar.

This month and next, we consider 10 unpleasant Latin legacies.

1.   EXPLOITATION

Empires come and go, but it was the Romans who developed the systematic exploitation of colonies. Their phenomenal military machine enslaves natives, extracted resources and generated taxes. The Romans gained luxuries, cheap food, wine, bathing and sanitation. Slaves provided labour, skills and entertainment (gladiatorial and sexual).

This model of empire led to European colonisation; the slave trade; exploitation of Americas; the US cotton industry and the industrial Revolution.

2.   ECO-WARRIORS

At the opening of the Colosseum, 5.000 animals were killed. In on hunting spectacle, they massacred hundred of lions, leopards and bears and thousands of ostriches, deer and wild boars. The pushed animals towards extinction. There are no elephants and lions in North Africa; there is no Syrian elephant, no Atlas bear and no hippopotamus in the Nile.

The Romans drained lakes and diverted rivers. They spread cities across Europe, causing sanitation problems that still exist today. They gave us the belief that man could dominate the environment – only now the environment is fighting back.

3.   GAMES AND GAMING

The Romans inverted sporting celebrities. We may not allow gladiatorial fights, but today’s boxing and Formula One echo that fatal thrill.

Danger was not enough. The Romans turned Greek sports into gambling extravaganzas. Fortune were won and lost at the Circus Maximus, as in horse racing today. We don’t yet kill people on TV, but Big Brother has something in common with the voyeurism of throwing Christians to the lions.

4.   DEMOCRACY (SORT OF)

The Greeks invented democracy, we are constantly told. We often forget that Athenian democracy was restricted to male citizens. This experiment led to war, plague and the collapse of Athens.

Political hypocrisy never changes. The Emperor Augustus exiled his own daughter Julia for partying and prostitution when he was passing morality laws. Tony Blair suggested fining young men who drink alcohol: a week later, his son Euan was arrested, drunk, in Leicester Square. Silvio Belusconi is mocked for appointing sexy women as ministers; but at least he hasn’t tried to make his horse a consul, like Caligula.

5.   PROGRESS

We want to believe that politics improve, moving towards justice. This is naive. The Romans threw away centuries of popular reform when they accepted emperors. Their dictatorship inspired Hitler and countless others. More Romans ruination next month!

Worksheet, Getting the Message Worldwide (B2)

Before starting the exercise please have a look at the link before http://englishtips-self-taught.blogspot.com/2011/08/getting-message-worldwide.html


Source: Speak Up in Class


Language level: B2

WORKSHEETS

2011

Getting the Message Worldwide (B2)

A – Before you start

Answer the questions with a partner.

1. Do you think it's more important to avoid offending others or to tell the truth? Why?

2. Do you mind if your parents or your teachers criticise you in front of others?  Why (not)?

3. If a friend telephoned you while you were having dinner, would you let your friend know that it was an inconvenient time? If so, how?

4. Would you react in the same way if it was your teacher who phoned you? 

B – Listen and answer

Read these statements. Then listen (without reading) and write T (true) or F (false).

1. The author of the article mentions an episode that took place at a G20 Summit.

2. During a press conference, the President of South Korea got angry when an American journalist asked him a question.

3. In Anglo-Saxon culture you should never make fun of your boss in front of others.

4. Sometimes the same statement can be interpreted in a different way by people of different cultures.

5. In a "low-context" culture, people express themselves in a more explicit way.

6. The USA and the UK are examples of low-context cultures.

7. German and Dutch bosses will probably tell you directly if they don't like what you have done.

 

C – Read and answer

Read the article and answer the questions.

1. What might have happened if President Lee of South Korea had answered the journalist's question?

2. What should you avoid doing if you are a manager in a company in an oriental country?

3. How might an oriental person avoid telling you directly that your proposal has been rejected?

4. What is high-context communication based on?

5. If you ask a British person whether you're ringing at a bad time, what does it probably mean if the reply begins with the words "Well, actually..." ?

6. If you want to avoid misunderstandings with people of different cultures, what should you take into account besides the context of what is said?

D – Learn it! Use it!

Complete these sentences with words from the glossary. (You may have to adapt the expression in some way; e.g. change from plural to singular.)

1. Tom always goes home for his midday _________ .

2. I was having an argument with Sarah over the phone and she _________   _________ .

3. I'm not worried about my test. At the moment it's the least of my _________ .

4. Joe won't understand what you mean unless you _________   _________   _________  to him.

5. Don't worry! You can _________  on me.

6. Do you understand this email from Jane? I can't make any _________ of it.

7. If you treat your employees like that, you'll lose their _________ .

8. When you apply for a new passport, please _________  in _________ that it will take at least a week. 

E – Ready for FCE? (Paper 3: Use of English, Part 3)

Use the word in brackets to form a word that fits in the space given.

1. President Lee's reply was greeted with polite _________ (LAUGH).

2. Lee wanted to avoid making Obama feel _________ (COMFORT).

3. In a British company you can make fun of your boss if you do so _________ (RESPECT).

4. In oriental cultures it is not _________ (PERMIT) for a subordinate to make fun of the boss.

5. Anyone in a _________ (MANAGE) position in China or Korea should avoid criticising the work of an employee in public.

6. People in oriental countries are more careful to avoid offending other people's  _________ (SENSE).

7. A Japanese person would try to avoid telling you directly that your _________ (PROPOSE) 

had been rejected.

8. It's necessary to have an _________ (AWARE) of where the conversation is taking place.

9. If someone refers to a colleague as "good old George", this doesn't necessarily mean George is _________ (TRUST).

10. Effective communication requires a good _________ (KNOW) of the context as well as the language.  

F – Talk about it 

In pairs or groups.

1. Do you think Brazil is a high-context or a low-context society?  Why?

2. Are there any regional differences?

3. If so, can you give any examples?

GETTING THE MESSAGE WORLDWIDE BY RACHEL ROBERTS

Source of the picture: http://www.speakuponline.it

GETTING THE MESSAGE WORLDWIDE BY RACHEL ROBERTS

 Source: http://www.speakup.com.br

Language level: Upper Intermediate B2

Standard: British accent

Speaker: Rachel Roberts

During the recent G20 Summit in South Korea, President Barack Obama and the South Korean President, Lee Myung-Bak, gave a press conference. An American journalist asked President  Lee whether he had any concerns that        “U.S. policy might lead to a flood of “hot” money coming into the Korean economy.” The Korean President smiled and answered: “I think that kind of question should be asked to me when President Obama is not standing right next to me.”There was general polite laughter at this comment, but President Lee was probably not making a joke.

FACE-SAVING

In some cultures, particularly oriental cultures, it is an insult to embarrass someone, or make them “lose face” in public. If President Lee was worried about the possibility of “hot money” pouring into South Korea, he would never have commented on this in public, in case he made Obama feel comfortable and offended him.

You should bear these values in mind if you have to work or communicate with people from oriental cultures. In Anglo Saxon culture it is often permissible for a subordinate to make fun of the boss in public, as long as it’s done respectfully. In oriental cultures it is never permissible, and would be considered deeply offensive. Similarly, if you relocate to a managerial position in China or Korea and an employee does something wrong, you should never point out their mistake in public, unless you want to lose their goodwill forever. Such conversations should always take place in private.

THE JAPANESE FOR NO

This careful attention to protecting sensibilities can make communication difficult, especially if you tend to be more direct. If during a long negotiation with a Japanese company, you ask whether your proposal has been accepted, you would probably feel quite optimistic if your received one of the following replies. “If everything proceeds as planned, the proposal will be approved;” “It’s not easy to answer your question at the moment;” or “You should know quite soon.” In actual fact, these are typical Japanese ways of saying “Sorry there’s no deal!

The writer Edward Hall first used the expressions “high-context” and “low-context” to refer to how much speakers rely on things other than words to communicate meaning. These “other things” can be non-verbal communication, plus an awareness of the context in which the communicating takes place.

BY GEORGE

Here’s an example. If you refer to a work colleague as “good old George,” a “low-context” understanding of these words is that George is a mature colleague, a good man and trustworthy. In other words, you mean exactly what you say. If it is generally understood in the office, however, that George is a complete idiot, the words “good old George” could be taken as a sarcastic comment on the fact that George has done something wrong, yet again. The implication is that he can be relied upon to make a mess of things.

The key words here are “generally understood.” People from high-context cultures (European examples include France and the United Kingdom) often share information with their “in-group” members, such as good friends, families and co-workers, and they refer to this information implicitly when they speak. For people who come from “low-context” cultures, like the USA, Germany and the Netherland, this can be a difficult code to break. They think of communication as a way of exchanging information and opinions and so prefer to spell things out clearly and simply.

NOTHING PERSONAL

If a German or Dutch person telephones you during a meal and asks you if they are calling at a bad time. Don’t expect them to hang up if you reply, “Well actually, I’m in the middle of my dinner. “It may be obvious to you that meal time is sacrosanct and you want t spend it in peace with your family, but it may not be obvious to someone outside your cultural group.

If you design a great new gadget and your German or Dutch boss says, “I don’t like it! “ They are not implying that you are a bad designer or that you don’t do your job properly. They are simply saying that they don’t like this particular design, nothing more! Germans and Dutch people have a wonderful ability to separate a person from an idea or invention. So, if they criticize your work, it’s the work and not you they dislike. They find kind of direct criticism constructive!

THE RIGHT TONE

It is important to remember, however that every individual uses both high context and low-context communication. The choice will usually depend on who we’re taking to (a close friend or a stranger) and the circumstances (whether you’re telling a joke, or giving important instructions). To understand, you need a good background knowledge of the context and you have to be culturally intelligent enough to interpret tone of voice, eye contact and posture. We’ll the looking at some of these non-verbal signs next month to help you make sense of what is really being said. 

SPEAK UP IN CLASS WORKSHEETS

Source: www.speakup.com.br

Before starting to do the exercise, have a look at this entry: http://englishtips-self-taught.blogspot.com/2011/07/amy-macdonald.html

Amy MacDonald – For the Record (C1)

A - Before you start, talk to a partner.

1. What do you know about Amy MacDonald?

2. Do you like her music?

3. Can you name any other Scottish pop stars?

4. Have you seen or heard Lady Gaga? If so, what do you think of her?

B - Listen and answer

Read these statements. Then listen (without reading) and write T (True) or F (False).

1. Amy MacDonald spent her childhood in Glasgow.

2. About three million of her singles have been sold.

3. She claims that a conversation with fans on Twitter was misrepresented by the press.

4. Amy says she’s in debt to her record company at the moment.

5. She thinks her anonymity is due to her lifestyle.

6. She talks about a pop star who wore a wig to avoid being recognised while travelling on a plane.

C - Read and answer

Read the article and answer the questions with a partner.

1. Why is Amy’s commercial success surprising?

2. What did she mean when she said she hadn’t made any money from selling her CD?

3. What does she say about her financial situation at the moment?

4. Why don’t people recognise her?

5. What is Amy’s attitude to Lady Gaga’s behaviour during the flight to the north of Sweden?

6. What should Lady Gaga have done, according to Amy?

D - Learn it! Use it!

Complete these sentences with words from the glossary. (You may have to adapt the expression in some way; e.g. change the subject, or change from singular to plural.)

1. Having one of her poems published in a magazine was a great __________ for my aunt.

2. You can’t go for a job interview in that __________ suit. You’ll have to buy a new one.

3. Let’s put the __________  _________. It wasn’t me who let your secret out.

4. If you don’t update your anti-virus regularly you’re just __________ disaster.

5. My dad always __________ about the programmes on TV but he watches them all the same.

6. With a credit card it’s easy to spend too much and get into __________ .

7. Tom thinks he’s something special. I hate the way he __________ himself.

8. Most of the company’s __________ comes from its sales of electrical goods.

E - Ready for CAE? (Paper 3 Part 2)

Complete the text. Use only one word in each space.

There are quite a (1)__________ similarities between Amy MacDonald and Paolo Nutini. They were (2)__________ born in Scotland in 1987. Paolo (3)__________ up in a place near Glasgow and so (4)__________ Amy. Then there’s the way in (5)__________ they took the music world by storm. One difference, (6)__________ , is that they support different Glasgow football teams. (7)__________ a Catholic, Nutini naturally supports Celtic, (8)__________ MacDonald is a Protestant and is therefore a Rangers fan, (9)__________ the fact that her boyfriend Steve Lovell used to play (10)__________ another Glasgow team, Partick Thistle.

It’s now four years (11)__________ Amy signed a record contract at the age of 18 and in that time she has gone from (12)__________ an unknown teenage singer-songwriter to an international star, but she says she doesn’t see herself (13)__________ famous. Perhaps this is why she refuses to behave (14)__________ a celebrity and prefers to be anonymous. And (15)__________ her album sales have made her wealthy, she still lives in a small town just outside Glasgow.

Talk about it

In pairs or groups.

1. Do you agree with Amy MacDonald that a lot of celebrities like being followed around by the press?

2. Why do you think so many people are interested in reading about celebrities in gossip magazines?

3. It has been said that we live in a “celebrity society” in which gossip and fame equal power. Do you agree?

DUBLIN...DOWN AT THE THE DOCKS

Source of the picture: www.panoramio.com


Source of the article: www.speakup.com.br

DUBLIN DOWN AT THE DOCKS

The regeneration of the Dublin Docklands started in the late 1980. Today, many banks and companies have their headquarters on both sides of the River Liffey, and Spencer Dock is the country’s largest urban regeneration project.

The Docklands Development Authority, founded in 1997, at the height of the “Celtic Tiger,” is in charge of prosperity development and regeneration. It makes great effort to capitalize on the Docklands’ maritime heritage and to breathe life into the sea. There are sports and cultural events, such as the Maritime Festival in June.

CHARACTER BUILDING

Yet much of the Docklands still feels soulless. The chq building, for example, is a historical wine and tobacco warehouse. Today it houses nice shops, a tea salon and a Starbucks, but it has very little atmosphere. Visitors should walk along the quayside to understand the contrasts of Dublin old and new: a bronze statue of a dockworker pulling a rope and urban graffiti, a mobile coffee stall on the river by glass office buildings.

On the opposite side of the Liffey, bronze statues of starved immigrants appear to be waiting to board the Jeanie Johnston, the replica of an immigration ship. Just a bit further along, a floating restaurant represents the new gourmet Dublin.

LITERARY CONNECTIONS

Two beautiful new bridges over the Liffey were built in recent years (in honour of famous Irish writers): the Sean O’Casey Bridge swing bridge and, in 2009, the Samuel Beckett suspension bridge. From here, you can see one of the Docklands’ iconic developments: The O2, a gleaming new concert venue for big acts like Rod Stewart or Beyoncé. U2 were the first to perform there when it opened in late 2008.

SCANDAL

It is no secret that Ireland was hit by the recession, and the Docklands, as the centre of the economic bubble, were badly hit. The U2 Tower which was going to be Ireland’s highest building and house the band’s new recording studios, is on hold. Also, he Docklands Development Authority has been accused of mismanagement. Important files on the purchase of a € 420 million site in 2006, and now worth much less, strangely disappeared!

IRELAND OLD AND NEW

While in a sense, the Docklands represent Ireland’s recent obsession with properly, the new projects also designed to bring “normal” Dubliners and visitors into the area. Next to the O2 concert hall, the Point Village has just opened an all-year weekend market that, in the words of the organizers, “encourages everything the Celtic Tiger forgot, and is an outlet for all of the people most affected by the recession.”

We want sex, movie...Interview.

INTERVIEW

Source: www.speakup.com.br
Language level: Advanced
 Speaker: Jason Bermigham
MADE IN DAGENHAM

The British movie Made in Dagenham which has been given a rather different title: We Want Sex (short for “We Want Sex Equality”) in many European countries, will be released in Brazil on DVD this month, under the title A Revolução em Dagenham. The film tells the true story of a strike that took place at the Ford Motor Works in Dagenham in 1968. It involved 187 female employees who demanded the right to equal pay. The film, which is directed by Niget Cole, stars Sally Hawkins, who plays Rita O’ Grady, the strike’s unlikely leader. As Sally Hawkins explains, the story is still relevant today:

Sally Hawkins

(Standard British accent)

Source of the picture: cinedica.com.br


Still, in this day and age, we’re fighting that fight. What’s so nice is the fact it’s from true life, it’s real, this happened, and these women set in motion. The Equal Pay Act you know, of1970s. It’s…without them, that wouldn’t have come about.

The film’s producer is Stephen Woolley, who discovered the story of the Dagenham women almost by chance.

Sally Hawkins

The story about how he came across this story and this fight and these women through the radio, through an article, and hearing these women speak, and hearing their voice, you know, obviously triggered something in Steve and he thought, “That’s…that’s the story I want to tell.” And, absolutely, he’s so right, and thanks God!

And Sally Hawkins says that she met the real women of Dagenham, more than 40 years after the event:

Sally Hawkins

I went to Dagenham: they’re still all there, and they’re still all friends, and they still have that camaraderie, and seeing that spark between them, and them sort of you know, being quite witty each other, quite cutting, but also, ultimately, they really love each other and they’re really good friends: it’s about that, really.

Amy MacDonald

Source: of the picture  meninasnorock.blogspot.com


Source: www.speakup.com.br
Standard: British Accent
Speaker: Justin Ratcliff
Language level: C1 Advanced


Amy MacDonald

FOR THE RECORD

      A few months ago Speak Up featured an interview with the pop star Paolo Nutini. Nutini was born in Scotland in 1987 and so as Amy MacDonald, who has similarly taken the music world by storm.

      Both artists grew up near Glasgow. Nutini is from Paisley, while MacDonald is from  Bishopbriggs. The difference is that Nutini is a Catholic and so his favourite football team is Celtic. MacDonald on the other hand is a Protestant and support Rangers, while her English boyfriend, Steve Lovell, used to play for relatively minor Glasgow team, Partick Thistle.

MONEY AND MUSIC…

      In terms of music, Amy MacDonald made her recording debut in 2007 with the album This is the Life, which contained the hit single of the same name. The album sold three million singles. This is a remarkable achievement at a time when the music industry is clearly in crisis. And her sophomore album. A Curious Thing came out in March (2010). And yet, in spite of her commercial success, Amy MacDonald is reported as saying that she “hasn’t seen a penny” of the revenue, from her sales. We asked her to put the record straight.

AMY MACDONALD

(Scottish accent):

People reported that completely differently from what I said. It was actually a conversation on Twitter that I was having with fans, just people that were asking questions. And I was just answering them. And they were asking about album sales, and I never said that I’d never made a penny. What I said was that I hadn’t made any money from selling the actual CD. And that’s very normal, because the massive amount of cost that it requires to release an album. So, before you’ve even put it in the shops, you’re in a huge amount of debt to your record label, because they so kindly give you the money, so that you can live for the next year! So you’re in that debt, you’re in the debt of every penny that they spent on advertising, promotion, which obviously stacked right up. So you have to sell, I think about three million before you start earning on the album sales. So I think I’m like dead even now, like I don’t owe them anything, but obviously things are slowing down now, so there’s not really any album sales, happening. So that’s what that meant: I never meant that I was poor, or anything like that!

CELEBRITY

And how she is handling her celebrity?

Amy MacDonald

To be honest, I don’t see myself as a famous. And the whole fame thing I could take it or leave it. I’ve not really any interest. I just like music, and I like being a musician, and, for me, I think that it’s good that I’ve managed to have this very successful album, but I can still be completely anonymous because I don’t have the big beehive or I don’t flaunt myself in magazines, so people don’t really know what you look like. I think that’s a good way to be. I think they can have the voice and see the CD, but they don’t really know what you look like in a real-life scenario. So it’s good for me!

AS FOR LADY GAGA…

And she doesn’t seem to have problems with paparazzi!

Amy MacDonald:

But I think that  a lot of people actually court it. The one example that I know of was I was on a tiny flight with Lady Gaga, towards the north of Sweden. So there was, one flight a day to his place from Stockholm, and it was a festival. So everyone that was playing was on the same flight. So she was on the flight, and it was like she changed her wig three times in a hour flight, right? And it’s like: “Why else are you doing that? “Like and this is the thing. Like if she was wearing what I wearing what I was wearing, i.e. a hat and a pair of scruffy trousers and a jumper, nobody would have known who she was! But because she came out with three different wigs, one which was up to here, basically a bra and a pair of leather trousers and like boots that are that high, people know who she is instantly. And it’s just like: “Well, don’t moan about people following was wearing, nobody would even recognize you!” 

CONFESSIONS OF A LATIN TEACHER PART II

WILLIAM’S WORDS

Source: www.speakup.com.br

Language level: Upper Intermediate

Speaker: Justin Ratcliffe

Standard: British accent

CONFESSIONS OF A LATIN TEACHER By William Sutton

The UK government has ignored demands to offer Latin in all schools. But the ancient world still holds our imaginations, from law and politics through to films like Clash of the Titans and Percy Jackson and he Lighting Thief.

CODGITO ERGO SUM

Politically, Roman laws passed through two houses. The UK copied this arrangement. The US went further, placing the Senate and House of Representative on Capitol Hill. Money stamped with our leaders’ faces is inspired by Roman coins. The Romans gave us public and civil law. Trial by jury and the principle “innocent till proven guilty. Today’s politicians are still influenced by Cicero’s oratory. We take rhetorical devices from the classics simile metaphor metonymy. Although we may prefer films to poetry, we use their literary genres: tragedy and comedy, epic and satire.

Even since Freud psychology has used classical words and concepts. We are aware of our ego, id and superego. We recognize narcissism, mania and the Oedipus complex. Philosophy is built upon Plato and Aristotle, giving us arguments a priori and a posteriori, syllogisms and reductio ad absurdum. Everybody knows Descartes’ phrase. “Cogito ergo sum.”

SCIENCE AND SPORT

Science is full of Latin from geometry’s humble oval to paleontology’s mighty Tyrannosaurus rex in meteorology, we have cumulo-numbus clouds, in physics, the quantum. We named the planets after roman gods. Neighbours Venous and Mars reflect the mythical enlargement of love and war.  The Pluto was dismissed to the underworld, in 2006, his planet was deplaneted’.

In sport, Romans took Greek pursuits and turned them into big business, with stadiums and gambling. Watch today’s racing, horses of Formula One, and you can’t help thinking of chariot racing in the Circus Maximus. The celebrities and hysteria in boxing, wrestling, rugby and football recall Rome’s gladiators.

LATIN ADVOCATES

Oxford classics professors recently urged the British government to give Latin the same status in schools as modern languages. The Department for Education replied: “Latin is an important subject, valuable for learning of modern languages and a useful basis for many disciplines. It is, however not classified in the curriculum as at modern language as pupils cannot interact with native Latin speakers or visit parts of the world where Latin is spoken as a native language.” A diplomatic response!

Even if few British schools teach Latin, nobody denies its influence on modern life. The little of a recent book says it all Vote for Caesar: How the Ancient Greeks and Romans Solved the Problems of Today. Next month we’ll investigate whether that’s really true. but there’s no doubt classical culture is  with us every day. Whatever the Education Secretary says. QED (Quod Erat Demostrandum). And, to prove our point, here are some Latin words and expressions used in everyday English.

LATIN WORDS

Virus

Antenna

Doctor

Facsimile

Via

Modus operandi

Per diem

Sine qua non

RIP (Resquiescat in Pace)

QED (Quod Erat)

Demonstrandum

Vice-versa

Alter ego

Alumnus

Alma mater

Post mortem

Bona fide

Tedium

Museum

Simulacrum

Agenda

De facto

Ex cathedra

Status quo

Quid pro quo

Sic

Ad hoc 

Anglesey

http://www.livefortheoutdoors.com picture


Source: http://www.speakup.com.br
Standard: American and British accent
Speakers: Jason Bermingham and Rachel Roberts







Anglesey it's one of the most beautiful Island of the United Kingdom as well as historical and touristic ones. In addition the village of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobbwyllllantysiliogogogoch the longest name in the world, but the nickname is easier just Llanfain P.G, it's also a curious similar for Avatar by John Rigg

Source: www.speakup.com.br

THE ENVIRONMENT

Anglesey

The Isle of Anglesey is located on the North-west coast of Wales. It is one of the most beautiful regions of Great Britain, and has a long and important history. This month the Anglesey Walking Festival offers visitors the chance to discover the island, its legends and industrial past. The festival runs from May 28^th to June 12^th.

SURPRISES

The Walking Festival includes over 40 different walks. The Lligwy walk visits three historic eras: first a Neolithic burial chamber, then a Roman fort, and finally a 12^th century church on an isolated hill.

Another walk explores Parys Cooper Mountain with its amazing and colourful open mines. There are many surprises: the 13^th century Beaurmaris Castle, for example: King Edward I built this castle after he conquered Wales.

LEGENDS

Festival guides recount the island’s many legends. There was Madam When, a highway woman who terrorised the island’s rich merchants. There’s the Lane of Spirits. Where a ghostly Roman legion marches. And there’s Baumaris town clock: a prisoner in the town gaol cursed the clock before the execution. It hasn’t functioned since his death. The festival isn’t only for history lovers. There are also romantic speed-dating walks for single people. Then there is the new sport of Geocaching: a high-technology treasure hunt. Competitors use GPS navigators to find hidden treasures.

THE BRIDGE

Anglesey doesn’t appear to be an island. It is, however, separated from the Welsh mainland by the narrow Menai Strait. There are two bridges across the strait, the Menai Bridge and the Britannia Bridge, with its famous lion statues. On the mainland side, there are the magnificent Snowdonia Mountains; on the other, the flat lands of the island Anglesey was originally called ‘Mother of Wales’ (Mam Cymru) because of these fertile fields. It is now a recognised European area of beauty.

THE DRUIDS AND THE ROMANS no audio available

The history of the island is strangely similar to the recent Hollywood film Avatar. In the first century the Roman Empire conquered Britain. Anglesey was the last Celtic region. The Roman historian Tacitus recorded the Battle of the Menai Strait.

A line of Celtic warriors, men and women, stood across the water. Their leaders, the Druids, shouted terrifying spells.

Many roman soldiers were paralysed with fear. The Romans lost many men. After a terrible battle, the Roman army was victorious. They killed the Druids and destroyed their sacred oak trees.  

World Nettle-Eating Championship

Strange story: World Nettle-Eating Championship

Source: Speak Up

Speakers: Rachel Roberts (British Accent)

Chunk Rolando (American Accent)

Source: www.speakup.com.br (edition 253)

The British are famously eccentric: what other nation would invent a World Neattle Eating Championship? Every year people come to The Bottle Inn - a pub in Marshwood, Dorset - in order to take part.

Contestants sit before enormous piles of stinging nettles, and have one hour to strip the leaves and eat as many as possible; apparently, there's a technique which stops the plants from stinging your lips and tongue. Contestants Matt Thurtan explain: " Food  the Leaf, get it past your lips, and swallow quickly". The winner is decided by the total length of stripped nettle sterms; 2004 winner Simon Sleigh holds the World record of 22 metres. The event began in 1986 when local farmer Alex Williams made an unusual challenge: if anyone could produce a taller nettle than his own, then he would eat it. Unfortunately for him, he lost.

AMERICAN STYLE

Americans may dispute that Britain has a monopoly on ecentricity. Visitors to Spivey's Corner in North Carolina will discover that this tiny village, with a population of only 49, is the home of theNational Hollerin' Contest. "Holler" is another word for "Shout", but contestants says that hollering is an art and one of the olders form of communication. In the past, farmers would shout out greeting and warmings to neighbours, sometimes several miles away. Hollering is a dying art which the contest organisers hope to keep alive; 10000 people come to Spivers Corner every June in order to hear the unique techniques of Sampson County's hollers.