Peace and solidarity were the pillars of Robert Schuman’s 1950 declaration, which he presented on 9 May 1950. He proposed that France and Germany share their natural resources in a bid to make conflict between the countries ‘not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible’. Other European nations joined the endeavour, which made European cooperation a reality.
Sixty-seven years later, we remember and celebrate this founding act by opening the doors of the European Parliament and welcoming citizens to the heart of European democracy.
HAVE A LOOK AT THIS VIDEO AND LEARN ABOUT THE EUROPEAN UNION. THEN COLOUR IN A MAP THE STATE MEMBERS
Today is the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. In the end, all the walls end up by falling down.
By 1949, Germany had become two separate countries - The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), run by the Allies, and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), run by the Soviet Union and although Berlin was in East Germany, as the capital it was also shared between Britain, France, America and the Soviet Union. The Berlin Wall was East Germany's way of keeping East Germans from fleeing into the West. The Wall divided friends, families and loved ones, causing people on both sides to lose their jobs and livelihoods if trapped on the wrong side. For the 28 years it stood, up to 200 people are believed to have died trying to cross the Wall, although estimates vary. Many lost their lives along the heavily fortified “death strip”, which contained anti-vehicle trenches, barbed wire and beds of nails under blinding floodlights. Throughout the time of the Wall's standing, East Berliners became increasingly frustrated at the prosperity and freedom offered across the border and denied from themselves, and following revolutions against the Soviet Union elsewhere, they began to demand free passage to the West. With protests culminating on the night of 9 November, confused guards opened the gates at approximately 10.45pm after East Berlin's Communist party spokesman, Günter Schabowski had announced that passage would be allowed "immediately" earlier in the evening. Though protesters began dismantling parts of the Wall during the night, its official demolition did not get underway until summer 1990. The Google Doodle shows a video depicting the joyous scenes as West Berliners greet their Eastern counterparts on the night in 1989, before showing parts of the Wall in their new homes around the globe, in the likes of London, Seoul, Cape Town and Madrid.
Watch the following video and answer the questions below
- Explain how the anniversary is going to be celebrated in Berlin. - What portion of the Berlin wall still stands?
Watch the following playlist with ads about enviormental issues. An amazing campaign pointing out that the earth is becoming more and more of a hostile place to live in.
In pairs, discuss which one you like best and why. Which is the most powerful for you?
Spot the rot
Tic
Don't grow up, cool down.
Don't give up
Dreams of tomorrow
S.O.S.
Think twice
Which jobs are mentioned in "Dreams of tomorrow"?
What does the girl at then end of this ad want to be when when she grows up? Why?
Listen to the song and fill in the blanks :
What things can you do to help the environment? You can get some ideas here:
In this scene from the movie, Company Men, Bobby (Ben Affleck) loses his temper over the discussion of his qualification during a job interview.
VOCABULARY:
Willing: not refusing to do something.
Base salary: amount of money someone earns for a job.
Qualified: having the necessary skill, experience or knowledge to do a particular job.
Skip: not do or have something.
Bonus: an extra amount of money that is given to an employee
1. Choose the correct answer:
2. Now try your listening skills: pick the correct word from three similar-sounding options to complete the gaps in the transcript.
3. Quizz challenge:
4. Use the words in the vocabulary section to fill in the gaps:
5. You can read the transcript now:
Joyce: Looks like you worked at GTX for 12years.
Bobby: I did. Divisional sales leader for three ofthose years. I know the times are different now and I'd be willing to accept 110, hope for bonuses.
Joyce: Well our base salary is 65 thousand a year for regional sales directors.
Bobby: I...I responded to an ad for the vicepresident of marketing.
Joyce: Well, we've had a number of highlyqualified applicants for that position.
Bobby: I'm a highly qualified applicant for that position. I'm a highly qualified applicant for that position. Excuse me, I'm sorry. I must have just had too many cups of coffee while I was sitting in your waiting room for two hours.
Bobby: Thanks for your time, Joyce. And just between the two of us, you can probably skip theDiet Cokes. They're not helping you.
Puss In Boots:You Made The Cat Angry! In this scene from the spin-off movie from the Shrekfranchise, Puss (Antonio Banderas) shows the other people in the tavern that he is a lot tougher than he looks. Before watching the video, take note of the vocabulary items ; getting familiar with them now will make it easier to understand the video and will help you with the exercises that follow.
VOCABULARY:
coming up: (idiomatic expression) ordered; about to be served
humble: modest, without pretensions or illusions ofimportance
score: a way of obtaining something quickly, often through illegal activities
the Law: the police and judicial authorities
reward: a compensation (usually money) for doing something of use to someone else
Exercise 2: Time to try out your listening skills with this exercise. Watch the video again and pick the correct word from three similar-sounding options to complete the gaps in the transcript:
When it comes to international results, Finland's schools score consistently at the top. However, pupils study the fewest number of class hours in the developed world. World News America travels to Helsinki to find out the secret of the Finns' education success.
After watching the video, answer the questions below.
Let's pay tribute to STEVE JOBS by watching this video : record your own voice and tell me how many points you get.
Stanford Commencement Speech You can watch the speech with English subtitles here (Part 1) and here (part 2): - The first story is about connecting the dots. - The second story is about love and loss. - The third story is about death. After watching the speech, try to answer the following questions:
-WHY DO YOU THINK HIS MOTHER DECIDED TO PUT HIM UP FOR ADOPTION?
- WHY DID HE DECIDE TO DROP OUT FROM COLLEGE?
-WHERE AND WHEN DID HE START WORKING WITH APPLE? -HOW MANY EMPLOYEES DID APLE GET TO HAVE IN JUST TEN YEARS? -WHAT HAPPENED WHEN HE WAS 30? -DID THAT MAKE HIM ANY GOOD? WHY? -WHY DID HE RETURN TO APPLE? -WHAT KEPT HIM GOING WHEN THINGS GOT ROUGH? -HOW DID KNOWING HE WAS GOING TO DIE HELP HIM?
Check your answers here
Now, have a look at the first “Think Different” Apple commercial, narrated by Steve Jobs: "Here's to the Crazy Ones".
There are 17 "great people" in the commercial. How many can you recognize?
"Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes, the ones who see things differently. They are not fond of rules and they have no respect for the status quo.
You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things, they push the human race forward.
While some may have seen them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do."
Finally, you can watch this presentation which puts an end to our particular tribute to Steve Jobs.
As holidays are coming, you can start getting ready by watching this video: which of the places mentioned in it would you choose as your holiday destination?
Now, check your knowledge on other holidays answering this QUIZZ
