Prince Charles kisses the hand of Letizia, Felipe of Spain's wife, while Camilla looks on. Photograph: Juan Naharro Gimenez/Getty Images
Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall have touched down in Madrid for a three-day visit, with the crown prince, Felipe, as host and Spain's so-called "pink" gossip press in eager attendance. In the most popular photograph so far, Charles is captured kissing the hand of Felipe's wife, the former newsreader Princess Letizia.
The ABC newspaper's website is running excerpts from a British embassy cribsheet reminding the Spanish of links between the two countries: the princes have blood ties via Queen Victoria; 13.5m British visits to Spain each year; Heathrow is owned by a Spanish company and Athletic de Bilbao football club was formed in a 1898 merger between a team of expat Britons and a team of Spanish who learned the game in Britain.
Phrasal verbs are a group of multi-word verbs made from a verb plus another word or words. Many people refer to all multi-word verbs as phrasal verbs but we have to make a distinction between three types of multi-word verbs: prepositional verbs, phrasal verbs and phrasal-prepositional verbs. Now we'll just look at phrasal verbs proper.
Phrasal verbs are made of:
verb + adverb
Phrasal verbs can be:
intransitive (no direct object)
transitive (direct object)
Here are some examples of phrasal verbs:
phrasal verbs
meaning
examples
direct object
intransitive phrasal verbs
get up
rise from bed
I don't like to get up.
break down
cease to function
He was late because his car broke down.
transitive phrasal verbs
put off
postpone
We will have to put off
the meeting.
turn down
refuse
They turned down
my offer.
Separable Phrasal Verbs
When phrasal verbs are transitive (that is, they have a direct object), we can usually separate the two parts. For example, "turn down" is a separable phrasal verb. We can say: "turn down my offer" or "turn my offer down". Look at this table:
transitive phrasal verbs are separable
They
turned
down
my offer.
They
turned
my offer
down.
However, if the direct object is a pronoun, we have no choice. We must separate the phrasal verb and insert the pronoun between the two parts. Look at this example with the separable phrasal verb "switch on":
direct object pronouns must go between the two parts of transitive phrasal verbs
John
switched
on
the radio.
These are all possible.
John
switched
the radio
on.
John
switched
it
on.
John
switched
on
it.
This is not possible.
Separable or inseparable phrasal verbs? Some dictionaries tell you when phrasal verbs are separable. If a dictionary writes "look (something) up", you know that the phrasal verb "look up" is separable, and you can say "look something up" and "look up something". It's a good idea to write "something/somebody" as appropriate in your vocabulary book when you learn a new phrasal verb, like this:
get up
break down
put something/somebody off
turn sth/sb down
This tells you whether the verb needs a direct object (and where to put it).
April Fools' Day is celebrated in the Western world on April 1st of every year. Sometimes referred to as All Fools' Day, April 1st is not a legal holiday, but is widely recognized and celebrated as a day which tolerates practical jokes and general foolishness. The day is marked by the commission of good humoured or funny jokes, hoaxes and other practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends, family members, teachers, neighbors, work associates, etc.
Traditionally, in some countries such as New Zealand, the UK, Australia, and South Africa, the jokes only last until noon, and someone who plays a trick after noon is called an "April Fool".[1] It is for this reason that newspapers in the U.K. that run a front page April fool only do so on the first (morning) edition.[2] Elsewhere, such as in France, Ireland, Italy, South Korea, Japan, Russia, The Netherlands, Germany, Brazil, Canada, and the U.S., the jokes last all day. The earliest recorded association between April 1 and foolishness can be found in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (1392). Many writers suggest that the restoration of January 1 as New Year's Day in the 16th century was responsible for the creation of the holiday, but this theory does not explain earlier references.
DON'T MISS IT! While many people seem to only speak in other accents when drunk, this kid reveals himself to be an inadvertent dialect savant in this remarkable video. Within eight minutes, he masters two dozen accents used by English speakers. He says that the video is "mostly for his friends," but it's no surprise that such an impressive mimic has received so much attention on YouTube.
Some pupils find it hard enough to concentrate in the classroom, without having the temptation of a mobile phone in their pocket.
New proposals to allow teachers to confiscate phones from pupils and delete content, have met with criticism by the NASUWT and human rights organisation Liberty for being over-intrusive.
The government insists the measures help assert the authority of teachers and will allow them to deal with problems in schools more effectively.
John Fairhurst, President of the Association of School College Leaders, and Isabella Sankey from Liberty, discussed the proposals with BBC Breakfast.
Narrated by Academy Award-winner Jeremy Irons, this "mockumentary" video, filmed in the style of a nature documentary, hammers home the stark reality of California's plastic bag pollution situation.
Fashion is always changing! Check out this English language tutorial to learn how to say words related to Fashion. This language lesson is perfect to improve your fashion vocabulary. Fashion affects our lives much more than we realize. So watch this instructional English language video and improve your fashion vocabulary.
* Full name: The Great Social People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
* Population: 6.5 million (UN, 2010)
* Capital: Tripoli
* Area: 1.77 million sq km (685,524 sq miles)
* Major language: Arabic
* Major religion: Islam
* Life expectancy: 73 years (men), 78 years (women) (UN)
* Monetary unit: 1 Libyan dinar (LD) = 1,000 dirhams
* Main exports: Crude oil, petroleum products, natural gas
* GNI per capita: US $12,020 (World Bank, 2009)
* Internet domain: .ly
* International dialling code: +218
Leader: Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
Muammar Gaddafi is the Arab world's longest-serving leader. A shrewd operator, he survived several attempts on his life and reinvented Libya's system of government.
In February 2011 Col Gaddafi faced a popular revolt which spread across much of the country. His opponents gained control over several towns, but he held onto Tripoli. A battle between Gaddafi loyalists and opponents sparked an exodus by foreign workers, and prompted an international debate over whether or not to intervene in the conflict.
1. St. Patrick's Day is an annual feast day celebrating the patron saint the day is named after. 2. St. Patrick's Day is the national holiday of Ireland and is usually celebrated on March 17. 3. St. Patrick's Day has become a popular holiday in the United States. People wear green and eat corned beef and cabbage. 4. It is believed St. Patrick, a Roman-Britain-born Christian missionary, was born in the late fourth century and is credited with bringing Christianity to the Irish people. 5. It is also believed St. Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland. However, post-glacial Ireland never actually had snakes. Many believe that the term "snakes" referred to the serpent symbolism of the Druids of that time and place. Today, there are no snakes to be found!6. Most people, whether they are Irish or not, wear green on this day. One of the Irish traditions is to pinch anyone who is not wearing green on St. Patrick's Day. 6. Irish immigrants began observing the holiday in Boston in 1737 and the first St. Patrick's Day parade was held in New York City in 1766. 7. Corned beef and cabbage are traditional foods eaten on this holiday. 8. The shamrock, pot-of-gold and leprechans are also associated with St. Patrick's Day. The shamrock was worn as a badge on the lapel. Three is Ireland's magic number and the three petals that make up the shamrock are supposed to bring good luck. The three leaves also represent the Trinity in the Christian religion. 9. The leprechaun is a small Irish fairy. He is dressed like a shoemaker, with pointed shoes and hat. He also wears a leather apron. Leprechauns are supposed to be unfriendly little men who lives alone in the forest, spending all of their time making shoes and guarding their treasures. If someone catches a leprechaun, he will be forced to tell where he hides all his pots of gold. However, the leprechaun must be watched at all times. If his captor looks away, the leprechaun will vanish along with his treasure. 10. St. Patrick's Day has become a holiday all around the world and for one day out of the year anyone can be Irish and join in the celebration.Saint Patrick's Day Quiz
The cartoon shows Great Britain as a red-faced, sweating fat man. Ireland is represented by his equally chubby child, who is reading a newspaper with the headline: "BRITS ARE FATTEST IN EUROPE". The Continent seems to be holding up its hands in horror.
Since the 1980s, obesity has spread at an alarming rate. Across OECD countries, one in 2 adults is currently overweight and 1 in 6 is obese. The rate of overweight people is projected to increase by a further 1% per year for the next 10 years in some countries.
Rates are highest in the United States and Mexico and lowest in Japan and Korea, but have been growing virtually everywhere.
12 to 15 % of European women over 16 suffer domestic abuse in a relationship– too many have died. Many more continue to suffer physical and sexual violence from former partners even after the break-up.
Japan is beginning the cleanup after Friday’s deadly earthquake and tsunami. The death toll is currently at 573 with hundreds more people missing. Most of the people died in the massive tsunami, which was up to ten metres high. Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency says the number of destroyed buildings has reached 3,400, but that is expected to rise. In the quake-hit areas, around 5.57 million households currently have no electricity, while more than one million homes have had their water supply cut off.
“Today, I have a tatoo that I didn’t want and cost me thirty euros and I take twelve hours to the tatoo. Now I’m thinking about how to save to reach five hundred euros that costs me to take it off” NL.
“Today, I told a joke to my father that I’m gay. He told me that he was gay too but he doesn’t know how to tell my mother”NL.
“Today, I am in hospital because I’ve burnt my nose. I feel embarrased about telling the nurses that I wanted to light a cigarrette with the toaster”NL.
“Today, I’ve joined a gym. Today I was hit by a car and I have broken my arm. I had signed to stay in the gym at least three months” NL.
"Today, I was in bed with my boyfriend, when the antivirus of the computer said "Warning, a threat has been detected". He shouted and kicked me out of the bed. NL"
"Today, it is Monday" NL
By Adrian Ramos, Laura Álvarez, Mónica Gutiérrez y Elena Zújeros.
Silent B
‘B’ is silent when it is followed by ‘t’ as in debt or when the letter ‘B’ follows ‘m’ as in jamb. Silent C
If ‘C’ is followed by ‘e’ , ‘i’ , or ‘y’ and follows ‘s’ , the ‘c’ is silent as in the words scent , science , and scythe .
Whenever ‘c’ and ‘k’ are together , ‘c’ is silent as in click Silent D
If you see a word starting with ‘adj’ as in adjective or ending with ‘dge’ as in bridge , you don’t say the ‘d’ sound . Silent E
Silent ‘e’ is the most important of all because the ‘e’ is not only silent , but also changes the other vowel’s sound.
In fat , bit , hop and cut the ‘a’ , ‘i’ , ‘o’ and ‘u’ are short
In fate , bite , hope and cute the ‘a’ , ‘i’ , ‘o’ and ‘u’ are diphthongs. In rude the ‘ sounds like long ‘oo’ sound . Silent K
The letter ‘k’ is always silent if it is followed by the letter ‘n’ as in the words knight , know and knee . Silent G
The letter ‘g’ is silent if it is followed by either the letter ‘n’ or the letter ‘m’ as in the words assign , foreign , and diaphragm Silent GH
When the letters ‘g’ ‘h’ and ‘t’ are together , Only pronounce the ‘t’ sound as in the words flight , fight and tight . Silent H
If the ‘h’ is preceded by the letters ‘g’ , ‘k’ or ‘r’ the letter ‘h’ is silent as in the words ghost , khaki and rhino . Silent L
If a word ends with ‘-alm’ , the letter ‘l’ become a silent letter and ‘a’ says the ‘ar’ sound as in palm
If a word ends with ‘-alk’ , the ‘l’ becomes a silent letter and ‘a’ says the ‘o’ sound as in talk
If a word ends with ‘-alf’ the ‘l’ becomes a silent letter and ‘a’ says the short ‘a’ sound as in half
If a word ends with ‘-ould’ the ‘l’ becomes a silent letter and ‘ou’ says the short ‘oo’ sound as in could
If a word ends with ‘-olk’ , the ‘l’ becomes a silent letter and ‘o’ says the long ‘o’ sound as folk Silent P
If the letter ‘p’ is followed by ‘n’ or ‘s’ , then the letter , ‘p’ is silent as in the words pneumonia , psychology and psychiatric . Silent N
When the letter ‘n’ follows the letter ‘m’ , ir does not say its sound as in the words solemn , autumn and hymn . Silent S
The letter ‘s’ is silent when it is between the letter ‘i’ and the letter ‘l’ as in the words
island, aisle and isle . Silent T
The letter ‘t’ is silent when it is followed by ‘ch’ or in the middle of the ‘s’ and ‘le’ , the ‘t’ is silent as in the words match and castle. Silent U
Sometimes when ‘u’ after ‘b’, ‘q’ or ‘g’ and followed by ‘i’ , ‘a’ or ‘y’ as in the words build , guard , and guy , the letter ‘u’ is silent . Silent UE
If a word ends with ‘que’ or ‘gue’ , the letters ‘ue’ are silent as in the words antique and vague . Silent W
When the letter ‘w’ meets the letter ‘r’ . the ‘w’ is silent as in the words such as write and wrist .
