Monday 31 August 2015
Tuesday 25 August 2015
Easy Text (A1) - The London Underground - The best way of getting around London -
London - by Nigel A. JAMES
The London
Underground
The London Underground is the oldest underground railway in the world. It was opened in
1863, and in 2013 it was 150 years old. The Londoners call it the tube.
The tube has 270 stations and 11 lines. The lines are not numbered;
they have colours and names instead. The oldest line is the Hammersmith and city line which is yellow
and red; and the newest is the Victoria line which is purple. The entire network is 402
kilometres long.
The tube is used by more than 3 million people every
day. It is the most popular way of getting
around London. It’s fast, cheap, clean and reliable. London
is waiting for you!
Vocabulary - Wortschatz – Szókincs
cheap – billig – olcsó
clean – sauber - tiszta
entire – ganze
– teljes (egesz)
fast – schnell
- gyors
instead – stattdessen - helyett
lines – Linien
- utvonal
network – System
– halozat
numbered - nummeriert
- szarnozott
oldest – älteste - legöregebb
popular – beliebt – nepszetü
reliable – verlässlich - megbízható
tube – Rohr – földalatti / vasút
underground railway – U-Bahn
- Metro
way – Art
und Weiser - módszer
Questions!
When was the tube opened?
How many people use the tube every day?
How many stations does the tube have?
How long is the tube network?
How old will the London tube be in 2020?
And now, the text once again.
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Thursday 20 August 2015
Intermediate Text/Easy Text (B) - With spoken vocabulary -Mrs Stanzel - Hard Times and Beauty!
Mrs. Stanzel - by Nigel A. James
Hard Times and Beauty
Monika Stanzel
A new dress to put on is something that all women love. Nowadays, it’s easy; the shops are full of
beautiful clothes. But, as Monika
Stanzel explained, things were much different just after the war. Getting a new
dress meant making it yourself, and everyone
knew how to sew. And, the material? That
was no problem. For, in
every home there was more than enough. It was hanging from ceiling to floor.
Curtains were perfect for dresses!
And, so it was that every time Monika Stanzel
needed something new to put on, she went up the ladder
and took down a curtain. And then, with the help of her mother, she turned it into a beautiful dress.
And, Monika Stanzel and her mother were two
very imaginative people.
Sometimes, they made the front of a dress from a
living room curtain, and the back from a dining room curtain. This was not only clever, but practical, too.
Monika Stanzel, instead of only having one new dress had two! And, because of their simplicity, the dresses
could be worn either way.
Sometimes, the living room curtain was the front, and sometimes the other way
round. But, when ever Monika Stanzel went out, she looked great.
But, of course, as everyone knows, great looks
can be expensive. But, all they cost Monika Stanzel were some holes in the
curtains and a needle and thread, and Monika Stanzel always looked super. Curtains were not only for drawing, but for wearing as well! And, what could be better?
Maybe, your curtains would look great on you,
too! Just try it and see.
.
Vocabulary
-
curtain – Vorhang
drawing - ziehen
dress – Kleid
either way- entweder oder
even – sogar
for – weil
imaginative – einfallsreich
ladder - Leiter
material - Stoff
meant – mean/meant/meant – bedeutet
(to) put on – zum anziehen
sew – sew/sewed/sewn – nähen
those days – Damals
took down – take down/took down/taken down – abmontiert
turn into – turn/turned/turned - umwandeln
which
ever way – wie auch immer
worn – wear/wore/worn - tragen
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Friday 14 August 2015
Regular Text - The Village of Tiaj - A village that's saying goodbye!
There are places that feel like the end of the world, and the village of Tilaj is high up on the list. For this small Hungarian village has not only almost stopped living, it's disappearing as well, and where it is going is back into itself, for this is a place that should never have been!
Upon arriving in this small Hungarian village, one is met by a picture of life that has packed up and gone. Tilas's time was short and it finished a long time ago. And its sun started setting with its children who were leaving. For Tilaj had nothing to keep them. And from nothing comes nothing and Tilaj came from nowhere!
There
were no old established families, nor any memorials to the plague,
and non of the usual layers of time that can be seen in houses of
varying times. Everything was built at more-or-less the same time,
and, worst of all, there was no real church. Tilaj had never a heart
and not even a school. It was simply for sleeping and bringing up
children. And the last real shop closed a long time ago.
But,
in a way, it was perfect for that which it offered. It was
built to take care of needs. And, in those days, people were poor.
And, a small house in the damp by the river in Tilaj was the
most that many could afford. And life wasn't that bad! Everyone not
only grew their own produce, but also kept chickens and pigs. Living
in Tilaj meant never seeing hunger, and there was always plenty to
drink. There were grapes in every garden and fruit on every tree.
And, this was a paradise for children, and, in paradise the children
were happy.
The
long hot summers days were perfect for playing. With a river to
splash in and a forest to hide in, there was all that was needed for
hours of summer time fun. The kids were never at home,and that was
good so. And, then, of course, came the winter. And, in those days
the winters were hard and the snow it was much. And the very long
evenings were for learning in front of the fire.
And,
the children learned, played, grew up and moved on. And, where they
once played is now the place of their past, and so Tilaj slowed down
to how it is now. A beautiful spot of unspoiled nature with its river
and forest and calls of the wild. And all on a road that's coming
from somewhere and going to nowhere!
.
.
damp
– Nass
Disappearing
- verschwinden
offered
– anbietet
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Sunday 9 August 2015
Easy Text - plus. Birds of a Feather - A little old lady in the heat of the day!
Birds of a Feather – A little old lady in the heat of the day!
It was a very hot day in Vienna. I was sitting in the shade of a secluded corner in the park of Schönbrunn when a woman came into view. And, she wasn’t alone. She was being followed by an entourage of crows which was wobblingly walking behind her. And, as she passed by, I told her she seemed to be a very popular woman. She smiled and said it was lunch time, and that she daren’t come to the park without a bag full of nuts. Crows, she explained, love nuts more than anything else. Then, this unusual procession carried on round the corner. I was once again on my own; but, not for too long.
In fact, it took just a minute or two. One by one the crows started returning the way they had come; but, now in full flight, and each with a nut in his beak. It was a wonderful sight. And, then came the woman again. She told me she had been coming to the park for more than ten years and had rarely missed a day. Birds, for her, were a source of great joy. And, this I fully understood. Watching the birds had given me great pleasure, too.
And, all this great pleasure was thanks to a very hot day, the shade of a wonderful park, and the unexpected appearance of an expected little old lady. My wait in the heat had been worth every minute. And, I, too, went happily on!
Vocabulary
appearance – Erscheinung
crow - Krähe
daren’t (dare not) - nicht trauen
entourage - Gefolge
expected – erwartet
feathered – gefedert
joy - Freude
nuts - Nüsse
procession – Umzug
rarely - selten
secluded - abgelegen
shade - Schatten
source - Quelle
unexpected – unerwartet
wobblingly - wackelig
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Friday 7 August 2015
Regular Text - A Night in the Hay - Two Angels and unexpected help - and all a long time ago!
A
Night in the Hay! Margarete Mizera
It
was a close hot summer Saturday evening in the Austrian
Styrian mountains. Margarete Mizera and her husband had just
completed a 7 hour hike and were looking for a bed and
something to eat. But, the little village of St. Oswald had nothing
to offer. Every room had been taken, and, with a storm coming on,
Margarete Mizera and her husband were beginning to worry. A night in
the cold and the wet was not something they wanted.
But
then, Margarete Mizera had an idea. There was still one door left to
knock on and that was the police station. Maybe, they could spend
the night in a cell? And so, they knocked on the door. And, the
policeman was an Angel. His cell was out of the question, but, he
knew something better. And so, after a very short phone call,
Margarete Mizera and her husband were being driven by the very
friendly policeman to a farm that wasn't far away.
And,
the farmer was their second Angel of the evening. He had no rooms to
offer, all had been taken. But, what he could give them was not just
a night in his barn in the hay, but an evening meal as
well. And, they were thankful and accepted.
And,
as Margarete and her husband lay wearily down in the hay, they
could hear from outside the rain and the storm in all its great fury.
They were dry, warm, and safe. And, as they peacefully dreamed,
the morning gradually came; and with it another surprise.
The
farmer and his wife had not only prepared a very good breakfast, but
refused payment as well. And so it was, that Margarete Mizera and
her husband went on their way with hearts full of thanks.
And,
that's why the policeman and his very good friend will never be
forgotten. Two Angels who saved Margarete Mizera and her husband from
a night in the cold and the wet. And all, a long time ago!
Vocabulary
Angel – Engel
barn – Scheune
close – (humid) – feucht
dreamed – dream // dreamt/dreamed // dreamed –
träumte
fury – Wut
hay - Heu
hike
- Wanderung
impress
– impress/impressed/impressed – beeindruckt
spend
– spend/spent/spent – verbringen
wearily
– erschöpft
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Monday 3 August 2015
Intermediate Text - Jolan Neni - Flies and wasps can get on your nerves - A solution!
Jolan Neni
No Bed of
Roses
Living in
the country is no bed of roses. There are the normal farmyard
smells, the noises of work being done, and, worst of all, the flies
and the wasps. They are a nuisance and always invade when
meals are being served.
But, there
is a solution. And, it's something that Jolan Neni would like to
share with us all. And, it is simple, it's tomatoes! And, Jolan Neni
knows what she's talking about, she grew up on a farm.
And, it was
there that she was taught that flies and wasps didn't like
tomatoes. All one had to do to keep flies and wasps
away and at bay was to hang sprigs of tomatoes above
all windows and doors.
And, there's
more to it as well. Jolan Neni discovered that sprigs of tomato, if
hung above the entrance to pigsties,
would, as if by magic, stop flies flying by and upsetting
the pigs. And, the results were amazing, lots of very happy pigs.
And, very happy pigs make very good meals. And, Jolan Neni's roast
pork and dumplings are simply
delicious. In fact, the best in all Hungary.
And, very
good meals make everyone glad. Jolan Neni is happy, and her
family, too. Tomatoes, it seems, are more than we think! So, stop
giving roses, give tomatoes instead, and, who knows, your life, too,
may also become a bed of red roses.
Vocabulary
at bay
– entfernt
glad
– happy
nuisance – Ärgernis
pigsty
– Schweinestall
roast
pork - Schweinsbraten
sprig –
Zweig
upsetting
– verärgern
.
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