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Holiday Lessons
New Year's Day - Valentines Day - Easter - April Fool's Day - May Day - Summer Solstice - Battle of the Boyne - August Bank Holiday - Harvest Festival - Hallowe'en - Bonfire Night - Christmas
Apocalyptic
Task 1
Look in a dictionary to find the meanings of the highlighted words
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Mel Gibson’s mythic Mayan adventure is so tooth-grindingly tense it is almost impossible to enjoy it in any conventional sense of the word. Shot on location in Catemaco — one of the last remaining tracts of rainforest left in Mexico — the film charts the epic struggle of a handful of native hunters when their idyllic village is decimated by a tribe of Mayan warriors.
After 20 minutes gently picking out the earthy human innocence of this timeless village, Gibson lets rip with a vintage blast of bone-crunching brutality. His film never recovers its dramatic cool. It was not meant to, of course. The director and his Cambridge-educated writer, Farhad Safinia, are fleshing out a controversial theory of why the Mayan civilisation vanished from the face of the earth, and it seems to revolve around a hero who looks remarkably like the Brazilian footballer, Ronaldinho.
Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood) is one of the lucky survivors, but luck is not on his side. He has stashed his wife and child down a well without a ladder, and he is a prime candidate for human sacrifice...
The disorientating drama, cleverly milked by Gibson, is that we know less about these ferocious Mayan warriors than Mr Paw. They have incredibly bad teeth. Their beefy leader wears human jawbones as fashion accessories. And one of his psychotic Mayan officers takes great pleasure in torturing Youngblood’s noble Paw for sheer pleasure…
The finest production designers in Hollywood lend an eager hand. Heads are tossed down the bloody steps of the highest temple. They sound like coconuts being smashed. Still-pumping hearts are ripped out of terrified captives to sate the thirst of the Sun God…
There is plenty more grimness here than The Passion of the Christ, and potentially fewer people to offend. Yet it still makes the stomach churn. Youngblood’s Paw is not going to give up his beating heart without a damn good struggle. And Gibson, for all his well-meaning seasonal endeavour, is not going to let the cast sneak off without an eye-watering spread of very un-Christian payback moments.
Like the Mad Max of yore (or should that be lore?), Youngblood’s hero makes a dash for freedom, and a terrific chase movie ensues.
I am plainly too lily-livered for this hearty pagan stuff, but a moment to remember if only to close your eyes: a jaguar biting a man’s face off, and what it looks like bouncing around the floor from a severed head’s point of view. Perhaps not a moment to treasure, but definitely novel.
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,14936-2489563,00.html
Task 2
Use one of the new words in the following sentences
- He is so…………… he wouldn’t stand up to anyone.
- With the winter comes bad weather and ……………
- There are many…………… in Dartmoore Prison.
- My brother is taller and more…………… than me.
- Coming out of a dark cinema in the day time can be quite ……………
- The right way to govern a society is a …………… matter.
- I need a…………… meal.
- When I am old I want to live with my family in …………… countryside.
- A horse with wings is a…………… animal.
- That’s a…………… not a puma!
- Your stomach is part of your digestive……………
- The Roman army were famous for their…………… against their enemys.
- The squirrel…………… away nuts for the winter.
- Anna always thinks of …………… ways to pass her time.
- The police …………… the suspect for information.
- At the cliff’s edge there is a…………… drop.
- I tried not to smoke but now I must…………… my desire.
- You get butter if you…………… milk long enough.
- The Celts believed in…………… gods.
- This armour comes from days of……………
Task 3
Answer these questions
1. Where was the film shot?
2. Where was the writer educated?
3. What is the actor’s name who plays the hero?
4. What does the Myan leader wear as accessories?
5. Why are hearts ripped out of captives?
6. What other two films are mentioned?
Task 4
Using reported speech, quote the reporter four times.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Task 5
Discuss these questions
- What kind of movies do you like?
- Can you describe the last film you saw?
- What do you know about Mel Gibson?
- Does this film appeal to you?
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Free English Vocabulary Lessons Within the vocabulary section of EVOLVE there are lessons based on the academic word list which was compiled in order of frequency by LALS, Victoria University of Wellington. The lessons ensure that the student becomes familiar with the new vocabulary and can really use it in their own text. Also under this section you will find advice on learning and retaining vocabulary and some short cuts to understanding new words using word roots. |
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Free English Writing Lessons Our writing advice guides students from the alphabet up. There is advice on spelling rules, punctuation and oration. Another feature of the writing section includes lesson plans based on sentence structure, which can be used in conjunction with the lesson plans on grammar. At the advanced level there is advice on how to fulfil academic writng tasks. Finally there are many IELTS style writing topics to inspire students to write. |
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Free English Listening Lessons The listening section focuses on our currnet affairs podcasts which are unique to EVOLVE and can be accompanied by the lesson plans that focus on both listening and understanding and also feature elements of vocabulary and grammar to give a well rounded listening session. Apart from this there is advice on listening to lectures and gap fill exercises for famous songs which have been selected to relate to grammar points. |
| Free English Forum | Free English Games |
| In the EVOLVE Forum we offer students and teachers the chance to get together. Whether you are an ESL teacher looking for a job, or a confused student looking for some help, the EVOLVE forum can offer you support. It costs nothing to post on the forum and can introduce you to the ESL community at large. Why not share some helpful advice or make new friends in our penpal network? | Games can lighten the tone of an otherwise boring session, as well as having a genuine didactic place as a part of a class. All of the games in this session have been carefully considered and included for their educational merit. |