Happy Halloween!

History of Halloween 

Halloween falls on October 31st each year in North America and other parts of the world.

What do you know about Halloween? Do you celebrate it in your country?

Vocabulary

to evolve (v)- to change little by little
spirit (n)- ghost, some people believe the spirit and body separate when a person dies
holy (adj)- sacred, very good, related to religion. Hallow comes from the word holy.
saint (n)- an honored, holy person
evil (adj)- very, very bad
lantern (n)- lamp or enclosed light that can be carried around
turnip (n)- a purple and white vegetable that grows in the ground

Here is a little history about it:

Like many other holidays, Halloween has evolved and changed throughout history. Over 2,000 years ago people called the Celts lived in what is now Ireland, the UK, and parts of Northern France. November 1 was their New Year's Day. They believed that the night before the New Year (October 31) was a time when the living and the dead came together.

More than a thousand years ago the Christian church named November 1 All Saints Day (also called All Hallows.) This was a special holy day to honor the saints and other people who died for their religion. The night before All Hallows was called Hallows Eve. Later the name was changed to Halloween.

Like the Celts, the Europeans of that time also believed that the spirits of the dead would visit the earth on Halloween. They worried that evil spirits would cause problems or hurt them. So on that night people wore costumes that looked like ghosts or other evil creatures. They thought if they dressed like that, the spirits would think they were also dead and not harm them.

The tradition of Halloween was carried to America by the immigrating Europeans. Some of the traditions changed a little, though. For example, on Halloween in Europe some people would carry lanterns made from turnips. In America, pumpkins were more common. So people began putting candles inside them and using them as lanterns. That is why you see Jack 'o lanterns today.

These days Halloween is not usually considered a religious holiday. It is primarily a fun day for children. Children dress up in costumes like people did a thousand years ago. But instead of worrying about evil spirits, they go from house to house. They knock on doors and say "trick or treat." The owner of each house gives candy or something special to each trick or treater.

Happy Halloween!

A Warm Welcome to CPE Students

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A/AN and SOME/ANY

To continue on some review of the basics, in English there are rules.  Let's see if you can remember them.

B. `a´ or `an´ ? (Countable Nouns)

1. ____________ uncle
2. ____________ hour
3. ____________ bus
4. ____________ dress
5. ____________ oven
6. ____________ beach
7. ____________ teacher
8. ____________ insect
9. ____________ taxi
10. ____________umbrella
11. ____________player
12. ____________eye
13. ____________castle
14. ____________artist
15. ____________river
16. ____________tent
17. ____________doctor
18. ____________exercise
19. ____________lady
20. ____________house
21. ____________envelope
22. ____________taxi
23. ____________idea
24. ____________computer
25. ____________chair

Answers

1. an uncle
2. an hour
3. a bus
4. a dress
5. an oven
6. a beach
7. a teacher
8. an insect
9. a taxi
10. an umbrella
11. a player
12. an eye
13. a castle
14. an artist
15. a river
16. a tent
17. a doctor
18. an exercise
19. a lady
20. a house
21. an envelope
22. a taxi
23. an idea
24. a computer
25. a chair

C. `a / an´, `some´ and `any´

1. Lisa´s got a / an towel.
2. Ana´s got a / some rucksack.
3. Lucía’s got an / some insect repellent.
4. Javi hasn´t got some / any sunglasses.
5. Antonio´s got a / some swimming costume.
6. Ignacio hasn´t got any / some sandwiches.
7. Angeles has got an / a apple.
8. There aren´t any / some cafés in the city.
9. I haven´t got any / some money.
10. Have you got some / any sun cream?
11. We´ve got some / any sandwiches.
12. We need a / an torch for our camping trip.
13. There isn´t some / any litter on the beach.
14. I´m going to buy any / an ice cream.
15. Can I have some / a strawberries?
16. You can have this cereal with some / a milk.
17. I´ve got any / some fruit.
18. There isn´t some / an elephant.
19. There aren´t some / any sharks.
20. Are there some / any plants?
21. Is there a / an tree?
22. Is there some / any cheese in the fridge?
23. There is a / some water in the fridge?
24. The supermarket´s got some / a strawberries.
25. I´ve got a / some soup in the fridge.

Answers

1. Lisa´s got a towel.
2. Ana´s got a rucksack.
3. Lucía’s got some insect repellent.
4. Javi hasn´t got any sunglasses.
5. Antonio´s got a swimming costume.
6. Ignacio hasn´t got any sandwiches.
7. Angeles has got an apple.
8. There aren´t any cafés in the city.
9. I haven´t got any money.
10. Have you got any sun cream?
11. We´ve got some sandwiches.
12. We need a torch for our camping trip.
13. There isn´t any litter on the beach.
14. I´m going to buy an ice cream.
15. Can I have some strawberries?
16. You can have this cereal with some milk.
17. I´ve got some fruit.
18. There isn´t an elephant.
19. There aren´t any sharks.
20. Are there any plants?
21. Is there a tree?
22. Is there any cheese in the fridge?
23. There is some water in the fridge?
24. The supermarket´s got some strawberries.
25. I´ve got some soup in the fridge.

D. `a / an´, `some´ and `any´

1. There isn´t _________ electricity at the campsite.
2. There aren´t _________ sunglasses in the shop.
3. I´ve got _________ apple in my bag.
4. There are _________ sandwiches.
5. I´ll buy _________ bottle of water at the beach.
6. I haven´t got _________ radios in my room.
7. Is there _________ internet café in your town?
8. There aren´t _________ computers in my classroom.
9. Have you got _________ brothers and sisters?
10. My teacher´s got _________ new car.
11. There´s _________ water in the bottle.
12. I´m going to buy _________ chips.
13. There is _________ camera.
14. She´s got _________ pear.
15. You can have _________ potatoes.
16. Have you got _________ lemons?
17. I´ve got _________ cherries.
18. We need _________ water.
19. We´ve got _________ bread.
20. We don´t need _________ strawberries.
21. Have we got _________ cheese?
22. Have you got _________ apple?
23. We need _________ banana.
24. I´ve got _________ orange juice.
25. They haven´t got _________ hamburgers.

Answers

1. There isn´t any electricity at the campsite.
2. There aren´t any sunglasses in the shop.
3. I´ve got an apple in my bag.
4. There are some sandwiches.
5. I´ll buy a bottle of water at the beach.
6. I haven´t got any radios in my room.
7. Is there an internet café in your town?
8. There aren´t any computers in my classroom.
9. Have you got any brothers and sisters?
10. My teacher´s got a new car.
11. There´s some water in the bottle.
12. I´m going to buy some chips.
13. There is a camera.
14. She´s got a pear.
15. You can have some potatoes.
16. Have you got any lemons?
17. I´ve got some cherries.
18. We need some water.
19. We´ve got some bread.
20. We don´t need any strawberries.
21. Have we got some cheese?
22. Have you got an apple?
23. We need a banana.
24. I´ve got some orange juice.
25. They haven´t got any hamburgers.

Countable & Uncountable Nouns

A chair is in the room.  Some chairs are in the room.
There is a table in the office.  There are some tables in the office.
I like cream on my apple pie.  Some creme is nice on my apple pie.
Can I have a snack?  There are some snacks on the kitchen table.
Would you like some Swiss chocolate?  Chocolate is fine.



Exercises

A. Are these nouns countable or uncountable?

1. water
2. fruit
3. coconut
4. bread
5. DVD
6. meat
7. ball
8. snack
9. glasses
10. pen
11. milk
12. chair
13. gasoline
14. table
15. cream
16. money
17. oil
18. insect
19. sofa
20. yogurt
21. school
22. bus
23. food 
24. chocolate
25. ship 

Answers

1. water (U) some water
2. fruit (U) some fruit
3. coconut (C) a cocunet
4. bread (U)some bread
5. DVD (C)5 DVDs
6. meat (U)soma sofae meat
7. ball (C)a ball
8. snack (C)a snack
9. glasses (C)some glasses
10. pen (C)a pen
11. milk (U)some milk
12. chair(C)a chair
13. gasoline (U) some gasoline
14. table (C)a table
15. cream (U)some cream
16. money (U)some money
17. oil (U)some oil
18. insect(C)an insect
19. sofa (C) a sofa
20. yogurt(U) some yogurt
21. school (C) a school
22. bus (C) a bus
23. food (U) some food
24. chocolate (U) some chocolate
25. ship (C) a ship

Did You Know...?

...TED videos are subtitled in 40+ languages?

For instance, read about beatboxing:

Beatboxing (also beatbox, beat box or b-box) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of producing drum beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice. It may also involve singing, vocal imitation of turntablism, and the simulation of horns, strings, and other musical instruments. Beatboxing today is connected with hip-hop culture, being one of "the elements", although it is not limited to hip-hop music.^[1][2] The term "beatboxing" is sometimes used to refer to vocal percussion in general (see vocal percussion for details).

Check out Tom Thum. Begin here.

Be sure to choose your language in the drop-down box and read along for better understanding. Enjoy!

5 Verb Mistakes

Shall we visit 'Grammarly' and re-learn something?  Yes,  of course you know this! 
But a reminder isn't so bad is it?

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Street Art

Street art is, by definition, an urban phenomenon — it’s called “street art,” after all, not “dirt road art.”

But a group of renowned street artists whose murals adorn buildings in cities around the world have embarked on an endeavor evocative of the Land Art movement.

For example:

Painted Desert Project 

The Project was spearheaded by Chip Thomas, Artist, who came across a Stretch of Highway in northern Arizona, the Painted Desert, and decided to get to work....

He pasted a few of his own large-scale images onto the sides of buildings, and before he knew it other artists began adding their own pieces. Now the project has become a little more organized, and artists are being invited out to work on new large-scale pieces in the desert.

The list of artists signed up to participate — or who have already completed their murals — is a veritable who’s who of the street art scene, including the likes of Gaia, Chris Stain, Labrona, Overunder, Doodles, Yote, and more. Their often intricate and colorful works make for surreal juxtapositions with the pristine surrounding landscape.

The only other comparable project, appropriately enough, is at the other end of Arizona.

The Boneyard Project 

The Boneyard near Tuscon features a fleet of abandoned aircraft that have been painted by a similarly eclectic set of artists. Its roster of participants includes the likes of Dan Colen, Kenny Scharf, and Ron English, making it a decidedly less DIY and community-driven endeavor than the Painted Desert Project. You can follow its progress on Chip Thomas’s blog.

For the original article, please visit Bluon Artinfo.