Sunday 31 October 2010

HAPPY HALLOWE'EN!!!

Celebrate Hallowe'en and have lots of fun !


Halloween (or Hallowe'en) is an annual holiday observed on October 31, primarily in theUnited StatesCanadaIreland, and the United Kingdom. It has roots in the Celtic festival ofSamhain and the Christian holiday All Saints' Day, but is today largely a secular celebration.
Common Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, wearing costumes and attending costume parties, carving jack-o'-lanternsghost toursbonfiresapple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, committing pranks, telling ghost stories or other frightening tales, and watchinghorror films.

Wednesday 27 October 2010

South Africa could ban vuvuzelas

Vuvuzelas have an irritating sound!



Vuvuzelas could be banned in South African football grounds unless Kaizer Chiefs fans improve their behaviour.

Vuvuzelas were a source of irritation for many TV viewers of the World Cup
At a recent cup game, supporters of the country's most popular club threw two vuvuzelas and a cabbage onto the pitch.
Chiefs have been handed a suspended fine of US$72,130, while their chairman was ordered to make a public apology.
"Should vuvuzelas continue to be used as missiles they could be banned," the Premier Soccer League's prosecutor Zola Majavu said on Thursday.
Many football fans watching this year's World Cup in South Africa on television wish that vuvuzelas had been banned, given the wasp-like drone that accompanied match commentaries.
However, thousands of supporters took vuvuzelas to games, with many visiting fans purchasing an item that came to symbolise the 2010 World Cup.
Should any Chiefs fan throw a missile onto the pitch for the rest of the season, the Johannesburg-based club must pay its fine - and could prompt a vuvuzela ban.
Chiefs were also ordered to pay costs of US$3,000 for the disciplinary hearing and told to hold a news conference to denounce spectator misbehaviour.

Sunday 24 October 2010

On how the leopard got its spots

In what Nature is concerned, nothing is at random!

A leopard's coat pattern is different from that of other wild cats

Leopards' spots and tigers' stripes are a camouflage closely tied to their habitats, researchers say.
A UK team examined the flank markings of 37 species of wild cats in a bid to understand the spectacular variety of their colour patterns.
The scientists say that cats living in the trees and active at low light levels are the most likely to have complex and irregular patterns.
It is not the first study to suggest that wild cats need spots to "vanish" in dense forests, sandy deserts or snowy mountains.
But this time, the researchers analysed the colour patterns' detailed shapes and complexities, stating that these two factors are vital for camouflage.
To examine different patterns, the team used images obtained from the internet and classified them with the help of mathematical formulas.
"[Some species] are particularly irregularly and complexly spotted," William Allen from the University of Bristol, the lead author of the study, told BBC News.
"The pattern depends on the habitat and also on how the species uses its habitat - if it uses it at night time or if it lives in the trees rather than on the ground, the pattern is especially irregularly spotted or complexly spotted."

Friday 22 October 2010

Hi Kids from 7thA and 7th B!

If you want to do exercises for the test, write what you want to look for in the box Search this blog on the side bar, on the right and them click on Search. It will show the links you need. Click on the postage name and you will access them. 


I hope you study a lot for the Formative Test.
See you next week.
Have a nice weekend
Your English teacher,


Mª Dulce Branquinho

Wednesday 20 October 2010

Euromillions £113m ticket claimed

The UK's largest ever lottery win has been claimed and paid out, Camelot has announced.
The winner had until 6 April 2011 to come forward
The record-breaking £113m Euromillions Lottery jackpot prize followed a draw on 8 October.
The winner beat odds of more than 76 million to one to pick the winning numbers which were nine, 30, 35, 39, 46, with lucky stars six and eight.
According to the Sunday Times Rich List 2010, the ticket-holder could become the UK's 589th wealthiest person.
A spokeswoman for Camelot said a winning ticket had been produced and had been verified.
On Tuesday the lottery operator revealed it had received more than 1,000 lost ticket claims relating to the jackpot.
The latest winner's wealth will eclipse that of the likes of pop stars Barry and Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees, who are said to be worth £110m, Phil Collins, who has a fortune of £108m, Rod Stewart, who has £105m, and David Bowie, who has an estimated £100m to his name.
About 2,400 lottery millionaires have been created in the UK since the National Lottery launched in 1994.
The previous largest lottery winner in the UK was an anonymous player who scooped £84.4m in May.
Tickets for Euromillions are sold in nine countries - the UK, France, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Irish Republic, Portugal and Switzerland - with ticket-holders in all those countries trying to win a share of the same jackpot each week.
Camelot is the operator for the competition in the UK.

Tuesday 19 October 2010

Audio slideshow: The Dog and the Whale


SWEET, CUTE AND INTELLIGENT!


 LABRADORS ARE THE BEST!


He is one of an elite team of detection dogs used by scientists studying a number of species including right whales and killer whales.Sniffer dog Tucker uses his nose to help researchers find out why a killer whale population off the northwest coast of the United States is in decline. He searches for whale faeces floating on the surface of the water, which are then collected for examination.
BBC Radio 4 reporter Andrew Luck-Baker travelled to the Pacific Ocean to meet the black Labrador and his handlers.
The Dog and the Whale can be heard on BBC Radio 4 at 2102 BST on Tuesday 19 October 2010. It will then be available on the BBC iPlayer.

Sunday 17 October 2010

Bachelor giraffe in Bristol finally gets a girlfriend

A lonely giraffe in Bristol has finally found love after a worldwide search for a girlfriend which lasted four years.

Genevieve has been introduced to lanky bachelor Gerald following a 1,000 mile (1,609km) journey from Eastern Europe to Noah's Ark Zoo Farm in Wraxall.
Keepers at the zoo have been searching for a suitable girlfriend for the 15ft (4.6m) male since he arrived in 2006.
Head keeper Chris Wilkinson said that Genevieve was "well worth the wait" and Gerald was "a very lucky giraffe".
Now seven-year-old Gerald will not have to bend down quite so far as Genevieve stands only a few feet shorter than him at 12ft (3.7m).
Staff will now monitor the two giraffes closely and help them adjust to each other slowly as Genevieve gets used to her new surroundings.
...and they lived forever happy!

Friday 15 October 2010

Lightening bolts clear up New York sky


NEW YORK, NEW YORK!
Under a thunderstorm


This is the moment a lightning bolt appears to strike the Statue of Liberty in New York. New York photographer Jay Fine had spent the night braving the storm in Battery Park City, Manhattan, in a bid to get the perfect picture. Jay spent nearly two hours poised with his camera and took more than 80 shots before striking lucky with this particular bolt of lightning at 8.45pm on 22 September. He said he had been waiting 40 years to get the picture.
To capture the shots Jay used a Nikon D300s with 60mm f/2.8 lens on the following settings: Aperture: F/10, Shutterspeed: 5 seconds, ISO: 200.

Thursday 14 October 2010

Chile miners 'may go home soon'


Chile miners 'may g 





Click to play

Several are receiving treatment for dental and eye problems, and two have the lung disease silicosis.
However, doctors say they are surprised at their general good condition.
Luis Urzua made maps of the area where they were trapped to aid rescue efforts.
Some of the 33 miners rescued after 69 days trapped underground in northern Chile may leave hospital as 
early as Thursday, officials say.

    Sunday 10 October 2010

    Boy from Leicester turns 10 on the 10 /10 at 10.10 in 2010


    A quite ununsual situation, isn't it?
    George Lippitt celebrated his birthday with his family
    George Lippitt, from Thurcaston, turned 10 at 1010 BST on 10/10/2010.
    The family gathered to celebrate at home before moving on to a party with George's friends. He said the day and its significance were "amazing".
    His mother Jodie Lippitt, 34, said: "I couldn't believe it when the midwife wrote the time and date on his sheet - we have been waiting for this day."
    George said he had known about the significance of his 10th birthday for a long time - but others took some convincing.
    "I have been waiting for today for years and now it is here it is amazing," he said.
    "I was telling my friends what was going to happen but some of them did not believe me until all the attention started to happen and then they were just 'Wow'!"
    Mrs Lippitt said: "When I found out I was pregnant I was told there was a 99.9% chance the baby would be unhealthy, so when he arrived safe and well it was a real relief.
    "He was born at a special time and has been special ever since."