Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Happy Halloween!!!!!!



History of Halloween, like any other festival's history is inspired through traditions that have transpired through ages from one generation to another. We follow them mostly as did our dads and grandpas. And as this process goes on, much of their originality get distorted with newer additions and alterations. It happens so gradually, spanning over so many ages, that we hardly come to know about these distortions. At one point of time it leaves us puzzled, with its multicolored faces. Digging into its history helps sieve out the facts from the fantasies which caught us unaware. Yet, doubts still lurk deep in our soul, especially when the reality differs from what has taken a deep seated root into our beliefs. The history of Halloween Day, as culled from the net, is being depicted here in this light. This is to help out those who are interested in washing off the superficial hues to reach the core and know things as they truly are. 'Trick or treat' may be an innocent fun to relish on the Halloween Day. But just think about a bunch of frightening fantasies and the scary stories featuring ghosts, witches, monsters, evils, elves and animal sacrifices associated with it. They are no more innocent. Are these stories a myth or there is a blend of some reality? Come and plunge into the halloween history to unfurl yourself the age-old veil of mysticism draped around it.

More info: http://www.halloween.com/

What's "continental" about a continental breakfast?


What's "continental" about a continental breakfast?

Just because you live on a continent and are eating something in the morning, that doesn't necessarily mean it's a "continental breakfast." While croissants and hot chocolate in Belgium would qualify, penguin bacon and Sanka in Antarctica wouldn't. That's because "continental" refers to Europe, really mostly to France, which for many years enjoyed cultural hegemony over its neighbors.

A typical continental breakfast consists of "a breadstuff (such as toast, croissants, pastries) and coffee, tea, or other liquid." Furthermore, the continental breakfast is the "antithesis of the hearty English breakfast," in which you sit down to cereal, bacon, eggs, sausage, tomatoes, toast, marmalade, tea, and, most likely, some Alka Seltzer.

The continental breakfast concept isn't limited to Europe, as evidenced by the numerous American hotel chains that offer this service. And according to Ochef.com, some countries, especially those in Scandinavia, do add fruit and cheese to the bread menu, and even a boiled egg or salami.

http://www.top-greetings.com

Sunday, October 28, 2007

How and when did Japan receive its name?


How and when did Japan receive its name?

The English word for Japan came to the west from early trade routes. The early Mandarin Chinese word for Japan was recorded by Marco Polo as Cipangu. The two Chinese characters may be translated as "origin of the sun" or "land of the rising sun". However, the Cantonese word for Japan, from which the word Japan was probably originally born, is Jatbun. In Malay the Cantonese word became Japang and was thus encountered by Portuguese traders in Malacca in the 16th century. It is thought the Portuguese traders were the first to bring the word to Europe. It was first recorded in English in 1577 spelled Giapan.The Japanese flag is called Hinomaru (circle of the sun). The red circle on the white background symbolizes the sun.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Stuying Tourism in the Antipodes.
Have a look at what they do and improve your vocabulary while reading.

Study, travel, work, explore…We invite you to discover education in paradise
You are invited to study at New Zealand's only resort college. Queenstown Resort College offers world-class hospitality and tourism education at all levels - from tertiary students to industry executives, tourists and visitor groups.
Located in Queenstown, New Zealand, our education facility offers hospitality management training, adventure tourism education, internships, English language, short courses for visitors, personal and leadership development courses, customised programmes and more.
Study at our unique resort college set amongst the most spectacular scenery in the world.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Road trip (BBC English learning)

Have a look at some compositions written and read by some students of English from different countries. Just have a look and pay attention to the way they deal with this topic...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/roadtrip/journeys_shortlist.shtml

María Jordano

What types of tourism can you practise in India?


"Home to the Indus Valley civilization and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four major world religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated here, while Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism arrived in the first millennium CE and shaped the region's variegated culture. "

As you can see for these photographs, India is a wonderful country which offers a wide range of activities for tourists. If you have travelled to this country, please tell us about it.
If you haven't, imagine all the activities you could do there, the different types of tourism you could practise and tell us about it.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Why do airlines overbook flights?


Why do airlines overbook flights?Airlines routinely overbook flights to compensate for no-shows: people who reschedule or opt not to fly. An empty seat on a plane means a loss of revenue to an airline.Overbooking is a standard practice and perfectly legal. Many airlines regularly overbook busy routes by as much as 200 percent. By law, all bumped passengers are entitled to some form of compensation, usually in the form of a free ticket.Thus, the airlines have to balance the risk of a no-show with the compensation they have to pay to bumped passengers. They overbook according to a number of variables: whether it's a holiday season, how the airline market is doing in general, and perhaps most importantly, a specific flight's history of no-shows.An average of 50,000 passengers are bumped by the nation's ten largest airlines every year.
From: www.top-greetings.com

Thursday, October 18, 2007

What's Ecotourism?

Listen to these students of biology talking about Ecotourism and compare to the texts founds in the textbook dealing with this topic. Could you find other ways of doing "Ecotourism"? Could you understand well what she said?