Legend has it that in 1687 the villagers of Mohács managed to defeat the Turkish army by scaring them away with the help of horrible wooden masks. It is however, more likely, that the tradition arrived about a decade later with the Croatian settlers, whose descendants still play an active part in the festivities. Very similar masks and costumes are found in Bulgaria, parts of Switzerland, Italy and Spain, indicating links with an ancient, pagan ritual associated with spring fertility celebrations.

Mohács, located about 200 km south of the capital, is the best-known Carnival location in Hungary. The six-day-long festival starts on the Thursday before Shrove Tuesday (27^th February to 4^th March in 2014) with the main parade held on Sunday afternoon, 2^nd March. This tradition is acknowledged by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage, and the masquerades, folk music and dance performances, children’s activities, gastro events and handicraft fairs attract several thousand visitors.

The busos, wearing big sheepskin costumes and horned wooden masks make an impressive entrance: they arrive in rowboats from across the Danube and parade through the city, making noise with cowbells and rattles, to scare away winter. Some of them arrive riding fantastical motorized or horse-drawn vehicles. Their helpers, the ‘Jankele’, are groups of children roaming the streets, dressed in rags and wearing stockings for masks, who carry sacks filled with rags to give a playful beating to the girls. In the evening the celebrations concentrate around the huge bonfire in the main square of Mohács, where a coffin symbolizing winter is burned, while over 500 busos dance around in a circle, making an even bigger racket, just to make sure that winter will definitely not come back.

The frightening, devil-like creatures preserve, in fact, ancient folk traditions, as each mask is unique: the skills of carving and painting them are passed down from generation to generation. The festival also features a children’s costume contest, while the art of mask carvers and other craftspeople can be witnessed live. Buso masks are also available as souvenirs unique to Mohács. Other costumes appearing in the parade are the priest, the devil, the old man and woman, and carved animal masks, such as the bull, the boar and the monkey.

On Sale

Komplett angol nyelvtan rendszerező videókurzus

39,900Ft Original price was: 39,900Ft.29,900FtCurrent price is: 29,900Ft.

Kosárba teszem

Quick ViewCompareAdded

On Sale

ANGOL Nyelvtan+Szókincs – átfogó 40 részes videókurzus, középfokra készülőknek is

59,900Ft Original price was: 59,900Ft.49,900FtCurrent price is: 49,900Ft.

Kosárba

Quick ViewCompareAdded

On Sale

Kezdő szintről középfokra (Level 1-2-3-4-5)

95,500Ft Original price was: 95,500Ft.45,400FtCurrent price is: 45,400Ft.

Kosárba

Quick ViewCompareAdded

This carnival tradition is constantly shaped by the buso groups, which are still based on family ties or strong friendships. The members of each group meet regularly throughout the year to discuss preparations, costumes, parade routes. The masked busos are almost exclusively male, women are occasionally allowed but are expected to pretend they are men while wearing the costume. The children and women of the buso groups are welcome in the parade in their Croatian (sokác) national costume. Since only a black and white cloth mask covers their faces, they are called “pretty busos.” The buso groups are in constant rivalry, trying to come up with new ways to entertain the crowds, while preserving the traditions at the same time.

]]> https://www.5percangol.hu/kozepfoku-olvasmanyok/a-history-of-pizza/ Sun, 18 Jan 2026 11:00:16 +0000 https://cmsteszt.5percangol.hu/a-history-of-pizza/

Pizza is everything. What should we have for lunch? Pizza. What should we have for dinner? How about pizza? What should we have for breakfast the next day? Definitely leftover pizza.

One of the most popular foods in the world, pizza has become unique and variants have evolved based on culture and preference. There are so many variations, Italy even proposed that it be proclaimed a protected landmark.

On the PBS Idea Channel, Mike Rugnetta delves into the world of pizza, outlining its humble beginnings (in ancient times, people used “bread as a plate”—pizza began as a simple meal that quickly took on a life of its own) and its ever changing, occasionally polarizing ways of being served.

Our historical pizza journey begins with the iconic New York City Slice. In New York City alone, there are an estimated 2,000 pizza shops, the first of which that we know of having made its NYC debut in 1905 at a restaurant called Lombardi’s. This thin slice is designed for quick service—a plus for the diner on the go.

The New York City slice was developed off the template of Neapolitan pizza; the simple combination of bread, cheese, and tomatoes was considered low-class food at the time, even though these days we classify it as fancy pizza. I’d say we can probably blame that on the “less is more” design standard.

As we move through the history of pizza we learn about the focaccia-based square Sicilian slice, which evolves into the Grandma slice, which evolves into deep-dish. In other words, pizza is the Pokemon of the food world. (The video doesn’t say that, I’m just calling it so.)

Chicago style deep-dish pizza arrived on the scene in the 1940s. This evolution of the Sicilian pizza was uniquely localized, and its preference has divided pizza fans throughout the ages.

Pizza’s origins may be in Italy, but the dish has become an all-American pastime, as proved by the proliferation of frozen delivery and pizza delivery. In 1961, Dominick’s Pizza, later renamed Domino’s, invented the idea that “pizza comes to you.” This seemingly obvious idea revolutionized the industry and how we consume the savory pie today.

If we’re learning about the history of pizza, we inevitably end up with leftover pizza, a dish that magically transforms itself overnight into a different meal entirely. As Rugnetta so eloquently puts it, leftover pizza is “an artifact that remains commemorating D&D games, or Netflix marathons, all-nighters, hack-a-thons and various get-togethers.” Mmm, leftover pizza. So many memories, all of them delicious.

The eighth and final slice in this rundown is the international slice. Pizza has become such a global phenomenon that the pie takes on flavors and distinctions characteristically local to its origin. In other countries you’re likely to find toppings as varied as curry, tuna, and even Vegemite.

However you choose to consume pizza, it’s undeniably one of the most popular comfort foods on the planet. So grab a slice and watch A History of Pizza in 8 Slices on the PBS Idea Channel on YouTube.

What is your favorite pizza topping?

source: nerdist.com

Today, the word blockbuster is usually associated with movies, whether you’re talking about a film that achieved massive success at the box office or a certain defunct video rental chain. Though its meaning is innocuous now, back in the 1940s, it was used to describe something much darker.

According to TIME, the original blockbusters were large, highly destructive bombs used during World War II. The magazine first printed the word in a November 29, 1942, article about an Allied bombing in Italy; the nickname came from the weapon’s ability to decimate entire city blocks. As the British Royal Air Force continued to drop the bombs throughout the war, the name caught on, and it was soon used to refer to anything particularly explosive or extravagant.

Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (1975) is widely considered the first summer blockbuster, but Hollywood’s connection to the word predates it by a few decades. Before blockbuster connoted box office success, it described any bold or noteworthy production. In 1943, TIME wrote, “critics decided that Mission to Moscow is as explosive as a blockbuster,” in reference to the controversial political thriller. By the mid-1950s, producer Max E. Youngstein had defined a blockbuster as any movie that grossed over $2 million, and United Artists was aiming to release at least one blockbuster per month.

Today, there’s no agreed-upon amount a movie needs to make before it’s considered a blockbuster. In general, commercial films that earn major box office returns fit the definition, even if their content isn’t particularly explosive.

source: Mental Floss

A cikk elolvasása után egészítsd ki a cikk összegzését.
Minden hiányzó részre csak EGY szót írhatsz be.

Although, the word blockbuster 1. … usually associated with movies, it was used to describe highly destructive bombs used 2. … World War II.

The nickname came 3. … the weapon’s ability to decimate entire city blocks. As the British Royal Air Force continued to drop the bombs throughout the war, the name caught on, and it 4. … soon used to refer 5. … anything particularly explosive 6. … extravagant.

7. … blockbuster connoted box office success, it described any bold or noteworthy production. 8. … the mid-1950s, producer Max E. Youngstein 9. … defined a blockbuster as any movie that grossed over $2 million. Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (1975) is widely considered 10. … first summer blockbuster.
Today, commercial films that earn major 11. … office returns fit the definition, 12. … if their content isn’t particularly explosive.

keys/megoldások: 1. is; 2. during/in; 3. from; 4. was; 5. to; 6. or; 7. Before; 8. By; 9. had; 10. the; 11. box; 12. even

A Brief History of the Ice Cream Truck

It’s the sound of summer: a string of jangly notes cutting through the sticky-hot air. The response is Pavlovian. Mouths water. Parents reach for their wallets. Kids lace up their shoes and hit the pavement. For Ben Van Leeuwen, it was no different. Growing up in suburban Riverside, Conn., he’d race toward the siren song. The ice cream truck was coming.

In the sea of sweaty people elbowing to place orders, Van Leeuwen always took his time. He’d inspect the full menu. He’d imagine the flavors – Strawberry Shortcake, Choco Taco, King Cone. Then he’d pick what he always picked: a Reckless Rainbow Pop Up. “We were poor,” he laughs. The push pop was cheap.

Today, Van Leeuwen is an ice cream magnate. With six trucks and three storefronts in New York City, the company prides itself on its quality. Handcrafted recipes combine ingredients like Michel Cluizel chocolate from France, pistachios from Sicily, Tahitian vanilla beans from Papua New Guinea.

The history of frozen street treats begins long before Van Leeuwen encountered his first push pop – it begins before even mechanical refrigeration. That the cold treat had to come to America before it could move off kings’ tables and into the hands of common folk makes the story that much sweeter.

WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM

Difficult to obtain and harder to store, ice itself was once a luxury. When the Roman Emperor Nero wanted Italian ice, he ordered it the old-fashioned way—dispatching his servants tofetch snow from mountain tops, wrap it in straw, and bring it back to mix with fruits and honey—a practice still popular with elites in Spain and Italy 1,500 years later. Around the world, monarchs in Turkey, India, and Arabia used flavored ices to punch up the extravagance at banquets, serving frosty bouquets flavored with fruit pulp, syrup, and flowers—often the grand finale at feasts intended to impress. But it wasn’t until the mid-16th century, when scientists in Italy discovered a process for on-demand freezing—placing a container of water in a bucket of snow mixed with saltpeter—that the ice cream renaissance truly began.

The innovation spread through European courts, and before long, royal chefs were whipping up red wine slushes, icy custards, and cold almond creams. Cooks experimented with every exotic ingredient in their arsenal: violets, saffron, rose petals. But while the excitement for ice cream grew, the treats were clearly reserved for the elite. The dessert needed a trip across the pond and a few more centuries of innovation before it could trickle down to the masses.

Ice cream came to America with the first colonists. British settlers brought recipes with them, and the treat found space at the Founding Fathers’ tables. George Washington loved it. Thomas Jefferson was such a fan that he studied the art of ice cream making in France and returned with a machine so he could churn his own flavors at Monticello. But even in this monarch-free land, the frosty desserts were an extravagance. Vanilla and sugar were expensive, and access to ice was limited. To serve the dessert year-round, Jefferson built himself an icehouse, refrigerated with wagonloads of ice harvested from the nearby Rivanna River. Still, even with all the means and materials, the road to producing ice cream was rocky.

Making a scoop was laborious. Cooks had to extract the iced mixture from a frozen pewter bucket, churn and blend it with cream by hand, and place the concoction back into the bucket for additional freezing. To get the desired silky texture, this churning had to be repeated multiple times over days. The process was long and taxing, and generally managed by servants or slaves.

THE ICE AGE

In the 1800s, the ice delivery industry exploded. Companies began harvesting frozen rivers and transporting ice to homes at affordable prices. Before long, ice cream was regularly served in parlors and tea gardens across the country. By the 1830s, ice cream’s role as an Independence Day treat was well established. But for the poor urban populations who couldn’t afford July 4th ices or the fresh ingredients to make ice cream at home, immigrant street vendors came to the rescue. Fresh off the boat and with limited job prospects, these innovators used their culinary talents to grasp at the American dream, selling frozen treats from carts chilled with ice.

Italyand France was where ice cream was first truly developed; they made it delicious. In the U.S., they developed the business. The cheap wooden wagons let proprietors avoid rent and taxes that came with setting up a store. And demand for their wares was always high.

Before the invention of the ice cream cone, vendors scooped ice cream into a regular glass, which a customer would lick clean. Then they returned the glass to the peddler, who would swish it in a pail before refilling it for the next customer. It was an entirely unsanitary practice.

But it was the ice cream sandwich that truly melted the social boundaries, as blue and white collars alike huddled around pushcarts on hot summer days. They started ice cream as a street food. It was a walk-around food—you’d stand up and eat it. Ice cream had become a staple of the American diet—not just for the rich and powerful, but for everybody—and it was about to get even more mobile.

On a winter evening in 1920, candy maker Harry Burt was puttering around his ice cream shop. Burt had made a name for himself by sticking a wooden handle on a ball of candy to create a lollipop. Ready for a bigger challenge, he set out to create an ice cream novelty. He started by mixing coconut oil and cocoa butter to seal a smooth block of vanilla ice cream in the silky chocolate coating. The treat looked good, but it was messy. When his daughter Ruth grabbed for the bar, more of the chocolate coating ended up on her hands than her mouth. Burt’s son, came up with a better idea: Why not use the sticks from the lollipops as handles?

In 1920, Burt invested in 12 refrigerator trucks for distribution around the city. He made sure they were pristine white and put professional-looking drivers in signature white uniforms to signify cleanliness and safety to parents. Then he crafted a scheme for luring the kids. He promised to follow a specified route so families would know when to expect the truck to come by. A bell chimed so everyone would know they could come out and purchase ice cream. Before long, the sound was synonymous with the ice cream man.

The ice cream trucks – except for the trucks’ tune technology—the jingle is now blasted loud and clear through electronic circuits—are unchanged, right down to the classic menu on the side. For close to 50 years, that menu board has changed only four times.

Whether they’re vintage or modern, classic or creative, ice cream trucks have a seductive allure that’s about more than just ice cream. They summon a particular kind of nostalgia—the sense of freedom and possibility that comes from long, carefree summer days and the particular thrill of having a dollar in your pocket and a long list of treats from which to choose. The ice cream man has basically been doing the same thing for hundreds of years now—exciting crowds by delivering something utterly familiar wrapped in different packages. But there’s comfort in that.

source: mentalfloss

Practice some of the words in the text by using them to fill in the gaps in these sentences.

1. The Emperor Nero ordered his servants to …………… snow from the mountains.

2. InItalian courts a …………… of snow was used for freezing.

3. InEuropean courts cooks experimented with exotic …………… .

4. Ice cream was exported to America by the first …………… .

5. First servants or slaves managed the long …………… of making ice cream.

6. Inthe early 19th century …………… appeared where ice cream was served.

7. Poorer people could buy ice cream from street …………… .

8. Ice cream was scooped into a regular glass before the invention of the ice cream …………… .

9. Ice cream became a …………… of the American diet in the 20th century.

10. The ice cream truck reminds people of long …………… summer days.

Key:

1. fetch

2. bucket

3. ingredients

4. colonists

5. process

6. parlors

7. vendors

8. cone

9. staple

10. carefree

1. to let sy know – közölni valakivel/tudatosítani valamit valakivel
   to tell something to someone
2. to look for – lelkesen várni
   to await with hope or anticipation
3. to see sb through – átsegíteni valakit valami nehézségen
   to help or support someone during a difficult period in their life
4. to switch back – visszaváltani
   to return to some previous state or condition, to return to
   something one used to do
5. to turn to – segítségért fordulni és kapni valakitől
   to get help from someone

5 words:

1. leadership – vezetői képesség
   the set of characteristics that make a good leader
2. guidance – irányítás/útmutatás
   help and advice about how to do something or about how to deal with
   problems connected with your work, education, or personal relationships
3. consistency – következetesség
   the quality of always behaving or performing in a similar way,
   or of always happening in a similar way.

4. behaviour – viselkedés
   the way that a person, an animal, behaves in a particular situation
   or under particular conditions
5. approach – hozzáállás
   a way of considering or doing something

Two dog training tips:

1. Leadership is love. Offer your dog somewhere to look for guidance,
   give them security and safety, let them know they’ll always have you to turn to.
   This helps with socialisation, reactivity, anxiety.
2. Consistency is key. No behaviour will change overnight and it is consistency in
   your approach that will see you through. Even if a behaviour does switch overnight,
   it’ll soon switch back without consistency.

sources: Fenrir Canine Leaders, Facebook; The Free Dictionary by Farlex; Merriam-Webster Dictionary; Cambridge Dictionary

A következő feladatban használjátok az igéket és a kifejezéseket a következő mondatok kiegészítésére.

1. Eh, what’s up, doc?
   it is told to the person who has eaten something very quickly
2. I’ll be back!
   when you want to say that you will return and want to emphasize it
3. Run, Forrest, run!
   when you want to encourage or urge somebody to do something or you see somebody running to catch a vehicle and encourage them
4. There’s no place like home.
   Home is the most satisfying place to be.
5. Who ya gonna call? …….!
   When somebody sees something strange or somebody needs urgent help
   when something less serious happens, the others use this sentence and
   the answer as well. Find out what the answer can be ! 🙂

sources: Cambridge Dictionary; Run, Forrest, Run! – Forrest Gump (2/9) Movie CLIP (1994) HD, Movieclips, Youtube
Most pedig használjátok őket a következő mondatok kiegészítésére!

1.Although I extremely enjoyed backpacking in Europe,
it’s great to be back, because _________
2. Leave my birthday cake where it is until the party starts.
You know, _________ and cut your fingers off if you touch it!
3. This morning when I was trying to catch the tram,
people in the stop were shouting: ‘_________’ to me.
4. Oh, I’ve dropped my Mac rouge on the floor!!!!
Oh, _________
5. I gave our son three bananas a minute ago.
Look at him!! _________, you must have been hungry!

keys/megoldások:
1. There’s no place like home.
2. I’ll be back!
3. Run, Forrest, run!
4. Who ya gonna call? ….!
5. Eh, what’s up, doc?

Ernő Rubik was born into a family of creators. The son of a flight engineer (Ernő Rubik Sr.) and a poet (Magdolna Szántó), he grew up in the years after World War II. His father remained a great inspiration for all his life: he taught the young Ernő about creating value and working for your goals. Rubik studied architecture and interior design in Budapest, then worked as an architect and designer. University, he recalls, was a strong influence on his life, allowing him to study crafts that needed a great deal of work, persistence, and practice. As Rubik started a position as a professor at the Academy of Applied Arts and Design, he also spent time with his hobby of building geometrical models. This is what soon led him to create a model with a unique story.

The Cube around the Globe

Rubik, as a university professor, needed a demonstration tool for his classes – something practical that his students could use to model three-dimensional movement and talk about engineering basics. The goal was to have the individual pieces of a structure move without the full model falling apart. Rubik took some inspiration from water flowing through pebbles in the Danube, and he came up with a prototype of 27 blocks of wood, held together by rubber bands. The blocks turned along the sides of the cube, and their positions could be swapped, while the cube was still intact. At first, there were no colours and no complex internal pieces, just the bare wooden structure. A simple but creative idea, with lots of potential – the year was 1974.

Soon, Rubik realized that the movements of the cube could be illustrated better if the sides had different colours. So he chose primary colours, with opposite sides only differing in the amount of the yellow colour component each of them had: white with yellow, blue with green, and red with orange. The cube went from a mere demonstration tool to an exciting logical puzzle, and Rubik patented the idea as a “Spatial logical game” under the registration number RU-158 in 1976. The next challenge was producing it. Since Hungary was a planned economy at the time, it was difficult to find someone to manufacture the game, but a company producing chess pieces eventually took on the job and created the first cubes made out of plastic. The “Magic Cube”, as it was called at the time, made its way onto the shelves of shops in 1977, sold by Konsumex, the state trading company.

In 1979, businessman Tibor Laczi took a Cube to the Toy Fair in Nuremberg, Germany in the hopes of spreading its popularity. Tom Kremer, founder of game licensing company Seven Towns, noticed the Cube, and they signed an agreement for Ideal Toys to release the toy worldwide. First, however, it needed a recognizable name: “The Gordian Knot” and “Inca Gold” were popular candidates, but eventually, “Rubik’s Cube” became the winner, bringing fame to the inventor himself. By 1980, the Cube was sold all around the world, with about 100 million official units finding their owners, and probably at least half as many unauthorized ones doing the same. Today, the number of Cubes sold is over 350 million, making the Rubik’s Cube one of the best-selling toys of all time. It received multiple Toy of the Year Awards, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City included it as a part of its architecture and design exhibit in 1981. (It’s not impossible that Zsazsa Gábor’s US promotion of the Cube helped the process along!) In a nutshell, the Cube became a cultural phenomenon.

The Solution

Of course, one of the most exciting aspects of the Cube is the solution. This is a pretty complex task on paper: after all, the Cube tan take up 43 quadrillion (43×10¹⁸) unique positions! If you turned one side every second for 24 hours straight, it would take you 1,371,512,026,715 years to find every position, assuming you don’t repeat any of them. Nevertheless, there are simple algorithms and complex mathematical equations that try to explain how easy or hard the solution is. The lowest number of turns to solve the puzzle (also known as “God’s number”) is mathematically proven to be 20. The current record for the quickest solution is 3.47 seconds for humans, but as fast as 0.38 seconds for robots. The slowest solution belongs to a British fan, who took 26 years between 1983 and 2009 to finally solve it on his own. This is certainly nothing to be ashamed of – it took Ernő Rubik himself a month to first solve his own logical puzzle.

Life after the Cube

The worldwide success of his creation didn’t change Ernő Rubik too much. It is said that he only swapped his old Fiat 500 but didn’t alter his life drastically. He went on to release several other games, including the Rubik’s Snake, Rubik’s Magic, magic domino, the Rubik’s Clock, and Rubik’s 360. (There were also several versions made of the Cube itself, from a 2x2x2 size all the way to 17x17x17.) He edited a journal called …És játék (…And Games) and started Rubik Stúdió, designing games, and furniture. He also became a full-tenure professor and the president of the Hungarian Engineering Academy. In his free time, he says he is an avid reader, enjoys sailing on the Balaton, and collects succulents as his favourite pastime.

Throughout his life, Ernő Rubik has recognized the importance of education. He is involved in several projects to encourage students to start early with studying science, mathematics, and problem-solving. His International Rubik’s Foundation supports young talents in engineering and industrial design. And while he is a living testament to the power of creative thinking; the value of education, hard work, and the creative process is perhaps best highlighted in his own words: “There is only one freedom: when you can do what you love and what you are talented in”.

Fejlesszük angol szókincsünket miközben gyakoroljuk a nyelvtant is – jöjjön egy tematikus teszt zene témakörben.

St. Lucy’s day

The 13^th of December celebrates the virgin St Lucia of Syracuse, who was martyred for her Christian faith in 304. Due to her purity she is associated with light, and her feast day is on the 13^th of December because in the old calendar this used to be the longest night of the year.

St. Lucy is a very popular saint in the Scandinavian countries, where people feel the lack of sunlight more intensely, and on this day every town and village in Sweden chooses its own Lucia, who is driven around town, preferably in a horse-drawn vehicle, to spread light and song in food stores, factories, old-age homes and medical centres. St Lucia wears a white gown and ‘light in her hair’, which in practice means a crown of electric candles in a wreath on her head. Each year, a national Lucia is proclaimed, with candidates presented in the newspapers a couple of weeks in advance. This is also the day of the Nobel awards closing ceremony and the laureates are greeted by St. Lucy.

In Hungary, Luca-day is remembered as the day when witches are abroad (probably because this used to be the longest night of the year), so people had to protect themselves from evil. They ate garlic and even smeared some on their animals to keep evil spirits away, drew crosses on gates and spread some ash to stop them from entering homes. Brooms were also locked away so witches couldn’t go for a ride. Many superstitions are connected to this day: girls tried to foretell the future by cooking 12 dumplings, hiding a note with male name in each, and the first one to come up to the surface of the boiling water held the name of their future husband. The most well-known superstition is that of the Luca stool, which has to be carved starting today and finished by Christmas. The person who stood on the Luca stool during the midnight Mass was able to recognize the witches in the community.

virgin – szűz
to be martyred – mártírhalált halni
faith – hit
purity – tisztaság
lack of something – valaminek a hiánya
intensely – intenzíven, erősen
preferably – lehetőleg
horse-drawn – ló által vontatott
in practice – gyakorlatilag
wreath – koszorú
to proclaim – kihirdetni
candidate – jelölt
in advance – előre
laureate – díjazott
witch – boszorkány
evil – gonosz
to smear – bekenni
ash – hamu
superstition – babona
to foretell – jósolni
dumpling – gombóc, nokedli
surface – felszín
to carve – faragni
midnight Mass – éjféli mise

It is the time of year when many people try to turn a new leaf and make New Year’s resolutions in an attempt to improve their lives. Are any of the top 40 resolutions familiar to you? This list is the result of a research involving 2000 people and it reveals many of the problems typical of modern life.

Why should we make promises to ourselves? Perhaps because we know that resolutions are hard to stick to, especially when we want to give up a bad habit, like smoking, drinking, or eating too much chocolate. Another reason could be that they test our will-power. After all, going to the gym or cooking a healthy meal after a long day at work means making an extra effort. Traditionally, the beginning of a new year also brings the need for order, the need to get rid of the old stuff and magic some freshness and novelty into our boring daily lives. Selling old unwanted stuff on E-bay is definitely a modern solution to the problem and the money you get could help finance a resolution you’ve made, such as redecorating your home or renewing your hairstyle or wardrobe.

Many New Year’s resolutions focus on improving our health, fitness or finances, which often require sacrifices. Therefore, it is not difficult to see why so many of them last only for a month or so into the year. Why not pick something pleasant for 2018 instead? Taking up a hobby you’ve been postponing for years might make a difference in your stressful life. The poll also shows that many people try to focus on personal relationships as well: spending more time with the kids, meeting one’s friends in person rather than online or admitting that our relationship with our spouse or partner needs some improvement can lead to a more fulfilling life.

According to magazine Health, the top 10 healthiest resolutions include not only the old favourites of losing weight, giving up smoking, getting more sleep and cutting back on alcohol, but also some surprising suggestions: travelling, going back to school, volunteering and staying in touch with friends and family all contribute to our well-being. With this in mind, it might be worth establishing a new tradition, such as meeting up once a month for a meal with extended family or vowing to go hiking regularly with a group of friends. Staying clear of people who only add to your stress levels is also a wise decision, so this might be the right time to see which relationships only drain your energy. Research also shows that going back to school has a positive influence on both career and mental health, as people who learn something new as adults stay sharper in old age as well. Don’t hesitate to get out your books, now you have scientific proof for the extra benefits of regular English lessons.

New Year’s resolutions don’t have to be very complicated in order to make your life more exciting. Extreme sports and bungee jumping can give you a thrill but many people are not cut out for this kind of thing. By saving a smaller sum of money every month, you could take the holiday you couldn’t afford last year, for instance. Another option is to try a new food every week or get together with friends for a film club and a chat. Take initiative and you’ll find small things can go a long way.

to turn a new leaf– új életet kezdeni
resolution– fogadalom
attempt – próba
to improve– javítani, javulni
familiar– ismerős
to reveal– felfedni, elárulni
to stick to something– kitart valami mellett
bad habit– rossz szokás
to test– próbára tenni
will-power– akaraterő
after all – végülis
gym – edzőterem
to make an effort– erőfeszítést tenni
order – rend
to get rid of something – megszabadulni valamitől
novelty– újdonság
to finance– pézel, pénzt biztosít valamire
to require sacrifices– áldozatot követel
therefore– következésképp, ezért
to last – tart (időben)
for a month or so– úgy egy hónapig
to take up– elkezdeni (hobbit, sportot)
to postpone – elhalasztani
to make a difference– számít, különbséget jelent
in person– személyesen
to admit– beismerni
spouse– házastárs
fulfilling– teljes
to cut back on– csökkenteni valamit
suggestion– javaslat
volunteering– önkénteskedni
to stay in touch– tartani a kapcsolatot
to contribute to– hozzájárulni valamihez
well-being– jólét
with this in mind– ezt szem előtt tartva
to be worth– érdemes
to establish– alapítani
extended family– nagycsalád
to vow – megfogadni valamit
to staying clear of– távol maradni
decision– döntés
to drain one’s energy– leszívja az energiáit
mental health– mentális egészség
sharp – éber, okos, éleseszű, értelmes
to hesitate– habozni
scientific proof– tudományos bizonyíték
benefits– jótékony hatás
in order to– azért, hogy
exciting – izgalmas
thrill– borzongás, izgalom
to be cut out for– valakinek való valami
to afford– megengedheti magának
to take initiative– kezdeményezni
to go a long way– sokat számítani

Agatha Christie always said that she had no ambition to be a writer although she made her debut in print at the age of eleven with a poem printed in a local London newspaper. 1. ________  .

By her late teens she had had several poems published in The Poetry Review and had written a number of short stories. 2. ________  .

Agatha Christie wrote about the world she knew and saw, drawing on the military gentlemen, lords and ladies, spinsters, widows and doctors of her family’s circle of friends and acquaintances. She was a natural observer and her descriptions of village politics, local rivalries and family jealousies are often painfully accurate. 3. ________ 

The most everyday events and casual observations could trigger the idea for a new plot. Her second book The Secret Adversary stemmed from a conversation overheard in a tea shop: “Two people were talking at a table nearby, discussing somebody called Jane Fish… That, I thought, would make a good beginning to a story — a name overheard at a tea shop — an unusual name, so that whoever heard it remembered it. A name like Jane Fish, or perhaps Jane Finn would be even better.”

And how were these ideas turned into novels? She made endless notes in dozens of notebooks, jotting down erratic ideas and potential plots and characters as they came to her “I usually have about half a dozen (notebooks) on hand and I used to make notes in them of ideas that struck me, or about some poison or drug, or a clever little bit of swindling that I had read about in the paper”.

She spent the majority of time with each book working out all the plot details and clues in her head or her notebooks before she actually started writing. Her son-in-law Anthony Hicks once said: 4. ________  

As grandson Mathew Prichard explains, “she then used to dictate her stories into a machine called a Dictaphone and then a secretary typed this up into a typescript, which my grandmother would correct by hand. I think that, before the war, before Dictaphones were invented, she probably used to write the stories out in longhand and then somebody used to type them. 5. ________  . I think a book used to take her, in the 1950s, just a couple of months to write and then a month to revise before it was sent off to the publishers. Once the whole process of writing the book had finished then sometimes she used to read the stories to us after dinner, one chapter or two chapters at a time. 6.________  . Of course, apart from my family, there were usually some other guests here and reactions were very different. Only my mother always knew who the murderer was, the rest of us were sometimes successful and sometimes not. My grandfather was usually asleep for most of the time that these stories were read but the rest of us were usually very attentive. It was a lovely family occasion and then a couple of months later we would see these stories in the bookshops.”

source: How Christie Wrote, agathachristie.com

A következő opciókat használva egészítsd ki a szöveget. A 6 kiegészítendő helyre 8 opciót találsz, így két extra opció van.

1. “You never saw her writing”, she never “shut herself away, like other writers do.”
2. She wasn’t very mechanical, she wrote in a very natural way and she wrote very quickly.
3. She was fond of reading on poisons and mysterious drugs.
4. Finding herself in bed with influenza, her mother suggested she write down the stories she was so fond of telling.
5. Although she got married twice, she praised the institution of marriage.
6. Mathew Prichard describes her as a “person who listened more than she talked, who saw more than she was seen.”
7. I think we were used as her guinea pigs at that stage; to find out what the reaction of the general public would be.
8. But it was her sister’s challenge to write a detective story that would later spark what would become her illustrious career.

keys/megoldások:
1. D.; 2. H.; 3. F.; 4. A.; 5. B.; 6. G.; extras: C. and E.

A következőkben 8 érdekes információt tudhatsz meg Hercule Poirot-ról.

1. Hercule Poirot first appeared in Agatha Christie’s first published novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles, which debuted in 1920. In her initial version Poirot explained all in a court room setting, but this was changed to a more familiar drawing-room discussion by the time it was published.
2. The first description of Poirot was by Hastings in The Mysterious Affair at Styles who said, “He was hardly more than five feet four inches but carried himself with great dignity. His head was exactly the shape of an egg, and he always perched it a little on one side… The neatness of his attire was almost incredible; I believe a speck of dust would have caused him more pain than a bullet wound.”
3. Poirot takes great pride in his appearance from his immaculately groomed moustache to his patent leather shoes. He uses a special preparation called ‘Revivit’ to conceal his grey hair.
4. Poirot’s obituary appeared on the front page of The New York Times in 1975, in advance of the publication of Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case – the first time a fictional character received this treatment.
5. In a rare filmed interview, Agatha Christie was asked which was the best Poirot novel. After some hesitation (“Oh dear that’s a tall order!”) she declared that it was probably Murder on the Orient Express.
6. In 2014, HarperCollins published the first authorised Poirot continuation novel, The Monogram Murders by Sophie Hannah, which reached the bestseller charts in 16 territories including the UK and US. This has since been followed by three further books, most recently The Killings at Kingfisher Hill in 2020.
7. Poirot stars in 33 novels and 59 short stories and 1 original full-length play by Agatha Christie, and 4 continuation novels by Sophie Hannah.
8. Poirot is very particular about what he drinks. He regularly consumes hot chocolate and tisanes, but he once called decaffeinated coffee an ‘abomination’.

source: https://www.agathachristie.com/characters/hercule-poirot/facts-about-hercule-poirot

A következő feladatban Poirot idézeteket olvashatsz, de az idézetek hiányosak.  A megadott 3 opcióból döntsétek el, melyik egészíti ki a legjobban az idézetet.

source: https://www.agathachristie.com/news/2018/eight-quotes-from-hercule-poirot