We have all heard about Independence Day, right? It’s the film starring Will Smith who fights against an alien invasion to save the world. Well, yes it is the title of a film, but of course there is so much more behind the United States’ biggest and most important day of the year. It’s even celebrated around the world to recognise the importance of the declaration of Independence.

But what exactly is Independence Day? Why does the United States celebrate this day, and why is it such an important day to them?

The United States, as we know today, was once a vast land that had become home to colonists from Great Britain. They were people who had travelled there to make a better life for themselves.

The Thirteen Colonies created were established on the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. The colonies were: Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts Bay, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island and Providence. Each colony developed its own system of self government.

During the revolution and after many years of intervention, the British Government was demanding higher taxes and also making the colonists follow more and more of their rules. 

So the colonies decided that the time had come for them to govern themselves, and to live by their own rules and pay their own taxes, and most importantly make their own decisions about how they live their lives and look after the country. They had decided that they no longer wanted Great Britain to tell them what to do and how to do it, and so they informed the British government that they wanted to become an independent country.

The Congress met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and they appointed a committee. A committee is a group of people who had to work together to write a document that, in this case a document that would tell Great Britain that the American people had decided to govern themselves.

So, who wrote the Declaration of Independence?

The committee of five consisted of John Adams from Massachusetts, Roger Sherman from Connecticut, Robert Livingston from New York, Benjamin Franklin from Pennsylvania, and Thomas Jefferson from Virginia.

They decided that they would ask one of the committee members to write the draft document. They chose Thomas Jefferson. He worked on this for many days in secret, until he had written a document that he thought said everything important that the committee had discussed.

On June 28, 1776, the committee came together to read Jefferson’s work. Because they only had one chance they made some changes to the document and declared their independence from the British on July 2, 1776. However, the official date that they chose to mark this historic moment in history and make it theirs for real was actually July the 4^th 1776.

John Trumbull’s famous painting is often identified as a depiction of the signing of the Declaration, but it actually shows the drafting committee presenting its work to the Congress.

The document sets out their ideas and beliefs in how the country should be governed; declaring that ‘all men are created equal’ and that people have a right to ‘Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness’.  And that is why they celebrate this day and call it ‘Independence Day.’

But to make the document official and law in the country, the Congress ordered that all members must sign the Declaration of Independence and they all began signing the ‘official’ copy on August 2, 1776. In January of the next year, Congress sent signed copies to all of the states. The people who signed the Declaration risked being hanged for treason by the leaders in Great Britain. They had to be very brave to sign something that would be considered a crime!

Of course, The Declaration of Independence is more than just a piece of paper. It is a symbol of the country’s independence and commitment to certain ideas that many people live their lives by. 

The signed, engrossed copy of the Declaration, now badly faded, is on display at the National Archives in Washington, DC.

How is the day celebrated?

In America it is simply often referred to as the 4^th of July and the day is celebrated with fireworks and parties across the country, which include parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, political speeches and ceremonies. Because it’s a public holiday, people take the day off to be with friends and family. This is also one of the busiest weeks for travel in the states as people take advantage of the extended holidays to take vacations.

You will almost definitely also hear the countrie’s National Anthem – The Star Spangled Banner, that will be played right across the United States of America on the 4^th of July. 

The London Eye may be one of the city’s most popular attractions, but there are many facts travellers don’t know about it. At 443 feet high, the London Eye is currently the fourth-largest Ferris wheel in the world, but it doesn’t even belong to the top 20 tallest structures in London itself. The tallest building in the city is the Shard, topping out at 1,004 feet high. The circumference of the wheel is 1,392 feet, so if it weren’t a wheel, it would actually be taller than the Shard.

A ride on the London Eye takes 30 minutes, and it travels at a speed of about 0.6 miles per hour.

Husband-and-wife team David Marks and Julia Barfield came up with the idea for the Eye in response to a 1993 competition asking Londoners to design a new landmark celebrating the millennium. The wheel opened on March 9, 2000. It was behind schedule, so technically didn’t open on the millennium.

With more than 3.5 million people checking out the Eye every year, it’s now the most popular paid tourist attraction in the U.K. The most popular free attraction is the British Museum, which sees more than 6 million visitors each year.

The operators of the Eye keep track of the celebs who’ve taken the most rides on the attraction: In the U.K., Kate Moss is the winner, with 25 spins. The American celebrity who holds that distinction is Jessica Alba, who’s gone on the Eye 31 times. The Eye has 32 capsules, one for each of the city’s 32 boroughs, but they’re numbered from one to 33. Why? As with many buildings and other structures, there is no No. 13 capsule – whether the superstition about that number is warranted or not, the cars skip from 12 to 14.

The entire wheel weighs more than 1,000 tons, or well over 1 million pounds. It was assembled flat on ground and moved onto eight temporary islands on the River Thames; the structure was raised into place in September 1999.

More than 5,000 people have gotten engaged on the Eye since it opened. If you want to do the same in a private capsule, it’ll cost you £360 but champagne is included. More than 500 weddings have also happened there, with the first one taking place in 2001.

In 2004, a man dressed as Spiderman climbed the attraction and spent 18 hours on top of a pod, allegedly to call attention to fathers’ rights in the U.K. Since the Eye opened in 2000, many cities – including Las Vegas, Seattle, and Atlanta – have opened observation wheels whose designs were directly inspired by the attraction. An exact replica of the wheel can be found about 30 miles outside of London – in miniature form, anyway, in Windsor. On a clear day from the top of the London Eye, you can (almost) see forever – or, at least, as far as Windsor Castle.

Decide whether the statements are true or false. 

Key: 1. True 2. False 3. True 4. True 5. True 6. False 7. False 8. True 9. True 10. False 11. True 12. True 13. False 14. True

to get/find/have one’s sea legs
meaning: the ability to adjust to a new situation
magyarul: belejönni valamibe
example: She’s only had two lessons, she hasn’t found her sea legs yet. – Még csak két órát vett, még nem jött bele.

a spit/drop in the ocean
meaning: an inconsequential amount
magyarul: csepp a tengerben
example: Many companies donated medicine to help survivors, but it was just a drop in the ocean. – Sok vállalat adományozott gyógyszert a túlélőknek, de ez csak csepp volt a tengerben.

to boil the ocean
meaning: to waste one’s time
magyarul: pazarolni az időt felesleges tevékenységgel
example: You can’t get him to change. You’re just boiling the ocean. – Nem tudod megváltoztatni. Csak az idődet pazarlod.

between the devil and the deep blue sea
meaning: having only two bad choices
magyarul: két tűz között, csak két rossz közül tudni választani
example: I was caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, when my father asked me to mow the lawn and my mother wanted me to write my homework. – Két tűz között voltam, apám azt akarta, hogy nyírjam le a füvet, anyám pedig azt, hogy írjak leckét.

to be at sea
meaning: confused
magyarul: tanácstalan
example: We had a lot to do, but with no Internet connection, we were at sea. – Sok dolgunk volt, de internetkapcsolat nélkül tanácstalanok voltunk.

to make waves
meaning: to cause difficulty, disturbance, controversy
magyarul: szándékosan problémát teremteni, hullámokat verni
example: We’ve finally settled, please don’t make waves. – Végre megállapodtunk, kérlek, ne csinálj problémát!

a sea change
meaning: a complete change
magyarul: óriási változás
example: The data represent a sea change in the corporate environment. – Az adatok óriási változást mutatnak a vállalati környezetben.

The coast is clear.
meaning: it is safe to go somewhere or do something because no one is watching or listening
magyarul: tiszta a levegő
example: You can come out of the bedroom now, the coast is clear. – Most már kijöhetsz a hálószobából, tiszta a levegő.

to have a whale of a time
meaning: to really enjoy yourself
magyarul: nagyon jól érezni magát, állatira élvezni valamit
example: We had a whale of a time at the pub yesterday. – Állatira élveztük a tegnap estét a pubban.

to rock the boat
meaning: to create a problem that wasn’t there, to challenge the status quo
magyarul: megzavarni a kialakult nyugalmat, megbillenteni a hajót
example: I think I should tell her the truth, but I don’t want to rock the boat. – Azt hiszem, el kellene mondanom neki az igazságot, de nem akarok bajt.

oceans of something
meaning: a very large amount
magyarul: sok, jelentős, rengeteg
example: After two weeks of vacation, there was an ocean of work to catch up with. – Két hét vakáció után tengernyi munkát kellett behozni.

I. Fill in the gaps with the idioms from the table.

1. It took only a day on the boat …………………. I got used to it very quickly.

2. Both choices seem quite bad, Jen is …………………….

3. Everyone seems contented now. You shouldn’t …………….., I don’t like controversy.

4. A thousand dollars may seem a lot, but it’s only ………………. compared to the millions that need to be spent.

5. Brad waited outside until ……………..

6. This was probably the party of the year. I had ……………..

II. Match each idiom to its definition.

Answers:  

I. 1-to find my sea legs 2-between the devil and the deep blue sea 3-rock the boat 4-a spit/drop in the ocean 5-the coast was clear 6-a whale of a time

II. 1-e 2-a 3-b 4-f 5-c 6-d

by oneself  – egyedül, önállóan
Samantha likes to walk through the woods by herself.- Samantha szeret egyedül menni az erdőben.

on purpose – szándékosan, direct
It was no accident that he broke my glasses. He did it on purpose.  –Nem baleset volt, hogy összetörte a szemüvegemet. Szándékosan tette.

to get along with –  jól/nem jól jön ki valakivel
How are you getting on with your new neighbour?  – Hogyan jössz ki az új szomszéddal?

to lie down –  lefekszik
If you are tired, why don’t you lie down for an hour or so?- Ha fáradtvagy, miért nem fekszel le egy órára?

to make a difference (to) –  fontos, hatással van, lényeges
Does it make any difference to you where we go for dinner?  – Lényeges számodra,hogy hova megyünk vacsorázni?

to pick out – kiválaszt
Mary picked out a good book to give to her mother as a Christmas gift.- Mary kiválasztott egy jó könyvet az anyukájának karácsonyra.

to sit down – leül
We sat down on the bench to watch the ducks.- Leültünk apadra, hogy nézzük a kacsákat.

to stand up – feláll
When the principal entered the classroom, everyone stood up.-Amikor az iskolaigazgató belépett a terembe, mindenki felállt.

to take one’s time –  kihasználja az idejét (gyakran felszólító módban használjuk)
There’s no need to hurrydoing those exercises. Take your time.  – Felesleges kapkodni a feladattal. Használd ki az idődet!

to take out – eltávolít, kivesz, kiszed, elővesz, elvisz valakit valahova
1)     Take out your books and open them to page twelve.  – Vegyétel elő a könyveiteket, és lapozzatok a tizenkettedik oldalra.
2)     Did you take Sue out last night?-Elvitted Sue-t valahova tegnap este?

to talk over – átbeszél, megvitat
Before I accepted the new job offer, I talked everything over with my wife.- Mielőtt elfogadtam az állásajánlatot, átbeszéltem mindent a feleségemmel.

Makes: 8-12

Calories: 150

Fat: 7g

Saturated fat: 3.5g

Suitable for freezing: no

• 320g pack ready-rolled puff pastry
• 4-6 tablespoons vanilla custard
• 36-48 seedless red grapes, halved
• 6-8 tablespoons apricot glaze or sieved apricot jam
• Icing sugar, for dusting

1. Set the oven to 220°C or Gas Mark 7. Unroll the puff pastry and trim away the edges. Cut the pastry in half lengthways, then cut widthways to give either 8 or 12 rectangles, or have a mixture of sizes.

2. Use the tip of a knife to score a rectangle just in from the edge of the pastry, taking care not to cut all the way through, and make cuts around the edges of the rectangles and spread them out on a baking tray.

3. Spoon a little custard into the centre of each and spread it out within the scored rectangle, using about 1 teaspoon custard on smaller size rectangles and 2 teaspoons on larger ones.

4. Arrange halved grapes on top. Heat the apricot glaze or jam with 1 tablespoon water until it’s runny and brush a layer over the grapes and the top of the pastry.

5. Bake the pastries in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the pastry is risen and golden. Remove them from the oven and brush over another coating of warm apricot glaze or jam.

6. Transfer the pastries to a wire rack and leave them to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature, with a little icing sugar dusted over the top. 

The Faroe Islands are located in the Atlantic Ocean, halfway between the UK and Iceland. It is a self-governing archipelago and comprises of eighteen volcanic islands that are connected by a network of tunnels, bridges and ferry routes.

Every village is surrounded by a stunning landscape, and it rains and snows a lot, waterfalls flow continuously. At first glance, all houses seem abandoned. In a lot of villages half of the houses stand empty, as more and more of their inhabitants are emigrating from the island in pursuit of greater opportunities. The Faroese are constantly moving away from the smallest villages, settling in the bigger, main villages. Young Faroese people move abroad – mainly to Denmark, to travel or to pursue a higher education, but mostly don’t return to their hometown afterwards.

Faingnaert reveals a community hanging on firmly to their roots and coloured houses, while underlining that one day these villages must inevitably disappear.

Kevin, who gained a degree in sociology prior to becoming a photographer, has a real interest in capturing the lives of small communities in remote locations. To create this photos series, the photographer immersed himself in different villages in the Faroe Islands, couch-surfed and hitch-hiked his way across the islands, finding doors opening to him everywhere he went.

He spent a month on the Islands and his goal was to visit and document these remote villages before they are completely abandoned. As on the islands everybody knows everybody, he always found a connection to people living in the remote villages. People are either related, or they are friends from friends, or they simply know each others’ names through stories. When he spent a couple of hours with someone, he always asked if he could direct him to the next person. Faroese people love to talk about each other, in a good way.

People on the islands are quite shy and introverted, but they are friendly and hospitable, so listening to stories told in the welcoming warmth of Faroese homes, Faingnaert learned to appreciate the small, simple comforts of life. As Kevin says about his memorable experience in the Faroe Islands:

“I have a lot of memorable experiences to take away from this project. One, in particular, was a day I spent with Simun Hanssen, a retired sailor from the island of Svínoy, where only twelve people lived when I was there. Since his retirement years ago, Simun has been collecting bottles with messages inside on the shores of the island. Every morning he walks around the island, looking for bottles with a message inside. In recent years he has found around sixty of them. He showed me some of the bottles he’d discovered and the messages they contained. Some were love letters, some were kid’s drawings, and some were just random poetry. When there’s an address enclosed in the message, Simun makes a habit of writing to them. He once even visited one of the message senders in Norway. He told me most of the messages come from Canada. I have a fond memory of that day with Simun, reading messages from bottles and listening to his stories. I also enjoyed going to church on Sundays. I’m not religious and I only went to church to pray a couple of times when I was a child. In contrary to the giant, stone-cold churches I’m used to, the churches in the small Faroese villages are made of wood and have a cosy, colourful interior. On a stormy Sunday, the organist asked me if he could play a song for me during the ceremony. I asked him if he could play the Brabançonne, the national anthem of Belgium. I was missing home a lot on that day. He played the anthem with ease, and I will never forget the melody of the Brabançonne blending with the sound of roaring waves and Arctic wind outside.”