Here’s why she has two birthdays, and you only get one

Happy birthday to the Queen! On 21^st of April Her Majesty celebrated her actual birthday (as opposed to her official birthday, which falls in June). Here’s a complete guide to why we celebrate her birthday twice each year.

So the Queen gets two birthdays? Yep. Her Majesty was born on April 21, 1926 and she turned 93 this year. She will celebrate her official birthday on June 14.

Why does she get two? It’s tradition – the sovereign is given two birthdays if their birth date is not in the summer. This is because there will be a better chance of good weather for the birthday parade, called Trooping the Colour, which is a ceremony performed by regiments of the British and Commonwealth armies.

Have other kings and queens done this? Yes. All British monarchs have been given the option of having two birthdays since 1748. Edward VII, whose birthday fell in November, did it too.

Does she get presents? And cake? Well, we don’t know. The Queen celebrates her actual birthday in private (although last year she spent the day at the races) but we like to think she tucks into a very regal slice of birthday cake on occasion. At midday on April 21, she gets a 41 gun salute in Hyde Park, a 21 gun salute in Windsor Great Park and a 62 gun salute at the Tower of London.

So surely this is a national holiday. Do we get a day off? No, but you’re welcome to toast her if you like. Some places in the Commonwealth (such as Australia and New Zealand) get a public holiday on her official birthday, but we’re not so lucky.

source: www.metro.co.uk

to celebrate – ünnepelni
as opposed to – valamivel ellentétben
official – hivatalos
Her Majesty – Őfelsége
sovereign – uralkodó
a chance of – esély valamire
parade – parádé, felvonulás
regiment – ezred
the Commonwealth – Brit Nemzetközösség
the option of – valaminek a lehetősége
although – habár
the races (horserace) – lóverseny
to tuck into – bekebelez, jó étvággyal eszik
gun salute – díszsortűz
to toast someone – valakinek az egészégére inni, pohárköszöntőt mondani 

True or false?

1. The Queen was born in the summer.

2. Her Majesty celebrates her birthday in private.

3. The Queen’s official birthday is held in June.

4. The Queen’s birthday is a national holiday in the United Kingdom.

5. She is the first British Queen to have two birthdays.

Answers: 1-F 2-T 3-T 4-F 5-F

I. Fill in the gaps with the words in the table.

1. Many teenagers like ……………….. in their own room.

2. My father is really good at ……………….. . He made the table and chairs for the garden.

3. You can’t ……………….. unless you have a permit.

4. Fred decided to sell his ……………….. .

5. When we were children, we often ……………….. in the park. It’s easier than tennis.

6. My mum made this pullover. She’s really good at ……………….. .

7. I need a new pair of walking boots because we ……………….. at the weekend.

8. The Tour de France is a major ……………….. competition.

9. Many elderly men enjoy ……………….. with their friends at home or in the park.

II. Match the opposites – vocabulary related to leisure activities.

Now fill in the gaps with a word from the table. 

7. I decided to ……………….. jogging. My knees hurt.

8. Jake ……………….. basketball. He plays for the best team in the city.

9. I’m not going to the gym anymore. I find it quite ……………….. and repetitive.

10. Mary is ……………….. bowling but she comes along to watch and hang out with us.

11. The kids need too spend more time ……………….. . How about taking them canoeing?

12. Tom ……………….. watching football on TV but he doesn’t like going to a match.

answers:

I. 1-listening to music 2-DIY 3-go angling 4-stamp collection 5-played badminton 6-knitting 7-are going hiking 8-cycling 9-playing chess

II. 1-d 2-c 3-a 4-f 5-b 6-e 7-give up 8-is brilliant at 9-boring 10-is bad/terrible at 11-outdoors 12-enjoys

How to create a safer password

A short password, or one using a name or a word in a dictionary, can be easily cracked by computers. And simply adding “@” for the letter “a” isn’t going to fool the bad guys. Here’s cryptographer and computer security expert Bruce Schneier’s advice on using and managing your passwords.

1. Use a “passphrase”: a sentence you can remember. Then replace each word of the phrase with its initial, a similar digit or symbol, or, at random, use a whole word.

For example:

MY DOG NATE WOOFS AND RUNS IN HIS SLEEP

m d N8 w @ r ! h s

The new password is mdN8w@r!hs. (Don’t use this one, though.)

2. That may still be tough to remember. If you need to, write a reminder and hide the paper somewhere safe. But write the phrase or a hint, not the password.

3. Generally, if you have a strong password, you don’t need to change it unless you suspect you’ve been hacked. But don’t use the same one for different services.

source: CNN

Match the words with the definitions.

answers: 1-b 2-e 3-d 4-a 5-c

Brazil
A trip to this South American country would not be complete without sipping a sweet caipirinha. “It is a tropical drink, very fresh and can be made of several fruits like lemon, orange, watermelon, peach and others,” said Natalia Polidoro, a student in São Paulo.

The key ingredient is cachaça, Brazil’s national spirit, distilled from sugarcane juice. Unlike rum, which is made from molasses, cachaça is made from fresh, fermented sugarcane juice. The spirit is unmatched in popularity in its home country – hundreds of Portuguese synonyms exist for the liquor, from uísque brasileiro (Brazilian whiskey) to água-benta (holy water).

Sweden
A uniquely Swedish invention, punsch is a liqueur made from an imported southeastern Asian liquor called arrack. As Swedish resident Lucas Lundström explained, the Swedish East India Company started importing arrack in 1733. The resulting liqueur was “a smashing success in high society”, he said.

At 20% to 30% alcohol, the liquor has a “spicy, sweet” flavour and is usually served on ice. But in winter, the drink should be heated to 40C and makes an ideal complement to Swedish pea soup, Lundstrom said.

United States
Alex Pak of Santa Clara, California, considered a number of libations – including the martini and famous Southern sweet tea (iced tea loaded with sugar) – before settling on the root beer float as one drink every visitor should try. Getting its name from the sassafras tree root originally responsible for its unique flavour, root beer was an exclusively North American beverage until recently. Though sassafras itself is no longer used due to health concerns, its distinct flavour has been replicated today with a mix of spices, other roots and artificial flavours.

With unique versions now produced in every US state, root beer gets special treatment with the addition of a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream. The resulting root beer float was made famous at the roadside restaurant chain A&W, where the treat is still served in a frosted mug.

Canada
When visiting French Canada, try Sortilège, a brand of whiskey made with maple syrup, advised Anna Demers, who lives outside of Ottawa. “We always had some kind of alcohol with maple syrup but now it [is] commercially produced,” she said. A sweeter liqueur called Coureur des Bois is also now available, and Demers said it’s more popular among women.

She also vouched for the liquid sap fresh from the maple tree that the native population first introduced to French settlers. “It’s very healthy to drink in its original form,” she said. The sap tends to be only 1% to 2% sugar and has a more subtle maple flavour than the boiled-down syrup.

source: BBC

Want to get hitched but don’t have a man? Head to Japan where a company sells ‘solo weddings’

Do you dream of having a white wedding, but despair at the lack of a man in your life to share the big day with? You’re not alone – a new trend is cropping up in the Far East for solo weddings. As women become financially independent, they are putting off settling down with partners until later on in life. But they still want the all-about-me no-expense-spared party that comes with getting hitched, without actually having to tie the knot.

Travel company Cera Travel in Kyoto, a city in southern Japan, has started a new service called ‘Solo Wedding.’ It lets single women enjoy all the fun and glamour of the day, including spending the honeymoon night in a fancy hotel. The two-day trip sees the clients get dress fittings, choose their own bouquets, get their hair and make-up done and even choose a man to accompany them for a photo shoot.

The service started in June and is aimed at single, working women who have decided to pursue careers instead of follow the traditional Japanese route of getting married. It is also being marketed at women who have been divorced but want to feel special again. So far ten women have taken up the offer, which costs around £1,700 ($2,750).

A spokesman for the company said: ‘It is a truly unique experience and one that we are very proud of. All the details are taken care of by wedding professionals and for those who don’t want a traditional white wedding dress we offer our Geisha service, which sees the brides going on an historical photo shoot dressed up as Geishas.’

Businesswoman Nagi Daisen, 43, said: ‘I’ve been in a relationship for years but we’ve never got round to actually getting married. So I decided to do this for myself and it was amazing fun. I always wanted to wear a wedding dress and to be pampered like this and now I have been. It was great.’

The honeymoon night does not include the model used for the photo shoot, although the company said the women mostly invited their boyfriends to join them in the honeymoon suite after the ‘wedding’ was over.

source: Daily Mail

True or false?

1. The new service is aimed at women whose boyfriend has refused to get married.

2. The brides get to pick the dress, the flowers and have their hair and make-up done.

3. The brides can choose between a white dress and a traditional Geisha outfit.

4. Japanese women traditionally pursue careers.

5. The trip includes a night at an elegant hotel with whoever the brides want to take along.

answers: 1-F 2-T 3-T 4-F 5-T

Normal
0

false
false
false

EN-GB
X-NONE
X-NONE

/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:””;
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0cm;
mso-para-margin-right:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0cm;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}

Normal
0

false
false
false

EN-GB
X-NONE
X-NONE

/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:””;
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0cm;
mso-para-margin-right:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0cm;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}

Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps arrested on DUI charge

Fill in the gaps with the appropriate words.

Legendary Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, 1 ………………..  early Tuesday in Maryland on a DUI charge, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority.

Phelps, known as the “Baltimore Bullet” and winner of 18 Olympic gold medals, was arrested at about 1:40 a.m. and charged with 2 ……………….., excessive speed and crossing 3 ……………….. within the Fort McHenry Tunnel on I-95 in Baltimore, the authority said in a statement. He was later 4 ……………….. .

Phelps, who returned to competitive swimming in April, said on his official Twitter account that he understands the 5 ……………….. of his actions. “I know these words may not mean much right now but I am deeply sorry to everyone I 6 ………………..,” Phelps, 29, said in a series of three tweets.

USA Swimming issued a written statement Tuesday afternoon. “The news 7 ……………….. Michael Phelps and his actions are disappointing and unquestionably serious. We expect our athletes to conduct themselves 8 ……………….. in and out of the pool,” the statement said.

A Maryland Transportation Authority police officer was operating a 9 ……………….. on southbound I-395 leaving Baltimore when a white 2014 Land Rover passed traveling at 84 mph in a 45-mph 10 ……………….. . The officer followed the vehicle onto northbound I-95, through the tunnel and stopped the Land Rover just beyond the tunnel’s toll plaza.

The 22-time Olympic medallist was identified as the driver by his 11 ……………….. and appeared to be under the influence, the statement said. He was unable to perform satisfactorily a series of standard field 12 ………………..,” the statement added. “Mr. Phelps was cooperative throughout the process.”

www.cnn.com

answers: 1-was arrested 2-driving under the influence 3-double lane lines 4-released 5-severity 6- have let down 7- regarding 8-responsibly 9-stationary radar 10-zone 11-driver’s license 12-sobriety tests

Normal
0

false
false
false

EN-GB
X-NONE
X-NONE

/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:””;
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0cm;
mso-para-margin-right:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0cm;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}
table.MsoTableGrid
{mso-style-name:”Table Grid”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-priority:59;
mso-style-unhide:no;
border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;
mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-border-insideh:.5pt solid windowtext;
mso-border-insidev:.5pt solid windowtext;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}

Restaurant owner jailed for serving OPIUM-laced noodles to keep customers coming back

A noodle bar owner in China was jailed after he admitted lacing his trademark dish with opium in an attempt to keep customers coming back for more. Police said the restaurant owner admitted to officers that he had been grinding poppy buds into his food. He owned up after one of his regular customers tested positive for the drug during a routine traffic stop earlier this month.

Customer Liu Juyou, 26, was baffled when he tested positive for opium, which is processed chemically to make the deadly and highly-addictive drug, heroin. But he managed to prove his innocence by convincing family members to eat at the Yan’an restaurant in Shaanxi province and then have themselves tested.

Zhang admitted buying 2 kg of poppy buds for $100 (£61) in August to crush into the noodle dish to “make it taste better and to improve his business”. Although the quantity in the noodles was not enough to be habit-forming – meaning Zhang’s plan backfired – it is enough to show up in drug tests.

The chef was jailed for 10 days, while Mr Joyou had to spend 15 days behind bars after police dismissed his appeal, saying their priority was to detect drugs.

China has a history of adding poppy powder to dishes, though it has been banned for some time.

www.mirror.co.uk

to admit – beismerni
to lace with – káros anyagot belecsempészni
to grind – darálni
poppy bud – mákgubó
to own up – bevallani
regular customer – törzsvendég
routine traffic stop – rutin közúti ellenőrzés
to be baffled – összezavarodik
deadly – halálos
highly-addictive – nagyon addiktív
innocence – ártatlanság
to convince – meggyőzni
to improve – javítani
habit-forming – függőséget okozó (drog esetében)
to backfire – visszafele sül el
behind bars – rács mögött
to dismiss the appeal – elutasítani a fellebbezést
to be banned – be van tiltva

Match the words with the synonyms.

answers: 1-c 2-e 3-a 4-b 5-d

Normal
0

false
false
false

EN-GB
X-NONE
X-NONE

/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:””;
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0cm;
mso-para-margin-right:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0cm;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}
table.MsoTableGrid
{mso-style-name:”Table Grid”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-priority:59;
mso-style-unhide:no;
border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;
mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-border-insideh:.5pt solid windowtext;
mso-border-insidev:.5pt solid windowtext;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}

Dog survives operation to remove 43 socks form his stomach

Sock quantities should not be hard to figure out; one on each foot and zero in each stomach. Unfortunately, a 3-year-old Great Dane got confused and instead ate 43 of the things.

The dog’s owners took him to an animal hospital in Portland, Oregon, after they found him groaning and retching. The hospital took X-rays and confirmed there were socks in the animal’s stomach, which were removed in a two-hour operation.

Despite the intrusive surgery, the dog survived. Dr Ashley Magee, from the DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital, said it was one of the most bizarre incidents the hospital had ever encountered and broke hospital records, unsurprisingly. She told CNN: ‘We opened up his stomach and kept removing sock after sock of all different shapes and sizes.’

Veterinarians at the hospital were so impressed with the haul that they entered it into the annual ‘They ate What?’ competition and won $500 for third place. They were beaten by a frog who ate 30 rocks in his cage, and a German shorthaired pointer who managed to consume a kebab skewer.

Don’t worry, they both survived.

www.metro.co.uk

quantity – mennyiség
to figure out – kiszámolni, rájönni
Great Dane – dán dog
to get confused – összezavarodni
to retch – öklendezni
to take X-rays – megröntgenezni
to confirm – megerősíteni
despite – ellenére
surgery – műtét
incident – eset
to encounter – találkozni valamivel
to break a record – rekordot dönteni
to remove – eltávolítani
to be impressed with – lenyűgözi valami
annual – éves
competition – verseny
frog – béka
cage – ketrec
pointer – vadászkutya
skewer – nyárs

Match the words with the synonyms.

answers: 1-d 2-e 3-b 4-a 5-c

Normal
0

false
false
false

EN-GB
X-NONE
X-NONE

/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:””;
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0cm;
mso-para-margin-right:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0cm;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}
table.MsoTableGrid
{mso-style-name:”Table Grid”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-priority:59;
mso-style-unhide:no;
border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;
mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-border-insideh:.5pt solid windowtext;
mso-border-insidev:.5pt solid windowtext;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}