February 8, 1915: The motion picture Birth of a Nation, directed by D.W. Griffith and considered the first great movie production, premiered in Los Angeles.

February 9, 2005: North Korea admitted for the first time that it possessed nuclear weapons, and announced it was suspending participation in disarmament talks.

February 10, 2005: Influential playwright Arthur Miller, whose works included Death of a Salesman and The Crucible, died aged 89. He was briefly married to Marilyn Monroe.

February 11, 1990: Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s black nationalist leader, was released after 27 years in jail for charges related to the ANC’s armed campaign against apartheid.

February 12, 2003: Scientists said the monarch butterfly population appeared to have made an almost complete recovery from the massive die-off of the previous winter.

February 13, 1895: French brothers Louis and Auguste Lumiere patented the Cinematographe, ajoint camera and film projector that ushered in the birth of modern cinema.

February 14, 2005: Rafik Hariri, Lebanon’s former Prime Minister, was assassinated when a massive bomb struck his motorcade in Beirut, killing him and 22 other people.

Fill in the gaps with words from the list (two of them are not necessary):

1. He talked only … because he didn’t have more time.

2. The engineer … his new invention immediately.

3. The president defended himself against the … .

4. She’s very … , thousands of people read her books.

5. The boy … that he had broken the window.

6. He walked around the fields, collecting … with a net.

7. He was a well-known … , his plays were popular in the theatres.

8. She was happy to meet her … classmates again.

9. The parties … the talks for the holidays and continued them after that.

10. The police prevented the … of the minister by terrorists.

a. influential

b. charges

c. assassination

d. patented

e. ushered

f. former

g. briefly

h. recovery

i. suspended

j. butterflies

k. admitted

l. playwright

Key:

1.g. 2.d. 3.b. 4.a 5.k. 6.j. 7.l. 8.f. 9.i. 10.c

1620 – The Mayflower departs England

The ship Mayflower sailed from Plymouth, England to the New World with 102 passengers 395 years ago today. Half of the passengers were entrepreneurs aiming to find a better life in the New World while the other half was devout Christians who headed to America to shake loose from the bonds of the Church of England and to worship God following their own interpretation if the Bible. The story of the Mayflower is the iconic American tale of adventure and survival. Originally, the ship headed to Virginia, but due to bad weather they were forced off course and on November 21 the “Pilgrims” reached Massachusetts, where the first permanent European settlement became founded in late December.    

True or False?

1. Mayflower set sail from Virginia.

2. Many of the passengers were Christians heading to the New World for religious freedom.

3. The ship sailed smoothly with no detours.

4. The ship reached Virginia in December.

5. Due to bad weather conditions they were forced to stop in Massachusetts.

6. The first permanent European settlement was founded by the “Pilgrims” of the Mayflower.

Key: F, T, F, T, T