LEAP YEAR DAY

What is a leap year?

A leap year is a year in which one extra day has been inserted at the end of February. A leap year consists of 366 days, whereas other years, called common years, have 365 days.

The extra day, the 29 February, is the 60th day of a leap year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 306 days remaining.

When is the next Leap Year?

Leap years generally occur every four years. The next leap year will fall in 2012.

Why is it called a Leap Year?

Hundreds of years ago the leap year day had no recognition in English law. The day was 'leapt over' and ignored, hence the term 'leap year'.

Why do we have a leap Day?

The 29 February is known as a leap day and it is added to the calendar during a leap year. This extra day is added every four years to bring the solar year of 365¼ days into line with the calendar year of 365 days.

A Leap Day Tradition

The one day of the year on which, traditionally, women can propose to men. It was considered that as the day also had no legal status, it was reasonable to assume that tradition had no status, so women took advantage of this and proposed to the man they wanted to marry.

A law once existed in Scotland forbidding a man to refuse a proposal made to him. Punishment for such an offence was a large fine.

This tradition goes back to an old Irish legend concerning St. Patrick and St. Bridget in the 5th Century.

In the 5th century, a nun by the name of St. Bridget, petitioned St. Patrick on behalf of all women in that they have a more active role in choosing their husbands. As a result of this request, women were allowed to propose to men once every four years.

Leap Day Superstition

In Scotland it is thought unlucky to be born on a Leap Year’s Day.

Interesting Fact about Leap Years

You can work out which year will be a year year by dividing the year by 4. Years which are evenly divisible by 4, such as 2004 and 2008 are leap years. However, there are some exceptions in century years.

A century year, that is, a year which ends in two zeroes 1800, 1900, 2000, etc., is not a leap year unless it is also evenly divisible by 400. This means that the year 2000 was a leap year and 2400 will also be one, but 1800 and 1900 were not leap years. Can you work out other century years which wont be leap years either? ( 2100, 2200, and 2300 )

           

OSCAR NOMINATIONS 2012

EXHIBITION "THE SHROUD" IN MÁLAGA

Malaga reaches the first exhibition on the Shroud, one of the most studied objects of religious history.

The exhibition will be held at the Cathedral of Malaga in the months of February through May, will feature twelve rooms to be installed in the choir of the church and tries to show, in a fun, all the research that has been carried out in this tissue that allegedly covered the body of Jesus of Nazareth.

This exposure has an audio guide to accompany the visitor on a tour of each of the rooms. Also, the exhibition features dozens of pieces of art, coins and manuscripts, illustrating the course of the famous relic tour to reach Turin (Italy), where it is today.

Of the twelve rooms are perhaps the most attractive room and forensic science room where visitors can see the studies conducted so far by the leading experts in the field, contributing data on the Shroud and the image that contains .

In the forensic room, the viewer will attend a 3D analysis will reveal aspects of torture and death of the man who was wrapped in a sheet from a perspective never seen before. Also, visitors can compare information from different forensic elements of the Shroud.

In this room also shows the forensics of another key, the Holy Shroud which, according to tradition, preserved in the Cathedral of Oviedo. Both objects are compared and analyzed together in a forensic scientific study, providing data on the wearer.

In the science room sets, on the other hand, studies that have attempted to explain how the image may have originated, some scientists have said was formed by the energy transmitted by a body (that Christians linked with the Resurrection of Jesus ).

-Scale recreation of the tomb where Jesus could be buried, according to research conducted in the Holy Land by archaeologist Florentino Díez, an expert in this field.

-The facsimile of the Shroud, made for this exhibition by a laboratory in Turin under the authority of Pope Benedict XVI. Your image and structure is accurate in every one of the original itemize.

-The body of the Man of the Shroud, a key made by the renowned sculptor Juan Manuel Miñarro, scholar and member of EDICE Sindone.

WHITNEY HOUSTON FUNERAL

Read this article and do the activities

Pop superstar Whitney Houston has passed away aged 48. The blues and soul songstress died in a Beverly Hills hotel room on Sunday, just hours before she was to appear at a pre-Grammy Awards party. Ms Houston was expected to receive a lifetime achievement award at the main ceremony. Medics arrived at her room around 3.43 pm and administered CPR. She was pronounced dead 12 minutes later. The cause of her death is not yet known. Her body was quickly removed from the hotel to avoid the chaos of the world’s media, which had congregated to cover the story. A police officer told reporters: "She has been positively identified by friends and family…and next of kin have already been notified.”

Whitney Houston was one of the world’s most influential, successful and popular singers. She was born into a musical family. Her mother Cissy was a gospel singer and her aunt was the legendary Dionne Warwick. Houston won six Grammy awards among many other top prizes. She released seven studio albums and sold over 170 million CDs, singles and videos. Her most famous song is her worldwide hit, "I Will Always Love You." In 1992, she married soul singer Bobby Brown. They had a rocky relationship that was widely covered by the press. The last 10 years of her life were dominated by drug use. Tributes to her have poured in from the world’s music superstars. Rihanna posted on Twitter: "No words, just tears."

PAST TENSE - MEMORY GAME

Match the verb and its past tense.

PAST SIMPLE JEOPARDY GAME

Practise the past simple with this funny game.

DECORATE

Roger has a brand new apartment but doesn't quite know how to decorate it.

CHARLES DARWIN

Charles Robert Darwin was born in Shrewsbury on 12 February 1809, son of Robert Waring Darwin (1766-1848) and Susannah, daughter of Josiah Wedgwood. He was born on the same day as Abraham Lincoln.

Why is Charles Darwin famous?
Charles was the naturalist who first described the process of evolution. In 1831, Darwin set sail on H.M.S. Beagle as a member of a science expedition. In South America Darwin found fossils of extinct animals that were similar to modern species. In the Galapagos Islands Darwin noticed how the same species of birds, cut off from centuries on different islands, had developed in quite different ways. These and many other amazing discoveries led him to his theory of 'evolution by natural selection'. This theory lies behind all modern ideas on how different species of living things have become to be the way they are and how they will change in the future.

THOMAS EDISON

Who was Thomas Edison?

Thomas Alva Edison was born on 11 February 1847 in Milan, Ohio. He was a brilliant American scientist and inventor who developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world. Edison was thrown out of school when he was 12 because he was thought to be not intelligent. Edison is one of the greatest inventors and industrial leaders in history.

Why is Thomas Edison famous?

Thomas Edison held a world record of 1093 patents for inventions such as the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb.

  "Mary had a little lamb" - The very first voice recorder

In 1877, Edison created a way to record sound on tinfoil cylinders by using two needles, one for recording and one for playback. The first words that Edison recorded were "Mary Had a Little Lamb."

CHARLES DICKENS BICENTENARY COMMEMORATION AT WESTMINSTER ABBEY

Westminster Abbey, London (UK)
Tuesday 7th February 2012 -

A wreathlaying ceremony to commemorate the bicentenary of the birth of Charles Dickens will take place in Poets’ Corner, Westminster Abbey, at 11am on Tuesday 7 February 2012.

Westminster Abbey will celebrate the bicentenary of one of Britain’s greatest writers with a wreathlaying in the South Transept. The ceremony is one of a number of events being held this year to mark the anniversary of the great Victorian writer, who is buried in the South Transept of the Abbey.

The wreathlaying ceremony will include readings from the Dickens’s novels and his other writings by actor and director Ralph Fiennes, author Claire Tomalin and two of Dickens's descendants.

The Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr John Hall, said: 'Dickens' humanity and compassion made an extraordinary impact on Victorian England through his writings, which remain immensely popular. This bicentenary should help renew our commitment to improving the lot of the disadvantaged of our own day.'

CHARLES DICKENS MUSEUM
WESTMINSTER ABBEY

DIAMOND JUBILEE OF ELIZABETH II

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee: 60 years in video.

Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's 63rd monarch, has steered the monarchy through decades of social change while remaining a symbol of national stability in a shifting world.

On Monday, Queen Elizabeth II marks the 60th anniversary of her accession to the throne. A small proportion of Her Majesty’s subjects may recall the reign of her father, or even her uncle and her grandfather. But for the vast majority, the Queen is the only head of state they have known.

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN - NATIONAL ANTHEM

God Save The Queen.mp3 Download at rapidlibrary mp3 music

SAFER INTERNET DAY 2012

Safer Internet Day (SID) will take place next year on Tuesday 7 February 2012 with a theme of ‘Connecting generations and educating each other’, and the slogan "Discover the digital World together…safely!"

2012 - DICKENS BICENTENARY

Dickens 2012 is an international celebration of the life and work of Charles Dickens that marks the bicentenary of his birth, Which falls on 7 February 2012.

•Commemoration- Westminster-Abbey

•About Dickens 2012

•Charles Dickens figure