A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens

A Christmas Carol is a novella by the English author Charles Dickens about a miserly, cold, unfeeling, selfish old man called Ebenezer Scrooge and his holiday conversion and redemption after being visited by four ghosts on Christmas Eve. The book was first published on 19 December 1843 with illustrations by John Leech, and quickly met with commercial success and critical acclaim. A Christmas Carol remains popular, has never been out of print, and has been adapted to film, opera, and other media.

Plot summary:

Ebenezer Scrooge is a miserly old man who believes that Christmas is just an excuse for people to miss work and for idle people to expect handouts. He doesn't believe in all of the good cheer and charity that the season promotes and wants everybody to know it.

On Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his former business associate, Jacob Marley -- a man who was as greedy and cold as Scrooge is. Marley warns Scrooge that if he continues to live so selfishly, he will spend eternity wearing the chains that his greed has built.

Three ghosts visit Scrooge successively: the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. They show Scrooge his error in valuing money over people. Scrooge is frightened by the bleak picture of his life and promises to change his ways.

Scrooge awakes on Christmas morning a new man. He becomes jolly and charitable, and truly turns into the man he promised the ghosts he would become. He carries the spirit of Christmas with him all the year round.

You can read touching novella if you click on this link.

Source: Wikipedia and Bookrags

Jim Carreys A Christmas Carol Official Trailer:

New Moon

The thousands of followers of the successful Twilight's saga are eager to see the premiere of the New Moon movie, the sequel to Twilight. The Release Date of New Moon is November 20, 2009, although in some countries, such as Spain, fans are luckier and will be able to see the film on November 18!!!

I am sure that most of the followers have already read Stephenie Meyer's New Moon, but although they know what happens in the film, they are looking forward to watching the film. The following counter tells you the remaining time for the official release date, November 20.

World Book Day 2009

World Book Day is held on April, 23rd to commemorate the death of Shakespeare and Cervantes, two of the world's most celebrated writers. For more information on this topic, click on this link, which will take you to last year's World Book Day entry.

Today, the members of the Spanish Language and Literature Department of our school have made a series of activities to commemorate this special date. These activities have been based on the American Romantic writer Edgar Allan Poe, 200 years after his birth. We have seen an exhibition of different projects made by the students about this author, together with a video of some of his tales. Moreover, every teacher has received a traditional gift in Spain this day: a rose. Thank you very much, my dear colleagues.

Read and listen to Poe's "The Raven" in the following video:

Some Famous English Quotes III

“Not all those who wander are lost.”
J.R.R. Tolkien

“Smiles form the channels of a future tear.”
Lord Byron

“Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.”
John Lennon

“Nonviolence is a weapon of the strong.”
Mahatma Gandhi

“I cannot speak well enough to be unintelligible.”
Jane Austen

.

Twilight

Lately, everyone has been going Twilight crazy, mainly teenagers. Twilight definitely has made a strong fan base with teenage girls worldwide. In fact, some of my students are really fascinated by the film, specially by Robert Pattinson (Edward Cullen).

TWILIGHT is an action-packed, modern-day love story between a teenage girl and a vampire: Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson).

The film is based on the #1 New York Times Best-Selling series of four novels with over 17 million books in print by Stephenie Meyer: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn.

TWILIGHT is a cultural phenomenon, with a dedicated fan base that eagerly awaits this movie. There are over 350 fan sites devoted to TWILIGHT, and it has been chosen as the New York Times Editor's Choice, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, Amazon's "Best Book of the Decade...So Far", Teen People's "Hot List" Pick, and The American Library Association's "Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults" and "Top Ten Books for Reluctant Readers," among others.

Critically acclaimed director Catherine Hardwicke brings to life this modern, visual, and visceral Romeo & Juliet story of the ultimate forbidden love affair - between vampire and mortal.

Source and more information: Twilight: The Official Movie Site

Reader 1st Bachillerato

I want to remind you, students from 1st Bachillerato A and B, the reader for next March, A Foreigner in Britain (Burlington Books). I am sure you will like it, the book is really interesting.

Some Famous English Quotes II

“The love that lasts the longest is the love that is never
returned.”
William Somerset Maugham

“Listen to many, speak to a few.”
William Shakespeare

“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.”
John Wesley

“What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.”
Albert Pine

“We are all geniuses up to the age of ten.”
Aldous Huxley

“Smiles form the channels of a future tear.”
Lord Byron

The Canterville Ghost, by Oscar Wilde

"The Canterville Ghost" is a popular short story by Oscar Wilde, widely adapted for the screen and stage. It was the first of Wilde's stories to be published, appearing serially in the magazine Court and Society Review in 1887. It was later included in a collection of short stories entitled Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime and Other Stories in 1891.

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was an Irish playwright, poet and author of numerous short stories and one novel. Known for his biting wit, he became one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era in London, and one of the greatest celebrities of his day. Several of his plays continue to be widely performed, especially The Importance of Being Earnest. As the result of a widely covered series of trials, Wilde suffered a dramatic downfall and was imprisoned for two years hard labour after being convicted of "gross indecency" with other men. After Wilde was released from prison he set sail for Dieppe by the night ferry. He never returned to Ireland or Britain. (Source: Wikipedia)

.

If you are not sure whether your English is good enough to start reading an English novel, try this excerpt to find out. It is a simplified version for easy reading with exercises to practise your comprehension skills.

.

Click on this link to start reading the story, it is divided into 7 chapters and each of them contains exercises and questions on it. Source: English Grammar Online … the fun way to learn English.

.

Some Famous English Quotes I

After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.
Aldous Huxley

Nothing ever becomes real till it is experienced.
John Keats

A day without laughter is a day wasted.
Charlie Chaplin

I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying.
Oscar Wilde

.

"O Captain! My Captain!" by Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman was one of the most influential American poets of the 19th century. Completely self-educated, Whitman read the works of Homer, Shakespeare and Dante as a child. At age 16 he became a school teacher and founded a newspaper at the age of 19. In 1840, Whitman had his first novel published and several short stories. In 1855, Whitman published Leaves of Grass - the work for which he is certainly best known for. The collection of poems in Leaves of Grass are celebrations of the harmony between the human body, spirit, and senses, in combination with the natural world. "Song of Myself", "I sing the Body Electric", and "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking" are among the most highly regarded of the poems in Leaves of Grass.

Walt Whitman had great admiration for Abraham Lincoln and dedicated the poem made famous in the movie Dead Poets Society, "O Captain, My Captain", to the fallen president in Leaves of Grass. Today, Whitman remains inspirational to modern day poets not just in America, but in Latin America and France as well. Below is Whitman's famous poem inspired by Abraham Lincoln, O Captain! My Captain!

Source and more information.

O Captain! My Captain!

O Captain! My Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
O Captain! My Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up-for you the flag is flung-for you the bugle trills;
For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths-for you the shores a-crowding;
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head;
It is some dream that on the deck,
You've fallen cold and dead.
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse or will;
The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won
Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!
But I with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

Walt Whitman wrote the poem after Abraham Lincoln's assassination. He admired Abraham Lincoln and was saddened by his death. In the poem, Lincoln is represented by the captain and the United States of America is the ship. The ship has endured obstacles such as Civil War; everything is over, and there is peace. The speaker is feeling bittersweet about the victory.

The poem begins with an image of a ship returning safely to port. Crying out for his captain, the speaker realizes the captain has died at sea. The onlookers onshore celebrate the ship's safe return, but the speaker mourns the death of his captain. As the voyage ends, so does the captain's life.

With a conventional meter and rhyme scheme that is unusual for Whitman, it was also the only poem anthologized during Whitman's lifetime. Whitman later said, "Damn My Captain... I'm almost sorry I ever wrote the poem."

Source and listening (the poem recited).

This is a fragment of the film Dead Poets Society. It alludes to the poem by Whitman, "O Captain! My Captain". It is a very touching scene and definitely a wonderful movie.