Happy 2009!

This Coca Cola TV commercial was first aired at Christmas, 1984 and it has been one of its most sucessful campaigns ever. Watch the ad, read the lyrics and then try a simple memory game: how many different people can you describe in one minute?

I’d like to buy the world a home
Furnish it with love
Grow apple trees, honey bees
And snow-white turtle-doves
I’d like to teach the world to sing
In perfect harmony
I’d like to buy the world a Coke
And keep it company
(That’s the song I sing…)

June 20 - World Refugee Day

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has chosen June 20th as the World Refugee Day. In more than 50 years, the agency has helped over 50 million people around the world, and its 6,300 staff members now work in 110 different countries giving hope to an estimated 33 million refugees. You can find more about this date visiting their page. And here is a message from actress Angelina Jolie, who has been a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador for many years.

Japanese immigration in Brazil

On June 18, 1908, the Japanese ship Kasato Maru arrived in Santos (SP) with the first group of Japanese immigrants. One hundred years later, Brazil and Japan celebrate the 100th anniversary of their arrival with a series of cultural events in several cities and the visit of prince Naruhito. Brazil has the biggest Japanese community outside Japan (more than 1,5 million) and their influence is particularly strong in the state of São Paulo.

To celebrate the occasion, here is a short article about the immigrants and an interesting video teaching you how to eat sushi (scroll down the page if you would like to read the transcript too).

Then listen to Mari comparing life in New York and Tokyo and Clare comparing Japan and England. And finally, why not try a quiz about the country?

Bella Notte - a Valentine's song

This scene from the movie "The Lady and the Tramp" has been considered the most romantic in the history of the cinema! Watch the video, listen to the song and put the lyrics in the correct order!

___ Oh this is the night,

___ Look at the skies,

___ The night will weave its magic spell,

___ And we call it bella notte

___ And the heavens are right!

___ They have stars in their eyes

___ You'll find enchantment here.

___ Side by side with your loved one,

___ On this lovely bella notte.

___ It's a beautiful night

___ Oh this is the night,

___ When the one you love is near!

___ On this lovely bella notte!

Now check the lyrics clicking on comments!

Are women more romantic than men?

Are women more romantic than men? Well, judging from this scene taken from the American sitcom Friends, it certainly looks like it! Watch the video and think: how does Rachel describe the first time she and Ross kissed? How is it different from his description?

If you are preparing for the CAE exam, here are two activities: in the first one, edit the text finding the unnecessary words. In the second, choose the sentences to complete the gapped text.

Song: Clumsy (Fergie)

Our song this time is Fergie's 'Clumsy'. Listen and then try a vocabulary activity to practise 'ways of walking'. There is a list of related verbs to help you, if you want. And if you prefer to watch Fergie's original clip, click here!

Explaining Escher

Maurits Cornelis Escher was an artist of impossible images. His drawings worked prefectly on the two dimensions of a sheet of paper but were impossible to exist in the real world. Some of the images show people, animals and objects that gradually turn into something completely different, while others create amazing optical illusions. 'Belvedere' is one of his most impressive works and this video is an attempt to explain what happens when you try to make the picture tridimensional. Watch it and then click here to complete a short text about it.

Earth Day 2008

People around the globe are getting ready to celebrate Earth Day on April 22nd. How about you? Here is a quiz about this special date and one to check how much you know about recycling. And here's an interesting article with some important facts about the environment - take a look at the accompanying questions and see if you can find the answers!

Many celebrities have embraced the cause and lent their voices and faces to help raise public awareness to environmental problems. Click here to watch an interesting video narrated by Leonardo di Caprio.

To learn more about Earth Day 2008, visit the official website.

Brazil in the news: Brazilian cachaça

Until fairly recently, the Brazilian cachaça used to be the drink that local people would order in bars when they couldn't afford any other kind of drink. Not any more. Aged cachaças produced in small scale are now a sophisticated product and distillers all over the country are exporting them to Europe and the U.S.. The states of Minas Gerais and Pernambuco have owned the reputation of making the best cachaça in the country but you can find thousands of different brands - many of excellent quality - anywhere you go.

Read all about that in this article published in The New York Times and then watch the video to learn how to prepare Brazil's most famous drink, the caipirinha. If you want to read the script, click on the link at the bottom of the box.



How To Make A Caipirinha Cocktail

Song: Pride (In the Name of Love) - U2

Even 40 years after his assassination in Tennessee, Martin Luther King's words and ideas still echo and inspire us all. This is U2's tribute to one of the greatest men of our time and one of the world's most important civil rights activists.



One man come in the name of love
One man come and go
One man come, he to justify
One man to overthrow

In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love

One man caught on a barbed wire fence
One man he resist
One man washed on an empty beach
One man betrayed with a kiss

(nobody like you...)

Early morning, April 4
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride

See also:
Song: Happy Birthday - Stevie Wonder
Martin Luther King's dream

It's April Fool's Day!

A UFO landing in London. The unknown island of San Serriffe. Instant colour TV. These are just some of the most memorable April Fool's Day pranks you can find at the Museum of Hoaxes. And what if we could find spaghetti trees? (watch the video here)

To celebrate April Fool's Day in style, try this wordsearch! You can also answer this quiz published by the Guardian, and learn more about this funny date in this listening passage. If you want to read the script while you listen, click here. Have fun!!!

Happy Easter!

A dozen funny eggs get boiled and coloured just to wish you a Happy Easter! :-)

Viral videos: what are they?

Over 1 million visitors in less than a week. The latest instant hit in YouTube is, apparently, a promotional video for the movie Quarantine, to be released worldwide later this year. However, the video doesn't make any reference to the film; in fact, it looks like some ordinary shot made by someone who happened to have a camera in hand, so viewers have been wondering what the whole sequence is really all about. As it generates discussion and more questions, it is also passed on to more viewers, who in turn send it to more people. In a matter of days, it becomes a viral video.

But what is a viral video? How can they help sell an idea or a product? How is it different from other promotional materials? Watch this news story and find out.

Celebrating St. Patrick's Day

Irish people and Irish descendants everywhere celebrate St. Patrick's Day on March 17th. It's a happy, noisy celebration with street parades, Guinness beer, parties and the best traditional Irish music!

How much do you know about the date? You can learn a lot about it and about Irish traditions clicking here. Then try this matching activity and revise some words connected with the Irish culture.

But who was St. Patrick? How do people celebrate the date today? Watch this History Channel video and find out. Then check how much you remember about what you have seen and read doing this fun quiz!

Creative differences... A Monty Python sketch

What do Leonardo da Vinci, Mel Brooks and Monty Python have in common? Well, they all have come up with their own version of The Last Supper. It's interesting how one same theme can lend itself to some very different interpretations!

Artists, however, occasionally have a hard time trying to explain their creative work to other people! Watch this funny sketch with British group Monty Python about a hypothetical meeting between the Pope and Michelangelo. Why is the Pope angry? What changes did the artist make in the classic scene? If you prefer to watch the video with no subtitles, click here.



Here's a text (good for CAE vocabulary practice) that descibes how some of the most creative ideas can, in fact, be quite simple!

See also
Leonardo da Vinci at 16 billion pixels
What's the big idea?

Packing for a trip

Have you ever wondered what happens to your bags once they're checked in at the airport? Here is an interesting article, in which a former baggage handler reveals what really goes on once your luggage disappears behind the airline company counter.

So how can you get ready for a trip? Watch an interview with Joel Widzer, a travel strategist, who tells you some do's and dont's when packing and how to avoid problems when you go through airport security check. There are eight questions in the passage; can you find the answers while you watch? Check your answers here.

Young at 110

Belo Horizonte is celebrating its 110th anniversary on December 12th. Designed to replace Ouro Preto as the capital of the state of Minas Gerais, it is today a bustling city with over 2.5 million inhabitants and all the services (and problems) one would expect to see in a city that failed to grow in the orderly fashion that was originally planned.

How much has the city changed? Well, take a look at this great YouTube slideshow made by Gustavo Duffles showing what the capital looks like now and then compare it with a video in two parts made by the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American affairs (parts 1 and 2), which shows what BH used to be like in 1949!

More about Belo Horizonte:
BH in the New York Times - our bars
What to do in Belo Horizonte
'Comida di Buteco' Food Festival

Dec 1: World Aids Day

In 1988, the UN and the World Health Organization established December 1st as World Aids Day. Since then, a series of events are organised on this day to raise people's awareness to the problem and invite society as a whole to participate actively in the discussions for solutions. Here is a three-level quiz to check how much we know about Aids. The theme this year is Leadership and here is one of the ads created for the campaign. What kind of leaders are they looking for?

See also:
Brazil and AIDS

The circus is in town!

It's impossible to resist the magical appeal of a circus like the Cirque du Soleil. Once again touring the country, the group has taken the world of circus performance to a whole new level. But when was the Cirque created? How many shows are currently on? How many people have seen them? In how many countries? How many people work at the circus? How many countries do they represent? Watch the video and find out - what kind of performers can you see? Then explore their official website and find the answers to some more questions.

Women in film

This is a very interesting video showing some of the most famous film stars in the history of film making, from the early days with Mary Pickford to present time with Halle Berry. How many actresses do you recognize? Click on 'comments' to get the complete list!



If you liked it, take a look at a similar 'exercise' using face morph animation, this time dedicated to women in art.

Read also
How the studios made stars