Reading English Books Together

HISTORY OF ART: Vincent Van Gogh.  Sunflowers. Interest in Van Gogh's 'Sunflowers' was whipped up when in 1987 the Japanese fire-insurance company Yasuda paid $39.9 million for the painting below. Those curious as to what was remarkable about the painting that fetched such a hefty price found out that it was one of a series of sunflower paintings done by the Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh in the period from August to September 1888.   Van Gogh painted the Sunflowers series in a mood of sunny optimism when he was waiting for the arrival of the avant-garde painter, Paul Gaugin. They had rented a studio in Arles, in southern France and were planning to work together. The sunflowers were meant to be a sign of friendship and welcome. Van Gogh hoped that Gaugin would lead a community of artists that would be established in Arles - The Studio of the South. Van Gogh was contemptuous of the art trade and thought that artists could best fulfil their potential if they did...

Did you know that well over 2 billion copies of Agatha Christie's books are sold every year across the globe? No matter how ingenuous and relevant modern crime fiction authors try to be, none of them has been able to match Dame Agatha's massive popularity. Read our post below to discover why her books have timeless appeal. ‘Reading Christie is like being taken for a pleasant garden tour by a gardener who really loves flowers and wants you to love them, too’, wrote James Zemboy, the author of ‘The Detective Novels Of Agatha Christie: A Reader's Guide’. It seems inconceivable that reading a murder mystery book could be compared to walking in a lovely garden but it can and there are a few reasons for it. First of all, Agatha Christie avoided violence. She wrote: ‘I specialize in murders of quiet, domestic interest’. In her books you will never see a murder actually happen. Under no circumstances do her amateur sleuths, Poirot or Miss Marple, threaten anyone with ...

Did you know that ... a. Agatha Christie never went to school or to college b. Agatha Christie's mother didn't want to teach her to read and Agatha had learnt it herself by the age of 5 c. Agatha Christie began writing crime novels because her elder sister challenged her to do it Read our post below to learn these and other facts about Agatha Christie Agatha Christie, the famous English detective novelist, was a very modest person and each time she was asked about the secret of her unprecedented popularity, she said that people liked her books but who could say why… So unconvinced was Agatha Christie of her literary talent that she prophesized: ‘Once I’ve been dead ten years I am sure nobody will ever have heard of me’. She couldn’t have been more wrong. She died in 1976 and now 41 years after her death she is still the world’s most read author outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. Her books have been translated into about 100 languages and according to The Index Tr...

Winston Churchill once said: ‘Never give in . Never give in . Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in , except to convictions of honour and good sense...’ We hope you don’t give in in your pursuit of excellence in English. And if you are firm in your intentions, you should learn to use phrasal verbs because in many cases phrasal verbs are the commonest way of communicating meaning and if you opt for a non-phrasal alternative, you will not sound natural.  For example, which alternative best fits the sentences below? 1. My parents and I don't a.  get on  b.   have a friendly relationship .   2. I have decided to a.  put off b. delay going shopping till next week. 3. ' a.  Cheer up b. try to be happier ,' he said. 'It can't be that bad.' What is the difference between the ordinary verb and the phrasal verb ? The phrasal verb consists of a verb and one or two particles.  For...

Do the quiz. Only one of the following facts about George Washington is false. Which one? 1. You can see George Washington’s face on every US one-dollar bill. 2. Washington's Birthday is a United States federal holiday. 3. George Washington was a well–travelled man for his time having visited more than 15 countries including France, Egypt, Spain and Turkey. 4. George Washington was the only U.S. President who did not occupy the White House.   Read more about George Washington, who was the first and the second US President and is known as ‘The Father of His Country’.   Despite having got only an elementary school education, George Washington succeeded in making a truly brilliant career as a general, a president and a planter. At 21 he was sworn in as a major in the Virginia militia, an armed force whose main goal was to resist invasions and to enforce the laws of the colony. At 23 he was made colonel . When the American War of Independence broke out, the ...

Did you know that if you decide to embark on a military career and enlist as a soldier you will be doing a job that comes third on the list of the worst jobs compiled by American researchers in 2014*?  Yet, Prince Harry, the grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, who did 10 years of full-time military service, including two stints on the front lines of Afghanistan, does not regret joining the armed forces. In 2015 he announced that he was resigning but added that he felt deep gratitude: ‘I consider myself incredibly lucky to have had the chance to do some very challenging jobs and have met many fantastic people in the process. ...The experiences I have had over the last 10 years will stay with me for the rest of my life." Prince Harry  By the way, what military rank does Harry have? He is Captain Harry Wales. It is higher than lieutenant [lefˈtenənt] but below major. The system of military ranks is one of the oldest hierarchies in the world and the word ‘rank’ is believed to de...

When do you change -f into -ves in the plural form? What is the plural of belief and what is the plural of wife?  Read our post below to find it out. First do a short vocabulary test. Choose the right answer: Easy questions: 1. What is the English word for ‘a young cow’? a. a calf b. a lamb c. a kid d. a foal 2. What is the English word for someone who steals money or valuable things from you? a. a hijacker b. a blackmailer c. a bribee d. a thief 3. If you have a strong feeling that something exists or is true, it is your … a. fantasy b. whim c. belief d. intention Difficult questions: 4. After farmers have reaped wheat or rye, they bind the cut plants in bundles. One of these bundles is called... a. a sheaf b. a scythe c. a rake d. a haystack 5. What do you call in English a piece of cloth you use to blow your nose with? a. a sponge b. a handkerchief c. a napkin d. a duster 6. What is the English word for a small fairy-tale creature with pointed ears that has ma...