II PROVA SCRITTA ESAMI DI STATO

Today  my students of  5^C Liceo Linguistico took a 6-hour test, it was their II Prova Scritta.

It consisted of a text analysis and a composition both in English and Spanish.

You can download it here, just in case you are curious!

EXPLORING THE VIRGINIA WOOLF BLOG

This website is a resource for Virginia Woolf fans all over the world. 

The goal of the Virginia Woolf Blog is to celebrate her life and work and give readers a clearer understanding of what she was really like. Using passages from her diaries, letters and various biographies, the blog aims to show readers the real Virginia Woolf, not the tragic figure many people see her as.

SUMMER HOMEWORK - 1^C LINGUISTICO

Here and here you can find lots of grammar and vocabulary exercises to practise and improve your English!

THE GREAT GATSBY

Here you can revise Francis Scott Fitzgerald's most famous novel, an exemplary tale regarding the American Dream, which explores themes of decadence, idealism, resistance to change, social upheaval,  and excess, creating a portrait of "the Jazz Age".

Francis Scott Fitzgerald coined the term "Jazz Age" to refer to the period more commonly known as the Roaring Twenties. Jazz is an American style of music marked by its complex and exuberant mix of rhythms and tonalities. 

The Great Gatsby portrays a similarly complex mix of emotions and themes that reflect the turbulence of the times. Fresh off the nightmare of World War I, Americans were enjoying the fruits of an economic boom and a renewed sense of possibility. Yet in The Great Gatsby, Francis Scott Fitzgerald stresses the darker side of the Roaring Twenties, its undercurrent of corruption and its desperate, empty decadence.  Read here.

REFUGEE BLUES - 5^C LINGUISTICO

Here and here you can find an analysis of the poem by W. H. Auden, written in 1939.

https://www.slideshare.net/englishanthology/refugee-blues-igcse-guide

https://literariness.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/LitCharts-refugee-blues.pdf

https://poemanalysis.com/w-h-auden/refugee-blues/

THE BRITISH EMPIRE AND ENGLISH LITERATURE

The British Empire was always about more than just ruling lands; it was a state of mind, a set of beliefs and ideals and a way of looking at the world and making sense of it. Therefore it is no surprise that it left its mark in literature and the arts and that we can use these as a way of tracing its impact and influence.  Read here.

The Victorian period in British history marked the high point of British imperialism. Though the British policy of colonial expansion had begun earlier, during the nineteenth century Britain not only consolidated its existing empire, but also experienced an unprecedented expansion in its colonial possessions. Read here.

The origins of the post-colonial novel can be traced back to a period well before the post-war imperial retreat. Read here.

Here you can find a list of the  best books about colonialism and imperialism.

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

Exercise 4

The Present Perfect Simple suggests completion while the Present Perfect Continuous suggests something is unfinished. Read more here.

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

https://test-english.com/grammar-points/b1/present-perfect-simple-present-perfect-continuous/

https://elt.oup.com/student/solutions/upperint/grammar/grammar_01_012e?cc=it&selLanguage=it

MAY

"April showers bring May flowers", as the saying goes. And with those flowers comes May Day, a holiday that most people have heard of but have no idea what it’s for.  Read more here. 

BRAVE GRETA THUNBERG

At just 16 years old, Greta Thunberg has started an international youth movement against climate change.

The Swedish teenager first staged a "School Strike for Climate" in front of the Swedish Parliament in August last year. She continued to gain international attention after speaking at the U.N. Climate Talks in Poland last December.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE!

According to tradition, the great English dramatist and poet William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-on-Avon on April 23, 1564. It is impossible to be certain of the exact day on which he was born, but church records show that he was baptised on April 26, and three days was a customary amount of time to wait before baptising a newborn. 

He died in Stratford-on-Avon on April 23, 1616; it is not clear how he died, and numerous suggestions have been put forward. In 1616, there was an outbreak of typhus (“The new fever”) which may have been the cause. The average life expectancy of someone born in London, England in the 16th century was about 35 years old, he died aged 52. 

He is buried in the sanctuary of the parish church, Holy Trinity.  Read here and here.

HAPPY EASTER!

ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

Robert Louis Stevenson  was a Scottish essayist, poet, and author of fiction and travel books, best known for his novels Treasure Island (1881), Kidnapped (1886), The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), and The Master of Ballantrae (1889).  Read here.

Read The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde  here.

Here  you can find a detailed analysis of the novel.

REMEMBERING VIRGINIA WOOLF

On 28 March 1941 Virginia Woolf died. She went with her pockets full of stones into the River Ouse. 

"To look life in the face always, and to know it for what it is. At last to love it for what it is and then to put it away. Always the years between us. Always the love. Always the hours."

Read here.

THE BEST CHARLES DICKENS NOVELS

What are the ten books that best exemplify Dickens’s genius, his unique comic achievement, and those qualities which we tend to think of when we hear the word "Dickensian"? Read here.

REVISING THE VICTORIAN AGE - 5^C LINGUISTICO

The Victorians 

The early Victorian age 

A Two-Faced Reality

Chief characteristics of the Victorian period