April , 2014

April is the fourth month of the year in the

Gregorian calendar, the fifth in the early

Julian and one of four months with a length

of 30 days. April is commonly associated

with the season of spring in parts of the

Northern hemisphere and autumn in parts of

the Southern hemisphere, where it is the

seasonal equivalent to October in the

Northern hemisphere and vice versa.

It was the second month of the earliest

Roman calendar, before Ianuarius and

Februarius were added by King Numa

Pompilius about 700 BC. It became the

fourth month of the calendar year during the

time of the decemvirs about 450 BC, when it

also was given 29 days. The 30th day was

added during the reform of the calendar

undertaken by Julius Caesar in the mid-40s

BC, which produced the Julian calendar. The

Anglo-Saxons called April Oster-monath or

Eostur-monath. The Venerable Bede says in

The Reckoning of Time that this month

Eostur is the root of the word Easter. He

states that the month was named after a

goddess Eostre whose feast was in that

month. It is also attested by Einhard in his

work, Vita Karoli Magni.

In Moldova, April is associated with nature

revival, warmth, smiles and Easter.

(selected by Nadejda ALBU)

Mark Raymond Slaughter

April, Dear April

April, dear April, I beg you come soon And bring your sweet primroses too.

Let them join in with the daffodils play, As skies offer sunshine anew.

April, dear April, my blessed spring child,

Ornate in your yellow and white, Teasing the birds into trilling their songs

And dancing to music of flight.

April, dear April, come enter my dreams And rid me from cold winter chills.

Banish the rain and those blustery winds And warm up our countryside hills.

WORDS OF APRIL

Rile: 1.to irritate or vex.2.to roil (water or the like).

Dogmatize: 1. To make positive assertions without supporting them by argument or

evidence. Mordant: sharply caustic or sarcastic, as

wit or a speaker; biting.2. burning; corrosive. 3. . having the property of fixing

colors, as in dyeing. Martyr: person who chooses to suffer, even to die, rather than renounce his or her faith or Christian principles. After the example of Christ one does not resist one's persecutors

when they use violence out of hatred or malice against Christ, or his Church, or

some revealed truth of the Catholic religion.

VOCABULARY BOX Spring to mind- to come quickly to ones mind Spring from smth- to come from or be a result of something Spring to life to become very active or busy To be full of joys of spring to be very happy Box spring- a spring or set of springs fastened to a frame and covered in cloth Spring roll a Chinese pancake

APRILS CALENDAR

1st April April Fool's Day - Poisson d'Avril.

National Day: San Marino. Republic Day: Iran.

2nd April Malvinas Day: Argentina.

4th April Liberation Day (1945): Hungary.

Memorial Day of Chiang Kai-shek: Taiwan. National Day: Senegal.

5th April Arbor Day: South Korea.

6th April Chakri Day: Thailand. Uprising Day: Sudan.

7th April Women's Day: Mozambique.

9th April Martyr's Day: Tunisia.

11th April Heroes' Day: Costa Rica. Liberation Day: Uganda.

13th April Songkran: Thailand. National Day: Chad.

14th April Fast and Prayer Day: Liberia. Pan American Day: Honduras.

Thingyan: Myanmar. 15th April

National Day: Niger. 16th April

Independence Day: Cyprus. New Year's Day: Myanmar.

17th April Independence Day: Cambodia.

National Day: Syria. 18th April

Independence Day: Zimbabwe. 19th April

Independence Day: Venezuela. King's Birthday: Swaziland.

Patriots' Day: Uruguay. Republic Day: Sierra Leone.

21st April The Queen's Birthday: United Kingdom.

Tiradentes: Brazil. 22nd April Earth Day. 23rd April

National Sovereignty: Turkey. St. George's Day: England.

25th April Anzac Day: Australia, New Zealand.

Liberation Day: Italy, Portugal. National Flag Day: Swaziland. Sinai Liberation Day: Egypt.

26th April Union Day: Tanzania.

27th April Independence Day: Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Togo.

30th April Fall of Saigon: United States of America.

Independence Day: Israel. Queen's Birthday: Netherlands.

Vappu Day: Finland.

Social File

April in peoples mind: April is a promise that

May is bound to keep.

Hal Borland

April hath put a spirit of

youth in

everything.William

Shakespeare

Oh, to be in England Now

that April's there Robert

Browning

Sweet April showers do

spring May

flowers.Thomas Tusser

April 1st

in Retrospection April is the second month of Spring; nevertheless its first day is known and celebrated in many countries all over the world as April Fools Day. Besides, remarkable historical events have taken place on the 1st of April for centuries, some of them are as follows: 457 Majorian is acclaimed emperor by the Roman army. 1789 In New York City, the United States House of Representatives holds its first quorum and elects Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania as its first House Speaker. 1865 American Civil War: Battle of Five Forks. 1935 India's central banking institution, The Reserve Bank of India is formed. 1937 Spanish Civil War: Jan, Spain is bombed by Nazi forces. 1945 World War II: Operation Iceberg United States troops land on Okinawa in the last major campaign of the war. 1960 The TIROS-1 satellite transmits the first television picture from space. 1976 Apple Inc. is formed by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne. 1979 Iran becomes an Islamic republic by a 99% vote, officially overthrowing the Shah. 1992 Start of the Bosnian War. Births 1815 Otto von Bismarck, German politician, 1st Chancellor of the German Empire (d. 1898) 1875 Edgar Wallace, English journalist, author, and playwright (d. 1932) 1931 George Baker, Bulgarian-English actor (d. 2011) 1947 Alain Connes, French mathematician and educator (selected by Marcela SIRBU)

Thick and thin Two friends--one a fat man and the other a thin man--met at the Nikolaevsky station. The fat man had just dined in the station and his greasy lips shone like ripe cherries. He smelt of sherry and _fleur d'orange_. The thin man had just slipped out of the train and was laden with portmanteaus, bundles, and bandboxes. He smelt of ham and coffee grounds. A thin woman with a long chin, his wife, and a tall schoolboy with one eye screwed up came into view behind his back. "Porfiry," cried the fat man on seeing the thin man. "Is it you? My dear fellow! How many summers, how many winters!" "Holy saints!" cried the thin man in amazement. "Misha! The friend of my childhood! Where have you dropped from?" The friends kissed each other three times, and gazed at each other with eyes full of tears. Both were agreeably astounded. "My dear boy!" began the thin man after the kissing. "This is unexpected! This is a surprise! Come have a good look at me! Just as handsome as I used to be! Just as great a darling and a dandy! Good gracious me! Well, and how are you? Made your fortune? Married? I am married as you see. . . . This is my wife Luise, her maiden name was Vantsenbach . . . of the Lutheran persuasion. . . . And this is my son Nafanail, a schoolboy in the third class. This is the friend of my childhood, Nafanya. We were boys at school together!" Nafanail thought a little and took off his cap. "We were boys at school together," the thin man went on. "Do you remember how they used to tease you? You were nicknamed Herostratus because you burned a hole in a schoolbook with a cigarette, and I was nicknamed Ephialtes because I was fond of telling tales. Ho--ho! . . . we were children! . . . Don't be shy, Nafanya. Go nearer to him. And this is my wife, her maiden name was Vantsenbach, of the Lutheran persuasion. . . ."

TO be continued

Commentary: The theme of the story is the meeting of two former classmates at a railway station. Then, from the description it becomes clear that the"fat" people are rich: they use expensive perfumes and can afford expensive lunches. The slim passenger is slim, being loaded with all kinds of boxes and hosts. He has to carry them himself, as Porter is left with no money.

The "thick" and "thin" begin the conversation. From it we learn the names of the main characters: Michael and Porphyry. Slim Porfiry brags himself, his wife and son. Michael is really interested Porfirys life. Porfiry is relaxed and at ease. But when slim discovers that Michael-Privy is a Councillor and has two stars, this naturalness disappears. It shrivels and begins to behave humbly and calls his old friend "your Excellency". The story becomes disgusting due to this behavior. (by Artiom LUPOI)

Literary File Fun - amusement, sport, treat, pleasure, entertainment, cheer, good time, recreation, enjoyment, romp, distraction, diversion, frolic, junketing, merriment, whoopee (informal), high jinks, living it up, jollity, beer and skittles (informal), merrymaking, jollification

The Strange Story

In the northern part of Austin there once dwelt an honest family by the name of Smothers. The family consisted of John Smothers, his wife, himself, their little daughter, five years of age, and her parents, making six people toward the population of the city when counted for a special write-up, but only three by actual count. One night after supper the little girl was seized with a severe colic, and John Smothers hurried down town to get some medicine. He never came back. The little girl recovered and in time grew up to womanhood. The mother grieved very much over her husband's disappearance, and it was nearly three months before she married again, and moved to San Antonio. The little girl also married in time, and after a few years had rolled around, she also had a little girl five years of age. She still lived in the same house where they dwelt when her father had left and never returned. One night by a remarkable coincidence her little girl was taken with cramp colic on the anniversary of the disappearance of John Smothers, who would now have been her grandfather if he had been alive and had asteady job. "I will go downtown and get some medicine for her," said John Smith (for it was none other than he whom she had married). "No, no, dear John," cried his wife. "You, too, might disappear forever, and then forget to come back." So John Smith did not go, and together they sat by the bedside of little Pansy (for that was Pansy's name). After a little Pansy seemed to grow worse, and John Smith again attempted to go for medicine, but his wife would not let him. Suddenly the door opened, and an old man, stooped and bent, with long white hair, entered the room. "Hello, here is grandpa," said Pansy. She had recognized him before any of the others. The old man drew a bottle of medicine from his pocket and gave Pansy a spoonful. She got well immediately. "I was a little late," said John Smothers, "as I waited for a street car." Commentary: O. Henry is remarkable for his pun, irony, wit and humor which he used in his work. He does this in a manner that draws the reader s attention. The same can be observed The Strange Story. At the beginning everything goes on well. When it comes closer to the end, the reader thinks that the ending is expected and the interest goes down but the author uses a trick and the action raises up with a sudden ending. This type of story falls into the category of surprise endings story. The climax of the story is put at the end highlighting the still hope which continues to be present till the end, finding the escape point. In conclusion it should be remarked that all the funny stories written by O. Henry have

to be read twice or more because the essence is hidden so deep that at the first sight it

doesnt seem to be clear at all. It needs critical thinking and a special approach to the

problem.

(by Cristina LUPESCU)

A good story is an event in my life (Stendhal)

April Fool's Day" is rapidly approaching and its celebrations will be occurring all over the world. You may be curious where it has come from. The origin of this holiday is obscure and undoubtedly riddled with half-truths and tricks. Most believe that when the Gregorian calendar was adopted in the late 1500s, the New Year was moved from April 1st to January 1st. Those who kept to the old tradition and the old date were labeled fools, hence the association. But not everywhere the April Fool s Day celebrations are the same. April Fool s Day is observed all around the world in different unique ways. Maybe for April Fool s 2014 you can borrow some ideas from April Fools Day in other countries. April Fools Day in the United States is usually a day of trickery, pranks and disgraceful stunts. The media becomes involved, running false news stories or promoting false products. The April Fool s Day celebrations can occur any time of the day and can be as simple or complex as the tricker wishes. The victim of the prank is supposed to maintain good humor about it, and traditionally he or she will attract bad luck by getting upset about the prank. April Fool s Day in France is traditionally called Poisson d Avril, which translates as "April Fish." The term refers to the fish that are recently hatched and therefore naive and easy to catch. The traditional April Fish prank in France is to tape a fish to someone's back, and call them a Poisson d Avril when they discover it. Originally, the fish was a real dead fish, but nowadays it is most often a paper fish. April Fish is also a common prank on April Fool s Day in Italy, called Pesce d' Aprile in Italian. April Fish trickery can last all day, and may include other kinds of tricks. April Fool's Day in Canada is similar to April Fool's Day in the United States. The Canadian tradition comes from investigator James Randi, who annually announces a tongue-in- cheek award called the Pigasus Award on April Fool s Day. These "awards" seek to expose paranormal or psychic frauds or to ridicule institutions that promote paranormal claims. Past Pigasus awards have been given to the Kansas school board, John Edwards and Nostradamus. In Scotland, April Fool s Day celebrations last for two days. April Fool s Day in Scotland is sometimes called Taily Day or April Gowk. The traditional prank for the first day is to send people on a fool's task. You give someone an urgent note that they are supposed to deliver, but the note informs the receiver that it is an April Gowk joke, and they send the person to another person, who sends them somewhere else...etc. On the second day, the traditional prank is to

stick an April Gowk sign on someone's backside, similar to a "Kick Me" sign. April Gowk pranks are usually only played in the morning, and if someone tries one in the afternoon, they are considered the fool instead. April Fools Day in Poland is called Pryma Aprylis. In addition to being a day of pranks, April Fools Day celebrations often involve dressing up in costumes. April Fools Day in Poland is largely a holiday for children, but adults also get fun. In recent years, Polish media has also taken part in the April Fool s Day celebrations. There are a few countries that have April Fool s Day celebrations on other days than April 1st. In Denmark, for example, April Fool s Day celebrations are held on May 1st and the day is called Maj-kat, or May-cat. Such countries as Spain and Mexico observe the Feast of the Innocents on December 28th by pranking and tricking people just as on April Fool s Day. Victims of pranks are not allowed to be

upset, because the pranksters are representing the innocents. Yet another prank day similar to April Fool s Day celebration occurs in Iran near the beginning of April, called Sizdah Bedar. What can we say about April Fools

Day in Moldova? The teachers and students of our Faculty helped us to answer this question: Condrat Viorica: April Fool's Day isn't much of a holiday for me. I'm trying hard to remember something interesting that happened to me and nothing comes to my mind. Probably, there were no pranks to remember. I'm not telling that it's a meaningless celebration of pranking. It's good once in a while to let all the foolishness get out of you. That is why children and young people love making fun on this day. They know that nobody will shame them. As to the traditions, I'm not familiar with them either. People just play tricks on each other and that's it. Cebotaros Viorica: For me April 1 is just an ordinary day. Popova Kate: I adore April Fool's Day. I remember myself as the 3rd grade pupil making fun of my classmate. I told her that she had got a 5 in Maths. I was surprised that she believed me and from that day on I like to make fun of my friends. It's a funny holiday that brings people joy. I like it. Popkova Anastasia: I think it is a very positive holiday. The whole day is full of jokes and high spirits. It is a time when we have fun and enjoy ourselves. No sadness, just happy smiles! I like this holiday, and of course, I follow the tradition to make fun of my friends.

(by Alina GAMUREAC and Anna HARITONOVA)

Jokes: Q: Why did the teacher wear sunglasses? A: Because his class was so bright! Q: Why were the teacher's eyes crossed? A: She couldn't control her pupils! Q: Teacher: Didn't I tell you to stand at the end of the line?

A: Student: I tried but there was someone already there! Q: How is an English teacher like a judge?

A: They both give out sentences. Q: Why did the teacher go to the beach? A: To test the water.

(selected by Anastasia POPTOVA and Marina CUGUT)

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Funny File

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