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THE MAGAZINE FOR YOUR ENGLISH 2011

Music

LeonaLewisLeonaLewis

Report Social Games

PosterWales

In BritainChinese New Year in London

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Play, play, play!Wed, come up to my desk!

Sweet girl, you love to see…

…when the sun comes up…

…roses turn purple…

Go to the board and write the first line of this week’s poem!

Here, take the chalk!

I’m sorry Miss! I can’t help it … if I have an instrument in my hands,

When do the holidays start?

I just have to play it!

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It’s already February and we’re in the middle of the school year. Are you feeling a bit tired? Well, you should start reading this edition of Tot straight away: it’s full of news and fun! You’ll find a report about Social Games as well as an interesting article on page 16 about a very different type of school! And lots more! What else can I say? Happy reading and have fun!

www.elimagazines.com info@elimagazines.com

The “New Team Up” editorial Team

If you think that New York is a fantastic place but a little bit too busy, well, you’re wrong!

Now you can admire the beauty of New

York at a more relaxed pace.A number of projects are in progress to slow down* the pace of the city. They are developing new parks for children and some central areas like Times Square are now pedestrian*-only areas, the waiting time at traffic lights is now longer and the speed limits are now lower. Even the buses will soon be improved and much more comfortable!

So, New York is slowing down. Are you?

What’s it called?New York is also known by another name! Break the code and find out!

a = K b = > e = E g = N h = * i = z l = 6 p = % t = n

n*E >zN K%%6E

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

New York is moving more slowly!

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Hi everyone! CONTENTS

Good news

MusicLeona Lewis

The ClacsonsWe can make it grow!

Report Social Games

Poster Wales

Tot Mail Adopt a dog

Going GreenJapanese Gardeners

Games Corner

In Britain Chinese New Year in London

Britain Today Sands School

Ciao Italia è corredato di:

GRAMMYIn this edition you’ll learn about:

• adverbs• phrasalverbs• zeroconditional• comparativeadjectives

slow down: move more slowlypedestrian: people travelling on foot

* glossarY

Answer on page 15

Common European Framework Elementary Level A2-B1

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awards: prizesbreak: chancedebut: firstdemo: a sample of songsgive up: stop doing somethingvegetarian: someone who does not eat meat

* glossary

music

adverbspast tense revision

2.1. S O G

4.3. C K E

5. Q K6.

S T7. F O T U Y

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8. A D

A star is born!Leona Louise Lewis was born in London on 3rd April 1985 and it was clear from an early age that she was very talented. In fact, she wrote her first song at the age of just 12 and she also studied opera singing, guitar and piano.

Her big break*When the singer left school, she worked part-time so that she could privately pay to record some demos*, which she sent to production companies hoping to get a recording contract. However, no-one was interested. In 2006, she was sadly thinking about giving up* music when, fortunately, her boyfriend convinced her to enter the popular TV competition, X-Factor.

X-Factor Success!Leona excitedly entered the competition, luckily made it through to the finals and became the winner of the 3rd series of X-Factor in December 2006, winning a £1 million recording contract! Since then, she has successfully released 2 albums, has won awards* for her work and has quickly become famous all over the world.

Complete the crossword with adverbs from the text about Leona Lewis. Use the highlighted letters to spell the name of her first album.The name of her album is

S _ _ _ _ T

Leona is a vegetarian* and strongly supports The World Society for the Protection of Animals, an animal rights organisation. Leona Lewis

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We can make it grow!

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Cartoon

awards: prizesbreak: chancedebut: firstdemo: a sample of songsgive up: stop doing somethingvegetarian: someone who does not eat meat

* glossary

IF YOU LOVE GARDENING LIKE EVA, YOU’LL LOVE PASSING ON THIS WONDERFUL HOBBY TO YOUR CHILDREN.

ALEX GOES TO THE SOCIAL GAME WEBSITE AND, USING AN INVENTED NICK-NAME, HE STARTS TO CREATE HIS GARDEN

AND THEY DON’T EVEN REALISE THAT THEY ARE PLAYING TOGETHER

SARA IS ENJOYING HERSELF HELPING HER VIRTUAL NEIGHBOUR TOO! SHE HAS ALSO INVENTED A NICK-NAME

There we are!

I’ll finish it …

What a disaster!We can do better than this!

But, the important thing is that you each play in your own room.

If you play Gardenville, you’ll become a perfect gardener.

You’re very good, not like my sister!

No, I will!

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Report

My very own farmIf you love the country, learn more about it with Farmville! You can build your own farm and there is just one rule: help your neighbours! You can send them gifts (a cow, a chicken, a lake with ducks) or exchange favours* like helping to plough* the fields or frighten away* the crows. An invitation to dinnerIf farming isn’t for you, you can open your own restaurant. On Facebook or MySpace you can join in another social game: Restaurant City. The main rule is the same as Farmville: help your neighbours!

Adopt* a puppyIf you’re an animal lover, then Pet Society is for you! In the “puppy society” you adopt a puppy to take care of*. The puppy needs food, a home, clothes and a lot of love! There’s only one way to provide* all this and that is visiting your neighbour’s puppies and taking care of them!

The lesson…Whichever game you choose, the lesson is the same: together we can aim much higher. This is why these are called “social games”: they are based on collaboration*. They’re only games, but by playing we can really learn a lot.

Social games!

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Do you like social games? Do you play Farmville, Restaurant City, Pet Society? Read this report and discover the exciting world of social games!

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introductiontozeroconditional;present simple revision, phrasal verbs.

A survey has discovered that at least half of the players of social games are adults over the age of 40! “Man is the only animal that never stops playing”. (K.Lorenz)

Game. Are you a real farmer?Around the world different things are grown in different countries. Match the product to its country.

1 [ ] Sweetcorn 2 [ ] Cus – cus 3 [ ] Kiwi fruit 4 [ ] Tea

a Australiab Latin Americac Indiad Saudi Arabia

After the terrible earthquake in Haiti, by playing Farmville you could donate money to help the victims of the earthquake. Over 2 million dollars was raised!

Not just for kids!

Charity

* glossary

adopt: (here) take responsibility forcollaboration: do something togetherexchange favours: help each otherfrighten away: make something/someone go away by scaring themplough: prepare the earth for planting seedsprovide: givetake care of: to look after U

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* glossary

animal rescue centres: places where homeless animals, like cats and dogs, livekennel: the small house that a dog sleeps in

My name is Gloria and I need

your advice. In a few days it

will be my brother’s birthday.

He will be five years old and he

would really like a dog. But we

live in a small flat and there is

just no room for a dog!!

What can we do?

Gloria

Hi Gloria, So many readers write to us

with the same problem. In

many different areas, animal

rescue centres* have started

an interesting programme:

with just a few pounds a

month you can adopt a dog!

You can play with him, cuddle

him and love him without

taking him home! He will have

a new kennel*, regular visits

to the vet and volunteers who

will take care of him when

you can’t go. If your local

rescue centre has a similar

programme, your brother

will have a really wonderful

birthday present, don’t you

think?

From the Editor

Dear Tot,

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comparativeadjectives;present simple revision

Going Green

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* glossary

imitate: copy what someone/something doesobserve: watch very closelyprune: (here) cut leaves and branches of trees and plants to make them grow better

Japanese Gardeners

Growing plants helps us to be calmer and more respectful of nature.

The Japanese are famous for their love of gardening. In Japan almost all of the houses have beautiful gardens. In fact the Japanese say that gardening makes us happier. This is why every week in Japanese schools there is a gardening lesson.

At the National School of Gardening, the students learn all the secrets of a perfect garden: how to choose the right type of plants for the type of earth, how to look after flowers and how to prune* plants. And above all they learn that you must never build houses made of cement near gardens! In reality, we can learn all this by observing* and trying to imitate* nature.

We use the following plants to produce certain products. Match the plants to the products.

1 Rose 2 Cotton 3 Sunflower 4 Cocoa [ ] a perfume[ ] b oil[ ] c chocolate[ ] d fabric

11Answer on page 15.

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Happy New Year!

The Year of the Rabbit

Chinese New Year is a hugefestival for the Chinesecommunity in London, and around the world. The Chinese year is based on the lunar* and solar* calendar, so the date is different each year, but it is always between the middle of January and the middle of February. Each year in the Chinese calendar is represented by one of the twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac,so2011istheyearofthe rabbit.

New Year Traditions

Most Chinese families clean their entire* house the day before Chinese New Year so it is fresh and clean for the beginning of the next year. They then prepare a special feast* with lots of special dishes which they hope will bring good luck. On New Year’s Day children dress in new clothes and wish their parents “Happy New Year”. They then receive little, red, lucky envelopes which contain money.

A Street Party in London

In London, the celebrationsusually begin with an openingceremony in Trafalgar Square followed by live performances around Chinatown, Chinese acrobatic displays and Chinese Dragon dances. The party ends with a colourful firework display!

In Britain

Although most of us celebrated New Year on 1st January, on 3rd February, in London’s Chinatown*, there will be a very exciting party to celebrate Chinese New Year.

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Typical Chinese New Year street decorations are lanterns* and red ribbons. Red is considered lucky in China.

There is a traditional Lion dance which takes place in the streets to frighten away bad luck and bring success to the houses and businesses that it passes.

Happy New Year!

Chinatown: An area of a city (in this case London) where there is a large Chinese populationentire: whole / allfeast: meallantern: a lamp made from paperlunar: of the moonsolar: of the sun

future simple “will” – present simple recurring events

* glossary

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There are 12 animals in the Chinese Zodiac. Can you match the animals to the zodiac signs below?Snake / Horse / Ram / Monkey Rooster / Dog / Pig / Rat / Ox Tiger / Rabbit / Dragon

1.a______

2. b______

3. c______

4. d______

5. e______

6. f______

7. g______

8. h______

9. i______

10. j______

11. k______

12. l______

Answer on page 15.

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Games Corner

14Answers on page 15.

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C. Next year Chinatown in London will celebrate the year of the ……………..

Whichanimalrepresents2012intheChinesezodiac?Completethegridbysolvingthecluesbelow.Thehighlightedsquareswillspellthenameofthe2012zodiacanimal.

1 Cleaning the house is a typical New Year ……………..2 Children receive …….. envelopes as gifts. 3 2011 is the Chinese year of the ……………..4 A lion dance takes place to ……………….. away bad luck.5 Children dress in new …………….. on New Year’s Day6 The area in London where there is a large population of Chinese people is called ………………

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A. Complete the paragraph with the words below.

same collaboration adults called game

half higher learn never

Whichever …………… you choose, the lesson is the …………… : together we can aim …………… . This is why they are ………………… “social games”: the basis of the game is …………………. . It’s only a game but you can ………….. a lot. A survey found that almost ………………. of the players are ………………. who are over the age of forty!

Man is the only animal who …………. stops playing”. KonradLorenz

B. Are the statements below about Sands School true or false? with the words below.

1. Sands School is in Scotland. [ T ] / [ F ]2. There is no school uniform at Sands. [ T ] / [ F ]3. You can call your teachers by their first names. [ T ] / [ F ]4. There is a head teacher who runs the school. [ T ] / [ F ]5. Matthew would like to go to Sands. [ T ] / [ F ]

ANSWERS: page 3:TheBigApple;page 4:1.successfully,2.strongly,3.luckily,4.excitedly,5.quickly,6.privately,7.fortunately,8.sadly:SPIRIT;pages 6-7:1-b,2-d,3-a,4-c;pages 8-9: Cardiff,coast,daffodil,David,dragon,flag,green,leek,Welsh:SNOWDON;page 11:1-a,2–d,3–b,4–c;pages 12-13: 1 rat 2 ox 3 tiger 4 rabbit 5 dragon 6 snake 7 horse 8 ram 9 monkey 10 roaster 11 dog 12 pigpage 14: A: game, same, higher, called, collaboration, learn, half, adults, never B: 1–F,2–T,3–T,4–F,5–T;C:1Tradition,2red,3rabbit,4frighten,5clothes,6Chinatown:DRAGON;page 16: Open answer

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Britain Today

Would you like to choose which school subjects to study? Would you prefer to decide whether to attend lessons or not? Would you appreciate having a say* in how your school is run?

Welcome to Sands School in Devon, in the South West of England. It is a democratic* school which is run by teachers and students! There is no school uniform and everyone is on first-name terms*. Lessons are not compulsory* and students can choose to study from a wide range* of subjects;somestudentsstudyeverything which is offered and others concentrate on just a few subjects which they are more interested in.

The philosophy of Sands is simple: all students are treated equally* and they can all have a good education. There is no head-teacher or director and students and teachers have equal power. All decisions are made democratically in weekly

What do you think? Would you like to go to a school like Sands? Why/why not? Write your opinion below.

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An Alternative Education

Compulsory: something you must doDemocratic: where there is equality for everyoneequally: the samefirst name terms: call someone by their first namehave a say: express your opinionrange: choice

* glossarY

conditionalform“would”;present passive

“This school is wonderful! I

don’t really like art, French

and music but I have to study

them at my school. This

school would be great for

me. I would study just maths,

geography and science, my

favourite subjects!”

Matthew, aged 15.

“I don’t think I would like

this school. There is too much

freedom. I think we need rules

and it’s important that adults

make some decisions for us. I

probably wouldn’t study very

much there!”

Lucy, aged 13.