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Culture Reading Travel Vocabulary

Weekend trip: Lisbon

Have a long weekend and want to spend it outside of Spain?

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Check out these tips to have a great weekend in Lisbon!

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Culture News Reading Vocabulary

Well, well, well, It looks like Spain is at the top of the list!

From the millions of tourists that come to Spain every year it is easy to see that Spain is a popular country for foreigners. But does living here bring the same qualities?

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Culture english Reading

May Day

8 hours labour

Why is May 1st a public holiday in Spain (and in some other countries)?

Tomorrow will be May 1st, the International Workers’ Day, and it is a bank holiday in Spain (so we get a day off work) and in many other countries all over the world.

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Comprehension Culture english Reading

Different Christmas traditions around the world

Whether it’s leaving some treats out for Santa and his reindeer or simply decorating the tree, Christmas time is full of family traditions.

But just how do children and their parents celebrate Christmas in other countries across the globe?

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Culture Learning Reading Vocabulary

The Mormons – a different American phenomenon

To Americans, Utah means «Mormons» – one of the most surprising religious groups in the USA. To this day, Mormons largely run Utah, as they have done since their ancestors first colonized the state in the 19th century. And even if, today, there are more and more non-Mormons living in Utah, it is still Mormons who govern many aspects of life in this part of the Mountain West.

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Culture Festival Reading

Mardi Gras in New Orleans (Reading)

Mardi Gras
New Orleans, the great city at the mouth of the Mississippi is one of the most colourful, most cosmopolitan and most European of American cities.

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Culture Reading

Reading: 10 of the best indie records shops around the world

Vinyl is not dead! From reggae in Iceland to a backstreet in Malvern, readers pick their favourite independent record shops, where you’re encouraged to listen, learn and love all music

Spillers Cardiff

Spillers, Cardiff

Founded in 1894, Spillers claims to be the oldest record shop in the world. For locals, it is a legendary store, and even today it has a vast variety of music that could keep you in there for hours. It still has the same charm and personal, friendly service that has made it a landmark for music lovers of all ages and backgrounds.

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Comprehension Culture Learning Reading

Reading: Before Stonehenge

One long-ago day around 3200 B.C., the farmers and herdsmen on Scotland’s remote Orkney Islands decided to build something big…

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They had Stone Age technology, but their vision was millennia ahead of their time. Five thousand years ago the ancient inhabitants of Orkney—a fertile, green archipelago off the northern tip of modern-day Scotland—erected a complex of monumental buildings unlike anything they had ever attempted before.

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Culture Learning Reading

Reading: Top 5 pop-up restaurants and food experiences in Amsterdam

Fresh tastes, clever design and a relaxed vibe are the order of the day for Amsterdam’s innovative and pop-up restaurants

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Culture Learning Reading

Reading: Top 10 Irish Myths and Legends

Ireland’s long history is riddled with ancient mythology and folklore. Ireland’s ancient societies, the Druids and the Celtics, believed in the power of magic and many of these beliefs spread to modern day legends told again and again across the country. Stories of warriors with all the knowledge of the world, fairies playing pranks on farm owners and leprechauns hiding their gold at the end of a rainbow add to the mysterious appeal of Ireland.

10. Banshee

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The Banshee was a woman who carried with her an omen of death. Sometimes you saw the Banshee as an old woman dressed in rags, sometimes you saw her as a young and beautiful girl and sometimes you saw her as a wash woman, ringing out bloody clothing. Whenever she was seen, she let out a horrible cry and legend has it this cry brought death to any family that heard it. King James I of Scotland thought he was approached by a Banshee. Shortly after, he died at the Earl of Atholl.

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Learning Reading Vocabulary

Reading: Top 10 national and state parks in Oregon

Oregon has only one national park but is by no means lacking in scenery. With 360 miles of public beach, gorges, wild rivers, forested peaks and fossil-rich desert, the state is packed with natural wonders

Wizard Island in Crater Lake National Park

Crater Lake national park

Today, Crater Lake national park in western Oregon is known for having one of the deepest, clearest lakes in the world, but 7,700 years ago, the landscape stunned witnesses for a different reason: the eruption of the Mount Mazama volcano, which created Crater Lake, is thought to be one of the greatest geologic catastrophes ever witnessed by humans. After it erupted, Mount Mazama collapsed, leaving behind a crater more than 1,200 metres deep – and 8km north to south and 10km east to west – that eventually filled with rain and snowmelt.

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Culture Learning Reading

Recipe: Jacket Potato with Cajun Salmon Dressing

Cajun-salmon-jacket-potatoes

 

Ingredients:

2 large Fluffy baking potatoes
2 tsp oil
1 x 175g skinless salmon fillet, cut into 2 cm cubes
50g mange tout, halved
1 tsp Cajun seasoning
6 tbsp low fat crème fraîche