IMAGINARY WORLDS

SUPERHEROES

Here is an interesting link to the various superpowers  those heroes can be endowed with...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_superhuman_features_and_abilities_in_fiction

FANTASY versus SCIENCE FICTION

Definition of the genres ( source : wikipedia) :

"Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary plot element, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic and magical creatures are common. Fantasy is generally distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the expectation that it steers clear of scientific and macabre themes, respectively, though there is a great deal of overlap between the three, all of which are subgenres of speculative fiction.
In popular culture, the fantasy genre is predominantly of the medievalist form, especially since the worldwide success of The Lord of the Rings and related books by J. R. R. Tolkien. In its broadest sense, however, fantasy comprises works by many writers, artists, filmmakers, and musicians, from ancient myths and legends to many recent works embraced by a wide audience today.
 Fantasy is a vibrant area of academic study in a number of disciplines (English, cultural studies, comparative literature, history, medieval studies). Work in this area ranges widely, from the structuralist theory of Tzvetan Todorov, which emphasizes the fantastic as a liminal space, to work on the connections (political, historical, literary) between medievalism and popular culture."

"Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginative content such as futuristic settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, time travel, faster than light travel, parallel universes, and extraterrestrial life. It often explores the potential consequences of scientific and other innovations, and has been called a "literature of ideas".Authors commonly use science fiction as a framework to explore politics, identity, desire, morality, social structure, and other literary themes."

WATCH...

 A video discussing the differences between science fiction and fantasy.

HORROR FILMS

Those are the extracts we studied in class.

The Shining - 1980

Se7en (opening credits) - 1995

Paranormal Activity - 2007

WANNA READ ? Here are only some suggestions...It's up to you !!

FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION BOOKS

1. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll  (1865)
2. 1984 - George Orwell ( 1948)
3. Lord of the Flies - William Golding (1954)
4. Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling ( 1997 as far as the first volume is concerned)
5. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins ( 2008)
6. Twilight - Stephenie Meyer (2005)
7. Star Wars - Timothy Zahn (1977)
8. The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R.  Tolkien (1954 !!!)
9. The Hobbit - J.R.R.  Tolkien ( 1937, even  more amazing !)
10. The Kingkiller Chronicles - Patrick Rothfuss (2007)

DIGITAL DAYS

A press article about digital addiction clinics ( yes, the geeks can be cured !^^): 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20813371

A video about an Internet addiction camp in China : 

Are you a geek ? take this test :  

http://www.matthewbarr.co.uk/geek/

Video watched in class last week :

The house of the Future / Living Tomorrow

URBAN LIFE

London Before

Famous Londoners

SHAKESPEARE : is it really necessary to present him ?

http://absoluteshakespeare.com/trivia/biography/shakespeare_biography.htm

SHERLOCK HOLMES : one of the most famous fictional Londoners. He was a renowned detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He was able to solve all kinds of mysteries thanks to his logical reasoning or even forensic science.

http://www.sherlockian.net/

JACK THE RIPPER  : in the late nineteenth century, this unidentified serial killer murdered several prostitutes in the Whitechapel district. His murders have inspired numerous film makers. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_the_Ripper

The best way to have a glimpse of what London looked like in the late 19th century is to visit this webpage 

 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/charles-dickens/9018185/Dickenss-London-in-pictures.html

London Today

PROS AND CONS OF LIVING IN LONDON

( it's up to you ! )

SURVEILLANCE ( the eye of London ?)...

The famous CCTV cameras which keep on eye on everyone...everywhere !

GETTING AROUND...

London is renowned for the quality of its public transport.

Well, it's a bit...crowded, isn't it ?

POLLUTION...

"If you live in a city, chances are you might not even notice just how polluted the air has become" CNN's Dr Sanjay Gupta

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/11/19/london.pollution.sticky.roads/

The well-known "London fog" may be nothing else than "smog" ( that is to say, a fog due to the excessive amount of smoke in the air, for example:  exhaust fumes, from factories or from cars).

SHOPPING...

Westfield Stratford City: the most famous shopping mall.  A paradise for all the shopaholics !  ;-)

MULTICULTURALISM...

An interesting video with some teenagers' testimonies 

http://www.truetube.co.uk/film/multicultural-london

GRAMMAR : it's high time you rolled up your sleeves ! :-)

As I know you're absolutely not keen on grammar and it usually drives you up the wall, here are a few links to your favourite grammar rules !

• LET / MAKE / HAVE / GET.   http://www.englishpage.com/minitutorials/let.html

       Exercises  http://www.englishpage.com/minitutorials/letexercise.htm

• FOR versus TO to translate "pour"  http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv314.shtml

• A website to learn more about basic English grammar (a lot of useful exercises !)

http://langues.u-bordeaux4.fr/ANGLAIS/GRAMMAR.html

As easy as pie !

Speaking English is said to be as easy as pie. But when you read that, you may change your mind...
This one goes out to all those who have a tendency not to worry because ( I quote)  "English ? So what ? Fingers in ze nose !"  ;-)

POEM  

(to be read aloud, wow, who is going to take up the challenge ??)

I take it you already know
Of tough and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble, but not you
On hiccough, thorough, slough and through.
Well done! And now you wish, perhaps,
To learn of less familiar traps?

Beware of heard, a dreadful word
That looks like beard and sounds like bird.
And dead; it's said like bed, not bead.
For goodness sake, don't call it deed!
Watch out for meat and great and threat,

They rhyme with suite and straight and debt.

A moth is not a moth in mother,
Nor both in bother, broth in brother.
And here is not a match for there,
Nor dear and fear for bear and pear,
And then there's dose and rose and lose --
Just look them up -- and goose and choose,

And cork and work and card and ward
And font and front and word and sword.
And do and go and thwart and cart --
Come, come, I've hardly made a start.
A dreadful language?  Man alive,
I mastered it when I was five.

So, was that a piece of cake ?? ;-)
If you need to have words pronounced, here is a useful website : www.howjsay.com

And this one goes out for the buzzing bees who don't get on well with the "-th". 

More seriously, here is a short video to help you pronounce those two nightmarish letters : "the terrible -TH".