Chile’s Trapped Miners

5 October, 2010

http://www.newsflashenglish.com/english-lessons/chile-s-trapped-miners

Deep underground in a gold and copper mine in San Jose, Chile, 33 miners await rescue. Buried alive these men have now lived at 700m (2,300ft) underground, cut off from the outside world, for longer than any other miner in history. Hopes of getting them all out alive rest on a drilling operation that is currently underway. Initially, the miners were advised they might not be rescued till Christmas. However, the latest indicators are that they could be out by the first week in November. Chile’s Mining Minister Laurence Golbourne has so far refused to be drawn on a rescue date.

Category: South America / Chile / Mining rescue

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General Knowledge Quiz - October 2010

1 October, 2010

http://www.newsflashenglish.com/english-lessons/general-knowledge-quiz-october-2010

Score 10 points for every correct answer – Score 5 points if half right! Play a JOKER in one round and get DOUBLE points in that round. Show it before you start the round. There are 12 rounds with 6 questions in each round.

Topics include:

1. Music
2. African Geography
3. The World Today
4. Sport
5. World History
6. Europe
7. British History
8. Pot Luck
9. UK
10. Central Asian Geography
11. The British Royal Family
12. Film

Category: Quiz / General knowledge / ESL English

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France’s new medieval castle takes shape

20 August, 2010

http://www.newsflashenglish.com/english-lessons/france-s-new-medieval-castle-takes-shape

Deep in the forests of central France something totally unique is happening. A knight’s castle is under construction. It’s the vision of one man, Michel Guyot, whose idea was to build a complete 13th century castle by using only authentic tools and locally sourced materials. Every detail of the project is made as accurate as possible, even down to the clothes worn by the workers. If ropes are needed they are made on site; when stone is needed it needs to be quarried out of the ground etc. It’s actually the first castle of its kind to be built for nearly 800 years. The Château de Guédelon, near the village of Saint-Fargeau in Burgundy, is probably the world’s most unusual building site. It is an exercise in archaeology in reverse, as it is discovery by building up, not by digging down. The foundations were laid back in 1997. It is due to be completed in 2025, when it will be a full-sized castle with battlements and a moat and six towers. According to Monsieur Guyot it is based on the period of 1228.

Category: History / France / Medieval castle

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Great British dishes!

10 January, 2010

http://www.newsflashenglish.com/english-lessons/great-british-dishes

Food is always a good talking point in any conversation. So today, let’s talk about some Great British food dishes. Britain has some fabulous mouth watering choices. So what are they? Well, let’s start with one of the most popular – freshly bought fish and chips from the fish and chip shop. In England, cod is the favourite fish in the south; haddock in the north. The chips are sprinkled with salt and vinegar. Northerners like mushy peas with theirs. Another British dish is Steak and Kidney Pudding or Pie. The former is made with suet, the latter with pastry. Both are filled with succulent cut-up pieces of British beef and ox kidney. They are delicious with potatoes and English vegetables and some Lea & Perrin’s Worcestershire sauce. A similar traditional pub meal is pie and mash. These days pie is made with beef. More than 50 years ago however, Londoners from the East End made this pie with jellied eels, as eels were then cheaper than beef.

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What is News Flash English?

News Flash English was created by professional English teachers and aims to be the ultimate resource for ESL and TEFL teachers, offering free ESL lesson plans every five days, based on current and topical news stories plus a monthly general knowledge quiz.