Last week we learned a little about Germany. Today, we will learn about a country that is close by, Italy. You probably know already that this country of sixty million people has been a major(our) influence on Western civilization. So, what is Italy famous for? The Roman Empire, the Renaissance, music, food, cars, and motorbikes. Mainland Italy consists of a peninsula that lies in the Mediterranean Sea, with the Adriatic Sea to the east. It shares its northern boarder with France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia. Sardinia and Sicily are two very large islands amoung about seventy much smaller ones that belong to Italy. Rome, its capital, was the seat of the Roman Empire, from about 400 BC, for 800 years. The influence and power of Rome stretched to the north of Britain, the Iberian peninsula in the west, to Egypt and North Africa, and as far as the Persian Gulf. In AD 313 Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, which Christianized the empire. The Visigoths, an east Germanic tribe, invaded Italy repeatedly from the north. Other invaders followed including the Franks and the Normans. Italy became a divided country of powerful states, the strongest being Florence, Venice, Pisa, and Genoa. The Renaissance came about in Florence, bringing a revival of art, music, literature, and science. Napoleon conquered most of Italy, but, finally in 1861 Italy became unified. It is a mountainous, fertile land which has crop and hydro-electric resources. It has marble and oil in the south, but its main industries are car manufacturing and tourism. 30 million visitors come every year to the lakes, mountains, and well maintained historical buildings for inspiration, and to learn about this historically influential country.Grammar notes.
Related vocabulary: tribe, a seat of power, fertile, influential.
1. The Native American tribe that lived in this area was the Wenatchi tribe.
2. The seat of power in England is London.
3. The soil in Canada is so fertile; it is rich and black.
4. The Renaissance was an influential period for Western Europe.
On our way to the basketball game at the weekend, we stopped at a restaurant for dinner. The consensus was that we wanted asian food. So, as we drove along, half of us in the car looked out in one direction, and the rest of us looked in the other, until someone spotted a chinese restaurant. We turned into the parking lot and looked at the building. It was pink, it had colorful (ourful) accent colors (ours), and its style was very chinese. "I have a bad feeling about this place," said my husband all of a sudden. "What do you mean? Why, just because it's pink?" was my question. He told me to trust his instincts, and to let him drive us to a different restaurant. We turned up at another, very large chinese restaurant that immediately caught our attention because of the huge fish tank full of koi. Wow! There were at least ten, large, brightly colored (oured) koi, swimming around gracefully. The history of koi is interesting. About 1000 years ago, the carp was bred in China specifically for certain colors, resulting in the goldfish. About four hundred years later, the carp was introduced into Japan. It wasn't until the 1820's that carp were bred for color in Japan. By the 20th century, the famous red and white koi had been established, and were revealed to the world in the Tokyo exhibition in 1914. Koi can live easily for more than 100 years. The longest living recorded koi lived 226 years, and outlived several owners! While the children and I gazed at the fish and oohhed and aahhed, my husband looked up the restaurant on his droid to see what the food was like. Well, it turns out that the food was not worth eating, and the previous restaurant was highly recommended. So, we had a last look at the incredible koi, and then sneaked out and headed off to the pink restaurant which, in the end, turned out to be the perfect place for chinese food.Grammar notes.
Useful common verbs: To spot, to turn (into), to outlive, to sneak out.
1. As I looked through the binoculars, I spotted a golden eagle.
2. The bus slowed down and turned into the parking lot.
3. The parrot outlived two owners before it eventually died.
4. "Children, it's dark. Don't let me catch you sneaking out!"
Here in the United States, basketball is really popular. Children start at a young age going to practice and joining teams. Both college and professional basketball games are televised, and most adults have a favorite(urite) team. I was lucky enough to see a college basketball game this weekend, in the city of Spokane which is about a three hour drive. We all piled into the car; we took blankets, pillows, snacks, drinks, video games, and colors(ours) and paper to keep the kids busy. The drive is fairly uneventful as it goes mainly through flat, wheat growing areas where you only see an occasional house. We eventually arrived at Whitworth college where the game was being held. Now, I have to tell you that I am used to watching ten and eleven year olds run around on the court, so this was an entirely different experience. The gym was packed with spectators and college students; many people had to stand up because the place was so full. There was a huge banner across one wall that said 'Pirates' which is the name of the Whitworth team. The game started, and in typical U.S. style the show began: loud, popular music, cheerleaders, chants that are specific to basketball, and a very tall man dressed up as a pirate with a huge, mask. It was all great fun. At half time there was even a karate display! Anyway, the game was amazing. These huge college players charged around the court with great skill. The way they moved and passed the ball was, at times, more like a well practiced dance; everything was smooth and well orchestrated. Whitworth won the game. The California team they played against had played almost as well, except they hadn't been as accurate when shooting. The home team, however, has the advantage; a large crowd rooting for you can make all the difference to the final outcome.Grammar notes.
Basketball vocabulary: the home team, spectators, to shoot/ to make a basket, the court.
1. The game was played in our town, so our team was the home team with the advantage of the local people cheering for them.
2. The spectators were standing up throughout the game; I could barely see any of it because they were in the way.
3. The new player shot many times, but only made two baskets.
4. The home team's logo is painted on the court in shiny red letters.
Do you ever have aches and pains? Do your muscles ever get sore? Do you get headaches? My husband used to until a couple of years ago. He would come home from work with tight shoulders, or a headache, or a knot in his back, near his shoulder blades. Tension was the problem, caused by stress from work, and sitting too long in front of the computer. I tried to help by massaging his back, but it wasn't very effective. Then he went to a chiropractor for an adjustment. You know the routine: you lie on a bed and get pulled in different directions until your tight back cracks loudly. It's a scary situation; you really have to trust the chiropractor. You wouldn't want anything bad to happen to your spine. It is usually very effective and gives relief quickly, but, it didn't do the trick for my husband. So, he tried Yoga. What an excellent choice. It's good for relieving stress, and for the body. I think, if he had done it properly, it could have worked, but it wasn't enough to get rid of his headaches. He really had to find a solution to his problem, because, as you know, headaches can wreck your day; they get in the way of everything. Finally, we went to Seattle to look at some massaging chairs that he had heard about. We spent the whole day trying out different kinds, until he chose one, and we brought it home. It replicates Shiatsu massage, so, when you sit in it and lie back, the rotating, metal balls inside the chair actually push up on specific parts of your back, neck, and legs. For the first few days, I had to put up with his exclamations of relief, "Ooohhh!" and "Aahh!" and "Did you hear my back just crack? This chair is amazing!" I'm glad to say it worked, and has done ever since. It has been a life saver; he is now free of headaches. For him, it has been like magic.
Grammar notes.
Common expressions: to put up with, as you know, to do the trick.
1. When we stayed with my dear, deaf aunt, we had to put up with her dog barking all night.
2. The weather is getting worse, as you know, so we will not take the boat out until it is safe.
3. I fixed the squeaky door; a spot of oil did the trick.