Dexway English Magazine: A2 – Edition 5
Australia
THE LAND DOWN UNDER
Australia has always been known for their kangaroos and surfing but it is more than that. The name Australia comes from the Latin word “Australis”, which means “of the South”. It is the 6th (sixth) largest country in the world. Australia has no official language but English is the most spoken one. People there have a very distinct accent and use a variety of spelling and grammar differences than British or American English.
The British made a colony there in the 18th (eighteenth) century, but they have had Aboriginal people living on the continent for about 40,000 (forty thousand) years. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 (nineteen 0 one). There are approximately 23 (twenty three) million people who live there. The Sydney Harbour Bridge opened in 1932 (nineteen thirty two) and is the widest steel arch bridge in the world! One of the most famous buildings is the Sydney Opera House.
Many Europeans call Australia home; they have the largest population of Greek people in Melbourne after Athens. Although most people think Sydney is the capital because it is the largest city in Australia, Canberra is the official capital. Most of Australia is desert but because it is so large, it also has tropical rainforests and home to about 250,000 (two hundred and fifty thousand) species of animals. Six of the top ten deadliest snakes live in Australia. They are also very active in sports such as rugby, cricket, field hockey and the Olympics. Australia has something for everyone!
Hollywood
WHERE THE STARS COME OUT!
Welcome to Hollywood, the cinematic center of the world. When people think of making movies, they will think of Hollywood, and when a person wants to star in a film, they will go there. Hollywood is the center of the movie industry and many of the most famous movies seen all around the world are made here.
Hollywood is a district in the city of Los Angeles, California. The film industry began in Hollywood by 1912, when several film companies began to settle in and produce movies in the area. By 1920, the district had already become famous for the film industry. Hollywood was chosen by many film companies because of its location as it was an ideal spot due to its favorable year round temperature and weather. Due to the large production of film movies, many actors and actresses live in Hollywood. Many people move to Hollywood in the hopes of being able to perform in a movie.
Hollywood has many famous landmarks. The most famous of this is probably the Hollywood sign. The sign is situated on Mt. Lee in Hollywood hills and is 45 feet tall and 310 feet long. The sign was put up in 1923 as an advertisement, and it originally said Hollywood land, but the last part was taken down. The sign has become the primary icon of Hollywood. Another famous landmark is the Gruman’s Chinese theatre, which opened in 1923 and has shown many movie premiers. Equally famous is the Hollywood Walk of Fame, where you can see the names of many famous movie stars.
Colours of the rainbow
RED
The colour red is a warm and positive colour. It is the colour of action and the colour of warnings. When we see red we are motivated to do something, for example to stop. If your favourite colour is red you are a leader, you give other people advice and confidence.
Red is also the colour of love and on the 14th of February we could buy red roses for the people we love. Red can make us hungry, like strawberries or strawberry cheesecake.
Too much red can make us unhappy; too little red makes us unhappy. Red is an important colour. In China red is good luck and in India red is the most popular colour for a wedding dress.
“Red is a strong color
Red is a Strawberry
A very juicy red fruit
Red is an apple
Another delicious fruit
Red is a fruit
those small little cherries
Red is a light
The light that means stop when you get to it
Red is a firetruck
The truck that fire people use when there’s a fire
Red, Red, Red
What a color.”
By favie erase
Floating Lanterns
FLOATING
In the northern part of Thailand, in Lanna, people use “floating lanterns” for celebrations and special occasions. The Lanna Yi Peng festival is the most important festival of the year.
If you are Buddhist, it is a festival meant to give you Buddhist merit (when you do a good deed, act or have good thoughts, it is carried through to the end of your life or to your next life). Thousands of lanterns are thrown into the air, looking like giant glowing jellyfish in the sky.
People also have paper lanterns to decorate their house, garden and temple for good luck. To the Thai people, when you release a lantern, you are letting your worry and trouble float away.
How do you celebrate traditions or festivals in your country?
Statue of Liberty
LADY LIBERTY
The Statue of Liberty is a sculpture found on Liberty Island in New York, built by the French and given to New York in 1886 (eighteen eighty six). The statue is made of copper. The sculpture is of a woman, Liertas, who is a Roman Goddess. She is holding a torch and a tablet (a stone page), which has the date of American Independence on it. By her feet, there is a broken chain said to represent freedom from The United Kingdom.
The Statue is found on Liberty Island at the entrance to New York Harbour; this represents a very important monument for immigrants arriving to New York. Many immigrants arrived to Ellis Island also at the entrance to New York harbour. Here, under the eyes of The Status of Liberty, immigrants were processed and then allowed entry into the United States.
Language preservation
As we all know, it is very important to learn other languages for many reasons. Languages can help us in businesses, our jobs, visiting other countries and in many other ways. However, languages can also be an important part of culture. Languages can represent a group or cultural heritage and they allow people to communicate and express themselves. There are many languages that are endangered of becoming unknown and dying out. That is why it is important to preserve these languages, so they can be around for people in the future.
There are many languages that are at risk of dying out. This is because, as languages are no longer used by people, they will no longer be taught to younger people, and the ones left who know the language will die off. There are already 3,000 languages that are spoken by less than 10,000 people. If a language is lost, then a whole cultural identity can disappear and everything that is involved with that culture can be lost.
It is very important to help preserve those languages that are in danger of dying off. These languages represent a cultural heritage and should be preserved for people in the future.
