Cultured Learning

INTRODUCTION AND HISTORY

Notting Hill Carnival has been taking place in London, on the last weekend in August, every year since 1966. It was initiated by London’s immigration population from the Caribbean, particularly from Trinidad. Back in the 1950s and 60s, these immigrants were facing harsh racism: limited job opportunities and poor housing conditions were the norm. They decided to create a festival in the style so synonymous with the Caribbean, to bring people together after the race riots of the 1950s. What began as a small party now has up to two million revellers every year. It is Europe’s biggest street festival and probably London’s most exciting annual event, involving twenty miles of vibrant colourful costumes surround over 40 static sound systems, hundreds of Caribbean food stalls, over 40,000 volunteers and over 1 million Notting Hill Carnival revellers.

A. Read the text quickly and find out: What is Notting Hill Carnival?

B. Read the text again and answer these questions

1) Which two-word phrase in the text is similar in meaning to:
happening / on / going on /

2) Which two-word phrase in the text is similar in meaning to:
standard / usual / typical /

3) Which word in the text is opposite in meaning to:
dull / grey / boring

THE EVENT
Notting Hill Carnival always takes place during the last weekend in August, on the Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday. The first day of the carnival (Sunday) is traditionally Children’s Day, with the parade and events aimed at the whole family. The second day (Monday) is for all ages to dance in the streets. The parade floats keep moving through the streets till about 9pm and then you can move on to the local clubs and bars. Pumping sound systems around the parade route vie for your attention. As well as music and dancing, authentic Caribbean cuisine is also available.

1) Where and when does the carnival take place?
2) What happens on Sunday and on Monday?

• If a player has no points, it’s called “love”
• The first point a player gets is called “15″
• If a player gets two points, it’s called “30″
• If a player gets three points, it’s called “40″
• If both players get “40″ each, it’s called “Deuce” and a special two extra points are played.
• When one player gets another point after reaching “Deuce”, it’s called “Advantage”, but the game can go back to “Deuce” again if the opponent scored the next point.  The game can go on like this for a long time, but it’s very exciting”

Hello everyone.  I hope you had a fantastic Easter!

If you’ve been wondering what that extra “did” was doing in last week’s correction, then wonder no longer.  We often use an auxillary when we want to emphasise something.

So, if I say “I saw Gary Linekar last week”, it’s normal, grammatically perfect, English.  But, if you don’t believe me, and I want to insist that I saw him, and I really, really want you to believe me, or listen to me, then I could say: “I did see Gary Linkear last week.”

Try listening out for this type of use of auxillaries and see why the person used it.

Bye for now!  And yes, I did see Gary Linekar last week

If you’re fed up of studying English in a boring old classroom, why don’t you get out into London itself with one of our expert Language Consultants?

There’s so much to see and do; museums and galleries to visit; markets to see; shops and restaurants to try out, and that’s just the beginning. London is full to bursting point with history and culture — it makes the perfect classroom.

With Cultured Learning, you can learn real, practical English and get to try it out with real live Londoners with your consultant to guide and support you. It’s a fantastic way of improving your language skills and enjoying London at the same time.

Why not give it a go?