April , 2014

April is the fourth month of the year in the

Gregorian calendar, the fifth in the early
Julian and one of four months with a length
of 30 days. April is commonly associated
with the season of spring in parts of the
Northern hemisphere and autumn in parts of
the Southern hemisphere, where it is the
seasonal equivalent to October in the
Northern hemisphere and vice versa.
It was the second month of the earliest
Roman calendar, before Ianuarius and
Februarius were added by King Numa
Pompilius about 700 BC. It became the
fourth month of the calendar year during the
time of the decemvirs about 450 BC, when it
also was given 29 days. The 30th day was
added during the reform of the calendar
undertaken by Julius Caesar in the mid-40s
BC, which produced the Julian calendar. The
Anglo-Saxons called April Oster-monath or
Eostur-monath. The Venerable Bede says in
The Reckoning of Time that this month
Eostur is the root of the word Easter. He
states that the month was named after a
goddess Eostre whose feast was in that
month. It is also attested by Einhard in his
work, Vita Karoli Magni.
In Moldova, April is associated with nature
revival, warmth, smiles and Easter.
(selected by Nadejda ALBU)




Mark Raymond Slaughter
April, Dear April
April, dear April, I beg you come soon
And bring your sweet primroses too.
Let them join in with the daffodils play,
As skies offer sunshine anew.

April, dear April, my blessed spring child,
Ornate in your yellow and white,
Teasing the birds into trilling their songs
And dancing to music of flight.

April, dear April, come enter my dreams
And rid me from cold winter chills.
Banish the rain and those blustery winds
And warm up our countryside hills.





WORDS OF APRIL


Rile: 1.to irritate or vex.2.to roil (water or
the like).
Dogmatize: 1. To make positive assertions
without supporting them by argument or
evidence.
Mordant: sharply caustic or sarcastic, as
wit or a speaker; biting.2. burning;
corrosive. 3. . having the property of fixing
colors, as in dyeing.
Martyr: person who chooses to suffer, even
to die, rather than renounce his or her faith
or Christian principles. After the example of
Christ one does not resist one's persecutors
when they use violence out of hatred or
malice against Christ, or his Church, or
some revealed truth of the Catholic religion.




VOCABULARY BOX

Spring to mind- to come quickly to
ones mind
Spring from smth- to come from or
be a result of something
Spring to life to become very
active or busy
To be full of joys of spring to be
very happy
Box spring- a spring or set of
springs fastened to a frame and
covered in cloth
Spring roll a Chinese pancake

APRILS CALENDAR
1st April
April Fool's Day - Poisson d'Avril.
National Day: San Marino.
Republic Day: Iran.
2nd April
Malvinas Day: Argentina.
4th April
Liberation Day (1945): Hungary.
Memorial Day of Chiang Kai-shek: Taiwan.
National Day: Senegal.
5th April
Arbor Day: South Korea.
6th April
Chakri Day: Thailand.
Uprising Day: Sudan.
7th April
Women's Day: Mozambique.
9th April
Martyr's Day: Tunisia.
11th April
Heroes' Day: Costa Rica.
Liberation Day: Uganda.
13th April
Songkran: Thailand.
National Day: Chad.
14th April
Fast and Prayer Day: Liberia.
Pan American Day: Honduras.
Thingyan: Myanmar.
15th April
National Day: Niger.
16th April
Independence Day: Cyprus.
New Year's Day: Myanmar.
17th April
Independence Day: Cambodia.
National Day: Syria.
18th April
Independence Day: Zimbabwe.
19th April
Independence Day: Venezuela.
King's Birthday: Swaziland.
Patriots' Day: Uruguay.
Republic Day: Sierra Leone.
21st April
The Queen's Birthday: United Kingdom.
Tiradentes: Brazil.
22nd April
Earth Day.
23rd April
National Sovereignty: Turkey.
St. George's Day: England.
25th April
Anzac Day: Australia, New Zealand.
Liberation Day: Italy, Portugal.
National Flag Day: Swaziland.
Sinai Liberation Day: Egypt.
26th April
Union Day: Tanzania.
27th April
Independence Day: Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Togo.
30th April
Fall of Saigon: United States of America.
Independence Day: Israel.
Queen's Birthday: Netherlands.
Vappu Day: Finland.


Social File



April in peoples
mind:
April is a promise that
May is bound to keep.
Hal Borland
April hath put a spirit of
youth in
everything.William
Shakespeare
Oh, to be in England Now
that April's there Robert
Browning
Sweet April showers do
spring May
flowers.Thomas Tusser



April 1
st
in
Retrospection

April is the second month of Spring;
nevertheless its first day is known
and celebrated in many countries
all over the world as April Fools
Day. Besides, remarkable historical
events have taken place on the 1st
of April for centuries, some of them
are as follows:
457 Majorian is acclaimed
emperor by the Roman army.
1789 In New York City, the United
States House of Representatives
holds its first quorum and elects
Frederick Muhlenberg of
Pennsylvania as its first House
Speaker.
1865 American Civil War: Battle
of Five Forks.
1935 India's central banking
institution, The Reserve Bank of
India is formed.
1937 Spanish Civil War: Jan,
Spain is bombed by Nazi forces.
1945 World War II: Operation
Iceberg United States troops land
on Okinawa in the last major
campaign of the war.
1960 The TIROS-1 satellite
transmits the first television picture
from space.
1976 Apple Inc. is formed by
Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and
Ronald Wayne.
1979 Iran becomes an Islamic
republic by a 99% vote, officially
overthrowing the Shah.
1992 Start of the Bosnian War.
Births
1815 Otto von Bismarck, German
politician, 1st Chancellor of the
German Empire (d. 1898)
1875 Edgar Wallace, English
journalist, author, and playwright (d.
1932)
1931 George Baker, Bulgarian-
English actor (d. 2011)
1947 Alain Connes, French
mathematician and educator
(selected by Marcela SIRBU)




Thick and thin
Two friends--one a fat man and the other a thin man--met at the
Nikolaevsky station. The fat man had just dined in the station and his
greasy lips shone like ripe cherries. He smelt of sherry and _fleur
d'orange_. The thin man had just slipped out of the train and was laden
with portmanteaus, bundles, and bandboxes. He smelt of ham and
coffee grounds. A thin woman with a long chin, his wife, and a tall
schoolboy with one eye screwed up came into view behind his back.
"Porfiry," cried the fat man on seeing the thin man. "Is it you? My dear
fellow! How many summers, how many winters!"
"Holy saints!" cried the thin man in amazement. "Misha! The friend of
my childhood! Where have you dropped from?"
The friends kissed each other three times, and gazed at each other
with eyes full of tears. Both were agreeably astounded.
"My dear boy!" began the thin man after the kissing. "This is
unexpected! This is a surprise! Come have a good look at me! Just as
handsome as I used to be! Just as great a darling and a dandy! Good
gracious me! Well, and how are you? Made your fortune? Married? I
am married as you see. . . . This is my wife Luise, her maiden name
was Vantsenbach . . . of the Lutheran persuasion. . . . And this is my
son Nafanail, a schoolboy in the third class. This is the friend of my
childhood, Nafanya. We were boys at school together!"
Nafanail thought a little and took off his cap.
"We were boys at school together," the thin man went on. "Do you
remember how they used to tease you? You were nicknamed
Herostratus because you burned a hole in a schoolbook with a
cigarette, and I was nicknamed Ephialtes because I was fond of telling
tales. Ho--ho! . . . we were children! . . . Don't be shy, Nafanya. Go
nearer to him. And this is my wife, her maiden name was Vantsenbach,
of the Lutheran persuasion. . . ."
TO be continued







Commentary:
The theme of the story is the meeting of two former classmates at a
railway station. Then, from the description it becomes clear that the"fat"
people are rich: they use expensive perfumes and can afford
expensive lunches. The slim passenger is slim, being loaded with all
kinds of boxes and hosts. He has to carry them himself, as Porter is left
with no money.
The "thick" and "thin" begin the conversation. From it we learn the names of the main characters: Michael and Porphyry. Slim Porfiry brags himself,
his wife and son. Michael is really interested Porfirys life. Porfiry is relaxed and at ease. But when slim discovers that Michael-Privy is a Councillor
and has two stars, this naturalness disappears. It shrivels and begins to behave humbly and calls his old friend "your Excellency". The story
becomes disgusting due to this behavior.
(by Artiom LUPOI)




Literary File
Fun - amusement, sport, treat, pleasure,
entertainment, cheer, good time, recreation,
enjoyment, romp, distraction, diversion,
frolic, junketing, merriment, whoopee
(informal), high jinks, living it up, jollity, beer
and skittles (informal), merrymaking,
jollification

The Strange Story
In the northern part of Austin there once dwelt an honest family by the
name of Smothers. The family consisted of John Smothers, his wife,
himself, their little daughter, five years of age, and her parents,
making six people toward the population of the city when counted for a
special write-up, but only three by actual count.
One night after supper the little girl was seized with a severe colic,
and John Smothers hurried down town to get some medicine.
He never came back.
The little girl recovered and in time grew up to womanhood.
The mother grieved very much over her husband's disappearance, and it was nearly
three months before she married again, and moved to San
Antonio.
The little girl also married in time, and after a few years had rolled
around, she also had a little girl five years of age.
She still lived in the same house where they dwelt when her father had
left and never returned.
One night by a remarkable coincidence her little girl was taken with
cramp colic on the anniversary of the disappearance of John Smothers,
who would now have been her grandfather if he had been alive and had asteady job.
"I will go downtown and get some medicine for her," said John Smith (for it was none
other than he whom she had married).
"No, no, dear John," cried his wife. "You, too, might disappear forever,
and then forget to come back."
So John Smith did not go, and together they sat by the bedside of little
Pansy (for that was Pansy's name).
After a little Pansy seemed to grow worse, and John Smith again
attempted to go for medicine, but his wife would not let him.
Suddenly the door opened, and an old man, stooped and bent, with long white hair,
entered the room.
"Hello, here is grandpa," said Pansy. She had recognized him before any of the others.
The old man drew a bottle of medicine from his pocket and gave Pansy a spoonful.
She got well immediately.
"I was a little late," said John Smothers, "as I waited for a street
car."
Commentary:
O. Henry is remarkable for his pun, irony, wit and humor which he used in his
work. He does this in a manner that draws the reader s attention.
The same can be observed The Strange Story. At the beginning everything goes on
well. When it comes closer to the end, the reader thinks that the ending is expected and
the interest goes down but the author uses a trick and the action raises up with a sudden
ending. This type of story falls into the category of surprise endings story. The climax of
the story is put at the end highlighting the still hope which continues to be present till the
end, finding the escape point.
In conclusion it should be remarked that all the funny stories written by O. Henry have
to be read twice or more because the essence is hidden so deep that at the first sight it
doesnt seem to be clear at all. It needs critical thinking and a special approach to the
problem.
(by Cristina LUPESCU)
A good story is an event in my life
(Stendhal)

April Fool's Day" is rapidly approaching and its celebrations will be
occurring all over the world. You may be curious where it has come
from. The origin of this holiday is obscure and undoubtedly riddled
with half-truths and tricks. Most believe that when the Gregorian
calendar was adopted in the late 1500s, the New Year was moved
from April 1
st
to January 1
st
. Those who kept to the old tradition
and the old date were labeled fools, hence the association.
But not everywhere the April Fool s Day celebrations are the same.
April Fool s Day is observed all around the world in different unique
ways. Maybe for April Fool s 2014 you can borrow some ideas from
April Fools Day in other countries.
April Fools Day in the United States is usually a day of trickery,
pranks and disgraceful stunts. The media becomes involved, running
false news stories or promoting false products. The April Fool s Day
celebrations can occur any time of the day and can be as simple or
complex as the tricker wishes. The victim of the prank is supposed to
maintain good humor about it, and traditionally he or she will attract
bad luck by getting upset about the prank.
April Fool s Day in France is traditionally called Poisson d Avril,
which translates as "April Fish." The term refers to the fish that are
recently hatched and therefore naive and easy to catch. The
traditional April Fish prank in France is to tape a fish to someone's
back, and call them a Poisson d Avril when they discover it.
Originally, the fish was a real dead fish, but nowadays it is most often
a paper fish. April Fish is also a common prank on April Fool s Day
in Italy, called Pesce d' Aprile in Italian. April Fish trickery can last all
day, and may include other kinds of tricks.
April Fool's Day in Canada is similar to April Fool's Day in the United
States. The Canadian tradition comes from investigator James
Randi, who annually announces a tongue-in- cheek award called the
Pigasus Award on April Fool s Day. These "awards" seek to expose
paranormal or psychic frauds or to ridicule institutions that promote
paranormal claims. Past Pigasus awards have been given to the
Kansas school board, John Edwards and Nostradamus.
In Scotland, April Fool s Day celebrations last for two days. April
Fool s Day in Scotland is sometimes called Taily Day or April Gowk.
The traditional prank for the first day is to send people on a fool's
task. You give someone an urgent note that they are supposed to
deliver, but the note informs the receiver that it is an April Gowk joke,
and they send the person to another person, who sends them
somewhere else...etc. On the second day, the traditional prank is to
stick an April Gowk sign on someone's backside, similar to a "Kick
Me" sign. April Gowk pranks are usually only played in the morning,
and if someone tries one in the afternoon, they are considered the
fool instead.
April Fools Day in
Poland is called
Pryma Aprylis. In
addition to being a
day of pranks, April
Fools Day celebrations often involve dressing up in costumes. April
Fools Day in Poland is largely a holiday for children, but adults also
get fun. In recent years, Polish media has also taken part in the April
Fool s Day celebrations.
There are a few countries that have April Fool s Day celebrations on
other days than April 1st. In Denmark, for example, April Fool s Day
celebrations are held on May 1
st
and the day is called Maj-kat, or
May-cat. Such countries as Spain and Mexico observe the Feast of
the Innocents on December 28th by pranking and tricking people just
as on April Fool s Day. Victims of pranks are not allowed to be
upset, because the pranksters are
representing the innocents. Yet
another prank day similar to April
Fool s Day celebration occurs in
Iran near the beginning of April,
called Sizdah Bedar.
What can we say about April Fools
Day in Moldova? The teachers and students of our Faculty helped us
to answer this question:
Condrat Viorica:
April Fool's Day isn't much of a holiday for me. I'm trying hard to
remember something interesting that happened to me and nothing
comes to my mind. Probably, there were no pranks to remember. I'm
not telling that it's a meaningless celebration of pranking. It's good
once in a while to let all the foolishness get out of you. That is why
children and young people love making fun on this day. They know
that nobody will shame them. As to the traditions, I'm not familiar with
them either. People just play tricks on each other and that's it.
Cebotaros Viorica:
For me April 1 is just an ordinary day.
Popova Kate:
I adore April Fool's Day. I remember myself as the 3
rd
grade pupil
making fun of my classmate. I told her that she had got a 5 in Maths.
I was surprised that she believed me and from that day on I like to
make fun of my friends. It's a funny holiday that brings people joy. I
like it.
Popkova Anastasia:
I think it is a very positive holiday. The whole day is full of jokes and
high spirits. It is a time when we have fun and enjoy ourselves. No
sadness, just happy smiles! I like this holiday, and of course, I follow
the tradition to make fun of my friends.
(by Alina GAMUREAC and Anna HARITONOVA)
Jokes:
Q: Why did the teacher wear sunglasses?
A: Because his class was so bright!
Q: Why were the teacher's eyes crossed?
A: She couldn't control her pupils!
Q: Teacher: Didn't I tell you to stand at the end of the line?
A: Student: I tried but there was
someone already there!

Q: How is an English teacher like a
judge?
A: They both give out sentences.
Q: Why did the teacher go to the beach?
A: To test the water.
(selected by Anastasia POPTOVA and
Marina CUGUT)


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Funny File
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