Reported speech ( questions )

You can have more practice on reported speech by clicking on:

http://english.specialist.hu/a3/xgg/preprt.htm

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

THE PLOT

A very long time ago, in the Italian city of Verona, there were two families: the Montagues and the Capulets. Both families were famous, rich and popular but they hated each other. Verona also had a very wise Prince who had relatives in both of the feuding families so he didn’t want them to fight.

Romeo was Signore Montague’s only son. He was so much in love with Rosaline that he could hardly think of anything else.  However, she didn’t love him back and that made him feel unhappy. One day when Romeo and a friend of his were walking, they met one of the Capulets’ servants who could not read the guest list for a costume party that his lord was having that night. Going to that party was a great opportunity for Romeo to see Rosaline.

 

The Capulets’ party was truly magnificent.  The best thing about it, though, was that everyone wore masks so that it was a kind of game to figure out who each person was. When Romeo saw Juliet, he fell in love with her and forgot all about Rosaline. It was love at first sight! That night Romeo crept over to Juliet’s balcony and gave her a rose. Juliet told him that if he was serious about loving her, he should arrange for them to get married.

Romeo and Juliet secretly got married. Friar Lawrence agreed to marry them hoping that their marriage might bring peace between their families. After the wedding, Romeo had to use force to break up a fight between Mercutio, a relative of the Prince of Verona and Tybalt, one of Capulet’s nephews. Mercutio was killed during the fight and Romeo felt guilty about what had happened. He killed Tybalt but when the Prince was informed about that, he banished Romeo from Verona. Both Romeo and Juliet were desperate as they did not have much time to enjoy their marriage.

Juliet went to Friar Lawrence for advice. He gave her a drug that was supposed to make her sleep very deeply. According to the Friar’s plan, her parents would think that she was dead. Meanwhile, the Friar would send a letter to tell Romeo who was in Mantua about the plan. Unfortunately, the letter never reached Romeo, who, like everyone else, believed Juliet had really died. He travelled to Verona, opened the door to the mausoleum where Juliet lay, he kissed her and drank the poison he had bought. When Juliet woke up, she saw that Romeo was dead. She was so sad that she took Romeo’s sword and stabbed herself. “At least we’ll be together in death,” she whispered as she fell.

                                      

THE MAIN CHARACTERS

Romeo had dark hair and brown eyes. He was a very handsome and brave young man.

Juliet was a very beautiful woman with long blond hair. She had a lot of common sense since she realized that boys would sometimes say things without meaning them.

THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENT

The most important event is when Juliet drinks the drug so as to avoid getting married to Paris. She decides to do it despite all the doubts that she has about the Friar’s plan.

MY OPINION

I recommend this book to my classmates, as it is one of William Shakespeare’s most famous plays.

If you want to find information about Shakespeare, click on '
 http://absoluteshakespeare.com/william_shakespeare.htm

Stella Vouskoudaki

 

Funny comic strips

Dangerous Game

THE PLOT

Some time after his wife’s death, William Harris, a forty-year-old writer, realizes that his bedroom is haunted. William names the ghost ‘Poldy’ from the word ‘poltergeist’. You know that a poltergeist is a playful ghost. Poldy is always in the room and he only appears when they play a game. He never appears when William Harris uses the light switch. He appears only when he pulls the plug out. When William puts the plug back in, Poldy disappears and he does not come back.

Every day William works in his usual way but his life is different now because he enjoys Poldy’s company. In the beginning they play happy games that they invent but as time goes by, the games become more and more dangerous. William is terrified and he does not want to play games any more, at least not with this evil ghost which is the ghost of his dear wife, Julie whom William murdered. ..

MAIN CHARACTERS

William Harris isn’t easy going. He is a bit boring but he is smart.

Poldy is  my favourite character. He seems to be evil, funny, kind and playful at the same time.

THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENT

The most important event is when William Harris plays a strange game with the ghost Poldy. One night when the ghost appears, William pulls the plug of his lamp out of the socket and the ghost disappears. It is the most important event because the readers believe that in this way William can get rid of the ghost’s presence.

 MY OPINION

I believe that this book is amazing! I recommend it to those classmates of mine that like mysteries.

  Jim Trevizakis

                                         

Natural disasters

Watch the following video 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=oZP5odAwdKs

Imaginary plants

Amansweet

This strange-looking plant is found in Sweetland. It is named after Anna-Mariscova and Mariova, the two girls that discovered it. The plant eats sweets in order to grow, it can be up to 2 metres tall and it can live for 100 years. It is colourful ( you can see it in the picture ), it looks like a sweet and if you notice it, you will be surprised since  it has lollipops instead of leaves!!!

Anna-Maria Sorotou and Mary Diakona

The Aggrose

Our imaginary plant is called Aggrose because it gets very aggressive. It looks like a regular rose but it can be very dangerous. It has a pink flower and a green stem on which thorns appear if a human or an animal approaches  it. So be careful! If you touch it, you  may get hurt. 

Stella Vouskoudaki, Konstantina Souroufi and Aggeliki Karystinou

Trappcinno

 

Don’t get deceived by the name of the plant. It is not some kind of trap; our imagination has created it. It is a very extraordinary plant. It looks like a common cup of coffee but it can become very evil, especially when an insect goes near it. It is short and colourful and it has flowers in the middle to attract insects. 

                                    Angel Tsitsiridakis, Dimitris Trevizakis, Anthony Drougas

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Piraeus

Piraeus is a city near the capital of Greece, Athens. It is famous for its big port and it has a population of  many thousands of people.

This city has lots of impressive and interesting sights. First of all, there is the Municipal Theatre, which is in the centre of the city. It was built in 1885 and it is one of the most famous landmarks. Another place worth visiting is the Archaeological Museum that includes a big collection of monuments and pottery. There is also the superb Municipal Gallery of Piraeus where someone can find very attractive works of artists like N. Lytras.

The tourists who visit Piraeus can also go to Kastella. It is a wonderful place with neo-classical mansions and luxurious houses.Another famous destination is Zea where one can see impressive yachts and cruisers.

You can find different ways of entertainment in Piraeus. You

 can eat tasty fish in very traditional restaurants by the sea ,you can

 watch a movie or you can drink a hot cup of coffee.

In my opinion, Piraeus is a beautiful city that every person must visit. 

Stella Vouskoudaki