A Quick SWISS Quiz for Whiz Kids!

Passing through Zürich on my way To Hannover I devised the questionnaire below to point out the historical connections between Spain & Switzerland.

A)Name five Swiss cities: B (2)...    L(2)...G (1)

B)Name four languages spoken in Switzerland. The different names of the country in these languages can give you some clues:

SCHWEIZ

SUISSE

SUIZZERA

SUIZRA

SUIZA

C) How many cantons are there in Switzerland? Name ten of them.

D) What does HSBC (the bank) stand for?

E) Why do you think Switzerland is and has long been a "neutral" country?

F) Name some famous peaks in the Swiss Alps.

G)Spelling practice: L_I_E_C_H_T_E_N_S_T_E_I_N

     What is its capital city?

H) Name some Swiss companies which manufacture chocolate or watches.

I) What is a Swiss knife?

J) What is the international registration code for Swiss cars when they travel abroad? (A clue : The Latin name for Switzerland will give you the idea)

K) Name some famous people who died in Switzerland, for instance Charles Chaplin, Erasmus, Graham Greene, Vladimir Nabokov, Thomas Mann, James Joyce, Audrey Hepburn, Herman Hesse, Richard Burton, Rainer Mª Rilke, etc..

L)  Why is the Vatican Guard Swiss?

M) What is Swiss Colony?

N) If a Swiss Watch is a SWATCH, give examples of more blends in present-day English, as in FANTABULOUS, ALCOHOLIDAY,..

Ñ) Translate into Spanish Swiss Chard.......................

O) A legendary figure from Switzerland is the folk hero William Tell. What can you Tell us about him?

P) HISPANO-SUIZA was a car-manufacturing company of the early XXth century. Which car models did they produce?

Q) Which international organizations have or had their Head offices in Swiss cities?

R) What is the Swiss family Robinson? Tell us a summary of the story.

S) The Swiss flag has a white cross in the centre. Which other famous crosses can you draw? Ex: Malta, Christian,Devil´s , Lorraine, Svastika,...

T) The Spanish Royal Family " the Bourbons"have long enjoyed life in 

Switzerland. What was the Lausane Manifesto about? 

U) Nowadays, the king´s sister, Cristina, lives in Switzerland with her large family and her "infamous" husband, Mr. Urdangarín. Where have they taken up residence?

V) Give the name for a breed of Swiss milking cow and a typical Swiss cheese. What is a petit suisse? Why is it called like that?

W) After the Spanish Civil War and its aftermath in the Second World War thousands of Spaniards migrated to different countries worldwide. Switzerland was just one of them. Which other countries received Spanish immigrants? NAME AT LEAST TEN countries both from Europe and America.

X) Name two famous LAKES in Switzerland

Y) What is the unit of currency in Switzerland? Do they accept Euros?

Z) Name and shame. Who are those Spanish "patriots" who keep their money safe in Swiss banks, who still show off their true patriotic feelings and yet they avoid paying the Spanish Taxes, thanks to the "Hervé Falciani" list? There are over a thousand of them...including F.Alonso and the Botín family.. Who are the remaining "Hispanophiles"(true lovers of Spain-)?

REALLY??? EXPRESSING SURPRISE IN DIFFERENT WAYS

This unit is dedicated to my 3rdESO C students who are not academically gifted but are always ready for a laugh. You can show surprise in English by repeating the final words of a given sentence with a rising intonation: They´ve found oil in Málaga........OIL IN MÁLAGA?
You can also use a negative tag followed by a positive one, as in  He came back on foot  HE DIDN´T, DID HE ? ; or just an appropriate adjective. My granny had sixteen children...HOW INTERESTING/AMAZING/ SURPRISING; or  REALLY with a rising intonation, which the students seem to enjoy so much or any of the following means:

1. What?
2. What a surprise!
3. Well I never! / Blimey!
4. That's the last thing I expected
5. You're kidding!
6. I don't believe it! / Are you serious?
7. I'm speechless!
8. I'd never have guessed.
9. You don't say!

REACT IN SURPRISE TO THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS:

 

MY GRANDFATHER  GOT DIVORCED THREE TIMES

I DO IT ALL THE TIME

I AM DOING THE SPLITS

SHE´S  DOING TIME

I AM THE WAY , THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE

THIS IS TOP SECRET

I AM AN ADULT

FERNANDO DID IT

I´M TRYING TO QUIT

I´M PROUD OF YOU ALL

WE ARE A PRODUCT OF OUR ENVIRONMENT

YOU ARE PART OF A SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENT

YOU WENT TO BED WITH WET HAIR

IT IS HEALTHY TO EAT VEGETABLES

I TRIED SOME NEW DRUGS(MEDICINES)

MY ELECTRICY WENT OUT THIS MORNING

I WANTED TO TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT

IT´S A NEW FASHION

I NEED A NEW PILLOW

I RAN OUT OF MONEY/ PETROL

I  AM YOUR MOTHER

THIS HAS TRULY SENTIMENTAL VALUE

I AM IN THE PROCESS OF DECLUTTERING/ DEJUNKING

I HAD A LITTLE TOO MUCH TO DRINK

WE RECONNECTED ON FACEBOOK

YOU ARE A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH

WHITE CLOTHES MAKE ME LOOK FAT

I DECIDED TO SLEEP ON IT

I WASN´T WEARING MY GLASSES

THEY ARE GOING THROUGH A ROUGH TIME IN THEIR MARRIAGE

SHE´S GOING THROUGH A SEPARATION

SHE HAS PUT ON A LOT OF WEIGHT

MY BOSS IS AN IDIOT

LIBRARIES SCARE ME.

I´M A BORN-AGAIN DYSLEXIC

SHE SUFFERS FROM ED ZACCHARY DISEASE

WE´RE BETTER AS FRIENDS

YOU ARE TOO GOOD FOR ME

I NEEDED SOME TIME OFF

WE SAW YOU WITH THAT OTHER GIRL

YOU´VE MET SOMEBODY ELSE

YOU WANT TO CATCH WHAT I HAVE

I AM A DOG PERSON

YOU ARE CONVERTING TO A RELIGION INCOMPATIBLE WITH MINE

SOMEBODY HAD A CAMERA PHONE

SHE WAS AN ARTIST

I WAS TRYING TO GET ADOPTED

THERE WAS SOMETHING IN THE AIR

THEY HAD TO EAT

THIS TOWN IS SO BAD

MY HIGH SCHOOL REALLY PREPARED ME

THERE WAS NOTHING IN THE FRIDGE

IT CAN BE CHEAPER TO EAT OUT

HE LOST HIS DRIVING LICENCE

WE WERE OUT OF EGGS AND FLOUR

MY HOUSE HAS A HUGE KITCHEN

SHE KNEW ALL OF HIS PASSWORDS

WE HAD THE KEY

HIS WIFE WAS RUINING HIS LIFE

HE DESERVED BETTER

SHE GAVE ME THE BEST THREE WEEKS OF MY LIFE

I WAS DRINKING TEQUILA

MY BOOTS WERE KILLING ME

WE WEREN´T PICKING UP THE PHONE

THIS IS A FREE COUNTRY

I HATE WEARING THE SAME THING EVERY DAY

SHE PAID A LOT OF MONEY FOR THIS

PEOPLE ARE GOING TO FIND OUT ANYWAY

WE WERE JUST TRYING TO HELP.

HE RAISED HIS OWN CHILDREN

I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE

MY KIDS MISSED THE BUS

I GOT A NEW BABYSITTER

SHE WORKS ALL DAY

YOU ARE VERY ATHLETIC

HE HAS THE TYPICAL HEADACHE

WE RUINED OUR NAILS

I HAD A BAD DAY AT THE OFFICE

I´M ON HOLIDAY

SHE WAS GOING TO THE GYM

WE ARE STARTING OUR DIET TOMORROW.

I´LL SHOP TILL I DROP

I HAD A COUPON

I SAVED THE RECEIPT

HE BORROWS MY CLOTHES ALL THE TIME

MIDDLE CHILDREN ARE FREAKS

THIS MAKES ME FEEL SEXY

WE ARE INTERESTED IN  THIS SUBJECT.

YOU ARE TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL

YOUR LOVE WAS FOREVER

WE ARE TIRED OF COVERING FOR HER

I DRANK TOO MUCH

SHE THOUGHT IT WAS A PLUM

I HAD A BIG TURKEY DINNER

I´M CATHOLIC

I LOVED GREEN APPLES

SHE HAD AN ALLERGIC REACTION TO PEANUTS/ SUNSHINE

THEY NEEDED  A HAIRCUT

MY FEET HURT

I GOT FRUSTRATED

IT´S NICE TO SHARE

A STAR WAS BORED/ BORN

I READ THIS IN A BOOK SOMEWHERE.

 

(some sentences taken from The Complete Excuses Handbook by Julia Spalding & Lou Harry)

we men and WOMEN

We have walked a long difficult path towards equality of rights between the sexes.
After centuries of oppression, only in the mid-nineteenth century did women begin to feature  and contribute prominently in Western society . Up until then, a woman´s place was the kitchen, the children(childbearing) or the church (below men). They could not study at University level, could not
enter the Army, be part of the Diplomatic Corps or even open a current account on their own without their husband´s permission.
This unit will be a bit controversial as it touches deep aspects of the human condition and psyche.

A) Female awareness: Feminist sentences or quotations: Add your own as in the example:

A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.

A 1) Great women of fiction:Madame Bovary, Lady Chatterley,etc...Add at least, five more:

 

B) Great feminist writers: Find out about the following writers:

MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT
MARIE STOPES

BETTY FRIEDAN
GERMAINE GREER
SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR

MONIQUE WITTIG

CATHERINE COOKSON

SUSIE ORBACH

 

C) GOOGLE WOMEN SONGS or GIRL POWER SONGS and EXPLAIN THEIR CONTENTS:

EX: "I´M  EVERY WOMAN"; WOMAN; 

 

D) FIND OUT WOMEN´S LIB FILMS AND GIRLS´SERIES

 

E) LADIES IN HIS/HERSTORY:Tell us why they are famous

 

LADY GODIVA

LADY JANE

 LADY DI

LADY GAGA

LADY MARMALADE

 

F) LEARN ANY OF THE JUMP/SKIPPING ROPE RHYMES as sung by girls as:

"I like coffee I like tea;I like X to jump with me"

 

G) FIND OUT ABOUT WOMEN´S MAGAZINES. WRITE THEIR NAMES

WHAT IS WOMENALIA?

 

H) NAME THREE FEMALE HEADS OF STATE/ WRITERS/ SCIENTISTS/POLITICIANS/

SPORTSWOMEN/MUSICIANS/PAINTERS/DANCERS/SINGERSONGWRITERS/.

 

I) WOMEN´S DAY AWARENESS:

 

What day is Women´s day?(March 8th)

What was the purpose of Women´s day?

When was Women´s day established as a national holiday?

How is Women´s day celebrated in Russia?

Who were the sufragettes?

The following inventions were ALL made by women, Who were they and when were these items invented?

The coffee filter

the water heater

the chocolate chip cookie

the windshield wipers

kevlar (used for helmets, car tyres..)

 

J) Women in history. FIND OUT WHO THEY WERE:

 

QUEEN SABA

SEMÍRAMIS

QUEEN SALOME

CLEOPATRA

ZENOBIA

THAMAR

ELIZABETH I

CHRISTINE of SWEDEN

ISABEL la Católica

CATHERINE THE GREAT

LIVIA

GALA PLACIDIA

LEONOR of AQUITAINE

BERENGUELA

MALINCHE

PRINCESS of ÉBOLI

ISABEL FARNESIO

EMMELINE PANKHURST

ELIZABETH CADY STANTON

ALICE PAUL

ROSA LUXEMBURG

 

K) SPANISH REVOLUTIONARIES AND RADICAL FEMINISTS:

 

TERESA CLARAMUNT

MARGARITA NELKEN

FEDERICA MONTSENY

VICTORIA KENT

DOLORES IBARRURI

CLARA CAMPOAMOR

 

L) MODERN DAY WOMEN FIGHTERS:

 

AUNG SAN SUU KYI

RIGOBERTA MENCHÚ

INGRID BETANCOURT

ANNE HIDALGO

VICTORIA CAMPS

YOANI SÁNCHEZ

ADA COLAU

ROSA PARKS

NELIDA PIÑÓN

ELENA PONIATOWSKA

EDURNE PASABAN

SERENA WILLIAMS

AMAYA ARZUAGA

 

M) GIRLS´NAMES AND THEIR MEANINGS:

 

If "Eileen" means light of the sun; Ruth "beautiful and compassionate and Abigail "father¨s joy" What do the following names mean?:

AGATHA

ALISON

CAROLINE

CHARLOTTE

FIONA

IRENE

YOKO

JESSICA

LARA

MARIE

NATALIE

OLGA

SONIA

WINONA

 

N)ROMAN & GREEK GODDESSES:

WHO WERE THEY?:

 

APHRODITE/ VENUS

MINERVA/ PALAS ATHENEA

DIANA / ARTEMISA

HERA/ JUNO 

 

ASTARTÉ

PANDORA 

 

Ñ) PIONEERING WOMEN. FIND OUT ABOUT THE FIRST WOMEN IN THE FIELDS OF:

 

SPORT:

 JOURNALISM,:

 SOCIOLOGY:

 CHEMISTRY,:

PHILOSOPHY:

 BIOLOGY:

PHYSICS:

MATHEMATICS:

MEDICINE:

 

O)WOMEN IN THE BIBLE & WOMEN SAINTS WHO WERE THEY?:

 

EVE

SARAH

DELILAH

ESTHER

RUTH

SALOME 

SUSAN

RAHAB 

JEZEBEL

RACHEL

MARY MAGDALENE

MARTHA

MARY

NOEMI/NAOMI 

YAEL:"Blessed among women be Yael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, " 

  blessed above all women dwelling in tents!
  He asked for water: she gave him milk; 

  she offered him curds in a lordly bowl! 

  Her left hand reached for the tent- peg, 

  her right, for the workman's mallet And she struck Sisera, 

  she crushed his head, she shattered his temple and pierced it.

  At her feet he sank and fell; where he sank down, there he fell, slain.

   (How's that for woman power!)

 

JOAN of ARC

TERESA de JESÚS

FÁTIMA

 

P)THE WOMEN IN YOUR LIFE: Write a short composition  of about ten sentences on YOUR MUM,or BABYSITTER, YOUR SISTER, YOUR GRANNY, YOUR GIRLFRIEND, YOUR AUNTIE, YOUR FEMALE TEACHER, DAUGHTER, STEPSISTER,COUSIN, GREAT-GRANDMOTHER....

 

Q)WOMEN IN FICTION versus WOMEN IN REALITY: Classify the following according to whether they existed or not:

 

LYSISTRATA

ASPASIA

SAPPHO

MEDEA

ANTIGONA

ELECTRA

EURYDICE

JULIET

HIPATIA

DULCINEA

PROBA

CASSANDRA

PENELOPE

HELEN of TROY

CRESSIDA

IPHIGENIA

DOÑA  INÉS

DOÑA JIMENA

AGUSTINA DE ARAGÓN

BERTA VON SUTTNER

JANE ADDAMS

BAUCIS

EUDOCIA

SCHEREZADE

 

R)WOMEN IN SONGS: Find a song dedicated to a woman as in : 

 

ANGIE

TELL LAURA I LOVE HER

DIANA

OH, CAROL

LUCY

GLORIA

MARÍA

SUZANNE

MARIANNE

ANNIE´S SONG

 

S) WOMAN SHADOW WRITERS: WHO DID THEY WRITE FOR?

 

MARÍA LEJÁRRAGA

ZENOBIA CAMPRUBÍ

(Name some other cases):

 

T)WOMEN BLOGGERS: FIND OUT ABOUT EITHER THE BLOGS or THE LIFE STORIES OF:

 

YOANI SÁNCHEZ

MONTSERRAT BOIX PIQUÉ

BEATRIZ GIMENO REINOSO

CORAL HERRERA GÓMEZ

ELENA PONIATOWSKA AMOR

ALMUDENA GRANDES

ROSA MONTERO

MARUJA TORRES

ÁNGELES CASO

MARA TORRES

ROSA Mª MATEO

CONCHA GARCÍA CAMPOY

GEMMA NIERGA

ÁNGELS BARCELÓ

OPRAH WINFREY

PEPA BUENO

CADDY ADZUBA

LIDIA CACHO

PILAR MIRÓ

ISABEL COIXET

ROSA Mº  CALAF

PILAR NARVIÓN

U)WOMEN PHILOSOPHERS. WHO WERE THEY?:

JANE MARSET

SARAH MARGARET FULLER

MARÍA ZAMBRANO

RACHEL CARSON

MARÍA MONTESSORI

MARY RITTER BEARD

MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE

SUSAN SONTAG

MARÍA MOLINER

HANNAH ARENDT

HELLEN KELLER

KATE MILLET

CAMILLE PAGLIA

 

V) WOMEN & ANIMALS: WHICH ANIMAL SPECIES DID THEY DEVOTE THEIR LIVES?:

 

JANE GOODALL

DIAN FOSSEY

JOY ADAMSON

MARY LEAKEY

MARGARET MEAD

 

W) F.G.M.(Female Genital Mutilation) in Africa, FEMALE INFANTICIDE & LOTUS FLOWER FEET IN CHINA, RAPE, CHILD ABUSE, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE,UNSCHOOLED GIRLS, NEW WAYS OF CHILD SLAVERY,PUBLIC EXECUTIONS OF UNFAITHFUL WOMEN, FORCED MARRIAGES; HONOUR MURDERS, SEXUAL HARASSMENT, BULLYING, etc.. WHAT TO EXPECT ALL OVER THE WORLD... UNVEIL THE FULL-SCALE STORY of  HUMAN HORROR THROUGH DIFFERENT CULTURES (including our own)....

 

X)FAMOUS LESBIANS: GERTRUDE STEIN & ALICE B. TOKLAS. Mention five more famous lesbian couples:

 

Y) FAMOUS FEMALE SUICIDES: VIRGINIA WOOLF, ANNE SEXTON, SYLVIA PLATH. Mention 5 more:

 

Z) ON BECOMING A SUPERWOMAN. DEBATE. GIVE YOUR OPINION ON:

(In the 21st century many books written by men still portray an ideal version of a woman completely dependent on a man. These books teach you how to be the Queen of Cuisine, everything you need to know to make your house a home, how to be the perfect hostess, how to be gorgeous and glamorous and even naughty!!!)

 

HOW TO BE A WORKING WIFE AND MOTHER

HOW TO SAVE TIME AND MONEY

HOW TO SHARE YOUR DAILY CHORES/ HOUSEWORK

HOW TO PROFIT FROM CRISES

HOW TO ORGANISE YOURSELF

(From 211 things a bright girl can do by Bunty Cutler 2007) 

THE IDEALS OF FEMININE ACCOMPLISHMENT: Appearance and grooming,general deportment and manners, duties, moral fortitude,etc.. Jane Austen in Pride & Prejudice put it this way   " A woman must have athorough knowledge of music, singing,drawing, dancing, and the modern languages... and besides all this she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions"..

OUR MISOGYNISTIC SOCIETY: Jokes about girls; woman drivers;compliments, songs which belittle girls/ women,etc... 

Discuss & Debate Male Ownership of Female Fertility –Religious discrimination-

 

 

 

 

 

The HAPPINESS projects:What makes you "(un)happy" is INSIDE YOU.

People usually lie about themselves when they pretend to be happy or show off how happily married they are and then, the following day, they are" happily" divorced...
Teachers, in general, do not take into account our students´happiness and "FLOW"...
I have devised this thematic unit on Happiness as it is a crucially neglected aspect in our education..
Students should learn how to enjoy life and get some genuine and meaningful satisfaction from it.
According to Alfred de Mussett "that terrible word happiness" might be related to hap, chance...it´s so elusive, like trying to get the best of both worlds.

a) DEFINITIONS:  Ask your students to define what happiness is. (If they quote from an author they must mention his/her name.)

Happiness is................

                                  Not a destination but a way of life

                                  Seeing your loved ones happy

                                 A laughing toddler

                                Champagne on a special occasion

                                The sound of your voice

                                 Chocolates in bed

                                 A long drive with you in the rain

                                A warm puppy

                                To love and be loved( George Sand)

                                Giving  and serving  others    

                                The best daughter of the best god at Olympus (M.R.F.)

                                When what  you think, what you say and what you do               are                 in               HARMONY (M. Gandhi)

b) HAPPINESS from A to Z:

Complete with your own ideas: ACCEPTANCE; ADMIRATION;AFFINITY

                                                        BLESSING; BLISS

                                                        CHEERFULNESS

c) I FEEL HAPPY WHEN...........

                                                        I´m with my family and friends

                                                       I play sports

                                                       I do what makes me feel fine

                                                       I spend quality time with my friends

                                                       I am with my boy/girl friend

                                                      I get inked/ tattoed

                                                     I clock out at work after a long day

                                                    I train and the feeling after a successful workout 

                                                   I´m in good health

                                                  I wake up to a sunny day

                                                  I watch reality TV shows

                                                  I buy new things at a mall..

                                                  I sing songs 

                                                 I sleep soundly and dream beautiful dreams

I FEEL HAPPY IF..........

.I AM HAPPY ABOUT...............

d) HAPPY SONGS:

Listen and explain what the following songs state about happiness:

Happy  Pharrell Williams

Don´t worry, be happy Bobby Mac Ferrin

Happiness is a warm gun The Beatles 

Feeling groovy Simon & Garfunkel

There must be an angel playing with my heart Eurythmics

Always look on the bright side of life Monty Python

e) SYMBOLS of HAPPINESS. :

Mr. Happy is a smiling face and happiness has been depicted as a blue bird. 

How would you create a  new symbol of happiness?

f) Happiness metaphors:

HAPPINESS IS LIKE...........A kiss (You must share it to enjoy it) Bernard Meltzer

                                                A chance encounter and at every moment

                                               presents itself to you like a beggar by the roadside.

                                              A. Gide

                                             Bubbles in wine held up against the sun.

                                            Ben Ames Williams

                                            A child with expectations of a birthday party

                                            Frank Swinnerton

                                           A cloud of morning dew in a dell of wild flowers

                                          Walter de la Mare

                                           A sunbeam, which the least shadow intercepts

                                            Chinese proverb

                                          Time and Space: we make and measure it orselves

                                          George du Maurier

                                           Manna; it is to be gathered in grains and                                    enjoyed                  every         day. It will not keep;

                                           It cannot be accumulated      Tryon Edwards

                                          Air , you cannot put it in a bottle(Anon)

 

g) HAPPY ANIMAL SIMILES: Create your own similes according to your own experience:

As happy as .........a dog with a bone

                                a clam at high water

                                a butterfly in a garden full of sunshine and flowers(L.M.Alcott)

                                a pig in a clover/ shit.

                                a robin, when he trills

                               a swallow

                               a partridge

                               a tick in a dog´s ear

                               a kid holding his first puppy

 

h) HOW HAPPY ARE YOU? A QUESTIONNAIRE:

 

1. When was the last time you had a really good laugh?

2. What´s your idea of a great night out?

3.What do you think about when you are alone?

4. If you could live your life again,who would you like to be?

5.What do you consider to be the most important?a) money b) friends c) principles

6. How do you feel if someone is looking at you?

7. When are you happiest?

8. How many really good friends do you have?

9.What is your attitude to children and pets?

10. What do you expect to happen in the next 12 months? 

(Adapted from English experience, Folkestone Kent)

i) Proverbs on happiness. Find out the folk wisdom as expressed in proverbs from different cultures as below:

Looking for happiness is like clutching the shadow or chasing the wind 

(Japanese proverb)

Happiness is like a butterfly the more you chase it the more it eludes you (H.D. Thoreau)

Love , health and wealth (Spanish proverb)

Call no man happy until he is dead( Greek proverb)

 

 

j) Find STEPS TO BECOMING A HAPPIER PERSON in Wikihow and make them relevant to your situation if at all possible.(Trying to be happier is like trying to be taller) David Lykken

k) Your Happiness Quotient. Download any of the many questionnaires on the net to find out not your I.Q. but your H.Q. (Happiness Quotient). Gratification and Achievement seem to be crucial aspects.

l)The MYTHS of Happiness we need to stop believing: Find at least three more myths:

1.I´ll be happy when I´m married to the right person.

2. I need a partner to be happy.

3.I can´t be happy when my relationship has failed again.

4.Landing my dream job will make me happy.

5. The best years of my life are over.

6.I´ll be happy when I´m rich.

m) Define the "pursuit of happiness" in the Declaration of Independence of the USA as a basic human right.

Hobbes described human life in the state of nature as "nasty, brutish and short" 

Do you have more good things than bad  things happening to you?

n)Hello Happiness: Inspirations to brighten up your life/day/night.

Write about the key to happiness, true happiness,love,gratitude,etc..

o)Create your own H A P P I N E S S acrostic:

as in HEAVEN:

Happiness

Eternity

Abundance

Vision

Ease

Now

Something similar to this:

HEALTH

ACCEPTANCE

PERFECTION

PEOPLE

INTERACTION / IMPERFECTION INSIDE YOU

NICE / NATURE

ENTHUSIASM / EQUALITY

SOLIDARITY

SMILE

(ideas by M.A.S.)

 

p)The pleasures and enthusiasms which make you happy:

 

Music, books, friendship, walking,good food, art, mysteries,etc...

q)Find Synonyms for happiness and happy in a thesaurus or on the net.:

r)  Happy poems . Learn by heart a four line  poem such as  R L Stevenson´s:

 

The world is so full

of a number of things

I´m sure we should all

be as happy as kings.

Dark brown is the river

Golden is the sand

It flows along for ever

With trees on either hand.

 

s) Your fridge magnet happiness logo. Create your own logo as below: 

It might be that to surrender to HAPPINESS was to accept defeat, but it was a defeat better than many victories.”
—W. Somerset Maugham, Of Human Bondage

He was unheeded, HAPPY and near to the wild heart of life- J. Joyce Portrait...

I would always rather be HAPPY than dignified- Charlotte Brontë Jane Eyre

At any rate, that is HAPPINESS; to be dissolved into something complete and great.- Willa Cather My Antonia

"Money gives me pleasure all the time" H. Belloc

" Better to be a rich man´s mistress than a rich man´s wife" The Scarletts

"It is spiritual snobbery to think you can be happy without money" A. Camus

"I don´t care too much for money" Paul Mc Cartney(a multimillionaire)

"What happiness? "John Milton 

" Every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness" R.W. Emerson

 

 

t) Happiness and work. Which of these jobs would you ideally like?:

 

Judge

Dentist

Pilot

Stockbroker

Air traffic controller

Barrister

Company Director C.E.O.

Doctor/ Surgeon

Engineer

Architect

Optician

Vet

Economist

Insurance broker

Manager

School teacher

Army major

Fireman

Nurse

Librarian

Sales Representative

Designer

Accountant 

Baker

Photographer

Electrician

Policeman

Plumber

Shop manager

Social worker

Waiter

Caretaker

Laboratory assistant

Secretarial jobs

Postman

Clergyman

Shelf filler
	Nursery nurses and assistants
	Launderers, dry cleaners and pressers
	Beauticians and related occupations
	Educational support assistants
	Sports and leisure assistants
	Cooks
	Fitness instructors
	Elementary sales occupations
	Sales and retail assistants
	Hairdressers and barbers
	Other elementary services occupations
	Retail cashiers and check-out operators
	Kitchen and catering assistants
	Market research interviewers
	Cleaners and domestics
	Waiters and waitresses
	Bar staff
	Care escorts
	Playworkers
	School midday and crossing patrol occupations
INFO TAKEN FROM The Daily Mail)

Unskilled manual jobs

Farmer 

Cleaners

Housewife

 

u) In order to compare and fully understand your present day situation, 

 PUT YOURSELF IN THE SHOES of..................................................

A GIRL from NIGERIA

A BOY from BOLIVIA

A "menino da rua" from BRASIL 

A PALESTINIAN who has lost his/her family

A BOY / GIRL with a learning disability

A BOY/GIRL with a strange genetic disorder

( any other  real life characters you may wish to mention) 

v) THE HAPPY PERSON.-

(Not much good literature has been written about happy people.Literature thrives on tragic, bitter,misfit,unhappy characters) So, now we are to describe the "happy person":

They are cheerful and full of delightful stories.They offer good advice to everyone, being lifelong advocates of optimism. They are not afraid of anything. They lead fulfilled and meaningful sex lives. They have no financial worries and so they keep telling everyone that "money isn´t everything".

Naturally, the happy person is as healthy as an ox and can boast a ready smile on a pink, rounded face. They are all for Positive Thinking and natural living.

As the cliche goes:and they lived happily ever after.  But we have to discover the lurking unhappiness in the "happy" person.

 

Adapted from The Art of Creative Writing by Lajos Egri

w) You'll find happiness between "happen" and "hara kiri" in an English dictionary. But what do the following ten expressions mean in English?:

HAPPY HOUR

HAPPY-GO-LUCKY

THE HAPPY MEDIUM

A HAPPY EXPRESSION

HAPPY ARABIA

A HAPPY COINCIDENCE

A HAPPY REPLY

A HAPPY DAY FOR THE COMPANY

HAPPY HUNTING GROUND

HAPPY EVENT

x) Read the following texts and write a summary of their main ideas:

A) Happiness cannot be pursued. You do not find happiness;happiness finds you. It is not an end in itself, but a by-product of other activities, often arriving when it is least expected. You can be sitting in the best restaurant, wearing the finest clothes, surrounded by the most dazzling company, safe in the knowledge all your bills are paid, and you may still not be happy. And you can be standing at the kitchen sink, hands in washing-up water, with nowhere to go, and suddenly realize that you feel as happy as you´ve ever felt in your life. What Connolly calls Angst are the small, incremental uncertainties about our place in the scheme of things, the nagging sense that life could somehow be better, if only, if only...what?

It is the restlessness of self. And yet the very word-happiness-suggests sometghing ephemeral, caught on the wing, no sooner ensnared than it slips from our grasp.

To try to make happiness our property, to own it, is to lose it. So what,then, is permanent?

From The Spiritual Tourist by Mick Brown

 B) It is in the nature of things that those who are incapable of happiness should have no idea of it. Happiness is not for wild animals who can only oscillate between apathy and passion. 

To be happy , even to conceive happiness, you must be reasonable... You must have taken the measure of your powers, tasted the fruits of your passions and learned your place in the world and what things in it can really serve you. To be happy you must be wise. This happiness is sometimes found instinctively, and the rudest fanatic can hardly fail to see how lovely it is; but sometimes it comes from having learned something by experience.....and involves some chastening and renunciation; but it is not less sweet for having this touch of holiness about it, and the spirit of it is healthy and beneficent.

From George Santayana , Spanish American poet and philosopher, born 1863

y) Happiness in other cultures: 
The Greek word for happiness was "eudaimonia"(literally good demon). They also used "eutuquia", which means good hazard, good fortune, connected with "hap".
The Latin term "felicitas"covers more or less the different aspects of happiness.

What is the connection between happiness and a famous cartoon character?
Why,do you think ,"fellatio", "felon", "felony", "felonious" have the same root as happiness?  
Why is "demon"  meaning divinity related to the Greek concept of happiness?

In Buddhism, what is "nirvana"?          
 Define: Ecstasy
               Euphoria
               Elation
               Exhilaration 
               Joy 


z)HAPPY FAMILIES:

Happy Families is a traditional card game played in the UK, usually with a specially made set of picture cards, featuring illustrations of fictional families of four, most often based on occupation types. The object of the game is to collect complete families.

We are to write a composition on your ideal family. Invent the names of the different members, their jobs, ages and their ideal happy environment.
What would the happy town or city look like?