Bletchley Park and codebreaking

Husbands, sons and boyfriends are impossible to buy presents for but I had a brainwave when I was thinking of a present for my husband this year. I decided to get him the Bletchley Park Brainteasers book to challenge him in a different way from his daily work! I don't think he appreciated the challenge as it has been sitting on the coffee table since his birthday in April! So, this week, I decided to have a go at the first problem which is the crossword that secretly tested people in 1942. If they could do it in less than 12 minutes, then they received a letter asking them to join the war effort at Bletchley Park and become a Codebreaker.

So far, I have got about 4 clues correct and taken 3 days....I don't think I am a very good codebreaker!

However, playing word games is fun so I have found some interactive sites where you can try your codebreaking skills in English!

1. gamestolearnenglish.com
This game is for Phrasal Verbs which you probably know make up a huge part of the English vocabulary and are tricky things to learn

https://www.gamestolearnenglish.com/phrasal-verbs/

An explanation of Phrasal Verbs in French if you happen to be a French speaker:

https://www.anglaiscours.fr/phrasal-verbs.html​

There are other games on that website too so have a look around.

2. British Council learnenglishteens

A lot of games here need Flash Player but this one worked fine for me without. It was challenging though!

https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/study-break/games/wordshake

3. Brain Pages

This is generally code-breaking related but as codes and words are related then it's a good place to challenge the language part of your brain!

http://brainpages.org/code-breaking/

Can you do this puzzle based on one from the Bletchley Park Brainteasers book?

A king of a land far away was planning a day out in the hills. He wanted to bring some guests and after looking through his contacts list chose his father's brother-in-law, his brother's father-in-law, his father-in-law's brother, and his brother-in-law's father. How many people do you think will join him as a guest?

Post your answers in comments!

And finally, have you seen The Imitation Game?

It is about Bletchley Park and Alan Turing played by actor Benedict Cumberbatch. Watch in the Original Version for some beautiful English accents - there is a link to the trailer below.

Aloysius Lilius and the Gregorian Calendar

Welcome to another week!

If you are new to my blog, then hello! The aim of my blog is to give students of English as a second language an opportunity to practise listening and answering questions, learn some new vocabulary and experience everyday language and cultural differences through the creative part of my blog.

Today, I found a Discovery video clip about the guy who invented the Gregorian calendar which most of the modern world uses today. You will find quite a lot of dates to test your numbers and as I know calendars have come up in TOEFL listening before, so it should give you some useful vocabulary.

Speaking of vocabulary, here is some that comes up in the script:
   

Behold !	Look !	To pass away	To die
To pre-date	To precede in time	Flawed	Faulty
Leap Year	Une année bissextile (Fr)	To reap	To profit from

Read the questions and try to answer them after the video has finished. It is better not to watch the video, but just listen to accustom your ear to the sounds as you will not have visual clues in an exam. Here is the link:

  The Modern Calendar

 Questions:

Where was Aloysius Lilius born and in what year?
What was his profession and what was the year?
When did he present his manuscript to the Vatican?
What happened in the same year?
Why did this system become known as the Gregorian calendar and when was it introduced?
What do calendars pre-date?
What was the calendar called that was used before the introduction of the Gregorian calendar?
How inaccurate was the previous calendar and why was this a concern to the Church?
Describe how the Gregorian calendar works.
On the American Dream scale, what score does Aloysius get and why?
Give the score for the Benefit to Humanity scale and the reason why.
Finally, what score did he get for the Ripple Effect scale and why?

OK that's all for today but rest assured, I have a whole BUNCH of ideas for more posts!

Here are the Answers to Aloysius Lilius and the Gregorian Calendar post
 

Here is a hint for the next one........... 

It's a design style and, for some, a way of life....

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About Tsunamis

Hi all,

Here I am with another link and questions about it to help with your listening and vocabulary. I hope there won't be a problem with it as it comes from National Geographic originally and doesn't appear on their site now which I think is a shame as it's interesting and has nice graphics.

It's loooong!!!!


As it is so long, I decided to break it up for you so you can go off for a coffee (see, that is why the coffee bit is in my blog domain name!) and come back to it when you feel refreshed! I have also started the vocabulary and questions from 3.50 as the first bit is just the introduction and although a very good one, is not going to challenge you enough!

Part A starts at 3.50 and as usual,  I have put some vocabulary up first for you to check out in a dictionary if you don't know it already. Part B starts at 6.03. -->

Part A (3.50)

To trigger something	To sweep onto
To shift	To engulf
A landslide	To near
To be thrust up	To brake
The body of water	onshore
The ripples

 Here is the link: About Tsunamis
Watch the clip up to about 6.03 then stop it. Now try to answer Part A questions. Keep going back over it if you have forgotton stuff.
  -->

How is an ocean wave caused ?

What 3 things can cause a tsunami and what makes it so different from an ordinary wave ?

Exactly what happens to the ocean bed when an earthquake cracks the ocean floor ?

What is the effect of this on the water above it ?

Describe the height and length of a tsunami.

What 3 things happen as it reaches land ?

How is the wave described ?

Does it break onshore ? If not, what does it do ?

 
Now either go and have a coffee....or not....then start Part B with the next set of vocabulary. 
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Part B (6.03)

A slab	Saw-tooth
Sheer	To loom
A geological fault	A spring
Sharp

 
When you are ready, start watching again and at the end, try to answer Part B questions. 

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On what date did the tsunami being described, take place ?

Why was it of interest to scientists ?

What was below the ship ?

How have these been formed and over how many years ?

What did the scientists use to investigate the seabed ?

What did they find first ?

What did they discover next ?

What did this give evidence of ?

What is the magnitude of this kind of earthquake ?

Why did it happen on this particular date ?

Too short????!!!!
Yep...I know! You were getting really interested and the clip just stopped suddenly! But there is Part 2, so go ahead, watch some more!!

Here are the answers: Answers About Tsunamis

Keep checking back - you never know what I will post next!!! 

;-)