Bananas etc

An amusing Daily Mail article about English idioms will be found below:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=488435&in_page_id=1770

Conkers

Competitors have gathered in Ashton, Northamptonshire to have a crack at each other's nuts in the World Conker Championships. The rules of the game are simple - each player is given a conker attached to a piece of lace/string and takes turns in trying to break their opponent's nut using a swinging motion. Villa Mirafiori is covered with conkers at this time of year.
Photograph by Ian Jones from the Daily Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/exclusions/slideshowindex.xml

LAUREA SPECIALISTICA 2nd year

In the second year, students with English as their first language will be divided according to their curricula.

1) Students taking the Technical & Scientific course will have to get only 4 credits in English Language. They will follow half the year with me and do the whole of the theory exam as well. My course for them will be only in the first semester and will be devoted to teaching and testing grammar and written English. The examination will be at the end of the first semester for those who follow the course. Those who choose not to do so will be able to take the exam in May 2008.

2) Students taking the Arts and Literature course will need to get the full 8 credits and, as well as the theory exam do the whole of the two semester language course with me. The first semester will be with group (1) and devoted to grammar and written English teaching and testing. The second semester will be specifically devoted to analysing comparative translations of literary texts to prepare for the written exam.

How to be English

You may find this interesting, useful and amusing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpWqCzru5zk

Results of the Laurea Specialistica in Traduzione written exam in September 2007

The following students will be able to take the oral examination on Wed 3rd October (results are by matriculation number and initial):
633657 (LF): 26
842863 (KP): 21
968421 (AMP): 28
972372 (MC): 22
977953 (CA): 26
978826 (MD): 25
983829 (RG): 23
983979 (AG): 21
1176087 (IP): 21

The oral exam requires you to choose two articles on the same subject from a broadsheet newspaper and a tabloid, published within the seven days preceding the oral examination. Their language must then be analysed and compared.

The following students did not reach the pass mark and will have to resit the examination:
983643 (VB)
983946 (ES)
1177673 (LE)
1180721 (IM)
1181171 (GF)
1182337 (PS)