Knowledge Worth Spreading

Author, author:  Writing a sequel to H2G2 by Douglas Adams Since I agreed to do Hitchhiker part six a lot of people have approached me to say how brave I am. I knew I was being cheeky saying yes to this project. Optimistic, even. But brave? Hardly brave. Brave is diving into a swollen river to rescue a photogenic child. Brave is admitting that yes, you did notice that woman who just sashayed past. But finishing someone else's sci-fi series, surely that shouldn't be classed as brave. It's not as if there's any actual danger, I thought at the time. I think a little differently now. I have known for decades that H2G2 is an extraordinary series. More than extraordinary. Brilliant. A lightning bolt across the worthy sci-fi landscape, jazzing up those tired old electrons, getting those sluggish matter transporters firing on all cylinders again. It was just what we needed in 1979, when sci fi was all about "chosen ones": Arthur Dent was everyman and therefor...

  In this weekly post we bring more useful content from the Macmillan Dictionary to English language learners These tips are based on areas of English e g spelling grammar collocation synonyms etc which learners often find difficult Here is some advice about using the noun behaviour Behaviour is usually an uncountable noun so it is rarely used in the plural ✗ Parents should be able to prevent their children’s crimes or bad behaviours ✓ Parents should be able to prevent their children’s crimes or bad behaviour ✗ The media often encourage violence and aggressive behaviours ✓ The media often encourage violence and aggressive behaviour The plural form ‘behaviours’ is a specialized term used in fields such as psychology social science and education This use is much less common than the uncountable use In this chapter we discuss strategies for dealing with the problem behaviours of young children More language tips Browse the list under the ‘language tips‘ tag here on the blog for mor...

5 Idioms about DEATH on HALLOWEEN DAY 1.Bite the dust - to die a violent death. 2.Graveyard shift - working from late at night. 3.Never say die - never give up. 4.Knock 'em dead - to wish someone good luck. 5.Over my dead body - you'll have to kill me before you get something. Resource :  www.EngVid.com Vocabularies : Who can give the meaning of these words as the following ? Trick or treat Jack o lanterns  haunted house  Dress up   Eat candy   Scary costumes 

Name: Manchester United Nickname: The Red Devils Formed: 1878 Stadium: Old Trafford Manager: Sir Alex Ferguson League Titles (19): 1908, 1911, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1965, 1967, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 FA Cups (11): 1909, 1948, 1963, 1977, 1983, 1985, 1990, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2004 League Cups (4): 1992, 2006, 2009, 2010 European Cups (3): 1968, 1999, 2008 Cup Winners' Cups (1): 1991 Super Cups (1): 1991 Inter-Continental Cups (1): 1999 Biggest Signing: £31m, Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham Hotspur, August 2008 Biggest Sale: £80m, Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid, June 2009 Leading Goalscorer: Bobby Charlton, 249 Leading Appearances: Ryan Giggs, 909 (as of July 1, 2012) Official Club Website: ManUtd.com RECORD BREAKERS .... Manchester United celebrate a record 19th league triumph in 2011 United won Division Two at the first attempt but would not challenge for the title under Tomm...

WHEN it comes to men with a licence to thrill, there’s no beating a good James  Bond. Handsome, charming and flirtatious, he leaves women shaken and stirred both on and off the  screen. And in a recent survey, Pierce Brosnan has come out trumps by being named  the best- looking James Bond ever. The poll, by Suttons and Robertsons, sees the tall, dark Irishman beat off  competition from  the likes of classic Sean Connery and Skyfall heart-throb Daniel Craig, who  were voted  second and third most attractive Bonds. Roger Moore came in as fourth best-looking Bond, while Timothy Dalton and  George  Lazenby trailed behind in a lowly fifth and sixth place. But do you agree? From the six Bonds to have graced our movie screens, which  one is your  00-Heaven? Take a look at the actors below and vote for your favourite in our poll,...

Here are some Buddhist proverbs in Thai and English: ไม่ควรเปล่งวาจาที่ดีให้เกินกาล Do not keep on saying good words too long (i.e. until they bore the listeners). ผู้ไม่ประมาท พินิจพิจารณา ตั้งใจฟัง ย่อมได้ปัญญา To listen attentively is the cause of Wisdom. ฝนย่อมรั่วรด เรือนที่มุงไม่ดีฉันใด, ราคะย่อมรั่วรดจิตที่ไม่ได้อบรมฉันนั้น Just as rain leaks through an ill-thatched house, so lust leaks through an un-trained mind. คนล่วงทุกข์ได้เพราะความเพียร Patience is the cause of freedom from suffering. ความกตัญญูกตเวที เป็นเครื่องหมายแห่งคนดี Gratitude and Mindfulness of the benefit done are characteristic of the virtuous. บาปไม่มีแก่ผู้ไม่ทำ Never does evil befall one who does not do it. ถึงสิ้นทรัพย์ ผู้มีปัญญาก็เป็นอยู่ได้, แต่อับปัญญา แม้มีทรัพย์ ก็เป็นอยู่ไม่ได้ A wise man can manage (his life) even though he lacks wealth. But lacking wisdom, no fool can hold his ground. ผู้ไม่มีศีล ไม่มั่นคง พึงเป็นอยู่ตั้งร้อยปี ส่วนผู้มีศีล เพ่งพินิจ มีชีวิตอยู่วันเดียว ประเสริฐกว่า A hundred years ...

The Point of Exclamation By  BEN YAGODA Anybody who has ever logged on knows that online writing begets exclamation points. A lot of exclamation points! Mocking this punctuational predilection is easy and fun. An amusing blog called “ Excessive Exclamation!! ” features photos of, for example, a Carl’s Jr. printed receipt with the words “PLEASE LET US KNOW HOW WE DID!!!” Another naysayer is  Steve Martin , who recently wryly Tweeted: David Shipley, the executive editor of Bloomberg View and a former Op-Ed editor at this newspaper, and Will Schwalbe, authors of “Send: Why People Email So Badly and How to Do It Better,” speculate that the trend stems in part from the nature of online media. “Because email is without affect, it has a dulling quality that almost necessitates kicking everything up a notch just to bring it to where it would normally be,” they write. But what if a particular point needs to be stressed  beyond  where it would normally be? Well, you...

Ending a Sentence With a Preposition One of the most frequent questions I’m asked is whether it’s acceptable to end a sentence with a preposition. I know many of you were taught that you shouldn’t end a sentence with a preposition, but it’s a myth. In fact, I consider it one of the  top ten grammar myths because many people believe it’s true, but because nearly all grammarians disagree, at least in some cases (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8). So before I lose you, let's back up. What is a preposition? What Is a Preposition? A preposition is a word that creates a relationship between other words.  It's been said that prepositions often deal with space and time (1), which always makes me think of  Star Trek . For example, the prepositions “above,” “by,” and “over” all say something about a position in space; the prepositions “before,” “after,” and “since” all say something about time. When  Can  a Sentence End with a Preposition? Here's an exampl...