Casablanca Hotel New York

Prices:

Standard room 1 king bed: $ 50/night (sleeps 2)

Premium room 2 queen beds: $ 75/night (sleeps 4)

Our hotel offers:

24-hour front desk

Air-conditioned public areas

Babysitting or childcare (surcharge)

Room service (limited hours)

Safe-deposit box at front desk

Garage parking (surcharge)

Smoke-free property

Available in all rooms: Free Wi-Fi, Free wired high-speed Internet

Breakfast is included

Room Amenities
 DVD player

Air conditioning

Direct-dial phone

Cable TV service

Climate control

Wake-up calls

Complimentary newspaper

Dining

Delicious Italian cuisine is served daily for lunch and dinner at Tonys di Napoli Restaurant
on the ground floor just off the lobby. Tony's serves generous platters of classic Italian dishes
family style and is a very popular choice for group dining.

Policies & Fees

Check-in

Check-in time starts at 3 PM

Check-out

Check-out time is noon

Payment Types

Accepted at this hotel: American Express, Diners Club, Discover, JCB International,
MasterCard, Visa
Taxes (11%) are not included in room price.

Pets

Pets not allowed.

Additional Details

Children 17 years old and younger stay free when occupying the parent or guardian's room,
using existing bedding.

Vlaszolj a krdsekre a lers segtsgvel:

Van-e lgkondicionl a szobkban s a hotel terletn mindentt?

A szoba szerviz mindig elrhet?

Hol tallhat szf?

Vannak-e dohnyz szobk?

Kell kln fizetni a parkolsrt?

Kell kln fizetni az internet hasznlatrt?

Kell kln fizetni az jsgrt?

Kell kln fizetni a reggelirt?

Hny rakor kell legksbb elhagyni a szobt?

Mit kell mg ktelezen fizetni a szobaron fell?

10 ves gyerek rszre mennyibe kerl egy jszaka, ha a szlvel alszik egy gyban?

Ice
You can skate on it, you can put it in drinks and it covers about 10% of the Earths surface
ice. It has some surprising behaviour and uses.

You might be surprised to know that water doesnt always freeze at 0 Celsius. Ice needs
something to form around, such as dust. If there is nothing for it to freeze around, you can
lower the temperature of water down to 42 Celsius before it freezes. Another surprising fact
is that hot water freezes more quickly than cold water. Aristotle was the first person to notice
this in the fourth century BC, but it was Tanzanian schoolboy Erasto Mpemba who proved it
in 1963 by demonstrating that a hot ice cream mixture freezes faster than a cold mixture.

Scientists still dont know why this happens.

Ice became very popular in London in the 19th century, a long time before people had fridges.
The ice produced in the UK was not of good quality and there wasnt enough, so it was
imported from Lake Wenham in the USA. To show that the ice was good quality, a shop in
London put a block of ice in their window every day with a newspaper behind it. The ice was
so clear that you could read the newspaper through the ice and crowds of people came to see
it every day.

Ice is also used to build things. Possibly the first ice structure was the Ice Palace in Saint
Petersburg in 1740, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the reign of the Empress of Russia,
Anna Ioannovna. The Ice Palace had ice furniture and ice sculptures, including two elephants.
As part of the celebration there was also a pretend wedding of couples in traditional
costumes from different areas of Russia. In 2006, ice artists recreated the Ice Palace using
three tons of ice, but this time there were real weddings in the Ice Palace!

Another use of ice is for entertainment. When its winter in the northern hemisphere, there are
ice festivals and ice sculpture competitions in many countries including Japan, Russia,
Canada and Finland. Possibly the most famous is the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival in China,
which attracts ice sculptors from more than 20 countries and displays around 2,000 ice
sculptures, including sculptures of famous people, animals and famous buildings like the
Eiffel Tower or the Great Wall of China.

Read the article and decide if the sentences are true or false.

1. Water always freezes at 0 Celsius.

2. Aristotle demonstrated that hot water freezes faster than cold water.

3. The UK couldnt produce enough ice for their needs in the 19th century.

4. The ice from Lake Wenham was very clear.

5. The Ice Palace in St Petersburg celebrated the 1st anniversary of a Russian Empress.

6. There was a real wedding in the Ice Palace in 1740.

7. The Harbin Ice and Snow Festival has international sculptors.

Match the words with the definitions.

a) ice bucket

b) black ice

c) ice cap

d) iceberg

e) Ice Age

1 a period of time thousands of years ago when large areas of the Earth were covered in ice
__________

2 a large area of ice that covers the land and sea around the North or South Pole __________

3 a dangerous layer of ice that is difficult to see on a road or path __________

4 a very large piece of ice floating in the sea, most of which is below the surface __________

5 a container for keeping small pieces of ice or bottles in to keep them cold __________

Now complete the sentences using one of the nouns above.

1 You should drive carefully in winter when there is __________ on the roads.

2 The ship hit an __________ and sank.

3 Large areas of the Earth were covered in ice for thousands of years during the __________ .

4 If the drinks arent very cold, put them in an __________ to get cold.

5 At the North and South Poles, there are __________ covering the land and sea.
What Josh likes...

Read about Josh and answer the questions.

Josh Simpson is 15 years old. He lives with his parents and his sister, in Nottingham in the
centre of England. He likes playing football and enjoys watching it on television. At the
weekend he plays the guitar in a band. He doesnt like listening to pop music. He prefers
listening to rock. His sister, Susan, doesnt like it. She is 24 and prefers listening to the radio.
She listens to it every evening. Susan works as a nurse. It is an interesting job. She wants to
work in Australia when she passes her exams. Josh wants to be a rock musician when he
finishes school.

Extreme Sports

Read the texts and decide whether the statements below are true (T), false (F),
or if the text doesnt say (D).

James

Ive been really into surfing for more than fifteen years. I started learning in England, then I
began going on surfing holidays abroad with my mates we went to Bali in Indonesia, and
also South Africa. After that I started wanting bigger challenges, so five years ago I decided to
try the really big waves in Hawaii. Of course they can be dangerous and you have to
concentrate one hundred percent, but its worth it for the thrill you get when youre riding
them. Its a magical feeling, like flying above the ocean, and for those few seconds you totally
forget everything else in your life.

Susan
Part of me had always wanted to try skydiving, but I was really scared the first time. The
worst bit was just before I jumped out of the plane I wanted to be back on the ground, not
4,000 metres up in the air. Of course, as a beginner you dont do it on your own youre
attached to the instructor who opens the parachute for you. Falling through the air at 180
kilometres per hour is a massive adrenaline rush. That first time was five years ago, and since
then Ive done more than twenty solo jumps.

Mike

Mountains offer a challenge I find impossible to ignore. I started climbing about twenty years
ago, and Ive now climbed three of the highest five peaks in Europe. Of course it can be
dangerous, and Ive had some scary moments, but the sense of achievement when you reach
the top is amazing. When youre pulling yourself up that wall of rock it feels like youre in a
battle against nature its not a feeling you can get from anything in everyday life.

Teresa

I became hooked on snowboarding the very first time I tried it. I soon realized I had a natural
talent for it, and it wasnt long before I was winning competitions and getting a bit of prize
money. My dream is to be able to make my living just from boarding, so I now take three
months off work every winter and concentrate on improving my technique. Id recommend
boarding to anyone. The exhilaration of going down the mountain, plus the beauty of the
scenery its just fantastic.

True (T), False (F) or doesnt say (D) ?

1. Teresa doesnt have a job.

2. Susan has done more than ten skydives without an instructor.

3. Mike has climbed more than twenty mountains in Europe.

4. Teresa gives snowboarding lessons.

5. Mike has climbed the highest mountain in Europe.

6. James surfed in Bali before he went to Hawaii.

7. Susan has always felt relaxed before jumping out of the plane.
8. James doesnt think about anything else when hes riding big waves in Hawaii.

9. Mike has sometimes been frightened while mountain climbing.

10. Teresa is trying to get even better at snowboarding.

11. Susan did about ten skydives with an instructor.

Nothing to Lose

What is missing? Put the removed sentences below back to the article.

Sport is one of lifes great spectacles. And winners often inspire our admiration and respect.
But what about the losers? Here are some of sports most memorable moments of defeat.

6-love. 6-love. That was the score in the final of the French Open in 1988 when Natasha
Zvereva took on Steffi Graf. (1) .. Afterwards, Zvereva
reportedly said, She was just too good.

Heavyweight-boxing star John The Quiet Man Ruiz had the same problem when he met
David The Terminator Tua in the ring in 1996. The fight lasted 19 seconds before Ruiz was
knocked out cold and seeing stars. (2) ..

But at other times, sports stars only have themselves to blame like Lindsey Jacobellis. With
seconds to go in the final of the Winter Olympics Snowboard Cross event, Jacobellis had a
huge lead. There was just one simple jump left to complete, and then the gold medal was all
but hers. But instead of just doing the jump, Jacobellis tried to do a method grab, a difficult
(and completely unnecessary) manoeuvre. (3) .. Still at
least Jacobellis took her defeat well. Snowboarding is fun; I was just having fun. she said

afterwards.

Jean Van der Velde probably wasnt having so much fun on the 18th hole of The Open
Championship in 1999. Virtually unknown before the tournament, Van der Velde found
himself 3 shots ahead at the end of the final round. Golfs greatest prize was one hole away.
(4) .. Van der Velde let the pressure get to him and
played a series of crazy shots, ending up in the water. (He famously followed the ball into the
water to see if he could still hit it out.) This defeat has gone down as one of the greatest
chokes in modern sport.

(5) .. Take Eddie the Eagle Edwards from England. He

entered two ski-jumping events in the 1988 Winter Olympics and came last by such a long
way that he became an instant celebrity. At the closing ceremony, the Organising Committee
president, Frank King, gave a speech in which he said, Some have won gold, some have
broken records, and some of you have soared like an eagle. At that moment, 100,000 people
in the stadium began to chant, Eddie! Eddie!

Who says no one remembers the losers?

a) Sometimes failure can make you more popular than ever.

b) The game lasted 32 minutes the shortest Grand Slam final ever.

c) Alas, it proved to be one hole too many.

d) She fell over and could do nothing but watch helplessly as her opponent passed her by
and gold turned to silver.

e) Still, at least both of them lived up to their nicknames.

Pandas

The panda _______ (be) one of the rarest animals in the world. It ___________(live) high in
the mountains of south-western China and there _____________(be) only about 1,000 left in
the wild.

Pandas only _______________(eat) bamboo, a plant that ________________(grow) in the

mountains. The panda ________________(spend) about twelve hours a day eating and they
have to eat a lot of bamboo. But pandas ______________(be) very shy and
_________________(not like) to go into places where people _____________(live). This
________________(make) it very difficult for the pandas to move and find new food. One
idea ___________________(be) to create bamboo corridors from one mountain to another
to help the pandas move and find new food.

1 Where do pandas live?

2 How many pandas are there in the wild?

3 What do pandas eat?

4 How many hours do pandas spend eating?

5 Why do pandas find it difficult to move around?

6 How do people want to help pandas?

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was born on April 23rd, 1564 in Stratfordupon- Avon to John
Shakespeare, a glove maker and a local justice of the peace, and Mary Arden. He was the
third of eight children and the eldest boy in the family. He probably left school at 14, and later
may have worked as a school teacher. He was only 18 when he met his wife-to-be, Anne
Hathaway. She was 26 at the time. They were married shortly afterwards in November 1582
and their

first child, Susanna, was born eight months later. Two years later, they had twins, Hamnet and
Judith.

From this point in his life, all records are lost for seven years until 1592, when he is to be
found living apart from his wife in London. He had become a writer and leading actor in the
Lord Chamberlains Men acting company at the Globe Theatre.

Shakespeare was a successful man: his plays were popular with all levels of society.
Eventually he made enough money to buy the Globe and, later, the Blackfriars Theatre. Some
claim that he did not, in fact, write the plays he is so famous for, attributing them to John
Webster, a contemporary of Shakespeare who wrote The White Devil and The Duchess of
Malfi. However, there is little evidence for this.

William Shakespeare died in 1616 on his birthday. He was 52 years old. He is now considered
to be the greatest writer in the English language. The names of his most famous plays
Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth are known all around the world and hundreds of the
phrases which he invented have become part of everyday English: to have seen better days, to
be true to yourself, the worlds your oyster, to smell a rat, brevity is the soul of wit,
1. When was Shakespeare born?

2. How many brothers and sisters did he have?

3. As a young man, what was his job?

4. When did he get married?

5. What was the name of his wife?

6. How many children did he have?

7. What was the name of his acting company?

8. What was the name of the first theatre he bought?

9. Which of these didnt he write?

a) Coriolanus

b) The Comedy of Errors

c) The White Devil

d) As You Like It

10. When did Shakespeare die?

Queen Elizabeth II and the British Monarchy

Match the questions below with the answers.

Q:

___________________________________________________________________________
______________

A: Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor. She belongs to Britain's Royal House (Family) of

Windsor. Her official title is: "Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United

Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Her other Realms and Territories Queen,

Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith."

Q:
___________________________________________________________________________
______________

A: It's because of the British weather! The Monarch's official birthday is always celebrated in

June when there is less chance of rain. The Queen was born on April 21, 1926 in London.

Q:
___________________________________________________________________________
_______________

A: The Queen was married to Philip Mountbatten, the son of Prince Andrew of Greece, on

November 20, 1947. He is known as Prince Philip, not King Philip, because the husband of a
female monarch does not have any special status. The wife of a male monarch, however, does
take the title of Queen.
Q:
___________________________________________________________________________
_______________

A: The oldest son of the reigning monarch will become the next king. If there are no sons, the
oldest daughter becomes queen. The following list is the current order of succession to the
throne: 1. Prince Charles 2. Prince William 3. Prince Henry 4. Prince Andrew 5. Princess
Beatrice 6. Princess Eugenie 7. Prince Edward 8. Princess Anne 9. Peter Phillips 10. Zara
Phillips.

Q:
___________________________________________________________________________
_______________

A: The Queen's coronation was on June 2, 1953 in Westminster Abbey in London. She is
currently the world's second longest reigning monarch.

Q:
___________________________________________________________________________
_______________

A: The Queen is the highest power of Parliament, the government and the law. In reality, she
simply acts on the advice of her ministers. She has a meeting with the Prime Minister every
week. The Queen is also the head of the Church of England and the Commander in Chief of
the armed forces. She has many ceremonial functions and she is patron of over 700
organisations. She has about 300 official engagements each year.

Q:
___________________________________________________________________________
_______________

A: The Commonwealth consists of a number of states that once belonged to the British
Empire. The Commonwealth includes Australia, Canada and New Zealand and a number of
smaller states such as Jamaica, the Bahamas and Fiji. Queen Elizabeth is Head of the
Commonwealth and is also Head of State of seventeen of the countries within the
Commonwealth.

Q:
___________________________________________________________________________
_______________
A: The Crown Jewels have been used by English kings and queens for many centuries. They
include regalia (items used at a coronation), crowns, robes and medals. The original collection
has been kept in the Tower of London since 1303.

Q:
___________________________________________________________________________
_______________

A: The British National Anthem is God Save The King, which was first played in 1745 at the
Theatre Royal in London. It was to show support for the King, who had just lost an important
battle. The first verse of the National Anthem is:

God save our gracious Queen,

Long live our noble Queen,

God save the Queen.

Send her victorious,

Happy and glorious,

Long to reign over us,

God save the Queen.

Q:
___________________________________________________________________________
_______________

A: The Union Jack is the national flag of the United Kingdom. It is so called because it
includes the flags of all the countries of the United Kingdom: England, Wales, Scotland and
Ireland. The Royal Standard is flown above the Royal Palaces when the Queen is in residence
and on the Queen's cars, aircraft and boats.

Q:
___________________________________________________________________________
_______________

A: Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. She
also has private residences at Sandringham in Norfolk and Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
Questions

a. When was Queen Elizabeth II crowned?

b. Who is The Queen married to?

c. What are her Official Residences?

d. What is The Queen's role as Monarch?

e. What are the Crown Jewels?

f. What is the British National Anthem called?

g. What is flag of Britain called and what is the Royal Standard?

h. What is the Commonwealth?

i. How is succession to the throne decided?

j. What is Queen Elizabeth's full name?

k. Why does The Queen have two birthdays?

Charity Shops

What is happening to the landscape of the traditional British high street these days? As more
and more retail outlets are decamping to the out-of-town shopping malls and super centres
gaps are left, like rotting teeth, in our once thriving streets. Its a sad sight to see boarded up
shop fronts where once thrived grocers, butchers, hardware merchants and bakers. But hang
on a moment, what is this that I see moving in to take their place? Charity Shops!!!

In my very own pleasant middle class suburb, in recent years we have said good bye to an
excellent delicatessen only to say hello to Cancer Research, and watch as a butcher
metamorphosed into a Help the Aged shop. Can this be a good thing, our local necessities
being replaced by do-gooders?

Well in some ways yes because charity shops fulfil two very important needs in modern
society. As the economy booms, house prices soar and people get rich they need to throw out
their old stuff and replace it with something new. But as society gets polarised, the
government chips away at the Welfare State and some people get poorer they need to stretch
their meagre budgets and buy the second-hand goods that others have dispensed with and this
is where charity shops come in.

Lets say you are a poor student, you have little money but need a new outfit to attract a new
boy or girlfriend at the Student Union party that you are going to at the weekend. All you need
to do is pop along to your local charity shop and buy, for just a few pounds, that sexy top or
fancy accessory that somebody else has become bored with. Or maybe you want to stay in at
the weekend and have some special friend around to your apartment for dinner. You can just
nip round to the charity shop and buy a few extra plates, knives and forks and maybe pick up
a wall hanging or a candle or two to add to the ambience. All this can be done at a fraction of
the price of a new item and will often be of a better quality.

What if you are no longer a poor student but have some money and have moved into a
swanky new pad? Do you really want all that old rubbish that you have accumulated over the
years? No of course not but somebody might and its not that bad. Why not take it round to
the charity shop and get rid of it. You feel virtuous for giving to others and you get rid of
unwanted clutter at the same time!

How about if you have just arrived in town and want to meet new people and help one of your
favourite causes at the same time? Well, you can volunteer some of your spare time to work at
the charity shop. Oh yes, and get the first chance of snatching up that cast-off Armani jacket
before the regular customers get it!!

So, do you want to see Help the Aged, Cancer Research, Oxfam or Scope opening up and
providing a useful service or some overpriced and bland chain of American coffee shops
moving into your patch?

Answer these questions on the article.

1. Where are the shops moving to?

2. What is taking the place of useful shops?

3. Name 3 things that you can buy in a charity shop.

4. Who takes discarded items to charity shops?

5. What are the two main advantages of working in a charity shop?

Dinner guests
Match the countries with the descriptions.

China, Britain, India, Egypt

What to do as a dinner guest?

A)

Always

Bring flowers, chocolates or a bottle of wine as a gift. Use a knife and fork to eat your food.
Eat soup with a spoon. Say please and thank you. Put your knife and fork together when
you finish eating.

Never

Talk with your mouth full. Blow your nose on your napkin.

B)

Always

Bring a gift of cakes or chocolates. Take off your shoes at the front door. Eat with your right
hand. Have a second helping. When you finish eating, leave a bit of food on your plate.

Never

Bring alcohol or flowers as a gift. Put salt on your food.

C)

Always

Wrap gifts in red or gold paper. Eat a bit of all the food on the table. Drink your soup from the
bowl, dont use a spoon. Make noises when you eat your food its OK to burp, slurp and talk
with your mouth full! Leave some food on your plate when you finish eating.

Never

Give flowers, clocks or four of anything as a gift. Wrap your gift in white paper. Leave your
chopsticks in your rice. Point the teapot spout at anybody.
D)

Always

Arrive 1530 minutes late for dinner. Bring a gift of roses or chocolates for the host. Eat with
your right hand. Leave some food on your plate when you finish eating. Bring your own
friends to someone elses party.

Never

Wrap your gifts in black or white paper. Give meat as a gift because a lot of people are
vegetarians.

Are the sentences true or false? Correct the false sentences.

1 In three of the countries you eat with your right hand.

2 In all of the countries you bring a gift for your host.

3 In three of the countries you leave a bit of food on your plate.

4 In Britain it is OK to talk with your mouth full.

5 In China it is OK to make a lot of noise when you eat.

6 Flowers are a good gift for your host in Egypt.

7 In India you can invite your friends to someone elses party.

8 People in Britain dont say please and thank you.

Kill Switch Death after warranty is over

Have you ever had an electronic device that broke just after the warranty expired? Could it be
a coincidence? Or is something more sinister involved?

Many people believe in the existence of a kill switch an internal mechanism in electronic
devices that stops products working after a certain time.
1.) . This is the myth of the kill switch or the product
timer. Rumours have even emerged that the timers are controlled remotely, and set off just
when a new product is ready to come out on the market.

One company in particular is at the centre of this debate: Sony. Sony is renowned for its top-
quality electronic goods. 2.). But many people believe in
the myth of the Sony Timer. The rumour has been around since the 1980s. But recent
incidents seem to have confirmed it. In 2006, about 4 million Dell laptops were recalled
because of faulty Sony batteries. 3.) .

But there were other cases. Many customers complained about their Sony VAIO laptops,
claiming that they broke after about a year of use. 4.). A
bug in the TVs internal system meant that they would only last 1,200 hours before refusing to
power on or off. This adds up to about 3 hours watching per day for one year, the exact period
of the televisions warranty. Sony was forced to issue a software patch to fix the problem.

Of course, Sony insists that the myth of the timers is totally absurd. Theres no evidence to
back up the claims. 5.) . Ive had a Sony MP3 player for
five years and it still works perfectly, said Elsie Barrows, a market researcher. And Ive got
a Sony Walkman from 15 years ago and that still plays cassettes! she added. Meanwhile, will
you be renewing your warranty?

Put back the removed sentences. There is an extra sentence you do not need to
use.

It was a disaster for Dell, but also for Sony as the incident put the myth into the public
arena.

Sony is a world famous company.

They are convinced that the products are programmed to break as soon as the warranty
expires.
This was followed by another incident involving E-Series Bravia TVs.

And, of course, millions of users are extremely happy with their Sony products.

They produce everything from video-cameras to DVD players to games consoles.

1 What sport does Josh like playing?

2 What does he enjoy watching on television?

3 What is his favourite music?

4 Does Susan like rock music?

5 When does Susan listen to the radio?

6 Does Susan like her job?

7 Where does Susan want to work?

8 Where do Josh and Susan live?