THREE IDIOMS WITH HAIR

1 - I let my hair down = I behave in a free, informal and relaxed manner
2 - Keep your hair on = Relax!, Calm down!
3 - I´m tearing my hair out = I am extremely worried and agitated about something
* People from different parts of the world wrote sentences using these three idioms. As they are learners of English, we can notice spelling and grammar mistakes in some of the sentences.

Betty,China
I'm a student and I always busy doing my endless homework.One day I met a hard one,I thought and thought,but no help,I almost tore my hair out.My mum saw my anxious looking,said'Keep your hair on,just let your hair down!'So,I went out for a walk,and I felt so good!

Jeong Hyun, Korea
Before our final exams, I was tearing my hair out, but soon it finished, and I let my hair down. But then, when results came, my friend told me to keep my hair on.

ALieN, Korea
When I went on holiday, I went to a party. I let my hair down at the party because it was so nice. But suddenly, two men were fighting. Everyone was tearing their hair out. I also very scared to see them. However, my sister said, "It's just a fight. Keep your hair on." So, I just didn't care about them.

Anna,Poland
I have been argueing with my boyfriend for weeks now, I'm tearing my hair out bacause we can't find any solution and solve the problem, I'm trying to keep my hair on but sometimes it's hard. Maybe a good way to forget about it would be a night out letting our hair down together.

Sara,iran
last week i had an important exam and i was tearing my hair out and when the exam was finished i got so angry because i couldn't answer any questions and my friend said to me keep your hair on.

Elsa,Taiwan
I finded out about my boyfriend,Jay,cheated on me wuth another woman. I was angry. Jay explained himself and asked me to keep my hair on. But Jay is a liar,he made up a story for that.I was very upset and tearing my hair out. Finally, I given up on him, and I let my hair down.

Abay,Thailand
Last week, I had played with a happy baby I let my hair down.Then the baby felt hungry he cried very loud. I told him to keep his hair on.Unfortunately, he didn't have any hair. So,I was tearing my hair out.

Wendy, China
Today is friday,the last working day of the week.My colleagues are very tired, i said to them to keep their hair on.Tommorrow is saturday and we'll let our hair down. On monday we go back to work and we'll be tearing our hair out.

Yvan France
The Sunday afternoon when I want to let my hair down the dog of the next door neigbours barks, I tear my hair out then my wife says me to keep my hair on.

Elena, spain
yesteday, I went out night because I relly need to let my hair out!My sister was very nervous because she saw an accident in front of her, and I can´t keep her hair on! I tearing my har out when I lost my flight to Spain!

Nirmol, Bangladesh
Sometimes When I saw my boos is giving privilege to one of my colleagues I want to tear my hair out but as advised one of my friend I always try to keep my hair on and when my boss will resign I will let my hair down.

Trag, vietnam                                                                        
i used to let my hair down so my mum was very angry. each time like that, i always toll my mom to keep her hair on. but, sometime she calm down, sometime she wasn't, at that time i was really tearing my hair out

Mohamed Reda, Morocco
I went to the desert, in the south of Morocco, to let my hair down. Where the nature appears in its more beautiful and delightful look. one day when i was in my tent, my camels ran away so i tore my hear out. Thanks to my friend, he helpeld me to keep my hair on ..

Vladimir, Russia
I never let my hair down. Because, I think that it's not respectable and for me personally it's sign of laziness. But sometimes I let myself to keep my hair on a little bit, but it's very seldom. So, I always try to don't keep my hair on and I never tear my hair out - just cut.

Roberto, Brazil
When I look at my bank account I always tear my hair out, but one day, I'll win a lottery prize, then I'll keep my hair on. But before it happens, I'll meditate and try just let my hair down.

Gabriel, Brazil
I'm going to do some exams next week... I'm trying to keep my hair on... BUT I'M TEARING MY HAIR OUT!! :)

Kenny,Dubai
It's extremely difficult to keep your hair on in Dubai facing such deadly hot weather, especially when you are tearing your hair out due to some troubls in your work. But anyway, you still need to let your hair down because this is your life:)

Ahmed , Egypt                                          
I have an interview tomorrow, so i must keeping my hair on today, if i didn't i will tearing my hair down tomorrow, and i will let my hair down for one year.

Hitoshi,Japan
I'm always letting my hair down.And I've been a calm man for ten years.Before that, I had a temper.So I was always tearing my hair out.

Nathawut, Thailand
I know tearing my hair is the worst thing so I always try to keep my hair on when I face various obstacles. Sometime I'm serious in studying and working without letting my hair down.

Paulo, Paraguay        
I always play with my nephews and let my hair down, but sometimes I am tearing my hair out because they quarrel a lot and I say to them: Hey, keep your hair on.

Jordão, Brazil
Yesterday, I decided not to go to the work I got last month. In other words, I let my hair down. However, my father didn't like the idea of staying at home surfing on the net. He got very angry.Of course I told him to keep his hair on, but it was impossible.

Gislaine - Brazil
Keep your hair on, he will be on time for the wedding.

Monika, Poland             
A: My car is broken again. I had to go to machanic and I spent a lot of maney reparing it.

B: Keep your hair on.

Gosia, Poland
I went to a party last Friday. It was fantastic ! I let my hair down :)

Maya, Poland
I passed all my exams so now I need to let my hair down.

Maria, Colombia                                       
Since I'm having problems with my husband I often try to let my hair down for a while and he gets so angry that I usually tell him to keep his hair on. I try to act as nothing had happened but the truth is that I'm tearing my hair out.

Eliana,Argentina
Since I got married and had two kidsI hardly ever let my hair down,I really miss it a lot!and when my husband notices I'm tearing my hair out, he says softly "honey,please, keep your hair on"

Jialong, china
some days ago,there was a quarrel between my daughter and i, because she didn't finish her homework very well, i was tearing my hair out, and finally,my wife told me to keep your hair down.

Fabio, Brazil
I always try to let my hair down even when I am working. But some people use to tear my hair out with their behaviour. So I ask them to keep their hair on.

Daniel, Brazil
When I started my lessons on english, I think that I could let my hair down, but in the end I almost teared my hair out. Fortunately, my friend help me to keep my hair on.

Rudi, Brazil
Once, during a staff meeting I started feeling up set, because I over heard someone say: I gibe a damn about this problem. Then when I tried to object him, a friend of mine said in low voice let your heir down. At first I didn't grasp the meaning of this phrasal verbs, but looking at the context I could figure it out that he wanted me to calm down.

Thanh Hai , VietNam
when I was at my university I always did homework. One day I felt tired and decided to let my hair down. The day after I went to class in bad mood and unfortunathely the teacher checked my finishing homework and of course consequentlyI was punished by being on duty all week. Since then I always finish my tasks.whenever I see people who are quareling I tell them keep their hair on.people say I am the kind of person who is very easy to be angry with. Indeed, I also think it's true. you know I like put every thing randomly in my room and I hate some one to put them in order. When it comes I always become mad. Once, my mother came in my room while I was out. Of couse she cleaned up my room and reorder everything. After that I was back home and couldn't find the essay which had took me much time to finish. Moreover I do not like writing essay and couldn't remember annything about the essay I wrote. so you can magine how I felt at that time. But I must tear my hair out.

Adapted from www.bbc.co.uk

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BRAZIL PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE EDUARDO CAMPOS KILLED IN PLANE CRASH

Brazilian presidential candidate Eduardo Campos was killed in a plane crash on Wednesday (August 13, 1914).

Campos' jet crashed in bad weather as it prepared to land in the coastal city of Santos, in the south of Sao Paulo, killing all seven people on board, the São Paulo state fire department said.

Campos, 49, was in third place in recent polls with the support of about 10 percent of voters.

President Dilma Rousseff, who is leading the race, suspended all campaigning for three days in mourning. Senator Aécio Neves, the candidate running in second place, said he was "immensely saddened."

Dilma is leading in polls with about 36 percent of voter support. Aécio has enjoyed about 20 percent support and is expected to face Dilma in a second-round runoff.

Campos, a former governor of the northeastern state of Pernambuco, was running as a business-friendly leftist and had strong support from many banks and industrial groups. His death could see Marina Silva, his running mate, become the Brazilian Socialist Party's candidate.

Marina Silva was not aboard the plane that crashed. She placed a strong third in the 2010 presidential election and enjoys robust support from young voters and evangelical voters but her pro-environment agenda means that many in Brazil's powerful agribusiness sector distrust her.

On the night before his death, Campos was in Rio de Janeiro for an interview with the country's most-watched nightly news program. Several pundits praised his performance as confident and authoritative and said he might rise in polls as a result.

THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE - A BRIEF HISTORY

The Brooklyn Bridge was built between 1869 and 1883 connecting Manhattan with New York's most populous borough, Brooklyn. The bridge is one of the most famous and magnificent landmarks in New York City.

At the time of the construction, Brooklyn - founded by Dutch settlers in the 17th century - was still an independent city. In fact it was even one of the country's largest cities. In 1898, fifteen years after the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn citizens decided, in a close vote, to become a borough of New York.

The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge started in 1869 and took fourteen years to complete. At the time many saw the construction of such a large bridge as a folly. The driving force behind the whole project, John Roebling, was a German immigrant who had worked for the Prussian government as a bridge and road builder. He launched the idea of building a bridge across the East River after he had taken a ferry across the river that got stuck in the ice.

John Roebling would never get to see the bridge he had designed: he died in an accident. He wasn't the only one to lose his life during the construction: 20 of the 600 workers died while working on the bridge. The son of John Roebling, Washington Roebling, took over the leadership of the project but he suffered from a  serious disease and was on his deathbed during the inauguration on May 24, 1883 when about 150,000 people crossed the bridge. 

The Brooklyn Bridge ranks as one of the greatest engineering feats of the 19th century and remains one of New York's most popular and well known landmarks. The impressive bridge spans the East river between Brooklyn and Manhattan and stretches for a length of 5989 ft, about 1.8 km. The span between the large towers measures 1595.5 ft (486 meters). This made the Brooklyn Bridge the world's largest suspension bridge.

The most noticeable feature of the Brooklyn Bridge are the two masonry towers to which the many cables are attached. The towers with large Gothic arches reach a height of 276 ft (84 meters), at the time making them some of the tallest landmarks in New York. Roebling claimed that the monumental towers would make the bridge a historic monument. He was proven right when the bridge officially became a national monument in 1964.The views of the bridge attract millions of visitors to this bridge each year.

                      Adapted from www.aviewoncities.com

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GERMANY: WINNER OF THE 2014 WORLD CUP IN BRAZIL

Germany beat Argentina 1-0 to win the 2014 World Cup on July 13 at Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. The victory adds a historic fourth star to the German crest, thanks to a beautiful effort from Mario Götze.

Germany's bench swarmed the pitch after the final whistle, celebrating their first World Cup title since 1990.

The victory silenced the thousands of Argentine fans who had filled the stadium and descended on Rio for the final. Following the victory, the city's iconic Christ the Redeemer statue was lit with the black, red and gold colors of the German flag..

"It's unbelievable," said Manuel Neuer, who was named the tournament's best goalkeeper. "I don't know how late we'll be celebrating, but we'll still be waking up with a grin tomorrow."

Gonzalo Higuain had Argentina's best opportunities of the first half. After picking up an errant header and firing wide in front of goal in the 21st minute, his successful effort ten minutes later was narrowly ruled offside. Benedikt Höwedes, meanwhile, will have wanted another shot at his header off the post just before the break.

Kramer's surprise start was cut short just past the half hour mark. A collision with defender Ezequial Garay in the Argentina box left the 23-year-old on the ground and clutching his head. He briefly attempted to play on, but was eventually substituted for Andre Schürrle.

Lionel Messi proved most-dangerous for the Argentines in the second 45 minutes, when his trademark left-footed effort inside the box went just wide immediately after the restart. Schürrle and Toni Kroos and late, Götze, all had excellent opportunities to put their side ahead, but heavy touches and weak finishing meant goalkeeper Sergio Romero was never truly tested.

Instead it finished level after 90 minutes, and for the seventh time in World Cup history, the final went to extra time.

Schürrle's stinging effort just after play resumed nearly put Germany ahead, but Romero was there to save from close range. Seven minutes later, Rodrigo Palacio had a near-golden chance on goal after a Hummels error, but his looping effort went wide.

 The deciding goal finaly came in the 112th minute. Working his way down the left flank, Schürrle crossed to a cutting Götze in the center of the box. The Bayern Munich man beautifully trapped the ball with his chest and twisted to fire a left-footed volley across goal and into the net

The magnificent goal proved the decider in the end, as the Germans held on for the final match's final minutes to secure their country's fourth World Cup crown. In winning, Germany have become the first European country to win the World Cup in South America.

"To be the first European team picking up the title in South America is really unbelievable," said captain Philipp Lahm.

The victory was celebrated raucously by Brazilians in the crowd, who had dreaded the prospect of sworn South American rivals Argentina lifting the title in their backyard.

                                                                                                                      Adapted from www.dw.de

SONATA ARCTICA - A METAL BAND FROM FINLAND

Sonata Arctica is a Finnish power metal band from the town of Kemi, Finland. It was created as a hard rock band named Tricky Beans, later being changed to Tricky Means and finally to Sonata Arctica, when they shifted to power metal. They often include symphonic metal elements, and their later releases contain several elements typical of progressive metal, as well. The current line-up consists of singer, keyboardist and songwriter Tony Kakko, guitarist Elias Viljanen, bass guitarist Pasi Kauppinen, keyboardist and keytarist Henrik Klingenberg, and drummer Tommy Portimo. All the musicians of the band's history except Portimo also acted as backing vocalists.

During their early career, they recorded three demos which were never sent to a recording label. According to Kakko, the band's first name was based on one of their early songs, which was "about a lady who was tricky and I didn't really know what I was talking about. Their first show was about to take place but they were still unnamed, so they had to come up with something.

In 1997 the band changed their name to Tricky Means, and from that point until 1999 their style was thoroughly worked upon and ultimately was drastically changed, acquiring a strong emphasis on the keyboard melodies and relying on an easily distinguishable rhythm line maintained both by the bass and the guitar. Vocalist Tony Kakko developed a clean singing style which relies both on falsetto and tenor voices. Kakko has stated that the change of sound was influenced by fellow Finnish power metal band Stratovarius. At that time, second guitarist Marko Paasikoski left the band and Pentti Peura was fired. The band finally changed their name to Sonata Arctica, because they thought they wouldn't be able to sell metal albums with the previous name and also because their first label asked them to do so. "Sonata Arctica" was suggested by a friend of the band: "sonata" for the music and "arctica" for their hometown (Kemi, in Northern Finland). 

                                                                                                            Adapted from www.wikipedia.com

NEYMAR JR OUT OF THE WORLD CUP

The Brazilian footballer Neymar Jr was ruled out of the 2014 World Cup after suffering fractures to his vertebra in the final minutes of the 2-1 quarter-final win over Colombia. The young player received a knee in the lower back from Juan Zuniga in a challenge that went unpunished, that is, the Spanish referee Carlos Velasco Carballo took no action. He had to leave the pitch on a stretcher.

"The exam showed he suffered a fracture of the third vertebra" in his back, said team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar. "It's not serious in the sense that it doesn't need surgery, but he'll need to immobilize it to recover," added the doctor after the player had been taken to hospital.

Many Brazilian fans had gathered outside the hospital in Fortaleza, shouting "Força, Neymar" (be strong, Neymar) when the player was being wheeled into the building. Even the country's president, Dilma Rousseff tweeted: "Like all Brazil I am one of those cheering from the sidelines for our star Neymar to get better."

On the other hand, the Colombian player Zuniga said: "I never meant to hurt a player. It was a normal move. I was playing for the shirt from my country, not with the intent to injure. I was just defending my shirt."

Take a look at this report from the BBC:

What do you think about all this?

QUIZ: TEN QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WORLD CUP

Test your knowledge of men´s World Cup history:

1. Where was the first FIFA World Cup held?

a) Uruguay

b) Italy

c) England

d) Spain

e) Germany

2. Which country has won the most World Cup championships?

a) Italy

b) Germany

c) Brazil

d) England

e) Spain

3. Who has the most goals in World Cup history?

a) Ronaldo

b) Pelé

c) Just Fontaine

d) Oleg Salenko

e) Miroslav Klose

4. What is the furthest the US has reached in World Cups?

a) Group stage

b) Round of 16

c) Quarterfinals

d) Semifinals

e) Finals

5. Who was the youngest goal scorer in World Cup history?

a) David Beckham

b) Pelé

c) Ronaldo

d) Franz Beckenbauer

e) Michel Platini

6. Which individual player has won the most World Cup matches?

a) Diego Maradona

b) Pelé

c) Cafu

d) Sandor Kocsis

e) Oleg Salenko

7. Archie Thompson (from Australia) has the record for most goals in a single qualifying match between Australia and American Samoa in 2001. How many goals did he score?

a) 7

b) 13

c) 14

d) 15

e) 20

P.S. – the score of the match was Australia 31 X 0 American Samoa

8. When was the first time that Brazil hosted the World Cup?

a) 1930

b) 1938

c) 1950

d) 1986

e) 2002

9. The record for most goals in a single World Cup is 171. What year did this happen?

a) 1930

b) 1934

c) 1970

d) 1982

e) 1998

10. Which coach has won the most World Cup matches with 25?

a) Luiz Felipe Scolari

b) Helmut Schon

c) Vittorio Pozzo

d) Otto Rehhagel

e) Bora Milutinovic

Answers:

1 – A   2 – C   3 – E   4 – D   5 – B   6 – C   7 – B   8 – C   9 – E   10 – B

FOOTBALL AND THE WORLD CUP

This text is about one of the most popular sports in the world: football. It is played in almost every country and has gained popularity in the United States recently, where people call soccer (football is a different sport there)

But how did football ________ ?

It is not known for sure how football began. Many people believe that the first games were played in China and Japan over 1,000 years ago. The game that we know today probably started in England. Many of the earliest football matches were very violent and because of this, the British royalty tried to ban the sport. However, they were not successful.

In 1857, the first football team was created in Sheffield, England. In 1863, eleven English teams met to form the first Football Association. In 1904, a world association was created: FIFA, which stands for “Fédération Internationale de Football Association”. Twenty-six years later, in 1930, Uruguay hosted the first World Cup.

The World Cup is football’s biggest tournament and it takes place every four years in a different country and is watched on television and in stadiums by millions of people all over the world.

In the World Cup, thirty-two teams from different countries compete to try to win the championship. In the first competition, in 1930, only thirteen teams played. The winner of the first World Cup was the host country. The second World Cup was in Italy and the third one in France. Because of the war, after the games in France, the World Cup was not played again _______ 1950, this time in Brazil.

The 2002 World Cup was special. It was the first time the games were played in Asia. It was also the first time that two countries, Japan and Korea, hosted the World Cup together.

In 2014 Brazil is the host country for the second time. A total of 64 matches will be played in twelve cities across Brazil and for the first time a goal-line technology will be used.

                                                     

1. Which sentence is incorrect according to the text?

a) The sport that the English call football the Americans call soccer.

b) The first World Cup had fewer teams than the following ones.

c) The winner of the first World Cup was Uruguay.

d) The World Cup in 1934 was in South America.

e) The 2002 World was different from the previous competitions.

              

2. The third World Cup was in _______ .

a) 1950

b) 1954

c) 1938

d) 2002

e) 1946

3. The first gap in the text must be completed with __________ .

a) began

b) begin

c) begun

d) beginning

e) will begin

4. The second gap in the text must be completed with __________ .

a) during

b) to

c) by

d) in

e) until

5. The sentence: “The World Cup is watched by millions of people around the world” is in the Passive Voice. The same sentence, in the Active Voice is:

a) Millions of people around the world watched the World Cup.

b) The World Cup was watched by millions of people around the world.

c) Millions of people around the world watch the World Cup.

d) Millions of people are watched the World Cup around the world.

e) Millions of people around the world are watching the World Cup.

6. The word “later”, in the sentence “Twenty-six years later, in 1930, Uruguay hosted the first World Cup competition”, is the same as:

a) after that                                                               

d) before that

b) while                                                                     

e) sooner

c) earlier