Karol Štúr Grammar School presents English is cool Our First Online Magazine Issue 1 - November 2019 Dear readers, Welcome to the world of English. We have prepared this magazine for you so that you could have a little break from everyday duties and find pleasure in the work created by clever and creative teenagers studying at our school. We hope the following pages inspire you, make you smile or just help you unwind. We wish you an enjoyable read. Hopefully there is something for everyone. And if you lack anything...well, next time it could be you contributing, too. Or just let us know what you would appreciate and we will do our best to improve our magazine. :) Silvia Oscitá The Contents: THE STORY TIME ☼ Short stories told by younger students ☼ Water and Fire….. for fantasy lovers - Part 1 THE WORLD OF MOVIES ☼ Marvel News….. a blog written by Leah and Tessa ☼ Scarlet Johansson …..written by her fan THE MATURITA EXAM CORNER ☼ Australia….. or Travel Broadens the Mind ☼ Education….. an essay written by our school-leaver THE LANGUAGE CORNER ☼ Every Picture Tells a Story ….. or Do you know the idiom? ☼ Did you know? ….. A little grammar / vocabulary ☼ Puns….. Let's play with words FUN PAGES ☼ My Magical Laptop Experience.…. read and find out more ☼ Fun Pages ….. Crosswords, Word search SHORT STORIES A little big robbery Two men James and John were having trouble with money. They decided to become thieves. But first they needed a plan. “Ok, we have got a plan. We need Abby’s help,” said John. “But she won’t do it,” said James. “You are kidding!? We really need her help with tools,” said John. “What’s the problem? I’ll take it,” said James. They wanted to rob a neighbour’s house. But they didn’t have a key. They took a big bag. In the bag there were some important tools. Before the big night they checked the house if there were any cameras or an alarm system. They went out of the house at 11pm. The neighbours had a dog so they had to find a place where they could hide. When they finally got inside, John’s mobile rang. “What on earth are you doing!?” said James. “My phone is ringing!” said John. “Really!? Now we have to run away before anyone notices we are here and calls the police!” said James. Lívia & Katarína A holiday nightmare I went on holiday to London. I stayed in my friend´s house. He was my best friend but I never thought this could happen. When I arrived, I put my bag next to a suitcase. I saw there a lot of money. I didn´t care. I was tired, so I went to sleep. In the middle of the night, somebody switched on the light. I looked around and I found out it was my friend. He said: “Sit down and listen. “ He told me that he‘d stolen the key from his neighbour‘s house. So I had to go with him. I took my mobile with me and when we were in the neighbour‘s living-room, I hid the camera behind the sofa and started recording. I was scared that the alarm would go off. My friend was looking for some money and jewellery, but he didn´t find any of it. We ran away and went to bed. On the following day, I got off the bus next to the police station. I showed them the recording. The police caught the thief and looked at him. Then I woke up. Paula & Simona WATER & FIRE Part 1 My name is Amarië, from the elvish tongue, meaning „being kind under rather difficult times“. My parents were fighters. Their duty was to protect our and other countries' lands from the danger that had been spreading throughout the whole world. They met when two armies of elves and men joined and went to war together. They often helped each other, went through the dangerous perils, and gradually they fell in love. A few years passed. Despite the dark times of war, there were at least some light moments. For instance feasts. But most of the time the war took place. Later on, some soldiers found out that my mum was with a child, so she was expelled from the army because she would have been useless on the battlefield. Dad didn´t want to abandon her, so he decided to leave the army too. All they took from the army was a golden palomino with a shiny white mane. His name was Aragos, meaning „storm“ in the elvish language. He was a great elvish stallion. These horses were also long-living creatures, as were elves. They were also the fastest horses in the world. For a long time, they had been hiding in the forest until I was born. When I was about a year, they decided to return to the elvish country where my mum came from. They marched on, after a few miles they were walking past some huge stones until they came to a gorge. They must have got lost. Suddenly they saw something moving out of the shadow. It was an enormous dragon. Its size was not comparable to any other dragon. It must have been the biggest dragon that had ever lived, as the stories told. My parents were determined to protect me at any cost. They knew that they had no chance to survive, so they put me into the blankets, tied to the saddle of the horse and mum whispered something in elvish to him. The horse shook his head and began to gallop. I´ve never seen them since then. The horse had been my savior. He came to the kingdom of elves. Those elves felt sorry for me, so they decided to raise me up, for they didn´t know that I wasn´t a pureblooded elf. As I was growing, they found out and hadn´t been very friendly with me since then. Also, I wasn´t appreciated among them. They bullied me because of what I was. I wanted to show the others that I was not any bastard brat, so I joined the army training. I proved myself well in the trainings, and later on, I took part in the minor battles. Over time, I worked my way up to the mounted soldier. My main weapon was a sword and a dagger. I loved daggers because they could cause perfect stab wounds, that were very hard to heal and often lead to death. And a sword I used because it was easy to strike down the enemy from the horse with a sword. I was also very self-sacrificing, I always wanted the best for others. So because of those positive traits, they started to respect me. By some time I made many friends and was happy. However, there was still something popping out in my head. I wanted to take revenge for the death of my parents. One day I was called for a night watch near the borders of our country. I took my sword and dagger and saddled up my horse. He´d been my best friend since my childhood after my parents died, and a companion in many perils and adventures. It was a long ride to get there. We passed the great river flowing between the forest and a large grassy field. As we proceeded, the clouds began drifting and getting darker and darker. Slowly, the drops of rain began to fall. The storm was about to start. We began to look for a shelter to hide. Suddenly, a flash of lightning crossed the sky. Finally, we found a refuge in a small cave covered with moss. We decided to stay there for the night until the storm was over. We had been lucky that nothing had attacked us. Very soon in the morning when stars still could be seen, the storm had stopped. When we came out of the cave, we made it out to the south. Then I heard a strange high-pitched voice. It was coming from far away that our lands could not reach. With a little fear, what it might be, we rode on. The one and only light we could see through the darkness was coming from the pale Moon and shining stars. The voice was getting louder and louder until it broke into a sudden shriek. Out of the blue, an enormous black figure appeared. Aragos neighed and bucked several times. He stood on his hinds and I found myself lying on the ground. Precipitously, I saw a huge shadow. A large and terrible creature was standing behind my back. Once you saw it, you´d be shivering from the horror. It wore a huge metal armor and a tarth black cloak. The face was covered with a hood and the only thing you could see were shining red eyes gazing at you, evoking a sense of fear. In one arm it was holding a huge sword. I knew the fight was inevitable. Without self-control, I took my sword. My hands were shaking a little from the fear, but something inside me told me not to give up and be brave. The creature swang its katana and repelled after me. I avoided the first strike, but another came, and with more strength. I fought without hesitation. It was really hard to strike down the creature so strong. I couldn´t say if it was dead or alive. Suddenly, the creature clutched me around the neck and I was thinking of the worst.