16th century royal letter for sale

A letter from the 1500s which tells part of the story of how the church of England began is expected to sell for a high price. It was written by Catherine of Aragon, the 1st wife of King Henry VIII, while he and the Pope were struggling for power. Here's our arts correspondent, Lawrence Pollard:

It's always being said that British schoolchildren don't know much about British history, but one thing they do all know is that Henry VIII had six wives - as the saying goes "divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived".

Catherine of Aragon was the Spanish first wife who was divorced when she failed to give the King a son. The letter for sale is dated February the 8th 1534, in the middle of this tumultuous and gripping period. King Henry wanted the Pope to annul his marriage to Catherine so that he could have a child with another woman.

This autographed letter, signed 'Katharina', is to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. In it she pleads - in Spanish - for Charles to press the Pope to stand up to Henry saying that the [quote] "sufferings, surprises and affronts which every day puts on us, are of universal notoriety". Catherine was successful, the Pope supported her, but of course Henry defied the Pope, divorced Catherine, and set up the Church of England.

The letter is enormously rare and could fetch (= be sold for a particular amount of money, especially at a public sale) over 100,000 dollars when it's sold in December. The price reflects how intimate a glimpse it gives into the operation of a brutal and totalitarian society.

Lawrence Pollard, BBC Arts

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/newsenglish/witn/2006/10/061025_letter.shtml

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beheaded: punished by cutting off the head during an official execution

tumultuous and gripping period: a confused, disorderly and dangerous time when many things were changing but also a time that was very interesting

annul his marriage: officially cancel his marriage, formally declare it as no longer existing, valid or legal

pleads: begs, makes a very strong request

to stand up to: to be brave enough to argue with, to be unafraid of expressing different views and beliefs

affronts: rude, hurtful, offensive and disrespectful words and actions

defied: disobeyed, refused to respect and follow orders

intimate: personal, very private or even secret

glimpse: a very quick, brief or incomplete look at something

a brutal and totalitarian society: a very cruel and strict type of political system where the state has complete control of everything that concerns and affects its citizens

Music in the UK: the charts

Have you ever heard of Al Martino? Not many people know his name nowadays but back in 1952 he made history by becoming the first recording artist to have a number one record with his song 'Here In My Heart'. For more than fifty years sales of singles have been measured on a weekly basis and ranked in a chart. The week's best-selling single takes the number one position for that week.

So who has had the most number ones? For 25 years The Beatles and Elvis Presley matched each other with 18 number one records apiece. However, in 2005 Elvis earned a posthumous number one when his 1957 hit 'Jailhouse Rock' was re-released. Since then two more Elvis singles have gone to the top of the charts bringing his total to 21 number ones!

Over the years many artists have enjoyed incredible success in the charts. Bryan Adams held the number one position for 16 weeks in 1991 with the ballad 'Everything I Do I Do It For You' whilst Elton John's tribute to Princess Diana, 'Candle In The Wind 97', sold 4.86 million copies in the UK.

However, there are concerns over the future of the music industry as sales have fallen in recent years. This was illustrated in 2004 when Eric Prydz had a number one record despite having sold less than 24,000 copies.

One reason for the fall in CD sales could be the increase in music downloads. Many computer users illegally download MP3 files through peer-to-peer, file-sharing networks.

The music industry has responded to this new threat by offering the possibility to buy downloads from approved web sites. These digital downloads were integrated into the UK chart for the first time in April 2005. Ironically, the first number one of the digital age was a reissue of Tony Christie's 'Amarillo', a song first released in 1971.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/newsenglish/britain/index.shtml

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recording artist: a singer who performs in a studio so that their songs are recorded

singles: songs

ranked: had a particular position in a list of songs that have been put in order of popularity

best-selling: selling a lot of copies

matched each other: had an equal number of number one records

posthumous: after death

re-released: made available again for people to buy

peer-to-peer: from one computer to another

integrated: included

reissue: a piece of music that has been made available again for people to buy

China's biggest bank's shares go up

Shares in the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rose strongly in Hong Kong and Shanghai on Friday after its stock sale generated huge demand from investors. This report from Quentin Sommerville:

The Industrial and Commercial Bank is China's biggest bank. Friday's share offering, which could reach almost twenty two billion dollars in value, is the world's largest. Backed by cheering from traders at the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the shares got off to a flying start, jumping by almost ten per cent. At the same time, the bank's shares were also being listed on the Hong Kong index, where they jumped eighteen per cent.

The shares have proved a hit with ordinary Chinese investors. Banking stocks are viewed as a safe bet and a good way of cashing in on China's phenomenal economic growth. However that's only thanks to a massive bail out by the Chinese government.

For a long time Chinese banks lent money unwisely. They were more concerned with following Communist party wishes than with making a return on their money. A fifteen billion dollar cash injection from Beijing helped the ICBC get its books in order before today's listing.

The Chinese government, which will still own most of the bank, sees this as a good investment. China's fast moving market economy needs a modern banking system and China's banks need to be in shape for the full arrival of foreign competitors at the end of this year.

Quentin Sommerville, BBC News, Shanghai

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/newsenglish/witn/2006/10/061027_china_bank.shtml

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Backed by cheering from: supported and encouraged by shouting

got off to a flying start: began to sell really well

jumped: here, suddenly increased in value

proved a hit: become very popular

a safe bet: a low risk action which you are sure is going to succeed

a massive bail out: a big money investment made to rescue something or someone

making a return: making a profit

cash injection: giving money (in order to improve the bank's financial situation)

get its books in order: improve its financial situation to an acceptable level

to be in shape: to perform well, to be in a good condition

二〇世紀

ボルノー

独

『実存哲学と教育』

実存教育学、出会い

オルセン

米

『学校と地域社会』

アメリカコミュニティスクール

ラングラン

仏

フランス生涯教育

ブルーナー

米

『教育の過程』

発見学習、科学教育

「どの教科でも、どの発達段階の子どもにも

効果的に教えることができる」

19世紀

18世紀