ingles_turismo_09_10

VIDEOS ON POPPY DAY / REMEMBRANCE DAY 2009

noreply@blogger.com (coruña) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:42:00 +0000

from: http://oz.deichman.net/uploaded_images/poppy-773886.jpg

Rememberance at Royal Albert Hall (01:19 m)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7718254.stm

Ceremonies mark Remembrance Day (02:43 m)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7718854.stm

Services remember British fallen (07:31 m)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7718452.stm

Armistice around the world (01:05 m)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7718359.stm

POPPY DAY

noreply@blogger.com (coruña) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:30:00 +0000

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vCH7uzZMBzY/RzbXLO4im6I/AAAAAAAAAKU/7mfCNp6s8zQ/s320/poppy-day.jpg

http://www.paul-roberts.com/wp-content/photos/PB102885.JPG

Remembrance Day - Poppy Day

Today's entry is long to read but interesting, I think. Some students ask me almost every year about the meaning of the poppy on the lapel of the newsreaders when they watch the UK news on that day.

Did you know about Poppy Day? What do you think of this special date?

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A653924

"Many countries have a special day to remember those that fell in their wars; America has Veterans Day, while France has Armistice Day. The British commemorate those who fought, and are still fighting, in wars for their country on Remembrance Day.
The British Remembrance Day is always held on the 11 November. This is the day that World War One ended in 1918, when the armistice was signed in Compiègne, Northern France, at 5am. Six hours later, the fighting stopped, and to commemorate this there is a two minute silence in the UK at 11am, every 11 November.
The period of silence was first proposed by a Melbourne journalist, Edward George Honey, in a letter published in the London Evening News on 8 May 1919, which subsequently came to the attention of King George V. On 7 November, 1919, the king issued a proclamation which called for a two-minute silence:
All locomotion should cease, so that, in perfect stillness, the thoughts of everyone may be concentrated on reverent remembrance of the glorious dead.
As well as the two-minute silence, there are marches around the country by war veterans. The Royal Family, along with leading politicians, gather at the Cenotaph, a large war memorial in Whitehall, in London.
The nearest Sunday to the 11th is called Remembrance Sunday, when church services are held in honour of those involved in wars, and wreaths are laid on the memorials which have a place in every town. Many two-minute silences are followed by a lone bugler playing The Last Post, reminiscent of times of war when trumpets were as much a part of battle as bayonets. A poem called 'For the Fallen' is often read aloud on the occasion; the most famous stanza of which reads:
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them. Fourth stanza of 'For the Fallen' by Laurence Binyon (1869 - 1943)
These words can be found adorning many war memorials across the country. The author, Laurence Binyon, was never a soldier but certainly appreciated the horrors of war.
Remembrance day is taken very seriously, with disrespect being avoided at all costs (which is why the vandalisation of the Cenotaph on 1 May 2000 was seen as such a horrific crime). If 11 November falls on a weekday, schools, workplaces and shopping centres generally attempt to observe the silence, although some people choose to ignore their attempts and go about their business regardless.
Poppies
Remembrance Day is also known as Poppy Day, because it is traditional to wear an artificial poppy. They are sold by the Royal British Legion, a charity dedicated to helping war veterans, although they do not have a fixed price - they rely on donations.
The motto of the British Legion is Remember the dead; don't forget the living, and they are campaigners for issues relating to war veterans, especially elderly ones.
The poppies are worn because in World War One the Western Front contained in the soil thousands of poppy seeds, all lying dormant. They would have lain there for years more, but the battles being fought there churned up the soil so much that the poppies bloomed like never before. The most famous bloom of poppies in the war was in Ypres, a town in Flanders, Belgium, which was crucial to the Allied defence. There were three battles there, but it was the second, which was calamitous to the allies since it heralded the first use of the new chlorine gas the Germans were experimenting with, which brought forth the poppies in greatest abundance, and inspired the Canadian soldier, Major John McCrae, to write his most famous poem. This, in turn, inspired the British Legion to adopt the poppy as their emblem.
In Flanders FieldsIn Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields. John McCrae (1872 - 1918)
The American Moira Michael from Georgia, was the first person to wear a poppy in remembrance. In reply to McCrae's poem, she wrote a poem entitled 'We shall keep the faith' which includes the lines:
And now the Torch and Poppy Red We wear in honor of our dead.
She bought some poppies, wore one, and sold the others, raising money for ex-servicemen. Her colleague, French YMCA Secretary Madame Guerin, took up the idea and made artificial poppies for war orphans. It caught on.
In November 1921, the British Legion and Austrian Returned Sailor's and Soldier's League sold them for the first time.
The tragic events in New York on 11 September 2001, left ever increasing numbers of people feeling stronger than ever the need for peace. This, in turn, prompted the manufacture of white poppies to represent peace. They are not a new idea, though. In fact, they date from 1933, having been designed by a UK Women's Guild. The British Legion was invited to produce them twice, in 1933 and 1988, but they not only declined, they also refused to accept the proceeds from them, because they were seen as disrespectful by some soldiers. They are having a surge in popularity once again as people stop feeling as safe as they once did."

BONFIRE NIGHT

noreply@blogger.com (coruña) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:21:00 +0000

"Oct 19 2009
In London and in the UK in general, we have a passion for fireworks (pyrotechnics) at this time of year. Halloween isn't really our thing, although more and more children's costumes are going on sale these days. We look forward to November 5th when we commemorate Guy Fawkes's attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament with barrels of gunpowder in 1605, with King James I inside. He was caught before he could do any damage and was duly executed shortly after."

http://golondon.about.com/od/novemberannualevents/a/bonfire_night.htm

Have you ever enjoyed bonfire night in the UK?

Any other special date?

Any similar celebration in your place?

This is a good choice to write-write-write. Come on.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

noreply@blogger.com (coruña) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:00:00 +0000

from http://www.brothersoft.com/happy-halloween-theme-202347.html

Yes, it's Halloween again. Next Saturday exactly!
Every year it is more and more popular in our country. There are parties for adults eveywhere and children also do some crafts and activities at school, at least for their English class.
You can have a look at our last's year post as well.
Give us your impressions on this: whether you like it or not, if you see it as just part of other cultures, tell us about your costume if you are going to wear it, if you know its origins, if you have found a gorgeous page about Halloween crafts, cooking or make up...
Use a search engine or a browser if you want, and read more and see pics about it.
And then, WRITE, WRITE WRITE!

And....HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!

The Mixxer- Improving oral competence through Internet

noreply@blogger.com (María Jordano) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:02:00 +0000

Thinking about improving oral skills in an autonomous way? During this course, we will try to propose project and new way to practice communicative skills, but also, there are possibilities on the web to do it on you one if you want to begin now.

Just one thing, if you decide to do it using any of the ways suggested here, let us know by adding a comment here, so that we could take it into account in your final score.

The only think you have to do in order to find a partner to practice is installing Skype , having ready a mike and headphones/speakers and register in the website: http://www.language-exchanges.org/

If you want to record your conversations, so that we teachers, could have some feedback or evidence of your work, try using this application: http://www.powergramo.com/index.htm or even Audacity .

Let us know using comments if you like or not this tool!

** I have just set up a group for our classroom. If you want to join, fist you need to sing up to mixxer, then join our group here.

A bit rusty...

noreply@blogger.com (coruña) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:32:00 +0000

Feeling a bit rusty?

Start having a look at some tourism magazines, for instance, and then write a review for this blog.

http://www.tourism-review.com/magazine.php

http://www.bviwelcome.com/

http://www.nmmagazine.com/

http://traveler.nationalgeographic.com/

You can also write about your proyects for your Tourim studies this year, about your holidays this last summer, the chespest flight, the best/ worst experience, etc.

Any topic will do as long as you drop us a line.

Remember: practice makes perfect.

Welcome to this course and the first writing task...

noreply@blogger.com (María Jordano) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:52:00 +0000

You think that your city has possibilities to hold the next Olympic Games, why not? The city hall has asked you as on of the leading travel agencies in your area to prepare a presentation focussing on the tourist facilities and commodities that has the city in question for the occasion.

Go to page 26 from your books in order to get some specific vocabulary and write down your justification using the comments options.

You can also also upload a presentation of your proposal within our virtual course.

More on Idioms and slang

noreply@blogger.com (María Jordano) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 07:08:00 +0000

Have you ever visited Larry Ferlazzo's blog? He proposes every week the best 10 site on....(something special). This time he deals in one of his entries about good site to learn idioms. Have a look at the site and comment here if you found it useful for this course or not: http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2009/07/03/the-best-sites-to-help-ells-learn-idioms-slang/

Tower of Hercules (Spain) inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List alongside two Swiss watch-making towns

noreply@blogger.com (coruña) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 20:01:00 +0000

picture taken from: http://www.farodevigo.es/secciones/noticia.jsp?pRef=2009062700_8_342837__Sociedad-y-Cultura-Torre-Hercules-Patrimonio-Humanidad

Tower of Hercules (Spain) inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List alongside two Swiss watch-making towns
Saturday, June 27, 2009
The World Heritage Committee, chaired by María Jesús San Segundo, the Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Spain to UNESCO, has inscribed a Spanish lighthouse dating back to antiquity, The Tower of Hercules in La Coruña, on the World Heritage List alongside the watch-manufacturing towns of La Chaux-de-Fonds / Le Locle watch-making town-planning (Switzerland).
The Tower of Hercules has served as a lighthouse and landmark at the entrance of La Coruña harbour in north-western Spain since the late 1st century A.D. when the Romans built the Farum Brigantium. The Tower, built on a 57 metre high rock, rises a further 55 meters. It is divided into three progressively smaller levels, the first of which corresponds to the Roman structure of the lighthouse. Immediately adjacent to the base of the Tower, is a small rectangular Roman building. The site also features a sculpture park, the Monte dos Bicos rock carvings from the Iron Age and a Muslim cemetery. The Roman foundations of the building were revealed in excavations conducted in the 1990s. Many legends from the Middle Ages to the 19th century surround the Tower of Hercules which is unique as it is the only lighthouse of Greco-Roman antiquity to have retained a measure of structural integrity and functional continuity.
The site of La Chaux-de-Fonds / Le Locle watch-making town-planning consists of two towns situated close to one another in a remote environment in the Swiss Jura mountains, on land ill-suited to farming. Their planning and buildings reflect watch-makers’ need of rational organization. Planned in the early 19th century, after extensive fires, the towns owed their existence to this single industry. Their layout along an open-ended scheme of parallel strips on which residential housing and workshops are intermingled reflects the needs of the local watch-making culture that dates to the 17th century and is still alive today. The site presents outstanding examples of mono-industrial manufacturing-towns which are well preserved and still active. The urban planning of both towns has accommodated the transition from the artisanal production of a cottage industry to the more concentrated factory production of the late 19th and 20th centuries. The town of La Chaux-de-Fonds was described by Karl Marx as a “huge factory-town” in Das Kapital where he analyzed the division of labour in the watch-making industry of the Jura.
The World Heritage Committee will continue inscribing sites and examining the state of properties already included on the List over coming days. It remains in session until 30 June.

Photos: http://www.unesco.org/en/whc/photos

source: http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/532

ENJOY YOU SUMMER HOLIDAYS...

noreply@blogger.com (coruña) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:54:00 +0000

...and don't forget to practice a little bit: reading. watching films, meeting foreing people to talk, writing letters, surfing the web, etc. etc.

Here you have some jokes as a start!

Happy Summer Season!

TEACHER: Maria, go to the map and find North America MARIA: Here it is. TEACHER: Correct. Now class, who discovered America ? CLASS: Maria. ____________________________________ TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor? JOHN: You told me to do it without using tables. __________________________________________ TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell 'crocodile?' GLENN: K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L' TEACHER: No, that's wrong GLENN: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it. (I Love this kid) ____________________________________________ TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water? DONALD: H I J K L M N O. TEACHER: What are you talking about? DONALD: Yesterday you said it's H to O.. __________________________________ TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn't have ten years ago. WINNIE: Me! __________________________________________ TEACHER: Glen, why do you always get so dirty? GLEN: Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are. _______________________________________ TEACHER: Millie, give me a sentence starting with ' I. ' MILLIE: I is.. TEACHER: No, Millie..... Always say, 'I am.' MILLIE: All right... 'I am the ninth letter of the alphabet.' ________________________________ TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry tree, but also admitted it. Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn't punish him? LOUIS: Because George still had the axe in his hand. ______________________________________ TEACHER: Now, Simon, tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating? SIMON: No sir, I don't have to, my Mom is a good cook. ______________________________ TEACHER: Clyde , your composition on 'My Dog' is exactly the same as your brother's. Did you copy his? CLYDE : No, sir. It's the same dog. ___________________________________ TEACHER: Harold, what do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested? HAROLD: A teacher .__________________________________

LAUGHTER IS THE SOUL'S MEDICINE!!

How do I find complex expressions in a dictionary?

noreply@blogger.com (María Jordano) — Sat, 23 May 2009 10:35:00 +0000

You may have experienced how difficult is trying to find out the meaning of a whole expression in a common dictionary. Most of the times, what you have came across is an idiom. On of the most complete dictionaries of idioms on the internet is Cambridge International Dictionary:

The Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms explains over 7,000 idioms current in British, American and Australian English, helping learners to understand them and use them with confidence. The Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms, based on the 200 million words of American English text in the Cambridge International Corpus, unlocks the meaning of more than 5,000 idiomatic phrases used in contemporary American English. Full-sentence examples show how idioms are really used.

The Cambridge University Press is respected worldwide for its commitment to advancing knowledge, education, learning, and research. It was founded on a royal charter granted to the University by Henry VIII in 1534 and has been operating continuously as a printer and publisher since the first Press book was printed in 1584.

The free dictionary by Fairlex (http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/)

Your could access to part of the listed idioms either in the url mentioned or directly from the CUP website: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/results.asp?searchword=idioms&dict=I&sourceid=Mozilla-search

Remember that if you are using Firefox as default browser, you can also have it always on the upper right corner (http://mycroft.mozdev.org/search-engines.html?name=dictionaries). Just click on it and you'll have it as one of your firefox search engine extensions.

Here you are some websites with more information about idioms: http://delicious.com/mjordano/idioms

and you are some books: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/aegean/6720/

I hope this could help you to go on studying this subject!

Word order

noreply@blogger.com (María Jordano) — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:16:00 +0000

Would like like to practice some practice for your second term exam? Click on the following url and follow the instructions to put all the words on a sentence in the right order. It could seem a very simple game, but it could become extremely useful for you to write good compositions in your exam.

Museums day

noreply@blogger.com (María Jordano) — Sun, 17 May 2009 10:40:00 +0000

Picture taken by Caribb (Flicker)

As you may know, today is museum's day all around the world. Try to compare the initiatives suggested by the International Council of Museum with the ones put into practice in your own town, city and explain here if the initiatives taken by the museums where you live could be considered enough or not.

Collocations

noreply@blogger.com (María Jordano) — Wed, 13 May 2009 14:12:00 +0000

Image by Hamed Saber via Flickr

Have you ever used a concordancer? Do you know what a corpus is? Try to use this link typing a single word in English and try to explain later here something about you experience.

http://www.stevebolton.net/tools/cobuild_search.php

Sleepinginairports.net

noreply@blogger.com (coruña) — Mon, 11 May 2009 20:31:00 +0000

"For travellers who are REALLY on a budget and are looking for a way to skim a few bucks off their travel expenses, why not consider sleeping in an airport? Why spend money on a night in the airport hotel when an inflatable raft on the airport floor is free? Sure it may sound a little hard-core at first, but read-on and you'll soon discover a travel community, that for 13 years has been sharing airport reviews, travel advice and "how-to" tips for the uninitiated airport sleeper. Your friends and family may look at you funny when you return with your airport stories, but as you'll read here and on our blog, that's only part of the fun.

So now, sit back....get out your travel itinerary and read the latest airport reviews. You'll soon discover which airports you can sleep in and those which you should avoid altogether during your next trip. Airport Hotels will soon be an expense of the past!

Whether you sleep in an airport by choice or get stranded due to some airline mess-up, let sleepinginairports.com help you make your stay more enjoyable."

http://www.sleepinginairports.net/

A podcast to practice English for tourism dialogues

noreply@blogger.com (María Jordano) — Tue, 05 May 2009 13:34:00 +0000

Look at the new site that I have just found:

http://mthomsen1776.podomatic.com/

It is a kind of blog that uses audio files apart from texts to publish its information. You will find here a good recollection of dialogs to listen and read at the same time so that they are perfect for you to practice the last unit of you book. What do you think? Did you like the idea?

I will also add a rrs link in order to read and listen to new updatings from our blog.

Synonyms and other with Thesaurus.com

noreply@blogger.com (María Jordano) — Mon, 04 May 2009 11:12:00 +0000

It is a good to to learn English at the same time you practice the very first part of your exam. It is very simple to use. Just visit the link and type the word you don't know the meaning or the synonym. There is also a pretty useful toolbar to look up your words even faster that could be down loaded from here . Just try it and report in the comments options below your opinions ;)

YOU TUBE GOES CLASSICAL

noreply@blogger.com (coruña) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 09:18:00 +0000

Music
YouTube Goes Classical
By MELENA RYZIK
Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Hiroyuki Ito for The New York Times
The conductor Michael Tilson Thomas has been drafted for the online YouTube Symphony Orchestra project.
Though it’s currently overshadowed by Twitter — which is already the third-largest social network, after Facebook and MySpace — YouTube still has the potential to make some cool connections. Case in point: the YouTube Symphony Orchestra, a collaboration between Google, the conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, the London Symphony Orchestra, the composer Tan Dun, and others. Three thousand musicians from around the world sent in audition tapes; about 90 were selected. The orchestra’s premiere Carnegie Hall concert is tomorrow, but tonight members are doing a free open-mic jam at Le Poisson Rouge. Go tweet about it.
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/urbaneye/index.html

You can listen to classical music while you write your compositions...

Happy World Book and Copyright Day

noreply@blogger.com (coruña) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 22:57:00 +0000

By creating links between people from different eras and distinct backgrounds, books contribute to the consolidation of a world community. As vectors of free speech, they further the cause of human rights.
Celebrated on 23 April, World Book and Copyright Day calls for strengthening the perennial inter-fertilization of ideas that books bring about in the interest of human dignity.

http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=36406&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

Resolution of the TWENTY-EIGHTH SESSION OF THE GENERAL CONFERENCE OF UNESCO, (Paris, 25 October-16 November 1995): Proclamation of 23 April 'World Book and Copyright Day'
Resolution TWENTY-EIGHTH SESSION OF THE GENERAL CONFERENCE OF UNESCO (Paris, 25 October-16 November 1995) 3.18 Proclamation of 23 April 'World Book and Copyright Day' Resolution adopted at the twenty-second plenary meeting, on 15 November 1995 The General Conference, Considering that historically books have been the most powerful factor in the dissemination of knowledge and the most effective means of preserving it, Considering consequently that all moves to promote their dissemination will serve not only greatly to enlighten all those who have access to them, but also to develop fuller collective awareness of cultural traditions throughout the world and to inspire behaviour based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue, Considering that one of the potentially most effective ways to promote and to disseminate books - as shown by the experience of several UNESCO Member States - is the establishment of a 'Book Day' and the organization of events such as book fairs and exhibitions on the same day, Noting furthermore that this idea has not yet been adopted at international level, Adopts the above-mentioned idea and proclaims 23 April of every year 'World Book and Copyright Day', as it was on that date in 1616 that Miguel de Cervantes, William Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega died.

http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=5425&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

IS THIS YOUR LUGGAGE?

noreply@blogger.com (coruña) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 00:16:00 +0000

IS THIS YOUR LUGGAGE?

http://www.isthisyourluggage.com/Site/LANDING.html

This is not exactly a link about luggage but I'm sure it will suggest you many interesting things to write about.

Is this art?

A performance?

Just photographs?

Have you ever wondered where lost luggage goes, what happens when you can't find it...

Good practice for your writing...

the American Diner Museum

noreply@blogger.com (coruña) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 00:05:00 +0000

http://www.americandinermuseum.org/site/

About the American Diner Museum

"Since 1996, the American Diner Museum has been focused on celebrating and preserving the cultural and historical significance of the American diner, a unique American institution. The museum also hopes to recognize and share the importance of diners nationally and internationally.

The ADM considers it a crucial part of its mission to save the vintage diners that are in danger of extinction from, among other things, redevelopment of property and unnecessary demolition.
The Museum is a tribute to the individuals who built, operated and worked in the diners and to those who continue the diner tradition into the 21st century.
Although the museum does not have an exhibit space, we consider every diner to be a living museum. Many items from our collection are loaned to other orgaizations for their respective diner exhibits"

"What is a diner? A true "diner" is a prefabricated structure built at an assembly site and transported to a permanent location for installation to serve prepared food. Webster's Dictionary defines a diner as "a restaurant in the shape of a railroad car." The word "diner" is a derivative of "dining car" and diner designs reflected the styling that manufacturers borrowed from railroad dining cars. A diner is usually outfitted with a counter, stools and a food preparation or service area along the back wall. Decommissioned railroad passenger cars and trolleys were often converted into diners by those who could not afford to purchase a new diner"

http://www.americandinermuseum.org/site/

Would you like to write something about this museum? Any similar one you may know?

Magazines for passengers

noreply@blogger.com (coruña) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 23:54:00 +0000

Would you like to read some English magazines? Free magazines?

These are the ones for passengers travelling with Easyjet, Ryanair, and several other airlines.

You can also find previous numbers.

Have a nice reading!

http://www.ink-live.com/

Do you want to know more about the IFEMA Arab version?

noreply@blogger.com (María Jordano) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 14:06:00 +0000

Yes, it could be something similar to our IFEMA. Have a look at its website and try to comment here all the differences and similarities with the Spanish one.

http://www.arabiantravelmarket.com/

What do you think?

Do you celebrate Easter?

noreply@blogger.com (María Jordano) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 14:01:00 +0000

Visite this link and try to leave a recorded message in order to practice your speaking skills.

Some tips to practice with synomyms...

noreply@blogger.com (María Jordano) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 07:21:00 +0000

As you might know well, the first part of our exam is based on looking for similar expression of synonyms. You have lots of self-evaluating exercises in our virtual course, but a good way to practice could be to have the help of an online thesaurus like this.

You could also download and install its toolbar into your browser so that you could do your searchers even faster. It is great, isn't it?