Maripaz B2.1: 2011

Monday 26 December 2011

Thursday 22 December 2011

Tiny Spanish town of Grañén celebrates El Gordo lottery win

Mariano Rajoy picks his 13 Ministers

Monday 19 December 2011

Lady Gafa makes her catwalk Debut

Lady Gaga Makes Her Catwalk Debut (4th March, 2011)

Newspaper Admits Hacking Celebrity Phones (9th April, 2011)

Famous people and their doings

Education minister Nick Gibb claims celebrity culture and obsession with wealth is harming children

Celebrity culture 'harms pupils'

Is TV Teaching Kids to Value Fame Above All?

Tuesday 13 December 2011

TV addicts

Most people can't imagine life without TV, yet it's only 75 years since regular broadcasting began. Celebrate the anniversary of the BBC's historic achievement with 6 Minute English

Wednesday 7 December 2011

Grammar exercises

We'll do these exercises in class. The copies include sample writing exercises. You can improve both your grammar and writing accuracy.

Exercises from recommended grammar Grammar Way 2. ed. Express Publishing

Answers

Newspapers

Nicola talks about the different newspapers in England.

Relative clauses

Defining relative clauses
More relative clauses

Relative clauses

■Lesson C relative clauses: defining and non-defining (1)

■Lesson C relative clauses: defining and non-defining (2)

Monday 5 December 2011

Grammar Bank

Tuesday 29 November 2011

Television and radio

Listen to six speakers. Which topics are they discussing?

Monday 28 November 2011

For or against alternative medicine

Listen to four people giving their opinion about alternative medicine. Are they in favour or against? what is their main argument?

Superyoung

Listen to an interview with Dr David Weeks, who is talking about "superyoung people". Note down which factors are important for eternal youth.

Once, it was difficult to imagine morning without a newspaper. We wake up, drink a cup of coffee and read newspapers in order to find latest news in the country and around the world. Today the world has changed. Every hour there is news, every minute something happens. In order to get the latest news, just go to the internet. And if you prefer, you can even get updates (the results of football games, for example), directly to the mobile phone. And this, of course, without any mention of television news channels, which broadcast 24 hours a day. So who really needs the newspapers and there is still the future of this industry?

First of all, many people read newspapers from the habit. Indeed, why, to change anything? Why switch on a computer or TV, if tomorrow morning we will find a newspaper at the door. And if there has been something abnormal sooner, we will probably hear about it on TV. The feeling of reading the newspaper like reading books, and it is rooted in many people. You can read during meals, in bed before sleep, or even in the bathroom. You can certainly use the laptop in these places, but it is far less convenient.

Major newspapers around the world have already noticed this problem a long time. They understand that the news on the Internet is the future. It should also join this trend and this will help in particular to promote the newspaper. Who does not do so, will be left behind. Creating new and popular site with interesting material is not detrimental to the newspaper, but also expands the sources of funding. Many of those who advertise on the Internet are not always advertised in the newspapers. Thus, a circle, in which newspaper promotes the website and the website, brings new readers to the newspaper. Of course, the web site which belongs to well-known newspaper has an excellent starting point on the Internet.

Statistics around the world shows that the number of readers of newspapers is falling every year, and this is very reasonable. The younger generation does not have a natural attraction to the paper, newspapers and books and they are more drawn to the buttons and screens. Therefore, it is clear that slowly, most of the budget of papers will move on to the Internet. During this transition period, they must retain its best reporters, or their level falls, and they will lose many readers.

Personally, I and my family have long ceased to read newspapers, and it happened as soon as I realized that all the news that I read there, I already knew from websites or TV. If the newspaper does not give new information, so why buy it and spend precious time. Online news sites saves time, allows you to filter content, and make information retrieval comfortable and efficient. I like sites that collect the latest news from different sources. This way you can get convenient and most reliable objective information.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2078248

Sunday 27 November 2011

To all my students who follow this blog:
I'm sorry but I haven't been able to upload the listening exercises we did in class, because I forgot the CD at school. I'll try to do it tomorrow evening. Sorry about it!

Thursday 24 November 2011

Exercises for Healing, Rejuvenation, and Longevity

The Five Tibetan Rites is a system of exercises reported to be more than 2,500 years old used by Tibetan monks to live long, vibrant and healthy. The Tibetans claim that these exercises activate the seven key chakras that in turn stimulate all the glands of the endocrine system. Performing the Five Rites stimulates essential life energy circulation of the body and mind.The Five Tibetan Rites benefits include looking much younger; sleeping soundly; waking up feeling refreshed and energetic; release from difficulties with spine and joints; better memory; arthritis relief; weight loss; improved vision; youthing instead of aging; greatly improved physical strength, endurance and vigor; improved emotional and mental health; enhanced sense of well being and harmony and very high overall energy.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search

The Eye of Revelation by Peter KelderThe Five Tibetan Rites is a system of exercises reported to be more than 2,500 years old which were first publicized by Peter Kelder in a 1939 publication entitled The Eye of Revelation Although practically nothing is known about Kelder, one source reports that Kelder was raised as an adopted child in the midwestern United States, and left home while still in his teens in search of adventure. In the 1930s, Kelder claims to have met, in southern California, a retired British army colonel who shared with him stories of travel and the subsequent discovery of the Rites. Originally written as a 32-page booklet. the publication is the result of Kelder's conversations with the colonel.The Rites are said to be a form of Tibetan yoga similar to the more well-known yoga series that originated in India.However, the Five Rites and traditional Tibetan yoga both emphasize "a continuous sequence of movement" (Sanskrit: vinyasa), whereas Indian forms focus on "static positions". Although the Rites have circulated amongst yogis for decades, skeptics say that Tibetans have never recognized them as being authentic Tibetan practices.The Five Tibetan Rites are also referred to as "The Five Rites", "The Five Tibetans", "The Five Rites of Rejuvenation" and most recently "T5T"

Carolinda Witt wrote a book about the 5 Tibetan exercise rites. Listen to the interview.

Wednesday 23 November 2011

Ageing population

According to the United Nations, 11% of the world's current population is over 60 years old. In this programme Alice and Abdu talk about the increase in the number of older people and what this will mean for pensions in the future.

Centenarians

The number of people reaching their 100th birthday in the UK is growing
But does everyone want to live to this grand old age? Listen to the programme

Tuesday 22 November 2011

Acupuncture

Spanish Elections

Sunday 20 November 2011

Thursday 17 November 2011

Alternative Medicine: Radio Boston

Complementary and Alternative Therapies

Friday 11 November 2011

At the doctor's

English that you might use when you visit the doctor.

What should you say to the doctor when you don't feel well?

Listen to the conversations in this report:

Thursday 10 November 2011

'Inappropriate' hospital dramas criticised

Monday 7 November 2011

At the doctor's

Illnesses 2 Vocabulary
There are many different expressions that are used to describe common symptoms of minor illnesses such as food poisoning.

Environment - how can you help protect it?

Read the text and note down some things we can do to help protect the environment.

Saving Energy

Thursday 3 November 2011

Solar energy

Which form of energy is free during the day, produces no dangerous waste products and will be available for the next 4 billion years?

Here are just some of the things you can do with it, with a bit of simple technology.

Are you green?

From Intermediate Matter ed. Longman

Wednesday 2 November 2011

Hybrid cars

Saving the earth

Pre-listening: Name the three most important environmental issues today and propose solutions for each, including recycling.

Click on the picture to listen

Friday 28 October 2011

FCE: Listening, part 2

FCE: Listening, part 2

African ivory up in smoke

Present perfect passives

PRACTICE QUIZ

Simple passives

QUIZ

Continuous passives

Continuous passives quiz

Have something done

QUIZ

Problem pronunciation

What is the word most mispronounced /the most troublesome in English?

Happy Halloween

Click on the picture, listen and answer the following questions about Halloween.

Is Halloween a festival in many countries?
What words or things do you associate with Halloween?
What is trick or treat? Is it something you've ever done?
What else do people do on Halloween?
What is a Jack-o-lantern?
What other things are associated with Halloween?
Halloween was originated in .......
Over the years it's all chopped and changed a lot. Halloween is supposed to be a time when people who are dead can .....................
People during these days like to .......................
What percentage of people in Britain believe in ghosts?

Friday 21 October 2011

To, for, so that

To talk about purpose, or the reason why we do things, we can use for + verb-ing, we can use the infinitive with to, and we can use so that + subject + verb.

Noun or pronoun

'for' + verb-ing

I'm bringing some pots and pans...for cooking

Action or event

Infinitive with 'to'

We've got some water...to make tea

Action or event

'so that' + subject + verb

I'm taking some extra blankets...so that we don't get cold

Pets and owners 'become more alike over time'

Saturday 08 October 2011 The Telegraph

Telegraph.co.ukPets and their owners are just like married couples and they get more alike over time, a psychologist has claimed.

Prof Richard Wiseman, of the University of Hertfordshire, asked almost 2,500 people to complete online questionnaires about their characters and those of their pets.
But he also discovered that the longer an animal had been with their owner, the more likely they were to have picked up their characteristics.

Prof Wiseman said: "For years owners have insisted their pets have a unique personality.
"Not only does this work suggest they might be right, it also reveals people's pets are a reflection of themselves."
Almost half of the respondents to his survey were cat owners, while 31 per cent had dogs, seven per cent fish, six per cent birds and six per cent reptiles.
Prof Wiseman found about 20 per cent of pet owners rated their own personality and that of their animals in similar terms.

But for those who had owned their animal for seven years or more, the chance of them rating their pet's traits as broadly comparable to their own increased to about 40 per cent. Prof Wiseman said: "Similarity promotes liking in humans. Research has shown couples that are like each other stay together longer.
"Extending this to the animal kingdom, I think it is likely someone who is fun and playful is more likely to go for a dog, for example.
"It's like with married couples. They grow to look like each other and to have similar personalities. It's possible we are seeing a similar effect."
Prof Wiseman's study also revealed owners of certain pets appear to share similar personalities.
Fish owners were apparently the most contented, with 37 per cent strongly agreeing that they were happy, compared with 24 per cent of people with cats and 22 per cent of those who had dogs agreeing.
Four out of 10 people with dogs believed they were fun-loving, compared to just two per cent of reptile owners.
Those with cats came out as the most dependable, but also the most emotionally sensitive, while those who kept reptiles were the most independent.
Prof Wiseman is continuing his research and asking pet owners to visit the web address www.petpersonality.co.uk.

Matts explains why his family has a special relationship with dogs.

Catherine Brown, Pet Sitter

Catherine Brown runs a business called 'Happy Hounds and Cooler Cats' which is a dog walking and pet care business. In other words, she is a pet sitter and believes you have to be an animal lover to be good at this kind of job.

You can find out more about the language below.

Marion talks about her pets.

Tuesday 18 October 2011

Speaking: Functional Language

Functional Language

Speaking language Learning

SPEAKING LANGUAGE LEARNING

To....., for ..... and so that...... (purpose)

We use to ... to say why somebody does something (= the purpose of an action)"Why are you going out? " "To post a letter".
We use to .... to say why something exists (its purpose):
The president has a team of bodyguards to protect him.
We use to ...... to say what can be done or must be done with something.It's difficult to find a place to park in the centre.(= a place where you can park)Have you got much work to do? (= work that you must do)
Also money/time/chance/opportunity/energy/courage etc. to (do something) I need a few days to think about your proposal.

For...... and to....
For + noun to + verb
Let's go to the pool for a swim. I'm going to Spain to learn Spanish.

You can use for -ing or to.... to talk about the general purpose of something, or what it is generally used for:
Do you use this brush for washing the dishes? (or ... to wash the dishes?)

So that
We use so that (not to....) especially
When the purpose is negative (so that.... won't/wouldn't)
I hurried so that I wouldn't be late. (=because I didn't want to be late)
Leave early so that you won't (or don't) miss the train.

With can and could (so that ... can/could):
She's learning English so that she can study in Canada.
We moved to London so that we could see our friends more often.

Explanation taken from English Grammar in Use ed.Cambridge
You can do some exercises on This site

Monday 17 October 2011

Lucinda talks about the many pets in her life.

Begin exercise

Show script

Sunday 16 October 2011

Parts of the car

Click on the picture to learn some car parts

Talk about your experiences of car journeys.
Have you ever... got really lost in a car?
                               run out of petrol?
                               had a puncture?
                               broken down?
                              missed something important because of traffic problems?
                              been stopped in a car by the police?
                              stopped to pick up a hitch-hiker?
When? Where were you going? What did you do? What happened in the end?

Monday 10 October 2011

Grammar file 1

■Lesson B past tenses: simple, continuous, perfect (1)

■Lesson B past tenses: simple, continuous, perfect (2)

Friday 7 October 2011

Jobs mourned in China

7 October 2011

In China fans of Apple have been reacting to the death of the company's co-founder Steve Jobs.

Wednesday 5 October 2011

I'd prefer to/I'd rather/ I'd rather you didn't

would prefer + infinitive

After it's time / would prefer we use the infinitive:
Examples:
A: It's time to get the dinner ready.
B: I'd prefer to go to a restaurant for a change, wouldn't you?

A: It's time to clear out the spare room. Your parents are coming next month.
B: I'm too tired just now. I'd prefer to do it at the weekend.

A: Isn't it about time to pack up and go home?
B: I'd prefer to stay just a bit longer. The beach is so nice today, isn't it?

Would rather + infinitive without to
After would rather we use the infinitive without to:
Examples:

A: It's time to cut the grass.
B: I'm at a great bit in my book. I'd rather do it later.

A: It's time to go now.
B: Can't we stay a bit longer? I'd rather get a later train.

A: Come on, it's time to do the dishes.
B: I'd rather leave them till the morning. Let's just go to bed and forget about them.

would rather + past tense
We can use a past tense after it's time or would rather but it has a present meaning:
Examples:

A: Do you mind if I smoke?
B: I'd rather you didn't.

A: Can I go round to Bobby's after school tomorrow?
B: I'd rather you came straight home actually. Remember your grandma's coming to visit.

A: Where are we going this summer?
B: I don't know yet. I guess it's time we were planning our holidays.

Friday 30 September 2011

Banks get ready for Greek failure to pay debt

The National Bank of Greece

Win for Athletic and draw for Atlético

Both Spanish sides lead their groups in the Europa League
Athletic Club de Bilbao now lead group F in the Europa League after two consecutive wins, and a 2-0 win on Thursday against Paris Saint-Germain. Goals came from Igor Gabilondo and Markel Susaeta, both in the first half. It’s a good result for the side currently bottom of the league.
Nine French supporters were arrested before the game.
Atlético de Madrid remains leader in group I of the Europa League, thanks to an 86th minute equaliser from Juanfran against Rennes on Thursday night. The French side had gone ahead from a long-distance shot from Montaño.
The Madrid side will be relieved with the result, as they never looked comfortable in the game.

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_32147.shtml#ixzz1ZSaFem5y

Spain to pilot a new driving test

A new driving test has been announced in Spain in which the pupil will choose the route to take for ten minutes. Another change is that the pupil will be given the result note at the end of the drive, as well as a list of the mistakes made. However the examiners will remain silent until the test is ended, with the full drive lasting a maximum of 25 minutes. Seven Spanish provinces, Madrid, Barcelona, Burgos, Segovia, Gran Canaria, Sevilla and Navarra, have been chosen to pilot the new format of the exam, and driving schools in Burgos, Gran Canaria and Sevilla are already geared up.
DGT traffic director, Pere Navarro, said that the idea was to create an examination of ‘higher quality’ and to adapt to the European guidelines

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_32152.shtml#ixzz1ZSXiwXAD

Pages

Pageviews from the past week