Happy Christmas everybody

Take care if you're driving, and have a great time. :)

Typical Christmas questions

Explanation: The "Three Wise Men"(= tres hombres sabios) are what you call the "Tres Reyes Magos", as according to some sources they were not actually kings, but astrologers, men of science/knowledge.

Jessica the Hippo: answer key and script

This is the listening task we did on the 17th/18th of December (3rd year). If you missed it, try it now.

TRUE or FALSE?

1. Jessica was born in captivity.
2. Hippos are not usually dangerous to humans.
3. Tony has kept other wild animals before.
4. Jessica can be aggressive when she is hungry.
5. Jessica broke some things inside the house.
6. Jessica doesn’t get on with other hippos.
7. Jessica has escaped several times.
8. Jessica is too old to have babies.

Answer key: 1F 2F 3T 4F 5T 6F 7F 8F

Transcript:

Narrator: It is one of the rules of Africa: if you see a hippo, head the other way. But this is Jessica, and she breaks all the rules.

Tony: (unintelligible)

Narrator: Tony Joubert, a game warden , found her washed up by flood water when she was just a day old. Seven years on, she's still here.

Tony: I don't know whether she sees me as a hippo or she sees herself as a human. All I know is that ... there's a fantastic bond I've never had with any other animal in my whole life. I've raised elephants and buffalo and lions, and that stuff, but I've never had something this close. Never ever.

Narrator: Jessica spends her days lazing in the sun, and cooling down in the water, with Tony and his wife on hand to deliver refreshments: weak sweet coffee twice a day. Then there's the afternoon snack with the dogs. And if Jessica is still hungry, she knows where to go. A short walk to the house, where a closed door doesn't stop her, even if the dog gets in the way. She's already broken a sofa and a bed inside, so everywhere but the kitchen is off-limits. But the kitchen's her favourite place.

Shirley: Jessica sees herself as our child. She sees herself as a unique being, one of us, a part of the family. That's what she is. That is what she is to us.

Narrator: And how do you see her?

Shirley: I see Jessica as my daughter, 100%. She... I can't imagine my life without Jessica.

Narrator: And Jessica seems happy to stick around. It's one thing to tame a hippo in captivity, but what makes Jessica so remarkable is that she's free to leave at any time. Further along this river there's a pod of wild hippos, and Jessica likes to spend time with them, but she always comes back here. Probably because she knows she's on to a good thing.

The hippo kills more humans in Africa than any other wild mammal, but Jessica has never displayed any aggression. And after a long hard day of eating, she likes a massage before she goes to bed.

Hippos live into their 40's and Jessica is expected to mate and breed, so there could soon be another hefty pet here, curling up with the dogs to go to sleep.

Emma Hurd, Sky News, Hoedspruit, South Africa

Christmas party

Don't forget to come to the Christmas party on Tuesday!!!

There'll be things to eat and drink, and you don't have to bring anything except yourselves. And your friends or family if you want!

Well, hope to see you there, everybody!

Contracted "will"

This old Elvis song has a lot of contracted "will"s, and the subtitles help you to listen for them.

Dedicated to all those bloggers out there who have no readers and no people commenting.

Killer tomatoes

There are more carniverous plants than we think.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/6727709/Tomatoes-can-eat-insects.html

Feeling grumpy is good for you

Grumpy (adj) = in a bad mood, bad-tempered, negative, etc.

According to an Australian psychologist, bad-tempered and negative people think more clearly. Interesting, eh? Is it your case?

Read about it here.

Everybody's dream

You know, one minute you're so poor that you're living in a cave, and the next thing, you inherit millions from an unknown relative. We've all dreamed about it some time or other.

Read the heartlifting story here: Homeless brothers inherit millions

Listening practice

Come on, people, do some listening practice!

I've already chosen an easy one for you, so you can click on this link directly and have no excuses.

http://www.elllo.org/english/Games/G058-Park.htm

How to listen properly:

• Press the enormous triangular "play" button.

• Listen to that part and click on the picture that best describes what the person is talking about.

• Then click "next" to hear the next part.

• If you have time, do the comprehension activity, usually in the column on the right.

• DON'T read the text until after you have finished the activities.

• Choose another easy one to do from this list.
  

Google Wave

I have 8 invitations for Google Wave.

What is Google Wave? Find out here: http://wave.google.com/help/wave/about.html

If you love computers, send a lot of emails with attachments, and are curious about trying it, tell me and I'll send you one.

IMPORTANT: at the moment Google Wave is in its experimental stage. Not only that, but for the moment, if someone invites you, you can't invite anybody else. This means you can only communicate with people who already have it, which is a bit limiting. I imagine that if it's successful, bit by bit more and more people will have it.

Seven reasons to enjoy chocolate

Well, to be honest, we didn't REALLY need any excuses or justification, did we? But now Christmas is coming, it's nice to read Seven healthy reasons to enjoy chocolate.

1. Chocolate is high in antioxidants, related to cancer prevention, among other things.

READ THE OTHER SIX REASONS HERE

You're welcome!

School cultural activity tomorrow!

Thursday, November 26th at 19:30
English Made Easy
by Andrew Marshall
Stand-up Comedy
Don't miss it!

Targeted at 3rd, 4th and 5th year students of English.

Whether or not you have class on Thursdays, try not to miss this show, free for students.

See you there!

Test drive the Toyota Prius

I'm a great fan of the Prius, and one day when I'm rich I'll have one.

Also, one day when I'm rich, I'll visit Japan.

Meanwhile, I'll just have to make do with this simple game, which combines both: http://www.toyota.com/prius-hybrid/virtual-test-drive-game.html

PS. Thanks for your emails. I'm not 100% yet, but tomorrow I'll be going in to work, so see you!

Sorry

Sorry about not going to class today: my daughter is throwing up (=vomiting) all over the house like the girl in The Exorcist, so I don't think I should leave her with an unexperienced baby-sitter.

I imagine she'll be better tomorrow, but I'm really sorry about making you miss your class today.

Sorry again. :(

Videos, listenings and speaking

My colleague Mariona recommended me this link: http://www.englishcentral.com/en/home

It's a Japanese (?) page with videos with different levels of difficulty, subtitles, etc. I haven't had much time to check it out in detail, but it looks interesting. You can also record yourself, but I tried it here at wok, and strangely enough :P, it didn't work. I'll try again at home and let you know how it went.

One thing, though; you have to register, but it's free, so why not?

Better late than never

The subject of Guy Fawkes came up in one of the classes. Read about the 5th of November festival in the Simple Wikipedia:

http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes_Night

English problems

You see, there are many people out there with the same problems. :)

Transcript

Hey, aren't we all on the same English course?

Yeah, how's it going?

Not bad, except I sometimes have trouble with my grammar, isn't it?

I mean, sometimes I perfect, but other times I don't. Won't they?

You see, I'm alright with my grandma. My problem is spelling. I can't spell to save my loaf.

Yeah?

Yeah. After all, I have a spell chuck on my compluter.

Well, I don't know, look at it this way: you can lead a horse to water, but you can't eat it too. You know what I'm saying?

No, not really.

I think that she sometimes has trouble mixing metaphors. Aren't she?

Yeah, sorry guys. I'm always crying over spilt chickens before they're hatched.

It's alright for you all, I've got a very small vocabulary.

What's that like?

It's alright for you all, I've got a very small vocabulary.

That's OK. I have problems with my emPHAsis.

Your emPHAsis?

Yes, my emPHAsis, on different parts of the senTENces. In my job, that can cause a lot of awkWARDness.

What do you do?

I'm a speech theRApist

A peach therapist that can't spike preperly! I'm surprised your boss hasn't sucked you.

It's alright for you all, I've got a very small vocabulary.

Can I make a SUggestion? Why don't you purCHASE a dictioNAry? You'd save yourself a lot of embaRRASSment.

I tell you what: why doesn't we all try studying together, isn't it? How doesn't next week sound, didn't we?

Grape idea.

FaBUlous.

Yeah, you give them an inch, it's worth two in the bush.

It's alright for you all, I've got-

SHUT UP!

Isn't it?

Corrected version:

Hey, aren't we all on the same English course?

Yeah, how's it going?

Not bad, except I sometimes have trouble with my grammar, don't I?

I mean, sometimes I'm perfect, but other times I'm not. Am I?

You see, I'm alright with my grammar. My problem is spelling. I can't spell to save my life.

Yeah?

Yeah. After all, I have a spell check on my computer.

Well, I don't know, look at it this way: you can lead a horse to water, but you can't eat it too, if you know what I'm saying? (Two sayings mixed up. 1: You can lead a horse to the water, but you can't make it drink, and 2) You can't have your cake and eat it too.)

No, not really.

I think that she sometimes has trouble mixing metaphors. Doesn't she?

Yeah, sorry guys. I'm always crying over spilt chickens before they're hatched. (Two sayings mixed up: 1) It's no use crying over spilt milk, and 2) Don't count your chickens before they are hatched.)

It's alright for you all, I've got a very small vocabulary.

What's that like?

It's alright for you all, I've got a very small vocabulary.

That's OK. I have problems with my EMphasis.

Your EMphasis?

Yes, my EMphasis, on different parts of the SENtences. In my job, that can cause a lot of AWKwardness.

What do you do?

I'm a speech THErapist

A speech therapist that can't speak properly! I'm surprised your boss hasn't sacked you.

It's alright for you all, I've got a very small vocabulary.

Can I make a sugGEStion? Why don't you PURchase a DICtionary? You'd save yourself a lot of emBArrassment.

I tell you what: why don't we all try studying together, shall we? How does next week sound?

Great idea.

FABulous.

Yeah, you give them an inch and it's worth two in the bush. (Two sayings mixed up: 1) You give them an inch and they take a mile, and 2) A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.)

It's alright for you all, I've got-

SHUT UP!

Isn't it?

New link

This morning, googling other necessary and important stuff, I found this page: California distance learning project - adult learning activities

I think you may find it useful for simple reading and listening texts, as it has related activities: vocabulary, comprehension, etc.

If you have more time than me, check it out.

And now I'm going to try and start marking your writing tasks... :(

Google it!

For everyone, but especially for Àlex from 3D, who doesn't believe me.

(Incidently, googling "google it" turned up more than 4,620,000 results.)

http://www.cdlponline.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=activity1&topicID=4&storyID=238

See also: http://www.yourdictionary.com/computer/google

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=3078370&dict=CALD

Pronunciation of -ed

If you have a (long) moment, test your knowledge on the pronunciation of the regular past -ed ending.

http://classtools.net/widgets/dustbin_1/kgTFE.htm

Guess the character with Akinator

I got this one from my colleague Carlos, who got it from the telly.

Think of a person, real or fictional, and Akinator will ask you questions until he guesses it right. Or not: he had a lot of problems guessing David Bowie. His first guess, Ozzy Osbourne, was acceptable, but his second one: Tom Jones!!! And you should have seen the horrible photo of him. Please! Tom Jones, indeed! So creepy.

But you try:

http://en.akinator.com/

By the way...

... thanks 3C for letting me leave a bit early on Wednesday. I arrived just in time to hear the first note of the first song, and the whole concert was absolutely brilliant. :)

The Drones, Sala Apolo 2, 21st of October 2009.

I hope they come back soon.

Info on The Drones in the All Music Guide.

Clocks going back (very educational)

Maybe the clocks going back is not so bad after all...

Transcript:

This weekend the UK changes, from British Summer Time to Greenwich Mean Time.

Now this often leads to some some confusion, which is why we've made this simple educational film for you and your friends.

Now the first point to make is that the clocks will actually be going backwards rather than forwards. The easiest way to remember that is that it's Autumn, or "Fall" as the Americans call it, as in to fall back rather than spring forward.

Now what this means is that at 2 am on Sunday morning, old time, it's actually going to be 1 am Sunday morning, new time.

So that means for one day only you have a whole extra hour to do... well, whatever you want with.

So be selfish. Why waste it on anybody else?

Brought to you by Radox, official sponsors of the clocks going back.

Email class ranking

After literally forcing people to give me their email addresses yersterday in class, this is the situation:

With a clear lead: 3B with 25 people on the mailing list!!! (Cheering, screaming, whistling)

In 2nd position, 3C with 21!

Close behind them is 3D with 19!

And still lagging and close to disqualification, 2C with a depressing 15 people out of 30. Very sad, very sad.

See you later!

‘Lottery winner’ causes riot at Ohio coat store

(Intermediate + level)

In MSN today: ‘Lottery winner’ causes riot at Ohio coat store

A woman being driven around in a rented limousine pulled up at a coat store and announced she'd won the lottery and would pay for everyone's purchases, police said, but she ended up causing a riot when customers realized it was a hoax. (read more)

It doesn't say if she was a mental case or just had an extreme sense of humour, but I found this story very funny. I can image the scene as a cartoon drawn by Matt Groening or the one from Family Guy. :D

Class ranking update

3B have taken the lead!

Yes, it's true: after screaming and insulting everyone the other day, no, not really, a few more people have sent me an email.

The current results are:

3B: 22 people!!

3C haven't moved from 21 people!

3D have gone up from 15 to 17 people!

and the situation is critical in 2C, where due to a group change, they have actually gone backwards, and LOST a person. :D Their current "score" is 12, very sad.

See ya!

Group email ranking

Hey everyone!

I asked you all the first day of class to send me an email. Some of you have and some of you haven't, and I'm sure you're all dying to know which group is in the lead.

These are the current "scores".

People who have sent me an email as asked:

In the lead, group 3C with 21 people out of 30! (Yeah!!! Well done group 3C!)

Very close behind them, group 3B with 17! (Come on 3B, you can do it!)

A little less inspired is group 3D, with 15 people, 50% of the class (3D, you're lagging!)

and

losing spectacularly at the moment is:

group 2C, with a miserable only 13 people out of 30! Incredible!

:D

PS. Did anybody watch the planes at the weekend? Aren't they beautiful?

Anybody there?

Hello? Hello? Is there anybody there? It's a bit lonely here.

Hello?

Allow me to present...

... http://butwhatdoyoumake.blogspot.com/

This is Agustín Justo's blog (3C), which he has just started, and like any blogger, looks forward to your visits and comments. Congratulations Agustín!

Vocabulary revision

As we saw in class the other day, some of you would probably benefit from a bit of basic vocabulary revision.

I'm sure you all have English books at home from previous years, but here you can also do some revision online on the Oxford webpage.

Oxford preintermediate vocabulary: http://www.oup.com/elt/global/products/englishfile/preint/b_vocabulary/

Oxford elementary vocabulary: http://www.oup.com/elt/global/products/englishfile/elementary/b_vocabulary/

And if you're feeling really REALLY rusty, beginner: http://www.oup.com/elt/global/products/englishfile/beginner/b_vocabulary/

Hello new students!

Hi new people! :)

Thank you for your emails, and congratulations on being curious enough to visit this blog. As you can see, on the right, there is a long list of links to webpages with lots and lots of things to do, so you will never be bored.

I hope to see you back here often, and I especially hope to see your comments. ;)

See you in class!

PS. Hello old students, too, and I hope your first class goes/went well today/yesterday.

Nice and tidy

:D

Hey, look, another one

More phonetics practice: http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/johnm/flash/symword1.htm

This one is challenging because the number of right answers varies (more difficult to apply exam strategies).

More phonetics practice, etc

Hiya ex-students!

I've just added a link to the Pronunciation section. It's http://www.stuff.co.uk/calcul_nd.htm.

There's a phonemic chart where you can listen to the example words but also a quiz to practice with. Be warned: the sentences aren't easy (but that way you can learn new vocabulary too, while you're at it), and there are a couple of mistakes, but if you catch them, that only means that you're VERY GOOD. ;)

Well, and next Monday classes start again for you lucky people who have time to study foreign languages, and for me as well, of course.

As you may have seen on the school's webpage, this year I'll be teaching 2nd and 3rd year, so the contents of this blog will probably adapt a little to those levels, but I'll still be here, and I hope you continue to visit and comment (those of you who did), even though you're not my official students anymore.

Lots of luck with your studies this year, and hope to see you around, either here or there. :)

JetBlue ad

Looking for funny stuff on YouTube the other night I came across this ad which appealed to my sense of humour.




Script:

We take off, we fly around for a while and then we land.
Wow.
Somewhere else.
Hmmm.
When the plane is ready to board I usually say something like “the plane is now ready to board”.
Communication: it’s what it’s all about.
This woman was checking in a huge bag, so I took care of it for her. I do that for everyone.
Sometimes people want to sit together, so I seat them next to each other.
A lot of people ask me what gate they’re leaving from, so I always tell them.
Truth, what a concept.
When people fly, they expect their bags to go with them.
A powerful message.
We had just taken off and a woman asked for a soda, so I gave it to her. With ice.
So the ice acts as a chilling agent.
I fly to California about 14 times a month
Why?
Because that’s where the planes go.
It’s not rocket science, it’s JetBlue. No wonder over 21 million customers have embraced the JetBlue experience.
A man in 18C wanted headphones for his tv; I hooked him up.
At JetBlue we like you too.

Girls are born afraid of spiders

... according to a study: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/6128943/Girls-are-born-afraid-of-spiders.html

Personally I can think of a lot of different interpretations for the findings, but I have to get to work now, and then drive to Madrid, so for this time I'll let it drop. :D




This one is a particularly cute one, isn't it? Or is it just the nice blue background suits it?

Back to work

Well, I've been googling and googling to find something interesting or funny in not too complicated English and not too long, but either my heart wasn't really in it, or I just had a bad Google day, but the fact is the search was unfruitful.

So I turned to YouTube, and not much luck there either, but I did have a laugh with this lot, who are Dutch or Belgian by the looks of it. Is this how your job makes you feel? :D He does seem pretty upset at the idea of working, I must say, but I can't actually understand much of the ... er... lyrics. Can you?



On a completely different note (but same search) I found this sad story. Can you imagine having to work at 90? Apparently the poor man lost all his money in an investment or something.




So maybe working at a normal age, after the summer holidays, isn't really so bad after all. Is that possible? Well, ask me tomorrow. ;) And to all of those who started today, cheer up, the 11th is a holiday, isn't it?

It is, isn't it?

Typical English stuff

Hi everybody! I hope you're having a good end of summer. I recently came back from a couple of weeks in England with my daughter, and we had a great time.

Here are some pics:

Picture guide: photos taken in and around Chelmsford, Essex, (Springfield council estate, Great Baddow, Boreham, the River Chelmer, and a typical English breakfast minus the mushrooms), Maldon-on-Sea and Southend-on-Sea. The photo from the plane shows the typical scenery of the area (=East Anglia): fields and more fields separated by hedgerows and lines of trees, with some wooded areas. Most of the fields, where they mainly grow wheat and other cereals, had already been harvested. The weather was exceptionally good for England: it only rained once (shame!), and according to the newspapers certain crops were a month ahead of their time; blackberries too, by the looks of it.


Well, as I said, hope you're all OK and enjoying the last dregs of the holidays. Me for one, in order to try and forget Tuesday the 1st, am going up to the "festes" at Sant Pol de Mar this Saturday for a bit of free rock music.

See you!

Bye bye!

I'm off to England tomorrow for a a couple of weeks. I've put my bikinis and suntan lotion away, and I'm currently taking out my winter clothes to pack them. A bit depressing actually, but on the other hand I'm looking forward to shopping, browsing in book shops and record shops, watching English telly, listening to English all around me, etc.

And there will still be lots of beach days left when I come back, I suppose.

I hope everyone's having a great summer. :)

The Twitter spelling test

An intermediate/advanced spelling test for Twitter users, or anyone, really.

http://theoatmeal.com/quiz/twitter_spell

(More) Make and Do

For everyone who's not taking a holiday from English (shame on the rest of you!), but especially for Mónica: more on MAKE or DO:

Some theory:

• http://eleaston.com/pr/verbs-make-do.html
• http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/doormake.htm
• http://esl.about.com/od/vocabularyreference/a/a_makeordo.htm

More practice:

• http://esl.about.com/library/vocabulary/blmakedo1.htm
• http://ww2.college-em.qc.ca/prof/epritchard/domake1.htm
• http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/words/make_do.htm
• http://www.better-english.com/vocabulary/makedo.htm
• http://www.eslpartyland.com/quiz-center/makedo.htm

What do you make of this? Can you make do with it, or would you like to do more? :)

Language games

My language games list was a bit short, so I've been hunting out new ones.

I haven't found anything particularly fantastic but some interesting ones are:

Do or make?

Suffixes and prefixes (very rudimentary game but ok for practice)

On this page there are several spelling and word formation games: http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/interactive/literacy.html#9 Scroll down the the "spelling and activities bit". Also, the prefixes and suffixes bit. Eg: Prefixes . Again, rudimentary page design, but good revision practice.

An assortment of crosswords, matching games, etc: http://www.englishclub.com/esl-games/

More crosswords

The Swap Game. You have to register to use this page, but it's free. The game is good practice for word order in sentences.


If anyone knows any good ones, please pass them on.

Naked girls plough fields in India for rain

Farmers in an eastern Indian state have asked their unmarried daughters to plough parched fields naked (read more: http://in.reuters.com/article/companyNews/idINDEL67952820090723)

I'm not a great fan of local customs and traditions at the best of times, and this one, like many, comes across as plain silly. I'm pretty sure some of you will disagree, though.

My question would be whether the daughters really were "asked", or there was some kind of insistence involved.

And another question of course would be if the believers keep their eyes on the skies for rain, or get distracted...

Spot the ISS

I suppose many of you are following the work on the International Space Station. ;)

Work schedule: http://www.nasa.gov/tvschedule/pdf/tvsked_revk.pdf

Shuttle mission coverage on NasaTV: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

And if you want to try and spot the ISS with the naked eye, here you have the sighting information for the Barcelona area: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/cities/view.cgi?country=Spain&region=None&city=Barcelona

I haven't been able to spot it yet because I've got a whopping great big hill (Montgros) in the way (North/North-west), but maybe you can.

Swiss manufacturer creates the perfect chocolate

Low-calorie and melt-resistant, apparently.

Read about it here.

Some people are not too convinced, by the looks of it; their comments here.

What do you think?

Do you speak man-speak?

Do you understand what men really mean when they say "those things"?

Test your man-speak translation skills here.

Passed that one. I got "Native speaker". :)

Test your emotional intelligence (EQ)

"Emotional intelligence is a person's ability to understand their own emotions and those of others, and to act appropriately using these emotions."

Test your emotional intelligence (EQ) here.

I failed with a 45%. So much for honesty!

The truth about Michael Jackson's death

Was he murdered, or did he die a natural death? Or was it an unfortunate overdose? Was he gay (talk about opportunist!)? Was he healthy enough to perform or was he going to have to call off all those concerts anyway? Are really they planning a future Jackson 3 with his children?

Read all the theories here.

Or maybe he's still alive?

Add your own theory in the comments, if you have one. :)

Hunch

Mónica (from ex-4S) has sent me the link to this page: Hunch.com

Firstly, you should know that "hunch" means "presentimiento", "corazonada".

This page asks you some questions about your preferences, and based on your answers it suggests other things that you may also like.

It introduces itself like this:

Hunch is a decision-making tool, built by its users. In ten questions or fewer, Hunch gives you its best hunch of what you would like. Read the FAQ for help, post to the forums for questions or suggestions, and let us know how we can make Hunch help you. We're glad you're here.
Now go make some decisions!

Last night I was playing around with it and answering questions, and after I'd finished 20, I decided to see what British comedy shows it recommended for me.

And surprise surprise: its first recommendation was precisely my absolute favourite series (Peep Show). Incredible! So I decided to create an account so that it can keep my results and give me more recommendations.

Not all the questions are interesting, and some don't really need much research. For example the answer to "Which Tom Hanks movie should I watch?" is obviously "why on earth would anyone want to watch a Tom Hanks movie?". But there are others that will probably spark your curiosity. Eg:

Should I cheat on my spouse?
Which kitchen knife should I get?
Which foreign language should I learn? (Maybe a bit late for that one)
Which philosopher should I read?

Etc.


Well, thanks Mónica!

How many tapeworms could live in your stomach?

This is the kind of silly information we didn't know we needed before the internet.

How many tapeworms could live in your stomach? Do the mini-quiz:

Created by The Oatmeal

The Eyeballing Game

Test your feeling for geometric accuracy in this game, helpful for construction workers, but fun for anyone.

Instructions

The Eyeballing Game

You are not alone

I was particularly pleased to read the other day that the Tiger Mosquito has finally reached Lloret de Mar (Somebody I dislike lives there, and that person doesn't like the Garraf area), but I hadn't realised that this pest had managed to travel so far.



Helicopters blasting insecticide used to tackle mosquito threat to Britain.








A Tiger mosquito kissing somebody. Probably.

I can't believe it!

Nobody has noticed that I've added lots of links and grouped them for your convenience.

It took f****** AGES!!

Buáaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

It could happen to anyone, I suppose

Boy, 8, saves sister and drunk adults from fire

WARSAW, Poland – Police in Poland say an 8-year-old boy saved his sister and three drunk adults from a fire by calling police and ... (read more)


What a clever kid! Can you imagine!? Would your children have or have had the presence of mind to act so responsibly? Maybe he was used to it? It's kind of worrying, really.

Acrostic poem

In the mood for a poem?

Here you have a simple guideline for an acrostic holiday poem: http://www.abcteach.com/free/a/acrostic_vacation.pdf

I've done mine:





Luckily, modern poems don't have to rhyme.

(Ok, admittedly I did it in less than five minutes).

Looking forward to reading yours in the "comments", mainly Alicia, Mónica, Desi and Elisabeth, of course, but maybe there's someone else out there with a poetic streak in them, who knows? I hope so!

Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus

I know this isn't free: you either have to suscribe or buy the programme, but you have a (very) limited amount of tries. For those of you who enjoy learning new vocabulary, even though classes have finished.

http://www.visualthesaurus.com/

Urban dictionary

A friend sent me this link: http://www.urbandictionary.com/

It's a dictionary of (very) contemporary slang (American) terms, and a lot of them are funny.

A little bit difficult, though: YOU ARE WARNED.


Today's Word of the Day is "chronoptimist", defined as:

A person who always underestimates the time necessary to do something or get somewhere.

Eg:

"Hey, Cindy. you know my parents are expecting us in 20 minutes."

"No problem. I just have to wash the dishes, take a shower, do my hair, walk the dog and then I'm all good to go. See you in 15."

"You are such a chronoptimist! I'll see you in 45."

Come to think about it, teachers are kind of chronoptimists really: you think you've got pleeeeenty of time to finish the book before May AND do lots of revision, then things happen and bla bla bla...

News in slow English

Somebody recommended me this page: News in slow English.

It's not updated very regularly, and some things I tried didn't work, but it has some interesting parts.

Good dog!

Do our dogs really love us?

If I were this dog's owner, I might not be too sure.

Dog plays fetch with live grenade in Germany

Yes, at last!

German newspaper Bild yesterday replaced its usual topless girl model on the cover for hunky US actor Zac Efron.

Read about it: Move over page-one girl, here comes German 'Bild' boy

Progress?

And now excuse me while I try to find visual evidence for this piece of news.

Discrimination against nude gardeners

Really, some people worry about the weirdest things! :D

Gardening nudists claim landlord discrimination

Beware of British Tourists this summer...

They say "drink is the curse of the working classes", and Oscar Wilde said "work is the curse of the drinking classes", but what happens when the "drinking classes" are out of work?

Drink more, of course!

So just when you thought the British drank enough already, the crisis is in fact proving the opposite.

Read more about it here: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/warning-as-redundancy-britons-drinking-more-1701327.html

Oh, I forgot!

Dedicated to Desi. ;)

(Some of you know why).

Studio version:


Live version with some film clips of the group and friends:


The lyrics aren't particularly interesting: just the usual VU references to drug (heroin) addiction and going out to buy the stuff, but like all songs, it's good pronunciation practice.

Run Run Run - The Velvet Underground

Teenage Mary said to Uncle Dave
I sold my soul, must be saved
Gonna take a walk down to Union Square
You never know who you're gonna find there
You gotta run, run, run, run, run
Take a drag or two
Run, run, run, run, run
Gypsy Death and you
Tell you whatcha do
Marguerita Passion had to get her fix
She wasn't well, she was getting sick
Went to sell her soul, she wasn't high
Didn't know, thinks she could buy it
And she would run, run, run, run, run
Take a drag or two
Run, run, run, run, run
Gypsy Death and you
Tell you whatcha do
Seasick Sarah had a golden nose
Hobnail boots wrapped around her toes
When she turned blue, all the angels screamed
They didn't know, they couldn't make the scene
She had to run, run, run, run, run
Take a drag or two
Run, run, run, run, run
Gypsy Death and you
Tell you whatcha do
Beardless Harry, what a waste
Couldn't even get a small-town taste
Rode the trolleys down to forty-seven
Figured he was good to get himself to heaven
'Cause he had to run, run, run, run, run Take a drag or two
Run, run, run, run, run
Gypsy Death and you
Tell you whatcha do

Ten best conspiracy theories

For example:

The Apollo Moon Landing

The Apollo 11 Moon landing in 1969 was an elaborate hoax by the US government in its bid to beat Russia in the race to the moon, according some to conspiracy theorists. NASA footage of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin's sojourn on the Moon's surface is bogus according to some theorists, who claim glaring anomalies such as shadows going in different directions and the US flag blowing in the wind show it was faked. Click here to read more.



More conspiracies: http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/the-ten-best-conspiracy-theories-1695929.html?action=Popup

Sixth Sense

Very handy!

And I particularly love the way they chose toilet paper to demonstrate. Of all the things there are in a supermarket! :D (Personally I always buy Scottex)




More info: here.

Verb tense practice

I found this page this morning.

http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbtenseintro.html

Congratulations Culés!

Well, you know that I'm an Espanyol supporter, but as we were "saved" last weekend and finally out of danger, I can empathise with your triple victory. I hope you had a great time celebrating. :)

Good luck everybody!

Well, now that classes have finished, I'm sure you're making the most of your time to revise and do as much last minute online listening practice as you can, so you probably won't need good luck, but you never know, do you?

Remember, don't hesitate to email me if you have any questions.

See you! :)

Answer key Progress Test File 4-7 (4th year)

4S did it in class and we corrected it, but 4T were supposed to do it for homework.

Remember I told you it was EASY, just for revision purposes, and so you should all get MINIMUM 30/40 for each part. ;)

Grammar 1
1. taking 2. were 3. wouldn't have met 4. to post 5. hadn't 6. not to go 7. playing 8. spoke 9. wouldn't have passed 10. being

Grammar 2
1. can't 2. having 3. get 4. would 5. neither 6. who 7. though 8. despite 9. as 10. have 11. used 12. not 13. like 14. whose 15. no

Grammar 3
(Correct form=) 1. have gone 2. - 3. rather 4. are 5. - 6. every 7. none 8. some 9. which 10. as 11. can't 12. whatever 13. despite 14. the 15. whom

Vocabulary 4
(The odd word out =) 1. tenor 2. frown 3. business 4. critic 5. pedestrians 6. wrist 7. glad 8. advert 9. yawn 10. square

Vocabulary 5
1. discover 2. geologist 3. set up 4. rank 5. snore 6. slogan 7. disappointed 8. run down 9. exports 10. believe

Vocabulary 6
(The correct word =) 1. Remind 2. stolen 3. hopes 4. sick and tired 5. made 6. objective 7. leg 8. safe and sound 9. thrilled 10. notice

Vocabulary 7
1. heart 2. catchy 3. tip 4. lead 5. log 6. insomnia 7. shake 8. awake 9. homeless 10. provincial

Answer key to Unit 6 grammar exercises (4th year)

Key to grammar exercises (p.143)

http://www.scribd.com/doc/15616327/Answer-Key-to-the-Grammar-Exercises-From-Unit-6-P-143

At long long last

Finally!! :D

Today at 15.56 I have finally finished correcting/marking your "writings": letters, summaries, book reviews...

Incredible! I can hardly believe it.

Don't you DARE hand me in another one today, as I may just BITE. Only joking! :)



Now a few days rest before the Really Nasty Correcting starts on the 29th.

See ya later!

Philosophic Monday

Well, it's Monday again, and the last week of class to boot, so you're probably feeling very philosophical about life in general and exams in particular. Will I pass? Will I fail? Is this the real life, is this just fantasy?* And, of course, the usual Monday morning question we all ask ourselves: are we ourselves real or just brains connected to the Matrix?

And if you didn't stop reading there, this is just the test for you: http://www.philosophersnet.com/games/matrix_start.htm :)

It takes about 10-15 minutes and gets a little complex in parts, but hey, that's what virtual reality is all about. We should know: we're in it. Aren't we?


*© Freddy Mercury/Queen

For those of you not in a philosophical mood, just listen to good old Freddy and Co. playing one of my favourite songs by them. We miss you, Freddy.




Lyrics:

Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody

Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide
No escape from reality
Open your eyes
Look up to the skies and see
I'm just a poor boy (Poor boy)
I need no sympathy
Because I'm easy come, easy go
Little high, little low
Any way the wind blows
Doesn't really matter to me, to me

Mama, just killed a man
Put a gun against his head
Pulled my trigger, now he's dead
Mama, life had just begun
But now I've gone and thrown it all away
Mama, ooh
Didn't mean to make you cry
If I'm not back again this time tomorrow
Carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters

Too late, my time has come
Sends shivers down my spine
Body's aching all the time
Goodbye, everybody
I've got to go
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth
Mama, oooooooh (Anyway the wind blows)
I don't want to die
I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all

I see a little silhouetto of a man
Scaramouch, Scaramouch, will you do the Fandango?
Thunderbolts and lightning, very, very frightening me
(Galileo) Galileo (Galileo) Galileo, Galileo Galileo Figaro
Magnifico-o-o-o
I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
He's just a poor boy from a poor family
Spare him his life from this monstrosity
Easy come, easy go, will you let me go?
Bismillah! No, we will not let you go
Let him go
Bismillah! We will not let you go
Let him go
Bismillah! We will not let you go
Let me go (Will not let you go)
Let me go (Will not let you go (Never, never, never, never))
Let me go, o, o, o, o
No, no, no, no, no, no, no
(Oh mama mia, mama mia) Mama Mia, let me go
Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me

So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye?
So you think you can love me and leave me to die?
Oh, baby, can't do this to me, baby
Just gotta get out, just gotta get right outta here

Nothing really matters, anyone can see
Nothing really matters
Nothing really matters to me

Any way the wind blows

To help you study for the exam

This Spanish invention is exactly what you need right now. You MUST buy it!

http://www.curiosite.com/scripts/product/enproduct.php?idproducto=19126738

Man tries to pay bill with drawing of spider

This piece of "news" is not recent, but somebody just sent me a version in Spanish which FELT like a translation, and hey, it was:

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=665847

Dictionary with a difference

A word-a-day dictionary for those of you with a dark/macabre sense of humour:








http://myfirstdictionary.blogspot.com/

Speaking exam timetables May/June 2009

Let's see if this is any better. This time I've only posted the link to each class's timetable.

Speaking 3 Pla d'Impuls

Speaking 3R

Speaking 4S

Speaking 4T

Weird surveys, studies, etc

Some time ago Josep from 4T sent me this link to the list of Ig Nobel prize winners, and Alicia has reminded me of it with her "weird surveys" comment.

Did you know that expensive placebos are more effective than cheaper ones?

That water is intelligent and has a memory?

That mathematicians have calculated the number of photos necessary to ensure that nobody in a group photo has their eyes closed?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ig_Nobel_Prize_winners

Trouble concentrating? Chew gum!

Does anybody believe this? Notice the study was funded by chewing-gum manufacturers, Wrigley. What'll be next? Smoking helps teenagers to focus? Drinking beer in class helps teenagers to relax? :D

Chewing gum may raise maths grades in teens

CHICAGO (Reuters) – In a study likely to make school janitors cringe, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday that chewing gum may boost academic performance in teenagers.

Many U.S. schools ban chewing gum because children often dispose of the sticky chaw under chairs or tables.

But a team led by Craig Johnston at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston found that students who chewed gum during math class had higher scores on a standardized math test after 14 weeks and better grades at the end of the term than students in the class who did not chew gum. The study was funded by chewing gum maker Wrigley.

"For the first time we've been able to show in a real-life kind of situation that students did perform better when they were allowed to chew," said Gil Leveille, executive director of the Wrigley Science Institute, a research arm of Wm Wrigley Jr, which is now a part of Mars...(more)

Wonderbra?

Bra deflects bullet aimed at Detroit woman

DETROIT (Reuters) – A 57-year-old Detroit woman avoided serious injury when the underwire on her bra deflected a bullet shot at her from next door, police said.

The woman, who lives on the West side of Detroit, saw a group of men breaking into a neighbour's house on Tuesday morning. When the men spotted her, one of them fired a shot at her, a police spokesman said.

The bullet struck the underwire on the woman's bra and that saved her from a more serious injury, police said.

"It did slow the bullet down," said Detroit police spokesman Phillip Cook. "She sustained injuries but they're not life threatening."

The woman, who was not identified, was treated at a nearby hospital. The suspects in the shooting drove away.

Facebook surfing while sick costs woman job

Careful what you do when you're off work sick: Big Brother is watching you!

Facebook surfing while sick costs woman job

ZURICH (Reuters) – A Swiss insurance worker lost her job after surfing popular social network site Facebook while off sick, her employer said Friday.

The woman said she could not work in front of a computer as she needed to lie in the dark but was then seen to be active on Facebook, which insurer Nationale Suisse said in a statement had destroyed its trust in the employee.

"This abuse of trust, rather than the activity on Facebook, led to the ending of the work contract," it said.

The unnamed woman told the 20 Minuten daily she had been surfing Facebook in bed on her iPhone and accused her employer of spying on her and other employees by sending a mysterious friend request which allows access to personal online activity.

Nationale Suisse rejected the accusation of spying and said the employee's Facebook activity had been stumbled across by a colleague in November, before use of the social network site was blocked in the company.



What do you think? Fair, unfair...? Could it happen to you?

Men and women (an email)

I DO NOT NECESSARILY AGREE WITH ANY OF THE CONTENT of this email a friend forwarded to me, but I thought some of you might find it funny:


THE SILENT TREATMENT

A man and his wife were having some problems at home and were giving each other the silent treatment.

Suddenly, the man realized that the next day, he would need his wife to wake him at 5:00 AM for an early morning business flight. Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE), he wrote on a piece of paper, 'Please wake me at 5:00 AM ' He left it where he knew she would find it.

The next morning, the man woke up, only to discover it was 9:00 AM and he had missed his flight. Furious, he was about to go and see why his wife hadn't woken him up, when he noticed a piece of paper by the bed. The paper said, 'It is 5:00 AM. Wake up.'

Men are not equipped for these kinds of contests.



WIFE VS. HUSBAND

A couple drove down a country road for several miles, not saying a word. An earlier discussion had led to an argument and neither of them wanted to concede their position.

As they passed a barnyard of mules, goats, and pigs, the husband asked sarcastically, 'Relatives of yours?'

'Yep,' the wife replied , 'in-laws'.


WOMEN'S REVENGE

'Cash, check or charge?' I asked, after folding items the woman wished to purchase. As she fumbled for her wallet I noticed a remote control for a television set in her purse.

'So, do you always carry your TV remote?' I asked.

'No,' she replied, ' but my husband refused to come shopping with me, and I figured this was the most evil thing I could do to him legally.'


UNDERSTANDING WOMEN (A MAN'S PERSPECTIVE)

I know I'm not going to understand women. I'll never understand how you can take boiling hot wax, pour it onto your upper thigh, rip the hair out by the root, and still be afraid of a spider.


W O R D S

A husband read an article to his wife about how many words women use a day... 30,000 to a man's 15,000.

The wife replied, 'The reason has to be because we have to repeat everything to men...

The husband then turned to his wife and asked, 'What?'



CREATION

A man said to his wife one day, 'I don't know how you can be so stupid and so beautiful all at the same time.'

The wife responded, 'Allow me to explain. God made me beautiful so you would be attracted to me; God made me stupid so I would be attracted to you!



WHO DOES WHAT

A man and his wife were having an argument about who should brew the coffee each morning.

The wife said, 'You should do it, because you get up first, and then we don't have to wait as long to get our coffee.'

The husband said, ' You are in charge of cooking around here and you should do it, because that is your job, and I can just wait for my coffee.'

Wife replies, 'No, you should do it, and besides, it is in the Bible that the man should do the coffee.' Husband replies, 'I can't believe that, show me.'

So she fetched the Bible, and opened the New Testament and showed him at the top of several pages, that it indeed says...........'HEBREWS'





God may have created man before woman, but there is always a rough draft before the masterpiece.


(SEND THIS TO SMART WOMEN WHO NEED A LAUGH AND TO MEN YOU THINK CAN HANDLE IT ! )

Do schools kill creativity?

Mónica from 4S has sent me this interesting (and funny in places) video where creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson questions the way children are educated in our society. It's a bit long (20 minutes in all) but if you're interested in the subject, you'll enjoy it.

The subtitles aren't 100% reliable, but maybe you can catch the mistakes. ;)