ENGLISH ON THE GO: abril 2010

Listening

jueves, abril 29, 2010 | Posted by Chus. English.

Listening activities on line

practice your listening on line

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English exercises on line

jueves, abril 29, 2010 | Posted by Chus. English.

Practice your ENGLISH ON LINE.

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Discipline

jueves, abril 29, 2010 | Posted by Chus. English.

A headmaster is constructing a torture chamber in his office. A newspaper on his desk has the headline "Tories to bring back discipline in schools". His secretary sees what he is doing and comments, "Don't raise your hopes too high, headmaster".
VOCABULARY
1. If you warn someone not to raise their hopes too high, you are warning them that they should not become too confident of progress or success. A similar expression is to get (or build) one's hopes up.
2. A headmaster is a man who is the head teacher of a school (usually in Britain). The female equivalent is headmistress.
COMMENT
School discipline is seen as an important issue in Britain. An ongoing court case involves a teacher who was so affected by misbehaviour in his class that he attacked a pupil with a dumbbell. Read more >>

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English books

jueves, abril 29, 2010 | Posted by Chus. English.

If you want to read in English, this is a good bookshop. Here you can find the latest published books in English. Almost every foreign book translated into Spanish is also translated into English. A clear example: " Millenium"...

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some more music

domingo, abril 25, 2010 | Posted by Chus. English.

How British!

This is the soundtrack of the film: "four weddings and a funeral" ( a nice and funny movie) that I recommend.

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country music

viernes, abril 23, 2010 | Posted by Chus. English.

I used to like country music when I was in California.
I was fond of John Denver's and Willy Nelson's and once, I listened to this song by Don Williams at a Mexican party and I loved it. It was probably the moment!
These songs usually reflected the life in the border: Tijuana-San Diego.

Here are the lyrics:

Back in the innocent days, there was a young cowboy,

in love with a Mexican girl.

Only...She didn't know it.

And he would watch her, as she walked by.

And her cotton dress, would dance in the wind.

And her eyes held the stars.

Now she was the most beautiful thing, that cowboy had ever

seen.

Sent down straight from heaven.

But he was afraid, he'd never win her heart.

Because of some family scars, left by the range wars.

But oh...how he loved her.

CHORUS:

Senorita...Passing by...

Pardon me if I stop and asked you why.

Senorita... Could it be...

Someone like you could love

Someone like me?

So he walked up to her, tipped his hat and introduced himself.

And she looked up at him, and didn't know what to say.

So he told her the story of his family.

The trouble that brought the barbed wire.

And of all the things he couldn't change.

And then he told her that he loved her.

And he studied her reaction.

And by the time the spring rains came,they were married.

Now there's an old song that my family used to sing.

'Bout a young cowboy and a Mexican girl.

And how they fell in love.

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Willie Nelson and Bon Jovi

viernes, abril 23, 2010 | Posted by Chus. English.

Ready for a nice song? Close your eyes and feel it!
Find the lyrics in "Elviis" down here.
on my mind II

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Elviiis for ever!

viernes, abril 23, 2010 | Posted by Chus. English.

...fancy a dance? what else?

always on my mind... with lyrics

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real women have curves, the movie

viernes, abril 23, 2010 | Posted by Chus. English.

....and this is a piece of a nice movie I watched a long time ago. Apart from the plot, which is juicy, the use of English is also interesting. I dare say it is a good example of "Spanglish".
"clikea" en el link and see for yourself.
real women have...

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let's eat out

jueves, abril 22, 2010 | Posted by Chus. English.

Are you hungry? What will you have? Click and choose.

unit 8, 3rd ESO

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Phonetics

domingo, abril 18, 2010 | Posted by Chus. English.

You need to know how words are pronounced in English. So when you look up a word in the dictionaire you have the words transcribed into the phonetic symbols, it is to say how the words sound. Here you have a TABLE OF PHONETIC SYMBOLS and some examples.

Now you can practice, click here:transcription

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sense and sensibility

viernes, abril 16, 2010 | Posted by Chus. English.

Try if you dare.

amazing!

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English jokes

domingo, abril 11, 2010 | Posted by Chus. English.

Maybe a bit simple but give it a chance!

English jokes

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Readers for 2nd Bach

domingo, abril 11, 2010 | Posted by Chus. English.

These are the books to read in the 3rd term.

"The Body in the Library" by Agatha Christie.
"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon.

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The Curious Incident ...

domingo, abril 11, 2010 | Posted by Chus. English.

Can't miss it!

the curious incident...

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The Curious Incident ...

domingo, abril 11, 2010 | Posted by Chus. English.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Study Guide

Section 1, p. 1-34

1. Why is Christopher fascinated with illustrations, diagrams and maps? How do they help us understand him?

2. List three things Chris likes and three things he dislikes. Explain his reasons for each like/dislike listed.

3. How does Christopher’s father show him love?

4. What makes Chris feel safe? What makes him feel unsafe?

5. Why does Christopher find people confusing?

Section 2, p. 34-74

1. What causes Christopher to become violent? Give an example.

2. Why does Christopher believe he’d make a good astronaut?

3. Authors usually change the font (type or lettering) for emphasis. When and why does Christopher change the font?

4. How does Christopher’s reasoning (p. 41& 42) differ from ours?

5. Christopher lists his behavior problems on page 46. Which of the behaviors do you consider to be “normal?” Which behaviors do you think put stress on a family and/or marriage? Explain.

Section 3, p. 75-115

1. Christopher compares his mind to a computer doing searches and to a DVD player. Explain how his mind makes sense of what he’s experiencing.

2. Christopher has difficulties with rhetorical questions. What is a rhetorical question and why would he have trouble understanding them?

3. Explain Christopher’s color preferences. How do colors help him deal with the world?

4. How does Christopher discover his mother is alive? What is his reaction?

5. Why does his mother say she left him with his father? Do you agree or disagree with her actions and why?

Section 4, p. 115-144

1. Who killed Wellington and why? What does the killer’s confession reveal about his family situation and the community’s perception of the disabled?

2. Was the killer justified in stabbing the dog? Explain your answer.

3. What role do pictures have in Christopher’s thinking?

4. Why do new places exhaust Christopher?

Section 5, p. 144-179

1. While sitting in the train station, Christopher says, “I did a maths problem to make my head clearer.” Why might a “normal” person find this statement to be ironic?

2. Besides doing math problems, what other coping skills does Christopher employ in the train station?

3. Although Christopher excels at higher level math, we learn he doesn’t understand money and must ask the policeman for help buying the ticket. How do you account for the unevenness in his abilities?

4. Why does Christopher’s perception of the signs differ on p. 169 and 170?

5. After Christopher gets off the first train in London, how is he able to figure out which train to take next?

Section 6, p. 179-221

1. Christopher finds himself in a life or death situation while trying to retrieve Toby from the train tracks. What did you find to be the most frightening or disturbing part of this scene? Why do you think the author included this scene in the novel?

2. What constitutes a “happy dream” for Christopher? How does it compare to a “normal” person’s happy dream?

3. When Christopher’s father arrives, he and his mother argue about Christopher. Who do you feel is more at fault, his mother who left or his father who lied about his mother’s death? Explain.

4. After he arrives at his mother’s house, Christopher keeps insisting that he needs to take his A-level exams. What is his mother’s reaction to his demands? What does this tell us about her relationship with him?

5. How has Christopher changed by the end of the book?

GUIDE FOR YOUR PROJECT ON :

“THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME”.