LISTENING COMPRENHENSION

Listen to the following podcast and answer the below questions. 
Click here to read the transcription.

 

How to ask directions: practice from Sara Flores

ASKING FOR AND GIVING DIRECTIONS

Listen to the following postcad and answer to the questions on the handout. Click here to get the transcription.

Howto ask directions_ex2 from Sara Flores

GIVING DIRECTIONS: LISTENING

LEARN ENGLISH CON JENNY

Here you have a new video with a real lesson.

These are Jennifer, a teacher, and Natasha, a student. They are having an English Lesson. Have a look to the video, listen and repeat.

BIG CITY SMALL WORLD

WOULD YOU FACE A NEW CHALLEGE? THIS IS A LINK WHICH WILL TAKE YOU TO A SECCION FROM THE BRITISH COUNCIL LEARN ENGLISH SITE. HERE YOU WILL FIND A SOAP CALLED "BIG CITY SMALL WORLD". THIS WEEK I SUGGEST LISTENING TO THE FIRST EPISODE AND DO THE ACTIVITIES.

PREPOSITION GAME

DAYS OF THE WEEK

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.....................................................
by The Cure I don't care if ………………… 's blue,
…………………'s grey and …………………….. too.
………………….., I don't care about you.
It's ……………………………………………
…………………….., you can fall apart.
……………, ………………, break my heart.
………………… doesn't even start.
It's ………………………………………….

………………, wait,
And ………………….. always comes too late,
But …………….. never hesitate...

I don't care if ……………..'s black,
……………..,……………….., heart attack.

………………….., never looking back.
It's ……………………………………

………………….., you can hold your head.
……………….., …………………., stay in bed.
Or ………………….., watch the walls instead.
It's …………………………………

…………………………, wait,
And …………………..always comes too late,
But ………………., never hesitate...

Dressed up to the ………………..,
It's a wonderful surprise
To see your …………….. and your spirits rise,
Throwing out your frown,
And just smiling at the ……………,
And as sleek as a shriek,
Spinning round and round.
Always take a big …………
It's such a gorgeous sight
To see you eat in the middle of the …………..
You can never get enough,
Enough of this stuff.
It's ……………………………….

Vocabulary

to be in love	estar enamorado
to care about something	importarle algo, interesarse por algo
to fall apart	desmoronarse, derrumbarse. En el caso de una persona, significa estar extenuado, no poder más.
to break somebody's heart	decepcionar a alguien
to hesitate	vacilar, hacer una pausa antes de hablar por los nervios
a heart attack	una crisis cardíaca, un ataque al corazón
to look back	mirar hacia atrás, hacia el pasado
to be dressed up to the eyes	estar muy bien vestido. Esta frase antigua evolucionó hasta convertirse en to be dressed up to the nines, que tiene el mismo significado.
to rise	subir, elevar, alzarse
to throw out	sacar, eliminar
frown	ceño. El verbo to frown significa fruncir el ceño, en señal de enojo o de no entender algo.
sleek	liso
shriek	chillido. El verbo to shriek significa chillar, hacer un chillido.
to spin round	girar, dar vueltas
to take a big bite	dar una gran mordida, dar un mordiscón

PREPOSITIONS

Aquí tenéis algunas oraciones para practicar "prepositions of place".

Prepositions of place from Sara Flores

DEMOSTRATIVOS

He encontrado esta explicación sobre los demostrativos en la fantástica fuente de internet y he decidio subirla al blog porque creo que os puede ayudar.

Adjetivos Demostrativos - THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE

Los adjetivos demostrativos son aquellos que se utilizan para determinar la ubicación de las cosas y son los siguientes:

A diferencia del idioma español, en el que se determina la proximidad con ESTO, ESO y AQUELLO, en el idioma inglés sólo se utilizan dos grados de proximidad: THIS, para señalar lo que se encuentra más cerca del sujeto, y THAT para lo que está más alejado.

Estos adjetivos concuerdan en número, ya sea en singular o en plural, con el sustantivo al que acompañan, mientras que en género no existen diferencias entre masculino y femenino:

This flower is beautiful. Esta flor es hermosa.
This car is dirty. Este automóvil está sucio.

That house is expensive. Aquella casa es costosa.
That dog is bad. Aquel perro es malo.

These apples are cheap. Estas manzanas son baratas.
These pencils are in the box. Estos lápices están en la caja.

Those stars are in the sky. Aquellas estrellas están en el cielo.
Those boys are my friends. Aquellos niños son mis amigos.

El adjetivo demostrativo THIS también puede utilizarse para presentar a alguien:

John, this is Mike. (John, este es Mike).

También se utiliza THIS para comenzar un relato de manera coloquial:

This is the story... (Esta es la historia...)

THAT sirve para indicar algo que ha ocurrido o algo que alguien ha dicho.

That was an incredible story. (Ha sido una historia increíble).

Ahora te proponemos completar las siguientes oraciones con el adjetivo demostrativo correspondiente:

1. Esta casa es demasiado grande. .......... house is too big.

2. Estos son mis alumnos. .......... are my pupils.

3. Esta ventana es pequeña. .......... window is small.

4. Este es mi libro. .......... is my book.

5. Estas flores son hermosas. .......... flowers are beautiful.

6. Estos zapatos son negros. .......... shoes are black.

7. Este perro es malo. .......... dog is bad.

8. Estos niños juegan en la calle. ......... children play in the street.

9. Estas son mis fotos. .......... are my pictures.

10. Esta mesa es mía. .......... table is mine.

FREQUENCY ADVERBS

This is the handout we went through last week.

Frequency adverbs from Sara Flores

PRESENT TENSE ACTIVITIES

Last Thursday we talked about Simple present tense and we agreed we would go through the below activities in order to review some of its usages. We will correct them next Thursday in class.

Simple present tense from Sara Flores

Possessive adjectives

Haz click en el siguiente enlace y practica el uso de los posesivos my/your/his etc.,

STOP THE CLOCK

ON HOLYDAYS

Dear Jaime and Cris,

Just a short letter to tell you that I’m fine. England is very green and there are a lot of interesting places to visit but I’m very busy and I don’t have time to go out. I work rather hard every day and when I get to the hotel, I’m so tired that I have dinner and go up to may room.

The hotel is very elegant. It’s in the city centre and it has a lot of facilities. There are some places to eat there: there is a coffee shop, a bar and two restaurants.

When I have some free time, I do some exercise (there is a gym, a swimming-pool and a sauna in the hotel)

My room is really comfortable: there is a small living room, a bathroom and the bedroom, of course! It is equipped with a TV set, air-conditioning and there is also a machine for making coffee and tea. I have plans to spend the weekend in London because I would like to visit the typical places there. I promise to send you a post card, ok?

Well, I have a lot of things to explain when I get home so I’ll say goodbye now.

Love and kisses from Lidia

XXX

Nos reencontramos el viernes.

My dear students this is the worksheet we will work through next lesson. Un besico

To be from Sara Flores

Easy prepositions for you to review

Last lesson we handed some worksheets to review prepositions. Here you are.

Prepositions from Sara Flores

THE BOARDED WINDOW (By Ambrose Bierce)

Our story today is called "The Boarded Window." It was written by Ambrose Bierce. Here is Shep O'Neal with the story.

In 1830, only a few miles away from what is now the great city of Cincinnati, Ohio, lay a huge and almost endless forest.
The area had a few settlements established by people of the frontier. Many of them had already left the area for settlements further to the west. But among those remaining was a man who had been one of the first people to arrive there.
He lived alone in a house of logs surrounded on all sides by the great forest. He seemed a part of the darkness and silence of the forest, for no one had ever known him to smile or speak an unnecessary word. His simple needs were supplied by selling or trading the skins of wild animals in the town.
His little log house had a single door. Directly opposite was a window. The window was boarded up. No one could remember a time when it was not. And no one knew why it had been closed. I imagine there are few people living today who ever knew the secret of that window. But I am one, as you shall see.
The man's name was said to be Murlock. He appeared to be seventy years old, but he was really fifty. Something other than years had been the cause of his aging.
His hair and long, full beard were white. His gray, lifeless eyes were sunken. His face was wrinkled. He was tall and thin with drooping shoulders—like someone with many problems.
I never saw him. These details I learned from my grandfather. He told me the man's story when I was a boy. He had known him when living nearby in that early day.
One day Murlock was found in his cabin, dead. It was not a time and place for medical examiners and newspapers. I suppose it was agreed that he had died from natural causes or I should have been told, and should remember.
I know only that the body was buried near the cabin, next to the burial place of his wife. She had died so many years before him that local tradition noted very little of her existence.
That closes the final part of this true story, except for the incident that followed many years later. With a fearless spirit I went to the place and got close enough to the ruined cabin to throw a stone against it. I ran away to avoid the ghost which every well-informed boy in the area knew haunted the spot.
But there is an earlier part to this story supplied by my grandfather.
When Murlock built his cabin he was young, strong and full of hope. He began the hard work of creating a farm. He kept a gun--a rifle—for hunting to support himself.
He had married a young woman, in all ways worthy of his honest love and loyalty. She shared the dangers of life with a willing spirit and a light heart. There is no known record of her name or details about her. They loved each other and were happy.
One day Murlock returned from hunting in a deep part of the forest. He found his wife sick with fever and confusion. There was no doctor or neighbor within miles. She was in no condition to be left alone while he went to find help. So Murlock tried to take care of his wife and return her to good health. But at the end of the third day she fell into unconsciousness and died.
From what we know about a man like Murlock, we may try to imagine some of the details of the story told by my grandfather.
When he was sure she was dead, Murlock had sense enough to remember that the dead must be prepared for burial. He made a mistake now and again while performing this special duty. He did certain things wrong. And others which he did correctly were done over and over again.
He was surprised that he did not cry — surprised and a little ashamed. Surely it is unkind not to cry for the dead.
"Tomorrow," he said out loud, "I shall have to make the coffin and dig the grave; and then I shall miss her, when she is no longer in sight. But now -- she is dead, of course, but it is all right — it must be all right, somehow. Things cannot be as bad as they seem."
He stood over the body of his wife in the disappearing light. He fixed the hair and made finishing touches to the rest. He did all of this without thinking but with care. And still through his mind ran a feeling that all was right -- that he should have her again as before, and everything would be explained.
Murlock had no experience in deep sadness. His heart could not contain it all. His imagination could not understand it. He did not know he was so hard struck. That knowledge would come later and never leave.
Deep sadness is an artist of powers that affects people in different ways. To one it comes like the stroke of an arrow, shocking all the emotions to a sharper life. To another, it comes as the blow of a crushing strike. We may believe Murlock to have been affected that way.
Soon after he had finished his work he sank into a chair by the side of the table upon which the body lay. He noted how white his wife's face looked in the deepening darkness. He laid his arms upon the table's edge and dropped his face into them, tearless and very sleepy.
At that moment a long, screaming sound came in through the open window. It was like the cry of a lost child in the far deep of the darkening forest! But the man did not move. He heard that unearthly cry upon his failing sense, again and nearer than before. Maybe it was a wild animal or maybe it was a dream. For Murlock was asleep.
Some hours later, he awoke, lifted his head from his arms and listened closely. He knew not why. There in the black darkness by the side of the body, he remembered everything without a shock. He strained his eyes to see -- he knew not what.
His senses were all alert. His breath was suspended. His blood was still as if to assist the silence. Who — what had awakened him and where was it!
Suddenly the table shook under his arms. At the same time he heard, or imagined he heard, a light, soft step and then another. The sounds were as bare feet walking upon the floor!
He was afraid beyond the power to cry out or move. He waited—waited there in the darkness through what seemed like centuries of such fear. Fear as one may know, but yet live to tell. He tried but failed to speak the dead woman's name. He tried but failed to stretch his hand across the table to learn if she was there. His throat was powerless. His arms and hands were like lead.
Then something most frightful happened. It seemed as if a heavy body was thrown against the table with a force that pushed against his chest. At the same time he heard and felt the fall of something upon the floor. It was so violent a crash that the whole house shook. A fight followed and a confusion of sounds impossible to describe.
Murlock had risen to his feet. Extreme fear had caused him to lose control of his senses. He threw his hands upon the table. Nothing was there!
There is a point at which fear may turn to insanity; and insanity incites to action. With no definite plan and acting like a madman, Murlock ran quickly to the wall. He seized his loaded rifle and without aim fired it.
The flash from the rifle lit the room with a clear brightness. He saw a huge fierce panther dragging the dead woman toward the window. The wild animal's teeth were fixed on her throat! Then there was darkness blacker than before, and silence.
When he returned to consciousness the sun was high and the forest was filled with the sounds of singing birds. The body lay near the window, where the animal had left it when frightened away by the light and sound of the rifle.
The clothing was ruined. The long hair was in disorder. The arms and legs lay in a careless way. And a pool of blood flowed from the horribly torn throat. The ribbon he had used to tie the wrists was broken. The hands were tightly closed.
And between the teeth was a piece of the animal's ear.