sábado, 28 de marzo de 2015

Seville today

There are images that build hope. No winter lasts forever, no spring skips its turn.



miércoles, 25 de marzo de 2015

"The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein

To my mother, my giving tree.




In case you need some help to understand the story, click here:

sábado, 21 de marzo de 2015

domingo, 15 de marzo de 2015

15th March - Mother´s Day


Mothering Sunday, or Mother's Day, is held every fourth Sunday of Lent (Lent is the period from Ash Wednesday until Good Friday). It is exactly three weeks before Easter Sunday. 

Mothering Sunday is not a bank holiday in the United Kingdom.  However people usually treat their mothers to a special meal and prepare a Simnel cake to eat together on this day. A Simnel cake is a light fruit cake covered with a layer of marzipan and decorated with 11 or 12 balls of marzipan, representing the 11 disciples and, sometimes, Jesus Christ. One legend says that the cake was named after Lambert Simnel, who worked in the kitchens of Henry VII of England  around the year 1500.



Mothering Sunday was originally a time when people returned to the church, in which they were baptized or where they attended services when they were children. This meant that families were reunited as adults returned to the towns and villages where they grew up. In time, it became customary for young people who were working as servants in large houses, to be given a holiday on Mothering Sunday.

jueves, 12 de marzo de 2015

Coldplay - Always In My Head

I´ve always liked the people who are able to create new thoughts in my head.


Phrasal Verbs - 4th Secondary




Next week we´re going to learn a bit more about phrasal verbs. As you know, a phrasal verb is a verb and a preposition/particle used together. In English there are hundreds of them. Here you have a list of the most important ones. Read the examples. They´ll be easier to remember if you see them in a sentence.




ESSENTIAL PHRASAL VERBS
                                                              (Intermediate Level)


AGREE WITH - estar de acuerdo - "All women are bad drivers." "I don't agree with you."

BE ABOUT TO - estar a punto de - "I was about to leave the house when my friends arrived."

BE BACK - regresar - "I'm working late at the office tonight so I won't be back until 10."
BE OUT OF - quedarse sin - "We're out of eggs so we can't make a tortilla."
BE OVER - terminarse - "When the football match was over, we went to the pub."
BE UP - estar levantado - "Phil isn't up yet: he's still in bed. Phone again in ten minutes."
BLOW UP - estallar (una bomba) - "The bomb blew up killing six people."
BLOW UP - inflar - "We blew up at least a hundred balloons for the Christmas party."
BREAK DOWN - averiarse - "My car broke down on the way to Motril."


CALL BACK - volver a llamar - "I'm afraid the manager isn't here at the moment. Could you call back later?"
CARRY ON - seguir. continuar - "I'm sorry if I interrupted you. Please carry on."
CARRY OUT - cumplir (una promesa) -"The President carried out his promise to reduce "
CARRY OUT - llevar a cabo - "The execution was carried out at seven o'clock in the morning."
CLEAR UP - poner en orden - "It took four hours to clear up after the party."
COME ACROSS - encontrar, dar con - "I came across an old friend on the metro in Madrid."
COME BACK - regresar - "I'm going to England for two weeks. I'm coming back."

COME IN - entrar - "Good morning. Come in and sit down."
COME ON - ¡Vamos!, ¡Date prisa! - "Come on. We're going to be late."
CUT DOWN ON - consumir menos - "You must cut down on cholesterol or you'll have a heart attack. "
CUT OFF - cortar, desconnectar - "When we didn't pay the bill, the electricity was cut off."
CUT UP - cortar en pedazos - "We cut up the birthday cake and gave everyone a
slice." 



DO UP - abrochar,atar - "I was five before I knew how to do up my shoelaces." 
DO WITH - tener algo que ver con, tener relación con - "What's MS DOS?" "It's got something to do with computers."
DO WITHOUT - pasarse sin, prescindir de - "The shops are shut so we'll have to do without sugar. "
DRAW UP - pararse - "The car drew up at the zebra crossing." 


GET BACK - volver, regresar - "Cinderella had to get back by twelve o'clock. "
GET IN(TO) - entrar - "I lost my keys and so I couldn't get into the house."
GET OFF - bajar (de un autobus, tren) - "You have to get off the bus at the next stop if you want the station."
GET ON
- subir (a un autobus, tren, moto) - "Quick! Get on the train, it's about to leave."
GET UP - levantarse - "When I got up this morning it was still dark."
GIVE BACK - devolver - "If you don't like the dress, the shop will give you your money back."
GIVE UP - perder la esperanza, rendirse - "If you find phrasal verbs difficult, don't give up."
GIVE UPNegrita - dejar (de fumar, beber) - "You'll get cancer if you don't give up smoking."
GO AHEAD - ¡Siga! - "Can I use the telephone?" "Yes, go ahead."
GO AWAY - irse, marcharse - "Are you going away for Christmas, or are you staying at home."
GO BACK - volver, regresar - "Although she's forty, she's going back to University to study French."
GO DOWN - bajar - "The price of fruit goes down in the summer."
GO OUT - salir (por la calle) - "I always go out and have a few drinks on Saturday night."
GO UP - subir - "The price of cigarettes went up in January 1992." 


HANG ON/HOLD ON - esperar - "Hold on for a minute as Pablo will be back in five minute."
HANG UP - colgar (el teléfono) - "My ex-girlfriend hung up when I phoned her." 


KEEP UP WITH - mantenerse (a la altura de) - "I can't keep up with my father when we go cycling as he goes too fast."
KNOCK DOWN - derribar, atropear, demoler - "My grandfather's old house was knocked down and a bank was built." 


LEAVE BEHIND - olvidar, dejar - "When I got to the airport, I realised I had left my passport behind."
LET IN- dejar entrar - "She opened the door and let in the cat."
LOOK AFTER - cuidar - "My mother looks after the children when we go away."
LOOK FOR - buscar - "I spent two hours looking for my glasses before I found them. "
LOOK FORWARD TO - esperar con ilusión - "I'm looking forward to the Easter holidays. "
LOOK OUT - tener cuidado, ¡Ojo!- "Look out! - There's a car coming. "
LOOK UP - buscar algo (en un libro, diccionario) - "If you don't understand the word, look it up in a dictionary." 


PUT IN - meter, introducir - "Put ten pence in the machine and you will get a cup of coffee."
PUT ON - encender - "Put on the light, it's getting dark. "
PUT ON - ponerse (la ropa) - "Put your coat on or you'll get cold. " 


RUN OUT OF - quedars sin algo- " We ran out of petrol so we had to get the bus. " 


SET OFF - ponerse en camino - "We set off to Madrid at five o'clock to avoid the traffic. " 


TAKE AFTER - parecerse a - "Pablo takes after his mother: they are both optimistic. "
TAKE OFF - despegar - "The flight was delayed for two hours and the plane eventually took off at 6 p.m."
TAKE OFF - quitarse la ropa - "Take off your coat and make yourself comfortable."
TAKE OUT - extraer, sacar - "He took out a cigarette and lit it. "
THROW AWAY - tirar (en la basura) - "Don't throw these papers away: they're important."
TURN DOWN - bajar (el volumen) - "Turn down the radio: it's too loud. "
TURN UP - poner el volumen más fuerte - "Turn up the radio. I can't hear it."
TURN ON - encender (televisión, luces etc.) - "Turn on the television, please, I want to see the news."



Some practice?


Phrasal Verbs Matching

Match the phrasal verbs in the first column to the best 

available answer in the second 

column.

_____ blow up               1) choose

_____ throw away         2) omit

_____ look like             3) resemble

_____ leave out            4) postpone

_____ pass away          5) recollect

_____ pick out             6) cancel

_____ work out            7) recover

_____ make up             8) die

_____ pick on               9) find   

                                         
 _____ get over             10) create

_____ put off               11) explode

_____ call off              12) continue

_____ hold on             13) happen

_____ come across     14) wait

_____ look back on    15) discard

_____ carry on           16) admire

_____ take place        17) exercise

_____ look up to       18) bully

 Answer Key:

11 - blow up
15 - throw away
3 - look like
2 - leave out
8 - pass away

1 - pick out
17 - work out

10 - make up
18 - pick on
7 - get over
4- put off
6 - call off

14 - hold on

9 - come across
5 - look back on

12 - carry on

13 - take place

16 - look up to

TV adverts



Some of the TV adverts we watch on TV everyday aren' t dubbed into Spanish. I' m sure the ones I 've posted today are quite familiar to you. How about using them as a resource to improve our English? We can watch them, translate them,  describe them  and give our opinions.
Have a look!








domingo, 8 de marzo de 2015

8th March - Women´s Day



International Women's Day is celebrated every March 8th.  The United Nations instituted this day to commemorate the contribution of women  in the socio-political sphere, their inner strength and courage. 





Happy Day to us, women, mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, housewives, workers...24hour- nurses, psychologists, confessors, advisers, economists...and so many other things.



On this special day, celebrate life. Take a break from your busy schedule, let your hair down, have fun and do what your heart says.