Liverpool Football Club

A few days ago in class we listened to a podcast about Liverpool Football Club. You can download the podcast and the activities here so you can practise at home.

Do you like football? Do you ever watch football on TV? What about Liverpool FC? Do you know anything about them?


We will now do a little activity about Liverpool FC so you will have to look for some practical details in their website.

First all go to their website and familiarise with it. On the top menu, go to the "Team" section.

Can you find the following information?

1. How tall is Steven Gerrard?

2. How heavy is Henderson?

3. Where about England was Lambert born?

4. Which position does Jones play?

5. When was Lucas born?

6. What nationality is Allen?

7. How many goals has Johnson scored?

8. Who is the manager?

9.What is Can's first name?

10. What is Borini's squad number?




Do you follow the Premier League? Do you know any other English teams?

Tell me in a comment ;-)






ANSWERS:
1. 1.83 m
2. 67 kg
3. Kirkby
4. Goalkeeper
5. 09/01/1987
6. Welsh
7. 8
8. Brendan Rodgers
9. Emre
10. 29

Enrique Iglesias

In unit 9 we've talked about lives and we did a listening about Enrique Iglesias' life. Below you can read some information about him and you will find the videos of some of his hits.

Tell me, do you like him? Do you like his music?

Born in Spain in 1975, Enrique Iglesias is the son of popular Spanish singer Julio Iglesias. Iglesias grew up largely in Miami and began singing as a teenager. He released his self-titled debut album in 1995 and, like his subsequent studio works, proved to be a huge success. By early 2012, Iglesias had sold more than 60 million records worldwide. His most successful songs include "Bailamos," "Rhythm Divine," "Be With You," "Escape," "Maybe," "Don't Turn Off The Lights" and "Hero."

Enrique Iglesias was born Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler in Madrid, Spain, on May 8, 1975. The youngest of three children, Iglesias is the son of popular Spanish singer Julio Iglesias, and Isabel Preysler, a well-known Madrid socialite.

Following the kidnapping of his grandfather, Iglesias was sent to Miami to live with his father due to security concerns. Because of his father's intense touring schedule, much of Iglesias's parenting came from his nanny, Elvira Olivares, to whom he later dedicated his first album.

By the time he was a teenager, Iglesias had started to follow in his father's footsteps. His first live performance came in a production of Hello, Dolly! at his school, the prestigious Gulliver Private School in Miami. From there, he started writing and performing songs at various Miami restaurants with a small group of friends, all of which he kept secret from his parents.

"It's not like I was looking for a record deal then," Iglesias later said. "I did it because I loved it. I never told anyone. For me it was a getaway to sing, one of those things I didn’t want anyone to screw up."

After graduating from high school, Iglesias enrolled at the University of Miami, where he intended to study business. But the world of music kept calling to him, and after just a year of college, he dropped out.

Source: www.biography.com

Hero

Escape

Bailando

Lindka Cierach

In unit 4 there is a text about the fashion designer Lindka Cierach. In this post you can find out more information about her.



1. Read the text about her and complete the blanks with the correct form of the verb, past simple or present simple.

In 1979, Lindka 1. _______ (start) her Couture business, inspired by her love of luxurious fabrics, exquisite beadwork and embroidery.

She 2. _________ (be born) in Lesotho in a Polish-English family, she 3. _______ (spend) her early childhood in Africa. Later she was educated in England and following a period in Paris and at Vogue Magazine, she 4. __________ (decide) to do a Fashion degree at the London College of Fashion.

Lindka's first commission of a Wedding Dress for a Bahrainian Princess, was pivotal to her reputation throughout the Middle East.

A prestigious and select client base 5. _________ (grow) internationally through word of mouth and in 1986 Lindka was commissioned to design The Duchess of York's Wedding Dress. Over a billion people worldwide watched the wedding, establishing Lindka's standing internationally in British Couture.

Today, she 6. ________ (work) with her Design Team in her intimate Studio in South Kensington, London. Lindka's unwavering attention to detail and desire for perfection forms the foundations of the Brand's identity and is reflected in the highly skilled members of her Studio that she has personally trained.

Nowadays Lindka 7. ________ (design) for members of the British, European and Middle Eastern Royal Families as well as International Music and Film Personalities.

2. Now to find out more about her work go to her website and go to "collections" and have a look to see if you find something you like.  

I found a dress I really like it is in "Daywear" and it's style 2725,it  is a very colourful and happy dress. I think it would be lovely for a nice and warm sunny evening. I like it because I love bright colours and I like the combination and pink and orange.

What about you? Do you like anything?











ANSWER KEY

1)
1. started
2. was born
3. spent
4. decided
5. grew
6. works
7. designs

Hurricane - Bob Dylan

Listen to the song and put the verbs in the correct verb tense past simple or past continuous.

Bob Dylan - Hurricane

Pistols shots ring out in the barroom night

Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall

She sees the bartender in a pool of blood

Cries out "My God they killed them all"

Here comes the story of the Hurricane

The man the authorities (1)__________ to blame (COME)

For something that he never done

(2)__________ him in a prison cell but one time he could-a been (PUT)

The champion of the world.

Three bodies lying there does Patty see

And another man named Bello moving around mysteriously

"I didn't do it" he says and he throws up his hands

"I (3)__________ only the register I hope you understand (ROB)

I (4)__________ them leaving" he says and he stops (SEE)

"One of us had better call up the cops"

And so Patty calls the cops

And they arrive on the scene with their red lights flashing

In the hot New Jersey night.

Meanwhile far away in another part of town

Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are driving around

Number one contender for the middleweight crown

(5)__________ no idea what kind of shit was about to go down (HAVE)

When a cop pulled him over to the side of the road

Just like the time before and the time before that

In Patterson that's just the way things go

If you're black you might as well not shown up on the street

'Less you wanna draw the heat.

Alfred Bello had a partner and he had a rap for the corps

Him and Arthur Dexter Bradley were just out prowling around

He (6)__________ "I saw two men running out they looked like middleweights (SAY)

They (7)__________ into a white car with out-of-state plates" (JUMP)

And Miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head

Cop said "Wait a minute boys this one's not dead"

So they (8)__________ him to the infirmary (TAKE)

And though this man could hardly see

They told him that he could identify the guilty men.

Four in the morning and they haul Rubin in

Take him to the hospital and they bring him upstairs

The wounded man looks up through his one dying eye

Says "What do you bring him in here for ? He ain't the guy !"

Yes here comes the story of the Hurricane

The man the authorities (9)__________ to blame (COME)

For something that he never done

(10)__________ in a prison cell but one time he could-a been (PUT)

The champion of the world.

Four months later the ghettos are in flame

Rubin's in South America fighting for his name

While Arthur Dexter Bradley's still in the robbery game

And the cops are putting the screws to him looking for somebody to blame

"Remember that murder that (11)__________ in a bar ?" (HAPPEN)

"Remember you said you saw the getaway car?"

"You think you'd like to play ball with the law ?"

"Think it might-a been that fighter you (12)__________ running that night ?" (SEE)

"Don't forget that you are white".

Arthur Dexter Bradley said "I'm really not sure"

Cops said "A boy like you (13)__________ use a break (CAN)

We got you for the motel job and we're talking to your friend Bello

Now you don't want to have to go back to jail be a nice fellow

You'll be doing society a favour

That son of a bitch is brave and getting braver

We want to put his ass in stir

We want to pin this triple murder on him

He ain't no Gentleman Jim".

Rubin could take a man out with just one punch

But he never (14)__________ like to talk about it all that much (DO)

It's my work he'd say and I do it for pay

And when it's over I'd just as soon go on my way

Up to some paradise

Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice

And ride a horse along a trail

But then they (15)__________ him to the jailhouse (TAKE)

Where they try to turn a man into a mouse.

All of Rubin's cards (16)__________ marked in advance (BE)

The trial was a pig-circus he never had a chance

The judge made Rubin's witnesses drunkards from the slums

To the white folks who (17)__________ he was a revolutionary bum (WATCH)

And to the black folks he was just a crazy nigger

No one doubted that he pulled the trigger

And though they could not produce the gun

The DA said he was the one who did the deed

And the all-white jury agreed.

Rubin Carter was falsely tried

The crime was murder 'one' guess who testified

Bello and Bradley and they both baldly lied

And the newspapers they all (18)__________ along for the ride (GO)

How can the life of such a man

Be in the palm of some fool's hand?

To see him obviously framed

Couldn't help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land

Where justice is a game.

Now all the criminals in their coats and their ties

Are free to drink martinis and watch the sun rise

While Rubin sits like Buddha in a ten-foot cell

An innocent man in a living hell

That's the story of the Hurricane

But it won't be over till they clear his name

And give him back the time he's done

Put him in a prison cell but one time he could-a been

The champion of the world

ANSWER KEY:

1. came 2. put 3. was (only) robbing 4. saw 5. had 6. said 7. jumped 8. took 9. came 10. put 11. happened 12. saw 13. could 14. did 15. took 16. were 17. watched 18. went

Black Friday

Black Friday refers to the day just after Thanksgiving in the US. Because so many companies have a four

day weekend, many people begin their Christmas shopping on this day. (Thanksgiving always falls on a Thursday in the US, and then people have Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off from work.) Black Friday is often reported as one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Shopping malls are packed with people, parking lots are crowded, and lines at stores are very, very long. Some stores even open at five or six in the morning because there are so many people. Other stores have discounts and sales to draw even more customers.

The word "black" to describe the Friday likely began in Philadelphia in the mid-1960s. Traffic jams filled the roads into the downtown area every year. The stores and sidewalks were overflowing with shoppers. The experience for so many of the people who ventured downtown was stressful and chaotic. It was a terrible, or black, day. Because other cities around the country similarly experienced traffic jams, busy stores, and too many shoppers on the day after Thanksgiving, the term spread. Black Friday became a common idiom in American English.

Although many people may see the day after Thanksgiving negatively, retailers have a very different opinion. It's their best opportunity to improve earnings for the year, and take the business out of the red (loss) and into the black (profit). For example, if sales were slow in the spring, summer, and fall, then the store must attract many customers and make many sales between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The first and most important day of this last chance shopping season is Black Friday.

Of course, there are some people who dislike Black Friday. There are some people who hate the day and its crowds very much. But there are also some people who strongly oppose the shopping day because they believe it harms society. They think that people should consume less and reuse resources more, and so have created a day called "Buy Nothing Day." It falls on the same day as Black Friday, and it encourages people to buy nothing, of course.

However, for most people, Black Friday just presents one more opportunity to go shopping. For those who don't like shopping, then it's one more reason to avoid the stores and shopping malls.

Source: www.headsupenglish.com

What did you do last summer?

Last summer, we decided to have a different holiday. We like travelling and we always try to visit a new place every summer. However, last summer we decided to do something different and new to us.
We rented an apartment in the South of the island and stayed in Los Cristianos for a month. We really enjoyed the experience. We had a relaxing beach holiday which was what we were looking for. We used to go for a walk in the morning, take the kids to the park and have a coffee in one of the many nice and cosy cafés there. We would then go to the apartment, have lunch and let the kids sleep the siesta. After that, we went to the beach in the afternoon and spent there all afternoon swimming, sunbathing and playing with the kids on the beach.

We loved it! The kids had a great time, we relaxed and really enjoyed the experience.

What did you do last summer???

Tell me in a comment.

Remember to use the past simple to talk about past finished actions and time sequencers and connectors to order events in your text.

Remembrance Day

November the 11th is Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day or Armistice Day) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. This day, or alternative dates, are also recognised as special days for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth countries. Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to recall the end of hostilities of World War I on that date in 1918. Hostilities formally ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month," in accordance with the Armistice, signed by representatives of Germany and the Entente between 5:12 and 5:20 that morning. ("At the 11th hour" refers to the passing of the 11th hour, or 11:00 am) World War I officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919.

The day was specifically dedicated by King George V on 7 November 1919 as a day of remembrance for members of the armed forces who were killed during World War I. This was possibly done upon the suggestion of Edward George Honey to Wellesley Tudor Pole, who established two ceremonial periods of remembrance based on events in 1917.

The Initial or Very First Armistice Day was held at Buckingham Palace commencing with King George V hosting a "Banquet in Honour of The President of the French Republic" during the evening hours of November 10 1919. The First Official Armistice Day was subsequently held on the Grounds of Buckingham Palace on the Morning of November 11th 1919. This would set the trend for a day of Remembrance for decades to come.

Why the poppy?

The poppy has a long association with Remembrance Day. But how did the distinctive red flower become such a potent symbol of our remembrance of the sacrifices made in past wars?

Scarlet corn poppies (popaver rhoeas) grow naturally in conditions of disturbed earth throughout Western Europe. The destruction brought by the Napoleonic wars of the early 19th Century transformed bare land into fields of blood red poppies, growing around the bodies of the fallen soldiers.

In late 1914, the fields of Northern France and Flanders were once again ripped open as World War One raged through Europe's heart. Once the conflict was over the poppy was one of the only plants to grow on the otherwise barren battlefields.

The significance of the poppy as a lasting memorial symbol to the fallen was realised by the Canadian surgeon John McCrae in his poem In Flanders Fields. The poppy came to represent the immeasurable sacrifice made by his comrades and quickly became a lasting memorial to those who died in World War One and later conflicts. It was adopted by The Royal British Legion as the symbol for their Poppy Appeal, in aid of those serving in the British Armed Forces, after its formation in 1921.

Two minute silence

At 11am on each Remembrance Sunday a two minute silence is observed at war memorials and other public spaces across the UK. The silence is meant as a tribute to those who lost their lives fighting for their country - but what is the significance of that date and time?

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918 the guns of Europe fell silent. After four years of bitter fighting, The Great War was finally over. The Armistice was signed at 5am in a railway carriage in the Forest of Compiegne, France on November 11, 1918. Six hours later, at 11am, the war ended.

The first Remembrance Day was conducted in 1919 throughout Britain and the Commonwealth. Originally called Armistice Day, it commemorated the end of hostilities the previous year. It came to symbolise the end of the war and provide an opportunity to remember those who had died.

In a letter published in the London Evening News on 8 May 1919, an Australian journalist, Edward George Honey, had proposed a respectful silence to remember those who had given their lives in the First World War. This was brought to the attention of King George V and on 7 November 1919, the King issued a proclamation which called for a two minute silence:

"All locomotion should cease, so that, in perfect stillness, the thoughts of everyone may be concentrated on reverent remembrance of the glorious dead."

After the end of the Second World War in 1945 Armistice Day became Remembrance Day to include all those who had fallen in the two World Wars and other conflicts.

Since 1919, on the second Sunday of November, otherwise known as Remembrance Sunday, a two minute silence has been observed at 11am at war memorials, cenotaphs, religious services and shopping centres throughout the country.

The Royal Family, along with leading politicians and religious leaders gather at The Cenotaph in Whitehall, London for a service and all branches of the civilian and military services are represented in ceremonies throughout Britain and the Commonwealth.

Sources: www.wikipedia.com, www.bbc.co.uk

Visit this website to find out more: http://projectbritain.com/Remembrance.html