My best friend

Do you have a best friend or a very good friend?

Why is he or she your best friend?

Listen to the podcast and check how people answer the question.

My best friend is Jess, I met her at school so we know each other since we were children. 

She is a nice and friendly person and a very good friend.  She is fun and we share some hobbies so there are many things we can do together. I know I can tell her all about me because she likes listening to my things. She is very talkative and extrovert. When we are together we always have fun.

When we were teenagers we used to do a lot of things together. Now we both have a family and don't meet so often but we ring each other every week. 

Although I don't see her very often these days, I know she is always there when I need her! And this is why she is my best friend.


Now, tell me about your best friend! Write something about him / her and leave it as a comment ;-)


Remember to use the personality adjectives you already know when talking about your friend.

Halloween

Halloween is celebrated on October the 31st every year. It originated from a pagan holiday and the christian holiday of All Saints’ Day. The name Halloween is a shortened version of All Hallows’ Eve. 

Today, it is more of a fun day for children and has largely lost its religious roots. Halloween is probably most famous in the U.S.A. Irish immigrants took it to America in the mid-1600s and it slowly spread across the country. Halloween is not celebrated in many countries around the world although many people know about it. Some Christians are not so happy that people celebrate Halloween. They believe the holiday is un-christian because of its origin as a pagan "festival of the dead."

Halloween has many easily identifiable symbols. The colours orange and black  are widely used. In particular, orange pumpkins and fires and black witches, cats and costumes are common features of this day. One of the biggest Halloween activities is trick-or-treating. This is when children knock on doors and ask for a small gift. If they don’t get anything, they’ll play a trick on the person who opens the door. 

Food also plays a big part of Halloween. Toffee apples are very popular and so is anything made from pumpkin. Halloween is also a popular topic for Hollywood. 

Many horror movies have been made about it. Because of this, Halloween is now known in many countries that never actually celebrate it.

Do you celebrate Halloween? Are you going to a costume party?

What do you think about celebrating Halloween in Spain? Do you agree?

10 tips for a healthy life

Watch the video and see if you agree with the tips they give. 

Is there anything you would like to change or add?

Do you have a healthy lifestyle?

Guessing meaning from context

Reading will give a great opportunity to learn new vocabulary and structures as well as it will help you learn better the vocabulary and structures you've worked with in class.

When you are reading and you find a word or phrase you don't know try to guess the meaning from the context (the other words around it). Think also about what part of speech the unknown word is (e. g. a verb, an adjective, etc. ). Think if you've seen it before in another context or if you can remember having seen it in class. Also think whether it is similar to another word in English, or whether it is similar to a word in your language.

If you still can't work out what the word or phrase means, either ignore it and carry on reading or use a good dictionary to help you.

This last option is what you tend to do, you always look up new words in the dictionary and many times you overuse it. Next time you are going to open your dictionary try to guess the meaning of the unknown word from its context. This is what you already do in your own language without noticing, let's try to do the same in English!

Camping as a Holiday

Here you have a short article related with the travel topic that you can read at home.

Travel Article

New York in 1900s

The book you read at Christmas, Eight Great American Tales, comprises different stories but they all take place in New York during 1899-1910. For this reason I thought it was interesting to know a little bit about New York at this time.

The turn of the century brought a new period of tenement reform, headed by City reformers including Jacob Riis and Lillian Wald. Their concerns for the health and welfare of the City's poor immigrants led to an investigation of tenement houses by The Tenement House Committee of the Charity Organization. All the buildings constructed after 1901 were built according to specific minimum requirements for the size of rooms and amount of light and ventilation. 

The 1900's continued to reflect the "search for order" in both the political and social spheres. After the assassination of President McKinley by a crazed anarchist in 1901, Theodore Roosevelt took office, heralding the arrival of Progressivism in the White House. Roosevelt's immediate policy initiatives called for greater federal control over corporations, increased authority for the Interstate Commerce Commission, extension of the merit system in civil service, and an aggressive foreign policy. 

The spirit of reform was not restricted to Roosevelt's White House. A series of popular writers made a national impact commentating on the human condition. The writers, whom Roosevelt called "the Muckrakers," included Upton Sinclair, Ida Tarbell and Lincoln Steffens, among others. 

The introduction of federal legislation regarding meat inspection and the pure food and drug act largely turned on Muckraker popularization of these issues. 

The Progressive years were also characterized by efforts to improve municipal government throughout the country. Some key amendments included the development of initiative and referendum (1898), recall (1903), direct primaries (1903), the direct election of Senators (ratified in 1913).

In New York, a return to classical, yet cosmopolitan construction marked the turn of the century. Beaux Arts design, which characterized the city beautiful movement, became the dominant architectural style through the 1930's. 

With a never-ending stream of immigrants entering America through New York's ports, the City experienced an unprecedented population explosion. The Lower East Side acquired the distinction of being the most densely populated area on the globe. The deafening clamor of horses on cobblestone streets made it impossible for even the healthiest individual to ride in the over-crowded streetcars without a headache.

In 1863, London opened the world's first underground railway. A little over twenty years later, the profound economic and population growth prompted New Yorkers to develop a high-powered rapid transit system for New York City. In January of 1888, encouraged by the city's merchants and businessmen, Major Abraham S. Hewitt put forward a proposal for construction of an under-ground subway system to serve the city's commuters. After a subway plan was approved, work began in earnest in 1888. The Rapid Transit Subway Construction Company was awarded the first contract for $35 million. The first subway line ran from City Hall to 42nd Street, then west to Times Square and finally north along Broadway up to 96th street. By 1902, a second contract was extended to the Interborough Rapid Transit Company to build a line into Brooklyn.

Adapted from www.thelivingcityarchive.org

London Underground turns 150

As the capital marks 150 years since the first section of the London Underground opened, Metro Newspaper round up ten of the best facts about the Tube.

10 – In 2011/2012 a record 1.171billion passenger journeys took place on the Tube, 64 million more than the previous year.

9 – East Finchley to Morden via Bank is the longest continuous tunnel on the network at 17.25 miles (27.8km).

8 – The Tube’s logo, the roundel, a red circle crossed by a horizontal blue bar, first appeared in 1908.

7 – Each Tube train travels an average of 114,500 miles (184,269km) per year.

6 – There are 4,134 carriages, 426 escalators and 164 lifts on the London Underground.

5 – The average speed of a Tube train is 33km/h, but speeds of up to 50mph can be reached on the Victoria line and 60mph on the Metropolitan.

4 – The Jubilee line is the deepest on the entire network at 32m (105ft) below sea level – 68.8m (221ft) below ground level.

3 – Waterloo is the busiest station on the Tube with 57,000 people passing through during the three-hour morning peak; 82million per year.

2 – There are 270 stations on the London Underground, 260 of which are managed by 19,000 staff.

1 – The network extends to 249 miles (402km), just 45 per cent of which is in tunnel.

If you want to know more about the London Underground you can go to the BBC website to watch another video or you can visit the Transport for London website or the London Transport Museum page.

Your New Year's Resolutions

Your New Year's Resolutions....

Boxing Day

Boxing Day is a national holiday in the UK celebrated on December the 26th and it is another day to spend with family and friends eating up the leftovers, but its origins are steeped in history and tradition.

Boxing Day is a time to spend with family or friends, usually those not seen on Christmas Day itself.

In recent times the day has become synonymous with sport. Horse racing is particularly popular with meets all over the country. Many top football teams also play on Boxing Day.

Boxing Day is also a time when the British show their true eccentricity taking part in all kinds of silly activities like swimming the English Channel - not the warmest place on December 26th - fun runs and charity events.

Until 2004, Boxing Day hunts were a traditional part of Boxing Day but the ban on fox hunting has put an end to the hunt in its traditional sense. Hunters will still gather dressed resplendently in red hunting coats to the sound of the hunting horn but it is now forbidden in law to chase the fox with dogs, so the dogs now follow artificially laid trails.

Another ‘sport’ to emerge in recent years is shopping. Sadly what was once a day of relaxation and family time sees the start of the sales. Sales used to start in January post-New Year but the desire to grab a bargain and for shops to off-load stock means many now start on Boxing Day.

It is not clear why it is called boxing Day, but there are several arguments:

• A ‘Christmas Box’ in Britain is a name for a Christmas present.
• Boxing Day was a day off for servants and when they received a ‘Christmas Box’ from the master. The servants would also go home to give ‘Christmas Boxes’ to their families.
• A box to collect money for the poor was placed in Churches on Christmas day then opened the next day.
• Great sailing ships when setting sail would have a sealed box containing money on board for good luck.If the voyage were a success the box was given to a priest, opened at Christmas and the contents given to the poor.

Adapted from http://britishfood.about.com/od/christmas/p/boxingday.htm

Gingerbread cookies

Ingredients

• 6 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder
• 1 tablespoon of ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon of ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon of ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1 cup shortening, melted and cooled slightly
• 1 cup of molasses
• 1 cup of packed brown sugar
• 1/2 of cup water
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Directions

1. Sift together the flour, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the shortening, molasses, brown sugar, water, egg, and vanilla until smooth. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients, until they are completely absorbed. Divide dough into 3 pieces, pat down to 1 1/2 inch thickness, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. When the cookies are done, they will look dry, but still be soft to the touch. Remove from the baking sheet to cool on wire racks. When cool, the cookies can be frosted with the icing of your choice.

Christmas Quiz

1. Where does the word ‘Christmas’ come from?

a. It comes from the Old English name Christ’s Mass.

b. It comes from the Old Latin Christus Masium.
c. It comes from the Old Arabian Christham Mashibe.

2. The abbreviation for Christmas to Xmas is derived from...

a. The new language created by young people when they send sms.

b. The Greek alphabet.
c. The Roman numeral.

3. What new ideas were added to the Christmas’ celebrations in Victorian times?

a. Decorate homes with holly.
b. Pray to God on New Year’s Eve.
c. Father Christmas and Christmas cards.

4. What is the Boxing Day in England?

a. It is the day after Christmas day.
b. It is the day before Christmas day.
c. It is the day when people watch Boxing matches, ones of the national sports.

5. What is another name for Father Christmas?

a. Santa Claus.

b. Salsa Claus.

c. Santa Xmas.

6. Christmas carols were banned in England by:

a. Oliver Cromwell.
b. Queen Victoria.
c. They were never banned.

7. A Christmas cracker usually contains:

a. A paper hat, a joke, a gift and a small strip that makes the ‘crack’ noise.

b. Flour, water and salt.
c. A paper hat, a poem and a sweet.

8. What do people do on the Twelfth Night?

a. Prepare all the presents for the children.
b. Remove all Christmas decorations to avoid bad luck.
c. Burn all the Christmas decorations on a traditional bonfire.

9. When do people open their Christmas presents?

a. On Christmas Day.
b. On Boxing Day.
c. On Twelfth Day after Christmas day.

 

10. Who is Rudolph?

a. He is one of the Three Kings’ young assistants.

b. It is Father Christmas’ nickname.
c. He is Father Christmas’ Red-Nosed Reindeer.

11. Father Christmas is dressed in a red suit because ...

a. he is warm despite the cold of the winter. Red keeps you warm even the cold weather.

b. this colour became the most popular after a Coca Cola advertisement during the 1930s.

c. he was bored with the green one.

ANSWERS:

1. a 2.b 3.c 4.a 5.a 6.a 7.a 8.b 9.a 10.c 11.b

Eight Great American Tales

This year we'll read Eight Great American Tales. The book consists of eight very short stories designed to make you think. Some of them are sad, other are funny... but I'm pretty sure you will like them all.

Each story comes with activities to do before and after reading and a CD which contains a complete dramatised audio recording as well as interactive activities.



So how do we approach the stories??

1. First, you do the "before reading activities".

2. Listen to the story on the CD twice without reading.

3. Read while listen to the story.

4. Do the "after reading" activities.

5. Look up the words you don't know in the dictionary.



I will assign the tales to groups of students to give an oral presentation in class to the rest of the students.

In your presentation you will include the following information:

1. Summary of the tale

2. Your personal opinion about the tale

3. What you learnt reading and listening to it

4. How did you find the reading/listening practice? Easy/difficult?

Strategies for Reading Listening Skills

Strategies for Developing Reading Skills

PROBLEM: There are too many unfamiliar words

Use the features of the text

Look at titles

Look at illustrations

Look at the format

Use your background knowledge

Use efficient word attack strategies

Pay attention to cognates and borrowings

Look for familiar elements in new words

Consider the probabilities

Don’t demand an exact meaning for every word

Look at the big picture

         Read the whole sentence

         Look at the larger context

Keep on reading

       Look for clues in the text

PROBLEM: I read too slowly

Identify the genre

Approach the text as if you know something about it

Read more

Read silently

PROBLEM: The sentences are too long or don’t make sense

Pay attention to “little” words and word endings

Some grammatical categories are especially important

Learn rules of word order

Break sentences into constituents

Learn prepositions

Look for discourse markers

Look for words that refer to other words

Rubin & Thompson (1994: 93-99)