PUFFER FISH

Biologists think pufferfish, also known as blowfish, developed their famous “inflatability” because their slow, somewhat clumsy swimming style makes them vulnerable to predators. In lieu of escape, pufferfish use their highly elastic stomachs and the ability to quickly ingest huge amounts of water (and even air when necessary) to turn themselves into a virtually inedible ball several times their normal size. Some species also have spines on their skin to make them even less palatable.

A predator that manages to snag a puffer before it inflates won’t feel lucky for long. Almost all pufferfish contain tetrodotoxin, a substance that makes them foul tasting and often lethal to fish. To humans, tetrodotoxin is deadly, up to 1,200 times more poisonous than cyanide. There is enough toxin in one pufferfish to kill 30 adult humans, and there is no known antidote.

From: National Geographic

NB2
- Homework : I collected the compositions you had for homerwork. Let me remind you that if that particular day ,you can´t come to class, just send it to me through the "contact" section in my blog.
- Grammar:St.B.p. 17 simple past tense . Grammar Bank p. 128 with the rules and exercises and p. 155 with the list of irregular verbs. We read them out and checked their meanings. Then I gave you some photocopies about SIMPLE PAST and we did many of the exercises.
- Phonetics: The correct pronunciation of the simple past can only be reached by listening to songs or watching TV. We saw some basic rules on St.B.p. 17 and practised the most common regular verbs.
- Listening: St.B.p. 17 "A holiday where everything went wrong". you had to correct the wrong statements . Remember that you have the CDs ,so you can listen to these class activities whenever you fancy.
- Homework: Grammar, unit 10 "was/were". Workbook.p. 13,14 and do the remaining exercises of the photocopies about the simple past.

NI2
- Homework: Phrasal verb exercises .
- Grammar: St.B. p. 146: adverbs which are often confused, e.g. specially -especially. late-lately.
St.B.p. 15 .Writing: Joke where you had to insert adverbs to make it more vivid and interesting. Grammar, units 99,100 about adverbs. We saw the rules and the activities were left for homework.
- WritingSt.b. p. 156. How to make a composition more lively by using adverbs and intensifiers .
- Reading: ST.B.p. 16 with true-false statements and a vocabulary exercise.
- Listening: Meeting people using different registers , and a listening of a speech given by the director of Studies to students starting a summer course. Remember that you all have the CDs to listen to these activities .
- Reading: St.B.p. 17 Understanding signs and some very common daily life expressions you must learn so as not to seem rude.
- Homework: Revise and check. St.B.p 19. Grammar, unit 99,100.

A POEM BY DAVID ROSENTHAL

This is the most famous shipwreck in the world. Her name´s Thistlegorm , a British vessel sank by the Germans in II WW near Sharm el sheik, Egypt. Cousteau discoverded it in the 60s, but he didn´t say anything. it wasn´t until the 90s that two divers rediscovered her by chance . As you can see it contained motorbikes, lorries, cars, ammunition and many other things. the experience is a true adrenaline rush . If you like diving you shouldn´t miss this shipwreck.


EL VISITANTE

Tal vez había estado enfermo muchos años
o en prisión, o en otro país
cuya tierra aún llevaba incrustada
en las suelas de sus botas. Con sombrero de piel
y grueso abrigo, arrastraba los pies por caminos embarrados,
contemplaba las ventanas iluminadas, trataba de entender
las señales de las calles: todo era familiar y no lo era,
como si las mismas moléculas en el aire hubiesen cambiado.
Lloraba en los portales, conversaba con sombras,
intentaba eludir los espectros, y entonces un día
¡desapareció! "Tan de repente como apareció", dijo la gente.
Tal vez regresó a aquel otro sitio...
Quiero decir aquel de donde tal vez vino.

("The Visitor" se halla incluido en The Journey, 1992, de David H. Rosenthal.
Traducción: J.O.)

David H. Rosenthal (1945 - 1995) was an American autor , poet, editor, and translator. He wrote mostly on the history of jazzmusic and was also an important translator of Portuguese and Catalan literature. He was my best friend´s partner for quite a long time. I first met him when they were living happily together in Barcelona; soon after he was diagnosed an illness and went to the USA for treatment, unluckily he died and left my friend Mª Luisa in grief.

NB2

Test. Unit 1 . Here you have the TEST, ANSWERS and AUDIO 1 and AUDIO 2 . An extra listening and reading.

NI2

- Test . Unit 1.Here you have the TEST, ANSWERS , AUDIO1 and AUDIO2

- Reading: St.B.p.14 . We checked the answers to the reading which was about British and american humour.

- A photocopy of PHRASAL VERBS for homework.The answers are HERE

BUTTERFLY FISH

The head of studies has sent me this important piece of news some of you may be interested in. Read it in detail,please.

SOLICITUD DE TÍTULOS

Los alumnos que hayan superado las Pruebas de Certificación en el
curso 2008/09 deberán solicitar el título correspondiente al idioma y
nivel superado, antes del 06/11/2009. Para ello deberán dirigirse a
secretaría para recoger el impreso de solicitud y carta de pago
(22,34€).
Los alumnos que hayan superado los cursos/pruebas mencionados a
continuación no deberán hacer ningún trámite. Se han solicitado todos
de oficio ya que no conlleva pago alguno y avisaremos cuando estén
disponibles:
* Nivel Básico en el curso 2006/07
* Nivel Básico o Nivel Intermedio en el curso 2007/08

NB2
- Listening: "At The Airport" . St.B. p. 12 Answer questions , complete sentences and Social English with useful expressions for certain situations.
- Vocabulary: Unit 2 "Right Place, Wrong Time" St. B. p. 147 about holidays and the weather .
- Reading: three pieces of reading about bad experiences using the simple past tense. Pronunciation mistakes were checked. An exercise on p. 17 about who did some activities and positve and negative adjectives in the reading.
- Grammar. grammar Bank. ST.b. p. 128 about the formation of the simple past, rules and exercises.
- Homework: A composition "Describing yourself" , study unit 1 for a test on Tuesday and Workbook, p. 14,15.
NI2
- Class at the lab where we worked the exercises related to unit 1 In the web page New english file Intermediate Plus Activities.
- Grammar: Adverbs. St.B.p.146.
- Homework: study for the test on Wednesday

DIVING IN A CAVE

This is one of the most thrilling experiences I´ve ever had. It´s not dangerous if you follow the instructions given by your diving instructor. What you can´t do is to panic because you lose control of yourself and your emotions and then you´re lost since nothing can be done unless you get over it and keep your mind cold. Diving a a very good way of controlling your mind and subconscious feelings of fear. When you overcome it, you´re proud of yourself and you´ll find it easier to sort out problems in your daily life.

NB2
- Homework:Grammar,unit 9 :I have/I´ve got. Workbook,p.10,11.
- Listening: St.B. p. 11. "What´s the word?" , a contest where the contestants have to find out a word with a given definition.
- Vocabulary. Paraphrasing: an interesting way to make yourself understood when you don´t know the exact word. e.g: it´s something, it´s how you feel, it´s like....Some words to be defined as a practice.
- Speaking: Two activities : a gap filling activity and a card game to use relative pronouns
- Writing: St.B. p. 13. Describing yourself, an e-mail with some mistakes , reading of the mail and answering questions about it.
_ Homework: Grammar, unit 101. Relative clauses:who, that,which. Wk: p. 12. A composition for 4th of November: a description of yourself

Here you have a song, Alberto Pintos has sent me. He´s a former student of mine who still sends me songs, so take him as an example and do the same!

San Francisco

San Francisco is a major city in California , well-known for its liberal community, hilly terrain, Victorian architecture, scenic beauty, summer fog, and extreme ethnic and cultural diversity. These are only a few of the aspects of the city that make San Francisco one of the most visited cities in the world.

San Francisco is located on a small seven-by-seven mile (11x11km) square of land at the tip of a peninsula between San Francisco Bay and the Pacific coast. It has a population of almost 800,000, but is the center of a metropolitan area of millions. San Francisco is just one of the cities which makes-up the entire San Francisco Bay Area. San Francisco's neighbors, cities and towns to the east of the Bay Bridge, north of the Golden Gate Bridge, and south of it are all in separate counties, each with their own city government and local public transportation systems.

What to see:

• Golden Gate— Fashionable neighborhoods with expensive views, historical landmarks - The Presidio and Fort Mason, and the iconic Golden Gate Bridge.
• Fisherman's Wharf— A waterfront neighborhood which encompasses Pier 39, Ghirardelli Square and the ferry launch to Alcatraz Island, as well as a plethora of seafood restaurants and souvenir stores.
• Nob Hill-Russian Hill— Two ritzy neighborhoods with upscale hotels, cable cars, panoramic views and steep inclines.
• Chinatown-North Beach— Two vibrant immigrant communities, stylish laid back 'Little Italy' next to the crowded and largest Chinatown outside of Asia.
• Union Square-Financial District— The center of shopping, theater and art in the city, next to the many skyscrapers of downtown.
  
• Western Addition— A historic neighborhood with many Victorian homes that was once a hotbed of African-American culture. Within the area is also Japantown, the center of San Francisco's Japanese population.
• Haight— Famous for being the home of the Hippie movement, this once bohemian area, although gentrified, is still an eclectic treasure.
• Twin Peaks-Lake Merced— Covering most of southwestern San Francisco, this area is home to many of the taller hills of San Francisco and the large Lake Merced park which contains the San Francisco Zoo.
• Castro-Noe Valley— Colorful and cohesive, the Castro is historically known for being the cultural center of the city's LGBTQ community.
• Southeast San Francisco— A mostly residential area, this district contains several bay-side neighborhoods, many nice parks, and Monster Park, home of the 49ers NFL team.

San Francisco has a mild climate, with wet, mild winters and dry summers. In most months, you can expect the temperature be between 15 and 25 degrees Celsius. Be prepared for cool humid weather, even in the summer (except September), when persistent fog often envelops the city.

English is the dominant language spoken in San Francisco. Mandarin and Cantonese Chinese is also widely spoken by San Francisco's large Chinese population. Spanish is also commonly spoken in San Francisco, especially among the Hispanic population, located in the Mission District.

From:www.wikipedia.com

NB2
- Homework: wk.p.8,9. Grammar, unit 8
- Speaking: St.B. Match the prepositions and the pictures. Pair work"At an art Gallery" Describe your picture using the present continuous and prepositions of place.
- Listening: St.B.p.9. "Ain´t got no-I got life": Lyrics and Song
- Reading: 1D. "The Devil´s Dictionary". dictionary definitions by Ambrose Bierce. a reading with questions and a matching word and definition exercise.
Grammar: Defining relative clauses. Grammar Bank,p. 126 with the rules and exercises .
_ Homework: Grammar. Unit 9. I have/I´ve got. Wk.p. 10,11.

- NI2
- Homework: A set of exercises about "so and neither2. Wk. Section 1B
- Speaking: Some more practice about the previous topic SO/NEITHER
- Vocabulary: 1c."funny ha-ha?" St.B. p. 12With definitions about humour. A matching exercise with words such as: cartoon, witty, irony... and another to know the differences between funny/fun/make fun of.
- Speaking: St.B.p. 13 "Have you Got a Sense of Humour?" You talk and your classmate shows interest by saying: really? no!....
_Listening: Three jokes where you had to get the punch line,which is not always easy. Don´t get discouraged.
- Phonetics: ST.B.p. 13 Contast of words such as: joking -choking,enjoy-choose..
- Homework: The reading activity onp. 14

NEXT CLASS FOR NI2 WILL BE HELD ON THURSDAY

The city of San Francisco has been the theme of many popular crooners of the 50s , here you have an example by Tony Bennet ."I Left my Heart in San Francisco"