NEW YEAR´S RESOLUTIONS

The first term exams are over and I´d like to point out that some of you have to take it more seriously, otherwise you may be in trouble in the future. All of you know that the third term exams are the most significant ones. However , if you haven´t done well with your vocabulary,for instance, the previous terms, it will be too hard for you to do in May. So, please, make some New Year´s resolutions and start working hard from January on.
In the meantime I wish you Merry Christmas the best luck and happiness for the New Year.

Look at this beautiful moray. The dorsal fin of the moray goes from behind the head, along the back and it gives them their snake-like appearance. As their eyes are rather small; morays rely on their developed sense of smell, lying in wait to ambush their prey.
The body of the moray is patterned for camouflage .Their jaws are wide .Having large teeth, designed to tear flesh, they are capable of making severe wounds to humans,if disturbed.They are said to be aggressive and ill-tempered. However I´ve seen lots of them and I can say that they are rather shy and will only attack in self-defense. They eat other fish ,crustaceans and mollusks. They are usually hidden in crevices and wait there untill the prey is close, then they attack. A useful and practical tip: Don´t touch anything, however colorful it can look, enjoy nature but don´t interfere in it.

BEFORE EXAMS

I´m awfully sorry I didn´t update the blog in a week. I simply forgot about it with such a long weekend.

Last Wednesday we checked unit 3 glossary and some grammar exercises ,pages 131 and 132 (I wish , if only) and we also saw the expressions of preference (had better, would rather and prefer).

An oral activity You´re the Expert on page 35 and then the reading of page 39 I will Quit. Soon. We dealt with phrasal verbs and did all the activities on pages 40 and 41.

Homewor: Grammar ,exercises 19 to 24 about expressions of preference.

Today we´ve gone through the homework and checked doubts. Then on page 35 A Body Knowledge Quiz was carried out with the answers in a listening. Health and exercise were the topics to cope with sympathy, advice and recommendations on page 36 . We read the Aunt Agony Column and used the structures to give advice to someone out of shape. Another activity called Body Language on page 37, about body idioms with a listening to match definitions with their idioms. Some oral practice about these body idioms ,ej: someone who is up to their eyes in work at the moment, or who is putting their foot in it.

We moved on to a listening exercise about two people who dieted for a special occasion : Sam and Catherine were interviewed about the severe diets they had to undergo.

Homework : Workbook Grammar exercises 1 to 5.

DON´T FORGET TO CHECK THE DATES OF THE EXAMS
This picture is of a unicornfish. They have a spike that comes out of its forehead, however some have a kind of bulge and others don´t even have the spike.As they belong to the surgeonfish family , they have a couple of spines on either side of the tail used for defense.

CHILL OUT AND SPEAK

We checked the exercises for homework about conditional types (types 1,2,3 and mixed types, in your grammars numbers 1 to 12) , then a couple of speeches very well done in 4ºA . Let me warn 4ºC students about having a more active attitude in oral activities : I must see your progress day after day ; this isn´t a game of cards where you risk everything on one throw.
We moved on to Unit 4 and dealt with illness , diagnosis and cures in six small dialogues where one speaker complains about feeling ill and the other gives him a remedy being sympathetic or unsympathetic , depending on the situation. These expressions were underlined, repeated and the main words stressed ,ej, "It serves you right" where serves and right take the stress for emphasis.
We carried on with a speaking activity about fitness and sports. There are several statements about the topic and you should be able to talk about all of them since they are related.
For Wednesday you have to pick up one and talk about it for a while , with a basic outline. There are also the exercises in your grammar about "I wish and If only" used for regret or for unpleasant situations (numbers 13 to 17 , I think).


Look at this beautiful Chromodoris quadricolour , commonly named sea slug (though there are many other types of slugs) . In spite of belonging to mollusks , it has a soft body without shell. With extraordinay colours and striking forms , nudibranchs (the group chromodoris belongs to) are one of my favourites because you can always see some just by looking thoroughly on the rocks. They breathe through two tiny extremities they have on the back , like little bright horns. As they lost their shell in the course of evolution , they use their colours to remind predators that they are distasteful. When diving in Asturias one hardly ever sees pelagic species (big fish) , however nudibranchs can be seen nearly everywhere.

LET´S HAVE A PARTY, SHALL WE?

On Thursday ,20th December , the EOI is going to have a Christmas party at L´Espumeru, a pub in La Felguera. I can show you a collection of cooking recipes which are clear and easy to follow and besides you can do it on your own or with a friend, if you don´t trust your cooking abilities . All of you will be given a gift for your kind participation and a raffle of several vouchers ,worth 40 euros each ,will be held. I encourage you to play an active role in this activity. It´ll be fun.
You can see a Sohal surgeon fish, Acanthurus sohal, brightly coloured, they are very popular in aquariums. It has a pair of very sharp spines or blades on either side of the tail, hence its name. When I went to the Red Sea , I was told not to bother them because they can be aggressive and tear the divers´neoprene suit. A basic rule: just look , never touch.

FIRST TERM EXAMS

- LISTENING AND COMPOSITION : 12th DECEMBER

- GRAMMAR: 13th DECEMBER

- ORAL : 17th DECEMBER

- You will be given the marks and assessment on Wednesday ,19th .

The only date that can be changed is that of the oral exam, so if you can´t come the 17th, you can do it after or before the class starts. Just let me know in advance.

I know I have already editied a similar picture, but I find it so cute that I can´t help showing a Red Sea anemone fish, or clownfish. It lives in warm waters in a mutual relationship with an anemone. They aren´t hurt by the stings of the anemone because of a mucous coating this fish has, so the anemone fails to recognize the fish as food. They usually live in groups: a dominant female with several males. When the female dies, the the head male changes sex and becomes the female. Practical, isn´t it?