El Torreón” is located in El Condado, in the town of Laviana, province of Asturias. It is a medieval fortified tower ROMINA ALONSO has sent us this beautiful photo. Thanks very much, Romina NB2 Homework: Only Clara did her homework and ,as a result I got angry . Write a story about "I felt awful because I couldn´t help him/her" .It has to do with this topic. I´ll collect it next Thursday.Remember that you cand send them to my mail, there´s no excuse. Speaking: Shopping. A pair work activity we started doing last week. I grew angried when I realised that some of you hadn´t done anything. Listening: A mock exam for Certificacion. Very easy I must say. Grammar: Prepositions of movement. St.B.p. 134. Rules and a couple of exercises Speaking: St.B.p. 117. Cross country . To plan a race that your partner will draw on his book. Writing: A very useful handout about linking words with many examples, writing letters and punctuation. You should keep these photocopies when it comes to writing a composition and doubs about spelling , connectos or the layout of a letter pop up. Homework : Some exercises about verbs followed by infinitives and gerunds and expressions of movement. NI2 Homework: Only Inma gave the composition you had to do for homework.Please, it´s a serious matter, do it and I´ll collect it next Wednesday. Vocabulary: Crime and punishment . some more words and expressions related to crimes and and court. Speaking: St.B.p.84. Questions about crimes, juries, judges,prison...you had to give me your opinion and support your ideas with examples. Speaking and Listening: St.b.p. 85. A photo of someone stealing from a car, car theft, to describe. Then after the listening there were a couple of questions and 10 true-false statements. Reading: a mock exam for Certificación. Homework: I distributed photos for the speaking exam. you´ll describe them on Wednesday. a reading on St.B.p. 86, about trials and also remember to study this specific vocabulary. As usual, ALBERTO PINTOS NOVO has been so kind so as to send us a beautiful song. thank you Alberto.
Here you have some very useful links to practise Certification exams . It´s for both levels Basic and Intermediate. Pick up the ability you want to practise and it will lead you to a variety of activities. LISTENING WRITING READING SPEAKING VOCABULARY GRAMMAR PRONUNCIATION
Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. congress as a national park on March 1, 1872, is located primarily in the of Wyoming it also extends into Montana and Idaho . it is wn for its wildlife and geothermal features especially Old Faithful Geiser , one of the most popular features in the park. It has many types of ecosystems , but the subalpine forest is dominant.
The region was bypassed during the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the early 1800s. Aside from visits by mountain men during the early to mid-1800s, organized exploration did not begin until the late 1860s. The U.S. army was commissioned to oversee the park just after its establishment. In 1917, administration of the park was transferred to the National Park Service , which had been created the previous year. Hundreds of structures have been built and are protected for their architectural and historical significance, and researchers have examined more than 1,000 archaeological sites.
Yellowstone National Park spans an area of 3,468 square miles (8,983 km²), comprising lakes, canyons, rivers and mountain ranges . Yellowstone Lake is one of the largest high-altitude lakes in North America and is centered over the Yellowstone Caldera , the largest supervolcano on the continent. The caldera is considered an active volcano; it has erupted with tremendous force several times in the last two million years. Half of the world's geothermal features are in Yellowstone, fueled by this ongoing volcanism. Lava flows and rocks from volcanic eruptions cover most of the land area of Yellowstone. The park is the centerpiece of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem the largest remaining, nearly-intact ecosystem in the Earth's northern temperate zone
Hundreds of species of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles have been documented, including several that are either endangered or threatened . The vast forests and grasslands also include unique species of plants. Grizzlies wolves , and free-ranging herds of bison and elk live in the park.. Yellowstone has numerous recreational opportunities, including hiking, boating , fishing and sightseeing. Paved roads provide close access to the major geothermal areas as well as some of the lakes and waterfalls.
From wikipedia.
NB2 Frebruary test : - Listening exercises and script, audio 1 and audio 2. - Reading exercise. - Writing. As there was time left we started the comparative and superlative adjectives. St.B.p. 44,45 with a reading "Are we living faster?". Homework: Grammar, unit 86 (adjectives), 87 (adverbs, sections a,b) On Thursday 18th we´ll have a speaking exam. NI2 February test: -Listening exercises , ,audio 1, audio 2. - Reading - Grammar - Answers Homework: Grammar, unit 17 (have ,have got), workbook p. 36,37,38,39. Reading, St.B.p. 58,59.
Energy Resources What do I need to know? "Energy Resources" is NOT the same thing as "Types of energy". "Types of energy" means "kinetic energy", "chemical energy" and so forth. "Energy Resources" is about ways of getting energy so we can generate electrical power. Most of the Earth's energy comes from the Sun Solar power, that's obvious, but the energy in coal originally came from the Sun too. Prehistoric plants stored the Sun's energy in their leaves, and when they died and eventually formed coal seams, that energy was still there. So when we burn coal (or any fossil fuel), we're releasing chemical energy that was stored in plants millions of years ago. The same goes for Wind and Wave power. Waves occur because of winds, and winds blow because the Sun warms our atmosphere. Warm air tends to rise, and winds are due to other air moving in to replace it. Most power stations burn coal, oil or natural gas to run the generators. Others use uranium, or the flow of water. Electricity is sent around the country using high-voltage power lines. Nearly all of the power we use comes from large power stations, although some places such as isolated farms, or hospitals, have their own diesel generators
Energy Resources: Fossil Fuels Coal, oil and gas are called "fossil fuels" because they have been formed from the organic remains of prehistoric plants and animals. How it works: Coal is crushed to a fine dust and burnt. Oil and gas can be burnt directly.
The steam that has passed through the power station's turbines has to be cooled, to condense it back into water before it can be pumped round again. This is what happens in the huge "cooling towers" seen at power stations. Coal provides around 28% of our energy, and oil provides 40%. Mind you, this figure is bound to have changed since this page was written, so check the figures if you want to quote them. Burning coal produces sulphur dioxide, an acidic gas that contributes to the formation of acid rain. This can be largely avoided using "flue gas desulphurisation" to clean up the gases before they are released into the atmosphere. This method uses limestone, and produces gypsum for the building industry as a by-product. However, it uses a lot of limestone. Other fossil fuels are being investigated, such as bituminous sands and oil shale. The difficulty is that they need expensive processing before we can use them; however Canada has large reserves of 'tar sands' , which makes it economic for them to produce a great deal of energy this way. As far as we know, there is still a lot of oil in the ground. But although oil wells are easy to tap when they're almost full, it's much more difficult to get the oil up later on when there's less oil down there. That's one reason why we're increasingly looking at these other fossil fuels. www.darvill.clara.net/altenerg/fossil.htm NB2 Vocabulary: St.B.p.35. Prepositions Writing: St.B-p. 37. An informal letter. We did all the exercises and the layout in detail because for next Thursday you´ll have to give me a similar composition , as if you were the student who goes to a family in Brighton and writes to them a presentation letter. Reading: Test 1, test 2 Listening:Listenings 1 and 2,listening 3, audio1 , audio 2, audio 3. Answers to the reading and listening None of these tests lasted very long and seemed rather easy, al least this is what I can infer for the short time it took you to do them. I´ll see it this weekend when I mark them. Speaking: A test for those who hadn´t done it the days before. Homework: finish the photocopy with questions, Wkb.p.28,29, St.B.p. 38,39, It´s a review of unit 3. On Monday the class will be held in the lab downstairs in front of the secretary office. NI2 Homework: As none of you had done your homework, you´ll have to do it for next Monday: Grammar, unit 28, 115 . I think you you take tings more seriously, otherwise you´ll have problems with your exams. Remember that you can´t complain later as it´s your own responsibility and I´m telling you with plenty of time in advance. Reading:A multiple choice test Listening: A multiple choice test about 8 people talikg. Audio. Scripts 1, 2,3. Answers to the reading and the listening I´ll post the answers and exercises in this blog Reading: St.B.p.48. Understanding information. an exercise about hotel signs. Vocabulary: St.B-p.48 about expressions related to hotel language. Reading: St.B.p.116 about choosing a suitable hotel for people with specific characteristics. and p.48 with the description of the hotels. Homework: Do the grammar units 28,115 and the reading and activities on p.46, 47, all about Henry VIII´s fifth wife.
In this photo you can see a colorful www.virtourist.com/africa/redsea/07.htmbroomtail wrasse (cheilinus lunulatus). The family of wrasses (labridae) is one of the most diverse Among the fish. They vary from several cm in size to almost 2 meters long. This broomtail wrasse was more than 30 cm long.
A feature of this family of fishes is specially curious: they are born as females, but can change sex to male if needed. Wrasses are active predators, they hunt smaller fishes and shellfish. Probably the most known is the cleaner wrasse, a small fish feeding on parasites, pieces of dead skin and scales. Other fish concentrate in their "cleaning stations" and willingly submit themselves to this service.
www.virtourist.com/africa/redsea/07.htm
He who has a thousand friends has not a friend to spare, And he who has one enemy will meet him everywhere. Ali ibn-Abi-Talib (602 AD - 661 AD),
Misfortune shows those who are not really friends. Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC),
The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed. Carl Jung (1875 - 1961)
Friendship make prosperity more shining and lessens adversity by dividing and sharing it. Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC),
Being friendless taught me how to be a friend. Funny how that works. Colleen Wainwright
Do not protect yourself by a fence, but rather by your friends. Czech Proverb
Never explain--your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway. Elbert Hubbard (1856 – 1915
Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation. George Washington (1732 - 1799)
In prosperity our friends know us; in adversity we know our friends. John Churton Collins
Adversity does teach who your real friends are. Lois McMaster Bujold,
www.quotationspage.com
NB2 - Homework: Compositions about describing a drawing. - Test: Listening . Here you have the exercises ,audio and answers. Reading: With the passages and the answers - Speaking: I gave you another drawing. We dealt with the vocabulary which was related to the beach and you did the activity with the notes at sight.
NI2 - Homework : Reading. St.B.p.25 "Eternal youth", with an exercises about formal and informal register and a multiple choice one. - Speaking: St.B.p,24 about ages, the best/wort age of your life and so on, after that some questions about cosmetic surgery with its advantages and disadvantages. - Listening: A video about Cindy Jackson , a woman who has undergone more than 20 cosmetic surgery operations. Exercise:order que questions first and then write down the answers and script . I´m awfully sorry, I don´t know how to work with videos in my blog yet. I promise I´ll post it next week. Here is another interview . - Homework: Picture description , Wk. 1C,2A.
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 ofjazzmusic 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.
