Summertime

Just to remind you that on June 30th your marks will be posted:

- Online: Check our webpage  to get the link to your marks. Be patient with technology since the system tends to crash when everybody tries to log in at the same time, You'll only see '(no)apte/a', NP, NQ, but not your scores for each skill. Do you want to see them? Then ...

- EOI's notice board: At 12:00 p.m. we'll post  the scores for the five skills and your final mark.

On Thursday 30th classtime, I'll be available  to comment on your results if you need it -or just to say hello if you happen to pop in to see your marks.



And finally, I'd like to wish you a well deserved summer break , so I'll  leave you with  Summertime,  a popular jazz standard composed by George Gershwin in 1935, and sung by  Billie Holiday, together with these wonderful  summer scenes by  Jack Vettriano. Mmmmhh...Summertime...!

Past is history, future is a mystery, so whether I'll keep updating this blog from now on is something nobody, not even me, knows. Thanks for your attention and comments, and I do hope you continue your studies with us next September.

That's all, folks!

Classes are over, so the time has come to give you some final advice. This year, instead of the usual recommendations  (relax, read the instructions carefully, organise your composition, write slowly, 'dance' with your partners in the oral exam, etc.etc.) here's a list of the 10 things you should NOT do:



There are probably many more things you'd better not do at exam time -just be creative and try!- but the only one thing you should do is ENJOY it!

Thanks for your attention and patience, and ...
I wish you all the best

I, Robot

We'll be talking about science next week. It seems that, according to a recent study, robots have evolved to help each other, as a theory had already predicted.

• Read TRANSCRIPT
• Read WIRED SCIENCE: Robots evolve altruism, just as biology predicted.
• Take the "scientifically validated" ALTRUISM / EGOISM TEST to check whether your egoism is a problem or if you are taking altruistic behaviour too far. It's free, and when you finish (30 questions, take your time) you'll receive a short report including a graph and a personalised interpretion of your results. You want to know more about you? Then you'll have to pay -that's the catch!

So ... are then robots going to help us humans? Scary ...but seeing that some human beings can behave like robots, I wouldn't mind having a robot friend... not one like like HAL though, who was disconnected on suspicion of having killed two members of the crew... but that was an old, very primitive robot, not like the highly evolved machines we have now.

Walking on the Moon

After the conversation we've had today with the two groups, I'm repeating a post I sent last year . Not so many years ago, very few people would have questioned that Neil Armstrong had set foot on the moon -and those who did were considered a bit, err.. weird. Now in the internet/photoshop era manipulation is easy and, judging from what you said, the idea that the moon landing was a fake seems to have gained ground -or spreads easily at least.


After more than 40 years, the NASA released last year a new version of the original video of man's first walk on the Moon enhanced with the technology we have now. Here you'll see all the explanations, a kind of "making of " of the original live 1969 'home' video, courtesy of National Geographic.

However, some people think this is a hoax, and that nobody has ever set foot on the moon. Have a look at the arguments in favour of these (again!) conspiracy theories...

...which have also been easily debunked : The Guardian

By the way, yes, we went back to the moon after Apollo 11. TWELVE more astronauts walked on the moon in the subsequent Apollo missions (Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17) . READ HERE (scroll down a bit) and HERE .

Has the internet made us all more skeptical? If manipulation works on both sides ... isn't it a bit of a paradox that we may be manipulated into thinking that we are not going to be easily manipulated?
Is Obama American? Is bin Laden dead? Is Elvis alive? Did Paul McCartney ever exist? If you believe, they put a man on the moon .....

Superman to renounce US citizenship

It seems that the all-American super-hero is turning into a super-rebel -it must be something in his diet, or an extra dose of green Kriptonite. This piece of news is not taken from the Onion network, nor is it any kind of April fool's joke.


**If you click on the CC button, you can activate 'Transcribe audio', which is an experimental service that uses speech recognition --BUT it does NOT always recognise it correctly.

• READ Los Angeles Times
  
• READ the Independent (British newspaper)
  

(**Some of the readers comments are certainly worth reading! )

Precisely now that the White House has released Barack Obama's birth certificate to put an end to the conspiracy theories that say that he's not American and therefore not eligible to be the President of the United States (Donald Trump, among others, being the main instigator).

• READ and WATCH the story at MSNBC (with a very sophisticated transcript system)
  

Lots of questions come to mind after reading these two apparently unconnected pieces of news like, what citizenship do you think superman is going to apply for? Having been born in Kripton, could he run for president of the United States? Could he be the president of the World?Now we know that Obama is definitely American, but could he still be the president if he chose to support BarÇa in the Champions league? Should some political leaders be sent to Kripton, and leave important matters to Superman?

***PS : Monday May 2nd update. Oh dear, the plot thickens. President Obama has confirmed the death of Bin Laden -if he ever existed. What's Superman going to say about this?

In the News

Taco Bell's New Green Menu Takes No Ingredients From Nature
Taco Bell boasts zero environmental impact with their new menu which will rely solely on synthetic, lab-produced ingredients.
LEVEL: MEDIUM/EASY

KEY WORDS: ingredients, items, food synthesizer, tell the difference, labs, ground beef, initiative, helps reduce global warming, melt down, straws, wrapping, eating the garbage you produce.

- Also WATCH: Supreme Court Ruling Gives Fans The Right To Act Like Total Assholes At Games
The Court found that buying a ticket is license to boo, swear and throw beer at whomever fans please at a sporting event, on the grounds that anyone who doesn't like it can stay home, and those tickets pay for the players' salaries, so who are they to complain?
KEY WORDS: ruling, asshole, landmark, cut loose, celebrate the decision, unfairly removed from a stadium, bracing for a surge in jackass behaviour, oppose the decision.
LEVEL: DIFFICULT

- Also WATCH: Should unemployed Americans invest in new Apple computers? Panelists discuss how owning a top-of-the-line MacBook or an iPad 2 is actually essential to finding a new job. Detractors are left with no arguments.

KEYWORDS: little sign of recovery, the unemployed, rip off, tiny toy, tool, supporting innovation, overspending.
LEVEL: MEDIUM

**For your information, the Onion is a satirical newspaper founded in 1988 at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Originally a weekly humor print publication targeting a local student population, The Onion is today a booming news organization known as America’s Finest News Source. More information Here.

**PS: Breaking Good News (no joke)

St. Jordi

For St. Jordi's week, a poem and a rose for you. In this case, the poem has no title and no opening line. You have to guess what the poem is about.

???????????????????????
.................................................
is like doing a jigsaw puzzle
of a million pieces
with a picture that keeps changing.
It's like getting lost in a foreign city
without a map.
It's like playing tennis without a ball,
like being an ant in a field of grasshoppers.
It's being an acrobat with a broken leg,
an actor without a script,
a carpenter without a saw,
a storyteller without a middle or an end.

But then gradually
it¹s like being out in the early morning
with the mists lifting.
It¹s like a chink of light under a door,
like finding the glove you were looking for,
catching the train you thought you were going to miss,
getting an unlooked-for present,
exchanging a smile.

And then one day it's like riding a bicycle
very fast downhill.

-Olivia McMahon-

Have you ever exprienced any of these sensations?
Any bets on what the poem might refer to ?

(Click on the red rose to get the answer)

Have a nice Easter holiday! Or "staycation" (stay at home+vacation, which is my case, but enjoying every bit of it!)

Sleepless?

Double beds used to be the norm for couples, but they aren't any longer. It seems that some people refuse to share their bed with their partners -it's a real nuisance to sleep with somebody who snores, for example, not to mention the neverending discussion about room temperature. Duvet for me? Sheets and blankets for you?


So if you don't want to get up on the wrong side of the bed, you'd better get a twin room (two separate beds) or two separate apartments, as kings and queens do -that would be my favourite. What about you?

• READ THIS If you want to learn more about sleep basics-problems, solutions, health benefits,etc
• or THIS if you want to know the connection between sleep and memory
• If you are a siesta lover, maybe you could take part in the annual siesta championship
• And if you want to delve into the world of dreams-types, theories and intrpretation- DREAM MOODS is your page.

Good night...
...and some music to go with it.



Sleepwalker, by The Wallflowers, Jakob Dylan's band. Jakob Dylan is Bob Dylan's son, much better than his father, to my mind.

Talking about body language, did you know that now you can control Gmail with your body?



Learn more (and give it a try) at gmail.com/motion

Or... could this possibly be one of these?

Lie Detector

We'll be talking about the senses and body language this week -you know all these signals and postures and gestures we do depending on our internal emotions and mental states.Body language is an important part of communication -it is said that it is 50% or more of what we are communicating. Sometimes we are aware of our body language, but most of the time we are not, particulary when we are lying. Do you often lie? Did you know that it shows in your face (or in your whole body) when you are lying? How good are you at detecting lies?

KEY WORDS: Deception (a false friend!), signs, the more... the more (lots of this sturcture), the catch is..., average, looks like. Are you getting the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Do you want to know the tell tale signs that will give you away when you are lying?

• Watch this video


• READ articles / vocabulary work dealing with LIES


• Are you a good liar? Try this TEST

So do you think you are a good liar/a good lie detector?

The End of Whatever

As promised, I did some serious research into this Mayan calendar doomsday prediction, and I must say that I'm quite a lot more confused now, but here you have the basics:The Maya, an Ancient civilization with the reputation of being more intelligent than us (as it usually happens with all ancient civilizations), predicted a sort of galactic alignment on Dec 21st 2012 (winter solstice). Apart from this, there's a planet that is also going to be very near our orbit, thus influencing the movement of the earth, and adding to the speculation of 'we are not alone' conspiracy theories. Of course, this is going to translate into tsunamis, earthquakes, pole shift, hurricanes, planetary collisions, unexpected visits from outer space, and many other special effects. So everything is going to happen at the same time.



Needless to say, the Maya Calendar agrees with I-ching predictions, Nostradamus, other seers and fortune tellers and, of course, scientific evidence of all sorts -although the scientists are already dead.

KEY WORDS: startingly precise predictions, take seriously, obsessed with, accurate, take place, white skinned bearded gods, arrive in, alignment, pole shift, worldwide disasters, backed by science, mass extinction of species, doomsday, profecy, intriguing

	Rem - End Of The World .mp3
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

"It's the end of the world as we know it, but I feel fine"

Others think that, the end of the world "as we know it" only means the beginning of something new, a spiritual awakening, a global transformation of consciousness, and a collective rebirth into the new era: the age of Aquarius (or flower-power revisited).

• WATCH VIDEO

(**sorry about the studpid adverts, it's a real nightmare to try to get rid of them, and not always possible, not even in the age of Aquarius)

	HAIR - Age of Aquarius .mp3
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

When the Moon is in the 7th House, and Jupiter aligns with March, then peace will guide the planets and love will steer the stars -this is the dawning of the age of aquarius ....READ lyrics

There is still a third group of people who think this is all b....** , a HYPE, a HOAX

• WATCH VIDEO
  

BUT why, oh why does the Mayan calendar end in 2012?

This is all the information I managed to gather , so if you have any more facts and figures from a reliable source, please let me know. It's important to plan for the future.

Supermoon

If you look up in the sky on March 19th you'll see a 'Supermoon', which is when "the moon’s orbit is nearest the Earth - and the sun, moon and Earth are all in alignment."

Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com

• Transcript?

Some people think this supermoon might have been the cause of so much devastation in Japan READ ON

Astrologers and scientists have different versions of their own on the supermoon and its effects, something that’s pretty expected. READ ON
Read on 2
Whatever the effects of the supermoon, the moon will be bigger and brighter, it's going o be a beautiful sight, so we can only hope that it won't cause any more harm to the Earth.

And just to remind you of some idioms containing the word moon:

Baby rips it up

I'm not very fond of 'viral' videos, you know, these funny videos that spread out like a virus in the internet, but I liked this one. In spite of the many bad things happening around the world, I thought I wanted to share it. Laughter is highly contagious ...and it can be understood in any language.

• READ: Mail Online: Laughter is the best cure
• WATCH: CBS News. Laughter as medicine
• READ: What's funny?
• Smile? Laugh? Giggle? Chuckle? The McMillan dictionary: All U can learn

By the way, the baby is ripping up his/her daddy's job rejection letter.

The most typical face in the world

The National Geographic Magazine has revealed what the most typical human on the planet looks like, as part of their new series which focuses on the human race called ‘Population 7 billion’.


The research found that a 28-year-old Han Chinese male is the most typical person on the planet, with 9 million around the globe. So was learning English the right choice? Shouldn't you be learning Chinese? They won’t be dominating for long, though. The National Geographic also found that within the next 20 years, the most typical person will come from India. So what now ?
Watch this video and check how similar to/different from the most typical person you are.
 If you want to know more on this topic, watch The Economist: 7 billion video
7 billion? Aren't there TOO MANY people on the planet?

Blah, blah, blah...

How can I improve my spoken English? This video is more inspirational than practical, but it goes to the core question of 'dancing' with your partners rather than 'monologuing' or producing 'memorised' sentences that 'the teacher will like' (ahem...). Below you'll find some more tips that you'll have to adapt to your own habits (like talk to yourself). You'll see that language skills are obviously connected and part of a whole - the time invested in reading, listening, writing, and working on gr...ooops ...sorry 'use of English' will sure contribute to your speaking skills-and vice versa.
- E.How , more EHow
- English at home
- Learning tips ( tips n.2,3,5,6,13 particularly interesting)

And a very important one: KISS (Keep It Short and Simple), which means DON'T get entangled in your own story -generally because you wanted to translate it word by word from your mother tongue. You don't need to do this. You know more than what you think, so USE IT. Make life easier for your partners who should understand what you are saying so that they can react to what you are saying so that you can dance all together.

Sorry there's no pill. Or rather, the only pill is regular practice and patience. But you know all that, don't you? It's just a reminder (remember 'remember'/'remind'?).

Of course, frustration may be part of the process, but it's transitory -and you can always scream and shout in this blog if you need it.

Elementary, my dear Watson

**Take over?
Years ago, computer Deep Blue beat chess world champion Garry Kasparov. Now IBM's Supercomputer Watson has beaten two human competitors in America's quiz show Jeopardy!

• Watch Newsy Video (+ transcript)
• BBC : Read article

I must admit that when my computer crashes or when I lose my pen drive I feel like a part of my brain is missing.

• Mail online: Human brain shrinking

But you are on the right track if you don't want your computer to take control of your life:

• The Guardian: Being bilingual good for your brain
• Mind power news: Increase your brain power
• Train your Brain with BrainBashers

Love is in the air

Last weeek we were talking about feelings, reactions and states of mind, so how would you feel if your loved one proposed on the plane from Lisbon to Barcelona? On cloud nine? Over the moon? Between the devil and the deep blue sea, maybe? The rest of the passengers were happily entertained, that's for sure. A taste of Valentine's day next week.

KEY WORDS: stewardess, in-flight meals, familiar and unexpected voice, crew members, shocked and embarrassed, bride-to-be, I'd better not, on cloud nine.

Back to the future

A flying car? Forget about the Transition! Teleportation is the future, and it looks like somebody at the University of Queensland, Australia, has found out how to do it.


Whatever the "entangled quantum particles" are, we are closer to time travel, or so it seems. However, you could only (if we had the technology) be teleported into the future, which is where I'd go anyway. But wait a minute ... imagine you travel to next year so you see yourself in the 5th year? Or maybe not? But then you should be able to learn enough to come back to L4 and pass it? Wouldn't it be a bit of a mess?

• Transcript
• The Massachusetts Institue of Technology Blog
• The Express buzz: data teleportation a reality soon

For those of you with a scientific mind:

• Time Travel: Einstein's big idea. Key words: speed of light, to hold the key, to follow in the footsteps, rocket ship, headlights, twin brother, to overtake, to be aware of (the change).
• Stephen Hawking: How to build a time machine

Terrafugia Transition

No traffic jams, no long and winding roads, no speed limits...those of you who were thinking of buying a new car, just wait:

• Script? Here
• READ how the flying car works in The Telegraph
• More details in Mail Online , The Guardian, and Discover

I don't like flying, but I'm sure I'd love to drive-fly the Transition. 30 miles per gallon on the ground (can you calculate how much that is in l./km?) This is the real hybrid car -and it comes with a parachute! 70 people have already pre-booked the car. Would you buy it?

Nothing new under the sun

The good thing about the financial crisis is that people have to rack their brains as to how to get out of it. This is an interesting story about a woman from Galicia who claims to be the owner of the sun. It seems that governments cannot claim ownership of planets, stars and other celestial bodies, but individuals can.

• READ the story HERE
• WATCH VIDEO HERE. Keywords: source, public notary, treaty, mankind, turns out, loophole, scary, to tax, hilarious.

Needless to say, she wants to profit from her new property, so if you thought that sunbathing would be free forever you may be wrong. Is that a clever move or -as someone said the other day- she's losing her marbles? I think I'll get myself a whole galaxy before it gets too crowded here. What piece of universe would you like to own ?

Today

Sorry I couldn't make it to class today -family problems- but everything's OK now so I'll definitely come tomorrow ... so no excuse for your test!

You won't get away with it!

He's finally been caught for smuggling marijuana ...30 years ago!
Script HERE
Remember To get away with something ?

And some more crime/business news with lots of words we've seen in class: High street shoplifting soars. The High street? Shoplifting? What's that again?

*This blog is 'apture-powered', which means that if you highlight a word, a 'learn more' sign will theoretically appear . Click on it and it will give you a list of internet links related to that word. Just try.

Books for this term

So tomorrow we'll be starting again in the old place, which means new books for you to read. This term you can choose either a classic of English literature or two American short stories:

Alice Adventures in Wonderland: What can I say about this marvellous book by L. Carroll? But I admit you must be comfortable with the bizarre -falling down a rabbit hole and finding yourself eating biscuits with strange effects, shrinking to the size of a mouse, talking to a caterpillar who is sitting on a mushroom smoking a hookah, being a guest at a mad tea party (nothing to do with the American republicans!), making friends with the Mad Hatter and the March Hare, the Queen of Hearts, the Mock Turtle and the intriguing Cheshire Cat... wouldn't you like to have a Cheshire cat popping in and out of your life?

But if you prefer a more 'down-to-earth' sort of thing ... mmmh, I'm afraid we don't have anything remotely realistic this term ...just the following two short stories by American authors :

- The Strange Case of Benjamin Button (1922, by Scott Fitzgerald), the story of a man who is born old and ages backwards. The story was made into a film not so long ago starring Brad Pitt and Kate Blanchett. Here you can see some parts and the actor/actress comments:



The Swimmer (1964, John Cheever), also made into a fim, is the story of the man who "swims back home" using all private and public swimming pools in his affluent neighbourhood.



So which one are you going to choose?

The Smoking Ban

KEY WORDS: ban, law, to outlaw, school playgrounds, café-bar culture, a drop in trade, a fall in business, supporters, health benefits, smoke-related illness, passive smoking.

Use your monolingual DICTIONARY

Read the story HERE

Health benefits but poor profits for café owners, or so they say. I'm not a smoker now, but I do feel sympathy for the poor people who pay lots of taxes and have nowhere to comfortably satisfy their craving for smoking. Are you one of them? Are you happy about the ban? Or maybe you think it's time to quit? Then go to the NHS (UK's National Health Service) and see the resources you get in the 'Quit kit', which hopefully will help you give up smoking.