BEING A TEACHER....

BEING A TEACHER IS A DIFFICULT TASK NOWADAYS, SO I DECIDED TO FOLLOW THIS PIECE OF ADVICE BY BRUCE LEE:

Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.

by Bruce Lee

sábado, 18 de noviembre de 2017

Reasons to go into a café


To begin with, here's a French word English-speaking people use to refer to a coffee shop/bar: 'café' (note that they have even kept the accent like in French).


Anyway, why do you go into a café? You may go just because you really need a hot beverage, as Sheldon Cooper would say in Big Bang Theory. Here's an example:



And here are two other links to hillarious situations in this sitcom: 12.

Going back to our question and no matter if you go into a coffee bar to have a coffee, a cup of tea or a coke, there are other reasons. Not long ago, people used to pop in just because they had the need to go to the toilet, so they would ask for a hot beverage and then they would go to the Houses of Parliament, a colloquial way to refer to the toilet used by some Britons. Other reasons: it's cold outside, it's raining, I want to read the newspapers they provide, I want to read my own newspaper or book in a comfortable warm place. Anyway, the reasons could be countless, but one of the latest is because they provide a free-wifi. On our trips that's what we used to do to send our WhatsApp messages or to check our emails. Do you think that this reason really still encourages people to go into a café and buy a hot chocolate or whatever?

 

Free Wi-Fi with that coffee? Why cafes are embracing an age of connectivity (The Guardian)

Is the party over for free wi-fi in cafes? (BBC)

 

Here's a listening exercise to do: How do you like your coffee? (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)

By the way, you can also have a look at this old post: Coffee, please!, where you will learn about many interesting things such as coffee addiction, a suspended coffee or how to make an Irish coffee.



Let's learn now 9 English Idioms >>>> English with Lucy

Solutions to the exercises in the previous post:

page 24  False friends
1. pay attention    2. poor        3. attend     4. assist

page 25   Vocabulary

1. to; for      2. for; in       3. for        4. at; for     5. with

page 26  Grammar

1. unless you work harder.      2. unless it is sunny.         3. unless they want to help themselves.

page 28   Vocabulary

1. This coffee is too hot for me to drink.     2. Paul is too young to watch that film.       3. That team isn’t good enough to win the match.      4. Sam doesn’t work hard enough to pass his exams.     5. That book was too boring for me to read.     6. He didn’t run fast enough to catch the bus.

New primate discovered in Angola -- and it's already in danger (CNN)


LINGOHACK  >>>

  • Episode 171108 / 08 November 2017    >>> 
    New ape species discovered   -  Language related to 'Animal discovery'.  Need-to-know language: species, DNA, genetic comparisons, evolutionary history, breakthrough.



17 comentarios:

  1. Who hasn't ever been with friends or family in a coffee shop for a coffee? Coffee shops have always been a center of social relations.

    On the one hand, historically coffee shops have been a place with many important connotations regarding some topics such as literature. Important generations of writers were born before a good coffee in cities like Madrid, coffeehouses that have continued to exist until recently as they are being replaced by new coffees with other utilities. However, in some less developed countries such as Morocco, the cafeterias have very important functions such as making meetings, going to job interviews, a situation that was the same as in our country years ago.

    On the other hand, cafeterias today have taken a 360 degrees turn since most of the time we see many people with their laptops, this can be a cause that they cann't afford to have Wi-Fi in their homes, having the advantage that using it in cafes is cheaper. As more students make an increase in the benefits of the owners of the cafeterias.

    To conclude, today they aren't given the use they have always had coffee shops, but they come to them to take advantage of new technologies.

    Paola Ruiz 2ºBach A

    ResponderEliminar
  2. Este comentario ha sido eliminado por el autor.

    ResponderEliminar
  3. Este comentario ha sido eliminado por el autor.

    ResponderEliminar
  4. Most of us love coffee, it is almost essential in our day to day. But on the other hand, something that is changing very quickly are the classic coffee shops, where you would spend time, drinking coffee or something similar, but, at the same time, there is almost no such thing; What's more, we see more and more frequently people and especially young people who go to these sites to study or something like that, because the implementation of the Internet in those sites has normalized nowadays.

    Nonetheless, the classic cafes or coffee haouses have being changing in the current times, that is to say, nowadays we we do not have to worry about if we do not have access to the internet in our house, we can simply go to places like these and do the work that we have to do or anything else, like entertainment, for example, enjoying a cup of coffee.

    Thus, Our way of thinking and seeing the coffee shops has changed and will change, time to time. Going back to the past, the first café was born in England, specifically in the district of Oxford, back in 1650. From then on, with the passage of time, little by little, its functionalities changed.

    In a nutshell, we can point out that from now on, going to the cafeteria will not be just for a cup of coffee or a chat with friends, but that little by little it will serve for other things.

    ResponderEliminar
  5. Este comentario ha sido eliminado por el autor.

    ResponderEliminar
  6. Nowadays it is a well-known fact that people consume too much caffeine when they take a coffee, a tea or an energy drink. Indeed, 23 billion cups of coffee are consumed in coffee shops or stores in the UK every year. By the way, do you know what a suspended coffee is? It is one that is bought by ordinary people to homeless. This idea was originated in Naples and it is a sign of solidarity in our society.

    On the one hand, coffee houses were originally a meeting place for lively debate and intellectual discussion. It was there because a lot of people could take part in those discussions. Moreover, the first coffee house was set up in Oxford in 1650. They quickly became popular and soon they were all over London too. You paid a penny to get in and this included access to newspapers and also stimulating conversation.

    On the other hand, currently coffee houses have changed a lot,that is to say, the spirit of those 17th century coffee houses has disappeared. Today, people sit alone plugged into their laptops and they are all doing different things thanks to free wifi. The free wifi is one of the most important factors to take into account when we decide to go to a café or not. I remember when I was in Dublin and I went to a Starbucks to buy a hot coffee because it was freezing outside, and for using the free wifi too!

    To sum up, it is true that I sometimes have a coffee in the morning because it is the only thing that helps me to stay awake. A friend of mine has a coffee addiction. Actually, he consumes too much caffeine. He can take five cups of coffee while an ordinary person takes one or even two per day. I believe that coffee can benefit us. However, it can be harmful for our health as well if we take a high quantity.

    Andrea Gutiérrez López 2BACH A

    ResponderEliminar

  7. It is known that cafés are the favourite places to meet friends as we can see in a lot of iconic series like “Friends”, “13 reasons why” and “How I met your mother”, but the reasons for going to a cafe have changed over the years, like for example a few years ago when not everybody had internet or cybercafés appeared and they pull in a lot of people.

    However, nowdays everybody has ineternet as it is a necessity for almost everything, for this reason most cybercafes are closed. In spite of this fact, more and more cafés provide you with free-wifi, which attracts a great amount of custumers.

    It is believed that cafés are quiet places where you can rest and chill out after a long day, but the reality is that most of the time you can’t as they are crowded. I reckon that sometimes the price of beverages in coffe shops is to expensive, specially in big companies as Starbucks where a coffe costs at leats 4 euros.

    To conclude, I would add that free-wifi is more and more common in places such as buses, which is very good if you are in foreign country and you need to send a message to your relatives and friends.

    Irene Ramón Arellano 2ºBach

    ResponderEliminar
  8. Este comentario ha sido eliminado por el autor.

    ResponderEliminar
  9. It is a common sight in any coffee shop people bearing away on their laptops, they are may working or unwinding. In the last years, the reasons to go into a coffee shop have changed quite a lot, from going into it due to counntless facts, for instance, because of the raining or the cold, to meet relatives and friends, and having a nice time altogether.

    To begin with, it is claimed that coffee shops are cosy places which make everyone feel at ease. Nevertheless, the downside of this is that most of the time, cafés are crowded and therefore, they don't allow you to relax and have your coffee in a peaceful place. Furthermore, providing that they have enough staff, the toilets will be spotless.

    Secondly, lately it has been heard that many cafés are switching off Wi-Fi. The reason why the shop's owners makes that choice is due to the abuse customers do of it, that is to say, many people take the most of Wi-Fi and they don't consume neither a coffee nor a glass of water. What's more, they keep on there for a long time, avoiding other people to be there.

    On balance, I tend to believe that switching off the Wi-Fi is not an accurate way to stop that issue. I agree with the fact a lot of people, especially in students areas, take the most of Café's connection and so, they have to stop that, although the most appropiate response to this situation would be to give only the consumers the password to access the Internet.

    ResponderEliminar
  10. Currently, a person has got many reasons to go into a café. There are a lot of options. The main one is obviously to have a cup of coffee, but meeting friends, eatting pastries an using their free WIFI can be other good reasons as well. The WIFI is nowadays an important resource. Some people only go in to use it and get a hot coffee.

    ResponderEliminar
  11. Normally people go to a bar to have a coffee, hang out with friends and chat. There can be many options. The main one is, clearly, to have a cup of coffee, or some refreshment also to meet with friends, eat desserts and use your free WIFI for example. WIFI is very important today is an important resource to learn about some things that happen. Some people just come in to use it and drink hot coffee.

    ResponderEliminar
  12. Este comentario ha sido eliminado por el autor.

    ResponderEliminar
  13. Today, all the people go to the bar to have a cup of hot coffee and to eat a cake with family or friends. Normally, the main option is to have a coffee, but people also use free wifi in the cafeteria. WIFI today is good to learn about things that happen, chat with friends and find information. It is best to have a hot coffee with your classmates

    ResponderEliminar
  14. Today the people usually go to the café for have a cup of coffe with her friends or when they are working. The café is a social place, the people do not go only for the coffe, they for have a good with her friends. Also the café is a good place if you have not got internet at home.

    ResponderEliminar
  15. The coffee shops have been a good meeting place for many decades. This is because the coffee shops are usually comfortable, they have toilets for the clients, they shelter from the cold or the rain and also you have at your disposal drinks or other things.

    Coffee shops have had to adapt to new technologies and the tastes of customers. That is why cybercafés emerged, places that apart from offering everything that a normal coffee shop offers, offers free WiFi service. At first, when the internet wasn´t so common in the houses, many teenagers or people who needed internet to work went to these sites. On the other hand, many people used WiFi but didn´t consume anything and this eventually caused many losses forcing some cybercafés to close.

    In my opinion, both coffee shops and cybercafes are sites that shouldn´t disappear as they are very comfortable places to work or be with friends. However, they must adapt continuously to the new generations and thus to the tastes of the customers. In addition, a good way to avoid using the Internet without consuming would be to offer the password with the ticket and change the password habitually or daily.

    Raisa Martín 2º BACH

    ResponderEliminar
  16. I’m going to describe a room, it is the living room of the BIG BANG series.
    It is a medium side room with some furniture, for example there is a new armchair next to an old chair, in front of them there is a coffee table with some magazines.
    There is an old brown sofa with a blanket and a colorful cushion. There is a lamp between the sofa and the armchair. There is a shelf with some books behind the sofa. The shelf is next to the window and near the door too. Between the window and the poster is the door with a diana.

    ResponderEliminar
  17. I’m going to describe a room, it is the living room of the BIG BANG series.
    It is a medium side room with some furniture, for example there is a new armchair next to an old chair, in front of them there is a coffee table with some magazines.
    There is an old brown sofa with a blanket and a colorful cushion. There is a lamp between the sofa and the armchair. There is a shelf with some books behind the sofa. The shelf is next to the window and near the door too. Between the window and the poster is the door with a diana.

    Carolina Prieto López 1B

    ResponderEliminar