He is happy, she is happy, I am happy, we are all happy...

How happy are you? There are different ways to be happy. A certain thing makes someone happy and just the opposite thing makes someone else happy too. But something is for sure, being happy is far better than feeling miserable and sad!!!

 

I want YOU to be happier!!!!

Selectivity exam to do:  Albert Einstein's theory of happiness sold for $1.5 M

 

 Here are some articles to read and a listening exercise about the different concepts of happiness:

• Can I learn the secret of happiness? (BBC)

• The true secret of happiness? Accepting that there isn’t one (The Guardian)

• Want to be happier? Stop scheduling your free time. (The Washington Post)

• Happiness linked to longer life (CNN)

Here's a listening exercise to do: Concepts of happiness (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)

 

How School Makes Kids Less Intelligent by Eddy Zhong (TED talk)

What is the difference between: 'Journey' & 'Trip' ?(English in a Minute)

John McEnroe, The Commissioner of Tennis, still talking about the Australian Open >>>

McEnroe: Stop Complaining About Your Balls!

 

LINGOHACK  >>>

• Episode 190123 / 23 January 2019    >>>  Bollywood Bridal Wear -  Language related to 'High-end fashion'.  Need-to-know language: luxury, in demand, swanky, couture, off-the-rack & glamour.

 

Revision for ESO students:

LANGUAGE IN USE

F. Make the questions to the following answers.

1. _______ ? He is from Venezuela.

2. _______ ? No, but I can speak a little French.

3. _______ ? One metre seventy-eight.

4. _______ ? About twice a week.

5. _______ ? I'm an English teacher.

6. _______ ? I go out with friends or watch TV.               

G. Translate these sentences into English:

1. ****¿Cuánto tiempo hace que has tenido ese reloj? Unos 14 años.

2. La película más emocionante que jamás he visto es 'Forrest Gump'.

3. Ni él ni ella saben hablar inglés.

4. Espero que no os importe venir el próximo miércoles. Tengo tanto que deciros.

5. No puedo costear un coche, así que siempre se lo pido prestado a un amigo.

6. "Yo no he leído el libro"  "Nosotros tampoco"

Solutions to the exercises in the previous post.

A. Put the word in the right place. 1. The radioactivity was so great that ....  2. The cinema is cheap enough....    3. I am too short to ....    4. Peter is such a lazy fellow that .... 5. ... got up yet.                                                                             

B.  1.  for  2.  for   3.    since    4.  ago   5.    since           

C.  1. is cutting , cuts   2. has just written   3. see   4. has been playing   5. had already started  6. got , was coming   7. working  8. is raining                                                                 

D.   1. The job must be done   2. Your application for the job is being considered    3. You were asked to come   4. The name of the new managing director won't be announced until next month.   5. This kind of lock hasn't been manufactured for years.

E.  1. The music we listened to last night was good.  2. Mao Tse-Tung was a famous politician from China, whose history goes back thousands of years.   3. This is the hotel I stayed at when I last came to London.  4. I grew up in Salobreña, which is a little town in the south of Spain.  5. I'll never forget the day I met you.

Music and creativity

And talking about music, have you ever seen someone playing the drums like this?

or...  >>>

• Genesis - Phil Collins e Chester Thompson (solo de bateria).avi

• Best guitar solo of all times - Mark knopfler

• Montserrat by Jeff Lorber Fusion

 

Music is very much related to creativity and creativity is something that our students may need in the future if they want to search a job. Read these articles about the issue and then watch the talk that follows:

• Everyone is born creative, but it is educated out of us at school (The Guardian)

• Creative subjects being squeezed, schools tell BBC (BBC News)

• Why we need to let kids be creative (CNN)

• What should schools put first? Discipline or creativity? (BBC News)

 

CMS-Sir Ken Robinson: Do Schools Kill Creativity?

 

Lucy tells us how to sound more British >>>

John McEnroe, The Commissioner of Tennis in another of his hilarious shows!!!

McEnroe & Friends on the Death of the Davis Cup

Revision for ESO students:

A. Put the word in the right place.

1. The radioactivity was great that they had to be underwater for eight days. (so)

2. The cinema is cheap, isn't it? (enough)

3. I am short to reach the shelf. (too)

4. Peter is a lazy fellow that he never does his homework. (such)

5. I'm afraid he hasn't got up. (yet)                                                                             

B. Choose the correct word.(Circle it)

1. I have been awake   since / for / ago  three hours.

2. That old tree has been standing    since / for / ago   fifty years.

3. She hasn't seen Peter   since / for / ago  last Friday morning.

4. I came to live in this town a year   since / for / ago  .

5. Mary's husband hasn't been ill   since / for / ago  the day they were married.          

C. Put the verbs in brackets in the correct tense.

1. Jack (cut) ________ the grass. He (cut) ________ it every week in summer.

2. He (just write) ________________ a new book.

3. I won't know the answer until I (see) ________ him.

4. She (play) _____________________ for two hours.

5. By the time he reached the theatre, the play (already start) ________________.

6. When I (get) ________ home, smoke (come)________ out of one of the upstairs windows.

7. My watch has stopped ________. (work)

8. Look outside! It (rain) ________ again.                                                                 

D. Change the sentences from an active to a passive construction.

1. Someone must do the job.  

2. They're considering your application for the job.

3. I asked you to come.

4. They won't announce the name of the new managing director until next month.

5. They haven't manufactured this kind of lock for years.

E. Insert the second sentences into the first ones by means of a RELATIVE CLAUSE.

1. The music was good. We listened to this music last night.

2. Mao Tse-Tung was a famous politician from China. The history of  China goes back thousands of years.  

3. This is the hotel. I stayed at this hotel when I last came to London.

4. I grew up in Salobreña. It is a little town in the south of Spain.

5. I'll never forget the day. I met you that day.

Hopping and hoping

 

Still hopping and hoping, Nadal has reached the Final in the Australian Open!!!!

 

 

Rafael Nadal crushes Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach Australian Open final (BBC News)

Nadal storms through to Australian Open final (The Age, Australia)

 

 

Nadal is back in Australia playing the Australian Open hopping as a teenage kangaroo and hoping to have a good performance in this first major of the tennis season. 

Rafael Nadal Greatest Point Wins Under Pressure   

 What does 'goat' mean literally? What does it really stand for here?

 

 

 

 

Rafael Nadal and KIA  >>>>

• True Resilience  

• Let Success Do the Talking    

• Play Without Limit   
  

• Commitment to the Future    

• Rafa, Unstoppable     

• What Makes a Champion    

Let's go now step by step:

• At the moment we are reading the book Rabbit-Proof Fence in 4º ESO. What can you tell me about Australia? or even the book? or the story of the book?

• 'hopping'  >>>  does this word have anything to do with the insect 'grasshopper'?

• 'hoping'  >>> do you know the difference between these verbs: EXPECT, HOPE, LOOK FORWARD & WAIT FOR.

Expect, Hope, Look Forward & Wait (explanation + exercises  & quiz)

And talking about expectations and hopes, and personal relationships, here's a video about Chatting or Dating online problems and a TED talk:

Why Online Dating Is Bad For Us

 

... and a TED talk >>>

 

What is the difference between these two words: UNTIL vs BY (English in a Minute)

 

Solutions to PART FOUR in the previous post.

31. c    32. c    33. b    34. d    35. c   36. a   37. c   38. b  39. b   40. d

Unfortunately, ...

Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Roberto Bautista Agut Highlights

John McEnroe, The self-appointed Commissioner of Tennis, becomes The Commissioner of Tennis!!!

McEnroe: If You DON'T Comment on This Video... | The Commissioner of Tennis | Australian Open 2019

 

"Order!!!"

Times are really rough at the Houses of Parliament in the UK (What will happen after the vote on May's Brexit deal?  - The Independent) and there are angry discussions every now and then. So, the Speaker Mr Bercow has to intervene in order to calm down the MPs in the House of Commons.

Some questions about vocabulary and other matters:

- Which famous building are the Houses of Parliament next to?

- Which river passes by?

- What is the PM and what's his name? And an MP?  and why do we use the indeterminate article 'an' in front of MP if it begins with a consonant?

- What does the expression 'every now and then' mean?

- What does the Speaker do?

- You have the House of Commons. Have you got anything else? (the Two-House system)

And now here are some videos for you to watch:

Funny moments in the House of Commons   

This Man Keeps Parliament In 'Order' Amidst Brexit Chaos | All In | MSNBC

Bercow goes beast mode  

 

 

Amid Brexit Chaos, E.U. Sees a 'Catastropphic Success' (The New York Times) 

 

Talking seriously every time I come across matters such as Brexit, Catalonia..., they all remind me of the great poet John Donne and his words: "No Man is an Island". Do you know what he really meant?

Watch this too:  1    And the novel For Whom The Bells Toll written by Ernest Hemingway about our Spanish Civil War. He's trailer to film made based on this novel starred by Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman >>>   

 

 

Here's another video about the problem of unemployment in Spain:

Family struggles as Spain unemployment hits new high   

  

And now two interesting things for you to bear in mind if you are learning English:

• Watch TV series according to your level: LINK   

• EL PAÍS and its first podcast in English:  https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/01/17/podcast_las_noticias_de_el_pais/1547711182_622822.html

HIGHWAY TO B1.....

Part four. Look at the picture and read the questions. The picture will help you to answer the questions. Choose the correct option: 

31. Most evenings he helps ....  some fish.    (A  to himself   B  him to    C  himself to   D  to him)

32. He can take one  ........ he likes.    (A  all the time    B  whichever  C  whenever    D   the times )

33. After all, it is ........ shop.     ( A  himself his      B   his own     C  he owns   D  owning his )

34. But Mr Talbot .......... eels home for his supper.    (A  takes not    B   never takes no   C  not takes  D  never takes) 

35. People think that eels look ....... water snakes.    (A  as   B  being   C  like   D  same as) 
36. ........ they don't fancy them, they stare at them in fish shops.    (A  Although    B  Since   C  If    D  Therefore) 
37. They seem .........  by them.   (A  fascinating    B   to fascinate   C  to be fascinated   D   to be fascinating) 
38. Eels are sold .............      (A  lives    B  live   C  living   D  lived) 
39. If the rain keeps up, Mr Talbot .... to buy himself half an umbrella.      (A   has      B  will have     C   will be having      D  will have had) 
40. Perhaps he ........  wiser to take one step to his left.      (A  can be     B   has been    C  had been   D  would be)

Solutions to PART THREE in the previous post.

21. d    22. a    23. a    24. c    25. d   26. c   27. c   28. a  29. a   30. b


What will happen to trade between the world and the UK after the Brexit???

LINGOHACK  >>>

• Episode 190116 / 16 January 2019    >>>  Frozen in time: Inside London's ice well  (Discovering London's history) -  Language related to 'Trade'.  Need-to-know language: supplying, sourced locally, imported, distributed & commercial.

Top 10 Greatest Championship Points in Tennis History

Popeye the Sailor is 90 years old!!!

Long, long time ago young children were encouraged to eat healthily by watching this cartoon series: Popeye the Sailor. Have you ever watched any of these episodes?

 

 

Popeye: How has he changed in 90 years? (BBC)

 

 

New Popeye Videos Show What 90 Years of Spinach Can Do for a Guy (The New York Times)

 

 
POPEYE® PREPARES TO CELEBRATE 90 IN 2019!  

Time is flying and we will shortly be flying to York on our VII Study trip to the British-Irish Isles  >>>

Here's a listening exercise to do: Is music getting faster? (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)

Lucy advises you to stop saying this not to sound rude in English

Studying in the UK: the pros and cons

 

 

HIGHWAY TO B1.....

Part three. Look at the picture and read the questions. The picture will help you to answer the questions. Choose the correct option: 

21. So he went back ....  fish.    (A  cut   B  for cutting    C  cutting   D  to cutting)

22. The more Bert works,  ........ he smells of fish.    (A  the more    B  much more  C  the most    D   mostly )

23. When he ........ home this evening, he will have a hot bath.     ( A  goes      B   will go     C  is going   D  will be going )

24. His wife expects .......... this.    (A  his doing    B   that he does   C  him to do this  D  him doing) 

25. "I don't mind him working in a fish shop ....... I don't want to live with fish," she says.    (A  so   B  nevertheless   C  however   D  but) 
26. "He gets no supper ........ he cleans up," she adds.    (A  but    B  if   C  unless   D  suppose) 
27. He never brings .........  fish home.   (A  some    B   no   C  any   D   the) 
28. He sees ............. fish throughout the day.     (A  too much of    B  more enough   C  more of   D  those many) 
29. Mr Talbot .... likes fish.      (A   , however,      B   although      C   because he      D  instead) 
30. He has the appetite ........  a cat.      (A  as     B   of    C  like   D  same as)

Solutions to PART TWO in the previous post.11. a    12. c    13. d    14. b    15. d   16. c   17. b   18. b  19. c   20. a

And still talking about the health problems the screen overuse may bring along (remember this previous post about the issue: Screen overuse, possible cause of digital eye strain ), here's another Lingohack episode for you to analyse.

 

LINGOHACK  >>>

• Episode 190109 / 9 January 2019    >>>  Is screen use really bad for kids? -  Language related to 'technology and health'.  Need-to-know language: digital entertainment, toxic, sedentary occupation, keep you up at night  & screen time limits.