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.
, but better things are waiting for us in the future because we must always move forward and because nothing lasts for ever. Anyway, if it lasted, it would be so boring. Life is full of changes and movements, most of which are advances we cannot avoid.
Here's my musical hint in honour of such an example for so many: Never gonna stop by Rick Astley, and this is a version with lyrics for you to sing along!
The light of Our great master will be eternal and it will show us the way in this world of darkness. It is already one year ago when Dr. Neil McLaren passed away and many generations of teachers still miss him, but he is surely present in our classes if we still try to take after him.
Here's my musical hint in honour of such an example for so many: Eternal flame by The Bangles, and this is a version with lyrics for you to sing along!
All those people who have been paramount in our lives are so alive in our hearts and they are kind of eternal flames that warm us up all along this tough cold day-to-day life.
So
what's, in your opinion, the best thing that has happened this year?
And what thing could we have done better? What has been the best song in
2023, in your opinion?
203. READING & COMPREHENSION. Read the text below about how liquor companies advertise their products.
Death by advertising
In
many countries, young people have a more active social life than any
other group in society. This means that they spend a lot of time in
pubs, bars, discotheques and clubs. Therefore, young people are a
natural target for advertisers, especially the advertisers who work for
liquor companies. Promotions and advertising campaigns aim at
introducing young people to different brands of liquor. The idea is to
attract as many young people as possible into a club or a bar. In this
way, they create a new generation of drinkers, who will go on drinking
for the rest of their lives. Companies advertise drinks at cheaper
prices together with free T-shirts, caps and posters in order to
encourage teenagers to try new "tastes" in hard liquor. One vodka
company actually held a competition at a university. The prize was free
vodka for a whole term.
Health
experts have strongly criticized this form of advertising. They argue
that young people are unaware of the dangers of alcohol. The main
danger, they say, is the serious risk to life when young people drink
large amounts of liquor and then try to drive home. Drunken driving
involving teenagers is a serious problem in many European countries,
where drinking in bars is becoming more popular among teenagers. Drunken
driving often leads to injury and death because young people are
unaware of how drinking affects their judgement and reaction time. An
unfortunate example of the effects of alcohol is the case of a young
girl who collapsed in her home after drinking 17 tequilas at a liquor
promotion. Later, when she was leaning out of her window to get some
fresh air, she fell to her death.
Experts
on alcoholism believe that the only way to prevent this disturbing
trend is to teach teenagers the facts about the effects of alcohol on
the body and to make them aware of the risks they take when they drink
and drive.
Perhaps
they should also show teenagers how they are manipulated by advertisers
who are not concerned about the consequences, but only about making a
profit.
UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT
1. Which two types of liquor are mentioned in the text? ____________________________________
2. Give two examples of free gifts the liquor companies give to teenagers. _____________________
3. Try to find the words in the text for the following definitions (one clue: they are in order) :
a. something that you want to reach; aim, objective. ______________________________
b. a product of a particular company. ______________________________
c. to give active approval to. ______________________________
d. to have no knowledge of. ______________________________
e. to be worried about. ______________________________
4. Say whether the following statements are TRUE or FALSE according to the text.
a. Young people spend a lot of their time in pubs and discotheques ________
b. Liquor companies are not interested in selling to teenagers. ________
c. Free gifts are used to persuade teenagers to try new drinks. ________
d. The drinks sold as promotions are very expensive. ________
e. The most serious consequence of teenage drinking is drunken driving. ________
f. Teenagers are not aware of the effects of alcohol on the body. ________
g. Liquor companies only care about making a profit on alcohol. ________
5. Define the following words from the text:
Advertising (l. 3) , Prize (l. 7) , Expert (l. 9)
204. COMPOSITION. Write
a composition about anything you have just read in the text or your
personal opinion about the problem of drinking among teenagers. (80 -
100 words)
"All work and no play makes Jack/Jill a dull boy/girl"
Here's my musical gift for those of you who haven't had many presents or feel alone: Alone by Heart, and this is a version with lyrics for you to sing along!
mmmEnglish teaches us how to use the prepositions of place: IN / ON / AT / BY analysing some common mistakes.
Activities for my students in Bachillerato.....
Getting ready for Bachillerato.....
Answers to the exercises in the previous post.
199. DEDUCTIONS. 1. , so you must be tired. 2. , so you can't be hungry. 3. , so I may/might/could pass it. 4. They must have got lost. 5. She can't have been Ann's sister.
200. 1. I wish I were taller. 2. If only she gave me a kiss. 3. I wish I had brought my new tennis racket.
201. 1. Take your coat in case it is cold. 2. I won't probably go out tonight. 3. My wife will certainly/surely phone before I leave. 4. I have to write down everything so as not to forget it. 5. A lot of people are required/needed to make this film.
This month's full moon is called the Wolf Moon because it is a time when wolves howl a lot during the night.
Activities for my students.....
