Hurdles in life make you stronger

 

Hurdles, tough moments, failures (not only power failures)... in life make you stronger and a better person because you are ready to face harder challenges. So you should never give up and you should keep trying and making an effort, like in the song.

 

 

 Here's my musical hint for today:  Stronger by Kelly Clarkson. And now here's a version with the lyrics for you to sing along.

 

 

Learning English from the News: Huge power cuts in Spain and Portugal (BBC Learning English) 

 

The older you are, the readier you are to face any difficulty in life. You have solutions for almost every problem or at least you don't despair when you come across a really difficult situation and resilience becomes one of your skills.

 

 

Today is a holiday in Madrid because of the 2^nd May uprising against the French Imperial troops, as the population was being violently repressed with hundreds of public executions. 

 

 

Do you remember where there was another famous uprising?

The Easter Uprising (IES Mediterraneo students were there!!!)

 

 

Here are some activities to make my students stronger:

1º ESO    Unit 5

Translate into English :

1) ¿Cómo es la señora Harrison? Es gorda y fea.

2) Tengo mucha sed. 

3) Aquellos vasos están en la estantería,¿dónde está el vino?

4) Hay carne en el plato,pero no hay leche en el vaso.

5) ¿Tienes buen vino? Sí,tenemos un vino muy bueno.

6) ¿Cuánto mide tu hermano? Él mide casi 2 metros.

MODAL VERBS   >>>   Translate these sentences into English. 

• • No debieras comerte un almuerzo grande antes de un partido de fútbol.

  • Debes llevar sandalias dentro de la piscina. No debes llevar zapatos o zapatillas de deporte.

  • Un pez no sabe andar, pero algunos pueden saltar muy alto  fuera del agua.

  • ¿Sabes hablar alemán? No, pero sé hablar francés bien.

  • Los alumnos debieran hacer el comic de la Vuelta al Mundo en 80 días rápido.

  • Tú puedes estudiar duro durante el curso y aprobar en junio, o tú puedes vivir felizmente sin trabajar. Entonces debes estudiar durante el verano para los exámenes de septiembre.

  • La gente no puede jugar al golf en Itrabo.

 

3º ESO 

41. PASSIVE /ACTIVE. Rewrite these sentences into the Passive or Active Voice :

 1. The work has been done by the children.

 2. His horse won the race.

 3. Many things were being broken by children playing at home.

 4. He had said many things. 

 5. My colleague will do the job. 

 6. The government might buy that company.

 

 

 

Road towards success in the new PAU (Selectivity exam)

 

Rephrase/Rewrite these sentences by using another suitable structure:

221. Albert is such a hard teacher, but in the end we are better prepared for the Selectivity exam.     Although....

222. During the COVID-19 pandemic, authorities widely used medical robots to take patients' temperatures as these couldn't get infected.    Medical robots...

223. The price of olive oil is increasing very much these days.      ... getting....

224. Although they grew up in Germany, they have never thought of claiming the German nationality.    Despite...

225. Nerea usually plays the piano after lunch.  How...

226. It wouldn't be sensible to drive in such a heavy rain. You...

227. His father-in-law invited him for dinner. "

228. We have decided to go to the cinema this evening.    We....

229. My grandmother had the habit of washing the clothes in the river.   My grandmother...

230. The bookshelf was too high for the small boy to get the dictionary. The small boy was not... 

 

 

Solution to the exercises in the previous post

 

Rephrasing

 

211.  "Can we use our calculators in the exam?"

212. Which company does your father work for?

213. If only I had remembered your birthday party.  ///  If I hadn't forgotten your birthday party, I would have bought you a present and I would have gone.

214.  My neighbour's son may/might be studying at the University of Granada.

215. It was such a long book I couldn't finish reading it before Christmas.

216. I wish I had taken my umbrella.

217. You must have a driving licence in Spain to drive a car.  

218. "Will/Would/Could you, please, lie on the couch?"

219. My little brother was able to get out of the swimming-pool when he fell into it at the age of 3.  

220. The teacher asked his students to do that simple exercise // if they could do that simple exercise.

Here are some more activities to make my students stronger:

• Prepositions with Georgie:   What is a preposition?  (BBC Learning English)  
  

• 
  

  English in a Minute: Verbs to use with METHOD  (BBC Learning English) 
  

• Listening exercise for you to do: Can cows prevent wildfires?  (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)

• The English We Speak:   Zing  (BBC Learning English) 

 

English with Lucy  >>>  Do you know these 12 common words? 

  

 

 

 

"All work and no play makes Jack/Jill a dull boy/girl"

Learn English with the Simpsons

 

 

Madrid 2025 -  Day 7  ,   Quarter-finals ,  Semi-finals and the FINAL

 

       vs

 

 

Stories to tell our grandchildren

 

One day we will tell our grandchildren that there was a power outage or blackout that left Spain and Portugal in the darkness, and they will probably think about grandpa talking again about his old battles and so on. It was not just a simple power failute, but will they believe us?

 

 

Actually, we have witnessed and suffered a pandemic, being locked down in our homes for months, the assault of the Capitol in the United States, the terrorist attacks to the Twin Peaks and the Pentagon, the capture of Osama Bin Laden, 5 Popes so far, many wars and so on. Regarding sport events, we have seen how Spain won the World Cup and 4 European championships, Indurain winning the Tour de France five times in a row, Rafa Nadal winning 14 Roland Garros, Real Madrid winning their 15th Champions League...

 

Some articles to read about the issue of the power outage or blackout in Portugal and Spain:

 

Spain and Portugal power outage: what caused it, and was there a cyber-attack? (The Guardian)

Spain, Portugal work to fix massive power outage (DW)

Power begins to return after huge outage hits Spain and Portugal (Reuters)

Power returns after massive blackout in Spain and Portugal as fallout continues (EuroNews)

Spain declares state of emergency as power blackout chaos continues | BBC News

 

 

 Here's my musical hint for today:  Dreams by Fleetwood Mac. And now here's a version with the lyrics for you to sing along.

 

 

 

 

Road towards success in the new PAU (Selectivity exam)

 

Rephrase/Rewrite these sentences by using another suitable structure:

211. He wanted to know if they could use their calculators in the exam.   "

212. My father works for UFESA company.    Which....

213. I forgot your birthday party. If... 

214. I'm not sure if my neighbour's son is studying at the University of Granada. My neighbour's son...

215. The book was very long. I couldn't finish reading it before Christmas.   It was...

216. If only I had taken my umbrella. I...

217. It is compulsory to have a driving licence in Spain to drive a car.  You...

218. The doctor asked me politely to lie on the couch. "

219. My little brother managed to get out of the swimming-pool when he fell into it at the age of 3.  

My little brother...

220. "Can you do this simple exercise?"   The teacher...

 

Solution to the exercises in the previous post

 

Rephrasing

 

201. A robot is more accurate than a surgeon.

202. Many people hate having blood samples taken.

203. I wish we had medical robots in our hospitals.

204. "I'll open the door for you"

205. Richard suggested going for a drink.

206. If only I had studied more before doing this exercise.

207. In spite of being expensive, German cars are so reliable.

208. She must be in the supermarket.

209. If it rains tomorrow, I won't play tennis.

210. William Shakespeare wrote Hamlet.

 

Here are some activities for my students in case there is another blackout:

• The English We Speak:   It's giving  (BBC Learning English)
  

• 
  

  Office English: Misunderstandings  (BBC Learning English)  

• Real Easy English: Talking about gifts  (BBC Learning English)

• Ask BBC Learning English:   Present Perfect or Past Simple?  (BBC Learning English) 

 

 

 

"All work and no play makes Jack/Jill a dull boy/girl"

Learn English with   Little Women    

 

 

Madrid 2025 -  Day 5  ,    Day 6  ,

 

 

 

The forgotten crisis and problems in the world

 

 

The world is full of crisis and problems, but we just have eyes for few of them. For example, who knows or cares about the war in Sudan?

 

 

Learn English from the News: Sudan's war: "World's worst humanitarian crisis"  (BBC Learning English)

 

 Pope Francis dies   

 

 

Pope Francis died from a stroke followed by heart failure, Vatican says (The Guardian)

Pope Francis, voice for the poor who transformed the Catholic Church, dies on Easter Monday (CNN)

What happens after the death of Pope Francis and when is the funeral? (BBC News)

Conclave: Inside the secret election to choose the next Pope (the Independent)

 

 

Our newspapers are full of what happens in the Gaza Strip, in Ukrania, in the world because of the tariffs President Trump is setting... but have you ever heard of the war in Sudan? Does anyone care about a war that lasts more than two years?

 

 

 

Here are some articles related to the issue of the war in Sudan:

Death, displacement and devastation – two years of war in Sudan (The Guardian)

Sudan war: A simple guide to what is happening (BBC News)

Sudan’s army has captured the capital. Is it a turning point in the devastating conflict? (CNN)

The Forgotten crisis: War in Sudan | DW Documentary 

 

Here are some activities for my students, who are never forgotten by their English teacher:

in 1º ESO  on MODAL VERBS:  CAN / MUST / SHOULD    1   & changing adjectives to adverbs: exercise   1  2   

in 3º ESO on  ACTIVE / PASSIVE VOICE   1  2 

 

What would you say? Why?

Dog welcomes thief like a friend.            OR           Thief is welcomed like a friend by a dog.

The solution is below in the section Learn English with the News

 

 

 

 Here's my musical hint for today:  I wanna dance with somebody by Whitney Houston. And now here's a version with the lyrics for you to sing along.

 

 

 

Road towards success in the new PAU (Selectivity exam)

 

Rephrase/Rewrite these sentences by using another suitable structure:

201. A surgeon is not as accurate as a robot.   A robot....

202. Many people hate going to hospital and asking nurses to take blood samples from them. Many people...

203. It would be so good to have medical robots in our hospitals.  I

204. The student offered to open the door for him.  -  "

205. "How about going for a drink?", said Richard.    Richard suggested...

206. I regretted not having studied more before doing this exercise. If only...

207. German cars are expensive, but they are so reliable.   In spite ....

208. Mum is not in. She's surely in the supermarket. She (modal verb)....

209. It may rain tomorrow, so I won't play tennis then.   If...

210. Hamlet was written by Willliam Shakespeare.       William Shakespeare....

 

 

Solution to the exercises in the previous post

 

Rephrasing

 

191. (Have sth. Done)  - You will have your hair cut tomorrow.

192. (Question)   - How often does he visit his parents?

193. (Reported speech)   - Tim asked his mother if he could go to the disco.

194. (Contrast connector)  - Although the questions were difficult, she got a high mark in her exam.

195. (Modals)   - You don’t have to make your bed. / You needn’t make your bed.

196. (Passive)   - We will be told the news tomorrow night.

197. (Conditionals)  - If I earned much money, I could buy a new car.

198. (Superlative)   - James Bond Is the most famous fictional secret agent.

199. (Modal verb) Robots can carry out most household activities.

200. (Modal verb) - You have to make the project if you want to have a good mark.

 

I will never forget to set some activities for my beloved students:

• Listening exercise to do:   Can AI solve crime?  (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)
  

• 
  

  English in a Minute: Verbs to use with OPINION  (BBC Learning English)  

• Listening exercise for you to do: How climate change affects animal migration  (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)

• The English We Speak:   Dial down  (BBC Learning English) 

 

English with Lucy  >>>  Answer "HOW ARE YOU?" in Advanced English: Use These Phrases! (C1+) 

 

 

 

 

 

"All work and no play makes Jack/Jill a dull boy/girl"

Learn English with the NEWS -   Dog Welcomes Thief Like a Friend    

 

 

Madrid 2025 -  Day 3  ,   Day 4  ,