Food and cooking
Posted by CRISTINA CABAL DIAZ under Cooking, Resources, Word of the Day
1.Take a drink of Vinegar : This would be sour or so considered to be.
1.A Grannysmith green cooking apple would be sour
How To Pass the Test When You Haven’t Read the Book
Posted by CRISTINA CABAL DIAZ under Funny Stuff, Listening
Hey! Hold on a sec… this is not what you think it is but just the opposite .
As the writing test is nearing some of you are probably beginning to wonder whether you’ll have time to finish your novel or whether it might be necessary to find help somewhere else. In case you are considering the infinite possibilities the Internet offers , watch this video… I’ve watched it too. 
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A book Review
A Book Review
Posted by CRISTINA CABAL DIAZ under Resources, The English Language
You have been reading your books for a while now and I sincerely hope you are enjoying it. But… hurry up if you haven’t finished because your writing test is coming… sorry to give you bad news. I have already made up my mind to do it on Wednesday April 29 in class.
Here are some considerations and tips about writing book reviews . I hope you find them useful.
What is the difference between a book report and a book review? A book report is completely factual. It includes information on the author, title, place and year of publication as well as a summary of the content of the book. A book review, on the other hand, is much more personal. It is really an expression of the reader’s opinion of the work, or of specific aspects of the work. The review will probably include much of the same factual content as the report, but it is the reader’s personal opinions that are most important.
You have read your book. Your next step will be to organize what you are going to say about it in your report. Writing the basic elements down in an outline format will help you to organize your thoughts.What will you include in the outline?
The description should include such elements as:
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The setting—where does the story take place?
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The time period—is the story set in the present day or in an earlier time period? Perhaps it is even set in the future!
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The main character(s)—who is the story mostly about? Give a brief description. Often, one character can be singled out as the main character, but some books will have more than one
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The plot—what happens to the main character? WARNING! Be careful here. Do not fall into the boring trap of reporting every single thing that happens in the story. Pick only the most important events. Here are some hints on how to do that. First, explain the situation of the main character as the story opens. Next, identify the basic plot element of the story–is the main character trying to achieve something or overcome a particular problem? Thirdly, describe a few of the more important things that happen to the main character as he/she works toward that goal or solution. Finally, you might hint at the story’s conclusion without completely giving away the ending.
WRITING TIPS
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How do you say 2010?
Posted by CRISTINA CABAL DIAZ under The English Language, Word of the Day
Lately I’ve stumbling about how to say 2010. If you think for a while you’ll see that ,so far, we have been saying 1900 as nineteen hundred and 1908 as nineteen oh eight or eighteen hundred and eight.
The question, then, is: if the year 1800 is eighteen hundred, how do you account for the year 2000 being two thousand and not twenty hundred? (Ok, let’s say that some people say twenty hundred but the vast majority don’t and we’re certainly sticking with the majority,)
So, what about 2010? Even though it is coming soon, it is still somewhat unclear whether the English speaking world will tend to call it twenty ten or two thousand ten.
I’ve done some research and found that people say different things:
2010= twenty ten
2010= two thousand (and) ten
2010 = oh ten
Some of the people favouring twenty ten argue that it sounds more natural and others even say that people are lazy so, as twenty ten has only three syllables, this is certainly the favourite one.
But let’s see what the experts have to say: According to David Crystal, author of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, the change of pronunciation to “twenty X” will occur in 2011, as “twenty eleven”, explaining that the way people pronounce years depends on rhythm, rather than logic. Crystal claims that the rhythm or “flow” of “two thousand (and) ten”, beats that of “twenty ten”, but the flow of “twenty eleven” beats “two thousand (and) eleven”.Alternatively, Ian Brookes, editor-in-chief of Chambers Dictionary, suggests the change will occur in 2013 (as 2012 is often referred to as “two thousand and twelve”).
It seems we’ll have to wait and see.
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The IT Crowd
Posted by CRISTINA CABAL DIAZ under Funny Stuff, Listening
The IT Crowd is a British popular cult sitcom . The comedy takes a surreal look at the ‘underclass’ of a company - the Information Technology department set in the computer department of Reynholm Industries. The staff are IT geeks Roy and Moss, and Jen.
MOSS lives with his mum, who also dresses him, styles his hair and buys his clothes.He’s highly intelligent, scared of spiders and has the social skills of a serial killer. The closest he’s got to a woman is Lara Croft. (in the picture the one with the laptop)
ROY is the smiling face of the I.T. Department, Roy’s spiky personality ensures he’ll always be kept away from normal people as long as possible.He’s king of the basement, indulging his love of comic books, fast food, computer games and random arguments with his best friend, Moss. (in the picture the one reading the magazine)
JEN knows nothing about IT, she only got the job because she said she had extensive experience of computers like using mices, clicking, double-clicking, and that thing that goes on the floor… the er hard-drive?As well as being their line manager, Jen is Roy and Moss’ agony aunt, relationship coach and guru about life outside the basement. Not that her life is going particularly well, it’s just better than theirs.
Now, what comes next is homework . There are two videos and this is what you have to do:
VIDEO A. Watch the video three times B. Answer the questions C. Send them to me before April 14th.
1. What two reasons does Moss give Roy to prevent him from using the toilet?
2. The first time the manager asks Roy what happened, what does he answer?
3. What does he say happened to his wheelchair?
4. Does the wheelchair they finally bring belong to Roy? Answer giving details
VIDEO B.
Talking to Jen:
1. Who does he say stole his wheelchair?
2. How has he become disabled?
3.What does he order?
Talking to Lorna:
4. What does Lorna find so difficult about Roy?
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As we are learning about the weather …I thought it might be a good idea to teach with rhythm.
It’s Raining Men was originally recorded by The Weather Girls ,who were the duo formed by Martha Wash and Izora Rhodesand . The song went number 1 ,selling over 6million copies worldwide .Barbara Streisand and Diana Ross were both offered this song and turned it down, I guess they are still regretting it.
Geri Halliwell, formerly a member of The Spice Girls, also recorded this song in 2001. Her version was used on the soundtrack to the movie Bridget Jones’ Diary. When released, the single shot straight to number1 for 2 weeks.
If you want to do the listening we did in class , click here http://www.eoilangreo.net/cristina/advanced/itsrainingmen1.htm
Word of the Day: Ditto
Posted by CRISTINA CABAL DIAZ under The English Language, Word of the Day
I bumped into this word and my first thought was: Gosh!! I have so many things to learn. So, here i
t is. I wouldn’t dare not sharing it with you.
“Ditto”, what a strange word to be used in English!. In fact, you can use so many other expressions with the same meaning as Ditto , that that must have been the reason why I’ve never felt the need to use it.
But let’s not ramble and get to the point, the point being the meaning of this word .
You use it ,informally, to agree with what someone has just said.
A: What a nice teacher! B: Ditto
Or as stated in the cartoon to avoid repetition.
The English language does not have a Real Academia de la Lengua
Posted by CRISTINA CABAL DIAZ under Resources, The English Language
It is said that the English language has more words than any other language in the world and it seems it might be true .According to the editors of the Oxford Dictionary there are at the very least, a quarter of a million distinct English words, excluding inflections, and words from technical and regional vocabulary , but have you ever wondered how a word gets into a dictionary?
The British do not have a Real Academia de la Lengua to be proud of , so how do they choose the words they need to include in a dictionary? The answer is simple: people need to use it. Basically editors watch the word for several years to see how it is used in both spoken and written English. They check to see that the word is used to express an idea clearly, and that the idea is understood. Then when the word is seen in writing and speech regularly, it can go in the dictionary.
That was the way for new words such as “pescatarian” ( a person who eats fish but not meat) or “infinity pool” to refer to a type of swimming pool with an edge that makes the water appear to flow into the horizon.
The English language is constantly growing, developing and changing. Nowhere is this more true than on the Internet. There are new words phrases and acronyms being invented all of the time. Many of these disappear very quickly, but other stay and become part of the language, so it can be really useful to know some of them.
Have you ever tried reading the posts on My Space and had such a hard time understanding it that you had to stop after only a few sentences? Not anymore, just go to this site http://www.noslang.com/ and copy and paste what you cannot understand into No Slang.com and they’ll tell you what the heck they’re talking about.
Now, things such as f@ or n1 won’t be a mystery to you anymore.
The Italian Man who went to Malta
Posted by CRISTINA CABAL DIAZ under Funny Stuff, Listening
The written version of this hilarious sketch has been in my power for years , as many as 15 probably. With the speaking exam at your doorstep I thought it was a good opportunity to show you what you must not do if you want to pass this test with flying colours.
Have fun and study hard !!!
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