Black Fri & Cyber Mon

Spain embraces Black Friday

Stores sign up en masse for US-imported sale day, though its business impact is still unclear

CRISTINA DELGADO / SANDRO POZZI / FRAN SERRATO / IÑIGO LÓPEZ PALACIOS / BEATRIZ GUILLÉN Madrid 27 NOV 2015 - 12:30 CET

A sign for a Black Friday sale in a store on Madrid’s Gran Vía. / SAMUEL SANCHEZ

Spanish retailers have enthusiastically embraced Black Friday, a concept with no tradition in the country and of which few Spaniards were aware until recently.

It was only three years ago that a small group of Spanish stores first decided to introduce the idea of a pre-Christmas sale day of the kind held in the US after Thanksgiving. Last year, they were joined by some of the country’s largest retailers, including department store chain El Corte Inglés, fashion giant Mango and several brands in the Inditex group – the parent company of clothing chain Zara.

Sales have lost a bit of their attractiveness because now stores hold them whenever they want”

Florencio Delgado, head of the Downtown Madrid Retailer Federation

This year, every major chain is holding a Black Friday – so named because US businesses would traditionally see their accounts go from red to black on the back of booming sales that day – as are online retailers and even some small neighborhood stores. In fact, many outlets will be extending the sales to Monday.

With discounts offered on everything from computers to legs ofjamón, it remains to be seen whether the increasingly popular event will be profitable to Spanish businesses.

This week has seen the release of several conflicting studies on the subject. The most optimistic was commissioned by electrical retail chain Worten, and states that 83 percent of Spaniards know what Black Friday is, and that 54 percent plan to buy something in the sale. The survey was only conducted among online respondents.

Online retailer Amazon said it was getting ready for record sales on Friday. / ALVARO GARCIA (EL PAÍS)

The Digital Economy Association of Spain (Adigital) estimated that online sales between November 27 and 30 would be in the region of €1.2 billion.

In Madrid, there is a paradox: while most large stores are signing up to Black Friday, the Spanish Trade Confederation (COCEM) admits that the capital is one of the cities where fewer small and medium establishments are following the trend.

And then there are those shops where tradition is much stronger than trends.

“Our customers are not the type to come shopping on that kind of a day, so we don’t do discounts,” explained the store managers at Santarrufina, which has been selling religious memorabilia since 1887. “We have Sunday and the Day of the Immaculate Conception [December 8], which is our own Black Friday.”

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“Sales have lost a bit of their attractiveness because they were liberalized and now stores hold them whenever they want,” explains Florencio Delgado, president of the Federation of Downtown Madrid Retailers.

Nevertheless, Delgado supports the notion of Black Friday in Spain. “Even though this is an American thing, it’s not bad to have it in Spain, where we’re all out of dates to get shoppers excited. It’s a trend, and like all trends, it needs a while to take hold.”

Binge drinking in the news

Madrid wants to lift fines for street drinkers who show healthy lifestyles

Mayor Manuela Carmena’s leftist administration feels monetary sanctions are not working

BRUNO GARCÍA GALLO Madrid 25 NOV 2015 - 

Residents have long complained about the noise and litter from ‘botellones.’ / LUIS SEVILLANO

The leftist administration of Madrid Mayor Manuela Carmena wants to spare the capital’s youths from having to pay fines of up to €600 for drinking alcohol on the streets, a measure introduced by the previous conservative administration to prevent large open-air drinking parties known as botellones.

Madrid City Hall sources told EL PAÍS that “the fines are not achieving their goal of reducing the risk of drinking on the streets.”

But because “there’s a law that has to be observed,” officials from the governing Ahora Madrid alliance are contemplating commuting the fines for community work or even canceling them altogether if violators can “prove that they are managing their leisure time in ways other than drinking, such as spending their money on cultural activities, sports and so on.”

Youths typically fail to tell their parents about the sanction or pay it themselves within the 10-day deadline

A March survey on drinking habits conducted by the Health Ministry showed that 15-to-24-year-olds are the group who most indulge in botellones in Spain. In 2014, another ministry report indicated that over half of all students ages 14 through 18 had participated in an outdoor drinking binge in the previous month.

Botellones are usually held on streets and in public parks and go on until the early hours of the morning, leading to routine complaintsfrom neighbors about the noise and mess left behind.

Consuming alcohol in public areas has been forbidden since 2002; the only exceptions are in sidewalk cafés and during local fiestas. In 2012, the Madrid regional government raised the fines and eliminated the possibility of community work, while the new Citizen Safety Law passed by Congress in April establishes penalties of between €100 and €600 for drinking alcohol inside establishments or public transportation when it poses a serious disturbance of the peace.

RELATED ARTICLES

• Is Spain an “alcoholic society”?

Between January and October of this year, Madrid municipal police issued 29,756 fines, of which 101 went to minors. In 2014 there were 42,266 fines.

The trouble is, collecting the money often proves difficult. Youths typically fail either to tell their parents about the sanction or to pay it themselves within the 10-day deadline. When the official notice reaches the family home, many choose to appeal, which delays payment for up to four years; if the youth comes of age within that time, they can claim insolvency.

Javier Barbero, the Madrid councilor for health and security affairs and a former psychologist at La Paz University Hospital, admits that botellones “can cause several difficulties, both in terms of public health and coexistence.”

But he also feels that the law is inconsistent because it allows people to drink freely in sidewalk cafés.

“We have a law to observe, but we are analyzing ways to suggest important changes,” he says.

Determiners & pronouns: Other. Others, another

Quick Summary: What is the difference between another and other?

A simple rule to help you remember the difference between another and other is:

another + singular noun
other + plural noun
others (a pronoun to replace other + plural noun)

• I need another cup. (cup is singular so we use another)
• I need other cups. (cup is plural so we use other)
• I need others. (refers to other cups)

When to use ANOTHER

Another means:

• one more, an additional, an extra
• a different one; an alternative one

Another is a determiner (and a qualifier) that goes before a singular countable noun or a pronoun.

Another + Singular Countable noun

Another can be followed by a singular countable noun.

• He has bought another motorbike.
• Would you like another cup of coffee?
• Don’t worry about the rain. We can go another day.
• I think you should paint it another color.
• We are having another baby.

Another + One

Another can be placed before “one” when the meaning is clear from the text before it.

• I have already eaten two sandwiches though now I want another one. (= an additional sandwich)
• A: You can borrow more of these books if you like. B: Ok, I’ll take another one. (= another book, one more book)

Another as a pronoun

Sometimes another is used as a pronoun.

• That piece of cake was tasty. I think I’ll have another. (another = one more piece of cake)
• I don’t like this room. Let’s ask for another. (another = another room)

Note: you can also say: “I think I’ll have another one.” and “Let’s ask for another one.”

Another + number + plural noun

Another can be used before a plural noun when there is a number before that noun or before phrases such as a couple of, a few etc.

• In another 20 years my laptop is going to be obsolete.
• I like this city so much that I’m going to spend another three days here.
• We need another three teachers before classes begin.
• He was given another couple of months to finish the sculpture.

Remember another is ONE word not two words (an other is incorrect)

Another, The Other, The Others, Others

Make a choice by clicking on the radio button,
then compare it with the correct answer hidden under the answer button.

1. There's no ___ way to do it.
   other
   the other
   another
   Answerother
2. Some people like to rest in their free time. ___ like to travel.
   Other
   The others
   Others
   AnswerOthers
3. This cake is delicious! Can I have ___ slice, please?
   other
   another
   others
   Answeranother
4. Where are ___ boys?
   the other
   the others
   others
   Answerthe other
5. The supermarket is on ___ side of the street.
   other
   another
   the other
   Answerthe other
6. There were three books on my table. One is here. Where are ___ ?
   others
   the others
   the other
   Answerthe others
7. Some of the speakers went straight to the conference room. ___ speakersare still hanging around.
   The other
   The others
   Another
   AnswerThe other
8. This is not the only answer to the question. There are ___ .
   the others
   others
   another
   Answerothers
9. Please give me ___ chance.
   other
   the other
   another
   Answeranother
10. He was a wonderful teacher. Everyone agreed it would be hard to find ___ like him.
    another
    other
    the other
    Answeranother

Thanksgiving and Blackfriday

Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated in Canada and the United States as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. It is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. Several other places around the world observe similar celebrations. Thanksgiving has its historical roots in religious and cultural traditions and has long been celebrated in a secular manner as well.
 
Black Friday is the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States (the fourth Thursday of November). Since the early 2000s, it has been regarded as the beginning of the Christmas shopping season in the US, and most major retailers open very early (and more recently during overnight hours) and offer promotional sales. Black Friday is not an official holiday, but California and some other states observe "The Day After Thanksgiving" as a holiday for state government employees, sometimes in lieu of another federal holiday such as Columbus Day. Many non-retail employees and schools have both Thanksgiving and the following Friday off, which, along with the following regular weekend, makes it a four-day weekend, thereby increasing the number of potential shoppers. It has routinely been the busiest shopping day of the year since 2005, although news reports, which at that time were inaccurate, have described it as the busiest shopping day of the year for a much longer period of time.
Similar stories resurface year upon year at this time, portraying hysteria and shortage of stock, creating a state of positive feedback. The day's name originated in Philadelphia, where it originally was used to describe the heavy and disruptive pedestrian and vehicle traffic that would occur on the day after Thanksgiving. Use of the term started before 1961 and began to see broader use outside Philadelphia around 1975. Later an alternative explanation was made: that retailers traditionally operated at a financial loss ("in the red") from January through November, and "Black Friday" indicates the point at which retailers begin to turn a profit, or "in the black". Contrary to what many believed, Black Friday did not originate from the sales of slaves on the day after Thanksgiving.

 

Describing places- Speaking activities

PARIS ATTACKS

On the evening of 13 November 2015, a series of coordinated terrorist attacks—consisting of mass shootings, suicide bombings and hostage-taking—occurred in Paris, France, and Saint-Denis, its northern suburb. Beginning at 21:16 six mass shootings and three separate suicide bombings near the Stade de France occurred. The deadliest attack was at the Bataclan theatre, where attackers took hostages and engaged in a stand-off with police which ended at 00:58 on 14 November.

At least 129 people were killed, 89 of them at the Bataclan theatre. A further 352 people were injured by the attacks,including 99 people described as being seriously injured. In addition to the civilian casualties, seven attackers were killed and authorities continued to search for any accomplices that remained at large. Prior to the attack, France had been on high alert since the January 2015 attacks in Paris that killed 17 people, including civilians and police officers. French President François Hollande announced a state of emergency, the first since the 2005 riots, and placed temporary controls on the country's borders.

On 14 November, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attacks. Their motive was retaliation for French involvement in the Syrian Civil War and Iraqi Civil War President Hollande said the attacks were organised from abroad by ISIS, "with internal help", and described them as "an act of war." The attacks were the deadliest in France since the Second World War, and the deadliest in the European Union since the Madrid train bombings in 2004.

Lost Frequencies- Reality

Decisions as I go, to anywhere I ____
Sometimes I believe, at times where I should _____
I can fly high, I can go ____
Today I got a million, tomorrow, I don't ____

Stop crying like you're home and think about the _____
We're all playing the same game, laying down ______
We're unknown and wrong, special when I _______
Hate will make you cautious, love will make you ______

Make me feel the warm, make me feel the ______
It's written in our story, it's written on the _____
This is our call, we rise and we ______
Dancin' in the moonlight, don't we have it ____?

FALL-COME-ALL-KNOW-CALL-FLOW-ALONE-SHOW-GLOW--RATIONAL-WALLS-LOW-LONG-COLD

Vocabulary-Unit2- 1bach

Vocabulary Unit 2

http://www.universidadlaboraldemalaga.es/datos/Ingles/Unit_2_Easily_Confused_Words.pdf

Easily confused words

The words travel, journey, trip andvoyage can easily be confused by learners of English.

I suppose it’s a good time of year to look at these words, as the spring and summer holiday seasons will soon be starting for many people.

Travel (noun)

The noun travel is a general word, meaning to move from place to place, usually over long distances.

We can say: air travel, food and travel, space travel, business travel, a travel agency.

• Air travel is getting more expensive.
• The magazine is a food and travel guide.

We can also say travels, which is a plural noun:

• Where did you go on your travels?
• Jack Kerouac wrote many books about his travels.

Travel is also a verb:

• I travel 20 km to work every day.

Journey (noun) 

A journey means moving from one place to another, especially in a vehicle. It is asingle piece of travel. A journey can also be a regular thing.

Here is an example. Let’s say we go from London to Leeds then back again. That istwo journeys (London to Leeds is the first journey, Leeds to London is the second journey).

We can say: a bus journey, a train journey, the journey to school, my journey to work.

Be careful with the plural: journeys NOT
journies.

• How long does your journey to work take?
• Did you have a good journey?
• Did you have a good travel?

Trip (noun)

A trip describes the whole process of going somewhere and coming back. (It is more than one journey.)

Once again, let’s go from London to Leeds then back again. As I said above, that is two journeys, but it is one trip.

Some examples: a day trip, a round trip, a round-the-world trip, a boat trip and a business trip. We say go on a trip.

• We went on a three-week trip to Scotland.
• He’s gone on a business trip to Germany.
• Let’s go on a trip to the mountains this summer!
• The trip there took three hours. The journey there took three hours.

Voyage (noun)

Voyages are less common nowadays. A voyage is a very long trip, usually at sea or in space:

• At the age of twenty-three, Sir Francis Drake made his first voyage to the New World.
• A voyage around the world often took four or five years.

The French Bon voyage! translates into English as Have a good trip! or Have a goodjourney!

I hope that’s clear. Here’s a quick exercise for you to test your understanding:

1 Steve's on a business  journeytraveltripvoyage in South America. 

2 The  triptravelvoyagejourney from Manchester to London by train takes about two and a half hours. 

3 My  tripjourneytravelvoyage to Spain lasted over two weeks. I went to Madrid, Valencia, Malaga and Granada. 

4 Eric Newby wrote a book about his  travelvoyagetravels in Afghanistan in 1956. 

5 We  madewentwent ontravelled a trip to Paris to celebrate my wife's birthday. 

6 My  tripjourneytravelvoyage to work today was horrible. I was stuck in a traffic jam for two hours. 

7 Air  travelstraveljourney is much faster and cheaper nowadays compared to fifty or sixty years ago. 

HAVE YOU HEARD OF GUY FAWKES??

Million Mask March: Three officers and six police horses hurt on night of violence in London

Fifty people arrested after three police officers hospitalised during anti-capitalist march in central London that also saw photographer hit by supercar.

By Camilla Turner, and Lexi Finnigan

1:29PM GMT 06 Nov 2015

• Three police officers hospitalised and 50 people arrested
• Protesters set police car on fire and hurl fireworks at officers
• Thousands of Anonymous campaigners in Guy Fawkes masks
• Photographer hit by Aston Martin surrounded by protesters
• London protest is one of many similar marches held worldwide
• The Million Mask March: in pictures

Latest

Night of violence as police condemn protestors - summary of key events

Police chiefs have attacked "despicable, cowardly" protesters who set off fireworks at horses during masked march on Thursday evening.

Four police officers injured during an anti-capitalist march in central London that saw protesters hurl fireworks and set a patrol car on fire have now been released from hospital.

Scotland Yard said at least 50 arrests were made, mainly for public order offences with two for assaulting a police officer, on Thursday night.

In an update on Friday afternoon, the force said the injured officers have been released as it revealed that six police horses were also hurt.