Thursday 26 October 2017

Halloween. American culture made a big business


Watch th videos of this sections or visit www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween and read the article entitled Ancient origins of Halloween. Look for the answers to these 13 (unlucky for some) questions.

1. Where is the celebration of Halloween thought to have come from?
2. The Celts occupied an area of land covering three modern-day countries or regions. Which
are they?
3. Why did the Celts celebrate ‘Samhain’ on the night of 31 October?
4. What did the Celts believe the ghosts of the dead would cause damage and trouble to?
5. To commemorate the event, what did the Druids build?
6. What costumes did they wear?
7. What did they re-light to help protect them from the coming winter?
8. By 43 AD, who had mostly conquered the Celts?
9. What two other festivals were combined with ‘Samhain’?
10. After many changes due to the spread of Christianity, what new celebration was created
in 1000 AD?
11. What were the similarities between this day and ‘Samhain’?
12. What was another name given to this celebration?
13. What was the night before called and what did this finally become?


Wednesday 25 October 2017

Love Beats hate

https://youtu.be/F75CibembZk

Rephrasing practice

5  Rewrite the sentences using the words in brackets.
     1. Your mother called a few minutes ago. (just)
         Your mother .............................................................................
2. The students finished solving the problem. Then the bell rang. (when)
         When the bell rang, the students .........................................     
3. The boys cleaned the garage. It took them two hours. (for)
         The boys ..................................................................................      
4. The train left at two o’clock. We got to the station late. (after)
         We .........................................................................................    
5. The champion began playing tennis when she was four years old. (since)
         The champion .......................................................................  

KEY
1. has just called
2. had finished solving the problem when the bell rang
3. had been cleaning the garage for two hours
4. got to the station after the train had left
5. has been playing tennis since she was four years old

EBAU Cantabria-English

Criterios de corrección

Listening practice


Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

The boss of Europe's biggest low-cost airline (1) ___________________ increase the pay and working conditions of pilots to stop them leaving the company. Michael O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair, made (2) __________________ to the budget carrier's 4,200 (3) ___________________ concerns that pilots are dissatisfied and want to quit the company. Pilots have been offered salary increases of up to $11,700 (4) ___________________ of $14,000. A long-serving pilot told the BBC this was, "too little, too late." He said: "There is a (5) ___________________ benefits [for pilots] - no free bottles of water, coffee or tea and no crew meals." He said pilots also had to buy their own uniform. He added: "People have just had enough (6) ___________________ atmosphere."
Mr O'Leary (7) ___________________ repair the damage done to Ryanair's reputation after (8) ___________________ with pilot holidays. The costly mistake meant more than 20,000 flights have been cancelled recently because of a (9) ___________________ pilots. This has affected over 700,000 passengers. An industry analyst said the airline made (10) ___________________, "by initially disrespecting the skill set of pilots". He added: "In a rare move, [Ryanair] is being (11) ___________________, apologize and meet [pilots'] pay demands." O'Leary is confident that pilots will stay. He said: "I urge you to stay with Ryanair for a brighter, better future for you and your family." He added: "We are (12) _____________ employer in a very insecure industry."


Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)  promised to increase the pay and working ______ pilots
     a.  conditions off
     b.  condition of
     c.  conditioned of
     d.  conditions of
2)  Michael O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair, made a personal pledge to the budget ______ pilots
     a.  carrier's 4,200
     b.  carries are 4,200
     c.  carry as 4,200
     d.  carry was 4,200
3)  address concerns that pilots are dissatisfied and want ______ company
     a.  to quiet the
     b.  to quite the
     c.  to quit the
     d.  to quilt the
4)  A long-serving pilot told the BBC this was, "too ______."
     a.  little, two late
     b.  little, to late
     c.  little, tool late
     d.  little, too late
5) a lack of basic benefits for pilots - no free bottles of water, coffee or tea ______ meals
     a.  and no clue
     b.  and no crew
     c.  and no cue
     d.  and no queue
6)  Mr O'Leary is attempting to repair the damage done to ______         a.  Ryanair's reputation
     b.  Ryanair's repetition
     c.  Ryanair's respiration
     d.  Ryanair's reparation
7)  20,000 flights have been cancelled recently because of a lack of ______
     a.  avail a ball pilots
     b.  avail able pilots
     c.  avail a bull pilots
     d.  available pilots
8)  An industry analyst said the airline made this ______
     a.  ghostly error
     b.  coast lie error
     c.  gross tea error
     d.  costly error
9)  He added: "In a rare move, Ryanair is being ______
     a.  forced to backs pedal
     b.  forced to backpedal
     c.  forced to back pedals
     d.  forced to backed pedal
10)  He added: "We are a very secure employer in a very ______."
     a.  in secure industry
     b.  non-secure industry
     c.  inns a cure industry
     d.  insecure industry


Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if a-h below are true (T) or false (F)
  • The airline in the article is Europe's biggest low-cost carrier.                                                                       T / F
  • The airline employs almost 42,000 pilots.                 T / F
  • The airline offered a salary increase of up to $14,000.                                                                       T / F
  • The airline provides pilots with uniforms free of charge.                                                                         T / F
  • The airline made a mistake with its pilots' holiday schedule.                                                                  T / F
  • Over 700,000 passengers have been affected by flight cancellations.                                                       T / F
  • The article said pedals on airplanes weren't put back.                                                                           T / F
  • The airline is fairly sure that its pilots will not quit.       T / F

Airline boss promises pilots bonus to keep flying

A 2-Page Mini-Lesson - Pilots

Saturday 21 October 2017

Rephrasing practice

Rewrite the sentences using the words in brackets.

1. Do you plan to call him tonight? (are)
        .............................................................................................
2. She came up with the idea in the middle of her sleep. (sleeping)
        .............................................................................................
3. What was your opinion of the robot teacher? (think)
        .............................................................................................
4. Is this Sam’s laptop? (belong)
        .............................................................................................
5. He became a reporter ten years ago. (for)
        He .....................................................................................  .
6. The witness called the police. Then she tried to help the victim. (after)
        The witness ....................................................................  .
7. She hasn’t broken the law. (never)
        She ...................................................................................  .
8. The burglar alarm went off a moment ago. (just)
        The burglar alarm ..........................................................  .

KEY
1. Are you planning to call him tonight?
2. She came up with the idea while she was sleeping.
3. What did you think of the robot teacher?
4. Does this laptop belong to Sam?
5. . has been a reporter for ten years
6. tried to help the victim after she had called the police.
7. has never broken the law.
8. has just gone off.

Past tenses review

Present Perfect Simple – Present Perfect Progressive

Form



Present Perfect SimplePresent Perfect Progressive
irregular verbs: form of 'have' + 3rd column of irregular verbs
Example:
I / you / we / they have spoken
he / she / it has spoken
regular verbs: form of 'have' + infinitive + ed
Example:
I / you / we / they have worked
he / she / it has worked
form of 'have' + been + verb + ing
Example:
I / you / we / they have been speaking
he / she / it has been speaking
Exceptions
Exceptions when adding 'ed' :
  • when the final letter is e, only add d
    Example:
    love - loved
  • after a short, stressed vowel, the final consonant is doubled
    Example:
    admit - admitted
  • final l is always doubled in British English (not in American English)
    Example:
    travel - travelled
  • after a consonant, final y becomes i (but: not after a vowel)
    Example:
    worry - worried
    but: play - played
Exceptions when adding 'ing' :
  • silent e is dropped. (but: does not apply for -ee)
    Example: come - coming
    aber: agree - agreeing
  • after a short, stressed vowel, the final consonant is doubled
    Example: sit - sitting
  • after a vowel, the final consonant l is doubled in British English (but not in American English).
    Example: travel - travelling
  • final ie becomes y.
    Example: lie - lying
Use
Both tenses are used to express that an action began in the past and is still going on or has just finished. In many cases, both forms are correct, but there is often a difference in meaning: We use the Present Perfect Simple mainly to express that an action is completed or to emphasise the result. We use the Present Perfect Progressive to emphasise the duration or continuous course of an action.

Result or duration?

Do you want to express what has happened so far or how long an action has been going on yet?
Present Perfect SimplePresent Perfect Progressive
Result (what / how much / how often)
I have written 5 letters. / I have been to London twice.
Duration (how long)
I have been writing for an hour.

Certain verbs

The following verbs are usually only used in Present Perfect Simple (not in the progressive form).
  • state: be, have (for possession only)
    Example: We have been on holiday for two weeks.
  • senses: feel, hear, see, smell, taste, touch
    Example: He has touched the painting.
  • brain work: believe, know, think, understand
    Example: I have known him for 3 years.

Emphasis on completion or duration?

Do you want to emphasise the completion of an action or its continuous course (how has somebody spent his time)?
Present Perfect SimplePresent Perfect Progressive
Emphasis on completion
I have done my homework. (Meaning: My homework is completed now.)
Emphasis on duration
I have been doing my homework. (Meaning: That's how I have spent my time. It does not matter whether the homework is completed now.)

Result or side effect?

Do you want to express that a completed action led to a desired result or that the action had an unwanted side effect?
Present Perfect SimplePresent Perfect Progressive
desired result
I have washed the car. (Result: The car is clean now.)
unwanted side effect
Why are you so wet? - I have been washing the car. (side effect: I became wet when I was washing the car. It does not matter whether the car is clean now.)

Time + negation: last time or beginning of an action?

In negative sentences: Do you want to express how much time has past since the last time the action took place or since the beginning of the action?
Present Perfect SimplePresent Perfect Progressive
since the last time
I haven't played that game for years. (Meaning: It's years ago that I last played that game.)
since the beginning
I haven't been playing that game for an hour, only for 10 minutes. (Meaning: It's not even an hour ago that I started to play that game.)

Permanent or temporary?

If an action is still going on and we want to express that it is a permanent situation, we would usually use the Present Perfect Simple. For temporary situations, we would prefer the Present Perfect Progressive. This is not a rule, however, only a tendency.
Present Perfect SimplePresent Perfect Progressive
permanent
James has lived in this town for 10 years. (Meaning: He is a permanent resident of this town.)
temporary
James has been living here for a year. (Meaning: This situation is only temporary. Maybe he is an exchange student and only here for one or two years.)

Signal words

Present Perfect SimplePresent Perfect Progressive
  • how often
  • ... times
  • how long
  • since
  • for

Exercises on Present Perfect Simple and Present Perfect Progressive

Tests on Present Perfect Simple and Present Perfect Progressive

  • Test 1
  • Test 2

  • Simple PastPresent Perfect Simple
    irregular verbs: see 2nd column of irregular verbs
    Example:
    I spoke
    irregular verbs: form of 'have' + 3rd column of irregular verbs
    Example:
    I / you / we / they have spoken
    he / she / it has spoken
    regular verbs: infinitive + ed
    Example:
    I worked
    regular verbs: form of 'have' + infinitive + ed
    Example:
    I / you / we / they have worked
    he / she / it has worked
    Exceptions
    Exceptions when adding 'ed':
    • when the final letter is e, only add d
      Example:
      love - loved
    • after a short, stressed vowel, the final consonant is doubled
      Example:
      admit - admitted
    • final l is always doubled in British English (not in American English)
      Example:
      travel - travelled
    • after a consonant, final y becomes i (but: not after a vowel)
      Example:
      worry - worried
      but: play - played
    See also explanations on Simple Past and Present Perfect Simple

    Use

    In British English, the use of Simple Past and Present Perfect is quite strict. As soon as a time expression in the past is given, you have to use Simple Past. If there are no signal words, you must decide if we just talk about an action in the past or if its consequence in the present is important.
    Note that the following explanations and exercises refer to British English only. In American English, you can normally use Simple Past instead of Present Perfect. We cannot accept this in our exercises, however, as this would lead to confusions amongst those who have to learn the differences.

    Certain time in the past or just / already / yet?

    Do you want to express that an action happened at a certain time in the past (even if it was just a few seconds ago) or that an action has just / already / not yet happened?
    Simple PastPresent Perfect Simple
    certain time in the past
    Example:
    I phoned Mary 2 minutes ago.
    just / already / not yet
    Example:
    I have just phoned Mary.

    Certain event in the past or how often so far?

    Do you want to express when a certain action took place or whether / how often an action has happened till now?
    Simple PastPresent Perfect Simple
    certain event in the past
    Example:
    He went to Canada last summer.
    whether / how often till now
    Example:
    Have you ever been to Canada? / I have been to Canada twice.

    Emphasis on action or result?

    Do you just want to express what happened in the past? Or do you want to emphasise the result (a past action's consequence in the present)?
    Simple PastPresent Perfect Simple
    Emphasis on action
    Example:
    I bought a new bike. (just telling what I did in the past.)
    Emphasis on result
    Example:
    I have bought a new bike. (With this sentence I actually want to express that I have a new bike now.)

    Signal Words

    Simple PastPresent Perfect Simple
    • yesterday
    • ... ago
    • in 1990
    • the other day
    • last ...
    • just
    • already
    • up to now
    • until now / till now
    • ever
    • (not) yet
    • so far
    • lately / recently

    Exercises on Simple Past and Present Perfect Simple

    Tests on Simple Past and Present Perfect Simple

Wednesday 11 October 2017

Erasmus+ Project

Many resources of our Planet Earth are not equally shared. This is being globally discussed, facing the fact that the growth of the world population will bring our planet to its limits. At the same time there is an affluence and waste of resources in many European countries, and global problems are not really taken serious. On the other hand many European countries are patterns in many fields for the whole world regarding sustainability. But we do not make use of our full potential, the strength and experience of EU states to enhance sustainability - despite the fact that our agricultural Common Market is so well interwoven.

The project “European food sustainability vs. food waste” will involve students and teachers from 5 different countries and backgrounds (Germany, Italy, France, Poland and Spain) in an effort to discover and learn about the resources, components and habits related to food and consumerism while they are analyzing and working with their own culture and the culture of their partner schools. All the staff in our schools, the parents, the local/regional Cultural Associations and the local authorities will be invited to take part in the activities proposed in our project.

 We intend to develop positive attitudes, habits and respect towards healthy food and consumers' education contrasting and gaining awareness on the differences and similarities, analyzing results with people from other cultures and to promote the concept of European citizenship through intercultural dialogue on health and social issues. We intend to help our students to grow a sense of belonging, not only in their own society and culture, but also in a bigger social community – Europe. In addition, we aim to improve the foreign language skills of students and teachers through CLIL methodology, the use of ICT at school as a way of communicating with other partners and a mutual understanding on strategies for the inclusion of all pupils.

 Our pupils will share many activities with their European partners through the eTwinning platform and in the meetings and learning activities. They will learn about different cultures, habits, foods and dishes and lifestyles. All these activities will be included in our school curriculum. They will also discover the importance of learning a foreign language to communicate with others in a real context through enjoyable activities.

The main goal of our project is to give our students a good chance of widening their cultural horizons, to increase their sense of belonging to a wider community and to teach them to work collaboratively towards specific topics, fostering consciousness as citizens of Europe. Therefore, this partnership with European schools will enable us to add excitement to the teaching of culture, traditions, and foreign languages and to motivate the students in their learning when they are given the chance to compare different educational systems and methodologies and the opportunity to participate in the daily life of some European schools.

1. Analysis of the product packaging, wrapping, its chemical composition; the choice of the most sustainable packaging; ideas of package replacement, the introduction of good habits, analysis of symbols, logos on the packages
2. Questionnaire: time and composition of meals, evaluation of the quality of nutrition, proposals for change bad eating habits; analysis and comparing of the results
3. Interviews with shop-owners, shop-assistants of hypermarkets and supermarkets, preparing a report on the quantity and quality of food waste.
4. Situation of people in need of food. Ways of collecting food and transferring it to those who need it, charity actions.
5. Food products (domestic and foreign), their availability in supermarkets, domestic and international offer of restaurants, new dishes, their original names and pronunciation and national translations. Green, ecologic and local produce.


The students of each country create some logos and they have to choose one logo for the contest. The logo will be uploaded on the website. 10 students + 1 teacher + the headmaster in each country have to choose the best logo.

Compulsory elements of the Logo:
  • Name of the project “Supermeal“
  • EU Logo in it
  • Year 2017-19
  • All countries have to be involved

Erasmus Day-oct17