ORACLE NIGHT

Portugal have won the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time in the competition’s history.

Salvador Sobral, 27, won with his love ballad Amar Pelos Dois, which was written by his sister.

He said on receiving the trophy: "We live in a world of fast food music. This is a victory for music... music isn’t fireworks, music is feeling." (Click HERE, too)

Read the translation into English in the video above.... Would you have chosen the same words to translate the song from Portuguese into English? (Another translation HERE)

And this is a "free" adaptation:

UNOFFICIAL LYRICS

If I lived a dream,
I’d ask you to dance,
with time standing still just for you.

And though I forget
it’s only a dream,
I picture your face all day through.

Dance, love.
Smile, and you are glistening.
Laugh as no one’s listening,
and never let me leave.

Make me
forget about our quarrels.
In dreams, there are no sorrows.
May I spend this dream with you?

Dance, love.
Smile, and you are glistening.
Laugh as no one’s listening,
and never let me leave.

Make me
forget about our quarrels.
In dreams, there are no sorrows.
And I’m once again with you.

In dreams, there are no sorrows.
May I spend this dream with you?

Other versions of the song HERE

Playing Taboo game is a great tool to improve English speaking and thinking skills. Students have fun and try to find creative ways to tell the taboo words....

Taboo cards for A1-A2 levels. HERE (Thank you very much!!!)

Click HERE (123 Teach me) :

The Sentence Maker allows you to enter a word or phrase in the text box below and retrieve translated sentence pairs (English and Spanish) containing that word/phrase. This tool is great for seeing how words are used in a natural context.

I Dreamed a Dream

Part of the musical Les Miserables (click here as well) will be performed by David Rguez. Rivada’s students (3rd and 4th year ESO) at Casa da Cultura - Verín next 31st May (18:00)

Click HERE , HERE, HERE 

Susan Boyle’s audition in Britain’s got talent HERE. Exercise HERE.

On top, Beauty School Dropout, from the famous musical Grease, and under that video, our version (IES Taboada Chivite - Verín) in Galician for the musical Grease en galego, which will be performed by students and teachers at the end of May/ beginning of June 2017). Our fifth musical!!!!!

Le Miroir is a short film directed by Swiss filmmakers Ramon and Pedro. The concept is simple enough: the audience sees through the subject’s eyes during his daily routine in front of the bathroom mirror, catching glimpses of his life as he grows from a young boy to an old man.What do you think is happening to him in every stage of his life? Has he had a happy life?

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What happens as you age? Click HERE

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Common collocations relating to age

• Disaffected youth – young people who do not accept society’s values
• Juvenile delinquent – a criminal who is still legally a minor.
• Midlife crisis – period of dissatisfaction in the middle of one’s life.
• Going through a phase – going through a period of difficult behaviour.
• Feel their age – when someone feels as old as they are

Idioms

• A ripe old age – A very old age.
• Tender age of – The young age of …
• Act your age!– Behave more maturely (when someone is acting like a child).
• Over the hill – Another way of saying that someone is old

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READING COMPREHENSION

A) SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms:

B) 

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below. 

particular
hand
rejuvenate
key
signs
vision
bay
physical

Help may be at (1) ____________ for those of us who want to keep the wrinkles and grey hair at (2) ____________ and slow down the process of aging. New research suggests that eating green vegetables can ward off the (3) ____________ of aging. Researchers say that broccoli, cabbage and avocado in (4) ____________ contain a compound that helps slow down the rate at which we age. The (5) ____________ compound, present in green fruit and vegetables, is called NMN. It helps slow down the (6) ____________ signs of getting old. Scientists say NMN can also (7) ____________ the metabolism. It helps replenish levels of energy production in our body that deteriorate as we age. It also helps reduce weight gain and the deterioration of (8) ____________.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below. 

way
typical
scientists
light
resembling
decline
reduced
poor

The research was conducted by (9) ____________ at the Washington University School of Medicine in the USA. Researcher professor Shinichiro Imai said: "We have shown a (10) ____________ to slow the physiological (11) ____________ that we see in aging mice. This means older mice have metabolism and energy levels (12) ____________ that of younger mice." Professor Imai said tests on mice showed that NMN reduced (13) ____________ signs of aging, including a decline in the strength of skeletal muscle, (14) ____________ liver function, lower bone density and weakening eyesight. The reason our metabolism changes over time and leads to (15) ____________ energy levels has baffled scientists for decades. This latest research casts new (16) ____________ on this mystery.

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How old is old? Look at the table below. Do you know all the vocabulary? Which ages do you think you should put in the second column?

Answer the following questions (about 25 words each)

1.What do you think is the best age?

2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of being the age your are at the moment?

3.How are old people treated by society in your country?

ESSAY - Choose one of these two topics:

1- Write the story of the protagonist of The Mirror. What was his life like?

2- In the UK, like in many countries around the globe, life expectancy is increasing and more and more people reach their 100th birthday. When you are 100 in Britain the Queen sends you a birthday telegram. In 1952 just 225 people became 100, however nowadays more than 3500 people reach their 100th birthday every year. By 2025 over a third of the population of the UK will be over 55 years old.... What do you think your life will be like when you are in your 70s?

They’re not just toys like all the rest,

that break, or get old, or don’t want to play.

A book gets better every day.

Sit down and open it - soon you’ll find

a whole new world jumps up in your mind.

People and places and all sorts of things.

Dragons and princesses, goblins and kings.

Dinosaurs walking the earth like thunder.

Ancient Egyptians who make you wonder.

And perhaps the most interesting story of all

that tells of the Prince who is going to call,

and even a picture to show how he looks.

Now these are the things that I like about books.

Click HERE ("Little things" - Poem read by Eirín - 2 ESO C)

Click HERE, as well.

Translation of the poem into Galician language /Tradución do poema ó galego: 

PEQUENAS COUSAS (LITTLE THINGS)

Pequenas gotas de auga,

pequenos graos de area

forman o poderoso océano

e a fermosa terra.

Do mesmo xeito,  os pequenos minutos,

aínda sendo humildes,

forman as enormes eras

da eternidade.

Racism Is Real • BRAVE NEW FILMS from St. Ignatius Church -Baltimore on Vimeo.

Sometimes life’s lessons come from those with the least experience.

The story of two 5-year-old boys from Kentucky, one white and one black, is teaching people about racial harmony.

The story exploded online when the mother of Jax, the white boy, posted on Facebook about how her son wanted to get his haircut like his black buddy, Reddy, so they could trick their teacher:

"This morning Jax and I were discussing his wild hair. I told him that he needed a haircut this weekend. He said that he wanted his head shaved really short so he could look like his friend Reddy. He said he couldn’t wait to go to school on Monday with his hair like Reddy’s so that his teacher wouldn’t be able to tell them apart. He thought it would be so hilarious to confuse his teacher with the same haircut.
Here’s a picture of Jax and Reddy from their Christmas program. I’m sure you all see the resemblance.
If this isn’t proof that hate and prejudice is something that is taught I don’t know what is. The only difference Jax sees in the two of them is their hair."

The boys believe if they have the same haircut, their teacher won’t be able to tell them apart.

WAVE-TV followed Jax to his haircut, and he and Reddy giggle and goof around as Jax gets his hair shaved off.

In the video , Reddy sums it all up: "Jax’s me ... and I’m Jax.’’

Click HERE.

Vocabulary exercise (Race - racial - racially - racism - racist) - HERE

- Reading Comprehension / Cloze test:

Put the words into the gaps in the text.

From this webpage.

- 2nd Reading Comprehension activity (From this page):

Remember.... COME TO THAT'S ENGLISH!

BBC ONE celebrates Natural History with David Attenborough reciting Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World.

The short two minute video above adds images to the song showing us how beautiful life / nature is. Let’s preserve it.

Click HERE

What can we do in order to protect the environment? Go to THIS POST

StoryCorps reminds us that every story matters and every voice counts. Since 2003, StoryCorps has given a quarter of a million Americans the chance to record interviews about their lives, to pass wisdom from one generation to the next, and to leave a legacy for the future. It is the largest single collection of human voices ever gathered. These powerful stories illustrate our shared humanity and show how much more we share in common than divides us.

StoryCorps’ mission is to preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world.

They do this to remind one another of our shared humanity, to strengthen and build the connections between people, to teach the value of listening, and to weave into the fabric of our culture the understanding that everyone’s story matters. At the same time, they are creating an invaluable archive for future generations.

Are you interested in improving your reading comprehension skills? If so.....

THIS WEBPAGE will be really useful!!!!!!

An excellent webpage in which Phillip, from England, and Isabel, from Madrid, Spain, help us to improve our level of English. I quote what they say in their page:

"Somos Phillip & Isabel, un inglés y una madrileña dispuestos a ayudarte a hablar mejor inglés y a disfrutar del proceso.

How do we do that?

In the most fun and natural way! No nos gustan los métodos tradicionales con libros de texto. Sabemos que existe otra manera de aprender inglés sin sufrir. Seriously, you might not know it yet, but English is fun! 

Desde que lanzamos este proyecto, muchos seguidores nos han felicitado porque su nivel de inglés ha mejorado de forma significativa. Además muchos nos habéis comentado que por primera vez habéis sentido una especie de cosquilleo, osea, ganas, motivación, ilusión, por aprender inglés. This is amazing news for all of us!!"

Click HERE to go to their webpage.

THIS is their youtube channel.

THIS is their "Hi-native" application. (Click HERE)

Thank you, Miguel, for showing me this webpage!

English words people commonly pronounce wrong HERE.

The role of individuals in protecting the environment - HERE (staggering - landfill - vent)

Questionnaire "How green are you?" HERE

An eco-book, an eco-quiz HERE

"What can you do to protect the environment? Do and Don’t" - HERE

Green tips - HERE

Reading comprehension - Seven ways to protect the environment - HERE

What a wonderful world (Let's preserve it) - HERE

Monologue (two-three minutes) - What do you do in your everyday life in order to protect the environment?

Click HERE for pre-listening/listening activity.

HERE : "What does it mean to be a refugee" (TED Lesson)

Activities about the topic Immigration HERE.

Listening skills practice (from learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org)HERE

Levels A1, A2, B1 and B2.

You can watch the first version HERE, and the second one HERE, as well.

Soon in this blog you’ll listen to the poems being read by my 2º ESO B and C students.

Pronto neste blog poderedes escoitar  alumnado de 2º ESO B e C recitando estes dous poemas.

Translation of the two poems into Galician language /Tradución dos dous poemas ó galego: 

PEQUENAS COUSAS (LITTLE THINGS)

Pequenas gotas de auga,

pequenos graos de area

forman o poderoso océano

e a fermosa terra.

Do mesmo xeito,  os pequenos minutos,

aínda sendo humildes,

forman as enormes eras

da eternidade.

LIBROS (BOOKS)

Os libros son o que máis me gusta.

Non son só xoguetes, como as outras cousas

que rompen, ou envellecen, ou xa non queremos xogar con elas.

Un libro mellora cada día.

Senta e ábreo, pronto atoparás

un completo e novo mundo que brinca na túa mente.

Xente e lugares e toda clase de cousas.

Dragóns e princesas , trasgos e reis.

Dinosaurios camiñando pola terra como tronos.

Antigos exipcios que te abraian.

Libros sobre os planetas e a exploración do espazo exterior.

A verdade sobre as rochas e o nacemento da nosa nación.

E talvez a historia máis interesante de todas,

que fala do príncipe que vai chamar

e incluso cunha pintura que amosa a súa imaxe.

Estas son as cousas que me gustan dos libros.