ORACLE NIGHT

Here you have PAU/ ABAU exams that students from all of the Autonomous Regions in Spain have sat.

The ABAU English test is going to change a little bit. Read the text above.

There will be a question about pronunciation and TRUE/FALSE questions about the text.

HERE you have exercises about pronunciation and HERE Intermediate Reading Comprehension Texts with True/Flase questions.

The musical that IES Taboada Chivite students prepared and performed this year (after Les Misérables, Moulin Rouge, Mamma Mia and Hoy no me puedo levantar) was Grease (translated into Galician language). On top you have the result (Auditorio Verín - 10th June 2017)

Click HERE and HERE

Zach, our assistant teacher, who is now back in the USA, has written a letter to all of us, students and teachers at IES Taboada Chivite. Here it is:

"Hello Chivite students and teachers!

 I hope all is well and you guys studying and working hard! Summer is just around the corner so hold on for just a few more weeks! I just wanted to say hello and give you a little update on my life.

 I will start with semana santa, when I went first to Valencia for four days, then to Granada for three days. Although I loved the beach in Valencia, Granada was SO beautiful and probably my favorite city that I saw in Spain (except Verin, of course).

A quick and funny story about when I was in Valencia: it was my first day in Valencia, and I went straight to the beach. I walked down the coastline for about 30 minutes, then decided to find the closest cercanias or metro. So I found the closest station, which was about a 20minute walk away, and started heading that way. After being held up by not one but TWO parades (remember it was semana santa), some random lady said “come mierda,” to me! I believe her exact words were, “come mierda! estoy harta de esta puta gente!” We were the only people walking down the road so I know she was talking to me. So I hung my head and turned the corner….

 So I got back to the USA on April 15^th, and started working on the 17^th. For those of you who don’t remember, I work for a food bank called Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan. Just so you understand how extensive Gleaners is, last year, we distributed over 40 million pounds (18,100,000 kg) of food to Southeastern Michigan. However, I have a different role in the organization. I run a community garden for Gleaners, and grow fresh/local produce for the community; last year, I grew about 4,000 pounds (1,800 kg). So I have been busy with that and my other responsibilities at Gleaners.

In other news, I bought a new car! So I have been spending lots of time taking back roads so I can be in my car for longer :)   Other than that, I have not been doing much. I am living with my parents for one last summer, and they live in the country so it is hard to go out with friends. I have been filling my free time working out, playing basketball, hanging out with my puppies and reading the Harry Potter books.

 En fin, I miss all of you and your beautiful country! Although I was only with you for about seven months, you all made me feel at home and amongst family, so thank you for that. I am sorry I did not get a chance to say goodbye to everyone, but it was a stressful and emotional week for me so I missed some people. My instagram and email are below, please add me or contact me with anything you need (I haven’t been using my spanish, so I need to practice). See you for carnaval next year ;)"

 Zach

Some photos HERE.

 Next Thursday Zach is going to send us more photos, which I’ll post on the blog.

If you want to contact him, ask me about his instagram and email.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, ZACH. WE MISS YOU!!!! COME BACK SOON!!!!!!

What is That’s English!? Click HERE.

This is the general webpage: www.thatsenglish.com/es/

On facebook: facebook.com/thatsenglish

On tuenti: tuenti.com/thatsenglish

On twitter: twitter.com/thatsenglish

On youtube: youtube.com/cursothatsenglish

My That’s English!(blog EOI Zaragoza) HERE

That’s English! B1 (Mods 7 - 8 - 9) Practice HERE.

Videos TVE all modules HERE.

MODULE 1 HERE, MODULE 2 HERE, MODULE 3 HERE, MODULE 4 HERE  , MODULE 5 HERE, MODULE 6 HERE, MODULE 7 HERE, MODULE 8 HERE, MODULE 9 HERE, MODULE 10 HERE, MODULE 11 HERE

LISTENING SKILLS PRACTICE A1, A2, B1, B2 HERE. (More listening practice HERE)

READING SKILLS PRACTICE A1, A2, B1, B2 HERE. (More reading practice HERE)

SPEAKING SKILLS PRACTICE A1, A2, B1, B2 HERE. (More speaking topics / questions - HERE)

WRITING SKILLS PRACTICE A1, A2, B1, B2 HERE. (More about writing HERE and HERE)

HERE Galician EEOOII "Pruebas certificativas" (Sample tests for all levels)

TIPS / ADVICE ON EXAMS HERE.

SPEAKING EXAMS INTERMEDIATE LEVEL HERE

VOCABULARY FOR DIFFERENT SPEAKING TOPICS + SAMPLE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS - HERE.

“Pausing” vocabulary to use when you need a little time to think and so make your answer more fluent, especially when it’s a tough question - HERE.

IELTS Exam Practice - HERE.

COMMON EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK OF LANGUAGES (CFER) LEVELS - HERE.

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.