SHORT STORIES IN ENGLISH
An excellent reading comprehension web with short stories by masterful writers. It includes reading comprehension activities, glossaries, and you can listen to the text while reading it.
"FARENHEIT 451" , BY RAY BRADBURY
Created by AcademicEarth.org
Click HERE, HERE (Ray Bradbury), HERE (Farenheit 451), HERE (McCartyism)
LISTENING COMPREHENSION EXERCISE
Fahrenheit 451 is set in a homogenous, ……………………, war-obsessed America, where books are…………………, intellectualism scorned and the entire population exists in a state of dull …………………and sensory overload. Ring any bells?
Guy Montag, the……………………………., is an impressionable fireman. His job is to burn books, which have been denounced as emotionally upsetting and…………………………………………...
Montag starts to question his actions after meeting an …………………………young woman, even going so far as to steal a book from a house as he burns it down. Montag becomes steadily more ……………………….of his miserable life, and resolves to take action against the ……………………….ruling society. With the help of a former English professor, Montag learns that books allow for self-examination and …………………thought.
Montag is then caught with the stolen books and must become a………………….. After a harrowing chase, Montag escapes and joins up with a group of roving ………………………..in the countryside. They watch as enemy planes bomb the city, and the group resolves to construct a new, better…………………………..
Major Characters
“Not everyone born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal.”
Montag: Guy Montag is a firefighter, and the book plots his movement from mindless drone to ……………………….. book-lover. He struggles with independent thought, and is often swayed by people’s rhetoric, making him something of an archetypal citizen in Bradbury’s ……………..future.
Beatty: The fire chief, Beatty is brilliant, and very…………………………….. He is well-read, and can …………………..famous literary works at will, but he finds the written word dangerous and upsetting. He represents the more …………………..side of censorship.
Faber: Faber is a former English professor who is Montag’s intellectual mentor. Faber teaches Montag that ………………….and reason are the true paths to a more …………………..life.
Themes, Motifs and Symbols
“If you hide your ignorance, no one will hit you and you’ll never learn.”
Fire: Fire destroys contraband, but it also entertains and delights people—Montag notices that almost all fires are at night, when they will look……………. Eventually, Montag comes to view fire as a ……………..not just for destruction or entertainment, but for sustenance as well.
Mirrors: Clarisse, the young woman, is described as a mirror, and one of Montag’s eventual friends in the countryside claims the new world needs a mirror………………….. Mirrors represent inquiry and………………...
Censorship: Bradbury argues that the population censors itself by ignoring ……………..or positions that make it………………………….. Reading books, he says, encourages beneficial…………………………….., while ……………………..only deludes people into being superficially happy.
Analysis
“Everyone must leave something in the room or left behind when he dies.”
Farenheit 451 is a bleak ……………….of a world that’s too ……………….being…………………. By wiping out the written word, the world is supposedly free from …………………and upsetting information, but the only thing this brings is more…………………. The suppression of books is the suppression of……………………………………, which will slowly destroy any society.
Eighty Days Around the World
For more information, click HERE
"THE SIXTH SENSE" - ACTIVITIES
Click HERE and HERE (activities designed by Isabel Pérez) to do some activities about the film The Sixth Sense.
FULL FILM with Spanish subtitles HERE.
"Tomorrow" (From the musical "Annie")
One of the songs performed by the magnificent choir from IES Val do Tea (Ponteareas), which visited us last week was Tomorrow, from the musical Annie.
Fill-in-the-gaps exercise HERE.
IDIOM LAND
A fantastic site (HERE and HERE, too)to learn idiomatic expressions in English.
An exercise HERE.
Learning IRREGULAR VERBS with a rap
TAKE (took, TAKEN). You SHAKE (shook, SHAKEN).
WAKE (woke, WOKEN) to the style I’m creating.
THINK (thought, THOUGHT). SEEK (sought, SOUGHT).
Listen to the lesson that I TEACH (taught, TAUGHT).
Don’t SLEEP (slept, SLEPT). I CREEP (crept, CREPT).
I SNEAK (snuck, SNUCK UP). You LEAP (leapt, LEAPT).
I KEEP (kept, KEPT) having fun.
I’m never BEAT (beat, BEATEN); I WIN (won, WON).
DO (did, DONE); BEGIN (began, BEGUN);
SHOOT (shot, SHOT)—no, I don’t own a gun.
I LEAD (led, LED) so I can FEED (fed, FED).
the knowledge you need, straight to your head.
When I BRING (brought, BROUGHT) it, you CATCH (caught, CAUGHT) it.
Sit back relax. Don’t FIGHT (fought, FOUGHT) it.
Please don’t
FREEZE (froze, FROZEN) when I SPEAK (spoke, SPOKEN).
It’s real. You can feel I don’t STEAL (stole, STOLEN).
I CHOOSE (chose, CHOSEN) the very best rhymes and
WRITE (wrote, WRITTEN) them into my lines and
into your mind. When we MEET (met, MET)
I’ll BET (bet, BET) I wont let you FORGET
(forgot, FORGOTTEN). I GET (got, GOTTEN)
every head nodding. Don’t think about stopping,
just COME (came, COME).
This is hip hop. I don’t SING (sang, SUNG).
I STING (stung, STUNG). You CLING (clung, CLUNG)
on each and every word, you HANG (hung, HUNG).
Its not enough to
DREAM (dreamt, DREAMT); you’ve got to SPEND (spent, SPENT)
time on your goals. Please LEND (lent, LENT) me your
ear. Come near and I’ll LAY (laid, LAID)
down this new soud that I MAKE (made, MADE).
I hope you don’t say that you think it’s junk.
I hope you don’t think that I STINK (stank, STUNK).
If you’re thirsty for English, come DRINK (drank, DRUNK).
because I SINK (sank, SUNK) all competition when they
HEAR (heard, HEARD) that I GIVE (gave, GIVEN)
encouragement when I SPIT (spat, SPAT).
Never QUIT (quit, QUIT); don’t SIT (sat, SAT).
Yeah, I like it like that. I’ll even KNEEL (knelt, KNELT).
and beg you to express what you FEEL (felt, FELT).
I RISE (rose, RISEN) when I DRIVE (drove, DRIVEN) through
the beat; tap your feet as you RIDE (rode, RIDDEN).
Those that HIDE (hid, HIDDEN) I FIND (found, FOUND).
If you FLEE (fled, FLED) then I’ll track you down.
Now you SEE (saw, SEEN) that I MEAN (meant, MEANT)
every word of the message that I SEND (sent, SENT).
I SHOW (showed, SHOWN) I can FLY (flew, FLOWN).
Now you KNOW (knew, KNOWN) I SHINE (shone, SHONE).
I’ll THROW (threw, THROWN) you the ball. It’s your turn
to GROW (grew, GROWN) with the verbs that you’ve learned.
Grammar through lyrics I DRAW (drew, DRAWN).
Peace to ELLs, now I GO (went, GONE)!
Thank you for sending me this rap, Cris!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HERE: Play with 22 irregular verbs.
More about irregular verbs HERE.
The influence of Shakespeare on today's English
Listen to Gill talking about expressions that Shakespeare (click HERE as well, to watch a video and HERE for a few questions about the video --->0:20- 3:43 // 6:00 - 6:40 // 7:55 - 8:43 // 10:24 - 11:00 // 11:36 - 11: 54) was the first to use in his plays and poems and then do the quiz HERE.
More about Shakespeare HERE, HERE, (HERE - Lesson plan)
What Shakespearean character do you identify with? Click HERE.
Shakespeare quotes HERE.
You can also watch and listen to Gill talking about METAPHORS by clicking HERE .
"DRIPPED" - A TRIBUTE TO JACKSON POLLOCK
Dripped, a short film by Léo Verrier and produced by Chez Eddy, explores Jackson Pollock’s quest to find his creative voice. In a world tinged with sepia, in which men wear brown corduroy suits and plum velvet jackets, Pollock tries to find how he fits in with the greats in the galleries. The film has a dash of cops ’n’ robbers intrigue and superhero-esque feats – scaling buildings and bounding from roof to roof – as Pollock pilfers(=steals in small amounts) art in an attempt to discover his creative identity. In his drab (not colourful) apartment, frustrated by painting still lifes and full of the fodder(=food for livestock) of famous works, Pollock finally discovers his characteristic, colourful style. Set to the sound of twinkly(=sparkly) piano notes and mournful(=sad, sorrowful) oboes, Dripped is a clever and beautiful ode to inspiration and innovation. (From: http://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/leo-verrier)
Watch the second video (Art History in a Hurry) and do this listening comprehension exercise.
Secrets and Lies
Your secret from Jean-Sebastien Monzani on Vimeo.
Let’s "work" as interpreters.... What does the little girl say about her dad in the first video? Can you translate it word for word? (A little girl loves her daddy dearly, and admires him, too. Still, she knows more about her daddy than he realizes. She knows he’s a liar)
Second video: "Your secret". Watch it and do the exercises from film-english.com
Third video: "Half a Million Secrets". Do the following activities (from linguahouse):
a) You are going to watch a part of the video presentation by Frank Warren. Read the questions below and then watch the video to find the answers.
1. How did the idea of secret postcards start?
2. If you are rude, what coffee will you receive?
3. Why is it sometimes good not to use a wireless microphone?
4. What was the `Sunday morning ritual'?
5. What is the story behind the cat and the ring?
b) Match the underlined words to their definitions.
1. I used to work with a bunch of uptight people and had to wear a tie.
2. Johnny is extremely artful. He used paint, glue and glitter in his impression of the Tower Bridge.
3. Soon the idea began spreading virally.
4. He had a big smile and chuckled to himself.
5. I cried my eyes out when she sang that soulful song.
6. Politicians are often indifferent to human frailty. They are only interested in personal gain.
a. (spreading) very quickly, especially on the Internet
b. always behaving in a very correct way
c. expressing strong emotions, especially sadness
d. laughed quietly, especially in a private or secret way
e. showing creative skill
f. the condition of being weak or not in good health
c) Read the text below and type the word which best fits in each space. Use only one word in each space. More than one answer possible. Then check with the video.
Around embarrassing explanation made mention with
This next one takes a little 1………………………………. before I share it with you. I love to speak on college campuses and share secrets and the stories 2………………………………. students. And sometimes afterwards I'll stick 3…………………………… and sign books and take photos with students. And this next postcard was 4…………………….. out of one of those photos. And I should also 5……………………………….. that, just like today, at that PostSecret event, I was using a wireless microphone."Your mic wasn't off during sound check. We all heard you pee."This was really 6……………………………………….. when it happened, until I realized it could have been worse. Right. You know what I'm saying...
Transcript
1 (0:15- 0:46) Hi, my name is Frank, and I collect secrets. It all started with a crazy idea in November of 2004. I printed up 3000 self-addressed postcards, just like this. They were blank on one side, and on the other side I listed some simple instructions. I asked people to anonymously share an artful secret they'd never told anyone before. And I handed out these postcards randomly on the streets of Washington, D.C., not knowing what to expect.
2 (0:47- 1:28) But soon the idea began spreading virally. People began to buy their own postcards and make their own postcards. I started receiving secrets in my home mailbox, not just with postmarks from Washington, D.C., but from Texas, California, Vancouver, New Zealand, Iraq. Soon my crazy idea didn't seem so crazy. PostSecret.com is the most visited advertisement-free blog in the world. And this is my postcard collection today. You can see my wife struggling to stack a brick of postcards on a pyramid of over a half-million secrets.
3 (1:29- 2:32) What I'd like to do now is share with you a very special handful of secrets from that collection, starting with this one. "I found these stamps as a child, and I have been waiting all my life to have someone to send them to. I never did have someone." Secrets can take many forms. They can be shocking or silly or soulful. They can connect us to our deepest humanity or with people we'll never meet. (Laughter) Maybe one of you sent this one in. I don't know. This one does a great job of demonstrating the creativity that people have when they make and mail me a postcard. This one obviously was made out of half a Starbucks cup with a stamp and my home address written on the other side.
4 (2:33- 3:23) "Dear Birthmother, I have great parents. I've found love. I'm happy." Secrets can remind us of the countless human dramas, of frailty and heroism, playing out silently in the lives of people all around us even now. "Everyone who knew me before 9/11 believes I'm dead." "I used to work with a bunch of uptight religious people, so sometimes I didn't wear panties, and just had a big smile and chuckled to myself."
5 (3:24- 4:17) This next one takes a little explanation before I share it with you. I love to speak on college campuses and share secrets and the stories with students. And sometimes afterwards I'll stick around and sign books and take photos with students. And this next postcard was made out of one of those photos. And I should also mention that, just like today, at that PostSecret event, I was using a wireless microphone. "Your mic wasn't off during sound check. We all heard you pee."(Laughter) This was really embarrassing when it happened, until I realized it could have been worse. Right. You know what I'm saying.
6 (4:17- 4:46) "Inside this envelope is the ripped up remains of a suicide note I didn't use. I feel like the happiest person on Earth (now.)" "One of these men is the father of my son. He pays me a lot to keep it a secret."
7 (4:47- 5:08) "That Saturday when you wondered where I was, well, I was getting your ring. It's in my pocket right now." I had this postcard posted on the PostSecret blog two years ago on Valentine's Day. It was the very bottom, the last secret in the long column. And it hadn't been up for more than a couple hours before I received this exuberant email from the guy who mailed me this postcard.
8 (5:09- 5:32) And he said, "Frank, I've got to share with you this story that just played out in my life." He said, "My knees are still shaking." He said, "For three years, my girlfriend and I, we've made it this Sunday morning ritual to visit the PostSecret blog together and read the secrets out loud. I read some to her, she reads some to me." He says, "It's really brought us closer together through the years.
Moulin Rouge - Elephant Love Medley
Moulin Rouge - French for "Red Mill"- is a cabaret in Paris, France.The original house, which burned down in 1915, was co-founded in 1889 by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller.Moulin Rouge is best known as the spiritual birthplace of the modern form of the can-can dance.Today, the Moulin Rouge is a tourist attraction, offering musical dance entertainment for visitors from around the world. The club’s decor still contains much of the romance of fin de siècle France.
At the Moulin Rouge is an oil-on-canvas painting by French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. It was painted between 1892 and 1895. It is one of a number of works by Toulouse-Lautrec depicting the Moulin Rouge cabaret built in Paris in 1889. It portrays a group of three men and two women sitting around a table
Moulin Rouge! is also a 2001 Australian–American musical film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. It tells the story of a young Scottish poet/writer, Christian (Ewan McGregor), who falls in love with the terminally-ill star of the Moulin Rouge, cabaret actress and courtesan Satine (Nicole Kidman). It uses the musical setting of the Montmartre Quarter of Paris, France.
One of the most famous songs in the film is The Elephant Love Medley. Click HERE or HERE to do a listening comprehension exercise (By Ralita from ieslcollective)
Click HERE and answer the questions in the quiz. How much do you know about the Elephant Love Medley in the film Moulin Rouge?
Click HERE to go to the Moulin Rouge by IES Taboada Chivite students.
FAIRYTALE OF NEW YORK
Once upon a time a band set out to make a Christmas song. Not about snow or sleigh rides or mistletoe or miracles, but lost youth and ruined dreams. A song in which Christmas is as much the problem as it is the solution. A kind of anti-Christmas song that ended up being, for a generation, the Christmas song.
That song is Fairytale of New York . It is loved because it feels more emotionally "real" than the homesick sentimentality of White Christmas or the bullish (=optimistic) bonhomie (=cordiality) of Merry Xmas Everybody.
The song was performed by Irish group The Pogues and English singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl. It was recorded in 1987 and is often voted the number one best Christmas song of all time in various TV, radio and magazine polls in Ireland and the UK.
CRASH. The movie
Activities to be done while and after watching the film Crash, directed by Paul Haggis. Academy Award Winner.
1- From: http://www.teachwithmovies.org/guides/crash.html
Incident (By Countee Cullen)
Once riding in old Baltimore,
Heart-filled, head-filled with glee;
I saw a Baltimorean
Keep looking straight at me.
Now I was eight and very small,
And he was no whit bigger,
And so I smiled, but he poked out
His tongue, and called me, "Nigger."
I saw the whole of Baltimore
From May until December;
Of all the things that happened there
That’s all that I remember.
- 2. Which character in the film best illustrates through action or dialogue the problem of Double Consciousness?(Double Consciousness - Examples:Teenage girls may see themselves as good students who are shopping for mascara, whereas clerks at the high-end make up counter see the girls as probable shoplifters. An unwed mother abandoned by the father of her child may see herself as a parent striving to provide a good home for her child, while another person may see her as an irresponsible and loose woman who is mooching off = Live at others’ expense - gorronear - the welfare system)
2- From http://vivianagimenezenglishteacher.blogspot.com.es/2010/11/crash-movie-activities-to-work-with.html
(2.51 – 5.54) Read the opening monologue.
Graham has just crashed. The car is now stopped.This is what he says:“It’s the sense of touch. Any real city, you walk, you know?, you brush past people. People bump into you.In L.A., nobody touches you. We’re always behind this metal and glass.I think we miss that touch so much that we crash into each other just so that we can feel something.”*Discuss the meaning of these words. (35:01- 36:48) Check the problems these two men are having:
The locksmith doesn’t know how to do his job.
The locksmith wants to overcharge for his job.
The locksmith didn’t replace the lock for a new one.
The store owner doesn’t understand English well enough.
The locksmith cannot find a way to communicate effectively with the store owner.
The locksmith has a friend who fixes doors; so, he wants to persuade the store owner to have his door fixed by this friend.
The store owner has a door lock in his store that needs to be replaced.
The store owner has a door in his store that needs to be replaced.
The locksmith doesn’t want to be insulted any more.
The locksmith leaves without getting any pay.
The store owner believes he’s been cheated.
4- IN THE DEEP (Song from the soundtrack)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_FRluQgYpI
Thought you ................
all the ................................
to rest your heart upon.
But ......................... happens,
don't see it coming, now
you can't ............................. yourself.
Now you're out there swimming
In the deep.
In the deep.
...................... keeps tumbling your heart in circles
till you...let go.
Till you shed your pride, and you climb to heaven,
and you throw yourself off.
And ............................. you're out there spinning
In the deep.
In the deep.
In the deep.
In the deep.
..................... you're out there spinning
..................... you're out there spinning
In the deep.
In the deep.
In the deep.
Rest= to refresh oneself, by sleeping, lying down……..(He rested for a few hours on the sofa)
Tumble= to (cause to) fall in ruins; (cause to) collapse……..(During the earthquake, buildings tumbled) (The earthquake tumbled bridges)
Shed= to pour ; to let fall………(to shed tears)
Pride= too high an opinion of one's own dignity, importance, or superiority……….(His pride kept him from admitting he was wrong)
Climb= to go up or ascend…………( to climb the stairs)
Heaven= the place where God, the angels, and the spirits of good people live after death…………(children are taught they must be good if they want to go to heaven some day)
Throw X off= to free oneself of………….(to throw her clothes off)
Spin= to (cause to) rotate rapidly; twirl;whirl…………….(to spin a coin on a table)
CAN YOU TRANSLATE THE SONG INTO SPANISH? WHAT IS IT ABOUT?
That's English! - Advanced 1 - MODULE 10
SELECTIVIDAD WRITING TOPICS SINCE 2001
Reading Comprehension activities
KIDS EDUCATIONAL GAMES
Click HERE
California Dreamin'
"California Dreamin’" is a song written by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips and was first recorded by Barry McGuire. However, the best known version is by The Mamas & the Papas, who sang backup on the original version and released as a single in 1965. The song is #89 in Rolling Stone ’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The lyrics of the song express the narrator’s longing for the warmth of Los Angeles during a cold winter.
Some high profile artists who have recorded this song include R.E.M., The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Diana Krall....
Sia recorded the song for the disaster film San Andreas. The song came out in May 2015 and was included in the movie’s trailers.
Exercise HERE (Byre = Cow shed / Plain = Unadorned / Crow= Kind of bird)
My ideal partner
"Ser y Estar" by Mario Benedetti (TO BE!!!!)
"Ser y Estar" (By Mario Benedetti)
Oh marine
oh boy
una de tus dificultades consiste en que no sabes
distinguir el ser del estar
para ti todo es to be
así que probemos a aclarar las cosas
por ejemplo
una mujer es buena
cuando entona desafinadamente los salmos
y cada dos años cambia el refrigerador
y envía mensualmente su perro al analista
y sólo enfrenta el sexo los sábados de noche
en cambio una mujer está buena
cuando la miras y pones los perplejos ojos en blanco
y la imaginas y la imaginas y la imaginas
y hasta crees que tomando un martini te vendrá el coraje
pero ni así
por ejemplo
un hombre es listo
cuando obtiene millones por teléfono
y evade la conciencia y los impuestos
y abre una buena póliza de seguros
a cobrar cuando llegue a sus setenta
y sea el momento de viajar en excursión a Capri y a París
y consiga violar a la Gioconda en pleno Louvre
con la vertiginosa polaroid
en cambio
un hombre está listo
cuando ustedes
oh marine
oh boy
aparecen en el horizonte
para inyectarle democracia.
Click HERE.