The Translator (Short Comedy Film)

Pentatonix - "The Prayer" - OFFICIAL VIDEO

What Is Your Mental Age?

What does this poem describe?

Those who haven't met you

Cannot understand

How your black smile

Makes him want to jump.

Jump into the well,

And stay down there.

He'll never forget

The first time he saw you.

He was terrified 

Without knowing why.

Now he has reasons.

Reasons galore.

If he makes a list,

They'll cover the page.

But he's not going to,

Doesn't want to distract you.

He'll only be happy

When he watches your back,

Tiny as a dot

Far, far away.

When he sees you

Walking into the distance

And you become a memory.

Then, just like that,

He will forget you.

You'll exist no more.

You will be somewhere else

Hunting for your next prey.

Vocabulary

What is a heist?

a) an attractive partner 

b) an armed robbery 

c) a wild party 

Is there anything in this picture that you find surprising?

 

Can you tell me who this is?

 

The Beatles: Get Back. Trailer.

1. Do you think you'd enjoy watching this?

Alan Jackson - Where Have You Gone

1. Is this the first time you listen to Alan Jackson singing?

2. Where is he from?

3. How old is he?

4. Is he married?

5. Does he have any children?

6. What is the hat he's wearing called?

7. How tall is he?

8. What's wrong with him?

News

Dear all,

Yesterday I finished correcting your mediation exercises, so please go to the virtual classroom to see the instructions for your next task.

See you at the school,

MJ

What is depression?

The Magic Harmonica

Once upon a time in an enormous country there lived a small boy who liked to dream big.

One day, when he was nine years old, his father came home from work with a small parcel in his hand.

The little boy's eyes became large and round because he was extremely curious.

'This is for you, Daniel,' his dad said.

'What is it?' he asked.

'Open it and you'll find out.'

Daniel looked at the rectangular box for a while and then opened it as quickly as he could. Inside, there was a long silvery object. The boy touched it gingerly, as if he was afraid it might bite. Then he looked up at his dad.

'I still don't know what it is.'

'It's a harmonica. A magic harmonica.'

'But magic doesn't exist. Only when you're a really small kid, and I'm big now.'

'Oh, yes. It does exist. You just have to play your harmonica every day for fifteen days and then you'll see.'

Daniel had always trusted his father, but this time around he was skeptical. He asked David, his younger brother, what he thought, but he simply shrugged his shoulders. He also asked his mum, but she just smiled.

Day after day, when he had finished all his homework, Daniel sat on his bed and played the harmonica. Nobody had ever taught him how to do it and at first nothing much came out of the small instrument when he blew. Not even a sad, solitary note.

A week later, however, what he created started resembling real tunes. That made him happy and determined. He would learn to play that metal thing better than anybody in the whole wide world.

When the two weeks were over, his father walked into his room and sat next to him. Daniel stopped playing.

His dad smiled.

'Now you believe me?' he asked looking at his small son.

Daniel was bemused. He didn't know what his father meant.

'It's not a magic harmonica, Dad. Just a piece of metal with holes in it.'

'Yes, but when I got it for you, you blew and blew and nothing happened. After a while, you were able to make it speak, but now you can make it sing.'

'But that's because I've practised every day.'

'Exactly.'

'I think you're wrong, Dad. The harmonica isn't magic. I'm magic.'

His father looked at him and started laughing. He laughed so loud that Daniel's mother came into the little boy's room wondering if something was wrong. 

Her husband told her what had just happened and she smiled kindly as she always did.

'You're right, young man. Your father was trying to trick you, but you've seen through him.'

'And he's learned something important. Now he knows he must work hard if he wants his dreams to come true.'

Years and years passed. Daniel turned into a teenager and then into a man, but he never ever forgot the story of the magic harmonica.

How can we stop this from happening?

What do you think of this song?

What is this poem about?

I used to be big and strong and hopeful. I was beautiful and my eyes shone bright.

The wind pushed me and I pushed it back. I always won. Me. Myself.

But one day there was a gale. A gale so ferocious that I fell down.

I sat up and licked my wounds. My face was still unscathed.  

After the gale there came a hurricane and I grew weaker.

When I looked ahead I couldn't see hope.

It had hidden behind a storm cloud.

I felt myself becoming small.

My face was greyish.

I only spoke snow

And sorrow.

I knew my

Time

Was

Up.

I feel for him

 

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Agreeing in English

Agree with the sentences below. Remember your answer will be different depending on whether the original sentence is affirmative or negative.

Examples:

- I like beer.

  So do I.

- I don't play tennis.

  Neither do I.

 

Exercise:

1. John is a doctor.

2. I can't play the piano. 

3. We live in Madrid.

4. They went to Brazil last summer.

5. I don't understand  what she's saying.

6. I mustn't eat sugar.

7. She'd love to be able to sing.

8. I didn't finish the assignment.

9. I will finish in five minutes.

10. I'm not going to the cinema.

 

 

Question tags

 Can you complete the sentences below with a question tag?

1. She wrote to you,

2. You are going to finish soon,

3. They aren't very friendly,

4. You can't speak French,

5. She will finish tomorrow,

6. You must tell her before you leave,

7. He doesn't seem interested,

8. You don't want to tell me,

9. The book is fascinating,

10. Her mother didn't come,

Write your answers in the comment section below.

 

 

Vocabulary

What is the meaning of windfall?

a) unexpected good luck

b) storm damage

c) verbal criticism 

 

Guns N' Roses - Patience

Can You Identify Everyday Objects By These Close-Up Pictures?

 

Mind Your Language

1. What are they going to learn?

2. Why is the student on the first row angry?

3. Each student must ...

4. Is Juan good at English?

5. The Pakistani student doesn't ...

Whitesnake - Here I Go Again

1. How old do you think this song is?

2. Is it easy to understand?

3. What's the meaning of 'to make up one's mind'?

4. Is it a happy song or a sad song?

Just for fun

 

Woke Culture

 Can you tell me what woke culture is?

 

Real life

Yesterday I was pruning some hydrangeas in the garden when I accidentally touched another plant. Now I have an itchy rash on my hand. 

1. What is to prune?

2. What did I touch?

'Working Man'

Tests

An interesting page to test your level of English:

https://test-english.com/listening/b2/

Joke

 

Riddles

What has lots of eyes, but can’t see?

Answer: ................................

What has one eye, but can’t see?

Answer: ................................

Watch the video and answer the questions.

1. What countries is the video about? And what king?

2. What did each pile represent?

3. What was the 'Scramble for Africa'?

4. How many people lived in the territory the king colonised?

5. He forced many Congolese men to complete ...........................

6. The country had a big supply of ........................

7. What two crimes did soldiers commit?

8. What practice did soldiers use as punishment?

9. What was George Washington Williams' job?

10. What did crowds do at the king's funeral procession?

How to improve your listening in English

BBC Learning English

I think you might find this page useful:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/

Do you think this is a good commercial? Please justify your opinion.

News

IMPORTANT

Dear all,

On Monday and Tuesday next week there will be a List Comprehension test (exam-like, three parts). If your usual timetable doesn't suit you, you can come at 5:00 or 7:00, but it has to be on the day of the week you usually have class: Monday for B2.2 and Tuesday for C2.1.

Have a nice weekend,

MJ

Perfect English Grammar

Check this page to find lots of grammar exercises and explanations:

https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com

To see the different sections, please scroll down when you are on the page.

Frankenstein

'Both Sides Now' . George Donaldson.

Just for fun

1. Who is the man in the picture?

2.  What kind of boat does he have?

3. How many animals did he take with him?

4. What were they escaping?

Articles. I think this can be very useful.

Using Articles

What is an article? Basically, an article is an adjective. Like adjectives, articles modify nouns.

English has two articles: the and a/an. The is used to refer to specific or particular nouns; a/an is used to modify non-specific or non-particular nouns. We call the the definite article and a/an the indefinite article.

the = definite article

a/an = indefinite article

For example, if I say, "Let's read the book," I mean a specific book. If I say, "Let's read a book," I mean any book rather than a specific book.

Here's another way to explain it: The is used to refer to a specific or particular member of a group. For example, "I just saw the most popular movie of the year." There are many movies, but only one particular movie is the most popular. Therefore, we use the.

"A/an" is used to refer to a non-specific or non-particular member of the group. For example, "I would like to go see a movie." Here, we're not talking about a specific movie. We're talking about any movie. There are many movies, and I want to see any movie. I don't have a specific one in mind.

Let's look at each kind of article a little more closely.

INDEFINITE ARTICLES: A AND AN

"A" and "an" signal that the noun modified is indefinite, referring to any member of a group. For example:

• "My daughter really wants a dog for Christmas." This refers to any dog. We don't know which dog because we haven't found the dog yet.
• "Somebody call a policeman!" This refers to any policeman. We don't need a specific policeman; we need any policeman who is available.
• "When I was at the zoo, I saw an elephant!" Here, we're talking about a single, non-specific thing, in this case an elephant. There are probably several elephants at the zoo, but there's only one we're talking about here.

REMEMBER, USING A OR AN DEPENDS ON THE SOUND THAT BEGINS THE NEXT WORD. SO...

• a + singular noun beginning with a consonant: a boy; a car; a bike; a zoo; a dog
• an + singular noun beginning with a vowel: an elephant; an egg; an apple; an idiot; an orphan
• a + singular noun beginning with a consonant sound: a user (sounds like 'yoo-zer,' i.e. begins with a consonant 'y' sound, so 'a' is used); a university; a unicycle
• an + nouns starting with silent "h": an hour
• a + nouns starting with a pronounced "h": a horse
  
  • In some cases where "h" is pronounced, such as "historical," you can use an. However, a is more commonly used and preferred.
    A historical event is worth recording.

Remember that these rules also apply when you use acronyms:

Introductory Composition at Purdue (ICaP) handles first-year writing at the University. Therefore, an ICaP memo generally discusses issues concerning English 106 instructors.

Another case where this rule applies is when acronyms or initialisms start with consonant letters but have vowel sounds:

An MSDS (material safety data sheet) was used to record the data. An SPCC plan (Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures plan) will help us prepare for the worst.

If the noun is modified by an adjective, the choice between a and an depends on the initial sound of the adjective that immediately follows the article:

• a broken egg
• an unusual problem
• a European country (sounds like 'yer-o-pi-an,' i.e. begins with consonant 'y' sound)

Remember, too, that in English, the indefinite articles are used to indicate membership in a group:

• I am a teacher. (I am a member of a large group known as teachers.)
• Brian is an Irishman. (Brian is a member of the people known as Irish.)
• Seiko is a practicing Buddhist. (Seiko is a member of the group of people known as Buddhists.)

DEFINITE ARTICLE: THE

The definite article is used before singular and plural nouns when the noun is specific or particular. The signals that the noun is definite, that it refers to a particular member of a group. For example:

"The dog that bit me ran away." Here, we're talking about a specific dog, the dog that bit me.

"I was happy to see the policeman who saved my cat!" Here, we're talking about a particularpoliceman. Even if we don't know the policeman's name, it's still a particular policeman because it is the one who saved the cat.

"I saw the elephant at the zoo." Here, we're talking about a specific noun. Probably there is only one elephant at the zoo.

COUNT AND NONCOUNT NOUNS

The can be used with noncount nouns, or the article can be omitted entirely.

• "I love to sail over the water" (some specific body of water) or "I love to sail over water" (any water).
• "He spilled the milk all over the floor" (some specific milk, perhaps the milk you bought earlier that day) or "He spilled milk all over the floor" (any milk).

"A/an" can be used only with count nouns.

• "I need a bottle of water."
• "I need a new glass of milk."

Most of the time, you can't say, "She wants a water," unless you're implying, say, a bottle of water.

GEOGRAPHICAL USE OF THE

There are some specific rules for using the with geographical nouns.

Do not use the before:

• names of most countries/territories: Italy, Mexico, Bolivia; however, the Netherlands, theDominican Republic, the Philippines, the United States
• names of cities, towns, or states: Seoul, Manitoba, Miami
• names of streets: Washington Blvd., Main St.
• names of lakes and bays: Lake Titicaca, Lake Erie except with a group of lakes like the Great Lakes
• names of mountains: Mount Everest, Mount Fuji except with ranges of mountains like the Andesor the Rockies or unusual names like the Matterhorn
• names of continents (Asia, Europe)
• names of islands (Easter Island, Maui, Key West) except with island chains like the Aleutians, the Hebrides, or the Canary Islands

Do use the before:

• names of rivers, oceans and seas: the Nile, the Pacific
• points on the globe: the Equator, the North Pole
• geographical areas: the Middle East, the West
• deserts, forests, gulfs, and peninsulas: the Sahara, the Persian Gulf, the Black Forest, theIberian Peninsula

OMISSION OF ARTICLES

Some common types of nouns that don't take an article are:

• Names of languages and nationalities: Chinese, English, Spanish, Russian (unless you are referring to the population of the nation: "The Spanish are known for their warm hospitality.") 
  
• Names of sports: volleyball, hockey, baseball
• Names of academic subjects: mathematics, biology, history, computer science

Source: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/grammar/using_articles.html

Do you agree with this?

 

Can you tell me what the objects below are called?

 

Flash Fiction. 150-word story

If you had written this story, what would you have done differently?

The Odd Couple

They were pretty strange. Both of them. She wore red from head to toe. Her hat was red, her shoes were red and so was everything in between.

Her husband looked like a beggar, but what surprised me the most was the fact that he didn't speak at all.

Every morning at breakfast, all the guests stopped talking when they walked into the restaurant. Everybody stared at them, but nobody talked to them and they didn't seem to care.

And then one day they disappeared. We thought they had left, but later on in the afternoon we were told they had been murdered in their room.

My mind moved in circles and landed on the stupidest of assumptions. At least, the blood wouldn't be visible on the woman's clothes. And her husband's would be dirty, but did it matter? After all, they were in tatters. Cruel thoughts, I reprimanded myself.

First Date by Ninja Sex Party

The singer is suggesting quite a few unconventional ideas for this first date. How many can you understand?

Which of the two versions below do you prefer?

The Willow

Can you explain what the poem below means?

I'm sitting under a willow,

My legs stretched in front of me

And an open book

Resting on my knees.

The paper absorbs the sunlight,

Shivers with pleasure.

The story floats out of the pages

Shimmering at me.

I see words dancing 

In front of my eyes.

They are blurry,

I don't know what 

They are trying to tell me.

All because my thoughts

Are somewhere else.

Somewhere far away.

Painful thoughts.

Obsessing, 

Circling

Something 

That is not real.

Something I'll never have.

Brands

Some brands have the same name both in English and in Spanish. An example is Colgate (even if the pronunciation is different).

However, this is not always the case, as you will see below.

What is his name in English?

What does his name mean?

What product does he represent?

Some contractions you should understand.

 

What's his name?

 

Have you ever seen a creature like this one? Where?

 

SABATON - In Flanders Fields

What is Remembrance Sunday? When is it celebrated?

 

Guided Tour

A young American tourist goes on a guided tour of a creepy old European castle. At the end of the tour the guide asks her how she enjoyed it. She admits to being a bit worried about seeing a ghost in some of the dark cobwebby rooms and passages.

"Don't worry," says the guide. "I've never seen a ghost all the time I've been here"

"How long is that?" asks the girl.

"About three hundred years..."

Class exercise: read the story and think of a suitable ending.

Once upon a time, in a huge green park in the middle of a gigantic city full of buildings like needles that pierced the clouds and made them cry, there lived a small spotted butterfly.

Her name was Luna and her wings were yellow and velvety. They were also thinner than paper.

Her parents worried about her because she was extremely adventurous and not careful enough. On top of it all, she was the most absent-minded butterfly in the world.

When she was flying about and could not hear them, her parents exchanged worried looks.

'Something terrible will happen to her one of these days.'

'She should pay more attention to what we say to her.'

'Luna is very good, but her head is always full of dreams.'

One day, after breakfast, Luna said a quick goodbye to her family and, before they had time to stop her, she flew away.

She liked going to a quiet corner of the park where there were lots of roses. Roses were her favourite flowers.

She landed on a tall red rose and screamed. A thorn had cut into her right wing.

'Ouch, it hurts,' she cried.

While she was looking at the tiny wound, a mischievous-looking cat approached her.

'Hello! How are you?' he asked, and then he smiled.

Luna didn't like him. She was afraid. There was something sinister about him, she thought.