dilluns, 12 de desembre del 2011

Student B: Sports: if you really want to win, cheat

Vocabulary: Learn English

In which sports are there most cases of cheating? How do people cheat in these sports?


Tell your partner about famous cheatings in sport:


 4. Stella Walsh had a pretty ingenious sports hack: ambiguous genitalia! Walsh was an Olympic competitor for Poland, winning the gold in the 100m sprint in 1932, and the silver in 1936. Walsh set 18 world records in her life, but accusations that she was male dogged her for years, and she was forced to undergo a gender check at the 1936 Olympics. Which she apparently passed, despite the fact that when she was autopsied following her death it was found that she had male genitalia, along with female characteristics. Further investigation revealed that she had both an XX and an XY pair of chromosomes  


5. Easily one of the most famous plays in sports history, Diego Maradona’s goal came six minutes into the second half of the 1986 World Cup quarter-final between England and Argentina. Maradona punched the ball into the goal with his left hand, and referee Ali Bin Nasser allowed it, not having seen the penalty.  


6.The East Germans became a sporting powerhouse in the 1970s and '80s, rivalling the much larger United States and Soviet Union. Thousands of East German athletes were given performance-enhancing steroids in an effort to prove East German superiority over the West. Many thought they were simply taking vitamins.




7. On April. 21, 1980, the 23-year-old Ruiz was the first woman to cross the finish line at the Boston Marathon. She did it in the third-fastest time ever recorded for a female runner (two hours, 31 minutes, 56 seconds). Eventually a few spectators came forward and said they saw Ruiz join the race during its final half-mile. It seems that she had sprinted to the finish line. 


Watch this video and write down different kinds of cheating in sport.

dilluns, 5 de desembre del 2011

Student A: Sports: if you really want to win, cheat

Vocabulary: Learn English

 In which sports are there most cases of cheating? How do people cheat in these sports?

Tell your partner about famous cheatings in sport:


1. At the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, Spain was stripped of its gold medal in intellectual disability basketball after it was discovered that 10 of the 12 competitors for the winning team were not disabled. The athletes had not been given the required mental tests and The Spanish Federation for Mentally Handicapped Sports had deliberately chosen to sign up athletes who were not intellectually disabled in order to “win medals and gain more sponsorship.”  


2. Dora Ratjen was a German athlete who competed in the 1936 Olympics in the High Jump. Not much of a story really, except for one thing: Dora was actually Hermann, a man who was coerced by the Hitler Youth into tightly binding his genitals and competing against women. The German Olympic team struggled in the previous Olympic games, and so it was thought entering a man here and there on the women’s side of things might remedy the situation. But German men couldn’t even beat the women of other countries, as Ratjen finished fourth, failing to medal.  

3. Steroids are much in the news of late, with Major League Baseball facing a juicing crisis, but you have to go back more than twenty years to a time when steroids really first went mainstream. The Olympics have a long history of athletes using anything they can get their hands on, but it all came to a head in the 80′s with Ben Johnson being stripped of his gold medal that he won in the 100m sprint.  




diumenge, 27 de novembre del 2011

Food: fuel or pleasure?

Vocabulary on Food and Restaurants

Saber Inglés    Learn English           


Activity 1:

Unit 1. Food, fuel or pleasure?



There're two models of answers for the questions (as if two people had been interviewed)


Activity 2: reading. Read some of the bloggers' opinions about this topic or read this article about healthy eating.


Activity 3: listening. Take notes about what the programme is about.

diumenge, 13 de novembre del 2011

dissabte, 4 de juny del 2011

Wino 'demands 48 bottles of whiskey'

Warm- up:


Do you know Rehab by Amy Winehouse? Here's the official video and the lyrics.


Look at the picture and ask your partner for details about his/her picture to find similarities and differences between them.




Tell your partner what your text is about. Listen to each other and then exchange opinions about the topic and the content of the texts.



Festival organisers were said to be 'shocked' at the 24-year-old's order for two crates of the 40 per cent alcohol.

They had feared she would be unable to perform. With Amy’s record this can mean failure to perform or giving a shambolic performance.


Winehouse is already facing a legal challenge after not turning up to the Rock En Seine festival in Paris last month.


Organisers were furious when the Rehab singer finished her concert two hours before scheduled after apparently collapsing at home due to ill health.

In June it emerged that she has developed the chronic lung disease emphysema after she collapsed and was rushed to hospital.

(7th September 2008)

To know more on the topic
In turns, ask your partner three questions about the following subjects and answer his/her questions. Start with the first one. 
- Her addictions (smoking, beating her nails, eating too much, etc) and difficulty to break with them.
- How you overcame a problem with her willpower.
- How her family can helped her in a difficult situation.
- When she drinks alcohol and why (to celebrate things, with meals, because she's sad...)
- Advice on how to avoid being and addict.

Amy Winehouse told: stop drinking or die



Warm- up:


Do you know Rehab by Amy Winehouse? Here's the official video and the lyrics.


Look at the picture and ask your partner for details about his/her picture to find similarities and differences between them.





Tell your partner what your text is about. Listen to each other and then exchange opinions about the topic and the content of the texts.

Amy Winehouse checked herself into rehabilitation some days ago after falling off the wagon again. This time, however, doctors are said to be extremely worried about the singer's health and have even warned that this may be her last chance: Stop drinking or die.

On previous occasions, father Mitch would encourage daughter Amy to seek medical help. But "this time, she made the decision to enter the clinic herself. . But only Amy Winehouse herself can fight her addiction through willpower.

Amy previously underwent rehabilitation on several previous occasions between 2007 and 2009, but continually gave in to her addictions.

To know more on the topic
In turns, ask your partner three questions about the following subjects and answer his/her questions. Start with the first one.
- Her addictions (smoking, beating her nails, eating too much, etc) and difficulty to break with them.
- How you overcame a problem with her willpower.
- How her family can helped her in a difficult situation.
- When she drinks alcohol and why (to celebrate things, with meals, because she's sad...)
- Advice on how to avoid being and addict.


dimarts, 31 de maig del 2011

Extreme Justice: Stoning to Death For Beauty Contestant

Look at the picture and ask your partner for details about his/her picture to find similarities and differences between them.

Katya Koren whose crime was that she enjoyed wearing fashionable clothes and had come seventh in a beauty contest!

Tell your partner what your text is about. Listen to each other and then exchange opinions about the topic and the content of the texts.

A teenage Muslim girl has been stoned to death under “Sharia law” after taking part in a beauty contest in the Ukraine.

Katya’s body was found in a village near her home where it was buried in a forest.

One of the three who had been named is 16-year-old Bihal Gaziev, currently under arrest when he told police that Katya had “violated the laws of Sharia.”

New death sentences by stoning have been gaining in popularity and imposed in Iran, Nigeria and Pakistan.
To know more on the topic
In turns, ask your partner three questions about the following subjects and answer his/her questions. Start with the first one.

- your opinion about Islamic religion

- how we can stop women being stoned to death

- sexism in Spain in the time of our grandparents

-  Should western countries do something about stoning women?

- The attitude that Muslim women should have.

Muslim Girl Stoned To Death After Taking Part In Beauty Contest

Look at the picture and ask your partner for details about his/her picture to find similarities and differences between them.
Katya Koren's body was found buried in a forest near her home in the Chimea region

Tell your partner what your text is about. Listen to each other and then exchange opinions about the topic and the content of the texts.


A murder investigation launched by police in Ukraine looking into the death of a teenage Muslim girl, Katya Koren, 19, has found she was stoned to death by three Muslim youth after participating in a beauty contest because, they believed, she had violated ‘Sharia law,’ the Mail said.

Sharia law is the code of conduct or religious law dealing with many topics, including crime, politics and economics, as well as sexuality, hygiene, diet, prayer, and fasting.


To know more on the topic
In turns, ask your partner three questions about the following subjects and answer his/her questions. Start with the first one.

- your opinion about Islamic religion

- how we can stop women being stoned to death

- sexism in Spain in the time of our grandparents

-  Should western countries do something about stoning women?

- The attitude that Muslim women should have.

divendres, 27 de maig del 2011

Sleep patterns affect weight loss





Talk with your partner about these questions, then check the answers in this article.



  1.  What nationality are these women?
  2. When is it easier to lose weight, if you sleep a lot, if you sleep little, or neither of them?
  3. When do you lose more weight, if you're stressed, or if you're relaxed?
  4. What percentage of adults are obese in the UK?
  5. What is the Body Mass (in numbers) you need to have to be obese?

Also watch these videos and tell your partner about them



Childhood Obesity (music, legends, no voice)

Follow-up
Have you ever been obese? What do you do to avoid obesity? Is there anyone in your family is is or has been obese?



dijous, 19 de maig del 2011

Spain sit-in over unemployment


Watch this video and pay attention to the vocabulary it's used for the topic "social protests". Make a list of the vocabulary. Later, explain the video to your teacher suing your own words.

Follow-up
What do you think will be the consequences of these protests? What will happen in Spain in the future? Will more jobs be created in Spain if the PP wins the elections?

You can also read this article  or this one and add words to your vocabulary list and know more about the topic.

dilluns, 16 de maig del 2011

Articles

  • The suspect was detained by security guards after he allegedly ran out of the supermarket with the blood-soaked head in his hands.

  • Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, Kate McCann said she wanted to give "an account of the truth" for the sake of her three children, but also "to share with everybody".

  • US actor Brad Pitt poses in Cannes during the presentation of his latest film, The Tree of Life, directed by Terence Malick./EFE
  • Unlawful Killing, directed by Welsh actor Keith Allen and financed by tycoon Mohamed al-Fayed, whose son Dodi also died in the same car crash, controversially unveils an image of the dying Diana.

  • Thousands of Spaniards fled this small agricultural city Thursday, fearing major aftershocks might level it after the country's deadliest earthquakes in 55 years killed nine people and caused extensive damage
  • Hints that the former supermodel is pregnant have swirled in France ever since she clutched a shawl to her belly during a newspaper interview in early May and fended off inquiries with the words "my lips are sealed to protect something...".

  • The UK press has released photos of  Kate Middleton and her sister taken some years ago in Ibiza. In one of the snaps, sister Pippa can be seen topless, much to the vexation of her family.

  • The Galaxy Entertainment Group's $1.9 billion casino is the only one scheduled to open in the southern Chinese city this year. It has 450 gambling tables and 1,500 slot machines.
  • Howard Gardner's work has been "decisive for the evolution of educational models by taking into account the innate potentialities of each individual."

Titles

  • Man in Tenerife beheads woman then parades her head
  • More controversy over Middleton bikini photos.
  • 64TH CANNES FILM FESTIVAL
  • Harvard psychologist wins Prince of Asturias award for social sicences.
  • Lorca transformed into ghost town, residents flee the city
  • Sarkozy's father confirms Carla Bruni is pregnant
  • Kate McCann publishes book on four years since Madeleine disappeared.
  • Al Fayed documentary claims Diana death a cover-up
  • Multibillion-dollar Galaxy Macau casino resort complex opens its door

    Photos
















    dijous, 5 de maig del 2011

    Space aliens from Russia


    Watch the video and explain what it is about.

    Follow up questions:

    Do you believe in UFOs?
    Have you ever had any paranormal experience?
    Do you believe in life after death?
    When do you think the planet will be destroyed? Will it be in 2012?

    dimarts, 26 d’abril del 2011

    Sir Elton John and David Furnish on becoming fathers

    Watch this piece of news. Your partners will ask you YES / NO questions to find what it is about.





    SIR ELTON JOHN and "hubby" DAVID FURNISH have become DADS - as it yesterday emerged a surrogate mum bore them a baby on Christmas Day.

    The healthy boy - named Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John - was born weighing 7lb 15oz in California.
    Last night celebs flocked to congratulate the new parents - as rock legend Sir Elton declared himself "overwhelmed with happiness" to become a dad at 63.
    It was not revealed who the biological father was. The identity of the surrogate mum was also being kept a closely-guarded secret.
    Sir Elton and Furnish, 48 - who "wed" in a 2005 civil partnership - were last night in America preparing to jet home to the UK with their new son.
    They said in a joint statement: "Zachary is healthy and doing really well, and we are very proud and happy parents."
    Last night a friend of Furnish told The Sun: "Both are thrilled but it is Elton in particular who is overwhelmed with joy."Zach is now Sir Elton's life. This means there is now an heir to his throne, his millions and his legacy.
    Anyone who thinks that he won't change nappies and getting up in the night is wrong. His new focus is family life with David and their son.

    New York's rat population out of control

    Watch this piece of news. Your partners will ask you YES / NO questions to find what it is about.




    City workers are  trapping  hundreds of rats that are emerging in basements, and trash cans, terrorizing residents who can’t rid them from their neighborhoods.

    “April is breeding season,” said John Meaney, director of environmental services at Boston’s Inspectional Services Department. “It’s warm weather. People are eating outside more and littering more.” And that means more rats.

    “I was so traumatized,” said Stein, a music theory professor who once caught a rat as large as a cat. “You are constantly listening for them. You constantly wonder if you smell another dead rat. It was really horrible.”

    Meaney said residents can guard against infestations by keeping trash lids tight, cleaning yards, making sure doors and windows are sealed and checking for holes, even small ones, in home foundations. “Any hole over the size of a quarter in a foundation is potential entry for a rat,” he said.



    Ask your partner YES / NO questions to guess his or her news.

    dilluns, 11 d’abril del 2011

    France ban the burka - Sound on




    Listen (don't watch) to the video with no image. Interpret the news. Describe it to your partner.

    Read this information to help you understand the video better. Use wordreference.com.


    Approximately two women were detained in France while they had been
    wearing the Islamic veils across their faces, after a law banning the
    garment in public had came into force.
    Police stated that they had only been held not because of their veils
    but because of joining an unauthorised protest against the ban.
    France is the first country to ban the wearing of the burqa
    which many Muslims regard as a religious farz (duty).
    Anyone who are caught breaking the law will be held responsible 
    to a pay the fine of 150 euros and a citizenship course.
    People who are forcing the women to wear the veil face a much larger
    fine and also face a prison sentence of at least two years.
    It is unclear whether the women who are detained at the protest will also
    face a fine for their veils.
    They were taken part in a demonstration just outside the Paris'
    Notre Dame cathedral. Police had reported that the protest 
    was not authorised and so people had been asked to move on.
    When they had refused, they had been arrested.
    Under the law, any woman who are walking on the street or in a park
    in France and are wearing a face-concealing veil could be stopped
    by the police and then given a fine.
    Guidelines issued to the police state that they must not ask the women
    to remove their veils in the street, but must escort them to 
    a police station where they will be asked to uncover their faces for identification.
    The French government stated that the face-covering veil undermines
    the basic standards which is required for living in a shared society and
    also it relegates the wearers to an inferior status who are incompatible
    with the French notions of equality.
    The ban on face coverings had angered many Muslims and libertarians.

    France ban the burka - Sound off



    Watch the video with the sound off. Interpret the news. Describe it to your partner.


    Read this information to help you understand the video better. Use wordreference.com.



    Approximately two women were detained in France while they had been
    wearing the Islamic veils across their faces, after a law banning the
    garment in public had came into force.
    Police stated that they had only been held not because of their veils
    but because of joining an unauthorised protest against the ban.
    France is the first country to ban the wearing of the burqa
    which many Muslims regard as a religious farz (duty).
    Anyone who are caught breaking the law will be held responsible 
    to a pay the fine of 150 euros and a citizenship course.
    People who are forcing the women to wear the veil face a much larger
    fine and also face a prison sentence of at least two years.
    It is unclear whether the women who are detained at the protest will also
    face a fine for their veils.
    They were taken part in a demonstration just outside the Paris'
    Notre Dame cathedral. Police had reported that the protest 
    was not authorised and so people had been asked to move on.
    When they had refused, they had been arrested.
    Under the law, any woman who are walking on the street or in a park
    in France and are wearing a face-concealing veil could be stopped
    by the police and then given a fine.
    Guidelines issued to the police state that they must not ask the women
    to remove their veils in the street, but must escort them to 
    a police station where they will be asked to uncover their faces for identification.
    The French government stated that the face-covering veil undermines
    the basic standards which is required for living in a shared society and
    also it relegates the wearers to an inferior status who are incompatible
    with the French notions of equality.
    The ban on face coverings had angered many Muslims and libertarians.