8/30/10

Hey!



Well, although I'm almost positive that none of you is checking the blog on a regular basis, however...I just want to post some important info for those of you who are taking the exam in September:

DATES:
Reading/Listening/Writing SEPTEMBER 2nd
Marks for Reading/Listening/Writing SEPTEMBER 7th
Speaking for those who passed the R/L/W  SEPTEMBER 8th

6/9/10

So sorry

I'm so sorry guys,
everything is my fault... I told the school that the oral exams for your group were friday 11th and monday 14th, and i wrote that down in my planner, completely forgetting that in class we decided to have it on the 9th.
So, people for the 9th you should be there on monday.
And you can kill me as well...
Xo
teresa
ps: my cell 651155106

6/5/10

Hi everyone

JUST A QUICK NOTE TO LET YOU KNOW THAT IT WON'T BE POSSIBLE FOR YOU TO KNOW YOUR MARK FOR THE SPEAKING EXAM BEFORE THE READING/LISTENING/WRTING
I'M STUDYING LIKE CRAZY FOR OPOSICIONES SO WISH ME LUCK!!!
LOVE
TERESA

4/14/10

Gabriel's Honda Complaint


Gabriel Solsona

28, Tadworth St

Manchester 6GHQ T2T

Mr. Alan Branson

Honda Automotive Division 

Consumer Complaint Department

P.O. Box 23444, London SE1P 5FJ

April 14, 2010

Dear Mr. Branson,
Having been notified on my 1999 Honda Accord recall due to an air bag issue, I left my car on Monday 7th just perfectly cleaned in order to be fixed in your Birmingham dealership. I
was asked to wait for two days to make the airbag modifications.

Unfortunately, the service I have received was not at the height your Company is supposed to be. I am disappointed because once I picked up my car, I found my CD collection scattered on out the passenger side front seat and they have fingerprints all over. The worst discovery was to
see McDonald’s remnants on the seats and the whole car smells like cigarettes.

To resolve this problem, I would appreciate an in depth explanation about the origin of such messy situation as a first measure. Then, I demand you demand that you leave my car as it was in the minimum time amount possible. Meanwhile, and as a kind of compensation, I would like to ask for a substitution car during the interval time interval this problem takes to be  resolved.

Finally, the car remains in the dealership for obvious reasons. So, I look forward for to your immediate reply before seeking help from a consumer protection agency or the Better Business Bureau.

Please contact me at the above address or by phone at +44 262 99 77 45

Faithfully yours,
Yours sincerely,

Gabriel Solsona

Gabriel Solsona

4/11/10

These shoes look a bit scuffed


Tomorrow's listening is about complaining in a shop... and something tells me that this image can help you follow the listening a bit better.
See u 2morrow!
Teresa

4/4/10

Bandwidth is the New Black Gold? - Easter Homework

Hello again,

This is my Easter Season homework,

Below, it is my article of interest taken from Time Magazine:

Bandwidth is the new black gold

And here is my questions:

1. American families will start to spend more in bandwidth than in energy (True/False)

2. Eventually, the slowdowns will disappear (True/False)

3. Infraestructures of private television networks and telephone companies start to get worried for higher Internet bandwidth. (True/False)

4. Concerning wireless bandwidth: because demand is growing, the real bandwidth shortages will be in wireless. (True/False)

See you all next Wednesday in class,

Gabriel
Hi everyone,

Have you taken a look to the new automatic internet translators? In my opinion, they are amazing!
For example, visit http://tradukka.com/  This what we can get of it:

Español:
Se acabó. El tan cacareado apagón analógico ya es realidad. Nunca desenchufar algo se había vendido como algo revolucionario; como un antes y un después, como algo que vendrá a cambiar nuestras vidas. Al menos esas casi cuatro horas al día que nos pasamos delante de lo que algunos llaman la caja tonta, la que sirve para que una inmensa mayoría se empape con los documentales de la dos.

English:
It's over. The much vaunted analogue switch is already reality. Never unplug anything was sold as something revolutionary, like a before and after, as something that will change our lives. At least those nearly four hours a day we spent in front of what some call the idiot box, that serves to soak overwhelmingly with two documentaries.

Why not get yourself a try?

By the way, this site translates in real time and uses the same engine that Google translator does.

On the ohter hand, be careful and not throw you in the lazyness of doing everything by this engine. It makes no sense studying English and not practizing it! Consider it as an assistance not an assistant.

P.S. This article was not made or helped by any kind of automatic translator

Gabriel

2/27/10

Happy belated Valentine's day everyone


Hey guys!
How's life? Do you celebrate Saint Valentine's Day? I know in Spain is not such a big deal but in the States is huge.
Well, I was reading the New York Times and I found this really interesting article:
It's about how humans express emotions, but not through words... interested? Let's read!

Homework: Prepare 3 questions about the text. You'll be testing each other about it on Monday.

By the way, our new classroom is very nice. Room 2.3

Have a good weekend!
Teresa



2/18/10

More food for the brain

Hi Teresa, hi everyone,

Yes, exam periode has came and gone. I hope everyone be happy and satisfied. I'm sorry for Teresa, she has to mark all our tests :(.
Anyway, lately,  I've been spending my time listening to the BBC Podcasts about the history of the world in 100 objects. It consists in one hundred radio programmes, 15 minutes long each and they talk about a topic of the history around a object of the British Museum. The very best thing is that there are the transcript of each programme and it is real RP English. So why not give a try?

Here is the hyperlink:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld

Very addictive!

Kisses and hugs to everybody.

2/16/10

Listening practice

 Bernard Lawrence "Bernie" Madoff (pronounced /ˈmeɪdɒf/[3]; born April 29, 1938) is a former stock broker, investment adviser, non-executive chairman of the NASDAQ stock market, and the admitted operator of what has been described as the largest fraudulent investment operation in history.



Hello everyone,
The February exams are over and you have a lovely two-week break from the English class. Wondering what are you going to do every Monday and Wednesday from 18:00 to 20:00? I'll use the blog to give you some ideas. Here is the first one.

Skill: Listening comprehension

Task:Fill the gaps

Source:
NPR (national public radio) This was the source of the first listening of the exam "Olives and Oranges" by the way.

Listen to Alexandra Penney on her book "The bag lady papers".

Follow the link:



  • Alexandra Penney has had noteworthy jobs as __________________________________ and best-selling author.

  • She started ___________________________________ when she was 16.

  • She can't say how much money she lost due to the Madoff scandal because there are _________________

  • She has a frightening visual image of being _________________________________________

  • Her new book started as a ______________

  • One of Alexandra best known achievements is the invention of _____________________ campaign.

  • She had ____________________  as savings in the bank when the scandal was known.

  • She describes the experience of losing all her money as priceless because she has learned to ask ____________________

  • After surviving losing her money, she reckons she can ____________________ anything.

We'll check the answers in class!
Coming soon: Reading task
Take care,
Teresa