In unit 5 of the New English File elementary student's book we come across a photo of Mt. Rushmore. So we have the perfect excuse to learn something more about it, and above all, about the men whose merit granted them such an impressive tribute. If you want to learn something about the history of the monument or its exact location, click here. Take some time to watch the video below:
Ok, Mt. Rushmore is in South Dakota. But...where is South Dakota? Yes, yes, in the US, you know that already, but WHERE exactly? RIGHT THERE!!
Nickname(s): The Mount Rushmore State (official),The Sunshine State Motto(s): Under God the people rule Entered the union on Nov 2, 1889. State Capital: Pierre Largest city: Sioux Falls
This monument is a tribute to four key men in the history of the US: Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. If you want to know more about them, click on their corresponding picture:
In class, we leant that Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence when he was 33. Do you know what it looks like? And most importantly, do you want read it? Click on the Declaration to find out!
I hope to have given you good reasons to visit this corner of the world someday!!
Saint Patrick's Day (Irish: Lá ’le Pádraig or Lá Fhéile Pádraig), colloquially St. Paddy's Day or simply Paddy's Day, is an annual feast day which celebrates Saint Patrick (circa AD 385–461), one of the patron saints of Ireland, and is generally celebrated on March 17. The day is the national holiday of Ireland. It is a bank holiday in Northern Ireland and a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland and Montserrat. In Canada, Great Britain, Australia, the United States, and New Zealand, it is widely celebrated but is not an official holiday. (Source: wikipedia)
Watch now the history of the holiday and how it is celebrated in the US:
Why don't you accompany your reading with some music?I KNOW MY LOVE, by the Corrs & the Chieftains
Here are the lyrics:
"I Know My Love"
I know my love by his way of walking And I know my love by his way of talking And I know my love dressed in a suit of blue And if my love leaves me what will I do...
And still she cried, "I love him the best And a troubled mind sure can know no rest" And still she cried, "Bonny boys are few, And if my love leaves me what will I do"
There is a dance house in Maradyke And there my true love goes every night He takes a strange girl upon his knee Well now don't you think that that vexes me?
And still she cried...
If my love knew I can wash and wring If my love knew I can sew and spin I'd make a coat of the finest kind But the want of money sure leaves me behind And still she cried...
I know my love is an arrant rover I know he'll wander the wild world over In dear old Ireland he'll no longer tarry An American girl he's sure to marry
And still she cried... (x2) What will I do...
As you know, and as Lauren, our language assistant, told us, St. Patrick's Day is also widely celebrated in the US, especially in the cities like New York and Chicago. We have learnt that, in Chicago, the river turns green (the colour of the festivity, the colour of Ireland) every 17 March. Watch this video to see how:
A powerful tsunami has swept across a large area of northern Japan causing major damage, flooding towns and sweeping away buildings. It was triggered by a 8.9-magnitude earthquake. It is said that the death toll could reach 1,300 people. (source: BBC)
Today, as you know, is 8 March, a significant day in our calendar. But to speak about it, let me use the words of Women Watch (United Nations Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality):
"International Women’s Day is celebrated in many countries around the world. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. It is an occasion for looking back on past struggles and accomplishments, and more importantly, for looking ahead to the untapped potential and opportunities that await future generations of women. In 1975, during International Women's Year, the United Nations began celebrating International Women’s Day on 8 March. Two years later, in December 1977, the General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming a United Nations Day for Women's Rights and International Peace to be observed on any day of the year by Member States, in accordance with their historical and national traditions. In adopting its resolution, the General Assembly recognized the role of women in peace efforts and development and urged an end to discrimination and an increase of support for women’s full and equal participation."
Please click here to read on about the history of the International Women's Day.
Watch this video on firsts at the White House, by First Ladies:
Now we've talked about American First Ladies, here you have a video that I think is quite interesting, and not too difficult. President Barack Obama and the First Lady speak about the achievements of women around the world at a reception at the White House marking International Women’s Day (transcript also available here.) A bit long, but worth watching.
From here, I would like to pay homage to all inspirational women in the world, the ones in the video below, the ones that are not there, and the anonymous ones, the ones no one knows anything about, the ones we do not see on TV or in the news.
Today, in our Nivel Intermedio class, I am going to give my students an article from the magazine THINK IN ENGLISH called "SHOULD MEN BE ABOLISHED?"
PLEASE WRITE A COMMENT GIVING YOUR ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION. HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY!!
I've been away for a while, sorry. But here I am again to share what we have been doing in our Nivel Intermedio class. We are currently working on a new type of subordinate structure: CONDITIONAL SENTENCES.
There are several structures in English that are called conditionals. "Condition" means "situation or circumstance". If a particular condition is true, then a particular result happens.
There are three basic conditionals that we use very often. There are some more conditionals that we do not use so often.
Here you have a video with a summary of the main conditional structures:
What would you do IF YOU HAD A MILLION DOLLARS?
And now, a classic.
IF..... by Rudyard Kipling
IF you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master; If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch, if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds' worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!
Although she's no favourite of mine, here you have a song that's just perfect for the occasion. Enjoy!
Last 27 February, Hollywood lived its most important evening. The 83rd Academy Award Ceremony took place, as it is customary, at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, and it was hosted by Oscar nominees James Franco and Ann Hathaway.
And as it is also traditional, here you have the winners:
Best Picture The King's Speech -Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers.
Best Director Tom Hooper. The King's Speech
Best actor in a leading role Colin Firth - The King's Speech
Best actress in a leading role Natalie Portman - Black Swan
Best actor in a supporting role Christian Bale - The Fighter
Best actress in a supporting role Melissa Leo - The Fighter
Best adapted screenplay The King's Speech
Best original screenplay The Social Network
Best Foreign Language Film In a Better World - Denmark
Would you like to read about the origins of the Oscars?
Shortly after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was organized in 1927, a dinner was held in the Crystal Ballroom of the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. At this dinner they discussed ways to honor outstanding achievements to encourage higher levels of quality in all areas of motion picture production.
A major item of the business discussed was the creation of a trophy to recognize achievement in film. MGM art director Cedric Gibbons took the idea to several Los Angeles artists who submitted designs. Los Angeles sculptor George Stanley was selected to create the statuette the figure of a knight standing on a reel of film, hands gripping a sword. The Academy's world-renowned statuette was born.
Over 2,300 statuettes have been presented since the initial awards banquet on May 16, 1929, at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel's Blossom Room. In 2002, additional new golden statuettes were cast, molded, polished and buffed by R. S. Owens and Company. This Chicago awards specialty company has made the award since 1982.
Initially, Oscar was solid bronze. Then, due to a shortage of metal during World War II, Oscars were made of painted plaster for three years. Today, the statuette is gold-plated britannium, a pewter-like alloy. He stands 131/2 inches tall and weighs a robust 8-1/2 pounds. He hasn't been changed since he was first created, except when the pedestal was made higher in 1945.
Officially named the Academy Award of Merit, the statuette is better known by a nickname, Oscar, the origins of which aren't clear.
A popular story has been that Margaret Herrick,an Academy librarian and eventual executive director, thought it resembled her Uncle Oscar. After she said so, the Academy staff began calling it Oscar.By the sixth Awards Presentation in 1934, Hollywood columnist Sidney Skolsky used the name in his column when he referred to Katharine Hepburn's first Best Actress win. The Academy didn't use the nickname officially until 1939.The Academy won't know how many statuettes it will actually hand out until the envelopes are opened on Oscar Night. Even though the number of categories and special awards is known prior to the ceremony, the possibility of ties and of multiple winners sharing the prize in some categories, makes the exact number of Oscars to be awarded unpredictable.
The Oscar statuette is one of the most recognized award in the world. Its success as a symbol of achievement in filmmaking would probably amaze its creators, Cedric Gibbons and George Stanley. As a matter of fact, they are so prized that in 2000, only a few weeks before the Academy Awards, the Oscars were stolen while they were being shipped from Chicago. They were recovered a week later, but not before some nerve-wracking days had passed.
The Oscar stands today, as it has since 1929, 13-1/2 inches of acheivement on the mantels of the greatest filmmakers in history.
And to finish, the highlights of the evening. Enjoy!
In our 1st year class we are now studying the past simple of the verb TO BE, and we are doing it by discussing about famous people's biographies. 
1. MIGUEL DE CERVANTES 
