LET'S TALK ABOUT FILMS!

What is your favourite animated film? why?

LOL!!

FUNNY LOOK-ALIKES!

Watch this funny video about celebrities' funny look-alikes! what is your favorite?Can you write some sentences describing them? 
 

COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES

Comparatives and Superlatives by Dylan, Lucy and Mia

This is the slideshow that Dylan, Mia, and Lucy did in class last Tuesday! It's great, thank you so much! 

LIVE YOUR DREAM!

If you had to choose a sentence of this video, what would it be?

THE MOST AMAZING BUILDINGS IN THE WORLD

Though it looks like some sort of painting by a drunk painter. But this is a real house located in Rezydent Shopping Center in Sopot, Poland. It is claimed to be the most photographed building in Poland. It is spread to an area of 4,000 square meters. Designed by Architect: Szotynscy Zaleski

1.The Crooked House

2. Forest Spiral - Hundertwasser Building

Architect: Heinz M. Springmann
This is a residential building complex located in Darmstadt, Germany. The building has a unique façade which doesn’t follow a regular grid pattern and the windows appear as if they are dancing out of line and appear out of order.  It was designed by Viennese artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser and finally planned and implemented by architect Heinz M. Springmann. It contains 105 apartments, an inner courtyard, a small artificial lake and also a playground for children. The building has 12 floors.

3. The Torre Galatea Figueras (Spain)

The first things you notice are the giant egg sculptures along the roofline. Then it hits you that the Salvador Dali Theater Museum in Figueras, Spain, is no ordinary building. The museum’s tower, Torre Galatea, was named for the surrealist artist’s deceased wife, and Dali himself lived there until his death in 1989. Interestingly, the museum sits next to the parish church where Dali was baptized in 1904; he is buried in an unmarked crypt in the museum’s main exhibition hall.

4. The Basket Building (Ohio, United States)

This may look like a picnic basket kept in the park. But this actually is a 7-story building which is Longaberger's Home Office located in Newark, Ohio. This monument is in-fact world’s largest basket. Its 192 ft. long by 126 ft. wide at the bottom, spreads to 208-ft. long by 142-ft. wide at the roofline.

5. Kansas City Public Library (Missouri, United States)

This installation is permanent, on a much larger scale, and is designed to conceal the library’s car park. Here the public were asked to nominate books that they felt represented Kansas City. The library was founded in 1873 A.D, and is the oldest and the third largest public library in Kansas City area.

6. Ferdinand Cheval Palace a.k.a Ideal Palace (France)

Cheval began the building in April 1879. He claimed that he had tripped on a stone and was inspired by its shape. He returned to the same spot the next day and started collecting stones.

For the next 33 years, during his daily mail route, Cheval carried stones from his delivery rounds and at home used them to build his Palais idéal, the Ideal Palace. First he carried the stones in his pockets, then a basket and eventually a wheelbarrow. He often worked at night, by the light of an oil lamp.

7. Wonderworks (Pigeon Forge, TN, United States)
  
WonderWorks in Pigeon Forge, TN will intrigue, excite and inspire you from the moment you see it! This attraction was built as "An Amusement Park for the Mind". It is perhaps the most educational family attraction in town.
Your imagination will start working overtime as soon as you lay eyes on it. You'll begin to wonder why the three-story, 82-foot-tall building is turned upside down.

8. Habitat 67 (Montreal, Canada)

Architect: Moshe Safdie

• Habitat 67 is a one-of-a-kind housing complex located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
• The building was realized as the main pavilion and thematic emblem for the International World Exposition and its theme, Man and His World, held in Montreal in 1967.
• It is built as a part of Expo-67.
• It was designed to integrate the variety and diversity of scattered private homes with the economics and density of a modern apartment building.
• The project was designed to create affordable housing with close but private quarters, each equipped with a garden.
• The building was believed to illustrate the new lifestyle people would live in increasingly crowded cities around the world.

9. Cubic Houses (Rotterdam, Netherlands)

Architect: Piet Blom

This is a housing designed on top of a pedestrian bridge. The main idea behind this is to create a forest of cubes (abstract trees) as each cube represents an abstract tree.
The cubes are tilted and sit on hexagon-shaped pole structures. The cubes contain the living areas, which are split into three levels. The triangle-shaped lower level contains the living area.

10. Hang Nga Guesthouse (Crazy House), Vietnam

• This fantastical place is like a journey into the world of Alice and Wonderland. Designed by a woman artist who hangs around the grounds, it is one of wonder.
• The house is owned by the daughter of the ex-president of Vietnam, who studied architecture in Moscow.
• It does not comply with any convention about house building, has unexpected twists and turns, roofs and rooms. It looks like a fairy tale castle, it has enormous “animals” like a giraffe and a spider, no window is rectangular or round, and it can be visited like a museum.

11. Chapel in the Rock (Arizona, United States)

This beautiful Roman Catholic church is literally built into the rock. The views from outside are unbelievable but the serenity inside is awesome.

12. Dancing Building (Prague, Czech Republic)

Designed by: Architect Vlado Milunić in co-operation with Canadian architect Frank Gehry on a vacant riverfront plot.

• The building was designed in 1992 and completed in 1996.
• A modern, glass building surrounded by historic architecture.
• The top floor of Dancing House is home to one of the city's leading restaurants, Celeste Restaurant.
• Diners can enjoy delightful cuisine and magnificent views over the river and up to Prague Castle.

13. Calakmul Building Or La Lavadora (The Washing Machine), Mexico

www.archinomy.com

CAN'T REMEMBER TO FORGET YOU

Do you like this song?

ST. PATRICK'S DAY: BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW

Click on this link to watch a very intersting video on St. Patrick's day! Bet you didn't know some of these facts!
St. Patrick's Day

ST. PATRICK'S DAY

Saint Patrick's Day or the Feast of Saint Patrick is a cultural and religious holiday celebrated annually on 17 March, the death date of the most commonly-recognised patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick (c. AD 385–461).

Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Christian feast day in the early seventeenth century. The day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland as well as celebrates the heritage and culure of the Irish in general.Celebrations generally involve public parades and festivals,céilithe  and the wearing of green attire or shamrocks^. Christians also attend church services and the lenten restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol are lifted for the day, which has encouraged and propagated the holiday's tradition of alcohol consumption.

Saint Patrick's Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland^. It is also widely celebrated by the Irish diaspora around the world; especially in Britain, Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. 

In fact, these are the top 10 St. Patrick's celebrations around the world. 

From the National Geographic book Four Seasons of Travel

1. New York City, New York

   www.nycstpatricksparade.org/The granddaddy of all St. Patrick’s Day parades (the first was staged in 1762 by homesick Irishmen serving in the British Army) is also the world’s largest, attracting more than two million spectators annually. Led by a military unit, the foot-powered procession (no cars or floats allowed) begins at 44th Street and marches on up Fifth Avenue for nearly six hours.

2. Boston, Massachusetts

   www.southbostonparade.orgIn the nation’s most Irish state (nearly a quarter of Massachusetts’ residents claim Irish ancestry), South Boston is St. Patrick’s Day central. Since 1901, “Southie” has hosted the city’s colossal parade (held on the Sunday closest to March 17) as thousands of marchers and revelers celebrate all things Emerald. Listen for the mournful wail of bagpipes calling marchers to the Broadway T station starting point.

3. Chicago, Illinois

   www.chicagostpatsparade.comParade day (always a Saturday) begins with a wee bit of Irish magic (and 40 lb/18 kg of EPA-approved dye) to color the downtown Chicago River the perfect kelly green. The St. Patrick’s procession begins at noon, with bagpipers, horses, and high-stepping colleens leading the way north on Columbus Drive through Grant Park.

4. Savannah, Georgia

   www.savannahsaintpatricksday.comGeorgia’s first city has been hosting a St. Patrick’s Day parade since 1813. It’s a three-hour rolling street party held on March 17 (a day earlier if the 17th falls on a Sunday). Book several months in advance to score a Historic District hotel room facing the parade route.
   

5. Montserrat, West Indies

   www.visitmontserrat.com/St_Patricks_FestivalThe first Irish on this “Emerald Isle of the Caribbean” were former indentured servants fleeing religious persecution from neighboring islands in the 1600s. Shamrock passport stamps pay tribute to Montserrat’s Hibernian roots, celebrated to a calypso beat during a weeklong St. Patrick’s Festival. The Afro-Irish event also commemorates an attempted slave revolt on March 17, 1768.

6. Montreal, Quebec, Canada

   www.montrealirishparade.comNeither rain nor snow has ever canceled the Montreal St. Patrick’s Parade. Run consecutively since 1824, the three-hour cavalcade of floats, bands, and costumed characters is traditionally held on the Sunday closest to March 17. Post-parade, the party continues at McKibbin’s, Hurley’s, the Sir Winston Churchill Complex, and other downtown pubs.

7. Dublin, Ireland

   www.stpatricksfestival.ieDublin’s St. Patrick’s Festival is a four-day celebration of Irish culture and craic (good fun). The signature March 17 parade kicks off at noon from Parnell Square, continuing past Trinity College to the end point near St. Patrick’s Cathedral. A half million revelers line the 1.6-mile (2.7-kilometer) route, so for a view other than the back of someone’s head, splurge for reserved grandstand seating.

8. Birmingham, England

   stpatricksbirmingham.comOn the Sunday closest to St. Patrick’s Day, the United Kingdom’s largest St. Patrick’s parade hums and high-steps through Digbeth, Birmingham’s postindustrial Irish Quarter. Packed pubs line the route and the dress code trends emerald green, but the passing floats, dancers, and drum corps increasingly reflect the city’s cultural diversity.

9. Cabo Roig, Spain

   www.spain-holiday.com/Cabo-RoigIrish holidaymaker hot spot Cabo Roig hosts Spain’s biggest St. Patrick’s Day parade. Spend the morning at one of the town’s white-sand Mediterranean beaches, and then snag a café table along the strip to cheer on the passing marching bands, motorbikes, and Irish dignitaries. A Guinness-fueled fiesta continues under the stars with karaoke, contests, fireworks, flamenco dancers, and more.

10. Auckland, New Zealand

    www.stpatrick.co.nzNew Zealand’s largest city hosts the world’s first St. Patrick’s Day party each year. Since Ireland-to-Auckland emigration began in the 1840s and continues today, there’s palpable pride in the city’s Irish heritage. Celebrations include a parade, a fleadh (dance and music fest), and lighting the 1,076-foot (328-meter) Sky Tower green.

USEFUL INTERNET VOCABULARY

                                      Source: Real Engllish

Can you write your e-mail address into words? smith _12@gmail.com is smith undercore twelve at gmail dot com, and yours?

WHY DO WE CRY?

Do you know there are three different types of tears? Can you guess which are these three types? Watch the video to check if your answers are correct!

ANDALUSIAN DAY

You can see here the projects that your partners have done to celebrate Andalusian Day.
Thank you, Dylan, Mary and Emma!

Dylan's project: GRANADA
Emma and Mary's project: SEVILLE

USEFUL IDIOMS

by Felipe Muñoz

El inglés siempre ha sido una asignatura pendiente en España. Es la materia que encabeza los propósitos de año nuevo justo debajo del “perder unos kilos de más”. Nos cuesta aprender inglés y hay que admitirlo, el nivel podría ser mucho mejor ¿pero qué más da? siempre nos quedará utilizar una docena de frases para demostrar que sabemos, que nos interesamos por la lengua de Shakespeare y que al menos lo intentamos, así que no te eches atrás y empieza a usarlas cuando visites un país anglosajón.

1. ¿Me estás tomando el pelo?: Are you pulling my leg?

¿Me estás tirando de la pierna? Dicen que en Londres, allá por los siglos XVIII y XIX, era muy habitual robar a la gente tirándoles de las piernas con la empuñadura de un bastón para que cayeran al suelo. Los ladronzuelos solían ser dos, uno hacía la zancadilla y el otro se quedaba con las pertenencias del caído. Hoy en día, la moda del bastón se ha perdido y con ella la ejecución del hurto ha cambiado también. Por lo tanto, si te tiran de la pierna no será porque te estén robando, será porque eres un ingenuo.

2. No cabe ni un alfiler: There’s not enough room to swing a cat

Contextualicemos esta frase en español. Dos amigos van a una fiesta y se encuentran con una sala abarrotada de gente. -No hay espacio suficiente para agarrar un gato por el rabo y girarlo por el aire- Le dice un amigo a otro. La frase es tremenda y muy fácil de recordar ¡úsala!…Pero en inglés, si la dices en español corres el riesgo de que cuando acabes de decirla la fiesta ya haya terminado.

3. Que cada palo aguante su vela: You made your bed, now lie in it

Imaginad a Mª Dolores de Cospedal diciendo: “Te hiciste la cama, ahora túmbate en ella.” Supongo que si la BBC se hizo eco de su polémica declaración la habrían traducido de esta manera.

4. No vale absolutamente para nada: It’s strictly for the birds

En una peli dirigida por Hitchcock titulada Torn Curtain, o en español Cortina Rasgada, había un espía alemán que siempre preguntaba por proverbios americanos. No voy a spoilear pero en una de las escenas le pregunta a Paul Newman, “¿aún decís estrictamente para los pájaros?” Si alguien la ha visto en español sería curioso saber cómo se dobla al castellano.

5. Me hicieron el vacío: They gave me the cold shoulder

¿Estás triste porque nadie te hace caso? ¿te sientes marginado? ¿te hacen el vacío? Bien, digamos que estás en la boda de un conocido y te invitaron por compromiso. El segundo plato está en camino y en la carta dice que es cordero. Tienes hambre pero no llega el suculento plato y cuando ya llega a tu mesa está más frío que la teta de una bruja. Más tarde, hablándolo con tus colegas, te das cuenta de que te habían dado un trozo de hombro del cordero más viejo. ¿Cómo? ¿No entiendes nada? yes, they gave you the cold shoulder, te hicieron el vacío.
No eras una persona grata amigo o amiga, mientras otros comían manjares, tú y los de tu mesa se comían los restos, el hombro frío del cordero. Piénsalo siempre que te sirvan carne mal presentada, querrá decir que te hicieron el vacío. bueno, si te hacen el vacío siempre podrás comprarte un kebap de cordero y comértelo tú solo en tu casa.

6. Me gusta a pesar de todo: I love it warts and all

Me encanta, verrugas y todo. Nunca le digas a tu novio o novia esta frase en castellano y menos aún si tiene una verruga que le acompleja. En inglés puede que implique muchas cosas bonitas, sí: el amor incondicional, el cariño sin importar las manías o el físico ¡Me gustas con verrugas y todo! I love you warts and all, en castellano recibirás una mirada asesina y en inglés un cariño y complicidad. He aquí la prueba de que del amor al odio hay solo un paso.

7. Te va a costar un riñón: It will cost you an arm and a leg

No sé qué obsesión tienen estos angloparlantes con la amputación de miembros pero hay unos cuantos dichos así. Aquí pagamos con los riñones, allí te lo cortan todo, el brazo y la pierna.

8. La corrupción empieza en las altas esferas: A fish rots from the head down

Un pez se pudre desde la cabeza. Este me encanta, es extremadamente visual y aplicable al día a día de casi cualquier país del mundo. Lo podrás usar mucho por estas épocas tan señaladas, métela en cualquier conversación, así practicas: si eres cocinero y tienes un pescado podrido en la nevera, si tú y tus amigos estáis intentando solucionar los problemas del mundo después de pedir la quinta ronda de cervezas en el bar, si estás viendo el telediario y te sientes indignado…En definitiva, Dilo siempre que puedas. Ah, y si vas a manifestarte de delante de algún político, lleva el chorizo y también el pescado, demostrarás tu dominio del inglés de manera simbólica.

9. Te quedas con los brazos cruzados: you’re fiddling while Rome burns

Tocas el violín mientras Roma se quema. Aquí no tocamos el violín, aquí directamente vamos a las partes nobles y con las dos manos además, la otra opción es quedarse de brazos cruzados. No somos tan elegantes, directamente no hacemos nada. Afortunadamente no todos tocamos el violín y el que lo toque que se ponga las pilas.

10. Aquí es persona non grata: His name is mud

Su nombre es fango. En español se opta por usar el latín, en inglés prefieren el juego de palabras. Dicen que la popularización de esta frase se debe al suceso que acaeció después de la muerte de Abraham Lincoln, en 1865, cuando John Wilkes Booth, el actor que mató al presidente americano, fue encontrado en casa de un tal Samuel Mudd, un médico que le asistió cuando este se había roto una pierna en su huida. Wilkes le dijo al médico que se había caído de su caballo y el pobre Mudd, que no sabía que estaba ayudando a un asesino, condenó su apellido ya que, desafortunadamente, su nombre, cuya pronunciación es igual a la de “fango” en inglés, ayudó a intensificar el uso de esta frase.

11.No tires piedras contra tu propio tejado: People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones

Quien vive en casas de cristal no debería tirar piedras. Recuerda, no juzgues a otros cuando ellos te pueden juzgar a ti y tú quizás seas más vulnerable. Porque todos lo somos, todos vivimos casas de cristales, así que como empieces a criticar a todo el mundo te quedarás sin un sitio donde vivir, aunque bueno, no siempre hace falta criticar para quedarse sin un hogar y ya sabéis por qué.

12. A caballo regalado no le mires el diente: Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth

Antes de comprar un caballo hay que mirarle los dientes para ver qué edad tiene y si vale la pena comprarlo, no vaya a ser que sea un caballo viejo. Si es un equino viejo, enfermo y regalado pues te aguantas y lo recibes con una sonrisa. No olvides dar las gracias.
En fin, que aprendas inglés está en tus manos, si utilizas estas frases, habrás dado un paso grande para comportarte como una persona nativa, porque los refranes y los dichos son parte de una cultura y todo lo que es cultura bienvenido es. 

text by Felipe Muñoz, source: www. unadocenade.com 

CELEBRATING WORKING WOMEN

Watch this video to celebrate Women Day... you will be surprised of how many things have been invented by women.

WOMEN`S DAY

My name is Maya. I was born 14 years ago in a poor peasant family. There were already many children so when I was born no one was happy. When I was still very little, I learned to help my mother and elder sisters with domestic chores. I swept the floor, washed clothes and carried water and firewood. Some of my friends played outside but I could not join them. I was very happy when I was allowed to go to school. I made new friends there and learned to read and write. But when I reached the fourth grade, my parents stopped my education. My father said there was no money to pay the fees. Also, I was needed at home to help my mother and the others. If I were a boy, my parents would have let me complete school. My elder brother finished school and now works in an office in the capital. Two of my younger brothers go to school. Maybe they, too, will finish.

There are 130 million children worldwide who are not in school. Two out of every three of these are girls.

During the past two decades there has been a great increase in the proportion of girls enrolled in schools in developing countries: the percentage of girls in school shot up from 38 to 78 percent.

If a poor family has to pay even a small amount (such as for books and paper) for a child's schooling, it may think twice. A family might think that a daughter can help around the house to clean and cook, to collect wood and water, and look after younger children. Even if she does go to school, the family might consider how little opportunity there will be for her to get a paying job. Part of the decision is also based on the idea that sons should be educated, because they will be the breadwinners of their future families and the supporters of their aging parents.

A girl's work, though it may be longer and harder, is considered less likely to bring in monetary income. In cities everywhere, the number of girls and boys in schools is more even than in rural areas; and there are more girls out of school in developing countries than in industrialized ones.

Take a look at who's in school around the world:

source: un.org

How many boys are there in your class, and girls?