Rafel - Albert, Albert! Look at this! I don't belive it!
Albert - Well, tell me! What don't you belive?
Rafel - I passed all of my exams.
Albert -Hey! Well done! That's great news. What grades did you get?
Rafel - Four As, two Bs and a C.
Albert - No! Really? Thats incredible! How on earth did you do that?
Rafel - I dunno. I must be a genius.
Albert - So are you going to celebrate?
Rafel - Yes. I can't wait to tell Mum and Dad. I'm going to call them right now.
Wednesday, 17 March 2010
ASKING ABOUT RULES
Man - Excuse me.
Albert - Yes?
Man - I'm afraid you can't park your motorcycle there.
Albert - Oh right, sorry. Where am I allowed to park?
Man - Parking is prohibited in all of this areas.
Albert - I just wanted to go into this shop for a moment.
Man - Sorry, but you'll have to park somewhere else.
Albert - Is there anywhere near here?
Man - Yes, you could try Walton Street, down there.
Albert - OK then. Thanks for your help.
Albert - Yes?
Man - I'm afraid you can't park your motorcycle there.
Albert - Oh right, sorry. Where am I allowed to park?
Man - Parking is prohibited in all of this areas.
Albert - I just wanted to go into this shop for a moment.
Man - Sorry, but you'll have to park somewhere else.
Albert - Is there anywhere near here?
Man - Yes, you could try Walton Street, down there.
Albert - OK then. Thanks for your help.
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
NEW ZELAND
There is a reason why New Zealand was the last major land mass to be colonized by humanity - it's a very long way from everywhere else. But this is also why New Zealand remains unspoiled - even today there are only four million people in a country larger than the UK, which has 62 million inhabitants! True, not all of that land is habitable, because New Zealand contains such geographical extremes, from the sub-tropical climat of the North Island, with its active volcanoes, to the fjords and 360 glaciers of the South Island. Welcome to a land like no other The origianl Zealand, the place after which this one is named, is a damp and flat province at the bottom of Holland. Perhaps it is not surprising, then, that so many New Zealanders prefer to call their home by its Maori name: Aotearoa ( "the land of the long white cloud"). Maoris, who first arrived here approximately 1200 years ago, make up eight pe cent of the population, but when you consider the Samoans, Tongans and Cook Islanders that also live here, then New Zealand has the largest Polynesian population in the world. The culture is now more vibrant than it has been in generations, with the language widely spoken and Maoris potentially holding the balance of power in the island's politics. If you think Maori culture is just about the haka before a rugby game, think again.
SPECIAL REPORT
ROBOT SUIT For several years, a Japanese company has been working on a robotic suit that could help the old and the disabled move like an able-bodied person. With their latest version, the HAL-5, they seem to have finally done it. Comprised of robotic limbs and a backpack containing a battery and computer system, the HAL is strapped on to the body, and entirely controlled by thought. When the wearer tries to move, tiny nerve signals in the skin are detected by HAL and converdted into movements. So advanced is the technology that the company is already renting the robot suits (2.300$ a month for just the legs). We assume that it is Japanese humour that made the company chosse Cyberdyne Corporation as its name, a reference to the company responsible for the end of the world in the Terminator movies. At the same time, a rival design, the SOX Exoskeleton, is being developed by the US military that will "increase the speed, strength and endurance of soldiers in combat". Can anyone hear a deep Austrian voice saying "I'll be back."?
PHONE APPLICATIONS Apple did not invent phone applications, nor is their phone the only one that can operate them, but the IPhone has popularized the culture of apps in a way that nobody could have predicted. More than two billion applications have been downloaded from Apple's online store in just over a year. The biggest seller is the childish iFart, which allows user to imitate the sound of farts in a variety of hilarious styles, an idea that earns the company that created it 10.000 $ a day. Others have been more useful and their numbers are growing every day. We have many favourites, including Shazam ( which can listen to a song you like on the radio and tell you who it is sung by) and WC Finder (for when you need to know where the nearest public toilet is).
CINEMA To say that 3-D movies have taken a long time to become accepted is an understatement: the first one (now lost) was produced in 1922, and for gereation they have been considered as little more than a gimmick. All that changed in 2009, however, with a series of films including Up and Avatar. Whereas previous 3-D technology made objects leap forward from the screen, the new technology creates a depth-of-field similar to the way we see the real world. And as James Cameron proved with the 3-D realitzation of his alien planet in Avatar, the technology can now make action scenes more visceral and the visual experience more beautiful. For the film industry, which has lost billions because of internet downloading, 3-D offers the public a good reason to see films in the cinema. One day, no doubt, this advantage will disappear as home screens become 3-D, too. But for the nex few years the magic will be back where it is supposed to be in the cinema.
PHONE APPLICATIONS Apple did not invent phone applications, nor is their phone the only one that can operate them, but the IPhone has popularized the culture of apps in a way that nobody could have predicted. More than two billion applications have been downloaded from Apple's online store in just over a year. The biggest seller is the childish iFart, which allows user to imitate the sound of farts in a variety of hilarious styles, an idea that earns the company that created it 10.000 $ a day. Others have been more useful and their numbers are growing every day. We have many favourites, including Shazam ( which can listen to a song you like on the radio and tell you who it is sung by) and WC Finder (for when you need to know where the nearest public toilet is).
CINEMA To say that 3-D movies have taken a long time to become accepted is an understatement: the first one (now lost) was produced in 1922, and for gereation they have been considered as little more than a gimmick. All that changed in 2009, however, with a series of films including Up and Avatar. Whereas previous 3-D technology made objects leap forward from the screen, the new technology creates a depth-of-field similar to the way we see the real world. And as James Cameron proved with the 3-D realitzation of his alien planet in Avatar, the technology can now make action scenes more visceral and the visual experience more beautiful. For the film industry, which has lost billions because of internet downloading, 3-D offers the public a good reason to see films in the cinema. One day, no doubt, this advantage will disappear as home screens become 3-D, too. But for the nex few years the magic will be back where it is supposed to be in the cinema.
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
REFLECTION
What's the best activity for you to learn English?
The best activity I think that it's read the magazine. You can only copy some posts and no more, but if you read all the magazine it's interesting. Also you must search some words and sentences that you don't understand. And when you are reading, you are learning interesting things about the world of english people.
What did you find more difficult? Why?
I really find difficult the phrasal verbs, but this was worked in class. In language class, I think that there aren't anything a lot of difficult. If you do the work every day you don't have to have problem. For say something, I think that when we must give an opinion it's more difficult that when we only have to copy a post.
What's your favorite?
My favorite activity in this term was cooking pasta because we learned how to cook and also we practiced English. When we were cooking we speak english and when we were answer the question we practised english.
What's best blog in class in your opinion?
I think that the best blog in our class is Marc's Matamala Blog. It's organize and it's beautiful. Also the blog has all the information we work. All in all, there are a lot of blogs that are very good.
Write down your objectives for 3rd term.
1- Improve the mark of the gramatical exam in English.
2- Do writing more clear and structurate. Learn how to say something correct in english and don't translate all the sentences to catalan.
3- Beat my pronunciation. I want to learn how to say correctly sentences in english.
Choose 1 activity in your portfolio that really helped you to improve.
I think that record all the dialogues and writings helped me to imporve my pronunciation. When I'm recording I try to do it that better than I can. But well, I learn how to say some sentences and words, but there are a lot of thing that I don't say correctly.
Write 5 comments in your classmates blogs. Be positive!!
I comment the blogs of Pol, Marc Ferrer, Marc Matamala, Marc Nogué and Mariona Punti
The best activity I think that it's read the magazine. You can only copy some posts and no more, but if you read all the magazine it's interesting. Also you must search some words and sentences that you don't understand. And when you are reading, you are learning interesting things about the world of english people.
What did you find more difficult? Why?
I really find difficult the phrasal verbs, but this was worked in class. In language class, I think that there aren't anything a lot of difficult. If you do the work every day you don't have to have problem. For say something, I think that when we must give an opinion it's more difficult that when we only have to copy a post.
What's your favorite?
My favorite activity in this term was cooking pasta because we learned how to cook and also we practiced English. When we were cooking we speak english and when we were answer the question we practised english.
What's best blog in class in your opinion?
I think that the best blog in our class is Marc's Matamala Blog. It's organize and it's beautiful. Also the blog has all the information we work. All in all, there are a lot of blogs that are very good.
Write down your objectives for 3rd term.
1- Improve the mark of the gramatical exam in English.
2- Do writing more clear and structurate. Learn how to say something correct in english and don't translate all the sentences to catalan.
3- Beat my pronunciation. I want to learn how to say correctly sentences in english.
Choose 1 activity in your portfolio that really helped you to improve.
I think that record all the dialogues and writings helped me to imporve my pronunciation. When I'm recording I try to do it that better than I can. But well, I learn how to say some sentences and words, but there are a lot of thing that I don't say correctly.
Write 5 comments in your classmates blogs. Be positive!!
I comment the blogs of Pol, Marc Ferrer, Marc Matamala, Marc Nogué and Mariona Punti
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