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Hey! Hope you are having a nice holiday. Just in case you could't come to our last class, here is your homework: -Student's book page 43: Follow up writing -Readings: see post below (READING PRACTICE B2 BASQUE COUNTRY) -Watch the video on page 44 (student's book) and write a summary (150 words) (You have to hand in this assignments on Tuesday 8th) -Watch the video on page 45 and fill in the chart. HAPPY 2019!

A little history lesson Hogmanay is Scottish New Year, a celebration providing a unique combination of both traditional and modern customs. The exact origins of Hogmanay are unknown, but it is thought that it was introduced in the 8 th  or 9 th  century by invading Vikings. The Vikings originated from further north, so it is possible that they paid more attention to celebrating the winter solstice than to Christmas. The shortest day was a good reason for them to have a party. For nearly 400 years, from the 17 th  Century until the 1950’s, Christmas wasn’t celebrated at all in Scotland. Christmas day therefore was just a normal working day and the big celebrations were saved for winter solstice holiday, which became Hogmanay. There is a lot of debate over the origins of the word “Hogmanay”. Some linguists say it comes from the Scandinavian word “Hoggo-nott”, which was the name of the feast before the mid-winter Yule festival. Other people believe it might origin...

From explosives at the dinner table to burning letters to Santa, Siobhan Thompson looks at 10 ways Christmas differs in Britain. (Notably, they don't call them the holidays.) 1.     What do British and American people do with their letters to Father Christmas? 2. Where do British and American people put their stockings? 3. What do they leave for Father Christmas? 4. What’s a Christmas cracker? 5. What does a typical Christmas dinner in the UK include? 6. Typical desserts for Christmas in America and the UK. 7. When is Boxing Day? 8. Nowadays Boxing Day is similar to_____________. 9. What are pantomimes? 10. When is the Christmas tree taken down in the UK? Why?

This is a B2 exam from the Basque Country. You have to do the reading section over the holiday. Click here . There are four readings: SPIDEY RETURNS, HERE'S WHY CLASSROOMS HAVE BECOME WAR ZONES, HONG KONG, THE DAY WAR BROKE OUT. Here's the  KEY

More than 100,000 people are eager to make themselves at home on another planet. They've applied for a one-way trip to Mars, hoping to be chosen to spend the rest of their lives on uncharted territory, according to an organization planning the manned missions. There were 200,000 people who applied to participate in the project called Mars One. It's a private enterprise to establish a permanent human settlement on Mars and film a reality show along the way. "Mars One Way" documents the thoughts and theories of Five hopeful Mars One astronauts as they contemplate the reality of leaving planet Earth forever, for a new home on Mars. I'd like to thank Sara for recommending this video. The Mars One mission is a one-way ticket to the Red Planet. It’s scheduled for 2023, when the first group of 4 men and women will land on Mars. There, they’re expected to collect data, plant oxygen-producing vegetation and prepare the planet for human colonization. Despite the obvi...

EXERCISE

  Click here to download the audio mp3 The English word “mind” refers to the center of your thoughts, memory, and imagination. In this lesson, you’ll learn 20 common English phrases using the word “mind.” To talk about making a decision, you can use the phrase “make up my mind” – for example, “I can’t make up my mind about which movie to see tonight.” A variation on this phrase is “my mind is made up” – this means you have already made your choice and implies that you are not open to changing your decision. If you do change a decision that you made previously, use the phrase “change my mind.” For example, “I’d been planning to travel this weekend, but I changed my mind because it’s been a really stressful week – so I’m going to stay home and relax.” READ MORE...

A video explaining this structure: TO REFURBISH means to renovate and redecorate a building. EXERCISE 1 MORE EXERCISES

A gifted person is someone who _________________. Being gifted can ge a double-edged sword because __________ Joao Paulo gets angry when_____________ He was identified as gifted when _______________________ The key to avoiding problems with gifted children is ______________ Helena Serra thinks gifted children need to develop ________ and _____________ towards children with different learning rhythms. Mike Brackett thinks there are different types of giftedness: _____________, ___________, and _____________. IQ is not __________________. Isolating gifted children may ______________. Parents shouldn't make their children feel ___________________. At school 1119 they start the day cleaning to _________________. The selection process for the school involves ________________, ______________ and _____________. Teaching concentrates on _____________________________. The teacher's task is to _______________________. KEY: is intelligent or has a high IQ  but also ha...

Luke’s English Podcast is an award-winning audio show for learners of English as a foreign language. The podcast started in 2009 and is still going strong. There are now over 550 audio episodes, transcripts, videos, a special series on phrasal verbs and a premium subscription service. The podcast has won 5 awards, received a British Council ELTon nomination and has now been downloaded over 50 million times. You can subscribe and receive updates. 559. The Rick Thompson Report: Brexit Chaos (November 2018) Talking to my dad, Rick Thompson about recent developments in the story of Brexit – Britain’s exit from the European Union. Recorded on 18 November 2018. [DOWNLOAD] Totally confused about Brexit? Want to know answers to some basic questions, like What does Brexit mean? What is the Brexit deal? What is the backstop in Brexit? When […]

Is there another way of talking about past habits without using 'used to'? This is the question that Tim tackles in this video. In it he has to reveal some of the dark secrets of his past as well as some of his present habits, which can't all be recommended.

Write a story (200 words approx.) following the guidelines on page 35 of your student's book,. Choose one of the following titles. Write your story in the comments section below. The luckiest day of my life A day when everything went wrong The most frightening day of my life A day I'll never forget

For three decades, the  Butterball Turkey Talk-Line  has answered the desperate pleas of hundreds of thousands of holiday cooks. As you can imagine, in that time the staff of 50-plus experts has heard some pretty outlandish tales of Turkey Day mishaps and fielded some truly bewildering questions. Following are a few favorite conversations from the Butterball hotline operators. And if you need help this holiday season with your bird, don’t forget to call 1-800-BUTTERBALL. Double duty iStock/Jodi Jacobson A father in charge of thawing the turkey and bathing his toddler twins decided to hit two birds with one stone. “We could hear water splashing in the background, and turns out he has his kids and the turkey in the tub all at the same time,” says Nicole Johnson, Talk-Line co-director. The man was calling to find out if the bath water would be an acceptable method for thawing the turkey. READ MORE...

Everyone knows the story of the first Thanksgiving, when a small group of Massachusetts's settlers celebrated making it through the year by feasting with their Native-American neighbors. But the story of Thanksgiving goes back much further, to ancient harvest festivals, and the holiday has been transformed over time into today's celebration marked by family, food and football. HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS is a warm look at this particularly American celebration. Discover how New York was the first state to officially declare a day of Thanksgiving, and how President Lincoln first made Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863. Explore period accounts and art that bring Thanksgiving celebrations through the centuries to life, and find out the origins of traditions like the Macy's parade. And why do we serve turkey on Thanksgiving anyway? It's an intriguing look at the sometimes surprising tales behind one of America's most beloved holidays.

Shorten the text  in such a way that all facts are in the summary. Leave out examples, evaluations and interpretations. Skim  the text. You should know what is the  main content  of it. Read the headline carefully. Read the text again to understand more  details . You must have understood the whole text. Make  notes  (use keywords). Underline important words in the text. Form  sentences with the help of your  keywords . These sentences should reflect the main content of the text. Connect the sentences  using suitable conjunctions. The first sentence should describe the main content of the text. Use  Simple Present  or  Simple Past . Write sentences in Reported speech. Sometimes you have to  change the persons . Check  your summary. Watch out for spelling mistakes. USEFUL EXPRESSIONS

This video is about narrative tenses (past simple, past  continuous  & past perfect). We use these tenses to sequence stories about the past. To master the use of these tenses you have to deal with their form, their use and their pronunciation – both for listening and speaking. Use this podcast to help you deal with all of those things, and then start using narrative tenses fluently whenever you describe something. Make your descriptions more detailed and colourful! Here’s the transcript to the mystery story, but with some of the verbs ‘gapped’. Try to put them in the correct tense. Listen again to check. The mystery story Last night I _________________ (walk) home next to the river Thames, when something strange _________________ (happen) to me. It was late at night and I ________________ (have) a long and difficult day at work. There was a large full moon in the sky and everything was quiet. I was tired and lonely and I _________________ (just have) a few pints of bee...

Sky's Mark Stone visits where the first and last British soldiers are buried in the First World War. Both Private John Parr and Private George Ellison's headstones can be seen at the same cemetery in Mons, Belgium. Theresa May will visit the same location to mark the start of a series of high-profile events reflecting the centenary of 1918. A Peace Forum in Paris has been organised by French President Emmanuel Macron and will be attended by world leaders including the US and Russian presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.

How to be happy? That's the greatest question of all, in the sense that it is what motivates what we do on a daily basis. All the choices we make stem from a consideration, often unconscious, between which choices would make us probably the most happy. TEST YOUR HAPPINESS    Do you have any tips for being happy? Leave your tip as a comment (80 words). Thanks.  

Guy Fawkes was born in April 1570 in York. Although his immediate family were all Protestants, in keeping with the accepted religious practice in England at the time, his maternal grandparents were 'recusant' Catholics, who refused to attend Protestant services. When Guy was eight, his father died and his widowed mother married a Catholic, Dionis Baynbrigge. It was these early influences that were to forge Fawkes' convictions as an adult. Fawkes and Spain By the time he was 21 he had sold the estate his father had left him and gone to Europe to fight for Catholic Spain against the Protestant Dutch republic in the Eighty Years War. His military career went well and by 1603 he had been recommended for a captaincy. He had also adopted the Italian variant of his name, becoming known as 'Guido'. In the same year, he travelled to Spain to petition the king, Philip III, for support in fomenting a rebellion in England against the "heretic" James I. Despi...

Writing informal letters and emails involves writing letters or emails to friends or relatives. When writing an informal letter or email our language is more relaxed. English expressions-Informal emails/letters Examples of informal letters/emails NOW IT'S YOUR TURN: EXERCISE 1: You have received the following letter from your English penfriend: I'm really pleased you're planning to come to England to study. Let me know what type of course you're interested in and I'll ring some colleges for details. The more information you can give me the better! Write your letter of reply to your penfriend (around 200 words). EXERCISE 2: You have received the following email from your English penfriend: It's a really brave step to take a year out of college to come and spend 6 months in the UK! What are you planning to do with your time? Find a job? Learn some new skills? Write back and give me more details about your plans so I can do my best to help you ...

Did these women plan to have a big family or a small family? Financial implications of both types of families Advantages of a big family according to David Disadvantages of being an only child according to the second woman.

Rebecca talks about her best friend and where and how they met and why they like each other. Listen to the recording  HERE   and do the following exercise. Some questions have two possible answers. 1) She met her friend ______ .   a) on a hunting trip  b) through a friend  c) at university 2) They are best friends because ______ .   a) of a shared love of anime  b) they spent lots of time together  c) they think a lot alike 3) In college they both studied _____ .   a) English  b) Japanese  c) French 4) She says these days they ______ .   a) talk a lot  b) live far apart  c) see each other often 5) She says they fight _______ .   a) all the time  b) over silly things  c) after long stays together ANSWERS: 1-b/c   2-b  3-a/b   4-a/b   5-b/c Now listen to Gareth talking about someone he is very close to and...

TO GET  can be used in a number of patterns and has a number of meanings. TO GET + DIRECT OBJECT = TO OBTAIN, TO RECEIVE, TO BUY I  got my passport  last week. (to obtain) She  got her driving license  last week. (to obtain) They  got permission  to live in Switzerland. (to obtain) I  got a letter  from my friend in Nigeria. (to receive) He  gets $1,000  a year from his father. (to receive) She  got a new coat  from Zappaloni in Rome. (to buy) We  got a new television  for the sitting room. (to buy) TO GET + PLACE EXPRESSION = REACH, ARRIVE AT A PLACE How are you  getting home  tonight? We  got to London  around 6 p.m. What time will we  get there ? When did you  get back  from New York? TO GET + ADJECTIVE = BECOME, SHOW A CHANGE OF STATE I am  getting old . It's  getting hotter . By the time they reached the house they were  getting...

SO/NEITHER SO/NEITHER 2 QUESTION TAGS

FAMILY VOCABULARY AND QUIZ. CLICK HERE MORE ABOUT FAMILIES...

TRANSCRIPT

The traditional distinction between the verbs  enquire  and  inquire  is that  enquire  is to be used for general senses of ‘ask’, while  inquire  is reserved for uses meaning ‘make a formal investigation’. In practice, however,  enquire , and the associated noun  enquiry ,   are more common in British English while  inquire  (and the noun  inquiry ) are more common in American English, but otherwise there is little discernible distinction in the way the words are used. Some style guides require that only  inquire  or only  enquire  be used. Could I  enquire  about your mother's health? She  inquired  about the library's rare books collection. Every  enquiry  is very welcome. Adam helped the police with their  inquiries . Both words derive from the Old French  enquerre , fro...

Now it's your turn. Choose one of the topics below and write your essay (200 words approx.): TOPIC 1:   'Telecommuting' refers to workers doing their jobs from home for part of each week and communicating with their office using computer technology. Telecommuting is growing in many countries and is expected to be common for most office workers in the coming decades. How do you think society will be affected by the growth of telecommuting? TOPIC 2:  Should money be spent on space exploration? TOPIC 3:  Computers can translate all kinds of languages well. Do our children need to learn more languages in the future? TOPIC 4: Using computers and the internet develops important skills in young people. TOPIC 5: Technology has created less free time rather than more. TOPIC 6: Leisure activities have become too expensive. TOPIC 7: Children need more play time in order to develop into healthy adults. LINKING WORDS AND PHRASES

Employers are using   unusual questions   in their candidate selection process for new reasons. The job search advice industry is so prolific that any candidate who researches knows he should prepare brief responses in advance to frequent standard questions. These include job interview questions such as: "what are your strengths and weaknesses" and "what makes you the most qualified candidate for this job." Interviewers use unusual job interview questions to assess how well the candidate responds to an unexpected question or scenario. Most unusual job interview questions do not have   right or wrong answers. These job interview questions provide the candidate with the opportunity, according to Sarikas, "to demonstrate quick thinking, creativity, and even a sense of humor." She says, "The interviewers are trying to catch a glimpse of the unrehearsed candidate in an unguarded moment. There is no way to prepare for these off-the-wall job interview...