Descriptive Writing

28th April 2026

Happy Holidays!

Sure there must be more than one you want to celebrate!!!

Remember next Monday we'll start with 

SELECTED POSTS!

A Little August Project ✨Selected Posts

Over the month of August, I’ll be doing something a little different here on the blog.

Since so many of you have joined recently (welcome again, so glad you’re here!), I thought it would be a great time to revisit and refresh some older posts. I’ll be rewriting a selection of entries that were originally published quite a while ago.

If you’ve been reading for a long time, you might recognize a few of these pieces. And if you’re newer here, this will be a chance to catch some of the older content—without having to dig too far back into the labels.

Each of these posts means something important for me (brings back old memories / was extremely useful / brought about positive feedback...). I’m excited to revisit these entries, and I hope you’ll enjoy reading them just as much as I enjoy reposting them.

Thanks for being here 💛

EL PAÍS (News in English)

Kids in the deportation machinery

Dear readers,

Starting this Friday, thousands of migrant children in the United States, from infants to teenagers, risk losing the legal assistance that has supported them for years in their immigration cases. Advocacy groups stress the risks children face when they appear in court or are questioned by government officials without a lawyer present.

In Europe, firefighters continued their desperate battle to put out record-breaking blazes in Spain and France. We spoke with a volunteer brigade in Jávea (including a member who took part in rescue operations in New York on 9/11) to see how some towns are trying to prepare for what's being dubbed as the new normal.

This week we bring you interviews with JP Morgan chief Jamie Dimon, reggaeton pioneer Don Omar, Cuban artist and dissident Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, and the influential tech/feminist thinker Donna Haraway, among others.

We hope you enjoy this selection of stories from EL PAÍS USA Edition.

You can also read:

• The cocktail behind the wildfires ravaging Spain: Unprecedented heat waves and a changing relationship with the countryside
• Florida exhibition explores how Salvador Dalí transformed US culture
• Spanish police warn of collapse in Ceuta over mass migrant influx from Morocco: ‘We are overwhelmed’
• Carlo Maley, evolutionary biologist: ‘We became so obsessed with curing cancer that we haven’t thought about how to extend life without a cure’
• A day with a firefighting crew in Madrid: ‘The firefighters can’t keep up; last night there were three new fires’
• The secret weapon mosquitoes are using to win the war against humans: evading insecticides
• Members only: Private clubs for the wealthy take over Madrid

Summer Safety Tips Mediation KEY

Check your Text HERE.

Water Sports

One Language Five Accents

More C2 Vocabulary

Word Stress Rules 2

FUN IN THE SUN Can you name ALL these pictures? Key

Check your answers HERE.

Insects

Which of these can't you cope with?

Give reasons.

Which are your favourites? Why?

Vocabulary to describe what we think about Insects

FUN IN THE SUN Can you name ALL these pictures?

See all of them HERE. 

Answers tomorrow.

Summer Safety Tips (Written Mediation Activity)

Ellie, your British next door neighbour at your seaside house, asks you to explain to her the info she found on the internet by RED CROSS, because her Spanish is not very good.

Text her a summary containing the most relevant guidelines of this Info Sheet in 140-160 words.

Key next Thursday

The Future of English: In conversation with David Crystal (British Council)

It is always a pleasure to listen to Mr. David Crystal. 

We were joined by renowned linguist, David Crystal, for a conversation about the future of the English language. David was interviewed by two PhD students as part of the Future of English Research Forum 2025. Find out more about the Future of English programme on our website: https://www.britishcouncil.org/future...

KEY to Cloze Activity

Check your Cloze Activity HERE.

EL PAÍS (News in English)

ICC: United States trying to ensure own ‘impunity’

Dear readers,

(...) The World Cup drew to an end last Sunday after 104 matches held in three countries, and the time has come to begin preparations for the next event. In 2030, Spain, Portugal and Moroccowill host a historic centennial tournament in whichSpain will be the first country whose national team, as reigning world champion, will defend the title at home.

In other news, this week we interviewed reggaeton pioneer Don Omar and talked to migrants caught up in Italy’s mafia-like ‘caporalato’ system.

We hope you enjoy this selection of stories from EL PAÍS USA Edition.

You can also read:

• Trump imposes chaotic trade system in his third round of tariffs
• Which brand won the World Cup? 
• Dominique Lagorgette, philologist: ‘Solidarity among women is the only way to win more rights’
• The pool as therapy for people with severe neurological diseases: ‘I can do things without fear here’
• On the trail of a new dinosaur species in Spain’s premier wine region
• Spain, the first reigning champion to host a World Cup amid many uncertainties

Land & Mountain Vocabulary

Quotes

 

Riddles 3 (KEY)

Most Common Mistakes

Sure you don't make any of them?

Riddles 3

KEY tomorrow

Types of Doctors

Useful Everyday phrases

Alphabet for Seniors

 The fewer words you know, the better.

Second Star for Spanish Football!

• Spain win the World Cup after Ferran Torres dethrones 10-man Argentina in extra time (The Guardian)
• World Cup 2026 final in photos: Spain triumphs as football crowns a new champion (CNBC)
• Victory for football? Spain beat Argentina to win World Cup (BBC)
• Spain beats Argentina to win the World Cup (El País)
• La prensa argentina y mundial también se rinde a España tras hacerse con la segunda estrella: "Reyes del juego", "Merecido campeón" (EuroSport) Check here the coverage of the most important front pages of the best newspapers in the World

Cloze Activity

Do this Cloze Activity. (Key next Sat.) Published 9 June 2026 The Telegraph

Channel vs Canal

The Interview: Mick Jagger Knows...

... he May Have Played His Last Rolling Stones Show (BY The New York Times)

EL PAÍS (News in English)

‘They handcuffed a dead man’: Questions mount after ICE shooting

Dear readers,

The fatal shooting of 26-year-old Colombian Johan Sebastian Durán Guerrero by an ICE agent has shaken the small Maine city of Biddeford, where residents are demanding answers. And in Georgia, Jeús Manuel Arenas Silva suffered a fatal cardiac arrest while being transferred between two detention centers, becoming the 54th migrant to die in ICE custody during Trump’s second presidency.

In other news, concerns about global security are reshaping government priorities. Military spending has risen for 11 consecutive years and now stands at nearly $3 trillion worldwide, as countries respond to geopolitical tensions, technological competition, and growing uncertainty over the international order.

‌We also spoke to Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood about the band’s latest album, Foreign Tongues, the risks of censorship, and his hopes for a 2027 tour.

We hope you enjoy this selection of stories from EL PAÍS USA Edition

You can also read:

• They steal our data, they steal our democracy. The moral catastrophe of Big Tech’s totalitarians-for-profit
• The extreme heat to come: Could Spain reach 50 degrees Celsius?
• At home with Susumu Higa, the anti-war manga artist who does not have a phone or a car
• How the Spain coach spent over a decade recruiting the players who will be at the World Cup final

Rage rooms: can smashing stuff up really help to relieve anger and stress?

Check your answers HERE.