Spanish News in English EL PAÍS

Dear readers,

As the world watched Russia launch a full-scale attack on Ukraine this week, one of the big questions on everyone’s minds was why. EL PAÍS explores what President Vladimir Putin hopes to achieve, how far the West might be willing to go in its response, and what the invasion means for a global economy still struggling to recover from two years of the coronavirus pandemic.

In other news, the US women’s national soccer team has won a landmark battle for equal pay, scientists have confirmed the importance of Neanderthal genetic inheritance in modern humans, and a raft of new books by popular thinkers is disproving the old theory that the German philosopher Hegel is “a dead dog.”

We hope you enjoy this selection of articles from the EL PAÍS English Edition. Thanks for reading.
SUSANA URRA

Plus Chaos, pain and triumph: How Neil Young created his masterpiece ‘Harvest’

and Archiving Facebook: What happens to humanity’s data when all the users have gone?

8th March INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

 

The Virtual Revolution (Episode 4 Part 2)

C1 "Fruit" Vs. "Vegetable" – What's The Difference?

Technically speaking, a fruit is a plant’s developed ovary that comes from a flower and contains one or multiple seeds. The term vegetable is much broader—it refers to any part of a plant that’s used for food, including the roots, tubers, stems, and leaves. Many of the foods that we casually call vegetables, like tomatoes, are technically fruits. Still, it’s a technical distinction that’s usually ignored in practical contexts, such as menus or the layout of the produce section. 

Quick summary (From Dictionary.com)

But you'd better read the whole article.

Common Contractions

 

/ˈɡɒtə/ /ˈniːdə/ /ˈwɒnə/ /dəˈnəʊ/ /ˈɔtə/ /ˈteləm / /eɪnt/ /ˈlemə/ /ˈɡɪmə/ /ˈhæstə/ /ˈhæftə/ /ɡənə/

Spanish News in English EL PAÍS

Dear readers,

This week, the James Webb Space Telescope transmitted its very first image – or rather, its first 1,560 images. That was how many were needed to determine the state of the 18 hexagonal mirrors that make up the main mirror.

We also saw a new scientific breakthrough, with a leukemia patient cured of HIV thanks to umbilical cord blood. In other science news, we also also looked at the phenomenon which is known as the Local Bubble in which the entire Solar System is immersed.

And finally our most-read story this week was on how different face masks protect you against Covid-19.

We hope you enjoy this selection of articles from the EL PAÍS English Edition. Thanks for reading.
MELISSA KITSON

And also: Why you shouldn’t aim to please everyone, and The unvaccinated US teacher who infected 12 students with Covid: Lessons to be learned for the return to school

OPEN CONVERSATION CLASSES with our Language Assistants (for C Level)

Blue Weeks: Tuesday 19.00 Library (2nd floor)

Green Weeks: Monday 11:30 Classroom 3

Remember too that on Fridays from 6 pm, you can also meet some of our language assistants at Plaza San Francisco, at the bar in the middle of the Plaza. 

Why not go this afternoon?

Latin Phrases

  ... 50 more cool Latin phrases here.

Chino en la Escuela

Since last January 14th, an Introduction to Mandarin Chinese Course is being taught at our EOI. The number of enrolled students has exceeded initial expectations. In response to this widespread interest and wanting to know the intention of users to enroll in Mandarin Chinese as regulated language in our center for the 2022-23 academic year, we have published an On line Form on the school's website.

Improving your Vocabulary in Writing

You can use and do use the words before the colon (beautiful / cold / doubt ...) in your daily speech. Try to use the ones after the colon (alluring woman /restaurant; crisp spring morning; considerable hesitation) in your writing tasks --your ideas, descriptions and/or opinions will be much more clearly and precisely expressed.

Guía del alumno 21-22

You can already read Guía del Alumno curso 21-22.

This Guide collects information on the official certification tests of the Escuelas Oficiales de Idiomas de la Region of Murcia in the 2021-2022 academic year. It is aimed at students who are candidates for certification and anyone interested in the evaluation process. Specifically, this Guía includes the following aspects: 

    1. Regulations applicable to the certification process. 

    2. General information about the certification tests. 

    3. Rights and duties of the candidate for certification. 

    4. Calendar and places to do the certification tests. 

    5. EOI addresses and other data of interest.

Remember there is another link to this guide up on the right column of the blog so that you do not have to look for this entry.

Spanish News in English

Dear readers,

This week, we covered a broad range of stories, from the search for extraterrestrial life to how a 350-year-old Spanish cross ended up in Maryland.

In coronavirus news, we interviewed Harvard epidemiologist William Hanage about why the pandemic is far from over, and also looked at the smartphone Covid tests that are currently being developed.

And in Mexico, we spoke to the environmentalists fighting to protect coral reefs on the island of Cozumel, which are under threat from the construction of a cruise ship pier.

But our most-read story this week was about Che Díaz, the controversial character on 'And Just Like That,' who was meant to promote diversity, but instead was derided for tokenism.

We hope you enjoy this selection of articles from the EL PAÍS English Edition. Thanks for reading.
MELISSA KITSON

BTW, Happy Day! 

C1: How British People Celebrate Love (from English with Lucy)

C1 Let's Talk about weight loss!

Obese to get 'game-changing' weight loss jabs on NHS
One-third of those taking part in a trial of weekly injections lost an average of a fifth of their total body weight

By Laura Donnelly, HEALTH EDITOR 8 February 2022 • 6:00am

Read these articles from The Telegraph and be ready to talk about diets and ways to lose weight in class next speaking lesoon (on Tuesday). Speak about any diet you (or somebody you know) has followed systematically.

The dark truth behind the beauty of figure skating

As Russia’s teenage star makes history, Verity Bowman and Luke Mintz examine the pressure to excel at all costs

C1 Modelos Pruebas de Certificación

Junta Andalucía 2020 C1

C2 Google's UK HQ

Listening Activity (KEY on p. 2) To be done without looking at the video, just listening!

Transcript with notes (with explanations and translations of interesting vocabulary)

Root Words & Affixes. Quick Reference

Learn the meaning (and origin) of many prefixes and suffixes. Great sites to use as reference when you have doubts about using affixes or which to use.

Valentine's Day Activities

HOW WE MET: Oral contest that will take place outdoors from 5 to 6 Monday afternoon and from 11.30 to 12.30 Tuesday morning. Those students who want to share how they met their partners will be telling their (real-life or fictional) story. At the end, they will choose the most romantic, the craziest, the most incredible one. 

Have a look at this link How we met from The Guardian, where you can read many stories of this type. If you don't feel like talking about your personal experience, you can participate telling one of these. Prepare it at home and tell what happened on Monday/Tuesday as if it were your own story. 

KARAMORE: Love song karaoke that will also take place outdoors. Join us on Monday 14th and Tuesday 15th afternoon from 4.30 to 8.30. Which department will have the best singers?

Palindromes

Poor Dan is in a droop. 

Sit on a potato pan, Otis. 

What do these—admittedly very unusual—sentences have in common? 

A palindrome is a word, sentence, verse, or even number that reads the same backward or forward.

Read about palindromes on Dictionary.com 

25 Smart Sentences for Daily Use in English Conversations

 

Spanish News in English EL PAÍS

Dear readers,

The headlines this week were dominated by news on the crisis in Ukraine. EL PAÍS published two confidential documents sent by Washington and NATO to Russia in which both parties offered Moscow disarmament agreements in exchange for military deescalation. Pentagon spokesperson John F. Kirby said these letters confirmed the US is willing to negotiate with Kremlin on a diplomatic solution to the crisis.

Meanwhile in Mexico, a recent string of killings in the popular tourist hub Quintana Roo has raised alarm bells in the US, which has issued new travel alerts for “violence and criminal activity” in the area. Experts have also sounded the alarm over the growing use of drones by drug cartels in the state of Michoacán, which are adopting the device both as a weapon and as a status symbol.

In coronavirus news, we looked at BA.2, a subvariant of the omicron strain that could be up to 1.5 times more transmissible than its sister.

And lastly, one of our most-read stories this week was by astrophysicist Pablo G. Pérez González, who explained why the concept of "right now" does not exist in the universe.

We hope you enjoy this selection of articles from the EL PAÍS English Edition. Thanks for reading.
MELISSA KITSON

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Can obsessive-compulsive disorder be prevented through early detection?

‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’ hits one billion YouTube views: What’s behind its success?

Meat without slaughter? Three eco-friendly alternatives are on the table

Plazo matrícula candidatos libres EOI Cartagena

El proceso de matriculación de candidatos libres en EOI Cartagena es del 14 al 25 de febrero. 

Instrucciones matrícula candidatos libres (BORM)

More info HERE. 

C2 Moby & The Void Pacific Choir - 'Are You Lost In The World Like Me?' (Official Video)

Watch this video and write down some ideas that come to you while you are viewing it.

We'll be commenting on it next Monday.

C1 Self-Improvement Podcasts

Choose a podcast you are interested in and listen to it. Be ready to talk about it to the class next Speaking Lesson

School of Greatness

Good Life Project

Tonny Robbins

The Ferriss Show

Mind Valley

English Phrasal Verbs for Technology

 

Classroom 19 (3rd floor)

This classroom is reserved for EOI Cartagena students. Its use is intended to the do academic activities such as oral exams, class projects, conversation groups, etc. Read the info HERE.

BECAS SANTANDER LANGUAGE | ONLINE ENGLISH COURSES 2022 - BRITISH COUNCIL Convocatoria 2022

Read the info HERE.

C1 Collocations (by topics)

 Learn (about) collocations on Salon de Idiomas: interesting and useful grouping by topics. Look at the ones on work:

doing an internship     entry-level job     minimum wage     a good team player     get a promotion/get a pay rise     be fired/dismissed     a heavy workload     work overtime     demanding job     quit your job     competitive salary     generous benefits     well-paid/rewarding job     job ads     job seekers     menial job     earn a living     between jobs.

More HERE.