End-of-Year Quotes

The end of the year is a time to reflect on the past and look forward to the future—and/or to simply unwind, let loose, and hang out with friends and family. To help you get in the right mindset for the end of the year, we have pulled insights and advice from writers, entertainers, and thinkers with a wide variety of opinions. While they have different perspectives, they all encourage us to embrace change, do the right thing, and have a sense of humor. (Dictionary.com) Read the quotes, they're interesting! 

The Year in Pictures

This is the Year in Pictures from The New York Times.

Basic vs Advanced ADJECTIVES

Revise phrases containing ON

Do this activity with preposition ON

C2 Internet, Email & Texting Conventions

The SMART Vocabulary cloud shows the related words and phrases you can find in the Cambridge Dictionary that make up this topic. Click on a word to go to the definition.

EL PAÍS News in English

Dear readers,‌‌

‌(...) To achieve a new exchange, Hamas demands an immediate cessation of hostilities, which the Israeli government is not willing to concede. Meanwhile, the Israeli government has indicated it is open to a “reformed” Palestinian National Authority (PA), which controls the West Bank, governing Gaza after the war (...) Israel’s objectives in the war are to demilitarize and de-radicalize Gaza, but also to “establish a civilian administration that cares about the people who live there.”

(...) “Nobody knows when it will end,” admitted Zelenskiy of the war with Russia. The White House has not been able to approve a $60 billion package for Ukraine amid opposition from Republican hardliners while Hungary’s move to block EU aid is another setback for Kyiv’s war effort. But Zelenskiy remains confident. “I am sure that the United States will not let us fall.”

EL PAÍS visited the VeryNile initiative in Cairo, which pays local fisherman for the plastic they pull from the Nile River. The project involves more than 100 fishermen from different parts of Egypt who work every day collecting plastics — between 20 and 30 tons per month — from the waterway. (...) “Now there is a big difference, not 100%, but 1,000%. There are more fish, the Nile is cleaner, the smell is better, everything.”

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

You can also read:

• Brains connected to the computer: will it be the end of humans’ ability to decide?
• The earthquake data that explains the volcanic eruption in Iceland
• ‘Mycoplasma’: The peculiar bacteria that has the WHO on alert
• Care of the future: Can robots care for the elderly or the sick?
• The risks of having high expectations: Mind your New Year’s resolutions
• The best Christmas movies of all time

Merry Christmas and Happy New 2024!

Merry Christmas!

C1 Work / Jobs Vocab & Listening

From: High Level Listening

Naturally Spoken English Practice

Work Vocabulary Part 1. 

Do at least one of the following at home: Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

Transcript (of all 5 parts) Highlight new voc. ONLY LOOK AT IT AFTER LISTENING!

 Perks                                             

 Work Environment

 Working Conditions                     

 Maternity Leave
 Paid Holiday / Vacation   

 Job Satisfaction
 Manual Work / Labor      

 Full / Part Time
 Temporary / Seasonal Work   

 Volunteer work, etc.

Verb + To + Gerund

These verbs are ALWAYS FOLLOWED by to + gerund

look forward to        

be used to

be accustomed to

get used to

adjust to 

confess to

devote to

get around to

object to 

I always look forward to sharing these English lessons with you.

Is Jane used to working with her new boss?

She got used to working there.

Tom is from the UK and he just moved to New York. He said it’s not easy to adjust to driving on the left.

The robber confessed to breaking into the bank.

Kim devotes a lot of time to caring for her garden.

When are you going to get around to doing your homework?

She told the boss that she objects to working on the weekend.

KEY to Maze with / ɜː /

C2 Collocation with adjectives for Reviews

Check adjective collocations for reviews here.

C1 Collocations with UNEMPLOYMENT Vocabulary

Last 2023 Class

C2 Wednesday 20th

9.30 - 10.30: Salón Actos THE WORST XMAS PRESENTS with Helena

10.30 - 11.30: CHRISTMAS JOKES with Miguel Ángel

11.30 - 12.30: Class Time

C1 Thursday 21st

10:30 - 11.30 Salón Actos XMAS ADVERTS with Isa

16.00 - 17.00: Class Time

17.00 - 18.00: XMAS KARAOKE with Bea

18:00 - 19.00: Class Time with Giovanni

19:00 - 20.00 Salón Actos XMAS TIME with Giovanni

20.00 - 21.00: Christmas Jokes with Miguel Ángel

Pronouncing "long schwa"

Go from A to B pronouncing only words containing / ɜː /

Key in two days.

EL PAÍS News in English

Dear readers,‌

(...) Despite Washington’s desire for a swift end to the conflict, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that there is no end in sight to the fighting. “Hamas is a terrorist organization with an infrastructure underground and on the ground that is not easy to destroy. It will require a period of time of more than several months, but we will win, and we will destroy them."

‌EL PAÍS interviewed Rahul Gupta, Washington’s drug czar and the first doctor to hold the position in U.S. history. The director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy is in charge of combating the opioid epidemic, which resulted in nearly 110,000 overdose deaths in the country in 2022. (...) We are also encouraging schools, malls, public places to make sure that they keep making Narcan or naloxone available just like a fire extinguisher or a defibrillator device. Because at the end of the day, they save lives.”

‌At the COP28 Summit in Dubai, almost 200 countries signed an agreement that for the first time makes explicit mention of the need to transition away from oil, coal and gas, the main causes of climate change. Until now, the emphasis had been placed on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, while ignoring the fact that fossil fuels are what cause them. The document represents a historic agreement to the extent that it proposes (...) to achieve net zero emissions in 2050.

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

You can also read:

• Tunisia reactivates its collaboration with the EU in the fight against irregular immigration
• The invisible threat of superbacteria
• No, pork rinds are not healthier than vegetables, and there is no study that proves it
• Who is Mira Murati, one of the most influential women in the world in 2023?
• Prices soar in Argentina after Milei’s currency devaluation

Non-defining Relative Clauses + Quantifiers KEY

Check your answers here.

KEY to Cloze Activity

Check your answers here. We'll revise it in class next week!

C1 Revise Defining vs Non-Defining Relative Clauses

The Dictionary.com Word of the Year is...

Check it here and see the reason, the meaning, the lexicographical significance, origin, etymology and the shortlist!

It is just hallucinating!!!

Non-defining Relative Clauses + Quantifiers

Remember the use of which after commas and quantifiers we saw in class?

... the students, most of which ... (not them..)

Find explanations and activities here. (From English Mastery by Javier Blanco)

Key in two days.

V + ing or to Infinitive?

• Verbal Complements
• Revise verb patterns with this V + -ing or to inf. presentation.
• Revise verb patterns in general too.
• Revise To- infinitive clauses
• Have a look!

It's always helpful to have a reference in case of doubt.

C1 & C2 Cloze Activity

Do this exam-like Cloze Activity. 

Key next Friday

15 Stunningly Beautiful English Words

 

15 Stunningly Beautiful English Words

EL PAÍS News in English

Dear readers,‌

With the 2024 presidential election campaign on the horizon, (...) the Democratic candidate’s son Hunter Biden was charged with three felonies and six misdemeanors relating to tax offenses. It is the second criminal case against Biden’s son (...).

‌A territorial dispute between Venezuela and Guyana erupted this week when the government of Nicolás Maduro announced it was planning to annex the territory of Essequibo, an oil and mineral-rich region that covers over two-thirds of Guyana and is controlled by Georgetown based on the 1899 Paris Arbitral Award. (...).

As the war in Gaza enters its third month, EL PAÍS spoke to Palestinian child prisoners released in the exchange deal brokered between Israel and Hamas, and the family of two Bedouin hostages returned from the Strip, Aisha, 16, and Bilal, 18, whose cousin and uncle remain in the hands of the militias. (...).

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

You can also read:

• Cancellations, layoffs and accusations of antisemitism: The war in Gaza opens a crack in Hollywood
• Jon Fosse, winner of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature: ‘I prefer to live in the most boring way possible’
• Virtual girlfriend, real love: How artificial intelligence is changing romantic relationships
• What it means to be a ‘bad friend,’ a painful childhood label that can haunt us
• ‘Daddy, are we going to die today?’

Nouns and verbs with different pronunciations

Have a look at the list of verbs and nouns which are homonyms but have different pronunciation (stress shift). Do the activity that follows the list.

Same root: different suffixes, different meanings

Spanish Constitution

Why don't you flick through the Spanish Constitution?

Exchange Market

Christmas 23 Exchange Market: 

“CHANGE THINGS TO CHANGE THINGS” 

We invite you to think about a single object to exchange and bring it to the EOI from December 12 to 19. The idea is to leave one thing and take another, which you are going to use or give to someone in exchange. There will be tables in the hall for you to leave them; and a piggy bank where you can contribute with a 1€ donation that will go to Doctors Without Borders NGO. The items you bring must be in good condition (clean and odour-free) and belong to the following categories: 

 - accessories (bags, jewelry, scarves, etc.) 

 - decoration articles. 

 - toys (small and battery-free) 

Remember: Bring something nice that you would give as a present to someone you appreciate! 

IMPORTANT: the organizers reserve the right to remove inappropriate articles or those that cannot be displayed due to space problems. 

Click here to learn more about this initiative. 

Thank you for your collaboration.

Department of Cultural Activities EOI Cartagena

Tools & Jobs Collocations KEY

C1 Matching Activity COLLOCATIONS

 Tools and Jobs 

Yeees, I know Chalk & Teacher are a little bit old-fasioned pair (here at least), but I just couldn't remove it. 

And you already have 1 out of 8 correct!!!

EL PAÍS News in English

Dear readers,‌

Representatives of almost 200 nations have gathered at the annual U.N. climate summit, COP28, in Dubai at the end of a year that is expected to be the warmest since records began in 1850. Greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy, and the transition away from fossil fuels will top the agenda at a meeting marked by the uncertainties generated by an oil-producing country leading the negotiations. (...).

A week-long ceasefire in Gaza ended Friday and Israeli military operations began again after mediators failed to secure an agreement for a further extension of the truce, during which Israeli hostages were exchanged for Palestinian prisoners. EL PAÍS spoke to some of those released from jails in Israel, who reported a toughening of conditions including beatings, overcrowded cells, humiliation, and isolation from the outside world after the Hamas attacks of October 7, which left 1,200 people dead. (...).

‌In U.S. politics, Nikki Haley has emerged as the main potential challenger to Donald Trump in the Republican primaries after the former governor of South Carolina received the endorsement of AFP Action, the powerful and influential conservative network founded by the billionaire Koch brothers. (...).

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

You can also read:

• The absent parent syndrome and its impact on child development
• What is ‘delulu’ philosophy, and why has it become a trendy concept among Generation Z?
• A scientific approach to mysticism
• Kissinger’s farewell to China

Ningún Niño sin Juguete GALA BENÉFICA

C1 & C2 Assessment Criteria

General Assessment Criteria

WRITING (Producción y Coproducción)

SPEAKING (Exposición e Interacción; Analítica y Holística)

MEDIATION

Adverb & Adjective COLLOCATIONS

Check adverbs and adjectives that often go together here.

Normal vs. Advanced SENTENCES

A friend of mine is doing a study on the topic of phonetics and needs to know the opinion of language students and teachers on several related topics. I would appreciate your collaboration. You just have to fill out the questionnaire in the following Google Forms document: LA FONÉTICA. It won't take you more than 2 minutes to do it. Thanks in advance for your help. 😊

C2 Fronted Adverbials and Commas

 

Read this document to learn about the use and punctuation of fronted adverbials.

EL PAÍS News in English

Dear readers,

November 24 marked the beginning of a four-day ceasefire in Gaza after Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and Hamas agreed to an exchange involving 50 hostages held in the Strip and 150 Palestinian prisoners detained in Israel. EL PAÍS spoke to the relatives of some of the Palestinians who may be included in the deal, many of them minors accused of crimes such as throwing stones, or held without charge under what is known is “administrative detention,” which is open-ended and can be renewed every six months for up to “10 years in prison” say human rights activists.

Artificial intelligence company OpenAI had a tumultuous week (...). We look at the “wise men” of OpenAI, who will be tasked with steadying the ship.

In Argentina, far-right candidate Javier Milei was elected president last Sunday in a run-off vote against Peronist candidate (...). EL PAÍS profiled the new Argentine leader and the rise to power of a politician nicknamed “The Crazy One” during his schooldays.

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

You can also read:

• Over 3,000 women are murdered in Mexico each year: How violence affects youngest victims
• Kelly Wilson: ‘You have to embrace anxieties. What you love the most is also where you’re most vulnerable’
• Disobedient kids who talk back: What can parents do?
• Why does a 12-year-old need a cell phone?
• From fascination to fear of a hidden agenda: The year of ChatGPT will define the battle for the future of humanity

Thanksgiving

Learn about Thanksgiving with this activity. 

[KEY on p. 2]

More info here.

C1 Expressing Probability

Talk 21st Nov. BRITISHNESS THROUGH FOOD & DRINK

Remember, this evening!

C1 & C2 Open CLOZE Practice

On this esl-lounge webpage you can practise C1 OPEN CLOZES (sentences). 

On this esl-lounge webpage you can practise C2 OPEN CLOZES (sentences). 

EL PAÍS in English

Dear readers,

As the second phase of Israel’s assault in Gaza culminated in the storming of the Al Shifa hospital, where military authorities believed Hamas was operating a command and control center and potentially storing weapons, we looked at the legality of the Israeli army's operations against medical complexes under the structure of international humanitarian law. EL PAÍS also went beyond the frontlines of the conflict to speak to members of Israel’s community of over 300,000 Bedouins, who have found themselves further isolated by the ravages of the ongoing war. “In these villages we are not protected by the Iron Dome. Nor do we have ambulances, shelters, alarm systems…” said Akel Kran, who lost one of his children in a rocket attack against the settlement of Al Bat in Israel’s Negev desert on October 7.

We also interviewed Kristi Coulter, who worked as an executive in Amazon’s Seattle headquarters for over a decade. The 53-year-old has just published Exit Interview, an account of her time at the tech giant and the working conditions imposed by the company. “At one point, I ran an executive coaching program. We would get these guys into a room, and these are like stoic alpha males, and they would be crying within 10 minutes,” she said.

‌Also this week, Pedro Sánchez was invested as prime minister of Spain for a third time after the Socialist leader secured a controversial pact with several minority parties, which included an amnesty deal for the figureheads of the 2017 bid for Catalonian secession. EL PAÍS analyzed how the head of the new coalition government has risen from obscurity to the cusp of becoming the second longest-serving prime minister since the country’s return to democracy.

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

You can also read:

• Tens of thousands of people protest in Madrid against amnesty deal
• The Chilean explorer documenting the death of glaciers at the ends of the earth
• A study confirms that improving your lifestyle can stop the development of diabetes
• The economic disaster of extra pounds: Pharmaceutical companies are profiting in an increasingly obese world
• Latin Grammys of Seville: Natalia Lafourcade sneaks into the urban genre party and Rosalía thrills on stage

C1 Wordlist

You can access Navigate C1 Wordlist here. Check your vocabulary and revise it.

This is not our textbook, but it is C1 vocabulary. Check pronunciation and always read the examples.

C1 Possibility, probability, certainty

You can find translations into Spanish of different ways of expressing possibility and probability here.
Do some grammar practice on cannot / can't vs may not here.

C2 English Interjection

Meaning of Interjection

100 sentences of interjection

More Examples

Meet Up!

EL PAÍS in English

Dear readers,

This week our Israel correspondent interviewed Gideon Sa'ar, a veteran politician who has served in ministerial positions and has joined the current emergency government, about the future of the region after the war. Sa'ar said Israel will establish security zones in Gaza, which may be mined, and which nobody will be allowed to approach.

In Europe, we looked at the controversial amnesty deal between Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Catalan separatists who have pledged to back his bid to form a new government, and we explored why Lithuania has become the new promised land for fintech and other innovative industries,

We also interviewed tennis legend Billie Jean King about her lifelong revolutionary spirit, and British entrepreneur James Dyson, creator of the famous Dyson vacuum cleaner, who says his success is based on "failing over and over again."

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

You could also read:

• In Spain, hundreds of thousands of people protest amnesty deal
• Cellphones and teenagers: What if there was a middle ground between prohibition and free rein?
• ‘We are entering an era that is going to lead to something incredible and profound’: AI takes largest tech trade show
• Visiting your grandmother once a month can increase her life expectancy
• Deconstructing Homer Simpson

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