A Walk Through The Stories and Legends of Cartagena

We have been informed about the presentation of A Walk Through The Stories and Legends of Cartagena on October 2 at 7:00 p.m. at the CIM (Isaac Peral room). The introduction of the talk will be done in English. The translator adds that "the book is entirely about characters from Cartagena or those whose time in the city has been very important." The authors of those stories will also be present.

C2 Improve your Listening Skills

Read Javier Blanco's blog post.

News in English EL PAÍS

You can read:

• Spain lodged formal complaint against Mexico for snub to King Felipe
• Previously unknown population of killer whales corner sea lions and hunt dolphins in northern Chile
• New AI models like ChatGPT pursue ‘superintelligence’, but can’t be trusted when it comes to basic questions
• Everything happens for a reason: Why we are fascinated by coincidences
• Less driving, more cycling: How you commute to work impacts your health
• Is our handwriting getting worse? It’s not just technology that affects our way of writing
• Thousands of displaced people in Gaza live trapped between bombs and rising tides: ‘We could drown in our sleep’
• An ‘Olympics’ that allows doping? A billionaire’s controversial dream that could change sport forever

Fricative Love: SHE

Listen to this absolutely fantastic entry on Ana López Pozo's blog. Do the proposed activities and, of course, enjoy the beauty of the song.

On Alpozo's blog you will find plenty of extraordinarily interesting posts dealing with pronunciation and music.

Autumn vs Fall (from Dictionary.com)

The names autumn and fall are both commonly used. Autumn is thought to be slightly older, appearing in the 1300s, with the word fall first appearing around the 1500s in reference to leaves falling off trees. An even earlier name for the season is harvest.

15 Acronyms...

European Day of Languages 2024

Languages for Peace

Search for info about this fantastic day HERE.

Throughout Europe, 700 million Europeans are represented in the Council of Europe's 46 member states and all are encouraged to discover more languages at any age, as part of or alongside their studies. This stems from the Council of Europe’s conviction that linguistic diversity is a tool for achieving greater intercultural understanding and a key element in the rich cultural heritage of our continent. The Council of Europe, therefore, promotes plurilingualism throughout Europe.

At the Council of Europe’s initiative, the European Day of Languages has been celebrated every year since 2001 on 26 September - together with the European Commission.

Read the Language Journey.

Other year celebrations of this event: 2023, 2018, 2017, 2016.

People Idioms

Find some more here. (Answer next week)

Nouns Describing Character

Match them with people you know who can be described as such!

Adjectives that Describe Character

 

Find someone you know who might suit each of the adjectives above. 

This way you'll remember the meanings more easily!

70 Phonograms

A phonogram is a grapheme i.e. one or more written characters (letters, on the left) which represent a phoneme (speech sound, on the right) according to WikipediA.

Notice that these are British English pronunciations. 
    Some words have strong and weak forms and we have used the weak one here. For example:

• at strong: /ˈæt/, weak: /ət/ 
• me strong: /ˈmiː/, weak: /mə/ 
• do strong: /ˈduː/, weak: /dʊ/ /də/ 
• for strong: /ˈfɔː(r)/ weak: /fə(r)/

Noitice: box /ks/ (not just /s/)

You can enrol if you meet the requirements! (about €40 a year)

British vs American English

 

Highlight the ones you didn't know! And add new ones if you can...

News in English EL PAÍS

Key takeaways from the Fed's aggressive rate cut

Dear readers,

‌All eyes were on the U.S. Federal Reserve, as it announced an aggressive cut of 50 basis points. EL PAÍS analyzed the reasons behind the decision, and what it may mean for investors.

Meanwhile, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have been stepping up their efforts ahead of the November presidential election. The Republican is trying to win over Latino voters with a remix of a salsa classic, while the Democrat is hoping a rise in voter registration among women and youths will help her campaign.

‌In other news, the Mexican state of Sinaloa remains caught in the crossfire as the war between two factions of the Sinaloa Cartel spills out on to the street. EL PAÍS spoke to residents in the state about how they are coping with the tense situation.

‌We also looked back at the legacy of Johnny Ramone, talked with Narco star Teresa Ruiz about the differences between the Mexican and U.S. film industry, and explored how mass tourism is affecting Japan's culture.

We hope you enjoy this selection of stories.

You can also read:

• What should I do if I can’t stand my best friend’s partner?
• An increasingly tourist-filled Athens in a Greece fed up with tourism
• An ‘Olympics’ that allows doping? A billionaire’s controversial dream that could change sport forever
• The mysterious rise of cancer in young adults
• Scientists call for global action on microplastics, now found in more than 1,300 species
• After having some fingers and his ears removed, The Black Alien abandons his body modification project

Revise

These are some of the vocabulary and grammar issues raised this week:

Instead of LOOK

Adjective Order

Laugh

Assure / Ensure / Insure

Connected Speech (By Lucy)

C1 Vocabulary

British Council Learn English C1 VOCABULARY  

Tick your characteristics as a student from below...

... and tell the class some examples for the adjectives you ticked.

Are you a Good Reader?

Check your reading abilities!

News in English EL PAÍS

Harris and Trump teams adjust their strategies

Dear readers,

Following Tuesday's much-anticipated debate between the presidential candidates, and with polls showing that the race is practically tied, winning over undecided voters in swing states has become more urgent than ever. But the opportunities to capture new votes — or avoid losing them — are becoming few and far between.

In Peru, officials are wondering whether to organize a state funeral for Alberto Fujimori, who passed away on September 11. The deeply divisive former president continues to pose a headache for the government even in death.

This week we also analyzed the reasons behind China's renewed interest in trade relations with Africa, the new "financial nihilism" that seems to be affecting young people, and the background of Dominique Pélicot, the "great guy" who turned out to be a sexual predator, now on trial in France.

We also bring you interviews with the musician, writer and actor Nick Cave, and with Dior's "nose," the perfume expert Francis Kurkdjian.

We hope you enjoy this selection of articles from El País US Edition.

You can also read:

• No more free pass: Regulation starts to crack down on social media platforms
• The new Irish narrative: Unruly and centered around the inner self
• DNA suggests that the Rapa Nui arrived in the Americas two centuries before Columbus
• Diego Hidalgo: ‘Banning the sale of phones to teens would empower parents’
• Taylor Swift crowned at MTV’s VMAs gala, where women took power on stage
• The Harris-Trump debate as told by social media: Memes, videos and viral posts

Do speakers of other languages view English as being a less sophisticated language due to its simplicity?

English is not a ‘simple’ language.

See: 

[1] About English Pronunciation

[3] -ough- Pronunciation

[5] "The Chaos" 

Will you hear the whole poem? Yes, probably.

Will you be able to pronounce ALL the words in the poem? Not even after finishing C2!!!

C1 Grammar

British Council Learn English C1 GRAMMAR

C1 & C2 BBC Ideas

Ideas

Short Films for Curious Minds

Watch ONE video you find interesting and be ready to talk to your classmates about it for 2 mins. one day of the week 16th to 20th Sept.

C1 Textbook and samples of (part of) Mod 1 and Mod 2

 C1 On Screen Module 1 (pp. 5 to 11)

Sample (Module 2)

Author: Jenny Dooley

ISBN: 978-1-4715-5466-7

C2 English Mastery Unit 1 Part 1

If you haven't been able to get the book yet, you may download the first part of unit one here.

This Year New C2 Textbook

 English Mastery BREAKTHRU By Javier Blanco

You may purchase the whole textbook or the C2.1 edition + the C2.2 edition. We will be studying both: the former during the 1st quarter (till January) and the latter during the 2nd one (Jan. - May).

News in English EL PAÍS

Courting the Latino vote... or not?

Dear readers,

With two months to go before the U.S. presidential election, political parties have yet to reach out significantly to Hispanic voters despite the fact that they could prove pivotal in a particularly tight race, a new poll finds. (...).

We also took a long train journey across Europe, talked to the team that accompanied trail runner Kílian Jornet as he successfully climbed all 82 of the Alps’ 4000-meter peaks in record time, and interviewed the Mexican chef Eduardo García about his dramatic beginnings as an undocumented migrant in the U.S.

But the story that has caught the most attention this week involves an elderly Romanian woman who unwittingly used a large amber nugget as a doorstop for decades, without realizing it was worth over $1 million.

Hope you enjoy this selection of stories from El País USA Edition.

You can also read:

• Three potatoes for $40: The face of hunger in Gaza
• Dozens of ‘high-risk’ viruses discovered on fur farms in China
• Dolphins also have their dark side
• The lightbulb of the 21st century: The battery revolution illuminates a new era
• Seven elite women athletes who had to justify, explain or defend the way they look

Why Does September Come From The Word “Seven”?

  September Meaning

For many, the month of September signals the end of summer, the beginning of autumn, and the start of a new school year. With respect to the calendar, September marks the beginning of the series of months named after their numerical position in the year. (From Dictionary.com) 

Common Sense Questions ANSWERS

Revise Grammar

Find it here in pdf. format.

Extra Grammar practice here.

Have you been to any of these?

  

When was it?

Where was it?

Who were you with?

How long did you stay?

Did you swim, sunbathe, snorkelled...?

When was it?

Where was it?

Who were you with?

How high did you climb?

Did you need special equipment?

Are you Tired after Holidays?

News in English EL PAÍS

Trump’s anti-communist rhetoric hits a wall

USA EDITION

Dear readers,

The Latino vote in Florida is a lot like what people in the Caribbean call “rice with mango.” That is to say, something that at first glance lacks linear logic and contains apparent contradictions. Trump’s visit to Hialeah on the outskirts of Miami offered a glimpse of this notion.

In the wake of a court decision to pause President Joe Biden's parole-in-place program for undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens, we spoke with individuals who are personally affected by the move.(...).

Our most popular story this week looked at the ties between Mexico's drug world and music. The arrest of the Sinaloa Cartel kingpin 'El Mayo' Zambada in July sparked songs recounting the event, although the figure of the drug trafficker was already a recurring inspiration for (often controversial) corrido artists.

We also extracted three lessons from the latest book by the famous South Korean thinker Byung-Chul Han, and examined why Taylor Swift is above brands and why dolphins are no longer helping out fishermen.

We hope you enjoy this selection of stories.

You can also read:

• Ichkabal, the ancient Mayan city set to rival Chichen Itzá as Mexico’s most-visited archaeological site
• Five thousand years of history buried in the undergrowth
• Europe jumps on the train
• Work kills, death to work
• A quarter of coma patients still have some form of consciousness
• ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ sweeps Japan after a 50-year delay

Common Sense Questions

Answers on Friday!