Death and Devastation in Spain

•  Spain flood death toll expected to rise as weather warning systems criticised (The Guardian)

Rescue workers are set to comb through debris in worst hit areas like Valencia, after at least 95 people were killed in deadliest floods in a generation.

•  What to Know About Spain’s Devastating Floods (The New York Times)

Dozens of people were killed after the downpour, which some residents said was the worst they had ever witnessed.

•  Spain battles deadliest flooding disaster in decades as death toll rises (BBC)

Spain is enduring its worst flooding disaster in decades with at least 95 people dead and dozens more missing after huge rains swept the eastern province of Valencia and beyond. Torrential rain on Tuesday triggered flash floods which swept away bridges and buildings and forced people to climb onto roofs or cling to trees to survive. President Pedro Sánchez has declared three days of national mourning as the wild conditions continue, restricting some rescue efforts. The death toll is feared to climb as "many people are still missing," the government says.

•  At least 95 people killed in flooding in Spain (El País)

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has urged the public ‘not to let their guard down’ as the weather phenomenon continues to wreak havoc and dozens remain missing.

•  How sun-baked soil and an unusual weather phenomenon caused Spain’s deadly flash flooding (The Telegraph) 

‘Cold drop’ weather pattern in the autumn is becoming more extreme because of climate change, say experts.

Symbols in English Writing

Be Supposed to

 Read BE SUPPOSED TO in pdf format

Do these activities too!

Riddles (2) KEY

Rhyming words

Talk about HALLOWEEN (By Harriet Smart)

Wednesday 30th October at 5 pm at the EOI Assembly Hall

Don't miss it!

K. Harris vs D. Trump

Next Tuesday the US will hold their General Election Day

Harris and Trump: Compare where they stand on key issues

We'll be talking with our Language assistants about it next week for about 15-20 minutes. 

What do you think of both candidates?

Student Rep Elections

The campaign to be class rep has just started. The election will be held this week during the last 5 minutes before the break.

C2: Wednesday 30th 

C1: Thursday 31st  

Representative Duties: 

• Serve as a mediator between the group and the teacher to solve class problems. 
• Summon the students of the group to inform them about topics referring to their rights and interests. 
• Attend Representative meetings held during the year. 

C1 Inversion Examples

News in English EL PAÍS

The political price of inflation

Dear readers,

With Harris and Trump fighting tooth and nail for undecided voters in the campaign homestretch, we spoke with people whose primary concerns are not big issues like abortion, national security or polarization. What they care about is making ends meet, and many feel that neither candidate is going to help them with that. We also talked to journalist Paola Ramos, daughter of veteran news anchor Jorge Ramos, about her new book exploring why some Latinos relate to Trump despite his xenophobic rhetoric.

We also bring you a column by Venezuela's opposition leader María Corina Machado, as well as interviews with Nobel-winning economist James Robinson, with the first prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno Ocampo, and with design guru Don Norman.

Also featured this week is our analysis of whether the Boston Celtics will be able to break the curse that has followed the reigning champion in recent years in an attempt to establish a basketball dynasty.

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

You can also read:

• Elon Musk’s $1 million lottery to attract Trump voters sparks controversy in US
• Al Pacino, memoirs of a survivor from the Bronx
• The incredible story of the man who sold the Eiffel Tower (twice)
• Terence Trent D’Arby’s downfall: How the singer tipped to be ‘the new Prince’ fell from grace
• In search of the infallible cold remedy: ‘There are no antivirals, we only treat the symptoms’
• NASA chief scientist Nicola Fox: ‘It’s hard to believe there isn’t life somewhere else in the universe’
• The energy crisis paralyzing Cuba

Riddles (2)

Key next Wed.

 

Understanding AI jargon

Artificial intelligence vocabulary From About Words (a blog from Cambridge Dictionary)

AI Glossary (Council of Europe)

C2 -ed Adjectives Pronunciation

· Most words ending in -ed follow the same rules as the past-tense inflectional ending.

· Some words ending in -ed have the 'usual' past-tense pronunciation when they are verbs, but end in an /ɪd/ sound as adjectives: blessed, beloved, learned*, dogged, legged (adjectival in eg three-legged)

eg.: The priest blessed /blest/ the bread and wine vs a moment of blessed /ˈblesɪd/ calm

Eric was a teacher beloved /-vd/ by his students vs Her beloved /vɪd/ husband

· Some -ed words always end in an /ɪd/ sound because they are adjectives with no corresponding verbs: naked, wretched, rugged, wicked.

* the pronunciation of learned may vary according to context when it is an adjective: 

a learned /ɪd/ man (having a lot of knowledge because of study); 

learned /nd/ behaviour (developed by training or experience, not existing at birth).

[Grid from Blog de Cristina]

C1 -ED pronunciation (regular past forms) and examples

Do this activity to revise / practise!

Key next week

- C1 students have to pronounce ALL past forms 

of English regular verbs correctly -

Not the real thing

Not Real, 

Faking and pretending

Cheating & Tricking

Confused Words

All these pairs are homophones or almost homophones, that's the reason for the confusion! 

Be careful with their spelling!

Can you say aloud: further vs farther; quite vs quiet; lose vs loose?

Can you hear the difference?

Halloween Contests

C2 Advanced Phrases

Consejo Escolar Student Elections

EOI students are to choose their representatives. On October 16, the Electoral Board was established and yesterday, October 21, the electoral calendar was published on one of the boards at the entrance and on our website. The provisional electoral roll can be consulted at the hall. The final electoral census will be published on October 31. Students interested in submitting their candidacy can pick up the document starting on November 4th at the concierge desk.

 VOTE at the EOI Hall on 21st Nov

C2 Phrasal Prepositional verbs (108)

Of course you don't have to to learn them all by heart... but you could be ticking / highlighting them as you learn them.
Remember to write meaningful examples for you when studying them.

C1 Talking about the FUTURE

Read the Lesson here!

C2 Limericks

Limerick Activity    

Limerick  (Rhythm & Intonation)

Limerick Examples: Funny Famous Poems

Practise these limericks

Uncover your artistic talents and write a limerick! We'll be reading them in class (any topic) before Christmas.

News in English EL PAÍS

US election enters final stretch

Dear readers,

‌Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are stepping up efforts to win over voters as the November 5 election fast approaches. The Democrat appeared on Fox News for a heated interview, where she pledged her administration would be different to Biden's. Trump, meanwhile, held a town hall with Latino voters, avoiding all mention of his plans to launch a mass deportation operation.

In other news, Mexico's former public security secretary, Genaro García Luna, was sentenced to 38 years in prison for collaborating with the Sinaloa Cartel for more than two decades. He will be the first high-ranking Mexican official to serve a sentence in a U.S. prison.

We also spoke to scientists about DNA research claiming to prove Christopher Columbus was a Sephardic Jew from Spain, interviewed tech guru Stephen Ibaraki about the future of AI, and examined why billionaires are building mansions on top of skyscrapers.‌

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

You can also read:

• Non-alcoholic beer: Tom Holland’s new business venture after almost three years of sobriety
• Compare the presidential candidates’ policy platforms
• Why is excessive optimism worse than being sad?
• ‘Sexopause’: What happens to women’s sexual desire during menopause?
• What sports science has to say about CrossFit, a challenge for transforming bodies and minds?
• From self-driving cars in 2017 to a million robotaxis in 2020: Will the Cybercab be another one of Elon Musk’s unfulfilled promises?

C1 Vocabulary about Technoogy

24 Mood Idioms

Are you antsy, flustered, baffled at the moment?

Collocation Time

First read about collocations and advanced collocations a bit... and then take the quiz!
Time Collocations Quiz

EXTRA collocations with intensifying adjectives 

... if you still think this was not enough, check collocations on the right column labels.

Advanced Suffixes

Erasmus Days in EOI CT

You are invited to our Erasmus Days.

"-ion" Pronunciation

Click here to listen to words ending in "-sion" pronounced /-ʒən/

Speaking Tips

You can download it in pdf format here. [Thanks Antonio!]

Silent Letters (3)

News in English EL PAÍS

The growing destructive power of hurricanes

Dear readers,

As Milton made landfall in Florida less than a month after Helene, we looked at a new report that seems to confirm scientists' warning that climate change driven by human activities is making hurricanes increasingly destructive.

This week marked the first anniversary of the October 7 attacks by Hamas in Israel. It has been a year of horror, and the region is facing its most dangerous moment in decades.

In another war-torn part of the world, our Ukraine correspondent explored how people - and public services - are dealing with the anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from the Russian invasion.

This week we also analyzed how FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) has become China's response to get around the growing wall of Western trade restrictions against massive — and heavily subsidized — exports.

Keep reading to find out how our brain's default mode network may be the nerve center of human creativity, and how Meryl Streep and Martin Short became an unlikely Hollywood couple.

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

You can also read:

• Rafael Nadal announces his retirement: ‘A thousand thanks to everyone’
• The future of maritime transport: Electric ships that can carry hundreds of containers and thousands of people
• Life at a company with a four-day workweek: ‘Mondays don’t wear me out anymore’
• How do I use AI? Eight real-world examples two years on from ChatGPT
• This scientist studied her own brain to explain why the benefits of a good night’s sleep can be felt 15 days later
• Sabine Hossenfelder, physicist: ‘If you trust the mathematics, we are immortal’

C1 20 Common Phrasal Verbs

Make one true for you sentence with each new phrasal. 

At C1 you should know them all! 

C2 Writing Essays

International Day of Libraries

Activity: “The world between the lines”

Description: on the occasion of the celebration of the International Day of Libraries, the EOI of Cartagena and the IES Isaac Peral will carry out a collaboration consisting of reading texts related to books, bookstores and libraries in various languages. The objective is to pay tribute to literature and multilingual world reality, sources, and origin of the enormous cultural wealth available to the current society. This celebration will be linked to the opening of the EOI library.

Day of Celebration: October 24, 2024 (Thursday)

Time: 11:00-12:30

Place: Assembly Hall EOI Cartagena

Culture in Cartagena

The AaEoiCt sends Agenda Cultural Cartagena so that we know what's going on in our city. 

On Fridays at 8 there are usually VO films at Ramón Alonso Luzzy. Choose your activities! 

<-- Today

Trailer

C2 COLLOCATIONS with Accomplish, Achieve, Attain, Fulfill, Gain & Obtain

ACHIEVE (verb)

1. achieve [fame, fortune, glory, orgasm]
2. achieve the [highest, best, lowest]
3. (can) achieve your [goals, dreams, desires, true potential]
4. achieve your [personal, financial, weight, career] goals
5. achieve the [minimum, maximum]
6. achieve a better [result, outcome]
7. achieve [greater, higher, maximum][efficiency]
8. achieve [greater] [efficiency, effectiveness, performance, quality]
9. achieve [perfection, success, excellence]
10. striving to achieve [success, her goals]
11. achieve by any means [necessary, possible]
12. (can be) achieved through [hard work, dedication]
13. the [mission, objective, goal] has been achieved
14. [never, already] achieved before
15. [hard, difficult, tough, impossible, easy] to achieve
16. students [do not, are struggling to, barely] achieve in school
17. what (do) you want to achieve in life
18. what it is that you [really, most] want to achieve
19. what you hope to achieve (by)
20. there is [nothing, little] to be achieved by

FULFILL (verb)

1. does not fulfill the (minimum) requirements
2. in order to fulfill the requirements (necessary) for
3. fulfilled his promise (to)
4. fulfill the needs of
5. fulfill your [obligations, duties, responsibilities]
6. fulfilled its mission
7. fulfill [certain, all] requirements
8. a failure to fulfill [certain] requirements
9. fulfilled the role of
10. is fulfilled by
11. finally fulfilled his dream to [be, become, go]
12. [was not able to, couldn't] fulfill his ambition
13. fulfill yourself [with, by, through]
14. fulfilled the prophecy
15. the prophecy is being fulfilled
16. will process and fulfill your order within [one week]
17. work [overtime, round the clock] to fulfill the order
18. fulfilled the order on [Monday]
19. fulfill all orders within [one week]
20. not enough [stock, inventory] to fulfill orders

ATTAIN  (verb)

1. attain your [goals, objectives, dreams]
2. attain [success, proficiency, enlightenment]
3. attain the highest level of [achievement, excellence, recognition]
4. attained the [age, rank] of
5. [easy, difficult, hard] to attain
6. attain speeds of (up to) [150 mph]

Check different meanings here.

All Collocations here.

Collocations with , ACCOMPLISHMENT, ACHIEVEMENT, ATTAIN, FULFILL, GAIN, OBTAIN, 

Vocabulary dealing with Succeeding, Achieving & Fulfilling (from CALD, 3rd Edition)

Cambridge Dictionary Games Hub

Click on Daily vocab practice and have fun. Different games: pronunciation, collocations, phrasal verbs ...

Personality adjectives

How about doing a small fill-in-the-blanks activity to review personality vocabulary? Right! First here and then here.

-AU- Pronunciation

Language Exchange

Do speak English! Meet our language assistants out of the classroom. See them and join the group of EOI students who gathers at Plaza San Francisco on Friday afternoons at 7. This year we have 2 American (Isabella and Tim), an Irish (Harriet) and a British (Lauryna) Language Assistants. Former language assistants (Wesley, Max ...) may be there as well.

Harriet (C2 on Mondays) and Tim (C1 on Tuesdays) will be our language assistants this year. 

20 Idioms Explained

Guess Who KEY

C1 Describing Character, part 4

Extrovert or introvert?

Pay special attention to the 1st paragraph --go to those links!

C2 1000 Compound Words

See them all here.

News in English EL PAÍS

Fleeing Lebanon by land, sea and air

Dear readers,

As the crisis in the Middle East continues to escalate, our columnist and political analyst Lluís Bassets explores how the ties between Donald Trump, Jared Kushner and Benjamin Netanyahu have helped lead to the current situation. And our correspondent in the region talked to people who are desperately trying to flee Lebanon. With hardly any airlines flying and seats at a premium, those with money and a Schengen visa are escaping by yacht to Cyprus.

‌In the U.S., the debate between J.D. Vance and Tim Walz will probably be remembered mostly for how cordial it was by today's standards, with the two vice-presidential contenders talking about the issues and sometimes even agreeing with one another. In practice, it may not have moved the needle too much either way ahead of the presidential election on Nov. 5.

‌In Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum was inaugurated as the country's first ever female president. There was a lot of symbolism at the historic event, where the new leader made a point of paying tribute to all the women who came before her and fought for their rights: "I am not alone, we are all here."

‌This week we also shed light on why Bhutan is a major bitcoin power, and how Daryl Hannah moved past the cliché of “a Valkyrie who behaves like a faun.”

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

You can also read:

• Don’t underestimate juicy gossip: How rumors have dodged classism to conquer culture
• Photo essay: The magma of dreams and nightmares of the US-Mexico border wall
• A psychoanalyst in search of the logic of the absurd
• The high toll of energy drinks: Insomnia, palpitations and elevated anxiety
• Ethan Mollick, analyst: ‘Students who use AI as a crutch don’t learn anything’
• A global housing crisis is suffocating the middle class
• Get up, stand up: How a job that ties us to a chair affects our body

C1 Informal vs Formal Emails

C1 Personality Adjectives Revision

Revise PERSONALITY ADJECTIVES taking this QUIZ. [Answers and more on page 2]

Spot the intrusive noun in the above Wordle!

C1 Guessing Activity

 

KEY next week

People Idioms ANSWERS

Check your People Idioms here. 

Phonics (Vowels & Diphthongs)

Any surprise? Any word you've always mispronounced?

Highlight or write down the words you've been pronouncing wrong so far (if any).

Any new word whose meaning you didn't know?

Could you add one more word in each column?