Amy Winehouse .

Amy Winehouse  was found dead at home in Camden, North London at 4p.m last Saturday . The  British singer was 27 years old. Medic's said she had been dead for several hours.

The star will be remembered as the best singer-songwriter of her generation creating tracks (pistas) like Rehab,Love is a Loving Game and Back to Black.  Gordon Smart editor of "The Sun" said : "Her death is one of the darkest days in British music. A  talent lost to addiction. A shock- but not a surprise."

Watch a video of the singer,then 18, celebrating her first deal (contrato) in 2002. The film was shot by  East London cabbie (taxista) Russell Dalton in his taxi : "I asked if  I could film her. She didn't mind at all (no le importó en absoluto) and started telling me about her songs and how she had bought a new guitar to celebrate her deal. You could tell she had star quality. She was so innocent, happy and full of beans (llena de energia) ...But she  was also very modest . That's how I'll remember her."  May she rest in peace.

Script
Amy-My name is A-m-yy !
Taxi driver- Amy who?
A- Amy Winehouse.
T- You're gonna be(going to be) a top singer, are you?
A-I don't know.
T-You sang today?
A- I didn't sing it today
T-You wrote today.
A- I think,.it is called "We Both Know".
T- "We Both Know" Ok.I look forward to hearing it.
T-Amy, you bought a nice guitar today,yeah,,  Let's have a look.oh yes ! Is that your first guitar?
A- No, it's my third guitar.
T- You are going to be stowing away tonight.
A-Yes, I have to finish the song for tonight.
T-Amy,It has been very nice to have you as my customer..
A-What's your name ?
T-Russ.
A-Russs.
T-Nice to meet you...Thanks for the tip (propina) .There's your receipt...and my tip to you is stay cool because you are very cool.
A-Thank you.
T_Cheers,bye,bye.

Writing a Postcard

Although technology has changed the way we communicate (we write e-mails, tweet on twitter and publish on facebook), nobody can deny that It’s still nice to receive a traditional postcard! Especially nowadays, taking a pen and actually writing on the back of a photo takes a lot of effort! So when you’re on vacation, why not write a postcard to a friend or relative or even better, your English teacher. No matter who you write to, write in English! Besides talking to the natives, what better way to practice your English on vacation, and surprise a friend!

To help you write a postcard, you can use the model below, and place information in the parenthesis. Further below, you can find some samples to place in the categories.

Dear (teacher’s name)

         Well, here I am / we are in (town). It is (weather), and I am having a/an  (adjective) time.

         I am sitting / lying (preposition) (place), writing postcards, drinking (drink) and looking at (landscape). (friend’s name) is (verb), and (people) are (verb) (preposition) (place).

Tomorrow I am / we are going to (town), I’m sure it will be (adjective).

Wish you were here,

                                  Love, (your name) 

Weather: sunny, cloudy, rainy

Adjective: wonderful, horrible, beautiful, awful, interesting, boring

Preposition: in, on, at, by, near

Place: the bar, the beach, a café, a park, my hotel

Drink: coffee, tea, beer, wine, a cocktail

Landscape: the sea, the mountains, the shops, a museum

Verb: walking, dancing, drinking, sightseeing

People: the locals, the tourists, children, my parents 

Could you be a star ?

A  famous Hollywood producer   is looking for an actor or actress to star in his next film. Answer the questions in this Star Test and you will see which role you could have in the film.

STAR TEST                                                                

1-Could you live without your family for six months ? Yes  / No /  Perhaps .
2- Would you do everything the producer asked you ? Yes / No / Perhaps .
3- Would you like to get up at 5 o'clock in the morning and start work at 6 ? Yes / No / Perhaps .
4-Could you remember three pages of text per day ? Yes  / No /  Perhaps .
5- Would you like to be filmed without any clothes? Yes  / No /  Perhaps .
6-Would you grow a beard(man) or cut your hair (woman) ? Yes  / No /  Perhaps .
7-Would you do dangerous things, for example , drive a very fast car in a town ? Yes  / No /  Perhaps .
8- Would you like to live in America for five years? Yes  / No /  Perhaps .
9-Would you give a long kiss to your partner ? Yes  / No /  Perhaps. 
10-Would you like the public to know everything you do in your private life? Yes  / No /  Perhaps .

Now count up your score and find out which role you could have in the film.

   Question             Yes         No          Perhaps                  

1.                     5            1                3
2.                     5            1                3
3.                     3            1                2
4.                     3            1                2
5.                     5            1                3
6.                     3            1                2
7.                     5            1                3
8.                     3            1                2
9.                     5            1                3
10.                     3            1                2

If you have got 30-40 points: You could be the star of the film. You could have a very bright and succesful future in Hollywood. You should buy a ticket to California tomorrow.

If you have got 20-29 points: You could be an important actor in a secondary role You have many possibilities but not as a principal star in the film.

If you have got 10-19 points: You will have the role of a chair, table or street lamp.You will be seen in the film many times , but you will not speak or move. I don't think you should go to Hollywood for about a 100 years.
   

Be Water My Friend

Bruce Lee was a martial arts master, who became famous for his spectacular martial arts films. He even developed his own martial arts form called Jeet Kune Do (Way of the Intercepting Fist) which borrowed techniques from distinct fighting forms, including boxing, and emphasized unpredictability. In memory of his death from a cerebral edema on July 20th, 1973, when he was only 32, I believe it would be fitting to revisit a segment of an interview, which was popularized by a TV commercial, and which embraces his wise philosophy of adapting to circumstances.

This is what it is, okay?

I said empty your mind.

Be formless, shapeless.

Like water.

Now, you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup.

You put water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle.

You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot.

Now, water can flow.

Or it can crash.

Be water my friend!

A cooking recipe: Lemon Meringue Pie

Preparation time:
20 minutes.
Cooking time:
20 minutes x 2.
Ingredients:

  4 egg yolks ( yemas )

 40 grams of flour (harina)

 75 grams of sugar

  1 lemon

 1/4 litre milk

  20 gr. of butter (mantequilla)

   a tart (la base de la tarta) 

 For the meringue: 
2 egg whites (claras)
Demarara sugar (brown sugar)

Preparation method

- Take the skin (piel) of a lemon (no white if possible) and boil (hierve) it in the milk.Leave to cool.(Déjalo enfriar)
- Mix (mezcla)  flour, sugar and egg yolks.Add the milk ( without skin) and half the juice from the lemon. Pour it (viértelo)  into* the tart ( already made) which is well buttered (mantequilla extendida).
- Put in a hot oven (horno) for 20 minutes at the top of the oven.

Meringue

- Whisk (bate) the egg whites adding sugar little by little until the mixture is hard. Pour it into the tart.
- Put it back into the oven at a low temperature for 20 minutes to give it a lovely golden colour (color dorado).

   Try it and tell us how it went  !!    

* Fíjate en cómo funcionan estas preposiciones de movimiento  ( into, ,onto...).Indican dirección, movimiento.

Give an Inch, Take a Mile

Give an inch, take a mile is an expression that means if you give in (ceder) to someone’s demands, then they’ll take even more! But literally, how much is an inch? An inch is 2.54 centimeters. While in the majority of the world, the metric system is used for length, mass and volume, in everyday life, the United States use a more traditional system of measurement inherited from the British imperial system. Keeping this in mind when traveling in the US might be helpful.

Of course, public transport isn’t as extensive as it is in Europe, so using a car is almost essential if you want to get around. Instead of using kilometers, Americans use miles. A mile is larger than a kilometer, a mile is 1.6 kilometers, so distances may seem shorter than they really are. For example, the distance between New York and Washington DC is only 206 miles but 331 kilometers. Whereas the distance between Barcelona and Madrid is 505 kilometers but only 314 miles.

It’s also important to keep miles in mind to know how fast you can drive. Depending on the state, the speed limit is 55 or 65 miles per hour (mph). So if you drove 120 kilometer per hour, you would be driving 75 mph, and the police could pull you over for speeding!

Of course, if you’re driving all over the place, you’ll have to fill up the tank of the car with gas, which is measured in gallons. Gallons are also greater than liters. For example it takes between 10 and 13 gallons (38 to 49 liters) of gas to fill up a subcompact car, while it takes 20 to 30 gallons (76 to 114 liters) to fill up an SUV!

Locomotion

The opening of the Darlington-Stockton Railway. (Photo by Rischgitz/Getty images)

                                     
Darlington was the first town in history to have a passenger train service. In the afternoon of 27th September 1825 "Locomotion" ,a steam engine invented by George Stephenson, took a group of passengers from Darlington to Stockton (18miles / 30Kms.).

The train travelled at the amazing speed of 10 miles per hour (16 km/h) and a man on horseback rode in front of the engine. Many scientists of that time thought it was impossible to travel faster than 10 miles per hour (m.p.h) because "man cannot breathe if he travels faster than that ".

Translation
Darlington fue el primer pueblo en la historia que tuvo un servicio de trenes de pasajeros.Durante la tarde del día 27 de Septiembre de 1825 "Locomocion", una máquina de vapor inventada por George Stephenson , llevó un grupo de pasajeros desde Darlington hasta Stockton(18 millas/30kms).El tren fue a la asombrosa velocidad de 10 millas por hora (16 km/h) y un hombre a caballo cabalgaba delante de la locomotora. Muchos científicos de aquellos tiempos creían que era imposible viajar más aprisa de 10 millas por hora(m.p.h), porque "el hombre no puede respirar si viaja más rápido que esto".


Now watch a  video of  a working replica of "Locomotion" at Beamish Open Air Museum .

Shot Heard 'Round the World

On July 4^th, Americans celebrate Independence Day in the United States. So what better way to celebrate than watching a Schoolhouse Rock History video called Shot Heard 'Round the World, which gives a very brief history of the Revolutionary War of the American colonies against Britain. Excuse the patriotism, but what do you expect?!

"The British are coming! The British are coming!"

Now, the ride of Paul Revere (1)
Set the nation on its ear (2),
And the shot at Lexington (3) heard 'round the world,
When the British fired in the early dawn
The War of Independence had begun,
The die was cast, the rebel flag unfurled (4).


And on to Concord marched the foe (5)
To seize the arsenal there you know,
Waking folks searching all around
Till our militia stopped them in their tracks (6),
At the old North Bridge we turned them back
And chased those Redcoats (7) back to Boston town.


And the shot heard 'round the world
Was the start of the Revolution.
The Minute Men were ready, on the move.
Take your powder (8), and take your gun.
Report to General Washington.
Hurry men, there's not an hour to lose!


Now, at famous Bunker Hill,
Even though we lost, it was quite a thrill (9),
The rebel Colonel Prescott proved he was wise;
Outnumbered and low on ammunition
As the British stormed (10) his position
He said, "Hold your fire (11) till you see the whites of their eyes!"


Though the next few years were rough,
General Washington's men proved they were tough,
Those hungry, ragged (12) boys would not be beat.
One night they crossed the Delaware (13),
Surprised the Hessians (14) in their lair (15),
And at Valley Forge they just bundled up their feet!


And the shot heard 'round the world
Was the start of the Revolution.
The Minute Men (16) were ready, on the move.
Take your blanket, and take your son.
Report to General Washington.
We've got our rights and now it's time to prove.


Well, they showed such determination
That they won the admiration
Of countries across the sea like France and Spain,
Who loaned the colonies ships and guns
And put the British on the run
And the Continental Army on its feet again.


And though they lost some battles too,
The Americans swore (17) they'd see it through (18),
Their raiding parties (19) kept up, hit and run.
At Yorktown the British could not retreat,
Bottled up (20) by Washington and the French Fleet (21),
Cornwallis surrendered (22) and finally we had won!


“The winner! Hurray!”


From the shot heard 'round the world
To the end of the Revolution
The continental rabble (23) took the day (24)
And the father of our country
Beat the British there at Yorktown
And brought freedom to you and me and the U.S.A.!
God bless America, Let Freedom Ring!

(1) un mensajero legendario, (2) revolucionar, (3) el disparo a esta ciudad que marcó el comienzo de la guerra, (4) la suerte esta echado, la bandera rebelde desplegada, (5) enemigo, (6) caminos, (7) uniforme rojo que llevaron las tropas británicas, (8) polvera, (9) emoción, (10) irrumpió, (11) no dispara, (12) harapientos, (13) nombre de un río, (14) soldados alemanes, (15) guarida, (16) milicia especializada capaz de desplegarse rápidamente, (17) juraron, (18) llevarlo a cabo, (19) asaltantes, (20) contenido, (21) flota, (22) rindió, (23) chusma, (24) ganaron

Famous lines

Here are some famous lines from four of Shakespeare's plays. They are part of longer speeches. Read the text and find out which lines are from "The Tempest", which are from "Macbeth", which are from " Julius  Caesar", and which are from "Hamlet". (The answers are in the comments)

1-" Out, out brief candle! Life is but a walking shadow  ..."

¡Apágate, apágate, breve vela! La vida no es más que una sombra andante 

2-"Friends,Romans, countrymen,lend me your ears;

 I come to bury Caesar,not to praise him.

The evil that men do lives after them;

The good is oft interred with their bones."

Amigos romanos, paisanos, prestadme vuestra atención:

vengo a enterrar a César , no a adularle .

El mal que los hombres hacen vive tras ellos;

El bien es a menudo enterrado con sus huesos.

3-"To be , or not to be,-that is the question-:

Whether'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune ,

Or take arms against a sea of troubles, 

And by opposing end them ?"

Ser o no ser,-esta es la cuestión-:

¿Es más noble en la mente el sufrir

Los males y flechas de la fortuna ultrajante,

O tomar las armas contra un mar de problemas,

Y por oposición acabar con ellos ?

4- "Oh wonder !

How many goodly creatures are there here !

How beauteous mankind is ! 

Oh brave new world that hat such people in it."

¡Oh maravilla!

¡Cuántas criaturas buenas hay aquí !

¡Cuán bella es la humanidad!

¡Oh valiente nuevo mundo que tiene gente así en él !

Now watch a very young Marlon Brando playing the  role of Marcus Antonius  ( Speech starts at 0:40)