What is Black Friday ?

" People stand in line hours before the store is opened..."

The day After Thanksgiving (Friday) is known as Black Friday. This also is the start ( unofficially or officially ) of the Christmas shopping season. Many stores come out with Sales to attract consumers to their stores. People stand in line hours before the store is opened, to get the bargain  (la ganga) of the year. For bargain hunters ( cazadores de gangas)  this is the biggest festival in the year . Additionally, Green Monday is another big shopping day. Although Cyber Monday is relatively smaller shopping day but is growing each year. 

Why is it called Black Friday ? 

The closest reason as to why it is know as Black Friday is given in Wikipedia - "Many retailers report some of their highest profits on Black Friday. The name, "Black Friday" relates to businesses recording their losses (sus pérdidas) in red ink and gains ( ganacias)  in black. This tradition lives on in modern accounting software, hence the name." 

For more information visit: www.theblackfriday.com 

Food, glorious food...

Are you hungry? No? Good, because the subject in this post is  food!

Bread and butter

British people usually eat sliced bread. There are bakeries but people do not usually buy fresh bread. A sandwich in Britain usually contains butter or margarine.

Restaurant vocabulary

Some words are very specific, so it’s a good idea to learn exactly what they mean. For example, what is a menu? It’s a list of all the food you can order in a restaurant. But if you only want the two dishes and the dessert that the restaurant has prepared for the day, you have to  ask for the set meal. By the way, the two dishes that you eat before the dessert are called the first course and the second course.

And what is a plate? It isn’t part of a meal - it’s where you put your food! Which of these is hot food: crisps or chips?

When you go to a café, there are a number of things you can ask for. If you only want coffee, you ask for a black coffee. If you want coffee with some milk, you can ask for a small white coffee or a white coffee. Remember that white coffee is bigger than small white coffee.

If you want espresso-type coffee, you can also use the Italian names for these coffees. Some of the most popular are cappuccinos, café lattes and mochas.

       

National specialities

Here are some favourite types of British food:

Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding- Delicious for Sunday lunch!

Baked beans on toast- Cheap and easy to make!

Scotch eggs- Mmm! My favourite snack!

Fish and chips- Britain’s most popular takeaway!

Irish stew-Good for winter. Meat, potatoes, carrots and onions cooked in a thick soup.

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Do You Get The Meaning ?

“Get” is such a central verb in English that, when you really understand (get the meaning of) its multiple senses, you probably have a good command of the language. In the meantime, we will try and help you get ahead with this popular verb.

 Three basic meanings of get

GET + NOUN. When followed by a noun, “get” normally means “obtain” or “receive”. Examples:

I got [obtained] 20€ for my old guitar.

He got [obtained] a degree in Physics from the University of Tokyo.

Yesterday I got [received] an e-mail from my brother in San Francisco.

Also, we often use GET + NOUN with the meaning of “buy”:

I’ll go to the supermarket and get [buy] some milk for tomorrow.

My father is getting [is buying] a new car next month.

GET + ADJECTIVE. When followed by an adjective, “get” means “become”. Examples:

In winter, it gets [becomes] dark by 5 o’clock in the evening.

He is very shy. His face always gets [becomes] red when he speaks to a nice girl.

He got [became] tired of waiting and left.

GET + ADVERB (PLACE). When followed by an adverb of place, “get” means “arrive”. “Get” also means “arrive” when it is followed by the preposition “to” and the name of a place. Examples:

He won’t get [arrive at] home until midnight.

We will get [arrive] there in an hour.

The train gets to [arrives in] Edinburgh at 4 p.m.

Practice

What is the meaning of get in these sentences? Use obtain / receive / buy / become / arrive in your answers.

a) He always gets to work late. _____________________

b) They are tired of the city. They want to get a new house in the suburbs. ______________________

c) He forgot his umbrella at home and got wet in the rain. _____________________

d) He got an A⁺ at the maths exam. ______________________

e) When her family got her letter, she was already married. _____________________

Answers: (a) arrives; (b) buy; (c) became; (d) obtained; (e) received

Edinburgh

What about going on a tour of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland? Edinburgh is famous for its International Festival of Arts which takes place very year in August. If you can’t visit Edinburgh in August, don’t worry because there are lots of things to see and do in the other months.

You start your tour in Princess Street Gardens where you look at the tall, stone monument that dominates Princes Street. This is the famous Scott Monument, dedicated to one of Scotland’s best writers, Sir Walter Scott. You now walk through the Gardens and you can have a game of putting Then you can continue walking until you come to the National Gallery of Scotland. Why don’t you go inside and look at the wonderful collection of paintings? Then, when you come out, you can go to the Playfair Steps which go to The Mound.

              

The Royal Mile – also called the High Street – is at the top of The Mound. The best thing is to go down the Royal Mile towards the Palace of Holyroodhouse. You can also visit Saint Giles’ Cathedral and look at the Heart of Midlothian, next to the Cathedral.

What about a trip to your childhood in the Museum of Childhood, or if not a trip to the end of the world in the World’s End? Don’t worry, the World’s End is the name of a pub! By now, your feet hurt and your body needs food, so why don’t you go to one of the cafes near the Palace of Holyroodhouse and try their traditional Scottish scones?

Now you’re ready to go to the Palace. The Queen lives there when she comes to Edinburgh. It’s an incredible building. After that, maybe you would like to climb Arthur’s Seat. You get a fantastic view of the city from the top .

Shakespeare and The Tempest

 

Everyone knows who William Shakespeare is, he is England’s most famous playwright (escritor) and he is often called “The Bard”.Perhaps you have visited Stratford-upon-Avon, where Shakespeare was born, or The Globe Theatre in London, where they show Shakespearean plays such as The Tempest. The theatre has no roof and so all the plays are outdoor performances. (representaciones) If you decide to go, watch out: you can never trust the English weather! In the middle of the play, it might suddenly start raining! But don’t worry, the play won’t stop. The actors will continue and everyone will stay in their seats. At the end, everyone will be very wet, but it should be a memorable experience! You’ll be able to say that you have seen The Tempest in the middle of a real tempest.

The Tempest

Prospero is the Duke of Milan. After his brother, Antonio, betrays him (le traiciona), he leaves Milan and goes to live on an island with his young daughter, Miranda. Ariel, a spirit, and Caliban, the son of a witch (bruja) called Sycorax, live on the island too. Prospero is also a magician (mago) and one day, he starts a storm (tormenta) at sea. A ship is caught in the storm and the people on the ship go to the island. Who are these people? Antonio, Prospero’s brother, Alonzo, the King of Naples and his son, Ferdinand. Prospero plans to get revenge on Antonio and his friends. However, Miranda and Ferdinand fall in love and Miranda asks Prospero to let them live. Prospero agrees (está de acuerdo) and he helps them. Finally, they go back to Milan. Miranda marries Ferdinand, and Prospero is restored (es nombrado de nuevo) as the Duke of Milan. It’s a fabulous story, isn’t it?