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?

                

Describing Works of Art

 Tanto si hablamos de pintura (painting), de escultura (sculpture), de arquitectura (architecture) o de cualquier otro arte, una buena forma de avivar la conversación es acompañando nuestras palabras de términos de elogio o de reprobación. Más allá de decir que un cierto trabajo nos parece great (genial) o awful (terrible), el Inglés es rico en calificativos para expresar impresiones similares y que, como un comodín, puedes utilizar en casi todos los casos. Observa, si no, la siguiente tabla de adjetivos aproximadamente equivalentes a great y a awful.

"...an exceptional painting"

GREAT	AWFUL
exceptional outstanding remarkable terrific brilliant magnificent superb splendid superlative wonderful	dreadful ghastly horrible terrible horrendous hideous appalling

Las listas podrían alargarse mucho más. Sí que añadiremos un par de comentarios. En primer lugar, aunque para el castellanoparlante pueda parecer lo contrario, no olvides que terrific en Inglés significa “estupendo”, y no “terrible” ni nada parecido. En segundo lugar, en slang o habla coloquial, puedes utilizar cool (algo así como “guay”) y tacky o naff (algo así como “hortera”) para expresar ideas parecidas a great y awful. Para usar todos esos adjetivos, no tienes más que echar mano del verbo to be, como en los siguientes ejemplos:

Turner’s The Fighting 'Téméraire'  is a  terrific painting.

[Las Tormentas de Turner son unos cuadros fantásticos.]

The Chrysler Building in New York is superb.

[El Edificio Chrysler de Nueva York es espléndido.]  

New York, New York!

      

Where is New York? It’s in New York, of course! This might seem a little strange, but let me explain. New York City is in the state of New York, although the state capital is Albany. Its nickname is “The Big Apple” (la Gran Manzana) and the people who live there like it so much that they started a fashion: The heart of the city is Manhattan. The Dutch bought the island from the Indians at the start of the 17^th century and a city called New Amsterdam was built there. In the 1660s, the English captured it and named it New York in honour of (en honor de) the Duke of York.

The Statue of Liberty

Did you know that the Statue of Liberty, on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, was a present (regalo) from the French to mark 100 years of American independence? In fact, there is a replica on an island in the River Seine in Paris. The Statue of Liberty was the first thing that millions of immigrants from Europe saw when they arrived in America. She carries a torch (antorcha) in one hand to light the way (iluminar el camino) and a book in the other to represent the American Constitution.

        

The City today

Today New York is divided into 5 boroughs (distritos)– Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island. It’s the biggest city in the United States with a population of over 7 million and it’s a major business and cultural centre. As you might imagine, a city this size needs a sophisticated transport system. New York has a subway (the American word for underground), its famous yellow taxis and lots of bridges and tunnels.

The streets in Manhattan are very easy to follow; there are 11 avenues that run north-south (ir de norte a sur) and they are crossed by streets. The avenues and streets don’t usually have names but are numbered. That's why the U2 song calls it the place where "the streets have no name".

What's in your Lunchbox ?

En este post ofrecemos algunas ideas a todos aquellos que comemos fuera de casa para que  los contenidos de nuestra fiambrera/tartera sean más apetecibles y saludables.

When you do not have the time to go home for lunch, or the money to go to a restaurant every day, the best solution is to fill (llenar ) your lunchbox ( tartera/fiambrera) with all the sustenance you need for the working day. There are many options for planning your midday meal, and making it more varied and creative. You do not have to take only a cheese sandwich and a piece of fruit. Let's look at ways to make the contents of your lunchboxes more interesting and your diet healthier.

Tips (consejos) for Preparing Lunch

It is difficult to be creative at 7.30 in the morning. It is better to plan what you will eat for the week at the weekend. Prepare different types of food for every day of the week, not only a ham and cheese sandwich from Monday to Friday. If you have access to a microwave, you have many more options. You can reheat (recalentar) dishes like pasta with Bolognese sauce or ratatouille,(pisto) for example. One way to save ( ahorrar ) time is by making extra food for your dinner and having the rest for lunch the next day. Avoid (evita) foods that are too delicate to last (durar) for several hours in your lunchbox, like sliced (en rodajas) avocado or banana.

" Turkey Pesto Sandwich"

Revamp (actualiza ) your Sandwich

Sandwiches are a quick and simple option, and you are not limited to only cheese or ham baguettes. To make them more interesting, vary the type of bread you use. Try  pitta bread, chapatti or walnut (nuez) bread, for example. Use more than one filling (relleno) in the sandwich, combining various cooked meats, cheeses, tinned fish (pescado en lata) and salad vegetables. Include interesting dips ( salsa para mojar ) like hummus or tzatziki or some fresh herbs .

Interesting Salads

There are endless ( un sinfín de ) ways to make salads and they provide  the essential vitamins we need every day. To make them more consistent, use rice, pasta or couscous. You can make plain salads more interesting by adding  fruit or nuts,(frutos secos ) such as ( tales como ) fresh pineapple,(piña ) cherries (cerezas) or sunflower seeds. (pipas ) Ideally you should dress ( aliñar ) the salad immediately before eating it. It is a good idea to keep  a bottle of olive oil and some salt at work for this.

"An apple  a day...  "

An Apple a Day

 ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away’(una manzana al dia nos mantiene alejados del médico ) is a common English proverb. Doctors recommend five portions of fruit and vegetable every day to stay healthy. Apples are appropriate to take in your lunchbox because they are more resistant than softer fruit like peaches (melocotones ) or plums.(ciruelas) .

 Something to Drink

 What can you drink with all these assorted lunches? Water is probably the most common option, but it does not have to be plain water. You can find lemon, strawberry or cherry flavoured water. It is also fun to experiment with fruit juices, combining different flavours (sabores)  until you find the combination you like best. You can also try different fruit and herbal teas or apple and banana beers. If you do all the things we recommend, all your colleagues will stop going to restaurants and join (unirse ) you for lunch instead!