Just wanted to welcome you all to the new course we're starting this afternoon, September 16th.

I hope this year will be as productive and fulfilling as last year, and hope we all can achieve the goals to be set out this afternoon in our first meeting session.

Just like last course, this blog alongside the school's website should work as a means of communication among students and the teacher, as well as a place to find useful information which you can use further on in the classroom.

Some assignments will also be set out so as to be fulfilled here. It is advisable to visit this blog once a week at least for that matter, especially if you won't be attending the classes for some time.

Looking forward to meeting you in class in a few hours! Until then, maybe you can start listening to some spoken English in this hilarious episode from Monty Python's Flying Circus

Cheers!

FYI, here's the list with the names of the students that must sit for different exams in September. This list has been divided according to the parts of the exam which students failed in June.

I'll get back to you in a few days with the timetable for the oral exams.

Greets!

http://s3.amazonaws.com/lcp/4eoialcala/myfiles/EXAMENES-DE-SEPTIEMBRE.pdf!

Transcript:
"In the 1940s the young banjo player from the montains of North Carolina, Earl Scruggs, revolutionized banjo playing with a hard-driving syncopated three-finger banjo style. Now, when Earl Scruggs joined Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys the music we call Bluegrass was born ..."

Anyone would like to continue...?

Key

a. picture matching: (up to down, left to right) 2, 4, 1, 7, 6, 9, 8, 3, 5

b. 1. That many areas of London used to be villages. You should get to know the area you are in rather than trying to get to know the whole of London.

2. Go to the British Museum

3. The Houses of Parliament

4. It is hidden between other buildings so you walk round a corner and suddenly find it.

5. The bridges and the London Eye.

6. Because it's completely deserted.

7. Because it's air conditioned and there is a lot of water.

8. It reminds him of his childhood

9. They are the only birds that sing at night. They sing in the enclosed gardens in residential squares.

c. Extracts from the Interview: humble, hidden-away, ashamed, queuing, feeding

Now, here go the solutions for the grammar, vocabulary, and reading comprehension exercises on pages 98 and 99:

Grammar: 1b, 2a, 3b, 4b, 5a, 6c, 7c, 8a, 9c, 10c.

Vocabulary:

a. provincial, poverty, government, genetics, scientific

b. quiet, sound, forwards, twice, pieces

c. do, made, do, made, do

d. harbour, cable car, landmark, square, genetics.

Reading comprehension: 1b, 2f, 3d, 4e, 5c, 6a

And finally a hilarious lil' joke I found out there in a forum:

A bus stops and 2 men get on. They sit down and engage in an animated conversation. The lady sitting next to them ignores them at first, but her attention is galvanized when she hears one of them say the following:

'Emma come first.
Den I come.
Den two asses come together.
I come once-a-more! .
Two asses, they come together again.
I come again and pee twice.
Then I come one lasta time.'

The lady can't take this any more, 'You foul-mouthed sex obsessed pig,' she retorted indignantly. 'In this country. we don't speak aloud in Public places about our sex lives.

'Hey, coola down lady,' said the man. 'Who talkin'abouta sex? I'm a justa tellin' my frienda how to spell ' Mississippi '.

hahahahahah!

Here go the solutions for the exercises on pages 82-83, 88, and 155

Grammar (page 82)

a. 1. used to driving, 2. to have, 3. Sarah to talk, 4. Killing her husband, 5. apologized for being, 6. as a waiter.

b. 1. meeting, 2. cleaning, 3. to get, 4. to be

Vocabulary

a. conductor, violinist, drummer, editor, composer, journalist, soloist, reporter, presenter, commentator.

b. weather forecast, review, biased, catchy, tune, censored, pillow, snore, nap, imsomnia

Reading comprehension (page 83)

1b, 2a, 3b, 4b, 5c, 6a, 7b, 8c

Reading comprehension (page 88)

1T, 2T, 3F, 4T, 5F, 6F, 7F, 8T, 9T, 10F

Vocabulary (page 155)

1. Places of Worship: cathedral, chapel, mosque, synagogue, temple

Other buildings: town hall, concert hall, footbal stadium,  law courts, skyscraper

Landmarks and sights: bridge, harbour, hill, square, statue

Getting around: underground, cable car, cycle lane, pedestrian street, taxi rank

2. 1e, 2a, 3b, 4f, 5d, 6c

3. traffic jams, slums, vandalism, overcrowding, pollution, homeless people, beggars, poverty

4. 1c, 2f, 3g, 4a, 5d, 6b, 7e

And last but not least, here's some information about the Amish community. The name 'Amish' did not originate from 'American', as I wrongly ventured last Thursday (I'm sorry), but from the founder of the community, the Swiss Mennonite leader Jakob Ammann.

Some music to make your exercise correction more enjoyable:

Lyrics:

Reading 4C, pages 78-79 :

1.c   2.a   3.c   4.c   5.a   6.b   7.b   8.c   9.a   10.a

Vocabulary The Media

1 Paparazzi, 2 critic, 3 commentator, 4 reporter, 5 editor, 6 presenter, 7 freelance journalist, 8 newsreader, 9 press photographer

1 review, 2 crossword, 3 cartoon, 4 advertisement, 5 small ads, 6 horoscope, 7 weather forecast, 8 front page.

1D, 2E, 3B, 4A, 5C

And here's a beautiful tune for you to listen to while correcting the exercise:

Lyrics:

C ya 2morrow!

Here go two interesting tunes: the first is 'Dark as a dungeon' by the great country singer Merle Travis

Listening challenge: finding the lyrics for this song on the Internet is quite easy, no problem here, but, would you be able to transcribe Merle's introductory words to the song? Listen carefully and write the transcript as an attached comment to this post! - you might want to use headphones for this - Remember you can listen to it as many times as you want!

The second interesting tune is 'Blue Moon of Kentucky' by Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys

Cya 2morrow!

Here goes the key for the vocabulary exercises on page 153 in the Student's book:

a. 1 bass guitar, 2 trumpet, 3 piano, 4 keyboard, 5 drums, 6 violin, 7 saxophone, 8 cello, 9 organ.

b. bass guitarist, cellist, drummer, keyboard player, organist, pianist, saxophonist, trumpeter, violinist.

c. 1 tenor, 2 bass, 3 soprano, 4 orchestra, 5 choir, 6 singer-songwriter, 7 rapper, 8 soloist, 9 lead singer, 10 conductor, 11 composer, 12 DJ

d. 1d, 2e, 3f, 4a, 5b, 6c

e. 1c, 2e, 3a, 4b, 5d

And here goes some instrumental music on the topic we're hopefully dealing with next Thursday:

Here're the solutions for the reading comprehension exercise on pages 62 and 63 in the Student's Book:

A8, B7, C6, D3, E4, F2, G1, H5

And these are the solutions for the vocabulary exercise on page 152

1. ankle 15, calf, 14, heel 16, elbow 13, wrist 11, nails 4, palm 12, chest 5, waist 6, hip 7, thigh 8, brain 1, heart 2, kidneys 10, liver 3, lungs 9

2. 2 nose, 3 hair/teeth, 4 hands, 5 hair, 6 arms, 7 hand, 8 head, 9 head, 10 eyebrows, 11 hands, 12 shoulders

3. 2 teeth, 3 arms, 4 nails, 5 hands, 6 knees, 7 forehead, 8 eyes, 9 mouth/arms, 10 fingers

4. hand, foot, leg, tongue, feet, stomach, heart, head, heart, chest

C Ya 2morrow!

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