'When strength runs out, true character is revealed'
PAGS: Pruebas de acceso al Grado Superior. PAU: Prueba de acceso a la Universidad y SELECTIVIDAD, sólo materiales de INGLÉS útiles pensados para vosotros. ¡Sois los mejores!
Hemos retomado el curso con fuerza; los mantecados parece que nos han sentado bien. No obstante, en cuanto a las tutorías presenciales, hemos notado que ha disminuido bastante la asistencia, por distintos motivos, pero parece ser que el puñetero covid está haciendo más estragos de la cuenta.
Santa Paciencia.
Allá por el mes de noviembre, en concreto el día 22 -¡qué lejos queda ya!- os envié un mensajillo en el que os recomendaba que, si podíais, intentarais completar las actividades del ejercicio 3.1 de la plataforma, maravillosa ella, ¿verdad?, Moodle.
Algunos sí habéis podido y me habéis enviado la tarea para que os la corrija, pero me gustaría que todos o mientras más, mejor, la hagáis porque es un compendio de 7 ejercicios que resume todos los contenidos básicos del trimestre, a saber: oraciones condicionales del tipo 1 y 2, oraciones de relativo, especificativas -sin comas- y explicativas -con comas y puñeteras-, presente continuo, presente perfecto y adverbios como 'yet, already, still', etc.
Os dejos aquí en este enlace los ejercicios para que los descarguéis y los hagáis y, si podéis, me los enviáis a través de la plataforma. De todas formas, la semana que viene pondré todas las soluciones en otra entrada de este blog.
Os dejo las tareas aquí en el blog también porque lo que no se ve, no se hace. Santo Tomás reina por estos lares.
Saludos y buen final de semana.
Y ahora, vamos a por las correcciones que podéis mirar en estos archivos descargables en pdf:
De nuevo, vuelvo a recurrir a nuestros amigos del British Council, a quienes les doy las gracias por su ayuda, para poner en práctica vuestros 'reading skills' y aprender mucho vocabulario.
https://www.blablacar.es
El texto de hoy lleva por título 'The sharing economy' y, de nuevo, es un tema de rabiosa actualidad, pues vivimos en una época en la que, por diversos motivos, vamos de blablacar en blablacar, por ejemplo. Y algún motivo habrá para ello, innit?
Vamos al surco:
'If we look around us at the things we have purchased at some point in our lives, we would no doubt notice that not everything we own is being put to good use: the thick woollen coat which we thought looked trendy despite the fact that we live in a tropical country, the smartphone that got put away when we bought ourselves the newest model, the car that only gets used at the weekends, or even the guest room in our house that somehow got turned into a storeroom.
Those underutilised items may seem useless to some, but could be an asset to others. With the advent of the internet, online communities have figured out a way to generate profit from the sharing of those underused assets. Using websites and social media groups that facilitate the buying and selling of second-hand goods, it is now easier than ever for peer-to-peer sharing activities to take place. And this is known as the sharing economy.
These democratised online platforms are providing a chance for people to make a quick buck or two. To give an example, busy parents previously might not have bothered with setting up a stall at the local market or car boot sale to sell their children's old equipment, but with online marketplaces, parents are now able to sell on those hardly worn baby clothes that their children have outgrown and the expensive pushchairs and baby equipment they have invested in, so as to put some cash back into their pockets.
Businesses have also caught on to the profitability of the sharing economy and are seeking to gain from making use of those underutilised resources. A business model that has rapidly risen in popularity sees companies providing an online platform that puts customers in contact with those who can provide a particular product or service. Companies like Airbnb act as a middleman for people to cash in on their unused rooms and houses and let them out as lucrative accommodation. Another example is Uber, which encourages people to use their own personal cars as taxis to make some extra cash in their free time.
This move towards a sharing economy is not without criticisms. Unlike businesses, unregulated individuals do not have to follow certain regulations and this can lead to poorer and inconsistent quality of goods and services and a higher risk of fraud. Nevertheless, in the consumerist society we live in today, the increased opportunities to sell on our unwanted and underused goods can lead to a lesser impact on our environment.'
Buenas tardes. Es un decir. Me acabáis de escribir 3 de vosotros para informarme que el covid ha entrado en vuestras casas durante una temporada de vacaciones de Navidad. Esto es un desastre.
Pero tenemos que seguir trabajando.
Para hoy, he cogido prestado un texto de un examen de vuestro nivel, en este caso, del British Council, de un tema de actualidad, como siempre hacemos, porque como os he dicho muchas veces, los temas de los exámenes suelen ser temas de actualidad y relevancia social.
Hoy vamos a traducir el texto y, además, vamos a hacer dos tareas más: por un lado, tenéis que completar 5 huecos con 5 frases que os dejo a continuación. Por otro lado, tendréis que completar 8 frases con 8 palabras, nada más.
Vamos a la tarea.
CÓDIGOS DE COLORES:
AZUL: Traducciones.
ROJO: Aspectos gramaticales.
VERDE: Aspectos culturales.
NARANJA: Estructuras concatenadas
MORADO: Traducción y sinónimos, antónimos, etc.
Amarillo: Palabras con trampa.
Os dejo una plantilla para que, sobre la marcha, podáis ir completando con sinónimos, antónimos, etc -si los sabéis- así como el significado de cada palabra. Espero que os sea de utilidad. Pinchad aquípara descargarla.
A Plastic Ocean is a film to make you think. Think, and then act. We need to take action on our dependence on plastic. We've been producing plastic in huge quantities since the 1940s. Drink bottles, shopping bags, toiletries and even clothes are made with plastic. 1) _____. What happens to all the rest? This is the question the film A Plastic Ocean answers. It is a documentary that looks at the impact that plastic waste has on the environment. Spoiler alert: the impact is devastating.
The film begins as a journey to film the largest animal on the planet, the blue whale. But during the journey the filmmakers (journalist Craig Leeson and environmental activist Tanya Streeter) make the shocking discovery of a huge, thicklayer of plastic floating in the middle of the Indian Ocean. 2) _____. In total, they visited 20 locations around the world during the four years it took them to make the film. The documentary premiered in 2016, and is now on streaming services such as Netflix.
It's very clear that a lot of research went into the film. There are beautiful shots of the seas and marine life. 3) _____. We see how marine species are being killed by all the plastic we are dumping in the ocean. The message about our use of plastic is painfully obvious.
Pincha en este enlace para descargarte unos apuntes realmente buenos sobre la voz pasiva, que ya va tocando. Incluye un total de 17 ejercicios que iremos haciendo hasta final de curso. Para hoy, deberás traducir el siguiente cuadro:
4) _____. In the second half, the filmmakers look at what we can do to reverse the tide of plastic flowing around the world. They present short-term and long-term solutions. These include avoiding plastic containers and 'single-use' plastic products as much as possible. Reuse your plastic bags and recycle as much as you can. The filmmakers also stress the need for governments to work more on recycling programmes, and look at how technology is developing that can convert plastic into fuel.
We make a staggering amount of plastic. In terms of plastic bagsalone, we use five hundred billionworldwide annually. Over 300 million tons of plastic are produced every year, and at least 8 million of those are dumped into the oceans. 5) _____. Once you've seen A Plastic Ocean, you'll realise the time is now and we all have a role to play.
Vamos a trabajar en esta entrada el conocido en inglés como 'pasado perfect o past perfect', verbo que usamos para contar que 'habíamos realizado' una acción en un momento concreto, antes de hacer otra tarea, etc.
👉👉👉 Empezaremos con un video muy sencillo, de los que van al grano y se dejan de zarandajas, que os recomiendo que veáis: pincha en este enlace:
Es fácil:
'I had eaten my dinner before you phoned me.' (pasado perfecto simple).
'Yo había cenado antes de que me llamaras.'
'I hadbeeneating my dinner when you phoned me.' (pasado perfecto continuo).
'Yo había estado cenando cuando me llamaste.'
'It hadbeenraining all the evening'.
'Estuvo lloviendo toda la tarde.'
✋✋✋ Todas las personas se van a conjugar de la misma manera. Observa:
I had eaten pasta for dinner when you came with the pizza.
You had eaten pasta...
She had eaten pasta...
It had eaten pasta...
We had eaten pasta...
You had eaten pasta...
They had eaten pasta...
👉👉👉 Para poner ese verbo en negativa, basta con poner la palabra 'not' después de 'had' o bien usar la forma contraída 'hadn't'.
I had not eaten pasta for dinner when you came with the pizza.
You hadn't eaten pasta...
She had noteaten pasta...
👉👉👉 Para hacer una pregunta, basta con poner 'had' delante de la persona.
'Had you eaten pasta for dinner?
'Had she eaten pasta...?
✋✋✋ Pincha en este enlace para ver la diferencia entre la forma simple y la forma continua. Por favor, pincha en el enlace, lee la información y completa el ejercicio online que hay al final del texto y que puedes ver aquí:
El verbo que usamos es muy fácil de conjugar: usamos el verbo auxiliar 'have' en pasado, o sea, 'had' y siempre seguido de un participio, para entendernos, la tercera forma de los verbos irregulares o un verbo acabado en -ed.
'I had already sold my old clothes in Vinted when you asked to buy them'.
'Yo ya había vendido mi ropa vieja en Vinted cuando tú me pediste comprármela'.
'You hadpayed for the food at the restaurant when I wanted to invite you'.
'Tú habías pagado la comida del restaurante cuando yo quería invitarte'.
✊✊✊✊✊ Past perfect passive: pasado perfecto pasivo, más fácil todavía:
'I had beentold to be punctual for the meeting'
'Me dijeron que fuera puntual para la reunión'
'You had beenasked to do the entrance exam'.
'Te pidieron que hicieras el examen de acceso'.
'She had beengiven a new laptop for her new job'
'Le dieron un nuevo portátil en su nuevo trabajo'.
'He had beensolda broken car'.
'Le vendieron un coche averiado.'
'We had beenrequested to pay more taxes'.
'Nos pidieron que pagáramos más impuestos'.
'You had beenordered to leave your job and look for another one'.
'Se te ordenó dejar tu trabajo y que te buscaras uno nuevo'.
'They had been presented with a new computer for their birthday'.
'Les regalaron un nuevo ordenador por su cumpleaños'.
Comenzamos el III Año de la Era Covid con el virus Omicron ligando con su primo Delta y pariendo el flurona. Solo esas palabras demuestran que algo huele a chamusquina.
The Washington Post
Retomamos con energía y ganas el curso comenzando hoy el 2º trimestre de vuestros cursos, algunos con los exámenes en abril y otros en junio. Pero recuerden,tempus fugit.
Y, de nuevo, vamos con noticias de actualidad: la opereta bufa entre el tenista Novak Djokovic y el gobierno australiano, que ocupa los titulares de todos los medios de comunicación. Me pregunto si este es el principal problema de nuestra sociedad, con flurona paseándose por Las Ramblas como si nada.
Bueno, al tajo que es noche.
CÓDIGOS DE COLORES:
AZUL: Traducciones.
ROJO: Aspectos gramaticales.
VERDE: Aspectos culturales.
NARANJA: Estructuras concatenadas
MORADO: Traducción y sinónimos, antónimos, etc.
Amarillo: Palabras con trampa.
Os dejo una plantilla para que, sobre la marcha, podáis ir completando con sinónimos, antónimos, etc y los significados. Espero que os sea de utilidad. Pinchad aquí para descargarla.
The judge’sruling initially unleashed a wave of celebration among Djokovic’s supporters, scores ofwhom gathered in Melbourne’s Federation Square to dance and sing.
Butasfalse rumors began to circulate that Djokovic had beendetainedagain — something the government threatened to do Monday — the celebration turned toanger.Pulsa aquí para ver una explicación sobre el uso del PAST PERFECT (HAD BEEN)
Several hundred Djokovic supporters, shouting “Free Novak,” marched to the skyscraper where the tennis star had been brought earlier in the day to watch the online proceedings with his attorneys.
When a car with tinted windows emerged from the parking garage, Djokovic supporterssurrounded it and began to boo, curse and block the road. When the protesters got too close to the police officers ringing the car, the police began deployingpepper spray.
Djokovic supporters reacted angrily, screaming obscenities. At least one unmasked man spit on officers, whileseveral threw plastic water bottles, hitting at least two officers, one in the head. An officer who was pepper-sprayed in the chaos fell to the sidewalk as a colleague helped him wash out his eyes. A Djokovic supporter and his daughter were also pepper-sprayed, with the family washing their eyes out with milk.
“It’s crazy,” said the girl’s mother. “There were kids as young as 5.”
Police officers said they did not know whether Djokovic was in the car.
“I’m pleased and grateful that the Judge overturned my visa cancellation,” Djokovic wrote on Twitter, adding that he wanted to remain in the country and play at the Australian Open.
“I remain focused on that,” he wrote. “I flew here to play at one of the most important events we have in front of the amazing fans.”
The high-profile case captured headlines by pitting the steelySerb against Australia’s strict pandemic protocols. Djokovic’s family denounced his treatment, and Serbian and Australian officials traded criticism. The case transformed the unvaccinated sports star — a skeptic of coronavirus vaccines — into a lightning rod for the global vaccination debate.
In a news conference in Serbia, Djokovic’s parents thanked supporters and described their son’s ordeal but abruptly stopped taking questions when asked about his recent covid infection.
“There was a time when he didn’t have a telephone on him and we didn’t know what was
,” said his mother, Dijana. “We didn’t know if he was okay, if he was sick … As a mother that was [difficult].”
Bueno, pues hoy día 22 de diciembre, recién 'modernizados' químicamente en un museo tristemente vacío junto al tranvía inexistente de Jaén, vamos a por la última traducción del trimestre. De nuevo, vamos a usar para la clase de hoy un texto del periódico The Washtington Post.
The Washington Post. Democracy dies in Darkness
Cold, heat, fires, hurricanes and tornadoes: The year in weather disasters.
Vicious wind and tornadoes put a deadly exclamation point on the end of an extraordinary year for extreme weather in the United States.
Earlier in 2021, Texas froze and Seattle roasted. Parts of California flooded, burned, then flooded again. A hurricane that slammed Louisiana was so waterlogged that its remnants inundated New York City. A blizzard hit Hawaii.
The weather was wilder than usual this year, and the reasons vary, climate experts say.
Crazy cold snap? Giant hail? December tornadoes? Those happen now and then on a planet with natural variations in weather patterns.
But evidence increasingly shows that historic heat waves, monster rain events and ultra-intense storms are exacerbated by the warmer air and water of our overheating planet.
“The only two truisms when it comes to extremes in climate change are that almost everywhere: The hot hots are getting hotter and more frequent, and the wet wets are getting wetter and more frequent,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA who specializes in the relationship between climate change and weather.
The year began with what Swain might call a “wetter wet” against the backdrop of a year-long drought, and it just got weirder from there.
JANUARY
California floods amid drought
For five days late in late January, California had water thrown at its mouth.
Much of the West’s water comes from atmospheric rivers, which are like fast-moving, airborne conveyor belts that shuttle moisture from the Pacific to the West Coast about a dozen times a year. They are notoriously unpredictable and are often described as giant fire hoses in the sky.
FEBRUARY
Deadly cold in Texas
It was strolling-around-the-neighborhood weather in much of Texas for the first week of February. Then the next week, frigid Arctic air stretched drastically far south and obliterated low-temperature records from North Dakota to Mexico.
MARCH, APRIL AND MAY
Supersized storms
In spring, violently rotating thunderstorms called supercells are common across the country as cold and warm air masses meet and dance around each other.
Beginning in mid-June, a blanket of unprecedented hot air spread over the typically mild Pacific Northwest, an event scientists say was “virtually impossible” without climate change.
The culprit was an alarmingly strong heat dome, a sprawling mass of high pressure and hot air that muscles out any cooling systems that come near it. And its sheer power rattled experts who study heat waves all the time.
AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER
Smoke and a string of hurricanes
As Dixie and other large fires across the West continued to belch smoke into the atmosphere, plenty of precipitation was on its way to the other side of the country.
By mid-August, tropical storms and hurricanes had queued up in the Atlantic.
Tropical Storm Fred was first in line of the August storms, rolling through the Florida Panhandle and causing deadly flooding in North Carolina.
Then came three days during which Tropical Storm Henri made a rare Rhode Island landfall and drenched New England while unrelated storms caused catastrophic flooding in North Carolina and a freak deluge in Tennessee.
Hurricanes have always occurred, but models indicate that warmer temperatures combined with unchecked greenhouse emissions may make hurricanes wetter, stronger and more likely to veer toward North America.
