Reading comprehension: International Women’s Day

Buenas tardes, estimados alumnos.

Hoy nos toca leer un poco sobre el Día de la Mujer. Ya publiqué un artículo sobre el tema, dedicado a la gran heroína rusa Elena Osipova el pasado 4 de marzo, para que hubiera tiempo para saber con calma quién es esta señora que se ha enfrentado con su dulce sonrisa al gran tirano genocida del siglo XXI: Putin.

Hoy vamos con un poco de Historia. 

UNA GUERRERA- Falleció escritora y primera soldado ucraniana, Iryna Tsvila defendiendo a su país a las afueras de Kiev

https://gossipvzla.com/una-guerrera-fallecio-escritora-y-primera-soldado-ucraniana-iryna-tsvila-defendiendo-a-su-pais-a-las-afueras-de-kiev/

International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the historical, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day is also observed in support of taking action against sex inequality around the world. We all know the world couldn’t run without women. This is the day to appreciate their efforts! Organizations large and small come together to show women just how valuable they are in today’s society.

WHEN IS INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 2022?

International Women’s Day is on March 8. The achievements of women and how far they have come in the fight for their rights within the political, cultural, and social spheres are celebrated.

HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

Susan B. Anthony was a political activist and an advocate of women’s rights. After the American Civil War, she fought for the 14th Amendment that was meant to grant all naturalized and native-born Americans citizenship in the hope that it would include suffrage rights. Although the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868, it still didn’t secure their vote. In 1869, the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) was founded by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony to continue the fight for women’s rights.

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archivo:Susan_B._Anthony_with_Woman%27s_Rights_Leaders,_1896.jpg

In the early 1900s, women were experiencing pay inequality, a lack of voting rights, and they were being overworked. In response to all of this, 15,000 women marched through New York City in 1908 to demand their rights. In 1909, the first National Women’s Day was observed in accordance with a declaration by the Socialist Party of America. This was celebrated on the last Sunday of February until 1913.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/es/diccionario/ingles-espanol/rally?q=+rallies.

An International Women’s Conference was organized in August 1910 by Clara Zetkin, a German suffragist and leader in the Women’s Office. Zetkin proposed a special Women’s Day to be organized annually and International Women’s Day was honored the following year in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland, with more than one million attending the rallies. On August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified and white women were granted the right to vote in the U.S.

Clara Zetkin, a German suffragist and leader in the Women’s Office

The liberation movement took place in the 1960s and the effort led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act, allowing all women the right to vote. When the internet became more commonplace, feminism and the fight against sex inequality experienced a resurgence. Now we celebrate International Women’s Day each year as we push continuously with the hope of creating a completely equal society.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY TIMELINE

https://nationaltoday.com/international-womens-day/

In 1914, International Women's Day was held on March 8 for the first time in Germany, possibly because that date was a Sunday. As elsewhere, Germany's observance was dedicated to women's right to vote, which German women did not win until 1918. Concurrently, there was a march in London in support of women's suffrage, during which Sylvia Pankhurst was arrested in front of Charing Cross station on her way to speak in Trafalgar Square.

Charing Cross station

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Women%27s_Day#Origins

Saludos.

 

Reading comprehension: Tough Ukrainians, huffed Russians.

Buenas tardes, estimados alumnos.

Hoy nos toca el New York Times, con un mensaje muy sencillo: por qué el genocida Putin se he metido con quien no debía.

tough: resistente, duro, difícil

huffed: enojado, enfadado, vociferante.

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.  

 

Putin Picked the Wrong Country to Mess With

March 5, 2022, 11:00 a.m. ET

By Anastasiia Lapatina

Ms. Lapatina is a Ukrainian journalist and a reporter at The Kyiv Independent.

PRZEMYSL, Poland — For months, Ukraine worried and agonized about a potential invasion. But in just over one week of hellish war, Ukrainians revealed themselves to be some of the bravest people in the world. Against Russia’s full-scale assault, civilians across the country have been courageously, even terrifyingly, defiant.

There’s the man who stood in front of a Russian tank, pushing against it to stop it from advancing. And the man who picked up an unexploded mine from the road with his bare hands and carried it deep into a forest, with a cigarette in his mouth.

https://elcorreoweb.es/opinion/columnas/guerra-en-ucrania-la-actitud-macarra-de-putin-y-la-respuesta-de-occidente-CG7769141

There’s the woman who walked up to a Russian soldier and told him to put sunflower seeds in his pockets. That way when he dies on Ukrainian land, she explained, flowers will grow. And then there’s the already legendary story of the 13 Snake Island defenders who, when asked to capitulate, refused in gloriously colorful terms. (The phrase they used has become something of a rallying cry for proud Ukrainians, including government officials.)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10551331/Last-video-Ukrainian-guards-Snake-Island-told-Russians-f-k-themselves.html

Yet these heroic displays barely scratch the surface of Ukrainian resistance. From sharing food to taking up arms, Ukrainians across the country are united in repelling the invaders — and protecting our homeland. President Vladimir Putin was apparently confident that Russia would defeat Ukraine in two or three days. But he picked the wrong nation to mess with.

👉👉👉👉👉👉From... to...: Desde.... hasta....

That doesn’t lessen the tragedy of the situation. After over a week of war, the Kremlin’s aim appears to be to encircle and capture major cities, heedless of the death and destruction Russian forces leave in their wake. Already, the toll is heavy: In the first week of conflict, according to the United Nations, 227 civilians were killed and 525 were wounded. The Russian Army, loaded up with artillery, is going to continue its brutal bombardment of the country. For Ukrainians, in flight, fight or shelter, there will be no respite.

But we are defiant. With every act of bravery and courage, Ukrainians show that we are ready to pay the highest price for democracy — ours and the world over. In this battle, we will not surrender and we will not capitulate. Because our freedom is immutable.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/05/opinion/ukraine-russia-invasion.html

Saludos.

Mass evacuation of women and children from the frontline town Irpin under the sound of shootings and explosions.
Oleg who will stay in Irpin passes over a fence to his wife Yana their son before the arrival of an evacuation train.
Photo Roman Pilipey, EPA pic.twitter.com/KyeFq6yeAv

— Olga Tokariuk (@olgatokariuk) March 5, 2022

Reading comprehension: Elena Osipova, dignidad de mujer, 8 de marzo.

Buenas tardes, estimados alumnos.

Se acerca el 8 de marzo. 

El año pasado dediqué mi artículo en este blog de peripecias Erasmus+ a mi querida amiga Amaia, mujer trabajadora ejemplar donde las haya. Este año tenía en mente escribir un breve relato sobre otra grandísima mujer Erasmus+, pero las circunstancias de la vida han cambiado tanto en tan solo una semana, ¿verdad? Ella me perdonará.

The Russian police arrested #ElenaOsipova and a group of elementary school kids. People can get 15 years in prison in Russia for writing the truth of what’s happening in Ukraine. These brave people are standing up for what is right at great personal risk #SlavaUkraini #StopPutin https://t.co/O2Q64Cskpe

— Pam Torrey (@pammie823) March 3, 2022

El mundo, sencillamente, ha dejado en un fugaz instante de ser el que era. Los libros de Historia marcarán un nuevo capítulo para este infame final de febrero, por culpa de un ser despreciable llamado Vladimir Putin. 

Mis lectores saben que mi principal motivo para trabajar con tenacidad en los proyectos Erasmus+ es, principalmente, porque estoy convencido de que esta es, sin duda, el arma más potente disponible en los centros educativos para luchar ferozmente contra los nacionalismos, sean los que sean, contra los dictadores, sean quienes sean, contra la miseria moral, provenga de donde provenga. Esa y no otra es mi gran motivación. Y mira que hay motivos, ¿verdad?

Hace ya una larga semana, nos amanecimos un amanecer frío con la triste, mortífera y patente realidad de una guerra que lleva ya siete días de guadaña ensangrentada, en un país Erasmus+, Ucrania, que se desangra lentamente luchando por su libertad, por nuestras libertades, y que merece todo nuestro apoyo, todo, incluido el de los programas Erasmus. 

Elena Osipova. 

Alegre, sonriente, tranquila, sumisa, avejentada de cuerpo pero no de alma, ejemplo de la mejor virtud que pueda existir, la valentía, agarrando sus cartones con sus arrugadas y afligidas manos, mientras una cohorte de fantoches miserables hacen fotos, videos y tiktoks como si de un animal de zoo se tratara, en vez de salir en su ayuda. 

Dos lacayos de negro de muerte del nuevo Zar de los soviets la detienen -¡a esta anciana!- por dibujar unos simples bocetos y escribir unas sencillas palabras que supongo dirán que no quiere guerra. Tres esbozos de seres aterrados sobre una explosión nuclear. Pero el deleznable Putin sabe que esta ejemplar señora es el verdadero misil nuclear que sí que puede acabar con su dictadura y su régimen. Elena Osipova es el auténtico Cisne Blanco, no su cisne blanco mortíferamente renovado cargado de misiles, también llamado Tupolev 160, que acabará, antes o después, con este hijo de Stalin, de su admirado Andropov y de su odiado Lenin. Elena Osipova. ¿O debería decir mejor Cisne Negro? 

Este 8 de marzo, Elena Osipova estará en el corazón de muchos ciudadanos de todo el mundo que han contemplado con lágrimas en los ojos, si es que tienen alma, a una enjuta viejecita, humildad encarnada, con su boina gastada, su bufanda de cuadros para protegerse del frío moscovita del invierno, enfrentarse al más poderoso de los dictadores con tan solo una sorprendente sonrisa, unos pequeñitos pasos tranquilos y acompasados más el aplomo que dan los años. Tan solo por arrestar a esta bella mujer esos mercenarios, culpables de este genocidio por algunos justificados en nuestra España, deberían sumirse en las fosas del infierno. Lo harán. El infierno de los miserables.

Elena Osipova, ángel moscovita. Este 8 de marzo, cuando celebramos un día especial en honor de todas las mujeres, este que esto escribe te dedicará todas sus clases a hablar sobre ti, Elena Osipova. Lo siento, Grecia, te tocaba actuar a ti, ya calentabas en el banquillo, pero me temo que Elena es más importante, ¿verdad? Gracias por entenderlo. Y Roma, puede que tampoco salgas al campo. Hay temas más importantes. 

¿Que Grecia y Roma? Sí, la Libertad. Si el asesino Putin quiere ocultar tu mirada, es porque sabe que estos ojos profundos van a hacerle más daño que 100 misiles. 

Elena Osipova, nacida a una larga y dura vida durante el terrible asedio nazi de Leningrado, durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, asedio al que sobrevivió -más de 1 millón de muertos durante aquella batalla, sí, han leído bien- vivió más de 50 años de su vida bajo la tiranía del comunismo soviético, sin libertades ninguna, sin palabra alguna. Por ello, Elena Osipova está curtida y doctorada en el terror, en el espanto, en la miseria material y moral, en el miedo al susurro y la mirada suspicaz del vecino que entorna la puerta ajada, mirada cabizbaja, sumida en la tristeza. ¿KGB tal vez?, ¿GRU?, ¿FSB?, o quién sabe Dios. No, no había Dios permitido aquellos años, ¿verdad, Elena?

Elena Osipova. ¿Qué fue de tu vida? ¿A qué te dedicaste? ¿Tuviste familia? ¿Pudiste hablar libremente alguna vez en tu vida? Elena Osipova, mujer que representas la dignidad de las dignidades, la valentía de las valentías, la belleza del alma de todas las almas, gracias. Hoy, Elena, usted ha cambiado muchos corazones, muchas almas, muchas vidas.

Elena Osipova, tú acabarás con el miserable Putin.

Chernígov, Kiev, Jarcov, Odessa, Tskervka, Elena Osipova. Nuevos libros de Historia. 

Feliz 8 de marzo.

Manuel Molina Porlán.

Дякую вам за те, що боролися за свободу, віддаючи свої життя.
Дякую, Олена. Хай живе вільна Україна. Європа з вами.

Reading comprehension: THE UN CONDEMNS RUSSIA'S WAR.

Buenas tardes, estimados alumnos.

Aunque un poco tarde, la ONU condena -salvo 5 países parias- la guerra de Rusia en Ucrania.

As UN issues historic rebuke, Russia confirms it lost hundreds of troops

The text of the resolution "deplores" Russia's "aggression against Ukraine."

Almost a week into the campaign to "demilitarize" Ukraine, Russia gave official figures for the first time on its casualties on Wednesday, while the UN issued a historic condemnation of Moscow's military incursions. A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry said 498 Russian troops have been killed in Ukraine and 1,597 wounded.

Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov rejected reports about "incalculable losses" of the Russians as "disinformation" on Wednesday and reported Moscow's casualties for the first time since the start of the attack last Thursday.

Konashenkov also said more than 2,870 Ukrainian troops have been killed and about 3,700 wounded, while 572 others have been captured.

Ukrainian officials have not yet commented on the figures, and they could not be immediately verified.

Meanwhile, the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday overwhelmingly voted to reprimand Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and demanded that Moscow stop fighting and withdraw its military forces, an action that aims to diplomatically isolate Russia at the world body.

The resolution, supported by 141 of the assembly's 193 members, ended a rare emergency session called by the UN Security Council and as Ukrainian forces battled on in the port of Kherson in the face of airstrikes and a devastating bombardment that forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee.

The text of the resolution "deplores" Russia's "aggression against Ukraine." The last time Security Council convened an emergency session of the General Assembly was in 1982, according to UN websBut both sides said they were ready to resume talks aimed at stopping the fighting, which had Ukraine under threat on multiple fronts. A huge, 40-mile-long column of Russian tanks and other military vehicles stood outside Kyiv, and Russian invaders pressed their assault on the strategic port cities of Kherson and Mariupol.

"Kharkiv today is the Stalingrad of the 21st century," said Oleksiy Arestovich, a top presidential adviser, invoking what is considered one of the most heroic moments in Russian history, the five-month defense of the city from the Nazis during World War II.

Russian attacks, many with missiles, blew the roof off Kharkiv's five-story regional police building and set the top floor on fire, and also hit the intelligence headquarters and a university building, according to officials and videos and photos released by Ukraine's State Emergency Service. Officials' residential buildings were also hit, but did not provide details.

Russia renewed its bombardment of Ukraine's second-biggest city Wednesday, pounding Kharkiv with attacks that shattered buildings and lit up the skyline with balls of fire. At least 21 people were reported killed. US officials also told Reuters that there has been an increase in the attack on the capital Kyiv with missiles and artillery.

https://www.israelhayom.com/2022/03/02/as-un-issues-historic-rebuke-russia-confirms-it-lost-hundreds-of-troops/

Reading comprehension: Courage and Honor in Ukraine.

Buenas tardes, estimados alumnos.

Hoy vamos a trabajar de nuevo un texto que nos va a dar otra oportunidad para reflexionar sobre dos valores prácticamente borrados de la faz de Europa: el coraje y el honor.

Zelenski.

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.  

President Zelenskyy's full speech to the European Parliament

Courage and Honor in Ukraine

The human virtues that are being displayed in this terrible human drama have changed public opinion.

By Peter Wehner

Politics is a stage on which the worst of human nature is often on display. But now and then, here and there, it reflects the best of human nature. And what is happening right now in Ukraine—a nation that is being mauled by a brutal regime yet still willing to stand and to fight—is proof that honor and courage matter. They can stir hearts in powerful ways, shaking them out of complacency and even cynicism.

I was reminded of this while watching, of all things, a 10-minute monologue about Ukraine delivered by the comedian Stephen Colbert on Monday night. He showed inspiring clips of ordinary Ukrainians and their intrepid president, Volodymyr Zelensky, and spoke about the heartbreak and the heroism on display.

https://www.consuladodeisrael.com/2022/03/02/como-volodymyr-zelensky-paso-de-ser-un-comediante-judio-a-ser-el-enemigo-numero-uno-de-putin/

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a humanitarian crisis,” Colbert said, “but also it is a triumph of humanity, because despite all of Russia’s military prowess, the ordinary people of Ukraine will not back down or bow down, and the war in Ukraine isn’t working out the way Russia intended.”

The crowd erupted in cheers even before Colbert finished his sentence. The same thing happened when a picture of Zelensky appeared: The audience burst into a thunderous ovation. A video of Zelenksy saying “Glory to our allies, glory to Ukraine” was also met with rapturous applause. Colbert was moved by what he had seen; so was America, and so was much of the world.

What drove support for Ukraine were the human virtues being displayed in a terrible human drama. It was seeing ordinary people—including the young and the elderly—act in extraordinary ways to defend the country they love, against overwhelming odds. It was seeing people do the right thing at the risk of death when nearly every instinct within them must have been screaming: Do what you have to do to survive, even if survival, though not dishonorable, is less honorable. 

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerra_del_Peloponeso#/media/Archivo:Map_Peloponnesian_War_431_BC-es.svg

“For it is only the love of honor that never grows old,” Pericles said after the first battles of the Peloponnesian War, “and honor it is, not gain, as some would have it, that rejoices the heart of age and helplessness.”

Whatever fate awaits them—and right now the Russians are laying siege to cities that are home to millions—the people and the president of Ukraine have shown that love of honor never grows old, even to a world that is sometimes indifferent, weary, and cynical.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/es/diccionario/ingles-espanol/whatever?q=Whatever

“Today you, Ukrainians, are a symbol of invincibility,” Zelensky told his people today. “A symbol that people in any country can become the best people on Earth at any moment.”

God bless them.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/03/courage-honor-ukraine/623875/

Saludos.

Reading comprehension: Armia Krajowa.

Buenas tardes, estimados alumnos.

Nos vamos ahora a 1939, año que se va pareciendo cada más a 2022. El ejército aleman, con ayuda del ejército ruso -que nunca se menciona- ocupa Polonia con una ferocidad que hace que las trincheras de la Gran Guerra parecieran juegos de niños.

Surge el Home Army o Army Krajowa, como ahora está forjándose de nuevo el Ejército de Liberación Ucraniano, que fue, ¡cómo no! traicionado por la Rusia soviética de Stalin. 

Tal vez, aprender un poco de la Historia reciente, nos venga bien ahora que hay tanto payaso que no condena el genocidio de Rusia en Ucrania.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?l=spanish&id=2485140724&searchtext=

Armia Krajowa

The Home Army (Polish: Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; Polish pronunciation: [ˈar.mʲja kraˈjɔ.va]) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the aftermath of the German and Soviet invasions in September 1939. 

Over the next two years, the Home Army absorbed most of the other Polish partisans and underground forces. Its allegiance was to the Polish government-in-exile in London, and it constituted the armed wing of what came to be known as the Polish Underground State. Estimates of the Home Army's 1944 strength range between 200,000 and 600,000. The latter number made the Home Army not only Poland's largest underground resistance movement but, along with Soviet partisans, one of Europe's two largest World War II underground movements.^[a]

The Home Army sabotaged German transports bound for the Eastern Front in the Soviet Union, destroying German supplies and tying down substantial German forces. It also fought pitched battles against the Germans, particularly in 1943 and in Operation Tempest from January 1944. The Home Army's most widely known operation was the Warsaw Uprising of August–October 1944. The Home Army also defended Polish civilians against atrocities by Germany's Ukrainian and Lithuanian collaborators. Its attitude toward Jews remains a controversial topic.

As Polish–Soviet relations deteriorated, conflict grew between the Home Army and Soviet forces. The Home Army's allegiance to the Polish government-in-exile caused the Soviet government to consider the Home Army to be an impediment to the introduction of a Communist-friendly government in Poland, which hindered cooperation and in some cases led to outright conflict. On 19 January 1945, after the Red Army had cleared most Polish territory of German forces, the Home Army was disbanded. 

After the war, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s, Communist government propaganda portrayed the Home Army as an oppressive and reactionary force. Thousands of ex-Home Army personnel were deported to gulags and Soviet prisons, while other ex-members, including a number of senior commanders, were executed. 

After the Fall of Communism in Central and Eastern Europe, the portrayal of the Home Army was no longer subject to government censorship and propaganda.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Army

Saludos.

Reading comprehension: work and family.

Buenas tardes, estimados alumnos.

Cambiamos un poco de tercio y dejemos al asesino de Putin y sus seguidores por un rato.

Vamos a hacer hoy un ejercicio de comprensión lectora, traducción y práctica de algunas preguntas de ‘multiple choice’ de vuestro examen.

Nos ocupamos de un tema peliagudo: la conciliación familiar el trabajo y la familia. 

Os dejo un enlace directo a la página del British Council que he usado para seleccionar este ejercicio. 

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/sites/podcasts/files/LearnEnglish-Reading-B2-Work-life-balance.pdf

Reading comprehension: Kids behind bars under Putin’s order.

Buenas tardes, estimados alumnos.

De nuevo, un canalla asesino, Vlad Putin, demuestra qué es el comunismo soviético. Pero todavía hay mucho desgraciado que se niega a condenarlo.

Russian primary school children detained for anti-war protest

Gabriel Gatehouse

BBC Newsnight

When I saw reports and photographs on Tuesday suggesting that primary school children had been arrested by police in Moscow for laying flowers at the Ukrainian embassy and holding signs saying “No to war” I refused to believe it was real.

But now it has been confirmed by the Nobel prize-winning newspaper Novaya Gazeta. In an update the newspaper says the children have since been released.

The images show the children with officers behind metal bars, perhaps in a police vehicle, and then in a police station, holding their flowers and placards. 

The Kremlin appears to be taking increasingly draconian measures to try to keep a grip on its war narrative.

Pues yo les digo a todos esos que sois cómplices de este genocida. 

Saludos.