10 mar 2022

Reading comprehension: How British spend their free time.

Buenas tardes, estimados alumnos.

Comenzamos una serie de ejercicios dedicados a revisar los puntos principales del programa del curso.

Hoy toca: Free time and hobbies and interests.

Nota: Los textos están seleccionados tanto del programa CREA como de otras fuentes, a quienes doy las gracias y cito, pero todos tienen el nivel del curso.


mmolpor@


Texto nº 1

 Teacher: So Kathy, why are you learning Spanish? 

Kathy: Well, I'm married to Manuel, my husband, and he is Spanish. So now I'm learning because I really want to talk to my husband's family, his parents and so on. They don't speak English so..... 

Teacher: And you don't speak Spanish? 

Kathy: Well, I can only say "hola" and "adiós". 

Teacher: Well Kathy, tell me about your hobbies and interests. 

Kathy: Oh, I like learning languages and I love reading books. Mystery books are my favourites. My husband also enjoys reading, but not books, he reads things on the Internet. I love European cinema but I hate watching American movies, they are too comercial. 

Teacher: And do you practise sports? 

Kathy: Sure, I like swimming very much. Besides, I do judo twice a week. 

Teacher: Don't you like team sports? 

Kathy: No, not much. I don't like playing in teams and I hate football.



Texto nº 2:

                        How British spend their free time?

The weekends are a time for families in Britain. Saturdays are a busy time for shops with many families going shopping.

People enjoy various indoor and outdoor activities in Britain. People in Britain spend about 45% of their free time watching television, 24% of their free time socializing, 22-23% on sport and hobbies, and 10% on other activities. Other popular leisure activities are listening to the radio, listening to pre-recorded music, reading, DIY, gardening, eating out and going to the cinema.

The most common leisure activity in the UK is watching television. The average viewing time is 25 hours per person per week. Almost all households have at least one television set. Many television programmes are about wildlife, animals, holidays, cooking and gardening. 

The second most popular activity in Britain is visiting or entertaining friends or relations. Britons also make lots of visits to the cinema making it the most popular cultural activity in the UK. Eating out is also very popular, with British people spending an average of £5.63 per person per week on food (excluding alcohol) outside the home.

The British are a nation of gardeners. Most people have a garden on their property. Gardening is a popular pastime since Roman times. Many people in Britain are proud of their houses and gardens. They want their houses and gardens to look nice. Every town in Britain has one or more DIY (Do it Yourself) centres and garden centres. These are like supermarkets for the home and garden. These places are very popular with British home-owners at the weekends.

Saturday is traditionally the day for shopping and watching sports. Sports and physical recreation are very popular. Local governments provide cheap sport and leisure facilities such as swimming pools, tennis courts, parks and golf courses. People go to watch other people play sports like football or take part in sports themselves.

mmolpor@



Texto nº 3: 

                                        The pub.

In pubs people not only consume and buy drinks. Friends meet there, colleagues "talk shop" and business people negotiate deals; people gather to celebrate, play games or seek quiet relaxation. The word pub is the short form for public house. There are over 60,000 pubs in the UK. One of the oldest, the Fighting Cocks, dates back to the eleventh century. 

Pubs often have two bars, one usually is quiet. Gardens are also common and customers sit there in the summer. Pubs are usually busy places, people don't queue, but the bar staff try and serve without problem. The closing times are very strict (pubs close at 11.00) and the publican rings a bell shouting "last orders, please!". Do you know the difference between ale and beer? Ale describe the drink brewed without hops unlike "beer".

Saludos. Nos vemos la semana que viene Dios mediante.

9 mar 2022

Reading comprehensión: Refugees in Spain.

Buenas tardes, estimados alumnos.

Hoy vamos a continuar con el tema que empezamos ayer, los refugiados que por millones están huyendo del genocida Putin y su dictadura comunista.


Este texto está cogido del periódico online THE LOCAL.ES, dirigido principalmente a los expats británicos en España. Gracias.


https://www.noticiasdenavarra.com/actualidad/mundo/2022/03/01/santos-imprevisible-personas-ucranianas-llegar/1234538.html


How Spain plans to house Ukrainian refugees

The Spanish government on Tuesday agreed to give Ukrainian refugees access to work, healthcare, financial assistance and education in Spain. Here’s how many people Spain currently has the capacity to house and how authorities are planning to help

As per the EU’s activation of the Temporary Protection Directive announced last week, the Spanish government on Tuesday approved the measure waive visa rules for Ukrainian refugees and allow them temporary residence in Spain.
The Temporary Protection Directive means that any Ukrainian citizen can stay within the EU or Schengen zone for a year without having to apply for a visa or make a claim for asylum. During this time, they will be allowed to work, have access to healthcare and financial support and children will be able to go to school in Spain.

The Spanish government has agreed to extend this measure further to include third-country nationals who had residence in Ukraine at the time of the Russian invasion.

In a recent press conference, spokesperson for the Spanish government, Isabel Rodríguez said that Ukrainian nationals who were in Spain since February 24th and could not return home, would also be able to access the residence and work permit, as well as those who were in an irregular situation before this date.

According to the latest Spanish government statistics, this means that it could also include around 15,000 Ukrainians in Spain who were already living in Spain, but who were not legally registered or who had not applied for their certificate of empadronamiento

https://www.galiciapress.es/texto-diario/mostrar/3477488/galicia-ofrece-millar-plazas-acogida-refugiados-procedentes-guerra-ucrania

She also confirmed that this measure includes the spouses of those who request protection and their children who are minors.

Rodríguez also added that the government aims to simplify the procedures involved in order to give them access to a residence permit quickly. 

The Spanish government website confirms that “If you are a Ukrainian national and wish to enter Spain, you do not need to apply for a visa if you have a biometric passport. If you are Ukrainian and want to enter Spain, but you do not have a biometric passport or travel documents, you can go to a consular office of a country bordering Ukraine (for example, Poland, Romania, Hungary, etc.) to have your situation studied”.
For those arriving in Spain without documents, it states: “If you do not have a passport or any travel documents, please present your birth certificate or any document that proves your identity, as well as, if you have it, any document that proves your residence in Ukraine before February 24th, 2022”.

How many Ukrainian refugees will Spain accept?

The Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, José Luis Escrivá, has confirmed that Spain will have 12,000 places available for Ukrainian refugees.

In an interview with Spanish national radio Mañanas de RNE, Escrivá said that 6,000 of these places would be provided by the various regions in Spain and a further 6,000 will be provided by the social system. He also added that in the event that there are not enough places available “we will make more”. He said that the government is “flexible”.

“They will know their rights, and will be interviewed upon arrival to find out their needs and be able to refer them to the most appropriate resources,” confirmed Escrivá.

He added that not many people have arrived yet, and those that have, have done so mainly through the family networks of Ukrainians in the country, however he anticipates a mass arrival in the coming days. “We have to be prepared for a significant volume,” he said.

The UN High Commission for Refugees estimates that 1 million Ukrainians have already left the country and this number is expected to increase as Russia intensify their attacks.

Where will the refugees be housed?

Escrivá confirmed that Ukrainian refugees would initially arrive at three different locations in Spain – Pozuelo de Alarcón in Madrid, Barcelona and Alicante. More arrival points could be added based on the number of refugees Spain was receiving.

Support teams will be present to make the new arrivals aware of the rights they’ve been granted in Spain and they will be interviewed to find out their needs. From there, they will be transported to Spain’s various regions to be housed. 

The national government, regional governments and city halls are all currently working on a coordinated reception plan, with Castilla y León, Madrid, Murcia and Galicia offering the majority of places so far.

The government of Castilla y León has offered 1,800 residential places to Ukrainian refugees, while Madrid has offered 1,209 places available in social centres for old people, hostels, shelters and homes for domestic violence victims.

🇺🇦 UCRANIA-INFORMACIÓN PARA PERSONAS DESPLAZADAS .

Saludos. Tristes.

📚 Glosario de 100 Palabras Clave

No.English Word (Inglés)Spanish Translation (Español)
1RefugeesRefugiados
2AccessAcceso
3HealthcareAsistencia sanitaria / Sanidad
4FinancialFinanciera
5CapacityCapacidad
6AuthoritiesAutoridades
7ActivationActivación
8DirectiveDirectiva
9ApprovedAprobó
10WaiveEximir / Renunciar
11VisaVisado
12TemporaryTemporal
13ResidenceResidencia
14Schengen zoneZona Schengen
15AsylumAsilo
16SupportApoyo / Soporte
17ExtendExtender / Ampliar
18NationalsNacionales
19InvasionInvasión
20SpokespersonPortavoz
21PermitPermiso
22Irregular situationSituación irregular
23StatisticsEstadísticas
24LegallyLegalmente
25RegisteredRegistrado
26EmpadronamientoPadrón (registro municipal)
27SpousesCónyuges
28MinorsMenores (de edad)
29Aims toTiene como objetivo
30SimplifySimplificar
31ProceduresProcedimientos
32InvolvedImplicados / Involucrados
33QuicklyRápidamente
34Biometric passportPasaporte biométrico
35Consular officeOficina consular
36BorderingFronterizo / Que limita con
37DocumentsDocumentos
38PresentPresentar
39Birth certificateCertificado de nacimiento
40ProvesDemuestra / Prueba
41IdentityIdentidad
42AcceptAceptar
43InclusionInclusión
44Social SecuritySeguridad Social
45MigrationMigración
46ConfirmedConfirmado
47AvailableDisponible
48RegionsRegiones
49Provided byProporcionado por
50Social systemSistema social
51Event thatEn caso de que
52FlexibleFlexible
53RightsDerechos
54InterviewedEntrevistados
55ArrivalLlegada
56Find outAveriguar / Conocer
57NeedsNecesidades
58Refer them toDerivarlos a
59AppropriateApropiados
60AnticipatesAnticipa
61Mass arrivalLlegada masiva
62Significant volumeVolumen significativo
63EstimatesEstima
64IncreaseAumentar
65IntensifyIntensificar
66AttacksAtaques
67HousedAlojados
68InitiallyInicialmente
69LocationsUbicaciones / Lugares
70ReceivingRecibiendo
71GrantedConcedidos
72TransportedTransportados
73CoordinatedCoordinado
74Reception planPlan de acogida
75OfferingOfreciendo
76MajorityMayoría
77Residential placesPlazas residenciales
78Social centresCentros sociales
79HostelsAlbergues / Hostales
80SheltersRefugios
81Domestic violenceViolencia doméstica
82VictimsVíctimas
83Agreed toAcordó
84CurrentlyActualmente
85CompeteCompetir
86SuspectedSospechoso
87ConfrontedConfrontado
88AccusedAcusado
89EstimatedEstimado
90SustainedSostuvo / Sufrió
91DamageDaño
92IssuedEmitió / Puso
93CitationCitación / Multa
94Leaving the sceneAbandonar el lugar
95Driving too closelyConducir demasiado cerca
96AnecdoteAnécdota
97Foot hillsEstribaciones / Faldas (de montañas)
98Quick thinkingPensamiento rápido
99DialledMarcó (un número de teléfono)
100CopsPolicías

4 mar 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.

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.

2 mar 2022

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.

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 (PolishArmia Krajowa, abbreviated AKPolish 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

28 feb 2022

Reading comprehension: The civilian lives lost to Russia's war.

Buenas tardes, estimados alumnos.

Hoy vamos a  leer  un texto que nos va a dar otra oportunidad para reflexionar sobre la tiranía y sus terribles consecuencias: la pérdida de vidas humanas


https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60547807

Ukraine war: The civilian lives lost to Russia's war


The number of civilians killed during Russia's invasion of Ukraine is rising by the day. By Sunday, Ukraine's human rights commissioner put the number of civilian victims alone at 210, including several children.

A seven-year-old girl died in an attack on a kindergarten, there have been fatalities in the capital Kyiv, and 10 members of Ukraine's ethnic Greek community were killed when their villages came under fire in the south.

Alisa Hlans was one of six people who died when her kindergarten was hit on the second day of the Russian invasion on Friday in the small town of Okhtyrka, an hour's drive from Ukraine's north-east border. 

Alisa was three months away from her eighth birthday. She was fatally wounded and Prosecutor General Irina Venediktova said she died in hospital on Saturday.

Doctors were fighting to save the life of a second wounded child, she added in a message on social media, above a picture with the message "we need peace!"

Several other children have been killed in the Russian advance, including a girl called Polina, who was in the final year of primary school in Kyiv.

According to Kyiv's local authority she and her parents were shot dead by a Russian sabotage and reconnaissance group on a street in the north-west of the capital.

Polina's brother and sister were taken to hospital. Her sister was in intensive care and her brother was taken to a separate children's hospital.

The majority of civilians have not yet been named but their stories are equally distressing.

A boy was killed when a block of flats was shelled in north-eastern Ukraine on the second day of Russia's invasion. The blast started fires in several flats in Chuhuiv, a small town outside Ukraine's second city Kharkiv.


Rest In Peace.


This video from the BBC World Service shows how a missile destroys a government building, flattened, annihilated.




Manuel Molina.