Bad habits die hard, that's what it's said...

... try to make a change!!! Follow these useful steps everyday.

Revision



Object or personal pronouns 1 2 3 4 5
Possessive adjectives or pronouns 1 2 3 4 5
Past simple 1 2 3 4 5

In the kitchen



Revision

PRESENT SIMPLE vs PRESENT CONTINUOUS
General review with tests at the bottom of the list. Click here
 Tests 1 2 3 4 5

lasagna sauce

Let's start the academic year with a smile =)

Summer revision: Passive voice

Passive voice test from profies

Happy Summer

My name is Jack...Union Jack

Hi, there! Have you ever wondered why the British flag has that blue, red and white pattern? The Union Jack, as it's known, is the national flag of the UK. It's a combination of the cross of St. George, the cross of St. Andrews and the cross of St. Patrick. This explanation might not be very clear to you so I've looked for a video on youtube. It's so short it won't take too much time to watch. I hope you'll find it useful.

Welcome to Chinese Two-fly law

Leave your comments after reading this piece of news published some days ago.
New standards have set a two-fly limit to Beijing's public toilets.

The Beijing News reports officials striving to clean up China's notoriously filthy toilets will apply the rule will apply to lavatories in parks, railway stations, airports, hospitals, malls and supermarkets in the capital.

The new standards also detail how smelly a lavatory should be.

More conventional demands from the municipal committee in charge of the image of the city include an order that there is no accumulation of urine or water in the capital's public toilets and that bins aren't overflowing.

It is not clear if failing washrooms will be punished and if so how.

Many people who live in the city's old neighbourhood still do not have their own toilet and have no choice but to use public conveniences.

Beijing has launched several campaigns in the past to improve its numerous public toilets, especially before the 2008 Olympics.

Source: ABC Radio Australia. Posted 24th May 2012.

Reported Speech

I have been surfing the net and I have found some activities to help you revise your knowledge on reported speech. Click on these links and then, check your answers. Good luck! 1 2 3 4 5

Irregular verbs

Picture on the left: joke on hygiene. Just to remind you good habits anytime!  Click here to revise irregular verbs. Have a good time!

Revision

Conditional sentences 1 2
Passive voice 1 2 3
Modal Verbs 1 2 3

The Final Countdown

Hi, Girls! As I've found this interesting website I suggest you some of the activities you asked me about. Please, don't get stressed! It's easier than it seems.
INTENSIFIERS
PASSIVE VOICE
Modal verbs A B
2nd and 3rd conditional 1  2  3

Long, long time ago...in 1976

A song not to be forgotten...

Let's check it!

Right, Brazilian Graffiti in Sao Paulo.

• Comparatives and Superlatives 1 2 3
• Adjective Order
• Verb tenses 1 2 3

Song

Happy World Book Day!

A Spring suggested title: The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. Just for fun =)

Conditionals

FIRST - SECOND - THIRD CONDITIONAL sentences.

(Beginner & intermediate levels) 1 2 3 4

If you want to further your skills on conditional sentences, click here for a more advanced level. Stand your ground and don't hesitate to try because you're given clarifying explanations above the test lines to refresh your grammatical background.

Intensifiers

So or Such? Tests 1 2 3

Left: Murcia Cathedral Square overview. Town Hall on Cardenal Beluga Sq built by Rafael Moneo, Pritzker Architecture prize winner in 1996.

In the end, I found the song!!!!

In fact, I've listened to a tune for a classical American film series on TVE1 channel several times and since then, I can't stop humming it! It's used as the soundtrack for a tv teaser and it's so catchy that I couldn't help surfing the net to find out about its author. Indeed, John Mayer is supposed to be its composer and Lana del Rey seems to have sung it inspired by an older version. I'm not very sure about that, but anyway, I'm still looking into it. Any information about this issue will be welcome. Meanwhile, let's enjoy!

Revision

Past Perfect contrasted with other tenses. 1 2 3

To revise conditionals and other grammar points, I strongly recommend this website. I found it by chance, but it turned out to be really useful. It has been built by a wide team of teachers from IES Gabriel García Márquez, in Madrid, and it's worth having a look on it.
Congratulations for your wonderful job!

Right, Open window by Henri Matisse.

Gerunds vs. Infinitives

Most of the times it's very hard to distinguish whether we have to use a gerund or an infinitive after certain verbs. The best way to get used to them is practising. For this reason, I've been looking for some interactive tests to make it bearable. I hope you'll find them useful.

Cheer up! Test 0 1 2 3

Good Friday Recipe

Just smile!

"April 1st.: This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three-hundred and sixty-four."-Mark Twain.

Joke

Song

Game

Who said revising grammar was boring? If you think so, that's because you haven't tried Grammar Gremlins yet, an online game released by Cambridge English Online. You only have to choose the level you want to try, read fast and click the correct answer. Hurry up or you'll miss your rocket back to Earth!

GRAMMAR GREMLINS 

Enjoy the concert

It is a truth universally acknowledge that Oldfield's musical virtuosity is beyond doubt. I have chosen this part because the end is astonishing. Turn it up!!!!



Song

Make a break and turn it up!



Reading training

I've been having a look at some handouts I thought I had lost long time ago. They deal with training fast reading, getting information between the lines and improving your summarizing skills. Are you interested? If so, why don't you try these easy tasks? They will only take you some minutes. Ready?
For further information, look up CAE Reading Skills. C.U.P.

The aim of this unit is to focus on:
- understanding a text as a whole and identifying the aim of the text;
- skimming a text for the main ideas without reading in detail. Steady?

1-Look quickly at the text and decide which of the following you are likely to find it in:
a) a newspaper; b) a tourist brochure; c) a safety leaflet; d) a science magazine; e) a guide book.


2-Which of the following does the text aim to do?
a) present research results on hypothermia.
b) warn people of the dangers of boating.
c) instruct people on what they should do if they fall into cold water.
d) describe a boating accident.

3-Look quickly through the text and decide which sections are about the points below. Some of the sections may be used more than once, while others may not be used at all. (Time limit: 5 minutes).

1. children's survival time
2. how a lifejacket influences heat loss
3. the importance of shivering
4. how movement influences body heat loss
5. how body position can influence survival time
6. what to do with someone who has been immersed in cold water
7. how body size influences heat loss
8. the cause of death                                                  GO!

Cold Water Survival (Extract taken from CAE mentioned above).

A-

Hypothermia is the lowering of deep body temperature that places the body in a general state of shock, which in turn depresses normal body functions.

In cold water, the skin cools very rapidly. However, it takes 10-15 minutes before the temperature of the heart, brain and other internal organs begins to drop. Intense shivering occurs in an attempt to increase the body's heat production and counteract the large heat loss.

Once cooling begins, the body temperature falls steadily and unconsciousness can occur. Cardiac arrest is the usual cause of death when the temperature cools to below 30ºC.

B-

The experimental average predicted survival times of average men and women holding still in ocean water and wearing a standard lifejacket and light clothing is about 2 1/3-3 hours in water of 10ºC (50ºF). Predicted survival time is increased by extra body fat and decreased by small body size. (Woe is me! LOL). Although women generally possess slightly more fat than men they cool slightly faster due to their usually small body size.

Children are particularly vulnerable to cold water, because they are smaller and have less fat than adults. In the event of a family being immersed, it is important for the parents to either get children partially or completely out of the water or on some form of flotation (e.g. an overturned boat). A little boy should be pulled out of the water first because he loses heat faster than his twin sister. If no flotation is available the adults should sandwich the child between them to help equalise the cooling rates of all involved.

Flotation lifejackets provide significant thermal protection and increase predicted survival time by more than 75%.

C-

No! Although the body produces almost three times as much heat when swimming slowly and steadily in cold water compared to holding still, this extra heat is lost to the cold water due to more blood circulation to the arms, legs and skin. Results show that the person swimming in a lifejacket cools 35% faster than when holding still.

D-

On occasion, the shore may be close enough to reach despite a faster cooling rate with this activity. Tests conducted on people swimming in ocean water of 10ºC (50ºF) and wearing standard lifejackets and light clothing showed that the average person could cover only a short distance before being incapacitated by hypothermia. This distance will obviously be affected by one's swimming ability, amount of insulation and water conditions. It is not easy to judge distance and the shore may appear to be closer than it actually is.

In cold water, an individual is likely to be able to swim a distance of no more than 1/10th of what he or she could easily swim in warm water.

In most instances, the best advice is to stay with the boat!

E-

In this unfortunate situation, one is forced to adopt the "anti-drowning" technique of treading water.

Treading water involves continuous movement of the arms and legs in various patterns in order to keep the head out of the water. Test results show an average cooling rate of persons treading water that was 34% faster than while holding still in a lifejacket.

F-

The head and neck are the most critical heat loss areas. Infra-red pictures show that the sides of the chest and the groin are also major routes for heat loss. If an effort is made to conserve body heat, these regions deserve special attention.
G-
Based on the heat loss information in section F, two techniques were tested that attempted to reduce heat loss from critical areas.
-HELP (Heat Escape Lessening Position) and
-Huddle (Sides of the chest of different individuals are held close together).

The keys will be provided to those submitted answers. I'll be delighted to help you solve your doubts! If you are fond of this sort of activity, please let me know.

Revision

 So she came down from the tree by Marc Chagall.

Modals
Present Simple vs Continuous
Present Perfect vs Past Simple
Passive voice
Test 1  2 (General review).
1st Conditional
Will & Going to 1  2.

Revision

Subject/Object Questions. Click on the previous link to try your knowledge on these types of questions.

Linking devices

Hi, there! Some of you have asked about connectors in English. I'm afraid there are plenty of them to make the final list, but we may get an overall idea about their usage if we pay attention to these clarifying examples. I hope they'll come in handy.

To express TIME we use the following linkers (Conjunctions):

When I saw the time, I realized I was late.

After I had a shower, I got dressed. (Tras/después de...). That's different from Later, Then, Afterwards, which are adverbs. They are mostly separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma .

As/While I was having a shower, I thought about my interview.

Before I went to work, I read the mail.

Once I'd seen the bills to pay, I left the house.

To express REASON:

I went to live in London because I wanted to learn English.

As it was getting late, we decided it was time to leave.

Since he had very little money, James decided he should look for work.

We had to stop playing because of the bad weather.

Due to the economic situation, fewer people are taking holidays this year.

To express CONTRAST:

Although there was a general strike, most people managed to get to work.

There was a general strike, but most people managed to get to work.

Our task became more and more demanding. However/Nevertheless, we carried on.

We enjoyed our picnic despite/in spite of the rain.

Despite/in spite of being raining, we enjoyed our picnic./ Despite/in spite of the fact that it was raining, we enjoyed our picnic.

To express RESULT:

It was raining, so we went home.
The play was so boring that I fell asleep.
He worked hard all his life. As a result, he amassed a fortune.

I was ill. Therefore/Consequently, I stayed in bed. (More formal).

To express PURPOSE:

I went to Italy to/ in order to/ so as to learn Italian.

Sheila left for work early so that she could avoid the rush hour.

Source: New Headway. OUP.

Song

Poetry for Saint Valentine's

As far as I know, the school contest is still on. Due to the fact that 14th February is approaching and Carnival is about to start too, these celebrations could be used to keep on changing our class image. 

This time the motto is on Saint Valentine, say it with a poem. Perhaps you may have been thinking about redecorating your classroom for this event. On this occasion, you can show how imaginative you are by choosing a poem and then, hang it on your wall on a heart frame. It could work, couldn't it? Just surf the net or click on the following websites. Have fun!

POEMS  

• 1 
• 2
• 3

   

Formal letters

Hi, there! I've found this useful link to help you with your formal letter writing. I know this can be too obvious, but it may be very practical. If you're interested, just have a look! CLICK HERE.