Tuesday

To bury the hatchet

This comes from the American custom of burying hawks and other weapons as a sign that hostilities between the American Indians and the White had ended. Nowadays, this idiom is used to refer to coming to peaceful terms with an opponent.
Custom = costumbre
To bury = enterrar
Hawk = hacha
Weapons = armas
Sign = símbolo, señal
To come to peaceful terms = hacer las paces
Opponent = enemigo, contrario

Angels, Robbie Willians


I sit and wait.

Does an angel contemplate my fate?

And do they know

The places where we go

When we're grey and old?

'Cos I've been told

That salvation lets their wings unfold.

So when I'm lying in my bed,

Thoughts running through my head,

And I feel that love is dead,

I'm loving angels instead.

And through it all she offers me protection,

A lot of love and affection,

Whether I'm right or wrong.

And down the waterfall

Wherever it may take me,

I know that life won't break me.

When I come to call, she won't forsake me,

I'm loving angels instead.

When I'm feeling weak,

And my pain walks down a one-way street.

I look above,

And I know I'll always be blessed with love,

And as the feeling grows,

She breathes flesh to my bones,

And when love is dead

I'm loving angels instead.

And through it all she offers me protection,

A lot of love and affection,

Whether I'm right or wrong.

And down the waterfall

Wherever it may take me,

I know that life won't break me.

When I come to call, she won't forsake me,

I'm loving angels instead.


Fate = destino
Grey = canoso
'Cos = Abreviatura informal coloquial de because, porque.
I've been told = Me han dicho ( Obs! en voz pasiva)
Wings = alas
To unfold = desplegar
To lie = En este caso significa encontrarse, estar, yacer. No debe confundirse con el verbo to lay, que significa poner, tender. Para aprender las diferencias, vea Lay or Lie?
Thought = pensamiento
Instead = en vez de, en cambio
Through = a través de
Waterfall = cascada
Wherever = dondequiera que
To forsake = traicionar, abandonar
Weak = débil. Antónimo strong, fuerte.
Pain = dolor
A one-way street = una calle de un solo sentido, de un sentido único, de una sola mano
To bless = bendecir
Feeling = en este caso sentimiento (tb gerundio del verbo to feel, sintiendo)
To grow = en este caso crecer, aumentar (tb puede significar cultivar)
Flesh = carne
Bones = huesos

Beware of false friends

False friends are pairs of words in two languages that look and/or sound similar, but differ in meaning.

The following list is a sampler of (more or less) commonly missused words:

Actually = de hecho, en realidad / Actualmente = nowadays
Advertisement = anuncio / Advertencia = warning
Advice = consejo / Aviso = notice
Agenda = orden del día / Agenda = diary
Argument = discusión / Argumento = plot
To assist = ayudar / Asistir = to attend
Carpet = alfombra / Carpeta = folder
Character = personaje / Carácter = personality
Collar = cuello / Collar = necklace
Conference = congreso / Conferencia = lecture
Constipated = estreñido / Constipado = cold (estar constipado = to have a cold)
Crime = delito / Crimen = murder
Deception = engaño / Decepción = dissapointment
Diversion = desvío / Diversión = fun
Education = enseñanza / Educación = politeness
Exit = salida / Éxito = success
Extravagant = derrochador / Extravagante = eccentric or odd
Fault = culpa, defecto / Falta = mistake
Gracious = cortés / Gracioso = funny
To ignore = no hacer caso / Ignorar = not to know
To intend = proponerse / Intentar = to try
Large = grande / Largo = long
Lecture = conferencia / Lectura = reading
Library = biblioteca / Librería = bookshop
Luxury = lujo / Lujuria = lust
Misery = tristeza / Miseria = poverty
Motorist = conductor de coche / Motorista = motorcyclist
Notice = anuncio, aviso / Noticia = news
Parents = padres / Parientes = relatives
Petrol = gasolina / Petróleo = oil
To pretend = fingir, simular / Pretender = to mean, to intend
To prove = demostrar / Provar, catar = to try (on), to taste
To realise = darse cuenta / Realizar = to carry out
To resume = reanudar / Resumir = to summarise
Scholar = estudioso / Escolar = student
Sensible = sensato / Sensible = sensitive
Stranger = forastero / Extranjero = foreigner
To support = apoyar, mantener / Soportar = To stand or to put up with
Sympathetic = compasivo / Simpático = nice, funny
To succeed = tener éxito, lograr / Suceder = to happen or to take place
Topic = tema / Tópico = cliché

Words used only in plural

Acoustics = acústica
Aerobics = gimnasia aeróbica
Athletics = atletismo
Barracks = cuartel
Bellows = fuelle
Belongings = efectos personales
Billiards = billar
Binoculars = binoculares
Bowls = petanca, bolos
Braces (GB), suspenders (US) = tiradores
Braces (US) = aparatos de ortodoncia
Clothes = vestimenta, ropa
Contents = contenido
Crossroads = cruce de caminos
Customs = aduana
Darts = dardos
Dominoes = dominó
Dungarees = pantalón de peto
Earnings = ingresos
Economics = ciencias económicas, economía
Ethics = ética
Gallows = horca
Gasworks = fábrica de gas
Glasses = gafas, anteojos
Goods = mercancías
Green = verduras
Gymnastics = gimnasia
Handcuffs = esposas
Headquarters = sede central, cuartel general
Jeans = jeans, pantalones vaqueros
Kennels = perrera
Knickers = bragas
Leggings = calzas, mallas
Linguistics = lingüística
Manners = modales
Maths = matemáticas
Mathematics = matemáticas
Means = medio, manera
Measles = sarampión
German measles = rubéola
Mumps = paperas
News = noticia
Odds = posibilidades
Outskirts = afueras (de la ciudad)
Pants (GB), underpants (US) = bragas, calzoncillos
Pants (US), trousers (GB) = pantalones
Phonetics = fonética
Physics = física
Pincers = pinzas
Pliers = alicates, tenazas
Pyjamas (GB), pajamas (US) = pijama
Remains = restos
Riches = riquezas
Scales = balanza
Scissors = tijeras
Series = serie, sucesión
Shears = tijeras de jardín
Shorts = bermudas, pantalones cortos
Shorts (US) = calzoncillos
Species = especie
Spectacles = gafas, anteojos (quevedos)
Stairs = escaleras
Statistics = estadísticas
Surroundings = alrededores
Tights (GB) = pantimedias
Tongs = pinzas (para el hielo)
Trunks = bañador, malla (para hombre)
Tweezers = pinzas

A white elephant

White elephants, also known as albino elephants, were considered holy in ancient times, specially in some Asian countries. To keep these animals was very expensive, because it was necessary to give them special food, and also to give access to the people who wanted to worship them. In Thailand, if a king was dissatisfied with someone, he would give him a white elephant, which would surely make that person lose all his money. Nowadays, this expression is used to refer to something that costs a lot of money to maintain but is useless.

Holy = sagrado
Ancient times = antiguamente
To keep = mantener
To worship = adorar
Dissatisfied = insatisfecho
Surely = seguramente
To lose = perder
To maintain = mantener
Useless = inútil

Commonly Used Spanish Words in Modern English



Both English and Spanish are Indo-European languages.

English is descended from the Germanic family of languages while Spanish is a Romance language. The Romance family of languages includes Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian. All these languages emerged from the interaction of Vulgar Latin with the local idioms. The Renaissance triggered the influx of Spanish vocabulary into the English language, either directly or through French. By 1650, Spanish was one of the two languages with international potential. (In case you are curious, Dutch was the other language.)

Many words that came to English via Spanish are ultimately derived from South or Central American Indian languages: for example, the so very "English" word potato derives from Haitian through Spanish. The French language was a leading contributor of new words, especially as a "relay" language, i.e. as a linguistic middleman that channeled fresh vocabulary from other languages. The word canoe is a case in point: it is of Latin, French, Spanish, and ultimately Haitian etymology. In other cases, Spanish played the part of the "relay" language: for example, the word cork, ultimately of Latin origin (through Arabic), came to English via Old Spanish (alcorque).

Spanish loanwords may not be as numerous as those of Latin and French origin, but they are just as varied, widespread, and influential. English would be poorer without words such as adobe, alcove, alligator, avocado, banana, bravo, cafeteria, canary, canyon, chocolate, cockroach, cocoa, embargo, guitar, hammock, hurricane, maize, mosquito, plaza, renegade, rodeo, sherry, spaniel, stockade, tobacco, tomato, tuna, vanilla, wrangler-- to mention but a few examples.
Commonly used Spanish words and phrases in modern English.
Aficcionado : a keen admirer, a knowledgeable devotee, an enthusiast

Duende (Spanish for "goblin, imp, elf"): charm, magnetism, charisma

El Dorado : originally, a legendary kingdom of unimaginable wealth; any place of great opportunity (metaphorically)

Hasta la vista : so long, farewell, goodbye

Macho (literally: male): virile, he-man

Mi casa es su casa : make yourself at home!
Parador (Spanish for "roadside inn"): state-run hotel (parador nacional)

Posada (Spanish for "inn"): a Spanish inn, a resort hotel; shelter, lodging
.
Siesta (from Latin sexta = sixth (hour); noon): an afternoon nap
.
Vaya con Dios (Spanish for "go with God"): may God be with you
.
Source:Merriam-Webster
Online: http://www.m-w.com

Why Learn English?

Nothing compares to you, Sinnead O'Connor


It's been seven hours and fifteen days

Since you took your love away.

I go out every night and sleep all day

Since you took your love away.

Since you've been gone I can do whatever I want.

I can see whoever I choose.

I can eat my dinner in a fancy restaurant.

But nothing,I said nothing, can take away these blues,

'Cause nothing compares,

Nothing compares to you.

It's been so lonely without you here,

Like a bird without a song.

Nothing can stop these lonely tears from falling.

Tell me, baby, where did I go wrong?

I could put my arms around every boy I see,

But they'd only remind me of you.

I went to the doctor, guess what he told me,

Guess what he told me?

He said, girl, you'd better have fun,

No matter what you do,

But he's a fool.'Cause nothing compares,

Nothing compares to you.

All the flowers that you planted, mamma,

In the backyard,

All died when you went away.

I know that living with you, baby, was sometimes hard.

But I'm willing to give it another try

'Cause nothing compares,

Nothing compares to you.


To take away = llevarse
Fancy = extravagante, caro
Blues = tristeza, melancolía
'Cause = Contracción coloquial informal de because (porque)
Lonely = solitario
To remind = recordar. Para aprender más, ver
Remember or remind?
To guess = adivinar
Backyard = patio trasero de una casa

Thursday

Food on airlines

Food on airlines is about what you would expect, considering that all the food must be prepared ahead of time and served to a large number of people with very different taste preferences. It is amazing that the food is as good as it is, but still, it frequently will not please you.

U.S. carriers are pretty good about accommodating standard dietary preferences, but you have to help them out. If you are vegetarian or keep kosher, tell your travel agent when you purchase the ticket, and the airlines will usually accommodate you.

If you have food allergies, you are probably safest bringing your own food with you. (In fact, even if you eat anything, you are probably better off bringing your own food with you!) Be advised that many countries have import restrictions on foods; If you bring food, be sure that you either finish it all on the plane or make sure that it will clear customs.

Morley Selver suggests never getting on an airplane hungry. You might think you will get a meal shortly, but the following could happen:
.
1) Everyone boards the aircraft, then they decide they have to fix something. They are not sure how long it will take, therefore nobody is allowed off.
.
2) You take off on a 3 hour flight that has 2-1/2 hrs of turbulence where the flight crew is not allowed to serve meals.
.
3) You do not like the food.
.
4) There is an electrical problem with the galley and your half of the plane does not get a meal. The best bet is to eat before you get on or take something you can snack on (e.g. a granola bar). If you take two, you may be able to sell one for $10.00. :-)

Vincent, Don Mclean




Starry, starry night,

paint your palette blue and gray.

Look out on a summer's day,

with eyes that know the darkness in my soul.


Shadows on the hills.

Sketch the trees and the daffodils.

Catch the breeze and the winter chills,

in colors on the snowy linen land.


Now I understand,

what you tried to say to me.

And how you suffered for your sanity.

And how you tried to set them free.

They would not listen, they did not know how.

Perhaps they'll listen now.


Starry, starry night.

Flaming flowers that brightly blaze.

Swirling clouds in violet haze,

reflect in Vincent's eyes of china blue.

Colors changing hue.

Morning fields of amber grain.

Weathered faces lined in pain,

are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand.

Now I understand,

what you tried to say to me.

And how you suffered for your sanity,

and how you tried to set them free.

They would not listen,

they did not know how.

Perhaps they'll listen now.


For they could not love you,

but still your love was true.

And when no hope was left inside on that starry, starry night,

you took your life as lovers often do.

But I could have told you Vincent,

this world was never meant for one as beautiful as you.


Starry, starry night,portraits hung in empty halls.

Frameless heads on nameless walls,

with eyes that watch the world and can't forget.

Like the strangers that you've met,

the ragged men in ragged clothes.

The silver thorn, a bloody rose,

lie crushed and broken on the virgin soil.


Now I think I know,what you tried to say to me.

And how you suffered for your sanity,

and how you tried to set them free.

They would not listen, they're not listening still.

Perhaps they never will.

Henry VIII

Henry VIII, born in 1491, was the second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. The significance of Henry's reign is, at times, overshadowed by his six marriages: dispensing with these forthwith enables a deeper search into the major themes of the reign.

He married Catherine of Aragon (widow of his brother, Arthur) in 1509, divorcing her in 1533; the union produced one daughter, Mary.

Henry married the pregnant Anne Boleyn in 1533; she gave him another daughter, Elizabeth, but was executed for infidelity (a treasonous charge in the king's consort) in May 1536.

He married Jane Seymour by the end of the same month, who died giving birth to Henry's lone male heir, Edward, in October 1536.

Early in 1540, Henry arranged a marriage with Anne of Cleves, after viewing Hans Holbein's beautiful portrait of the German princess. In person, alas, Henry found her homely and the marriage was never consummated.

In July 1540, he married the adulterous Catherine Howard - she was executed for infidelity in March 1542.

Catherine Parr became his wife in 1543, providing for the needs of both Henry and his children until his death in 1547.
.
Source: Britannia History

Composition

I. Introduction

The introduction is intended to draw the reader into the body of material to follow. It should begin with a general statement or question, sometimes called the "thesis statement" or "thesis question," followed by a quick narrowing down to the main theme to be developed in the body. Set the stage quickly, give appropriate background, then move right into a transition sentence that will set up the reader for the body.

II. Body (Argument)

The body of a written piece is where you elaborate, defend, and expand the thesis introduced in the introduction. The body should support your main contention with supporting evidence and possible objections. A good body presents both sides of a case, pro and con. As you make your case, save your best argument for last. When presenting contrary views, be sure to set forth the strongest arguments so you can avoid being charged with erecting a "straw man." The body includes three components:

Elaboration:

Spell out the details by defining, or by clarifying and adding relevant, pertinent information.


Illustration:

Paint a verbal picture that helps make or clarify your point(s). Well illustrated pieces are easier to read and follow than abstract ones.

Argumentation:

Give the reasons, justifications, and rationales for the position or view you have taken in the introduction. Draw inferences for the reader and explain the significance or assertions or claims being made.

When moving from one sub-point or argument to another, use connecting or transitional words and phrases that enable your reader to easily follow the flow of your thinking. The following is a partial list of logical connectors that you can use:


  • exceptions - but, alas, however, etc.

  • illustrations - for instance, for example, etc.

  • conclusions - thus, so, therefore, consequently, etc.

  • comparisons - similarly, by contrast, etc.

  • qualifications - yet, still, etc.

  • additions - moreover, furthermore, etc.
III. Conclusion

Make your final appeal to the reader, a finishing, all-encompassing statement that wraps up your presentation in a powerful or even dramatic fashion. Normally a single paragraph, brief and concise, will suffice. The purpose of the conclusion is to leave the reader with an idea or thought that captures the essence of the body while provoking further reflection and consideration.

Business Letter: Claim Adjustment Letters

The following letters adjust claims against unsatisfactory work.

Useful Key Phrases

  • I was very disappointed to read your letter of ... dealing with ...

  • As someone who values your business, I have already ...

  • Also, we will deduct another X percent of the bill for the misunderstanding.

  • Thank you for your patience.

Example Letter

Document Makers2398 Red StreetSalem, MA 34588

March 10, 2001

Thomas R. Smith
Drivers Co.3489
Greene Ave.Olympia, WA 98502

Dear Mr. Smith:

I was very disappointed to read your letter of August 17 dealing with the issue of incorrectly produced publicity leaflets. As someone who values your business, I have already begun to find a solution to resolve this problem.

My top photographer will call you to arrange an appointment at your earliest possible convience to re-take photos in full color. Also, we will deduct another 15 percent of the bill for the misunderstanding. Thank you for your patience.

Sincerely,

(signature here)

Richard BrownPresident

RB/sp

Adding Emphasis - Special Forms

There are a number of ways to add emphasis to your sentences in English. Use these forms to emphasize your statements when you are expressing your opinions, disagreeing, making strong suggestions, expressing annoyance, etc.

Use of the Passive

The passive voice is used when focusing on the person or thing affected by an action. Generally, more emphasis is given to the beginning of a sentence. By using a passive sentence, we emphasize by showing what happens to something rather than who or what does something.

Example:

Reports are expected by the end of the week.

In this example, attention is called to what is expected of students (reports).

Inversion

Invert the word order by placing a prepositional phrase or other expression (at no time, suddenly into, little, seldom, never, etc.) at the beginning of the sentence followed by inverted word order.

Examples:

At no time did I say you couldn't come. Hardly had I arrived when he started complaining.Little did I understand what was happening.Seldom have I felt so alone.

Note that the auxiliary verb is placed before the subject which is followed by the main verb.

Expressing Annoyance

Use the continuous form modified by 'always', 'forever', etc

Resume

Writing a Resume - curriculum vitae or CV - in English can be quite different than in your native tongue.

Here's how:
  1. First, take notes on your work experience - both paid and unpaid, full time and part time. Write down your responsibilities, job title and company information. Include everything!

  2. Take notes on your education. Include degree or certificates, major or course emphasis, school names and courses relevant to career objectives.

  3. Take notes on other accomplishments. Include membership in organizations, military service and any other special accomplishments.

  4. From the notes, choose which skills are transferable (skills that are similar) to the job you are applying for - these are the most important points for your resume.

  5. Begin resume by writing your full name, address, telephone number, fax and email at the top of the resume.

  6. Write an objective. The objective is a short sentence describing what type of work you hope to obtain.

  7. Begin work experience with your most recent job. Include the company specifics and your responsibilities - focus on the skills you have identified as transferable.

  8. Continue to list all of your work experience job by job progressing backwards in time. Remember to focus on skills that are transferable.

  9. Summarize your education, including important facts (degree type, specific courses studied) that are applicable to the job you are applying for.

  10. Include other relevant information such as languages spoken, computer programming knowledge etc. under the heading: Additional Skills

  11. Finish with the phrase: REFERENCES Available upon request.


Your entire resume should ideally not be any longer than one page. If you have had a number of years of experience specific to the job you are applying for, two pages are also acceptable.
Spacing: ADDRESS (center of page in bold) OBJECTIVE double space EXPERIENCE double space EDUCATION double space ADDITIONAL SKILLS double space REFERENCES. Left align everything except name/address.

Tips:

  • Use dynamic action verbs such as: accomplished, collaborated, encouraged, established, facilitated, founded, managed, etc.

  • Do NOT use the subject "I", use tenses in the past. Except for your present job. Example: Conducted routine inspections of on site equipment.

Essay

A simple essay follows the same basic structure for most essay writing.

Here's How:
  1. Select the topic of your essay.
  2. Choose the central idea, or thesis, of your essay. For example: Information technology has revolutionized the way we work.
  3. Outline your essay into introductory, body and summary paragraphs.
  4. The introductory paragraph begins with an interesting sentence. For example: Home workers have grown from 150,000 to over 12 million in the past 5 years thanks to the wonders of the computer.
  5. After this first sentence, add your thesis statement from above.
  6. Use one sentence to introduce every body paragraph to follow. For example: The Internet has made this possible by extending the office into the home.
  7. Finish the introductory paragraph with a short summary or goal statement. For example: Technological innovation has thus made the traditional workplace obsolete.
  8. In each of the body paragraphs (usually two or three) the ideas first presented in the introductory paragraph are developed.
  9. Develop your body paragraphs by giving detailed information and examples. For example: When the Internet was first introduced it was used primarily by scientists, now it is common in every classroom.
  10. Body paragraphs should develop the central idea and finish with a summary of that idea. There should be at least two examples or facts in each body paragraph to support the central idea.
  11. The summary paragraph summarizes your essay and is often a reverse of the introductory paragrah.
  12. Begin the summary paragrah by quickly restating the principal ideas of your body paragraphs. For example: The Internet in the home, benefits and ease of use of modern computer systems...
  13. The penultimate sentence should restate your basic thesis of the essay. For example: We have now passed from the industrial revolution to the information revolution.
  14. Your final statement can be a future prediction based on what you have shown in the essay. For example: The next step: The complete disappearance of the workplace.
Tips:

  • Use strong verbs and avoid modals to state your opinion. It is better to write: The workplace has evolved than THe workplace seems to have evolved.
  • Do not apologize for what you are saying. An essay is about your opinion.
  • Do not translate from your mother tongue, it will quickly get you into trouble!

South Padre Island

The sound of the waves crashing against the shore, the sight of the seagulls swooping overhead and the smell of sunscreen create an engaging place called South Padre Island. Located where one can relax and experience good times on the beach, South Padre Island offers an island-getaway adventure not soon to be forgotten. The sun, sand, and endless ocean make South Padre unlike any place I have ever been. When I am on the beach at South Padre Island, I know I am in paradise.

Perhaps the simplest delight of South Padre is the beach itself. This sparkling retreat embraces unbounded miles of sand. During the day the warmth of the sun beats down upon this sand, making beachgoers spring as their feet hit the blistering sand. However, closer to the Gulf of Mexico where the water moistens and cools the beach, children giggle as their sand castles are overtaken by a massive wave. Sun worshippers spend hours lying upon them in an attempt to soak up even more blistering rays. The sand provides a soft cover as a teenager dives after the ball in the annual summer volleyball tournament, and it cushions two old men who swap stories as they wait for the hungry game fish that swim the waters of Padre Island. Looking across the beach, I see a rainbow of umbrellas and seashells of exquisite design and enchanting colors: a vision of paradise.

Another attraction of South Padre is the Gulf. The rushing waves both calm and provide amusement for many tourists. I could never truly understand complete tranquility until I stood on the shoreline of Padre Island at night. The feel of the breeze, the smell of the salt water, and the sight of the boat lights in the distance soothed my senses in a way that nothing else could. During the hot days these waters are filled with busy tourists. They struggle to stay on top of each wave, some only to be swallowed in the swelling waters, rising with the taste of salt running down their throats. Still, they are mysteriously eager to try again.

Padre Island attracts all types of people searching for the delight that this island offers. During spring break a group of friends water-ski, making the water momentarily part as the skis rip through it like a razor through a sheet. A young couple in love sits by the shore watching as the sun sets, feeling that time has somehow stopped and the world is revolving around them for that moment. On the other side of the beach, a pair of adoring grandparents closely watch their loved grandchildren. These young ones, teased with the water’s mysteries, stare curiously at the waves hitting their feet and returning to the Gulf. While visiting South Padre, a watery paradise, guests create memories.

South Padre Island meets each of its visitors’ individual needs. Its main function is to provide satisfaction for its many guests. The feeling that overwhelms me when my bare feet hit the sand of the shore for the first time is one of delight. I feel totally free of all cares and burdens. Whether it is fun I am seeking or a place to rest and rejuvenate myself, Padre Island is the finest destination to accommodate my every wish—it’s.

Shanessa M



INTRODUCTION
Attentiongrabber Subject
Controlling impression
BODY
Sensory details
Factual details
Sensory details
Figurative details
Thoughts and feelings
Sensory details
Figurative details
Thoughts and feelings
Factual details
CONCLUSION
Summary
Restatement of controlling impression

Witches

Witchcraft was not made a capital offence in Britain until 1563 although it was deemed heresy and was denounced as such by Pope Innocent III in 1484. from 1484 until around 1750 some 200,000 witches were tortured, burnt or hanged in Western Europe.

Most supposed witches were usually old women, and invariably poor. Any who were unfortunate enough to be 'crone-like', snaggle-toothed, sunken cheeked and having a hairy lip were assumed to possess the 'Evil Eye' ! If they also had a cat this was taken a proof, as witches always had a 'familiar', the cat being the most common.

Many unfortunate women were condemned on this sort of evidence and hanged after undergoing appalling torture. The 'pilnie-winks' (thumb screws) and iron 'caspie-claws' (a form of leg irons heated over a brazier) usually got a confession from the supposed witch.

Witch fever gripped East Anglia for 14 terrible months between 1645 - 1646. The people of these eastern counties were solidly Puritan and rabid anti-Catholics and easily swayed by bigoted preachers whose mission was to seek out the slightest whiff of heresy. A man called Matthew Hopkins, an unsuccessful lawyer, came to help (!) He became known as the 'Witchfinder General' . He had 68 people put to death in Bury St. Edmunds alone, and 19 hanged at Chelmsford in a single day. After Chelmsford he set off for Norfolk and Suffolk. Aldeburgh paid him £6 for clearing the town of witches, Kings Lynn £15 and a grateful Stowmarket £23. This was at a time when the daily wage was 2.5p.

A heart carved on a wall in the market place at Kings Lynn is supposed to mark the spot where the heart of Margaret Read, a condemned witch who was being burnt at the stake, leapt from the flames and struck the wall.

Much of Matthew Hopkins theories of deduction were based on Devils Marks. A wart or mole or even a flea-bite he took to be a Devils Mark and he used his 'jabbing needle' to see if these marks were insensitive to pain. His 'needle' was a 3 inch long spike which retracted into the spring-loaded handle so the unfortunate woman never felt any pain.

There were other tests for witches. Mary Sutton of Bedford was put to the swimming test. With her thumbs tied to opposite big toes she was flung into the river. If she floated she was guilty, if she sank, innocent. Poor Mary floated!

A last reminder of Hopkins' reign of terror was discovered in St. Osyth in 1921. Two female skeletons were found in a garden, pinned into unmarked graves and with iron rivets driven through their joints. This was to make sure a witch could not return from the grave. Hopkins was responsible for over 300 executions.

Mother Shipton is remembered still in Knaresborough, Yorkshire. Although called a witch, she is more famous for her predictions about the future. She apparently foresaw cars, trains, planes and the telegraph. Her cave and the Dripping Well , where objects hung under the dripping water become like stone, are a popular site to visit today in Knaresborough.

In August 1612, the Pendle Witches, three generations of one family, were marched through the crowded streets of Lancaster and hanged.

Though many of the Acts against witchcraft were repealed in 1736, witch hunting still went on.

In 1863, an alleged male witch was drowned in a pond in Headingham, Essex and in 1945 the body of an elderly farm labourer was found near the village of Meon Hill in Warwickshire. His throat had been cut and his corpse was pinned to the earth with a pitchfork. The murder remains unsolved, however the man was reputed, locally, to be a wizard.

It seems that belief in witchcraft has not entirely died out.

Wednesday

Christmas

It was Christmas 2002, and I was appearing in an opera in London. My career as a singer has always been at the centre of my life, but because my mother had just died, I decided to do what she had asked: I took a year’s sabbatical. I also made another decision. I’d fly to Peru to meet a young man called Nick López.

Ten years earlier, a friend had told me about a charity organization called EveryChild. By giving $20 a month, you could help a young person in a developing country. Nick was five years old, living with his parents and two brothers in a shanty town above Lima. We exchanged letters. I enjoyed reading about his life, although it became clear that his family had to struggle to get by. When he was eight he sent me my favourite photograph, which I still keep in my office. Nick was growing up fast.

So here I was on my way to Lima at last to meet him in person. It was an experience that I’ll never forget. The poverty shocked me. Nick and his family live in a two-roomed house, but Nick was a sweet, shy 15-year-old boy with beautiful manners and real dignity, who kept chickens and sold them to help his family. I had been told that giving him too many presents would single him out from the rest of his community, so I brought T-shirts for him and his brothers, and books about caring for chickens. Meeting Nick has given my life a new perspective.

Anti-smoke campaign

What seems to have surprised the health authorities most about the current anti-smoking campaign is the fact that it appears to be having very little effect on the younger sectors of society. However, this is hardly surprising. You can certainly frighten older people with cancer, imminent slow death and other such dangers, but most under twenty-year-olds can’t even conceive what this means. They can’t see far enough ahead to fear death: if they imagine their own funeral, it is a self-indulgent vision, with all their favourite friends sobbing and saying how unfortunate and gorgeous they were. Young people live in the right now, and what they are really afraid of, right now, is smelling bad and looking ugly. You can frighten 16-year-olds with an exaggerated threat of smoker’s halitosis, that sickly smell that no amount of chewing gum can get rid of. You know – the smell that other people detect even when you can’t; the kind that makes members of the opposite sex turn away when you try to kiss them for the first time.

In the 1980s, public health advertisements in Britain tried to extract the attraction from heroin with the slogan "Heroin screws you up" and a picture of a teenager with a really dreadful skin.

The slogan may not have been very effective, but the acne worked well. I suggest that different anti-smoking campaigns should be designed for different age-groups, and that those for young people should show what it does to the living, and forget about threats of death.

The safety of handsets

Experts say there are still large gaps in scientific knowledge about what radiation is doing to users’ bodies and brains. The results of a three-year study highlighted continuing uncertainty over the safety of handsets. Parents were urged to limit mobile phone use by children because of the potential damage. Campaigners have long feared that users of Britain’s 50 million phones are risking cancer, brain damage, Alzheimer’s disease, sleeping disorders and memory loss because of radiation emitted by handsets directly into the head. Now the report says there may be other hidden problems because mobiles have been in widespread use among British people for only a few years.

Professor Anthony Simons, who led the study, said: ‘We cannot be sure what will be found and the possibility of an effect still remains’. ‘It’s still early days, particularly on the use of handsets,’ he added. ‘There could still be effects we don’t know about. We can’t predict what we are going to learn tomorrow. In the meantime, excessive use of mobile phones by young children should be discouraged. While children are growing and developing, they are more susceptible to all sorts of things. About a quarter of mobile phone users are under 18, with many having been given them by their parents so they can easily stay in touch. Those under ten are thought to be particularly vulnerable because their skulls are thinner and may allow radiation to penetrate deeper into the brain. Also their nervous systems are still developing’.

Job interviews

Some employers recruit graduates after a half hour personal interview. This is done in a formal setting, between two people, one of whom controls the conversation. There are always parts of interviews which are different from what is expected. The interviewer may not start at the beginning, and this can be difficult. You will have to order and clarify your thoughts quickly as the interviewer jumps from one point to the other. "Situational questions" are where the interviewer describes a work situation and asks for your solution. Generally you are recommended to think aloud - identify the key points and clarify the information, adding a dash of common sense.

In some cases, you will encounter panel interviews, where you will meet two, three or more interviewers at the same time. It is usual in such cases for the question topics to be split up between the interviewers, so that for example one will cover your academic record, the second concentrating on your reasons for wanting the job, and so on. You will have to build up rapport with each interviewer, adapt to his/her style, and concentrate on the abrupt change of topic. You should try and remember who is who - not their names, but their job or position, so that your answers are given at an appropriate level.

Remember that an interview is a two way process, and you should use the opportunity to ask questions. At the end of the interview you should have enough information to make a decision, if the job is offered to you.

Dust in the wind, Kansas

I close my eyes, only for a moment,

and the moment's gone

All my dreams, pass before my eyes, a curiosity

Dust in the wind, all they are is dust in the wind.

Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea

All we do, crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see

Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind

[Now] Don't hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky

It slips away, and all your money won't another minute buy.

Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind

Dust in the wind, everything is dust in the wind.

Turism

Some tourists prefer to travel in groups, with their holiday planned in advance for them, on what are known as .package tours.. However, the advantages of planning your holiday yourself are considerable. You are free to choose exactly where and when you want to go, how you want to travel, and how long you want to stay. You can avoid the large resorts, whereas holidaymakers on package tours are often trapped among crowds of other tourists. You can eat the food of the region at reasonable prices in local restaurants, while they are served with "international" dishes and chips with everything.

Moreover, although most people return from package holidays reasonably satisfied, this is not always the case. Take the nightmare experience of a Frenchman who went on a package to the Caribbean. The hotel in the small port was overbooked and he had to wander round the streets looking for a bed and breakfast place. While doing this he was arrested by the police for vagrancy. He was taken to court, where he told the magistrate it was the hotel.s fault, but the magistrate was the hotel manager.s brother and he charged the tourist with making false accusations.

He was sent to prison for eight days, by which time his return flight had left. He did not have enough money left for a return ticket so he went to a post office to send a telegram to his family in France asking for money. He was arrested even before he could send it and charged with illegal immigration, as he could now no longer be considered a tourist, having missed his flight. He now needed a work permit in order to stay, which he of course did not have. He was fined 500 dollars for this offence, and another 500 dollars when he again blamed the hotel. All things considered, a package holidays is no guarantee of satisfaction. I think I'd rather plan my holiday independently, or stay at home.

Text Comprehension and Memory Research

When a reader reads a text, an "understanding" of the text is created in the reader's mind. It is convenient to introduce the technical term "situation model" in order to refer to this understanding of a text which is created in the mind of a reader. The process of constructing a situation model is called the "comprehension process", while operations such as "text recall", "text summarization", and "text question-answering" generate scientifically observable events as a by-product of the interactions of the situation model and other knowledge structures in the reader's mind.

Television

I don’t think that television has contributed much to our lives; in fact it gives us by its own nature a wrong slant. Perhaps the cardinal weakness in its development arose from its concern with entertainment rather than with information. Pictures on the screen have been used more to affect than to instruct. Even the news programmes set out to encourage more reaction and less reflection. Pictures shown briefly do not make you think, they merely invite you to look for the sequel, the next picture. The more you see the less you remember; you see too much to remember anything specific. The process of viewing is passive and the result of viewing is passive, too. One of the most effective documentaries shown on TV was a programme
about the plight of a homeless family. The papers and radio programmes were full of it but it didn’t change anything. Today the problem of homelessness is worse; things have not got better. TV transmits vicarious feelings. I mean, you are persuaded to react to experiences which are unfamiliar to you in your everyday life. And persuasion is an important word here because you are persuaded also to react in certain ways and to a degree that will not disturb you or your expectations too much. Words are also used for their affective rather than informative properties, witness terms like chaos, confusion, fundamental, this moment in time, profile. However, words have more chance of forcing thought upon us than pictures have, and
more so if they are not illustrated by pictures.

Knockin' On Heaven's Door, Bob Dylan

Mama, take this badge off of me

I can't use it anymore.

It's gettin' dark, too dark for me to see

I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door.

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Mama, put my guns in the ground

I can't shoot them anymore.

That long black cloud is comin' down

I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door.

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

What should you eat?

Eating the right foods in the right amounts is called having a balanced diet. This is very important because your body needs daily amounts of different things and no one food has all the things that your body needs to stay healthy and work properly. Most people know that eating the right food is important for physical health. But what a lot of people don´t realise is that food can affect your mental health too.

The things obtained from the food you eat can be grouped according to what they do. Body-building foods are called proteins and provide the substances which make us grow. They help repair parts of the body such as the skin and the tissues inside the body when they are worn out*. Energy foods, fats and carbohydrates, give you energy. They are the fuel your body needs. Too much and they will be stored as fat in the body and you´ll become overweight.

In the past, people sometimes got sick even though they ate a lot of body-building and energy foods. Scientists then discovered that the body needs other substances to protect it against disease. These are protective foods: vitamins and mineral salts. Vitamins and mineral salts also help our bodies to make the best use of the food we eat.

(From: Starting Out-A Life Skills Record Book, Collins:1994)

*Worn out: old, damaged.


Music TeleVision

Just after midnight on August 1st, 1987, a new television channel was born. This channel has turned out to be one of the most significant influences on international youth culture in the last 20 years. MTV was broadcast for the first time from the Roxy Club in Amsterdam to 1\'6 million households. Today, MTV reaches over 250 million homes across five continents. MTV is a youth entertainment channel on cable networks operating 24 hours a day. It offers young people music, videos and a wide variety of programmes. This channel also has the latest graphics and it mirrors the varied lifestyles of the world´s youth. MTV is not only the largest TV channel in Europe, but is actually the biggest in the world.

MTV´s influence has also spread into the social and political arena. Surprising the public with the slogan \"Rock the Vote\", it is said that MTV brought an estimated two million young people to the polls in the 1992 American elections. Most of them voted for Clinton. MTV aims at 16-to 25-years-old people across the world and has tackled social issues like AIDS, drug abuse, drunken driving and the environment. The purpose of their campaign is to raise awareness, not to preach sermons to young people.

MTV is not without its critics, however. In the UK, for example, where people are proud of the quality of British television, MTV has been accused of being shallow with hardly and investigative reporting -a light weight channel exporting American culture. Such criticism had been vigorously rejected by representatives of MTV, who argue that the programmes reflect the tastes and culture of local audiences across the world and bring less well-known performers and music onto a global stage.

Whatever your opinion is, one thing is certain: youngsters today are making their own choices. Judging by the viewing ratings, MTV is their choice.

Glossary:

has turned to be: has become
households: homes
has tackled: has spoken about
shallow: superficial
awareness: knowledge

A FAMILY AFFAIR-BENETTON.



In the mid-1950s, Guliana Benetton made her elder boy Luciano a multi-coloured pullover. “It was the pullover which started the whole thing”, Luciano tells me as we sit in his villa near Treviso in north-eastern Italy, where he was born. “The colours were more exciting than the ones normally used in the men´s sweaters at that time: I saw that my friends liked it and I thought that it had marked potential”. And so Benetton was born. The bright, vibrant colours in wich the original sweater was knitted became its trade mark. Today the gigantic multinational clothing empire is one of the world´s biggest suppliers of casual clothes.

In the 1960’s the two younger brothers, Carlo and Gilberto, joined Giuliana and Luciano to build what is probably the most remarkable family venture of the late 20th century, a corporation which has now diversified into banking, supermarkets, sporting equipment, restaurants and Formula One racing cars. Of the four founders, Carlo, the youngest, is the production director of Benetton Group worldwide. He also supervises the sheep ranches in Patagonia where ten per cent of Benetton wool is produced. Gilberto, vicepresident, is the financial expert. Giuliana is the design director, the creative genius behind Benetton clothes. The eldest, Luciano, is the president of Benetton Group and responsible for the company´s long-term and global strategies. .
.
The firm´s success depends on a family structure which is now rare in Italy and rest of Europe. Luciano is convinced that Benetton could never have taken off without the family partnership. “The crucial pillars of the operation were my sister and two brothers” he says. “Undoubtedly, the success of this relationship depended on a division of work and on our total trust in what each of us is doing”.

Evolution

In the classification of animals there is an order called Primates. In their appearence the primates resemble the human being more than any other animals do. It is natural to deduce that they are more closely related to human beings than any other animals are. In fact, the human being must be included as a primate, if any sense at all is to be made of animal classification.

Once evolution is accepted, one must come to the inevitable conclusion that the various primates, including the human being, have developed from some single ancestral stem and that all are to varying degrees cousins, so to speak.

The resemblance of other primates to human beings is both endearing and repulsive. The monkey house is always the most popular exhibit in a zoo, and people will watch anthropoid apes with fascination. Congreve wrote in 1695, however, “I could never look upon a monkey, without very mortifying reflections”. It is not hard to guess that those “mortifying reflections” must have been to the effect that human beings might be described as large and somewhat more intelligent monkeys.

Cigarettes have 600 additives

Tobacco firms have admitted putting 600 secret ingredients and additives in cigarettes, the Healt Secretary disclosed yesterday. Alan Milburn promised that the list would be published in full within weeks so that consumers, for the first time, would “know that they are smoking”.

His comments at a meeting of the Commons Health Comittee came ahead of a European directive on tobacco, that will put new ceilings on nicotine and carbon monoxide levels, increase the size of warnings and restrict the use of “mild” or “low tar” to describe cigarettes brands. Although tobacco companies had promised the previous Government that they would provide the Department of Health with a full list of additives, Mr. Milburn said that he had only just received the dossier.

The ingredients include sucrose, cocoa, citric acid and ammonium which speeds up the nicotine “hit”. Mr. Milburn said that “until very recently nobody knew about any of these ingredients”, adding that he was demanding further information from the tobacco companies so that they could show which brands contained the additives. “It is our intention to put that information on the Health Department´s website before too long”, he said.

Glossary:

tar = alquitrán
sucrose = sacarosa

Tuesday

300 women who changed the world

Only in the past century have concerted efforts been made to represent women's contributions more fully in history books. Consequently, changes in status for many women in modern times—the right to own property, to vote, and to choose their own careers—may have obscured the accomplishments made by women of earlier eras...

Monday

A_ False friends

absolutely not en absoluto
abstract resumen
(to) access acceder
(to) acknowledge asentir, confirmar, acusar recibo
acknowledgement asentimiento, confirmación, acuse de recibo
actual real, efectivo (actual es "present" o "current")
addition ampliación, suma, adición
adecúa adecua (acento en la e, no en la u; adecuar se conjuga como averiguar)
advice consejos (aviso es "warning", "notice")