APRIL SHOWERS BRING MAY FLOWERS

APRIL SHOWERS BRING MAY FLOWERS

ADJETIVOS TERMINADOS EN "ING" O "ED"

ADJETIVOS TERMINADOS EN "ING" O "ED"

¿Sabes la diferencia entre los adjetivos terminados en ED o en ING.

Se utilizan para expresar sentimientos.

Hay adjetivos que tienen las dos terminaciones, -ed y -ing, por ejemplo bored y boring, que tienen significados diferentes y que por tanto, conviene conocer su diferencia:

– I am bored

Cuando digo “bored”, acabado en -ed, es la persona que está aburrida.

– The film was boring

Aquí, sin embargo, boring, con -ing, se refiere a “the film”, que no es una persona, sino una cosa.

Por tanto, podemos afirmar que -ed para personas y -ing para cosas o situaciones. Es cierto que a veces también utilizamos -ing para personas.

Debes tener en cuenta que la terminación -ing indica una cualidad permanente, mientras que -ed es temporal. Si yo digo: I’m a boring person significa que soy una persona aburrida, lo soy siempre, es permanente, por eso, ing. Pero si digo I’m bored indica que estoy aburrido, es temporal, es sólo ahora.

Un truco, para que os resulte más fácil, si lo traducimos por “estar”, necesitamos -ed, y si lo traducimos por “ser”, entonces -ing. Hagamos la prueba:

– I am bored

Yo estoy aburrido

– The film was boring

La película fue aburrida

Otro ejemplo:

– My friend is bored

Mi amigo/a está aburrido/a.

– My friend is boring

Mi amigo/a es aburrido/a.

OBESITY IN THE USA

OBESITY IN THE USA

Adapted from www.nytimes.com

Last Tuesday federal health authorities reported a 43 percent drop in the obesity rate among 2- to 5-year-old children over the past decade. The drop emerged from a major federal health survey that experts say is the gold standard for evidence on what Americans weigh. The trend came as a welcome surprise to researchers. New evidence has shown that obesity takes hold young: children who are overweight or obese at 3 to 5 years old are five times as likely to be overweight or obese as adults. This is the first broad decline in an epidemic that often leads to lifelong struggles with weight and higher risks for cancer, heart disease and stroke. A smattering of states have reported modest progress in reducing childhood obesity in recent years, and last year the federal authorities noted a slight decline in the obesity rate among lowincome children. But the figures on Tuesday showed a sharp fall in obesity rates among all 2- to 5- year-olds, offering the first clear evidence that America’s youngest children have turned a corner in the obesity epidemic. There was little consensus on why the decline might be happening, but many theories. Children now consume fewer calories from sugary beverages than they did in 1999. More women are breast-feeding, which can lead to a healthier range of weight gain for young children. Federal researchers have also chronicled a drop in overall calories for children in the past decade, down by 7 percent for boys and 4 percent for girls, but health experts said those declines were too small to make much difference. Barry M. Popkin, a researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who has tracked American food purchases in a large data project, said families with children had been buying lowercalorie foods over the past decade, a pattern he said was unrelated to the economic downturn. He credited those habits, and changes in the federally funded Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, for the decline in obesity among young children. The program, which subsidizes food for low-income women, reduced funding for fruit juices, cheese and eggs and increased it for whole fruits and vegetables. Another possible explanation is that some combination of state, local and federal policies aimed at reducing obesity is starting to make a difference. Michelle Obama, the first lady, has led a push to change young children’s eating and exercise habits and 10,000 child care centers across the country have signed on. The news announcement from the C.D.C. included a remark from Mrs. Obama: “I am thrilled at the progress we’ve made over the last few years in obesity rates among our youngest Americans.

PRACTISE CONVERSATION

PRACTISE CONVERSATION

HOLY SATURDAY

HOLY SATURDAY

What is Holy Saturday?

Holy Saturday or the Black Saturday, is the final day of the Holy Week just before Easter.

It takes place right after Good Friday and marks the day Jesus’ body was placed into his tomb after dying on the cross.

It is also the third day of the Easter Triduum which begins with the Lord’s Supper on Maundy 

Holy Saturday is also the day of the Easter Vigil, when Christians all across the world will wait in the late evening hours for the resurrection of Christ.

Liturgically Holy Saturday only lasts till 6pm or dusk, after which the Easter Vigil takes over and the Easter season starts.

EASTER VOCABULARY

EASTER VOCABULARY

ASH WEDNESDAY                                    MIÉRCOLES DE CENIZA

LENT                                                           CUARESMA

LENTEN SEASON                                     CUARESMA

EASTER                                                      PASCUA

EASTER BREAK                                        VACACIONES DE SEMANA SANTA

HAPPY EASTER                                         FELIZ SEMANA SANTA

HOLY WEEK                                               SEMANA SANTA

PALM SUNDAY                                          DOMINGO DE RAMOS

MAUNDY THURSDAY                              JUEVES SANTO

HOLY THURSDAY                                     JUEVES SANTO

GOOD FRIDAY                                           VIERNES SANTO

HOLY SATURDAY                                     SÁBADO SANTO O SÁBADO DE GLORIA

EASTER SUNDAY                                     DOMINGO DE PASCUA

EASTER MASS                                          MISA DE PASCUA

PALM                                                          PALMA

EASTER BUNNY                                       CONEJITO DE PASCUA

GOD FATHER                                            PADRINO

GOD MOTHER                                          MADRINA

GODSON                                                    AHIJADO

GODDAUGTHER                                      AHIJADA

BUN                                                            BOLLO

ROLL                                                          ROSCA DE PASCUA

GOOD FRIDAY

GOOD FRIDAY

Good Friday is a Christian tradition to mark the day when Jesus Christ, the son of God, was nailed to the cross. This is often known as crucification of Lord Jesus.
If this is the day Jesus died, why is it called Good Friday?

Some believe that Good Friday evolved from God Friday, which is what the day was called initially. Some believe that  the good about Good Friday is that Jesus gave up his life for his people and then came back on Easter, proving that he indeed was son of God.

Did you know?

It is a tradition to eat hot cross buns with cross icing this day.

Some people believe that bread baked on Good Friday will never rot.

There are some that say, eggs laid on Good Friday will never go bad.

PALM SUNDAY

PALM SUNDAY

Palm Sunday begins today, marking the first day of Holy Week in the Christian calendar. Millions of Christians around the world will take part in church services today, as well as completing activities and singing songs to observe the day and pay their respects to Jesus. What is Palm Sunday?

Read more: http://metro.co.uk/2016/03/20/palm-sunday-2016-what-is-it-facts-songs-and-activities-for-kids-5762096/?ito=cbshare

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MetroUK | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MetroUK/

Palm Sunday marks the day Jesus arrived in Jerusalem on a donkey, just a few days before he was betrayed by his friend Judas Iscariot, one of the 12 apostles, put on trial and sentenced to death by crucifixion. The day is called ‘Palm Sunday’ because the people of Jerusalem threw palm leaves to the floor as a greeting when he arrived. Nowadays Palm Sunday is commemorated by a ritual procession of people carrying palm branches, or if these are not available, branches from yew, willow and olive trees into church. For this reason Palm Sunday is sometimes called Branch Sunday. These palms are then blessed, and sometimes fashioned into crosses. Palm Sunday is always the Sunday before Easter and is also the final day of lent.

THE MOTTO OF EUROPEAN UNION

The motto of the European Union is, "united in diversity."

The motto of the Union is ‘united in diversity’. Like the other symbols, the motto clearly highlights the sense of European identity that is the birthright of every citizen of the Union, over and above the actual European Union. The preamble to the Treaty, in which the term ‘united in diversity’ is used in the fifth recital, goes some way towards interpreting the meaning of the motto set out in Article I-8 of the Constitutional Treaty. Let us consider the two words used in the European Union motto: ‘united’ and ‘diversity’.

The term 'united in diversity' refers to Europe, its values and its cultural, religious and humanist heritage. These are values that place two protagonists at the centre of social life: on the one hand, man and his rights and, on the other, the respect for law. For the purposes of interpreting the motto, the most illuminating passage of the preamble is to be found in the fourth recital, which states that the peoples of Europe, while remaining proud of their own national identities and history, are determined to transcend their former divisions and, united ever more closely, to forge a common destiny.

This phrase clearly explains both the notion of unity and the notion of diversity. The concepts expressing unity are not new. They recall, and appropriately take up, the formula of ‘ever closer union’ included in the preamble to the Treaty on European Union. The path towards ever closer ties is gradual and proceeds — as heralded right from the Schuman Declaration of 9 May 1950 — from concrete achievements that create actual solidarity. However, ‘unity’ is not an end in itself but has a specific goal: forging a ‘common destiny’. The notion of ‘diversity’ is nevertheless also explained. It lies in the strong call for peoples to be proud of their national identities and history and for the respect of everyone’s rights.

SAINT PATRICK

SAINT PATRICK

 

Lego Professor of Play hired by Cambridge University.

One of the world's best universities is planning to hire a professor - of Lego.

The lucky candidate will be the head of their own research department at prestigious University of Cambridge.

Officials say the role is expected to be created within the Faculty of Education after the university received £4 million of donations from the Lego Foundation.

Cambridge's general board has recommended for the Lego professorship "of play in education, development and learning"

The professor will be director of the Research Centre on Play in Education, Development and Learning.

A board of electors will be selected to chose from the candidates for the post whose work must fall "within the general field of the title of the office." 

MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE

MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE

A family found on a beach in Australia a bottle with a message inside that a ship threw overboard in 1886. It is the oldest find of this type that is known so far.
They noticed that there was something written in the note with a date of June 12, 1886 and the name of the ship, Paula.

Dr. Ross Anderson, assistant curator of Maritime Archeology at the Perth Museum, confirmed that the finding was genuine after consulting colleagues in Germany and the Netherlands.

Incredibly, a search of archives in Germany found the original meteorological diary of the ship Paula and there was a note for June 12, 1886 made by the captain, registering a bottle with a message inside thrown overboard. "

¿GORDITO?

¿GORDITO?

En inglés hay muchas formas de decir que alguien es o está gordo. Todo tiene que ver con la confianza que se tenga con la persona con la que se está hablando. Hay algunas formas que son ofensivas. Aquí pongo algunas y como siempre espero comentarios y alguna palabra que se puede agregar

lump /plʌmp/ regordete

Round /raʊnd/ rellenito

Embonpoint /ɑ̃bɔ̃pwɛ̃/ rollizo

Roly Poly entrado en carnes

Well fed bien alimentado (irónico)

Chubby /ˈtʃʌbɪ/ regordete

Fatty /ˈfætɪ/ gordito , pero es peyorativo

Fatso /ˈfætsəʊ/ gordo, ofensivo

Podge /pɒdʒ/ gordito y bajito (UK)

Pudge /ˈpʌdʒɪ/ gordito y bajito (US)

Buxom /ˈbʌksəm/ regorta, sólo para mujeres y con pechos grandes. Se suele decir jamona (ofensivo)

Tubby /ˈtʌbɪ/ regordete pero especialmente barriga grande. Barrigón.

Potbelly /ˈpɒtˌbɛlɪ/ barrigón

Retund  /rəʊˈtʌnd/ rechoncho

Overweight /ˌəʊvəˈweɪt/ con sobrepeso

BIG BANG THEORY LISTENING

LISTENING

MUST / HAVE TO

MUST / HAVE TO

"Must" y "Have to" expresan una obligación. A veces se pueden utilizar indistintamente (especialmente con la primera persona donde prácticamente tienen el mismo sentido), no obstante existen ciertas diferencias.

"Must" se utiliza con el tiempo presente y futuro.

"Have to" con pasado, presente y futuro.

	Autoridad externa	Autoridad del emisor
Pasado	Had to	Had to
Presente	Have to	Must
Futuro	Will have to	Must

"Must": el emisor impone una obligación.

"Have to": el emisor no impone ninguna obligación, se limita a comunicar una obligación que existe.

• (Teacher) You must do your homework (El profesor impone el deber de hacer los deberes)
• (Student) I have to do my homework (El estudiante se limita a comunicar una obligación que le ha sido impuesta)

Forma Negativa

Cuando la oración es negativa el significado de estos dos verbos es diferente:

"Mustn't": no se debe hacer algo, está prohibido.

“Don't have to”: no es necesario hacer algo

WOULD RATHER

Cómo se dice en inglés "yo prefiero"? El verbo preferir en inglés (prefer) suele causar bastante confusión ya que existen diversas formas para expresar la preferencia en este idioma. A continuación os explicamos qué estructuras se han de utilizar.

1) PREFER.

Para hablar de preferencias en general, usamos el verbo prefer seguido de verbo con -ing o de infinitivo con to sin que cambie el significado.

I prefer buying online = I prefer to buy online (prefiero comprar por internet)

- También podemos indicar que preferimos una cosa a otra con la siguiente estructura:

Sujeto+ prefer+ sustantivo+ to + sustantivo

I prefertea to coffe (prefiero el té al café)

- Para decir que preferimos hacer una cosa a hacer otra podemos usar las siguientes estructuras:
Sujeto + prefer + verbo con -ing + TO + verbo con -ing
I prefer going to the cinema to staying at home. (prefiero ir al cine a quedarme en casa)

Sujeto + prefer+ infinitivo con to + RATHER THAN + infinitivo sin to

I prefer to read rather than watch TV (prefiero leer a ver la televisión)

2) WOULD RATHER.

Significa prefiero o preferiría y va seguido de infinitivo sin to(bare infinitive).

Shall we go shopping? I would rather go to the cinema. (¿Vamos de compras? Prefiero / preferiría ir al cine)

Forma abreviada: I'd rather go out (prefiero / preferiría salir)

Para decir que preferimos hacer una cosa a hacer otra usamos la siguiente estructura:

Sujeto + would rather + infinitivo sin to + THAN+ infinitivo sin to

She would rather go out than stay at home. (ella prefiere/ preferiría salir a quedarse en casa)

3) WOULD PREFER.

También significa prefiero o preferiría y va seguido de infinitivo con to. Es más formal que would rather.

Shall we go shopping? I would prefer to go to the cinema. (¿Vamos de compras? Prefiero / preferiría ir al cine)

Forma abreviada: I'd prefer to go out (prefiero / preferiría salir)

Para decir que preferimos hacer una cosa a hacer otra usamos la siguiente estructura:

Sujeto + would prefer + infinitivo con to + RATHER THAN + infinitivo sin to

They would prefer to travel to London rather than go skiing. (ellos prefieren / preferirían viajar a Londres que ir a esquiar)

¡Cuidado!

- Después de than o rather than siempre va un infinitivo sin to (bare infinitive)

(Prefiero viajar en tren a conducir)
I prefer to travel by train rather than drive.
I would rather travel by train than drive.
I would prefer to travel by train rather than drive.

-Prefer en pasado dobla la r.
When he was a child, he preferred chocolate to crisps (de niño prefería el chocolate a las patatas fritas)

RESUMEN

1) PREFER se usa en correlación con TO (si usamos gerundio) o con RATHER THAN (si usamos infinitivo con to)

I prefer swimming to running (prefiero nadar a correr)

I prefer to swim rather than run (prefiero nadar a correr)

2) WOULD RATHER se usa en correlación con THAN.

I would rather swim than run (prefiero nadar a correr)

3) WOULD PREFER se usa en correlación con RATHER THAN

I would prefer to swim rather than run (prefiero nadar a correr)

"I PUT A SPELL ON YOU"

I PUT A SPELL ON YOU

Esta expresión se puede traducir como "te he hechizado"

Hay una canción de Nina Simone que se titula así.

Aquí dejo la canción con la letra para practicar.

SUSTANTIVOS EN INGLÉS

SUSTANTIVOS O NOMBRES EN INGLÉS

En inglés los sustantivos se dividen en sustantivos contables y sustantivos incontables.

Una forma sencilla de saber si un sustantivo es contable, es contarlo mentalmente. Si  es posible se trata de un sustantivo contable; si no lo es, se trata de un sustantivo incontable.

Ejemplo:

Una camisa           A shirt
Dos camisas         Two shirts
Tres camisas         Three shirts

Queda claro que el sustantivo "camisa" es contable.

Pero, si intento contar el sustantivo "agua" me doy cuenta que no se puede contar.

Un agua  (es incorrecto)          A water (es incorrecto)

Lo correcto es:

Agua                                        Water

Entonces el sustantivo "agua" es incontable.

Los sustantivos contables pueden tener singular y plural.

They have got a red umbrella.
They have got two red umbrellas

Los sustantivos incontables no tienen plural

El agua está fría
Water is cold

AUTUMN IS HERE

HARVEST FESTIVAL

HARVEST FESTIVAL

Every year in UK it is celebrated a Harvest Festival in schools and churches. Do you know why?

Harvest Festival is a celebration of the food grown on the land. 

Thanksgiving ceremonies and celebrations for a successful harvest are both worldwide and very ancient. In Britain, people have given thanks for successful harvests since pagan times. They celebrate this day by singing, praying and decorating churches with baskets of fruit and food in a festival known as 'Harvest Festival', usually during the month of September.

Harvest festivals are traditionally held on or near the Sunday of the Harvest Moon. This is the full Moon that occurs closest to the autumn equinox (about September 23). In two years