English is all around

The Scarlet Stockings Spy... on 4th July

2009-07-04T00:01:00.004+02:00

Philadelphia 1777 is no place for the faint of heart. The rumble of war with the British grows louder each day, and spies for and against the Patriots are everywhere. No one is above suspicion. Still, everyday life must go on and young Maddy Rose must help her mother, especially since her father’s death at the battle of Princeton and now with her beloved brother Jonathan off with Washington’s army. But when childhood games become life-and-death actions, Maddy Rose is drawn ever deeper into events that will explode beyond her imaginings. As young America stands on the very brink of its fight for freedom, it becomes clear that even the smallest of citizens can play the largest of parts, and that the role of patriot has nothing to do with age and everything to do with heart.
Teacher's guide

I had the Lookybook version embeded but there is a problem with this page. Sorry!
But you can try this quiz to check your knowledge how much you know about this story.

Enjoy Summer Time!

2009-07-01T00:44:00.001+02:00

The Tower of Hercules has been added to UNESCO’s World Heritage

2009-06-29T10:00:00.000+02:00

The Tower of Hercules has served as a lighthouse and landmark at the entrance of La Coruña harbour in north-western Spain since the late 1st century A.D. when the Romans built the Farum Brigantium. The Tower, built on a 57-metre-high rock, rises a further 55 meters. It is divided into three progressively smaller levels, the first of which corresponds to the Roman structure of the lighthouse. Immediately adjacent to the base of the Tower, is a small rectangular Roman building. The site also features a sculpture park, the Monte dos Bicos rock carvings from the Iron Age and a Muslim cemetery. The Roman foundations of the building were revealed in excavations conducted in the 1990s. Many legends from the Middle Ages to the 19th century surround the Tower of Hercules which is unique as it is the only lighthouse of Greco-Roman antiquity to have retained a measure of structural integrity and functional continuity.

Its inscription on the World Heritage List brings an increase in public awareness of the tower and of its outstanding values, thus also increasing the tourist activities at the area.
Thanks to UNESCO.

Michael Jackson: Goodbye!

2009-06-26T01:17:00.003+02:00

What happened with Michael Jackson's heart? Lastest information in CBS

New English Classes on Video

2009-06-25T21:43:00.003+02:00

Some of our students have travelled with EF to learn English at the same time they have fun in an English-speaking country, and now you can learn thanks to their 5-minute videos. You can subscribe to get them all.

And if you want to read the tapescript at the same time you listen:

ANNA: Excuse me, I have to leave early.
COLIN: OK. How come?
ANNA: It's my niece. She's at the airport. She's on her way to Japan. She said the travel agent gave her the wrong itinerary. She said she has to make three connections to get to Japan, and it will take two days to fly there.
COLIN: It's gonna take two days? What's the problem?
ANNA: She has to fly to Rome, then Paris, then Singapore and finally Japan.
COLIN: Really? She's going to Paris, and she needs to change planes in Rome and then Singapore?
ANNA: No, it's Rome first and then Paris second.
COLIN: That doesn't make any sense. That's a bad itinerary. Why do you have to go to the airport?
ANNA: She told me she has to pay a $100 fee to change her ticket. She doesn't have any money.
COLIN: It sounds like she didn't prepare very well, doesn't it?
ANNA: No, she didn't. But she is a teenager, and she hasn't traveled before. But unless she changes her ticket before her departure. . . she'll go to Rome, and she won't be able to get a direct flight to Japan.
COLIN: Why not just call the travel agent?
ANNA: It's 6:15. They close at 6:00.
COLIN: Well, hurry up. You don't want to get there after they've made the boarding announcements.

Mildred and George: Lovely, Aren't They?

2009-06-16T00:10:00.001+02:00

George Roper and his wife Mildred have to leave their home in South Kensington when they receive a compulsory purchase order.
They move to an executive housing estate in Hampton Wick, Middlesex, where their new next-door neighbours are estate agent Jeffrey Fourmile, his wife Ann and their son Tristram.

Can you describe the characters? What is your opinion after watching this episode?

Unconviced Customers!

2009-06-15T00:01:00.001+02:00

Anne Frank's Anniversary

2009-06-12T20:48:00.004+02:00

It's a long time since I wrote for the last time, I've been too busy, but I'm here again to remember you about Anne Frank. Anne was a Jewish girl who hid from the Nazis with her family in a secret annex above her father's office building. During her two years in hiding, she kept a diary characterized by poignancy, humor, and tart observation. Her family was betrayed to the Germans in 1944, and Anne died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Her diary was later recovered and has become an international bestseller, translated into over 60 languages. To whom did Anne address her diary entries?

Do you want to know more about her diary? Try this webquest and learn.

Doubts on English Pronunciation?

2009-06-05T00:10:00.000+02:00

Try Tim Bowyer's howjsay, a free online Talking Dictionary of English Pronunciation: Enter the word you want in lower case and when it appears in pink, mouse over it to hear it spoken as often as you want. Each word is individually pre-recorded and both American and British spellings are provided.
This dictionary will be a work in progress for many years to come, so please do not condemn it yet for its limited size. Judge it rather on the entries to date of high-frequency words such as "do" or "has". And please feel free to criticise, report errata, and make suggestions.

Big Ben Anniversary

2009-05-31T12:20:00.004+02:00

Big Ben, arguably the world's most famous clock, celebrates on Sunday 150 years of keeping London on time. The British landmark has lived through war, bad weather and disasters.
Big Ben is the 14-ton bell inside the world's largest four-faced chiming clock, although most people use the name to describe the tower that houses it.
The clock is perched on a 96-meter (310-foot) elegant tower at the Westminster Bridge end of the Palace of Westminster.
The Victorian masterpiece, which provides distinctive chimes known as bongs, was voted Britain's favorite monument in 2008. It has been featured in films such as "101 Dalmatians" and "Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix."
Big Ben has been disrupted a few times over the years for various reasons, including weather and breakages. Its bongs went silent for about two months in August 2007 to allow a crew to repair its mechanism system.
During that time, the rest of the clock was running on an electric system. It was fully restarted again October 1.
The clock pays tribute to Britain's royal history: It has a Latin inscription of the phrase: "O Lord, save our Queen Victoria the First."
The ornate masterpiece has some quirky features.
The hour hand, which weighs 300 kilograms (661 pounds), is made of gun metal while the minute hands are made of copper sheet.
The minute hands would not work when they were first made of cast iron because they were too heavy. The clock started working on May 31, 1859, after the lighter copper hands were installed. The origins of the landmark's name are obscure. Some say it was named after the 1850s heavyweight boxer Ben Caunt while others suggest it was named after Sir Benjamin Hall, a former member of parliament. Hall, the commissioner of works in 1859, was responsible for ordering the bell.
Alan Hughes, the director of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry that made the bell, prefers the latter.
"I suppose I like it chiefly because it was a nickname of a man who was big and loud and pompous, and never used one word if 27 would do," he said in a 2008 interview.
Hughes' company also made America's Liberty Bell and a number of others for cathedrals and churches around the world.

If you want to check your knowledge about UK and its symbols, try this webquest and if you want your own Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, click on the image ... and use scissors, glue and patience!

Useful Tips for Exams

2009-05-26T17:13:00.001+02:00

Thanks to María Valdés for this video.

Dire Straits & Eric Clapton's I Think I Love You Too Much

2009-05-25T00:10:00.002+02:00

Lyrics | I Think I Love You Too Much lyrics

Guitarplaying at the best!

Adjectives in -Ed or -ING

2009-05-22T00:17:00.001+02:00

Bored or Boring
Bored or Boring www.getenglishlessons.com The different use of adjective ending in -ed or -ing

Publish at Scribd or explore others: School Work grammar eboard

What If?

2009-05-20T00:10:00.000+02:00

The First Computer Programmer

2009-05-17T00:59:00.003+02:00

Ada Lovelace was the daughter of the poet Lord Byron. She was taught by Mary Somerville, a well-known researcher and scientific author, who introduced her to Charles Babbage in June 1833. Babbage was an English mathematician, who first had the idea for a programmable computer.

In 1842 and 1843, Ada translated the work of an Italian mathematician, Luigi Menabrea, on Babbage's Analytical Engine. Though mechanical, this machine was an important step in the history of computers; it was the design of a mechanical general-purpose computer. Babbage worked on it for many years until his death in 1871. However, because of financial, political, and legal issues, the engine was never built. The design of the machine was very modern; it anticipated the first completed general-purpose computers by about 100 years.

When Ada translated the article, she added a set of notes which specified in complete detail a method for calculating certain numbers with the Analytical Engine, which have since been recognized by historians as the world's first computer program. She also saw possibilities in it that Babbage hadn't: she realised that the machine could compose pieces of music. The computer programming language 'Ada', used in some aviation and military programs, is named after her.

Reading Comprehension Test.
Answers

The History of Internet

2009-05-16T00:01:00.000+02:00

Tomorrow is the International Day of Internet.
Have anyone ever imagined we would get to this point?

No Jokes!

2009-05-10T01:00:00.001+02:00

Story Telling

2009-05-07T00:10:00.000+02:00

Would you like to listen to famous american actors and actresses reading stories?
Enter and even subscribe to Storyline Online and enjoy all of them!
After listening to Al Gore, Hector Elizondo, James Earl Jones, CCH Pounder, Elijah Wood, Pamela Reed, Melisa Gilbert and others' stories you can try some activities.

Use Yours!

2009-05-05T00:01:00.000+02:00

The same happens with blogs, books...

Madeleine Peyroux's Don't Wait Too Long

2009-05-01T00:10:00.000+02:00

Song lyrics | Don't Wait Too Long lyrics

The Beatles' History

2009-04-30T00:10:00.000+02:00

If you want to learn more about them enter their webpage

How to Listen to Other People's Problems

2009-04-26T00:10:00.000+02:00

Click on the image to enlarge.
"Basic Instructions" is a comic strip. Any advice contained herein is intended as humor, and should not be followed as actual instructions or advice.

Shakespeare in a Crossword

2009-04-23T00:10:00.001+02:00

How much do you know about Shakespeare? Try this crossword and find out.
Follow the instructions and read carefully the clues.

Appreciate What you Have...

2009-04-22T00:10:00.003+02:00

... and do your best for a better world.

Watch it in a version for children
Earth's Day

Welcome to the Human Body Learning Experience

2009-04-20T00:10:00.000+02:00

Within Discovery Channel we learn about diffferent topics, science, animals, technology...
Today we can enter our own body and test our sight, sensations, strength and brain power, enjoy this trip to yourself!