Thanks you all!

It´s time for me to wish you all the best

I have enjoyed a lot this evening. It´s great to have so participative students. 
I would also like to say that I love my students from this year. 
I feel great with you in the classroom!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

a

 Thanks to my workmates .

It´s been very nice working with you!

Special activities for Xmas

Hello students!
I would like to remind you that tomorrow we are doing something special at the time of your lesson!

I hope to see you all tomorrow.

1B2 key for the written exam

Hi students!
As I suppose that maybe you are interested in how well you did the exam, I show you the key in order that you can check.
I have to say that some of you did it quite well but some of you have not achieved the minimum required for the Advanced Level. It´s not only a matter of attending the lessons, you are trying to get an Advanced Level and this implies much more work on your part. I know that you have an Intermediate Level but you have to show an advanced level in order to pass this 1B2 course. Enjoy the holidays but don´t forget that you need to enjoy English as well doing your homework( I proposed it in some previous entries)

                    Answer key: reading test 

1. What were Dr. P.’s first symptoms?His first symptoms were that he didn’t recognise his students until they spoke to him and he mistook objects for people. 
2. .       Why did he consult an ophthalmologist?  Was the ophthalmologist able to help him?

      He consulted an ophthalmologist when he developed diabetes. The ophthalmologist wasn’t able to help him.  

.      3.   What did Dr. Sacks notice about Dr. P.’s eyes when they first met?

 His eyes moved around; they didn’t stay still and focus on the doctor.

4.Was Dr. P aware that he didn’t see normally?  Why? / Why not?

No, though he knew other people thought he didn’t see normally and he knew he occasionally made embarrassing mistakes. He saw details but he couldn’t put the details together to form a whole picture.

5. Choose a word for this definition: “to look steadily at somebody or something, either because you are very interested or surprised or because you are thinking of something else”.

a)      To observe

b)      To gaze

c)       To recognise

d)      To scan  

 

6.     Could you explain the following expression in line 63?  “...but in no case did he get the scene-as-a-whole.”

 He wasn’t able to have a general perspective of the object/person he was looking at. He could only focus his attention on details.

7.       Arrange these headings. Give each one a number from 1 to 4 according to the order in the text:

a.       The doctor’s examination.

b.      The diagnosis.

c.       The doctor’s first impression.

d.      The patient.

  1-d, 2-c, 3-a, 4-b 

               

		Listening Comprehension

1.      What´s the best season /s to go? Why?

Spring and autumn. Spring is beautiful with wonderful flowers and lovely sunny days. And autumn is fantastic  too with mild weather and clear views of the Himalayas.

2

1

0

                                                                                                                        

2. What does “scorching” mean?

a.       Extremely hot

b.      freezing

c.       chilly

d.      frosty

-1

0

1

   

3. What is the most recommended activity?   What makes this activity so special?

Go trekking in the Himalayas. The high mountains and deep valleys are truly spectacular. Also the possibility of seeing a huge variety of plants makes it special.

2

1

0

   

4. Name four pieces of clothes and accessories the expert recommends you to wear in the trip to Bhutan.

Rain gear and good walking boots, hat and sunglasses. Warm clothes for the evenings.

1 point -4 pieces

0.5 -3 pieces

0- less than 3 pieces

0.5

1

0

     

5. What kind of equipment do you have to carry for the outing?

None

 

1

0

6. What does “make the trek run smoothly” mean here? Explain in other words.

Make the trek goes/ develops  easily, without difficulty, without a hitch, with no trouble

1

0

7.     7.   What´s the national dish in Bhutan?

A chilli pepper and cheese stew (called Emadatse)

 

1

0

8.       What´s the main ingredient Bhutanese people cook with?

 Spicy chilli peppers

 

1

0

B1 Listening exam

Hi there!
I have been checking your listening exams and I´m afraid that the results are no better than the ones for the reading.
Again, I would like to encourage you to keep working hard to get your final aim in June. Even if it´s not going to be easy, remember that in the rest of the Official Schools of Castilla La Mancha they take 2 years for the Intermediate Level, so don´t worry ery much and keep working hard.
See you!

 Have a look at the key and the script of the audio, anyway we will check the exam together after Christmas.
 

LISTENING COMPREHENSION

1- Summarize the content of the text you have just listened to in no more than 2 sentences.

This text is about some programmes that will be shown tonight on TV. It gives some important information, details and the timetable for the viewers.

2

1

0

N

2. - The reviewer says that ‘comments on the show have been mixed’. What does ‘mixed’ mean in this context?

There are different opinions on this TV series (Stardate 3000) because there are some fine actors but the script and scenery are very bad.

2

1

0

N

3. - How many programmes does the speaker mention?

a)      4

b)      5

c)      6

d)      None of the above

1

-0’3

N

4.- “You can see An Insect’s life, an hour-long film full of wonderful close-up photography”. Explain the meaning of “close-up” and then provide a word or expression that could be used instead of “close-up” without changing the overall meaning.

Close-up: photograph or picture in a film/movie taken very close to somebody/something so that it shows a lot of detail.

Synonyms: detailed, full, complete, thorough, elaborate, specific, real, close, nearby, meticulous.

E.g. I was totally amazed at the pictures in Avatar, they were full of details.

2

1

0

N

5.- Some experts think that television as we know it nowadays will have disappeared in twenty years’ time. Why do you think is so? Express your reasons.

NOTE: Due to the misunderstandings in this question I have decided not to take it into account.

6.- What is different about Doctors in Town?

a)      The main actors have changed.

b)      It is now filmed in Australia.

c)      There is a new director.

d)      It will be shown at a later time.

1

-0’3

N

7.- The speaker says that TV Diary is going to change its timetable because :

a)      The European Cup football matches will be on instead.

b)      There will be other programmes to replace it.

c)      The tennis competition will start.

d)      The new timetable is more suitable for the audience.

1

-0’3

N

8. - Fill in this chart with information of the programmes the speaker mentions.

PROGRAMME                        INFORMATION

1.      An Insect´s Life : At 8, an hour long film, wonderful close-up photography.                       2.      News: She just mentions it 3.      Miller and Edwards: At 9:30 on BBC1, 2 comedians telling jokes.Tonight it´s the last one of the present series. 1 hour instead of half an hour. 4.      Policewatch: drama series, not tonight because the European Cup Football match is on instead. Next Thursday again. 5.      Stardate 3000: beginning tonight. American science fiction series. Good actors but poor scripts and the sceneries are repeated. 6.      Doctors in Town. Medical drama series filmed in London. Starting tonight. New main actors. 7.      Tv Diary- tomorrow at 6.30 instead of 8.30. for three weeks this new timetable due to the tennis competition.

4

3

2

1

0

NOTES: We have decided to give extra marks on this question due to the fact that it´s the most difficult and complex.

I´m sorry to have changed the marks given in the beginning but the purpose is to benefit you.

9.- Do you agree with the speaker’s opinion on the topic?

I have also left this question apart.

SCRIPT

Woman
... and finally on TV Diary a word about some of
the programmes on your screens tonight.

At eight p.m. you can see An insect’s life, an hourlong
film full of wonderful close-up photography. It
seems the main problem with being an insect is that
everyone else wants to eat you - including other
insects! This programme is great fun, but if you’re
the sort of person who runs out of the room the
moment you see an insect, it’s definitely not for
you.

After the news at nine-thirty on BBC1 there’s Miller
and Edwards. The two comedians have saved a lot
of their best jokes for this special programme which
is the last of the present series. Tonight’s show lasts
an hour instead of the usual half hour. Miller and
Edwards are joined by famous actor, Giles Welby,
who plays an angry motorist in one scene.

Now, fans of ITV’s Policewatch drama series will
have to wait a little longer to find out what happens
to Andy McKay, the Scottish detective who always
seems to have a cold. The programme will not be
shown tonight because the European Cup football
match is on instead. But Policewatch will be back
next Thursday as usual.

Beginning tonight is Stardate 3000, an American
science fiction series. It’s been on television in the
USA for the last two months and comments on the
show have been mixed. It certainly has some fine
actors, but there is a limit to how much a director
can do with stories as weak as these. I’m sure I’ve
seen most of the scenery before in other shows from
the same studio. Perhaps some of the money they
saved on the scenery should be spent on getting
some better writers!

Also starting a new series tonight is Doctors in
Town, the medical drama series filmed in the heart
of London. The big question is: will this show still
be popular now that the two main actors have left
to do other work? John Tweed, who played Doctor
Walker, is now directing films, while Annie Thomas,
who played Nurse Jane Evans, has returned home to
the Australian stage. But I am sure the new actors
are excellent, making this an enjoyable start to the
series.

Don’t forget that, from tomorrow, TV Diary is going
to be at six-thirty p.m. instead of eight-thirty for
three weeks because of the tennis competitions.
When the competitions finish at the start of July,
we’ll be back at our usual time. So, thanks for
listening ....[fade]

B1 Reading Exam

Hi students! How are you?
I have been checking your reading exams and I have found out that you have had a lot of problems to understand this `not so-easy text`. It´s very important that you don´t get disappointed at this, the important thing is that you consider the exam as practise for your final exam. It´s not going to be easy because you´re trying to achieve an Intermediate certificate, so you need extra practise to get it. You need to be in contact with the English language as much as possible. It´s not enough to attend the lessons at school.Anyway,  you can have a look at the text again as well as the key.
I will try to check your listening exams tomorrow morning and I will tell you something as well.
Students that have not taken the oral exam do not forget to be in time to do it.


Enjoy the end of the weekend!

Too young to be a mother?

A 10-year-old girl giving birth to a baby in Spain has caused outrage. But she and her family seem happy, so why should we be worried? She is called Nicoletta and, undoubtedly, is as delightful as any healthy newborn baby. But her birth 10 days ago in the southern Spanish city of Jerez has provoked a storm – because her mother is just 10 years old.

What has shocked the rest of the world, however, is described as a happy event by the family. "My daughter is well, as is the little girl – who is very fine and pretty. She is very happy with her daughter," the baby's Romanian grandmother, Olimpia, told Spanish journalists. "This is not a drama, it is a cause for happiness. At this age we marry in Romania. It is normal amongst we Gypsies."

The father is said to be another minor, an unnamed Romanian boy aged 13. The relationship is now described as "over" by Olimpia. Under Spanish law, the age for consensual sex with an adult is 13 – one of the world's lowest. And, in a measure apparently maintained for Spain's own Gypsy community, the law allows a 14-year-old to marry if a judge decides there are exceptional circumstances. The United Nations has called on Spain to raise that age.

Little is known of the details of the young mother's journey from pregnancy to childbirth. Some reports say that she arrived in Spain only three weeks ago, apparently to attend a wedding. "The mother of the young girl says they came for a wedding and that she had got pregnant in Romania," explains a town hall spokeswoman in Lebrija, where the family is living. The child's mother herself stepped out of their small apartment on Wednesday to take her baby to the local health clinic. The girl wore a loose pink top and a flowing red dress, and her family placed a cloth over her head to protect her from photographers. "She is scared they will take her baby away," says Maria, a fellow Romanian who lives in the same apartment block. "The family is worried about what might happen, so they have stopped opening the door to people."

Attempts to paint the family as welfare scroungers have failed. "We have money, a home, electricity and water, so we do not need anything from the Spanish government," says Olimpia.

Robert Rustem, of the European Roma and Travellers Forum based in Brussels, says the case is exceptional and does not reflect practices in Romania or anywhere else. "I was aware of some cases of children of 15 giving birth, but it the first time I have heard of a birth to a 10-year-old. This is not an example of what happens in the entire community, though there are cases of early marriages – which we do not support – in certain communities. At the end of the day, it is really a decision of the girl and the parents – who are the guardians. The girl is a minor so her parents are the ones who must take responsibility."But he adds, "It is not acceptable that a girl at the age of 10 is giving birth to a baby. She is still a child and still developing as a person. Early marriage fosters the gap between communities and reinforces the cycle of poverty."

Doctors warn of the physical dangers to children whose own bodies are still growing. "If the mother has not completed her physical development or does not have the right nutrition to cope with the deficiencies caused by her age and condition, the consequences can be grave," gynaecologist De Manuel Alonso told El País. "Even if the body is ready, a young girl is not mentally prepared to become a mother," warned child psychologist Carolina Fernández.

Little Nicoletta's case is by no means unique in Spain, where abortions were performed on two girls aged nine and 10 in 2008. Of the 22 cases, there are five births to nine-year-olds from Brazil, Thailand, China, Singapore and Rwanda over the past decade. Four 10-year-olds from the United States are also on the list, including two in the last four years. "The UK has a history of an increasing number of teenage pregnancies," says Fry. "My view, without having any figures to back it up, is that they are getting earlier and earlier . . ."I would be worried sick if I were a parent of these girls. They are young women at the age of 10. So then it is not impossible to be of child-bearing age at 10." Fry, who is in favour of medical intervention to slow down those who reach puberty too early, adds, "It is a kind of disaster."

The one thing no one outside the family knows is exactly what the young Romanian mother herself thinks of the whole affair. "Now they will have to bring the child up," says her neighbour Maria.

1-      Summarize in no more than five lines the content of this text

This text is about a young girl who has been a mother at the age of 10 in Spain. It comments on the details of this case and then it gives different opinions taken from specialists about the risks of having a child so young.

2

1

0

2-     Which is the aim of the writer when he was writing this text? Where could it be published?

The aim of the writer is to show readers facts and interesting information about a hot topic such as having a child when you are so young. It could be published on a newspaper or perhaps in a magazine for teenagers.

2

1

0

3-     What does the Spanish law say about the sexual relationships among teens? Is enough for the United Nations?

For the Spanish Law, 13 year-old girls may have sex with an adult but this is not enough for the United Nations which want Spain to take harder measures to avoid cases such as these.

1

0

4-     The family of the young mother is well-considered in town.  True or false?

False because the text says that they are looking for money and social services.

1

0

5-     Who of the speakers support the idea that young girls are not mature enough to decide if they want to have a baby?

a)      Manuel Alonso

b)     Carolina Fernández

c)      Robert Rustem

d)     Nicoletta

1

-0,33

N

6-      “If the mother has not completed her physical development or does not have the right nutrition to cope with the deficiencies ….” Explain the meaning of the expression in bold, give a synonym and use it in a different sentence.  

`To cope with` means to be able to overcome any difficult or dangerous situation. Synonyms are: to deal with, to sort out, to manage. Eg. Despite of the fact that this has been a very difficult year because of the economical crisis I have been able to cope with it.

2

1

0

7-     How many abortions are practiced to girls under ten years old, according to this text?

6

1

0

8-      Which is the best antonym for this word in italics: “there are cases of early marriages – which we do not support – in certain communities …”?

a)      To criticize

b)     To agree with

c)      To fight against

d)     To contempt

1

-0,33

N

9-     “So then it is not impossible to be of child-bearing age at 10." Do you agree with this statement? Give reasons to support your argument

Your personal opinion taking into account the criteria number 7 of the mask I gave to you.