Mamma Mia! Listening and Text's vocabulary

Mamma Mia!

Stars of the film meet members of the band ABBA
Listen to the story
The ever so-beloved West End musical Mamma Mia! has finally been taken from the stage to the silver screen.
The film is based on the songs of legendary Swedish pop band ABBA and is an adaptation of the musical of the same name.
Mamma Mia! uses the music of ABBA to tell the story of Sophie Sheridan, a 21-year-old American bride-to-be, trying to find out the identity of her real father so that he can give her away at the wedding.
Since the premiere of the musical in London in 1999, over 30 million people have seen Mamma Mia! around the world and the theatre production has grossed $2bn in earnings.
Although the title of the musical is taken from ABBA's 1975 chart-topper Mamma Mia, neither the musical's nor the film's plot has anything to do with the story of the group itself.
The band ABBA was the winner of the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest and following that success their songs topped the charts worldwide until the early 1980s.
After a week of exclusive showing in the Leicester Square Odeon, one of London's most famous cinemas, the film was screened in cinemas across the country from 10th July.
Some people say maybe it is the mature A-list cast that makes the film work so well. Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard star as the three potential fathers with the Oscar winner Meryl Streep starring as the mum of the bride-to-be.
A film critic said the film is truly wonderful. It is sharp, hilarious and very beautifully shot.
If you are a fan of ABBA, a fan of the musical, or simply just a fan of Pierce Brosnan, then the film Mamma Mia! is a must.

Vocabulary

Listen to the words

ever so beloved: very popular
the silver screen: the cinema
legendary: very famous
bride-to-be: woman who is going to get married
give her away: the formal act in a wedding ceremony when the bride is presented to the groom, traditionally by her father, is known as 'giving away'
has grossed : has taken an amount of money before tax and other expenses
chart-topper: song which reached the top of the music charts
topped the charts: reached the number one position in the music charts
A-list cast: the actors in the film are from the top group of respected performers
shot: filmed
is a must: is something that should not be missed

Texts for Selectividad and Vocabulary training.

Words in the news: China's New Anti-pollution Measures:

Chinese officials say they may take more action to reduce air pollution ahead of the Olympic
Games. On some days thick smog is severely reducing visibility. From Beijing, our
correspondent Daniel Griffiths reports:
Beijing has brought in a whole range of measures to reduce the city's notorious air
pollution ahead of the Olympics. They include removing more than one million cars from
the roads of the capital, shutting down polluting factories and closing dusty construction
sites.
But so far, those policies don't appear to be working. For the fourth day in a row, there is a
thick layer of grey smog hanging over Beijing.
Now some officials are suggesting they might take more drastic action to improve air quality,
including banning 90 per cent of all private cars from the streets of Beijing.
So far those plans haven't been implemented but with less than two weeks to the Olympics,
Beijing hasn't got much time to get rid of the smog.
Daniel Griffiths, BBC News, Beijing

Vocabulary and definitions

brought in a whole range of measures:
introduced a large number of different methods (for dealing with the pollution)
notorious air pollution:

famous for something bad; here, for the damage caused to air by harmful substances and/or waste
removing :

taking away, banning the use of dusty construction sites areas where a building is being made or repaired, which are full of very small pieces of dry dirt, earth, sand and
other substances
appear :

here, seem
For the fourth day in a row:

for four consecutive days, for four days one after the other
a thick layer of grey smog:

when an area, especially a big city, is covered by heavily polluted air that contains a mixture of smoke, gases and chemicals
drastic action:

significant, radical measures
implemented:

realised in practice, introduced
to get rid of :

to make itself free of an unpleasant or harmful thing

The most frequently used words in English

WordCount™ is an artistic experiment in the way we use language. It presents the 86,800 most frequently used English words, ranked in order of commonness. Each word is scaled to reflect its frequency relative to the words that precede and follow it, giving a visual barometer of relevance. The larger the word, the more we use it. The smaller the word, the more uncommon it is.WordCount data currently comes from the British National Corpus®, a 100 million word collection of samples of written and spoken language from a wide range of sources, designed to represent an accurate cross-section of current English usage. WordCount includes all words that occur at least twice in the BNC®. In the future, WordCount will be modified to track word usage within any desired text, website, and eventually the entire Internet.WordCount was designed with a minimalist aesthetic, to let the information speak for itself. The interface is clean, basic and intuitive. The goal is for the user to feel embedded in the language, sifting through words like an archaeologist through sand, awaiting the unexpected find. Observing closely ranked words tells us a great deal about our culture. For instance, “God” is one word from “began”, two words from “start”, and six words from “war”. Another sequence is "america ensure oil opportunity". Conspiracists unite! As ever, the more one explores, the more is revealed.

Check here to see something really interesting:

http://www.wordcount.org/main.php

Our Blog in Blogged

Myplaceforenglish has been marked with 6.9 and considered as good for the well-known Blog Directory page:BLOGGED. This is the link which can show you the position of this blog within the English Language Teaching blogs. There are also some extremely useful blogs to take some resources for our classes.

http://www.blogged.com/directory/education/languages/english/2

Today was a hard day...

Today has been one of the most exciting days in my life because we got the results from our competitive examinations. But we'll have to wait till Friday to know if we've got one of the jobs as English teachers for our community. I'm crossing my fingers!!. This part was good for me, but we have to wait... I expect that ALL my students are praying for me, especially those who have a wonderful and easy examination on the 2nd of September in Seville. (GOOD LUCK for all of us).

Learn with Idioms

THE STORY BEHIND THE IDIOMS

As easy as pie
This expression appeared in the United States in the mid-19th century. Even though it's not easy to make a pie, it's widely known that it is easy to be eaten. The phrase started to be used in literature and became later a part of colloquial language. Nowadays, it's used with the meaning 'very easy'. The first 'as' can also be omitted.

Learning with songs, Alicia Keys: No One.

NO ONE
by Alicia Keys

I just want you close,
Where you can stay forever.
You can be sure
That it will only get better.

You and me together
Through the days and nights.
I don't worry 'cause
Everything's going to be alright.
People keep talking,
They can say what they like.
But all I know is
Everything's going to be alright.

[Chorus:]
No one, no one, no one
Can get in the way of what I'm feeling.
No one, no one, no one
Can get in the way
Of what I feel for you, you, you.
Can get in the way
Of what I feel for you.

When the rain is pouring down
And my heart is hurting,
You will always be around.
This I know for certain.

You and me together
Through the days and nights.
I don't worry 'cause
Everything's going to be alright.
People keep talking,
They can say what they like.
But all I know is
Everything's going to be alright.

[Chorus]

I know some people search the world
To find something like what we have.
I know people will try
To divide something so real.
So till the end of time
I'm telling you there ain't no one.

[Chorus]


SPANISH TRANSLATION

Sólo te quiero cerca,
Donde puedas quedarte para siempre.
Puedes estar seguro
Que se pondrá solamente mejor.

Tú y yo juntos
A través de los días y las noches.
No me preocupo porque
Todo va a estar bien.
La gente sigue hablando,
Pueden decir lo que quieran.
Pero todo lo que sé es que
Todo va a estar bien.

[Estribillo:]
Nadie, nadie, nadie
Puede meterse en el medio de lo que siento.
Nadie, nadie, nadie
Puede meterse en el medio
De lo que siento por ti, ti, ti.
Puede meterse en el medio
De lo que siento por ti.

Cuando llueve a cántaros
Y mi corazón duele,
Siempre estarás cerca.
Esto lo sé con certeza.

Tú y yo juntos
A través de los días y las noches.
No me preocupo porque
Todo va a estar bien.
La gente sigue hablando,
Pueden decir lo que quieran.
Pero todo lo que sé es que
Todo va a estar bien.

[Estribillo]

Sé que algunos buscan en el mundo
Para encontrar algo como lo que tenemos nosotros.
Sé que la gente intentará
Dividir algo tan real.
Por eso, hasta el fin de los tiempos
Te digo que no hay nadie.

[Estribillo]


VOCABULARY:

close En este caso, significa cerca
to get better mejorar
to worry preocuparse
'cause Forma coloquial de because (porque)
to get in the way ponerse en el medio, bloquear el camino
to pour down llover a cántaros
for certain con certeza (for sure)
till hasta
ain't Contracción coloquial que equivale a isn't, aren't, hasn't o haven't


Video: NO One

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ktUSIJEiOug

Learn with movies Notting Hill

Learn with NOTTING HILL

In this section, we analyze parts of the movie script to learn and understand the use of daily English language.
Read the passages and try to understand them. Then, read the vocabulary explanation. Finally, read the passage again.

WILLIAM: Hello! Hi!
ANNA: Hi.
WILLIAM: Oh, hi! It's William Thacker. Er... I work in a bookshop.
ANNA: You played it pretty cool here, waiting for three days to call.
WILLIAM: No, I've never played anything cool in my entire life. Spike, who I'll stab to death later, never gave me the message.
ANNA: Oh, okay.
WILLIAM: Perhaps I could drop round for tea or something?
ANNA: Yeah... Unfortunately, things are going to be pretty busy, but... okay, let's give it a try. Four o'clock could be good.
WILLIAM: Right! Great!
hi hola. Forma abreviada e informal de decir hello.
to play it cool Es una expresión fija que significa 'tomárselo con calma, hacer como si nada'.
to wait for something esperar algo. Note el uso de la preposición for.
in my entire life en toda mi vida
to stab somebody (to death) matar a alguien a puñaladas. El verb to stab significa apuñalar, clavar un puñal.
to give somebody a message dar un mensaje a alguien
to drop round visitar. También puede decirse to drop by.
unfortunately desafortunadamente, lamentablemente. El opuesto es fortunately, afortunadamente.
pretty busy bastante ocupado. Note el uso de 'pretty' como adverbio, cuyo significado es bastante.
to give it a try intentarlo. Es común escuchar 'Give it a try!' (¡Inténtalo!) o 'Let's give it a try!' (¡Intentémoslo!)
right! interjección para demostrar que se entendió lo que dijo otra persona o que se está de acuerdo. Equivale a '¡bien!', '¡correcto!'.
great! interjección para demostrar que se está de acuerdo o conforme con algo. Equivale a '¡grandioso!'

ANNA: That thing I was doing tonight, I'm not doing it any more. I told them I had to spend the evening with Britain's premier equestrian journalist.
WILLIAM: Oh, well, great! Perfect! Oh, no! It's my sister's birthday. We're meant to be having dinner...
ANNA: Okay, fine.
WILLIAM: But no, I'm sure I can get out of it.
ANNA: No, I mean, if it's fine with you, I'll, you know, be your date.
WILLIAM: You'll be my date at my little sister's birthday party?
ANNA: If that's all right.
WILLIAM: I'm sure it's all right. My friend Max is cooking and he's acknowledged to be the worst cook in the world, but you know, you could hide the food in your handbag or something.
ANNA: Okay.
to spend the evening pasar la noche
premier mejor o más importante
we are meant to be se supone que nosotros estaremos
to get out of something salirse de algo, escaparse
if it's fine with you si te parece bien
to be somebody's date ser pareja de alguien. El verbo 'to date' en este sentido, significa 'tener una cita, salir con alguien'.
to cook cocinar. El sustantivo cook significa 'cocinero' y no 'cooker', que en realidad significa 'cocina', el aparato que se usa para cocinar. De paso, recordemos que 'cocina', el ambiente de una casa, se dice 'kitchen'.
he is acknowledged to be es sabido que él es
the worst... in the world el peor... del mundo. Note el uso de la preposición in (y no of).

WILLIAM: Wait a minute... This is crazy behaviour. Can't we just laugh about this? Seriously, in the huge sweep of things, this stuff doesn't matter.
SPIKE: What he's going to say next is: There are people starving in the Sudan.
WILLIAM: Well, there are. And we don't need to go anywhere near that far. My best friend slipped, she slipped down stairs, cracked her back and she's in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. All I'm asking for is a normal amount of perspective.
ANNA: You're right. Of course, you're right. It's just that I've dealt with this garbage for ten years now. You've had it for ten minutes. Our perspectives are different.
WILLIAM: I mean, today's newspapers will be lining tomorrow's waste paper bins.
ANNA: Excuse me?
WILLIAM: Well, you know, it's just one day. Today's papers will all have been thrown away tomorrow.
ANNA: You really don't get it. This story gets filed. Every time anyone writes anything about me, they'll dig up these photos. Newspapers last forever. I'll regret this forever.
to laugh reirse. Para aprender distintas formar de reirse, vea la sección Ways of laughing.

huge enorme. Un sinónimo, aunque menos común, es enormous.
sweep of things cantidad de cosas
to matter importar
to starve morirse de hambre
to slip resbalarse. Para aprender distintas formar de caminar, vea la sección Ways of walking.

to crack one's back quebrarse la espalda
wheelchair silla de ruedas. La expresión to be confined to a wheelchair significa 'quedar postrado en una silla de ruedas'.
for the rest of her life por el resto de su vida
amount cantidad
to deal with something manejarse con algo
garbage basura, residuos. Algunos términos relacionados son: 'garbage man/collector' (recolector de residuos), 'garbage bag' (bolsa de residuos), 'garbage truck' (camión recolector de residuos).
to line cubrir los bordes
waste paper bin cestos de basura
to throw away arrojar (a la basura)
to get it entenderlo. Es común usarlo en frases como 'Do you get it?' (¿Entiendes?), 'I don't get it' (No entiendo).
to file something archivar algo. Como sustantivo, 'a file' es un archivo.
to dig up something literalmente, excavar, desenterrar. En sentido figurado, descubrir algo que estaba oculto u olvidado.
to last durar
to regret something arrepentirse de algo. Note que no se utiliza ninguna preposición después del verbo. Como sustantivo, 'a regret' es una pena, un pesar. Otras expresiones relacionadas son 'much to my regret' (con gran pesar mío), 'I have no regrets' (No me arrepiento de nada), 'I say it with regret' (Lo digo con dolor), 'We reg

Nadal wins Wimbledon 2008!!

You are the NUMBER ONE!!

Rafael Nadal's victory over Roger Federer in the 2008 Wimbledon men's final is the best match I have ever seen.
There is no doubt about that. The way that it ebbed and flowed with Nadal dominating, Federer hanging in there and the rain delays, I simply don't know what more you could have in a tennis match.
I cannot think of a better match in history, everyone was talking about last year's final being the best ever, but for me Nadal's win is the best match I've ever seen.
And the fact it came in a Wimbledon final makes it extra special.

I think the world order has changed and it's just a matter of time before it is recognised in the rankings
Tim Henman
It's so tough to pinpoint one area where Nadal won it. There was barely anything to separate them; it just came down to a question of the Spaniard's endurance and his sheer determination.
I think the world order has changed and it's just a matter of time before it is recognised in the rankings.
Federer remains as the world number one, but Nadal has been the best player in the world in 2008 and is sure to end Federer's incredible run as world number one.
Nadal isn't top of the rankings yet because it's measured over a 12-month period but I'd be very, very surprised if it doesn't happen.
It's going to be a very long road back for five-time Wimbledon champion Federer. Wimbledon is the tournament he cherishes more than anything and this defeat will hurt.
He is too good a player not to bounce back from this, but it will be tough especially following his heavy loss to Nadal in the French Open final a few weeks back.
Well... what can be said about that match. It had drama, excitement, rain and tears!!
He doesn't need to change anything to his game; it will be psychologically that he will have to recover.
As for Nadal dominating Wimbledon over the next few years, I don't think he will win five in a row like Federer has, but he will be extremely tough to beat.
The way he has adapted his game and made improvements on grass has been a real joy to watch.
He character is such that he will continue to work hard, progress and improve.
And that is a scary thought for men's tennis.

Test to check students' knowledge about festivities

What do you know about British and American Celebrations?

Choose the correct answer:
1. Halloween is celebrated on 31 October in:
 Great Britain only.
The United States and Great Britain
 The United States only.
2. On Halloween evening children and teenagers put on their costumes and masks and
 Go ‘ trick-or-treating’
 Dance in the streets
 Write on doors with soap
3. Christmas comes from
 Celtic tradition.
 Two pagan festivities.
 Germany.
4. The modern image of Santa Claus was created by
 An American cartoonist.
 Dutch settlers
 A shop owner in Albany, new York.
5. Sweethearts celebrate Valentine’s day with…
 Presents and cards.
 A Shakespeare’s play
 An anonymous letter ‘ from a secret admirer’
6. St. Patrick is the patron of
 United States of America
 Ireland
 Christianity
7. Easter is celebrated…
 After the moon in March
 On the first Sunday in April
 Between 22 March and 25 April

Happy 4th of July!!

Happy 4th July to all my North American friends, especially to Zoe, i'd like to tell you that you have a lot of fun today.

The 4th of July is a time for the Red White and Blue. A time for Picnics, Parades and Marching Bands. A time for Beaches, BBQs and "Bombs Bursting in Air." So pour yourself a cold one, put another "shrimp on the barbie," and join us for a birthday celebration with fun Holiday things for you and your family .
We've got some history to read, Flag facts, National Parks, National Monuments & Memorials, and Must-See Fireworks to share. We've also got Mom's Apple Pie to bake, holiday craft to make, pictures for the kids to color, and summertime recipes to grill.

The Story of Independence Day and America's Birthday

Independence Day is the national holiday of the United States of America commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
At the time of the signing the US consisted of 13 colonies under the rule of England's King George III. There was growing unrest in the colonies concerning the taxes that had to be paid to England. This was commonly referred to as "Taxation without Representation" as the colonists did not have any representation in the English Parliament and had no say in what went on. As the unrest grew in the colonies, King George sent extra troops to help control any rebellion. In 1774 the 13 colonies sent delegates to Philadelphia Pennsylvania to form the First Continental Congress. The delegates were unhappy with England, but were not yet ready to declare war.
In April 1775 as the King's troops advanced on Concord Massachusetts Paul Revere would sound the alarm that "The British are coming, the British are coming" as he rode his horse through the late night streets.
The battle of Concord and its "shot heard round the world" would mark the unofficial beginning of the colonies war for Independence.
The following May the colonies again sent delegates to the Second Continental Congress. For almost a year the congress tried to work out its differences with England, again without formally declaring war.
By June 1776 their efforts had become hopeless and a committee was formed to compose a formal declaration of independence. Headed by Thomas Jefferson, the committee included John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston and Roger Sherman. Thomas Jefferson was chosen to write the first draft which was presented to the congress on June 28. After various changes a vote was taken late in the afternoon of July 4th. Of the 13 colonies, 9 voted in favor of the Declaration, 2 - Pennsylvania and South Carolina voted No, Delaware undecided and New York abstained.
To make it official John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress, signed the Declaration of Independence. It is said that John Hancock signed his name "with a great flourish" so "King George can read that without spectacles!."
The following day copies of the Declaration were distributed. The first newspaper to print the Declaration was the Pennsylvania Evening Post on July 6, 1776. On July 8th the Declaration had its first public reading in Philadelphia's Independence Square. Twice that day the Declaration was read to cheering crowds and pealing church bells. Even the bell in Independence Hall was rung. The "Province Bell" would later be renamed "Liberty Bell" after its inscription -
Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants Thereof
And although the signing of the Declaration was not completed until August, the 4th of July has been accepted as the official anniversary of United States independence. The first Independence Day celebration took place the following year - July 4 1777. By the early 1800s the traditions of parades, picnics, and fireworks were established as the way to celebrate America's birthday. And although fireworks have been banned in most places because of their danger, most towns and cities usually have big firework displays for all to see and enjoy.

Holidays... Readings.

The Clan of the Cave Bear By J.M.Auel. There are six books about the prehistoric life, at first sight it could seem very boring, but the reading is exiting and the descriptions of that era amazing. I recommend you theis title the fist one. Ther is also a movie based on the book, but on the opposite,it is quite bad. Mark:*****
Labyrinth by Kate Mosse. This well-known book is very atracting, it combines, science, adventures, love , it's like Indiana Jones' first adventures. Mark:****
The Fourteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. This succesful bestseller tries to trap you several times, but in the end is not as good as I expected. It has too many flasbacks which make the story a puzzle. Mark: ***
Teacher MAn by Frank MacCourt Fantastic book about the life of an irish teacher of English in New York. This autobiographical book is written by the author of Angela's ashes, who won the Pulizer Prize for that book. The book is entertaing, funny, realistic, sarcastic... it's delicious. I hardly recommend you this book if you are English Secondary teachers because it reflects our reality. Mark :*****