Showing posts with label 16-17. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 16-17. Show all posts

Saturday, 14 September 2019

Listening Test Practice

Hello everyone!


Today I am giving you some extra practice for the listening tests.


For B2 level tests, click HERE.

For a bit more advanced (C1) level, click HERE.


Enjoy!!!

Sunday, 16 April 2017

DISCURSIVE ESSAYS

 Hello, 
these days we 'll be looking at the different types of discursive essay

First have a look at this for/against essay

Now look at this brief explanation by Julia Martínez

Friday, 24 March 2017

Learn more about Alternative Medicines

What Are the Benefits of Alternative Medicines?

By Amber Keefer

 

Amber Keefer has more than 25 years of experience working in the fields of human services and health care administration. Writing professionally since 1997, she has written articles covering business and finance, health, fitness, parenting and senior living issues for both print and online publications. Keefer holds a B.A. from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. in health care management from Baker College.
_______________________________________________________________________________

       According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 40 percent of Americans report using alternative medicine therapies for pain control when prescribed medications prove to be ineffective. Alternative medicine offers an integrated approach to healing and may include interventions such as herbal remedies, reflexology, chiropractic, nutritional supplements, massage therapy and acupuncture. With more medical professionals beginning to suggest the use of alternative therapies in combination with conventional medical treatments, many more studies are underway to examine both the usefulness and safety of these nonstandard treatments.

Pain

Many people turn to alternative medicine therapies for pain relief when traditional treatments fail to work. Alternative medicine also offers treatment options to individuals who do not have access to pain clinics under their health insurance plans. A study conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan Health System found that older individuals, who are more likely to suffer chronic pain conditions, use alternative therapies more frequently. Results of the study are published in the January 2010 issue of the journal Pain Medicine. The study takes a look at the increasing use of alternative treatment modalities as a way to manage chronic pain.

Cancer

Alternative medicine therapies used together with conventional medical treatments can alleviate some of the symptoms of cancer, as well as lessen the negative side effects of conventional medical treatments. Chemotherapy, although effective in increasing the survival rate of many cancer patients, can produce unpleasant side effects. Some cancer patients are able to tolerate chemotherapy treatments better when using an alternative treatment such as acupuncture to control side effects like fatigue, headache, nausea, vomiting, night sweats and aching.
Cost

Alternative medicine therapies can be less expensive than conventional medical treatments. Although some alternative therapies are not cheap, many herbal remedies and other natural treatments still cost less than prescription medications and treatments. Acupuncture and chiropractic sessions can cost significantly less than conventional pain therapy treatments.

Side Effects

In most cases, effective alternative therapies have fewer or no side effects as opposed to the frequent and sometimes severe effects of many prescription medications and other conventional medical treatments. But depending on what medical conditions a person might have, even natural remedies and other alternative therapies can sometimes cause adverse side effects. Not all natural remedies have been scientifically tested, nor does the FDA regulate them. Treatment modalities such as therapeutic massage and acupuncture are generally considered to be safe, but always talk to your doctor before using any alternative medicine therapies.

Mental Health

Alternative medicine can be beneficial to a person’s overall well- being, as the approach focuses on healing the mind, body and spirit. Treatment methods such as massage therapy, biofeedback, meditation and visual imagery help a person to relax and reduce stress. Art and music therapies are used to relieve symptoms of depression and schizophrenia by stimulating the natural release of endorphins and opiates in the body, in addition to helping individuals let go of deeply repressed emotions. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration points out that other alternative approaches to mental health, such as diet and nutrition, animal-assisted therapies and self-help groups can be valuable resources for improving mental health.

Now watch this video and answer the questions below:





1. According to Kelly McCann, what is ‘integrative medicine’?


2. What is the ideal way to practice integrative medicine? 


3. What are the benefits of integrative medicine?  


4.What does she say a) or b))
          a.  “ The patient has an innate ability to heal.”    b. “ The patient needs to learn how to heal.”


     5  What types of patients use integrative medicine?

     6 What does she say about the future of medicine?


ANSWERS IN CLASS!

Monday, 6 March 2017

A visit to the Museum

"You use a glass mirror to see your face, you use works of art to see your soul."
(George Bernard Shaw)
Congratulations to all the students who took part today in the project "Museum Visit".

You did the job of outstanding guides for the works of art of those artists whose exhibitions are permanent in the museun Casa Gourié.



Thanks also to the museum staff for letting us do the activity there.




Santiago Santana Díaz

Santiago Santana Díaz was born in 1909 in Arucas, although he moved from an early age to Moya. In 1923, he received his first scholarship and he studied in Madrid. He travelled to Paris in 1932 with another scholarship from the Cabildo where he attended the Free Academy. There he receives influence from the works of Modigliani and Cezanne. In 1933 he studied at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Barcelona where he receives classes of sculpture and ceramics and eventually exhibits in the gallery Syra ( Barcelona). He also exhibits in the Balearics and in Madrid where he shows the landscapes and flora of Gran Canaria. After that period, he returns to this island and becomes director of the School Luján Pérez where he would work for thirteen years.

Santana  is usually defined as a multifaceted genius (urbanist, draftsman, painter, ceramist, sculptor and cultural advisor). He mixes classicism (and its harmony) with  modernity , represented in the ‘indigenista’ character influenced in its passage by the School of Luján Pérez. As a faithful indigenist painter, he translates his interest in popular culture into architecture. For this reason, he chooses those simple buildings that do not clash with the landscape, using materials of the place for his works of art (sand, clay…)
In 1948, Santana intervened, among other works, in the refurbishment  of the House of Columbus , mainly carving the facades overlooking  Calle Herrería and  Plaza del Pilar Nuevo in Las Palmas, as well as El Pueblo Canario. In Arucas he acted in the remodelling of Casa de la Cultura, helped by the labeler (labrante) Pedro Pérez Viera. He also worked in the design of the square and church of San Andrés, as well as in some paintings inside the church.

A faithful example of Santiago Santana's pictorial work is in the hall of the municipal museum that bears his name. From the pictorial collection we will highlight the work entitled "Escorzo de mujer" or " Mujer Tumbada ". It uses the so-called mixed technique, which means the use of various techniques: oil, almagre, earth .... As we contemplate this canvas, we admire the careful stylization of the drawing of bodies, barely veiled by simple tunics; the delicacy of color, almost always based on white, gray, blue and pink ranges; the balance of the composition, not subjected to stress, naturally assembled all its elements. Nothing tragic seems to be in this harmonious and flowing world.

With this work, Santana demonstrates his love for the popular, creating an insular Indian painting, and  showing his preference especially for the Canary woman. The clear and vital colors, together with the full and compact forms, present a woman of humble and hardworking condition (peasants, fishermen, washerwomen) often solitary . He likes to  draw /paint these women with big hands and feet,  which involves their work and effort. Santana was a singer of the southern woman, with thick lips and broad cheekbones, who alone faces the work of the field and the care of the children.
(Alberto; Fabiola)


Guillermo Sureda Arbelo

Sureda was born in Arucas in 1912 and he moved with his family  to Santa Cruz de Tenerife at the age of 14. There  he studied at the School of Arts and Crafts. Since his childhood, Sureda demonstrated a great ability to perceive and feel, that manifested itself, professionally, in a great skill for the drawing and for the music, arts that  he initially discovered in an autodidact way. This quality along with his sociable character, the search for perfection and detail, as well as that interest in everything around him, especially for the stories of the people, was reflected in his paintings.
Guillermo Sureda has excelled in the field of painting for the use of watercolor, managing to perfect this technique to the point of being recognized internationally. Perhaps the choice of this technique was due to its spontaneous nature, its sensitivity together with the somewhat impulsive desire for the work to take place.
Sureda's extraordinary manual dexterity coupled with his capturing ability has always allowed him a speed, almost without limit, to execute a landscape. On many occasions, he dropped  the drawing and attacked them directly with the colours. The brushstroke is therefore loose, quick, lively, simple, full of colour and light. With the watercolour, he manages to reflect with total mastery the transparent effects of the water and its reflections, as well as the luminosity of the landscapes.
His bohemian life led him to represent countless landscapes and urban scenes from different places, like London, Venezuela, Puerto Rico or  the Caribbean and of course,  his homeland. Hence, it is said that he was a man of two worlds: the Old World and America, especially of Puerto Rico, defining himself as the pictorial singer of San Juan, its capital.
 However, he also stands out for the strength of his portraits, generally, of anonymous people. This choice leads him to represent, with care and dedication, the humble and sincere expression of his models, their typical clothes and their customs.

(Andrea, Héctor)



Manolo Ramos González
Full name: Manuel Esteban de los Reyes Ramos González . He is one of the Spanish sculptors of all time. His timid personality, calm and confident, led him not to sign many of his works, conforming to the client's knowledge. He was very critical of his own production so, on many occasions, he destroyed his sculptures or drawings.
 Ramos was born in Arucas in 1899. From  1921 to 1925  he studied  in San Fernando school and some times worked in Miguel Blay’s workshop as his pupil. Later he lived for some time in Paris where he sold his works in the streets. After that, he travelled to London where he left a few busts, two of them in Lord Carlaysle’s collection. He comes back at the time of the Civil War.  EL Cristo Yacente belongs to this period. This breathtaking sculpture  we find in Arucas church. It  is made of  wood and stands out for the treatment of the nude and the expressive  power of the head. It shows on the whole the great knowledge Ramos had of the human body.
The way  Manolo Ramos carves his sculptures  is, above all, figurative. He always looks for the motives in which you can unleash the violent movements and positions of the human body . He  cultivated with equal profusion the subjects of religious and profane character. Within the profane subjects portraits, nudes, and, to a lesser extent, racial subjects, children, maternities and animals abound.
Manolo Ramos basically worked the wood, especially the noble one, like the barbarian, the cedar, the mahogany or the ebony. But he  also carved the stone and sometimes used the bronze.
In the room there are interesting drawings made with coal where he carefully studies the forms of the human body and the expressions of the faces. Of great expressive force is the theme Canary peasants where he reflects the principles of the Canary indigenismo in every detail: the hardness of their faces by the work and the suffering, the clothes, etc., but within a great harmony and serenity. That is to say, Manolo Ramos reflects the social concern, not based on an exaltation of the worker, but of a certain denunciation, putting itself face to face with the harsh reality of the disinherited, but with a bitter tint, almost leaving no chink for a solution.. .

(Elena,, Ruth, Víctor)

Abraham Cárdenes and his students
He was born in Tejeda and he entered the Luján Pérez School. He founded the Municipal Academies of Fine Arts of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (1942-1971), playing the role of director.

Boys and girls of different ages and social and cultural conditions gathered around him so as to learn from his work. It was a public with a common interest:  the illusion and the fascinating attraction of Abraham Cárdenes, who had an absorbing personality and leonine head.
He was always cheerful, affable and optimistic in the face of adversity, his life evolved around his work,  and  later around his disciples. On many occasions, the work of his pupils presented in exhibitions, competed with his.
Several authors, some of them disciples of Cárdenes, emphasized his high sense of friendship, the goodness of his heart and his disconcerting cordiality. For example, Santiago Vargas, speaks of his vigor and vehemence, always smiling in spite of misfortune and misunderstanding. In the same way, Berlamiño, stands out his ingenuity and bohemian romanticism.

His art was original as he was himself, unmistakable, arrogant, grim, strong, expressive, vigorous and Cyclopean. The mountain, the rocks and the pyramid are his starting point, adjusting the forms to this short conception. He is, therefore, a giant sculptor in the style of Michelangelo. He does not add strange grafts of sculptures  to the Canary race or to the integrity of nature…
(Aurea; Estela)


Saturday, 18 February 2017

Grammar 5B Verbs of the Senses (ANSWER KEY)

Hello everyone. I am showing you the answers to exercises a, b and c on page 149


a.
 1 right
 2 right
3 I actually heard the bomb explode
4 It sounds like Beethoven 7th 
5 right
6 it feels more like plastic
right

b.
1 right       2 seems       3 seem        4 is looking      5 look

c.
 1 like      2 seems       3 shut/close/ slam    4 if/though    5 of       6 fishing     7 can't

Monday, 23 January 2017

Unit 3C -Keys and links




-Visit THIS LINK to do some further practice on I wish and If only...

- Visit THIS ONE to revise WOULD RATHER

Key to READING (HOMEWORK):
  • Text 1 (From Rags to Riches...)
                  1C   2B   3E   4D   5A   8F
  • Text 2  (Does Money make you happy?) 
  •      1C    2A    3F     4B       5E


Wednesday, 30 November 2016

Answers to HW


When you know you don't belong- READING:

1B   2A   3C   4B   5D   6C   7A   8C

Have you ever lived a similar experience? Or, does anyone close to you had one? PLEASE, LEAVE A COMMENT and tell us!
Grammar Bank 3B
  1. Not until years later did I realize my mistake.
  2. Never had we seensuch magnificent scenery.
  3. Not only did they dislike her, bu they also hated her family.
  4. Only when we had read his autobiography did we understand what he had really suffered.
  5. Hardly had we started to eat when we heard someone...
  6. Rarely have I read such a badly written novel.
  7. Not until the sun set did we put down our tools and rest.
  8. Not only was the hotel room depressing, but also cold/ it was cold as well.
  9. Only when it was unusually cold did they light the fire.
  10. No sooner had he gone to sleep than there was a knock on the door.
  11. ... Only then did I realize he full scale of the disaster.
  12. Scarcely had I destroyed the evidence when the police arrived.
  13. Never has he regretted the desicion he took on that day.
  14. Only when I had spoken to the manager was the problem sorted out.

Inversion?




-Visit THIS LINK to do some further practice on I wish and If only...

- Visit THIS ONE to revise WOULD RATHER

Key to READING (HOMEWORK):
  • Text 1 (From Rags to Riches...)
                  1C   2B   3E   4D   5A   8F
  • Text 2  (Does Money make you happy?) 
  •      1C    2A    3F     4B       5E


Wednesday, 16 November 2016

This week Revision

SPECULATION & DEDUCTION  (unit 3A)

There are many ways of saying that something will probably or possibly happen in English.

Probable

bound to = certain: "They are bound to succeed!"

sure to
 = certain: "He is sure to win the championship."

likely to
 = probable: "We are likely to win the contract."

likely/ unlikely: "An election is likely next year." “ That’s unlikely to happen”

will definitely happen
: "There will definitely be a storm later."

will probably happen
: "They will probably take on more staff."

Be bound + to-infinitive is used to refer to future events which are certain or very likely to happen:
Kevin is stuck in a traffic jam, so he is bound to be late.
Be likely + to-infinitive and it is likely + that-clause are used for future events which are probably going to happen:
Smokers are more likely to develop lung cancer compared to non-smokers.
It is likely that he will win the race.
The modal verbs can, could, may, might, should, will, would and must  are used to show that we believe something is certain, probable or possible:
Possibility:
We use the modals could, might and may to show that something is possible in the future, but not certain:
They might come later. (= Perhaps/Maybe they will come later.)
They
 may come by car. (= Perhaps/Maybe they will come by car.)
If we don’t hurry we
 could be late. (= Perhaps/Maybe we will be late)
We use could have, might have and may have to show that something was possible now or at some time in the past:
It’s ten o’clock. They might have arrived now.
They
 could have arrived hours ago.
We use the modal can to make general statements about what is possible:
It can be very cold in winter. (= It is sometimes very cold in winter)
You
 can easily lose your way in the dark. (= People often lose their way in the dark)
We use the modal could as the past tense of can:
It could be very cold in winter. (= Sometimes it was very cold in winter.)
You
 could lose your way in the dark. (= People often lost their way in the dark)
Impossibility:
We use the negative can’t or cannot to show that something is impossible:
That can’t be true.
You
 cannot be serious.
We use couldn’t/could not to talk about the past:
We knew it could not be true.
He was obviously joking. He
 could not be serious.
Probability:
We use the modal must to show we are sure something to be true and we have reasons for our belief:
It’s getting dark. It must be quite late.
You haven’t eaten all day. You
 must be hungry.
We use must have for the past:
They hadn’t eaten all day. They must have been hungry.
You look happy. You
 must have heard the good news.
We use the modal should to suggest that something is true or will be true in the future, and to show you have reasons for your suggestion:
Ask Miranda. She should know.
It's nearly six o'clock. They
 should arrive soon.
We use should have to talk about the past:
It's nearly eleven o'clock. They should have arrived by now.
_______________________________________
  • Did you get stuck with GET and its uses? Then GO HERE and practise further.


  • For the use of " THE SAKE OF..." GO HERE!

Finally, improve your pronunciation with Steve MArtin :-)

Wednesday, 2 November 2016

A question of time....

    These last few days we've been looking at unit 2B, which is about distancing, time and multitasking.
Please, revise grammar and vocabulary both in your student's book,  in the photocopies given -and also in your workbook!

    REMEMBER your homework for next Monday (7th) is to read the text on pages 28-29 and do exercise c) ( LEXIS IN CONTEXT) only!

Time expresions na2 unit 2 b from DULCE ROSALES

HAVE A gorgeous weekend.

Wednesday, 26 October 2016

KEY to grammar revision exercises (1C,2A, 2B)



Now...Go check!

1C  pronouns
a.
2 It's    3 themselves   4 it's    5 you   6 you     7 there's    8 their    9 themselves     10 one another    11 they    12 there's

b.
 2 there     3 They    4 one    5 It      6 you     7 they     8 yourself    9 they    10 you     11 there    12 it

2A past:narrative tenses, used to and would

2 had been living/ had lived    3 looked    4 used to frown/ would frown/ frowned   5 used to/ would wash/ washed   6 was playing    7 rememebered     8 had told    9 jumped   10  was passing/ passed    11 had made         12 was awaiting/ awaited     13 heard      14 always got off/ would always get off/ always used to get off

2B distancing
a. 2 It seems that men are more at risk...
    3. It appears that she has changed her mind...
    4. It seems that you are unable to deal...
    5.It seems that the weather is improving

b.  2 A spokesman is expected to make an announcement...
     3. More than half of the population are believed to suffer from headaches.
     4.  Saint Petersburg is said to be one of the ...
     5. At least 70 people are thought to have been injured ...
     6. The economy is expected to grow...
c.
according to, do not appear to have been used, apparently, there are said to be, it has been suggested, may have broken down


Monday, 24 October 2016

Writing ... childhood recollections



    My favorite childhood memory that sticks out in my head was my dad taking me to see Star Wars when I was six years old. It is the first movie I remember going to see though I don't think it was my first. I remember being transported into this fascinating world and when Luke rescued Leah the audience cheered and applauded. It was so much fun I expected every movie to be like that. Of course it wasn't though I've been a movie buff and especially a science fiction fan ever since (MARK)

--------------------------------------------
    My most cherished childhood memory was learning how to read. It wasn't easy but once I did I had that skill for life and nobody could take it away from me. I especially love reading Curious George. Those books really bring a smile to my face. .. that monkey going on all sorts of adventures. I remember one book where he used newspaper to make a special boat that he went in with the man with yellow hat. Pretty funny that is what I remember from my childhood. (PHILIP)


ACTIVITY: d) Student’s book – page 21.

 Imagine you were asked to contribute to the book When we were young.  Choose one of the headings in a) and write a paragraph about your childhood -either a specific incident or / and things which happened habitually.

PLEASE, enter comments and write your paragraphs there!

FURTHER PRACTICE on  USED TO / WOULD
HERE and HERE
.
.
.

Monday, 10 October 2016

ANSWERS unit 1

ANSWERS TO extra exercises on 'HAVE' and 'WORK' (photocopy).

WORK
1 charge of       2 off    3 a team    4 prospects     5  be/get promoted     6 short-term    7 employees      8 staff    9 training    10 qualifications     11 self-employed     12 made redundant    13 out of work     14 voluntary/unpaid    15 challenging    16 repetitive    17 career    18 perks/benefits


HAVE
a)
2 I've been reading    3 don't have /havent'got       4 to have escaped    5 Don't you have    6 already have    7 I'll be having    8 didn't have to      9 have it dry cleaned     10 I've got to/I have to

b)
2 've had/ 've been having    3 has this been going on       4 having my hair cut    5 've seen     6 he doesn't have/ hasn' got     7 Do you have /Have you got     8 I've got

Activation : IN CLASS!


See you again on Monday the 17th.
REMEMBER there will be a Listening & Reading Test next Wednesday, 19th.

 HAVE A BEAUTIFUL WEEK !