10.06.2010

SPEED DATING

The origin of speed dating

The concept of speed-dating originated in Los Angeles, California

in 1999. It was invented by a rabbi to help singles in the Jewish

community find a partner. Originally singles were given eight

minutes together, to make an impression before moving on to

the next potential partner. At the end of the rotation they wrote

down who was hot and who was not, and in the case of a good

match contact details were exchanged.

The concept was soon exported, and took off in London in 2000.

The craze soon spread all over the UK, and spawned Speed

Dating Agencies and an Internet Site for finding Mr. or Ms right.

The eight minute limit is supposedly based on science. It is the

time required for our hormones to tell us whether the person

opposite us is a potential mate. In our increasingly busy lives,

where traditional courtship rituals are disappearing this time

limit has now been further reduced to only three minutes, about

the same time it takes us to brush our teeth.





10.01.2010

The Big Bang Theory

Leonard and Sheldon are brilliant physicists, the kind of "beautiful minds" that understand how the universe works. But none of that genius helps them interact with people, especially women. All this begins to change when a free-spirited beauty named Penny moves in next door. Sheldon, Leonard's roommate, is quite content spending his nights playing Klingon Boggle with their socially dysfunctional friends, fellow CalTech scientists Wolowitz and Koothrappali. However, Leonard sees in Penny a whole new universe of possibilities... including love.

LOL

What are you doing?
Size ratio was all wrong.
Couldn't visualize it.Needed bigger carbon atoms.

Sure, sure.
How did you get into this place?
Back door has a five-pin tumbler system,single-circuit alarm.
Child's play.

You can start sorting protons and neutrons while I build carbon atoms.
No, I don't think so.
We need to go home now.
But I'm still working.
If you don't come out of there,I'm going to have to drag you out.
You can try, but you'll never catch me.
For God's sake.Sheldon, come here!
Bazinga.

Script

5.23.2010

Robin Hood, again.

Interview with Russell Crowe. Spanish subtitles.
Más información sobre esta película

5.12.2010

Helena Bonham Carter on Alice in Wonderland.







Listen and try to fill in the blanks.
Helena Bonham Carter on Alice in Wonderland.
1. The film Alice in Wonderland is a _______________ of Lewis Carol’s original tale.
2. A 19-year-old Alice _______ ________ the rabbit hole to Wonderland, which she discovers is actually called Underland.
3. There she meets up with old friends and takes on a quest to _______________ the wicked queen who is ruling the land with fear.
‘Off with his head! ‘, ‘Off with his head! ‘
4. The movie has an outright _______________ message
5. Helena is a _______________ despotic, ghastly old battleaxe in the film.
6. Helena inspired on her daughter to play the part of the Red Queen who is a _______________.
7. The Red Queen’s head is enormous, gigantic, bulbous like a _______________.
8. Girls all over the world would love the _______________ The lips would set a trend.
9. Anne Hathaway plays the _______________ queen.
10. Helena wears blue eye shadow, about four _______________, very high eyebrows and a very high hairline. Tim Burton was quite specific about that.

Check your answers

Off with his head



Someone has stolen three of my tarts!
- Did You steal them?
- No, Your Majesty.
- Did You?
- No, Your Majesty.
- Did You steal them?
- No, Your Majesty.
- Did you steal my tart?
- No, Your Majesty ...
It´s cranberry juice.
- I was so hungry! I did not mean to ...
- Off with his head!

5.04.2010

BP must pay for oil spill






Listen and fill in the gaps with the correct information:



American President Barack Obama ___________________ British Petroleum (BP) is responsible _____________________ up the huge oil spill off America’s southern coast. The oil slick is now the size of Jamaica and has started washing up on beaches in Louisiana. Obama told reporters that BP "is ultimately responsible ___________________ paying the costs of response and cleanup operations". US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano ___________________. She called on BP to take urgent action to send resources to tackle the disaster. BP’s CEO Tony Hayward is in the area to personally direct the emergency mop-up ___________________ exercise. President Obama ___________________ area.

The catastrophe _____________________ a BP offshore oil rig exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico. As much as 5,000 ___________________ are now pouring into the sea. Experts believe it is on its way to becoming the worst oil spill in U.S. history. ____________________ 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster. The ___________________ enormous environmental and economic damage to the southern U.S. states. Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi have all called a state of emergency. One of the biggest problems ___________________ cleaning up the oil. The affected coastline is full of wetlands that are difficult to reach by boat. Hundreds of different species are under threat including ___________________ marine life.



from:http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com

4.19.2010

Books made into films

Bridget Jones's Diary


And here you have an excerpt from the book:
Bridget Jones's Diary excerpt

4.14.2010

English and movies



from www.saberingles.com


Read the passages and try to understand them. Then, read the vocabulary explanation. Finally, read the passage again

DONKEY: Shrek? Well, you know what I like about you, Shrek? You got that kind of I-don't-care-what-nobody-thinks-of-me thing. I like that. I respect that, Shrek. You all right. Whoa! Look at that. Who'd want to live in a place like that?
SHREK: That would be my home.
DONKEY: Oh! And it is lovely! Just beautiful. You know you are quite a decorator. It's amazing what you've done with such a modest budget. I like that boulder. That is a nice boulder. I guess you don't entertain much, do you?
SHREK: I like my privacy.
DONKEY: You know, I do too. That's another thing we have in common. Like I hate it when you got somebody in your face. You've trying to give them a hint, and they won't leave. There's that awkward silence.


kind of
tipo de, clase de
I-don't-care-what-nobody-thinks-of-me
no me importa lo demáslos piensan demí. Esta frase está escrita con guiones porque se la utiliza como si fuera un adjetivo de "thing". En español diríamos "Tienes ese tipo de cosa de no me importa lo que los demás piensan de mí.
budget
presupuesto
boulder roca, canto rodado
to give/drop somebody a hint
lanzar una indirecta a alguien
to leave
marcharse, irse
awkward
incómodo, embarazoso

Follow the link above and keep practising.

4.02.2010

Present Perfect

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

3.25.2010


Invitation to join my EnglishCentral.com class



http://class.englishcentral.com/ibanez

3.24.2010

Another song for the present perfect


Lyrics
"Never Ever" All Saints

A few questions that I need to know
how you could ever hurt me so
I need to know what I've done wrong
and how long it's been going on
Was it that I never paid enough attention?
Or did I not give enough affection?
Not only will your answers keep me sane
but I'll know never to make the same mistake again
You can tell me to my face or even on the phone
You can write it in a letter, either way, I have to know
Did I never treat you right?
Did I always start the fight?
Either way, I'm going out of my mind
all the answers to my questions
I have to find

My head's spinning
Boy, I'm in a dazeI feel isolated
Don't wanna communicate

I'll take a shower, I will scour
I will rub
To find peace of mind
The happy mind I once owned, yeah

Flexing vocabulary runs right through me
The alphabet runs right from A to Zed
Conversations, hesitations in my mind
You got my conscience asking questions that I can't find

I'm not crazy
I'm sure I ain't done nothing wrong, no
I'm just waiting
'Cause I heard that this feeling
won't last that long

Never ever have I ever felt so low
When you gonna take me out of this black hole?
Never ever have I ever felt so sad
The way I'm feeling yeah, you got me feeling really bad

Never ever have I had to find
I've had to dig away to find my own peace of mind
I've Never ever had my conscience to fight
The way I'm feeling, yeah, I just don't feel right

I'll keep searching
Deep within my soul
For all the answers
Don't wanna hurt no more

I need peace, got to feel at ease
Need to be.
Free from pain - going insane
My heart aches, yeah

Sometimes vocabulary runs through my head
The alphabet runs right from A to Zed
Conversations, hesitations in my mind
You got my conscience asking questions that I can't find

I'm not crazy,
I'm sure I ain't done nothing wrong
I'm just waiting
'Cause I heard that this feeling won't last that long

Never ever have I ever felt so low
When ya gonna take me out of this black hole?
Never ever have I ever felt so sad
The way I'm feeling yeah, you got me feeling really bad

Never ever have I had to find
I've had to dig away to find my own peace of mind
I've Never ever had my conscience to fight
The way I'm feeling, yeah, I just don't feel right x4

You can tell me to my face,
You can tell me on the phone,
Uh, You can write it in a letter, babe
'Cause I really need to know

You can write it in a letter, babe
You can write it in a letter, babe

3.19.2010

Present Perfect

Follow these links to practise the Present Perfect tense:
Practice 1
Practice 2
Practice 3

Have you ever seen the rain?

Sing along this beautiful song and practise your present perfect.
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3.07.2010

Pronunciación

Hola Mañana empezamos con la pronunciación