Extra resources: Saber Inglés

Hi,

Time to start revising for your June tests!

Here's a useful link to practise your reading/listening skills. Start with the Easy ones, follow the instructions carefully and do not try to understand every single word. Just listen carefully for the information you need to do the exercise.

Also, if you have time, pay a visit to the rest of the sections of the website. There are lots of useful exercises. Don't miss the Speaking and Writing sections either!

http://www.saberingles.com.ar/

Enjoy it!

File 6D. The Place where I live...

Read the following description about my home town, Cartagena. Pay attention to the use of linking words (in bold)

This is my home town, Cartagena. It is near the coast, in the south of Spain. In Cartagena, there are a lot of things to do. For example, do you like archaeology? Then, you can visit its beautiful Roman theatre and its museum. Do you like shopping? There are lots of shops in the city centre and also in the surrounding areas. Do you like tapas? There are some tapas bars near the port, and a lot of good restaurants in other areas of the city, too.

However, there is a problem. There is a lot of traffic, so some people say that Cartagena is a noisy and polluted town. What do you think?


Now read this tale and answer the question at the end of the story.

Around my neighbourhood

Try now these activities about the use of English.

In town II
In town III


If you want to do some extra homework, and to continue practising 'The place where I live', please do these two activities:

Houses and gardens
Happy Places

Blog entry courtesy of Isabel Bastida

File 6C. On the Catwalk (Present Continuous & Clothes revision)

Naomi Campbell is the best top model on the catwalk.

In the photo she's modelling casual clothes by Calvin Klein. Naomi's wearing a brown jacket and matching grey top. She's wearing jeans too. For a perfect look, she's wearing a golden belt and some bracelets.

But Naomi is sophisticated. She never wears casual clothes when she isn't working. She prefers dresses and high-heeled sandals.

ACTIVITIES:

Identify the tenses in bold. Why are we using them in the sentences?

Speaking
What are you wearing now? What's your favourite style?

Buying Clothes
Webquest

Listening
Guess the correct piece of clothing
What are you wearing today? (This is a bit difficult, but try!)
What do you think about shopping?


Courtesy of Isabel Bastida

Further readings: Sherlock Holmes: The case of the Blue Diamond

Hi,

If you are interested in some further readings for NB1, you can choose any of the Oxford Dominoes One series.

We will soon begin the Past Simple, so you can start thinking about getting one of those books. If you do not know which to choose, you can get "Sherlock Holmes: the case of the Blue Diamond" (see picture above).

NOTE:
The reading of this book is completely optional. No tests will be taken at the end of the course. If you need the answers to the activities, just ask me.

File 4: Extra reading: A day in the life of Shakira

Shakira has a busy life. From Monday to Friday she rehearses her songs in a famous studio in Los Angeles. She works very hard, about 9 hours a day.In the morning she goes to the gym to keep fit.

Her favourite day is Saturday because it's the beginning of the weekend. She loves belly dancing.

Is your daily routine similar to Shakira's? Is her life glamorous?





The following sentences contain one or more mistakes. Can you correct them?

1. My favourite day of the week is the thursday because I've got my favourites subjects.
2. In the morning of Friday I go shopping.
3. I usually listen music before going to bed.
4. After I meet my friends to go to ‘El Corte Inglés’.
5. Finally we dinner in a fast-food restaurant.
6. Then I go to the house of Emilio, my friend.
7. Later I brush my teeth and I play the computer.
8. On Friday I’m very happy because school finish.

Click on the Comments section to check the KEY to this exercise
 
Courtesy of Isabel M. Bastida

Song: Waltzing Matilda

"Waltzing Matilda" is Australia's "unofficial national anthem" and its most famous country folk song. The title is Australian slang for travelling by foot with one's goods in a "Matilda" (bag) slung over one's back.

The song narrates the story of an itinerant worker (or 'swagman') making a drink of tea at a bush camp and capturing a sheep to eat. When the sheep's owner arrives with three police officers to arrest the worker for the theft, the worker drowns himself in a small watering hole and goes on to haunt the site.

VOCABULARY:
anthem: a song that represents a country, nation or group.
slang: a type of language, words or expressions that are very informal.
goods: things
slung over one's back: colgadoen la espalda
theft: the crime of taking things without permission
to drown: to die because you are underwater and you cannot breathe.
to haunt: when a spirit appears in a house or other places.
site: place

Lecturas recomendadas Nivel Básico 1

Hi all!

Tan sólo informaros que hay un libro de lectura recomendado para Nivel Básico 1:

Rip Van Winkle & The legend of Sleepy Hollow (Dominoes Starter, Oxford)

Desde ahora mismo podéis adquirirlo y empezar a leerlo. Después de cada capítulo suele haber algunos ejercicios que podéis intentar hacer según avancéis, usando un diccionario si es necesario.

En Febrero haremos un pequeño test que servirá para evaluar puntalmente la destreza de Comprensión Escrita (Reading Comprehension).

*NOTA:
Si alguien se ha leido ya el libro "Rip Van Winkle & The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", en su lugar puede leer el siguiente libro:
 

"The Great Fire of London" (Dominoes Starter, Oxford):

NOTA 2:
Y si alguien desea leer algo más por su cuenta, también puede leer el siguiente libro, aunque el nivel es ligeramente más alto que los anteriores:

"Legends from the British Isles" (Green Apple / Black Cat)

See you!