5.29.2010

Podcast on anti-social behaviour (Gordon Brown)

Listen and answer the questions, choose the right option or complete the following sentences. (Check your answers in “comments”).


1. What are the results of the government’s tough action?
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2. He knows that all facts and statistics are small comfort to the man who’s worried about ___________________________________________ or the person intimidated by rowdiness ___________________________________________ or the neighbour who­­­­­­­­­­­___________________________________________
3. He says that, although he’s proud of their record, he would never be satisfied while a single British pensioner ___________________________________________________________ or a couple think it twice ___________________________________________________________.
4. What’s he going to do because the public have the right to know? How?
5. What will happen to every single one of the most chaotic families in Britain?
6. What will happen every time a young person bridges an ASBO?
7. Which of these measures have been taken recently?
a) They’ve created a new Team of Victims Champions to act on behalf or victims of anti-social behaviour.
b) Local councils will ban 24-hour drinking.
c) They’ve made local residents pay the cost of dealing with binge drinking.
d) Pubs and clubs will be made to pay the cost of keeping the neighbourhood safe?
8. What will they ensure in the future?
9. In the following days he says he’ll meet different people (local residents, police, the Victims Champion…) to see what more they can do to _______________________________________.
10. What is the government’s priority?

Dealing with anti-social behaviour

This is the video we saw yesterday in class.

5.27.2010

Cycling for food

Listen to the programme and take notes. Then you can read the script and learn some vocabulary.

Keep your English up to date

Staycation: listen to the origin of this new word.
A slip of the thumb: listen to what this word means.

Making a complaint

Listen to this programme and take a closer look at the language of complaining. When you have listened to the programme, you can read the script if you want. Don't forget to practise what you've learned with the activity at the bottom of the page.

There are other How to... in case you want to have a look at them.

5.26.2010

Biodiversity

Listen to the explanation of the word "biodiversity" in the news.

5.21.2010

Secrets of the rainforest

Listen to the programme and take notes. Then you can read the script.
Writing formal letters in English:
- Have a look at this website to see some instructions to write formal letters in English and some sample letters.
- Look at an example of business letters format.

Letters of complaint:
- This page describes the content, language and organisation of letters of complaint. There are also example letters and an exercise. There is a different page on how to reply to complaint letters.

5.17.2010

Tube successfully inserted into Gulf leak?

BP says tube successfully inserted back into Gulf leak. Watch the latest news about the spill.

Gulf Oil Spill

Experts question estimates of Gulf Oil Spill. Watch the video.

Your ecological footprint

Calculate your ecological footprint (Spain is not one of the options, but maybe you can click on Italy and calculate it).

Earthdaytv

Go to Greener Living and watch What is Green Building? for example.

How green is your office? A green hotel

Listen to a conversation between an office worker and his boss. They are talking about how to make their office greener.
Then you can see the audioscript and do different activities online.

Watch a video about a green hotel and answer the questions. You can also see the text and do more activities.

The Greenhouse Effect

Listen to an expert explaining what the Greenhouse Effect is.

Read the transcript and see some vocabulary.

5.07.2010

UK ELECTIONS

Read the latest news about the UK General Elections.

What parents and kids are really doing online

Listen to this podcast and answer the questions (answers in "comments")

1. What is the Norton Online Living Report?
2. What is ChildNet International's aim?
3. What are the children doing?
4. How many children in Britain report they've been approached by a stranger online?
5. What's the problem with parents?
6. What would ChildNet International like to see parents doing in order to protect children online?
7. What are these percentages: 75% and 40%?
8. What can parents do even if they aren't technical?

SPEAKING: Communication phrases and expressions

Learn and review some useful expressions for oral exams (you can listen to them).

1. Thinking time: Conversation Time Fillers
2. Agreeing and Disagreeing.
3. Taking turns: interrupting and turn-taking.
4. Interrupting politely.
5. Paraphrasing expressions: repeating things in a different way.

5.06.2010

Drabble competition winners

Click here to read the two prizewinning stories in the Intermediate Level.

5.03.2010

5.01.2010

Battle for Internet Freedom

After a long dispute, Google is saying goodbye to the world's biggest Internet population: China. As Terry McCarthy reports, many U.S. firms are rethinking their online business with the communist nation.

Watch this video and answer the questions (answers in "comments").

1. What has Google decided to do?
2. Where have the 384 million users been moved?
3. Why did the Chinese government ban Google from operating inside the country?
4. When did the dispute begin? Why?
5. What was Beijing's reaction?
6. What does the blogger say?
7. What happened to sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube last year?
8. Why did Google decide it didn't have a choice?
9. What does James Lewis say?
10. What did Hillary Clinton demand?

Wireless Networks Are Soft Virus Targets


Listen to the podcast and take notes. Then you can listen and read the transcript.