Ms Bermejo's classes: January 2017

January 28, 2017

Fact check: President Trump's first week

President Trump made claims about the election, the C.I.A., and his inauguration crowd size. The New York Times checked the facts.

January 26, 2017

Recommended series

Hi,

These are the series that your classmates recommended. Why not have a look?

TREME

Life after Hurricane Katrina as the residents of New Orleans try to rebuild their lives, their homes, and their unique culture in the aftermath of one of the worst natural disasters in the USA.

Boardwalk Empire
Boardwalk Empire is a period drama focusing on Enoch "Nucky" Thompson (based on the historical Enoch L. Johnson), a political figure who rose to prominence and controlled Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition period of the 1920s and 1930s. Nucky acts with historical characters in both his personal and political life, including mobsters, politicians, government agents, and the common folk who look up to him. The federal government also takes an interest in the bootlegging and other illegal activities in the area, sending agents to investigate possible mob connections but also looking at Nucky's lifestyle—expensive and lavish for a county political figure.

January 25, 2017

The loop

Chicago's "Loop" is the city's official downtown area. The second largest downtown business district in the United States. The Loop is known for its famous skyscrapers and historic buildings; it has been the site of architectural creativity and experimentation for years.

January 23, 2017

Chicago's Legacy of Architecture

From its skyscrapers to its bridges, amazing feats of engineering have made the skyline of Chicago immediately identifiable and completely unforgettable. Watch and listen to CNN's Richard Quest on the legacy of architecture in the Windy City in this CNN segment of "Future Cities".

VOCABULARY

- Stunning: extremely beautiful or attractive:

- Becknoning a future: if something beckons to you, it is very attractive and you feel you have to do something to get it. A bright future beckoned.

- Backbone: the determination and strong personality that you need in order to do what is right or deal with a difficult situation. They wouldn’t have the backbone to disagree with him.

- Groundbreaking: using new methods, or achieving new results. A groundbreaking study of plant diversity.

- Stare: to look directly at someone or something for a long time. Don’t stare at people.

- The talk of the town: idle gossip or rumor; "there has been talk about you lately".

- Blank canvas: the term "blank canvas" can refer to a number of different things, both literal and metaphorical. However, all meanings have in common the idea of an empty starting point

- Accomplish to do or finish something successfully; achieve something.

- Set the tone: if something someone says or does sets the tone for an event or activity, it establishes the way that event or activity will continue, especially the mood of the people involved (often + for ) He was furious when she arrived late, and that set the tone for the whole evening.

- At full throttle: as fast as possible. When the horse reached the back stretch he was at full throttle.

- Set the stage: Fig. to prepare something for some activity. The initial meeting set the stage for further negotiations.

January 22, 2017

February Mock Exams

Hi,

The exams in February will take place on the following dates as you already know.

	Monday & Wednesday Group	Tuesday & Thursday Group
Reading, listening	20	21
Writing	22	23
Speaking	Feb 15, 20, 22	Feb 16, 21, 23

I'd also like to remind you that there will be C1 exams going on at our school on the last week of February (from Feb 27 to March 3) so there won't be class on those days either.