Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!! 

Practice some English while learning some new expressions of fear. Listen to the creeps and read it as you listen, text

Source: Learnenglish Teens at the British Council

What to know about Meat and Cancer

A World Health Organization (WHO) group declared on Monday that processed meat, such as hot dogs and bacon, causes cancer and red meat may as well. The determination was made by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which is the arm of the WHO that gives recommendations based on cancer risk. The group, which included 22 scientists from 10 countries, evaluated the carcinogenicity of red and processed meat based on available research. Read More: The Science Behind How Bacon Causes Cancer The group classified processed meat as carcinogenic to humans “based on sufficient evidence in humans that the consumption of processed meat causes colorectal cancer,” the agency said in a statement.

They classified red meat as “probably” carcinogenic to humans due to limited evidence it causes cancer, and strong evidence that it supports a “carcinogenic effect.” The findings were published in the journal The Lancet Oncology. Here’s what you should know about the news. What’s the link between eating meat and cancer? The IARC looked at more than 800 studies on the link between red and processed meat and cancer risk and determined that every 50 gram portion of processed meat eaten daily increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 18%.

The agency is not the first to reach the determination that processed meat, and possibly red meat, increases the risk of colorectal cancer—which is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) and the World Cancer Research Fund have also concluded that eating even small amounts of processed meats on a regular basis can increase colorectal cancer risk.
Source: Time.comhttp://time.com/4086858/who-meat-cancer/?xid=newsletter-brief

how to give good news

Perhaps you're a boss and you want to tell an employee they've been given a promotion. Or maybe you're a teacher and you want to tell a student they've passed their exams.

In this video you can read and listen to the text at the same time. It would be a good idea if you wrote those expressions used in English to give good news and memorize them.

Source: BBC learning English

Adele's Hello

Adele’s Hello isn’t the kind you really want to hear.
Certainly not if you’re someone who’s recently dumped a partner. It’s the “Hello” that says: “Yeah, I’m fine. Just wanted a chat. Oh, and who’s that I saw going into your flat on Thursday night? No, I wasn’t outside. My friend saw you. OK, I was just walking past. My friend, er, lives on your street. Yeah, I’ve moved back. Why? Does that bother you? Does it matter that it’s 11 years since we split? Didn’t I matter to you AT ALL? You know I’ve been on Sertraline since you left me, don’t you?”

LYRICS:

Democracy

In this video you will see what it takes to make a democracy work and why it gives its people so many freedoms and protections.            

Take a look at What is Democracy? to learn about the main elements and principles of a democratic government. Also don't forget to understand democracy through the lens of history which will provide more context for its present day form. Start with democracy in Ancient Greece, then The Magna Carta and its importance to democracy. Lastly, consider reading about Rousseau's idea of the General Will of the people.

Source: TED Talks

abbreviations, acronyms

How well do you know your FAQs from your BPMs? Would you know when to RSVP? Don’t worry if these strings of letters seem baffling to you. Today we’re taking a look at 50 of the most useful English abbreviations and acronyms to help you navigate everything from official documents and friendly invitations to casual conversations in a nightclub.

Source: Pearson ELT Learning Journeys

This woman is revolutionazing modern medicine

Mrs Pereira may solve one of the oldest problems in surgery.

Source: Time.com

European Day of Languages

Hi:
This video was made by the Official School of Languages in Pamplona.
Enjoy!

An Inspector calls

Hi,

Would you like to go to the theater in English? This is a show by "Madrid Players"

 

PRICES

Adults: 12 Euros

Groups/children: 10 Euros

Madrid Players members: 6 Euros

 

ticketsmadridplayers@gmail.com

www.madridplayers.org

 

Questions about the life of Junípero Serra

The canonization of 18th-century Spanish missionary Father Junípero Serra, who was made a saint by Pope Francis in Washington on Wednesday, represents a strategic move by the Catholic Church in the United States. During a conference in May, Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gómez called Serra the “first Mexican immigrant” because “he lived and worked more than a dozen years in Mexico before coming to California.”

The Mallorca-born missionary, who lived from 1713 to 1784, traveled with Spanish expeditions to help convert the Native American communities living in what is now California to Christianity. At age 56, he arrived in the unexplored Spanish territory and later set up nine missions between San Diego and San Francisco; these missions today are preserved as important historic sites. Although he is not well-known in Spain, Father Serra is a monumental figure in California history. His biography is studied in schools and the story of the American West cannot be told without mentioning Serra’s name.

European Day of Languages

To celebrate the European Day of Languages on Sept 26th, here is an infographic about the English Language.

In the Heart of New Orleans

You may like to train your ear by listening to this document about New Orleans and the 10th anniversary from Hurricane Katrina.
Listen and write T (true) or F (false) beside these statements.

New Orleans

1) The French Quarter is the oldest part of New Orleans.
2) New Orleans was founded in 1780.
3) The architecture of the French Quarter is typically French.
4) Most of the tourist spots are in the French Quarter.

5) Over a thousand people were killed when Hurricane Katrina struck ten years ago.
6) Only a few of the neighbourhoods have recovered from the disaster.

Here’s Proof That You Are Wired To Be Lazy

Trying to lose weight? Your nervous system may be working against you

When you have one free evening and two competing impulses—to work out and to binge watch—which do you usually follow?

You’ll be relieved to hear that choosing the couch is only human. Humans are inherently lazy, which may be a trait left over from our ancestors’ days of conserving energy for the next hunt. Unfortunately, a small new study published in the journal Current Biology finds that even when we do choose to move, our bodies naturally do it in the most economical way possible—which is bad news for anyone trying to lose weight.

 

Science has already proven that our bodies naturally choose the most efficient way to walk, at a speed and step length that limits the number of calories we expend. What’s not known is whether the nervous system—responsible for movements like walking—continuously optimizes movement, in real time, to use the least amount of energy possible. “If your nervous system is working against you you’re trying to keep your calories burned as low as possible,” says study co-author Max Donelan, professor of biomedical physiology and kinesiology at Simon Fraser University in Canada. “And that’s indeed what we found.”

 

In the new research, the researchers outfitted nine people in a sort of motorized leg brace designed to disrupt the normal way people walk by adding resistance to their knee joints. The people in the study then walked on a treadmill while the researchers measured how their gait adapted to the device.

In just minutes, they found that people changed the way that they walked in a way that conserved the most calories—even very small amounts. “The nervous system is capable of doing this energy optimization and does it below the level of your conscious awareness to such a fine degree,” says Donelan. “This is the first real strong evidence that the nervous system even has the ability to do that.”

Though they only studied walking, the researchers think that the nervous system’s tendency to hoard calories applies to many movements. “This is good news if you’re an athlete,” Donelan says. “You’d like your body to be helping you move as cheaply as possible if you’re trying to win a race so you have as many energy reserves as you possibly can.” But if you’re exercising to sweat off calories, it’s not great news, he says.

Source: Time.com

Desperate Crossing

IN THE CLOUDLESS EARLY HOURS OF JULY 27, two tiny fishing boats drifted across the Mediterranean Sea. Crammed aboard were 733 would-be migrants, including 59 children under the age of 5. Most were from the impoverished and despotically ruled northeast African nation of Eritrea.

Source: The New York Times

How to speak so that people want to listen

Have you ever felt like you're talking, but nobody is listening? Here's Julian Treasure to help you fix that. As the sound expert demonstrates some useful vocal exercises and shares tips on how to speak with empathy, he offers his vision for a sonorous world of listening and understanding.
Source: TED Julian Treasure

English is the queerest language

Hi,

I'd like to wish you all good luck tomorrow 9th at the exam. In the meantime, this poem will entertain you with some pronounciation reflections.

'Migrant' Or 'Refugee'? Why The Distinction Matters

As Europe debates how to deal with the influx of people landing on its shores, the language used to describe them is subject to its own dispute.
This is an example of how language can be misleading and used to manipulate voters and listeners.
Source: Newsy
Transcript

hi

Sara would like to say hi and thank you for the nice outfit she's wearing today. She's very happy about it, can't you tell?

The English we speak

Hi,

This BBC series The English we speak is a fantastic source of new expressions. I recommend you dowload its programs and listen to the definition of for example red tape.

Have a good day

Where does English come from?

When we talk about ‘English’, we often think of it as a single language. But what do the dialects spoken in dozens of countries around the world have in common with each other, or with the writings of Chaucer? Claire Bowern traces the language from the present day back to its ancient roots, showing how English has evolved through generations of speakers.