Friday 30 September 2011

Banks get ready for Greek failure to pay debt

                                                        The National Bank of Greece

Win for Athletic and draw for Atlético


Both Spanish sides lead their groups in the Europa League
Athletic Club de Bilbao now lead group F in the Europa League after two consecutive wins, and a 2-0 win on Thursday against Paris Saint-Germain. Goals came from Igor Gabilondo and Markel Susaeta, both in the first half. It’s a good result for the side currently bottom of the league.
Nine French supporters were arrested before the game.
Atlético de Madrid remains leader in group I of the Europa League, thanks to an 86th minute equaliser from Juanfran against Rennes on Thursday night. The French side had gone ahead from a long-distance shot from Montaño.
The Madrid side will be relieved with the result, as they never looked comfortable in the game.

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_32147.shtml#ixzz1ZSaFem5y

Spain to pilot a new driving test


A new driving test has been announced in Spain in which the pupil will choose the route to take for ten minutes. Another change is that the pupil will be given the result note at the end of the drive, as well as a list of the mistakes made. However the examiners will remain silent until the test is ended, with the full drive lasting a maximum of 25 minutes. Seven Spanish provinces, Madrid, Barcelona, Burgos, Segovia, Gran Canaria, Sevilla and Navarra, have been chosen to pilot the new format of the exam, and driving schools in Burgos, Gran Canaria and Sevilla are already geared up.
DGT traffic director, Pere Navarro, said that the idea was to create an examination of ‘higher quality’ and to adapt to the European guidelines

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_32152.shtml#ixzz1ZSXiwXAD

Monday 26 September 2011

Albert was named after his grandfather.

name someone after someone/something to give someone or something the same name as someone or something else, especially the same first name as a member of your family

Listen to 4 people talking about their names. They answer the following questions:
1. What's your name?
2. How do you spell it?
3. Why did your family call you that?
4. Are you happy with your name?  Why/why not?
5. Would you like to change it?

Now it's your turn to answer the same questions.

Answers:
Speaker 1. Layla. My parents were both big fans of Eric Clapton and one of his famous songs is called Layla.   On the one hand she thinks it's an exotic name so she likes it. The problem is that everyone associates it with the song and when she says her name, people always make a comment about it or even sing a bit of the song. She gets really fed up with it. She wouldn't like to change it.

Speaker 2: Brian. His dad was called Brian and he wanted him to have the same name.
To be honest he's not happy with his name. Nowadays it's considered to be an old-fashioned name. People think that somebody called Brian must be a really boring person even before they meet him.
He would like to change his name. He'd like to have a more glamorous name.

Speaker 3: Ghislaine. Her mother chose it because it was the name of her best friend at school.
She's happy with her name now, but as a child she hated it. It's a French name but not even that common in France and in England nobody's ever heard of it. She's had to spend her whole life spelling it and that's really awful. She wouldn't change her name now but she'd never give it to a child of hers. That's one of the reasons why she called her children Ann and Tom, nice, short, easy names that everyone can spell and pronounce.

Speaker 4: Kenneth. He's not sure. He was named after an uncle, his father's brother. He's happy with it.

From: file intermediate Plus. OUP

Sunday 25 September 2011

Getting to know each other

You are going to hear a conversation that took place during the coffee break in a language class. The conversation is between two English people, Jack and Lisa, studying Italian in England.


Listen and find out which questions they asked.

Try to remember as much as you can about Jack and Lisa.

Wednesday 14 September 2011

Wednesday 7 September 2011

Daily Horoscope

Read astrological predictions for your zodiac sign

Your ideal trip

What would be your ideal trip?

Watch the video to read and hear what some people in London told us.

Shopping

Hear what people in London say, then join the conversation! What's the best and worst thing about shopping where you live?

Click below to listen to what some people in London told us, and see the words:

Computer games

Every week we ask you a different question. Hear what people in London say, then join the conversation! How do you feel about computer games? Tell us which ones you play and why.

Click here to listen to what some people in London told us, and see the words:

Shopping centres

What is the advantage of going to a big shopping centre?

Dan and Rob talk about shopping centres and compare shopping in a local high street and a shopping centre.




Friday 2 September 2011

Ebooks

Which do you like to read best ebook, paperback, hardcover, or scroll?

Sample answers
A hardcover definitely. I find it easier to read. A paperback will be kinda difficult to read with and the binds are easily destroyed.

E-books are good too but I it is always better to read with a real book. I never bought an E-book but I see my friends using it so I checked it out. Not my type though.
A scroll will always be the least picked by people. You wouldn't want to bring a scroll with you while in the malls. It will make you look crazy.
_______________
I like a paper-back because they are light weight. You can take them anywhere you go without it being cumbersome and there is a huge choice to pick from. Hardcovers can be heavy and too big. ebooks are limited in choices of titles and I've never seen a book in scroll!

_____________
Definitely hardcover. Sometimes paperback is okay though


Ebooks

Ebooks can be read on various electronic devices
Dan and Alice talk about the rise of electronic books, or ebooks, which can be read on devices like the Amazon Kindle or Apple iPad. Listen to the programme.