Topic: Consumerism

Christmas time is round the corner. Lights, snow, joy,...consumerism! I can hardly see Santa with his sledge and offering joy and happiness but a lot of companies bombing us with their enticing ads on TV rather.  Everything they want us to do is consume as much as we can and the earlier, the better.

The black arts of psychological advertising were first developed after the last world war, when psychologists come into the field and advised the 'ad' men about the best ways to make commercialism into a religion, an ego trip of consumption, so was born the 'shopaholic.'

Nowadays, it seems as if Christmas time began right after Summer. In the United States, we could say that people start arranging their Christmas stuff on Thanksgiving's Day (last Thursday of November). But who says when Christmas is here? It goes without saying that we all know that Christmas's eve is on 24th December but joy and Christmas glee are floating in the air much earlier (that's not the case for Charles Dickens' character, Scrooge) . On the one hand, people tend to like this time of year because it is a good reason to get together with one's family, share special moments and forget about their problems. On the other hand, everybody tends to spend a lot of money with special food and presents. Sometimes the world forgets about those who can't afford a simple meal on a cold winter's night.

To be round the corner = estar a la vuelta de la esquina
sledge = trineo
enticing = alentador
to advise = aconsejar
shopaholic = adicto a las compras

Bookaholic: WUTHERING HEIGHTS by Emily Bronte

Wutherings Heights is known in Spanish as "Cumbres Borrascosas" and was written by Emily Bronte, sister to Charlotte Bronte (who wrote "Jane Eyre") and Anne Bronte (who wrote "Agnes Grey"). The story behind the book is one full of romanticism and despair among two lovers who, despite the fact that they're head over heels in love with each other, can't make it because life has been different for both; one chose a life brim with wealth and the other remained poor as he first was. The one who chose to become rich is Cathy, a character stricken by hatred, jealousy and madness who , although she is not in love with her present husband, decides to stay with him. Here's an excerpt from Chapter 15, where Heathcliff decides to send her lover a letter in order to get together.

Chapter 15
"Are you possessed with a devil,' he pursued, savagely, 'to talk in that manner to me when you're dying? Do you reflect that all those words will be branded in my memory, and eating deeper eternally after you have left me? You know you lie to say i have killed you: and, Catherine, you know that I could as soon forget you as my existence! Is it not sufficient for your infernal selfishness, that while you are at peace I shall writhe in the torments of hell?

"I shall not be at peace,' moaned Catherine, recalled to a sense of physical weakness by the violent, unequal throbbing of her heart, which beat visibly and audibly under this excess of agitation. She said nothing further till the paroxysm was over; then she continued, more kindly - 'I am not whishing you greater torment than I have, Heathcliff. I only wish us never to be parted: and should a word of mine distress you hereafter, think I feel the same distress underground, and for my own sake, forgive me! Come here and kneel down again! You never harmed me in your life."

(Some words may be difficult to understand because of the English of that period)

To be head over heels in love with = estar locamente enamorado
wealth = riqueza
hatred = odio
jealousy = celos
selfishness = egoísmo
to part = separarse
to distress = agobiar
underground = bajo tierra
for my own sake = por mi bien
to harm = dañar

Grammar spot: Prepositions II

Complete the sentences by adding a suitable word which goes with the preposition AT:

1. The car came round the corner at full _______
2. He was very good shot and could kill an elk at a _________ of 300 metres
3.He was very reluctant to do it at ______, but in the end he agreed.
4.Despite what people might hope, women are still at a _____ when it comes to getting a top job
5.Between 1939 and 1945, Britain was at ____ with Germany


ANSWERS:
1. at full speed = a toda velocidad
2. at a distance of = a una distancia de
3. at first = al principio
4. to be at a disadvantage = estar en desventaja
5. to be at war = estar en guerra

To be a good/bad shot = ser un buen/ mal tirador
elk = alce
reluctant = reacio
to agree = aceptar
Despite = a pesar de

Music: Alanis Morrissette "Everything"

FILL IN THE BLANKS!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6kLbDHu0yc

I can be an asshole of the grandest kind
I can withhold like it’s going out of style
I can be the moodiest baby and you’ve never met anyone
who is as________ as I am sometimes

I am the wisest _______ you've ever met.
I am the kindest soul with whom you've connected.
I have the bravest ______ that you've ever seen
And you've never met anyone
Who's as _______  as I am sometimes.

You see everything, you see every part
You see all my light and you love my _____
You dig everything of which I'm ashamed
There's not anything to which you can’t relate
And you’re still here

I _____ everyone else, not my own partaking
My passive-aggressiveness can be devastating
I'm terrified and mistrusting
And you’ve never met anyone as,
As closed down as I am sometimes.

You see everything, you see every part
You see all my light and you love my dark
You _____ everything of which I'm ashamed
There's not anything to which you can’t relate
And you’re still here

What I resist, persists, and speaks _____ than I know
What I resist, you love, no matter how low or high I go

I'm the funniest woman you've ever known.
I am the dullest woman you've ever known.
I'm the most ______ woman you've ever known
And you've never met anyone as, as everything as I am sometimes.

You see everything, you see every part
You see all my light and you love my dark
You dig everything of which I'm ashamed
There's not anything to which you can’t relate
And you’re still here

And you’re still here
And you're still here...

1. negative
2. woman
3. heart
4. positive
5. dark
6. blame
7. dig
8.louder
9. gorgeous

Grammar spot: Prepositions I

Here are a few sentences for you to complete since the prepositions are missing. The prepositions you will have to use are: AT, BY, FOR, IN.
( Answers are below the sentences, so try not to look at them )

1.He sent a copy of his will to his bank....safe keeping.
2. The house is to be sold...auction.
3. You could tell...a glance that he was different.
4.There has been a sharp increase... house prices recently.
5. Did she give you any reason...her behaviour?
6.Multiply six....seven.


ANSWERS:
1.for 2.at 3.at 4.in 5.for 6.by

will = herencia
auction = subasta
sharp = brusco
increase* = aumento

*increase: cuando se trata del sustantivo "aumento" el énfasis o stress se encuentra en la primera sílaba; cuando se trata del verbo "aumentar" debemos poner el énfasis en la última sílaba ( esta regla la siguen la mayoría de los verbos como "decrease", "rebel", ...)

Song : REM "The sidewinder sleeps tonight"

For those who ignores what this abbreviation means "REM"...here I go..."Rapid Eye Movement" don't ask me but I think it has to do with a nerve in the eye, maybe. As for the title of the song, when REM talks about sidewinders I could only guess of a species of rattlesnake.

TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE CHORUS SAYS WITHOUT LOOKING AT THE LYRICS!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFf7_IKa7k8

This here is the place I will be staying.
There isn't a number. You can call the pay phone.
Let it ring a long, long, long, long time.
If I don't pick up, hang up, call back, let it ring some more.
If I don't pick up, pick up...
The sidewinder sleeps, sleeps, sleeps in a coil

Call me when you try to wake her up. Call me when you try to wake her.
Call me when you try to wake her up. Call me when you try to wake her.
Call me when you try to wake her up. Call me when you try to wake her.

There are scratches all around the coin slot
like a heartbeat, baby trying to wake up,
but this machine can only swallow money.
You can't lay a patch by computer design.
It's just a lot of stupid, stupid signs.

Tell her,
tell her she can kiss my ass,
then laugh and say that you were only kidding.
That way she'll know that it's really, really, really, really me.

Call me when you try to wake her up. Call me when you try to wake her.
Call me when you try to wake her up. Call me when you try to wake her.
Call me when you try to wake her up. Call me when you try to wake her.

Baby, instant soup doesn't really grab me.
Today I need something more sub-sub-sub-substantial.
A can of beans or blackeyed peas, some Nescafe and ice,
a candy bar, a falling star, or a reading of Doctor Seuss;

Call me when you try to wake her up. Call me when you try to wake her.
Call me when you try to wake her up. Call me when you try to wake her.
Call me when you try to wake her up. Call me when you try to wake her.

The cat in the hat came back, wrecked a lot of havoc on the way,
always had a smile and a reason to pretend.
But their world has flat backgrounds and little need to sleep but to dream.
The sidewinder sleeps on his back.

Topic: Witches, Goblings and the whole crazy thing

What's the first thing in your mind when thinking about Halloween? Wicked pumpkins? Flying brooms? Horror movies? Actually, it's more than that. Halloween is a holiday which takes place on 31st October.
Its roots have to be found in a Celtic festival and the Christian holiday All Saints' day.

Trick or treat : it is a customary practice for children to carry bags full of sweets and knock on every door they come across to ask for sweets. They are in disguise  ( horror costumes) and they ask the popular question "trick or treat?". If any sweet is given to them, they may perform mischief on their property such as throwing eggs or painting the walls.

Wearing costumes: it is a tradition to wear costumes (usually scary costumes such as skeletons, vampires ghosts,..) on this special night. But not only costumes but accessories: masks, make-up, wigs,.. The more frightening you look, the better for the occasion.

Jack-o'-lanterns : carving Jack-o'-lanterns or scary pumpkins is a tradition when this season is coming. This practice was named like this after the phenomenon of strange light flickering over peat bogs (swamps). In a jack-o'-lantern, typically the top is cut off and remains the rest which is hollow. At night, a candle is placed inside the pumpkin (which normally has a strange face of horror made of cuts with a knife).

Apple bobbing: it is a game customarily played on Halloween. It comes from the verb "to bob for " which means to pick up with your teeth (or at least try to). The game is played by filling a basin with water and putting apples in the water. Players then try to catch one with their teeth. You mustn't use your hands and often are tied behind the back to prevent cheating.

Origin of the name : the word Halloween is first attested in the 16th century and represents a Scottish variant of the fuller All-Hallows-Even ("evening"), that is, the night before All Hallows Day.Although the phrase All Hallows is found in Old English (ealra hālgena mæssedæg, mass-day of all saints), All-Hallows-Even is itself not attested until 1556.

Pumpkin: calabaza

Broom : escoba

To come across: encontrarse

disguise: disfraz

mischief:travesura

wigs:pelucas

frightening:aterrador

to carve:tallar

bogs:cienagas

hollow:hueco

basin:estanque

to prevent: impedir