READING: "TITANIC"

INTO THE LIFEBOATS

The Titanic had twenty lifeboats and these boats could carry 1,178 people.  The problem was that there were 2,207 people on the ship. So for almost half of the people there was no lifeboat and the worst thing of all was that  there were no lifeboats for the third class passengers because all the boats were near the first and second class passengers.

The Titanic's officers decided that women and children could go in the lifeboats and men should stay on the ship. At first the women didn't want to go and leave their husbands or boyfriends but at last they accepted. 
Although most of the people in the boats were 1st and 2nd class passengers, at last some third class passengers got into the boats, too.
As there were only 20 lifeboats, it was impossible to save everybody and people were ready to die! As the front of the ship went down, the back of the ship went up into the air.  For two minutes the back of The Titanic stayed high in the air, then faster and faster, the ship went under the water.  At 2.20 a.m., it wasn't there!  The biggest ship in the world was under the sea! Incredible!
There were more than a thousand people in the water and the sea water was as cold as ice! Many more people died because of that, they couldn't survive for a long time.

When The Carpathia arrived at the place where the Titanic was, there was no Titanic any more! They saw hundreds of icebergs and some of the Titanic lifeboats.  The last boat came to the Carpathia at 8.30.  The Carpathia's sailors and Captain gave the survivors coats and hot drinks.  Finally , the Carpathia came to New York with 675 people from the Titanic.  1,503 people died!

People asked the next questions:
*Why did all these people die?
*What went wrong?

They died because the iceberg hit five of the Titanic's compartments.
They died because the Titanic didn't have enough lifeboats for all the passengers.
They died because the Californican's radio officer went to bed at 11.30 p.m.

Today, because of the Titanic, ships listen to the radio ALL THE TIME, night and day.
Ships have lifeboats for ALL their passengers.
Aeroplanes watch the ice and tell ships about the ICEBERGS.

ENGLISH GRAMMAR, TOO, TOO MUCH, TOO MANY, ENOUGH

Hi again my friends, here you are a little explanation about these four different grammar words and how to use them. (Hola amigos, aquí tenéis una pequeña explicación sobre estas cuatro formas gramaticales diferentes y cómo usarlas)

TOO: demasiado.  Siempre va delante de adjetivos y/o adverbios.
Ejemplo:  It's too cold today:  Hoy hace demasiado frío hoy.

TOO MUCH:  demasiado/demasiada.  Utilizamos esta forma delante de nombres en SINGULAR.
Ejemplo:  There is too much cheese in the fridge:  Hay demasiado queso en el frigorífico.  There is too much snow in the street:  Hay demasiada nieve en la calle.

TOO MANY:  demasiados/demasiadas.  Se utiliza siempre delante de nombres en PLURAL.
Ejemplo:  There are too many chairs in the room:  hay demasiadas sillas en la habitación.  Don't eat too many sweets:  No comas demasiados caramelos.

ENOUGH:  suficiente/suficientemente.  Este adverbiose coloca de diferente manera dependiendo de si estamos hablando de un nombre o de un adjetivo.  Por lo tanto, lo colocaremos DELANTE de los nombres y DETRÁS de los adjetivos.
Ejemplo:  The man isn't strong enough:  El hombre no es lo suficientemente fuerte.   Have you bought enough beer?  ¿Has comprado suficiente cerveza?



Y AHORA UNOS EJERCICIOS PARA QUE PRACTIQUÉIS.
AND NOW SOME EXERCISES FOR YOU TO PRACTISE.


1.- Write  in the blanks too, too much, too many.  Escribe en los huecos too, too much, too many.
- The baby is drinking __________ water.
- Summer in the South of Spain is ________ hot.
- I have  done __________ exercises.
- This is a very rich woman, she has got ___________ houses.
- I'm going to bed right now, I'm _________ tired.
- You mustn't say that this job is _______ easy.
- There are _________ cars here.

2.- Rewrite each sentence using the adverb "enough". Escribe de nuevo cada frase utilizando el adverbio "enough".
- It isn't hot to go to the swimming-pool.>
- You are intelligent to pass the exam. >
- Your friend Lucy is beautiful to be a model. >
- I don't have paper to write a long letter. >
- Please, buy milk for all of us. >
- She hasn't got money to buy a new house. >
- You don't speak loud so I can't hear you. >

                                         *******************************************

EXERCISES     /     SOLUTIONS

1..-WRITE, too, too much, too many.

-too much
-too
-too many
-too many
-too
-too
-too many

2.- REWRITE USING "ENOUGH"

-It isn't hot enough to go to the swimming-pool
-You are intelligent enough to pass the exam.
-Your friend Lucy is beautiful enough to be a model.
-I don't have enough paper to write a long letter.
-Please, buy enough milk for all of us.
-She hasn't got enough money to buy a new house.
-You don't speak loud enough so I can't hear you.

SEE YOU!!!

HAVE A NICE DAY!!

PARIS, TOUJOURS PARIS

Salut mes amis, on va savoir quelques choses à propos de l'Île de la Cité à Paris.

Hola amigos, vamos a saber algunas cosas de la Isla de la Cité de París.

Photo: wikipedia.org

L'ÌLE DE LA CITÉ

L'île de la Cité, où s'est installé la tribu celte des Parisii, a été le véritable berceau de Paris qui s'est appelé Lutèce à l'époque des Gaulois.

On y trouve des monuments très importants:  la Cathédrale Notre-Dame, le Palais de Justice, la Sainte-Chapelle, la Conciergerie.

La Cathédrale Notre-Dame, joyau de l'art gothique, a été construit du XIIème au XIIIème siècle.  Mutilée pendant la Révolution, elle a été restaurée au XIXème siècle par Viollet-le-Duc, qui a ajouté la célèbre flèche.

À lépoque de la Révolution, le Palais de Justice a pris son nom actuel et est devenu le siège des tribunaux.
La construction de la Sainte-Chapelle, chef-d'oeuvre de l'art gothique et fameuse pour ses magnifiques vitraux, a été voulue par Saint Louis.  Cette Chapelle est divisée en deux chapelles superposées:  la chapelle basse et la chapelle haute.

La Conciergerie, autrefois résidence des rois de France, fut transformée en prison sous Charles V.  Quelques prisonniers célèbres qui avaient été enfermés sont:  la reine Marie-Antoinette, le poète André Chénier, Danton et Robespierre.



VOCABULAIRE

- BERCEAU:  cuna
- JOYAU: joya.
- PENDANT:  durante
- AJOUTER:  añadir.
- CHEF D'OEUVRE:  obra maestra.
- DIVISER:  dividir.
- AUTREFOIS: antiguamente.
- ENFERMER:  encerrar.

À BIENTÔT MES AMIS

LET'S CONTINUE WITH "THE TITANIC"

...  

THE SHIP IS SINKING!
Captain Smith, the Titanic's Captain, asked that question too:  What's wrong?
- "An iceberg, sir"
- "Close the emergency doors", said Captain Smith.
- "They are closed, sir".

Thomas Andrews had designed the Titanic with 16 compartments and 15 emergency doors.  If the Captain could close the doors, the water couldn't go into the next one.

"Stop the ship", said Captain Smith.
The Titanic stopped.  The beautiful ship stayed quiet on the black sea.
But there was water in compartments 1,2,3,4 and 5.  It was really bad.  The ship was going to sink.
Mr Andrews (the designer of the ship) was with the Captain and had said the day before that the Titanic COULDN'T SINK.  The problem was that the Titanic was safe with water in 3 or 4 compartments but with water in five compartments was not safe at all.  So Captain Smith asked Mr Andrews how long had they got and the answer was:  TWO HOURS, perhaps.

The next Captain's order was to give the passengers their life jackets and get the lifeboats ready.

In 1912, radio was very new.  Most ships had radio, but they didn't listen to it all the time.  For nearly ten minutes, no ships answered the help message from the Titanic.
At 12.25 a ship called Carpathia spoke to the Titanic. 
The message was: "This is an emergency.  We are sinking"
At once the Carpathia went towards the Titanic but it was 92 kilometres away.

Another ship called the Californian was only 16 kilometres away the Titanic but they didn't have their radio connected.
At a moment, Captain Smith decided to send up rockets into the night sky. On the Californian the ship which was nearer, didn't understand the rockets, so they did nothing.
It was a pity because if the Californian had helped the Titanic, not so many   people would  have died.

THE LIFEBOATS
The Titanic had ...

(to be continued)

ENGLISH VOCABULARY for your compositions.

Here you are some English vocabulary words which will help you with your compositions (aquí tenéis algunas palabras de vocabulario en inglés que os ayudarán con vuestras redacciones).

* CLOTHES  (ropa)
- ZIP: cremallera. - TIGHTS: medias, leotardos. - DRESS: vestido. - BLOUSE: blusa. - SKIRT:  falda.
- CARDIGAN: rebeca. - JACKET: chaqueta. - TROUSERS: pantalones. - SHORTS: pantalones cortos.
- SHIRT : camisa. - TIE:  corbata. - SCARF: bufanda. - COAT: abrigo. - RAINCOAT: impermeable. - HAT sombrero.- CAP: gorra.

THE CITY:  la ciudad.
- ROAD: camino, carretera. - STREET: calle. - PAVEMENT: acera. - MOTORWAY: autopista. - TRAFFIC LIGHTS: semáforos. - PARKING METER: parquímetro. - CROSSROAD: cruce - TAXI STAND: parada de taxis. - SKYCRAPER: rascacielos.
- SEMI-DETACHED HOUSE: chalet pareado. - DETACHED HOUSE: chalet independiente. - ROW OF HOUSES:  chalets adosados.   - DEPARTMENT STORE: grandes almacenes.

HOUSE:  casa
- BASEMENT: sótano.   -CELLAR:  bodega.   -GROUND FLOOR: planta baja.  LIVING ROOM:  cuarto de estar.  -LOUNGE: salón.  -DINING ROOM:  comedor.  -BEDROOM:  dormitorio.  -BATHROOM: cuarto de baño.  -BATH: bañera.  -SINK: fregadero, lavabo.  -KITCHEN:  cocina.  -TABLECLOTH:  mantel. -NAPKIN: servilleta.

READING - "TITANIC"

... , the Titanic went from Southampton, in England, to Cork, in Ireland.  Then, she (ships in English are feminine) went towards New York.
There were 2,207 people on the ship.  They were plenty of happiness and excitement.  But only for four days!

On the night of 14 April, the weather was good and the sea was calm.  There were thousands of stars in the night sky although it was extremely cold.  Passengers were into their rooms, listening to music or talking.

Higher up in the ship, two sailors were looking out at the sea.  At 11.40 p.m., one of them saw something in front of the ship.  It was white and very big.
"Iceberg!" "Iceberg!" he said on the phone.  "There is an iceberg in front of the ship!"

For 37 seconds, nothing happened but the iceberg was coming nearer and nearer.  It was a huge iceberg, its weight was a million tons of ice!
The Titanic, one of the fastest ships in the world, went towards it at 40 kilometres an hour. 
The ship went left and the iceberg went along the right of the ship.  A noise was heard and the ship moved a little.  Some ice was on the deck.  Some passengers laughed and played with the ice. They thought that it was nothing serious.

However, down in the third class rooms, the iceberg made a lot of noise and water came into the passengers' rooms.
"What's happening?"
"What's wrong?"

TO BE CONTINUED...

READING "TITANIC"

The Titanic was the most famous ship in history.  But what really happened to it on that terrible April night in the North Atlantic?  Why did it hit an iceberg?  Why did it sink?  Why did more than one thousand people die?
This is the true story and gives some of the answers.

1.- UNDER THE SEA

"There it is!"
"Where"
"Look! Over there,  It's a big ship!
It was 1 September 1985.  Some American and French sailors were on a ship in the North Atlantic.
There was a camera in the water behind the ship.  On this camera, they could see a ship, under water.
The ship was a long way down, 3,800 metres under them.  Fish went in and out.  It was an enormous, old ship.
"It's the Titanic!" the sailors shouted.
They were happy to have found it!

But what was the Titanic?

2.- THE BIGGEST SHIP IN THE WORLD.
Thousands of people made the Titanic.  They made it in 1912, in Belfast, Northern Ireland.  Its weight was 25,000 tons.  It could go at 45 kilometres an hour.  It was the fastest ship in the world!

The Titanic was really beautiful.  The rooms for the first class were like rooms in a very expensive hotel.
The rooms for the second class passengers were very nice too.  They were better than other first class rooms on most ships.

Unfortunately, there were a lot of third class passengers on the Titanic.
These people weren't rich.  They were workers from Ireland or England who wanted to live in America.  They had very little rooms, on E Deck.

One of the first class passengers was Thomas Andrews who was the designer of the Titanic and who said that " the ship could never sink!"

2,- ICEBERG!

On April 10, 1912, ...
(To be continued)

¿Qué tal viajecito a París en Semana Santa?

Salut! Si vous êtes en train de penser où aller pendant les vacances de Pâques, Été ou simplement un weekend, Paris peut être l'une des villes à considérer, n'est-ce pas?
Par contre, si vous allez travailler à Disneyland Paris, ces petits phrases peuvent vous aider, mais, je vous conseille de me téléphoner et de faire quelques cours avant de partir.

¡Hola! Si estáis pensando dónde ir durante las vacaciones de Semana Santa, verano o simplemente un fin de semana, París puede ser una de las ciudades a considerar, ¿verdad?
Por el contrario, si vais a trabajar en Disneyland París, estas frasecitas pueden ayudaros, pero, os aconsejo que me llaméis y que déis unas clases antes de marcharos.

À L'HÔTEL
- Je voudrais une chambre pour deux
Quisiera una habitación para dos.
- J'ai retenu une chambre à un lit.
He reservado una habitaión sencilla.
- Avez-vous une chambre libre?
¿Hay alguna habitación libre?
- Je le regrette, c'est complet.
Lo siento, está completo.
- Avez-vous retenu?
¿Ha reservado?
- Non, je n'ai rien reservé.
No, no he reservado nada.
- Combien de temps pensez-vous rester?
¿Cuánto tiempo piensan quedarse?
- Une nuit.  Trois jours.   À dimanche.
Una noche  /  tres días  /  hasta el domingo.
- On peut voir la chambre?
¿Podemos ver la habitación?
- Pourriez-vous y ajouter un lit suplémenaire?
¿Podrían poner una cama supletoria?

- Quel est le prix de la nuit?
¿Cuál es el prpecio por noche?
- Petit déjeuner compris?
¿Desayuno incluido?

VOCABULAIRE
- PETIT-DÉJEUNER:  desayuno
- DÉJEUNER:  comida
- DÎNER:  cena
- UN CAFÉ NOIR :  un café solo
- CAFÉ AU LAIT:  café con leche
- UN CAFÉ NOISETTE: un cortado.

Lecturas a tener en cuenta

Hola chicos, os voy a dar unas recomendaciones para que leáis en Inglés si tenéis tiempo y os apetece, tanto  para principiantes  como para más avanzados.

También me gustaría me hiciérais llegar vuestras preguntas y dudas sobre lo que veáis en este blog.

-Para los avanzados en el idioma de Shakespeare, os recomiendo el libro: THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME de Mark Haddon.  Es muy divertido y con un humor muy especial.  ¡Disfrutaréis leyéndolo!

-Si estáis planeando un viajecito, y necesitáis poneros al día en expresiones cotidianas, frases y vocabulario, os recomiendo las guías de conversación YALE, tanto en inglés como en francés, así como las de ANAYA Touring Club.

-De la OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, selección "Facfiles", tenéis los "Oxford Bookworms", que son unos libritos de lectura pequeños que van desde el nivel 1 hasta el nivel 5.  Son cortos, muy interesantes y de diversos temas.  Son lecturas adaptadas que para los estudiantes son los ideales.

Here you are a paragraph of one of these books "GREAT CRIMES" by John Escott.
"Dr Crippen - Murderer"
Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen met Cora Turner in New York, in July 1892.  He was thirty years old, and was working in a hospital, and she was nineteen.  Crippen had been married before, but his first wife had died...

Empecemos por el principio...

Hi again! (Hola otra vez)
Here you are several grammar points and some useful conversation phrases. 
(aquí tenéis varios apuntos gramaticales y algunas frases útiles)

En el Inglés escrito no existen las tildes, y aunque esto puede parecer una ventaja, no lo es ya que la entonación de las palabrasa a la hora de hablar, sí existe, por lo que tendremos que aprendernos cómo se pronuncia cada palabra correctamente.

Es un idioma Sajón (del Norte de Europa) pero como los Romanos también estuvieron allí, tienen casi un 50% de palabras derivadas del Latín, aunque ni la gramática ni la pronunciación tienen nada que ver.

THE GRAMMAR CORNER -  TO BE EN PRESENTE
I am - yo soy/estoy -  I'm not - Am I?
you are - tú estás/eres - You aren't -  Are you?
he is - él es - he isn't - Is he?
she is - ella es - she isn't  - Is she?
it is - ello es -  it isn't -  Is it?
we are - nosotros/as somos - we aren't - Are we?
you are - vosotros/as sóis -  you aren't - Are you?
they are - ellos/as son -  they aren't - Are they?

LET'S START BY THE BEGINNING!
Empecemos por el principio.

*THE ARTICLE - El artículo
THE: el, la, los, las.
the house (la casa), the dog (el perro), the cats (los gatos), the boys (los niños).

A: un, uno, una
a woman(una mujer)  a man (un hombre)
AN: un, uno, una cuando la palabra siguiente empieza por vocal.
an apple (una manzana), an umbrella (un paragüas)

THE PLURAL OF NOUNS -el plural de los nombres.
Como regla general, para formar el plural de una palabra singular, añadiremos una "s".
Ej: girl - girls /  house- houses /  chair - chairs.

Sin embargo, hay otras formas especiales de hacerlo que son:
1.- Las palabras que terminan en:  s, sh, ch, x > añaden -es.
box - boxes (caja) /  church - churches (iglesia).

2.- Las palabras acabadas en : f, fe > cambiarán la "f" por una "v" y añadirán -es.
knife > kines (cuchillo)  /  wolf - wolves (lobo)

3.- Las palabras acabadas en "y" precedida de una consonante, cambiarán la "y" en "i" y añadirán -es.
fly - flies (mosca)

4.- Las palabras terminadas en "o" añadirán -es.
tomato - tomatoes (tomate)  /  potato - potatoes (patata)

Y por último, tenemos palabras cuyo plural es distinto del singular.
man - men : hombre- hombres
woman - women : mujer - mujeres