THE ICEBERGS' ISLAND - NEWFOUNDLAND / LA ISLA DE LOS ICEBERGS .

Hi my dear friends, today we are going to visit a marvellous place, NEWFOUNDLAND in Canada, the Icebergs' Island! Fjords, icebergs, awesome landscapes... a remote land on the Atlantic Coast of Canada which is a perfect place for those who love Nature in its wild way!  Let's go to Newfoundland!

Hola mis queridos amigos, hoy vamos a visitar un lugar maravilloso, NEWFOUNDLAND en Canadá, ¡la Isla de los Icebergs! Fiordos, icebergs, paisajes impresionantes... una tierra remota en la Costa Atlántica de Canadá que es un sitio perfecto para aquellos que aman la Naturaleza en su forma más salvaje. ¡Vamos a Newfoundland!




Info: From Speak Up magazine.
Photos: todocanada.ca  /  world.atlas.com  /  grwwnspond.wikipedia  /  thecanadianencyclopedia.ca  / alamy.es  /  eleconomista.es  /  theicebergfestival.ca

THE ICEBERGS'  ISLAND  /  NEWFOUNDLAND

Known as "The Rock", Newfoundland is a Canadian Island on the Atlantic Ocean.  The island was part of the British empire until 1949, when it joined Canada.  That's the reason why its inhabitants have a British accent!





AN OLD CAPITAL

St. Johns, its lively and colourful capital, is the oldest English-founded settlement and the oldest city in Canada.  Founded in 1604, the city was named Saint John after the day the settlers arrived, on 24th June.  A century later, the town was captured and burned by the French, and one year later reoccupied by the British.

HISTORY

Prior to the arrival of the Europeans, the area was populated by the Beothuk, aboriginal hunter-gatherers.  Its population dramatically declined due to diseases brought by the Europeans and they disappeared at the beginning of the 19th century.  Despite their extinction, their legacy is still alive in Newfoundland, as is the island's Viking culture.  In the region you can visit a Beothuk site and a Norse settlement with archaeological remains, and experience what Beothuk and Viking life was like.

WILD NATURE

Visitors shoud not miss Gros Morne National Park, named after the highest mountain on the island.  It is just eight hundred meters high, but from its peak one can admire some of the island's fjords as well as the Pissing Mare Falls, the highest falls in eastern North America.  The island also boasts some of the largest seabird colonies in the world and more than twenty whale species, among other sea animals.

ICEBERGS

Newfoundland's economy is based on the fishing industry.  Icebergs also play an important role, because besides attracting a lot of tourists, these huge mountains of freshwater ice are also used to produce drinks like Iceberg Vodka or Iceberg Beer.

TWO EXTRAORDINARY EVENTS

Newfoundland was also the scene of a great tragedy and the starting point of a great feat.  In 1912, the luxury ship TITANIC collided with an iceberg just four hundred miles south of Newfounland.  Twenty years later, the American pilot pioneer Amelia Earhart flew from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, to Northern Ireland, becoming the first woman to cross the Atlantic by plane.  Her solo, non-stop flight across the  ocean took fifteen hours.

VOCABULARY 

-LIVELY: animada.
-SETTLEMENT:  asentamiento.
-TO NAME AFTER: llamado en honor de.
-PRIOR TO:  antes de.
-HUNTER-GATHERERS: cazadores.
-LEGACY: legado.
-SITE: yacimiento.
-TO BOAST: presumir.
-BESIDES:  además de.
-FRESHWATER:  agua dulce.
-FEAT:  hito.


HAVE A NICE DAY! 

PIZZA, THE AMERICAN WAY / PIZZA, AL MODO AMERICANO.

Hi my dear friends, today we are going to speak about "pizza" but in the American way. We will see the origins of this  famous Italian food in US which has spread all over the world! Do you come with me? 

Hola mis queridos amigos, hoy vamos a hablar de la "pizza" pero al estilo americano. Veremos los orígenes de esta famosa comida italiana en Estados Unidos  que se ha extendido por todo el mundo. ¿Venís conmigo?


Info:  Speak Up magazine.
Photos: mundococina.es  / pizzarecipe.org  /  10best.com  /  theculturetrip.com  /  washingtonpost.com  /  midwestliving.com / whitebearlakemag.com

PIZZA, THE AMERICAN WAY.

If you walk through New York today and see all of the places selling pizza, you will probably think that pizza is a quintessential American food. But in fact, American pizza is a relatively new phenomenon.


TASTE OF HOME

It all started with  Italian migrants who came to America in the 1800s and brought their homemade pizza recipes with them. For years, pizza was something that Italian families ate in their homes. Then, in the early 1900s, pizza restaurants began opening in urban areas on the east coast where a lot of Italian immigrants lived;  LOMBARDI'S, the first pizzeria in the US, opened in New York City in 1905 and is still open today!


PIZZA FOR ALL

It was after World War II that pizza became popular with people of all ethnicities and incomes,  American soldiers returning to the US wanted to eat the delicious pizza they'd had in Europe, and so pizzerias began opening all over the country.  The first restaurants were independent, but in the 1950s, chains of pizza restaurants began to emerge.,


THE CHAIN AGE

Today, the American pizza industry is valued at about $37 billion and is dominated by pizza chains like PIZZA HUT, DOMINO'S and PAPA JOHN'S.  In fact, Domino's Pizza, which opened in Michigan in 1960, is the biggest seller of pizza in the world, with more than fifteen thousand pizzerias globally.

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



MOST POPULAR AMERICAN PIZZAS

1 NEW YORK-STYLE PIZZA
Developed in New York City by immigrants from Naples, this style of pizza is normally very big and has a thin and flexible crust that is thick and crispy at the edges. It is topped wit tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese, and sold by the slice, to go.

2 NEW JERSEY TOMATO PIE
In the US, pizzas are also called "pies". This style of pizza was developed in New Jersey, as the name suggests. It is a style of "upside-down" pizza;  the mozzarella and toppings are placed on the crust first, with the tomato sauce on top. This stops the sauce from making the crust soggy.

3 CALIFORNIA-STYLE PIZZA
This is California's take on the New York-style pizza. It has the same thin crust but is topped with ingredients that are popular on the west coast, like artichoke hearts and goat cheese.

4 QUAD CITY-STYLE PIZZA
The Quad Cities is a region of five cities in northwest Illinois and southeast Iowa. They have made famous this style of pizza, which has a thin crust, topped with a zesty sauce and Italian sausage. It is cut into strips, ot slices.

5 CHICAGO-STYLE PIZZA
Also called "deep dish", this pizza has a deep crust and the dough may contain cornmeal. It is baked in a round pan and fillings are layered on in an inverted order:  with mozzarella on the bottom, pepperoni or bell peppers in the middle, and tomato sauce on top. This prevents the cheese from burning.

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







VOCABULARY

-QUINTESSENTIAL: por antonomasia.
-HOMEMADE:  casero.
-INCOMES: ingresos.
-CHAINS: cadenas.
-CRUST: corteza.
-THICK AND CRISPY: gruesa y crujiente.
-TO TOP: cubrir.
-BY THE SLICE: a porciones.
-PIE: pastel.
-UPSIDE.DOWN: del revés.
-SOGGY: pastosa.
-ARTICHOKE HEARTS: corazones de alcachofa.
-GOAT: cabra.
-ZESTY: ácido.
-STRIPS: tiras.
-DOUGH: masa.
-CORNMEAL: harina de maíz.
-PAN: sartén.
-BELL PEPPERS: pimientos.


**DO YOU LIKE PIZZA?  WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE ONE?

HOT CAKES - A SHORT STORY / PASTELITOS CALIENTES - UN RELATO CORTO.

Hi my dear friends, today we're going to read a short story about "scones" the typical British hot cakes. Things are not always,  what they look like!  I hope you'll like it!

Hola mis queridos amigos, hoy vamos a leer un relato corto sobre los "scones" los típicos pastelitos calientes británicos. ¡No siempre las cosas son lo que parecen!  ¡Espero que os guste!


From: Speak Up magazine.
Photos: canalcocina.es  /  sweetandsour.es  /  corazondecaramelo.es  /  tripdavisor.es

A SHORT STORY   /   HOT CAKES by Rachel Roberts.

The Tea House in the Lanes was one of the most famous tea shops in Brighton and certainly the most expensive!  A cream tea at the Tea House cost more than at the Grand Hotel and yet the place was always full.

It was tiny -squeezed between an antiques shop and a jewellers. The street itself was dark and narrow and there were always lighted candles on the tables. I never wanted to go there. I didn't approve of such exclusive, elitist places, but I had to admit I was curious. So when Freddy invited me to go, my disapproval soon disappeared.

-Are you sure? It's so expensive!, I said.
-I know, but it's the best place there is. I went years ago and I've never forgotten it.
-There are plenty of other nice places that serve homemade scones.
-Not like this one, believe me. The cream teas cost a lot, but they sell like... well, like hot cakes.

I laughed at the weak joke and gave in. Secretly, I'd always wanted to go.

I was excited as Freddy and I walked through the freezing rain to the Tea House.
It was bitterly cold and we both sighed with relief as we walked into the warm atmosphere of the café. I had expected luxury. Instead people sat in comfortable armchairs around low tables, chatting and laughing, their faces bathed in golden light from candles and soft lamps.

A waitress walked by, carrying a tray with a plate of delicious-looking scones. Their delicate aroma filled my nose and suddenly I felt hungry.
Another waitress showed us to our table. I chose the smaller of the two armchairs. It was covered with soft, worn leather and two or three velvet cushions. Freddy's armchair had a pattern of atumn leaves. I loved the assortment of chairs and tables and the mismatched ornaments that covered every surface. It seemed more like home than an expensive teashop.

An enormous pot of tea arrived, with scones, strawberry jam and a bowl of clotted cream. The ruby-coloured jam glowed in the lamplight. The scones were still warm and as I sliced one open, a curl of cake-scented steam spiralled upwards and my stomach rumbled its appreciation.

-They only serve cream tea here,said Freddy. There's not even a choice of jam. It's strawberry or nothing.

I sighed happily as I spread jam over the two halves of the scone and dropped a dollop of thick cream into the centre of both. It melted instantly. I had stopped listening to Freddy. I was in a kind of ecstatic trance as I picked up one half of the scone, held it for second to inhale the scent of fragrant cake, buttery cream and the fruity, summer tang of strawberries before sinking my teeth into it. It was heaven!!!

Far from complaining about the exclusive nature of the Tea House, I decided I would return as soon as possible.

-My compliments to the cook! I said to the waitress when at last we left. I don't suppose you have the recipe?
-She smiled and shook her head. Everyone asks but it's a closely-guarded secret. Come again soon.

I said I certainly would and we walked out into the sleet.

In fact,  I went back two days later. Unfortunately, I got there far too early in the morning. The Tea House was closed and all was dark inside. Rubbish collectors were emptying bins into a rubbish truck.
It was raining again and, as one man lifted a bin towards the back of the truck, his wet glove slipped and the bin fell to one side, its lid open. The man picked it up immediately, but in those few seconds, I had seen inside. I had clearly seen the many catering packs of cheap scone mix!!!

I couldn't believe my eyes, so I walked along until I came to a narrow alley that led to a tiny courtyard at the back of the shops and there, next to the back door of the Tea House, was another bin. I lifted the lid and saw huge tins of industrial-quality strawberry jam!!!
Was it possible? Were they really using catering packs to make their "homemade" cream teas? I wondered angrily where the clotted cream had come from"

I went home determined to write a damning review on TripAdvisor, but something stopped me. It had been a magical experience, after all. Had the delicious taste really been a product of the soft lamps and homely atmosphere?

There's no answer. All I can say is that once a month I treat myself to a cream tea at the Tea House in the Lanes. It might be industrial rubbish but it tastes delicious!!!


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

VOCABULARY

-TO SQUEEZE:  exprimir.
-NARROW: estrecho.
-THEY SELL LIKE HOT CAKES: se venden como churros.
-WEAK JOKE: chiste malo.
-TO GIVE IN: rendirse.
-TO SIGH: suspirar.
-MISMATCHED: que no hacían juego.
-TO RUMBLE: rugir.
-DOLLOP: cucharada.
-TO MELT: fundirse, derretirse.,
-TANG: olor intenso.
-RUBBISH COLLECTORS: basureros.
-LID: tapa, tapadera.
-CATERING PACKS: paquetes preparados.
-ALLEY: callejón.
-COURTYARD: patio.
-DAMNING REVIEW: una crítica mala.
-TO TREAT ONESELF: hacerse un regalo a sí mismo, invitarse.

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

AND NOW HERE YOU CAN SEE THE RECIPE OF SCONES TO DO AT HOME


INGREDIENTS
-500 gr of flour
-20 gr baking powder.
-5 teaspoons sugar.
-a pinch of salt.
-150 gr butter.
-1 large egg.
-200 ml milk.

METHOD
**Preheat the oven to 220º C
**Put the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into a mixing bowl. Add the butter cubes and rub it into the flour with your fingers.
**Make a well in the dry mix, add the egg and warm milk, and combine it quickly.
**Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it's about 3-4 cm thick. With a round cutter or the rim of a glass, cut out circles from the dough and place them on a baking sheet.
**Brush the top of each scone with milk or some melted butter and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until risen and golden on top. Eat just warm!
**Serve topped with jam and clotted cream.

ENJOY YOUR SCONES!!!!

If you definitely decide to make scones at home, tell me, please!!!! And if not, you can always go to a typical Tea Shop to taste these delicious hot cakes!

ROBOTS - MACHINES LIKE US / Robots - Máquinas como nosotros.

Hi my dear friends, first of all, I would like to wish you a happy new year!
And now, I want to continue with the first post of the year, which is dedicated to "robots", the machines that are more and more among us and that are very useful and  important for our society but at the same time, a bit strange and intriguing!

Hola mis queridos amigos, en primer lugar me gustaría desearos un ¡feliz año nuevo!
Y ahora, quiero continuar con la primera publicación del año que está dedicada a los "robots", las máquinas que están cada vez más entre nosotros y que son muy útiles e importantes para nuestra sociedad pero al mismo tiempo, un poco extrañas e intrigantes.



Info: from Speak Up magazine
Photos: elboletin.com  /  granadadigital.es / saposyprincesas.elmundo.es/ muyinteresante.es/ computerworld.es / eldiario.es


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

ROBOTS  /  MACHINES LIKE US

From the film "2001: A Space Odissey" to the TV series "Westworld", the prospect of creating a machine that can act and think as a human does, has fascinated and frightened us in fiction.  But how close are we to creating a self.aware being in reality?  And, if we do create one, will it really be a threat to humanity? The mathematical physicist and Professor of mathematics at the University of Oxford, Sir Roger Penrose and the computer scientist and specialist in artificial intelligence Sir Nigel Shadbolt, discussed the real present and future of artificially intelligent machines at a conference held at London's Institute of Art and Ideas.

Sir Nigel Shadbolt began by putting AI into perspective by saying that 37 years ago when he went to a department of AI in Edinburgh to study the subject, there were only a handful of places that even did that, and that they had on display, robots that could just about stack toy bricks. Four decades later he says that they have some remarkable AI achievements. Systems that we carry around on the supercomputers  in our pockets called phones and that search a web of billions of pages. The programs can understand our speech, they can recognise faces in photographs but however, they are not smart self-aware systems.

COMPUTING IS NOT THINKING
Sir Roger Penrose says that if we do want to create conscious self-aware beings,  then computers are not the place to start. He explains that his definition of a machine would be a computer controlled robot or something like that and such devices would not be intelligent. Computers, they do what are called "computations" and these notions of computations or algorithms were put forward very clearly by Alan Turing and other logicians -they put forward arguments, which basically tell us that understanding is not something that a computational device is capable of.


DO IT WITH FEELING
So what is "human understanding'? This mystery, says Penrose, provides the clue as to why AI intrigues us so much. He states that mimicking or "machine learning" takes place in an unconscious part of the brain -but then consciousness takes over.

DEEP BLUE
But, we are often fooled into thinking that machines are intelligent, automated telephone services being an exasperating example! In 1996, world chess champion Gary Kasparov was beaten by a computer program called Deep Blue. It had a profound effect on him, he was unnerved by the experience, says Shadbolt.  Kasparov thought that the program was reading his mind!  And that's something that humans do, they ascribe to these systems lots of intentionality. But what Deep Blue had was pretty fast processing power for the time, it looked millions of moves ahead, it had millions of opening and closing game positions, and so, it could look deep into its own search space and deep into its opponent. That chess machine certainly couldn't play a game of checkers, It had no ability to transfer that one skill into another area.


DON'T TRUST THEM.
In fact, it was probably  this paranoia that caused Kasparov to make foolish moves that allowed the computer to win. We must not place too much trust in computers, for the  ultimate responsibility is our own because one thing we should be aware of and should worry about is the ability or the inability of us as people to put limits on what those very narrowly capable systems are doing, whether it's trading financial derivatives or flying drones in autonomous control on seek and destroy missions, says Shadbolt. They don't have to be self-aware to be a real threat. "A robot shall not harm a human or through its action cause a human to be harmed".

ROBOT RIGHTS
And if in the distant future artifically intelligent conscious beings are created, then it may defeat the purpose of their creation. Why do we need artifical intelligence? And one of the reasons is: "Well, you can send it down the radioactive mine, or you can send it up to some distant star and you don't have to worry about bringing it back."  But of course if it really is conscious, there's a moral obligation to that device!  You wouldn't be allowed to turn them off without their permission!

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

VOCABULARY OF THE TEXT
-PROSPECT: posibilidad.
-FRIGHTEN:  atemorizar.
-SELF-AWARE BEING: un ser consciente de sí mismo.
-CARRY AROUND: llevar encima.
-DEVICES: dispositivos, aparatos.
-MIMICKING: imitar.
-TAKE OVER: hacerse con el control.
-FOOLED INTO THINKING: nos engañan para hacernos creer.
-UNNERVED: furioso.
-ASCRIBE TO THESE SYSTEMS LOTS OF INTENTIONALITY:  se atribuye a estos sistemas un alto grado de intencionalidad.
-CHECKERS: el juego de damas.

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



WRITE IN ENGLISH THESE SENTENCES.

1 El cerebelo tiene la mitad de neuronas que el telencéfalo.

2 Penrose utiliza aquí términos técnicos para diferenciar distintas partes del "encéfalo" (brain).

3 El cerebelo se encuentra en la parte posterior del cráneo donde se concentra el control de las vías sensitivas y motoras.

4 El telencéfalo (cerebrum) es la parte más voluminosa, la que contiene el córtex cerebral y los dos hemisferios.

5 Shadbolt está citando la primera de las célebres leyes de la robótica de Isaac Assimov (1920-1992). famoso escritor estadounidense de origen ruso.

6 Assimov ha influido en muchos escritores de ciencia ficción. La primera ley de Assimov establece que "un robot no permitirá nunca que un humano resulte herido" ni siquiera por inacción.

7 La segunda ley de Assimov dice que un robot debe cumplir las órdenes dadas por los seres humanos a excepción de aquellas que no respetasen la primera ley.

8 La tercera ley de Assimov dice que un robot debe proteger su propia existencia siempre y cuando esta protección no perjudique la primera o la segunda ley.

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

SOLUTIONS to the sentences.

1 The cerebellum has about half as many neurons as the cerebrum has.
2 Penrose uses here some technical terms to demonstrate the difference among the  parts of the brain.
3 The cerebellum is placed in the back of our head where the control of feelings and movement is concentrated.
4 The cerebrum is the bulkiest part, the one that has got the cortex and the two hemispheres.
5 Shadbolt is mentioning the first of the famous robotics Laws by Isaac Assimov (1920-1992), a well-known American writer of Russian origin
6 Assimov has influenced  a lot of science-fiction writers. The First  Assimov's Law establishes that "a robot won't allow a human to be harmed" even by inaction.
7 The Second Assimov's Law says that "a robot must obey the orders given by human beings except the ones that don't respect the first Law".
8 The Third Assimov's Law says that "a robot must protect its own existence so that this protection doesn't harm the first or the second Law". 

SEE YOU MY FRIENDS!!!

HAVE A NICE DAY!!!

NEW YORK CITY - "A" IS FOR ASTORIA. Nueva York - "A" es de Astoria.

Hi my dear friends, today we're going to know a bit more about ASTORIA, a place situated in the New York borough of Queens and more and more fasionable nowadays.

Hola mis queridos amigos, hoy vamos a saber un poquito más sobre  ASTORIA, lugar situado en el distrito de Queens de Nueva York y que cada vez está más de moda hoy en día.


Info: Speak Up magazine.
Photos:  grazia.es  /  wikipedia.org 

NEW YORK CITY:   "A"  IS FOR "ASTORIA"

Astoria is a neighborhood in the New York Borough of Queens.  It's only 20-minute subway ride from Manhattan and this makes it popular with people who work in Manhattan but who can't afford to live there. 

It's on the western shore or the western coast of Queens, which means that it touches the East River,  which separates Queens from Manhattan, so there are some properties, some of them are residential, there are some factories, some parks that have great views of Manhattan and in some cases it's really spectacular, especially at night when all the lights are on from the Midtown.


Astoria is considered "suburban", even if it's actually very close to Manhattan.  It is the westernmost part of the borough of Queens which is on Long Island) and is just across the East River from Manhattan's exclusive Upper East Side.

Astoria is also considered the place for people who can't afford to live in Manhattan. Here you can find single-room apartments larger than the "shoeboxes" that are available for rent in Manhattan. And seeing as Astoria is only a 20-minute subway ride from Manhattan, it's almost as good as -if not better than- living there.

A MELTING POT

Astoria is named in honour of John Jacob Astor, a German immigrant who, in the nineteenth century, became the wealthiest man in America.  By using the name Astoria, developers hoped that Astor would invest in the place. In actual fact he invested very little and he never even went there, but the name stuck. In the twentieth century Astoria became associated with other immigrant groups.


GREEK INFLUENCE

In the 1950s, there was a huge economic problem in Greece and a lot of Greeks moved to the United States and settled in Astoria.  So it's sort of traditionally people think Astoria, they think Greek. There's a lot of truth to that, there are all kinds of Greek restaurants. Greek night clubs and of course, Greek people.

Whenever there is an independence day, a Greek independece day or a Greek soccer team wins, people are always in the street, partying and having fun. Along with the Greeks, there's always been a large Italian population, or Italian-American population.  When you walk by te street and you see grapes growing in a front yard, it usually means that it's an Italian person who's making wine.

Not surprisingly, Astoria is enjoying a boom!  Properties have doubled in value in the last five years. Another thing that has attracted people to Astoria is its park, which offers a great view of Manhattan.  People also like Astoria's "ethnic"  feel.

Astoria has had a large Greek community since the 1950s.  Needless to say, there are some wonderful Greek restaurants where the fish is delicious.  In many cases there isn't even a menu:  you choose the fish on display and they grill it for you.  And whereas Manhattan residents live in large partment buildings, Astoria has many two-and three-story houses.  They have tiny front yards that often feature statues of the Virgin Mary. For this we have to thank Astoria's Italian community.

MULTICULTURAL

Astoria's population has changed in recent years, however and there has been a tremedous influx of people from everywhere in the world.  There's a Bangladeshi street where there are a row of Bangladeshi stores where you can buy all their spices and their saris and their clothes.  There is a Brazilian section where you can get Brazilian food and you can buy clothes and stuff from Brazil.  There is a part that they call Little Egypt, there's a Cairo Steakhouse, a couple of Egyptian restaurants and there are hookah bars, as well. 
There's a great Chilean restaurant, and Japanese, Korean, a Lebanese place so there's a great mix of really just about everywhere, every continent you could ask for.

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

VOCABULARY OF THE TEXT.

-SHOEBOX: caja de zapatos.
-SEEING AS:  ya que.
-THREE-STORY: de tres pisos.
-TINY: diminuto.
-FACTORY: fábrica.
-TO STICK:  quedar.
-TO GROW: cultivar.
-YARD: jardín.
-STEAKHOUSE:  asador.
-HOOKAH BAR: bar donde se fuma narguilé o shisha (pipas de agua)
-CHILEAN: chileno.



EXERCISE
CHOOSE THE QUANTIFIER FROM THE LIST TO FILL THE GAPS.

a lot  /  all kinds  /  a bunch  /  all  /  a couple  /  some

a) Of the properties in Astoria, ________are residential while others are factories.
b) In the 1950s, _______ of Greeks moved to the US and settled in AStoria.
c) There are ______ of Greek places now, like restaurants and night clubs.
d) On the Bangladeshi street, you can buy ______ their spices and clothes.
e) There are ______ of Egyptian restaurants in the part known as Little Egypt.
f) There are also ________ of hookah bars in the northern part of Astoria.


HAVE A NICE DAY MY FRIENDS
SEE YOU!!!


SOLUTION TO THE EXERCISE.
a) some  b) a lot  c) al kinds  d) all  e) a couple  f) a bunch.

AREA 51 - NEVADA - A CENTER OF UFO ACTIVITY / Area 51, Nevada - Centro de Actividad Ovni.

Hi my dear friends, have you ever seen a UFO? Do you believe in extraterrestrial activity? Have you ever visited Area 51 in Nevada, USA? In my case I have always been interested in UFO activity and I have seen plenty of TV programmes, films and reports about it, in USA, in Spain and all over the world. I started to be interested in UFOs when I was 8 years old and I had a personal experience about that: One morning, I saw outside my school with the rest of pupils and teachers, on the ground, the "burnt tracks of a strutcture" of what  it might be  "a UFO".  It had got a round shape and it was enormous! Immediately, militaries and the police arrived and surrounded the zone and  we all were said not to tell anybody what we had seen there.  Since then, I have been looking for real proofs of  UFOs and aliens' existence and I have already got my own conclusion!

Hola mis queridos amigos, ¿habéis visto alguna vez un OVNI? ¿Creéis en la posible existencia extraterrestre? ¿Habéis visitado alguna vez el Área 51 en Nevada, Estados Unidos? En mi caso siempre he estado interesada en los OVNIS y he visto cantidad de programas de televisión, películas e informes sobre esto, en Estados Unidos, España y en el resto del mundo. 
Empecé a interesarme por los OVNIS cuando tenía 8 años y tuve una experiencia personal sobre ello: Una mañana, en el exterior de mi colegio, vi,  con el resto de alumnos y profesores, en el suelo, "las huellas quemadas de una estructura" de lo que "podría ser un OVNI".  ¡Tenía forma circular y era enorme! Inmediatamente, llegaron militares y policías,  rodearon la zona y  nos dijeron que no le contásemos a nadie lo que habíamos visto allí. ¡Desde entonces he estado buscando pruebas de la existencia de OVNIS y alienígenas y he llegado a mi propia conclusión!

AREA 51 - NEVADA     /     A CENTER OF UFO ACTIVITY

It is late in the evening when we arrive at the top-secret military base known as Area 51.  To reach the base means a drive along the Extraterrestrial Highway,  which was given its name in 1996 because of the area's association with UFO activity.  There have been more sightings of UFOS reported around Area 51 than anywhere else in the US.

Our bus tour is organized by MUFON (the Mutual UFO Network).  Founded in 1969, it is one of the world's oldest and largest organizations dedicated to the investigation of UFO sightings.  The Area 51 Tour is the final event of a four-day annual MUFON symposium that was held in Las Vegas, Nevada  and that focused on classified space programs possibly run by the US government.

SECRET TESTING

The tour takes us 150 miles north of Las Vegas through desert terrain where few people live, at least of the human kind!  We stop at an alien-themed complex called Little A'le Inn in the   city of Rachel, before arriving at the "back gate" of Area 51. This is an entrance to the base that is constantly monitored and secured with a barrier, warning signs, motion detectors and sensors, security cameras, all kinds of guards, helicopters and even F16s!

Area 51 is a United States Air Force facility that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) established in 1955 and located within the Nevada Test and Training Range near Groom Lake.  The range was created for the development of the Lockheed U-2 strategic reconnaissance aircraft, but the CIA did not publicly acknowledge the existence of Area 51 until 2013, and has never revealed its primary purpose today.


ALIEN DEBRIS

Most people believe that the facility is centered on the development and testing of experimental aircraft and weapons systems, yet some are convinced that it is also dedicated to studying UFO and alien-related activity and technology.  One of the tasks of its military personnel, they believe, is the replication of extraterrestrial aircraft that have been found crash-landed on Earth. Tours are strictly forbidden inside the base. The security of Area 51 is paramount. There's not really any place in the world that rivals the security out of Area 51.

Lots and lots of movies, books and things have Area 51 in them due to the number of unidentified sighting of objects that have been seen out there and the sightings have been of craft that are not conventional by means of what the public knows.

If there are aliens among us, now it could be the time to tell us but the people in general may not be ready to know this information and so governments avoid communicating it and they prefer to keep the secret only for themselves!

If you want to go on a tour near Area 51, you can contact : www.topsecrettours.com a company whose founder is Tony Cisneros a historian and a UFO expert that organizes informative visits to the area.


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

VOCABULARY ABOUT THE TEXT

-A DRIVE ALONG: un viaje en coche a lo largo de...
-SIGHTING: avistamiento.
-FACILITY: instalación.
-RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT: avión de reconocimiento.
-TO ACKNOWLEDGE: reconocer.
-WEAPON: arma.
-TO CRASH-LAND:  estrellarse.
-PARAMOUNT: de vital importancia.
-DEBRIS: restos.


EXERCISES

1.- CHOOSE THE CORRECT OPTION.
a) Area 51 is located in a remote part of the Nevada  deset/mountains.
b) Area 51/MUFON  is dedicated to investigating UFO sightings and encounters.
c) The 2017 annual MUFON symposium was held in the city of Las Vegas/Rachel.
d) Some people think that Area 51 has to do with the replication of  alien/enemy aircraft.
e) Area 51 is located  within/next to the Nevada Test and Training Range.
f) At the entrance of the base there are  welcoming/warning  signs and security cameras.

2.- DECIDE WHETHER THESE STATEMENTS ARE  TRUE OR FALSE.
a) Around Area 51 there have been many UFO sightings reported. ____
b) The base was established in the 1970s by the CIA ____
c) The CIA publicly acknowledged the existence of Area 51 in 1996 ____
d) Area 51 security includes motion sensors and detectors, helicopters and F-16s ____
e) Tony Cisneros is a historian and a UFO expert ____
f) Alpventures Top Secret Tours is a company that organizes visits inside Area 51 ____

3.- MATCH THE WORDS ON THE LEFT WITH THEIR SYNONYMS ON THE RIGHT.

a) perimeter                              1 entrance
b) sighting                                2 soil
c) security                                3 border
d) gate                                      4 observation
e) dirt                                       5 team
f) crew                                     6 protection

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

INFO:  Speak Up  magazine.
Photos:  nowtheendbegins.com  /  area51.org  /  activerain.com


SOLUTIONS TO THE EXERCISES.

Exercise 1 >  a) desert  b) MUFON  c) Las Vegas  d) alien  e) within  f) warning
Exercise 2 >  a) True  b) False  c) False  d) True  e) True  f) False
Exercise 3 >  a) 3  /  b) 4  /  c) 6  /  d) 1  /  e) 2  /  f) 5




AND NOW THE QUESTION IS FOR YOU: DO YOU BELIEVE IN ALIENS???

HAVE A NICE DAY!!!

REINVENTING COMIC CULTURE - SCOTT McCLOUD / Reinventando la cultura del cómic.

Hi my dear friends, do you like comics? Today we are going to know more about comics but through Scott McCloud, the comic expert who has reinvented comic culture! I hope you'll like it!


Hola mis queridos amigos ¿os gustan los comics? Hoy vamos a saber más sobre los cómics pero a través de Scott McCloud, el experto en comics ¡que ha reinventado la cultura del cómic! Espero que os guste.

Info:  Speak Up magazine.
Photos:  rtve.es  /  amazon.es  /  siguealconejoblanco.es  /  eldiario.es



REINVENTING COMIC CULTURE  BY SCOTT McCLOUD

Scott McCloud has been called "the Aristotle of Comics" even though he says he finds that embarrassing. He is, however, an expert on the subject, having written such books -in comic form- as "Understanding Comics and Reinventing Comics".  His latest production is less theoretical: it's his first graphic novel and it's called "The Sculptor".

Being asked about comics' changing readership he says that in North America there are now more young readers who are girls than boys. Comics is changing...the gender balance in comics is changing enormously, too. This is partially because of the Manga explosion: Japanese comics jumped the pond in a big way about 15 years ago and a lot of those Japanese comics readers, Manga readers, they're growing up and they're making comics of their own now.

He also says that comics audience is largely a female audience. McCloud thinks that such a big demographic time bomb may have more women and girls reading comics, and making comics, in 10 years than men and boys.  A kind of storytelling  that has been missing in comics for many years, is being rediscovered and it's all to the best! 

SUPERMAN!

So why have comics traditionally had a male readership? 

Scott McCloud says that we have these competing philosophies of history, the movements in history. Some go with "the great man" theory, that a single person can have this outsized effect on societies and even world history and some think that there's a kind of cultural inevitability in the movement of cultures. The same thing is true with art. There is a debate between those who think a single artist can have a tremendous effect on a culture, and those who think that, that culture's trajectory was predetermined by the nature of that culture. I'm on "the great man" side of that. I've seen how, one artist  can influence a culture. Osama Tezuka in Japan completely rewired the way the Japanese thought about comics as did Hergé in Europe, and both of them led to different results.

Well, so did Siegel and Shuster. So did the two kids from Cleveland who created Superman back in the United States. And what we see is that success breeds success!

AN INTERNATIONAL MARKET 

But the popularity of comics seems to vary from country to country.

Scott McCloud says about this that when it comes to one's own chosen art form, of course, the grass is always greener on the other side of the street and in America we've always been very envious of Europe generally because of the Franco-Belgian tradition and then Europe-wide, there's been a different attitude about comics but each country is different. In Italy, for instance, there are conflicting trends and conflicting currents.

Scott declares that there's certainly a great appreciation for some of the great art comics of the last 50 years or so, but there are also come prejudices that are similar to North America as well. The same is true of Japan, in fact. The same is true even of France which has the reputation of being a haven for comics lovers everywhere.

VOCABULARY

-READERASHIP: lectores, público.
-GENDER: género.
-JUMPED THE POND: cruzar el charco, el océano.
-OUTSIZED: desmesurado.
-TO REWIRE: transformar.
-TO BREED: generar.
-TO PLUCK OUT: extraer.
-HAVEN: paraíso.


EXERCISES

1 Choose the correct option.

a) Scott McCloud is an internationally recognised expert  ON/ OF  the subject of comic books.
b) The readership gender balance has changed because  ON / OF  Manga.
c) Tezuka changed the way the Japanese thought AROUND /ABOUT  comics.
d) The grass is always greener  ON / AT the other side of the street.
e) There is a great appreciation ON / FOR the art comics of the last 50 years.
f) France has the reputation OF/ ON being a haven for comics lovers.


2 Match the nouns used in the text to their synonyms.

PHILOSOPHY
DEBATE
MOVEMENT

a) belief   /  b) drive  /  c/ argument  /  d) discussion  /  e) push  /  f) thrust  /  g) concept  /  h) deliberation  /  i) idea


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

SOLUTIONS TO THE EXERCISES.

1.- a) on  b) of  c) about  d) on  e) for  f) of

2.- Philosophy> a, g, i  /  Debate:  c, d, h  /  Movement: b, e, f



THANK YOU FOR BEING THERE!!!

HAVE A NICE DAY!!!

OROPESA DEL MAR (Castellón) Mi playa / My beach!

Buenos días mis queridos amigos, la publicación de hoy la quiero dedicar a un lugar al que voy desde que era una niña para pasar mis vacaciones de sol y playa. No es otro que Oropesa del Mar en la provincia de Castellón. Mucho ha cambiado desde que me llevaban mis padres pero para mí sigue siendo "mi playa" "mi casa cerca del Mar Mediterráneo" porque después de recorrer infinidad de playas de  mi querida España que hasta pudieran ser más interesantes o incluso más bonitas, al final siempre vuelvo a Oropesa. Por su clima, por sus aguas limpias y cristalinas que están a la  temperatura ideal. Por su gente, su gastronomía, por la belleza de sus acantilados y porque como me conoce mucha gente,  me hacen sentir "como en casa".

Good morning my dear friends, today I want to dedicate this post to show you the place where I have spent my beach holiday since I was a child. This place is Oropesa del Mar in Castellón. The village and the beach have changed a lot since my parents have taken me there for the first time but I  still consider it "my beach" "my house near the Mediterranean Sea".  I have been to plenty of beaches in my dear Spain, which may be more interesting or more beautiful for others, however,  I always come back to Oropesa. Because of its climate, its crystalline waters with a perfect temperature. Because of its people, its gastronomy, the beauty of its cliffs and because, as almost everybody knows me, they make me feel "like home".

                         

DEDICADO A ENCARNA, la dueña del Hotel Neptuno de Oropesa del Mar que nos dejó hace un mes,  porque eres la persona que me ha hecho sentir como en casa durante más de 25 años. ¡Te echaremos mucho de menos!

DEDICATED TO ENCARNA, the Hotel Neptuno's owner in Oropesa del Mar  who left us a month ago because you are the person who has made me feel like home for more than 25 years! We'll miss you so much!!!


                             

OROPESA DEL MAR (Castellón) España.

Oropesa del Mar es un municipio perteneciente a la Comunidad Valenciana, España, situado en la provincia de Castellón, en la comarca de la Plana Alta y junto al Mar Mediterráneo que cuenta con numerosas playas y pequeñas calas naturales.  También podemos disfrutar de los senderos cercanos a la Sierra de Oropesa con sus campos de naranjos enmarcados por el mar.  En la Sierra podemos ver parajes naturales que contrastan con el paisaje marino. El Monte del Bobalar cae directamente sobre el mar y el puerto deportivo desde donde en días despejados se pueden ver claramente las Islas Columbretes,  lugar declarado Parque Natural.

HISTORIA

La historia de Oropesa del Mar por su situación estratégica, ha sido foco de atracción de múltiples culturas existiendo vestigios del Paleolítico y de los Iberos.

En 1233, Jaime I de Aragón conquistó su castillo que corona la parte alta de la población.  En 1259 pasó a manos de Fernando Pérez de Pinas, en cuya familia se mantiene hasta finales del siglo.  En 1296 pasa a pertenecer a Berenguer Dalmau, de quien la hereda su hijo Guillermo.  Hacia 1330 pasó a Guillermo Javier, en 1350 a Pere de Tous y en 1497 fue comprada por Joan de Cervelló.  En 1589 se le concedió Carta Puebla para mejorar la situación de los vecinos y otra nueva en 1609.

Población de cristianos, fue lugar de frecuentes ataques de piratas berberiscos;  por esto, en el siglo XV se construyó la Torre del Rey con objeto de vigilar la costa.

Durante los siblos XIX y XX su población experimentó un continuo crecimiento.

El sector turístico le ha dado un fuerte impulso demográfico durante los últimos años aunque también es responsable del desarrollo urbanístico de principios de los 70 que tanto daño hizo a nuestra Costa de Levante estéticamente hablando. En Oropesa podemos encontrar alguna de "esas torres altas de apartamentos de esa época que tanto afean el paisaje" pero también "villas y casas de altura pequeña" sobre todo en la Playa de la Concha, que alguno de los alcaldes autorizó prohibiendo las grandes alturas sobre todo cerca de la playa en un intento de frenar esas construcciones.

Entre la Sierra y el litoral se abre una franja de tierras cultivadas por naranjos y hortalizas.  Abunda el almendro, el olivo y la vid cuyas uvas se utilizan para elaborar el vino moscatel.

La localidad cuenta con una estación ferroviaria en la que efectúan parada trenes de Larga y Media distancia.

Entre los monumentos destacados se encuentra la Iglesia de la Virgen de la Paciencia en la que se conservan muestras de azulejería del siglo XVIII y una imagen del siglo XVI de la Patrona.

El Castillo de Oropesa. Es de origen musulmán y está situado en lo alto del Casco Antiguo del municipio.

La Torre del Rey, construida en el siglo XV para defensa de los ataques de los piratas.

El Casco Antiguo tiene trazado medieval con calles estrechas y empinadas, murallas y rincones típicos.


PLAYAS

-La Playa de la Concha, bahía perfecta delimitada por el Cabo de Oropesa con aguas cristalinas a  una temperatura ideal, arena blanca y muy fina con la Sierra justamente detrás lo que hace que las noches sean frescas y muy agradables.

-La Renegá y las Playetas de Bellver.  Calas entre acantilados, rodeadas de pinos y vegetación típica mediterránea. En dirección
 a Benicassim.

-Playa de Les Amplaries y Morro de Gos. Al otro lado de la Playa de la Concha en dirección a Cabanes. Estas playas son  más abiertas aunque también gozan de arena blanca y fina.

TORRE DEL REY

La Torre del Rey es una torre de vigilancia situada en el Cabo de Oropesa, cerca del faro. Fernando I de Aragón autoriza su construcción en 1413 a petición de la población para defenderse de los ataques de los piratas. Cuenta con planta baja, principal y planta alta o azotea. El edificio fue construido con sillares muy trabajados a la parte exterior para realizar las aperturas defensivas.

FARO

El Faro de Oropesa está situado en el Cabo del mismo nombre y divide en dos la costa de la provincia de Castellón. Se encuentra junto a la Torre del Rey y se inauguró en 1857 utilizando como combustible aceite de oliva, parafina y después petróleo. En 1924 se electrificó.




FIESTAS

-San Antonio Abad. Conocido como "Sant Antonio del Porquet" se celebra el sábado siguiente al día de San Antonio Abad o el mismo día si coincide en sábado. Se hace una hoguera y con las brasas se suele asar carne para cenar. Por la noche se procede a la bendición de animales y al desfile de la gente con sus mascotas. La noche acaba con una verbena y al día siguiente por la mañana se realiza la carrera de caballos por la Playa de Morro de Gos.

-Las hogueras de San Juan. En la noche del 23 al 24 de Junio. Se quema una hoguera de leña a la orilla del mar con verbena posterior y espectáculo pirotécnico.

-Fiestas de San Jaime. Se celebran el 25 de julio en honor al patrón de la población.

-Virgen de la Paciencia. Fiestas Patronales. Se inician el sábado anterior al primer domingo de octubre. Se festejan con Procesiones, ofrenda floral a la Virgen, verbenas y conciertos.

GASTRONOMÍA

Oropesa ofrece una gastronomía que une los productos del mar con los de su extensa huerta así que los platos típicos son los arroces en todas sus variedades: paella, arroz negro, arroz caldoso, "Arrosejat" y arroz al horno, así como la fideuá, la caragolada. De dulces podemos disfrutar de "las oropesinas"  que son unos dulces típicos hechos a base de almendras.

Ahora ya sabéis por qué me encanta mi Oropesa del Mar a la que seguiré volviendo siempre que pueda.



¡Que tengáis un buen día!

HAVE A NICE DAY! 

Photos: turismodecastellón.com

THE ARCHWAY PROJECT - HELPING YOUNG PEOPLE / Projecto Archway - Ayudando a la gente joven.

Hi my dear friends, projects for helping people are always wonderful projects so today we're going to know a bit more about one of them "The Archway Project London". I hope you'll like the information and that  it will be interesting to you, too!

Hola mis queridos amigos, los proyectos para ayudar a la gente son siempre maravillosos así que hoy vamos a conocer un poco más sobre uno de ellos "El Proyecto Archway Londres". Espero que os guste la información y que sea interesante para vosotros también.

*Info: from Speak Up magazine.
*Photos: young_greenwich.org.uk  /  archwayproject.org  /  secure.thebiggive.org.uk

*Special thanks to Alison Harper and Glyn Farrow of the Archway Project for their help in writing this article.



THE ARCHWAY PROJECT   /   HELPING YOUNG PEOPLE.

Some children may have learning difficulties like dyslexia or ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). Other kids come from deprived backgrounds and have more serious family problems.  All of these factors often lead to poor performance at school. One brilliant solution to these problems comes in the form of the Archway Project, in Thamesmead in south east London, one of the poorest areas of London, where around sixty per cent of kids live in social housing.  The Archway Project was set up there in 1982 to help kids from age eleven upwards, who for one reason or another, had fallen through the school system.

The Archway Project in London offers a range of educational workshops and recreational activities to young people who are disadvantaged or have difficulties at school.  Girls and boys can take a course in motorcycle mechanics and go on an off-road riding trip.

THE MISSION

The Project's mission was to minimise social exclusion, empower young people at risk and provide meaningful qualifications.  Their approach was very simple: they asked young people involved in anti-social behaviour what they would like to do.  

The answer was off-road motorcycling.  Members of the team knew that the young people coming to the Archway centre had little self-esteem and few aspirations.  They would never have had the confidence to study for a diploma in engineering.  So the organisers developed a bespoke accredited course in motorcycle mechanics, and, with a real touch of genius, they included off-road riding trips in the summer as an incentive. When offered the chance to fix bikes and go off-road biking, participants readily accepted.


LEARNING SKILLS

Although the participants did badly at school, once they join the Archway Project they start achieving.  According to the team who work there, this is because they are given real responsibility as they have to handle tools such as welding equipment.  They really get their hands dirty and learn skills that could lead to paid employment.

A PERFECT FIT

The first thing you notice when you walk through the front door is the atmosphere.  Downstairs there is  a large, bright workshop holding many motorbikes lined up in neat rows, tools and equipment and all the other bits and pieces that you would find in any garage across the country.

People are learning from their tutors by actually doing repairs and servicing the very bikes that they will ride off-road.  They gain a specialist work-related qualification in mechanics.  Very often they surprise themselves by what they have achieved and are inspired to learn more.

The Archway Project provides similar help to young people with mental and physical disabilities.  They realised, for example, that the unique skills and thinking modes of people with Autistic Spectrum Disorder are perfectly suited to a career in computer programming.  With this in mind they developed a computer programming course for children with ASD in May 2014, with spectacular results.

Teamwork is an essential ingredient, as is a focus on healthy eating. The kids come in and start cooking their own food from scratch with fresh ingredients.  They work together and eat what they have prepared themselves.  This gives them a healthy diet, as well as a sense of achievement.

As well as servicing and riding motorbikes and IT (informática), the Project also offers recreational courses such as mountain.biking, fishing, gardening and canoeing -the perfect ingredients for inspiring young people to do well.

For more info:  www.archwayproject.org



VOCABULARY OF THE TEXT

-DEPRIVED BACKGROUND: entornos desfavorecidos.
-SOCIAL HOUSING: viviendas sociales / de protección oficial.
-BESPOKE ACCREDITED COURSE: curso oficial específico.
-OFF-ROAD RIDING TRIPS: excursiones de motocross.
-FIX: arreglar.
-WELDING:  soldar.
-FROM SCRATCH:  desde cero.
-IT: informática (INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES)


GOOD IDEAS ARE ALWAYS WELL RECEIVED AND ACCEPTED!

SEE YOU MY FRIENDS!!!