Every third Monday in January people in the States remember a great figure in the fight for Human Rights. It is a National holiday and the media always devotes some time to the life and achievements of this leader.
It's been a veeery hot week here in Buenos Aires. A lot of people are on holiday and some are about to leave.Listen to this dialogue about holidays and answer these questions:
1- Why was she nervous? 2- Where did she go? 3- What did she do there?
The speaker uses the word "vacation" instead of "holiday". What's the difference? Well,"vacation" is used in American English, whereas, "holiday" is used in British English. Do you know other words that are different in British and in American English? You may check the following links:
After Joey speaks French, have fun with another video on learning languages. Inspector Clouseau has to learn the expression: "I would like to buy a hamburger". How difficult do you think this is? Here you'll see how hard it can be:
How would you complete this sentence? While you think about it, listen and read the lyrics of this wonderful song. You can click on the words you find difficult. Have a nice day!!
Another red letter day, So the pound has dropped and the children are creating, The other half ran away, Taking all the cash and leaving you with the lumber, Got a pain in the chest, Doctors on strike what you need is a rest
It's not easy love, but you've got friends you can trust, Friends will be friends, When you're in need of love they give you care and attention, Friends will be friends, When you're through with life and all hope is lost, Hold out your hand cos friends will be friends right till the end
Now it's a beautiful day, The postman delivered a letter from your lover, Only a phone call away, You tried to track him down but somebody stole his number, As a matter of fact, You're getting used to life without him in your way
It's so easy now, cos you got friends you can trust, Friends will be friends, When you're in need of love they give you care and attention, Friends will be friends, When you're through with life and all hope is lost, Hold out your hand cos friends will be friends (right till the end)
After a long break, I'm back, and this time with some info about London. I was fortunate enough to be there in January and I think this video summarizes the best of the city. If you've never been there, watch it to learn where to go on your next trip. If you find it too difficult, don't worry and just enjoy the beautiful landmarks shown.
Already? Yes, it is time to think of the gift we'll buy our loved ones for Christmas. In the States, people do this well in advance. There shopping starts soon, on the day known as Black Friday. Now, in the era of technology, they can also shop on Cyber Monday, an option that is becoming quite popular. Watch this video to learn more about this:
Some time ago, I saw the film Julie and Julia. I found the story inspiring and funny at the same time. Mary Streep´s performance is superb, the two plots are skillfully interwoven, and for those who love cooking this is the chance to get to know an icon of American cuisine.
Fourth Adolescents is reading The Diary of a Young Girl, a most moving story about Anne Frank, a girl who has to go into hiding with her family during the Second World War. You can take a tour of the house where they stayed at the time: http://www.annefrank.org/en/Subsites/Home/About-the-house/
Get more multi-source business and political news from Newsy.com.
The nation’s unemployment rate remains steady at 9.5 percent for the month of July despite a gain of 71,000 jobs in the private sector. Analysts chalk it up in part to a loss of 131,000 temporary jobs, and now many are wondering if unemployment rates in the U.S. will remain stagnant for the next decade.
We’re analyzing coverage from Fox News, NPR, MarketWatch and CNN.
Recent figures confirm the U.S. economy slowed in the spring, and then came to a stall in the summer since employers failed to add as many jobs as anticipated. On Fox News Stuart Varney says unemployment numbers should be nowhere near this high.
“I cannot remember a time when you had 6.6 million people out of a job for more than six months. That is long-term, mass unemployment. Now that rate you just showed, 9.5 percent, that should be a lot lower at this stage of the ‘so-called’ economic recovery. We went into recession in December of ‘07, two and a half years later we should have an unemployment rate way below nine and a half percent.”
But NPR’s Yuki Noguchi says it’s easier said than done, and points to a major problem in the jobs market.
“Earlier in the year Gault predicted private sector hiring would have accelerated by now but the economy hit a snag and now he expects it might be a few more months before business hire more than a 100,000 people a month. ... The further we go into the year the better the numbers should get on the private side.”
But in an article for MarketWatch, a progressive policy analyst warns it could have been worse.
“To be sure, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act saved or created up to 1.2 million to 2.8 million jobs, and without it, we would have had 8.7 million to 10.3 million jobs lost... the evidence is clear that these policies certainly helped. But we still have work to do.”
Finally on CNN one analyst highlights another problem she says is contributing to slow job growth.
“We’re seeing a trend. Employers are also bringing back temporary or contract workers instead of taking on full-time workers that they’d have to pay benefits to. Experts are saying that in the next few years forty percent of the workforce could be made up of freelancers, because Kyra you know there’s a lot of uncertainty as to what’s going to happen with health care especially, so you know companies are less willing to hire people on full-time.”
So what do you think? Is the economy at a halt, or will job growth pick up in the near future?
In Argentina, we celebrate Friends' Day on July 20th. I've been trying to find songs about friends and found many that we've heard quite a lot. Here's a different version from The Beatles' classic: "With a little help from my friends"
This video explains how video games can be used to support democracy and conflict resolution. Captions in English are included.Once you've listened to (and read) it, you can take the quiz to check how much you've understood.
I've always been fond of animated films so I was more than glad to see Toy Story 3 last week and in 3D!! What makes these stories so popular? Has this part of the sequel come up to your expectations? Looking forward to reading your comments.
Toy Story 3 is opening this weekend, and after a summer of so-so box office performances, could it be a huge hit?
Reviews say the movie brings back classic characters and is appealing for both kids and adults. A staggering 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes means no one has panned the film yet. Critics are praising the movie for its awesome animation, its humor and its heartfelt themes. It’s even getting Oscar buzz.
MSNBC projects that this could be Pixar’s biggest opening weekend ever — that Toy Story 3 could make $90 to $100 million. A reporter says Disney has set the film up for success, especially in trying to appeal to audiences 15 years after the original came out.
“Disney has done a pretty good job of keeping the Toy Story brand around for the last 10 and 15 years by having a presence of Toy Story at its theme parks, re-releasing those DVDS and last fall it re-released Toy Story 1 and Toy Story 2 in theaters in 3-D. $32 million work of ticket sales were sold so it did keep people interested and engaged.”
This is the first Toy Story to be in 3-D, so tickets cost more. Will that deter audiences, or mean a bigger box office take? CNBC points out that Shrek Forever After tried the same 3-D tactic in May, and it didn’t work.
“Toy Story 3 and Shrek are similar. Both are digitally animated, popular brands squeezing out third and fourth sequels. And now they are in 3-D, which means a higher ticket price. ... Disney does face the challenge of luring moviegoers back to theaters. U.S. box office is down over 6% since early May.”
The summer box office has been weak so far. The Celebrity Café says similar sequels have proved disappointing.
“...many sequels have performed poorly in theaters in recent weeks, including Sex and the City 2 and Shrek Forever After. … While expectations for Toy Story 3 remain high, the current generation of young moviegoers was not around when the first two films...were released.”
But a writer for MTV News says Pixar seems to be a company to count on.
“Pixar has done pretty well for itself over the last 15 years. The studio has yet to release a film that failed to hit the $360 million mark.”
So, will Toy Story 3 be a hit now, when the industry needs it, or will it be another summer sequel flop?
Here's a deleted scene from the sitcomFriends. Embedding is not allowed but it's worth following the link. Watch it and answer the questions: - Why is Rachel so happy? - What does Joey say to Rachel after she abruptly comes into the bathroom? - What does Chandler answer to Joey when he asks "Shaving?"? - What does Phoebe think? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwJa7qY3xIM&feature=related
OK, let's talk about it! What about? OK. No, it's not a riddle. Let's talk about the origin of the word "OK". How long do you think people have been using this word? Twenty years, thirty, forty... read about it and find out. You can also listen to the text while you read it. http://www1.voanews.com/learningenglish/home/words-stories/OK--85357622.html
How many of you have played with Legos? Learn about a man who does more than play. Actually, he creates art with them. Listen to this report.You can also read the subtitles. Share your views. Can you consider this art?
