The Nightmare

Everyting started with a big explosion, the shock wave travelled along the shuttle and all the alarms went off; it was the signal that something was wrong...really wrong and, possibly, that was only the beginning.

John, the co-pilot of “Universe” aircraft jumped out of bed, quickly got dressed and ran to the cockpit.

When he arrived there he found that the noise was not a false alarm, that it was a real disaster. A lot of buttons on the instrument panel were flashing, the master alarm was beeping every single second, one screen showed data from the central pc informing of malfunction in both engines and Muller, the pilot, was on the ground unconscious.

John was terrified; the shuttle was out of control and had started to fall down. Quickly, he took the controls and struggled to lift the shuttle, but it was impossible, the aircraft was hopeless and the probability to survive the impact was null.

He connected the loudspeaker and informed all the crew they had to abandon the shuttle on the escape capsules.

Unfortunately, it was too late and only a couple of seconds later the shuttle exploded and that was the end...

- “John, wake up please, we have a problem”- When John opened his eyes he understood that the accident had been a nightmare – “what's happened?”
- “John, we need you, we have a little problem. We've detected a malfunction in the engines, the cockpit's door is closed and Muller doesn’t answer us”
- In that moment, John´s face suddenly changed, and he only gave and a simple order:
- “Run to the escape capsules!!!”

It was three o'clok in the morning when....

It was three o’clock in the morning when the phone rang. I was sleeping and it was freezing outside.
«Who is calling me at this hour?», I wondered.
I got out of bed and ran quickly to pick up the phone. In that moment, the phone stopped ringing. As soon as I checked it, I realised that it was a private call.
I went back to bed and I fell asleep but, suddenly, the phone rang again.
«This cannot be happening to me», I shouted loudly while the phone bell stopped ringing.
Five calls later, I decided to disconnect the phone so that I could finally rest.
The next morning I came across my friend Peter, who was laughing at me, so I asked him why he was so amused. He said that he’d just read a fantastic joke but I didn’t believe him. Then he told me that the night before he’d been calling to a random phone number just to play a prank.
«You are silly», I said, «You were calling me, cabbagehead».

IT WAS THREE O´CLOCK IN THE MORNING WHEN THE PHONE RANG...

It was three o´clock in the morning when the phone rang,

“Jeff?, This is Mrs Sweet, your neighbour. Sorry for calling so late, but I have heard a noise and it seemed that someone was trying to get into your garage…”.

I started to think that it could be a burglar. That night I had been watching the news, and they talked about a dangerous mugger who had just escaped from the city prison.

I felt terrified, and immediately, I went downstairs to the study where I kept my baseball bat.

After that, I headed for the garage straight away to face the burglar. When I arrived at the garage I could see an enormous shadow opposite me and it scared me.

Finally, I decided to move closer and I could see my terrifying murderer…It was Mrs. Sweet´s cat, Puppy, which had come into my garage for the umpteenth time.

Tomorrow night I’ll probably cut my phone line.

It was three o'clock in the morning when the phone rang

It was three o’clock in the morning when the phone rang. It was my brother-in-law telling me that my first nephew had just been born. What marvellous news! He also told me that my sister and the baby were all right. I still remember that night, I was so nervous… I could hardly hold back my tears.
At about nine o’clock in the morning I went to the hospital, I wanted to meet Andrés, which was going to be his name. He was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen.

Now he is twenty and, of course, he is still my favourite nephew. We get on really well.
From my point of view, having your first nephew, especially if you haven’t had children yet, is a wonderful experience. You can play with him, buy him a lot of presents and let him do nearly everything. Fortunately, you don’t have to bring him up yourself.

The difficult part starts when you have your own children, then you are their mother, not their aunty, and you mustn’t allow them to do whatever they want. It’s time to help them grow up into sensible men or women.

Maybe, when I become a grandmother, I’ll be able to spoil children again. It will be fun.

Planet 51

One of your classmates, Vanessa has sent me this nice video. It's the trailer for a new film called Planet 51. It's easy to understand and really funny. Why don't you watch it and then try to answer the questions below? Come on, you can do it!

1. Where is Planet 51?
2. Life in Planet 51 is ___________
3. the children are ___________
4. Everything is __________
5. What is coming to Planet 51?
6. Where does the visitor come from?
   
7. What will happen to the little alien boy if he doesn't open his mouth wide?
8. Does the alien dog remind you of something?

Mini Sagas

A mini saga is a story which must be told in exactly 50 words. The original idea came from science fiction writer Brian Aldiss and the British newspaper 'The Daily Telegraph' has run several mini-saga competitions so far.
My 2nd year intermediate level studens at Aviles EOI have written their own mini sagas and would like to share them with you. Read and enjoy.

A Holiday Romance

“Each 28^th of August I’ll be on this beach waiting for you. This isn’t a holiday romance. It’s everlasting love ”.

August 28^th 2009.

A man was scattering his wife’s ashes into the sea while another one was walking along the seashore and waiting for someone, like every summer since 1980.

By Susana Fonseca

The Lie

-"I'm Frank Tierney. What's your name, lovely?".
Three hours later they were having their last drink in a club, after a delicious dinner in the most romantic restaurant ever. Suddenly, when they were just about to jump into a cab, his phone rang:
-" Marc, darling, are you gonna be long?".

By María Fernández

Never Again

“Things don’t usually happen twice”.

Robert’s so worried about this fact that he always carries a camera. His wife says he’s obsessed.

Last September they suddenly came across Brad Pitt in Avilés. Robert took a photograph of his wife with the actor. Now, she always says: “Remember to bring the camera”.

By Nacho Pulido

"I'm gonna give up smoking"
Can anyone fulfil this resolution? I think it’s nearly impossible, at least for me.

Although I gave up smoking twenty years ago, I’m not sure if I will pick it up again. Most of us make the same mistakes once and again, even though we know how dangerous they are.

By Susana Fonseca

She got the long-awaited e-mail, it said that they had found a man who fit the description of her ideal man she had given them.

She´d spent too many years lonely, so she´d decided to go to that dating agency.

There was just a problem, the man was her ex-husband.

By Patricia Pérez Ordóñez

Guess who!

Look at the descriptions of the celebrities when they were children.

Who is he ?

He's very thin and has short dark straight hair with a fringe. He has fair skin and in the picture he looks happy. He's wearing a white t-shirt under a spotted white shirt and a dark vest. I've decided to describe him because he looks like my husband when he was nine.

Guess who!- Adrian's turn

He's Marilyn Manson!
Now it's my turn:
She looks very young in her photo, she's blonde, and she's wearing a very beautiful dress.
Who do you think she is?

Emi ' s turn

She is slim. She has hazel eyes. She has short curly hair. She is wearing a dark sweater and I think that she is wearing white earrings. She's wearing silver or golden jewellery round her neck. Nowadays she is a famous actress. She loves Manolo's shoes and Mr. Big too. I saw her in "Sex and the City" . Who is she?

Any's Description

He's a famous footballer.He plays in a Spanish team. He's tall. He has short, dark hair. He's good-looking. He lives in Madrid with his wife, and his four boys. It's very easy....
Who is he?

Chema's Description

Very easy!
She's a pretty actress. She's not very tall. She has dark hair. She lives in America, but she's Spanish.

Who is she?

Reyes's Description

He isn't tall and his hair is dark. He's Spanish and speaks other languages. He drives very well and he is very fast.

Who is he?

Yolanda's Description

He´s a famous politician. He´s tall and thin. He has short, brown hair. He´s Spanish. He´s married and he has two daugthers. His wife sings in a chorus.
Who is he?

Carmen's Description

He´s a famous man, he´s tall and good-looking. He´s English, but he works in many countries in the world.
This man has many partners, and kisses very well, this man drives a fantastic Bently and many other luxurious cars
He´s a womanizer. He's a really hot man.

Stereotypes

I've foud the following post at Tripadvisor.com and I think it's quite interesting.

Why don't you read it and then write your opinion about it?
What is your idea of the typical Spanish citizen, if such citizen exists, and what are Spanish people really like?

Click on the picture below and read the post:

The Truth About Spanish Stereotypes

The French

And what about our neighbours? What do you think of the French? Click here and you'll find several listening comprehension and vocabulary activities based on this topic.

Glacier Collapse Video

Watch this amazing video that Chema, one of your classmates, has sent me and see a huge glacier move and collapse right before the onlookers' eyes!

Now answer the following questions:

1. What did they hear before they arrived at the lake?


2. What caused the sounds they heard?


3. Did they imagine what was going to happen?


4. Were the people frightened at the beginning?


5. When did the crowd realise that it was really dangerous?


6. Did the people have time to react?


7. How long did it take for the whole mountain of ice to fall down?


8. Was anybody injured when they were swept by the huge wave?


9. What caused the wave?


10. Did anybody die when they were pounded against the rocks ?

V Premios Sociedad de la Información

This blog, ESL Bloggers, has been selected as one of the finalists in the fifth edition of the awards : "Premios de la Sociedad de la Informacion". Our blog takes part in the category: Best Public Initiative of e-Education.
The names of the winners will be known during the ceremony which will be held on 11th of November, 2009, at "Universidad Loboral" Theatre in Gijón.
Regardless the final result of the contest, it has been an honour to have been nominated and then selected as one of the finalists.
I would like to thank the organisers for this initiative, which contributes greatly to the develpment of communication, education and business through the so called New Technologies.
My most since thanks to CTIC foundation and the Government of the Principality of Asturias for organising and promoting this important contest.

If you click on the logo below, you'll find further information, such as the names of all the finalists in the different categories, as well as links to all the websites and blogs.

Michelle Obama ( By Margot , 2ºA-NB )

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is the first lady of the Unated States and the wife of the forty-fourth president, Barack Obama, and she is the first African American First Lady.
She was born and grew up in the South of Chicago and graduated from Princeton University and Harvard Law School. When She finished her education, She started to work for Sidley Austin, a Law firm where she met Barack Obama after his election for the U.S. Senate.
After this. she worked helping young people and women to live in comunity for the University of Chicago medical center.
Michelle Obama has a brother, a basketball coach. They grew up in the South of Chicago with their parents. Her father was a pump operator of the Chicago water Department and although he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis he hardly ever missed a day of work.Her mother stayed at home looking after their children.
Her paternal great-great grandfather, Jim Robinson, was an American slave in the state of South Carolina and her great grandfater worked with his only hand making and selling shoes.
Michelle and Barak Obama have two daughters: Malia, aged 10 and Shara, aged 7, who were born in Chicago.
I think Michelle Obama is an inteligent, smart , brave, hardworking woman and American people will do better with Obama's couple.
This is just an opinion, of course.

A Holiday in León ( By Guty,1ºA-NB )

I went to Leon last August with my girlfriend.
We went to Leon by bus. We stayed in a big hotel in the centre of the city.
The hotel was very nice. We could see a very beautiful park in front of our window.

During the day we walked around the city. We took a lot of photos.
We visited the Cathedral. It was very big and we couldn't see it because it was closed. At night we went to a restaurant and then we had some drinks.
Leon is very beautiful but it was very hot.

Andres's Easter Holidays (1ºA-NB)

Last Easter I went on holiday with my wife. We travelled in our car.

We planned a trip visiting several places,. First ,we visited Pamplona, walked along its streets and The places where the "Encierro" (Running) takes place during its famous "Fiestas de San Fermín" (Saint Fermin's Festival). We also saw its "Plaza de Toros".

We visited "Monasterio de Leyre" (Leyre's Monastery) and "Castillo de Javier" (Javier's Castle).
Then we left for Sos del Rey Católico, a village in the province of Zaragoza, where the "Rey Fernando el Católico" (King Ferdinand the Catholic) was born. It's a charming place, with nice streets, houses and picturesque views.




We stayed for several days in Boltaña, a village in the province of Huesca, in the Pyrenees, in a nice and cozy hotel.


While we stayed there we visited several places in the area: "Parque de Ordesa" (Ordesa's Park) and Monte Perdido, and very nice villages: Ainsa, Bielsa, Plan (famous for being the first places which received a "Caravan of women") .We also went to Gistain (said the highest village in the Aragonese Pyrennes), Torreciudad (a shrine built by Jose MªEscribá, the founder of Opus Dei) and Barbastro (the land of "D.O.Somontano",the famous wine).

Finally we moved to La Almunia de Doña Godina, a town in the province of Zaragoza, where my sister lives, and visited the Easter processions in Calatayud, but because of the bad weather almost all of them were cancelled.



During the ten days trip, the weather was not very good, the first days we had good weather, but the last days it was very bad, and we saw snow.

However, the trip was worth it......

Silver Spinning Top for ESL Bloggers

I'm delighted to tell you that our blog has been awarded a prize in the third edition of Premio Espiral Edublogs.09 .
This prize, which has made me extremely happy, belongs to my students as much as it belongs to me, for they have contributed with their posts, comments and suggestions to make this blogging adventure such a satisfying experience.
ESL Bloggers was born in July 2008 and our journey in the blogosphere has only started, so this prize has encouraged us to go on with even more enthusiasm.
I am most thankful to "Asociación Espiral" and to all the people who have made this blog possible with their contributions, encouragement and support.

A Visit to Sorolla Museum ( By Chema, 1ºA-NB)

On Saturday, March 14th, I visited Sorolla Museum

In March I went to Madrid to see my son. I did a lot of shopping but I also took the opportunity to visit the house museum or Sorolla, "the painter of light." It was easy to go by bus. I got off at “Glorieta de Emilio Castelar” and from there I went to number 37 “Paseo General Martínez Campos”.


When you enter, you find a beautiful garden inspired by Andalusia, with large plants and some fountains. At the semi-basement there are varieties of pottery, which Sorolla collected, and the only sculpture portraying his wife, Clotilde. The entrance to the museum-house is not through the main door, but by a side door that gives access to a chain of rooms:

Room I) Biography and introduction to his painting.
II) The release and pictures of beach scenes.
III) workplaces where there are great portraits, beach scenes, gardens, as well as furniture, containers, utensils, paint resting place .. and a selection of sketches of his painting in three phases: initiation, development and consolidation.

Then you find the hall of the house, where the parlour, dining room and stairs leading to the first floor are. Here we find furniture, desks, cabinets, sculptures, vases of various styles and locations, as well as tables that dominate nature, the sea and characters, full of light.

On the upper floor rooms you can visit rooms IV-VII where you can find an exhibition of the most of the most characteristic items (portraits, gardens, typical environments ,..). The original Museum of Joaquin Sorolla Bastida (1863-1923) retains the atmosphere of the house and the workshop or work area, where the bulk of his collection and collections of sculptures, furniture, jewellery, textiles, and so Special Spanish pottery, mainly from Valencia and Aragon. I you pay it a visit , you won’t regret it. It’s worth it.

Links:
http://museosorolla.mcu.es/historia.htm
http://pemgila.blogspot.com/2005/11/joaquin-sorolla-y-bastida.html
http://www.estadistica.net/Masoneria/sorolla.html

March in Norway (By Reyes-1ºA-NB)

I know Oslo in summer and I like it very much, but Oslo in winter is beautiful.

I stayed in Norway for ten days and the countryside was surprising : the houses covered with snow, the trees, the frozen lakes etc.

Norwegian houses have many colours. People go to skiing around frozen lakes and go skating on the frozen surface.

At night, all the houses have their lights on and their windows don't have curtains, because daylight is very important for them.

Everybody speaks two languages, English and Norwegian.
In Oslo, the shops open at 9'00 am and they close at 5'00 pm. They don't close for lunch. Norway' s currency is Norwegian Krone.

Pilar' s holidays in Lanzarote (1ºA-NB)

I went to lanzarote last July. I travelled alone. I flew to lanzarote with Iberia Airways.
I stayed for two weeks in my brother’s house. His house is in Playa Honda. It is very near the beach.
We went to the beach by bike every day. We visited wonderful places like Timanfaya National Park, Jameos del Agua, Teguise, Puerto Calero, Famara, Nazaret, Puerto del Carmen, Femes, Playa Blanca, etc.
My favorite place was Timanfaya National Park, because it is an amazing place!
We walked around the town. We took a lot of photos and we bought a lot of souvenirs.
At night we went to restaurants and ate typical food from Lanzarote, then we went out with friends and had a drink.
We had a great time. Lanzarote is very hot, but it is very beautiful too.

Holidays in the South (1ºA-NB)

I went to "Costa del Sol" last May with my husband and my son. We went by car and we slept in a hotel in Madrid.

We stayed for two weeks in an apartment near the beach, in a housing estate called “Alhambra del Golf”.

We visited some places in "Costa del Sol": Marbella, Puerto Banús, Nerja, Málaga and Ronda. We ate the typical food from Andalucía: fried fish, “gazpacho” and “salmorejo”. We took a lot of photos. We went to the beach and the swimming-pool. We took a tourist train and a horse-drawn carriage. We bought famous pottery from Andalucía.

We had a great time. "Costa del Sol" is very beautiful and the beaches are fantastic. The white villages in Málaga are lovely. Our apartment was cheap and the food was great. We only had two problems: it was too windy and some restaurants were very expensive.

A Holiday Report (1ºA-NB)

My wife and I went to Syria and Jordan last July .
We flew from Asturias to Madrid whith Easy Jet, and from Madrid to Amman whith Jordan Airways.
We spent twelve days in comfortable hotels.
The tour guide, Mr. Bassam, spoke Spanish very well.
The group and their guide, Bassam, went by bus. We usually ate together.
We saw mosques, the souk of Damascus, the bedouins in the desert ...
We got to know customs, ceremonies, typical food, museums, ruins of civilizations,we swam in the Dead Sea ... and hiked in the legendary Petra.
Bassam was nice, he told us about places and coustoms. He said that "there were many things buried".
In the Zoco of Damascus we found a bit of everything. I missed speaking English.
Things weren't expansive, but they - the shop assistants- bargained a lot.
We bought presents for our family.
I also bought Bedoin´s wife a handmade box, and in gift shop, I bought a book and CDs about the History of Syria and Jordan (Amman,Wadi Rum, Jerash, Palmira, Petra, Dead Sea, Aqaba, Madaba, etc...).
I took a lot of photos and video.
We walked a lot.We had a great time, but it was quite hot. We drank a lot of water and tea because we were thirsty.
After dinner we always were very tired, so we went to bed early and turned on the TV or read, we commented, ... In the morning we got up early too.
We liked it very much. Time passed by very quickly.
If you like history, you must go there.

The Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty is one of the most famous American landmarks. It was a present France gave to the US to commemorate the centennial of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence. It represents political liberty and friendship between countries.
Click on the picture below to get to know more about this historic landmark and then do the reading activity that follows.

Pruebas de Certificación de Idiomas 2009

Click on the links below to read important information about the test you have to sit if you want to get the EOI Certificate in Basic, Intermediate or Advanced level.
You need to fill in a registration form and pay a fee to enroll for the test. Don't forget the registration dates : May 4 to May 15

• The test
• Registration
  

My Profile (by Andrés, 1ºA-NB)

Monasterio de Piedra (on the left) and Calatayud (on the right)

Hello!
Have a good day, everyone!
My name is Andrew, and I am a first year student at the Official School of Languages in Avilés.

I am currently a pre-retired bank clerk, and in my spare time, I help with some work at a friend’s Agency and Estate Agent's in Piedras Blancas. I also study English.

I was born in a small town called Calatayud, in Zaragoza, where my sisters live. It’s a very well located city with many beautiful things to see, so I recommend everybody to visit the area!

17 years ago I came to work in Avilés, in the Central Bank, then called Banco Central Hispano and later in Banco Santander Central Hispano. I worked in Grado, Mieres, Piedras Blancas, Pravia, Cangas del Narcea and Pravia again. I finally retired in 2006, and I settled to live in Piedras Blancas, where I had my house.

I am married, my wife is called Elizabeth, and her whole family is from Aviles. We have two daughters, Andrea and Patricia, and they have already finished their studies and are working, one in Avilés and the other in Toledo. We also enjoy the company of two beautiful cats: Tina (female) and Lucas (male).

Although I am not working now, I don’t have much free time, but I try to enjoy doing what I like now: studying English, going to the countryside, walking, travelling, going to the beach or spending time with my family. Every year I go to the beach for my summer vacation. Recetly I’ve been to "Mil Palmeras", a beach that is between Torrevieja and La Manga del Mar Menor. I also visit my family.

Best wishes. Good health and luck for everybody!

Andrew.

Flying

Can men fly?
Before answering you should see this video. Isn’t this flying?
I’d say it is, we have already achieved it. The first time that I saw these flights I felt dizzy, very dizzy, but I also felt a lot of envy. I can’t imagine anything more exciting and fun than this and, of course, I'd love to do something like skydiving. I’m not sure I could give one step beyond when I got to the top and it's possible that, once in the air, I could only shout without opening my eyes, but I like to think that while I was flying I’d enjoy the sensation of feeling like the king of birds, a large condor, a hawk, an eagle, -each of you can choose your favourite one-, I’d love to feel like going through the air while I see the earth down there, so far away, so wonderful ....

New points system for Formula One Championship

Yesterday afternoon, the FIA (Federation Internationale de l'Automobile) changed the scoring system of FIA Formula One World Championship. Before the change, the champion was the driver with the most points at the end of the season. Now, the FIA has established a system where the driver who has won the most races at the end of the season gets the world title. Only if there is a tie between two or more drivers, the points will count.
Lots of Formula 1 teams, drivers and thousands of Formula 1 fans have already complained about the radical change which the Championship is going to suffer because of this new rule, but the change is fixed.
There have been some other minor changes, like a new budget for Formula 1 teams, more freedom for paddock's visitors, etc.
Click here to read the whole piece of news.

Edit: After some days of arguments and bad reactions about the new rules, the FIA has decided to return to the old punctuation system. So, you can forget all this piece of news and think about the next GP in Melbourne.