"Blindness" ; review by Adrián Rodríguez Ares (2ºD-NB)

Title:Blindness (Ensayo sobre la ceguera)

Author: José Saramago

Genre: Drama

Publisher: Alfaguara

People live their lives as usual. Nothing escapes from common reality, and blind people are a very few. Suddenly, a strange blindness starts affecting all the country. Lots of people die in accidents, caused by this new disease. After thousands of people are affected, the government decides to act. They keep infected people in some quarantine areas like hospitals, old prisons or shopping centres. However, this does not work. After all, everybody is blind.

Well, not everybody. A woman remains in normal state, as the disease does not affect her, and she becomes the new hope for humanity to get back to normal. However, she is locked with a lot of blind people in a local prison. Will she be able to escape from it? Will people become normal again? All the answers to these questions are in Blindness.

I give this book a 4/5. It has a very attractive and genuine plot, and it gets you from start to finish. I think that the beginning and the ending are the best parts of the story, because they are very special, and they make this novel very compelling. However, I think that there are some parts in the book where you could get bored, so I think that it is a bit boring sometimes. But, anyway, it's a book you must read.

Next March, a film called "Blindness", based on this novel, will be released in Spain. I have seen a few trailers, and it seems that the movie is very similar to the book. If you do not like reading, I recommend you to see the film, which has already been released in USA.

And the Oscar goes to ... Penélope Cruz!

Yes, the Oscar went to Pe!

She got it. The 2009 Oscar award for best supporting actress belongs to our Pe.
Although I haven´t seen Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona yet, I'm sure she deserves the award because she is a very good actress and she has offered us memorable performances like her unforgettable Raimunda in Almodovar's Volver.
In the ceremony, she looked classy, gorgeous, extremely elegant and ... so nervous that her voice quivered as she delivered her heartfelt beautiful speech. Don't miss her speech, watch the video and listen to it ; it's moving, intelligent and really good.

Personal Profile, by Victor (1ºA-NB)

Hello ,everybody!
My name is Víctor. I was born in Avilés and I live in Los Campos, Corvera . I´m single. I´m an environmental technician . I used to deal with analyzers, atmosphere, clean water and wastewater, meteorology equipment, etc. I've worked in this field for ten years.
In 2001, I went to live in Barcelona. I worked there for six years as a technician in industrial instrumentation; measuring equipment and industrial control, treatment and data transmission, industrial computers (Plc´s), electrical and electronic signals, measurement and control of temperature, flow, pressure, weight…
In November 2007, I retired from work due to illness and returned to Asturias, where I currently live.
Now I dedicate my free time to study English and German, in the Official School of Languages in Avilés. My hobbies are reading, walking, writing, going out with my friends, going to the cinema or the theater, travelling, swimming, and especially taking pictures. In my car, I always have my photo equipment: a Canon 400D with two lenses, a Canon 18-55 mm and a Tamron 70-300 mm.

Here I leave you a sample of my photographs, I hope you like them.
Greetings to all of you.

Víctor

Avilés Port, 05/07/2009 (photo on the left) and Olimpic Port, Barcelona, 23/02/2008 (photo on the right)

Olimpic Port Barcelona, 23/02/2008 (photo on the left) and Ferrera’s Park, Avilés, Summer 2008 (photo on the right)

Dalí Museum, Figueres, December 2007 ( photo on the left) and Ferrera’s Park, Avilés, Summer 2008 (photo on the right)

"Comediantes" (actors) performing in the street ( photo on the left), smith (photo in the middle) and owl (photo on the right).

Click on the link below if you want to download Victor's profile or see the pictures in a bigger size.

"The Boys from Brazil" ; review by Paco González (2ºD-NB)

Title: The Boys from Brazil

Author: Ira Levin

Genre: Thriller

Level: Pre-Intermediate

It is 1974, a group of men meet in a restaurant in Brazil. One of them is Dr. Joseph Mengele. They have a terrible plan. In the next two and a half years 94 men about 65 years old must die in different countries.

That same day in Viena, Yakov Lieberman, a Jew whose mission is to capture Nazis, receives a phone call in which someone tells him about Mengele’s plan, but the conversation is suddenly interrupted and he can’t get more information.

Whithout knowing who these men are or what connection they have with the Nazis, Lieberman starts to look for information. That’s the beginning of this exciting fiction novel.

This book is quite easy to read. It’s a gripping thiller with no jumps in time until the mystery is revealed in the end. It doesn't take too long to read it and it will give you a good chance to think about ethics, science and the future. The story was made into a film in 1978. I think it’s well worth reading.

Recommended Links

Two of your classmates, Chema and Ángel would like to recommend you some links to web sites which you may find useful. They have already been added to our forum and I think they are really interesting and definitely worth visiting. You only have to click on the words below.

Becas,ayudas y subvenciones

Review of 'Two Lives' , by Adrián Rodríguez Ares - 2ºD-NB

Title: Two Lives

Author: Helen Naylor

Genre: Romance

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Level: Pre-Intermediate

50 years ago, Huw and Megan were a happy couple in a little Welsh town. But the power of destiny forced Huw to leave the town and go to Canada, so Megan stayed alone with her baby and parents. Huw didn't send any postcards telling Megan about him or about his new life in Canada.

50 years later, Megan discovered that his father, who was already dead, had been keeping a lot postcards from Huw. Now, Megan could contact her beloved again , but she was about to marry a friend she had met at work. Megan would have to choose her future without help, in a romantic story between past and present.

I give this book a 3/5. It was an easy book, with a very predictable plot, but it gets you from the start. I had to read and read, so that I could get to know the end of the story. I don't recommend it to people who don't like romantic stories, but if you don't mind reading a bit of romance, then Two Lives is your book.

Tests for 1st Year Students

• Listening comprehension and writing on Wednesday, 18th of Febuary.
• Listening comprehension on Wednesday, 25th of February.
  
• Reading comprehension, grammar and vocabulary test on Monday, 2nd of March.

Tests for 2nd Year Students

• Listening comprehension and writing on Wednesday, 18th of Febuary.
• Listening comprehension on Wednesday, 25th of February.
  
• Reading comprehension, grammar and vocabulary test on Tuesday, 3rd of March.

The best romantic song

What's your favourite romantic song?

To celebrate Saint Valentine's day we are going to choose the best romantic songs, you just have to click on the image below to take part in this activity our library on-line offers you.


All you have to do is write a comment in our library blog telling us about your favourite song. You have to add a link to it so that other people can hear it and that's all. Take part, it'll be fun, I have already added mine.
As I don't have only one favourite love song and several of the ones I like best are already in the list, I've suggested "Wherever You Will Go" , by The Calling , beacause I simply love it.
I find the video quite disappointing, the song deserves something much better but you can see the lyrics and sing along with Alex if you like. That's what I do whenever I hear this beautiful song.

In the end I added this beauty to the list, because I could't forgive myself to leave out such a jewel.
"I Can't Help Falling in Love", by Elvis Presley

Personal Profile, by Ana Cristina (1ºA-NB)

Hi everybody ...My name is Ana Cristina, but people call me Any. I'm 37 and I live in Piedras Blancas with my three daugthers.Their names are Ariana, Alba and Mara.They are 13, 9 and 6.
Now,I don't work, but I'm a hairdresser.
I study English at the Official School of Languages and I'm in my first year. I want to learn English to work and to travel. I love travelling. Last summer I went to Mallorca with my daughters and after that I went to Jamaica with my friend Begoña. JAMAICA NO PROBLEM!!!! I loved Jamaica.
I want to go to Tunez in February with my partner and friend Mª Jose .
I like listening to music and doing sport. My favourite sports are aerobics and football. I do aerobics in Piedras Blancas from Monday to Friday and my favourite teams are Sporting and Real Madrid.
kisses for everyone !!!

Personal Profile, by Chema (1ºA-NB)

Hello everyone

My name is Jose Mª. I was born in Zamora,like Clarin, and I came to Gijón in 1956.
I live in Luanco. I am married and have two children,aged 28 and 26. I used to work in a primary school.
I've been retired since August,2008.
Now I do these activities: walking, reading, music, pottery and studying a little English to understand some songs , to communicate when I travel, etc..
I like going to the movies, listening to music, sharing opinions in the classroom,sharing culture with older people and keeping my mind busy with this language ( English ), which I´d never studied formally.


I wish you all the best.

If you want to visit my blog, where you can find activities to improve your English, such as subtitled songs to practise your listening skills , click on the link below:

Profile

Your profile
Introduce yourself and then write about something that you find interesting or fun, such as hobbies, abilities, interests , likes and dislikes, where you live, study or work, your friends and family, etc.

When you have finished your writing send it to me and I´ll check it for you :

mjesusbf@gmail.com

and read other students' profiles.

You can also do this listening activity that I found at Mª José's blog. It can give you some ideas for your writing.

Hudson Plane Crash News , by Loli (2ºA-NB)

One of your 2nd year Basic Level classmates, Loli (2ºA-NB), has added this amazing piece of news to our forum. It's about the aeroplane that landed on the Hudson River. Click on the photo to read it.

Write about "Two Lives"

"Two Lives".

Click on the book cover and visit our library blog.

Now write 80-100 words about the book. You have to choose a question from each group and your writing should be about 10 lines long.

GROUP 1

1. Describe Megan’s father. What was he like? What do you think he looked like? Why did he have so much influence on his daughter’s life?
   
2. Describe Huw’s father. What was he like? What do you think he looked like? Why did he have so much influence on his son’s life?
3. What kind of woman was Megan? Describe her physical appearance and her personality.
4. What kind of man was Huw? Describe his physical appearance and his personality.

GROUP 2

1. Describe Huw’s family and his relationship with his father and brother, what they did for a living there in Wales in the 40s, etc. Explain why Huw decided to go to Canada and leave Megan in Britain.
2. What was Huw’s life in Canada like? Did he do well there? Was he successful? Did he have a happy life without Megan?
3. What was Megan’s life like all those years without Huw? Was it sad and empty or was it full and satisfying?
4. Talk about Huw and Megan’s relationship. Their love lasted a lifetime, but do you think it could be the same after fifty years? Is love the same at fifty than at fifteen?

GROUP 3

1. Write a letter from Megan to Paul explaining why she has decided to marry Huw.
2. Finish writing the letter from Huw which Megan begins reading on page 26 of “Two Lives”
   
   My lovely Megan
   I still haven’t received a letter from you. I can’t believe it takes four months for letters to cross the Atlantic. What’s happened? Is something wrong?…

Click here to go to our forum and write your composition there ( you just have to click on the Answer button to add your writing to the thread) or send it to me by email.

Personal Profile, by Laura ( 2ºA-NB )

Laura

Publish at Scribd or explore others:

Personal Profile, by Julián ( 2ºD-NB )

Hi, my name is Julian. I am 16 years old and I’m from Aviles, but I live in La Peral, a little village in Illas with my father and my sister. I’m studying a formative cycle, in Valliniello’s CIFP (Centro Integrado de Formacion professional de Valliniello).
I have been studying English since I was a child, and this year I started to do it in the Official Languages School of Aviles.
I’m tall and slim with short brown hair. I think I’m a friendly person. I like going out with my friends, listening to hip hop music, skateboarding with my friends, and all types of things that are fun.
Sometimes I go out in Aviles, but sometimes I stay in la Peral, and I go to Pico Gorfoli by bicycle with some friends, and we cycle in the mountains, it’s exhausting because we speend all day going from the bottom to the top of the mountains.
I recommended all of you to visit la Peral and Illas, because they are two beautiful villages with very friendly people and lots of natural things to do.
Bye
Julian.

Click on the headings below and enter
our Reading and Writing Corners

Personal Profile, by Yorleida ( 2ºB-NB )

I am a student at Carreño Miranda high school and I study English in my free time.
I speak Spanish and a little English. I want to learn English for my future job.

I have long red hair and very brown eyes. I am tall. I am intelligent and funny, but sometimes I am impatient.

I live in a flat with my mother and my younger brother. My mother works with old people and my brother is at school. He is 14 years old.

I like music, cinema and sport. I go to dance with my best friend Katy at the weekends.

I dislike watching football on TV and playing with my brother
My name is Yorleida. I was born in 1991, in Cali – Colombia but I've lived in Avilés for 2 years .

Blog Biblioteca EOI Avilés

Click on the links below and discover the new blogs the EOI Library can offer you.
You will find information about reading and audio material you can borrow from our library. You can also write reviews and comments on your favourite books and share them with others.
Join us and take part. Reading in good company is even more fun!


Comunícate

About Reading


Don´t forget to read the most famous editorial in the history of US Press and send a comment which could be a letter to Virginia or a Christmas message.
Click on the card below and read this cute piece of writing in English. You can also read it in Spanish if you find it too difficult ( Only for 1st year students!),


If you have read K's First Case or you are thinking of reading it , click on the image below to do some activities after you finish the book:

And don´t forget to have a nice holiday!