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.

"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

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