Bruno Mars

Have you ever been moved while listening to a song? If you like Bruno Mars you certainly have. His songs always make you think about different situations in life.

He’s an American singer and songwriter. He was born on the 8^th of October of 1985. He was brought up by two musicians in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he spent part of his life. His first contact with music was when he was two years old. Later on, he took part in many music shows and that’s what made him decide to dedicate his life to music and he moved to LA. He became a star in little time thanks to Philip Laurence who helped him get a contract with a production company.

Our favourite songs by Bruno Mars are ‘Today my life begins’ and ‘It will rain’. We certainly believe they’re the best because of their style and their honest lyrics which make you feel exactly what he talks about is true and that it’s happening to you too!  Don’t hesitate and listen to them!

By: Ainhoa Peña and Paula Arratibel

How to Write an Essay -- chapter one: choosing a topic

gossip girl

Everyone has heard at least once about this increasingly popular American TV series. Starring Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Ed Westwick, Chace Crawford and Penn Badgley, among others, the series’ crew is doing wonders for the plot to hook more and more viewers.

Narrated by this omniscient blogger “Gossip Girl”, the series revolves around the lives of privileged young adults on Manhattan’s Upper East Side in NYC. While they are trying to be accepted in the most prestigious universities, Gossip Girl is trying to ruin their lives by posting their most inner secrets.

The series begins with the return of Serena van der Woodsen, New York’s it girl, to the Upper East Side. She had gone to a boarding school in Connecticut for mysterious reasons. Meanwhile, Blair Waldorf, Serena’s long-time friend and occasional rival, has been the queen of the UES, overthrowing her.

As for the boys, Chuck Bass and Nate Archibald are the main male characters. The former is an antiheroic bad boy and the latter a chivalrous future business magnate.

All in all, we really encourage girls to follow this amazing TV series. It will have you hooked from the very first moment. You certainly won’t regret it!

xoxo gossip girl

By: Teresa and Julia

What's up?

Did you know that..

Chocolate makes life longer, according to studies.

If affected people from diseases in the whole world  could use aspirin in a regular way, we could save 100 000 lives.

An adult human blinks nearly 23 000 times per day

Hair grows 0.35 mm per day. The hair that grows by far the fastest is in the thorax, even though it stops growing when it reaches the length of 5 centimetres.

Did you know that George Washington, the ex-president of the United States, had marijuana plants in the backyard of his house?

“ERRORS”: In 1879 in the United States a substance to deal with the addiction of the morphine was created: COCAINE

Did you know that the most common name in the world is Mohammed?

Did you know that the highest point in Pensylvania is lower than the lowest point in Colorado?

Did you know that due to global warming, 125 lakes from the Artic have disappeared in the last decades?

Did you know that if you try to bear your sneeze, you can break a jugular vein in your neck/head and die?

S.O.S was applied as a signal of breakdown truck at the beginning of the 20^th Century, because this code was the easiest to send as a Morse code

 (... --- ...)

Life average of a ball in a professional baseball game: 7 throws.

Did you know that using hearing aids for just one hour, can increase the bacterias in you ear more or less 700 times.

Did you know that the memory of a goldfish is of 3 seconds?

Did you know that the most resistant material created by nature is spider wool?

Did you know that Madame Curie was the first person who discovered radium and the first one to die due to radiation poisoning?

Did you know that apples come from the same family as roses?

Did you know that tomorrow you will have forgotten 80% of the things that you have learned today if you don’t revise it at home?

Did you know that apples are more efficient than caffeine to keep people awake during mornings?

Did you know that the chameleon tongue  measures  double its body?

 Did you know that the typical human’s heart beats 100 000 times per day?

Did you know that a dragonfly’s life is approximately 24 hours?

Did you know that a whale’s tongue weighs the same as an adult elephant?

Guillaume and Telmo

Strange laws around the world (USA)

North Dakota: It is illegal to lie down and fall asleep with your shoes on.

-         Hey!

-         Pardon?

-         You can’t be like that! If not the police is going to...

-         The police?

-         Yes, the police.

-         What is my problem with the police.

-         You are not from here so I’ll explain it to you.

-         I’m from...

-         That doesn’t matter. You were lieing down...

-         Yes...

-         And you were asleep...

-         And the problem is...?

-         You were wearing your shoes! You can’t fell asleep with your shoes on!

• Nevada: It is illegal to drive a camel in the highway.

-    Hi!

-    Hi, how are you?

-    Fine... But I had some problems with the police recently.

-    What? Why?

-    You remember the film we were doing?

-    Yes...

-    You remember the camel part? Where the protagonist needed to drive the camel by Nevada’s highway.

-    Yes...

-    In Nevada it is illegal to drive a camel in the highway...

-    Why?

• California: No vehicle without a driver may exceed 60 miles per hour.

-         Look!

-         What?

-         A car without a driver...

-         It Is true.

-         We need to stop it?

-         No.

(five minutes later)

-    More or less how fast is it going?

-    65 miles per hour.

-    We need to stop it!

-    Why?

-    In California vehicles without a driver may not exceed 60 miles per hour.

• Ohio: It is illegal to get a fish drunk.

-Hi!

-Hi...

-What happened last week? Why were you so upset? At the party you seemed really happy?

-Well... I had some problems with the police...

-What?

-Yep... You remember the party? Well, it seems that someone gave Jimmy a little bit of vodka...

-Oh! So your fish was drunk... That sounds weird...

-I know...

-So... Why have you had troubles...

-Well here it  is illegal to get a fish drunk...

• Minessota: A person may not cross state lines with a duck on his head. People can’t enter Wisconsin with a chicken in their head.  

Latest news: Someone got arrested by the police because he had done something... really illegal. He tried to enter Minessota from North Dakota... with a duck... on his head. He was trying to cross the States with the duck until it fell in Lakeville, so he took a chicken and put it on his head... and tried to cross to Wisconsin with it. The police has took him to the police station because of the two crimes he had commited.

By: Sofía.

Study tips - How to write an essay

            How to do an essay

-         An essay is a piece of writing which is for a teacher, this means it has to have formal language.

-         An essay consists on defending or arguing against a point of view.

-         In the introduction it must appear a signpost sentence and the general statement about the writing, normally a question or even better, a set phrase.

-         Arguments must be taken into consideration, at least two arguments, one per paragraph.

-         The arguments can be positive and negative. In the positive give PROS and in the negative CONS.

-         To end and essay perfectly you must have a good conclusion, summarising the main ideas and giving a final thought.

-         If you are trainig for the first certificate exam the amount of words must be between 150 and 180.

-         In the arguments we must use a topic sentence to introduce the paragraph and to say what is going to be talked about.

-         In each paragraph  TWO IDEAS, the ideas have to be talked about and there must be an example.

-         You don't introduce new ideas in the CONCLUSION.

-         There are some set phrases that are very helpful for an essay for example: The issue whether.......has been hotly debated in our local community.

-         Always remember to put a wide range of vocabulary. For example: godsend, boost, phrasal verbs and also linkers

-         Here, there’s an example of a good article:

Recently, the issue of whether areas in our city have made a positive contribution to society has been hotly debated in our local community. Although I can see both points of view, I must admit that I think that green areas are a godsend. [a1] 

First of all, [a2] spending money on development helps a city to boost  [a3]     tourism and it also helps provide jobs for people who live in the city. Tourists come to cities that are well developed but this  can sometimes be a waste of money, since[a4] , this income [a5] could be used to save animals and to develop green areas[a6] .

Secondly[a7] , some people think that having a nice environment means that you look after animals. In addition, [a8] you will save money due to energy savings,[a9]  as well  as[a10]  living in a quieter area. Despite [a11] the positive facts, some citizens could think that it would be expensive to maintain it or that they take up[a12]  a lot of space, which could be used in  a lucrative way[a13] .

To sum up[a14] , there is a big debate of how we should spend our money, because there are different opinions, and some individuals[a15]  don’t agree, as[a16]  they think that the government is spending their money in an incorrect way.

- GOOD LUCK!

---

 [a1] Structure o fan introfuction of an essay

 [a2] Linker, to start with something

 [a3]The same as increase

 [a4]Linker. Fo contrast

 [a5]The same as money

 [a6]The same as a natural park

 [a7]Linker. To contrast

 [a8]Linker. To add information

 [a9]Vocabulary. In spanish means “ahorro de energía.

 [a10]Linker.  To contrast

 [a11]Linker. That means contrast

 [a12]Phrasal verb. Occupate

 [a13]Way that provides money

 [a14]Linker. It means the same as in conclusión.

 [a15]Good vocabulary: People.

 [a16]Linker. Means the same as because.

Tips from Alvaro and Javier
Essay from Ainhoa

Xbox 360 or Play Station 3?

Nowadays, the debate about which console is better is causing controversy between Xbox 360 and Play Station 3. Play 3 is built by Sony, about is a Japanese Company. On the other hand, the Xbox is built by Microsoft, an American Company. Both are excellent consoles but they have their advantages and their drawbacks.

The Xbox 360 has been on the market since 2005 and it has things better than Play 3; such as graphics and videogames like Halo or Gears of Wars. At the beginning, the Xbox costs less than the Play 3 but you have to pay for the Internet, which costs 60 € per year. And finally, if we add upall the money it is more expensive than the Play 3.

The Play 3 has been on the market since 2006 and it also has advantages and drawbacks. The Play 3 has Blu-Ray and with it you can watch films in a very good quality. The Play 3 has very good games that Xbox hasn´t. For example: Uncharted (the whole set) and God of War (the whole set).

In conclusion, both are fantastic consoles but in our opinion the Play Station 3 is better because it is more economic and the Internet connection is free and this is very important.

By Iñigo Alonso and Gorka Pérez

"Lock and key"

Autor: Sarah Dessen

Synopsis: “Ruby, where is your mother?” Ruby knows that the game is up. For the past few months, she’s been on her own in the yellow house, managing somehow, knowing that her mother will probably never return.That’s how she comes to live with Cora, the sister she hasn’t seen in ten years, and Cora’s husband Jamie, whose down-to-earth demeanor makes it hard for Ruby to believe he founded the most popular networking Web site around. A luxurious house, fancy private school, a new wardrobe, the promise of college and a future—it’s a dream come true. So why is Ruby such a reluctant Cinderella, wary and defensive? And why is Nate, the genial boy next door with some secrets of his own, unable to accept the help that Ruby is just learning to give?

My opinion:

“Lock and Key” is a book written by Sarah Dessen, who is a very popular author among teenagers. This book was published in 2008, and it has been a great success all over the United States.

This moving story really made me hooked until the end, it never gets boring and it suprises you even more when you get to the end. During the plot, many interesting things happen, they are sort of a combination of drama and love story.

At the very beginning when Ruby tells the story of her, being banished by her mum to Cora, it made me think about how hard it is to cope with it. But Ruby, is a very brave person and as soon as she meets the coolest boy of the school she realises that she can be something important in life and someone special to others.

The best thing about this book is its unexpected end which gives you a huge surprise and makes you think about the whole story in a different way.

By: Paula Arratibel and Ainhoa Peña

Kensuke's Kingdom

Author: Michael Morpurgo

Synopsis:

A young boy called Michael, travels with his parents around the world on the yacht Peggy Sue after his parents lose their jobs and decide to sail the seven seas. Michael's parents teach him what he would have normally learnt at school and he has a secret log that he writes in. They travel from England to Africa, South America and Australia. He is on lookout one night when Michael and his dog Stella Artois are washed overboard, near Papua New Guinea. They awake to discover that they are stranded on a desert island that is shaped like a elongated peanut in the Pacific Ocean.

While Michael is struggling to survive on the island, food is regularly left for him. Who has brought this? A thoughtful and real life adventure story.

Number of Pages: 176

Publishing House: Egmont Books Ltd

Opinion:

This is one of the best books I’ve ever read. I love it! It’s a combination of adventure, mystery and self-discovery. Michael and Kensuke’s story is an example of how two quite different people understand themselves, help themselves and teach each otherdifferent things. I’d say this book is one of the most gripping and moving of Michael Morpurgo and a must for every keen reader of English.

By: Anne San José

Small Steps

Author: Louis Sachar

Synopsis:

Two years after being released from Camp Green Lake, Armpit is home in Austin, Texas, trying to turn his life around. But it’s hard when you have a record, and everyone expects the worst from you. The only person who believes in him is Ginny, his 10-year old disabled neighbor. Together, they are learning to take small steps. And he seems to be on the right path, until X-Ray, a buddy from Camp Green Lake, comes up with a get-rich-quick scheme. This leads to a chance encounter with teen pop sensation, Kaira DeLeon, and suddenly his life spins out of control, with only one thing for certain. He’ll never be the same again.

Number of pages: 288

Publishing House: Bloomsbury Publisher

Opinion:

This is the second part of the bestseller Holes. If you liked Holes this book won’t let you down, Small Steps has a lot to recommend it - funny dialogue, a fast-moving story, some emotive scenes, an interesting central character, but it is inevitable to compare it with Holes. Small Steps is more straightforward in every way. It's not as sophisticated or fascinating as Holes - but not many novels are. However, I really recommend you to read it, as every book of Sachar it makes a difference after reading it, you’ll have another view at problems, he shows you that thing are  not impossible, you just have to try harder to solve them. It’s really worth reading!

By: Anne San José