Let´s Go To The Movies "The General"

The 1962 Silent Comedy Classic : THE GENERAL.

Plot Summary for The General

Johnnie has two loves in his life: his engine, called The General, and his girlfriend Annabelle. The Civil War starts and Johnnie goes to the recruitment office because he wants to take part in it. But he is rejected, nobody tells him why. However, he seems to be more valuable as an engineer, so Annabelle believes he is a coward. Because of this, she stops talking to him .Later, Union spies capture The General with Anabelle on board. He decides to rescue both his loves.

This is the start

The General based on a real incident during the American Civil War when some soldiers hijacked a confederate train .

Reception

The film was a box-office disaster but it is now considered as one of the greatest films ever made.
Production
Keaton performed many dangerous physical stunts on and around the moving train, including jumping from the engine.

Director : Buster Keaton , Clyde Bruckman

Audio/Visual: silent, black and white

Starring: Buster Keaton and Marion Mack

Running Time : 75 minutes

Country: United States, Oregon

A clip of Buster Keaton´s The General 

To read more go to this link

Gerunds and Infinitives

Gerunds and Infinitives

English grammar secrets. The -ing form can be used like a noun, like an adjective or like a verb. To practise
click here ,here and here

The Story of Rock "We Will Rock You"

QUEEN- FREDDIE MERCURY

Queen started in 1972, playing very small concerts.Ten years later, they were a supergroup, playing in sports stadiums in Europe, Japan, the USA and Latin America. They were one of the most succcesful groups of the last 30 years. In Britain, they were voted the second most popular band of the millennium, afeter The Beatles. They played both hard rock and pop. In 1991, their lead singer, Freddie Mercury, died of AIDS. More than 75,000 fans went to his memorial concert.

Another song, Bohemian Rhapsody, which stayed at number one  in the UK charts for nine weeks.I like this one a lot.


Lyrics | Bohemian Rhapsody lyrics

 Freddie Mercury and Monserrat Caballé in Barcelona

Lyrics | How Can I Go On lyrics

THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR



The battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy
and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars.The battle was the most decisive British Naval victory of the war.

THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR

To know what happened in 1805  read the text and answer the questions.

Trafalgar Square (look at the photo) takes its name from Admiral Nelson's famous victory in the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. Nelson's Column is 56 m high and on top you can see the statue of Admiral Nelson, who died in the battle


TRAFALGAR SQUARE IN LONDON

 Nelson was buried in St Paul´s Cathedral



ST PAUL´S CATHEDRAL

 Watch this video. Donald Quinn : VFX Animation Demo (Trafalgar)



SPEAKING FCE EXAM

The Cambridge First Certificate in English Speaking Exam parts one and two.
As you know the examiner will ask you personal information in an interview (3 minutes)
Then you will have to speak without interruption for about a minute to compare and contrast two photos on a similar theme, and give your personal reaction to them.

SPEAKING CAE EXAM

Video that teaches the third part of the oral exam for the CAE.
Paper 5: Speaking. The paper is devided into four parts and the video is part three.
I hope you make use of it.

Another video with part two

CAE Speaking Part 2




PAPER 5 :SPEAKING PART 2

  Task Strategy

• Make sure you don´t simply describe the pictures-your response should include hypothesis or speculation from the start.
• Keep talking, but try to finish within the time limit.
• Organise your ideas and express yourself coherently.
• When your partner is speaking, listen but don´t interrupt.

World Food Day 2010

For the past 27 years,people all over the world have been celebrating World Food Day on the 16th October.
There is a theme and this year´s is "United Against Hunger".
The hungry are mostly the rural poor living in developing countries, mostly subsistence farmers, mostly women and children.  And most of them live in Asia or South America, and especially Africa.
If we are to make a difference, we must be united against hunger.Watch this PSA  for 2010


To feed a growing population, we need to increase food production without degrading soils and water resources. This video looks at rural communities in Viet Nam and Senegal . They have found different ways of using natural ecosystem services to optimise efficiencies in farming.


For more information
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Food_Day
World Food Day: What is it, and what can I do?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2010/10/101011_witn_global_hunger_page.shtml

CHILE:33 Miners,69 Days,625 Metres Underground

After almost 70 days trapped half a mile under ground the rescuers have begun the delicate rescue mission. Channel 4 News looks at the detail behind the "miracle" rescue.
From a story of a terrible tragedy the rescue of the Chilean miners has become a triumph of hope after the biggest ever rescue operation in mining history. Chile's president proclaimed it a miracle.

It's now 69 days since the miners were first trapped, 52 days before they made contact with the outside world, and just over a month since the rescue finally began. More on this story

ESL Video Quiz "What Adults Can Learn from Kids"

Watch the video and answer the questions below. Read the Transcript and check your listening comprehension. Check the Notes for information about culture, grammar, slang, or pronunciation.

Groundhog Day

  GROUNDHOG DAY      DIA DE LA MARMOTA

 The Pennsylvania Tradition of Groundhog Day 

What does a sleepy, furry marmot have to do with seasonal change? Listen and read to know the tradition in Pennsylvania 

 There are endless ideas to celebrate The Groundhog Day

http://www.groundhog.org/

http://www.visitpa.com/trip-ideas/see-more-pa/groundhog-day/index.aspx

 To know where Pennsylvania is look at the map 

PHENOMENA GHOSTS UFOS

With all the words in the cloud , make up a story whose tittle is "A strange encounter"

In order to write this story I recommend you to use these tenses.

•     Past Simple, Past Continuous and Used to exercise 2

          Click on this link, again, a little bit more.
           There is a  crossword ,too. Click here.

GHOST

GHOST FILM MUSIC

Whoa! My love, my darling,

I hunger for your touch,
Alone. Lonely time.
And time goes by, so slowly,
And time can do so much,
Are you still mine?
I need your love.
I need your love.
God speed your love to me.
Lonely rivers flow to the sea, to the sea,
To the open arms of the sea.
Lonely rivers sigh, wait for me, wait for me,
I'll be coming home, wait for me.
Whoa! My love, my darling,
I hunger, hunger!, for your love,
For love. Lonely time.
And time goes by, so slowly,
And time can do so much,
Are you still mine?
I need your love.
I need your love.
God speed your love to me.

Let´s Go To The Movies

Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock

                                  

                                               
 It is a 1960 American psychological thriller fim

A young woman steals 40.000 from her employer´s client, and subsequently encounters a young motel propietor too long under the domination of his mother . ( we all go mad sometimes)
                                   
Click on this link