English in Madrid

Two questions that arose from our MOJ class were: Why are spaghetti westerns so called? Was Phantom of the Opera based on a true story? What Are Spaghetti Westerns and Where Did The Name Come From By the second half of the twentieth century, spaghetti had become so well known throughout the world as an Italian food, that the word spaghetti itself came to be a sort of metaphor for anything Italian. So it is not surprising that when Italian film companies began to produce western movies in the 1960’s, they quickly came to be referred to as spaghetti westerns . Source: allaboutspaghetti.com     Vocabulary :   a put-down -   lone (adj) -   alongside -   vastly superior -   broadly recognised -   highly acclaimed -   achievement (n) -   so much so -   a label -   endearment -   rather than -   to tend to -   fare (n) -   first an...

Each sentence has a missing word. Identify it and rewrite the sentences. e.g. A: Where you from? B: Scotland. answer: Where are you from? B: Scotland. A: How long do you to get work?     B: About 40 minutes. A: I bought this designer jacket years ago but I've never worn it.   B: What a of money. Today is warmer yesterday. I have the same car my brother. The Spanish don't dress as well the French. What's the most interesting country you've been? I got 90% in the exam. It was by my best mark. Burgos is famous its cathedral. Santander is a town the north coast of Spain. My son spends too time playing video games. A: How people were at the party?     B: Around twenty. A: Why you take her to Paris for your anniversary?     B: That's a great idea. Correct the sentences that have mistakes: I can save half an hour if I drive to work. I speak much better than I did a...

Source: Wikipedia (Navicore)   What's the difference between a meteor and a meteorite? I asked this question on arriving at my MOJ class. I had seen a bright light falling through the sky (it wasn't 8am yet and so it was still dark). It was too big and too close to be a shooting star. It must have been a meteor. Or maybe a meteorite. José, the boffin in our class, gave an explanation; but I did a little research myself. I found this question: What is the difference between a meteor, a meteoroid, a meteorite, an asteroid and a comet? Most of us probably have seen meteors or shooting stars. A  meteor  is the flash of light that we see in the night sky when a small chunk of interplanetary debris burns up as it passes through our atmosphere. "Meteor" refers to the flash of light caused by the debris, not the debris itself. The debris is called a  meteoroid . A meteoroid is a piece of interplanetary matter that is smaller than a kilometer an...

Source: You Tube (Rodgers and Hammerstein) Key Words: Shall we dance King and I Shall We Dance? - The King and I (Anna sings) We've just been introduced I do not know you well But when the music started something drew me to your side So many men and girls are in each others arms It made me think we might be similarly occupied Shall we dance , on a bright cloud of music Shall we fly Shall we dance Shall we then say goodnight and mean goodbye Or per chance , when the last little star has left the sky Shall we still be together with our arms about each other And shall you be my new romance On the clear understanding that this kind of thing can happen Shall we dance, shall we dance, shall we dance (Interlude) Shall we dance, on a bright cloud of music Shall we fly Shall we dance Shall we then say goodnight and mean goodbye (The King Sings) Or per chance, when the last little star has leave the sky (Anna Sings) Shall we still be together with our a...

I discovered two more False Friends the other day in class. False Friends are words that sound similar but have different meanings (embarrassed - embarazoso, constipado - constipated, actually - actualmente, library - librería and so on ). Source: Wikipedia (Irekia) Notorious means famous for something bad (de mala fama). Jack the Ripper is one of Britain's most notorious serial killers . Spain has become notorious for corruption. The King is a notorious womanizer . That company is notorious for paying low wages to its staff. It's a notoriously difficult exam to pass. She gained notoriety for being a difficult person to work with. I looked up notorio  and I see - well-known, famous, obvious, evident and noticeable . In English you can say:  It's a well-known fact that...  He told a blatant (= obvious) lie .  It was an obvious mistake .  I don't know if you can use notorio for the examples above.  How would you u...

Horses leap bonfires in controversial festival More than 100 horses and riders leapt the flames of roaring bonfires in a small Spanish town in a centuries-old festival that has raised the ire of animal rights activists . Smoke and flames filled the night in San Bartolomé de Pinares, a central Spanish town of some 600 inhabitants, in the annual festival held on Thursday, the eve of Saint Anthony's Day for the patron saint of animals. One by one, horses and their riders jumped the flames of large bonfires lit in the narrow, paved streets of the town, some 100 kilometres (60 miles) northwest of Madrid. Source: Thelocal       Vocabulary : to leap (jump) - a bonfire - roaring (adj) - a flame - the eve of - narrow - lit - paved - to sit astride - fiercely - to date back - concerned (worried) - welfare - to no avail - to bless - a mane - a tail - plaited - to catch fire - to sprinkle - evil - to ride  (...

Source: You Tube (MagicWandTVRemote)       Vocabulary :   a stake (in a company) -   huge (adj) -   a (magic) wand -   a wizard -   to rotate -   a flick -   to fast forward -   to rewind -   a ceiling -   a fan -   revenue (n) -   within (prep) -   a business partner -   to spot -   a brand - an electronic display -   a mark-up -   a wholesaler -   blended (adj) - to stand up to scrutiny - retail (n) - (to make) a net profit - to require - a forecast - appeal (n) - equity - to break cover - ratchet (n) - a deal - to end up - a share - a sliding scale - a canny move - an outline - an entrepreneur - tricky (adj) -   Here is an article about the inventor of the Snowbone, who appeared in the first series of Dragon'...

We heard today about a runner who cheated in a marathon by swapping kit mid-race with his twin brother. It reminded me of another story about a runner who cheated in a race. Read about what happened and watch the video. Kielder run organisers: Rob Sloan 'admitted cheating' A runner who was disqualified from a marathon after being accused of cheating admitted he had made a mistake, event organisers have said. Sunderland Harrier Rob Sloan came third during Sunday's Kielder Marathon but was stripped of the title over a claim he travelled part of the way by bus. He told the BBC he was angry over the accusation and that he did not cheat. But event organiser Northumbrian Water said Mr Sloan had admitted failing to complete the course and had apologised. Mr Sloan is accused of hopping on a bus with spectators about five miles short of the end of the race in Northumberland, then jumping off to run across the finishing line. Steven Cairns of Peebles, Scotland, was lat...

Source:  Bernard Hermant on Unsplash " It "- a little word that can cause big problems for the Spanish. Many of you start your comment: Hi Graham! I'm + "your name". This would be fine if we had never met: A: Hello. My name is Graham. B: Hi Graham. I'm José. A: Nice to meet you. B: Nice to meet you. But in situations where you don't see the person who is speaking and you know the person already eg on the phone, buzzing to get into a flat or saying hello on the blog; we use it: Buzzzzzzzzz buzzzzzzzz A: Who is it? (¿Quién es?) B: It's me - Graham (Soy yo) A: Oh, hi Graham. Come on in. So next time when you write a comment, use "it": Hi Graham! It's + "your name". Students, of all levels, often omit "it" in sentences: A: Is  Tuesday?     B: No, is  Wednesday. A: Is it Tuesday?     B: No, it's Wednesday. Be careful after verbs like "think": A: What's Madrid like?  ...

Source:  Mauro Sbicego en Unsplash Alan Turing, code-breaker castrated for homosexuality, receives royal pardon Alan Turing, a British code-breaker during World War II who was later subjected to chemical castration for homosexual activity, has received a royal pardon nearly 60 years after he committed suicide. Turing was best known for developing the Bombe, a code-breaking machine that deciphered messages encoded by German machines. His work is considered by many to have saved thousands of lives and helped change the course of the war. “Dr. Turing deserves to be remembered and recognized for his fantastic contribution to the war effort and his legacy to science,” British Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said in a statement Tuesday. “A pardon from the Queen is a fitting tribute to an exceptional man.” Turing’s castration in 1952 – after he was convicted of homosexual activity, which was illegal at the time – is “a sentence we would now consider unjust and discriminatory a...