English in Madrid

Barcelona struggles with rising tide of tourists Tourists are vital to Barcelona's economy, but the 27 million people who visit each year have become a headache for the new mayor as she battles to save the iconic Spanish Mediterranean port from becoming a bland theme park. "Tourists go home" is frequently found painted on the walls of buildings in the centre of Spain's second-largest city, which is struggling to cope with a surge in tourism that started when it hosted the Olympics in 1992. Source: France 24 Vocabulary : to struggle - to rise - a tide - a mayor - a theme park - to cope (with stg) - a surge - to host (v,n) - according to - to highlight - a (snaking) queue - to jam - narrow (adj) - room (unc n) - to lay down - to be at a crossroad - such as - tree-lined - to heave with (people) - to throng (a place) - to found (a business) - huge (adj) - a banner - a vendor - to complain - gaw...

Source: Wikipedia (Ich)   I like the word "cheers". It's what we say when we are having a drink with friends and raise our glasses before we take the first sip . Nowadays however, many people have replaced "thanks" with "cheers". I find it quite annoying. A: Here's the newspaper. I've finished reading it.     B: Cheers! A: You can sit here if you like.    B: Cheers *mate! *Mate is an informal word for friend. What is even more annoying is when people call someone they hardly know, or even complete strangers,  mate. Having said that, flatmates, classmates and workmates (colleagues) may not be your mates either.