English in Madrid

Eight in 10 middle-aged Britons 'are overweight or exercise too little' Public Health England launches campaign aimed at 40 to 60-year-olds, 83% of whom weigh too much or drink above guidelines Eight out of 10 of middle-aged people in the UK weigh too much, drink too much or do not exercise enough, analysis from Public Health England (PHE) shows. Modern life is harming the health of the nation, according to the organisation, which has launched a campaign, One You, aimed at the 83% of 40 to 60-year-olds – 87% of men and 79% of women in this age bracket – who are overweight or obese, exceed the chief medical officer’s alcohol guidelines or are physically inactive. Obesity is one of the biggest problems for this group: 77% of men and 63% of women in middle age are overweight or obese. Obesity in adults has risen by 16% in the past 20 years. Research shows that many people cannot identify a healthy body, suggesting being overweight has become the new normal. Prof Sir...

Source:  dylan nolte on Unsplash The ultimate guide to 'El Gordo' - Spain's fat Christmas lottery   If you're puzzled by all the long queues   on streets around Spain in the lead-up to Christmas, then wonder no more. Welcome to Spain's unique 'El Gordo' (the Fat one) lottery, the richest in the world . Every year at Christmas, Spaniards go lottery mad , queuing for hours to buy tickets for the famous Christmas lottery and this year it is bigger than ever. The number of tickets on sale has risen by 5 million to 165 million meaning the 2016 prize money will total €2.31 billion ($2.46 billion), with the top individual prize, known as El Gordo (the Fat One), being €4 million. With the odds of winning at least something put at one in six, no wonder the Christmas lottery has a whole nation gripped . According to the 2015 stats, some 73.1 percent of the 34 million Spanish residents aged between 18 and 75 play the Spanish Christmas lottery. ...

I am testing different ways of creating quizzes. Try this one out. Review of Prepositions Choose the correct preposition (if one is needed). It depends __ the weather. of in on She is married __ an Italian. - with to We arrived __ the hotel very late. in at to Don't worry __ me. I'll be OK. about for to I'm still waiting __ a reply. for - to He's really good __ languages. in with at She spends a lot of money __ clothes. on in for I dreamt __ you last night. with about in We are thinking __ our jobs. to change in changing of changing She married __ her English teacher. to - with Review of Prepositions 2 Choose the correct preposition (if one is needed). What are you looking __? at - to I asked __ her __ a cigarette. - / for to / for - / - He reminds me __ my brother. about of - I borrowed some money __ my colleague. of to from What are you thinking __? of about in Who? I have ne...

Source: You Tube (Allegro) Key Words: Polish Christmas advert Polish Christmas advert about grandfather who learns English touches hearts around the world   Forget the John Lewis Christmas advert — this year's tear-jerker comes from Poland. Two and a half million people from around the globe have watched this year's advertisement from Allegro, an online auction website. It features a grandfather, who orders an "English for beginners" set from the website. He then sets about becom ing fluent, sticking Post-It notes around the house with English words on. The elderly gentleman even practices loudly on the bus, bemusing those around him. He seems particularly keen to learn how to introduce himself, and say "I love you" and "you are perfect". For those wondering why he is putting so much effort into learning English, the reasoning soon becomes clear. His son appeared to have moved to England, and married an English wom...

Source: Steve Harvey en Unsplash Charge the 'rich' to feed the poor: Madrid's Robin Hood homeless cafe  Charity restaurant makes money from customers by day to offer homeless people a dignified dining experience by night  A little before nine o’clock on Tuesday night, Antonio Gutiérrez found himself facing a welcome dilemma. Might he, a waitress asked, have room for a second helping of pudding? Gutiérrez, who had already seen off a plate of pasta, a fish stew and a slice of cake, gave it some thought. The option would have been unremarkable for most diners, but for him, it was entirely novel – as was the cafe in which he was eating. By day, the Robin Hood restaurant, which sits on a side street near the centre of Madrid, is a typical Spanish bar: coffee and croquetas, a fruit machine, cigarette machine, and a leg of ham dozing under a tea towel on the counter. But at night, it transforms itself into a pioneering place where homeless people such as Gutiérrez, 40,...

Source:  Jonathan Cooper on Unsplash Why Turkeys And Other Birds Make Great Therapy Animals  The woman who made headlines after bringing her pet turkey on a plane shares her side of the story. Most mornings start the same for Jodie Smalley. She wakes up, gets ready for the day, kisses her 25-pound Wild Turkey goodbye, and drives to work. Like any loyal pet owner, it’s not easy for her to leave her animal alone for the entire day. But what makes it more challenging is that the turkey, a female named Easter, is Smalley’s emotional support animal, or ESA. “It must be how parents feel leaving their kids home with a babysitter,” she says. Smalley has owned Easter, a broad-breasted bronze, for almost two years. The full story of how the turkey fell into her lap is a long one, but here’s the short of it: It was Easter Sunday in 2014 and two of Smalley’s friends were driving to her home in Duvall, Washington, just outside Seattle, when they saw an abandoned turkey chick on the roa...

Painting matching fresco that became 'Monkey Christ' resurfaces   Woman whose restoration attempt went badly awry may attend unveiling of Elías García Martínez painting in Zaragoza  Four years ago, 81-year-old Cecilia Giménez noticed that the fresco of a scourged Christ that adorned the wall of the Santuario de la Misericordia in the Spanish city of Borja was looking a little tired, and she decided to do something about it. Her decision to reach for her paintbrushes was well intentioned but spectacularly misguided . Giménez’s less than expert efforts ruined Elías García Martínez’s fresco, transforming his Ecce Homo into a work dubbed the “Monkey Christ”, unleashing countless memes and setting a new global standard for botched restorations. However, fears that the divine countenance had been obliterated forever appear to have been premature. This week the original painting that García is thought to have used as the model for the fresco resurfaced in Za...

Source:  NASA en Unsplash Professor Stephen Hawking says humans will be WIPED OUT in 1,000 years unless we find new planet The world's most influential scientist says humans must continue to go into space to find a new place to live or otherwise face mass extinction Professor Stephen Hawking says humans have less than 1,000 years on Earth before we are wiped out by extinction. The celebrated physicist said humans will only survive if another planet was found to live on. The 74-year-old said unless this happens then humans will be wiped out in a mass extinction.  Speaking at the Oxford Union, he said: “We must also continue to go into space for the future of humanity. "I don’t think we will survive another 1000 years without escaping beyond our fragile planet.” Hawking has previously warned that humans survival is at risk from nuclear war, genetically engineered viruses and global warming, the New Zealand Herald reported. Speaking recently, Hawking sa...

Here are some sentences from the formal letters that you wrote for homework. Can you spot the mistakes? Is the register formal enough? Make any appropriate improvements. In addition, he was the responsible of the trainees. He has a deep experience in teaching. When it comes to teach young people, he manages to keep students motivated. Furthermore. he is a really good public speaker. She uses to spend a month each year in an English speaking country. That's one aspect that I think it would be recommendable to take into account. I have known Sergio for eight years, more or less. I think that students will not get bored in his classes, it is more, they will find them very enjoyable. In my personal opinion, he is a very close person. This openness to new places and cultures might come very useful. He is a self-reliant character who is used to face multiple challenges. ... so he would be capable to control different groups of children. ...so I consider I know her pretty w...

Here are some sentences from the formal letters that you wrote for homework. Can you spot the mistakes? Is the vocabulary formal enough? Make any appropriate improvements. He has asked me to write a recommendation's letter. I have known Mateo since ten years old when he began to work at Pullmantur as holiday representative. He was the responsable of hotels and clients in Asia. ... which I consider very important, specially when dealing with large groups. To finish, I just would like to add that Andrés is eloquent and charismatic. When it comes to deal with teenagers, he is supportive and empathetic. She is extremely used to be in touch with her pupils. She showed good skills for languages like French and English. She always has been good considered by her classmates. I am sure that she will make an excellent work. I know her for ages. She has a friendly character which makes her get on with people. Along these years she has developed many social skill as good plannin...

Source:  Annie Spratt en Unsplash Spain parents urged to put children on weekend homework strike   Parents associations group calls for month-long boycott by state schools pupils in protest against "unacceptable" workload   Parents in Spain are being urged to go on a weekend homework strike this month in protest against the “unacceptable” amount of after-school tasks their children are given. The homework load of Spanish children has long been a sore point with some parents, who argue that the burden is too great, places too much pressure on pupils and eats into family time. According to a 2012 study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Spanish 15-year-olds have 6.5 hours of homework a week compared with an average of 4.9 across the 38 OECD countries. The Spanish Confederation of Associations of Mothers and Fathers of Students (Ceapa) has decided that enough is enough and is calling on parents whose children attend Spa...

Source:  Mikael Stenberg on Unsplash Parity in paternity and maternity leave approved by Spanish parliament  People’s party, expected to form a minority government soon, opposes the measure saying it will significantly increase costs  Paid paternity leave in Spain is to be increased to 16 weeks to give men parity with women, under new measures agreed by parliament. Fathers are currently entitled to 13 consecutive days off work, starting two days prior to the birth, adoption or fostering of a child. This increases to 20 days if the family is large – with three or more children – or if the child is born with a disability. Under existing arrangements, 10 weeks of maternity leave can be transferred to the father, an option taken up by less than 2% of men. Under the new law, maternity and paternity leave will not be transferable. The proposal was put forward by the anti-austerity Podemos party on the grounds that both the Spanish constitution and Eu...

Source: Rendy Novantino on Unsplash Ikea bans 'illegal' blind-dating group from store cafeteria in Shanghai  Many are divorcees or people living alone after the death of a partner   Ikea has banned an elderly   matchmaking group from one of its restaurants in China unless it agrees to start paying up . The Swedish retailer has told its cafeteria in Shanghai to stop anyone hav ing a seat unless they buy food. Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon for years, hundreds of elderly people have flooded into the restaurant to meet friends and potential partners, according to China Daily. Many are divorcees or people living alone after the death of a partner and the café gave them a chance to meet peers free of charge . Despite a 700-seat capacity the venue was often overcapacity, but since the change crowds have shrunk by as much as half. The “no food, no seat” rule came into force following complaints that paying customers were unable to sit at a ...

Source: Duncan Kidd en Unsplash World War Two spy's row with wife 'almost ruined D-Day' A row between a spy and his wife almost compromised World War Two D-Day operations, secret MI5 files show. Juan Pujol , who was codenamed Agent Garbo, had helped to convince the Nazis the landings would not take place in Normandy but in the Pas-de-Calais. But after being confined to their London house to protect his identity, his wife threatened to go to the Spanish embassy in a row in June 1943. She said she would tell all unless she was allowed to visit her mother. Homesick The family was based in Harrow, north-west London, where Agent Garbo had a network of sub-agents sending false intelligence reports to his German spymasters. His feedback of false information to the Nazis diverted them away from the scene of the actual D-Day landings on 6 June 1944. Mrs Pujol not only struggled to cope with the pressure of the family's double life but also beca...